Perpetual Suspects by Lisa J. Long

Author:Lisa J. Long
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783319982403
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Kenneth did recognise that police resources are stretched in the context of austerity, and that cuts and reduction in staff could explain the failure to keep him informed. However, the way in which these routine procedures are carried out with an absence of care for the victim can compound the victim’s perception that their report has not been taken seriously. When the police wrote to Kenneth, three weeks after his follow up visit to the police station, his name was misspelled in the letter. This seemingly minor detail heightened Kenneth’s perception that the police had not taken him seriously—‘it tends to show some carelessness or not caring of who you are dealing with to even know their details’—particularly as he had provided the correct spelling when he reported the crime. Similarly, to Charles’s perception that his ‘foreignness’ changed the police response to him as a victim of crime, the misspelling of Kenneth’s surname highlights his otherness. As Sara Ahmed (2007) argues, through a name ‘the stranger becomes a stranger because of some trace of a dubious origin’ (p. 161). Through this dubious origin, they become unworthy of the treatment afforded to the ‘ideal victim’.

The decision to act upon a reported crime is influenced by the perceived worth of the victim. Worthiness is assessed in relation to socio-economic, structural and demographic factors (Loftus 2009) as well as the legitimacy and deemed innocence of the victim (Van Wijk 2013; Christie 1986). Eric reported a burglary at his flat, which he described as being in a ‘deprived area’. He expected that the police would investigate the crime and that they would provide him with reassurance. However, his account of what happened was met with skepticism;When I got burgled I was a suspect already rather than them trying to establish I was a victim. Nobody reassured me that you’ve been a victim of crime, they started asking me questions. Who do you think it was? Why did you take so long [to call the police]?

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