A PORTRAIT OF CRIME VICTIMS WHO FIGHT BACK

Although many victims of crime apparently remain passive during crimin al victimization, some choose to respond with force. In this article, the authors have used National Crime Survey data to examine this type of response to victimization. Using the NCS data, the authors have des cribed three groups of victims: (a) those who use a gun in self-defens e, (b) those who use a weapon other than a gun, and (c) those who use no weapon but fight back by kicking, hitting, or biting. Further, the authors have described some of the key aspect characteristics of the v ictimization incident for each of these three victim-response groups i n an effort to identify differences between them.