NCJ Number
129078
Date Published
1990
Length
45 pages
Annotation
Two hundred sixty victims were interviewed between February and September 1988 to assess the prevalence of victim and witness intimidation in the Bronx Criminal Court and to evaluate the impact of intimidation on victims and case outcomes. In two interviews, one conducted in the complaint room of the courthouse and the second by telephone following case dispositions, the respondents were asked about the incidence of intimidation and its nature.
Abstract
The findings show that 36 percent of respondents had been threatened, and that 25 percent of the threats involved a weapon, physical assault, or property damage. Another five percent of respondents had been asked by defendants to drop charges, but had not been threatened. Over 70 percent of all respondents said they would be afraid of defendants out on bail, including 57 percent of those victims who had not received explicit threats. Victims with romantic or blood ties to defendants were twice as likely to receive threats than those who did not know the defendants. Finally, victims who were threatened were three times as likely to drop charges as victims who were not threatened. These results confirm previous research and indicate the need for criminal justice authorities to find ways to reduce victims' fear and the actual incidence of intimidation. 5 tables, 1 figure, and 4 notes