Customer Reviews

Forensic Victimology: Examining Violent Crime Victims in Investigative and Legal Contexts

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Victimology is a sub-specialty in forensics that focuses on the victim of a crime or accident etc. There aren't a lot of affordable textbooks on the subject. When I saw this one and read a bit about it. I decided to give it a go. It was mainly the price that did it for me. I'm not particularly a fan of so called "profiler and forensic scientist" Brent Turvey. I was concerned that he was straying a little out of his territory. I've read his work before and am certainly aware that he has an infallible ego. He enjoys taking potshots at his peers and likes to blow his own horn in general. He seems to write on every aspect of forensics known to man. I would call him a jack-of-all-trades and master of none. I came to find out that what he really has no clue on is victimology - but I'll get back to that. Nevertheless, I decided to give him one more chance and was determined to keep an open mind. This mistake was a colossal one for me. Let me explain. I am a student of the forensic sciences/behavioral sciences and they encompass a large portion of my waking hours. Usually I'm reading about it, studying, researching, etc. I was also, at several points in my life, a victim. I was car-jacked, pistol whipped, kidnapped and severely beaten. I have also had two other brushes with death. I am now at the point where I would consider myself a survivor. Mr Turvey would have you believe that I am at fault for my victimization because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time or for any one of a myriad of other reasons.

The book begins with a preface that devotes itself to why and how victims are at fault for their own victimization and that researchers on the subject are just to scared to acknowledge this because it isn't politically correct. While he, on the other hand, is fearlessly going ahead and reporting "The Truth". He lists one anecdotal story after another of people who lie, cheat and take advantage of the system to gain monetary compensation or to have an excuse to shirk their responsibilities. Part of me felt like the stories were simply made up to illustrate his point. After I was finished with the preface, I was shocked. There was no mention of anyone who used the system because they genuinely needed or deserved it. I kept waiting for the other side of the picture, only it never came. No stories of victims who beat the odds, used the system to get back on their feet etc. I was so dumbfounded by this I had to put the book down and walk away. It was the next day when I found myself feeling terribly upset, though I didn't understand why. A friend called and after a half hour of tearful confusion she said, "It sounds like you're being awfully hard on yourself." Suddenly, I realized that after reading Turvey's book, I felt like all the tragedy in my life was all my fault! My friend suggested I burn the book. Now that I had a clearer perspective on things, I wanted to see if the preface was just bad or if now that he'd gotten this out of his system, the book would take an even handed approach. I'm sure by now you can guess how things turned out. Let me summarize: Victims are bad people, Turvey is a brilliant pioneer in the field.

I believe Mr Turvey has spent too much time with hard core criminals. He has transferred that criminal attitude onto victims and the study of victimology. Yes, people lie, cheat, steal and do any number of bad things. This occurs everywhere including with people who have been victimized or claim they have been. This little fact could have been covered in one paragraph. An entire book is just ridiculous. To take an entire group of people and tell them it's their fault for being raped, shot, stabbed, etc. is just simply wrong! I could not and will not read any more of this book. It is filled with what Turvey thinks but no where was I able to find a shred of empirical evidence that substantiated his horrible claims. I say this again with the caveat that I did not read every page of the book. I refuse to. Just because Turvey says it does not make it so and I think he has forgotten this or thinks that people should just believe him.

This book does great injustice to an important field and even more so is a further abuse to people everywhere who have been victimized.

Great book on Forensic victimology. Many people underestimate the usefulness of victimology. Definitely worth a read, very reliable for research.

En mi caso personal, me dedico a la enseñanza universitaria de posgrado y a la práctica de la Psiquiatría Forense, del Perfilado Criminal y Geográfico y de la Victimología; el libro de Turvey me ha servido para actualizar mis conocimientos y hacer mas efectivo mi trabajo como catedrático e investigador.