Official crime policy shifted its focus from crime and criminals to victimization and victims in the 1980s and early 1990s. As a result, crime victims were the subject of extensive new legislation addressing victim needs, rights, and services. But did these initiatives really help victims, or did they help further Reagan and Bush administration "law and order" policies for curbing offender and public rights in favor of increasing police power? And has such power escalated incidents like the Rodney King case in Los Angeles? In this controversial and thought-provoking book, Robert Elias evaluates the effectiveness of the last decade′s victim policy and argues that victims have been politically manipulated for official objectives. As a result, little victim support has occurred, and victimization keeps escalating. He reaches these conclusions from a thorough examination of victim legislation, get-tough crime policies, media crime coverage, the victim movement, and the wars on crime and drugs. Finally, he proposes solutions that could lead to substantially less crime. Students and professionals of criminology, victimology, policy studies, and political science will find Victims Still an exceptionally stimulating resource. "In Victims Still, Elias demonstrates again that he is a preeminent scholar in the field of victimology. This work provides a unique, provocative, and elucidative account of the politicization of the victims′ movement as well as the social and political ramifications of the ′get tough′ crime policies and enforcement strategies of the 1980s. Dr. Elias raises serious and challenging questions about the currency of conventional responses to crime victims and offenders. Victims Still should be required reading for crime victim researchers and program practitioners. This book offers a thoughtful reconsideration of the causes of crime and violence in America. Professor Elias′s solutions to the crime problem are sweeping and progressive." --Arthur J. Lurigio, Ph.D., Loyola University of Chicago

Prior to the emergence of a victims' movement in this country in the 1970s, crime victims had only limited formal rights and remedies in the modern American criminal justice system. With the active encouragement of those involved in the victims' movement and guidance supplied by a national Task Force on Victims of Crime, convened by President Reagan in 1982, federal and state authorization of crime victim rights and remedies has increased exponentially in the subsequent years. In fact, it has been estimated that there are currently tens of thousands of statutes that directly or indirectly affect crime victim rights and interests, as well as crime victim-related constitutional provisions in a majority of states. The authors describe the constitutional and legislative provisions addressing the principal crime victim rights and remedies and leading judicial opinions that have interpreted them. In addition to presenting the current state of the law in this area, the text describes the status of implementation of these rights and remedies, relevant empirical research, and a sampling of pertinent policy analysis. This comprehensive portrait of the past and current status of crime victim rights and remedies in this country will inform the continued evolution of law and practice in this area. The third edition of Crime Victim Rights and Remedies continues to address the evolution of key crime victim rights (e.g., the rights to notice of and to be present and heard at criminal justice proceedings) and includes the state constitutional amendments, legislation, court decisions, and empirical studies completed since the second edition in 2010. Of particular note is an expanded federal section regarding each right and remedy in the federal Crime Victims' Rights Act, enacted in 2004, and court decisions that have interpreted the Act in its initial decade of implementation. The third edition also adds a new chapter concerning crime victim rights and remedies in the United States armed services and internationally.

This invaluable one-stop reference source supplies students and general readers with historical and current information on the victims' rights revolution in the United States, providing analysis on everything from human rights reports to Supreme Court cases that allows the reader to fully understand these documents. Victims' rights represent the greatest change in the criminal justice system within the last 30 years. Victims' Rights: A Documentary and Reference Guide traces the origins, evolution, and results of the victims' rights movement. It puts victims' rights in a legal, historical, and contemporary context, and comprehensively collects important victims' rights documents in a single volume—perfect for students as well as general readers. Bringing together dozens of varied documents such as presidential task force reports and recommendations, Supreme Court cases, state constitutions, human rights reports, critical articles, and political documents, this book is an indispensable resource for those seeking to understand the origins and modern consequences of American victims' rights policy. The author's accompanying commentary and analysis helps the reader to gain a complete comprehension of the significance of these documents, while numerous bibliographic sources provide additional resources for interested readers.