Crime Intervention

Abstract

A field study examined the effects of a theft victim's behavior on by stander intervention. Users of a college library saw an experimenter drop a 10-dollar bill which was then snatched up b, a thief. The victim's behavior indicated the he was either aware or unaware of his loss. Subjects were more likely to notify the victim of the theft when he appeared to know he was missing the 10 dollars. It is argued that the victim's actions in that case served to more clearly define the situation as a theft for the subjects.