NCJ Number
86635
Date Published
1981
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This pamphlet advocates encouragement of bystander involvement in assisting victims of criminal attack.
Abstract
It recounts a selection of gripping intervenor incidents in which bystander assistance helped capture an assailant or save a victim's life. It also describes a California study which compared characteristics of intervenants with ordinary citizens, only to find that the sole feature which set them apart was some training in first aid, lifesaving, or medical and police training, providing a basis for self-reliance. Legislation of 'Good Samaritan' laws that reward intervenants is deemed beneficial to encouraging a return to more humanitarian motivations in contemporary society.