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Several empirical studies have shown that women who experience violence in intimate personal relationships (IPV) commonly experience more than one form of violence. While it is recognized that individual trajectories of IPV vary over time, little is known about the temporal dynamics of this co-occurrence or its consequences. This study describes the different forms of violence experienced by women and looks at whether it is possible to predict when severe violence (physical and sexual) is most likely to occur. Data in the study comes from interviews with 70 women who had been victims of intimate partner violence. The life history calendar method was used to facilitate identifying kinds and levels of violence and the month in which violence took place. Individual victimization trajectories were found to be heterogenous and likely to change in the short term. The women in our sample experienced more than one form of intimate partner violence and co-occurrence of different forms of violence was common in individual trajectories. The characteristics of the kind of violence experienced were important in understanding the temporal aspects of acts of severe violence. The increased knowledge about patterns of violence provided by these results should help to develop better ways to intervene to prevent such events.

The fallible nature of the criminal justice system continues to see judicial errors—that is, wrongful convictions and erroneous acquittals—undermine its integrity, efficacy, and legitimacy. Public perceptions of judicial errors are important contributors to criminal justice policy and reforms. The current study utilizes the 2016 Australian Survey of Social Attitudes (AuSSA) dataset to examine public attitudes toward judicial errors. It applies Herbert Packer’s crime control and due process models to understand how concerns around procedural safeguards and public safety are associated with public perceptions toward judicial errors. Packer’s model has been challenged by studies, which theorize that the models are not mutually exclusive. Yet, they have not been empirically tested in this context, which is a gap this study seeks to fill. Findings show that due process and crime control concerns shape public attitudes toward wrongful convictions and challenge the notion that Packer’s models be applied on a continuum.

Maltreated and child welfare-involved youth are over-represented in juvenile justice systems. These youth are at a greater risk of serious offending and justice system entrenchment relative to their non-maltreated peers. Understanding gender differences in the pathways to justice involvement and the nature of offending among maltreated children is critical for informing policy and practice. Yet, this body of evidence is fragmented. This scoping review identified and narratively synthesized evidence from studies reporting on gender differences in the individual characteristics, maltreatment experiences, child protection involvement and offending profiles of maltreated youth who offend. A comprehensive search of four databases generated 11,568 publications, from which 180 met the review’s inclusion criteria. These primary studies included participants aged 8–21 years with a history of childhood maltreatment and youth offending and reported at least one gendered analysis. Some consistent findings were reported across studies. A greater level of child welfare involvement and maltreatment exposure (particularly sexual abuse and multi-type maltreatment) was found for justice involved girls, relative to boys. Maltreated and child welfare-involved boys appear more likely to offend than girls, but findings about how gender moderates the maltreatment-offending relationship were inconsistent. Child welfare systems involvement (particularly foster care and residential care) appeared to be an important moderator for girls, and school performance mediated outcomes for boys. Across this body of evidence, few studies accounted for under-reporting of abuse and neglect when using youth self-report measures of maltreatment. Future research is needed which explicitly explores how gender moderates the maltreatment-offending relationship.

While sexual violence against women has gained attention in sub-Saharan Africa, research examining help-seeking remains limited. Scholarship on barriers to help-seeking among sexually abused married or cohabiting women is particularly lacking. We used the barriers model and held 15 in-depth interviews with sexually abused Ghanaian married or cohabiting women to examine help-seeking behaviors. Participants identified multiple barriers to help-seeking, including financial difficulties, lack of social support, and stigma. The results corroborate the barriers model's formulation of the challenges faced by female survivors in reporting violence. They indicate the need to improve laws to promote help-seeking among women with experiences of sexual violence.

Objective: Most studies that examine psychiatric illness in people who offend have focused on incarcerated samples, with little known about the larger population of individuals with criminal justice system contact. We examine the overlap between proven offences and psychiatric diagnoses with an emphasis on experiences for Indigenous Australians. Methods: In a population-based birth cohort of 45,141 individuals born in Queensland, Australia, in 1990 (6.3% Indigenous), psychiatric diagnoses were identified from hospital admissions between ages 4/5 and 23/24 years and proven offences were identified from court records (spanning ages 10–24 years). Prevalence rates for offending, psychiatric diagnoses and their overlap were examined for Indigenous and non-Indigenous individuals. Associations between specific psychiatric diagnoses and types of offending were examined using logistic regressions. Results: There were 11,134 (24.7%) individuals with a finalised court appearance, 2937 (6.5%) with a diagnosed psychiatric disorder and 1556 (3.4%) with a proven offence and diagnosed psychiatric disorder, with Indigenous Australians significantly overrepresented across all outcomes. Compared with non-Indigenous Australians, Indigenous Australians were younger at their first court finalisation (Cohen’s d = −0.62, 95% confidence interval = [−0.67, −0.57]), experienced a higher number of finalisations ( d = 0.94, 95% confidence interval = [0.89, 1.00]) and offences ( d = 0.64, 95% confidence interval = [0.59, 0.69]) and were more likely to receive custodial ( d = 0.41, 95% confidence interval = [0.36, 0.46]) or supervised ( d = 0.55, 95% confidence interval = [0.50, 0.60]) sentences. The overlap between offending and psychiatric illness was more pronounced for Indigenous Australians compared with non-Indigenous Australians (14.8% vs 2.7%). Substance use disorders were the most prevalent psychiatric diagnosis among individuals with a court finalisation (9.2%). Conclusions: Indigenous Australians were significantly overrepresented in court finalisations and psychiatric diagnoses. Indigenous Australians with a psychiatric diagnosis were at highest risk of experiencing a court appearance, emphasising the importance of culturally appropriate mental health responses being embedded into the criminal justice system.

The starting point for this commentary is the fruitful exchange of ideas on the ethics of victimization research, published in this journal in 2011, sparked by Clark and Walker's article, “Research Ethics in Victimization Studies: Widening the Lens”. This article provoked a flurry of responses that, taken altogether, provide an illuminating cornerstone for the ethical debates and issues surrounding victimization research. It further inspired us to reflect upon and share our experiences on conducting victimization research at that particular intersection of academia and advocacy that we both occupy. What struck us about this exchange was the absence of any discussion about the role of anti-violence against women advocates, service providers, and organizations in victimization research.

In 2015, during the so-called “refugee crisis” in Europe, Finland was among the European countries receiving exceptionally large numbers of asylum applications. As the volume of asylum applications surged, however, the percentage of positive asylum decisions in Finland declined substantially. In this article, we explore reasons for this dramatic drop in recognitions rates and examine Finnish immigration control authorities’ use of discretion in asylum credibility assessment. Our approach is unique in its application of mixed methods to examine asylum decisions in pre- and post-crisis situations. We found that asylum caseworkers’ inconsistent assessment of similar facts and lack of faith in the veracity of applicants’ claims were essential to the mass denial of young Iraqi asylum applicants in Finland. This finding is important because it illustrates how asylum officers are able to “shift the border,” or generate a shift in asylum decision-making on a grand scale, without meaningful changes in law. Asylum officers, we show, are able to bring about such a shift via what we call collectivized discretion, or large-scale use of discretion, in asylum status determinations to control migration. Prior research on discretion in asylum decision-making highlights the individual decision-maker. This article expands discretion research by offering new insights on large-scale, collective discretionary shifts in the application of asylum law. We conclude that it is crucial that asylum status determinations be anchored in the individual assessment of each applicant's case, as collectivized discretion can lead to arbitrary results in the application of asylum law, potentially forcing those in need of refugee protection to face deportation.

Research on women’s response and resistance to sexual assault risk has informed the development of interventions to improve women’s ability to effectively resist sexual assault. However, little is known about how women anticipate, navigate, and respond to risk following participation in sexual assault risk reduction/resistance education programs. In this study, we examined the information and skills used by university women who had recently completed the effective Enhanced Assess, Acknowledge, Act (EAAA) sexual assault resistance program. We analyzed responses from 445 women using descriptive statistics and content and thematic analysis. Just under half (42%) of women used at least one EAAA strategy in the following 2 years. Most women reported that their efforts were successful in stopping an attack. Women’s responses included strategies both to preempt sexual assault threat (e.g., avoiding men who display danger cues, communicating assertively about wanted and unwanted sex) and to interrupt or avoid an imminent threat (e.g., yelling, hitting, and kicking). Women’s use of resistance strategies worked to subvert gendered social norms and socialization. The results suggest that counter to criticisms that risk reduction/resistance programs blame women or make them responsible for stopping men’s violence, women who took EAAA typically positioned themselves as agentic and empowered in their resistance.

To assess the efficacy of routine activity theory (RAT) for explaining phishing victimization and guide evidence-based policy, we launched two phishing attacks via a university Listserv ( N = 25,875). The first email offered access to a pdf file; the second offered free concert tickets. Several interesting findings emerged demonstrating phishing victimization results from network users’ routine behaviors. Students were significantly less likely to open the phishing email sharing a pdf but more likely to open the email offering free concert tickets. Moreover, students were mor e likely to click the malicious link embedded within the phishing email in both studies, often using mobile devices. Conversely, employees were more likely to click the link while connected to the university network, thus exposing the network to greater levels of risk. Finally, the email offering concert tickets was opened at a frequency more than double the email containing the pdf. Theoretical and policy implications are discussed.

This article explores how prison staff in Australia view their work and how their work is viewed by others, by applying a theoretical framework of ‘dirty work’. ‘Dirty work’ is a social construction that refers to tasks that are ‘physically, socially or morally tainted’ ( Ashforth and Kreiner, 1999 ; Hughes, 1958 ) and this article will apply this concept to prison staff in Australia for the first time. The discussion is based on qualitative research in seven different Australian prisons, ranging from high to low security. The article illustrates how staff responds to working in a ‘dirty’ profession by reframing, refocusing, and recalibrating their daily work tasks; how the staff uniform can be utilised as a status shield and protector from taint; and how the stigma of ‘dirtiness’ tends to foster strong occupational and workgroup cultures which in turn makes cultural change of a profession difficult. The consequences of the dirty work stigma for staff and prisoners are discussed, with a focus on informal interactions, case work and dynamic security.

The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to increases in intimate partner violence (IPV), a leading cause of women's homelessness. Although the Canadian Government provided emergency funding to the violence against women and housing and homelessness sectors in response to COVID-19, Canada lacks a national legislative and funding framework to support coordinated prevention efforts. We review the context of IPV and homelessness among women and international policy exemplars. We then propose several starting points for developing a Canadian strategic framework, including adopting inclusive definitions of IPV and homelessness as well as evaluating a broad continuum of IPV-housing options and intersectoral partnership models.

Sweden has witnessed a significant increase in the rate of firearm-related homicide. We therefore aimed to study the characteristics of individuals suspected of homicide, attempted homicide, preparation to commit homicide as well as conspiracy to commit homicide with a firearm in Sweden. By using information from different registers, suspected individuals between 2000 and 2017 and aged 15 to 60 were included in the study. A total of 889 individuals were evaluated. A notable part were females (5.1%). Latent Class Analysis identified three classes, where two classes were high-offending-classes, and one class was a low-offending-class. The identification of these classes may be used for more effective preventive measures.

Peer reviewed: True, Funder: Isaac Newton Trust; FundRef: https://doi.org/10.13039/501100004815, The so-called ‘wall of silence’ presents a threat to successful police investigations and criminal trials. Explanations for it have focused on cultural narratives, including distrust in the police, a ‘no snitching’ culture and manipulative ‘professional criminals’. Drawing on a study of serious multi-handed violence and ‘joint enterprise’ as a legal response, this article highlights the role of the law, and its agents, in generating silence among young suspects, whose primary concern is the legal risks of talking. Yet, these young people face a precarious trap, as their silence is interpreted as guilt by the police, propelling them towards charge. This article concludes that to avoid over-charging and to encourage young people with knowledge of serious violence to talk, structural change is needed. The system must reverse the legal rules regarding silence and reform the law on secondary liability to reduce the legal risks of talking.

Despite calls for strength-focused approaches in juvenile justice, there is little research on the role of strengths in probation case management. This is one of the first studies to examine whether strengths function as specific responsivity factors as proposed by the risk–need–responsivity model, through mediating and moderating effects, and findings lend preliminary support to this conceptualization. In a sample of 261 justice-involved youth, the relationship between strengths and recidivism was found to be partially mediated by the service-to-needs match rate, even while controlling for risk—suggesting that strengths have an important indirect effect on recidivism through their impact on youth’s engagement in and completion of services. Strengths, however, did not moderate the relationship between service-to-needs match and reoffending, suggesting that appropriately matched services are essential irrespective of a youth’s strength profile. Research corroborating these findings and examining the feasibility of front-line use of strengths information is warranted.

This study examines whether changes over time in women’s criminogenic needs, particularly their financial needs, predict recidivism. In a 9-year longitudinal study, 304 women were interviewed repeatedly during 4.5 years after probation/parole began. Women provided data on both their gender-specific and gender-neutral criminogenic needs. Women’s average standing on each need and an index of their change in the need over time were computed and used to predict subsequent recidivism over the 3.4 years after the final interview. Women whose financial needs decreased were less likely to be rearrested and convicted relative to other women. The findings highlight the importance of considering a multifaceted and gender-specific definition of economic marginalization in both theory and practice. At the policy level, there is a need to reduce justice-involved women’s financial needs. In addition, further longitudinal research should be conducted to understand how different type of changes in women’s lives impact recidivism.

Whilst some land uses are highly criminogenic, others remain largely free of crime. This patterning is a reflection of the types and timing of daily activities that take place in a given land use and the opportunities that this presents for crime. While the criminology literature has developed a rigorous understanding of geographic component of crime, relatively less emphasis has been placed on the temporal dimension. Here, we address this through applying a technique to examine micro-temporal variations in crime at places. This technique adopts a factor approach to model hourly counts of crime across seven land use types (commercial, residential, parkland, agricultural, medical/hospital, industrial and education) to unveil the number and distribution of crime signals across a 24-hour period along with how these signals mix across each land use type. Results reveal clear and distinct differences between crime type and land use, highlighting the diurnal nature of crime patterns and speak to the literature on risky places and risky times. The utility of our approach lies in its capacity to delineate common temporal rhythms and how these rhythms are shared across different land use types.

Mainland China and Taiwan are two significant regions currently executing the death penalty; especially, Mainland China alone is believed to implement an amount of executions even larger than the total of all other countries. However, although Mainland China and Taiwan share the Chinese language, as well as traditional culture, the public’s opinions on the death penalty diverge. There is no evidence showing that more people are becoming abolitionists, albeit different social groups, domestic and overseas, are trying to propel the process of abolitionism. The public’s opinions on the death penalty are highly influenced by various factors, including cultural and historical ones, which are considered to be fundamental. Besides, the media, the public’s confidence in the judicial system, nationalism and international pressure also impact the public opinion. The governments of both Mainland China and Taiwan should take further actions in terms of the judicial system.

Research shows there is variability in factors that cause a person to radicalize to violent extremism. The use of the push/pull distinction has been one way in which scholars have aimed to provide clarity to the process of radicalization and extremist disengagement. However, it remains a conceptually underdeveloped distinction. In this paper, we draw on aspects of criminological theory to better understand the push and pull distinction. The paper draws on research comprising interviews with three Indonesians and two Australian individuals who have radicalized to violent extremism that is aligned with jihadist ideologies. Based on this primary data, case descriptions and narratives are provided on each individual examining pathways into and away from violent extremism. We draw on aspects of strain theory, social control, differential association, and desistance theory to understand common patterns across each case and to highlight the relative influence of various push and pull factors. Implications for theory and policy are highlighted. We also acknowledge limitations in our approach.

The timing of an investigation after an officer-involved shooting (OIS) is influenced by conflicting forces. The public demands expedited resolution, but police officers are provided several protections that can delay investigations of their actions. This study conducts a randomized experiment to determine the impact of question timing after an OIS on the accuracy of police officers’ memory recall. Officers were randomly assigned to one of two groups. The treatment group completed a questionnaire after participating in a live-action, active shooter training scenario and again 2 days later, whereas the control group only completed the questionnaire 2 days later. Our findings suggest the timing of interviews after training did not influence officers’ recall of the scenario. There is little empirical understanding of how police officers reconstruct OIS events; further interdisciplinary research can help clarify these cognitive processes. This research could strengthen a traditional pathway to provide accountability for officers through investigations.

Scholars have sought to understand the dual characterization of Supreme Court justices as both legal and political actors. One way to further uncover this complexity is to assess how the justices engage with the interest groups that file amicus curiae or “friend-of-the-Court” briefs. Scholars have revealed that the justices often “borrow language” from these briefs in their opinions. However, much less often, they cite the amici. These two uses are distinct in that one is revealed to the reader while the other is not. So which interest groups do the justices decide to cite and which do they borrow language from? I find the justices borrow more language from ideologically similar interests, but that ideology plays a less central role in the decision to cite. Specifically, I find that the justices are less likely to cite briefs filed by ideologically overt interests, but this only extends to the most ideologically “extreme” groups. Further, the justices are not more likely to cite briefs filed by interests that are ideologically similar to their own preferences. These findings provide insight into how the justices balance policy and legitimacy goals.

This paper investigates the role of informal peer support as a bridge for participation by foreign national prisoners in prison activities (e.g. education, work, sports activities, library) and services (e.g. psychologist, doctor). A total of 51 individual interviews, following an appreciative inquiry perspective, were conducted with foreign nationals in four prisons in Flanders (Belgium). In terms of leading foreign nationals to prison activities and services, the findings reveal four types of informal peer support: informational support, instrumental support, emotional support, and social companionship. Moreover, during participation in these prison activities and services, three types of informal peer support emerged: informational support, instrumental support, and social companionship. Peer support seems to be a ‘form of survival’ for foreign nationals to overcome barriers experienced in accessing prison activities and services and difficulties during participation in such prison activities and services.

The protests following the killing of George Floyd in the summer of 2020 led to contentious discussions and debates in many cities about policing, with some calling to “defund the police.” However, this debate has generally proceeded without adequate research about either the scale or nature of issues that the police handle and the potential consequences of the proposed reform efforts. To respond to this research gap, we analyze millions of 911 calls for service across nine U.S. agencies. We report on the types of calls for service that the police handle, including how frequently different calls arise, how much time agencies spend on different categories of calls, and the outcomes of those calls. We find that the amount and types of incidents for which people call the police are voluminous, with the vast majority not obviously transferable to other organizations or government sectors without significant resource expenditures or adjustments. However, if the police retain these responsibilities, they also need to reconsider how they can more effectively address community concerns.

This study presents a comprehensive assessment of what Millennials think about U.S. correctional policy. Using a 2017 national-level sample ( N = 1,000), Millennials’ correctional policy opinions across 13 outcomes are assessed and compared to the views of other generations. The main findings are twofold. First, Millennials are only modestly punitive but clearly supportive of progressive policies. Thus, Millennials favor a rehabilitative correctional orientation, believe in offender redeemability, and prefer policies to protect ex-felons’ civil rights and to expunge criminal records for minor offenses. Second, generational differences in public support for correctional policies are mostly limited. Americans of all generations tend to endorse inclusionary policies—a finding indicating that the future of American corrections might see a lengthy era of progressive reform.

This article provides a literature review into the utilisation of role play and reflection, as valuable teaching strategies which should be considered for implementation, within the Police Education Qualification Framework. The aim of this article is to challenge the current pedagogical teaching methods utilised as part of the National Policing Curriculum, by highlighting the benefit of a more experiential-based learning strategy, for Professional Policing Degree students, based within England and Wales.

Engaging Muslims in counter-terrorism (CT) has proved challenging for police worldwide. Some research has focussed on the utility of police being procedurally just in their CT strategies to enhance their legitimacy and subsequent cooperation from Muslims. Despite the efficacy of procedural justice, however, some have argued that procedural justice scholarship is too narrowly focussed on how police treat citizens. Citizens’ concerns about police acting within the limits of appropriate power (i.e., “bounded-authority” concerns), as well as representativeness in policing (i.e., “representative bureaucracy”), can also influence citizens’ judgments of police legitimacy. This study explores how, when, and why procedural justice, bounded authority, and representation concerns shape Muslims’ perceptions of police CT measures and police legitimacy. Using focus group data from 104 Australian-Muslims, results revealed that CT measures that include Muslims as partners in terrorism prevention and those that draw on principles of procedural justice were perceived most favourably, and were seen to promote police legitimacy. Measures that were condemned were perceived as bounded-authority violations and damaged police legitimacy. Implications for theory and police practice are discussed.

Violence or its threats have been a part of many African cities since the end of the Cold War, when many African countries transited from military to civilian rule. While the incidence of organised crime and violent victimisation of innocent citizens is not new to many West African cities, the emergence of terrorist organisations, armed bandits, kidnappers and armed gangs in a city like Lagos has created new security challenges. The challenges include the inability of government to cope with the rising number of young people in organised cult clashes and the threats to peace and stability in Lagos metropolis. This study is designed to investigate the influence of socio-demographic (senatorial district, gender, age, ethnic group, marital status, education, employment, duration of residency and type of apartment) and community factors (presence of nightclubs/hotels, use of private security and frequency of police patrol) on residents’ experience of crime victimisation, robbery and organised crime. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey design and a quantitative method of data collection. A structured questionnaire was used to elicit information from 300 respondents across three senatorial districts of Lagos State. The study found that factors such as location, type of apartment, nightclubbing, duration of residence, employment status and use of private security predicted at least one of the three dependent variables. The implications of the findings are discussed.

An examination of the interaction of pre- and post-migration stressors is critical to understanding Canadian Muslim immigrant women’s experience of intimate partner violence (IPV). This study uses a dominant qualitative design, supplemented by quantitative data to understand eight Canadian Muslim immigrant women’s experience of IPV from six countries of origin. Five themes were identified: (a) childhood exposure to trauma and violence, (b) iron cage of society, (c) the fusion of love and violence, (d) post-migration challenges and assistance, and (e) toll and consequences of IPV. These themes are described to illustrate the trajectory in the development of IPV and the participants’ eventual decision to leave their relationship. Pre-migration experiences included adverse childhood experiences, family history of IPV, and difficulty with help-seeking for IPV. Post-migration challenges of language difficulties, lack of social connections, internalized familial patriarchal values, and sexism influenced women’s help-seeking and decision-making. Results from this sample suggested that immigrant Muslim women are likely more affected by IPV in comparison to Canadian-born Muslim women, experienced more stressors, less support, delayed help-seeking process, and more serious mental health consequences. Quantitative measures revealed negative effects of IPV on women’s mental and overall health. The roles of ethnic communities, religious institutions, law enforcement, and service providers in supporting Canadian Muslim women with experience of IPV are discussed.

While studies have explored adult suspects’ understanding of their legal rights, seldom are the experiences of children and young people taken into account. In this article, we discuss findings arising out of research interviews conducted with 61 children and young people; many of whom have experience of being suspects. From listening to their points-of-view, we find that children and young people fundamentally lack understanding of the rights of suspects, and especially the inalienable nature of those rights. We argue this is not surprising when children are being dealt with in an adult-centred punitive system of justice, which is contrary to international human rights standards.

This special issue sets out to explore the Theatrics of Transnational Criminal Justice. ‘Why’, we ask, ‘do transnational criminal justice actors perform themselves as they do?’ ‘Why are their representations frequently, if not different from, then often quite dramatized versions of the average reality of their practices?’ ‘What does such dramatization tell us about not only the symbolism but also the structure and state of transnational criminal justice?’ And, more generally, ‘what do such performances of transnational criminal justice reveal about the nature of penal power in a global day and age?’ In probing such questions, the special issue draws together a number of accomplished ethnographers who have been exploring the performative nature of transnational criminal justice issues around the world, considering both international bodies such as Frontex, Europol, UNODC, the ICC as well as the many national actors involved in the prevention, policing and prosecution of border-crossing issues.

This study investigated the copyright issues surrounding the management of e-resources in academic libraries in Ghana. Forty-seven library staff and head librarians from four academic libraries were engaged using questionnaires and qualitative interviews in a sequential mixed-methods approach to generate data for this study. The findings indicate that in all four institutions copyright issues arose with the provision of distance learning, online courses and e-reserves services. All the respondents stated that they or their colleagues had had faculty ask questions on copyright issues. However, the professional librarians indicated that the library was not consulted and the instructors for online courses or distance education programmes did not cooperate with librarians; rather, the department posting the materials made the decisions on copyright regarding the usage of digital resources for distance learning, online courses or e-reserves. This does not augur well for the management of copyright of e-resources in academic libraries in Ghana.

While responses to non-consensual intimate image distribution (NCIID) often highlight criminal law remedies, little is known about how young people are choosing to respond to this act and whether they perceive legal intervention as a useful tool. Drawing from interviews with 10 teenagers and survey responses from 81 adult supporters, we provide insight into how young people perceive the supports available to them for responding to NCIID. We find young people may avoid seeking support from both the criminal justice system and adults in general due to fears of adult overreaction, victim blaming and shaming, and self/peer criminalization.

Previous adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) research focused on the future effects of intimate partner violence (IPV) among adult men, as well as victimization patterns. Continuing evidence is needed informing how ACEs, communication, and IPV may emerge within the intimate partnerships of 18–24 year olds. The present study addresses a literature gap by investigating ACEs in relation to relationship communication quality and IPV, considering not only victimization but also perpetration. An online survey was distributed through social media outlets targeting college-aged adults ( n = 228). Men were more likely to perpetrate and be victimized by IPV than women in the sample. However, both sexes had moderate associations between ACES and victimization as well as perpetration of physical, emotional, sexual, and cyber abuse. Poor communication quality was associated with ACEs and most forms of abuse experienced in the last year. Continued investigation of this topic is warranted to understand mechanisms for effective treatment and skill development.

Purpose: Although the number of school-based education programs for child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention has recently increased in China, little is known about their effectiveness. This meta-analysis aimed to examine the effectiveness of school-based CSA prevention programs on improving children’s knowledge and skills, which can prevent them from being sexually abused. Method: Systematic searches were conducted based on five English-language databases (PubMed, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, MEDLINE, and PsycINFO) and three Chinese databases (CNKI, Wan Fang Data, and CQVIP). Seven studies with 2,593 participants finally met the quality criteria of this review, and the meta-analysis was conducted using a random effect model. Results: The overall effect sizes of school-based CSA prevention education showed a significant improvement in children’s knowledge ( d = 2.53, 95% CI [2.03, 3.04]) and skills ( d = 2.00, 95% CI [1.39, 2.60]). Programs instructed by researchers were more effective than those instructed by teachers, and preschoolers had a larger increase in both knowledge and skills than elementary and middle school students. Discussion: This study provides empirical evidence for further implementation of school-based CSA prevention programs, especially under the guidance of experienced researchers and conducted for students at an early age.

Existing evidence suggests that co-location may be emerging as a preferred model of multi-agency working between the police and a range of partner agencies, yet there is limited evidence available regarding the benefits and challenges of this specific type of initiative. This article draws on an evaluation case study of co-location between the police and a local authority established to improve responses to victims of anti-social behaviour. Co-located officers reported a range of benefits arising from the new arrangements, and there was evidence of deep learning within and across teams. However, by including the experiences of those working outside the co-location more significant challenges became apparent, relating to ongoing relationships between officers and the wider force that we are unaware of from previous research. It is suggested that senior management should pay attention to managing changing relationships that occur in co-location to preserve existing social capital whilst exploiting opportunities arising from newly formed connections.

The objective of this study was to examine changes in American recruits’ perceptions of the seriousness of behaviors related to police integrity from the beginning to the end of their academy training. Using a sample of 655 recruits from multiple academies in the United States, multilevel growth models were used. The results showed that the recruits rated scales related to misconduct, code of silence, and a noble cause less seriously at the end than at the beginning of their training. The results also showed that ethics training mitigated the effects of socialization, while organizational injustice intensified the effects of socialization. Female recruits rated the behaviors more seriously at the beginning and the end of training compared to male recruits. The results confirm the role of the academy in socializing officers into the negative aspects of the traditional police culture and highlight important avenues for police reform.

The first half of this article makes that case for, and develops, a preliminary conceptual framework for a ‘musicriminology’. A response to recent provocations for a more sensorially orientated criminology, and more general appeals for cultural criminology to engage rigorously with popular music and sound, a musicriminology could constitute significant contribution to the cultural criminological field. The article proposes two key conceptual themes, culture and co-production that underpin such a framework. Into these broad ( Double-C) themes are incorporated theories of the cultural, material, aesthetics, sonics, and the sensorial. The second half of the article uses drill music, a subset of rap or hip-hop music, as a case study. The focus is on the popular western Sydney drill group OneFour, who have recently been subject to police attempts to suppress them on the basis that their lyrics ‘incite violence’. With dark, nihilistic and sometimes violent lyrics typically narrating street life, drill is often characterised by performers’ relationship to place–groups are sometimes even named after their postcode. In the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia drill music has attracted the attention of police, politicians, and mainstream media for artists’ alleged relationship to street-based violence. The article suggests that OneFour’s music challenges an accepted aesthetic and cultural order. However, somewhat ironically the group has become more popular as a result of police attempts to criminalise them and to re-assert such an order.

A trauma framework is applied to the experiences of execution team members. A directed content analysis of three seminal publications is used to investigate how execution team members respond to observing and participating in executions, a potentially traumatic stressor. Through these texts, supplemented by other research, the study finds that the execution process, meant to facilitate executions and insulate execution team officers from stress, only partially achieves these goals. The findings suggest that many of the concepts central to understanding executioners at work—how they understand and cope with their roles—are dynamic rather than static and vary in degree across persons and situations. Execution team officers report varying degrees of difficulty fully rationalizing and diffusing responsibility for their actions, ultimately leading to internal conflict and stress about the death penalty and participation in executions.

Prior research has provided consistent evidence that minority students are more likely than White youth to experience punitive forms of discipline in schools. Scholars have theorized that these disadvantages are closely connected to gender and socioeconomic status, but little research has explored how these factors independently and jointly might moderate the effects of race/ethnicity. Using data from the 2012 to 2018 8th and 10th grade cohorts of the Monitoring the Future survey ( N = 53,986), these analyses find that minority students are more likely than Whites to experience suspension/expulsion and office referrals, and this pattern is especially prominent among females. Further, racial/ethnic disparities are amplified for youth whose parents have higher levels of educational attainment, though some differences by gender also emerge.

There is a growing interest in developing comprehensive assessments that measure intimate partner violence (IPV) alongside other adverse events that correlate with IPV and compound its effects. One promising line of research in this area has focused on the impact of exposure to multiple types of victimization, i.e., polyvictimization. The purpose of this study is to examine the experience of administration of a polyvictimization tool from staff and client perspectives in order to inform future tool developments and assessment procedures. Qualitative interviews and focus groups with clients and staff from a family justice center who had experience with the assessment tool were used to identify strengths and challenges of the assessment too and inform future tool development. Findings demonstrate that an assessment tool provides the space for clients to talk about trauma and facilitate empowerment, while providing the opportunity for psychoeducation and service referrals. Concerns about the assessment tool included adverse reactions without proper framing and language, as well as shifting the emphasis from screening for adversities toward strengths, coping skills, and resilience. Implications for future measurement development and establishing best practices in polyvictimization assessment are discussed, with an emphasis on the benefits of social service agencies utilizing assessment tools.

Correctional staff play a major role in the incarceration experience for millions of U.S. adults each year. While much research has addressed misconduct perpetrated by incarcerated persons, less has systematically addressed rule-violating behavior by correctional staff and how such conduct is perceived by formerly incarcerated individuals. Using qualitative data gathered from 38 interviews with men and women recently released from prison, we examine their experiences with prison staff misconduct. Respondents shared observations of staff misconduct related to medical neglect, violence, and contraband, but experiences differed for men and women, raising concerns regarding conditions of confinement. We caution that such conduct has the potential to undermine the legitimacy of correctional authority in prison settings, which is troubling because heightened legitimacy is an important aspect of legal socialization that helps to reduce offending. Research and policy development on the frequency and consequences of prison staff misconduct is warranted.

This article addresses community corrections (CC) training from the perspective of a former practitioner. Though CC training has received modest consideration, academies’ roles in reinforcing occupational cultures are nearly absent from the literature. This article addresses this gap with an autobiographical account of an academy experience and shows that not only did the profession appear to attract candidates with public safety orientations, but also that the academy reinforced those orientations through a disproportionate focus on use of force and officer safety. The article considers challenges policymakers and managers face when attempting to implement reform in public safety cultures.

This article explores senior and strategic perspectives on the volunteer Special Constabulary in England and Wales, based on 38 interviews with senior police leaders. The strategic context and leadership of Special Constabularies represents an overlooked element of police leadership, given the scale and potential of volunteer officers to impact upon policing delivery and reform. The paper identifies tension between a traditional strategic paradigm that frames bounded expectations of the role of Special Constables, emphasising differences between them and their paid counterparts, and considerations of police reform which prompt different thinking in respect of practice, identity and integration of volunteer officers.

The growing number of deaths from natural causes in prison custody adds urgency to the need to consider what influences the behaviour of prison staff towards dying prisoners. This article identifies the effects on prisoners, their families and prison staff of defining quality end-of-life care as that which meets the expected requirements of an anticipated post-death investigation. Using data collected in two English prisons via ethnographic methods, it explores the practical consequences, emotional effects and bureaucratisation of death arising from the anticipation of an investigation. Taking its lead from research participants, it focuses on the influence of anticipating an investigation by the Prison and Probation Ombudsman, but also the effects of expecting police and coronial investigations. Analysing responses to anticipating an investigation reveals consequences for the care of prisoners, their families and prison staff, which are arguably unintended by the investigating bodies.

Does political mistrust lead to institutional disengagement? Much work in political science holds that trust matters for political participation, including recourse to the justice system. Scholars of judicial institutions, relying largely on survey research, argue that low trust decreases legal compliance and cooperation, threatening the rule of law. Legal consciousness and mobilization scholars, meanwhile, suggest that trust does not drive justice system engagement. However, their single-case study approach makes assessing the wider implications of their findings difficult. Based on an innovative comparative focus-group study in two uneven democratic states, Chile and Colombia, we show that trust is not the primary factor driving justice system engagement. Rather, people’s engagement decisions are shaped by their expectations and aspirations for their political system and by their politically constructed capacities for legal agency. Our study offers insights of relevance for analysts of various forms of political participation in uneven democratic states across the globe.

This article reviews how Chinese scholars debate the policy of building smart courts in the context of judicial reform. This policy entails the automation and digitisation of judicial processes. It is part of broader judicial reforms that aim to create a more accurate and consistent judiciary. The article identifies four reform concepts that guide the debate: efficiency, consistency, transparency and supervision, and judicial fairness. This review is a meta-synthesis, using practices of narrative and systematic literature reviews, focusing on evaluating and interpreting the Chinese scholarship and reform concepts. It reviews how Chinese scholars discuss the implications of judicial automation and digitisation. Additionally, it analyses the normative concepts behind the reform goals within China’s political-legal context. The analysis finds that the generally positive evaluation in the debate can be explained by an instrumentalist understanding of the reform concepts and the political purpose of courts in the Chinese political-legal context.

There is scarce research evidence of restorative justice being used in the context of serious and organised crime offending. This study sought to explore the feasibility of using restorative justice by canvassing the views of experts, serious and organised crime offenders and serious and organised crime victims in England. Offenders and victims were given the opportunity to engage in a restorative justice initiative and individual cases were pursued accordingly as a series of case studies. Case studies were limited to large-scale serious and organised fraud. Stark differences in views were apparent between serious and organised crime experts and restorative justice experts, the former doubting offenders’ motivations and pointing to their dangerousness without fully considering victim perspectives. Despite high attrition rates among some offenders expressing an initial willingness to pursue restorative justice, where both parties wished to participate, sustained motivation was observed. This study highlights inequities in the way that police forces have implemented the 2015 Victims Code requirements for restorative justice in England and Wales, potentially blocking opportunities for closure, social integration and reduced reoffending.

This study describes alcohol consumption and examines associations with organisational job stressors among female ( n = 493) and male ( n = 707) English police officers. Significantly fewer female than male officers reported hazardous alcohol consumption (32% vs. 44%) and probable harmful alcohol consumption (5% vs. 11%). Stressor exposure was associated with alcohol consumption among males only, with high exposure to job control, work relationships, and role clarity stressors associated with elevated odds of probable harmful alcohol consumption. Findings suggest alcohol consumption represents a concern in English policing and point to stressor exposure reduction as a mechanism to decrease alcohol consumption.

Policing organizations are currently experiencing more pressure than ever to address systemic racism and police brutality. Advocates and academics have suggested a range of changes, such as defunding the police, moving towards more body-worn cameras, ensuring higher educational levels of new recruits, implicit bias training, and so on. Our article draws attention and advocates for a different avenue: moving our understanding of crime towards a public health issue. By drawing on some data from the University of Alberta Prison Project, we argue that looking at justice clients with a public health lens would significantly change the way police are trained and respond to incidents. We believe this would have monumental consequences for both justice clients and policing organizations: justice clients will benefit from a police service that is trauma informed, compassionate, and understands their client base, while policing organizations will arguably increase their trust relationship with the public, therefore building legitimacy in the community.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to increase the understanding of the Canadian forensic psychiatry system by providing a population-based overview of the Ontario forensic mental health system. Methods: Data were collected on 1,240 accused adults who were subject to the jurisdiction of the Ontario Review Board (ORB) between 2014 and 2015. Archival data were retrieved from annual ORB hearing hospital reports for accused supervised by all nine adult forensic psychiatry facilities across Ontario. Results: The sample included not criminally responsible (NCR; 91.6%) and unfit to stand trial (UST; 8.4%) accused. The majority of the sample was male (85.7%), single (70.1%), unemployed (63.6%), with a high school education (48.8%). Most were on a detention order (78.5%) and almost half were living in the community at the time of the report (48.8%). The majority had prior contact with psychiatric services (83.1%) and/or the criminal justice system (70.6%) before entering the forensic system. A history of elopement (31.5%) and inpatient aggression was high (60.6%). Most had a psychotic spectrum disorder (81.6%) and over half had a substance use disorder (57.2%) in the reporting year. A range of index offences was observed (69.9% violent, 20.3% general, 9.8% sexual), and the majority of the sample (61.0%) had an index offence that resulted in no injury or a minor injury to the victim. Conclusion: The Canadian forensic psychiatry system is comprised of a unique subset of justice-involved individuals. This study provides a detailed examination of accused who are subject to the jurisdiction of the ORB and provides key insight into risk factors associated with offending behaviour in this population. The results of this study will provide a framework for future studies examining the association between mental disorder and violence and the treatment trajectories for those in the forensic psychiatry system.