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This meta-analysis examines the official recidivism effects of two types of community sanctions in youth justice, namely community service and behavioural intervention programmes. Two analyses were conducted: a comparison between the effects of community sanctions and custodial sanctions, versus a comparison between the effects of community sanctions and dismissals. Following a systematic literature search, data extraction and analysis, mean effect sizes were calculated utilizing (log) odds ratio as the main effect measure. To explore heterogeneity, a meta-regression was conducted with four moderator variables: methodological rigour, referral stage, main focus of sanction and sample risk level. The hypotheses were that recidivism would be significantly lower for delinquent youth subject to community sanctions compared with those subject to custodial sanctions, but that differences in recidivism between delinquent youth subject to community sanctions versus dismissals would be insignificant. In total, 23 studies were deemed eligible for inclusion ( Ncust = 7, Ndism = 16). Final results were in favour of the hypotheses, namely, significantly lower recidivism rates for community sanctions compared with custodial sanctions, and no significant differences for community sanctions compared with dismissals. For both comparisons, the 95% confidence interval indicated the effects varied from just below zero to substantially in favour of community sanctions. Finally, moderator analysis revealed that studies of lower methodological quality and mixed referral stages were more likely to report larger effect sizes.

Despite a well-established body of research demonstrating that others’ evaluations of a person’s physical attractiveness carry significant meaning, researchers have largely ignored how self-perceptions of physical attractiveness relate to offending behaviors. Applying general strain theory and using eight waves of panel data from the Adolescent Academic Context Study, we explore how self-perceptions of attractiveness relate to offending as youth progress through school. Results demonstrate that youth who perceive themselves as more attractive engage in more—not less—offending. Depression, which is treated as a form of negative affect, does not appear to mediate this relationship. We conclude by raising attention to the possibility that being “good-looking” may actually be a key risk factor for crime.

Place-based blight remediation programs have gained popularity in recent years as a crime reduction approach. This study estimated the impact of a citywide vacant lot greening program in Philadelphia on changes in crime over multiple years, and whether the effects were moderated by nearby land uses. The vacant lot greening program was assessed using quasi-experimental and experimental designs. Entropy distance weighting was used in the quasi-experimental analysis to match control lots to be comparable to greened lots on pre-existing crime trends. Fixed-effects difference-in-differences models were used to estimate the impact of the vacant lot greening program in quasi-experimental and experimental analyses. Vacant lot greening was estimated to reduce total crime and multiple subcategories in both the quasi-experimental and experimental evaluations. Remediating vacant lots had a smaller effect on reducing crime when they were located nearby train stations and alcohol outlets. The crime reductions from vacant lot remediations were larger when they were located near areas of active businesses. There is some suggestive evidence that the effects of vacant lot greening are larger when located in neighborhoods with higher pre-intervention levels of social cohesion. The findings suggest that vacant lot greening provides a sustainable approach to reducing crime in disadvantaged neighborhoods, and the effects may vary by different surrounding land uses. To better understand the mechanisms through which place-based blight remediation interventions reduce crime, future research should measure human activities and neighborly socialization in and around places before and after remediation efforts are implemented.

The responsivity principle is a vital element in the risk-need-responsivity model. The working alliance is a good illustration of the intention of this responsivity principle. In this study, we examine the influence of the working alliance (WAMCI) between 199 offenders and probation officers on recidivism. Data for this longitudinal study originate from adult probation services in the Netherlands. The association between the working alliance factors and recidivism was analyzed using a Cox regression. Offenders who reported more Trust in the relationship with their Probation Officer after 9 months community supervision showed less recidivism in the subsequent 4-year follow-up period. This association remained significant when controlled for criminal history, age, gender, ethnicity, family status, employment and addiction problems. Offenders who reported more reactance showed significantly more recidivism in the follow-up period, but this association was accounted for criminal history variables. These results can be regarded as an extension of the responsivity principle; a trusting relationship may be needed to create a space in which the client becomes engaged in a changing process.

The foremost goal of conducting an investigative interview is to obtain as much accurate information as possible. To achieve this, investigators employ a variety of interviewing techniques. Kelly et al. (Psychol Public Policy Law 19:165–178, 2013) proposed a taxonomy interviewing techniques, grouping them into six domains (i.e., Rapport and Relationship Building, Context Manipulation, Emotion Provocation, Collaboration, Confrontation/Competition, and Presentation of Evidence). In this study, we focused on assessing the Context Manipulation domain (e.g., considering seating arrangements, time of day, clothing). Specifically, we sought to examine police investigators’ use and beliefs about the effectiveness of context manipulation techniques. A sample of 81 police investigators completed the survey. Our findings provide evidence that investigators believe the interview setting to have importance and are already employing some context manipulation techniques in their practice. Techniques mentioned most often were related to seating arrangement, investigators’ clothing, and item availability for suspects (e.g., water, coffee). This survey also provides evidence that investigators are receptive to using context manipulation techniques in their practice, despite how little they are currently taught during trainings. Understanding what context manipulation techniques investigators use and believe to be useful in their interviewing practice may have implications for future training, as well as for the (re)design of interview rooms.

Canadian prison-based arts and other programming are limited at best. Even the country’s Correctional Investigator, or prison-ombudsperson, has critiqued the lack of meaningful options in which prisoners can engage. Those programs that do exist tend to be focused on the logic of penal rehabilitation, with the end goal of reducing recidivism. In this article, we showcase the evaluation of a 9-week arts program in a women’s prison, the aim of which was to build community and foster artistic engagement, thus running counter to normative carceral logics.

This multi-level meta-analysis tested if evidence-based trauma treatment was effective in reducing trauma symptoms and externalizing behavior problems in adolescents. Based on eight independent samples and 75 effect sizes, results indicated that Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) had a large and significant overall effect ( d = 0.909) on reducing trauma symptoms and externalizing behavior problems. Trauma treatment significantly decreased trauma symptoms (large effect) and externalizing behavior problems (medium effect). Age and type of control group moderated treatment effects. Treatment was more effective in older adolescents. Trauma treatment for adolescents with externalizing behavior problems had a larger effect compared to no treatment, but not compared to treatment as usual. It seems important to provide a broad treatment offer for adolescents with severe externalizing behavior problems, in which, besides trauma treatment, attention is paid to reducing relevant individual risk factors for behavior problems.

This study examined if and for whom prosecution of politicians for hate speech undermines support for the legal system and democracy. Three research designs were combined to investigate the case of Dutch politician Geert Wilders, who was convicted for hate speech against minorities in 2016. First, an experiment showed that observing a guilty verdict decreased support among ‘assimilationists’ who oppose the multicultural society. This deterioration of support was found among the entire group of assimilationists, regardless of whether they voted for Wilders. Secondly, a quasi-experiment demonstrated that assimilationists who were interviewed after Wilders' conviction indicated less support than those who were interviewed before the verdict and compared to a pre-test. Thirdly, a nine-year panel study suggested that these effects accumulate into long-term discontent. This case therefore demonstrates that hate speech prosecution can damage the democratic system it is intended to defend.

This contribution offers a new theory of vigilante violence: vigilante rituals theory. We argue that vigilante violence originates from fear, righteous anger, and retaliatory punitive desire that stems from violations of moral imperatives, which are Durkheimian sacred values. We argue that morally outraged people transform their fear and anger into violent action through mobilization and bodily alignment in vigilante rituals. These rituals can restore the integrity of moral imperatives and generate the unity of the in-group. Further, we propose the following variable socio-legal conditions that affect the likelihood for vigilante rituals to occur: legal legitimacy, an exposure to violence, and authorities’ encouragement of (violent) self-help. We conclude by noting how the theory advances prevailing explanations and how it can be used in future empirical research.

This article contributes to our existing knowledge through a crime script analysis of contract killings, based on six extensively analyzed police investigations in the Netherlands. Starting from a universal crime script, a more specific crime script for contract killings is elaborated. To provide a clear picture of the whole process, the description of the scenes focuses on requirements, facilitators, modi operandi, and preparatory actions. A comparison of liquidation investigations is made through a crime script analysis, which results in three types of requirements: vehicles, automatic weapons, and technical equipment, including PGP-telephones and beacons. In addition, spy shops turn out to play a major role in liquidations as facilitators. Due to a lack of licensing and regulations, the owners of spy shops can decide to a large extent on their own procedures. This leads to the possibility of buying and selling equipment anonymously and with large amounts of cash, which facilitates the preparation of liquidations and crime in general. Hitmen are the second type of important facilitators. The analysis reveals that all liquidation investigations contain indications of a principal to whom account has to be held. Two investigations clearly demonstrate financial rewards for contract killings.

Little research exists on what works in the supervision of offenders with debt problems. This qualitative study aims to provide insight into the barriers probation officers and clients experience during supervision regarding debt and the support that clients need. Interviews were conducted with 33 Dutch probation officers and 16 clients. The results show that debt often negatively influences clients’ lives and hinders their resocialization. Probation officers lack effective methods to support clients with debt problems. To adequately help clients with debt problems, probation officers should obtain more knowledge about effective interventions and collaborate more closely with debt specialists from the probation supervision outset.

Order of evidence presentation affects the evaluation and the integration of evidence in mock criminal cases. In this study, we aimed to determine whether the order in which incriminating and exonerating evidence is presented influences cognitive dissonance and subsequent display of confirmation bias. Law students (N = 407) were presented with a murder case vignette, followed by incriminating and exonerating evidence in various orders. Contrary to a predicted primacy effect (i.e. early evidence being most influential), a recency effect (i.e. late evidence being most influential) was observed in ratings of likelihood of the suspect’s guilt. The cognitive dissonance ratings and conviction rates were not affected by the order of evidence presentation. The effects of evidence presentation order may be limited to specific aspects of legal decisions. However, there is a need to replicate the results using procedures and samples that are more representative of real-life criminal law trials.

Despite the risk of employee victimization, research on deviant citizen behavior in frontline encounters is limited. When passengers are issued a fine on the bus, they sometimes respond aggressively toward the ticket inspector. This article identifies how citizens present themselves in ticket fining events and examines how their self-representations are related with aggressive acts toward frontline workers. Data comprise video footage of 40 events recorded with occupational body-worn cameras from public buses in Denmark. Using in-depth qualitative video analysis, the study systematically analyzes the encounters for citizen self-presentation and aggression. Five self-presentation types are identified, comprising passengers appearing innocent, honest, wronged, defiant, or superior in the inspector encounters. In aggressive events, passengers in particular perform the defiant and superior self-presentation types and typically perform more types than in the nonaggressive events. The findings yield insights into aggressive frontline encounters with an enlarged understanding of the range of reactions and counterattacks during these events. Recognizing these presentations and changing responses could help frontline workers prevent exposure to aggression on the job.

The current study examined the differentiation of borderline (BPD) and antisocial personality disorders (ASPD) in forensic settings, with particular emphasis on the utility of the MMPI-2-RF in differential diagnosis. This study examined these constructs across correctional and forensic psychiatric samples from the U.S. and the Netherlands using varying assessment/diagnosis modalities, including self-report, structured interview, and clinician-derived personality disorder (PD) diagnosis from both DSM-5 Section II and Section III perspectives. Our findings showed that internalizing psychopathology–and to a lesser extent interpersonal and thought dysfunction–differentiated BPD from ASPD; however, inconsistencies existed across samples. Higher levels of externalizing psychopathology were not found to differentiate ASPD across any of the samples or PD conceptualizations used in the current study. This suggests that diagnostic clarity may be particularly difficult in forensic settings and supports previous work that has shown problematic diagnostic overlap and a lack of differentiation between PD constructs. Nonetheless, as our current diagnostic system continues to rely on categorical determination of PDs, the current study suggests the MMPI-2-RF may enhance diagnostic differentiation.

Objectives This meta-review integrates the findings of meta-analyses and systematic reviews to explore the effect of intervention programs on recidivism for juvenile offenders. Methods The systematic literature search gathered 48 meta-analyses and systematic reviews from 53 research reports, contributing 56 independent effect sizes for analysis. These effect sizes were statistically integrated, and five moderators of theoretical and methodological importance were tested using meta-regression. Results On average, intervention programs are associated with a significant reduction in recidivism (rΦ = −0.09, p < 0.001) for juvenile offenders who participate in a program compared to those who do not. However, reductions in recidivism significantly vary between the levels of criminal justice system, characteristics of juvenile offenders, types of program modalities, and methodological quality. Conclusions Results indicate that intervention programs can be an effective approach to reducing recidivism for juvenile offenders, especially when combined with a rehabilitative program modality.

In contrast to works on victim advocacy in specific organizational contexts, this article introduces the term “victim work” to capture the vast array of victim-related roles and tasks that have proliferated in recent decades. Data are derived from in-depth interviews with 30 “victim workers” in public and private agencies in two Midwestern states. The interviews revealed diverse work experiences that spanned hotlines, crisis response, legal proceedings, and postconviction support. Three themes emerged that characterize “victim work”: flexibility, emotions, and the challenge of “fit”—the multifaceted difficulties of interacting with victims and agents of the justice system. Based on the findings, we offer a revised model of criminal justice vis-à-vis victims and implications for practice and future research.

This article presents the findings of 51 interviews with foreign national prisoners in Flanders (Belgium). Following an appreciative inquiry stance, the aim is to understand how foreign nationals experience (accessibility to) prison activities (for example, education, work, sports activities and worship) and to investigate if and how this differs between foreign-speaking and Dutch-speaking foreign nationals. A thematic analysis of the interviews revealed several components of the activities offered that were perceived by the foreign nationals to be ‘working well’ and revealed several dreams concerning the activities for foreign nationals. Within each theme considered, similarities and dissimilarities among foreign-speaking and Dutch-speaking foreign nationals are described. This article argues that foreign nationals are confronted with a new pain of imprisonment, namely ‘the pain of (non-)participation’. The findings could enable a shift from supply-driven to tailor-made activities for foreign national prisoners.

Strong and viable modern states have limited the use of private force to narrowly-defined situations of self-defense. Yet, evidence from crime surveys shows that a significant proportion of violent and property crimes is not reported to police. Instead of calling the police, people either take no action or employ a variety of mechanisms, including retaliation, to settle disputes. Drawing on data from a survey of 2,921 young people in two German cities, we investigate the propensity of adolescents to resort to self-justice retaliation. The results show widespread propensity to engage in retaliatory actions, particularly among adolescent males of low socio-economic status. Further, attitudes to the police, unsupervised routine activities, and delinquency-related variables were the most influential correlates of propensity to engage in retaliatory actions.

Drawing on a decade of research on terrorism in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, we show how subjective “rational choices” motivate some women to engage in terrorist activism. Focusing on the motives of young women who engage in terrorism is consistent with feminist theory’s insistence on women’s agency—even at the extremes. In addition to the well-established motivations for terrorism reported in the literature, interviews with young women involved in terrorism reveal mixed personal motives for their gender-defying choices, including thrill-seeking and some conscious rebellion. However, we contend that women’s subjective rationale for participation in such violent behavior needs to be contextualized. A cost–benefit approach, we maintain, highlights the strategic considerations supporting the deployment of women as combatants by Palestinian terrorist organizations. We argue that the inclusion of women in terrorist activism in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict exposes a major fault line in attitudes to the role and proper place of women in what remains largely a patriarchal culture. This social ambivalence accounts for why, on all measures, women fare worse than their male counterparts. The implications of the findings for feminist research as well as policy are discussed.

In recent years, a growing trend to consider strengths and protective factors in studies on desistance from crime has emerged. The present study explores three formerly detained adolescents’ narratives, aiming to tease out how Quality of Life (QoL) and desistance interact in pathways towards a “better life.” The narratives suggest that the journey towards a better life is highly individual, and may unfold via multiple pathways characterized by an ambivalent relationship between QoL and desistance. Alongside the importance of individual aspects and social support, societal barriers and opportunities play a significant role in creating new chances to re-build a life and prosocial identities. This reflects earlier findings that desistance is not an individual responsibility. It is essential to support young people to overcome societal barriers that impede participation in society and living a good life. This research adds to growing evidence of strengths-based approaches to rehabilitation, such as the Good Lives Model (GLM).

Highlights Ninety percent of sexual assault kits were submitted to the crime lab for analysis. Victim, assault, and case factors played little role in predicting kit submission. Submission rates varied significantly between different cities. State and organizational culture, policy, and practice are critically important.

This study examines the ecological reliability, convergent validity and ecological stability of neighbourhood (dis)organizational processes measured by means of two methods: inhabitant surveys and the so-called key informant analysis technique. Considering that ecological processes play a major role in many contemporary criminological theories and research, it is vital to take into account methodological challenges and to question the reliability, validity and stability of the measures reflecting these underlying processes. (Dis)organizational processes are predominantly measured by means of questionnaires surveying neighbourhood inhabitants. To yield ecologically reliable and valid measures this approach requires large numbers of respondents. In this study we analyse the relationships between ecological measures of neighbourhood processes based on surveys of inhabitants versus key informants. The findings suggest that key informants can provide reliable, valid and stable measures of (dis)organizational neighbourhood processes. Therefore, the key informant analysis technique is an essential complementary, or even substitutive, method in the measurement of neighbourhood processes; shared survey-method variance is eliminated and it is possible to survey fewer key informants than inhabitants to obtain reliable and valid information on social trust and disorder. Nevertheless, this method is not suitable for measuring all neighbourhood processes, such as informal social control. Therefore, outstanding challenges and avenues for future research are discussed as well.

Latinoamérica revela las tasas más altas de no denuncia del delito a nivel mundial, más aún en países como Ecuador en donde la no denuncia se registra en el 80% de los sucesos delictivos. Los estudios sobre víctimas y la no denuncia son escasos aún y se han concentrado en índices de victimización; además, existe un vacío teórico sobre la no denuncia desde sus causalidades primarias. Este estudio la analiza desde la observación del perfil socio-demográfico de las víctimas y el tipo de delito perpetrado como factores de influencia. Empleando métodos de investigación cuantitativos se analizó la III Encuesta de Victimización y Percepción de Seguridad Ciudadana del cantón Cuenca, Ecuador, 2016 que evidencia un perfil de víctima que no denuncia vinculado a exclusión, pobreza e inequidades y un patrón de delitos menos denunciados en hurtos, robos y extorsiones, factores que deben ser reconocidos para enfocar esfuerzos de política pública victimológica.

The criminal liability of the perpetrator of a criminal act is not only conditioned on the objective features of the criminal act but also on the subjective ones (intentional or unintentional behavior). Apart from the subjective features of the act, guilt is also necessary in order to be able to attribute the crime. However, both theory and practice face with one exception to the principle of nullum crimen sine culpa (no crime without guilt). This applies to a state of disturbances of mental functions caused by the perpetrator of a criminal act. There are numerous problems arising from the collision of the need to punish the perpetrator (dictated by criminal policy), and the real state of his/her psyche, which can sometimes speak even for no fault (and thus no crime). It has a significant meaning for the subjective aspects of the crime. The aim of this study is to present these problems based on a dogmatic and legal analysis of regulations and a review of the literature in the field of medicine. The final conclusions lead to a de lege ferenda postulate concerning the legal solution of the above-mentioned dilemmas.

Reproductive coercion is increasingly recognised as a common part of women’s experiences of domestic violence. The term refers to behaviour that aims to compromise a woman’s control over her reproductive choices. It includes coercing a woman to become pregnant or to terminate a pregnancy and sabotaging contraception. There is no Australian research exploring how domestic violence support and legal services understand and respond to reproductive coercion when it is raised. Drawing on focus group discussions, this article questions the use of the terminology ‘reproductive coercion’ suggesting that ‘reproductive abuse’ may be more accessible. The article finds that the response to reproductive coercion in the legal context may be similar to sexual violence allegations, particularly regarding difficulties associated with reporting and with the victim being believed. This connection is worthy of further investigation. The article concludes that legislative change may improve the recognition of reproductive coercion.

Violent injury is known to be a chronic, recurrent issue, with high rates of recidivism in the 5 years following initial injury. Much of the strategy behind violence intervention programs, who are ...

Children who are involved in legal cases are often interviewed about events they witnessed or that might have happened to them. Occasionally, after such interviews, children are confronted with misinformation regarding their experiences. The question that arises is whether their earlier interviews may protect them from reporting misinformation. The goal of the present experiment was to assess whether empirically based interviewing by means of the National Institute for Child Health and Development (NICHD) Protocol would affect the reporting of misinformation in children. Children were involved in an interactive event (i.e., science demonstration). Following this, three experimental groups were created: one group was interviewed using the NICHD Protocol, one group had to freely recall what they experienced, and one group was not asked to retrieve any memories about the event. Next, all children received misinformation concerning the event and were then subjected to a final memory test. We found that children’s recall during the NICHD interview protected children against the incorporation of misinformation in their accounts of the event. This effect was absent in the other two conditions. The current experiment suggests that evidence-based investigative interviewing can inoculate children’s memory against the corrupting impact of misinformation.

Substance use and intimate partner violence (IPV) are both associated with psychological distress. This study examines the association between IPV victimization and psychological distress among peo...

The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the impact of COVID-19 in the Scottish Prison Estate. During the 2020 lockdown in prison in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, all face-to-face research was paused. In response to this methodological challenge, a participatory correspondence methodology was designed, enabling project participants to influence the direction of this project through suggesting research questions. The main project findings relate to the analysis of ways in which the COVID-19 enhanced the pains of imprisonment for participants, exploring the challenges that the participants faced in relation to communication, feelings of heightened isolation and detachment from family, friends and the normal rhythms of life in prison. Analysis of the letters received as part of this study provides unique insights into the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic in custody has added an additional layer or enhancement to pre-pandemic pains of imprisonment, increasing the ‘tightness’ ‘depth’ and ‘weight’ of participants time in custody.

The concept of mattering can be helpful for understanding the ways in which structural and historical factors affect individual psychologies. This paper lays out the usefulness of mattering as a lens through which to examine why a small minority of young people in Britain commit violent acts. We first explore what it means to matter and the evidence linking the quest to matter with violence, and then examine the factors in contemporary Britain which can diminish a young person’s sense of mattering, using recent community research. We then critique the British government’s attempt to address the problem of violence through Gang Injunctions and Knife Crime Prevention Orders. We conclude by suggesting that policy-makers could gain substantial insight from investigating the connections between marginalisation, mattering and violence, rather than focusing disproportionately on the music young people choose to listen to or create, or the specific weapon that they opt to carry. El concepto de ser importante puede ayudar a entender cómo los factores estructurales e históricos afectan a la psicología individual. Este artículo muestra la utilidad del ser importante como una lente a través de la cual se puede examinar por qué una pequeña minoría de jóvenes de Gran Bretaña cometen actos violentos. Primero, exploramos qué significa importar, y cómo queda demostrado que la búsqueda de ser importante está relacionada con la violencia, y después examinamos los factores de la Gran Bretaña actual que pueden mermar el sentido de una persona joven de ser importante, para lo cual utilizamos investigaciones comunitarias recientes. A continuación, criticamos el intento del Gobierno británico de resolver el problema a través de órdenes de restricción sobre las pandillas y sobre la prevención de delitos con arma blanca. Concluimos sugiriendo que los legisladores podrían tener una mejor visión si investigaran las relaciones entre la marginalización, el sentirse importante y la violencia antes que centrarse de forma exagerada en la música que los jóvenes escuchan o crean, o el arma concreta que portan. Available from: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1178

Social media and activist sites have provided an avenue to contest the dominant framing of street harassment as ‘trivial’ and have sought to make street harassment and its harms visible. To date, digital activism has been analysed and conceptualised in relation to its potential as a counter-public forum that enables collective action and resistance, political mobilisation, ‘speaking out’ and consciousness raising, and as a site of informal or innovative justice. I aim to build on this literature by examining the potential for the activist sites Hollaback!, @catcallsofnyc and @dearcatcallers to function as a form of ‘counter-mapping’, contributing towards broader social justice efforts to disrupt and transform dominant productions of space/place. I examine the tensions created by these digital practices, particularly with regards to whether they disrupt the production of space/place or, rather, reinforce urban space as a gendered ‘threatscape’. Algunas redes sociales y sitios web de activistas han constituido una vía de contestación al marco dominante que considera el acoso callejero como algo “trivial”; y han procurado visibilizar el acoso callejero y sus perjuicios. Hasta la fecha, se ha analizado y conceptualizado el activismo digital en relación con su potencial como contraforo público que posibilita la acción y resistencia colectivas, la movilización política, “alzar la voz” y concienciar, y como lugar de justicia informal o innovadora. Me propongo contribuir a esta literatura realizando un análisis del potencial de los sitios web activistas Hollaback!, @catcallsofnyc y @dearcatcallers para funcionar como “contraperfilado geográfico”, contribuyendo a ampliar la justicia social y perturbar y transformar producciones dominantes de espacio/lugar. Examino las tensiones creadas por dichas prácticas digitales, sobre todo en torno a la cuestión de si perturban la producción de espacio/lugar o si, más bien, refuerzan el espacio urbano como escenario de amenaza de género. Available from: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1144

Resumen Introduccion La tasa de denuncia policial del delito de acecho en Espana es baja. El presente trabajo pretende conocer que factores influyen en la decision de denunciar el hecho victimizante a instancias policiales, asi como conocer los motivos de no denuncia. Material y metodos Un total de 1.773 estudiantes universitarios espanoles (71,9% mujeres y 27,4% varones; media de edad 21,35 anos; DS = 4,493) cumplimentaron una encuesta de victimizacion de conductas de acecho con el objetivo de conocer la tasa de prevalencia de victimizacion por acecho, la gravedad del comportamiento y la probabilidad de denuncia. Resultados Seiscientos treinta y ocho estudiantes (35,6%) indicaron haber sido victimas de acecho alguna vez en su vida (79,5% mujeres, media de edad = 21,85; DS = 5,340). Unicamente 35 victimas (5,5%) denuncio los hechos a la policia. El hecho de ser mujer, recibir amenazas con danar a terceros, asi como amenazas directas fueron las variables que mas relacion guardaban con denunciar la situacion. En relacion con aquellas victimas que no denunciaron los hechos (386) mas de la mitad lo justifican por pensar que la situacion no era lo suficientemente importante como para poner en conocimiento a la policia. Conclusiones El acecho es un fenomeno prevalente, no obstante, la tasa de denuncia a instancias policiales es baja. La gravedad de las conductas experimentadas incrementa la probabilidad de denuncia. En este sentido, es necesaria una concienciacion previa sobre el fenomeno del acecho, para prevenir conductas graves y potenciar la visibilidad de este delito.

This article presents the findings of an in-depth comparative study of remand decision-making in youth courts in England & Wales and the Netherlands. Informed by qualitative empirical research, this article explores differences and similarities in remand decision-making and in the functions of remand in the administration of youth justice. A key finding is that in Dutch youth justice a paternalistic and interventionist perception of the ‘welfare principle’ seems to be an important informal driver of the (relatively) high youth remand rates, whereas in the English youth justice system the ‘welfare principle’ seems to function rather as a protective mechanism against an overzealous use of youth remand. Ultimately, the article explores how different legal traditions and ‘proximal processes’ might explain and shape cross-national differences in the use of remand for youth and identifies several areas for further inquiry that can potentially advance our broader international comparative understanding of youth remand practices.

Although intimate partner violence (IPV) is highly prevalent among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) young adults, only little is known regarding gender identity disparities in this population. Furthermore, virtually no research has examined IPV-related help-seeking patterns among LGBTQ young adults, including whether there are gender identity disparities in these rates and whether specific services are most likely to be used by LGBTQ young adults across IPV type. Participants were 354 LGBTQ young adults (ages: 18-25, 33.6% transgender and gender nonconforming [TGNC]) who experienced IPV victimization during their lifetime. TGNC young adults experienced more identity abuse victimization and reported 2.06 times the odds of seeking medical services, 2.15 times the odds of seeking support services, and 1.66 times the odds of seeking mental health services compared to cisgender sexual minority young adults. LGBTQ young adults with physical abuse victimization reported 2.63 times the odds of seeking mental health services, 2.93 times the odds of seeking medical care, and 2.40 times the odds of seeking support services compared to LGBTQ young adults without physical abuse victimization. Finally, LGBTQ young adults with identity abuse reported 2.08 times the odds of seeking mental health services and 2.58 times the odds of seeking support services compared to LGBTQ young adults without identity abuse. These findings provide a more complete understanding of gender identity as both risk and protective factors for IPV and IPV-related help-seeking. This study also provides implications for training providers, service availability, and resource allocation for LGBTQ young adults with IPV victimization.

The global spread of the coronavirus has drastically impacted people's lives. Due to governmental lockdown measures, most people's work and social life were suddenly confined to their own home. For partners who lived together, this could put serious strain on their relationship, which could result in conflicts and violence. In this study, we aimed to identify which groups of people particularly experienced verbal partner violence during the pandemic lockdown, and how stress regarding the COVID-19 pandemic played a role in the occurrence of partner conflicts. Through an online survey, which was distributed through online (social) media channels, we gathered data from 2889 people in Flanders, of which 1491 people lived together with their partner during the lockdown. We found that partner violence during the lockdown particularly occurred among women; younger age groups; students; people whose partner was long-term unemployed or was (temporarily) unemployed due to the pandemic; parents of children younger than 18 years; people without the ability to seclude themselves from other members of the household; and people with less personal contacts. In addition, higher levels of stress about the COVID-19 pandemic itself and lower levels of stress about potential coronavirus infection were associated with more partner violence during the lockdown. These findings provide important information for policy makers and health professionals, offering guidance to direct greater resources in prevention and intervention efforts towards higher risk individuals and groups during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hundreds of thousands of Americans are released from prison every year. Drawing on interviews conducted in the mid-2010s in the context of the Multi-site Family Study on Parenting, Partnering and Incarceration, this article explores how the strains of prisoner re-entry interact with those of poverty and family life, and how these combined strains condition proactive engagement with the legal system among re-entering individuals and their intimate and co-parenting partners. We focus our analysis on problems, tensions and struggles for control in parenting and partnership, including inter-parental violence, as these often led to calls or actions that clearly allowed for coercive intervention by parole authorities, courts, child support enforcement, or child protective services. We identify the precise circumstances and motives that lay behind such requests or allowances, and explain how these related to the cynical regard in which former prisoners and their partners typically held the coercive apparatus of the state. Through bringing our empirical findings into an interplay with scholarship on the role of punishment in the governance of poverty under neoliberalism, we examine how the strains faced by former prisoners' households and the tactics they used to deal with them pertain to broader politico-economic arrangements.

Compared to their non-homeless peers, chronically homeless adults are much more likely to have a history of incarceration. In turn, homelessness is associated with increased morbidity, lack of access to adequate healthcare services, and decreased life expectancy. This study investigates whether age at first incarceration is associated with age at first homeless experience and with lifetime duration of literal homelessness. Study participants are homeless adults entering permanent supportive housing (PSH) in Los Angeles County, California, that have experienced incarceration prior to their first experience of homelessness (n=230). Multivariate linear regressions were conducted to determine association between age at first incarceration with: 1) age at first literal homelessness and 2) lifetime duration of literal homelessness. Results indicate that incarceration as a juvenile and young adult is significantly associated with earlier literal homelessness experiences and may be associated with longer durations of literal homelessness, for adults entering PSH. Moreover, women incarcerated as juveniles and entering PSH first experienced literal homelessness earlier than comparable men. Our findings suggest the need for long-term supportive services for persons incarcerated before 25 years old, especially for women. Moreover, these findings refine the working knowledge that prior incarceration increases risk for prolonged homelessness and can help agencies complete more accurate risk assessments.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to expand available knowledge on predictors of male inmate violence by examining a large set of variables offered by the importation, deprivation and threat appraisal and coping theories. Design/methodology/approach A total of 465 male inmates from five medium-security prisons in Wisconsin completed surveys to report demographics, violence, personality, social stressors and healthy coping behaviors to help manage risk by identifying key factors. Findings Inmates reported more violence with the “imported” characteristics of younger age, less incarceration, no college experience and personality patterns of impulsiveness, hostility and internal locus of control. More violence was reported by inmates with social stressors experienced from family and correctional staff. Additionally, less violence was reported by inmates with more healthy coping behaviors of exercise and social support, especially from family and other inmates. Research limitations/implications One must remain uncertain about whether similar patterns of demographics, personality, social stressors and coping behaviors associated with inmate violence would be found in other US prisons. Future research can determine whether similar predictors of violence are found for women inmates and the consideration of ethnicity should be warranted when examining predictors of inmate violence. Practical implications Prison administrators can develop new programs to reduce social stressors and increase healthy coping behaviors found by this study to be significantly associated with reduced violence, exercise and social support from other inmates and family. Social implications This research recommends that educating and training correctional staff for a trauma-informed care approach is an integral part of lessening the effects of “pains of imprisonment” on inmate violence and healing the effects of trauma. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study provides the first direct comparison of social stressors from other inmates, correctional staff or family members outside the prison as possible predictors of male inmate violence.

Objectives: An initial investigation by the Department of Justice (DOJ) found that the Newark Police Department (NPD) had engaged in a “pattern or practice” of constitutional violations with regard to stop and arrest practices, prompting the city to enter a consent decree. Methods: This study draws on official event-level data on FIs recorded by NPD officers (N = 50,322) and uses random effects panel regression models to examine how socioeconomic characteristics interact with the implementation of the consent decree at micro places in the short term. Results: Spatial analyses indicate a concentration of FI encounters. The implementation of the consent decree coincided with improvements in the quality of data collected by officers conducting FIs of citizens. It was also associated with decreased rates of reported FIs for the city’s Black and Latino citizens relative to their share of the local population, and patterns of FI encounters. Conclusions: Newark’s consent decree improved the quality of data collection. However, the spatial concentration of reported FIs and subsequent arrest of Black and Latino individuals have not experienced the same effect as they presumably require a culture change that is likely to necessitate a longer time frame to manifest.

Although the visitation-recidivism relationship has been studied extensively among adult correctional populations, it has received little attention among incarcerated juveniles. In this study, we use a diverse sample of youth released from confinement in Florida ( N = 7,296) to examine the effects of visitation and visitation consistency on two measures of recidivism—re-arrest and re-adjudication. We also consider whether the visitation-recidivism relationship varies depending upon youths’ risk for reoffending (as determined by sociodemographic, offense history, and family risk factors). The results indicate that, for the average juvenile, visitation is associated with a marginal reduction in the likelihood of recidivism, and that the effects are more pronounced for high-risk youth. These results underscore the importance of targeting the most at-risk youth for programming options within correctional facilities and suggest the need for continued availability of visitation programming generally.

Male sexual assault is an understudied area. Interventions aimed at reducing negative attitudes toward male survivors have received relatively little attention in the field of sexual assault and violence. This may be related to underreported or insufficient data on male survivors or possibly the acceptance of male rape myths. The current research examines the effect of a hypothetical male sexual assault survivor story and empathy writing task on changes in male rape myth acceptance (MRMA) among U.S. men and women ( N = 95). Further, the researchers sought to understand the differences between men and women in MRMA change scores and state emotional empathy for the hypothetical survivor after the empathy induction. Finally, the researchers examined whether state emotional empathy would predict reductions in MRMA and whether participant sex would predict state emotional empathy for the hypothetical survivor after accounting for knowing a male survivor and preinduction MRMA. The results indicated that both men and women experienced significant decreases in MRMA postinduction, and men and women experienced similar levels of change. Additionally, state emotional empathy and preinduction MRMA were the only significant predictors of change scores. Although women reported higher state emotional empathy for the hypothetical survivor, sex was not a significant predictor of state emotional empathy after accounting for personally knowing a male survivor and preinduction MRMA. This research fills a gap in the literature by identifying men’s stories of sexual assault and empathy writing as potential methods to reduce MRMA.

Impacting 1 in 4 children in the United States, childhood exposure to domestic violence predicts myriad negative sequelae. Intervening post exposure is critical to help children and their protective parent heal and avoid long-term negative consequences. Children aged 2-17 and their mothers who were victims of domestic violence participated in a 12-week group program delivered by domestic violence agency staff that provides psychoeducation on the impact of trauma and domestic violence and aims to improve parent and child well-being. The impact of the Child Witness to Domestic Violence (CWDV) program was tested in an intervention group ( n = 69 children, 33 mothers) who participated in CWDV and control group ( n = 80 children, 39 mothers) consisting of children whose mothers received adult-focused domestic violence services but were not enrolled in CWDV or other child-focused services. Multiple regression analyses controlling for child gender, child age, mother’s age, and the outcome of interest at time 1 found that participation in CWDV program significantly predicted better child functioning as indicated by less hyperactivity ( B = –.85, p = .06), fewer negative emotional symptoms ( B = –1.14, p = .01), and fewer total behavioral difficulties ( B = –2.48, p = .02) as well as higher maternal hope ( B = .57, p = .03). These data provide promising evidence of the impact of a brief, replicable group intervention that promotes healing and well-being among children and parents exposed to domestic violence. Limitations include a quasi-experimental design and reliance on maternal report.

The primary purpose of this study was to examine public support for the death penalty in Brazil and to determine factors that influence such support. Currently, Brazil has the death penalty for cases involving war crimes, genocides, terrorism, and crime against humanity. The country’s constitution, however, prohibits the use of the death penalty in ordinary crimes. Analyzing individual-level cross-sectional data collected by the American Barometer Survey, we found that a significant majority of Brazilians support the death penalty, with more than two thirds expressing greater support. In terms of factors, it was revealed that frequency of murders, sense of insecurity, and perceived institutional legitimacy largely influence support for the death penalty. In addition, ethnicity, religiosity, and religious affiliation affect citizens’ attitudes toward the death penalty. The findings of this study have serious implications for research and practice.

In this study, we use generalized estimating equation (GEE) models to analyze how rates of eviction correspond to homicide, robbery, and burglary rates across all residential neighborhoods in Philadelphia from 2006 through 2016. We assess the moderating role of neighborhood poverty accounting for residential mobility, economic disadvantage, and community composition. We find that eviction is associated with all three types of crime in fully controlled models. Additionally, neighborhood poverty significantly moderates this relationship for robbery and burglary, but not homicide. We discuss the implications of these results with attention to policy opportunities to reduce eviction and suggestions for future research.

The Transtheoretical Model (TTM) of behavior change predicts that patients go through different stages of change prior to changing their problematic behavior. This study aims to evaluate the utility and validity of this model in a sample of 549 court-ordered partner violent men. Three types of perpetrators with respect to their readiness to change were revealed. Those in more advantage stage of change use more processes to change their problem and present with higher levels of intimate partner violence (IPV). Low readiness to change levels and treatment drop-out predict short-term criminal justice recidivism, while treatment drop-out predicts medium and long-term recidivism. Results highlight the applicability of the TTM in IPV and its usefulness in designing behavioral interventions with this population.

Sexual assault is a widespread problem on college campuses, and survivors rarely use campus supports. However, there is no established measure of service barriers for this population. This study develops and provides preliminary evidence for a measure of psychological service barriers. Data were collected from 100 college sexual assault survivors. Results provide evidence for three factors: social-emotional barriers, negative treatment barriers, and minimization barriers. Additional tests offer evidence for consistency and reliability in these factors over time and across campus supports. This work offers preliminary evidence for the psychometric properties of this measure and lays the groundwork for future validation research.

Due in part to their involvement with social activities on campus, college students experience an increased risk of dating violence. Recent legislation such as the Campus SaVE Act (which requires U.S. colleges to offer training on sexual assault, domestic violence, stalking, and sexual harassment to all incoming students) has contributed to the increase in prevention programming offered across postsecondary campuses, as well as subsequent research examining the effectiveness of these prevention efforts. The current study provides a systematic review and meta-analysis of college dating violence prevention programs. A systematic search of 28 databases and numerous gray literature sources identified an initial 14,540 articles of which 315 were deemed potentially eligible for inclusion. Studies were selected if they (1) evaluated a college dating prevention program/campaign, (2) reported one of five outcomes (knowledge, attitudes, or bystander efficacy, intentions, or behavior), (3) had a minimum sample size of 20 in the treatment group, (4) used a pre/post and/or comparison group design, and (5) were published in English or French between January 2000 and October 2020. We calculated 53 effect sizes from 31 studies and conducted separate meta-analyses on various categories of outcome measures. Findings suggest that college dating violence prevention programs are effective at increasing knowledge and attitudes toward dating violence, as well as bystander skills, but are not effective at increasing bystander behaviors. Findings from moderator analyses suggest that several program components influence the strength of treatment effects. Implications for improving the effectiveness of college dating violence prevention programs are discussed.

Within Western criminal justice traditions, the ‘risk’ paradigm has become the defining logic of contemporary laws and policies on sex offender management. This article critically examines the limitations of current technocratic and algorithmic approaches to risk in relation to sexual offending and how they might be addressed. Drawing on nearly two decades of theoretical and empirical research conducted by the author, it applies the learning on sex offender reintegration and desistance to advance a ‘humanistic’ paradigm of sexual offending. The paper attempts to counter some of the dangers of algorithmic justice and shift risk-based discourse away from its predominantly ‘scientific’ origins. It argues that such a move towards a more expansive and progressive version of risk within criminal justice discourses would better capture the realities of sexual offending behaviour and its real-world governance.

Organizational commitment is an imperative aspect of occupational attitudes as it signals employees’ willingness to stay with their organization and effectively achieve collective goals. Although recent studies have assessed factors influencing police officers’ organizational commitment, very little is known about the antecedents of police commitment in African countries. Based on a survey of Nigerian police officers, the study assesses the linkage between organizational justice and organizational commitment directly and indirectly through organizational trust and job satisfaction. Structural equation modeling (SEM) indicates that the relationship between organizational justice and organizational commitment is principally indirect through the mediating mechanisms of supervisory trustworthiness and job satisfaction. Officers who express greater organizational justice report higher trust in their management and supervisors and, subsequently, stronger job satisfaction, leading to higher organizational commitment. Implications for future research and policy are discussed.

Most empirical studies that examine why individuals report property crimes to the police have focused on Global North countries where crime rates are low. This study is situated in the most violent area of the world, Latin America, and examines Peru, which has the highest robbery victimization rate in the Americas. This article examines the applicability of theories of crime reporting in this Global South context using a large sample and multilevel modeling. We find that trust in the police has no impact on the reporting of the robbery of one’s cellphone, purse or wallet. The theories of rational choice and Black’s stratification of law provide strong explanations for the reporting of robbery of these personal items. Individuals of higher social status and those who reside in districts with low levels of social disadvantage are more likely to report, as well as those who have experienced violent victimization.