Victim Interview Paper

Victim Interview

Events surrounding the crime. Victim parked their vehicle, a green 2003 Toyota Corrola, on the side of a Family Dollar in Fort Worth, Texas. Upon the victim's arrival, she went into the store, leaving her car on because she would only be a second and she did not want her car to get cold again since it was early January. While she was in the store, the suspects pulled into the parking lot next to the victim's vehicle. One suspect jumped in her vehicle and they both drove away. After the victim realized that her car was not in the parking lot, she called police to the scene to file a report.
Victim Profile The victim was a white female, 26 years old at the time of the incident, and was visiting Fort Worth, Texas to see her friend get married. She was from the small town of Reedsburg, Wisconsin, where she stated that she always left her car running when she went into the store for a short time, and never had a problem before.
Suspect Profile According to the victim, a witness saw two black males pull up in a dark sedan. The suspect that exited the sedan to steal the victim's vehicle was described as approximately six feet tall wearing a large white t-shirt, dark pants, white shoes, and a Mavericks baseball cap. The suspect
that remained in the vehicle was described as wearing a purple t-shirt.
Victim Typology The victim would be classified as carelessly facilitating victim. A carelessly facilitating victim is someone who makes it easier for a criminal to engage in the crime by their negligent acts. By leaving her car running outside a Family Dollar in a rougher part of Fort Worth, the victim's negligent acts were directly related to the crime committed.
Victim's preventative measures The victim acted negligently and therefore did not take any preventative measures.
Physical, Emotional, and financial effects on the victim Physically, the victim was not harmed in any way.
However, the victim was significantly affected both emotionally and financially by the crime. Emotionally, the victim described herself as feeling violated, helpless, and alone. The victim was most affected by the financial loss caused by the incident. Because her vehicle was stolen, she had to extend her leave because she had no way to get home. Finally, after several days of extra time she had to stay in Texas, she decided she could not take any more leave from work, and was forced to buy a plane ticket to return to her home. She also had to replace her computer, phone, and other personal belongings that were packed in the car for her returning trip to
Wisconsin.
Victim's interaction with the criminal justice system Upon the arrival of the police, the victim said she gave her statement to the police, the police interviewed the witness, and tried to pull video footage from the store cameras. Unfortunately, since the victim parked on the side of the store, the front door camera only picked up the victim pulling into the store parking lot past the front door, but the suspect both entered and exited the other side of the parking lot. The victim stated that after discovering that there was no video footage of the actual crime being committed, the officers mannerism changed and they acted like they would not recover the vehicle. After several days of waiting to hear from the police about her vehicle, hoping it would be found, she finally gave up hope and flew back to Wisconsin.
Did the victim's outlook of crime change after they were victimized? After being the victim of a crime, the victim stated that it was not just something that she saw on television anymore. It was a real threat to her now. After being the victim of motor vehicle theft, the victim became more cautious, and also began educating her friends on preventative measures by telling them of her story.