A new insight in awareness and prevention of the bystander effect
No Thumbnail Available
Authors
Gutierrez, Andrea
Issue Date
2013
Type
Thesis
Language
en
Keywords
Forensic sciences
Alternative Title
Abstract
Society is threatened not only by the crime that infiltrates it on a daily basis, but by the citizens who inhabit it. According to a special report entitled Third-Party Involvement in Violent Crime 1993-99 from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, between the years of 1993-1999, there was a range between 65.5 % to 67.4 % of crimes by which a third party/bystander was present, yet in a vast majority of them, bystanders did absolutely nothing to intervene in any way. Another statistical inquiry presented by the Bureau of Justice Statistics states that between the years of 1992 and 2000, only the victims of the robbery were more likely to report that they had been robbed even though between the years of 1993-1999, 51.5% of the robberies that took place were in the presence of a bystander. “[In total,] about 66% of all violent crimes between 1993 and 1999 occurred in the presence of someone in addition to the victim and the offender(s)” (Planty, 2002, p. 1). What is appalling is that society has turned its back on the unethical and cruel actions of others, all because the cost of helping, in the opinion of one person, is too great (Walster & Piliavin, 1972). When facing the dilemma of helping, each bystander initially overlooks the direct harm to the victim and automatically perceives themselves threatened if they are to get involved, but for some, an almost innate sense of help surfaces. So what separates the bystander who doesn’t help, with one who does? Are past victimizations of similar circumstances, training and education three concepts that relate to the bystander effect and partake in the influence of bystander intervention? With the evidence and research presented, every society must be educated in realizing that no matter the cost, if help is needed, it must be given at any cost and in any way possible. No matter how minimal someone might think the outlet or form of aid they are giving is, it must be encouraged and if acted upon, recognized and rewarded.