Public Awareness of the Rights of Victims in Criminal Cases: Area Bueng Yitho Subdistrict, Pathum Thani Province

Abstract

The objectives of this research were 1) to study the level of public awareness regarding the rights of victims in criminal cases in Bueng Yitho Subdistrict, Pathum Thani Province, and 2) to compare the awareness of such rights among the public classified by personal factors. This study was quantitative research, and the samples were 396 residents living in Bueng Yitho Subdistrict, Pathum Thani Province. The sample size was calculated using Taro Yamane’s formula to obtain an appropriate and representative number of the actual population. The research instrument used for data collection was an online questionnaire, with convenience sampling as the selected method. The validity and reliability of the instrument were examined before actual use. The data were analyzed using basic statistics: frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation, including hypothesis testing with t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), together with pairwise comparison by LSD method to obtain accurate and clear conclusions.

        The research results showed that

1. The level of public awareness of the rights of victims in criminal cases in Bueng Yitho Subdistrict, Pathum Thani Province was at a moderate level (X= 2.90, S.D.= 0.85). The right most recognized by the public was the right to file a complaint to initiate legal proceedings against the offender, which was at a high level of awareness (X= 3.50, S.D. = 1.01). The least recognized right was the right to request to be a joint plaintiff with the public prosecutor, which was at a low level of awareness (X= 2.40, S.D. = 1.14).
2. The comparison of public awareness of the rights of victims in criminal cases classified by personal factors found that gender, age, educational level, and occupation made a statistically significant difference in public awareness at the 0.01 level.

Keywords : Public awareness, Rights of victims, Criminal cases