Differentiating concerns for procedural justice: The influence of perceived criminal intent on the need for procedurally fair treatment and active victim involvement
Recent research in moral psychology has documented a strong need among victims of intentional crime for the alleviation of feelings of moral outrage by means of the imposition of punishment on the offender. The accidental production of harm does not seem to elicit the same retributive reactions. Yet research on the degree to which perceptions of intentionality of harm influence the need for involvement in the criminal procedures and for procedural justice is scarce. The present study compares the need for involvement in the criminal procedure and the sensitivity to being treated in a procedurally just manner of victims of intentional crime as opposed to victims of unintentional crime and victims who are unsure about the offender’s intention. Results show that the procedural needs mentioned indeed depend on perceptions of the offender’s intent, yet overall all groups showed a high need for involvement in the criminal procedure and a treatment in accordance with procedural justice principles.