Criminal justice is a field that is growing day by day and is gradually integrating new careers to improving every offender’s welfare. One of the jobs that I have found most favorable is working as a victim advocate at the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command Fort Knox, KY. The job is found at ziprecruiter.com – the link is in the reference list. Several things make me feel very suitable for the job. Victim advocacy is a human service-related position because every victim of crime needs psychological counseling and support. An individual who has been victimized by crime has to live with physical, emotional, financial, social, and spiritual impacts that may have very long-term consequences.
Therefore, working as a victim advocate and especially in the army, will link me to several victims that may require my support services. Even though I may fail to support them financially, I can, as a trained expert support the victims in overcoming the mental disturbances. I choose the position of a victim advocate because victims of crime are victimized and stigmatized by the justice system hence failing to meet their needs.
Often, crime victims are blamed by the justice system for what befalls them (Zymphonies, 2020). For example, victims feel that they are being blamed for the crimes when questioned about their previous behaviors. At such a time, the victims may be in a very critical mental position that may not allow him/her to express the feelings regarding what happened or even to explain the chronological events that led to the crime befalling them. Working as a victim advocate will, for such a reason, allow me to hear their concerns and use my supervision efforts to take them into account.
Since all victims do not have the same response to crime, it is crucial to be by their side. It is also crucial to note that every victim is different, and there are no responses that can be related or similar among all the victims of crime (Zymphonies, 2020). Every crime victim’s responses can vary because of things like their personal lives before the offense took place, the offense, and their past experiences with the justice system. Therefore, to help the victim overcome both the short-term and the long-term effects of the crime, I will stand by their side as a victim advocate and back them in every part that requires fairness from the justice system.
References
Link to the job post; https://www.ziprecruiter.com/c/U.S.-Army-Training-and-Doctrine-Command/Job/Victim-Advocate-(Sexual-Harassment-Assault-Response-&-Prevention-(SHARP))/-in-Fort-Knox,KY?jid=d502246045e59885&utm_campaign=google_jobs_apply&utm_source=google_jobs_apply&utm_medium=organic
Zymphonies. (2020). Section 4: Working with victims of crime | Working with victims of crime. NIC Micro-Sites. https://info.nicic.gov/wwvc/node/8