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A Commentary on Victimization Research and the Importance of Meaning Structures
Author(s) -
JOHNSON KIRK ALAN,
WASIELEWSKI PATRICIA L.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
criminology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.467
H-Index - 139
eISSN - 1745-9125
pISSN - 0011-1384
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-9125.1982.tb00457.x
Subject(s) - reinterpretation , meaning (existential) , politics , perception , criminology , affect (linguistics) , sociology , social psychology , property (philosophy) , psychology , political science , epistemology , law , aesthetics , philosophy , communication , neuroscience , psychotherapist
This article examines the largely atheoretical tradition of victimization research and some of the unintended consequences of work in the area. In using a legalistic definition of crime, victimization research has failed to incorporate the public's definition of crime and victimization. While “street” and property crime have a decided impact upon people's lives, the consequences of real or alleged corporate and political crimes also affect people's concep‐tions of their lives. The authors outline the beginnings of a theoretically apposite reinterpretation of perceptual victimlogy findings and related methodological concerns, and suggest ways that social scientists can become actively involved in the debunk‐ing of the “crime wave” mentality perpetuated through the media by providing alternate interpretations of crime statistics.