Jesse Buehler

Victimology
Barbie Underwood
August 29, 2021
After reading the Preface, answer the original question posed by the author.  Given

that victimological evidence can be incomplete, ambiguous, and complex under the best of

conditions, and given the possibility of falsity, how can the forensic victimologist make

informed examinations and interpretations?  How can we apply Donner's lessons to the

problems faced?

Donner’s intriguing concept of three common features that make problems difficult to

solve can be directly applied to the study of victimology. Complexity, dynamics, and opacity are

all valuable points to be considered during a period of when victimologists make informed

examinations and interpretations.

As the text explains, each sector of forensic victimology uses Donner’s lessons to process

information. The social scientist researching victim-offender relationships; the investigator going

through the victim’s garbage or cell phone records; or the criminal profiler reading a victim’s

diary or making a “friends and family list.” These are just a few examples of many different

areas of the field in which Donner’s lessons are applied to help navigate through victimological

evidence that could be considered incomplete, ambiguous, and complex un the best conditions.

By using Donner’s lessons, the forensic victimologist creates findings and interpretations

using complex methods that eventually are used to educate the court system in trials.

Victimologists “investigate as scientists, report as educators, and they understand the gravity of

their eventual courtroom testimony.”