Victims still : the political manipulation of crime victims

The 1980s saw official crime policy in the United States shifting its focus from crime and criminals to victimization and victims. In this thought-provoking book, Robert Elias evaluates the effectiveness of this shift in policy and argues that victims have been politically manipulated for official objectives. From a thorough examination of victim legislation, get-tough crime policies, media crime coverage, the victim movement, and the wars on crime and drugs, Elias concludes that little victim support has actually occurred and that victimization is, in fact, escalating. He argues for a change in the structural sources of crime and proposes a `new culture' that could lead to substantially less crime. Still Victims After All These Years -- Promises, Promises -- Who Benefits From Victim Policy? -- The Political Manipulation Of Victims -- Media Amnesia: Abetting Victimization -- Crime Stories -- Defining The Crime Problem -- Who Are The Criminals? -- Heroes And Victims -- Savages And Bleeding Hearts -- Covering Victims -- Tempted By The Devil -- Experts Right And Wrong -- And Now For Something Totally Different -- People Fight Back -- Language Of War -- Crime Wars As Propaganda -- Victims: All Dressed Up But No Place To Go? -- Recent Legislative Policy -- Evaluating Victim Policy -- An Alternative Politics -- Taking The Victims' Movement For A Ride -- Which Victims' Movement? -- The Official Victims' Movement -- The Hidden Victims' Movements -- Limits Of The Victims' Movement -- Toward A New Victims' Movement? -- Wars On Drugs As Wars On Victims -- Drug Wars For Whom? -- Drug Wars As Propaganda Wars -- Drug War Victims -- Who's Winning The Drug War? -- Peace, Not War -- Do Victims Want Revenge? -- The Politics Of Punishment -- Conflicting Theories Of Victim Participation -- Evaluating Sentencing Participation -- Victim-based Alternatives -- Controlling Victimization: War Or Peace? -- Crime, Violence, And War -- Disturbing The Peace -- Resisting Peace -- A Peace Movement Against Crime -- New Culture, Less Victimization -- Victims Still -- A More Peaceful Culture -- Less Victimization. Robert Elias. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 151-169) And Index. "In this book, author Robert Elias evaluates the effectiveness of the last decade's victim policy and argues that victims have been politically manipulated for official objectives. As a result, little victim support has materialized, and victimization keeps escalating. Victims Still examines victim legislation, get-tough crime policies, media crime coverage, the victim movement, and the wars on crime and drugs. In addition, Elias proposes solutions that could lead to substantially less crime. Book jacket."--Jacket