The psychology of the victim

The psychology of the victim studies the factors shaping his personality, behavior before committing a crime, at the time of committing and after committing the crime, and also develops practical recommendations regarding the interrogation of the victim. The psychology of the victim is connected with criminal law, criminology, criminal procedure, personality psychology.
It should be noted that the more significant the role of the behavior of the victim in the origin of the crime, the less intense the antisocial orientation of the personality of the criminal. In crimes against lichnosti such dependence appears most clearly, because in the psychological mechanism of the commission of a crime the emotions of a criminal, which sometimes increase to the degree of affect, become very important, since the impact of the victim is perceived by him through the prism of personal significance. It should be borne in mind that about 75-80% of crimes against the person are committed by persons who are related to the victim by kinship, official, intimate and other close relationships, and the crime is usually the final phase of the conflict that has arisen as a result of these relations. Deep psychological studies of the personality of the victim and the criminal make it possible to identify the causes and conditions for the emergence of a conflict situation and outline ways to overcome them.
The victim is one of the central figures of the preliminary investigation and the consideration of the case in court, especially when it comes to the crime against the person. The specific circumstances, causes and circumstances of a crime cannot be fully disclosed unless the victim’s personality is taken into consideration, since very often the criminal actions of the accused are caused by unlawful, careless or simply frivolous actions of the victim. His behavior, related to the objective signs of the composition of the crime, can influence the guilt of the accused, and sometimes (necessary defense) and exclude it. The implementation of criminal intentions, active defense against criminal encroachment, public interest defense, etc., depend on the structure of the victim’s personality and on his behavior, which is closely connected with the personality and is its function.
Psychological research on the identity of the victim and his activities at the preliminary investigation and trial stage is very relevant because it contributes to solving a number of issues: more correct qualification of the crime, in-depth study of the causes and conditions, more comprehensive and complete investigation of criminal offenses. cases, the discovery of new evidence, etc.
The study of the personality of the victim can be considered in two aspects:
1) “static area” is age, gender, nationality, office position, etc .; a number of these features are required to be clarified at the direct request of the law, and some of them can directly affect the qualification of the crime (for example, age at sexual crimes), etc .;
2) “dynamic area”, i.e. the behavior of the victim in the period immediately preceding the crime event, and in the period of the crime event, and the connection of this behavior with the behavior of the criminal.

Victim psychology studies the factors of formation of his personality, behavior before the commission of a crime, at the time of the commission and after the commission of a crime, and also develops practical recommendations concerning the interrogation of the victim. Victim psychology is connected with criminal law, criminology, criminal procedure, psychology of personality. It should be noted that the more significant the role of the victim's behavior in the origin of the crime, the less intense the antisocial orientation of the criminal's personality. In crimes against the person, such dependence is most pronounced, because in the psychological mechanism of committing a crime, the emotions of the criminal acquire great importance, sometimes increasing to the degree of affect, since the victim's impact is perceived by him through the prism of personal significance. It should be borne in mind that about 75-80% of crimes against the person are committed by persons who are related to the victim by family, service, intimate and other close relationships, and the crime, as a rule, is the final phase of the conflict that arose as a result of these relationships. Deep psychological studies of the personality of the victim and the criminal make it possible to identify the causes and conditions of the emergence of a conflict situation and outline ways to overcome them. The victim is one of the central figures in the preliminary investigation and consideration of the case in court, especially if it concerns a crime against the person. Specific circumstances, causes and conditions of the crime cannot be fully disclosed if the personality of the victim is not taken into account, since very often the criminal actions of the accused are caused by unlawful, imprudent or simply frivolous actions of the victim. His behavior, related to the objective signs of the crime, can affect the guilt of the accused, and sometimes (necessary defense) and exclude it. The implementation of criminal intent, active defense against criminal attacks, defense of public interests, etc. depend on the structure of the victim's personality and on his behavior, which is closely connected with the personality and is its function.

The psychology of the victim is characterized by the following features:

1. His mental states can be determined by the "accusatory dominant", a negative emotional state that arose as a result of the crime and its consequences. These conflict states are often associated with the general conflict of the victim's personality.

2. The testimony of victims is often oversaturated with evaluative elements, while only factual information has evidentiary value. The attitude of victims to the establishment of the truth is also different. The testimony of the victim is a means of protecting his interests, but along with the desire to assist in the establishment of the truth, there may be other motives - from indifference to direct opposition to the investigation.

3. The mental state of the victim (especially when violent acts are committed against him) should be classified as extreme mental states (stress, affect, frustration), causing significant shifts in his reflective-regulatory sphere. In such situations, consciousness narrows, adaptive capabilities are limited.