Better safe than sorry? Police officers’ identification of and responses to vulnerable crime victims

Figures & data

Table 1. Example of a property crime scenario.

Vignette block	Text
Block 1: Less risky lifestyle	‘Yesterday, I cycled home from work. My nightshift in the retirement home ended around 10 p.m.. I was very tired, so I really wanted to go home. The largest part of my way home crosses a residential area near the retirement home. That’s is the quickest route, because you take a shortcut from the main roads. Near the edge of the residential neighbourhood, there is quiet parc. It happened near the playground in the parc’.
Block 2: Type of crime, property crime	‘Out of the blue, a scooter came driving straight towards me. Luckily, I could stop right in time. The driver got off the scooter and approached me. He told me to give him my wallet and phone. I could not see clearly what he looked like, but he sounded young. He stood right in front of me and said that I could better give him the stuff, otherwise I would have a big problem. I thought that he had a knife, at least I saw something shiny. I felt threatened so I did what he wanted. Who knows what he was capable of? After I gave him my wallet and phone, he ran towards his scooter and drove away. It all happened so fast, I did not see the licence plate’.
Block 3: consequences (fear)	‘After he left, I quickly cycled back home. I didn’t sleep all night. This morning, I struggled to keep my food down. I don’t know if I still dare to go outside alone at night. Maybe, I can better drive together with someone from now on. In any case, I will avoid that parc. I hope that you can catch the perpetrator, so I dare to walk the streets again’.
Block 4: Prior police contacts as victim witness	‘In the police registration system, the victim has the following police contacts’: “Incident: Assault; Role: Witness; Date: 04-12-2019” “Incident: Insult; Role: Victim; Date: 16-09-2019”.

Table 2. Example of a stalking scenario.

Vignette block	Text
Block 1: Less risky lifestyle	‘Yesterday, just after ten, I walked back to my car. I just went to the supermarket. Since I have a busy job, I often have to do the grocery shopping in the evening. At that time, it is fairly quiet in the supermarket. There were only a few cars left in the parking lot. As for the rest, there was no one in sight. I was standing close to my car looking for my car keys when I suddenly heard someone behind me’.
Block 2: Type of crime, stalking	‘I immediately recognized the voice: it was my sister’s friend. He sounded angry and asked why I did not respond to his texts. We had been on a few dates. That was fun, but I quickly closed it off. He, however, wanted more. For a couple of weeks, he has been sending me texts and voicemails. He is often looking for me at [the supermarket]. I have always managed to avoid him, until [yesterday]. I said that he should really stop this and that I would go to the police otherwise. This only made him more angry. He stood right in front of me, I thought that he was going to hit me. All of a sudden, two people walked past and stopped near us. He said that we would meet again some other time and walked away. After this, I quickly drove home’.
Block 3: consequences (resilience)	‘Once I was home, I was very upset, but I’m not going to hide in my home. This is the last time that he bothers me like this. This morning I enrolled in a self-defence course, so I can protect myself better in the future. From now on, I can solve it myself. Next time, I’m not going to let me feel threatened like that anymore. I hope you can arrest him, so he will leave me alone from now on and I can move on’.
Block 4: Prior police contacts as victim witness	‘In the police registration system, the victim has the following police contacts’: “Incident: Insult; Role: Victim; Date: 11-08-2019” “Incident: Fight/Brawl; Role: Witness; Date: 09-04-2019”.

Table 3. Population per factor and vignette.

	Vignette 1	Vignette 2
Lifestyle
Less risky (low)	25	25
Risky (high)	26	26
Type of crime
Property crime (low)	51
Stalking (high)		51
Consequences
Fear (high)	26	25
Resilience (low)	25	26
History of police contacts
No history (low)	25	25
History of victim/witness contacts (high)	14	14
History of suspect contacts (high)	12	12
n	51	51

Table 4. Coding scheme.

Subject	Description
Vulnerability
Meaning
Impact	The direct harm caused by the incident.
Risk of (repeat) victimisation	An elevated risk, either observed or actual, of becoming a victim or being revictimised.
Indicators
Risky lifestyle	Frequent behaviour/activity displayed before the crime took place, i.e. returning home late from work or from a party.
Type of crime	The crime itself or details regarding the crime
Consequences	The state of the victim after the incident, either emotional or in terms of behaviour
History of police contacts	Either the presence or absence of prior contacts registered in police databases in the role of either victim, witness or suspect
Individual characteristics of the victim	e.g. the gender or age of the victim
Missing indicators	Participants who openly argued that information was missing.
Role police officers
Judicial	Remarks or measures referring to finding the suspect or proving the crime.
Victim support	Remarks or measures referring to support the victim emotionally or psychologically.
Protection measures
Physical protection measures	Measure where high-urgency cases are highlighted in police systems
Internal referral	Referrals within the police organisations, e.g. to a community officer
External referral	Referrals to other organisation than the police, e.g. to Victim Support Netherlands
Other protection measures*	Protection measures surfaced during the first coding round, referring to, for instance, the stop conversation or the SASH-form.
Victim measures*	Measures that the victim should take themselves

* Newley added codes after the first round of coding.

Table 5. Number of high vulnerability indicators per judgement.

	1		2		3		4
	N	%	N	%	N	%	N	%	Total N
Property crime
Vulnerable	1	20.0%	8	40.0%	14	70.0%	4	66.7%	27
Not vulnerable	2	40.0%	8	40.0%	4	20/0%	1	16.7%	15
Unsure	2	40.0%	4	20.0%	2	10.0%	1	16.7%	9
Total	5	100%	20	100%	20	100%	6	100%	51
Stalking
Vulnerable	4	66.7%	15	78.9%	13	65.0%	5	83.3%	37
Not vulnerable	0	0.0%	2	10.5%	3	15.0%	0	0.0%	5
Unsure	2	33.3%	2	10.5%	4	20.0%	1	16.7%	9
Total	6	100%	19	100%	20	100%	6	100%	51