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Objective: To investigate the characteristics of head injury (HI) and its association with offending behaviour, psychological and neurobehavioral functioning, and cognitive performance in female prisoners. Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, female prisoners in the UK reporting a HI with a loss of consciousness (LOC) over ten minutes (n = 10) were compared with a group without a HI with LOC over ten minutes (n = 41) across a range of measures; including scores on standardized clinical questionnaires and performance-based cognitive assessments. Semi-structured clinical interviews assessed HI and forensic history, with forensic history triangulated against the prison database. Results: Domestic abuse was the most frequently reported cause of HI. The HI with LOC group had been to prison a greater number of times and had committed a greater number violent offences. No significant difference was found on self-reported psychological and neurobehavioral measures, or between the groups' cognitive functioning on neuropsychological tests. Conclusions: Psychosocial factors such as trauma may contribute to higher rates of violent offending and imprisonment in those with a HI with LOC. Domestic abuse is an important factor in HI amongst female prisoners. Forensic screening and interventions need to be designed, adapted and evaluated with consideration of trauma and HI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a 25-year Australian cohort of men and women found Not Guilty by reason of Mental Illness (NGMI forensic patients; N = 477), we aimed to: establish the sociodemographic, clinical and forensic characteristics of the sample, comparing men and women; to establish rates of post-release reoffending, including for men and women separately; and to test associations between individual characteristics and post-release re-offending in the full sample. Post-release re-offending was considered in terms of officially-recorded charges, proven offenses, violent offenses, and any offending within the first 12 months of release. Women (13.8%) were found to differ significantly from men on a number of key characteristics but, although women had a higher rate of proven offending in the early post-release period, sex was not a predictor of post-release offending overall. Post-release re-offending rates were low (6.3% committed proven offenses in the first 12 months following release) and the only independent predictor of re-offending was a clinically-recorded diagnosis of co-morbid personality disorder (i.e. co-morbid with a primary psychosis diagnosis). The differences identified between male and female NGMI forensic patients, including the differences in re-offending in the early post-release period, have implications for the development of forensic services and interventions, in both inpatient and community settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In feminist criminology, there is a growing body of research exploring gendered pathways into prison. However, this research has focussed predominantly on women. There are few gender comparative studies. Further, most feminist pathways research is western centric having, for the most part, been undertaken in the United States. Utilising categorical principal components analysis alongside descriptive statistics and illustrative case study examples, this paper adds to the feminist pathways research by describing and comparing women's and men's pathways to prison in Thailand. Three common pathways to prison emerged for both women and men: (1) peer group association/deviant lifestyle, (2) harmed and harming, (3) economically motivated. However, gendered variance was found within these common pathways. Further, two pathways emerged exclusively for women: (1) adulthood victimisation and dysfunctional intimate relationships, (2) naivety and deception. These results substantiate the notion that trajectories into prison are gendered, add empirical support to the feminist pathways perspective beyond the west, contribute to knowledge on how both women and men come to be in prison in Thailand, and in doing so, have utility for the development of gender-informed prison policies, and practices as per the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-Custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Desistance theorizing has concentrated on the male experience resulting in relatively less knowledge about how criminalized women negotiate nonoffending, particularly from a qualitative perspective. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with eight formerly incarcerated women in Victoria, Australia, this research explores the anticipation of desistance in the context of experiences preceding and following incarceration. The findings highlight how individual-level intentions to cease offending can be eclipsed by historical and ongoing disadvantage and trauma. In emphasizing the gendered socio-structural barriers affecting women's desistance efforts, this article contributes to a small, yet important, emerging discourse—a form of critical feminist desistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition from 'child' to 'offender' status can be fast‐tracked when offending is formally recognised through formal disposal, with children treated increasing punitively as they progress through the Youth Justice System. The status and 'offenderising' transitions of children who offend is socio‐historically contingent, not only on their behaviour, but on political, socio‐economic, societal, systemic and demography. We support this perspective through a periodised re‐examination of four socio‐historical trajectories in the construction of the 'youth offender': Conflict, ambivalence and bifurcation (1908‐1979); depenalising diversion and back to justice (1980‐1992), fast‐tracking the child to offender transition (1993‐2007) and tentative depenalisation (2008 to present). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liaison and Diversion (L&D) has twin objectives: improving mental health outcomes and reducing re‐offending. Early diversion from police custody seems promising, but evidence of benefit is required to sustain such programmes. To test the hypothesis that contact with L&D services while in police custody would lead to improved mental health outcomes and a reduction in type and level of offending, we used a pre–post service use design. National Health Service (NHS) records in two counties were searched for evidence that patients had been involved with L&D services while in police custody during the period July 2009–December 2017. We defined January 2009–July 2014 as the pre‐intervention period and any time after contact as the post‐intervention period. Data from the Police National Computer were gathered for each period for these individuals, to assess their pre‐post L&D contact offending histories. NHS Trust data were similarly gathered to assess their pre‐post use of mental health legislation. 4,462 individuals were identified who had used L&D services in police custody. There were statistically significant reductions in the amount of offending following contact with the L&D service (whether one or two contacts), regardless of offence type. Statistically significant reductions were also observed in use of the four most commonly used legislative powers for detaining patients in hospital on mental disorder grounds, regardless of offending status (prolific/non‐prolific). Our results indicate positive associations between the L&D interventions and change in offending and use of compulsory hospital detention. Whilst our research does not allow a direct causal relationship to be established in either area, the findings go beyond other impact assessments of L&D which have either been with small samples or relied only on qualitative data or expert opinion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate the longitudinal associations between patterns of housing vacancies, neighborhood social disorder, and crime in the city of New Orleans. Using large-scale administrative and contextual data collected from the year 2012 to 2018, our spatiotemporal regression analysis provides empirical evidence for the salient effects of housing vacancy on neighborhood level of property crime and violence. In addition, the spillover effect of housing vacancy is observed on the neighborhood level of drug offense, property crime, and violence. These results potentially identify vacant properties as a modifiable target for intervention to reduce urban crime and suggest that community-based programs aiming to enhance informal social control and collective efficacy may be as important as broken window policing programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the experiences of women engaged with a peer training reintegration programme, ‘Building Recovery Inwards and Outwards’ (BRIO), funded by the Probation Service and developed in the Dublin-based SAOL Project.1 It draws on qualitative data generated in interviews, focus groups and participant observation during a two-year evaluation from 2016 to 2018. In recounting the experiences of women engaged with the programme, it focuses on the challenges facing them before, during and after involvement in drug use and the criminal justice system. This paper will: briefly review the literature and research evidence in relation to women’s recidivism, desistance and redemption; document the participants’ lived experiences of becoming peer workers; explore the potential challenges for such work; and discuss the importance and future development of peer support training programmes, highlighting the importance of gender-sensitive and trauma-informed responses to women. These responses recognise the enduring impact of trauma for women and its relationship with their pathways into crime and drug use. The paper concludes that peer work offers opportunities to assist others, to experience altruism and mutuality and to make choices and decisions about progression into work and education. The policy and practice implications of this approach are manifold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I propose the gender gap in delinquency is linked to adolescents' orientation to gender-normative behavior and empathic development. I use longitudinal data on 1,525 youth from the Denver Youth Survey to analyze relationships among gender, empathy, and delinquency. I find girls exhibit higher levels of empathy across adolescence than do boys, and these differences emerge in preadolescence. Empathy is inversely related to delinquency, and is predictive of fraud and theft, but not violent delinquency. Finally, empathy partially mediates the effect of being male on delinquency. I therefore argue the gender gap in delinquency can be explained—in part—by adherence to gender norms governing empathetic expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving criminal justice responses to domestic and family violence is a key focus within many policy and practice reforms. The efficacy of police and court responses to domestic and family violence is central because of the role of police as first responders and courts in issuing protection orders, imposing sanctions and ensuring perpetrator cooperation and accountability. To promote compliance and satisfaction with criminal justice outcomes, a large body of research points to the role of procedural justice. This study draws on survey and administrative data from an Australian jurisdiction to examine perceptions of procedural justice in specific domestic and family violence-related encounters. Findings and implications for policy and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes data collected in the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development, which is a prospective longitudinal study of 411 London males from Ages 8 to 61. It aims to investigate interactions between Age 8 and Age 10 psychosocial risk factors and a biological factor (resting heart rate), measured at Age 18, in predicting convictions up to Age 61 and high antisocial personality scores at Ages 32 and 48 (combined). The present analyses suggest that a high resting heart rate acted as a protective factor against harsh parental discipline and a depressed mother, or conversely that these childhood risk factors predicted antisocial outcomes only when they coincided with a low resting heart rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At a national level, the scale and diversity of the threats from organised crime are starting to be understood. Locally, however, police forces remain uncertain how to robustly assess organised crime within their own borders. To address this and contribute to the development of a local 'narrative' of organised crime we studied two UK neighbourhoods where organised crime was known to be impacting. Our study brings together data from multiple sources that each offer a distinct perspective: the measurable impact of organised crime as represented in recorded crime, the groups, offenders and activities recorded by the police for the purposes of developing intelligence on organised crime, and finally the qualitative impact on communities as described by local practitioners and community representatives. The implications for developing the perspective of practitioners and their approach to tackling organised crime are discussed. In summary, organised crime groups are responsible for a much wider range of harms than that expressed by the national police intelligence mechanism, much of this harm is local, and this needs to be factored in when considering priority and intervention from police and partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advanced approaches to predicting offending are increasingly transpiring without the forensic psychology discipline's involvement – an area that it has piloted and influenced for many decades. Computer science experts have built an impressive decade-long literature base on risk assessment – a technical literature that is not only progressing at a fast pace, but appears to function independently, for the most part, from the forensic risk assessment literature. This paper outlines the potential utility of machine learning approaches and the broader 'algorithmic culture', for forensic risk assessment, and the implications their use (and non-use) may have for the discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: A key challenge facing justice health service providers is addressing and treating the high rates of mental illness among offenders. It is well documented that rates of mental illness are substantially higher within prison populations compared to the general population. As such, the need to provide ongoing treatment to prisoners experiencing mental health issues is of fundamental importance. Prisoners experiencing mental health disorders are more likely to have poorer social outcomes on release, including a greater likelihood of recidivism and poorer health outcomes. The growing numbers of justice-involved individuals from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds signal the need for justice systems to adapt to the changing demographic.Conclusions: In this commentary, we argue that greater efforts to explore the nature and prevalence of mental illness among CALD groups in custody, where such concerns are often intertwined with additional complex personal, environmental and historical criminogenic risk factors, are desperately needed to improve system responses and reduce recidivism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Interventions for offenders with intellectual disabilities (ID) have used cognitive variables as measures of treatment outcome. However, the relevance of cognitive variables to offending in people with intellectual disabilities is unclear. This review aimed to evaluate the evidence for a relationship between cognitive variables and offending in people with intellectual disabilities. Method: A systematic search identified studies comparing offenders and non‐offenders with intellectual disabilities on an aspect of cognition. Seven cognitive variables were found and compared across 15 studies. These were appraised for their quality using an adapted quality appraisal checklist. The reliability and validity of cognitive measures were also considered. Results and conclusions: Other than for cognitive distortions, the evidence for a relationship between cognitive variables and offending in people with intellectual disabilities is currently limited due to methodological weaknesses and the small number of studies assessing each variable. Clinicians are advised to focus on cognitive distortions until better evidence is available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY) and the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) are among the most widely used adolescent risk assessment tools, they conceptualize and measure strengths differently. As such, in this study, we compared the predictive validity of SAVRY Protective Total and YLS/CMI Strength Total, and tested conceptual models of how these measures operate (i.e., risk vs. protective effects, direct vs. buffering effects, causal models). Research assistants conducted 624 risk assessments with 156 youth on probation. They rated protective factors at baseline, and again at 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-month follow-up periods. The SAVRY Protective Total and YLS/CMI Strength Total inversely predicted any charges in the subsequent 2 years (area under the curve scores = 0.61 and 0.60, respectively, p <.05). Furthermore, when adolescents' protective total scores increased, their self-reported violence decreased, thus providing evidence that these factors might play a causally relevant role in reducing violence. However, protective factors did not provide incremental validity over risk factors. In addition, because these measures are brief and use a dichotomous rating system, they primarily captured deficits in protective factors (i.e., low scores). This suggests a need for more comprehensive measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Psychosis is known to be associated with an increased risk of violent offending, but the risk of criminal offending of any type is not so well understood, including the nature and extent of any differences in offending risk for men and women with psychosis.Methods: A systematic search of electronic databases from 1970 to March 2020 was conducted to identify studies comparing criminal offending amongst those with psychosis to a general population sample. A meta-analysis was performed, with separate analyses undertaken for men and women.Results: Eight studies, with a total of 15,446 individuals with psychosis and 186,752 controls from general population sources, met our inclusion criteria. The pooled odds ratio for any type of criminal offending for men with psychosis was 2.42 (95% CI = 1.63-3.59), and for women it was 2.81 (95% CI = 2.11-3.76). Substantial between study heterogeneity was identified.Conclusions: Although the pooled odds ratio for all types of offending was not as high as has been found for violence, those with psychotic illness were more than twice as likely to have had contact with the criminal justice system for any type of criminal offence, compared to the general population. Little difference in risk was seen for women compared to men with psychosis. Clinical risk assessments and the development of interventions to reduce risk of contact with the criminal justice system should consider that risk of offending for those with psychosis extends right across the spectrum of offence types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Juvenile justice systems today have various methods to sanction serious, violent, and chronic delinquents. One of these methods is through blended sentencing. Broadly, blended sentencing processes allow for juvenile justice sanctioning first and then, if needed, criminal justice sanctioning—including placement in adult prisons. The current study examines the recidivism outcomes of blended-sentenced youth transferred to adult prisons following a period of state juvenile incarceration compared with a matched group of blended-sentenced youth that avoided adult prison transfer following state juvenile incarceration. Drawing on data from 905 serious delinquent offenders sentenced between 2005 and 2013 in Texas, the current study used Propensity Score Matching and found no post-release recidivism differences between those transferred to adult prison following a period of state juvenile incarceration and those who were released from state juvenile incarceration to the community without experiencing adult prison incarceration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Aspects of the school environment, such as school attachment levels, are linked to adolescent offending. Previous research has not clarified whether a school‐ or individual‐level intervention approach to improving pupil school attachment and commitment is most likely to reduce adolescent offending. Aim: The present study assessed the impact of individual‐ and school‐level variables on offending behaviour from ages 14–16 years. Sample: The participants were 4,049 young people from 42 mainstream schools who took part in the Belfast Youth Development Study. Method: Multilevel modelling was used to examine the relative influence of individual‐ and school‐level variables on offending behaviour in adolescence. Results: Pupils who had high levels of school commitment and attachment and were involved in fewer fights at age 13 reported lower levels of offending at age 14 years. Differences between schools accounted for 7% of the variation in offending. Lower individual‐level commitment was associated with higher initial levels of offending at age 14 if the school‐level ethos was of higher commitment. Lack of safety at the school level appeared to be detrimental for young people not exposed to socio‐economic deprivation. Conclusions: Individual‐level targeted interventions are likely to be a more cost‐effective approach of reducing offending behaviour in adolescence. Additional, albeit smaller, reductions in offending levels could be achieved through school‐level interventions in some school types (e.g., deprived areas). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to describe the small and distinct subgroup of arsonists diagnosed with schizophrenia, their motives, personal, and crime scene characteristics. While prior research identified significant differences to other criminals, firesetters in general, or mentally disordered offenders, there are no comparisons with other offender patients with schizophrenia so far. In a forensic institution in Switzerland, a group of 30 arsonists with schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SSD) was compared to 340 other offender patients with SSD using retrograde file analysis and multiple adapted Fisher´s exact tests. While symptoms of SSD were most defining of both groups, arsonists with SSD were more often single, unemployed, prescribed psychiatric medication at index offense, had a smaller variety of criminal motives, and acted out of anger or revenge in the context of a relationship. In conclusion, symptoms of SSD may be more defining and useful in guiding clinical practice than aspects specific to arsonists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A considerable body of evidence now documents, beyond reasonable doubt, biological and health risk factors for crime and violence. Nevertheless, intervention and prevention efforts with offenders have avoided biological interventions, in part due to past misuses of biological research and the challenges that biological predispositions to crime raise. This article reviews the empirical literature on two biological intervention approaches, omega-3 supplementation and transcranial direct current stimulation. Emerging research on these relatively benign interventions suggests that increased omega-3 intake through dietary intervention and prefrontal upregulation using non-invasive brain stimulation may show some initial promise in reducing antisocial behavior. The ethical issues related to mandated and offered biological interventions within the criminal justice system are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars have recently identified protective factors that decrease the effects of risk factors on later offending. Others have investigated how offending risk factors affect other life outcomes, such as employment and health. The current study combined these areas to identify protective factors that predicted life success through mid-adulthood. The Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development was used to identify risk-based and interactive protective factors for later life success among males at risk for poor life success. Across three risk conceptualizations, several protective factors were identified that predicted life success in a variety of domains at age 48. This research indicates that early childhood interventions may not only help reduce future offending but also increase the child's chances of doing well in other life domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Research suggests that antisocial lifestyles constitute significant health risks. However, there are marked individual differences in the stability of antisocial behaviour. These different offending pathways may bear differential risks for adult health.Design: Injury and illness data were collected prospectively in the longitudinal Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development.Setting: Working-class inner-city area of South London.Participants: Participants included the 411 men from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development, with interview data collected at ages 18, 32 and 48 years for each individual.Main Outcome Measures: Organic illness, hospitalisation and injuries.Results: By age 48, adjusted odds ratios showed that the incidence of organic illness was higher among Life-Course-Persistent, Late-Onset offenders and offenders in general. Based on adjusted odds ratios at age 32, the incidence of hospitalisations was higher for Late-Onset offenders. Adjusted odds ratios at age 48 also showed that the incidence of hospitalisations was higher for all three offender types and offenders in general. Our results also provide evidence that offenders were more likely to suffer injuries than non-offenders.Conclusions: The findings of this study imply that preventing individuals from offending is likely to have substantial benefits for health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integrated maturation theory describes psychosocial, adult role, and identity maturation as interrelated domains associated with criminal desistance, but to this point these domains have not been examined simultaneously, which raises questions about the relative importance of each domain to desistance. The aims of the current study were to unravel the development of maturation by examining interrelationships across components of psychosocial, adult role, and identity domains while also clarifying which components were related to desistance. Data were used from the Pathways to Desistance Study on male (n= 1170) and female (n= 184) youth with a history of offending. Participants were an average age of 14.04 (SD= 1.14) at baseline and were followed for seven years. Network modeling examined, from between-subjects and within-individual perspectives, (a) relationships among repeated measures of psychosocial, adult role, and identity maturation components and (b) relationships between these components and offending. Based on centrality indexes from the between-subjects network, responsibility (psychosocial domain), work orientation (adult role domain), and self identity (identity domain) were most important to the development of maturation. After accounting for interrelationships among maturation components, measures of consideration of others (adult role domain) and moral disengagement (identity domain) related to both lower levels of offending and within-individual declines in offending. The findings supported the integrated maturation theory's description of maturation as comprised of a wide range of interrelated components across different domains that are important to desistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder estimated to have elevated prevalence in forensic populations (approximately 4.5%). It has been suggested that offenders with autism spectrum disorder engage more frequently in crimes against the person and sexual offences than other types of offences such as property, driving and drug offences. To date little is empirically known about the reasons why autistic individuals engage in sexual offences, yet understanding the motivation(s) for offending are key to developing and implementing effective interventions to help reduce both initial offending and also re-offending. In this study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine autistic sexual offenders in prisons and probation services across England and Wales. Thematic analyses revealed five main themes (social difficulties, misunderstanding, sex and relationship deficits, inadequate control and disequilibrium). Analyses indicated that social skills difficulties, lack of perspective/weak central coherence, misunderstanding the seriousness of their behaviours and a lack of appropriate relationships were the main reasons for offending reported by this group of autistic sexual offenders. Findings highlight a need to develop sex and relationship education interventions which are tailored to the needs of autistic individuals, to address both their reported reasons for offending and their reported lack of sexual knowledge and awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In addition to suicidal behaviors, men with borderline personality disorder (BPD) often display antisocial behavior that could impair contacts with mental health services. While research has established effective treatments for women with BPD, this is not yet the case for men. The authors evaluated 12 months of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) for 30 men with BPD and antisocial behavior, using a within-group design with repeated measurements. The authors found moderate to strong, statistically significant pre-to posttreatment reductions of several dysfunctional behaviors, including self-harm, verbal and physical aggression, and criminal offending (rate ratios 0.17–0.39). Symptoms of BPD and depression were also substantially decreased. The dropout rate was 30%, and completing participants reported high satisfaction with treatment and maintained their improvements at 1-year follow-up. The authors conclude that DBT could be an effective treatment alternative for men with BPD and antisocial behavior, and it merits future studies with more rigorous design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between victimization and subsequent maladaptive behaviors such as offending is well established. To a lesser degree, a contextual lens has been used to examine how neighborhood characteristics influence the overlap between victimization and offending. The existing literature has yet to explore how the neighborhood context moderates the victim–offender overlap among young women, specifically, or whether the type of force used during sexual victimization or offending matters. This study uses data from The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) to examine whether concentrated disadvantage moderates the impact of sexual victimization on subsequent offending for women. Results indicate that young women who experience sexual victimization are more likely to engage in general offending regardless of neighborhood type. However, closer examination reveals that, when taking into account the type of force used in sexual victimization (physical or coerced) and the type of offending (violent, property, drug use), the overlap does indeed vary across neighborhoods. Specifically, results indicate that only coerced sexual victimization significantly affects property offending in neighborhoods with high levels of concentrated disadvantage. Related to violent offending, physical sexual victimization has a strong positive impact in less disadvantaged neighborhoods. Finally, coerced sexual victimization is significantly associated with an increased likelihood for drug use, and this relationship is consistent across neighborhoods. The findings suggest that nuances in the nature of victimization and offending need to be taken into account to fully understand the victim–offender overlap across neighborhood context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary objective was to conduct a comparative analysis of homicide cases and their perpetrators with psychotic illnesses in samples from Turkiye and Russia to elucidate contextual similarities and differences, and providing novel perspectives to enhance international research in this field. This cross-national retrospective study, conducted at forensic psychiatric centers in Istanbul, Turkiye, and Chuvashia, Russia, involved individuals with psychotic illnesses (ICD-10 F20-F29) who were deemed criminally non-responsible for index homicide offenses between December 2012 and December 2022. The sample included 92 Turkish patients and 29 Russian patients who were compared for background, clinical characteristics, and each homicidal act. Binary analyses revealed that Russian subjects were more educated, had more lifetime suicide attempts, longer illness duration, had acquaintances as victims more frequently, higher rates of blunt traumatic homicides, higher rates of intoxication with alcohol or substances, and lower rates of experiencing delusions at the time of the index homicide compared to their Turkish counterparts. Multivariate analyses indicated that more years of education, a greater frequency of lifetime suicide attempts, higher prevalence of intoxication and a lower rate of delusions at the time of the homicide were associated with belonging to the Russian group. Despite several similarities, the remarkable differences between the two samples underscore the importance of international research in enhancing our understanding of mental health, homicidal offense and offender characteristics in the sociocultural context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the pervasiveness of cyber crime victimisation, knowledge is limited regarding the prevalence, characteristics and pathways of offenders. The present study examines predictors of self-reported engagement in cyber crime in middle adolescence in a large (N = 13,277) longitudinal dataset from the UK Millennium Cohort Study. We adopted an ecological systems approach to examine a range of multicausal, intersecting factors across individual, familial, psychosocial and environmental systems. The overall prevalence of self-reported cyber offending (account hacking or the deployment of viruses) was 5.6% at age 14 and 3.8% at age 17, although persistence over time by the same individuals was relatively low (1.1%). Significant predictors of cyber offending at age 17 were being male, domestic violence between parents, low parental monitoring, low wellbeing, self-harm, exclusion from school, spending more time online gaming, participating in offline leisure activities, and engaging in serious violence (weapon carrying or use), assault, and cyber crime at age 14. Findings indicate that young cyber offenders are often males and those who have experienced a range of risk factors that are connected to poorer wellbeing and engaging in multiple risky/offending behaviours. Implications for theory, policy and practice are discussed. • Predictors of self-reported engagement in cyber offending in adolescence were examined in a large UK longitudinal dataset. • Prevalence of self-reported cyber offending was 5.6% at age 14 and 3.8% at age 17, but only 1.1% persisted at both ages. • Significant predictors of cyber offending at age 17 spanned environmental and individual factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background The mortality rate of young offenders is high. Furthermore, mortality in young offenders is associated with psychiatric and substance use disorders. The primary aim of this national register-based follow-up study was to investigate the mortality rate of Finnish delinquents who underwent a forensic psychiatric examination between 1980 and 2010. As delinquency is not a solid entity, we further aimed to compare the risk of premature death among different subgroups of the delinquents; violent versus non-violent offenders, offenders with alcohol use disorders versus those with no such diagnoses, offenders with schizophrenia spectrum disorders versus conduct- and personality-disordered offenders, under-aged versus young adult offenders, and, finally, boys versus girls. Methods We collected the forensic psychiatric examination reports of all 15- to 19-year-old offenders who were born in Finland and had undergone the examination between 1.1.1980 and 31.12.2010 (n = 606) from the archives of the National Institute of Health and Welfare and retrospectively reviewed them. For each delinquent, four age-, gender- and place of birth-matched controls were randomly selected from the Central Population Register (n = 2424). The delinquents and their controls were followed until the end of 2015. The median follow-up time was 23.9 years (interquartile range 15.3–29.5). We obtained the mortality data from the causes of death register. Deaths attributable to a disease or an occupational disease were considered natural, and those attributable to an accident, suicide or homicide were considered unnatural. Results By the end of the follow-up period, 22.1% (n = 134) of the delinquents and 3.4% (n = 82) of their controls had died (OR 8.11, 95% CI 6.05–10.86, p

Abstract Background Numerous studies have established that crime is highly concentrated among a small group of offenders. These findings have guided the development of various crime prevention strategies. The underlying theme of these strategies is that by focusing on the few offenders who are responsible for most of the crime, we can prevent the greatest amount of crime with the fewest resources. Nevertheless, there has been no systematic review of the many studies, so it is possible that the accepted understanding among researchers and practitioners is based on a few prominent studies that are misleading. Further, we do not know how concentrated crime is among offenders, given the variety of ways researchers report their findings. This paper systematically reviews this literature and uses meta-analysis to determine how confident we can be that crime is concentrated among a few offenders. Methods We first systematically reviewed the literature and found 73 studies on the concentration of crime among offenders. From those studies, we identified 15 studies on the prevalence of offending and 27 studies on the frequency of offending that provided data suitable for analysis. We then performed a meta-analysis of those studies to examine how crime is concentrated among the worst offenders and how that concentration varies between different types of offenders. Results We found that crime is highly concentrated in the population and across different types of offenders. Little variation in concentration exists between youths and adults or between American offenders and those from other countries. We found more variation between males and females in the concentration of offending, though we believe this may be due to the more limited data on female offenders. Conclusions The systematic review and meta-analysis we present here is the first study of its kind on offending concentration. This is an important step in closing this gap in the crime prevention literature, but we encourage making updates to this systematic review as new literature becomes available, and using alternate methods of summarizing these studies that could challenge these findings.

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (hereafter referred to as autism) is characterised by difficulties with (i) social communication, social interaction, and (ii) restricted and repetitive interests and behaviours. Estimates of autism prevalence within the criminal justice system (CJS) vary considerably, but there is evidence to suggest that the condition can be missed or misidentified within this population. Autism has implications for an individual's journey through the CJS, from police questioning and engagement in court proceedings through to risk assessment, formulation, therapeutic approaches, engagement with support services, and long-term social and legal outcomes., Methods: This consensus based on professional opinion with input from lived experience aims to provide general principles for consideration by United Kingdom (UK) CJS personnel when working with autistic individuals, focusing on autistic offenders and those suspected of offences. Principles may be transferable to countries beyond the UK. Multidisciplinary professionals and two service users were approached for their input to address the effective identification and support strategies for autistic individuals within the CJS., Results: The authors provide a consensus statement including recommendations on the general principles of effective identification, and support strategies for autistic individuals across different levels of the CJS., Conclusion: Greater attention needs to be given to this population as they navigate the CJS., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Introduction: Comorbid substance use disorder (SUD) is linked to a higher risk of violence in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SSD). The objective of this study is to explore the most distinguishing factors between offending and non-offending patients diagnosed with SSD and comorbid SUD using supervised machine learning., Methods: A total of 269 offender patients and 184 non-offender patients, all diagnosed with SSD and SUD, were assessed using supervised machine learning algorithms., Results: Failures during opening, referring to rule violations during a permitted temporary leave from an inpatient ward or during the opening of an otherwise closed ward, was found to be the most influential distinguishing factor, closely followed by non-compliance with medication (in the psychiatric history). Following in succession were social isolation in the past, no antipsychotics prescribed (in the psychiatric history), and no outpatient psychiatric treatments before the current hospitalization., Discussion: This research identifies critical factors distinguishing offending patients from non-offending patients with SSD and SUD. Among various risk factors considered in prior research, this study emphasizes treatment-related differences between the groups, indicating the potential for improvement regarding access and maintenance of treatment in this particular population. Further research is warranted to explore the relationship between social isolation and delinquency in this patient population., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Bender, Machetanz, von Känel, Euler, Kirchebner and Günther.)

Of late, criminologists have become acutely aware of the relationship between school outcomes and engagement in crime as an adult. This phenomenon—which has come to be known as the 'school-to-prison-pipeline'—has been studied in North America and the United Kingdom, and requires longitudinal data sets. Typically, these studies approach the phenomenon from an individualist perspective and examine truancy in terms of the truants' attitudes, academic achievement or their home life. What remains unclear, however, is a consideration of (1) how macro-level social and economic processes may influence the incidence of truancy, and (2) how structural processes fluctuate over time, and in so doing produce variations in truancy rates or the causal processes associated with truancy. Using longitudinal data from two birth cohort studies, we empirically address these blind spots and test the role of social-structural processes in truancy, and how these may change over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Focussing on the changes in sitting tenants' right to buy their council house (introduced in the UK in 1980), we explore the long-term impact of this policy change upon the lives of UK citizens. Using two longitudinal studies of UK citizens born in 1958 and 1970, we exam how policies aimed at achieving one set of goals (providing families with their own homes, reducing the control of councils and weakening the Labour Party's voting bloc) may have also altered experiences of housing, homelessness, and contact with the criminal justice system not just for those for whom the policies were initially designed (adults living in council owned properties in the 1980s) but also for subsequent generations (most typically their children). Our contribution examines how legislative changes may have altered the lives of citizens, and highlights some of the unintended consequences of the 'right to buy' in the UK. We are able to investigate what happens when systems which have previously been tightly regulated suddenly become much less well regulated. Our paper utilises ideas developed by life-course theorists and historical institutionalists in order to understand in more depth how radical policy changes may shape and alter the lives of citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study reassesses the generational disparity in immigrant offending. Patterns and predictors of offending are compared using traditional peer-based models and an alternative within-family (parent–child dyad) model. Method: The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1979; NLSY79) and NLSY-Child and Young Adult (NLSY_CYA) data are merged to create an intergenerational data set to compare generational disparities in immigrant offending across peers and within families. Differences in self-reported offending (prevalence and variety) by immigrant generation are assessed using a combination of descriptive analyses (χ2 and analysis of variance) and regression models. Results: While NLSY_CYA children generally are at a greater risk of offending compared with the NLSY79 mothers, the difference in offending is greatest between first-generation mom and second-generation child dyads. Disparities in offending are driven in large part by exceedingly low levels of offending among first-generation immigrants. Conclusion: Although the factors driving an increase in offending between parent–child generations are not unique to immigrants, they are amplified in immigrant families. Whereas the second generation is remarkably similar to their U.S.-born counterparts in terms of their involvement in crime, suggesting a high degree of swift integration, the greater involvement in crime among the children of immigrants compared to their foreign-born mothers suggests a decline in well-being across successive generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]