Agent-based Models of Geographical Systems

French Abstract: La question de la traite sexuelle est devenue de plus en plus politisee ces dernieres annees suite aux efforts d'une croisade morale influente. Cet article examine la fabrication sociale de la traite sexuelle (et plus generalement de la prostitution) dans le discours des principaux militants et des organisations membres de cette croisade, et conclut que ses allegations principales sont problematiques, non fondees ou demontrablement fausses. L'analyse met en lumiere l'adoption et l'institutionnalisation croissantes de l’ideologie de la croisade dans la politique et la pratique du gouvernement americain.English Abstract: The issue of sex trafficking has become increasingly politicized in recent years due to the efforts of an influential moral crusade. This article examines the social construction of sex trafficking (and prostitution more generally) in the discourse of leading activists and organizations within the crusade, and concludes that the central claims are problematic, unsubstantiated, or demonstrably false. The analysis documents the increasing endorsement and institutionalization of crusade ideology in U.S. government policy and practice.

La Fabrication Sociale De La Traite Sexuelle: Idéologie Et Institutionnalisation D’Une Croisade Morale (The Social Construction of Sex Trafficking: Ideology and Institutionalization of a Moral Crusade)

Background: A stigma is a long-lasting mark of social disgrace that has a profound effect on interactions between the stigmatized and the unstigmatized. Factors governing the extent of stigmatization attached to an individual include the perceived danger posed by that person and the extent to which she/he is seen as being to blame for the stigma.Methods: Systematic database searches identified 185 papers for inclusion in the review, all of which were read and findings analysed and compared.Results: Stigmatizing attitudes towards problem drug users (PDUs) are common among the general public and non-specialist professionals. The impact on users is profound and represents a significant barrier to recovery. Reasons for this extreme stigmatization include negative reactions to injecting and widespread attributions concerning danger and blame. Advocacy and practice responses include challenging media language and stereotypes, encouraging public figures to speak out about their personal experiences, improved tra...

The stigmatization of problem drug users: A narrative literature review

Why do robbers choose a particular area to commit an offense? Do they rob close to home? Do they search for areas with suitable and attractive targets? What keeps them away from certain areas? To answer these questions, a model is developed of how robbers choose target areas. The model draws on various theoretical and empirical traditions, which include environmental criminology, journey to crime research, gang research, and social disorganization theory. Testing the model on cleared robbery cases in Chicago in the years 1996–1998, we demonstrate that robbery location choice is related to characteristics of target areas, to areas where offenders live, to joint characteristics of the resident and target areas, and to characteristics of the offenders themselves. The presence of illegal markets and other crime generators and crime attractors make areas attractive for robbers, whereas collective efficacy seems to keep them out. Distance as well as racial and ethnic segregation restrict the mobility of offenders.

Where offenders choose to attack: a discrete choice model of robberies in chicago*

Robbery, and the fear it inspires, has a profound effect on the quality of life in certain urban neighborhoods. Recent advances in criminological research suggest that there is significant clustering of crime in micro places, or ‘‘hot spots,’’ that generate a disproportionate amount of criminal events in a city. In this article, the authors use growth curve regression models to uncover distinctive developmental trends in robbery incidents at street segments and intersections in Boston over a 29-year period. The authors find that robberies are highly concentrated at a small number of street segments and intersections rather than spread evenly across the urban landscape over the study time period. Roughly 1 percent and 8 percent of street segments and intersections in Boston are responsible for nearly 50 percent of all commercial robberies and 66 percent of all street robberies, respectively, between 1980 and 2008. Our findings suggest that citywide robbery trends may be best understood by examining micro-l...

The Relevance of Micro Places to Citywide Robbery Trends: A Longitudinal Analysis of Robbery Incidents at Street Corners and Block Faces in Boston

Street robbery offences can be perpetrated in a variety of ways. Offenders adopt a particular method of conducting the offence that appears to be closely related to the underlying purpose of the offence and the type of victim that is targeted. This paper reviews existing research and presents new findings relating to the “decisions” involved in the commission of street robbery from the perspective of the offenders. Twenty face-to-face interviews were undertaken with offenders convicted of street robbery. Findings specifically focus on the modus operandi employed by offenders based on their knowledge of the risks, struggles and advantages of different ways of working.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1057%2Fpalgrave.cpcs.8150033.pdf

Taxing on the Streets: Understanding the Methods and Process of Street Robbery

Findings from a recent survey among employers in the north-west of England suggest that personal support is the most favoured type of support both for employers and for ex-offenders when considering employing (or employing more) ex-offenders. The findings also reveal that employers need more information on the relevance and the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, as well as guidance on risk assessment and management procedures, in order to enable them to make informed decisions about, and increase their confidence in, employing ex-offenders.

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/hojo_501.pdf?abstractid=1085682&mirid=2

A not so Well-Lit Path: Employers' Perspectives on Employing Ex-offenders

This paper considers the intellectual framework that is used to understand human trafficking and the limitations that it imposes on the criminological study of this phenomenon. First, there is a brief historical perspective which allows for comparisons between current debates and the moral crusades of the Victorian/Edwardian social purists. The contemporary focus on trafficking for sexual exploitation, rooted in Victorian/Edwardian construction has, the authors argue, narrowed the policy remit and the criminological investigation into human trafficking. The paper then proceeds to address the interaction between these enduring (historical) myths, the role of trans-national organised crime and the constraining effects of the contemporary intellectual framework. It is argued that in order to challenge the cyclical nature of the debates, it is necessary to make redundant the use of the term human trafficking and to widen the criminological lens through which we consider the problem. In doing so, we hope to highlight those groups whose experiences are missing or marginalised in the current construction of the problem and urge a reconsideration of the way in which criminology approaches this issue.

The ‘Groundhog Day’ of the Human Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation Debate: New Directions in Criminological Understanding

Getting problem drug users (back) into employment: part two

This article is based on part of a wider research study concerning street robbery. It is concerned with the application of the concept of ‘personal defensible space’ at automatic teller machines (ATMs) in a high-robbery area. The application of personal defensible space in the pilot study area had a significant effect on the number of robberies committed at or in close proximity to identified ATMs. The article also considers how the proximity of drug and stolen goods markets has an effect on the number of robberies committed. Finally, the article suggests that the identification of vulnerable ATMs and the creation of a personal defensible space zone may lead to greater safety and thus prevent crime.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1057%2Fpalgrave.cpcs.8140215.pdf

Jon Spencer

Papers

Taxing on the Streets: Understanding the Methods and Process of Street Robbery

A not so Well-Lit Path: Employers' Perspectives on Employing Ex-offenders

The ‘Groundhog Day’ of the Human Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation Debate: New Directions in Criminological Understanding

Getting problem drug users (back) into employment: part two

A Little Yellow Box: The Targeting of Automatic Teller Machines as a Strategy in Reducing Street Robbery