Brennan Iain
University of Hull, UK
J Interpers Violence. 2016 Mar;31(6):1116-40. doi: 10.1177/0886260514564068. Epub 2015 Jan 2.
The labeling of an incident as a crime is an essential precursor to the use of criminal law, but the contextual factors that influence this decision are unknown. One such context that is a frequent setting for violence is the barroom. This study explored how the setting of a violent incident is related to the decision by victims to label it as a crime. It tested the hypothesis that violent incidents that took place in or around a licensed premises were less likely to be regarded as crimes than violence in other settings. The hypothesis was tested using a pooled sample of respondents from successive waves of the British Crime Survey (2002/2003-2010/2011). Logistic regression models controlled for demographic factors, victim behavioral characteristics, and incident-specific factors including the seriousness of the violence. Respondents who were in or around a licensed premises at the time of victimization were less likely to regard that violence as a crime (adjusted odds ratio = 0.48, 95% confidence intervals [CIs] = [0.34, 0.67]) than respondents who were victimized in other locations. Despite a disproportionate amount of violence taking place in barrooms, it appears that the criminal nature of violence in these spaces is discounted by victims. The findings emphasize how context affects victim interpretations of crime and suggest a victim-centered reconceptualization of the "moral holiday" hypothesis of alcohol settings.
将一起事件认定为犯罪是运用刑法的重要前提，但影响这一认定的背景因素尚不清楚。酒吧间就是暴力事件频发的一个此类背景环境。本研究探讨了暴力事件的发生背景与受害者将其认定为犯罪的决定之间的关系。它检验了这样一个假设：与其他环境中的暴力行为相比，在持牌经营场所内或其周边发生的暴力事件被视为犯罪的可能性更小。该假设通过对英国犯罪调查（2002/2003 - 2010/2011）连续几轮调查的受访者汇总样本进行检验。逻辑回归模型控制了人口统计学因素、受害者行为特征以及包括暴力严重程度在内的特定事件因素。与在其他地点遭受暴力侵害的受访者相比，在遭受侵害时身处持牌经营场所内或其周边的受访者将该暴力行为视为犯罪的可能性更小（调整后的优势比 = 0.48，95%置信区间[CIs] = [0.34, 0.67]）。尽管酒吧间发生的暴力事件数量过多，但这些场所内暴力行为的犯罪性质似乎被受害者淡化了。研究结果强调了背景环境如何影响受害者对犯罪的理解，并建议以受害者为中心对饮酒场所的“道德假日”假设进行重新概念化。
