Crime Survivors Speak: The First-Ever National Survey of Victims' Views on Safety and Justice

There is no more important function of our safety and justice systems than protecting crime victims and those who are at-risk of becoming a victim of crime. Despite this foundational goal, few safety and justice policy debates are informed by a comprehensive examination of the experiences and views of the nation’s diverse crime survivors.  

The United States is in the midst of a significant shift in criminal justice policy. For the first time in decades, criminal justice practitioners, lawmakers, and the general public are rethinking sentencing laws, prison spending, and the best ways to address crime and violence. There has never been a more important time to investigate and elevate the perspectives of those most commonly victimized by violence and crime. If new approaches to safety and justice do not incorporate the voices of crime survivors, this new era of reform risks failing to deliver on the breakthrough the country needs. 

This changing landscape presents an important opportunity to correct misperceptions that have driven public policy in the past, and gather new information that can help shape smarter approaches to safety and justice. To begin filling the gap in available and representative data on who crime victims are and their policy priorities, in April of 2016, Alliance for Safety and Justice commissioned the first-of-its-kind National Survey of Victims’ Views. This report describes the findings from this survey and points to opportunities for further research and reform to advance policies that align with the needs and perspectives of victims.

Perhaps to the surprise of some, victims overwhelmingly prefer criminal justice approaches that prioritize rehabilitation over punishment and strongly prefer investments in crime prevention and treatment to more spending on prisons and jails. These views are not always accurately reflected in the media or in state capitols and should be considered in policy debates.  

Key Findings

Victims' Experiences

• One in four people have been a victim of crime in the past 10 years, and roughly half of those have been the victim of a violent crime
• Victims of crime are more likely to be: low-income, young, people of color 
• Violent crime victims are four times as likely to be repeat crime victims of four or more crimes 
• Victims of crime experience significant challenges in recovery and healing — eight in 10 report experiencing at least one symptom of trauma 
• More than four in 10 victims have worried for their safety due to witnessing violence or another crime 
• Two out of three victims did not receive help following the incident, and those who did were far more likely to receive it from family and friends than the criminal justice system

Victims' Views on Public Safety 

• By a 2 to 1 margin, victims prefer that the criminal justice system focus more on rehabilitating people who commit crimes than punishing them
• By a margin of 15 to 1, victims prefer increased investments in schools and education over more investments in prisons and jails 
• By a margin of 10 to 1, victims prefer increased investments in job creation over more investments in prisons and jails  
• By a margin of 7 to 1, victims prefer increased investments in mental health treatment over more investments in prisons and jails
• By a margin of nearly 3 to 1, victims believe that prison makes people more likely to commit crimes than to rehabilitate them 
• By a margin of 7 to 1, victims prefer increased investments in crime prevention and programs for at-risk youth over more investments in prisons and jails
•  6 in 10 victims prefer shorter prison sentences and more spending on prevention and rehabilitation to prison sentences that keep people incarcerated for as long  as possible
• By a margin  of 3 to 1, victims prefer holding people accountable through options beyond prison, such as rehabilitation, mental health treatment, drug treatment, community supervision, or community service
• By a margin of 4 to 1, victims prefer increased investments in drug treatment over more investments in prisons and jails
• By a margin of 2 to 1, victims prefer increased investments in community supervision, such as probation and parole, over more investments in prisons and jails

For each of the questions above, there is majority or plurality support across demographic groups, including age, gender, race and ethnicity, and political party affiliation.

For each of the questions above, there is majority or plurality support among both crime victims overall and victims of violent crimes, including the most serious crimes such as rape or murder of a family member.

Crime Survivors Speak | In Their Words

It took days before my family and I found out that my sister was killed by her husband. At first, we thought she died in a car accident. It took even longer — throughout the trial — to get the full picture of what happened that day. 

We now know that my sister and her husband were arguing. In the heat of the moment, he shot and killed her. 

My family received no information, support, or a sense of collaboration with officials handling my sister’s case. In the immediate aftermath of her death, we had to struggle just to get custody of my nephew. We didn’t know who to go to for information or how to get help. To this day, no one in my family, except my nephew, has received counseling. But the trauma has affected us all. 

Victims and families need help recovering from crime. I’ve also come to realize that focusing too much on punishment can cause us to lose sight of the big picture. Initially, I was very angry at my brother-in-law and wanted retribution. But with time, I began to think about how the system had failed us all. My brother-in-law had substance abuse addiction issues and had been incarcerated. Did his drug addiction and experience in prison play a role in his loss of control?  He’s not a bad person. 

Public safety must be the top priority. But I believe we can best achieve that by helping those with substance abuse and mental health problems. Our criminal justice system should do more to help rehabilitate people like my brother-in-law instead of making them worse off and more likely to commit crimes. 

- Lindsey, Texas

On Aug. 24, 2009, I had finished college and was offered a contract to play professional basketball in Europe. My dreams were coming true. That evening, as I was leaving a convenience store, two men tried to rob me. Before I knew it, I was lying on the ground, shot twice in my back. I nearly died. Weeks in the hospital turned into months of rehabilitation. Those bullets ended my basketball career. 

I didn’t know what I needed to heal from the trauma: how to access the physical and emotional support necessary to fully recover. It was overwhelming just to pay medical bills, handle inquiries from law enforcement and return to work. 

At times, I have asked, “Why me?” But five out of 10 men in my family had been shot, and I’ve lost 40 friends to gun violence, including my best friend when we were only 10. 

While recovering, I decided to replace despair and resentment with action. I made a commitment to stop cycles of violence that for decades have plagued too many communities of color, even while spending on prisons skyrocketed. 

There’s no shortage of resources; it’s that too little is invested in helping victims or our hardest hit communities. I’m committed to changing that. I went back to school for my masters in social work and now work to ensure that community groups best positioned to serve our most vulnerable communities can access the resources they need. 

When I see the scars on my body from that night in 2009, I often think I should not be here. But when I look at the faces of survivors I now work with, I am reminded of what I am here to do.

- Aswad, Georigia

Three days after my son was killed, I publicly forgave the perpetrator. I didn’t know who did it, but I knew many of my son’s friends would be at the vigil where I declared my forgiveness, young people who were angry and in pain. I did not want to provoke vengeance or retribution. More violence would not bring my beloved son back. I also thought about the mother of the person who killed my son. She was suffering, too; her child took someone’s life. I didn’t want to add to that pain. 

There isn’t a lot of support for mothers who’ve lost their kids to violence. So, in 2013, I decided to form an organization to meet that need. Padres Angeles (Parents of Angels) conducts street outreach, supports parents who’ve lost their children, and holds workshops to strengthen family communication and relationships. We also organize vigils and marches to respond to community violence. By helping other families, I found healing for myself. 

I believe that violence is a complex issue that requires a varied and coordinated response — much like treating a cancer patient with surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. The current criminal justice system’s one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work for low-income communities of color. Instead of jails and prisons, we need more emphasis on rehabilitation to help people turn their lives around. 

- Doris, Illinois

Read more in the full report below.