Showing papers in "International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology in 2020"
TL;DR: The lived experience of sisters with an incarcerated brother is examined, punctuating the specific and dire need for therapeutic intervention and broader policy change among many other efforts.
Abstract: The major increase of incarcerated individuals in the United States has led to a variety of issues. The experience of incarceration has an impact on not only the individual but the entire family sy...
39 citations
TL;DR: Results support leading theories of fear of crime, finding that women, perceptions of disorder/incivilities, perceptions and perceptions of social cohesion, prior victimization, and assessments of police quality of service each influenceFear of crime.
Abstract: Fear of crime research has been around for decades, and many studies of its extent, nature, and consequences have been published. In this study, we build upon existing research to examine the effec...
22 citations
TL;DR: It is suggested that the individuals who are abused in relationships, service providers, and the public at large could benefit from professional training about gender inclusive approaches to intimate partner abuse.
Abstract: This qualitative study explores internal and external barriers to help seeking among 41 men from four English-speaking countries who self-reported victimization from a female intimate partner. Twelve online focus groups were conducted and themes were identified inductively at a semantic level. Six identified themes represented four internal (blind to the abuse, maintaining relationships, male roles, and excuses) and two external barriers to help seeking (fear of seeking help and nowhere to go). Most participants who avoided seeking help did so due to their own lack of recognition of abuse and ability to assess their risk of harm, attempts to keep the family intact, masculine stereotypes, and excuses for their partner's abuse. Some men who expressed an interest in seeking help were discouraged from it due to fear for their personal safety, a potential revictimization in the legal system, and the lack of support services available to men. This research suggests that the individuals who are abused in relationships, service providers, and the public at large could benefit from professional training about gender inclusive approaches to intimate partner abuse.
20 citations
TL;DR: Youth with a currently or formerly incarcerated parent reported significantly more externalizing behaviors compared with youth who never had a parent incarcerated and were more likely to report lying or conning and have difficulty paying attention.
Abstract: This study examined associations between parental incarceration and youths' externalizing behaviors (e.g., damage to property, fighting, theft, etc.). Data were drawn from the 2016 Minnesota Student Survey, a statewide sample of 126,868 youth in public schools. Logistic regression analyses examined associations between youths' experience of parental incarceration and their self-reported externalizing behaviors, controlling for key demographic characteristics. Youth with a currently or formerly incarcerated parent reported significantly more externalizing behaviors compared with youth who never had a parent incarcerated. In addition, youth with a currently incarcerated parent reported significantly more externalizing behaviors than youth who had a formerly incarcerated parent in six out of the eight externalizing behaviors. However, youth who reported having a formerly incarcerated parent were more likely to report lying or conning and more likely to have difficulty paying attention than youth who currently had an incarcerated parent. Results illustrate that parental incarceration has important implications for youths' own risk for delinquency and high-risk behavior.
19 citations
TL;DR: Therapy attrition and engagement were predicted via logistic and linear regression to examine the link between pretreatment variables, engagement, and treatment failure in 161 young offenders treated in a social-therapeutic unit in Germany.
Abstract: Premature treatment termination in offender treatment is linked to negative consequences for clients, practitioners, and the criminal justice system. Therefore, identifying predictors of treatment ...
18 citations
TL;DR: The institution of problem gambling treatment programmes in carceral settings is necessary, to aid community re-entry and reduce the likelihood of re-offending, and the screening of inmates should become standard practice across penal institutions and other criminal justice organisations, with a view to better addressing the needs of offenders.
Abstract: This article presents the first systematic review of studies on the prevalence of gambling disorder among prisoners across international jurisdictions. Only original studies that were published in English and employed reliable and valid screening tools are included in this analysis. The review finds that rates of problem or pathological gambling in prison populations are highly variable, ranging from 5.9% to 73% of male and female inmates surveyed. Nevertheless, recorded rates of problem and pathological gambling among inmates are consistently and significantly higher than rates of problem and pathological gambling recorded among the general population. The review indicates that the institution of problem gambling treatment programmes in carceral settings is necessary, to aid community re-entry and reduce the likelihood of re-offending. Moreover, it is suggested that the screening of inmates should become standard practice across penal institutions and other criminal justice organisations, with a view to better addressing the needs of offenders.
15 citations
TL;DR: An interdisciplinary approach is adopted to consider the meaning of "eco-crime" in the aquatic environment and draws on marine science, the study of criminal law and environmental law, and the criminology of environmental harms to illustrate that there are ways in which the principles of sustainability and restoration can be applied in an ethical and just way in the context of modern fisheries.
Abstract: This essay adopts an interdisciplinary approach to consider the meaning of “eco-crime” in the aquatic environment and draws on marine science, the study of criminal law and environmental law, and t...
15 citations
TL;DR: This paper outlines examples of anthropogenic activities that are destroying biodiversity and polluting the environment in Bangladesh and situates these crimes and harms in the context of environmental law, and the work of police and environment agencies, in Bangladesh.
Abstract: As Kailemia observes, “environmental crimes are an area of increasing concern, not only because of [their] globalized nature” but because these crimes have “impacts beyond the capacity of criminal ...
15 citations
TL;DR: Results reveal that adolescents with poor-quality friends during the previous year are more likely to engage in later delinquency, and adolescents who experience bullying victimization, child abuse, and poor friendship quality during the last year areMore likely to later feel negative emotions.
Abstract: The current study examines the extent to which the argument of Agnew's general strain theory extends to a sample of South Korean youth to be able to explain the hypothesized direct and indirect/mediated effects of negative emotions derived from various negative life experiences of strain on delinquent behaviors. These experiences can include bullying victimization, parental abuse, poor friend quality, and poor physical functioning. Data for this study were compiled from the Korean Welfare Panel Study (KOWEPS), which is a longitudinal study among 7,027 Korean households surveyed from 2006 through 2012. This study utilizes the longitudinal mediation models for temporal precedence. Results reveal that adolescents with poor-quality friends during the previous year are more likely to engage in later delinquency, and adolescents who experience bullying victimization, child abuse, and poor friendship quality during the previous year are more likely to later feel negative emotions. Furthermore, early feelings of negative emotions are significantly related to later delinquent behaviors and partially mediate the link between poor friend quality and later delinquent behaviors. Finally, bullying victimization, child abuse, and poor friend quality generated negative emotions, which led to a greater likelihood of delinquent behavior later.
15 citations
TL;DR: Although weak governance mechanism was reported, banks nonetheless are embracing security mechanisms such as sending SCAM alert messages to customers, while shaming and sack of compromised staff were employed as within-bank measures to secure the confidence of customers in the evolving financial ecosystem.
Abstract: A negative outcome of the nascent cashless policy in Nigeria has been persistent electronic banking fraud (e-fraud). Fraud occurrence in any financial space indicates insecurity and loopholes being...
13 citations
TL;DR: The results demonstrate that mental health problems, parental attachment, and delinquent peer association operate as critical mediators linking marital discord and interparental inconsistency to juvenile delinquency.
Abstract: The mechanisms through which conflicting parental relationship and parenting practices influence adolescent antisocial behavior have not been adequately understood. To bring more understanding to the mechanisms, this study investigates how marital discord interrelates with interparental inconsistency in parenting practices, and how these family conditions influence juvenile delinquency through their spillover effects on mental health problems, parental attachment and delinquent peer association among Chinese adolescents. Findings obtained from a structural equation modeling analysis of survey data collected from a probability sample of 2,496 adolescents (mean age = 15.16 years) are generally consistent with the spillover effect hypothesis. The results demonstrate that mental health problems, parental attachment, and delinquent peer association operate as critical mediators linking marital discord and interparental inconsistency to juvenile delinquency.
TL;DR: The study finds that males were more likely to bully than females, and the most prevalent form of bullying behavior for both genders was making fun of someone.
Abstract: School bullying has received considerable criminological, psychological, educational, and governmental attention. However, much of the attention is focused on bullying in western, Asian, and Scandinavian countries. There appears to be scant, if any, attention paid to this problem on the African continent. Using cross-sectional data from a sample of 1,192 junior secondary school (middle school) students in Nigeria, this study examines the prevalence and correlates of bullying in this sample of secondary school students in Nigeria. Bullying prevalence rate in this sample was 59.9%. The study finds that males were more likely to bully than females, and the most prevalent form of bullying behavior for both genders was making fun of someone. Correlates for bullying perpetration were association with delinquent friends, negative school climate, attending a private school, and ethnicity.
TL;DR: It is confirmed that self-control is an important predictor of delinquent behavior in a non-Western cultural context, however, certain environmental factors rooted in family, school, and peer groups are also shown to be the predictors of delinquency where strength seems to exceed that of self- control.
Abstract: Although self-control consistently emerges as one of the most robust correlates of delinquent behavior, limited empirical attempts have been made to explore the contextual variability of the relationship between self-control and delinquency outside of Western societies. Using data collected from 587 seventh- to ninth-grade students across 10 middle schools in a rural county of Southeast China, we examine self-control's efficacy in explaining juvenile delinquency in the presence of external environmental factors, and investigate relative strength of self-control and contextual factors in predicting delinquent behaviors. Our results confirm that self-control is an important predictor of delinquent behavior in a non-Western cultural context. However, certain environmental factors rooted in family, school, and peer groups are also shown to be the predictors of delinquent behavior where strength seems to exceed that of self-control. These findings shed more nuanced insights on the nexus between self-control, external situations, and delinquency, and in a broader sense, contribute to the elaboration of a more comprehensive understanding of self-control theory.
TL;DR: Lack of program success suggests that barriers to exiting prostitution are substantial, despite availability of supportive services, and that diversion programs may not be the best intervention strategy for all sex workers.
Abstract: Street-based sex work is criminalized throughout much of the U.S. Diversion programs have shown mixed results. This study examined the effect a quasi-experimental intervention (prostitution diversi...
TL;DR: It is found that inmates exposed more frequently to the Field Ministry and for a longer time period tended to report lower levels of criminological risk factors and aggressiveness and higher levels of virtues and predictors of human agency as well as religiosity and spirituality.
Abstract: Research on incarcerated offenders trained to help prisoners change is rare because programs that equip inmates with practical capacities for helping others rehabilitate in prison hardly exist. An exception is the Field Ministry program in Texas, which enlists inmates who have graduated from a prison-based seminary to work as "Field Ministers" and serve other inmates in various capacities. We hypothesize that inmate exposure to Field Ministers is inversely related to antisocial factors and positively to prosocial ones. We applied manifest-variable structural equation modeling to analyze data from a survey of a random sample of male inmates at three maximum-security prisons where the Field Ministry program operated. We found that inmates exposed more frequently to the Field Ministry and for a longer time period tended to report lower levels of criminological risk factors and aggressiveness and higher levels of virtues and predictors of human agency as well as religiosity and spirituality.
TL;DR: Using decomposition analysis, it was discovered that the association between low self-control and victimization occurred both directly and indirectly through measures of RAT.
Abstract: Routine Activity Theory (RAT) and the general theory of crime have been widely employed to understand cybercrime victimization. However, there is a need to integrate these theoretical frameworks to...
TL;DR: Analysis of the relationship of the four specific major types of work–family conflict (time-based conflict, strain- based conflict, behavior-based Conflict, and family-on-work conflict) with job involvement among surveyed staff at two Chinese prisons found that time-based and strain-based conflicts had nonsignificant association with job involved, but behavior- based and family–family conflicts had significant negative associations.
Abstract: Past research among U.S. correctional staff has found that work-family conflict has negative outcomes such as decreasing job satisfaction, decreasing organizational commitment, and increasing job stress. Little empirical research has addressed the association of the specific types of work-family conflict with job involvement. The present study contributes to the literature by separately analyzing the relationship of the four specific major types of work-family conflict (time-based conflict, strain-based conflict, behavior-based conflict, and family-on-work conflict) with job involvement among surveyed staff at two Chinese prisons. Job involvement varied by the type of work-family conflict. Specifically, time-based conflict and strain-based conflict had nonsignificant association with job involvement, but behavior-based and family-based conflicts had significant negative associations.
TL;DR: Evaluating conscience in an adult forensic psychiatric sample by assessing the underlying factors proposed by Schalkwijk found offenders appeared to show less affective but not less cognitive empathy, less identification with others, less personal distress in seeing others’ suffering, less shame and shame-proneness, and lower levels of moral reasoning.
Abstract: The subject of this study is an integrative theory of the conscience. According to this theory, conscience is operationalised as a regulatory function of one's own behaviour and identity, resulting from an interplay of empathy, self-conscious emotions such as guilt and shame, and moral reasoning. This study aimed to evaluate conscience in an adult forensic psychiatric sample by assessing the underlying factors proposed by Schalkwijk. Offenders (n = 48) appeared to show less affective but not less cognitive empathy, less identification with others, less personal distress in seeing others' suffering, less shame and shame-proneness, and lower levels of moral reasoning than non-offenders (n = 50). In coping with self-conscious emotions, offenders used the same amount of externalising coping strategies, but fewer internalising coping strategies.
TL;DR: Results suggest that, taken as a whole, online sexual offense–supportive cognitions may not be criminogenic, and only cognitive themes related to antisocial orientation and atypical sexuality were found linked with criminal behaviors, although associations found remain limited.
Abstract: There is evidence that endorsing a higher level of offense-supportive cognitions is associated with contact sexual offending. Such an association assumes the construct of cognitions as unidimensional, thus ignoring the possibility that specific subtypes of cognitions exist and that certain may be criminogenic. To investigate this possibility, this study aimed at examining the associations between criminal behaviors and cognitive themes found in the discourse of men who engage in sexual offenses against children over the Internet. Through the discourse of a sample of 60 men with online child sexual exploitation material and solicitation offenses, a previous study identified eight cognitive themes: Uncontrollability, Nature of harm, Child as sexual being, Child as partner, Dangerous world, Entitlement, Virtual is not real, and Internet is uncontrollable. These themes were not investigated for their criminogenic nature. Thus, in this study, bivariate analyses were used to determine whether these cognitive themes were linked to three indicators of criminal behaviors: the extent of criminal charges, the diversity of offending behaviors, and the nature of contact with victims. Results suggest that, taken as a whole, online sexual offense-supportive cognitions may not be criminogenic. Moreover, only cognitive themes related to antisocial orientation and atypical sexuality were found linked with criminal behaviors, although associations found remain limited. Findings and associated implications are further discussed for research and clinical purposes.
TL;DR: This study investigated network configurations of 14 Clinical risk and protective factors in a sample of 317 male forensic psychiatric patients across two time points and found that “cooperation with treatment” had the highest strength centrality at both measurement occasions.
Abstract: In this study, we investigated network configurations of 14 Clinical risk and protective factors in a sample of 317 male forensic psychiatric patients across two time points: at the time of admission to the forensic psychiatric centers (T1) and at the time of unconditional release (T2). In terms of network structure, the strongest risk edge was between "hostility-violation of terms" at T1, and between "hostility-impulsivity" at T2. "Problem insight-crime responsibility" was the strongest protective edge, and "impulsivity-coping skills" was the strongest between-cluster edge, at both time points, respectively. In terms of strength centrality, "cooperation with treatment" had the highest strength centrality at both measurement occasions. This study expands the risk assessment field toward a better understanding of dynamic relationships between individual clinical risk and protective factors and points to the highly central risk and protective factors, which would be the best for future treatment targets.
TL;DR: Surprisingly, the majority of networks exhibit organizational sophistication based on their division of labor and extended duration over time, while only a few networks could be classified as “colleagues” or “peers.”
Abstract: This study focuses on the organization practices of networks of cybercriminals engaged in serious financial offenses, through a qualitative analysis of the Best and Luckenbill’s sociological framew...
TL;DR: Examination of the nature of the cognitions that support online sexual offending against children indicates that while the cognitive themes of the three groups are similar, their specific content varies according to the types of offenses.
Abstract: Although offense-supportive cognitions are related to the maintenance of contact sexual offending behavior, it is unknown whether this finding also applies to online sexual offending behavior. A few studies have examined the cognitions of men convicted for using child sexual exploitation material, but findings remain limited due to important methodological limitations. Furthermore, fewer studies have investigated the cognitions of men who use the internet to solicit sexual activities with children. The objective of this study was to examine the nature of the cognitions that support online sexual offending against children. The content of police interviews was analyzed using a thematic analysis to identify the cognitive themes present in the offense-related views expressed by 20 men who consumed child sexual exploitation material, 15 who sexually solicited children, and 18 who committed both types of online offenses. Results revealed eight cognitive themes that reflected four underlying themes related to interpersonal relationships, the sexualisation of children, perceptions of the self, and perceptions of the virtual environment. Findings indicate that while the cognitive themes of the three groups are similar, their specific content varies according to the types of offenses. Implications for future research are discussed.
TL;DR: The most consistent predictors of QoL longitudinally were social factors, while substance use and detention-specific variables were not consistently related, and the relationships between poor mental health, loneliness, and poorQoL seen in offenders are also seen among other marginalized populations.
Abstract: Strength-based theories of rehabilitation emphasize the importance of opportunities for offenders to achieve "good lives" to not re-offend. The extent to which these groups feel enabled to achieve a good life may be measured through subjective, overall quality of life (QoL). The aim is to systematically review the QoL instruments used among detained offenders and synthesize the factors related to their QoL. A systematic literature review was conducted to retrieve articles that assessed the overall QoL of a sample of detained offenders using a validated instrument. The instruments' specificity, dimensionality, and respondent and administrator burden were assessed, and factors reported as significantly related to QoL were summarized. In total, 41 articles were included in the review: 20 reported on forensic samples and 20 on prisoners, with one study randomly assigning offenders to either forensic treatment or prison. Among the included articles, 12 validated instruments were utilized. Only one instrument, the Forensic Inpatient Quality of Life Questionnaire, was specifically developed for and validated in forensic patients. Detained offending populations reported lower QoL than the general population, and those with untreated mental illness reported the lowest. The most consistent predictors of QoL longitudinally were social factors, while substance use and detention-specific variables were not consistently related. In general, the relationships between poor mental health, loneliness, and poor QoL seen in offenders are also seen among other marginalized populations. To improve the evidence base for QoL assessment in this vulnerable group, current gold standard QoL instruments should be validated in detained populations.
TL;DR: It is argued that decoupling, that is, gaps between official policies and daily work activities within the policing organizations, compromises enforcement in both Norway and Uganda.
Abstract: Despite numerous promises and pledges at national and international levels to confront what many acknowledge as a crisis, illegal trade in wild plants and animals continues to grow and diversify. Empirical research conducted in Norway and Uganda from 2013 to 2015 indicates that despite the different circumstances in which law enforcement operates in the two countries, policing agents face a number of comparable challenges. Drawing on institutional theory the paper argues that decoupling, that is, gaps between official policies and daily work activities within the policing organizations, compromises enforcement in both countries. Challenges stem from conflicting demands, poor resources and want of guidelines that oblige officers to prioritize the control of illegal wildlife trade in practice.
TL;DR: This study presents a particularly predictive combination of seven items that overcomes limitations of the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory and has considerable higher predictive validity across gender and culture.
Abstract: Recidivism risk assessment is central to addressing criminogenic needs among youth offenders. To accomplish this, the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) is worldwide used, but it is long and has limited predictive validity for minority populations. This study presents a particularly predictive combination of seven items that overcomes these limitations. A sample of 430 Spanish youth offenders participated in this study. The YLS/CMI long version was filled out and reconvictions were collected over a 2-year period. Results show that this combination of seven items reduced more than 80% of the inventory and improved the predictive validity, globally and for minorities. The items that were included were related to psychopathic traits and the lack of protective role models. Therefore, this specific combination of YLS/CMI items has considerable higher predictive validity across gender and culture, and may be useful to practitioners in this field.
TL;DR: This study is the first study testing Akers’s social structure and social learning (SSSL) theory in the Turkish context and shows that the social learning process accounted for a substantial amount of variation in explaining adolescent delinquency.
Abstract: The purposes of this study are to examine how social learning processes and social structure correlate with delinquency among Turkish adolescents and to articulate to what extent Akers's social structure and social learning (SSSL) theory explains delinquency in Turkey, which is a different cultural context from Western countries in terms of family structure, level of collectivism or individualism, religion, belief systems, and norms. This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by providing the first study testing Akers's theory in the Turkish context. Analyses, relying on a structural equation modeling (SEM) framework, showed that the social learning process accounted for a substantial amount of variation in explaining adolescent delinquency. We also found that social learning process somewhat mediates social structural effects on delinquency.
TL;DR: This study examined the predictive validity of three assessment instruments for violent youth, the SAVRY, the VRS-YV, and the SAPROF-yV to show that all three assessments predicted general (any) reoffending better than violent and non-violent reoffends.
Abstract: This study examined the predictive validity of three assessment instruments for violent youth, the SAVRY, the VRS-YV, and the SAPROF-YV. Files relating to a sample of 233 young male offenders aged between 12 and 18 years were retrospectively reviewed to score each instrument, with reoffending data extracted from prison, community and juvenile justice records. The analysis showed that all three assessments predicted general (any) reoffending better than violent and non-violent reoffending, with higher rates of predictive validity for the SAVRY and VRS-YV Total Scores. There were, however, only small to moderate effect sizes at 1- and 3-year follow up periods for all three instruments in predicting all types of reoffending. The SAPROF-YV had a small effect size for the prediction of violent reoffending and did not add incrementally to the predictive validity (for violent reoffending) of the SAVRY or VRS-YV.
TL;DR: Results indicated that vocational school students have higher likelihood to be strained and delinquent, and have lower social control and higher interactions with delinquent peers.
Abstract: Chinese education system comprises high schools and vocational school, and their differences on delinquency have seldom been investigated. From the perspective of general strain theory, the present study examined the differences among high school and vocational school students for delinquency, strain, and other explanatory variables. General strain theory delineates the effect of strain on delinquency or deviance and presents the paths from strain to delinquency or deviance through social control and social learning variables. Using a sample of 1,852 tenth-grade students in Guangzhou City, the present study tests the intervening paths from strains to deviance among high school and vocational school students. Results indicated that vocational school students have higher likelihood to be strained and delinquent, and have lower social control and higher interactions with delinquent peers. School type is a significant predictor for strain, as well as social control and delinquent peers.
TL;DR: In this review, actiones liberae in causa, the formulation of voluntary intoxication in the Continental European legal system, will be explained in detail and some suggestions will be made for the application of these two concepts.
Abstract: The principle of contemporaneity, which means the actus reus and mens rea must coincide, constitutes the backbone of criminal liability. On the contrary, it is sometimes possible for an offender to commit an offence when she or he does not have the culpability required for the committed offence. The offender can create diminished responsibility through the intake of an intoxicating substance negligently or intentionally, even with the purpose of getting rid of the punishment. To punish such an offender, a legal concept has been developed which is termed as voluntary intoxication in the Anglo-Saxon legal system, while it has been called actiones liberae in causa in the Continental Europe. In this review, actiones liberae in causa, the formulation of voluntary intoxication in the Continental European legal system, will be explained in detail and some suggestions will be made for the application of these two concepts.
TL;DR: Results indicate that differential association, differential reinforcement, definitions, and imitation have a significant impact on antisocial behavior, with differential association being the most influential construct.
Abstract: Studies of antisocial behavior in sports are important, although most lack a theoretical framework. The current study examines the endorsement of antisocial behavior in a sample of coaches using so...