When ‘ideal victim’ meets ‘criminalised other’: Criminal records and the denial of victimisation

Bradford-Clarke, Lauren J; Davies, Rhiannon F; Henley, Andrew

Abstract

This article critically examines the restrictions on access to statutory compensation in Great Britain for victims of serious crime with criminal records. Drawing on original analysis of Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority transparency data it reveals the scale of the denial of victimisation as a so-called ‘collateral consequence of a criminal record’. The policy is then critiqued on the basis that it reproduces the problematic social construction of the ‘ideal victim’, delineates people with criminal records as subaltern citizens and gives rise to harmful secondary victimisation of applicants whose criminal records are often unrelated to their victimisation event.

Citation

Bradford-Clarke, L. J., Davies, R. F., & Henley, A. (2022). When ‘ideal victim’ meets ‘criminalised other’: Criminal records and the denial of victimisation. Probation Journal, 69(3), 353-372. https://doi.org/10.1177/02645505221095068

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 24, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Apr 18, 2022
• Publication Date: 2022-09
• Deposit Date: Mar 27, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 18, 2022
• Journal: Probation Journal
• Print ISSN: 0264-5505
• Electronic ISSN: 1741-3079
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 69
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 353-372
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/02645505221095068
• Keywords: Criminal records; less eligibility; victims; collateral consequences; compensation; blameworthiness
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/7674737
• Publisher URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/02645505221095068