Third parties : victims and the criminal justice system /

Sebba, a founder and editor of The International Review of Victimology, has here produced a fairly exhaustive exploration of the victimological literature. The first part of his book provides an overview of victim-oriented reform, and the victim's traditional role in the criminal justice system. Sebba proceeds to develop a framework of analysis for assessing the various initiatives introduced on behalf of victims, highlighting the coping needs of victims and their perceptions of justice, as well as fundamental principles of justice emanating out of philosophical traditions. A wide range of victim-oriented reforms are then evaluated in terms of this framework. The concluding section of the book attempts to provide an integrated assessment of the various responses to crime victimization, and some alternative models. Altogether, Sebba finds that victim-related reforms have had a limited impact. This book complements other fine surveys of the victimological literature, e.g., Andrew Karmen's Crime Victims (1984) and Robert Elias's The Politics of Victimization (CH, May'87), and will be immensely valuable to students of victimization, as well as serious-minded advocates of victim rights. A bibliography of some 800 sources is included. Appendix; notes. Upper-division undergraduates and above. D. O. Friedrichs University of Scranton