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Victims of Crime by Matthew Hall
Matthew Hall’s "Victims of Crime" (2017) is a comprehensive and modern exploration of victimology, moving the conversation from a purely legal perspective to a broader sociological and psychological understanding. Hall, a Professor of Law and Criminal Justice, focuses on how the "label" of victim is constructed and how the state often fails to meet the needs of those it claims to protect.
While Doak (whom we discussed earlier) focuses on the legal architecture of rights, Hall focuses on the lived experience and the systemic failures of the criminal justice "apparatus."
1. The Construction of the "Ideal Victim"
A central pillar of Hall’s work is the concept of the "Ideal Victim" (originally proposed by Nils Christie).
The Criteria: To be "ideal" in the eyes of the police, the media, and the public, a victim should be weak, blameless, and attacked by a "big, bad" stranger while engaged in a respectable activity.
The Reality: Hall argues that most victims do not fit this mold. Those who are marginalized, have a criminal history themselves, or are harmed by someone they know are often "de-victimised" by the system—their suffering is ignored or blamed on their own lifestyle.
2. The "Victimization" Process
Hall breaks down the experience of being a victim into three distinct technical phases:
Primary Victimization: The actual harm caused by the criminal act (physical, financial, or emotional).
Secondary Victimization: The harm caused by the response of institutions (e.g., insensitive police questioning, being ignored by prosecutors, or being treated as a "witness" rather than a person).
Tertiary Victimization: The long-term social stigma or loss of identity that follows the crime.
3. Procedural Justice vs. Substantive Justice
Hall makes a critical distinction that is vital for anyone interested in the architecture of systems:
Substantive Justice: The final outcome (e.g., the offender goes to jail).
Procedural Justice: The fairness of the process (e.g., was the victim heard? Were they treated with dignity? Was the process explained?).
The Finding: Hall’s research shows that victims often care more about procedural justice than the severity of the sentence. If they feel the process was fair, they are more likely to find "closure," even if the offender isn't caught.
4. Key Thematic Areas
| Category | Hall’s Focus |
| Environmental Crime | Hall is a pioneer in "Green Victimology," exploring how corporate pollution creates victims who are often invisible to traditional criminal law. |
| The "Consumer" Victim | He analyzes how modern justice systems treat victims like "customers" of a service, which can strip away the moral and human dimensions of justice. |
| Hate Crime | The book explores how certain crimes target entire communities, meaning the "victim" is a group, not just an individual. |
| Digital Victimization | How cybercrime creates unique challenges for support systems that were designed for "physical" world crimes. |
5. The "Professionalization" of Victim Support
Hall critiques the rise of the "Victim Industry."
While more services (like Victim Support organizations) exist than ever before, Hall warns that they can sometimes become bureaucratic boxes to check.
He argues that the state uses these services to "manage" victims and keep them quiet, rather than giving them true power or a seat at the table in the courtroom.
6. Technical Craft: Interdisciplinary Research
As someone who tracks literary and technical research, you’ll find Hall’s methodology impressive. He synthesizes:
Criminology: The study of the crime and the offender.
Psychology: The study of trauma and "PTSD" in victims.
Socio-Legal Studies: How laws actually work in the real world, as opposed to how they are written in books.
A Sharp Insight
"The criminal justice system does not 'find' victims; it creates them. Who we choose to help, and who we choose to ignore, tells us more about our society's values than the crimes themselves."