Victimology and Criminal Justice

In my opinion, victimology looks at the relationship between the victim and offender and tries to understand the cause of the incident. It also observes society’s reaction to the event. Victimology leads to the belief of personal vulnerability, because the victim may allow themselves, in certain cases, to be involved in the victimization by not preventing it from occurring.
Andrew Karmen defined victimology as "The scientific study of victimization, including the relationships between victims and offenders, the interactions between victims and the criminal justice system -- that is, the police and courts, and corrections officials -- and the connections between victims and other societal groups and institutions, such as the media, businesses, and social movements."(Victimology Theory, 2003) Victimology is a branch of criminology. In criminology there are four subfields: penology, comparative criminology, victimology, and delinquency (Victimology Theory, 2003). Victimology consists of six types of victims. The innocent victim is the only type that places the victim at the wrong place at the wrong time. The other five contribute the victimization to the victim influencing the criminal act that was committed against them. For example, a victim of repeated domestic violence that one day is killed during the act. The victim was aware after the first incident that the person was violent. They contributed to their death by not leaving the situation after the first incident and before the final blow. Von Hentig described this type of victimization as the tormentor type (1948).
A victimologist is an individual that studies the relationship between the victim and the offender. There are a few differences between a victimologist and a criminologist. The first difference would be the focal point of each. A criminologist focuses on studying the offender. They also focus on the crime that was committed and the reason that the offender committed the crime. A criminologist