Challenges & Successes in Recruiting Victims of Violent Crimes in an Urban Setting

• In Event: Politics, Policies, and Victimization

Abstract

The victim-offender overlap has been defined as the link between previous victimization and the perpetration of crimes, with many individuals experiencing co-occurring issues. Being a victim with previous criminal histories creates mistrust and suspicion of formal service providers, especially law enforcement. Temple University, Department of Criminal Justice has been awarded a grant from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) to understand the situational and contextual factors that impact how individuals involved in the justice system access, or do not access, services after victimization with the Services and Social Support after Harm (SaSSaH) Study. Many of the typical challenges to surveying victims of crime noted in past research are compounded by the extensive criminal justice involvement of some of our respondents. Through partnerships with community-based organizations focused on gun violence reduction and community improvement, recruitment of the study population was sped up with increased trust of the study staff. Topics to discuss will include the strategies used for recruitment, challenges in recruiting eligible participants, how community partnerships assisted in recruiting, and information learned about working with other agencies in recruiting victims.

Authors

• Hannah Klein, Temple University

• Caterina Gouvis Roman, Temple University

• Juwan Bennett, Temple University

• Courtney Harding, Temple University