Victim Blaiming

Well, here’s a fascinating headline: “Photos of allegedly uncooperative gang victims released by Surrey RCMP”.

The article is, well, pretty much exactly what it sounds like. Police are releasing victim’s pictures because they aren’t cooperating enough. Can I just say that this sounds like a terrible idea?

I mean, I’m not a big fan of releasing info on people accused of crimes. It seems like all it does is prejudice the jury pool… if those people are in custody, there’s no danger the public needs to be warned about. And of course, if the charges are dropped or the defendants acquitted, a lot of damage has been done.

But the victims? Come on. This is such a catastrophically bad idea it’s hard to believe it exists outside of fiction. This isn’t the first time I’ve heard of such a thing happening, either… a rape victim in Washington was arrested last year for being insufficiently cooperative.

This sort of policing will keep victims from seeking help. It will keep victims of violence away from medical attention, it will keep victims of rape away from police. It will keep victims of domestic abuse from leaving their partners, because it will be harder to get a restraining order for anyone who is unwilling to press charges.

Police are frustrated that victims aren’t helping put criminals away. Fine. I get that. But burning bridges with victims only ensures that future crimes are unreported, and future criminals unimpeded.