Citation

Nguyen TT, Roman C. Vict. Offender 2024; 19(4): 613-640.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2024, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/15564886.2023.2214808

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This paper offers one attempt to move police reporting literature into help-seeking contexts. The current study uses the legal estrangement framework to examine complex victim help-seeking decisions, in the form of police engagement, for individuals living in impoverished neighborhoods with high violent crime rates in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A thematic analysis was applied to semi-structured interviews and found help-seeking is a dynamic process. Among victims of color, the legal estrangement framework contextualizes the landscape of help-seeking decisions, while other socio-ecological and situational characteristics simultaneously influence help-seeking behaviors. Concepts of procedural injustice, vicarious marginalization, and structural exclusion are reflected in both help-seekers and non-help-seekers.

Keywords

Help-seeking; legal estrangement; police interaction; reporting; victimization