Victims of Crime in Canada: An Introduction

Posted on: July 5th, 2011 by Smart on Crime

Being a victim of crime affects the victim personally, and the larger community. This is a series of blog posts about victims of crime in Canada. Throughout the series, I draw on several current resources to help us understand victimization, and why preventing victimization is smart on crime.

We need to understand victimization, and the needs of victims of crime, because of the impact being a victim has on their lives, and the huge cost to society.  As a caring society we need to support victims. We need to help them overcome the trauma they have experienced.

Here are a few things you might not know about victims of crime in Canada:

Information like this raises questions about how to best support people when they become victims of crime. For example, what is it about that 2% of the population that make them so vulnerable to violent crime? What can we do to help them? Can we prevent further victimization?

I will look at these questions in more depth in three additional blog posts. I will take a look at the importance of addressing root causes of crime, the consequences and aftermath for victims of crime and supports for victims within our Waterloo Region community.

Resources used in this post:
Introduction to Intervention with Crime Victims (2011)
Multiple Victimization in Canada, 2004


Author: Tracie McGrath-Levis
Tracie McGrath-Levi is a completing a student placement with WRCPC and has contributed previous posts to Smart on Crime. In addition to completing her Bachelor of Social Work degree at Renison College, University of Waterloo, Tracie works full-time with the John Howard Society in Milton. In her role there Tracie works in court four days a week in an adult diversion program and in bail.

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