Inter-rater reliability and practical utility of five victim typologies in homicide case analysis

Victimology is a relatively young field emerging formally in the mid-20th century. Research in this area, while sparse, remains crucial as victims are a central yet historically overlooked aspect of criminology. Victimology seeks to try and understand the relationship between the victim and the offender, which can help to provide insight into why crime occurs. In the criminal justice system, victims have been seen as disposable and categorized as such, which is why this research is so crucial. Early victimologists (Benjamin Mendelsohn, Hans von Hentig, Stephan Schafer, Marvin Wolfgang, and Menachem Amir) developed classification systems that helped categorize victims based on biological, social, and psychological factors that play a role in how much or how little involvement or blame may be placed on the victim. After looking into the history of this field, it was found that research on victims has been mainly focused on cases of rap. Which is why when this study was proposed homicide case data was utilized. Data surrounding 241 closed homicide case synopses were copied from original case synopses, subjects rated each synopsis based on the typology instructions presented. Findings indicate that Menachem Amir and Hans von Hentig’s victim typologies demonstrated the highest percent agreement in this study. Descriptive statistics confirmed these trends with von Hentig’s typology showing the least variability in ratings and Wolfgang’s typology exhibiting the highest. The results for Stephan Schafers and Benjamin Mendelsohn’s typologies suggest that these two classification systems have fair agreement. These findings highlight the need for further refinement of victim typologies, particularly in homicide research. Future studies should explore additional variables influencing victim-offender dynamics and assess how contemporary victim classification models align with modern criminological perspectives.