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Domestic burglary victimization is a potentially traumatic experience, because most people consider their home as an extension of the self and a place where the self is protected against others. Intrusions to such a highly valued place are therefore considered as attacks to both one's personhood and one's safety and privacy and may render victims at risk of psychological distress. In view of the legal obligations most countries have with regard to screening crime victims for psychological distress, this study systematically reviewed the literature on determinants of psychological distress in domestic burglary victims. Web of Science, EBSCO, and ProQuest databases and reference lists were searched between February and July 2022 to identify relevant studies. In all, 10 studies met all inclusion criteria and were evaluated according to the Cambridge Quality Checklists. These checklists have been developed to assess the methodological qualities of observational research. Findings of included studies suggest that female sex, damages caused by the burglary, and evaluations of the police response are potential determinants of psychological distress. However, given the dearth of research and the old age and theoretical and methodological limitations of included studies, it is too early to draw definite conclusions about the predictive value of these and other factors and to provide directions for screening policies. Future research should use prospective designs to overcome these limitations and ensure that domestic burglary victims at risk of psychological distress are timely referred to adequate professional help services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Netherlands, as in many other countries, victims of intentionally committed violent crimes may apply for state compensation if the offender is unknown or unable to pay for the damages of the crime. This state compensation scheme is run by the Dutch Violent Offences Compensation Fund (VOCF). Lawyers who work for this fund need to evaluate applicants' eligibility for state compensation on the basis of two criteria: (1) the plausibility of the applicant's victimization story and (2) the severity of the injury sustained by the applicant. Whether these criteria are fulfilled is largely left to the discretion of the lawyer who evaluates the application. This discretionary power makes the decision-making process prone to biased outcomes. Inspired by previous research, this study investigated whether information from mental health care providers, such as psychiatrists or clinical psychologists, serves as a potential source of bias. Although this type of information may or should sometimes be used to evaluate an applicant's eligibility for compensation, in most cases it should not affect the outcome of this evaluation because of its potential unreliability. A statistical association between availability of information from mental health care providers and adjudication of state compensation is therefore not to be expected. Analyzing 246 applications submitted to the Dutch VOCF between July 1st 2016 and July 1st 2017, this study tested the empirical validity of this expectation. Results indicated that the availability of information of mental health care providers was associated with adjudication of state compensation. This finding was discussed in view of the literature on heuristic thinking and biased decision making and the study's limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research suggests that perceived negative treatment by police officers may have consequences for victims' willingness to share information with the police. This might explain why particularly repeat victims are less likely to cooperate with the police. The current study explores why this would be true by conducting in-depth interviews with 32 crime victims who had recently reported their victimisation of property crime or violent crime to the police. Results indicate that victims of both types of crime had similar thoughts on what was deemed fair treatment. Victims who were deeply touched by the crime and/or the offender thought it was also important that the police took a clear-stance against the crime. While rapid case handling seemed to be more important for property crime victims than police officers' investigative actions and the outcome, victims of violent crime expected the police to find the offender to make it clear to the offender that such (law-breaking) behaviour was not tolerated. When victims of violent crime felt that the police had failed in this task, they would feel abandoned by the police. This feeling had not only negative consequences for these victims' willingness to cooperate, but could even lead to feelings of vigilantism, particularly among victims of violent crime who knew their offender. Implications for policy and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to Tyler’s theoretical framework, police officers can motivate cooperation among citizens during direct interactions by using fair procedures and by showing how the police perform their job in combating crime. By conducting a systematic literature review, prior research was examined to see whether perceptions of procedural justice and police performance result in higher levels of perceived legitimacy of the police institution, and in turn whether this perceived legitimacy stimulates cooperative behavior among crime victims specifically. Results of the 15 included studies indicate that partial support for the applicability of this framework on crime victims was found. However, none of the included studies tested all relationships within the framework simultaneously among crime victims; they typically focused only on one of the interrelationships between the frameworks’ key concepts. Implications for future research and police practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This study investigated the association between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and repeat victimization across crime types in survivors of traumatic interpersonal violence. An evolutionary psychological perspective was adopted to propose that symptoms of hyperarousal (particularly hypervigilance, exaggerated startle response, and irritability or outbursts of anger) and numbing predict revictimization. These symptoms may act as manifestations of dysfunctional survival responses. Survival responses are adaptive in life-threatening situations but may work counterproductive in the absence of immediate threat. Participants were recruited through the Dutch Victim Compensation Fund (DVCF; N = 233). PTSD symptomatology was assessed between October and December 2007. Revictimization was measured 6 months later. Results were partly in line with expectations. Exaggerated startle response and symptoms of irritability or outbursts of anger but not hypervigilance and numbing were related to revictimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies have focused on the predictive value of victims' emotions experienced shortly after violence exposure to identify those vulnerable for development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, many victims remain unidentified during the initial recovery phase, yet may still be highly in need of psychological help after substantial time since victimization has passed. Professionals involved in the settlement of civil damage claims filed by victims of violence may play an important role in referring victims with current psychological problems to appropriate treatment services, as they are likely to maintain relations with victims until all compensation possibilities have been exhausted. As an exploratory examination of this topic, the current study investigates the potential utility of file characteristics as predictors of chronic PTSD among 686 victims of violence who had applied for state compensation with the Dutch Victim Compensation Fund (DVCF) in 2006. Identification of significant predictors is preceded by estimating prevalence rates of PTSD. Results indicate that approximately 1 of 2 victims applying for state compensation in the Netherlands still have PTSD many years after victimization and claim settlement. Age, female sex, time since victimization, acquaintance with the perpetrator, violence-related hospitalization, and compensation for immaterial damage prove to be predictive of PTSD, although female sex and immaterial damage compensation fail to reach significance after adjusting for recalled peritraumatic distress severity. Implications for policy practice as well as strengths and limitations of the study are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over eight years after the enactment of the Dutch anti-stalking provisions there are still no figures detailing the prevalence of stalking in The Netherlands. This article aims to estimate the lifetime and annual prevalence of this form of victimisation within the Dutch population. Questionnaires were distributed in July 2007 to visitors to the annual Tilburg fun fair. Of the 1,027 respondents 16.5 percent reported a lifetime rate of stalking victimisation and 3.9 percent had experienced stalking within the past twelve months. With more than one in five women (20.7%) and almost one in seven men (13.4%), women were significantly more likely to report having been subjected to stalking at some time during their lives. This would concern approximately 1.4 million women and 0.9 million men nationally. In line with previous research, age was significantly related to life-time stalking, with younger people having greater odds of reporting victimisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]