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The criminalization of young women in care remains an important practice and policy issue in England despite 2018 national guidance and the subsequent development of local authority protocols to reduce the criminalization of care‐experienced young people. This paper contributes to the emerging research on young women whose behaviour challenges professionals, through secondary analysis of case file data and narrative interviews with 24 care‐experienced young women from a national project on care and offending. Analysis focused on young women's pathways through the care, justice and education systems and identified five domains within young women's lives where available risk or resilience factors were significant in directing young women towards prosocial opportunities, to new types of victimization or to criminalization and offending. These domains consisted of placements and caregiver relationships; partner relationships; pregnancy and motherhood; participation in education; and the transition to adulthood through leaving care. The paper concludes with implications for practice for professionals working with young women, in particular emphasizing that how the care, justice and education systems respond to young women can contribute to negative pathways or transform them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To date, there is no evidence supporting the existence of an association between Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and extremism in the general population. However, there is increasing recognition that several features of ASD may provide the context of vulnerability to engage in extremist behaviour. Aims: This paper sets out the case for a dedicated clinical approach to better integrate clinical risk appraisal processes with an assessment of ASD individuals' vulnerabilities within the Criminal Justice System. Methods and Results: In this paper the Framework for the Assessment of Risk & Protection in Offenders on the Autistic Spectrum (FARAS): A Guide for Risk Assessors Working with Offenders on the Autistic Spectrum is explored. In developing the FARAS, Al‐Attar proposed seven facets of ASD that 'may have different functional links with push and pull factors to terrorism' (p. 928), which include circumscribed interests; rich vivid fantasy and impaired social imagination; need for order, rules, rituals, routine and predictability; obsessionality, repetition and collecting; social interaction and communication difficulties; cognitive styles and Sensory processing. Discussion and Conclusion: We describe the FARAS within the context of the most widely used clinical risk appraisal 'aide memoire' instruments integral to the Structured Professional Judgement of risk process, namely the HCR20v3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2020 Juvenile Residential Facility Census reports that roughly 25,000 youth in the United States (U.S.) are incarcerated—placing the United States as the leading nation in number of juveniles in correctional facilities worldwide. This paper aims to highlight an overlooked population impacted by this issue: not the incarcerated youth themselves, but their siblings. This paper first grounds historical trends, the effects of racialized sociopolitical systems on disparate rates of incarceration, and the current state of youth incarceration, with a specific focus on impacts on families. This paper reviews the literature on how families are affected by the juvenile justice system in terms of their well‐being, education, and other outcomes—drawing from the small body of research directly on siblings and hypothesizing impacts in need of further study based on families' experiences in the criminal justice system. We present historical and current issues/limitations to understanding and addressing the impacts of youth incarceration on siblings, concluding with areas of future research needed to address the impacts that a youth's incarceration has on their siblings and family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This paper explores the fate of South Australia's highly regarded Police Drug Diversion Initiative over the past 10 years. Methods: The paper uses historical and legal analysis, including publicly available data as to rates of drug use, arrests and diversions, media reports, legislation and Hansard debates. Results: In the mid‐2010s, amidst growing anxiety about levels of amphetamine‐type stimulants use in Adelaide, a coroner's report became the poster child for what was seen by the Liberal opposition as the excessive leniency and 'waste of resources' of the Police Drug Diversion Initiative. Despite being universally praised for its efficacy, the Liberal government, when elected, passed amendments to the legislation which 'capped' diversions at two. This ended the period in which diversions from criminal to social justice systems was mandatory for all persons charged with simple drug possession. But since then, the diversion rate in South Australia has plummeted in ways that cannot be explained merely because of these amendments. Discussion and Conclusions: The most highly regarded scheme for diversion of minor drug offenders to treatment is no longer effective. Indeed, the best scheme in the country may now be the worst. The essay draws attention to a catastrophe whose extent is not yet fully appreciated and suggests ways in which we can begin to explain why such a small change has had such dramatic and unforeseen consequences. Like some sort of perverse alchemy, Australia's gold standard for drug diversion has been turned into lead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a long tradition of preferring local theories to ones that posit lawful or causal influence at a spacetime distance. In this paper, we argue against this preference. We argue that nonlocality is scientifically unobjectionable and that nonlocal theories can be known. Scientists can gather evidence for them and confirm them in much the same way that they do for local theories. We think these observations point to a deeper constraint on scientific theorizing and experimentation: the (quasi‐) isolation of causal or lawful influence. We argue that this requirement ought to replace the locality desideratum in science. We then explore the possibility that the order of explanation has been reversed: perhaps it is isolatable influence that determines what counts as local in the first place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on the notion of generative mechanisms as constitutive rules, this paper advocates a shift away from the notion of routines as sources of ongoing change and towards a rule‐based understanding of routines as institutional facts. While the recent practice turn to routines studies has highlighted sources of endogenous change, this paper adopts a Critical Realist stance to investigate exogenous forces that account for the emergence of a new routine. To this end, the paper endeavours to analyse the passing of new legislation in the criminal justice system of England and Wales. By examining what makes the rules of the game change between the Police and the Crown Prosecution Service, the paper explains an instance of institutionalisation in the making. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. Our contribution stresses that constitutive rules play a pivotal role for recognising, identifying and labelling organisational routines, thus generating order, stability and patterning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) people have historically been subjected to maltreatment across multiple environments and systems – including their homes, schools, neighborhoods, workplaces, healthcare facilities, and more. The criminal justice and child welfare systems were built on the foundations of cisnormativity and heteronormativity, making LGBTQ+ youth susceptible to systemic oppression and discrimination when compared to their youth counterparts. As such, this paper examines the unique experiences of LGBTQ+ youth in the juvenile and child welfare systems by discussing the systemic inequities and unique challenges that exist for this population – beginning with the risk factors that make them susceptible to exposure to both systems in general. Furthermore, we provide practical recommendations for legal and clinical professionals to better serve their LGBTQ+ youth clients – ranging from changes in policies and legislation, increased staff training, and strategies to create safe and inclusive environments for all youth. Key Points for the Family Court Community: LGBTQ+ youth face higher risk factors (e.g., violence and discrimination at home) that make them more susceptible to both the child welfare and criminal justice systems when compared to cisgender/heterosexual youth.Systemic issues (e.g., mistreatment and biased targeting by police personnel) contribute to the overrepresentation of LGBTQ+ youth in both systems.To effectively serve LGBTQ+ youth, law professionals are encouraged to engage in LGBTQ+‐affirming practices like comprehending the unique experiences of LGBTQ+ youth who identify with multiple marginalized identities and educating themselves on current issues impacting this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This special issue of The American Journal of Community Psychology originated from the Society for Community Research and Action Criminal Justice interest group, with a goal of exploring the work of community psychologists intersecting with criminal justice research, practice, and policy and shaped by our shared values—equity, collaboration, creative maladjustment, social justice, and social science in the service of social justice. In this introduction, we discuss the socio‐historical context of the special issue, followed by an outline of the special issue organization, and brief summary of the included papers. Across 13 papers and an invited commentary, we see the ways in which community psychologists are: (1) delivering and evaluating services, programming, or other supports to address the needs of system‐involved people; and (2) working to improve the systems, structures, and interactions with units of criminal justice systems. Across these two sections, authors highlight the guiding role of our values to influence change within and outside of criminal‐legal systems. Highlights: The values guiding community psychologists uniquely position them to effect change.This includes effecting change within and beyond criminal justice settings.The papers here demonstrate the intersection of community psychology values and criminal justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals with foetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) are estimated to be 19 times more likely to encounter the criminal justice system (CJS) in comparison to individuals without FASD. During encounters with the CJS, investigative interviews are employed to obtain accurate information from suspects, victims or witnesses of crime. A systematic search using PRISMA guidelines was performed to identify empirical studies published that have explored the questioning of the FASD population within the CJS and the vulnerabilities of FASD-impacted individuals during investigative interviewing. A total of 383 studies were identified from the databases searched and 7 further studies were identified from Google Scholar. After deduplication, abstract and title screening, the full text of 23 studies were assessed for inclusion and 5 were included in the narrative synthesis of results. Two papers were empirical studies focussed on the performance of FASD-impacted individuals during investigative interviewing. Whilst the first study found the FASD population susceptible to suggestions, the second (a case study), identified the ploys employed during investigative interviewing to obtain a confession. Three papers studied the wider vulnerabilities of FASD-impacted individuals and found diminished psycho-legal abilities, increased risk of recidivism and biological, psychological and social factors that render FASD-impacted individuals vulnerable to CJS encounters. Despite the greater likelihood of CJS encounters, the result of this review highlights the slim evidence base useful to establish the vulnerabilities of FASD-impacted individuals within the CJS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Young people's voices detailing how they experienced engagement with the criminal justice system following child sexual abuse, what was helpful or unhelpful and how services can be improved to minimise secondary victimisation and maximise the potential for healing are largely absent from the research literature. This paper draws on semi‐structured interviews with a culturally diverse sample (n = 47) of young people aged 14 to 25 across Ireland and Canada about their experiences of disclosure and engagement with systems. Data were collected pertaining to experiences engaging with law enforcement personnel using thematic analysis with a trauma‐informed lens. The research identified three key themes: the importance of feeling safe through kindness, transparency and being believed; the importance of having a say; and the importance of timely court processes. The study builds on the small body of qualitative research illustrating young people's lived experiences of engaging with the criminal justice system and provides empirical support for promoting a trauma‐informed approach in how police engage with young people. Guidance is offered for police professionals on how to engage with adolescents following sexual abuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the United States, legal financial obligations (LFOs) include many types of monetary sanctions. For example, fines are tied to specific offenses and imposed at conviction and fees charge people for the "use" of courts, prisons, and other public services. With the rise of mass incarceration, millions of people across the U.S. owe billions of dollars in LFOs. Yet despite the widespread use of monetary sanctions, it was not until the last decade that research began to uncover the vast system of LFOs embedded throughout U.S. laws and understand their far‐reaching socioeconomic consequences. This paper reviews recent research on LFOs across three areas: (1) the political development of LFOs, (2) their implementation and enforcement, and (3) the consequences of LFOs on people, broader social networks, and the functioning of public institutions. We conclude with recommendations for future research that explores the hidden processes connecting these three areas and accounts for the fractured nature of the U.S. government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper considersmethodological standards in public law scholarship, showing the perils of current issues with access to relevant data and the promise of what can be achieved using better data and computational methods. It focusses on the effectiveness of Cart challenges – the largest group of claims for judicial review in the High Court – and discusses how the empirical question of the effectiveness of judicial review is linked with the normative question of what counts as 'success'. The article demonstrates the perils of inattention to data limitations in the analyses of Cart claims by the Independent Review of Administrative Law and by the government and shows the promise of better data and computational methods through an unprecedented empirical study of Upper Tribunal decisions that followed Cart judicial reviews. It concludes that the government's claim that Cart challenges are a disproportionate burden on resources lacks adequate empirical basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper raises the question as to whether a theory of justice exists in EU law. The focus is on justice as a system. The assumption is that the independence of institutional actors involved in the administration of criminal justice (mainly judges and prosecutors) vis‐à‐vis each other, and other State powers, is key to that system achieving justice as a value. Against the benchmark of judicial and prosecutorial independence developed in European law, the paper assesses the role for independence in investigative, prosecutorial and adjudicating functions as it emerges from the current state of EU criminal law. The conclusions reveal that the EU's idea of justice remains underdeveloped, and that there is a need for systemic coherence to better protect the rule of law and enhance the legitimacy of EU criminal law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Individuals with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) are at greater risk of contact with the criminal justice system. Diagnosis and appropriate treatment of SLCN reduces these risks, leading to better life outcomes for the individual as well as broader social and economic benefits. These youth represent a particularly high‐priority group for research into language deficits, as the juvenile justice system involves situations with a high risk or serious consequences that rely upon the application of effective language skills. Whilst some studies have established some gains in speech and communication from speech pathology (SP) interventions during custody, there is limited evidence on the long‐term impact of these gains following release from custody. Similarly, few studies have directly measured the cost savings associated with early SP on subsequent youth antisocial behaviour and crime. Aims: To estimate the youth antisocial behaviours, youth justice (YJ) contacts and associated costs (from a justice perspective) of childhood SLCN. Methods & Procedures: Using 12 years of data from a longitudinal study of Australian children and young people, we employ a panel fixed‐effects model to explore the relationship between SLCN and youth antisocial behaviour and youth offending between 12 and 17 years of age. Using these results, we estimate the cost of SLCN and subsequent cost savings associated with identification of SLCN. Outcomes & Results: The results showed that the annual cost of SLCN to the YJ system (exchange rate as at 9 December 2020) is A$875 (95% confidence interval (CI) = A$195, A$1916) (US$$649, €536, £485) per person who participates in youth crime, which is due to higher rates of youth antisocial behaviour and youth offending. Identification of SLCN (defined by SP treatment) appears to have a positive impact on youth antisocial behaviour and crime, mediated through improved language and communication. On average, young people with a history of 'identified' SLCN incur A$188 (95% CI = A$42, A$412) lower YJ costs (US$$140, €105, £115), compared with the same individual, before identification. Over the lifetime of the individual, this equates to A$9.2 million (95% CI = A$2.05 million, A$20.2 million) (US$$6.8 million, €5.6 million, £5.1 million) cost savings to the YJ system (A$3389 per person with SLCN) (2020 Australian dollars) (US$2513, €2074, £1880). Conclusions & Implications: Overall, the findings revealed that young people with SLCN have an elevated risk of youth antisocial behaviour and crime. However, the identification of SLCN (and subsequent treatment) leads to changes in the offending risk trajectory for these individuals, resulting in lower rates of youth antisocial behaviour and consequently lower rates of crime and its associated justice costs. What this paper adds: What is already known on the subject: It is well documented in the literature that young people in contact with the justice system have much higher rates of previously undiagnosed SLCN than those of the general population. There is less known about whether the identification of SLCN (and subsequent treatment) leads to changes in the offending risk trajectory for these individuals, leading to lower rates of youth antisocial behaviours and crime. What this paper adds to existing knowledge: This study uses a longitudinal survey of 5000 children and young people to track the antisocial behaviour and crime‐risk trajectory of children and young people with SLCN. The study finds evidence that young people with 'identified' SLCN report less juvenile antisocial behaviour and lower YJ contacts after intervention. The potential lifetime cost savings associated with intervention is A$9.2 million (95% CI = A$2.05 million, A$20.1 million) (US$$6.8 million, €5.6 million, £5.1 million). What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?: The findings of this study can quantify the effects (in terms of cost savings to the justice system) of the early identification and subsequent intervention for young people with SLCN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Juveniles are entering the justice system at exceptional rates. Nearly 700,000 minors were arrested in 2019 in the United States, calling for a social justice movement. This paper explores the zero‐tolerance policies being implemented in school systems, grades K‐12, across the U.S. Schools began implementing zero‐tolerance policies in an attempt to control drug‐war crimes, regulate firearm activity, and control gang‐related activity in the 1980s. However, they are still in place today and are being used for minor infractions. Zero‐tolerance policies make up the school‐to‐prison pipeline because they force youth out of the school systems via expulsion or suspension and into the criminal justice system. Zero‐tolerance policies focus on punitive actions, including incarceration, rather than social and restorative justice, disproportionately targeting racial minority groups. The article offers clinical implications for working in the juvenile justice system through a restorative justice and incarcerated informed lens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In jurisdictions throughout the United States, thousands of sexual assault kits (SAKs; also known as a "rape kits") have not been submitted by the police for forensic DNA testing. DNA evidence may be helpful to sexual assault investigations and prosecutions by identifying perpetrators, revealing serial offenders through DNA matches across cases, and exonerating those who have been wrongly accused. This paper describes a longitudinal action research project conducted in Detroit, Michigan after that city discovered approximately 11,000 untested sexual assault kits in a police department storage facility. We conducted a root cause analysis to examine individual, organizational, community, and societal factors that contributed to the development of the rape kit backlog in Detroit. Based on those findings, we implemented and evaluated structural changes to increase staffing, promote kit testing, and retrain police and prosecutors so that cases could be reopened for investigation and prosecution. As we conducted this work, we also studied how this action research project impacted the Detroit criminal justice system. Participating in this project changed stakeholders' attitudes about the utility of research to address community problems, the usefulness of DNA evidence in sexual assault cases, and the impact of trauma on survivors. The results led to new protocols for SAK testing and police investigations, and new state legislation mandating SAK forensic DNA testing. Highlights: Thousands of sexual assault kits have not been submitted by the police for forensic DNA testing.This paper describes a longitudinal action research project conducted in Detroit, Michigan.We also studied how this action research project impacted the Detroit criminal justice system.Participating in this project changed stakeholders' attitudes about the utility of research.The results led to new protocols for SAK testing and new legislation for SAK forensic DNA testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elliott et al.'s essay is part of what is now a series of papers in Criminology and Public Policy on contrasting ways that the evidence base on effective interventions with juvenile offenders can be used to improve juvenile justice programming. Their paper has two themes—(a) a defense of the model programs approach as promoted by the Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development evidence‐based program registry, and (b) an attack on the Standardized Program Evaluation Protocol scheme for assessing programs for juvenile offenders and the meta‐analysis on which it is based. I address both those themes in this commentary in the context of the broader cross‐disciplinary conversation about ways to apply research evidence to improve the effectiveness of the programs used in actual practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decision to report domestic violence is often conditional on whether victims were satisfied with their prior treatment by the criminal justice system. One issue in reporting victimization is that victims of domestic violence may also be involved with the system as offenders. The current paper systematically reviews research on this overlap, finding that most research supports that victims who also have criminal backgrounds are significantly less likely to report subsequent experiences of domestic violence, and are less likely and able to seek out social services, particularly when they report prior negative experiences. The paper then identifies theoretical and policy‐based implications of the review findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intensive enforcement of lower level offenses and the concomitant increase in contact between law enforcement and community members has received significant public scrutiny in recent years. The authors' argument that calls for service provide a mechanism through which "the community can compel police attention and response", provides an implicit call to future research to elaborate the complex individual and community level factors driving calls for service. After accounting for crime, lower level arrest rates, and demographic and socioeconomic indicators of beats in her model, she found that reporting seeing police presence was related to greater police legitimacy. Furthermore, trust in the police or the criminal justice system is a function police engagement in the community, how police treat individuals, and whether they report experiences of biased policing. [Extracted from the article]

Grounded in comparative law research, this paper compares differences in the regulation of online child pornography in China and the United States. The United States began regulating child pornography through criminal law in the 1970s, gradually refining the laws to distinguish between child pornography and obscenity and prohibit the possession of child pornography and virtual child pornography. In contrast, China treats child pornography on an equal footing with adult pornography, but imposes more lenient penalties on disseminating child pornography, which has led to the proliferation of child pornography. By comparing the two countries' policies and laws on child pornography, this review makes four recommendations for other countries: (i) define child pornography in criminal law; (ii) distinguish between obscenity and child pornography; (iii) prohibit virtual child pornography on the internet; and (iv) increase criminal penalties for child pornography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Growing evidence of mental disorders among people going through the criminal justice system suggests the potential benefit of courts adding a Mental Health Treatment Requirement (MHTR) when sentencing an offender to a Community Order (sentence) in England and Wales. Although available since 2003, MHTRs have not been widely used, and there is little evidence on outcomes. Aim: To conduct the first large‐scale evaluation of mental health outcomes of people with an MHTR as part of their community sentence across multiple sites in England and Wales. Methods: Data were collected from 14 sites in England and Wales about individuals who were given an MHTR as part of a community sentence. They were assessed before and after this. During the MHTR, they received a psychotherapeutic intervention by assistant psychologists in a primary care framework. Measures of psychological distress (Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation—Outcome Measure), anxiety (Generalised Anxiety Disorder‐7) and depression (Patient Health Questionnaire) were completed before the MHTR was implemented and after completion. Results: Where paired sample t‐tests and Wilcoxon signed ranked tests were used, with samples ranging between 309 and 447 individuals, clinically significant changes were obtained for all measures. Most individuals (63%) were identified as experiencing a reliable change in at least two out of the three scales. Finally, a negative linear relationship, between measures at the start of the intervention and reliable change, was identified with higher pre‐measures, indicating that more initial distress, anxiety and/or depression were associated with more sizeable changes. Conclusions: This paper provides the first substantial evidence in support of the MHTR within a primary mental healthcare framework as an effective pathway to reduce mental health problems among individuals under probation supervision as part of a sentence after conviction for a criminal offence. This supports the expansion of the provision across England and Wales. Future research should take account of the non‐completers and explore the relationship between the MHTR, mental health improvements and reoffending. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This method allows estimation of the impacts of a referral on a felony arrest to a diversion program on case outcomes and subsequent contact with the justice system. The authors find that a felony referral to a diversion program substantially increases case length, measured as days between case arraignment and disposition, by close to one year. The City and County of San Francisco operates a network of diversion programs whereby referred individuals may have their criminal cases adjudicated outside of the formal criminal justice system. [Extracted from the article]

In the traditional criminal justice system, an arrest is followed by multiple decision points determining detention, prosecution, guilt, and sentence. Many jurisdictions across the U.S. are exploring alternative programs and approaches that consider individual needs and assessed risks at each decision point. San Francisco County, California, uses post‐filing pretrial diversion programs as alternatives to the traditional criminal justice system for defendants based on factors including social and behavioral needs. In this paper, we estimate the impact of a referral to felony pretrial diversion programs on case outcomes and subsequent criminal justice contact. To address selection bias associated with nonrandom assignment into diversion programs, we exploit the random assignment of felony cases to arraignment judges and use variation among judicial diversion referral rates as an instrument for the diversion referral. We find that a referral to diversion increases the time to disposition in the current case and decreases the probability of a subsequent conviction up to five years following case arraignment. Subgroup analyses find that the benefits of diversion are concentrated among females, those who are under the age of 25, and those facing drug sales charges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Filicides, where children are killed by their parents or stepparents, are uncommon occurrences, which are committed by both paternal and maternal perpetrators. The aim of this paper is to explore to what extent the antecedents of filicides can be traced back to one of the factors identified within the literature – the adverse childhood experiences of the perpetrators – and what this might mean for the way that services seek to intervene to safeguard and support children in precarious situations. Systematic searches were used to retrieve relevant articles in six electronic databases: AMED, CINAHL, Criminal Justice Abstracts, Medline (PubMed), PsycINFO and SCOPUS. Key findings were that numerous studies reported significant levels of complex, multiple and sustained experiences of childhood adversity for many perpetrators, and that various potential pathways to filicide perpetration may emanate from such experiences. This review suggests that evidence‐based interventions should be made readily available early in life to persons experiencing adverse childhood experiences, together with supportive services to those who become parents and carers. Such support may help prevent the compounding of adversity over time, thereby reducing the potential for risk of harm and possible tragic outcomes for their dependent children. Key Practitioner Messages: Evidence‐based interventions should be made readily available early in life to persons experiencing adverse childhood experiences, together with supportive services to those who become parents and carers.Interventions need to provide early help to children whilst also incorporating a long‐term view of support.Attention to planning and co‐ordination issues between varied services and practitioners can help overcome fragmentation, duplication and gaps in services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At this point it is clear that the pursuit of the rehabilitative ideal is stitched into the DNA of American corrections. However, in our collective quest to establish and defend 'what works,' correctional rehabilitation has lingered in a state of preoccupation with risks, deficits, and individual pathology. The framework of Positive Psychology provides an alluring blueprint for an approach to correctional rehabilitation where people are not considered different humans who are reduced to their deficits and their worst decisions. In the current paper we explore the possibilities of incorporating the principles of Positive Psychology into correctional rehabilitation to help promote a notion of correctional success that is more dynamic, humanizing, and inclusive. We begin by discussing the development, progression, and current state of correctional rehabilitation. We then turn to discussing the development, progression, and current state of Positive Psychology, suggesting that there is a missed opportunity in applying its principles to people who are impacted by the criminal justice system. We conclude with a section discussing the opportunities and challenges of bringing correctional rehabilitation and Positive Psychology together. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forensic biometrics is the application of forensic science principles to physical and behavioral characteristics. Forensic biometrics is a secondary sub‐system in the forensic science "system of systems," which describes forensic science as a sub‐system in the larger criminal justice, law enforcement, intelligence, and military system. The purpose of this paper is to discuss biometrics in the military domain and integration into the wider forensic science system of systems. The holistic system thinking methodology was applied to the U.S. biometric system to map it to the system of systems framework. The U.S. biometric system is used as a case study to help guide other countries to develop military biometric systems that are integrated and interoperable at the whole‐of‐government level. The aim is to provide the system of systems framework for agencies to consider for proactive design of biometric systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What we focus on in this paper - and what we say is deeply mistaken - is the attempt, roughly, to do legal epistemology just by doing epistemology, or to treat epistemological considerations (say, about the nature of knowledge or evidence) as decisive, or even just intrinsically relevant, to normative questions in evidence law theory. An analogous line is available to someone who wants to insist that evidence law should (intrinsically) care about knowledge, but only when breaking ties, when deciding between two possible evidence law regimes that score equally highly with regard to anything else that's relevant to evidence law. Perhaps, for instance, some types of evidence are excluded as inadmissible because they would tend to render the fact-finder too biased, thereby rendering their findings less likely to be true (and, over the long run, less reliable).[10] Other parts of evidence law do not lend themselves as easily to an explanation in terms of accuracy or conduciveness to truth, so it's a good thing that insisting on truth's role does not amount to insisting that I only i truth matters to evidence law. Sometimes, perhaps noticing that intuitions in legal epistemology originate from broader ones in epistemology may be the beginning of a debunking explanation of those intuitions as applied to evidence law theory - because the law, in a slogan, should not care about epistemology.[5] In section 1 we briefly comment on the relation between truth and evidence law. In general, the looser the connections - in either direction - between epistemology and the law, the less plausible are epistemic accounts of evidence law, and in particular of statistical evidence, and so - even more specifically - epistemic critiques of our own story about statistical evidence. [Extracted from the article]

Background This paper reviews the early work of Griffith Edwards and his colleagues on alcohol in the criminal justice system and outlines the direction of research in this area in the Addiction Research Unit in the 1960s and 1970s. The paper outlines the link between that work and work undertaken in the more recent past in this area. Methods The key papers of the authors are reviewed and the impact of this work on policy and practice is discussed. Conclusions There is a rich seam of work on deprived and incarcerated populations that has been under way at the Addiction Research Unit and subsequently the National Addiction Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, London. Griffith Edwards initiated this work that explores the risks and problems experienced by people moving between the health and criminal justice system, and demonstrated the need for better care and continuity across this system [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the over‐representation of Australian Indigenous women in the criminal justice system, culturally relevant and gender‐specific bail programs operate in several Queensland Indigenous sentencing courts or Murri Courts. Queensland Murri Courts are a specialist criminal law practice, which includes Elders and respected persons of Community Justice Groups in the sentencing process of Indigenous peoples. This paper explores the role of one gender‐specific bail program, Women's Yarning or Talking Circles, in one Southeast Queensland Murri Court. Women's Yarning Circles aspire to create an Indigenous‐centred space outside of court proceedings where defendants and Community Justice Group members of the same gender can build a rapport. Gender‐specific bail programs aim to recognise the intricacies of an Indigenous woman's intersectional identity and the diverse needs of each defendant that comes before the Murri Court. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governments using data analytics will be increasingly drawn into creating social licence for these applications. The need will be greatest where two conditions are present. First, where data analytics are used to predict rather than describe or prescribe. Second, where such prediction is used by governments when exercising their coercive powers. Two examples of using predictive risk modelling are identifying children at risk of neglect and abuse; and assessing recidivism risk in the criminal justice system. Each has drawn criticism, precipitating discussion around the requirements for social licence. Much of this discussion focusses on transparency as both an intrinsic virtue and an instrumental virtue for achieving social licence. The paper contends that transparency is unachievable as an intrinsic virtue for such purposes and that its conceptions as an instrumental virtue fall short of that required for users and subjects as well as the public to have "sufficient to approve or disapprove of the algorithm's performance". The conclusion is that unconventional democratic forms, including deliberative and direct democracy, are likely to prove more successful than representative democracy in establishing that licence and thereby realising more fully the potential contribution of data analytics to better government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction and Aims: In 2019, legislation was introduced allowing New South Wales police to issue Criminal Infringement Notices (CIN) instead of criminal charges for prohibited drug possession offences, excluding cannabis leaf. This initiative was trialled across NSW music festivals from 25 January to 1 August 2019. This paper aims to examine the number of CINs administered and to estimate the associated (actual and potential) savings. Design and Methods: Data were obtained from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (Recorded Crime Statistics, Reoffending Database). To estimate the monetary savings associated with administering CINs for drug possession offences, as opposed to processing them through the criminal justice system, data were obtained from the 2020 Report on Government Services. Results: From January to June 2019, 300 CINs were issued for illicit drug possession (mostly for ecstasy possession; n = 256), resulting in an estimated saving to the criminal justice system of 194 400 AUD (or 314 400, if generated revenue included). We estimate that issuing CINs for all illicit drug possession offences would have provided savings of over 5 million AUD in that same six‐month period, or approximately 1.7 million AUD if CINs were only issued to people with no prior convictions. Discussion and Conclusion: Issuing CINs for illicit drug possession has the potential to yield substantial monetary savings. However, to avoid unintended consequences (e.g. disproportionate impact on disadvantaged populations), we would argue that police also be given the discretion to issue cautions for illicit drug possession offences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This paper explores the experience of staff employed within forensic disability across Victoria in an attempt to better understand service needs in this field. The complex needs of individuals with disabilities involved in the criminal justice system or presenting with offence‐related behaviours suggest that there is a requirement to improve services directed towards forensic disability. Methods: Four semi‐structured group interviews, determined by geographical location, were completed with employees (n = 14) within the Australian Community Support Organisation, with an average of 5 years of forensic disability experience. Data were analysed based on thematic analysis. Results: Five themes were revealed. Three pre‐existing themes were emphasized that included client complexity; poor responses from external services; and funding, and two novel themes labelled as staff well‐being and responses to risk. Conclusions: Recommendations include multiagency collaboration, funding forensic disability services, development of best practice initiatives and advocacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policymakers have a duty to base their decision making in the best available evidence relevant to the question at hand. This paper discusses why it is important for policymakers to recognize the valuable contributions to be made from within the fields of investigative and forensic psychology and particularly to inform the process of policymaking and legislative frameworks currently in place regarding suspicious approaches to children offences in the Irish Criminal Justice System. Discrepancies between legal and psychological considerations infer potential issues with policymaking; resulting in evidence‐based concerns regarding how suspicious approaches to children are handled. It is argued that in cases of suspicious approaches to children, important research is available within the fields of investigative and forensic psychology that warrants adequate consideration by policymakers. Additionally, the need for further collaboration between policymakers, researchers and front‐line enforcement agencies to ensure evidence‐based approaches for dealing with suspicious approaches to children and other criminal behaviours within the Irish criminal justice system is highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The jury is a defining component of the American criminal justice system, and the courts largely assume that the collaborative nature of jury deliberations will enhance jurors' memory for important trial information. However, research suggests that this kind of collaboration, although sometimes improving memory, can also lead to incomplete and inaccurate "collective" memories. The present research examines whether jury deliberations, where individuals collaboratively recall and discuss trial evidence to render unanimous verdicts, might shape jurors' memories through the robust phenomena of Within‐Individual and Socially Shared Retrieval‐Induced Forgetting (WI‐RIF and SS‐RIF, respectively). The results revealed no WI‐RIF or SS‐RIF. However, we did find evidence in the direction of Within‐Individual and Socially‐shared Retrieval Induced Facilitation (WI‐RIFA and SS‐RIFA, respectively) in speakers' and listeners' narrative and open‐ended recall of evidentiary details. The present results are discussed in terms of whether jurors' goals during deliberation and the deliberation structure (e.g., six or more discussants) protect against forgetting, or whether possible methodological issues (e.g., the vast amount of information presented) eliminated WI‐RIF and SS‐RIF and, in turn, make drawing conclusions surrounding the mnemonic impact of jury deliberation difficult. Regardless, the present results suggest jury deliberations are quite limited in terms of how much evidence is actually discussed compared to the total of what could be discussed, and our methodology provides an ecologically valid baseline for future research to better understand the mnemonic consequences associated with jury deliberations and, in turn, jury decision making. In this empirical paper, Jay, Stone, Meksin, Merck, Gordon and Hirst examine whether jury deliberations, in which individuals collaboratively recall and discuss evidence of a trial, shape the jurors' memories. In doing so, Jay and colleagues provide a highly ecologically valid baseline for future investigation into why, how and when selective recall either facilitates remembering or leads to forgetting during jury deliberations. In particular, Jay et al. explore the specific social and cognitive mechanisms that might lead to either memory facilitation (RIFA – Retrieval Induced Facilitation) and forgetting (RIF ‐ Retrieval Induced Forgetting) during jury deliberation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses exact tests for evaluating whether a series of offences are randomly distributed across days of the week for small sample sizes. The context is if an analyst has identified a series of related events, can the analyst determine if those events are randomly distributed with respect to the day-of-week given only a few offences? This paper develops exact reference distributions because the number of potential permutations is small, and this research finds that the likelihood ratio G-test under realistic circumstances is quite powerful. Only three crimes need to occur on the same day of the week to reject the null. Several examples of using the test under realistic circumstances are illustrated; a series of thefts of catalytic converters where the exact dates are unknown, gang shootings, and arsons over a year. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: During the past three decades an expansive literature has emerged that is dedicated to analysing the processes of policy transfer. One neglected pathway involves subnational agents emulating crime control innovations that have emerged in subnational jurisdictions of other nations. This paper presents the case of the London Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime's (MOPAC) Alcohol Abstinence Monitoring Requirement (AAMR) Pilot to examine the multi‐level factors that facilitate and/or constrain international–subnational crime and justice policy transfer. Methods: A qualitative case study design reconstructed the (in)formal events that led to components of the South Dakota 24/7 Sobriety Project (USA) being either abandoned or integrated into MOPAC's AAMR Pilot. Evidence is drawn from elite interviews and documentary materials. Results: A series of inter/transnational‐, macro‐domestic‐, meso‐ and micro‐level factors enabled and/or obstructed processes of complete international–subnational policy transfer. Exclusion of domestic violence perpetrators from the London Pilot was fuelled by interest‐group hostility and mobilization. Use of alcohol tags rather than breathalysers to monitor compliance was a result of political–economic constraints, concern surrounding intrusion, technological innovation and policy‐orientated learning. The decision to omit an 'offender pays' funding mechanism was a consequence of legal incompatibility and civil service reluctance, while 'flash incarceration' for breach was not implemented due to European policy harmonization. Conclusions: The London Alcohol Abstinence Monitoring Requirement Pilot was a policy 'synthesis' that combined ideas, goals, vocabulary, principles, technology and practices from the South Dakota model with the existing English and Welsh criminal justice framework. Structural factors and the actions of particular agents limited the extent to which policy transfer occurred. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to take stock on what we know about popular punitivism and how it manifests across time and social atmosphere. To do this, the recent history and literature of popular punitivism is explored beginning with its tumultuous birth during the 1960s. Specific focus is then given to how debates regarding the punitive turn have become theories of popular punitivism. Recognizing popular punitivism as an important factor in many crime control policies, the paper explains how popular punitivism has acted as a catalyst to current justice practices, associated problems, and the study of crime. Additionally, emphasizing the adaptability of popular punitivism, the paper explains its influence in other contexts and cultures comparatively, especially in a post-9/11 world. From such contexts I explain the widespread pattern of controlling minority groups in all places where popular punitivism is present. The paper concludes by mapping the areas of future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of proportionality has been central to the retributive revival in penal theory, and underlies desert theory's normative and practical commitment to limiting punishment. Theories of punishment combining desert-based and consequentialist considerations also appeal to proportionality as a limiting condition. In this paper we argue that these claims are founded on an exaggerated idea of what proportionality can offer, and in particular fail properly to consider the institutional conditions needed to foster robust limits on the state's power to punish. The idea that appeals to proportionality as an abstract ideal can help to limit punishment is, we argue, a chimera: what has been thought of as proportionality is not a naturally existing relationship, but a product of political and social construction, cultural meaning-making, and institution-building. Drawing on evolutionary psychology and comparative political economy, we argue that philosophers and social scientists need to work together to understand how the appeal of the idea of proportionality can best be realised through substantive institutional frameworks under particular conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we detail our praxis of decoloniality in the context of a community‐based study that employs a quantitative experimental methodology to evaluate an intervention for girls involved in the juvenile legal system. We resist the essentializing of methodology that positions quantitative paradigms as impermeable to reflexivity and decoloniality, and describe a model for training and supervising researchers engaged in an experimental randomized controlled trial of an advocacy program for girls, most of whom are girls of color and about half of whom identify as LGBT. In this way, we consider researcher training as a critical teaching context and describe the ways in which our training, community‐based data collection, and supervision structure are anchored in de/anti/post colonial and indigenous scholarships. Specifically, our praxis is centered on conducting research as a site of resistance to hegemony, and practicing a critical compassion rooted in remembering complex personhoods. We further discuss the boundaries and limitations of our own epistemic power in relation to two central questions: how can researchers influence how knowledge is produced? How can researchers influence how knowledge producers are themselves produced? Highlights: We present a model of researcher training focused on decolonial praxis.Researchers are trained to implement a randomized controlled trial for legal system‐involved girls.Researcher training focuses on conducting research as a site of resistance to hegemony.Researcher training focuses on practicing critical compassion to and remembering complex personhoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an overview of 40 years of victim‐offender mediation evaluation research. This research demonstrates that victims and offenders are more satisfied with the process and outcomes than with the courts, they are more likely to draft and complete restitution agreements, they derive psychosocial benefits, the process is less expensive, crime victims are more likely to receive apologies from offenders, and offenders are less likely to recidivate. These benefits are not necessarily uniformly distributed. This "first wave" research provides a platform for the second wave, currently underway. To contextualize these findings, current and future victim‐offender mediation practices are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In not too long, our system of criminal justice will abandon the mythology of blameworthiness and desert, and not too long after that we will look back on retributive criminal justice with shuddering astonishment. Now, approaching the cusp of change, we have the unusual and ephemeral opportunity to observe and study criminal justice on the way to a paradigm shift, and to think about how the system we have will become the system to come. How will the retributivism we take for granted today be transformed into something different tomorrow? In this paper, I suggest that one of the drivers of the change to come lies in the use of empirically-informed risk assessment technologies in American criminal justice. As they develop, such technologies will inevitably smuggle radically transformative information about human wrongdoing into the criminal justice system and into our thinking about criminal justice generally. Moreover, they will deliver that information in a form well-tailored to drive change - a persistent and increasing flow of vivid, concrete, comprehensible facts that easily build into explanatory narratives about the genetic, environmental, cultural, and experiential causes of criminal behavior. Such concrete and credible criminogenesis narratives, I argue, will fuel deep and stubborn moral anxieties about retributivism, and their cumulative impact will ultimately drive us to reject retributive criminal justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key principles and theories in community psychology are used as a lens to analyse some of the ways social ecological factors impact low‐income fathers and their families. The US opioid crisis is often discussed as a public health crisis mostly affecting white populations, yet people of colour are nonetheless strongly impacted, especially in terms of contact with the criminal justice system. Punitive approaches to managing substance use have created myriad challenges for low‐income families of colour. The authors discuss the Fatherhood in Action (FIA) program in Chicago that provides individual training to support men in improving their relationships with their children. The program aims to re‐integrate formerly justice system‐involved men into communities to enhance the contributions they make to their families and broader communities. Preliminary results point to promising program effects related to individual and community empowerment. At the same time, the paper discusses the need to work on broader liberatory approaches with participants, in addition to structural change efforts, to ultimately confront the injustices in the broader political system. The racialised effects of the criminal justice system create challenges for fathers, as well as mothers and children, that cannot be easily overcome through programmatic solutions. The examination of these different approaches and levels utilises Rappaport's empowerment theory (1987), Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory (1979), and others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This article focuses on the issues currently facing people with an acquired brain injury (ABI) in the criminal justice system in the state of Victoria, Australia and, in particular, the impact of this condition on people suffering various forms of social disadvantage. This qualitative study involved in‐depth interviews with key stakeholders, such as service providers working in the system, court personnel including Magistrates and Judges, legal practitioners and persons living with an ABI and their carers. The aim was to determine the advantages and limitations of current policy and practices, and to identify possible actions which could lead to improved outcomes for this cohort. This paper responds to our research findings in relation to two key areas: first, the awareness of ABI amongst legal practitioners and service providers, prompting the need for better education, training and professional development; and second, the requirement to improve processes for identification, assessment and support, for people involved in the criminal justice system with ABI. A number of systemic modifications and educational initiatives are recommended to address the unreasonable and unacceptable impacts on persons living with an ABI in the criminal justice system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In England and Wales, 'approved premises' offer 24-hour staffed accommodation for high-risk offenders, most of whom are returning to the community from prison. With a move towards a standardised operating model, it is essential to be able to measure outcomes.Aims: Our aim is to collate and evaluate 'benchmarks' for approved premises.Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive design was used to establish the impact of existing practice in all four approved premises in Wales. Data on well-being, life satisfaction, attitudes to violence and problem-solving abilities were recorded with 114 male residents (of 486), and attitudes to personality disorder and personal well-being/burnout with 30 staff (of 86), in both narrative style and according to a number of scales used within criminal justice and healthcare systems. Perceptions of environmental climate were assessed with both groups. Scores were compared with those from reference groups, including prisoners and secure hospital patients. Criminological outcomes (e.g. prison recall) were obtained for all 486 men.Results: Scores on the scales used were broadly comparable with those in relevant reference groups, but some showed floor or ceiling effects. Recall rates, whether directly from the premises or after further onward movement, were about 42% overall, comparable with those reported for similar offenders elsewhere.Conclusions: This paper provides a short battery of measurements for use as benchmarks of experience and outcomes in staffed community accommodation for high-risk men. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This project began as an attempt to develop systematic, measurable indicators of bias in written forensic mental health evaluations focused on the issue of insanity. Although forensic clinicians observed in this study did vary systematically in their report-writing behaviors on several of the indicators of interest, the data are most useful in demonstrating how and why bias is hard to ferret out. Naturalistic data were used in this project (i.e., 122 real forensic insanity reports), which in some ways is a strength. However, given the nature of bias and the problem of inferring whether a particular judgment is biased, naturalistic data also made arriving at conclusions about bias difficult. This paper describes the nature of bias - including why it is a special problem in insanity evaluations - and why it is hard to study and document. It details the efforts made in an attempt to find systematic indicators of potential bias, and how this effort was successful in part, but also how and why it failed. The lessons these efforts yield for future research are described. We close with a discussion of the limitations of this study and future directions for work in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper discusses trends in criminal justice and penal policy over the past twenty‐five years. This period has been characterised as a time of penal populism, which originated in the failure of the 1991 Criminal Justice Act, and the competition between the main political parties to be ‘tough on crime’. However, this is not the only trend to be found in penal policy. There has continued to be a strong undertow of support for rehabilitation and community penalties, including restorative justice. There has been pressure from the left as much as the right to take domestic violence, sexual offences against women and children, and hate crimes more seriously. There have been pressures to meet performance targets—which gradually transformed into calls to build the legitimacy of the justice system. Finally, there have been pressures to privatise criminal justice agencies. These various impulses have sometimes amplified and sometimes counteracted the pressures towards tough penal policy. If the period of intense penal populism ran from 1993 to 2007, inertia in the system has ensured that there have been no significant attempts to row back from tough policies, and to reassert the values of penal parsimony. Given that money has been tight since 2007 and crime has continued to fall, this must amount to a lost opportunity of significant proportions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: There has been growing interest in improving the health of Black men and the social determinants of health affecting them. In this paper, we argue that incarceration is an important social determinant of health in contemporary U.S. society for Black men and their families. Mass incarceration has deleterious health effects for those directly affected by it (the incarcerated), and mass incarceration contaminates the communities where it is geographically concentrated. Given the enormous differences in exposure to incarceration for Black men, this group is the most burdened by its effects. By extension, the larger Black community is disproportionately impacted due to the cascading effects of incarceration for families and neighborhoods. Therefore, it is necessary to include incarceration in research and policy addressing the health of Black men in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the tension between the criminal justice system and the welfare state as expressed through practices focused on populations who are perceived as being 'at risk' and constituting 'a danger' to society, therefore challenging the national governance of social precariousness and public (in)security. The analysis of a paradigmatic institution of Portuguese Fascism has brought to light how the contradictions between the long-term subjectivation of vagrancy processes and the uses of anti-vagrancy policies promoted by the dictatorial state to arrest and punish a significant part of his citizens may justify the moral dilemmas underlying the current Portuguese State's response to homelessness and urban marginality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]