Crimes committed seem to be increasing at a steady rate. Technology has also played a significant role in helping the criminals which has led to them becoming bolder. In a bid to rehabilitate criminals and help them reintegrate into the world, some societies often give too much of their attention to criminals. However, this always leads to the question that is so much effort worth it? Aren’t we giving criminals too much attention? Afterall, they are the ones who committed the crime. Furthermore, in most cases, the victims are neglected and very little emphasis is placed on their rehabilitation. While the truth is that the victims require this attention because they have faced a very traumatic experience, which will remain with them forever. Therefore, it is true that to a large extent, we give too much attention to the criminals.
Media sensationalises the criminal and crime while sidelining the victim. In many cases, it has been seen that the media is obsessed with crime and criminals. The media constantly exposes the audience to the story of the perpetrators. With recent advancements in technology, true crime events are often broadcasted in podcasts, streaming series, and books. This has only led to a rising interest in violent and dangerous perpetrators. This trend has increasingly meant that the victims are overlooked. An example of this can be the four-part Netflix series entitled “Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes,” which focused a lot on the notorious serial killer rather than his victims. Therefore, the media focuses on the salacious details of the crime, which overshadows the traumatic experience and suffering of the victim.
Some might argue that social media is a huge source of support to victims. The popularity of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat have transformed the way we understand and experience crime and victimisation. Apart from that online communities such as Pandora’s Aquarium offer safe spaces where survivors can share stories and seek support in the aftermath of sexual violence. These communities also offer anonymity to survivors. Therefore, the focus is shifting from criminals to the victims.
However, this is not entirely true. Firstly, only recently has public awareness of criminal victims increased. The support group and forums are not pushed by the governments who have the highest influence but are pushed by society.
Moreover, the idea of raising awareness does seem to help victims but it is only on the surface. In actuality, raising awareness cannot and does not provide concrete aid to psychologically help and rehabilitate them. Unless governments take more efforts to subsidize victims or protect them heavily, the attention given to them will continue to be relatively less than that given to criminals. More often than not, the social media platforms lead to further traumatising the victims. Recently, a domestic violence video was circulated on social media platform which brought to the forefront the impact of such videos on the victims. Sharing of a video like this is mostly done without the permission of those involved, which could result in re-victimization. Hence, again instead of rehabilitating and supporting the victim, we re-victimize them.
With the increasing need to uphold justice we tend to pay more attention to the procedural rights of criminals and prisoners than the plight of victims. In the past, heinous crimes were committed and the criminals were immediately given harsher sentences. However, with human rights coming into play and the notion of “innocent until proven guilty” have allowed even the most heinous crime cases to have a fair hearing in court. The time of the judge, the money to gather the jury and that given to employ the lawyers are all spent to settle such criminal cases. For example, one of Singapore’s leading criminal lawyers, Josephus Tan has represented many accused, ranging from murder. He is known for defending the couple accused in the Annie Ee murder case. Tan is one example that proves too much attention is given to criminals. Another example is Indian lawyer Ram Jethmalani, who defended many criminals and during his legal career took up the most controversial cases. These are just two examples, there are many around the world making a living from defending accused criminals. The fact that there are such people who are paid to help criminals shows too much attention is given to them.
Contrary to my view, there are some who argue that in the developed world, victims do get their fair share of attention from society. In an increasingly caring world, emphasis on raising public awareness for victims does take place on a relatively large scale. For example, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern refused to name the perpetrator of Christchurch shootings. Instead, she urged the public to speak the names of the victims. This was a powerful message that the perpetrator would not be given the attention he sought. In Singapore, the Sexual Assault Care Centre (SACC) at AWARE provides survivors with crucial services to help them deal with their trauma and make decisions about their next steps. Another example is the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), the nation's primary source of information on criminal victimization. Such groups and many more to help victims are in existence and these increase public awareness of victims and give them the attention they need.
There are people who argue that criminals need attention since they will be labelled and can never return to a normal life. This argument is rested on the belief that it is always the case that the criminals will be shunned and isolated from society while victims will be given support, pity and chances to live a normal life. It thus becomes much easier for the victim after the assault to be employed, earn a decent keep and in that sense, return to living a normal life. Therefore, a lot more attention is needed to help such criminals return to being self-sufficient and thus the expenditure on rehabilitation centres and on educating criminals becomes justified. For example, The CARE foundation in Singapore through The Yellow Ribbon Project (YRP) seeks to engage the community in giving ex-offenders a second chance at life and to inspire a ripple effect of concerted community action to support ex-offenders and their families. Another program like The Digitalisation of Inmate Rehabilitation & Corrections Tool (DIRECT) project gives inmates tablets where they can send and receive letters. This provides better access to education in prison, so inmates could work towards getting the knowledge and skills that would improve their employability after leaving prison. Such attention for criminals is thus necessary.
However, victims are subjected to crimes that causes greater trauma and are unable to do much to help themselves either. The helplessness and psychological issues may lead them to turn into criminals themselves. For example, Sally Challen murdered her husband after years of coercive and controlling abuse. In court, she pleaded guilty to manslaughter, and blamed her husband’s abuse for leading her to commit the crime. Though in her case, she was fortunately acquitted by the court, there are many victims who do not receive help, which leads them to become perpetrators of crime. This proves that indeed not enough attention is given to victims who in fact do need help as well.
Thus, based on the current situation, it is true to a large extent that a lot of efforts are taken to reintegrate criminals back into society, too much attention is given to them. Furthermore, victims are assumed to be able to help themselves and thus in no need of attention and are left to their own devices.
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