The ideal victim: A critical race theory (CRT) approach
| Author | Lisa J Long |
| Published date | 01 September 2021 |
| Date | 01 September 2021 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0269758021993339 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
The ideal victim: A critical
race theory (CRT) approach
Lisa J Long
Leeds Beckett University, UK
Abstract
Using a critical race theory (CRT) framework, this paper analyses Black and Black mixed- race
people’s experiences of reporting crime. It is based on qualitative interviews with 20 participants.
The analysis finds that the process of becoming the (un)victim is mediated through the intersection
of race with gender and masculinity, class and migrant status. Ultimately, Black and Black mixed-
race men are the ‘ideal offender’ rather than the ‘ideal victim’ (Christie, 1986). The research finds
that the (un)victim experiences racial re-victimization and develops an altered perception of the
police as a trusted body. The racialized affect of being the (un)victim is greater than the effects of
minor crime on the victim. The challenges that this poses to the relationship between Black
communities and the police are explored and the implications for future practice discussed.
Keywords
Race, black, police, victim, critical race theory (CRT)
Introduction
There has been a significant political shift towards the rights of the victims in the UK since the
early 1990’s.
1
The first ‘Victims Charter’, which set out what kind of service victims of crime
could expect, represented a clear shift towards a customer service focused response to victims of
crime as part of a wider political re-centering of punitive responses to offenders and a more victim-
centred criminal justice system (see Rock, 1990). The charter was updated in 1996, towards a more
‘victim friendly’ criminal justice process and led to the creation of a number of victim-centred
initiatives which encouraged courts and probation services to incorporate a ‘victim perspective’
(Spalek, 2017:144). It was superseded by the Code of Practice for Victims (Victims Code) in 2006,
the most recent version of which, updated in 2015, sets out minimum requirements for the support
and protection of victims of crime (Wedlock and Tapley, 2016). There are multiple entitlements set
out in the Victims Code; in summary, at the time of reporting the offence, the provisions of the
Corresponding author:
Lisa J Long, Leeds Beckett University, City Campus, Leeds, LS1 3HE, UK.
Email: lisa.long@leedsbeckett.ac.uk
International Review of Victimology
2021, Vol. 27(3) 344–362
ªThe Author(s) 2021
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DOI: 10.1177/0269758021993339
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Code entitle the victim to be given written evidence that they have reported a crime, to be updated
as to the progress of any investigation at intervals agreed with a police officer, to be informed if
anybody is arrested or charged with the offence and to be referred to a victim support service
(Ministry of Justice, 2015). However, these entitlements are only relevant to those who are
identified as victims through a process of ‘becoming’ a victim (Rock, 2002). This involves several
actors – the victim themselves, the public, the media and criminal justice agencies, including the
police.
Black, Asian, mixed and other ethnic groups experience greater incidence of victimization than
Whites in England and Wales (ONS, 2018). Further, Black or Black British adults are least likely
to report confidence in their local police (ONS, 2015). However, unless their victimization is
precipitated by ‘racially motivated’ behaviour, for example, in the case of racist violence (see
Bowling,1999) or hate crimes (Chakraborti, 2018; Zempi, 2018), it is generally interpreted through
‘generalist frameworks’, which fail to consider the impact of the subject’s position on their
experiences of victimization. Women are produced as ‘risk-prone’(victims) and men as ‘risk-free’
(perpetrators) (see Walklate, 2007: 52). The construction of the perpetrator as male, within gen-
eralist frameworks of victimology, situates them as the ‘ideal suspect’ rather than the ‘ideal victim’
(Christie, 1986); this is compounded for Black men in particular, who are criminally racialized as
‘perpetual suspects’ (Long, 2018; Long and Joseph-Salisbury, 2019). Black people’s relationship
with the police has historically been characterized by over policing through stop and search and
arrest (Home Office, 2018), use of force (Dearden, 2017; Gayle, 2015) and disproportionate deaths
in police custody (Angiolini, 2017; IRR, 2015). Generalist frameworks of victimology have failed
to address the impact of histories of racialization and criminalization on the process of ‘becoming’
the ‘ideal victim’ (Christie, 1986) and their intersection with class, gender and ‘sexual politics’
(Collins, 2004). Through a CRT framework, this paper analyses Black and Black mixed-race
people’s experiences and perceptions of reporting victimization to the police. It centres race and
racism in its analysis and draws on experiential knowledge of racialized victims to develop a
counter-story to the dominant narratives of victimization, hitherto understood with reference to
generalist frameworks of victimization. Utilizing Christie’s ‘ideal victim’ thesis, this paper exam-
ines how racialized policing shapes the process of ‘becoming a victim’ (Rock, 2002), re-
conceptualizing the ideal victim through a CRT lens. It concludes that through racialized policing
Black bodies become the (un)victim.
Becoming the victim
The procedural justice thesis proposes that public perceptions of the police, and their willingness to
accept them as both a legitimate source of authority and protection, can be understood in relation to
fair treatment and a fair process for administering justice (Sunshine and Tyler, 2003). From this
perspective, unsatisfactory contact with the police erodes perceptions of their effectiveness, whilst
positive contacts can improve perceptions of fairness (Bradford et al., 2009; Tyler, 2006). Satis-
faction is contextual; for suspects fair treatment is the most significant factor in their perceptions of
procedural justice, whilst for victims of crime a satisfactory outcome is most significant (Kristina,
2009). A courteous, concerned and understanding approach to the victim gives the impression of
professionalism and greatly impacts on victim satisfaction (Brandl and Hovarth, 1991). However,
procedural fairness is less effective at improving perceptions amongst ethnic minority commu-
nities. Murphy and Cherney (2011) suggest that procedurally unfair treatment by the police com-
municates to citizens that they are considered low status, and they are therefore less likely to
Long 345
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