The incidence of defensive firearm use by US crime victims, 1987 through 1990.

PubMed Central

McDowall, D; Wiersema, B

1994-01-01

It is well known that many crimes in the United States are committed with firearms. Less adequately documented is the frequency with which victims use guns in self-defense. We used National Crime Victimization Survey data to examine incidents where victims employed guns against offenders. Between 1987 and 1990 there were an estimated 258,460 incidents of firearm defense, an annual mean of 64,615. Victims used firearms in 0.18% of all crimes recorded by the survey and in 0.83% of violent offenses. Firearm self-defense is rare compared with gun crimes. PMID:7998641

Student Reports of Bullying and Cyber-Bullying: Results from the 2011 School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey. Web Tables. NCES 2013-329

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lessne, Deborah; Harmalkar, Sayali

2013-01-01

This document reports data from the 2011 School Crime Supplement (SCS) of the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). The Web Tables show the extent to which students with different personal characteristics report bullying and cyber-bullying. Estimates include responses by student characteristics: student sex, race/ethnicity, grade, and…

[Victims of homicide crimes--social conditions and circumstances of the crime].

PubMed

Kleemann, W J; Fischer, J; Fieguth, A; Tröger, H D

1994-01-01

152 autopsies were performed in cases of homicide at the Institute for Legal Medicine of the Hannover Medical School and the documents concerning the social situation of the victims, the relationship between offenders and victims and the circumstances involved in the crime were analyzed. Among the victims who were employed, workers and craftsmen followed by the group working in the service industry and trade were most commonly involved. Foreigners were victimized in 8% of the cases. In 129 cases (88.4%) there was a single and in 11.6% multiple offenders. 78.3% of the victims were murdered by a person they knew. Among relatives (38.7%), parents were most frequently implicated (56.5%). Arguments were the most common reason followed by quarrels within relationships, robbery and sexual offences. In most cases, the location of the crime was the home of the victim or of the victim and offender. In 92.8% of the cases, the corpse was found at the location of the crime.

Fear of property crime: examining the effects of victimization, vicarious victimization, and perceived risk.

PubMed

Cook, Carrie L; Fox, Kathleen A

2011-01-01

Fear of crime research has primarily focused on fear of crime in general or on fear of specific types of violent crimes. This study builds from this line of research by focusing exclusively on the night fear of six types of property crimes, including fear of burglary while away from home, vehicle theft, bicycle theft, property theft, vandalism, and vehicle burglary. This study examines the effects of victimization, vicarious victimization, and perceived risk on fear of property crime. Survey data from college students reveal that victimization and vicarious victimization were not significant predictors of fear of property crime, whereas perceived risk was a consistent and significant predictor of fear of all property crimes.

For Whom Does Hate Crime Hurt More? A Comparison of Consequences of Victimization Across Motives and Crime Types.

PubMed

Mellgren, Caroline; Andersson, Mika; Ivert, Anna-Karin

2017-12-01

Hate crimes have been found to have more severe consequences than other parallel crimes that were not motivated by the offenders' hostility toward someone because of their real or perceived difference. Many countries today have hate crime laws that make it possible to increase the penalties for such crimes. The main critique against hate crime laws is that they punish thoughts. Instead, proponents of hate crime laws argue that sentence enhancement is justified because hate crimes cause greater harm. This study compares consequences of victimization across groups of victims to test for whom hate crimes hurt more. We analyzed data that were collected through questionnaires distributed to almost 3,000 students at Malmö University, Sweden, during 2013. The survey focused on students' exposure to, and experiences of, hate crime. A series of separate logistic regression analyses were performed, which analyzed the likelihood for reporting consequences following a crime depending on crime type, perceived motive, repeat victimization, gender, and age. Analyzed as one victim group, victims of hate crime more often reported any of the consequences following a crime compared with victims of parallel non-hate-motivated crimes. And, overall victims of threat more often reported consequences compared with victims of sexual harassment and minor assault. However, all hate crime victim groups did not report more consequences than the non-hate crime victim group. The results provide grounds for questioning that hate crimes hurt the individual victim more. It seems that hate crimes do not hurt all more but hate crimes hurt some victims of some crimes more in some ways.

RACE AND ETHNIC REPRESENTATIONS OF LAWBREAKERS AND VICTIMS IN CRIME NEWS: A NATIONAL STUDY OF TELEVISION COVERAGE

PubMed Central

Bjornstrom, Eileen E.S.; Kaufman, Robert L.; Peterson, Ruth D.; Slater, Michael D.

2010-01-01

Research on racial-ethnic portrayals in television crime news is limited and questions remain about the sources of representations and how these vary for perpetrators versus victims. We draw from power structure, market share, normal crimes, racial threat, and racial privileging perspectives to further this research. The reported race or ethnicity of violent crime perpetrators and victims are modeled as functions of: (1) situational characteristics of crime stories; and (2) contextual characteristics of television market areas. The primary data are from a stratified random sample of television newscasts in 2002–2003 (Long et al. 2005). An important innovation of our work is the use of a national, more generalizeable, sample of local news stories than prior researchers who tended to focus on single market areas. Results indicate that both the context of the story itself and the social structural context within which news stories are reported are relevant to ethnic and racial portrayals in crime news. We find limited support for power structure, market share, normal crimes and racial threat explanations of patterns of reporting. Racial privileging arguments receive more extensive support. PMID:20640244

Explaining Victim Self-Protective Behavior Effects on Crime Incident Outcomes: A Test of Opportunity Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guerette, Rob T.; Santana, Shannon A.

2010-01-01

Prior research on victim self-protective behavior (VSPB) has largely been void of a theoretical basis. Accordingly, it remains unclear why it would be expected that victim actions might mitigate crime incident outcomes or under which circumstances such actions might be most successful. Using data from the National Crime Victimization Survey for…

28 CFR 0.91 - Office for Victims of Crime.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Office for Victims of Crime. 0.91 Section...-Office of Justice Programs and Related Agencies § 0.91 Office for Victims of Crime. The Office for Victims of Crime is headed by a Director appointed by the Assistant Attorney General, Office of Justice...

Crime and the Nation's Households, 1990. Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletin.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rand, Michael R.

The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) collects data on crimes that are not reported to the police as well as those that are reported. Because some crimes are difficult or impossible to examine in a general population survey, the NCVS measures only the personal victimizations of rape, robbery, assault, and theft, and the household crimes…

Reduction of State Victim Compensation Disparities in Disadvantaged Crime Victims Through Active Outreach and Assistance: A Randomized Trial

PubMed Central

Alvidrez, Jennifer; Shumway, Martha; Boccellari, Alicia; Green, Jon Dean; Kelly, Vanessa; Merrill, Gregory

2008-01-01

Objectives. We examined whether providing active outreach and assistance to crime victims as part of comprehensive psychosocial services reduced disparities in access to state compensation funds. Methods. We analyzed data from a randomized trial of injured crime victims (N = 541) and compared outcomes from comprehensive psychosocial services with usual community care. We examined the impact of outreach and assistance on disparities in applying for victim compensation by testing for interactions between victim characteristics and treatment condition in logistic regression analyses. Results. Victims receiving comprehensive services were much more likely to apply for victim compensation than were victims receiving usual care. Comprehensive services decreased disparities associated with younger age, lower levels of education, and homelessness. Conclusions. State-level victim compensation funds are available to help individuals recover physically, psychologically, and financially from crime victimization. However, few crime victims apply for victim compensation, and there are particularly low application rates among young, male, ethnic minority, and physical assault victims. Active outreach and assistance can address disparities in access to victim compensation funds for disadvantaged populations and should be offered more widely to victims of violent crime. PMID:18382004

Criminal Victimization and Attitudes toward Crime in Virginia: A Research Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bryant, Clifton D.; Shoemaker, Donald J.

The purpose of this report is to present the results of a crime victimization survey conducted among Virginia residents. The description of the findings is divided into four sections: criminal victimization experiences, reporting of victimizations, attitudes toward crime, and crime prevention and protection measures. The report is offered as a…

The Influence of Direct and Indirect Juvenile Victimization Experiences on Adult Victimization and Fear of Crime.

PubMed

Grubb, Jonathan A; Bouffard, Leana A

2015-11-01

Research has identified that juvenile victimization can play a detrimental role for individuals later in life. While this literature has focused on direct and indirect forms of victimization at different stages of life, the influence of juvenile victimization on fear of crime and violent victimization as an adult has been limited. To expand this body of literature, the present research examines the effects of direct (sexual victimization) and indirect (witnessing parental intimate partner violence) juvenile victimization on fear of crime as well as the prevalence of victimization as an adult. Using telephone survey data collected from randomly selected Texas adults, this study demonstrates that both juvenile sexual victimization and indirect victimization increase the likelihood of adult victimization, whereas juvenile sexual victimization increases the likelihood of adult sexual victimization. In contrast, fear of crime as an adult was not significantly influenced by either juvenile sexual victimization or indirect victimization. A discussion of how these findings relate to previous research, limitations, and implications are also provided. © The Author(s) 2014.

Helping Aged Victims of Crime (the HAVoC Study): Common Crime, Older People and Mental Illness.

PubMed

Serfaty, Marc; Ridgewell, Anna; Drennan, Vari; Kessel, Anthony; Brewin, Chris R; Leavey, Gerard; Wright, Anwen; Laycock, Gloria; Blanchard, Martin

2016-03-01

Limited data suggest that crime may have a devastating impact on older people. Although identification and treatment may be beneficial, no well-designed studies have investigated the prevalence of mental disorder and the potential benefits of individual manualized CBT in older victims of crime. To identify mental health problems in older victims of common crime, provide preliminary data on its prevalence, and conduct a feasibility randomized controlled trial (RCT) using mixed methods. Older victims, identified through police teams, were screened for symptoms of anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) one (n = 581) and 3 months (n = 486) after experiencing a crime. Screen positive participants were offered diagnostic interviews. Of these, 26 participants with DSM-IV diagnoses agreed to be randomized to Treatment As Usual (TAU) or TAU plus our manualized CBT informed Victim Improvement Package (VIP). The latter provided feedback on the VIP. Recruitment, assessment and intervention are feasible and acceptable. At 3 months 120/486 screened as cases, 33 had DSM-IV criteria for a psychiatric disorder; 26 agreed to be randomized to a pilot trial. There were trends in favour of the VIP in all measures except PTSD at 6 months post crime. This feasibility RCT is the first step towards improving the lives of older victims of common crime. Without intervention, distress at 3 and 6 months after a crime remains high. However, the well-received VIP appeared promising for depressive and anxiety symptoms, but possibly not posttraumatic stress disorder.

77 FR 12079 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comments Requested: Crime Victim...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-28

... Collection; Comments Requested: Crime Victim Compensation State Certification Form Request ACTION: 30-Day... Programs (OJP), Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) will be submitting the following information collection...: Crime Victim Compensation State Certification Form. (3) Agency form number, if any, and the applicable...

76 FR 79219 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comments Requested: Crime Victim...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-21

... Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comments Requested: Crime Victim Compensation State Certification... (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) will be submitting the... information, please contact DeLano Foster at (202) 616-3612, Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice...

Student Victimization in U.S. Schools: Results from the 2013 School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey. Stats in Brief. NCES 2016-145

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lessne, Deborah; Cidade, Melissa; Gerke, Amy; Roland, Karlesha; Sinclair, Michael

2016-01-01

Crime and violence in schools continue to be major concerns for educators, policymakers, administrators, parents, and students. This Statistics in Brief presents estimates of student criminal victimization at school by selected student characteristics and school conditions, experiences with being bullied, school security measures, and student…

Cyber-Dependent Crime Victimization: The Same Risk for Everyone?

PubMed

Bergmann, Marie Christine; Dreißigacker, Arne; von Skarczinski, Bennet; Wollinger, Gina Rosa

2018-02-01

The Internet has simplified daily life activities. However, besides its comfortability, the Internet also presents the risk of victimization by several kinds of crimes. The present article addresses the question of which factors influence cyber-dependent crime and how they vary between three kinds of cyber-dependent offences: malware infection, ransomware infection, and misuse of personal data. According to the Routine Activity Approach, it is assumed that crime is determined by a motivated offender, the behavior of the Internet user, and the existence of prevention factors. Our analyses were based on a random sample of 26,665 Internet users in two federal states in Germany, aged 16 years and older; 16.6 percent of the respondents had experienced at least one form of cyber-dependent victimization during the year 2014. The results indicate that individual and household factors, as well as online and prevention behavior, influence the risk of cyber-dependent victimization. Furthermore, the effects differ between the three types of offences. In conclusion, the risk of being victimized by cyber-dependent crime is not the same for anyone, but depends on multivariate factors according to the idea of Routine Activity Approach. However, in view of the fact that crime-related factors also matter, studying different cybercrime offences separately seems to be an appropriate research approach.

Race, gender, and sexual orientation in hate crime victimization: identity politics or identity risk?

PubMed

Dunbar, Edward

2006-06-01

This study examined the impact of hate crimes upon gay and lesbian victims, reviewing 1538 hate crimes committed in Los Angeles County. Differences between sexual orientation and other hate crime categories were considered for offense severity, reportage to law enforcement, and victim impact. The type of offense varied between crimes classified for sexual orientation (n=551) and other bias-motivated crimes (n=987). Assault, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and stalking were predictive of sexual orientation hate crimes. Sexual orientation bias crimes evidenced greater severity of violence to the person and impact upon victim level of functioning. More violent forms of aggression were predictive of gay and lesbian victim's underreportage to law enforcement. For sexual orientation offenses, victim gender and race/ethnicity differences were predictive of the base rates of crime reportage as well. These findings are considered in terms of a group-risk hypothesis, encountered by multiple outgroup persons, that influences help-seeking behavior and ingroup identity.

Victim Responses to Violence: The Effect of Alcohol Context on Crime Labeling.

PubMed

Brennan, Iain

2016-03-01

The labeling of an incident as a crime is an essential precursor to the use of criminal law, but the contextual factors that influence this decision are unknown. One such context that is a frequent setting for violence is the barroom. This study explored how the setting of a violent incident is related to the decision by victims to label it as a crime. It tested the hypothesis that violent incidents that took place in or around a licensed premises were less likely to be regarded as crimes than violence in other settings. The hypothesis was tested using a pooled sample of respondents from successive waves of the British Crime Survey (2002/2003-2010/2011). Logistic regression models controlled for demographic factors, victim behavioral characteristics, and incident-specific factors including the seriousness of the violence. Respondents who were in or around a licensed premises at the time of victimization were less likely to regard that violence as a crime (adjusted odds ratio = 0.48, 95% confidence intervals [CIs] = [0.34, 0.67]) than respondents who were victimized in other locations. Despite a disproportionate amount of violence taking place in barrooms, it appears that the criminal nature of violence in these spaces is discounted by victims. The findings emphasize how context affects victim interpretations of crime and suggest a victim-centered reconceptualization of the "moral holiday" hypothesis of alcohol settings. © The Author(s) 2015.

Cumulative Effects of Neighborhood Social Adversity and Personal Crime Victimization on Adolescent Psychotic Experiences

PubMed Central

Newbury, Joanne; Arseneault, Louise; Caspi, Avshalom; Moffitt, Terrie E; Odgers, Candice L

2018-01-01

Abstract Background: Little is known about the impact of urbanicity, adverse neighborhood conditions and violent crime victimization on the emergence of adolescent psychotic experiences. Methods: Participants were from the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study, a nationally-representative cohort of 2232 British twins who were interviewed about adolescent psychotic experiences at age 18. Urbanicity, neighborhood characteristics, and personal victimization by violent crime were measured during childhood and adolescence via geocoded census data, surveys of over 5000 immediate neighbors of the E-Risk participants, and interviews with participants themselves. Results: Adolescents raised in urban vs rural neighborhoods were significantly more likely to have psychotic experiences (OR = 1.67, 95% CI = 1.21–2.30, P = .002). This association remained significant after considering potential confounders including family socioeconomic status, family psychiatric history, and adolescent substance problems (OR = 1.43, 95% CI = 1.01–2.03, P = .042), but became nonsignificant after considering adverse social conditions in urban neighborhoods such as low social cohesion and high neighborhood disorder (OR = 1.35, 95% CI = 0.94–1.92, P = .102). The combined association of adverse neighborhood social conditions and personal crime victimization with adolescent psychotic experiences (adjusted OR = 4.86, 95% CI = 3.28–7.20, P < .001) was substantially greater than for either exposure alone, highlighting a potential interaction between neighborhood conditions and crime victimization (interaction contrast ratio = 1.81, 95% CI = −0.03 to 3.65) that was significant at the P = .054 level. Conclusions: Cumulative effects of adverse neighborhood social conditions and personal victimization by violent crime during upbringing partly explain why adolescents in urban settings are more likely to report psychotic experiences. Early intervention efforts for psychosis could be

Cumulative Effects of Neighborhood Social Adversity and Personal Crime Victimization on Adolescent Psychotic Experiences.

PubMed

Newbury, Joanne; Arseneault, Louise; Caspi, Avshalom; Moffitt, Terrie E; Odgers, Candice L; Fisher, Helen L

2018-02-15

Little is known about the impact of urbanicity, adverse neighborhood conditions and violent crime victimization on the emergence of adolescent psychotic experiences. Participants were from the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study, a nationally-representative cohort of 2232 British twins who were interviewed about adolescent psychotic experiences at age 18. Urbanicity, neighborhood characteristics, and personal victimization by violent crime were measured during childhood and adolescence via geocoded census data, surveys of over 5000 immediate neighbors of the E-Risk participants, and interviews with participants themselves. Adolescents raised in urban vs rural neighborhoods were significantly more likely to have psychotic experiences (OR = 1.67, 95% CI = 1.21-2.30, P = .002). This association remained significant after considering potential confounders including family socioeconomic status, family psychiatric history, and adolescent substance problems (OR = 1.43, 95% CI = 1.01-2.03, P = .042), but became nonsignificant after considering adverse social conditions in urban neighborhoods such as low social cohesion and high neighborhood disorder (OR = 1.35, 95% CI = 0.94-1.92, P = .102). The combined association of adverse neighborhood social conditions and personal crime victimization with adolescent psychotic experiences (adjusted OR = 4.86, 95% CI = 3.28-7.20, P < .001) was substantially greater than for either exposure alone, highlighting a potential interaction between neighborhood conditions and crime victimization (interaction contrast ratio = 1.81, 95% CI = -0.03 to 3.65) that was significant at the P = .054 level. Cumulative effects of adverse neighborhood social conditions and personal victimization by violent crime during upbringing partly explain why adolescents in urban settings are more likely to report psychotic experiences. Early intervention efforts for psychosis could be targeted towards victimized youth living in urban and socially

Help Seeking Among Victims of Crime: A Review of the Empirical Literature

PubMed Central

McCart, Michael R.; Smith, Daniel W.; Sawyer, Genelle K.

2013-01-01

This paper reviews the literature on help-seeking behavior among adult victims of crime. Specifically, the paper summarizes prevalence rates for formal and informal help seeking and reviews predictors of and barriers to service use following victimization. Research suggests that only a small fraction of crime victims seek help from formal support networks; however, many seek support from informal sources. Several variables are associated with increased likelihood of formal help seeking, although the manner in which these variables affect reporting behavior is not clear. From this review, it is concluded that much remains to be learned regarding patterns of help seeking among victims of crime. Gaps in the literature and directions for future research are discussed. PMID:20336674

Crime victimization and the implications for individual health and wellbeing: A Sheffield case study.

PubMed

Tan, Su-Yin; Haining, Robert

2016-10-01

Public health and criminology have developed largely independently of one another at the research and policy levels so that the links between crime victimization and health status are not well understood. Although it is not difficult to support the idea of crime as a threat to the health of individuals and the wider community, the difficulty lies in quantifying the impact of crime on public health, while controlling other variables, including gender and ethnicity. We report the results of a study, the goals of which were to: develop an understanding conceptually of the relationships between different types of crime (violent and non-violent) and health; explore the impact of victimization on quality of life and physical and psychological wellbeing; investigate the role of social and demographic factors in shaping any relationships. The study is based on 840 responses from a postal survey administered to 4,100 households in Sheffield, England, located primarily in deprived areas where overall crime rates were high. Non-violent crimes were more frequently reported than violent crimes and in general, inner city neighbourhoods were associated with higher violent crime rates. Out of 392 victims of crime, 27% of individuals detailed physical injuries resulting directly from a crime event and 31% had taken some medical steps to treat a crime-related injury. 86% experienced at least one psychological or behavioural change, including stress, sleeping difficulties, loss of confidence, and depression. Logistic regression models estimated victimization risk based on various social and demographic variables. Violent crimes were consistently linked with higher odds of seeking medical treatment and a higher likelihood of experiencing psychological ill health effects or behavioural changes. In comparison, victims of non-violent or property crimes were not significantly associated with mental health or behavioural/lifestyle effects. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights

Perceived Community Disorder Moderates the Relation between Victimization and Fear of Crime

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roccato, Michele; Russo, Silvia; Vieno, Alessio

2011-01-01

In a representative sample of the Italian population (N=2,002), surveyed in January 2008, we studied the direct and interactive effects exerted on fear of crime by direct and indirect victimization, on the one hand, and perceived level of disorder of participants' community, on the other hand. Indirect victimization fostered fear of crime among…

28 CFR 45.10 - Procedures to promote compliance with crime victims' rights obligations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 18 U.S.C. 3771. Employee of the Department of Justice means an attorney, investigator, law... crime victims' rights obligations. 45.10 Section 45.10 Judicial Administration DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE... implements the provisions of the Justice for All Act that relate to protection of the rights of crime victims...

How friends’ involvement in crime affects the risk of offending and victimization

PubMed Central

Rokven, Josja J; de Boer, Gijs; Tolsma, Jochem; Ruiter, Stijn

2016-01-01

This article examines how friends’ involvement in crime influences such involvement in those around them, as offenders or victims, and the extent to which such friendship effects vary with contact frequency, friendship intimacy, and geographical proximity. To test our hypotheses we used four waves from the Dutch panel survey CrimeNL, which includes ego-centered network measures in each wave for respondents aged between 16 and 45. To test our hypotheses, fixed-effects panel models were employed. The results show that living in close proximity to delinquent friends increases people’s own risk of offending, and daily interaction with these friends decreases the risk of victimization. Victimization is also communicated among friends in their daily interactions. These findings stress the need to consider factors that condition how friendships exert influence on the risk of crime involvement. PMID:29187805

Digital poly-victimization: The increasing importance of online crime and harassment to the burden of victimization.

PubMed

Hamby, Sherry; Blount, Zach; Smith, Alli; Jones, Lisa; Mitchell, Kimberly; Taylor, Elizabeth

2018-01-01

Many forms of victimization, including bullying and property crime, are increasingly moving online, but most studies of poly-victimization still primarily focus on in-person crime and violence. Few studies have examined the importance of incorporating technology-based victimizations for assessing the true burden of violence. The purpose of this study is to explore whether digital poly-victimization contributes to post-traumatic stress and anxiety/dysphoria symptoms after controlling for in-person poly-victimization. Given that technology use and technology-based victimization are changing rapidly, a mixed methods approach was adopted. In the first two phases, focus groups and cognitive interviews (89 total participants) were used to identify the range of digital victimization and develop the Digital Poly-Victimization Scale. In the third phase, the new measure was included in a community survey (n = 478, 57.5% female; 62.6% earning under $50,000 per year) in a rural Southern region, along with measures of in-person poly-victimization, posttraumatic stress and anxiety/dysphoria symptoms, and other outcomes and personal characteristics. A comprehensive measure of digital poly-victimization indicated that almost 3 in 4 participants (72.3%) had experienced at least one form of digital victimization. The results indicated that digital poly-victimization contributed unique variance to post-traumatic stress and anxiety/dysphoria symptoms (p < .001), health-related quality of life (p < .01), and subjective and family well-being (both p < .001), even after controlling for demographics and in-person poly-victimization. Digital victimization often presents fewer risks to perpetrators and can be expected to represent an increasing share of the societal burden of violence. Future research on poly-victimization should pay more attention to the role of digital victimization.

Reporting Crimes to the Police Depends on Relationship Networks: Effects of Ties Among Victims, Advisors, and Offenders.

PubMed

Knoth, Lauren K; Ruback, R Barry

2016-08-01

A victim's decision to report a crime to the police is typically made after talking with someone else, usually a friend or relative, but sometimes a stranger. The advice this person gives depends primarily on the seriousness of the crime, and to some extent on the gender and age of the victim. The present research, which used experimental vignettes, examined the role of social networks in reporting: How do the relationships among a victim, the advisor, and the offender affect the advice to report or not to report a violent or nonviolent crime? Results from Study 1 indicated that relationships matter: Crimes are least likely to be reported if the offender is part of the same triad as the victim and the advisor, and crimes are most likely to be reported if the victim, the advisor, and the offender are all strangers. Study 1 also found that males are more likely to protect friends who are offenders (by advising against reporting), while females are more likely to protect friends who are victims (by advising them to report). Study 2 found that the effect of these relationships on reporting is conditioned by the nature of the organization to which the offender belongs, such that males are particularly likely to protect their friends in athletic organizations and fraternities when accused of minor property crimes. Both studies found that gender differences in the advice to report are moderated by characteristics of the crime and triad structure.

Impact of crime victimization on initial presentation to an early intervention for psychosis service and 18-month outcomes.

PubMed

Fisher, Helen L; Roberts, Anna; Day, Fern; Reynolds, Nicky; Iacoponi, Eduardo; Garety, Philippa A; Craig, Thomas K J; McGuire, Philip; Valmaggia, Lucia; Power, Paddy

2017-04-01

To investigate the clinical and social correlates of a lifetime history of crime victimization among first-episode psychosis patients at entry to an Early Intervention Service and following 18 months of specialist care. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 149 individuals who presented to an Early Intervention Service for the first time with psychosis in the London borough of Lambeth, UK. A range of demographic and clinical measures were completed including self-reported history of victimization along with the type of crime and its subjective effect on the patient. Clinical and functional outcomes at 18-month follow up were ascertained from clinical case notes by a psychiatrist. A large proportion of patients (n = 64, 43%) reported a history of crime victimization. This was associated with significantly higher levels of depression and substance misuse at initial presentation. Being a victim of a crime was not significantly associated with poorer clinical or functional outcomes after 18 months of specialist care. However, non-significant differences were found for those who reported crime victimization in terms of their increased use of illegal substances or having assaulted someone else during the follow-up period. Past experience of being a victim of crime appears to be common in patients presenting for the first time with psychosis and is associated with increased likelihood of comorbidity. Thus, Early Intervention Services should consider screening for past victimization and be prepared to deal with comorbid problems. The impact of crime victimization on clinical and functional outcomes requires investigation over a longer period of time. © 2015 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Examining gambling-related crime reports in the National Finnish Police Register.

PubMed

Kuoppamäki, Sanna-Mari; Kääriäinen, Juha; Lind, Kalle

2014-12-01

The aim of this study is to examine the connection between gambling and criminal activity in the National Finnish Police Register. First, a method was created that enabled the search for gambling-related police reports in the National Finnish Police Register. The method is based on finding gambling-related police reports by using gambling-related headwords. Second, all police reports from 2011 that included any mention of gambling were read through (n = 2,233). Suspected gambling-related of crimes (n = 737) were selected from these reports. Those suspected gambling-related crimes were then described and categorized into six different categories: suspected online-related crimes; suspected crimes that were related to lifestyle-gaming; suspected crimes that involved a gambler as a victim of a crime; criminal activity related to problem gambling; casino-connected crimes, and intimate partnership violence resulting from gambling problems. This study, being the first in Finland, generated information on the connection between gambling and criminal activity from the perspective of police reports. Moreover, the study highlights methodological issues that are involved in studying police reports.

Defining and evaluating perceptions of victim blame in antigay hate crimes.

PubMed

Cramer, Robert J; Nobles, Matt R; Amacker, Amanda M; Dovoedo, Lisa

2013-09-01

Victimology research often hinges on attribution of blame toward victims despite a lack of conceptual agreement on the definition and measure of the construct. Drawing on established blame attribution and intent literature, the present study evaluates psychometric properties of the Perceptions of Victim Blame Scale (PVBS) using mock jury samples in a vignette-based capital murder antigay hate crime context. Factor analyses show support for a three-factor structure with the following perceptions of victim blame subscales: Malice, Recklessness, and Unreliability. All factors displayed expected positive associations with homonegativity and authoritarianism. Likewise, all factors displayed null relations with trait aggression and social desirability. Only the Malice factor predicted sentencing decisions after controlling for crime condition and support for the death penalty. Results are reviewed with respect to blame attribution theory and practical application of a revised PVBS.

BRAC and Crime: Examining the Effects of an Installation’s Closure on Local Crime

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-12-01

BRAC. Third, demographic and economic variables also have significant effects on particular types of property and violent crime. 14. SUBJECT...crimes due to a BRAC. Third, demographic and economic variables also have significant effects on particular types of property and violent crime. vi...Bureau of Economic Research NCVS National Crime Victimization Survey NSA National Sherriff’s Association OEA Office of Economic Adjustment OLS

Neighborhood social capital and crime victimization: comparison of spatial regression analysis and hierarchical regression analysis.

PubMed

Takagi, Daisuke; Ikeda, Ken'ichi; Kawachi, Ichiro

2012-11-01

Crime is an important determinant of public health outcomes, including quality of life, mental well-being, and health behavior. A body of research has documented the association between community social capital and crime victimization. The association between social capital and crime victimization has been examined at multiple levels of spatial aggregation, ranging from entire countries, to states, metropolitan areas, counties, and neighborhoods. In multilevel analysis, the spatial boundaries at level 2 are most often drawn from administrative boundaries (e.g., Census tracts in the U.S.). One problem with adopting administrative definitions of neighborhoods is that it ignores spatial spillover. We conducted a study of social capital and crime victimization in one ward of Tokyo city, using a spatial Durbin model with an inverse-distance weighting matrix that assigned each respondent a unique level of "exposure" to social capital based on all other residents' perceptions. The study is based on a postal questionnaire sent to 20-69 years old residents of Arakawa Ward, Tokyo. The response rate was 43.7%. We examined the contextual influence of generalized trust, perceptions of reciprocity, two types of social network variables, as well as two principal components of social capital (constructed from the above four variables). Our outcome measure was self-reported crime victimization in the last five years. In the spatial Durbin model, we found that neighborhood generalized trust, reciprocity, supportive networks and two principal components of social capital were each inversely associated with crime victimization. By contrast, a multilevel regression performed with the same data (using administrative neighborhood boundaries) found generally null associations between neighborhood social capital and crime. Spatial regression methods may be more appropriate for investigating the contextual influence of social capital in homogeneous cultural settings such as Japan. Copyright

Wrongful Convictions: Understanding the Experiences of the Original Crime Victims.

PubMed

Williamson, Erin J; Stricker, Julie M; Irazola, Seri P; Niedzwiecki, Emily

2016-01-01

Over the past 3 decades, significant strides have been made to identify and assist wrongfully convicted individuals in gaining their freedom and transitioning to life after exoneration. However, little is known about the experiences of the original crime victims during this process. The impact of wrongful convictions on victims has not been empirically researched; most of what is known has been provided anecdotally by stakeholders working with victims, and in a few instances, by victims themselves (e.g., Jenkins, 2009; Levey, 2004; Thompson-Cannino, Cotton, & Torneo, 2009). In an effort to begin to fill this gap in knowledge, ICF International conducted in-depth studies of 11 cases to identify the shared experiences and service needs of victims across cases of wrongful conviction.

Juvenile Residential Facility Census, 2010: Selected Findings. Juvenile Offenders and Victims: National Report Series. Bulletin NCJ 241134

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hockenberry, Sarah; Sickmund, Melissa; Sladky, Anthony

2013-01-01

This bulletin is part of the "Juvenile Offenders and Victims National Report Series." The "National Report" offers a comprehensive statistical overview of the problems of juvenile crime, violence, and victimization and the response of the juvenile justice system. During each interim year, the bulletins in the "National…

One rule for the goose, one for the gander? Wrongfulness and harmfulness in determining reactions to offenders and victims of crime

PubMed Central

Lens, Kim M. E.; van Doorn, Janne; Pemberton, Antony; Lahlah, Esmah; Bogaerts, Stefan

2016-01-01

People’s reactions to offenders and victims of crime follow different rationales. Whereas the punishment of the offender is primarily determined by the severity of the crime (which includes its foreseeable harmful consequences), the actual harm that is experienced by the victim drives the need for his or her support and assistance. With the introduction of the Victim Impact Statement (VIS), in which victims are allowed to express the (harmful) consequences of the crime on their lives, the question is raised whether allowing such victim input during criminal proceedings would influence the offender’s sentence. The main goal of the current research is to disentangle how a crime’s wrongfulness and harmfulness influence people’s reactions to offenders and victims. We show that, whereas people’s perceptions of the offender (and the outcome of the trial) are influenced by the severity of the crime, people’s judgements related to the victim are more likely to be influenced by an interaction between the severity of the crime and the experienced harm of the crime. That is, in this study no support was found for the argument that the delivery of a VIS would lead to a violation of the proportionality principle. PMID:28579923

Compensating for the harms of family violence: statutory barriers in Australian victims of crime compensation schemes.

PubMed

Forster, Christine

2014-09-01

This article considers the compensative capacity of the victims of crime statutory schemes that are present in all eight Australian jurisdictions for primary victims of family violence. It argues that the recommendations of the Final Report on Family Violence conducted jointly by the Australian Law Reform Commission and the New South Wales Law Reform Commission in 2010, although a positive step, are insufficient to facilitate meaningful compensation to victims of family violence. In addition to the primary limitations identified by the Commissions--a requirement to report the crime to the police within a reasonable time and a requirement for multiple acts of violence to be reduced to a single act if they are related--there are other statutory barriers that disproportionately disadvantage victims of family violence. These include time limitation provisions, a requirement to report the crime to police, the restriction of compensation to prescribed categories of loss which exclude many of the social, vocational, emotional and psychological harms suffered by victims of family violence, and significant cut-backs on the non-economic component of the schemes. This article further argues that the statutory barriers cumulatively contribute to the perception of a crime as an isolated event perpetrated by a deviant individual. The article recommends that specific provisions for family violence victims should be introduced into all schemes including three categories of compensation not tied to criminal offences but rather the different forms of family violence, with a generous compensation range, and no requirement for proof of injury.

Single-victim and serial sexual homicide offenders: differences in crime, paraphilias and personality traits.

PubMed

Chan, Heng Choon Oliver; Beauregard, Eric; Myers, Wade C

2015-02-01

Information on psychopathological characteristics of sexual homicide offenders is scarce. To investigate criminal, paraphilic and personality trait differences between serial and single-victim sexual homicide offenders. All 73 single-victim and 13 serial sexual homicide offenders presenting within a cohort of 671 men sentenced for sexual crimes between 1994 and 2005 and serving their sentence in one high-security Canadian prison and who consented to interview were assessed and compared on their offending patterns, personality pathology and paraphilic behaviours. Serial sexual homicide offenders were more likely than the single offenders to report deviant sexual fantasies, having selected victims with distinctive characteristics, to have targeted strangers, structured premeditation and/or verbal humiliation of their victims during the offences. Personality pathology, defined by at least two Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV criteria for personality disorder, was common in both groups, but the serial offenders were more likely to have narcissistic, schizoid and/or obsessive-compulsive traits; they were also more likely to engage in sexual masochism, partialism, homosexual paedophilia, exhibitionism and/or voyeurism. Samples of serial sexual homicide offenders will, fortunately, always be small, and it may be that more could be learned to assist in preventing such crimes if data from several studies or centres were pooled. Our findings suggest that an investigation of sexual homicide offenders should include strategies for evaluating premeditation as well as personality and paraphilic characteristics. Crime scene features that should alert investigators should include similar characteristics between victims and particular aspects of body exposure or organisation. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

75 FR 20889 - National Crime Victims' Rights Week, 2010

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-21

..., caring for the survivors of crime by providing shelter, counseling, and other types of assistance. While any person or community may experience crime, some groups are disproportionately affected. Nearly half... rates of sexual assault of any ethnic group. These disparities are an affront to all Americans, and we...

Distribution and Correlates of Self-Reported Crimes of Trust

PubMed Central

Menard, Scott; Morris, Robert G.; Gerber, Jurg; Covey, Herbert C.

2012-01-01

This study examines the distribution and correlates of a special class of property crimes, crimes of trust, using longitudinal and cross sectional self-report data from a national sample. We begin by defining crimes of trust and consider their conceptual relationship to “conventional” property crimes, which we here characterize as crimes of stealth, and to white collar crimes, which are defined in terms of the social status of the perpetrators. Crimes of trust are here defined as property crimes that typically involve deliberate contact with the victim or, where there is more than one victim, with at least one or more victims, in which there is typically more of a focus on concealing the fact that a crime has been committed than on concealing the identity of the perpetrator (as is the case in crimes of stealth), without regard to the socioeconomic status of the perpetrator (thus including but not limited to white collar crimes). The focus here is on crimes of trust committed by individuals (as opposed to corporate crime). We first examine their distribution by sociodemographic characteristics, then examine the correlation of crimes of trust with other types of illegal behavior, using data from the National Youth Survey Family Study, including (1) longitudinal self-report data from a nationally representative panel of individuals who were 11–18 years old in 1976–77 and who were followed through early middle age (ages 36–44) in 2002–2003, plus (2) cross-sectional data on these individuals plus their parents, spouses, and children age 11 and older in 2002–2003 (total age range 11–88). The results suggest that crimes of trust have a different age-crime curve from conventional crimes, and that they are not as strongly correlated with problem substance use, gender, and other socioeconomic indicators as conventional crimes. PMID:22347761

Distribution and Correlates of Self-Reported Crimes of Trust.

PubMed

Menard, Scott; Morris, Robert G; Gerber, Jurg; Covey, Herbert C

2011-11-01

This study examines the distribution and correlates of a special class of property crimes, crimes of trust, using longitudinal and cross sectional self-report data from a national sample. We begin by defining crimes of trust and consider their conceptual relationship to "conventional" property crimes, which we here characterize as crimes of stealth, and to white collar crimes, which are defined in terms of the social status of the perpetrators. Crimes of trust are here defined as property crimes that typically involve deliberate contact with the victim or, where there is more than one victim, with at least one or more victims, in which there is typically more of a focus on concealing the fact that a crime has been committed than on concealing the identity of the perpetrator (as is the case in crimes of stealth), without regard to the socioeconomic status of the perpetrator (thus including but not limited to white collar crimes). The focus here is on crimes of trust committed by individuals (as opposed to corporate crime). We first examine their distribution by sociodemographic characteristics, then examine the correlation of crimes of trust with other types of illegal behavior, using data from the National Youth Survey Family Study, including (1) longitudinal self-report data from a nationally representative panel of individuals who were 11-18 years old in 1976-77 and who were followed through early middle age (ages 36-44) in 2002-2003, plus (2) cross-sectional data on these individuals plus their parents, spouses, and children age 11 and older in 2002-2003 (total age range 11-88). The results suggest that crimes of trust have a different age-crime curve from conventional crimes, and that they are not as strongly correlated with problem substance use, gender, and other socioeconomic indicators as conventional crimes.

Immigrants as crime victims: Experiences of personal nonfatal victimization.

PubMed

Wheeler, Krista; Zhao, Weiyan; Kelleher, Kelly; Stallones, Lorann; Xiang, Huiyun

2010-04-01

Immigrants to the United States are disproportionately victims of homicide mortality in and outside the workplace. Examining their experiences with nonfatal victimization may be helpful in understanding immigrant vulnerability to violence. We compared the annual prevalence of nonfatal personal victimization experienced by immigrant and US-born adults by sociodemographics, employment, occupation, industry, smoking, alcohol and drug use using data from Wave 1 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. The prevalence of victimization among immigrants was comparable to that among US-born adults [3.84% (95% CI: 3.18-4.63) vs. 4.10% (95% CI: 3.77-4.44)]. Lower percentages of victimization experienced by immigrants were seen among the unmarried, those age 30-44 years, and among residents of central city areas as compared to those groups among the US-born. For immigrants entering the US as youth, the victimization prevalence declines with greater years of residency in US. Multivariate logistic regression models suggest that, the odds of victimization was significantly associated with age, family income, marital status, central city residency, smoking, and drug use while employment status was not a significant factor. Immigrant workers with farming/forestry occupations might face a higher risk of being victims of violence than their US-born counterparts. The prevalence of victimization among immigrants was comparable to that among US-born adults. Employment status and industry/occupation overall were not significant risk factors for becoming victims of violence. (c) 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Common Crime and Domestic Violence Victimization of Older Chinese in Urban China: The Prevalence and Its Impact on Mental Health and Constrained Behavior.

PubMed

Qin, Nan; Yan, Elsie

2018-03-01

This article examines the prevalence of victimization among older Chinese living in urban China and its psychological and behavioral impacts. A representative sample of 453 older adults aged 60 or above was recruited from Kunming, the People's Republic of China, using multistage sampling method. Participants were individually interviewed on their demographic characteristics, experience of common crime and domestic violence victimization, fear of common crime and domestic violence, mental health, and constrained behavior. Results showed that 254 participants (56.1%) reported one or more types of common crime and 21 (4.6%) reported experiencing domestic violence in the past. Seventeen participants (3.8%) reportedly experienced both common crime and domestic violence victimization. There was no gender difference in the overall incidence of victimization but in some subtypes. Regression analyses indicated that past experience of common crime victimization was significantly associated with greater fear of common crime (β = .136, p = .004), poorer mental health (β = .136, p = .003), and more constrained behavior (β = .108, p = .025). Fear of common crime predicted increased constrained behavior (β = .240, p < .001) independent of gender, age, education, household finances, living arrangement, and physical health. Domestic violence victimization was not significant in predicting poor mental health and constrained behavior but was significant in predicting fear of domestic violence (β = .266, p < .001), which was related to poorer mental health (β = .102, p = .039). The study suggests the importance of taking older people's risk and experience of victimization into consideration in gerontological research, practice, and policymaking.

The effect of victimization, mental health, and protective factors on crime and illicit drug use among homeless young adults.

PubMed

Tyler, Kimberly A; Kort-Butler, Lisa A; Swendener, Alexis

2014-01-01

Although research has found high rates of child maltreatment, widespread victimization, and other negative outcomes among homeless youth and young adults, resiliency among this population has largely been understudied. Specifically, a gap remains in terms of how protective factors such as self-efficacy, low deviant beliefs, and religiosity operate among homeless youth and young adults. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between various forms of victimization, mental health, and protective factors with property and violent crime and illicit drug use among homeless young adults. Results from regression analyses indicate that running away from home more frequently, experiencing more physical victimization on the street, higher levels of self-efficacy, and more deviant beliefs were associated with greater property crime. Significant correlates of violent crime included being male, running away from home more frequently, greater sexual and physical victimization on the street, higher levels of self-efficacy, and more deviant beliefs. Finally, being male, running away more frequently from home, greater child physical abuse and partner victimization, and more deviant beliefs were all associated with greater illicit drug use. Self-efficacy was positively related to both property and violent crime, suggesting that it may not operate for homeless young adults in the same manner as it does for normative populations.

City Life and Delinquency-Victimization, Fear of Crime and Gang Membership.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Savitz, Leonard D.; And Others

Over 500 black and 500 white boys born in 1957 and attending Philadelphia schools were interviewed along with their mothers. The data were analyzed to discover how educational aspirations, social values, quality of life, fear of crime, victimization, family structure, father-son interaction, social attachments, and gang affiliation affected the…

Trouble in the schoolhouse: new views on victimization, fear of crime, and teacher perceptions of the workplace.

PubMed

Williams, L E; Winfree, L T; Clinton, L

1989-01-01

The current study examines the self-reported victimizations of 90 public school teachers, over one-third of whom reported school-based theft of personal property or threats of violence. The study addressed two basic questions. First, what was the relationship between these school-based victimization experiences and the level of fear expressed by teachers? Second, what was the relationship between both the victimizations and fear and teacher satisfaction with their jobs and their employers? In order to provide a thorough examination of these relationships, several recognized correlates of teacher satisfaction, including respondent's sex, age, work assignments, and racial attitudes and orientations, were included in the analysis. It was found that teacher satisfaction was influenced not only by factors normally associated with teaching, but also by perceptions of and experiences with youthful misbehavior at school. For its part, fear of crime exhibited a strong direct link to both types of satisfaction, and it apparently mitigated the influences of racism on satisfaction with one's job and employer. These observations were consistent with an emerging perspective in victimization studies, which views the link between victimizations and fear of crime as part of the more general social climate, including perceptions of one's work environment, a perspective that frees the researcher from the confines of more traditional conceptualizations about crime.

A visitor control system for patients who were victims of violent crimes.

PubMed

Bland, Bobby W

2008-01-01

The dangers of further violence to patient victims of gang-related crime as well as violence against members of their families are frankly discussed in this article by the author who describes a special visitor control system he developed to prevent such violence from spreading into the hospital.

Violence, abuse, and crime exposure in a national sample of children and youth.

PubMed

Finkelhor, David; Turner, Heather; Ormrod, Richard; Hamby, Sherry L

2009-11-01

The objective of this research was to obtain national estimates of exposure to the full spectrum of the childhood violence, abuse, and crime victimizations relevant to both clinical practice and public-policy approaches to the problem. The study was based on a cross-sectional national telephone survey that involved a target sample of 4549 children aged 0 to 17 years. A clear majority (60.6%) of the children and youth in this nationally representative sample had experienced at least 1 direct or witnessed victimization in the previous year. Almost half (46.3%) had experienced a physical assault in the study year, 1 in 4 (24.6%) had experienced a property offense, 1 in 10 (10.2%) had experienced a form of child maltreatment, 6.1% had experienced a sexual victimization, and more than 1 in 4 (25.3%) had been a witness to violence or experienced another form of indirect victimization in the year, including 9.8% who had witnessed an intrafamily assault. One in 10 (10.2%) had experienced a victimization-related injury. More than one third (38.7%) had been exposed to 2 or more direct victimizations, 10.9% had 5 or more, and 2.4% had 10 or more during the study year. The scope and diversity of child exposure to victimization is not well recognized. Clinicians and researchers need to inquire about a larger spectrum of victimization types to identify multiply victimized children and tailor prevention and interventions to the full range of threats that children face.

The addict as victim: producing the 'problem' of addiction in Australian victims of crime compensation laws.

PubMed

Seear, Kate; Fraser, Suzanne

2014-09-01

Much academic scholarship has explored drug use and 'addiction' in the criminal justice system. This paper explores what happens when 'addicts' are victims, through an analysis of victims of crime compensation case law within the state of Victoria, Australia. We argue that the law enacts a set of unexamined assumptions about the 'problem' of addiction, including the assumption that it is incompatible to be both addict and victim. However, courts reconcile this 'dilemma' by explaining addiction as an 'effect' of trauma, violence or abuse, a seemingly sympathetic rendering of addiction. Although this appears to represent a less stigmatising approach than found in the criminal law, we argue that these processes actually produce new challenges for people who use drugs and 'addicts', and that these may be counter to the stated aims and objectives of crimes compensation law. We argue that even legal systems with an explicitly remedial rationale have the potential to generate harms, creating those who use drugs and 'addicts' as pathological in certain ways and thereby undermining their claims to citizenship. Our analysis is underpinned by a critical approach to the constitution of social problems based on the work of Carol Bacchi. Although the focus is on Australian law, the arguments we develop in this paper are likely to resonate beyond the specific jurisdiction reviewed here, and raise questions about the mutually interdependent role of law and policy in compounding the stigmatisation and marginalisation of people who use drugs and drug 'addicts'. Crown Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Use of social networking sites in online sex crimes against minors: an examination of national incidence and means of utilization.

PubMed

Mitchell, Kimberly J; Finkelhor, David; Jones, Lisa M; Wolak, Janis

2010-08-01

To describe the variety of ways social networking sites (SNSs) are used to facilitate the sexual exploitation of youth, as well as identify victim, offender, and case differences between arrests, with and without a SNS nexus. Mail surveys were sent to a nationally representative sample of over 2,500 local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies in the United States. Follow-up detailed telephone interviews were conducted for 1,051 individual cases ending in an arrest for Internet-related sex crimes against minors in 2006. In the United States, an estimated 2,322 arrests (unweighted n = 291) for Internet sex crimes against minors involved SNSs in some way, including an estimated 503 arrests (unweighted n = 93) in cases involving identified victims and the use of SNSs by offenders (the majority of arrests involved undercover operations undertaken by police). SNSs were used to initiate sexual relationships, to provide a means of communication between victim and offender, to access information about the victim, to disseminate information or pictures about the victim, and to get in touch with victim's friends. A considerable number of arrests for Internet sex crimes against minors have a SNS nexus to them. The findings support previous claims that prevention messages should target youth behaviors rather than specific online locations where these crimes occur. In targeting behaviors, youth can take this knowledge with them online, regardless of whether they are using SNSs, chat rooms, or instant messaging. (c) 2010 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Income inequality, poverty and crime across nations.

PubMed

Pare, Paul-Philippe; Felson, Richard

2014-09-01

We examine the relationship between income inequality, poverty, and different types of crime. Our results are consistent with recent research in showing that inequality is unrelated to homicide rates when poverty is controlled. In our multi-level analyses of the International Crime Victimization Survey we find that inequality is unrelated to assault, robbery, burglary, and theft when poverty is controlled. We argue that there are also theoretical reasons to doubt that the level of income inequality of a country affects the likelihood of criminal behaviour. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2014.

Family structure, victimization, and child mental health in a nationally representative sample.

PubMed

Turner, Heather A; Finkelhor, David; Hamby, Sherry L; Shattuck, Anne

2013-06-01

Utilizing the 2008 National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV), the current study compares past year rates of 7 forms of child victimization (maltreatment, assault, peer victimization, property crime, witnessing family violence and exposure to community violence) across 3 different family structure types (two biological/adoptive parents, single parent, step/cohabiting family) among a representative sample of 4046 U.S. children ages 2-17. The study also considers whether certain social-contextual risk factors help to explain family structure variations in victimization, and the extent to which victimization exposure accounts for family structure differences in distress symptom levels. Findings showed significantly elevated rates of almost all types of victimization among children in both nontraditional family types, relative to those living with two biological/adoptive parents. Factors associated with increased victimization risk in these families include high parental conflict, drug or alcohol problems, family adversity, and community disorder. A summary measure of children's exposure to multiple forms of victimization was the strongest predictor of distress symptoms. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Teens, Crime, and the Community in Boys & Girls Clubs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carlson, Andrea

Teens, Crime, and the Community (TCC) curriculum creates an awareness among teens of the crime problems facing our communities and how they affect our nation. It encourages youth to take responsibility for reducing crime and victimization, making schools and neighborhoods safer. Boys and Girls Clubs offer a variety of programs for youth, and TCC…

Prosecutor can't be sued for breach of crime victim's trust.

PubMed

1999-10-15

A judge ruled that a prosecutor cannot be sued for breaching a crime victim's privacy by disclosing the criminal's HIV status. [Name removed] was bitten by a burglar who broke into her home. The burglar was subsequently tried and convicted of the crime. The assistant States Attorney, James Clark, assured [name removed] that he would not reveal the burglar's HIV status, but during the sentencing hearing, he made it a key issue. The judge granted the attorney summary judgement because prosecutors are immune from tort liability arising from their conduct as participants in a judicial proceeding. In a footnote, the judge said it "certainly is very unfortunate" that Clark led [name removed] to think he would not disclose the burglar's HIV claim in open court.

Violent Crime Victimization Increases the Risk of Nursing Home Placement in Older Adults

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lachs, Mark; Bachman, Ronet; Williams, Christianna S.; Kossack, Alice; Bove, Carolyn; O'Leary, John R.

2006-01-01

Purpose: We estimate the independent contribution of crime victimization to nursing home placement in a cohort of older adults who were community dwelling at baseline. Design and Methods: The data come from an observational cohort study of 2,321 community-residing older adults who were members of the New Haven Established Populations for…

Victim-induced criminality.

PubMed

Fooner, M

1966-09-02

about the probable effects on the administration of criminal justice. These are pragmatic problems; there is a third problem which may at this time seem speculative, but is, nevertheless, quite important. 3) To what extent will a particular proposal for victim compensation contribute to a temptation-opportunity pattern in victim behavior? In previous studies it has been pointed out that large numbers of our fellow Americans have tended to acquire casual money-handling habits-generically designated "carelessness"-which contribute to the national growth of criminality. How the victim helps the criminal was sketched in reports of those studies (10). It was made abundantly clear that human beings in our affluent society cannot be assumed to be prudent or self-protective against the hazards of crime. Even when the "victim" is not overtly acting to commit a crime-as in the case of the property owner who hires an arsonist-he often tempts the offender. Among the victims of burglary-statistically the most prevalent crime in the United States-are a substantial number of Americans who keep cash, jewelry, and other valuables carelessly at home or in hotel rooms to which the burglar has easy access through door or window. Victims of automobile theft-one of the fastest growing classes of crime-include drivers who leave the vehicle or its contents invitingly accessible to thieves. And so on with other classes of crime. As pointed out in previous studies, when victim behavior follows a temptation-opportunity pattern, it (i) contributes to a "climate of criminal inducements," (ii) adds to the economic resources available to criminal societies, and (iii) detracts from the ability of lawenforcement agencies to suppress the growth of crime.

3 CFR 8365 - Proclamation 8365 of April 24, 2009. National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, 2009

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... pledging to fight crime wherever it exists. This commitment begins by supporting the men and women working every day to reduce crime and assist crime victims. Often placing themselves in harm’s way and... anniversary of the bill’s bipartisan passage. An effective approach to fighting crime must include programs...

78 FR 24319 - National Crime Victims' Rights Week, 2013

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-24

... do. As an epidemic of gun violence has swept through places like Newtown, Aurora, Oak Creek, and... would address the epidemic of gun violence and help keep our children safe. By working to prevent crime...

Overlooked Victims: Working with Non-Offending Caregivers in Child Sexual Abuse Cases

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grant, Deborah Dillon

2006-01-01

The national statistics for child sexual abuse are staggering. In 2004, there were 209,880 victims of rape, attempted rape or sexual assaults according to the National Crime Victimization Survey. While effective treatment alternatives for victims are being provided, non-offending caregivers can be easily overlooked. Mason and Erooga (1990) have…

Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2006. NCES 2007-003

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dinkes, Rachel; Cataldi, Emily Forrest; Kena, Grace; Baum, Katrina

2006-01-01

This report provides the most recent national indicators on school crime and safety. Some of these indicators document that student safety has improved. For example, the victimization rate of students ages 12-18 at school declined from 73 victimizations per 1,000 students in 2003 to 55 per 1,000 students victimizations in 2004. However, other…

Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 2006 National Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Snyder, Howard N.; Sickmund, Melissa

2006-01-01

This report presents comprehensive information on juvenile crime, violence, and victimization and on the juvenile justice system. This report brings together the latest available statistics from a variety of sources and includes numerous tables, graphs, and maps, accompanied by analyses in clear, nontechnical language. The report offers Congress,…

Victim and Witness Assistance Council

Science.gov Websites

last decade has witnessed heightened interest in the rights and needs of crime victims on military Office for Victims of Crime, the DoD has provided training and technical assistance to improve victims

The Impact of Judicial Reform on Crime Victimization and Trust in Institutions in Mexico.

PubMed

Blanco, Luisa

2016-01-01

This article studies the impact of judicial reform in Mexico. It does so using a survey about crime victimization and perceptions of insecurity (Encuesta Nacional Sobre la Inseguridad [ENSI]) collected in 2005, 2008, and 2009 in 11 Mexican cities, 3 of which implemented the reform in 2007 and 2008. This analysis shows that judicial reform not only reduces victimization but also lowers perceptions of security. Although we find that judicial reform has a negative effect on trust in the local and federal police, judicial reform reduces the probability of being asked by the transit police for a bribe.

Big Five Personality Traits of Cybercrime Victims.

PubMed

van de Weijer, Steve G A; Leukfeldt, E Rutger

2017-07-01

The prevalence of cybercrime has increased rapidly over the last decades and has become part of the everyday life of citizens. It is, therefore, of great importance to gain more knowledge on the factors related to an increased or decreased likelihood of becoming a cybercrime victim. The current study adds to the existing body of knowledge using a large representative sample of Dutch individuals (N = 3,648) to study the relationship between cybercrime victimization and the key traits from the Big Five model of personality (i.e., extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to experience). First, multinomial logistic regression analyses were used to examine the associations between the personality traits and three victim groups, that is, cybercrime victims versus nonvictims, traditional crime victims versus nonvictims, and cybercrime victims versus traditional crime victims. Next, logistic regression analyses were performed to predict victimization of cyber-dependent crimes (i.e., hacking and virus infection) and cyber-enabled crimes (i.e., online intimidation, online consumer fraud, and theft from bank account). The analyses show that personality traits are not specifically associated with cybercrime victimization, but rather with victimization in general. Only those with higher scores on emotional stability were less likely to become a victim of cybercrime than traditional crime. Furthermore, the results indicate that there are little differences between personality traits related to victimization of cyber-enabled and cyber-dependent crimes. Only individuals with higher scores on openness to experience have higher odds of becoming a victim of cyber-enabled crimes.

78 FR 52877 - VOCA Victim Assistance Program

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-27

... SAAs may use for these purposes. Funding victim service programs located in adjacent States. Program... State and eligible territory for the financial support of services to victims of crime by eligible crime... Program Guidelines (``Guidelines'') to reflect changes in OVC policy, needs of the crime victims services...

Analyzing Predictors of Bullying Victimization With Routine Activity and Social Bond Perspectives.

PubMed

Cecen-Celik, Hatice; Keith, Shelley

2016-10-01

Bullying victimization in school settings is a serious problem in many countries including the United States. It has been associated with serious incidents of school violence as well as detrimental physical, psychological, emotional, and social consequences for its victims. Given its consequences, it is crucial to understand who is more likely to be targeted for bullying victimization. This study examines whether a number of important factors such as gender, physical and interactionist school security measures, and involvement in extracurricular activities influence an individual's risk of bullying victimization from social bond and routine activity perspectives. The study employs the 2011 School Crime Supplement of the National Crime Victimization Survey to investigate the causes of bullying victimization. The results show that gender, interactionist school security measures, and extracurricular activities affect an individual's likelihood of bullying victimization.

Dating violence and interpersonal victimization among a national sample of Latino youth.

PubMed

Cuevas, Carlos A; Sabina, Chiara; Bell, Kristin A

2014-10-01

The purpose of this analysis was (1) to provide the rates of dating violence victimization among a national sample of Latino adolescents, (2) to determine the degree to which different forms of dating violence victimization co-occurred for this sample, and (3) to determine how much dating violence victimization overlapped with other forms of non-partner-perpetrated victimization. This analysis used data from the Dating Violence Among Latinos Study, which surveyed 1,525 Latino adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18 years about past-year dating violence and non-partner-perpetrated victimization. We calculated victimization rates and relative risk ratios to evaluate the co-occurrence among different forms of dating violence victimization as well as the co-occurrence of dating violence and other forms of victimization. Results show elevated rates of dating violence victimization compared with previous studies, which is primarily accounted for by psychological dating violence. The rate of dating violence appears to precipitously increase starting around ages 13 and 14 years and is consistently higher for boys. Each type of dating violence was significantly associated with other forms of dating violence (e.g., physical and psychological). Dating violence was significantly associated with experiencing conventional crime, peer or sibling victimization, and nonpartner sexual victimization as well as being a polyvictim. The results support the importance of early prevention efforts with Latino youth and addressing dating violence with both sexes. Furthermore, dating violence should be seen as a potential risk marker for youth who are experiencing multiple forms of victimization. Copyright © 2014 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Analysis of National Crime Victimization Survey Data to Study Serious Delinquent Behavior. Monograph Four: Juvenile Criminal Behavior and Its Relation to Economic Conditions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Danser, Kenneth R.; Laub, John H.

Quarterly offending data from the National Crime Survey 1973-78 (NCS) were used to address the question: what effect do economic conditions have on criminal behavior over time? A total rate of offending in personal crimes as well as crime specific rates for robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault were examined. Analysis focused on three…

The Likelihood of Injury Among Bias Crimes: An Analysis of General and Specific Bias Types.

PubMed

Pezzella, Frank S; Fetzer, Matthew D

2015-06-18

In 2009, President Barack Obama signed the Mathew Sheppard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Protection act and thereby extended the list of previously protected classes of victims from actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, disability and sex orientation to gender and gender identity. Over 45 states, the District of Columbia and the federal government now include hate crime statutes that increase penalties when offenders perpetrate hate crimes against protected classes of victims. Penalty enhancement statutes sanction unlawful bias conduct arguably because they result in more severe injuries relative to non-bias conduct. We contend that physical injuries vary by bias type and are not equally injurious. Data on bias crimes was analyzed from the National Incident Based Reporting System. Descriptive patterns of bias crimes were identified by offense type, bias motivation and major and minor injuries. Using Multivariate analyses, we found an escalating trend of violence against racial minorities. Moreover, relative to non-bias crimes, only anti-White and anti-lesbian bias crimes experienced our two prong "animus" criteria of disproportionate prevalence and severity of injury. However, when compared to anti-White bias, anti-Black bias crimes were more prevalent and likely to suffer serious injuries. Implications for hate crime jurisprudence are discussed. © The Author(s) 2015.

Direct and vicarious violent victimization and juvenile delinquency: an application of general strain theory.

PubMed

Lin, Wen-Hsu; Cochran, John K; Mieczkowski, Thomas

2011-01-01

Using a national probability sample of adolescents (12–17), this study applies general strain theory to how violent victimization, vicarious violent victimization, and dual violent victimization affect juvenile violent/property crime and drug use. In addition, the mediating effect and moderating effect of depression, low social control, and delinquent peer association on the victimization–delinquency relationship is also examined. Based on SEM analyses and contingency tables, the results indicate that all three types of violent victimization have significant and positive direct effects on violent/property crime and drug use. In addition, the expected mediating effects and moderating effects are also found. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

Unmet needs and service satisfaction of victim support for the direct and indirect victims of serious violence: Results from a cross-sectional survey in Taiwan

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

Victim support services, in mature societies, aim to help victims recover after suffering a traumatic event. The effectiveness of victim support has traditionally been evaluated through rates of service utilization and incidence of psychopathology such as posttraumatic stress disorder. The current study, instead, inquires into service users’ unmet needs and satisfaction, and identifies factors that mediate such subjective measures, using data from a national cross-sectional survey on victims and surviving families of violent crime in Taiwan in 2011. The results reveal: 1) a gap between available and expected services, and 2) a correlation between service utilization and satisfaction, both consistent with previous studies. In addition, the current study identifies unsatisfied service users: They are homicidally bereaved, live with their spouse, suffer from post-crime financial distress and are still waiting for a court verdict on the incident. Victim support that helps victims heal through tailored services incorporating relationship counseling is proposed. PMID:29466463

Hate crimes hurt some more than others: implications for the just sentencing of offenders.

PubMed

Iganski, Paul; Lagou, Spiridoula

2015-06-01

An accumulation of research evidence indicates that hate crimes are more serious than similar but otherwise motivated crimes in respect of the greater post-victimization distress for victims. Such evidence has been used by advocates of hate crime laws to justify greater penalties for hate crime offenders. However, in focusing on the commonalities of the post-victimization impacts inflicted by hate crimes, the research evidence to date has obscured the diversity of reactions between victims. Consequently, this article expands the evidence by illuminating the variation in reported victim impacts. The analysis presented uses data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales on racially motivated crime and reveals that not all victims report being affected by hate crime, not all victims are affected the same way, and some victims of racially motivated crime report less of an emotional impact than some victims of equivalent but otherwise motivated crimes. It is reasoned that in any individual case of hate crime the motivating sentiments of the offender provide an unreliable indicator of the harms inflicted on the victim. Therefore, a blanket uplift in penalty in every case which rests on the offender's motivations cannot be justified if the justification for sentence uplift is to give offenders their just deserts for the harms they inflict. Instead, the justification must rest on the culpability of the offender for the harms they may or may not actually inflict. Just as there is variation in victim impacts, there will be variation in offender culpability: Discretion and flexibility in sentencing is therefore necessary to ensure justice for offenders. © The Author(s) 2014.

Victimizations of Mexican youth (12-17 years old): A 2014 national survey.

PubMed

Frías, Sonia M; Finkelhor, David

2017-05-01

Victimization of Mexican youth (aged 12-17) has received little attention compared to that of adults. Using the 2014 Social Survey on Social Cohesion for the Prevention of Violence and Delinquency, we examine prevalence and types of victimization; describe the characteristics of incidents in terms of relationship with perpetrator(s) and places where took place; and study significant correlates of forms of victimization and poly-victimization. During 2014 alone, more than 2.8 million minors were victims of bullying, cyberbullying, theft, sexual abuse, physical assault, threats, robbery, or extortion. About 10% of these were poly-victims-experienced at least four different types of victimization by at least four types of perpetrators. Youth tended to be victimized by people in their inner circle. The factors associated with victimization tended to vary by victimization type, but proximity to crime and peer delinquency increased the risk of experiencing all types of victimization. Implications for future research and practice are discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Understanding the Black Box of Gang Organization: Implications for Involvement in Violent Crime, Drug Sales, and Violent Victimization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Decker, Scott H.; Katz, Charles M.; Webb, Vincent J.

2008-01-01

This article examines the influence of gang organization on several behavioral measures. Using interview data from juvenile detention facilities in three Arizona sites, this article examines the relationship between gang organizational structure and involvement in violent crime, drug sales, victimization, and arrest. The gang literature suggests…

[False victimization syndrome].

PubMed

Resch, Mária; Bella, Tamás

2011-04-03

Criminology and criminal-psychology are sciences dealing mostly with the personality of the criminals as well as the interconnections of crime and deviance. The other player of the crimes - the victim - has recently come into focus posing the question why and how somebody is becoming a victim, and what effect can the victim have when the crime is being committed. The first international publications appeared at the beginning of the third millennium on so-called victims who are convinced to suffer from material, moral or other damages and, accordingly, who would pursue "justice" at any rate. They often appeal against decisions. Considering these facts the procedures are rather thorough and circumspect. A significant part of the law-enforcement staff is heavily involved for long periods. On the other side there is the person considered criminal being actually the real victim. These people are getting alienated from the society because of their reckoned deeds and, because of the distorting influence of the media they are condemned morally. The present study describes the syndromes of fake-victim, their occurrence as well as psychiatric considerations, social appearance and impact. The authors are drawing attention to the existence and significance of this medical-legal problem.

A Cure for Crime? Psycho-Pharmaceuticals and Crime Trends

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marcotte, Dave E.; Markowitz, Sara

2011-01-01

In this paper we consider possible links between the diffusion of new pharmaceuticals used for treating mental illness and crime rates. We describe recent trends in crime and review the evidence showing that mental illness is a clear risk factor both for criminal behavior and victimization. We summarize the development of a number of new…

Are crimes by online predators different from crimes by sex offenders who know youth in-person?

PubMed

Wolak, Janis; Finkelhor, David

2013-12-01

We examined cases in which sex offenders arrested for Internet-related crimes used the Internet for sexual communications with minors, comparing crimes by offenders who met victims online to those by offenders who knew victims in-person prior to the offense. We collected data from a national sample of law enforcement agencies (n = 2,653) about arrests in 2009 for Internet-related sex crimes against minors, conducting detailed telephone interviews with investigators about individual cases. This paper examines a subset of arrest cases that included the use of online sexual communications (online-meeting offenders, n = 143; know-in-person/online offenders, n = 139). Compared with know-in-person/online offenders, online-meeting offenders were less likely to have criminal backgrounds and more likely to use online communications to deceive victims. However, deception was a factor in a minority of cases and was also used by some know-in-person/online offenders. The majority of cases in both groups involved statutory rape (i.e., nonforcible illegal sexual activity with underage youth) or noncontact offenses such as child pornography production or sexual solicitation of a minor. We conclude that crimes by online-meeting offenders should not be treated as different or more dangerous than those by know-in-person/online offenders who use online sexual communications. Rather, prevention efforts should educate about the nature of statutory rape and related noncontact offenses. The primary message should be that it is criminal for adults to make sexual overtures to minors, online or offline, no matter what their relationship to the youth. Copyright © 2013 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Measuring Transnational Organized Crime Threats to US National Security

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-05-26

typology is not designed to score TOC networks, so it is not an obvious choice, but it could be easily modified by the TMWG to rank-order TOC networks...States Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime (SCTOC). The strategy identified Transnational Organized Crime ( TOC ) as a national security...identify the TOC groups that present the national security threat defined in the SCTOC? A literature review of existing organized crime assessments

Victimization, perception of insecurity, and changes in daily routines in Mexico

PubMed Central

Ávila, María Elena; Martínez-Ferrer, Belén; Vera, Alejandro; Bahena, Alejandro; Musitu, Gonzalo

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To analyze the relationships between victimization, perception of insecurity, and changes in routines. METHODS The 8,170 subjects of both sexes (49.9% women and 50.1% men) aged between 12 and 60 years, selected from a proportional stratified sampling, participated in this study. The measuring instrument was an adaptation of the National Survey on Victimization and Perception of Public Security. Chi-square tests were performed. RESULTS The results show significant differences on victimization and sex regarding perception of insecurity, restrictions on everyday activities, and protection measures. 13.1% of those interviewed claimed to have been victims of a crime in the past 12 months. 52.7% of women considered their municipality as unsafe or very unsafe. In the case of men, this percentage was 58.2%. Female victims reported significant restrictions in everyday activities when compared to non-victims. In relation to men, the percentage of victims with a high restriction of activities was higher in male victims than non-victims. In the group of victimized women, the segment of women who opted for increased measures of protection against crime was larger than expected, while those of non-victims who took less protective measures was lower than expected. These same results were observed in the group of men. CONCLUSIONS The experience of victimization implies a greater perception of insecurity. However, the climate of insecurity is widespread in a large number of citizens. Gender differences in a high-crime environment show the importance of investigating in depth the roles of both genders in the perception of insecurity and changes in routines. PMID:27706373

Policy recommendations for the use of victim-offender mediation to redress criminal actions.

PubMed

William-Hayes, Mona; Dulmus, Catherine N; Nugent, William R; Sowers, Karen M

2004-01-01

Understanding how to respond effectively and efficiently to crime victims and their offenders, and identifying what policies assist victims in having their victimization redressed is a major social concern. Social workers have contact with these vulnerable populations in many different ways, yet the social work profession, in general, is unfamiliar with how to redress victims through restorative justice. Restorative justice is an innovative method of viewing crime, and a paradigm shift is required when considering the application and implication of various forms of restorative justice. It is imperative to keep various justice options available, as the effects of crime are detrimental. Though reported rates of juvenile and adult crime have decreases during the last decade, the costs associated with crime to society remain high. Many victims do not report crimes, and if professionals such as medical personnel fail to identify crimes, then these costs may be even higher than currently reported. Regardless, however, of the costs associated with crime, victims deserve having justice evaluated, at least in part, in terms of what they need and want. Likewise, it is imperative to evaluate the effects of victim- offender mediation (VOM), a form of restorative justice, on offenders as they too deserve potential rehabilitation and the chance to redress the harm they caused their victim(s). This paper discusses crime effects, provides an overview of VOM, and concludes with policy recommendations concerning the use of victim-offender mediation.

Effects of racism on perceptions and punishment of intra- and interracial crimes.

PubMed

Saucier, Donald A; Hockett, Jericho M; Zanotti, Danielle C; Heffel, Sarah

2010-10-01

The majority of hate crimes in the United States are driven by racial bias. However, extra-legal factors such as the perpetrators' motivations, the races of the victims and perpetrators, and the presence or absence of hate symbols or slurs often result in ambiguity in the classification of crimes as hate crimes. This uncertainty evokes consideration of how such crimes are characterized and of how violent intra- and interracial crimes are perceived and responded to. The current study used violent crime vignettes to explore the effects of participants' levels of racism, perpetrator and victim race, and assault severity on perceptions of crimes as "hate crimes," victim blame, and sentence recommendations. These results contribute to the understanding of how intra- and interracial crimes are perceived and how individuals' levels of racism affect these perceptions.

Changes in Bullying Victimization and Hate-Related Words at School since 2007. Data Point. NCES 2018-095

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lessne, Deborah; Yanez, Christine

2018-01-01

Data from the School Crime Supplement (SCS) to the National Crime Victimization Survey, a nationally representative sample survey of students ages 12 through 18, were used to examine changes in reports of bullying and being called hate-related words at school. The SCS study is completed every other year. Data from five consecutive surveys are…

The hidden crime: human trafficking.

PubMed

Clause, Kristen J; Lawler, Kate Byrnes

2013-01-01

As the primary contact in the health care system, nurses can play a role in combating this crime and assisting the victims. Assessment for abuse, neglect, trauma, recurrent sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and fear of a controlling partner is critical. Following up on "red flags" and understanding methods of safe questioning can make the difference between slavery and recovery for victims. Nurses must also know the professional referrals in their areas once a potential victim has been identified. This may be a very dangerous undertaking and must be handled by experienced personnel. Referrals to forensic nurses or physicians, domestic violence professionals or law enforcement may be indicated. Initially, a nurse may want to consult with the agency social worker for guidance. Human trafficking is a human rights crime. Unfortunately, it is more prevalent in all types of communities than most people suspect. Nurses can be heroes to the victims through understanding of this crime and vigilance in the assessment and care of all people they encounter in their practices.

Justice from the victim's perspective.

PubMed

Herman, Judith Lewis

2005-05-01

What are the meanings of justice, as seen from the perspective of victims of violent crime? Are victims' visions of justice represented by the conventional legal system? Are they represented by restorative justice? The author engages these questions, drawing on in-depth interviews with 22 victims of violent crime. It is argued that survivors' views of justice do not fit well into either retributive or restorative models. This has implications for current efforts to use restorative models in cases of violence against women.

More Than a Feeling: Public Expectations About Emotional Responses to Criminal Victimization.

PubMed

Wrede, Olof; Ask, Karl

2015-01-01

Crime victims' emotional display in legal settings has been found to influence credibility judgments. The specific nature of public expectations about crime victims' emotional responses have, however, not been adequately investigated. In an experimental vignette study, respondents in a community sample (N = 404) estimated the likelihood that female and male victims would experience 7 distinct emotions in response to 5 types of crimes. Across all crime types, female victims were expected to experience significantly more situation-focused (anxiety, fear) and inward-focused (guilt, shame, sadness) emotions, and significantly less other-focused emotions (hatred, anger) than male victims. This calls for an increased focus on distinct emotions in future research on victim's emotions. Implications for victims in legal and social settings are discussed.

Trait impulsivity and change in mental health problems after violent crime victimization: a prospective analysis of the dutch longitudinal internet studies for the social sciences database.

PubMed

Kunst, Maarten; Van Wilsem, Johan

2013-05-01

Violent crime victimization can have serious mental health consequences, but what it is that makes victims at risk of mental health problems or delayed recovery from such problems is largely unknown. Previous research has focused on, amongst other things, the disabling impact of personality factors involved in the regulation of emotions. Using data from the Dutch Longitudinal Internet Studies for the Social Sciences (LISS) panel (n = 2628), this study explored whether the association between violent crime victimization and change in mental health problems over a 1-year time span also varies by trait impulsivity (TI)--a personality factor involved in regulating behavior. TI may serve as a risk factor for mental health problems, but research into this topic is scarce and inconsistent. Results suggested that low TI subjects are prone to experience an increase in mental health problems following victimization. As a possible explanation for this finding, it was speculated that subjects with low TI do not perceive themselves at risk of victimization and thus see this positive assumption shattered when victimization does occur. Results were further discussed in terms of study limitations and strengths and implications for future research.

National Differences in Intelligence, Crime, Income, and Skin Color

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rushton, J. Philippe; Templer, Donald I.

2009-01-01

National differences in murder, rape, and serious assault were examined in 113 countries in relation to national IQ, income, skin color, birth rate, life expectancy, infant mortality, and HIV/AIDS. Data were collated from the 1993-1996 International Crime Statistics published by INTERPOL. Violent crime was found to be lower in countries with…

Distress after a single violent crime: how shame-proneness and event-related shame work together as risk factors for post-victimization symptoms.

PubMed

Semb, Olof; Strömsten, Lotta M J; Sundbom, Elisabet; Fransson, Per; Henningsson, Mikael

2011-08-01

To increase understanding of post-victimization symptom development, the present study investigated the role of shame- and guilt-proneness and event-related shame and guilt as potential risk factors. 35 individuals (M age = 31.7 yr.; 48.5% women), recently victimized by a single event of severe violent crime, were assessed regarding shame- and guilt-proneness, event-related shame and guilt, and post-victimization symptoms. The mediating role of event-related shame was investigated with structural equation modeling (SEM), using bootstrapping. The guilt measures were unrelated to each other and to post-victimization symptoms. The shame measures were highly intercorrelated and were both positively correlated to more severe post-victimization symptom levels. Event-related shame as mediator between shame-proneness and post-victimization symptoms was demonstrated by prevalent significant indirect effects. Both shame measures are potent risk factors for distress after victimization, whereby part of the effect of shame-proneness on post-victimization symptoms is explained by event-related shame.

Sexual murderers of children: developmental, precrime, crime, and postcrime factors.

PubMed

Beauregard, Eric; Stone, Maryann R; Proulx, Jean; Michaud, Patrick

2008-06-01

The amount of empirical research on men who commit sexual murders is scarce, and no distinction has been made between those who have victimized adults and those who have victimized children. Therefore, to better understand specifically sexual murderers of children (n = 11), comparisons were performed with a group of sexual murderers of adult women (n = 66) on developmental, precrime, crime, and postcrime factors. It appears that sexual murderers of children are more often victims of sexual abuse during childhood and present more often deviant sexual fantasies as compared to sexual murderers of women. The results show also that sexual murderers of children more often use pornography prior to crime, have contact with the victim prior to crime, and commit a crime more often characterized by premeditation, strangulation, the hiding of the body, and its dismemberment than the sexual murderers of women.

The hidden crime: human trafficking.

PubMed

Clause, Kristen J; Lawler, Kate Byrnes

2013-01-01

As the primary contact in the health care system, nurses can play a role in combating this crime and assisting the victims. Assessment for abuse, neglect, trauma, recurrent sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and fear of a controlling partner is critical. Following up on "red flags" and understanding methods of safe questioning can make the difference between slavery and recovery for victims. Nurses must also know the professional referrals in their areas once a potential victim has been identified. This may be a very dangerous undertaking and must be handled by experienced personnel. Referrals to forensic nurses or physicians, domestic violence professionals or law enforcement may be indicated. Initially, a nurse may want to consult with the agency social worker for guidance. Human trafficking is a human rights crime. Unfortunately, it is more prevalent in all types of communities than most people suspect. Nurses can be heroes to the victims through understanding of this crime and vigilance in the assessment and care of all people they encounter in their practices. To learn more or to help with this cause, visit the Somaly Mam Foundation at www.somaly.org or the U.S. Department of State at www. state.gov.

A mock juror investigation of blame attribution in the punishment of hate crime perpetrators.

PubMed

Cramer, Robert J; Clark, John W; Kehn, Andre; Burks, Alixandra C; Wechsler, Hayley J

2014-01-01

We examined blame attribution as a moderator of perceptions of hate crimes against gay, African American, and transgender victims. Participants were 510 Texas jury panel members. Results of vignette-based crime scenarios showed that victim blame displayed significant negative, and perpetrator blame significant positive, effects on sentencing recommendations. Also as hypothesized, victim and perpetrator blame moderated the effect of support for hate crime legislation. Interaction patterns suggested that both types of blame attribution influence sentencing recommendations, but only for participants disagreeing with hate crime legislation. Three-way interactions with victim type also emerged, indicating that the effects of both types of blame attribution show particular influences when the victim is gay, as opposed to transgender or African American. Implications for attribution theory, hate crime policy, and jury selection are discussed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

32 CFR 637.14 - Use of National Crime Information Center (NCIC).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 32 National Defense 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Use of National Crime Information Center (NCIC). 637.14 Section 637.14 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY... Use of National Crime Information Center (NCIC). Provost marshals will make maximum use of NCIC...

Gun Attitudes and Fear of Crime.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heath, Linda; Weeks, Kyle; Murphy, Marie Mackay

1997-01-01

Using three studies, examined the relationship between attitudes toward guns and fear of crime. Findings indicate a connection between fear of crime and attitudes toward guns: people higher in fear of crime favored gun control. Results also established a relationship between stereotypical beliefs about gun victims and support for gun control. (RJM)

Resisting rape: the effects of victim self-protection on rape completion and injury.

PubMed

Tark, Jongyeon; Kleck, Gary

2014-03-01

The impact of victim resistance on rape completion and injury was examined utilizing a large probability sample of sexual assault incidents, derived from the National Crime Victimization Survey (1992-2002), and taking into account whether harm to the victim followed or preceded self-protection (SP) actions. Additional injuries besides rape, particularly serious injuries, following victim resistance are rare. Results indicate that most SP actions, both forceful and nonforceful, reduce the risk of rape completion, and do not significantly affect the risk of additional injury.

Circumstances of crime in homicidal deaths.

PubMed

Mohanty, Manoj Kumar; Mohanty, Sachidananda; Acharya, Suniti

2004-04-01

Homicide patterns vary from country to country, influenced by many factors. In the two-year period from January 1998 to December 1999, 82 homicide victims were autopsied. The sex ratio was about three males for one female. The largest number of victims was found in the age group 21-30 years. Assaults with blunt weapons were the most common means. Acquaintances committed 34% of homicides. In contrast to males, the killing of a female by a stranger was rare. Revenge was the most common reason followed by arguments. In 40.2% of cases, the location of crime was outdoors, 37.8% were at the victim's house and in 9.7% of cases, the crime was committed at another domicile such as the offender's house, lodgings or a relative's house. In 14.7% of cases, the dead bodies were located away from the scene of crime.

Teens, Crime, and Rural Communities. How Youth in Rural America Can Help Reduce Violent and Property Crimes.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Donovan, Erin; O'Neil, Jean F., Ed.

Featuring the Teens, Crime, and Community (TCC) program, this monograph focuses on youth crime and crime prevention in rural settings. TCC actively involves teens and adults in a partnership designed to reduce teen victimization and to encourage teens to be catalysts of change for community safety. The guide provides teachers, administrators, and…

Criminal Victimization and Crime Risk Perception: A Multilevel Longitudinal Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Russo, Silvia; Roccato, Michele; Vieno, Alessio

2013-01-01

In a national sample of the Italian population, surveyed four times between October 2002 and January 2007 (N = 2,008), we performed a multilevel longitudinal study aimed at predicting the increase in crime risk perception as a function of three families of independent variables, respectively lying at the within individual level (direct…

Weapon involvement in home invasion crimes.

PubMed

Kellermann, A L; Westphal, L; Fischer, L; Harvard, B

1995-06-14

To study the epidemiology of home invasion crimes and determine the frequency with which firearms are used to resist these crimes. Prospective case series. Atlanta, Ga (population 402,877). Between June 1 and August 31, 1994; Atlanta Police Department reports were screened to identify every case of unwanted entry into an occupied, single-family dwelling. Cases of sexual assault and incidents that involved cohabitants were excluded. A total of 198 cases were identified during the study interval. Half (99 cases) involved forced entry into the home. The victim and offender were acquainted in one third of cases. A firearm was carried by one or more offenders in 32 cases (17%). Seven offenders (3.5%) carried knives. In 42% of cases, the offender fled without confronting the victim. Victims who avoided confrontation were more likely to lose property but much less likely to be injured than those who were confronted by the offender. Resistance was attempted in 62 cases (31%), but the odds of injury were not significantly affected by the method of resistance. Forty cases (20%) resulted in one or more victims' being injured, including six (3%) who were shot. No one died. Three victims (1.5%) employed a firearm in self-protection. All three escaped injury, but one lost property. A minority of home invasion crimes result in injury. Measures that increase the difficulty of forced entry or enhance the likelihood of detection could be useful to prevent these crimes. Although firearms are often kept in the home for protection, they are rarely used for this purpose.

Psychological Effects of Urban Crime Gleaned from Social Media.

PubMed

Valdes, José Manuel Delgado; Eisenstein, Jacob; De Choudhury, Munmun

2015-05-01

Exposure to frequent crime incidents has been found to have a negative bearing on the well-being of city residents, even if they are not themselves a direct victim. We pursue the research question of whether naturalistic data shared on Twitter may provide a "lens" to understand changes in psychological attributes of urban communities (1) immediately following crime incidents, as well as (2) due to long-term exposure to crime. We analyze half a million Twitter posts from the City of Atlanta in 2014, where the rate of violent crime is three times of the national average. In a first study, we develop a statistical method to detect changes in social media psychological attributes in the immediate aftermath of a crime event. Second, we develop a regression model that uses historical (yearlong) crime to predict Twitter negative emotion, anxiety, anger, and sadness. We do not find significant changes in social media affect immediately following crime in Atlanta. However we do observe significant ability of historical crime to account for heightened negative emotion and anger in the future. Our findings have implications in gauging the utility of social media to infer longitudinal and population-scale patterns of urban well-being.

[The meaning of "apology": the survivors of Nazi medical crimes and the Max Planck Society].

PubMed

Sachse, Carola

2011-09-01

Around the turn of the twenty-first century a new practice in international politics became established: representatives of political, economic and religious organisations apologised for the historical and political crimes of their own collectives, addressing the victims or the victims' descendants. At a public event in June 2001, a formal apology of this kind was made by the president of the Max Planck Society (MPS), who had previously launched an extensive programme of research into the National Socialist history of what was then the Kaiser Wilhelm Society. The majority of the eight invited survivors of human experimentation in Nazi concentration camps refused forgiveness. Instead, they called for the MPS not to content itself with historical research and analysis, but to ensure the continued remembrance of the victims and their suffering. Starting from this 2001 ritual of repentance, the paper examines the participants' diverse views of how to deal with the medical crimes of National Socialism, and asks about possibilities of going beyond historical retrospection to fulfil the imperative of remembrance.

The Situational Context of Adolescent Homicide Victimization in Johannesburg, South Africa.

PubMed

Swart, Lu-Anne; Seedat, Mohamed; Nel, Juan

2018-02-01

Although studies have described the incidence and epidemiology of adolescent homicide victimization in South Africa, little is known about the situational contexts in which they occur. This study aimed to describe the victim, offender, and event characteristics of adolescent homicide and to generate a typology based on the particular types of situational contexts associated with adolescent homicide in South Africa. Data on homicides among adolescents (15-19 years) that occurred in Johannesburg (South Africa) during the period 2001-2007 were obtained from the National Injury Mortality Surveillance System (NIMSS) and police case records. Of the 195 cases available for analysis, 81% of the victims were male. Most of the offenders were male (90%), comprising of strangers (42%) and friends/acquaintances (37%). Arguments (33%) were the most common precipitating circumstances, followed by revenge (11%), robbery (11%), and acts of vigilantism/retribution for a crime (8%). Through the use of cluster analysis, the study identified three categories of adolescent homicide: (a) male victims killed by strangers during a crime-related event, (b) male victims killed by a friend/acquaintance during an argument, and (c) female victims killed by male offenders. The results can serve to inform the development of tailored and focused strategies for the prevention of adolescent homicide.

School, police, and medical authority involvement with children who have experienced victimization.

PubMed

Finkelhor, David; Ormrod, Richard; Turner, Heather; Hamby, Sherry

2011-01-01

To obtain national estimates of the degree to which school, police, and medical authorities are involved after children experience violence, abuse, and crime victimizations. A cross-sectional, national telephone survey involving a target sample of 4549 children and youth conducted from January 1, 2008, through May 31, 2008. Contiguous United States. Children and adolescents aged 10 to 17 years and the parents of children aged 0 to 9 years. Conventional crime, maltreatment, abuse by peer and siblings, sexual abuse, and witnessing and indirect exposure to violence. A total of 45.7% of children and adolescents who had experienced violence in the past year had at least 1 of their victimization incidents known to school, police, or medical authorities. For serious victimizations, such as sexual abuse by an adult, kidnapping, and gang assaults, authorities knew about 70.1% or more of the incidents. Awareness, however, was low for peer and sibling victimizations, dating violence, and completed and attempted rape. In general, school authorities knew about victimizations more often (42.3%) than police (12.7%) or medical authorities (1.8%). However, police were the most likely to know about kidnapping, neglect, and sexual abuse by any adult. Medical authorities were most likely to know about sexual abuse by any adult, gang assault, physical abuse by a caretaker, and assault with a weapon. More incidents of victimization and abuse appear to be known to authorities currently than was the case in a comparable 1992 survey, but officials should improve at identifying a large quantity of victimizations of children and adolescents that appear to go undetected.

The Importance of Space and Time in Aggravated Assault Victimization.

PubMed

Breetzke, Gregory D

2017-04-01

Interpersonal crimes such as aggravated assault greatly impacts upon an individuals' sense of personal safety and security as the crime results in a physical injury. Understanding where and when aggravated assaults are most likely to occur is therefore vital to minimize the victimization risk associated with this crime. The main aim of this study is to explore the relative importance of space and time in aggravated assault victimization. This was done using national level aggravated assault data (2008-2010) obtained from New Zealand Police and census data from Statistics New Zealand. Both the spatial and temporal distribution of aggravated assault are outlined to examine their association with aggravated assault victimization. Aggravated assault is found to cluster in space but not in time. The relationships between aggravated assault risk in space and time and a suite of social, economic, and lifestyle variables was then examined. A clear socioeconomic gradient was found between aggravated assault risk by space and all neighborhood characteristics with high-risk neighborhoods having greater residential mobility and ethnic/racial diversity, as well as being more deprived, having higher rates of unemployment, and lower median household incomes. No clear pattern emerged between aggravated assault by time and the selected neighborhood characteristics. The policy implications of these findings in terms of policing and diversity conclude.

National Crime Information Center (NCIC) Training Videos.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington, DC. National Crime Information Center.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Crime Information Center (NCIC) maintains a set of computerized files of documented criminal justice information reported by a network of over 60,000 participating national, regional, state, and local agencies. The files, dealing with wanted persons, missing persons, unidentified persons, and stolen…

Doorstep: A doorbell security system for the prevention of doorstep crime.

PubMed

Ennis, Andrew; Cleland, Ian; Patterson, Timothy; Nugent, Chris D; Cruciani, Federico; Paggetti, Cristiano; Morrison, Gareth; Taylor, Richard

2016-08-01

Safety and security rank highly in the priorities of older people on both an individual and policy level. Older people are commonly targeted as victims of doorstep crime, as they can be perceived as being vulnerable. As a result, this can have a major effect on the victim's health and wellbeing. There have been numerous prevention strategies implemented in an attempt to combat and reduce the number of doorstep crimes. There is, however, little information available detailing the effectiveness of these strategies and how they impact on the fear of crime, particularly with repeat victims. There is therefore clear merit in the creation and piloting of a technology based solution to combat doorstep crime. This paper presents a developed solution to provide increased security for older people within their home.

Social Capital and Fear of Crime in Adolescence: A Multilevel Study.

PubMed

Vieno, Alessio; Lenzi, Michela; Roccato, Michele; Russo, Silvia; Monaci, Maria Grazia; Scacchi, Luca

2016-09-01

Hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine the relationships between social capital (at the individual, the neighborhood, and the regional levels) and adolescents' fear of crime, while controlling for the main individual (sociodemographics, television viewing, and bullying victimization), neighborhood (neighborhood size and aggregated victimization), and regional (crime rate and level of urbanization) variables. Data were analyzed using a three-level model based on 22,639 15.7-year-old (SD = 0.67) students nested within 1081 neighborhoods and 19 Italian regions. The findings revealed that individual and contextual measures of social capital, modeled at the individual, neighborhood, and regional levels simultaneously, showed negative associations with adolescents' fear of crime. Males and participants with higher family affluence were less likely to feel fear of crime, whereas victimization, both at the individual and neighborhood levels, had a positive association with fear of crime. Strengths, limitations, and potential applications of the study are discussed. © Society for Community Research and Action 2016.

Keeping It Better in the Bahamas: A Nation's Socioeconomic Response to Juvenile Crime.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nowak, Barbara J.

2001-01-01

Examines how the Bahamas, a nation that is over 85 percent of African descent, is dealing with juvenile crime, discussing: the historical and economic context of crime; the socioeconomics of juvenile crime; and the nation's socioeconomic response to delinquency. An important objective in this effort is to empower the next generation to become…

Crime and Punishment: the Impact of Skin Color and Socioeconomic Status of Defendants and Victims in Jury Trials in Brazil.

PubMed

da Silva, Rogério Ferreira; Oliveira Lima, Marcus Eugênio

2016-11-14

Social judgments are often influenced by racism. Voluntary crimes against life, and in particular the crime of homicide, may be the most critical situations of the impact of racism in social judgments. We analyzed 114 homicide trials conducted by the 1st Jury Court, in a Brazilian judicial capital, concluded between 2003 and 2007, for the purpose of investigating the effects of skin color and the socioeconomic status of the defendant and the victim of homicides in the jury trial court's decision. The results indicate that the social and economic profile of defendants and victims of homicide is identical. They are almost all poor (more than 70%), with low education (more than 73%) and frequently non-Whites (more than 88%). We found that judges assign longer sentences to black (β = .34, p = .01) and poor defendants (β = .23, p < .05). We even verified that the poorer the defendant, the higher was the corresponding conviction rate (Wald's Test = 5.90, p < .05). The results are discussed based on theories of social psychology and criminological sociology, which consider the relationship between skin color and socioeconomic status in social judgments and in discrimination.

A Comparison of Juror Decision Making in Race-Based and Sexual Orientation-Based Hate Crime Cases.

PubMed

Gamblin, Bradlee W; Kehn, Andre; Vanderzanden, Karen; Ruthig, Joelle C; Jones, Kelly M; Long, Brittney L

2018-05-01

Several constructs have been identified as relevant to the juror decision-making process in hate crime cases. However, there is a lack of research on the relationships between these constructs and their variable influence across victim group. The purpose of the current study was to reexamine factors relevant to the juror decision-making process in hate crime cases within a structural model, and across victim group, to gauge the relative strength and explanatory power of various predictors. In the current study, 313 participants sentenced a perpetrator found guilty of a hate crime committed against either a Black man or a gay man; participants also responded to individual difference measures relevant to mock juror hate crime decision making, including prejudice toward the victim's social group. Using path analysis, we explored the role of juror prejudice on sentencing decisions in hate crime cases as well as similarities and differences based on the victimized group. Results indicated that, when the victim was a Black man, modern racism influenced sentencing both directly and indirectly through perpetrator blame attributions, explaining 18% of the variance in sentencing. In contrast, when the victim was a gay man, modern homophobia did not directly predict sentencing, and the overall model explained only 4% of the variance in sentencing, suggesting variables beyond juror prejudice may be better suited to explain juror decision making in sexual orientation-based hate crimes. The current study suggests that the role of juror prejudice in hate crime cases varies as a function of the victimized group and raises questions about the importance of juror prejudice in the sentencing of hate crime cases, particularly antigay prejudice. The importance of blame attributions, social dominance orientation, and juror beliefs regarding penalty enhancements for hate crime cases, as well as policy implications, are also addressed.

Factors which predict violence victimization in Nigeria

PubMed Central

Fry, Lincoln J.

2014-01-01

Background: Violence is a major public health issue, globally as well as in the African continent. This paper looks at Nigeria and begins the process of identifying the factors that predict interpersonal violence in that country. The purpose is to interpret the implications of the results presented here for violence prevention programmes in Nigeria. Materials and Methods: The study is based on the responses of 2324 Nigerians included in Round Four of the Afrobarometer surveys. The study concentrates on 579 respondents who reported either they or someone else in their family had been the victim of violence, defined as being physically attacked, in the past year. Results: A logistical regression analysis revealed five significant factors that predicted interpersonal violence: being the victim of a property crime, the fear of crime, the respondents faith, whethera police station was in the local area and poverty. The findings revealed that 43.7% of the sample had been victimised within the past year and 18.8% had been the victim of both violent and property crimes. One surprising findingwas the number of respondents who were re-victimised; 75% of violence victims also had been property crime victims. Conclusions: These findings suggest that target hardening should be the basis to plan, implement and evaluate violence prevention programmes in Nigeria. Prevention personnel and/or law enforcement need to respond to reported incidents of property and/or violence victimisation and attempt to prepare victims to protect both their premises and their persons in the future. PMID:24970968

Reporting to the police by Hispanic victims of violence.

PubMed

Rennison, Callie Marie

2007-01-01

Though reporting violence to the police has been extensively investigated, the nature of Hispanic reporting of victimization has not. This is surprising because Hispanics are the fastest growing and largest ethnic group in the United States. Using over a decade of data from the National Crime Victimization Survey, this article investigates Hispanic reporting of victimization relative to non-Hispanic Whites, Blacks, American Indians, and Asians. Findings show that Hispanics are significantly less likely to report the most serious of violence compared to non-Hispanic Whites, but are more likely than non-Hispanic Whites to report simple assaults. Few reporting differences between Hispanics and other victim groups were observed. In addition, analyses indicate a positive relationship between educational attainment and reporting by Hispanics-a predictor not shared by any other group.

Contextualizing restorative justice for hate crime.

PubMed

Gavrielides, Theo

2012-12-01

The application of restorative justice (RJ) with hate crime remains an underdeveloped field of research, policy, and practice. This article aims to advance the understanding of these two areas of inquiry: RJ and hate crime. It is known that while most hate incidents involve minor, punishable offenses, their impact can be long lasting and detrimental to victims and affected communities. The article investigates how RJ is conceptualized within the hate crime context. The findings are based on a 3-year research program, which combined theoretical analysis, literature review, and U.K.-focused field research that was carried out through a combination of qualitative methods. These included semistructured interviews with an expert sample of practitioners and policy makers as well as focus groups with young victims and offenders of hate incidents. Direct observation was also carried out with two RJ practices.

The impact of criminal justice involvement on victims' mental health.

PubMed

Parsons, Jim; Bergin, Tiffany

2010-04-01

The aftermath of violent crime can leave victims with persistent emotional and mental health problems. Although research has shown the potential benefits of prosecuting cases through the courts, there is also a substantial literature that suggests that common features of the criminal justice system can exacerbate the impact of the initial crime, leading to a secondary victimization. The authors present a review of the research on the positive and negative impact of criminal justice involvement, and common points of failure in the efforts of justice institutions to meet the needs of victims. They conclude with recommendations for future work, including the need for research on restorative justice, victim impact statements, court notification systems, victim services, and victim advocates.

Disability Hate Crime: Persecuted for Difference

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ralph, Sue; Capewell, Carmel; Bonnett, Elizabeth

2016-01-01

This article briefly discusses the long history of violence towards disabled people which sets the context for an analysis of the modern-day form of violence known as disability hate crime (DHC). People who look or behave differently to others often find themselves victims of violent crimes. The language used to describe disabled people…

"Why Me?" An Attributional Theory of Adjustment to Victimization.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaffer, Leigh S.; And Others

Studies on victimization suggest that victims, whether of crime, accident, disease, or natural disaster, ask "why me?" questions and that finding answers to these questions seems related to the victims' adjustment. An attributional theory of victims' search for meaning in their misfortune proposes that victims perceive their misfortunes as…

Re-thinking hate crime: fresh challenges for policy and practice.

PubMed

Chakraborti, Neil

2015-06-01

Hate crime has become an increasingly familiar term in recent times as the harms associated with acts of bigotry and prejudice continue to pose complex challenges for societies across the world. However, despite the greater recognition now afforded to hate crimes by scholars, policy makers and law enforcers, uncertainty continues to cloud the scope and legitimacy of existing policy frameworks. This article draws from an emerging body of inter-disciplinary scholarship and empirical research to highlight a series of important realities about hate crime victimization and perpetration that tend to remain peripheral to the process of policy formation. It suggests that the focus on particular strands of victims and particular sets of motivations has overshadowed a range of significant issues, including the experiences of "marginal" groups of victims, and the way in which identity characteristics intersect with one another--and with other situational factors and context--to leave some targets of hate crime especially vulnerable. The article calls for a more fluid and multi-layered approach to policy formation, which engages with these realities, and which maximizes the real-life value of hate crime discourse. © The Author(s) 2014.

Crimes against the elderly in Italy, 2007-2014.

PubMed

Terranova, Claudio; Bevilacqua, Greta; Zen, Margherita; Montisci, Massimo

2017-08-01

Crimes against the elderly have physical, psychological, and economic consequences. Approaches for mitigating them must be based on comprehensive knowledge of the phenomenon. This study analyses crimes against the elderly in Italy during the period 2007-2014 from an epidemiological viewpoint. Data on violent and non-violent crimes derived from the Italian Institute of Statistics were analysed in relation to trends, gender and age by linear regression, T-test, and calculation of the odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval. Results show that the elderly are at higher risk of being victimized in two types of crime, violent (residential robbery) and non-violent (pick-pocketing and purse-snatching) compared with other age groups during the period considered. A statistically significant increase in residential robbery and pick-pocketing was also observed. The rate of homicide against the elderly was stable during the study period, in contrast with reduced rates in other age groups. These results may be explained by risk factors increasing the profiles of elderly individuals as potential victims, such as frailty, cognitive impairment, and social isolation. Further studies analysing the characteristics of victims are required. Based on the results presented here, appropriate preventive strategies should be planned to reduce crimes against the elderly. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.

From white-collar crime to red-collar crime

PubMed Central

Brody, Richard G.; Kiehl, Kent A.

2014-01-01

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the issue of violence with respect to white-collar criminals. Design/methodology/approach The analysis is conceptual, focusing on the historical underpinnings of white-collar crime and reviewing the evolution of white-collar criminals. Findings Findings suggest that white-collar criminals do display violent tendencies and, contrary to popular belief, can become dangerous individuals. Practical implications The paper represents an extremely useful and practical source for fraud examiners and other white-collar crime investigators. Raising the mvareness of investigators dealing with white-collar criminals may prevent them from becoming victims of a violent act. Originality/value The paper fulfills a need to highlight a dangerous trend with white-collar criminals in that they may be driven to violence against those involved in investigating their crimes. PMID:25414590

Student Reactions to Public Safety Reports of Hate Crimes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kahl, Jessica E.; Koenig, Anne; Smith, Ramon

2013-01-01

This study investigated participant's reactions to hate crime versus nonbiased crime incident reports that included more or less detail about the crime using a 2 (victim race: African American, unstated) × 2 (amount of information: vague, detailed) between-subjects factorial design. We hypothesized that participants would be more sympathetic,…

Associations between youth homelessness, sexual offenses, sexual victimization, and sexual risk behaviors: a systematic literature review.

PubMed

Heerde, Jessica A; Scholes-Balog, Kirsty E; Hemphill, Sheryl A

2015-01-01

Homeless youth commonly report engaging in sexual risk behaviors. These vulnerable young people also frequently report being sexually victimized. This systematic review collates, summarizes, and appraises published studies of youth investigating relationships between homelessness, perpetration of sexual offenses, experience of sexual victimization, and engagement in sexual risk behavior. A systematic search of seventeen psychology, health, and social science electronic databases was conducted. Search terms included "homeless*," "youth," "offend*," "victimization," "crime," "rape," "victim*," and "sex crimes." Thirty-eight studies were identified that met the inclusion criteria. Findings showed homeless youth commonly report being raped and sexually assaulted, fear being sexually victimized, and engage in street prostitution and survival sex. Rates of victimization and sexual risk behavior were generally higher for females. Given the paucity of longitudinal studies and limitations of current studies, it is unclear whether homelessness is prospectively associated with sexual victimization or engagement in sexual risk behavior, and whether such associations vary cross nationally and as a function of time and place. Future prospective research examining the influence of the situational context of homelessness is necessary to develop a better understanding of how homelessness influences the perpetration of sexual offenses, experience of sexual victimization, and engagement in sexual risk behavior among homeless youth.

Young Adults Victimized as Children or Adolescents: Relationships Between Perpetrator Patterns, Poly-Victimization, and Mental Health Problems.

PubMed

Källström, Åsa; Hellfeldt, Karin; Howell, Kathryn H; Miller-Graff, Laura E; Graham-Bermann, Sandra A

2017-04-01

Child and adolescent victims of violence are often exposed to more than one kind of physical, sexual, or emotional maltreatment. Both individually and cumulatively, such victimizations have significant ramifications on mental health. Yet little is known about the relationships in which these different kinds of victimizations occur and how the relationship between the victim and perpetrators may influence later mental health. This retrospective, self-report study of a nationally representative sample of 2,500 young adults in Sweden examines associations between different types of victimization (including poly-victimization), the victim's relationship to the perpetrator, and how these factors are related to current mental health. Results indicate differential patterns of abuse based on the perpetrator; parents were most likely to use physical aggression, whereas siblings typically perpetrated property crimes and partners committed sexual assault. Peers were the most likely perpetrator of both physical and verbal victimizations and also most often committed poly-victimization by subjecting youth to multiple forms of violence. While males were more likely to be victimized by peers, females were more likely to be victimized by parents, siblings, and partners. Significant positive relations were found for the amount of victimization by peers and mental health problems among both males and females. In addition, for females, higher amounts of youth victimization by parents and partners related to higher levels of mental health problems during young adulthood. Taken together, these results suggest that peer victimization presents the greatest risk for males, whereas dysfunctional family relationships are most detrimental to victimized females.

Prevalence of Childhood Exposure to Violence, Crime, and Abuse: Results From the National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence.

PubMed

Finkelhor, David; Turner, Heather A; Shattuck, Anne; Hamby, Sherry L

2015-08-01

It is important to estimate the burden of and trends for violence, crime, and abuse in the lives of children. To provide health care professionals, policy makers, and parents with current estimates of exposure to violence, crime, and abuse across childhood and at different developmental stages. The National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV) includes a representative sample of US telephone numbers from August 28, 2013, to April 30, 2014. Via telephone interviews, information was obtained on 4000 children 0 to 17 years old, with information about exposure to violence, crime, and abuse provided by youth 10 to 17 years old and by caregivers for children 0 to 9 years old. Exposure to violence, crime, and abuse using the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire. In total, 37.3% of youth experienced a physical assault in the study year, and 9.3% of youth experienced an assault-related injury. Two percent of girls experienced sexual assault or sexual abuse in the study year, while the rate was 4.6% for girls 14 to 17 years old. Overall, 15.2% of children and youth experienced maltreatment by a caregiver, including 5.0% who experienced physical abuse. In total, 5.8% witnessed an assault between parents. Only 2 significant rate changes could be detected compared with the last survey in 2011, namely, declines in past-year exposure to dating violence and lifetime exposure to household theft. Children and youth are exposed to violence, abuse, and crime in varied and extensive ways, which justifies continued monitoring and prevention efforts.

"Undoing" (or Symbolic Reversal) at Homicide Crime Scenes.

PubMed

Russell, Maria; Schlesinger, Louis B; Leon, Maria; Holdren, Samantha

2018-03-01

A closed case file review of a nonrandom national sample of 975 homicides disclosed 11 cases (1.13%) of undoing, wherein offenders engaged in crime scene behavior that has been considered an attempt to symbolically reverse the murder. The frequency of the various methods of undoing involved the use of blankets to cover the victim's body (55%), positioning the body (55%), use of a bed or couch (42%), washing the body (36%), using pillows (36%), as well as removing clothing and adding other types of adornments (27%). Ten of the 11 offenders were male, and one was female; all 12 victims were female. Ten of the 12 victims were family members or relationship intimates. These findings are consistent with prior reports which concluded that the motivation for undoing behavior is an attempt to compensate for guilt or remorse for having committed the homicide. © 2017 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

ORNL`s war on crime, technically speaking

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xiques, P.

This paper describes research being carried out by the Center for Applied Science and Technology for Law Enforcement (CASTLE), at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. This program works on projects which are solvable, affordable, and outside the scope of the private sector. Examples are presented of work related to: the lifetime of childrens fingerprints compared to adults; the development of ways of providing cooler body armor; digital enhancement technology applied to security-camera images from crime scenes; victim identification by skeletal reconstruction for use by forensic anthropologists.

The Effect of Offenders' Sex on Reporting Crimes to the Police

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wong, Thessa M. L.; Van de Schoot, Rens

2012-01-01

This article examines the difference in victims' reporting behavior regarding crimes committed by males and by females. The authors expect that victims of female offenders are less likely to report to the police than victims of male offenders because of differences in the victim-offender relationship as well as in the victim's sex. With recent…

Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2001.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaufman, Phillip; Chen, Xianglei; Choy, Susan P.; Peter, Katharin; Ruddy, Sally A.; Miller, Amanda K.; Fleury, Jill K.; Chandler, Kathryn A.; Planty, Michael G.; Rand, Michael R.

2001-01-01

Presents the latest indicator data on school crime and student safety, including updates on student and teacher victimization, weapons and fights at school, students' alcohol and marijuana use, and students' reports of drug availability at school. Data present a mixed picture of school safety, with a decline in overall crime rates but continued…

Crimes against the Elderly. Hearing before the Subcommittee on Children, Family, Drugs and Alcoholism of the Committee on Labor and Human Resources. United States Senate, Ninety-Ninth Congress, First Session on Oversight of the Problem of Crimes Committed against Senior Citizens and What Measures May Be Taken to Help Prevent Such from Happening (St. Petersburg, FL, December 9, 1985).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources.

This document contains the text of a Senate hearing on crimes against the elderly. Senator Paula Hawkins examines funding for day care of the elderly and discusses the crime of elder abuse and other crimes against the elderly. Two victims of abuse testify about their abuse, a victim of violent crime describes her victimization, and a…

Aging and fear of crime: an experimental approach to an apparent paradox.

PubMed

Ziegler, Raphael; Mitchell, David B

2003-01-01

Many fear of crime studies have revealed an interesting paradox: Although older adults are less likely to be victims, they report a higher fear of crime than younger adults. In this study, we experimentally manipulated vicarious exposure to crime. Younger (ages 18-29) and older adults (ages 61-78) were randomly assigned to view either a vivid video reenactment of a violent crime or a crime report newscast. Subjects in the violent video condition demonstrated significantly higher fear than did control group participants, but this effect was reliable only for younger adults. The older adults appeared to be unfazed by the violent video, and reported significantly less fear than the younger group. This could not be explained away on the basis of age group differences in neighborhood crime rates, victimization experience, or media exposure. Thus, when greater fear of crime is found in older adults, "old age" per se is not the cause.

77 FR 22805 - Meeting of the Compact Council for the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact; Correction

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-04-17

... Register of April 3, 2012, concerning the date and location of the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact Council (Council) created by the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact Act of 1998... National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact; Correction AGENCY: Federal Bureau of Investigation. ACTION...

Sexual Violence in the Backlands: Toward a Macro-Level Understanding of Rural Sex Crimes.

PubMed

Braithwaite, Jeremy

2015-10-01

This research focuses on structural covariates of sex crimes in rural communities (using urban and urbanizing communities as comparison groups), with particular analysis on exploring how the magnitude and direction of such covariates differ with respect to type of sex crime. Using 2000 sex crime data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) for the population of reporting U.S. cities, negative binomial and logistic regression procedures were used to explore the relationship between resource disadvantage, local investment, and economic inequality and sex crime subtypes. For sex crimes that occurred almost exclusively in the home, urban and urbanizing community rates were largely influenced by resource disadvantage and local investment, while these measures did not reach significance for explaining rural rates. Conversely, local investment was a significant predictor of sex crimes that occurred outside the home in rural communities. This research indicates that a structural analysis of sexual victimization (widely absent from the scientific literature) does yield significant findings and that disaggregation of crime into subtypes allows for a more detailed differentiation between urban and rural communities. © The Author(s) 2014.

Women's fear of crime and abuse in college and university dating relationships.

PubMed

Kelly, K D; DeKeseredy, W S

1994-01-01

Several government-sponsored victimization surveys have found women's fear of crime to be much higher than that of men even though their probability of being victimized is much lower than men's. On the basis of these results, several criminologists contend that women's fear is subjectively based. However, government surveys have not adequately examined the consequences of the physical, sexual, and psychological abuse of women by male intimates. Feminist researchers contend that these assaults greatly contribute to a generalized fear of crime that is objectively based. Using data from a national survey on female abuse in Canadian college/university dating relationships, this study tested and failed to support the feminist hypothesis that violence by male intimates results in higher levels of fear. However, an examination of an ex post facto hypothesis assessing the relationship between fear in private places (the home) and abuse by male dating partners found positive correlations. Women who had been psychologically or sexually victimized by male dating partners felt more insecure in their own homes than other women. These increased feelings of fear were linked to experiences of sexual coercion, unwanted sexual touching, psychological abuse, and sexual abuse. The results suggest that women reassess their feelings of fear when victimized by male intimates. In particular, places generally viewed as safe by women, their own homes, are seen as more threatening than they had been in the past.

Development and Female Crime: A Cross-National Test of Alternative Explanations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steffensmeier, Darrell; And Others

1989-01-01

Interpol data from 69 countries indicate that the relationship between female percentage of arrests and national development status is mediated by opportunity for "female" consumer crimes and formalization of social control (which makes female crime more visible), but not by gender equality or female economic marginality. Contains 49 references.…

Divergent Effects of Beliefs in Heaven and Hell on National Crime Rates

PubMed Central

Shariff, Azim F.; Rhemtulla, Mijke

2012-01-01

Though religion has been shown to have generally positive effects on normative ‘prosocial’ behavior, recent laboratory research suggests that these effects may be driven primarily by supernatural punishment. Supernatural benevolence, on the other hand, may actually be associated with less prosocial behavior. Here, we investigate these effects at the societal level, showing that the proportion of people who believe in hell negatively predicts national crime rates whereas belief in heaven predicts higher crime rates. These effects remain after accounting for a host of covariates, and ultimately prove stronger predictors of national crime rates than economic variables such as GDP and income inequality. Expanding on laboratory research on religious prosociality, this is the first study to tie religious beliefs to large-scale cross-national trends in pro- and anti-social behavior. PMID:22723927

Crime, Culture Conflict, and the Sources of Support for Gun Control.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kleck, Gary

1996-01-01

Questions whether attitudes towards gun control are influenced primarily by exposure to high crime rates, prior victimization, and fear of crime, or result from membership in social groups hostile to gun ownership. Maintains that support for gun control is more a product of culture conflict than a response to crime. (MJP)

Opportunity Theory and Agricultural Crime Victimization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mears, Daniel P.; Scott, Michelle L.; Bhati, Avinash S.

2007-01-01

A growing body of research lends support to opportunity theory and its variants, but has yet to focus systematically on a number of specific offenses and contexts. Typically, the more crimes and contexts to which a theory applies, the broader its scope and range, respectively, and thus generalizability. In this paper, we focus on agricultural…

Individual and Family Predictors of the Perpetration of Dating Violence and Victimization in Late Adolescence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Makin-Byrd, Kerry; Bierman, Karen L.

2013-01-01

Teen dating violence is a crime of national concern with approximately one-fourth of adolescents reporting victimization of physical, psychological, or sexual dating violence each year. The present study examined how aggressive family dynamics in both childhood and early adolescence predicted the perpetration of dating violence and victimization…

Crime Victims Fund Preservation Act of 2013

THOMAS, 113th Congress

Rep. Poe, Ted [R-TX-2

2013-04-18

House - 04/30/2013 Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations. (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status IntroducedHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

Justice for Crime Victims Act of 2014

THOMAS, 113th Congress

Rep. Franks, Trent [R-AZ-8

2014-03-06

House - 04/16/2014 Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations. (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status IntroducedHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

Criminal victimization and psychotic experiences: cross-sectional associations in 35 low- and middle-income countries.

PubMed

DeVylder, J E; Kelleher, I; Oh, H; Link, B G; Yang, L H; Koyanagi, A

2018-04-22

Criminal victimization has been associated with elevated risk for psychotic symptoms in the United Kingdom, but has not been studied in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Understanding whether crime exposure may play a role in the social etiology of psychosis could help guide prevention and intervention efforts. We tested the hypothesis that criminal victimization would be associated with elevated odds of psychotic experiences in 35 LMICs (N = 146 999) using cross-sectional data from the World Health Organization World Health Survey. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to test for associations between criminal victimization and psychotic experiences. Victimization was associated with greater odds of psychotic experiences, OR (95% CI) = 1.72 (1.50-1.98), and was significantly more strongly associated with psychotic experiences in non-urban, OR (95% CI) = 1.93 (1.60-2.33), compared to urban settings, OR (95% CI) = 1.48 (1.21-1.81). The association between victimization and psychosis did not change across countries with varying aggregated levels of criminal victimization. In the largest ever study of victimization and psychosis, the association between criminal victimization and psychosis appears to generalize across a range of LMICs and, therefore, across nations with a broad range of crime rates, degree of urban development, average per capita income, and racial/ethnic make-up. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Blame attribution as a moderator of perceptions of sexual orientation-based hate crimes.

PubMed

Cramer, Robert J; Chandler, Joseph F; Wakeman, Emily E

2010-05-01

Blame attribution is a valuable mechanism explaining decision making. However, present literature mainly employs blame attribution as a dependent variable. The shortcoming of this fact is that blame attribution offers a potentially valuable explanatory mechanism for decision making. The authors designed two studies to investigate blame attribution as a moderator of sentencing decisions in sexual orientation-based hate crimes. Study 1 showed that mock jurors punished perpetrators of hate crimes more severely than a control condition. Also, degree of victim blame influenced punitive decision making. In Study 2, mock jurors extended findings that perpetrators of hate crimes are more harshly punished than those of other types of crimes. Victim and perpetrator blame failed to moderate decision making in this more complex scenario. Results are discussed in relation to hate crimes definitions and attribution theory.

Individual-level risk factors for gun victimization in a sample of probationers.

PubMed

Wells, William; Chermak, Steven

2011-07-01

Interventions aimed at preventing the important problem of gun injuries could be improved with an understanding of whether there are unique factors that place individuals at an increased risk of gun victimization. Much remains to be known about the victims of gun violence. The purpose of this article is to assess whether there are individual-level variables uniquely related to the likelihood of experiencing a gun victimization in a sample of probationers, individuals already at a heightened risk for criminal victimization. Self-report data were collected from 235 felony probationers about, for instance, gun and nongun victimization, gang involvement, and drug sales. Results show different variables are related to nongun victimization and gun victimization. In the current sample, involvement in gun crimes are linked to an increased risk of gun victimization. Violent offending and residential stability are associated with an increased chance of crime victimization.

Modelling the fear of crime

PubMed Central

Bishop, Steven

2017-01-01

How secure people feel in a particular region is obviously linked to the actual crime suffered in that region but the exact relationship between crime and its fear is quite subtle. Two regions may have the same crime rate but their local perception of security may differ. Equally, two places may have the same perception of security even though one may have a significantly lower crime rate. Furthermore, a negative perception might persist for many years, even when crime rates drop. Here, we develop a model for the dynamics of the perception of security of a region based on the distribution of crime suffered by the population using concepts similar to those used for opinion dynamics. Simulations under a variety of conditions illustrate different scenarios and help us determine the impact of suffering more, or less, crime. The inhomogeneous concentration of crime together with a memory loss process is incorporated into the model for the perception of security, and results explain why people are often more fearful than actually victimized; why a region is perceived as being insecure despite a low crime rate; and why a decrease in the crime rate might not significantly improve the perception of security. PMID:28804260

The impact of a natural disaster on altruistic behaviour and crime.

PubMed

Lemieux, Frederic

2014-07-01

Institutional altruism in the form of a public-sector intervention and support for victims and social altruism generated by mutual aid and solidarity among citizens constitute a coming together in a crisis. This coming together and mutual support precipitate a decrease in crime rates during such an event. This paper presents an analysis of daily fluctuations in crime during the prolonged ice storms in Quebec, Canada, in January 1998 that provoked an electrical blackout. Of particular interest are the principal crisis-related influences on daily crime patterns. A first series of analyses examines the impact of altruistic public-sector mobilisation on crime. A significant decline in property crime rates was noticed when cheques were distributed to crisis victims in financial need in Montérégie, and hence they were attributable to public intervention (institutional altruism). Moreover, the rate of social altruism (financial donations), which was more substantial in adjoining rather than distant regions, was inversely proportional to crime rates. © 2014 The Author(s). Disasters © Overseas Development Institute, 2014.

Opportunity, Choice, and Burglary Victimization in Taiwan.

PubMed

Kuo, Shih-Ya

2015-07-01

This study examined burglary victimization in Taiwan with an application of the structure-choice model that included four theoretical dimensions: proximity to crime, exposure to crime, target attractiveness, and guardianship. Drawing on the 2000 Taiwan Areas Criminal Victimization Survey, the results of the current study showed a moderate effect of the opportunity model on Taiwan's burglary victimization. Also, this study found both consistent and conflicting findings in the current data. The null effect of motorcycles (including scooters) that represented the concept of target attractiveness in relation to burglary risk reflected a difference in population density and transportation needs between Taiwan and the West. Clearly, the role of social context needs to be understood when studies apply a Western model to a non-Western context. © The Author(s) 2014.

77 FR 32138 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Extension of a Currently Approved Collection; Comments...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-31

... Activities: Extension of a Currently Approved Collection; Comments Requested National Crime Victimization... collection. (2) Title of the Form/Collection: National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). (3) Agency form... NCVS sampled households located throughout the United States. The National Crime Victimization Survey...

34 CFR 668.46 - Institutional security policies and crime statistics.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... a voluntary, confidential basis for inclusion in the annual disclosure of crime statistics, and, if... procedures to report crimes on a voluntary, confidential basis for inclusion in the annual disclosure of... the victim's actual or perceived race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or disability...

Help-Seeking in a National Sample of Victimized Latino Women: The Influence of Victimization Types

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sabina, Chiara; Cuevas, Carlos A.; Schally, Jennifer L.

2012-01-01

The current study aimed to examine formal and informal help-seeking responses to interpersonal victimization among a national sample of Latino women. In addition, an examination of help-seeking by victimization type was undertaken. Data came from the Sexual Assault Among Latinas (SALAS) study that obtained help-seeking rates among a victimized…

Restorative justice for sexual violence: repairing victims, building community, and holding offenders accountable.

PubMed

Koss, Mary P; Bachar, Karen J; Hopkins, C Quince

2003-06-01

Problems in criminal justice system response to date and acquaintance rape, and the nonpenetration sexual offenses are identified: (1) these crimes are often markers of a career of sexual offense, yet they are widely viewed as minor; (2) perpetrators of these crimes are now held accountable in ways that reduce their future threat of sex offending; and (3) current criminal justice response to these crimes disappoints and traumatizes victims and families. In response to these identified problems, we are implementing and evaluating RESTORE, an innovative victim-driven, community-based restorative justice program. Restorative justice views crime as harm for which the person responsible must be held accountable in meaningful ways. RESTORE uses a community conference to involve the victim, offender, and both parties' family and friends in a face-to-face dialogue directed at identifying the harm, and developing a plan for repair, rehabilitation, and reintegration into the community.

Victimization Status and Perceived Risk of Sexual Assault: Longitudinal Analyses.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, Jacquelyn W.; Humphrey, John A.

Even though rape is the crime they fear most, women hold strong beliefs that their personal risk for sexual victimization is lower than the risk for other women. Victimization shatters illusions of invulnerability, and results in feelings of vulnerability, suggesting that sexual victimization should decrease women's perceived invulnerability for…

Effects of Racism on Perceptions and Punishment of Intra- and Interracial Crimes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saucier, Donald A.; Hockett, Jericho M.; Zanotti, Danielle C.; Heffel, Sarah

2010-01-01

The majority of hate crimes in the United States are driven by racial bias. However, extra-legal factors such as the perpetrators' motivations, the races of the victims and perpetrators, and the presence or absence of hate symbols or slurs often result in ambiguity in the classification of crimes as hate crimes. This uncertainty evokes…

Adapting a tourism crime typology: classifying outdoor recreation crime

Treesearch

Joanne F. Tynon; Deborah J. Chavez

2006-01-01

Using a qualitative aproach, the authors tested a crime typology developed for tourism destinations in a U.S. National Forest recreation setting. Specific objectives were to classify the attributes of crime and violence, examine the effects of crime and violence on visitor demand, and suggest methods of prevention and recovery. A key modification to the crime typology...

Latent classes of childhood poly-victimization and associations with suicidal behavior among adult trauma victims: Moderating role of anger.

PubMed

Charak, Ruby; Byllesby, Brianna M; Roley, Michelle E; Claycomb, Meredith A; Durham, Tory A; Ross, Jana; Armour, Cherie; Elhai, Jon D

2016-12-01

The aims of the present study were first to identify discrete patterns of childhood victimization experiences including crime, child maltreatment, peer/sibling victimization, sexual violence, and witnessing violence among adult trauma victims using latent class analysis; second, to examine the association between class-membership and suicidal behavior, and third to investigate the differential role of dispositional anger on the association between class-membership and suicidal behavior. We hypothesized that those classes with accumulating exposure to different types of childhood victimization (e.g., poly-victimization) would endorse higher suicidal behavior, than the other less severe classes, and those in the most severe class with higher anger trait would have stronger association with suicidal behavior. Respondents were 346 adults (N=346; M age =35.0years; 55.9% female) who had experienced a lifetime traumatic event. Sixty four percent had experienced poly-victimization (four or more victimization experiences) and 38.8% met the cut-off score for suicidal behavior. Three distinct classes emerged namely, the Least victimization (Class 1), the Predominantly crime and sibling/peer victimization (Class 2), and the Poly-victimization (Class 3) classes. Regression analysis controlling for age and gender indicated that only the main effect of anger was significantly associated with suicidal behavior. The interaction term suggested that those in the Poly-victimization class were higher on suicidal behavior as a result of a stronger association between anger and suicidal behavior in contrast to the association found in Class 2. Clinical implications of findings entail imparting anger management skills to facilitate wellbeing among adult with childhood poly-victimization experiences. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Crime, physical activity and outdoor recreation among Latino adolescents in Chicago.

PubMed

Shinew, Kimberly J; Stodolska, Monika; Roman, Caterina G; Yahner, Jennifer

2013-11-01

The purpose was to examine how fear of crime, crime victimization, and perceived level of community incivilities are related to physical activity participation and outdoor recreation among Latino adolescents. The study utilized a mixed methods approach that included 25 qualitative interviews and 390 school-based surveys collected from youth across three schools in Little Village, Chicago, Illinois. Results showed that Latino adolescents who expressed greater fear of crime also engaged in less physical activity and outdoor recreation. There was no association between crime victimization and physical activity and outdoor recreation. Those who perceived greater levels of community incivilities also engaged in less outdoor recreation, but perception of incivilities had no significant association with physical activity levels. Interview data revealed most of the children believed crime was a serious problem in their neighborhood and it impacted their ability to be physically active and play outside. Fear of crime was related to lower physical activity and outdoor recreation. It is imperative that communities provide safe environments for children to be active. Increasing police and adult presence in parks and school grounds is recommended. Moreover, efforts must be made to reduce the gang problems in Latino communities. © 2013.

Micro-segmental hair analysis for proving drug-facilitated crimes: Evidence that a victim ingested a sleeping aid, diphenhydramine, on a specific day.

PubMed

Kuwayama, Kenji; Nariai, Maika; Miyaguchi, Hajime; Iwata, Yuko T; Kanamori, Tatsuyuki; Tsujikawa, Kenji; Yamamuro, Tadashi; Segawa, Hiroki; Abe, Hiroko; Iwase, Hirotaro; Inoue, Hiroyuki

2018-07-01

Sleeping aids are often abused in the commission of drug-facilitated crimes. Generally, there is little evidence that a victim ingested a spiked drink unknowingly because the unconscious victim cannot report the situation to the police immediately after the crime occurred. Although conventional segmental hair analysis can estimate the number of months since a targeted drug was ingested, this analysis cannot determine the specific day of ingestion. We recently developed a method of micro-segmental hair analysis using internal temporal markers (ITMs) to estimate the day of drug ingestion. This method was based on volunteer ingestion of ITMs to determine a timescale within individual hair strands, by segmenting a single hair strand at 0.4-mm intervals, corresponding to daily hair growth. This study assessed the ability of this method to estimate the day of ingestion of an over-the-counter sleeping aid, diphenhydramine, which can be easily abused. To model ingestion of a diphenhydramine-spiked drink unknowingly, each subject ingested a dose of diphenhydramine, followed by ingestion of two doses of the ITM, chlorpheniramine, 14days apart. Several hair strands were collected from each subject's scalp several weeks after the second ITM ingestion. Diphenhydramine and ITM were detected at specific regions within individual hair strands. The day of diphenhydramine ingestion was estimated from the distances between the regions and the days of ITM ingestion. The error between estimated and actual ingestion day ranged from -0.1 to 1.9days regardless of subjects and hair collection times. The total time required for micro-segmental analysis of 96 hair segments (hair length: 3.84cm) was approximately 2days and the cost was almost the same as in general drug analysis. This procedure may be applicable to the investigation of crimes facilitated by various drugs. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Lifetime Assessment of Poly-Victimization in a National Sample of Children and Youth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Finkelhor, David; Ormrod, Richard K.; Turner, Heather A.

2009-01-01

Objective: To use a lifetime assessment of victimization experiences to identify children and youth with high cumulative levels of victimization (poly-victims). Also to compare such children to other victims and non-victims, and assess the contribution of cumulative victimization to levels of psychological distress. Design: A national sample of…

Crime, criminals, and cures: medical model revisited.

PubMed

Sampson, R J

2000-06-01

David Lykken's target article assesses the causes of crime and advocates a controversial "cure"--parental licensure. Although Lykken gets many of the facts about criminals right, ultimately the disease metaphor breaks down. Crime requires three things--motivated offenders ("criminals"), suitable targets or victims, and the absence of capable guardians to prevent the act. Typical of medical model approaches, failure to consider the convergence in time and space of the three necessary elements for crime results in a misdiagnosis. In this invited commentary, I briefly note three reasons why Lykken's cure, along with the medical model in general, is unlikely to bear fruit.

Is exposure to domestic violence and violent crime associated with bullying behaviour among underage adolescent psychiatric inpatients?

PubMed

Mustanoja, Susanna; Luukkonen, Anu-Helmi; Hakko, Helinä; Räsänen, Pirkko; Säävälä, Hannu; Riala, Kaisa

2011-08-01

We examined the relationship of exposure to domestic violence and violence occurring outside home to bullying behaviour in a sample (508; 40.9% males, 59.1% females) of underage psychiatric inpatient adolescents. Participants were interviewed using K-SADS-PL to assess DSM-IV psychiatric diagnoses and to gather information about domestic and other violence and bullying behaviour. Witnessing interparental violence increased the risk of being a victim of bullying up to 2.5-fold among boys. For girls, being a victim of a violent crime was an over 10-fold risk factor for being a bully-victim. Gender differences were seen in witnessing of a violent crime; girls were more likely to be bullies than boys. Further, as regards being a victim of a violent crime outside home and physical abuse by parents at home, girls were significantly more often bully-victims than boys. When interfering and preventing bullying behaviour, it is important to screen adolescents' earlier experiences of violence.

Crime seriousness and participation in restorative justice: The role of time elapsed since the offense.

PubMed

Zebel, Sven; Schreurs, Wendy; Ufkes, Elze G

2017-08-01

Restorative justice policies and programs aimed at facilitating victim-offender mediation (VOM) are part of many criminal justice systems around the world. Given its voluntary nature and potential for positive outcomes, the appropriateness and feasibility of VOM after serious offenses is subject to debate in the literature. In light of this discussion, this study first aimed to unravel the prevalence of serious offenses in cases registered for VOM and examined whether crime seriousness predicts whether mediated contact is reached between victims and offenders. Second, it tested the hypothesis that victims of increasingly serious, harmful crimes are more willing to participate when more time has elapsed since the offense-in contrast to victims of less serious, harmful crimes. We analyzed 199 cases registered for VOM in the Netherlands and coded the perceived wrongfulness, harmfulness, and average duration of incarceration of an offense as 3 distinct indicators of crime seriousness in these cases. The findings revealed that cases registered for VOM (a) are, in terms of the incarceration duration, on average more serious than all offenses in the population, and (b) resulted in mediated contact (or not) independently of the 3 seriousness indicators. In addition, empirical support was found for the hypothesis that victims' willingness to participate in VOM increased over time after more harmful offenses, whereas it decreased when offenses inflicted less harm. These findings suggest that when VOM programs operate irrespectively of the time elapsed after crime, mediated contact between parties may be as likely after minor and serious offenses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Repeat Offending and Repeat Victimization: Assessing Similarities and Differences in Psychosocial Risk Factors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fagan, Abigail A.; Mazerolle, Paul

2011-01-01

The overlap between victims and offenders is increasingly being recognized, with mounting evidence that victims and offenders have similar demographic characteristics, that victimization increases the likelihood of offending, and that offenders are at high risk for becoming victims of crime. Despite this evidence, there is limited research…

3 CFR 8650 - Proclamation 8650 of April 8, 2011. National Crime Victims' Rights Week, 2011

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... cyberbullying, online child sexual exploitation, and sexual assault on college campuses. Through the President’s... Alaska Native women who have been the victims of sexual assault or domestic abuse. To avoid the...

Status compatibility and help-seeking behaviors among female intimate partner violence victims.

PubMed

Kaukinen, Catherine Elizabeth; Meyer, Silke; Akers, Caroline

2013-02-01

Given the far-reaching social, personal, and economic costs of crime and violence, as well as the lasting health effects, understanding how women respond to domestic violence and the types of help sought are critical in addressing intimate partner violence. We use a nationally representative dataset (Canadian General Social Survey, Personal Risk, 1999) to examine the help-seeking behaviors of female intimate partner violence victims (N = 250). Although victims of violent crime often do not call the police, many victims, particularly women who have been battered by their partner rely on family, friends, social service, and mental health interventions in dealing with the consequences of violent crime. We examine the role of income, education, and employment status in shaping women's decisions to seek help, and we treat these economic variables as symbolic and relative statuses as compared to male partners. Although family violence researchers have conceptualized the association between economic variables and the dynamics of intimate partner violence with respect to the structural dimensions of sociodemographic factors, feminist researchers connect economic power to family dynamics. Drawing on these literatures, we tap the power in marital and cohabiting relationships, rather than treating these variables as simply socioeconomic resources. Controlling for other relevant variables we estimate a series of multivariate models to examine the relationship between status compatibilities and help-seeking from both formal and informal sources. We find that status incompatibilities between partners that favor women increase the likelihood of seeking support in dealing with the impact of violence.

Child rape: facets of a heinous crime.

PubMed

Gangrade, K D; Sooryamoorthy, R; Renjini, D

1995-01-01

This article discusses the extent of child rape in India, case studies of girl children in legal procedures, rape settings and perpetrators, public morality, and the nature of rape laws in India. It is concluded that there is no safe place for children. Currently, rapists are allowed to go free or are acquitted. Prevention and control of child rape must involve punishment of rapists. It is not appropriate that society ostracize the victim and her family. Victims should not remain silent. National Crime Records Bureau statistics reveal increases in rape during 1986-91. State figures are given for 1986-88. Madhya Pradesh had the highest reported incidence of rape in 1988. In 1993, Madhya Pradesh had a total of 2459 rapes. Nationally, 10,425 women were reported as raped in 1991. 51.7% were 16-30 years old. There were 1099 cases of pedophilia in 1991, which was an increase over 1990. Over 50% of the pedophilia cases were reported in Uttar Pradesh. The record of convictions shows very low figures. 1992 trial results of 276 rape cases indicated that only 46 persons were convicted. Victims suffer from psychological effects of embarrassment, disgust, depression, guilt, and even suicidal tendencies. There is police and prosecution indifference as well as social stigma and social ostracism of the victim and her family. Many cases go unreported. The case studies illustrate the difficulties for the victim of experiencing the rape and the social responses: police harassment, shame and fear, and occasionally public outrage. The case studies illustrate rape in familiar settings, such as schools, family homes, and neighbors and friends' homes; rape by policemen; and rape by political influentials. Most offenders are young, married, and socioeconomically poor. Mass media portrayals fuel the frustrations of poor and lonely men in cities. Rapists exhibit anti-social behavior or psychopathology. Sexual offenses are related to society's moral values.

Low-level violence in schools: is there an association between school safety measures and peer victimization?

PubMed

Blosnich, John; Bossarte, Robert

2011-02-01

Low-level violent behavior, particularly school bullying, remains a critical public health issue that has been associated with negative mental and physical health outcomes. School-based prevention programs, while a valuable line of defense to stave off bullying, have shown inconsistent results in terms of decreasing bullying. This study explored whether school safety measures (eg, security guards, cameras, ID badges) were associated with student reports of different forms of peer victimization related to bullying. Data came from the 2007 School Crime Supplement of the National Crime Victimization Survey. Chi-square tests of independence were used to examine differences among categorical variables. Logistic regression models were constructed for the peer victimization outcomes. A count variable was constructed among the bullying outcomes (0-7) with which a Poisson regression model was constructed to analyze school safety measures' impacts on degree of victimization. Of the various school safety measures, only having adults in hallways resulted in a significant reduction in odds of being physically bullied, having property vandalized, or having rumors spread. In terms of degree of victimization, having adults and/or staff supervising hallways was associated with an approximate 26% decrease in students experiencing an additional form of peer victimization. Results indicated that school safety measures overall were not associated with decreased reports of low-level violent behaviors related to bullying. More research is needed to further explore what best promotes comprehensive safety in schools. © 2011, American School Health Association.

Infant victimization in a nationally representative sample.

PubMed

Turner, Heather A; Finkelhor, David; Ormrod, Richard; Hamby, Sherry L

2010-07-01

The objectives of this research were to (1) obtain estimates of child maltreatment and other forms of personal, witnessing of, and indirect victimization among children aged 0 to 1 year in the United States and (2) examine associations between infant victimization exposure and the infant's level of emotional and behavioral symptoms. The study is based on a cross-sectional national telephone survey that included caregivers of a sample of 503 children under 2 years of age. Nearly one-third of the sample of infants (31.6%) had experienced some form of personal, witnessing, or indirect form of victimization. The rate of infant maltreatment by caregivers (2.1%) was significantly lower than among older preschool-aged children. However, the rate of infant assault by siblings was considerable at 15.4%. The greatest risk of assault occurred in households with young siblings; nearly 35% of the infants with a sibling aged 2 to 3 years were assaulted in the year before the interview. Witnessing family violence was also relatively common among the infants (9.5%). Victimization was associated with emotional and behavioral problems; sibling assault and witnessing family violence had the highest correlations with infant symptom scores. The results of this study highlight the need for attention to infant victimization that considers a wider array of victimization sources and a broader scope of prevention efforts than has been typical in the child-maltreatment field.

77 FR 17523 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Extension of a Currently Approved Collection; Comments...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-26

... Collection Activities: Extension of a Currently Approved Collection; Comments Requested; National Crime... currently approved collection. (2) Title of the form/collection: National Crime Victimization Survey. (3.... The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) collects, analyzes, publishes, and disseminates...

Juvenile Crime, Juvenile Justice. Panel on Juvenile Crime: Prevention, Treatment, and Control.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCord, Joan, Ed.; Widom, Cathy Spatz, Ed.; Crowell, Nancy A., Ed.

This book discusses patterns and trends in crimes committed by children and adolescents, analyzing youth crime as a subset of general crime and studying the impact of race and gender. It evaluates different approaches to forecasting future crime rates. Data come from a national panel that examined what is known about juvenile crime and its…

Responding to Hate Crimes and Bias-Motivated Incidents on College/University Campuses.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Department of Justice, Washington, DC. Community Relations Service.

The Community Relations Service (CRS), an arm of the U.S. Department of Justice, brought together representatives from college campus law enforcement, college administrators, students, academicians, and civil rights organizations to discuss how different campuses are handling hate crimes in areas including crime investigation, victim assistance,…

The Effects of Victim-Related Contextual Factors on the Criminal Justice System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haynes, Stacy Hoskins

2011-01-01

Despite numerous reforms designed to integrate the needs and concerns of crime victims into the criminal justice system, which include expanding programs for compensation and restitution, providing counseling and other services to victims, and increasing victims' involvement in the criminal justice process, critics have argued that these reforms…

Psychosocial Sequelae of Violent Victimization in a National Youth Sample.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boney-McCoy, Sue; Finkelhor, David

1995-01-01

In a national telephone survey of youths 10-16 years (n=2,000), over one-third reported having been the victims of assault. Victimized respondents displayed significantly more psychological and behavioral symptomology than nonvictims, even after controlling for other possible sources of distress. Findings suggest substantial mental health…

77 FR 43365 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comments Requested; Reinstatement...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-24

... statistics on the students' victimization, perceptions of school environment, and safety at school. (5) An... Approved Collection for Which Approval Has Expired: School Crime Supplement (SCS) to the National Crime... Form/Collection: School Crime Supplement (SCS) to the National Crime Victimization Survey. (3) Agency...

Analysis of crimes committed against scheduled tribes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khadse, Vivek P.; Akhil, P.; Anto, Christopher; Gnanasigamani, Lydia J.

2017-11-01

One of the curses to the society is a crime which has a deep impact on the society. Victims of crimes are the one who is impacted the most. All communities in the world are affected by crime and the criminal justice system, but largely impacted communities are the backward classes. There are many cases reported of crime committed against scheduled tribes from the year 2005 till date. This paper states the analysis of Crimes Committed against Scheduled Tribes in the year 2015 in various states and union territories in India. In this study, Multiple Linear regression techniques have been used to analyze the crimes committed against scheduled tribes’ community in India. This study compares the number of cases reported to the police station and rate of crime committed in different states in India. It also states the future prediction of the crime that would happen. It will also predict the number of cases of crime committed against the scheduled tribe that can be reported in future. The dataset which has been used in this study is taken from official Indian government repository for crimes which include different information of crimes committed against scheduled tribes in different states and union territories measured under the population census of the year 2011. This study will help different Indian states and union territory government to analyze and predict the future crimes that may occur and take appropriate measures against it before the actual crime would occur.

Perceptions of Cyberstalking: Impact of Perpetrator Gender and Cyberstalker/Victim Relationship.

PubMed

Ahlgrim, Billea; Terrance, Cheryl

2018-06-01

Cyberstalking is a relatively new phenomenon with limited empirical research. Consequently, despite the seriousness of the crime, prevalence rates are unreliable and estimates suffer from vast variation. Cyberstalking is likely to be underreported due to limited community understanding of what behaviors constitute cyberstalking. There are many factors unique to cyberstalking which may impact the extent to which the crime is reported, and the extent to which the perpetrator or victim is held responsible. The current study aimed to examine the impact of perpetrator gender, and the relationship between the perpetrator and victim (ex-intimate vs. stranger) on perceptions of cyberstalking. Participants read one of four scenarios, designed for this study, which varied in victim gender and cyberstalker-victim relationship. Perpetrator gender impacted perceptions of the scenario, such that the male perpetrator was viewed as more dangerous. Scenarios with a male perpetrator were perceived as more consistent with cyberstalking and the behavior as illegal in nature. Victim gender was found to impact the amount of blame a victim receives, such that the female victim was attributed less blame than the male victim. Meanwhile, the male victim was blamed more for the occurrence of the cyberstalking behavior, and their claims as a victim were taken less seriously and perceived as less legitimate. Finally, participant gender was found to impact perceptions toward the cyberstalking scenarios.

Comparison of gender and victim response to violence in popular movies.

PubMed

Firman, D M

1991-01-01

The overwhelming statistics of crime against women affect their perceptions and quality of life. The media have a significant effect on both perceptions and behavior. The manner, therefore, in which fictional victims are portrayed could affect perceptions of control in real-life women fearing victimization and in their potential assailants. Popular crime-drama movies and the difference between male and female behaviors were examined in this pilot study. A total of 65 responses were evaluated from a random sample of film videos. Active attempts to gain control were exhibited by 81% of the male responses, whereas only 17% of the women did so, chi 2 (1, N = 65) = 28.99, p less than .001. The relationship of results and myths concerning women as victims is discussed.

The Polish Genetic Database of Victims of Totalitarianisms.

PubMed

Ossowski, A; Kuś, M; Kupiec, T; Bykowska, M; Zielińska, G; Jasiński, M E; March, A L

2016-01-01

This paper describes the creation of the Polish Genetic Database of Victims of Totalitarianism and the first research conducted under this project. On September 28th 2012, the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin and the Institute of National Remembrance-Commission for Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation agreed to support the creation of the Polish Genetic Database of Victims of Totalitarianism (PBGOT, www.pbgot.pl). The purpose was to employ state-of-the-art methods of forensic genetics to identify the remains of unidentified victims of Communist and Nazi totalitarian regimes. The database was designed to serve as a central repository of genetic information of the victim's DNA and that of the victim's nearest living relatives, with the goal of making a positive identification of the victim. Along the way, PGBOT encountered several challenges. First, extracting useable DNA samples from the remains of individuals who had been buried for over half a century required forensic geneticists to create special procedures and protocols. Second, obtaining genetic reference material and historical information from the victim's closest relatives was both problematic and urgent. The victim's nearest living relatives were part of a dying generation, and the opportunity to obtain the best genetic and historical information about the victims would soon die with them. For this undertaking, PGBOT assembled a team of historians, archaeologists, forensic anthropologists, and forensic geneticists from several European research institutions. The field work was divided into five broad categories: (1) exhumation of victim remains and storing their biological material for later genetic testing; (2) researching archives and historical data for a more complete profile of those killed or missing and the families that lost them; (3) locating the victim's nearest relatives to obtain genetic reference samples (swabs), (4) entering the genetic data from both victims and family

Psychological Distress as a Risk Factor for Re-Victimization in Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cuevas, Carlos A.; Finkelhor, David; Clifford, Cynthia; Ormrod, Richard K.; Turner, Heather A.

2010-01-01

Objective: The goal of this study is to examine the role of psychological distress in predicting child re-victimization across various forms including conventional crime, peer/sibling violence, maltreatment, sexual violence, and witnessed violence. Methods: Longitudinal data from the Developmental Victimization Survey, which surveyed children…

A Neglected Population: Media Consumption, Perceived Risk, and Fear of Crime Among International Students.

PubMed

Shi, Luzi

2018-03-01

The 4.5 million international students worldwide bring in multifold benefits to the advancement of culture, economy, and national security in education host countries. Surprisingly, few prior studies have explored international students' fear of crime, which may harm their mental and physical health and undermine their educational achievements. The current study aims to fill in this research void by investigating international students' fear of crime in line with the cultivation theoretical framework, which postulates that media consumption cultivates fear of crime. The analyses draw on a sample of 398 international students attending nine different public and private universities across the United States. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), I investigate the extent and correlates of students' fear of crime. The findings reveal that international students are more fearful in the United States than in their home countries. SEM results show that controlling for students' fear in their home countries, attention paid to crime news is positively related to fear in the United States, through perceived victimization risk. The SEM results also suggest that exposure to non-U.S. social media (e.g., WeChat and Weibo) is positively related to respondents' fear of crime, whereas exposure to U.S. social media (e.g., Facebook and Twitter) is not related to fear of crime. The current study highlights the importance of studying the impact of fear of crime and social media use on international students.

The Code of the Street and Violent Versus Property Crime Victimization.

PubMed

McNeeley, Susan; Wilcox, Pamela

2015-01-01

Previous research has shown that individuals who adopt values in line with the code of the street are more likely to experience violent victimization (e.g., Stewart, Schreck, & Simons, 2006). This study extends this literature by examining the relationship between the street code and multiple types of violent and property victimization. This research investigates the relationship between street code-related values and 4 types of victimization (assault, breaking and entering, theft, and vandalism) using Poisson-based multilevel regression models. Belief in the street code was associated with higher risk of experiencing assault, breaking and entering, and vandalism, whereas theft victimization was not related to the street code. The results suggest that the code of the street influences victimization broadly--beyond violence--by increasing behavior that provokes retaliation from others in various forms.

Black and Blue: The Impact of Nonfatal Teacher Victimization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stewart, Cedric B.; Robles-Pina, Rebecca

2008-01-01

Because violence in public schools is seen by many as a growing problem, several studies have been conducted to look at the impact of nonfatal teacher victimization. However, a large number of these studies have focused exclusively on students as victims and failed to investigate the impact that school-related crime has on school personnel. The…

Indicators of School Crime Safety, 2000.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaufman, Phillip; Chen, Xianglei; Choy, Susan P.; Ruddy, Sally A.; Miller, Amanda K.; Fleury, Jill K.; Chandler, Kathryn A.; Rand, Michael R.; Klaus, Patsy; Planty, Michael

Providing the latest data, this report on school safety presents a mixed picture: while overall crime has declined, violence, gangs, and drugs remain at some schools. Victimization at school declined from 1995-99, though rates for fighting and weapon threats remain steady. Students seem more secure, and gang activity decreased; however, in grades…

Victims' Voices in the Correctional Setting: Cognitive Gains in an Offender Education Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Monahan, Lynn Hunt; Monahan, James J.; Gaboury, Mario T.; Niesyn, Patricia A.

2004-01-01

A 40-hour education program covering the impact of crime on victims and their families was offered to sentenced offenders in a statewide prison system. Questionnaire responses from 339 males, ranging in age from 21-45 years, were examined. Results indicated that the program increased knowledge of victim rights, facts of victimization, and…

[The elderly as victims of intrafamilial violence--results of a criminologic dark field study].

PubMed

Wetzels, P; Greve, W

1996-01-01

After a brief discussion of methodological and conceptional problems characterizing the present state of research on abuse of the elderly, results of a representative German victimization survey (n = 5711) are presented. Results show that although victimization risks generally decrease by age, intrafamily violence against elderly is more prevalent than conventional violent street crimes. Since the age-related decrease of victimization risks is more pronounced for violent victimization outside the family, the relative importance of the family-setting for violent victimization increases, i.e., most violent crimes against elderly people are committed by family and household members. Furthermore, the analysis of measures of depression and well-being reveals that intrafamily violence is at least as stressing as extrafamily violence. Based on the 1-year prevalence rate for 1991 computed for the sample under study, a conservative estimate yields a minimum victimization rate of 3.1%. Taking into account the total population of the respective age group, this leads to the estimation that every year about 340 000 people aged 60 to 75 are victims of violent acts by family and household members.

The Adolescent Victim of Crime and Delinquency.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flowers, R. Barri

Child maltreatment and juvenile delinquency have both been widely studied. While statistics on the number of cases of abuse or delinquency are quite high, they are considered conservative, and estimates of actual as opposed to reported cases are much higher. There are striking parallels between adolescent victimization and adolescent antisocial…

Peritraumatic dissociation, acute stress, and early posttraumatic stress disorder in victims of general crime.

PubMed

Birmes, P; Carreras, D; Ducassé, J L; Charlet, J P; Warner, B A; Lauque, D; Schmitt, L

2001-09-01

To compare the relation between peritraumatic dissociation and acute stress and the early development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in victims of general crime. A total of 48 subjects were assessed within 24 hours of the trauma, using the Peritraumatic Dissociative Experiences Questionnaire Self-Report Version (PDEQ-SRV). They were followed longitudinally to assess acute stress (2 weeks after the assault,) using the Standford Acute Stress Reaction Questionnaire (SASRQ), and posttraumatic stress (at 5 weeks), using the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) and the Impact of Event Scale (IES). Among PTSD subjects mean PDEQ scores were significantly higher (mean 3, SD 0.9) than in those without PTSD (mean 2.3, SD 0.7) (t = 2.78, df 46, P = 0.007). Among PTSD subjects, mean SASRQ scores were significantly higher (mean 97.9, SD 29.2) than in those without PTSD (mean 54.8, SD 28.2) (t = 4.9, df 46, P = 0.00007). High levels of peritraumatic dissociation and acute stress following violent assault are risk factors for early PTSD. Identifying acute reexperiencing can help the clinician identify subjects at highest risk.

Routine Activities and Criminal Victimization: The Significance of Gendered Spaces.

PubMed

Savard, Dennis M; Kelley, Thomas M; Merolla, David M

2017-07-01

Gender is arguably the most prominent correlate of criminal victimization. Few studies, however, examine gender-specific dynamics that might help advance criminology's understanding of the persistent gender gap in criminal victimization. We attempt to help fill this research void by examining data from the 2012 National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) through the lens of routine activity theory to investigate the relationship between "gendered spaces" and criminal victimization. We propose that gendered spaces constructed by people's routine activities may increase their exposure to motivated offenders, which in turn may increase their risk of victimization. Our findings appear to support our proposition and to shed new light on the nature of the victimization gender gap. The results showed that females were significantly more likely than males to be victimized at each of the three "feminine gendered spaces" (i.e., bank, shopping center, and grocery store). However, the relationship between gendered space and criminal victimization varied by crime type. Females were significantly more likely than males to be robbed at each of the three feminine gendered spaces. For sexual assault and aggravated assault, females were significantly more likely than males to be victimized at a "masculine gendered space" (i.e., bar/nightclub). For simple assault, females were significantly less likely than males to be victimized at two of the three feminine gendered spaces (i.e., bank and shopping center). Our findings appear to highlight the importance of gendered spaces in helping explain the gender gap in criminal victimization and suggest that future researchers should investigate how other gendered spaces formed by people's routine activities affect their risk of victimization.

Crime and Psychiatric Disorders Among Youth in the US Population: An Analysis of National Comorbidity Survey-Adolescent Supplement

PubMed Central

Coker, Kendell L.; Smith, Philip H.; Westphal, Alexander; Zonana, Howard V.; McKee, Sherry A.

2014-01-01

Objective Current knowledge regarding psychiatric disorders and crime in youth is limited to juvenile justice and community samples. This study examined relationships between psychiatric disorders and self-reported crime involvement in a sample of youth representative of the US population. Method The National Comorbidity Survey-Adolescent Supplement (N=10,123; ages 13–17; 2001–2004) was used to examine the relationship between lifetime DSM-IV-based diagnoses, reported crime (property, violent, other), and arrest history. Logistic regression compared the odds of reported crime involvement with specific psychiatric disorders to those without any diagnoses, and examined the odds of crime by psychiatric comorbidity. Results Prevalence of crime was 18.4%. Youth with lifetime psychiatric disorders, compared to no disorders, had significantly greater odds of crime, including violent crime. For violent crime resulting in arrest, conduct disorder (CD; OR=57.5; 95% CI=30.4,108.8), alcohol use disorders (OR=19.5; 95% CI=8.8,43.2), and drug use disorders (OR=16.1; 95% CI=9.3,27.7) had the greatest odds with similar findings for violent crime with no arrest. Psychiatric comorbidity increased the odds of crime. Youth with 3 or more diagnoses (16.0% of population) accounted for 54.1% of those reporting arrest for violent crime. Youth with at least 1 diagnosis committed 85.8% of crime, which was reduced to 67.9% by removing those with CD. Importantly, 88.2% of youth with mental illness report never committing any crime. Conclusion Our findings highlight the importance of improving access to mental health services for youthful offenders in community settings given the substantial associations found between mental illness and crime in this nationally representative epidemiological sample. PMID:25062596

Crime on Campus: Institutional Tort Liability for the Criminal Acts of Third Parties.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raddatz, Anita

To aid colleges and universities in protecting students and other potential victims of crime, a general analysis of the pertinent case law concerning institutional tort liability for campus crime is provided. The analysis of case law explains that lawsuits are usually based on the theory of negligence. Negligence consists of four elements: duty;…

Walking ATMs and the immigration spillover effect: The link between Latino immigration and robbery victimization.

PubMed

Barranco, Raymond E; Shihadeh, Edward S

2015-07-01

Media reports and prior research suggest that undocumented Latino migrants are disproportionately robbed because they rely on a cash-only economy and they are reluctant to report crimes to law-enforcement (the Walking ATM phenomenon). From this we generate two specific research questions. First, we probe for an immigration spillover effect - defined as increased native and documented Latino robbery victimization due to offenders' inability to distinguish between the statuses of potential victims. Second, we examine the oft-repeated claim that Blacks robbers disproportionately target Latino victims. Using National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data from 282 counties, results show (1) support for an immigration spillover effect but, (2) no support for the claim that Latinos are disproportionately singled out by Black robbers. We discuss the implications of our findings. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Drug-facilitated crimes: prospective data collection in a forensic unit in Paris].

PubMed

Questel, Franck; Sec, Isabelle; Sicot, Romain; Pourriat, Jean-Louis

2009-01-01

Little is known about the rate of crimes that are facilitated by the administration of psychoactive products without the victim's knowledge. This study analyzes the cases collected over a two-year period in a forensic unit in Paris. The study covers the period from January 1, 2005 and December /31, 2006. It includes crime victims who consulted for toxicological testing in the forensic unit of the Hôtel Dieu in Paris, after filing a criminal complaint describing symptoms suggestive of chemical submission (amnesia, impaired vigilance or behavior) and whose toxicological tests indicated the presence of a psychoactive product that they had not been aware of taking. The tests used chromatographic techniques on blood, urine, hair, and food or drink residue. Toxicological testing identified 52 cases of drug-facilitated crimes, primarily for theft and sexual abuse (including rape). The psychoactive products were most often incorporated in drinks, half of them alcoholic beverages. Benzodiazepines accounted for 77% of the cases. Other substances, found more rarely, included antihistamines, neuroleptics, and GHB. Appropriate samples must be taken from victims rapidly to enable toxicological analysis. Chromatographic analysis must supplement immunological analysis, which is not sufficiently specific or sensitive. The collection of this information must continue in order to quantify the phenomenon and monitor the emergence of new products.

Victimization and Perpetration Experiences of Adults With Autism.

PubMed

Weiss, Jonathan A; Fardella, Michelle A

2018-01-01

This study aimed to describe the self-reported experiences of childhood and adult victimization and perpetration in adults with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) compared to a matched sample, and how victimization and perpetration are associated with autism-related difficulties. Forty-five adults with ASC and 42 adults without ASC completed questionnaires regarding violence victimization and perpetration, emotion regulation, and sociocommunicative competence. Participants with ASC reported experiencing, as children, more overall victimization; specifically, more property crime, maltreatment, teasing/emotional bullying, and sexual assault by peers, compared to participants without ASC. Participants with ASC also reported experiencing more teasing/emotional bullying in adulthood and greater sexual contact victimization. No significant differences were found between groups on perpetration. Sociocommunicative ability and emotion regulation deficits did not explain the heightened risk for victimization. Individuals with ASC have an increased vulnerability to violence victimization, which speaks to the need for interventions, and proactive prevention strategies.

Media-Cultivated Perceptions of Criminal Victimization.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ogles, Robert M.

Many television viewers construct their social reality from media content as well as from sensory and interpersonally communicated information. One aspect of this media-influenced social reality is television viewers' estimates of crime in society, or their fear of criminal victimization. Several media-effects studies have demonstrated the…

Continuum Crimes: Military Jurisdiction Over Foreign Nationals Who Commit International Crimes

DTIC Science & Technology

1996-04-01

abducted Eichmann in Argentina and returned him to Jerusalem for trial for crimes against humanity. Israel did not even exist at the time the crimes...Hebrew University in Jerusalem remarked that this is "a world of small statelets, of warlords with shifting loyalties and wars without major setpiece...these events"). 319Attorney General of Israel v. Eichmann , Israel Supreme Ct. (1962), 36 Int’l L. Rep. 277 (1968), reprinted in II THE LAW OF WAR: A

Risk of Being Subjected to Crime, Including Violent Crime, After Onset of Mental Illness: A Danish National Registry Study Using Police Data.

PubMed

Dean, Kimberlie; Laursen, Thomas M; Pedersen, Carsten B; Webb, Roger T; Mortensen, Preben B; Agerbo, Esben

2018-05-23

People with mental illness are more likely to have contact with the criminal justice system, but research to date has focused on risk of offense perpetration, while less is known about risk of being subjected to crime and violence. To establish the incidence of being subjected to all types of criminal offenses, and by violent crimes separately, after onset of mental illness across the full diagnostic spectrum compared with those in the population without mental illness. This investigation was a longitudinal national cohort study using register data in Denmark. Participants were a cohort of more than 2 million persons born between 1965 and 1998 and followed up from 2001 or from their 15th birthday until December 31, 2013. Analysis was undertaken from November 2016 until February 2018. Cohort members were followed up for onset of mental illness, recorded as first contact with outpatient or inpatient mental health services. Diagnoses across the full spectrum of psychiatric diagnoses were considered separately for men and women. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) were estimated for first subjection to crime event (any crime and violent crime) reported to police after onset of mental illness. The IRRs were adjusted for cohort member's own criminal offending, in addition to several sociodemographic factors. In a total cohort of 2 058 063 (48.7% male; 51.3% female), the adjusted IRRs for being subjected to crime associated with any mental disorder were 1.49 (95% CI, 1.46-1.51) for men and 1.64 (95% CI, 1.61-1.66) for women. The IRRs were higher for being subjected to violent crime at 1.76 (95% CI, 1.72-1.80) for men and 2.72 (95% CI, 2.65-2.79) for women. The strongest associations were for persons diagnosed as having substance use disorders and personality disorders, but significant risk elevations were found across almost all diagnostic groups examined. Onset of mental illness is associated with increased risk of exposure to crime, and violent crime in particular

Cross-National Prevalence of Traditional Bullying, Traditional Victimization, Cyberbullying and Cyber-Victimization: Comparing Single-Item and Multiple-Item Approaches of Measurement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yanagida, Takuya; Gradinger, Petra; Strohmeier, Dagmar; Solomontos-Kountouri, Olga; Trip, Simona; Bora, Carmen

2016-01-01

Many large-scale cross-national studies rely on a single-item measurement when comparing prevalence rates of traditional bullying, traditional victimization, cyberbullying, and cyber-victimization between countries. However, the reliability and validity of single-item measurement approaches are highly problematic and might be biased. Data from…

Supporting the mission and goals of 2014 National Crime Victims' Rights Week, which include increasing public awareness of the rights, needs, and concerns of, and services available to assist, victims of crime in the United States.

THOMAS, 113th Congress

Rep. Costa, Jim [D-CA-16

2014-04-10

House - 06/09/2014 Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations. (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status IntroducedHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

Measuring Sexual Victimization: On What Fronts is the Jury Still Out and Do We Need it to Come In?

PubMed

Krebs, Christopher

2014-07-01

Rennison and Addington use National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) data to document the fact that college women experience violent victimization at a lower rate than women of the same age who do not attend college, which refutes the idea that women in college are at increased risk of being victimized. The measurement of victimization, especially sexual victimization, is, however, a topic that has be the source of much debate. Bureau of Justice Statistics is currently exploring what are the best methods for measuring sexual victimization within the NCVS, and recent methodological research, which is summarized in this article, could inform this process. Although consensus has seemingly been forming around come methods, such as using self-administered survey instruments and behaviorally specific questions when trying to measure sexual victimization, the jury is still out on some other design fronts. What is not clear is whether we need the jury to come in, so to speak. Some methodological variation might be acceptable, especially if the various methods being considered are producing similar results. © The Author(s) 2014.

Crime and psychiatric disorders among youth in the US population: an analysis of the National Comorbidity Survey-Adolescent Supplement.

PubMed

Coker, Kendell L; Smith, Philip H; Westphal, Alexander; Zonana, Howard V; McKee, Sherry A

2014-08-01

Current knowledge regarding psychiatric disorders and crime in youth is limited to juvenile justice and community samples. This study examined relationships between psychiatric disorders and self-reported crime involvement in a sample of youth representative of the US population. The National Comorbidity Survey-Adolescent Supplement (N = 10,123; ages 13-17 years; 2001-2004) was used to examine the relationship between lifetime DSM-IV-based diagnoses, reported crime (property, violent, other), and arrest history. Logistic regression compared the odds of reported crime involvement with specific psychiatric disorders to those without any diagnoses, and examined the odds of crime by psychiatric comorbidity. Prevalence of crime was 18.4%. Youth with lifetime psychiatric disorders, compared to no disorders, had significantly greater odds of crime, including violent crime. For violent crime resulting in arrest, conduct disorder (CD) (odds ratio OR = 57.5; 95% CI = 30.4, 108.8), alcohol use disorders (OR = 19.5; 95% CI = 8.8, 43.2), and drug use disorders (OR = 16.1; 95% CI = 9.3, 27.7) had the greatest odds with similar findings for violent crime with no arrest. Psychiatric comorbidity increased the odds of crime. Youth with 3 or more diagnoses (16.0% of population) accounted for 54.1% of those reporting arrest for violent crime. Youth with at least 1 diagnosis committed 85.8% of crime, which was reduced to 67.9% by removing individuals with CD. Importantly, 88.2% of youth with mental illness reported never having committed any crime. Our findings highlight the importance of improving access to mental health services for youthful offenders in community settings, given the substantial associations found between mental illness and crime in this nationally representative epidemiological sample. Copyright © 2014 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Victim Satisfaction With the Criminal Justice System and Emotional Recovery: A Systematic and Critical Review of the Literature.

PubMed

Kunst, Maarten; Popelier, Lieke; Varekamp, Ellen

2015-07-01

The current study systematically and critically reviewed the empirical literature to evaluate the association between satisfaction with the criminal justice system and adult crime victims' emotional recovery. Despite the widely accepted notion that involvement in the criminal justice system may impact recovery from crime victimization--either beneficially or maliciously--a systematic review of empirical studies that addresses this topic has never been conducted. Electronic literature databases (ISI Web of Knowledge [including Web of Science and MEDLINE], EBSCO host [including PsychInfo, CINAHL, Criminal Justice Abstracts, ERIC, PsychARTICLES, and Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection], and ProQuest [including PILOTS, Social Services Abstracts, and Sociological Abstracts]) were searched to identify relevant quantitative studies. The Cambridge Quality Checklists were used to evaluate the quality of selected studies. These checklists can be used to assess the quality of risk and protective factors in criminal justice research. In this study they were used to explore the impact of victim satisfaction on crime victims' emotional and cognitive states post-victimization. The review process revealed mixed results, with some studies suggesting a healing impact of victim satisfaction and others not. More consistent were findings regarding the existence of an association between victim satisfaction and (alterations in) positive cognitions. However, since the majority of studies suffered from severe methodological shortcomings, definite conclusions cannot be drawn yet. © The Author(s) 2014.

A disclosure scheme for protecting the victims of domestic violence.

PubMed

Griffith, Richard

2017-06-08

Richard Griffith, Senior Lecturer in Health Law at Swansea University, explains how the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme aims to protect potential victims by allowing disclosure of a partner's previous crimes.

Victimization and Perpetration Experiences of Adults With Autism

PubMed Central

Weiss, Jonathan A.; Fardella, Michelle A.

2018-01-01

This study aimed to describe the self-reported experiences of childhood and adult victimization and perpetration in adults with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) compared to a matched sample, and how victimization and perpetration are associated with autism-related difficulties. Forty-five adults with ASC and 42 adults without ASC completed questionnaires regarding violence victimization and perpetration, emotion regulation, and sociocommunicative competence. Participants with ASC reported experiencing, as children, more overall victimization; specifically, more property crime, maltreatment, teasing/emotional bullying, and sexual assault by peers, compared to participants without ASC. Participants with ASC also reported experiencing more teasing/emotional bullying in adulthood and greater sexual contact victimization. No significant differences were found between groups on perpetration. Sociocommunicative ability and emotion regulation deficits did not explain the heightened risk for victimization. Individuals with ASC have an increased vulnerability to violence victimization, which speaks to the need for interventions, and proactive prevention strategies. PMID:29887806

Justice for Victims of Confidential Informant Crime Act of 2013

THOMAS, 113th Congress

Rep. Lynch, Stephen F. [D-MA-8

2013-01-15

House - 01/25/2013 Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, And Investigations. (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status IntroducedHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

Influence of Attitudinal Similarity to a Defendant and Victim on Guilt Attribution by Simulated Jurors.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schmitt, Neal; Colligan, Michael

The present study tested the "just world" hypothesis that a socially respectable person is more at fault in a crime in which he or she is the victim. It was assumed that the attitudinal similarity of a hypothetical juror to the victim and the defendant would make both the victim and the defendant more respectable. Employing a 2 (victim…

Examining the Reasons Black Male Youths Give for Committing Crime with Reference to Inner City Areas of London

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Achinewhu-Nworgu, Elizabeth; Nworgu, Chioma; Azaiki, Steve; Nworgu, Helen

2013-01-01

This paper presents a mini research carried out by the Focus Learning Support (FLS) team on reasons why young black males in the community commit crime. Knife and gun crime is seen as a serious problem in the black community involving black males in the inner London city areas--many of whom are both victims and offenders of knife and gun crime.…

Crime in Schools and Colleges: A Study of Offenders and Arrestees Reported via National Incident-Based Reporting System Data. The CARD Report: Crime Analysis, Research and Development Unit

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Noonan, James H.; Vavra, Malissa C.

2007-01-01

Data from a variety of sources about crime in schools and colleges and characteristics of the people who commit these offenses provide key input in developing theories and operational applications that can help combat crime in this nation's schools, colleges, and universities. Given the myriad of data available, the objective of this study is to…

Do Jews and Arabs Differ in Their Fear of Terrorism and Crime?

PubMed

Shechory Bitton, Mally; Silawi, Yousef

2016-10-01

The current study was carried out with the aim of supplementing the existing literature and broadening the understanding of the determinants of two powerful types of fear, fear of terrorism and fear of crime, by comparing their presence among Jews and Arabs in Israel. Based on an overview of factors influencing fear of victimization, the study focused on individual variables (ethnicity, sex, age, objective, and subjective exposure) as well as on neighborhood disorder and social integration. The sample consisted of 375 Israeli students (191 Jews and 184 Arabs). Predictions of fear of terrorism and crime were conducted with two multiple regressions. Fear of terrorism was significantly predicted by gender (women more than men), higher self exposure to terror, and higher neighborhood disorder. The only interaction found with regard to exposure to incidents showed that previous victimization predicts only fear of terrorism and only among Arabs who were themselves affected or exposed to the victimization of others. Fear of crime was predicted by sector (Jews more than Arabs), gender (women more than men), higher neighborhood disorder, and lower social integration. As far as known, this is the first attempt to examine differences between Jews and Arabs with regard to these two types of fear and to predict their causes. The findings help gain a better understanding as to how people perceive the threat of crime and terrorism, in general and in the Arab-Jewish context in particular. The findings also enable an understanding of the complexity of living under ongoing terrorism threats. The results are discussed in accordance with the literature, concluding with the need for further research that will take into account the wider cultural and social context.

Extending Research on the Victim-Offender Overlap: Evidence from a Genetically Informative Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barnes, J. C.; Beaver, Kevin M.

2012-01-01

Criminologists have long noted that offenders are more likely to be the victims of crime as compared to nonoffenders. What has not been established, however, is "why" there is a significant degree of victim-offender overlap. While numerous explanations have been advanced and a significant number of studies have been conducted, there…

Prevalence of victimization and exposure to violence in a sample of Hispanic Americans: a research note.

PubMed

Miller, Holly Ventura; Lopez, Kristina M

2015-05-01

Research on the growing U.S. Hispanic population has increased in recent years, although much of this work has examined differences between the foreign- and native-born or between Hispanics and non-Hispanics. Fewer studies have explored within-group differences (Mexican vs. Puerto Rican vs. Cuban, etc.) and none have assessed variability in the prevalence of victimization across these diverse groups. Unfortunately, the available evidence is somewhat inconclusive regarding the prevalence of victimization among Hispanics and relative to other demographic groups such as Whites and Blacks. This study first aims to provide clarification as to the prevalence of Hispanic victimization relative to non-Hispanic Whites (NHW) and non-Hispanic Blacks (NHB). Then, we assess within-group differences for the Hispanic subsample for each of the victimization measures. Using Wave IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), we estimate the prevalence of various forms of criminal victimization and exposure to violence for Hispanics, NHW, and NHB. Results suggest that significant differences exist between Hispanics and both NHW and NHB. More specifically, Hispanics were less likely to report most of the victimization outcomes than either group. Significant differences in victimization were also observed between Hispanic subgroups. Generally, Mexicans and Puerto Ricans were most likely to report victimization whereas Cubans and Chicanos (with the exception of property crime) were least likely to report victimization. © The Author(s) 2014.

Significance of Crime Scene Visit by Forensic Pathologist in Cases of Atypical Firearm Injuries.

PubMed

Thejaswi, H T; Kumar, A; Krishna, K

2015-01-01

Deaths due to firearms are some of the interesting and contentious cases that a forensic pathologist/autopsy surgeon encounters in his practice. Whenever there is 'ambiguity' regarding the nature or sequence of events any unnatural deaths including those caused by firearms the practice of visiting crime scene should be encouraged especially in a country like India where autopsy surgeons often neglect it. Here we present a case report in which there were inconsistencies in the autopsy findings with the alleged history. The witnesses heard about four to six gunshot sounds, whereas only two spent cartridge cases were retrieved from the crime scene. Authors identified the atypical nature of firearm injuries sustained by the victims that were possible by just two bullets. Crime scene visit was undertaken where we discovered the possibility of the echo effect behind the production of four to six sounds. Further by using computer software program, positions of the gunman, victims and the bullet trajectory of the two bullets was created.

Student Reports of Bullying and Cyber-Bullying: Results from the 2009 School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey. Web Tables. NCES 2011-336

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeVoe, Jill; Murphy, Christina

2011-01-01

In school year 2008-09, some 7,066,000 U.S. students ages 12 through 18, or 28.0 percent of all such students, reported they were bullied at school, and about 1,521,000, or 6.0 percent, reported they were cyber-bullied anywhere (i.e., on or off school property). These Web Tables use data from the 2009 School Crime Supplement (SCS) to the National…

Rape Myth Consistency and Gender Differences in Perceiving Rape Victims: A Meta-Analysis.

PubMed

Hockett, Jericho M; Smith, Sara J; Klausing, Cathleen D; Saucier, Donald A

2016-02-01

An overview discusses feminist analyses of oppression, attitudes toward rape victims, and previously studied predictors of individuals' attitudes toward rape victims. To better understand such attitudes, this meta-analysis examines the moderating influences of various rape victim, perpetrator, and crime characteristics' rape myth consistency on gender differences in individuals' perceptions of rape victims (i.e., victim responsibility and blame attributions and rape minimizing attitudes). Consistent with feminist theoretical predictions, results indicated that, overall, men perceived rape victims more negatively than women did. However, this sex difference was moderated by the rape myth consistency within the rape vignettes. Implications for research are discussed. © The Author(s) 2015.

The genesis of victimization surveys and of the realist-constructionist divide.

PubMed

de Castelbajac, Matthieu

2017-09-01

The invention of victimization surveys is often presented as a synthesis of the two theoretical attitudes that, supposedly, dominated the 1960s debate over official crime statistics: realism and social constructionism. This paper turns this genesis story on its head. Using original archives, I argue that victimization surveys responded to organizational opportunities in the field of applied research. It was only after the fact that two of their architects seized the debate on crime measurement to broadcast their invention. In so doing they strategically recast the terms of this debate into a binary division between two antithetical social ontologies. This case is used to discuss how social scientists come to reinterpret and misunderstand their history. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

When the School Bell Rings... Juvenile Crime or Constructive Time? After-School Programs Are the Answer.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carpenter, Tim; Cornelius, Aisha; Francis, Ann Potter; Parsons, Lena

Noting that the after-school hours are peak hours for Illinois juveniles to be either victims of crime or involved in criminal activity, this report provides evidence that making quality after-school programs available to all youth who need them will reduce crime and provide constructive activities for youth. The report details statistics on…

Characterizing Sexual Violence Victimization in Youth: 2012 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey.

PubMed

Merrick, Melissa T; Basile, Kathleen C; Zhang, Xinjian; Smith, Sharon G; Kresnow, Marcie-Jo

2018-04-01

Youth sexual violence victimization is an urgent public health concern that can lead to a variety of health problems and increased risk for victimization during adulthood. Examining the characteristics of early victimization and their association with subsequent victimization during adulthood may help strengthen primary prevention efforts. Data are from the 2012 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey. Prevalence estimates were computed in 2017 for rape and made to sexually penetrate, their subtypes, as well as proportions among victims by type of perpetrator. Chi-square tests of association were conducted between youth sexual violence victimization and the same experiences in adulthood. Approximately 10 million U.S. females (8.4%) experienced completed or attempted rape and 1.9 million U.S. males (1.6%) were made to penetrate someone during youth. Most victims knew their perpetrators. Being raped or made to penetrate during youth was associated with increased likelihood of such victimization in adulthood. Females and males experience youth sexual violence victimization at alarming rates. Primary prevention efforts with youth are critical to prevent early victimization, subsequent victimization in adulthood, and the mental and physical health consequences associated with sexual violence victimization. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Sex worker victimization, modes of working, and location in New South Wales, Australia: a geography of victimization.

PubMed

Prior, Jason; Hubbard, Phil; Birch, Philip

2013-01-01

This article examines the association among victimization, modes of sex working, and the locations used by sex workers through an analysis of "Ugly Mug" reports detailing 528 crime acts in 333 reported incidents in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. These forms, voluntarily lodged between 2000 and 2008 by members of NSW's estimated 10,000 sex worker population, suggest that street-based work has a higher victimization rate than other modes of working, including escort work, work in commercial premises, and private work. Although this ostensibly supports the commonly held view that "outdoor" working is more dangerous than "indoor" work, this analysis suggests that most instances of victimization actually occur in private spaces. Hence, it is argued that risks of victimization in sex work are influenced by a variety of environmental characteristics relating to concealment, control, and isolation, suggesting that not all off-street locations are equally safe. We conclude with recommendations for policy regarding sex work.

Recognizing victims of human trafficking in the pediatric emergency department.

PubMed

Becker, Heather J; Bechtel, Kirsten

2015-02-01

Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery that is rapidly expanding in the United States and throughout the world. It is a crime under both the United States and international law. The child and adult victims of human trafficking are denied their basic human rights and subjected to unspeakable physical and emotional harm. Traffickers exert complete control over their victims and are proficient at hiding their condition from authorities. Healthcare practitioners may be the only professionals who come into contact with victims if they present for medical care. This article will describe human trafficking and its potential victims, as well as guide medical management and access to services that will ensure their safety and restore their freedom.

National prevalence rates of bully victimization among students with disabilities in the United States.

PubMed

Blake, Jamilia J; Lund, Emily M; Zhou, Qiong; Kwok, Oi-Man; Benz, Michael R

2012-12-01

This study examined the prevalence rates of bully victimization and risk for repeated victimization among students with disabilities using the Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study and the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 longitudinal datasets. Results revealed that a prevalence rate ranging from 24.5% in elementary school to 34.1% in middle school. This is one to one and a half times the national average for students without disabilities. The rate of bully victimization was highest for students with emotional disturbance across school levels. Findings from this study also indicated that students with disabilities who were bullied once were at high risk of being bullied repeatedly. Elementary and middle school students with autism and high school students with orthopedic impairments were at the greatest risk of experiencing repeated victimization. Implications of the findings are discussed. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

The Fear Factor: Exploring Predictors of Fear among Stalking Victims throughout the Stalking Encounter

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reyns, Bradford W.; Englebrecht, Christine M.

2013-01-01

The crime of stalking has received much research attention, yet there are still important questions to be explored surrounding this behavior. One such question relates to definitions of stalking, including the requirement that victims must express fear to qualify as victims of stalking. The current study addresses this issue by exploring the…

Community Disorder, Victimization Exposure, and Mental Health in a National Sample of Youth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Turner, Heather A.; Shattuck, Anne; Hamby, Sherry; Finkelhor, David

2013-01-01

This study considers whether elevated distress among youth living in more disordered neighborhoods can be explained by personal exposure to violence and victimization, level of non-victimization adversity, and family support. Analyses were based on a sample of 2,039 youth ages 10 to 17 who participated in the National Survey of Children's Exposure…

Crimes against Children by Babysitters. Crimes against Children Series. Juvenile Justice Bulletin.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Finkelhor, David; Ormrod, Richard

This bulletin, part of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's "Crimes against Children Series," draws on the FBI's National Incident-Based Reporting System to provide data on the frequency and nature of crimes against children committed by babysitters. According to the bulletin, babysitters account for approximately 4 percent…

Modeling the mental health effects of victimization among homeless persons

PubMed Central

Perron, Brian Edward; Alexander-Eitzman, Ben; Gillespie, David F.; Pollio, David

2014-01-01

Homeless persons are victims of violent and non-violent crime at higher rates than housed populations. While studies have suggested that victimization can induce or exacerbate mental health problems, there is very little known about factors that may buffer the effects of victimization. This cross-sectional study examined the influence of victimization on depressive symptoms in over 9600 homeless and mentally ill adults participating in the Access to Community Care and Effective Services and Supports study (ACCESS) conducted in multiple cities across the USA relationships between victimization, depressive symptoms, and perceived safety were tested within a structural equation modeling framework using data collected at the baseline interview. The overall model exhibited a good fit with the data. Non-physical victimization was associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms, and physical victimization was associated with lower levels of perceived safety. As hypothesized, perceived safety was a significant partial mediator of depressive symptoms. These results underscore the complexity of the relationships between victimization and depression in homeless adults and the importance of addressing different types of victimization in homeless and mentally ill adults. PMID:18703266

Modeling the mental health effects of victimization among homeless persons.

PubMed

Perron, Brian Edward; Alexander-Eitzman, Ben; Gillespie, David F; Pollio, David

2008-11-01

Homeless persons are victims of violent and non-violent crime at higher rates than housed populations. While studies have suggested that victimization can induce or exacerbate mental health problems, there is very little known about factors that may buffer the effects of victimization. This cross-sectional study examined the influence of victimization on depressive symptoms in over 9600 homeless and mentally ill adults participating in the Access to Community Care and Effective Services and Supports study (ACCESS) conducted in multiple cities across the USA relationships between victimization, depressive symptoms, and perceived safety were tested within a structural equation modeling framework using data collected at the baseline interview. The overall model exhibited a good fit with the data. Non-physical victimization was associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms, and physical victimization was associated with lower levels of perceived safety. As hypothesized, perceived safety was a significant partial mediator of depressive symptoms. These results underscore the complexity of the relationships between victimization and depression in homeless adults and the importance of addressing different types of victimization in homeless and mentally ill adults.

Symbolic racism and Whites' attitudes towards punitive and preventive crime policies.

PubMed

Green, Eva G T; Staerklé, Christian; Sears, David O

2006-08-01

This study analyzes the determinants of Whites' support for punitive and preventive crime policies. It focuses on the predictive power of beliefs about race as described by symbolic racism theory. A dataset with 849 White respondents from three waves of the Los Angeles County Social Survey was used. In order to assess the weight of racial factors in crime policy attitudes, the effects of a range of race-neutral attitude determinants were controlled for, namely individual and structural crime attributions, perceived seriousness of crime, crime victimization, conservatism and news exposure. Results show a strong effect of symbolic racism on both types of crime policies, and in particular on punitive policies. High levels of symbolic racism are associated with support for tough, punitive crime policies and with opposition to preventive policies. Sub-dimensions of symbolic racism qualified these relationships, by showing that internal symbolic racism (assessing perceived individual deficiencies of Blacks) was most strongly predictive of punitiveness, whereas external symbolic racism (denial of institutional discrimination) predicted opposition to structural remedies. On the whole, despite the effects of race-neutral factors, the impact of symbolic racism on policy attitudes was substantial. Thus, White public opinion on both punitive and preventive crime policies is at least partially driven by racial prejudice.

Victimization, polyvictimization, and health in Swedish adolescents

PubMed Central

Aho, Nikolas; Proczkowska-Björklund, Marie; Svedin, Carl Göran

2016-01-01

The main objective of this article was to study the relationship between the different areas of victimization (eg, sexual victimization) and psychological symptoms, taking into account the full range of victimization domains. The final aim was to contribute further evidence regarding the bias that studies that focus on just one area of victimization may be introduced into our psychological knowledge. The sample included 5,960 second-year high school students in Sweden with a mean age of 17.3 years (range =16–20 years, standard deviation =0.652), of which 49.6% were females and 50.4% males. The Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire and the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children were used to assess victimization and psychological problems separately. The results show that a majority of adolescents have been victimized, females reported more total events and more sexual victimization and childhood maltreatment, and males were more often victims of conventional crime. The majority of victimization domains as well as the sheer number of events (polyvictimization [PV]) proved to be harmful to adolescent health, affecting females more than males. PV explained part of the health effect and had an impact on its own and in relation to each domain. This suggests the possibility that PV to a large degree explains trauma symptoms. In order to understand the psychological effects of trauma, clinicians and researchers should take into account the whole range of possible types of victimization. PMID:27616895

Cybercrime Victimization and Subjective Well-Being: An Examination of the Buffering Effect Hypothesis Among Adolescents and Young Adults.

PubMed

Kaakinen, Markus; Keipi, Teo; Räsänen, Pekka; Oksanen, Atte

2018-02-01

The wealth of beneficial tools for online interaction, consumption, and access to others also bring new risks for harmful experiences online. This study examines the association between cybercrime victimization and subjective well-being (SWB) and, based on the buffering effect hypothesis, tests the assumption of the protective function of social belonging in cybercrime victimization. Cross-national data from the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and Finland (N = 3,557; Internet users aged 15-30 years; 49.85 percent female) were analyzed using descriptive statistics and main and moderation effect models. Results show that cybercrime victimization has a negative association with SWB after adjusting for a number of confounding factors. This association concerns both general cybercrime victimization and subcategories such as victimization to offensive cybercrime and cyberfraud. In line with the buffering effect hypothesis, social belonging to offline groups was shown to moderate the negative association between SWB and cybercrime victimization. The same effect was not found in the social belonging to online groups. Overall, the study indicates that, analogously to crime victimization in the offline context, cybercrime is a harmful experience whose negative effects mainly concern those users who have weak social ties offline to aid in coping with such stressors.

Victimization, perception of insecurity, and changes in daily routines in Mexico.

PubMed

Ávila, María Elena; Martínez-Ferrer, Belén; Vera, Alejandro; Bahena, Alejandro; Musitu, Gonzalo

2016-10-03

To analyze the relationships between victimization, perception of insecurity, and changes in routines. The 8,170 subjects of both sexes (49.9% women and 50.1% men) aged between 12 and 60 years, selected from a proportional stratified sampling, participated in this study. The measuring instrument was an adaptation of the National Survey on Victimization and Perception of Public Security. Chi-square tests were performed. The results show significant differences on victimization and sex regarding perception of insecurity, restrictions on everyday activities, and protection measures. 13.1% of those interviewed claimed to have been victims of a crime in the past 12 months. 52.7% of women considered their municipality as unsafe or very unsafe. In the case of men, this percentage was 58.2%. Female victims reported significant restrictions in everyday activities when compared to non-victims. In relation to men, the percentage of victims with a high restriction of activities was higher in male victims than non-victims. In the group of victimized women, the segment of women who opted for increased measures of protection against crime was larger than expected, while those of non-victims who took less protective measures was lower than expected. These same results were observed in the group of men. The experience of victimization implies a greater perception of insecurity. However, the climate of insecurity is widespread in a large number of citizens. Gender differences in a high-crime environment show the importance of investigating in depth the roles of both genders in the perception of insecurity and changes in routines. Analizar las relaciones existentes entre victimización, percepción de inseguridad y cambios en las rutinas. Participaron en este estudio 8,170 sujetos de ambos sexos (49.9% mujeres y 50.1% hombres) de entre 12 y 60 años, seleccionados a partir de un muestro estratificado proporcional. El instrumento de medida fue una adaptación de la Encuesta Nacional

Assessing the Risk Factors of Cyber and Mobile Phone Bullying Victimization in a Nationally Representative Sample of Singapore Youth.

PubMed

Holt, Thomas J; Fitzgerald, Sarah; Bossler, Adam M; Chee, Grace; Ng, Esther

2016-04-01

This study utilized routine activity theory to examine the relationships between online behaviors, target suitability, and cyber and mobile phone-based bullying victimization in a nationally representative sample of youth from nine schools across Singapore. Key measures in all three categories-access to technology, online routine behaviors, and target suitability-were significant predictors of both forms of bullying victimization. In particular, females and victims of physical bullying were more likely to experience both forms of victimization. Access to technology and online routine behaviors predicted cyber and mobile phone-based bullying victimization differently. These findings demonstrate that routine activity theory is a viable framework to understand online bullying in non-Western nations, consistent with the existing literature on Western nations. © The Author(s) 2014.

National Prevalence Rates of Bully Victimization among Students with Disabilities in the United States

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blake, Jamilia J.; Lund, Emily M.; Zhou, Qiong; Kwok, Oi-man; Benz, Michael R.

2012-01-01

This study examined the prevalence rates of bully victimization and risk for repeated victimization among students with disabilities using the Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study and the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 longitudinal datasets. Results revealed that a prevalence rate ranging from 24.5% in elementary school to…

Sex-role identification and violent victimization: gender differences in the role of masculinity.

PubMed

Daigle, Leah E; Mummert, Sadie J

2014-01-01

Although sex-role identification has been found to be associated with crime and delinquency, the link between sex-role identification and violent victimization has remained largely unexplored. Using the Add Health data, this study examines sex-role identification and its relationship to violent victimization. The findings suggest that masculinity increases the risk of violent victimization for males, but does not for females. Other differences in risk factors across gender were also found. These findings indicate that masculinity is an important construct in understanding the complexity of why some persons are violently victimized and others are not.

Specifying the Influence of Family and Peers on Violent Victimization: Extending Routine Activities and Lifestyle Theories

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schreck, Christopher J.; Fisher, Bonnie S.

2004-01-01

The fact that crime and victimization share similar correlates suggests that family and peer contexts are potentially useful for explaining individual differences in violent victimization. In this research, we used routine activities and lifestyles frameworks to reveal how strong bonds of family attachment can promote more effective guardianship…

Psychopathology, biopsychosocial factors, crime characteristics, and classification of 25 homicidal youths.

PubMed

Myers, W C; Scott, K; Burgess, A W; Burgess, A G

1995-11-01

This study investigates diagnostic, behavioral, offense, and classification characteristics of juvenile murderers. Twenty-five homicidal children and adolescents were assessed using the Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents, clinical interviews, record review, and all available collateral data. DSM-III-R psychopathology was found in 96% of these youths, and one half of them had experienced suicidal ideation at some point in their lives. Nevertheless, only 17% had ever received mental health treatment. Family and school dysfunction were present in virtually all subjects. Histories of abuse, prior violence, arrests, and promiscuous sexual behavior were typical. Motives were equally divided between crime-based and conflict-based causes. A weapon was used in 96% of cases. Significant differences were found between crime classification groups and victim age, physical abuse, IQ, and victim relationship. In addition, those who committed sexual homicide were significantly more likely to have engaged in overkill, used a knife, and been armed beforehand. Ten profile characteristics present in at least 70% of these juveniles were identified. All murders were readily classified according to the FBI Crime Classification Manual (CCM). These findings support juvenile murderers as being an inadequately treated, emotionally and behaviorally disturbed population with profound social problems. The CCM proved to be a useful instrument for the classification of this sample.

The Shadow of Physical Harm? Examining the Unique and Gendered Relationship Between Fear of Murder Versus Fear of Sexual Assault on Fear of Violent Crime.

PubMed

Riggs, Samantha; Cook, Carrie L

2015-09-01

The shadow hypothesis regarding the impact of fear of sexual assault on fear of violent crime suggests that female fear of crime is characterized by concern about sexual assault as a contemporaneous victimization event during a violent crime event. Recent research has found that other types of crime, namely physical assault, may also be feared as a contemporaneous offense. We know of no research that has examined the unique impact of fear of murder versus fear of sexual assault on fear of violent crime. There is also a lack of research that explores how these two types of fear uniquely affect men and women. In addition to gender, we examine factors that have been suggested in previous research to correlate with fear of crime: race, victimization, vicarious victimization, and perceived risk. Through survey methodology, this research examines the unique relationship between both fear of murder and fear of sexual assault and fear of three types of violent crime for men and women. Results suggest differences in how fear of murder and fear of sexual assault are related to fear of other types of violence for men and women. Specifically, fear of murder is important in estimating male fear of robbery and aggravated assault. However, fear of sexual assault is almost as important as fear of murder for men in estimating fear of home invasion. Similarly, for women, fear of sexual assault and fear of murder both are significant factors associated with fear of violent crime, and differences between the levels of significance are marginal. This study is a first to examine whether murder may also be feared as a contemporaneous offense. The results are informative in identifying what drives fear of crime, particularly violent crime, for both men and women. Avenues for future research are discussed. © The Author(s) 2014.

The Effect of Sex and Perpetrator-Victim Relationship on Perceptions of Domestic Homicide.

PubMed

Karlsson, Linda C; Malén, Tuulia; Kaakinen, Johanna K; Antfolk, Jan

2018-05-01

Previous research on how stereotypes affect perceptions of intimate partner violence and domestic homicide has found that violence committed by men is perceived as more severe and judged more harshly than violence committed by women. The present mock jury study investigated how perpetrator sex (male or female), crime type (familicide or filicide), and relatedness between perpetrator and child victims (biological or step) affect laypeople's perceptions of the appropriate consequence of the crime, the reason for the offense, responsibility of the perpetrator, the likelihood of certain background factors being present, and the risk of future violence. One hundred sixty-seven university students read eight fictive descriptions of cases of multiple-victim domestic homicides, in which the sex of the perpetrator, the crime type, and the relatedness between the perpetrator and the child victims were manipulated. We found that participants recommended equally severe punishments to and placed the same amount of responsibility on male and female offenders. Female offenders were, however, regarded as mentally ill to a larger extent and perceived more likely to have been victims of domestic violence compared with male offenders. Male offenders were seen as more likely to have committed domestic violence in the past, having been unemployed, have substance abuse, hold aggressive attitudes, and commit violent acts in the future. Participants also perceived offenders killing biological children as more mentally ill than those killing stepchildren. The present study extends the literature on the possible effect of stereotypes on decision making in psychiatric and judicial contexts.

Impunity or immunity: wartime male rape and sexual torture as a crime against humanity.

PubMed

Zawati, Hilmi M

2007-01-01

This paper seeks to analyze the phenomenon of wartime rape and sexual torture of Croatian and Iraqi men and to explore the avenues for its prosecution under international humanitarian and human rights law. Male rape, in time of war, is predominantly an assertion of power and aggression rather than an attempt on the part of the perpetrator to satisfy sexual desire. The effect of such a horrible attack is to damage the victim's psyche, rob him of his pride, and intimidate him. In Bosnia- Herzegovina, Croatia, and Iraq, therefore, male rape and sexual torture has been used as a weapon of war with dire consequences for the victim's mental, physical, and sexual health. Testimonies collected at the Medical Centre for Human Rights in Zagreb and reports received from Iraq make it clear that prisoners in these conflicts have been exposed to sexual humiliation, as well as to systematic and systemic sexual torture. This paper calls upon the international community to combat the culture of impunity in both dictator-ruled and democratic countries by bringing the crime of wartime rape into the international arena, and by removing all barriers to justice facing the victims. Moreover, it emphasizes the fact that wartime rape is the ultimate humiliation that can be inflicted on a human being, and it must be regarded as one of the most grievous crimes against humanity. The international community has to consider wartime rape a crime of war and a threat to peace and security. It is in this respect that civilian community associations can fulfill their duties by encouraging victims of male rape to break their silence and address their socio-medical needs, including reparations and rehabilitation.

Expressed Sexual Assault Legal Context and Victim Culpability Attributions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Audrey K.; Markman, Keith D.; Amacker, Amanda M.; Menaker, Tasha A.

2012-01-01

Legal scholars have argued that laws have an "expressive function", specifically that sexual assault laws may convey social-level messages that victims are culpable for crimes against them. In a university sample, we conducted the first experimental test of legal scholars' proposal, hypothesizing that legal messages--specifically their…

Risk factors for youth victimization: beyond a lifestyles/routine activities theory approach.

PubMed

Finkelhor, D; Asdigian, N L

1996-01-01

Past efforts to understand the risks for youth victimization have primarily utilized concepts from lifestyle or routine activity theory, such as the increased exposure and reduced guardianship that are entailed when youth engage in risky or delinquent behavior. In this article, we argue that other personal characteristics put youth at risk, not through any lifestyle or routine activity mechanism, but by making certain youth more "congruent" with the needs, motives, or reactivities of potential offenders. Three specific types of such characteristics are those that increase the potential victim's target vulnerability (e.g., physical weakness or psychological distress), target gratifiability (e.g., female gender for the crime of sexual assault), or target antagonism (e.g., behaviors or ethnic or group identities that may spark hostility or resentment). Using data from a national youth survey, we test variables measuring such aspects of target congruence and show that they make a significant contribution over and above lifestyle variables alone in predicting nonfamily, sexual, and parental assault.

Neighborhood Crime-Related Safety and Its Relation to Children's Physical Activity.

PubMed

Kneeshaw-Price, Stephanie H; Saelens, Brian E; Sallis, James F; Frank, Lawrence D; Grembowski, David E; Hannon, Peggy A; Smith, Nicholas L; Chan, K C Gary

2015-06-01

Crime is both a societal safety and public health issue. Examining different measures and aspects of crime-related safety and their correlations may provide insight into the unclear relationship between crime and children's physical activity. We evaluated five neighborhood crime-related safety measures to determine how they were interrelated. We then explored which crime-related safety measures were associated with children's total moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and MVPA in their neighborhoods. Significant positive correlations between observed neighborhood incivilities and parents' perceptions of general crime and disorder were found (r = 0.30, p = 0.0002), as were associations between parents' perceptions of general crime and disorder and perceptions of stranger danger (r = 0.30, p = 0.0002). Parent report of prior crime victimization in their neighborhood was associated with observed neighborhood incivilities (r = 0.22, p = 0.007) and their perceptions of both stranger danger (r = 0.24, p = 0.003) and general crime and disorder (r = 0.37, p < 0.0001). After accounting for covariates, police-reported crime within the census block group in which children lived was associated with less physical activity, both total and in their neighborhood (beta = -0.09, p = 0.005, beta = -0.01, p = 0.02, respectively). Neighborhood-active children living in the lowest crime-quartile neighborhoods based on police reports had 40 min more of total MVPA on average compared to neighborhood-active children living in the highest crime-quartile neighborhoods. Findings suggest that police reports of neighborhood crime may be contributing to lower children's physical activity.

The nature of violence: a multilevel analysis of gun use and victim injury in violent interpersonal encounters.

PubMed

Burgason, Kyle A; Thomas, Shaun A; Berthelot, Emily R

2014-02-01

A large number of studies have examined predictors of crime quantities yet considerably less attention has been directed toward exploring patterns in the nature or quality of violence within and across communities. The current study adds to the literature on qualitative variations in violence by assessing the incident and contextual-level predictors of offender gun use and physical injuries sustained by victims of robbery and aggravated assault. Specifically, we examine incident-level data from the National Incident Based Reporting System in conjunction with contextual-level data on the cities in which the incidents occurred. We use hierarchical linear and nonlinear modeling techniques to explore variations in predictors of offender gun use and extent of victim injury. Supporting cultural effects explicated by Anderson, results reveal certain individual-level predictors are conditioned by community characteristics.

Victims Deserve More: The Building of a Forensics Academy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Lili K.

2007-01-01

Because victims deserve more, The American Academy of Applied Forensics at Central Piedmont Community College was created to link cutting-edge forensics research to its field applications. It does this by enhancing the knowledge, skill, and ability levels of crime scene investigators, thereby increasing the likelihood that truth will be revealed…

Fear of Crime and the Elderly: Personal, Social, and Environmental Factors.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ward, Russell A.; And Others

Despite low levels of criminal victimization, older people often express greater fear of crime than others. To examine the causes and consequences of such fear, 1,185 adults aged 60 and over, were interviewed about their personal characteristics, social resources, environment, subjective well-being, and lifestyle. Results showed that older people…

Relational caring: the use of the victim impact statement by sexually assaulted women.

PubMed

Miller, Karen-Lee

2014-01-01

The victim impact statement (VIS) is a written account of harms experienced as a result of crime. This study investigates VIS use by sexually assaulted women through interviews with Canadian victims, victim services workers, and feminist advocates (N = 35). Findings suggest that victims use the VIS to express relational caring. Relational caring is an ethic of care that prioritizes others through privileging the harms experienced by others because of witnessing the sexual assault or coping with the victim's postassault sequelae, protecting future or hypothetical victims, and promoting the interests of intimate partner offenders. Relational caring challenges traditional conceptions of victim agency and VIS use for instrumental purposes, as well as the targets and temporalities of sexual assault harms that are detailed in the statement. Relational caring has unique implications for victims who are mothers, especially those abused as minors, and for intimate partners. Legal, therapeutic, and social service consequences are discussed.

32 CFR 635.33 - Crime rate reporting.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 32 National Defense 4 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Crime rate reporting. 635.33 Section 635.33 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY (CONTINUED) LAW ENFORCEMENT AND CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTING Army Quarterly Trends and Analysis Report § 635.33 Crime...

32 CFR 635.33 - Crime rate reporting.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 32 National Defense 4 2014-07-01 2013-07-01 true Crime rate reporting. 635.33 Section 635.33 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY (CONTINUED) LAW ENFORCEMENT AND CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTING Army Quarterly Trends and Analysis Report § 635.33 Crime...

32 CFR 635.33 - Crime rate reporting.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 32 National Defense 4 2012-07-01 2011-07-01 true Crime rate reporting. 635.33 Section 635.33 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY (CONTINUED) LAW ENFORCEMENT AND CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTING Army Quarterly Trends and Analysis Report § 635.33 Crime...

32 CFR 635.33 - Crime rate reporting.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 32 National Defense 4 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Crime rate reporting. 635.33 Section 635.33 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY (CONTINUED) LAW ENFORCEMENT AND CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTING Army Quarterly Trends and Analysis Report § 635.33 Crime...

32 CFR 635.33 - Crime rate reporting.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 32 National Defense 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Crime rate reporting. 635.33 Section 635.33 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY (CONTINUED) LAW ENFORCEMENT AND CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTING Army Quarterly Trends and Analysis Report § 635.33 Crime...

Relationships of US youth homicide victims and their offenders, 1976-1999.

PubMed

Moskowitz, Harry; Laraque, Danielle; Doucette, John T; Shelov, Eric

2005-04-01

Homicide is the second leading cause of death in children aged 0 to 19 years. Tailoring violence prevention programs to high-risk individuals requires understanding victim-offender relationships. To elucidate differences in the relationships between homicide victims aged 0 to 19 years and their offenders. Cross-sectional study using the Uniform Crime Reports: Supplemental Homicide Reports, 1976-1999. The Supplemental Homicide Reports contain incident-level information about criminal homicides, including location and victim and offender characteristics. National coverage is approximately 92%; 70 258 victims were studied. Differences in the relationships of homicide victims and offenders based on sex, age, population of homicide location, and weapon. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) are reported. Using strangers as the referent group, murdered girls were 3.6 (95% CI, 3.4-3.9) times more likely to have been killed by family members and 21.3 (95% CI, 18.5-24.4) times more likely to have been killed by intimate partners than murdered boys. Victims younger than 10 years were 33 (95% CI, 30.4-36.1) times more likely than victims older than 10 years to have been killed by a family member and 2.4 (95% CI, 2.2-2.6) times more likely to have been killed by someone else known to them. Stranger homicides occurred in areas with approximately 145 000 more residents (P<.01). Handguns were more likely to be used during homicides committed by strangers (P<.01). These associations remained after adjusting for potential confounders. Future violence prevention programs may have more effect when targeted to specific sex and age groups. Elucidation of the origins of sex differences, focus on evidence-based child abuse prevention efforts, and enforcement of current gun control laws may help reduce the number of homicides among children.

In search for the grave of 100 Poles executed on March 20, 1942 in Zgierz, Poland - research by SIGO (Network for Genetic Identification of Victims).

PubMed

Jacewicz, Renata; Ossowski, Andrzej; Ławrynowicz, Olgierd; Jędrzejczyk, Maciej; Prośniak, Adam; Bąbol-Pokora, Katarzyna; Diepenbroek, Marta; Szargut, Maria; Zielińska, Grażyna; Berent, Jarosław

2017-01-01

It can be reasonably assumed that remains exhumed in 2012 and 2013 during archaeological explorations conducted in the Lućmierz Forest, an important area on the map of the German Nazi terror in the region of Lodz (Poland), are in fact the remains of a hundred Poles murdered by the Nazis in Zgierz on March 20, 1942. By virtue of a decision of the Polish Institute of National Remembrance's Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes Against the Polish Nation, the verification of this research hypothesis was entrusted to SIGO (Network for Genetic Identification of Victims) Consortium appointed by virtue of an agreement of December 11, 2015. The Consortium is an extension of the PBGOT (Polish Genetic Database of Totalitarianisms Victims). So far, the researchers have retrieved 14 DNA profiles from among the examined remains, including 12 male and 2 female profiles. Furthermore, 12 DNA profiles of the victims' family members have been collected. Due to the fact that next-of-kin relatives of the victims of the Zgierz massacre are of advanced age, it is of key importance to collect genetic material as soon as possible from the other surviving family members, identified on the basis of a list of victims that has been nearly completely compiled by the Polish Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) and is presented in this paper.

Social Capital, Social Control, and Changes in Victimization Rates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hawdon, James; Ryan, John

2009-01-01

A neighborhood-level model of crime that connects the central dimensions of social capital with specific forms of social control is developed. The proposed model is tested using a structural equation model that predicts changes in empirical Bayes log odds of neighborhood victimization rates between 2000 and 2001 in 41 neighborhoods in South…

Generic and crime type specific correlates of youth crime: a Finnish population-based study.

PubMed

Elonheimo, Henrik; Sourander, Andre; Niemelä, Solja; Helenius, Hans

2011-09-01

The aim of this study was to examine the psychosocial correlates of various crime types among adolescent males born in Finland in 1981. Data on crime registered in the Finnish National Police Register between 1998 and 2001 were received for 2,866 boys, of whom 81% (n = 2,330) filled in a questionnaire at obligatory military call-up at age 18 in 1999. Crime was divided into five types: drug, violent, property, traffic, and drunk driving offences. Of the 2,866 boys, 23% had been registered for offending; 4% for drug, 7% for violent, 11% for property, 11% for traffic, and 5% for drunk driving offences during the 4-year period in late adolescence. All the crime types correlated with each other and shared many of the psychosocial problems. Small community size, parents' divorce, aggressiveness, daily smoking, and weekly drunkenness were generic correlates of crime, being independently related to various crime types. The results support general rather than specific accounts of youth crime. In particular, measures moderating the adverse effects of divorce, alleviating parental adversities and supporting parenthood, and tackling substance abuse seem relevant in social and criminal policy because they address psychosocial problems characterizing youth crime in general.

Network exposure and homicide victimization in an African American community.

PubMed

Papachristos, Andrew V; Wildeman, Christopher

2014-01-01

We estimated the association of an individual's exposure to homicide in a social network and the risk of individual homicide victimization across a high-crime African American community. Combining 5 years of homicide and police records, we analyzed a network of 3718 high-risk individuals that was created by instances of co-offending. We used logistic regression to model the odds of being a gunshot homicide victim by individual characteristics, network position, and indirect exposure to homicide. Forty-one percent of all gun homicides occurred within a network component containing less than 4% of the neighborhood's population. Network-level indicators reduced the association between individual risk factors and homicide victimization and improved the overall prediction of individual victimization. Network exposure to homicide was strongly associated with victimization: the closer one is to a homicide victim, the greater the risk of victimization. Regression models show that exposure diminished with social distance: each social tie removed from a homicide victim decreased one's odds of being a homicide victim by 57%. Risk of homicide in urban areas is even more highly concentrated than previously thought. We found that most of the risk of gun violence was concentrated in networks of identifiable individuals. Understanding these networks may improve prediction of individual homicide victimization within disadvantaged communities.

Childhood victimization experiences of young adults in St. Petersburg, Russia.

PubMed

Bogolyubova, Olga; Skochilov, Roman; Smykalo, Lyubov

2015-04-01

The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of childhood victimization experiences in a sample of young adults in St. Petersburg, Russia. The study sample included 743 students aged 19 to 25 from 15 universities in St. Petersburg, Russia. All of the study participants completed a reliable questionnaire assessing the following types of childhood victimization: conventional crime, child maltreatment, peer victimization, sexual victimization, and witnessing violence. Participation in the study was anonymous. High rates of victimization and exposure to violence were reported by the study participants. The majority of the sample experienced at least one type of victimization during childhood or adolescence, and poly-victimization was reported frequently. The most common type of victimization reported was peer or sibling assault (66.94%), followed by witnessing an assault without weapon (63.91%), personal theft (56.19%), vandalism (56.06%), and emotional bullying (49.99%). Sexual assault by a known adult was reported by 1.45% males and 5.16% of females. This study provides new information on the scope of childhood victimization experiences in Russia. Further research is warranted, including epidemiological research with representative data across the country and studies of the impact of trauma and victimization on mental health and well-being of Russian adults and children. © The Author(s) 2014.

The Different Faces of Impulsivity as Links between Childhood Maltreatment and Young Adult Crime

PubMed Central

Shin, Sunny H.; Cook, Amy K.; Morris, Nancy A.; McDougle, Robyn; Groves, Lauren Peasley

2016-01-01

Crime is a major public health and safety threat. Many studies have suggested that early exposure to child maltreatment increases an individual's risk for persistent serious crime in adulthood. Despite these findings about the connection between child maltreatment and criminal behavior, there is a paucity of empirically-based knowledge about the processes or pathways that link child maltreatment to later involvement in crime. Using a community sample of 337 young adults (ages 18-25) in a U.S. metropolitan area, the present study examined the role of various facets of impulsivity in linking child maltreatment to crime. A series of factor analyses identified three types of crime including property crime, violent crime, and fraud. Structural equation modelings were conducted to examine the associations among childhood maltreatment, four facets of impulsivity, and criminal behavior, controlling for sociodemographic information, family income and psychological symptoms. The present study found that child emotional abuse was indirectly related to property crime and fraud through urgency while a lack of premeditation mediates the relationship between child neglect and property crime. Child physical abuse was directly related to all three types of crime. Personality traits of urgency and lack of premeditation may play a significant role in the maltreatment-crime link. Preventive interventions targeting impulsivity traits such as urgency and a lack of premeditation might have promising impacts in curbing criminal behavior among maltreatment victims. PMID:27083525

Internet-facilitated commercial sexual exploitation of children: findings from a nationally representative sample of law enforcement agencies in the United States.

PubMed

Mitchell, Kimberly J; Jones, Lisa M; Finkelhor, David; Wolak, Janis

2011-03-01

This article explores the variety of ways in which the Internet is used to facilitate the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) and provides national incidence estimates for the number of arrests involving such technology-facilitated crimes in 2006. The National Juvenile Online Victimization Study is a nationally representative longitudinal study of more than 2,500 local, county, state, and federal law enforcement agencies across the United States. The current article utilizes Wave 2 data, which surveyed arrests in 2006 for Internet-related sex crimes against minors. Detailed data were collected via telephone interviews with investigators about 1,051 individual arrest cases. Findings show that an estimated 569 arrests for Internet-facilitated commercial sexual exploitation of children (IF-CSEC) occurred in the United States in 2006. Offenders in IF-CSEC cases fell into two main categories: (1) those who used the Internet to purchase or sell access to identified children for sexual purposes including child pornography (CP) production (36% of cases), and (2) those who used the Internet to purchase or sell CP images they possessed but did not produce (64% of cases). Offenders attempting to profit from child sexual exploitation were more likely than those who were purchasing to have (a) prior arrests for sexual and nonsexual offenses, (b) a history of violence, (c) produced CP, (d) joined forces with other offenders, and (e) involved female offenders. Although the number of arrests for IF-CSEC crimes is relatively small, the victims of these crimes are a high-risk subgroup of youth, and the offenders who try to profit from these crimes are particularly concerning from a child welfare perspective.

Evaluation of Teens, Crime & the Community, 1992.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Social Program Evaluators and Consultants, Inc., Bingham Farms, MI.

Since 1985, the National Crime Prevention Council and the National Institute for Citizen Education in the Law have been supporting the implementation of the Teens, Crime, and the Community (TCC) curriculum for use in a variety of settings. The curriculum is intended for teenagers aged 14 to 18. The 1992 evaluation was an outgrowth of smaller…

[Student tragedy. Forensic-psychiatric and legal medicine aspects of an unusual crime].

PubMed

Cabanis, D; Bratzke, H

1985-01-01

The unusual circumstances of the violent killing of an 18-year-old girl by her 18.8-years-old schoolfriend led us to undertake a forensic-psychiatric analysis of the offence action as well as a presentation of legal-medical points of view. The crime, which can be classified as a collective lover crime for which there is no parallel in the literature, was only solved 9 months later when one of the two delinquents confessed a further offence. The killing was planned and prepared, the victim being buried hurriedly in a previously made hole in a wood after she had been strangled.

What Works to Reduce Victimization? Synthesizing What We Know and Where to Go From Here.

PubMed

Fox, Kathleen A; Shjarback, John A

2016-01-01

While some attention has been paid to "what works" to reduce crime, little is known about the effectiveness of programs designed to reduce victimization. This study systematically reviews 83 program evaluations to identify what works to (a) reduce victimization, (b) enhance beliefs/attitudes about victims, and (c) improve knowledge/awareness of victimization issues. Evidence-based findings are organized around 4 major forms of victimization, including bullying, intimate partner violence, sexual abuse, and other general forms of victimization. Determining whether certain types of programs can reduce the risk of victimization has important implications for improving people's quality of life. Based on our findings, we offer several promising directions for the next generation of research on evaluating victimization programs. The goal of this study is to improve the strength of future program evaluations, replications, and other systematic reviews as researchers and practitioners continue to learn what works to reduce victimization.

The Arc's Justice Advocacy Guide: An Advocate's Guide on Assisting Victims and Suspects with Intellectual Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arc of the United States, 2006

2006-01-01

Injustice affects us all, whether we are directly or indirectly touched by it. For example, if a rapist is never convicted of his crime because the victim has a disability and is not considered a credible witness in court, he will not be prosecuted and will go on raping without fear of the consequences... and the next victim could be your child,…

Violent Victimization Among Disadvantaged Young Adults Exposed to Early Family Conflict and Abuse: A 24-Year Prospective Study of the Victimization Cycle Across Gender.

PubMed

Voith, Laura A; Topitzes, James; Reynolds, Arthur J

2016-01-01

Significant associations between childhood victimization and later revictimization have materialized in previous literature; yet, the victimization cycle has been primarily explored with indicators of sexual assault, although insight into linkages between other forms of victimization remains limited. This study examined connections from family conflict exposure and physical abuse in childhood to violent crime victimization in adulthood, assessing also gender differences and neighborhood influences. Results from logistic regression and hierarchical linear modeling with data from the Chicago Longitudinal Study, a panel of 1,539 low-income, ethnic/racial minority children, unearthed a significant relation between family conflict exposure and later revictimization. Moderated by gender, these analyses showed girls exposed to frequent family conflict are particularly vulnerable to revictimization in adulthood. Exploratory analyses unveiled a potential linkage between childhood physical abuse and later revictimization for men. Neighborhood effects marginally influenced results in one instance. Public health implications are discussed.

[Forensic procedures for interview physical exam and evidence collection in children and young people victims of physical and/or sexual abuse].

PubMed

Magalhães, Teresa; Ribeiro, Cristina Silveira; Jardim, Patrícia; Vieira, Duarte Nuno

2011-01-01

The public nature of child abuse crime (domestic violence, maltreatment and sexual crimes) implies the opening of a criminal enquiry as soon as facts likely to be considered as such are known. Professionals who suspect of these cases are considered mandatory reporters as is the case of health care professionals. The work with abused children and youth involves several courses of action between institutions, namely as to the starting procedures to follow in case triage, reporting of suspicion, diagnosis and preservation of evidence for penal purposes, as well as to the protection of the victim(s), all of which still lack a clear definition in Portugal. Several professionals often take part simultaneously in these early procedures and it is crucial that their own personal intervention be articulated with one another's. With the aim of promoting that adequate articulation between the professionals and the acting services, technical orientations to be followed have to be established, namely as far as the articulation between the medicolegal services and the health care services are concerned. These orientations should aim at: ruling the reporting of the occurrence in good time; guarantee an appropriate collection of evidence; guarantee good medical procedures in medical exams and evidence collection; avoid repetition of exams of the victims, preventing secondary victimisation and cross-contamination of child report. Based on the internationally accepted rules for the matter and taking into consideration the Portuguese reality, namely in legal terms, the authors made a proposition concerning the procedures for the intervention in such cases that are herewith presented and were approved as General Recommendations for the Examination in Cases of Suspicion of Domestic Violence, Maltreatment or Sexual Crime Against Children by the National Institute of Legal Medicine, in January 2010. These were later confirmed by the Specialty College of Legal Medicine of the Medical Board

Homicides of Children and Youth. Crimes against Children Series. Juvenile Justice Bulletin.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Finkelhor, David; Ormrod, Richard

This bulletin, part of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's "Crimes against Children Series," draws on FBI and other data to provide a statistical portrait of juvenile homicide victimization, asserting that homicide is the only major cause of childhood deaths that has increased over the past 3 decades. The bulletin…

Youth exposure to violence prevention programs in a national sample.

PubMed

Finkelhor, David; Vanderminden, Jennifer; Turner, Heather; Shattuck, Anne; Hamby, Sherry

2014-04-01

This paper assesses how many children and youth have had exposure to programs aimed at preventing various kinds of violence perpetration and victimization. Based on a national sample of children 5-17, 65% had ever been exposed to a violence prevention program, 55% in the past year. Most respondents (71%) rated the programs as very or somewhat helpful. Younger children (5-9) who had been exposed to higher quality prevention programs had lower levels of peer victimization and perpetration. But the association did not apply to older youth or youth exposed to lower quality programs. Disclosure to authorities was also more common for children with higher quality program exposure who had experienced peer victimizations or conventional crime victimizations. The findings are consistent with possible benefits from violence prevention education programs. However, they also suggest that too few programs currently include efficacious components. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Overlap of Witnessing Partner Violence with Child Maltreatment and Other Victimizations in a Nationally Representative Survey of Youth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hamby, Sherry; Finkelhor, David; Turner, Heather; Ormrod, Richard

2010-01-01

Objective: To examine the co-occurrence of witnessing partner violence with child maltreatment and other forms of victimization. Method: Data are from the National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV), a nationally representative telephone survey of the victimization experiences of 4,549 youth aged 0-17. Results: Witnessing partner…

Anatomical departments in Bavaria and the corpses of executed victims of National Socialism.

PubMed

Noack, Thorsten

2012-06-01

While it is known that the bodies of executed victims of National Socialism (NS) were used for anatomical research and teaching, detailed studies are still missing for many anatomical departments. This analysis focuses on the institutes in Bavaria. From 1933 on the institutes of Munich, Würzburg and Erlangen were actively involved in and competed over the procurement of bodies of NS victims, particularly between 1937 and 1941. While the body supply was sufficient thereafter it became again critical in the first years after the war. During that period, anatomists complained about a lack of bodies for dissection courses and tended to use the corpses remaining from the NS-period for teaching purposes. Their position was supported by the popular view that resistance fighters were seen as traitors to the Fatherland and not as honorable political victims. At the same time, relatives and aid organizations were in search of the dead victims of German terror. These conflicting interests created a situation full of tension, in which Philipp Auerbach, state commissioner for religious, political and racial victims of the Nazis in Bavaria, played a crucial role. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Information about morality and behaviour of victims.

PubMed

Pannain, B; Pannain, M; Mininni, T; Albino, M

1990-01-01

According to the Italian Law of Procedure (1988) documents which inform about the morality of the guilty, the witness and the victim are not admitted; those about the victim are admitted only when the criminal event needs to be evaluated in relation to his/her behaviour and moral qualities. In our opinion, in this case, generic moral qualities do not have any real significance; only information about the victim's objective behaviour should be admitted: for instance, in the case of the crime of "corruption of a minor", a type of objective behaviour can be habitual prostitution. Moreover, the norm at issue contrasts with the general principle in the Italian law that the rights concerning the personality of an individual, particularly of a minor, are to be protected, and with the fundamental norm in the law of Procedure according to which criminological examinations are not allowed during the trial. It is useful, however, to acquire elements in order to evaluate the credibility of the witness.

Crime Control Act of 1990 [29 November 1990]. [Summary].

PubMed

1990-01-01

In the US, the Crime Control Act of 1990 was approved on November 29, 1990. This various titles of this Act include provisions relating to the following: 1) international money laundering; 2) child abuse; 3) child pornography; 4) kidnapping, abducting, or unlawfully restraining a child; 5) the protection of crime victims; 6) funding for local law enforcement agencies; 7) funding for federal law enforcement; 8) rural drug enforcement assistance; 9) mandatory detention for certain criminals; 10) juvenile justice; 11) penalties for use of certain firearms; 12) improvements in miscellaneous criminal law; 13) disability benefits for public safety officers; 14) money laundering; 15) drug-free school zones; 16) miscellaneous amendments to the federal judicial and criminal codes; 17) general provisions; 18) grants for correctional options; 19) control of anabolic steroids; 20) asset forfeiture; 21) student loan cancellation for law enforcement officers; 22) firearms provisions; 23) chemical diversion and trafficking; 24) drug paraphernalia; 25) banking law enforcement; 26) licit opium imports; 27) sentencing for methamphetamine offenses; 28) drug enforcement grants; 29) prisons; 30) shock incarceration (prison boot camps); 31) bankruptcy and restitution; 32) appropriations for law and drug enforcement agencies; 33) anti-drug programs; 34) support of law enforcement; 35) technical and minor substantive amendments to the federal criminal code; 36) federal debt collection; and 37) national child search assistance (for missing children).

Network Exposure and Homicide Victimization in an African American Community

PubMed Central

Wildeman, Christopher

2014-01-01

Objectives. We estimated the association of an individual’s exposure to homicide in a social network and the risk of individual homicide victimization across a high-crime African American community. Methods. Combining 5 years of homicide and police records, we analyzed a network of 3718 high-risk individuals that was created by instances of co-offending. We used logistic regression to model the odds of being a gunshot homicide victim by individual characteristics, network position, and indirect exposure to homicide. Results. Forty-one percent of all gun homicides occurred within a network component containing less than 4% of the neighborhood’s population. Network-level indicators reduced the association between individual risk factors and homicide victimization and improved the overall prediction of individual victimization. Network exposure to homicide was strongly associated with victimization: the closer one is to a homicide victim, the greater the risk of victimization. Regression models show that exposure diminished with social distance: each social tie removed from a homicide victim decreased one’s odds of being a homicide victim by 57%. Conclusions. Risk of homicide in urban areas is even more highly concentrated than previously thought. We found that most of the risk of gun violence was concentrated in networks of identifiable individuals. Understanding these networks may improve prediction of individual homicide victimization within disadvantaged communities. PMID:24228655

Beyond residential mobility: A broader conceptualization of instability and its impact on victimization risk among children.

PubMed

Merrick, Melissa T; Henly, Megan; Turner, Heather A; David-Ferdon, Corinne; Hamby, Sherry; Kacha-Ochana, Akadia; Simon, Thomas R; Finkelhor, David

2018-05-01

Predictability in a child's environment is a critical quality of safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments, which promote wellbeing and protect against maltreatment. Research has focused on residential mobility's effect on this predictability. This study augments such research by analyzing the impact of an instability index-including the lifetime destabilization factors (LDFs) of natural disasters, homelessness, child home removal, multiple moves, parental incarceration, unemployment, deployment, and multiple marriages--on childhood victimizations. The cross-sectional, nationally representative sample of 12,935 cases (mean age = 8.6 years) was pooled from 2008, 2011, and 2014 National Surveys of Children's Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV). Logistic regression models controlling for demographics, socio-economic status, and family structure tested the association between excessive residential mobility, alone, and with LDFs, and past year childhood victimizations (sexual victimization, witnessing community or family violence, maltreatment, physical assault, property crime, and polyvictimization). Nearly 40% of the sample reported at least one LDF. Excessive residential mobility was significantly predictive of increased odds of all but two victimizations; almost all associations were no longer significant after other destabilizing factors were included. The LDF index without residential mobility was significantly predictive of increased odds of all victimizations (AOR's ranged from 1.36 to 1.69), and the adjusted odds ratio indicated a 69% increased odds of polyvictimization for each additional LDF a child experienced. The LDF index thus provides a useful alternative to using residential moves as the sole indicator of instability. These findings underscore the need for comprehensive supports and services to support stability for children and families. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Beyond residential mobility: A broader conceptualization of instability and its impact on victimization risk among children☆

PubMed Central

Merrick, Melissa T.; Henly, Megan; Turner, Heather A.; David-Ferdon, Corinne; Hamby, Sherry; Kacha-Ochana, Akadia; Simon, Thomas R.; Finkelhor, David

2018-01-01

Predictability in a child’s environment is a critical quality of safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments, which promote wellbeing and protect against maltreatment. Research has focused on residential mobility’s effect on this predictability. This study augments such research by analyzing the impact of an instability index—including the lifetime destabilization factors (LDFs) of natural disasters, homelessness, child home removal, multiple moves, parental incarceration, unemployment, deployment, and multiple marriages–on childhood victimizations. The cross-sectional, nationally representative sample of 12,935 cases (mean age = 8.6 years) was pooled from 2008, 2011, and 2014 National Surveys of Children’s Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV). Logistic regression models controlling for demographics, socio-economic status, and family structure tested the association between excessive residential mobility, alone, and with LDFs, and past year childhood victimizations (sexual victimization, witnessing community or family violence, maltreatment, physical assault, property crime, and polyvictimization). Nearly 40% of the sample reported at least one LDF. Excessive residential mobility was significantly predictive of increased odds of all but two victimizations; almost all associations were no longer significant after other destabilizing factors were included. The LDF index without residential mobility was significantly predictive of increased odds of all victimizations (AOR’s ranged from 1.36 to 1.69), and the adjusted odds ratio indicated a 69% increased odds of polyvictimization for each additional LDF a child experienced. The LDF index thus provides a useful alternative to using residential moves as the sole indicator of instability. These findings underscore the need for comprehensive supports and services to support stability for children and families. PMID:29558715

The different faces of impulsivity as links between childhood maltreatment and young adult crime.

PubMed

Shin, Sunny H; Cook, Amy K; Morris, Nancy A; McDougle, Robyn; Groves, Lauren Peasley

2016-07-01

Crime is a major public health and safety threat. Many studies have suggested that early exposure to child maltreatment increases an individual's risk for persistent serious crime in adulthood. Despite these findings about the connection between child maltreatment and criminal behavior, there is a paucity of empirically-based knowledge about the processes or pathways that link child maltreatment to later involvement in crime. Using a community sample of 337 young adults (ages 18-25) in a U.S. metropolitan area, the present study examined the role of various facets of impulsivity in linking child maltreatment to crime. A series of factor analyses identified three types of crime including property crime, violent crime, and fraud. Structural equation modelings were conducted to examine the associations among childhood maltreatment, four facets of impulsivity, and criminal behavior, controlling for sociodemographic information, family income and psychological symptoms. The present study found that child emotional abuse was indirectly related to property crime and fraud through urgency while a lack of premeditation mediates the relationship between child neglect and property crime. Child physical abuse was directly related to all three types of crime. Personality traits of urgency and lack of premeditation may play a significant role in the maltreatment-crime link. Preventive interventions targeting impulsivity traits such as urgency and a lack of premeditation might have promising impacts in curbing criminal behavior among maltreatment victims. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Measuring adolescents’ exposure to victimization: The Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study

PubMed Central

Fisher, Helen L.; Caspi, Avshalom; Moffitt, Terrie E.; Wertz, Jasmin; Gray, Rebecca; Newbury, Joanne; Ambler, Antony; Zavos, Helena; Danese, Andrea; Mill, Jonathan; Odgers, Candice L.; Pariante, Carmine; Wong, Chloe C.; Arseneault, Louise

2016-01-01

This paper presents mutlilevel findings on adolescents’ victimization exposure from a large longitudinal cohort of twins. Data were obtained from the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study, an epidemiological study of 2,232 children (1,116 twin pairs) followed to 18 years of age (with 93% retention). To assess adolescent victimization we combined best practices in survey research on victimization with optimal approaches to measuring life stress and traumatic experiences, and introduce a reliable system for coding severe victimization. One in three children experienced at least one type of severe victimization during adolescence (crime victimization, peer/sibling victimization, internet/mobile phone victimization, sexual victimization, family violence, maltreatment, or neglect), and most types of victimization were more prevalent amongst children from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Exposure to multiple victimization types was common, as was re-victimization; over half of those physically maltreated in childhood were also exposed to severe physical violence in adolescence. Biometric twin analyses revealed that environmental factors had the greatest influence on most types of victimization, while severe physical maltreatment from caregivers during adolescence was predominantly influenced by heritable factors. The findings from this study showcase how distinct levels of victimization measurement can be harmonized in large-scale studies of health and development. PMID:26535933

Effects of defendant and victim race on perceptions of juvenile sex offenders.

PubMed

Stevenson, Margaret C; Sorenson, Katlyn M; Smith, Amy C; Sekely, Ady; Dzwairo, Rukudzo A

2009-01-01

We investigated effects of defendant race, victim race, and juror gender on public perceptions of a juvenile sex offense. We predicted that participants, particularly men, would support registering a juvenile defendant as a sex offender more when he was Black than White and that participants, particularly women, would support registering the defendant more when the female crime victim was portrayed as White than as Black. We also expected that support for registration would be higher when the defendant and victim were different races than when they were the same race. As expected, women (but not men) recommended registration more when the victim was White than Black. Further, participants supported registration more when the defendant and the victim were different races than when they were the same race. These effects were mediated by retributive goals to punish the offender-not by utilitarian goals to protect society. Explanations and implications are discussed.

Receipt of Post-Rape Medical Care in a National Sample of Female Victims

PubMed Central

Zinzow, Heidi M.; Resnick, Heidi S.; Barr, Simone C.; Danielson, Carla K.; Kilpatrick, Dean G.

2014-01-01

Background It is important for rape victims to receive medical care to prevent and treat rape-related diseases and injuries, access forensic exams, and connect to needed resources. Few victims seek care, and factors associated with post-rape medical care–seeking are poorly understood. Purpose The current study examined prevalence and factors associated with post-rape medical care–seeking in a national sample of women who reported a most-recent or only incident of forcible rape, and drug- or alcohol-facilitated/incapacitated rape when they were aged ≥14 years. Methods A national sample of U.S. adult women (N=3001) completed structured telephone interviews in 2006, and data for this study were analyzed in 2011. Logistic regression analyses examined demographic variables, health, rape characteristics, and post-rape concerns in relation to post-rape medical care–seeking among 445 female rape victims. Results A minority of rape victims (21%) sought post-rape medical attention following the incident. In the final multivariate model, correlates of medical care included black race, rape-related injury, concerns about sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy concerns, and reporting the incident to police. Conclusions Women who experience rapes consistent with stereotypic scenarios, acknowledge the rape, report the rape, and harbor health concerns appear to be more likely to seek post-rape medical services. Education is needed to increase rape acknowledgment, awareness of post-rape services that do not require formal reporting, and recognition of the need to treat rape-related health problems. PMID:22813683

Crime, Violence, Discipline, and Safety in U.S. Public Schools. Findings from the School Survey on Crime and Safety: 2009-10. First Look. NCES 2011-320

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neiman, Samantha

2011-01-01

The National Center for Education Statistics collects data on crime and violence in U.S. public schools through the School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS). This First Look report presents findings from the 2009-10 School Survey on Crime and Safety data collection. Developed and managed by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)…

Criminal Narrative Experience: Relating Emotions to Offence Narrative Roles During Crime Commission.

PubMed

Ioannou, Maria; Canter, David; Youngs, Donna

2017-10-01

A neglected area of research within criminality has been that of the experience of the offence for the offender. The present study investigates the emotions and narrative roles that are experienced by an offender while committing a broad range of crimes and proposes a model of criminal narrative experience (CNE). Hypotheses were derived from the circumplex of emotions, Frye, narrative theory, and its link with investigative psychology. The analysis was based on 120 cases. Convicted for a variety of crimes, incarcerated criminals were interviewed and the data were subjected to smallest space analysis (SSA). Four themes of CNE were identified: Elated Hero, Calm Professional, Distressed Revenger, and Depressed Victim in line with the recent theoretical framework posited for narrative offence roles. The theoretical implications for understanding crime on the basis of the CNE as well as practical implications are discussed.

The Intersection of Gender Identity and Violence: Victimization Experienced by Transgender College Students.

PubMed

Griner, Stacey B; Vamos, Cheryl A; Thompson, Erika L; Logan, Rachel; Vázquez-Otero, Coralia; Daley, Ellen M

2017-08-01

College students disproportionately experience victimization, stalking, and relationship violence when compared with other groups. Few studies explore victimization by the gender identity of college students, including those who identify as transgender. The purpose of this study is to explore the rates of violence experienced by transgender students compared with male and female college students. This study utilized the National College Health Assessment-II (NCHA-II) and included data from students ( n = 82,538) across fall 2011, 2012, and 2013. Bivariate statistics and binary logistic regression were conducted to test the relationships between gender identity and victimization. Transgender students ( n = 204) were compared with male ( n = 27,322) and female ( n = 55,012) students. After adjusting for individual factors, transgender students had higher odds of experiencing all nine types of violence when compared with males and higher odds of experiencing eight types of violence than females. Transgender students experienced the highest odds in crimes involving sexual victimization, including attempted sexual penetration (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 9.49, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [6.17, 14.59], d = 1.00), sexual penetration without consent (aOR: 9.06, 95% CI = [5.64, 14.53], d = 0.94), and being in a sexually abusive relationship (aOR: 6.48, 95% CI = [4.01, 10.49], d = 0.48), than did male students. Findings reveal increased odds of victimization among transgender students when compared with male and female students. Results demonstrate the need for more comprehensive violence prevention efforts in college settings.

Stalking: terrorism at our doors--how social workers can help victims fight back.

PubMed

Spitz, Mary-Ann Leitz

2003-10-01

Stalking is a dangerous and devastating crime that irrevocably changes the lives of victims but is frequently misunderstood and minimized. Victims report that their lives are never the same after they have been stalked. Stalking is prevalent and gender-neutral and occurs across all socioeconomic lines and in all clinical settings. The prevalence of stalking provides many opportunities for social workers to intervene, but first they must recognize and understand the problem. This article explains common misconceptions about stalking, contains a brief discussion of the types of stalking, the elements necessary to criminally charge someone with stalking, strategies for the victims, and suggestions for future research.

Estimating the risk of crime and victimisation in people with intellectual disability: a data-linkage study.

PubMed

Nixon, Margaret; Thomas, Stuart D M; Daffern, Michael; Ogloff, James R P

2017-05-01

People with intellectual disability (PWID) appear more likely to be victims and perpetrators of crime. However, extant evidence pertaining to these risks is limited by methodological weaknesses and the absence of consistent operational definitions. This research aimed to estimate the prevalence of criminal histories and victimisation using a large, well-defined sample of PWID. A case-linkage study was conducted comprising 2220 PWID registered with disability services in Victoria, Australia, whose personal details were linked with a state-wide police database. Criminal charges and reports of victimisation were compared to a non-disabled community comparison sample (n = 2085). PWID were at increased risk of having a history of criminal charges, particularly for violent and sexual offences. Although the non-disabled comparison group had a greater risk of criminal victimisation overall, PWID had a greatly increased risk of sexual and violent crime victimisation. PWID are at increased risk of victimisation and perpetration of violent and sexual crimes. Risk of sex offending and victimisation is particularly elevated, and signalling the need for specialised interventions to prevent offending and to ensure victims is assisted with access to justice, support, and treatment.

National Hate Crimes Hotline Act of 2014

THOMAS, 113th Congress

Rep. Israel, Steve [D-NY-3

2014-07-08

House - 09/02/2014 Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations. (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status IntroducedHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

[Do daily newspapers of former West and East Germany cover crime in a different way?].

PubMed

Liebl, Karlhans

2007-01-01

The question investigated in the presented paper is whether crime is discussed differently in the media of former East and West Germany, how it is weighted and whether the real crime situation provides an explanation for any differences in press coverage. The study showed that there are no significant differences in the press coverage and that violent crime is not overrepresented. Coverage of offences like robbery, damage to property, sexual assaults or bodily injury, which are also categorized as violent crime, was of average frequency, so that again there was no overrepresentation in the newspapers of the two cities compared in this study (Stuttgart and Dresden). Surprisingly, sexual offences such as rape or sexual abuse played a minor role in the daily newspapers. Further interesting results of the analysis were that offences in the field of "intelligent crime" (e. g. white-collar crime) were of no importance in the print media, whereas the number of reports on crimes for which the general public assumes a higher probability to become a victim itself (e. g. burglary and robbery) was disproportionately high in relation to the recorded number of cases. Reports on drug offences played a more important role in the newspapers analyzed by us than violent crime.

The Violent and Sexual Victimization of College Women: Is Repeat Victimization a Problem?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daigle, Leah E.; Fisher, Bonnie S.; Cullen, Francis T.

2008-01-01

Little attention has been given to repeat violent and sexual victimization among college women. Using two national-level data sets, the authors find that a small proportion of college women experience a large proportion of violent and sexual victimizations. Women are more likely to experience repeat sexual victimization than repeat violence…

The role of stalking in domestic violence crime reports generated by the Colorado Springs Police Department.

PubMed

Tjaden, P; Thoennes, N

2000-01-01

A review of 1,785 domestic violence crime reports generated by the Colorado Springs Police Department found that 1 in 6 (16.5 percent) contained evidence the suspect stalked the victim. Female victims were significantly more likely than male victims to allege stalking by their partners (18.3 vs. 10.5 percent). Most stalkers were former rather than current intimates. Regardless of victims' gender, reports with stalking allegations were significantly less likely to mention physical abuse or victim injury in the presenting condition, to involve households with children, or to involve victims and suspects who were using alcohol at the time of the report. Female victims who alleged stalking by their partner were significantly less likely than female victims who did not allege stalking to be emotionally distraught at the time of the report, but significantly more likely to have an active restraining order against the suspect, and to sign releases to facilitate the police investigation. Police almost never charged domestic violence stalking suspects with stalking, preferring instead to charge them with harassment or violation of a restraining order.

At-School Victimization and Violence Exposure Assessed in a National Household Survey of Children and Youth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Finkelhor, David; Vanderminden, Jennifer; Turner, Heather; Shattuck, Anne; Hamby, Sherry

2016-01-01

This national household telephone survey of youth and parents assessed exposure to a broad range of at-school victimizations among a representative sample of 3,391 children and youth ages 5 to 17. Nearly half the sample (48%) had been exposed to at least one form of victimization at school during the past year (in 2011), most of which was…

Crime, Teenage Abortion, and Unwantedness

PubMed Central

Shoesmith, Gary L.

2015-01-01

This article disaggregates Donohue and Levitt’s (DL’s) national panel-data models to the state level and shows that high concentrations of teenage abortions in a handful of states drive all of DL’s results in their 2001, 2004, and 2008 articles on crime and abortion. These findings agree with previous research showing teenage motherhood is a major maternal crime factor, whereas unwanted pregnancy is an insignificant factor. Teenage abortions accounted for more than 30% of U.S. abortions in the 1970s, but only 16% to 18% since 2001, which suggests DL’s panel-data models of crime/arrests and abortion were outdated when published. The results point to a broad range of future research involving teenage behavior. A specific means is proposed to reconcile DL with previous articles finding no relationship between crime and abortion. PMID:28943645

Stalking. Part II: Victims' problems with the legal system and therapeutic considerations.

PubMed

Abrams, K M; Robinson, G E

1998-06-01

This paper is the second of 2 parts reviewing the topic of stalking. It focuses on victims difficulties with the legal system and the psychotherapeutic tasks for victims and therapists. Computerized literature searches were used to identify relevant papers from psychiatric and legal journals. Publications by victims' and women's organizations provided additional information. Victims suffer emotional consequences from being stalked. Additional stress is caused by the legal system's lack of understanding of the causes and consequences of stalking and inadequate and unenforced laws. The treatment of victims requires a comprehensive approach, including education, supportive psychotherapy, and discussion of practical measures. Therapists may overidentify with the patient's powerlessness or hesitate to take on a case out of fear of the stalker. Female therapists may protect themselves against the realization of their own vulnerability by blaming the victim, while male therapists may feel defensive or overprotective. Stalking is a crime with major mental health consequences which is often poorly understood by society. Therapists need to be aware of the victim's emotional reactions, the types of legal and practical supports available, and the possible biases of society. Further education and research should be encouraged.

The association between school exclusion, delinquency and subtypes of cyber- and F2F-victimizations: identifying and predicting risk profiles and subtypes using latent class analysis.

PubMed

Barboza, Gia Elise

2015-01-01

This purpose of this paper is to identify risk profiles of youth who are victimized by on- and offline harassment and to explore the consequences of victimization on school outcomes. Latent class analysis is used to explore the overlap and co-occurrence of different clusters of victims and to examine the relationship between class membership and school exclusion and delinquency. Participants were a random sample of youth between the ages of 12 and 18 selected for inclusion to participate in the 2011 National Crime Victimization Survey: School Supplement. The latent class analysis resulted in four categories of victims: approximately 3.1% of students were highly victimized by both bullying and cyberbullying behaviors; 11.6% of youth were classified as being victims of relational bullying, verbal bullying and cyberbullying; a third class of students were victims of relational bullying, verbal bullying and physical bullying but were not cyberbullied (8%); the fourth and final class, characteristic of the majority of students (77.3%), was comprised of non-victims. The inclusion of covariates to the latent class model indicated that gender, grade and race were significant predictors of at least one of the four victim classes. School delinquency measures were included as distal outcomes to test for both overall and pairwise associations between classes. With one exception, the results were indicative of a significant relationship between school delinquency and the victim subtypes. Implications for these findings are discussed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Violent Crime Against the Elderly: A New Jersey Perspective. Hearing before the Select Committee on Aging. House of Representatives, Ninety-Ninth Congress, First Session (Plainfield, NJ).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. House Select Committee on Aging.

This document contains testimony from a Congressional hearing held in New Jersey to examine violent crime against the elderly. Opening statements are presented from committee members Matthew J. Rinaldo, William J. Hughes, Christopher H. Smith, and Dan Mica. Four panels of witnesses testify: (1) two elderly victims of violent crime; (2) federal,…

Phishing for suitable targets in the Netherlands: routine activity theory and phishing victimization.

PubMed

Leukfeldt, E Rutger

2014-08-01

This article investigates phishing victims, especially the increased or decreased risk of victimization, using data from a cybercrime victim survey in the Netherlands (n=10,316). Routine activity theory provides the theoretical perspective. According to routine activity theory, several factors influence the risk of victimization. A multivariate analysis was conducted to assess which factors actually lead to increased risk of victimization. The model included background and financial data of victims, their Internet activities, and the degree to which they were "digitally accessible" to an offender. The analysis showed that personal background and financial characteristics play no role in phishing victimization. Among eight Internet activities, only "targeted browsing" led to increased risk. As for accessibility, using popular operating systems and web browsers does not lead to greater risk, while having up-to-date antivirus software as a technically capable guardian has no effect. The analysis showed no one, clearly defined group has an increased chance of becoming a victim. Target hardening may help, but opportunities for prevention campaigns aimed at a specific target group or dangerous online activities are limited. Therefore, situational crime prevention will have to come from a different angle. Banks could play the role of capable guardian.

Child and Youth Victimization Known to Police, School, and Medical Authorities. National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence. Juvenile Justice Bulletin

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Finkelhor, David; Ormrod, Richard; Turner, Heather; Hamby, Sherry

2012-01-01

Considerable efforts have been made during the last generation to encourage children and their families to report victimization to authorities. Nonetheless, concern persists that most childhood victimization remains hidden. The 2008 inventory of childhood victimization--the National Study of Children's Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV)--allowed an…

Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2009. NCES 2010-012/NCJ 228478

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dinkes, Rachel; Kemp, Jana; Baum, Katrina

2009-01-01

A joint effort by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and National Center for Education Statistics, this annual report examines crime occurring in school as well as on the way to and from school. It provides the most current detailed statistical information to inform the Nation on the nature of crime in schools. This report presents data on crime at…

The emotional male victim: effects of presentation mode on judged credibility.

PubMed

Landström, Sara; Ask, Karl; Sommar, Charlotte

2015-02-01

The emotional victim effect (EVE, i.e., that the emotionality of a victim's demeanor affects perceived credibility) is a robust research finding for female victims of rape but much less explored for other types of victims and crimes. In this article, we investigate the EVE with a male assault complainant. In addition, we vary the presentation mode via which the complainant is shown to the assessors. A sample of law students (N = 81) participated in an experiment where they viewed and assessed credibility of a male complainant who appeared either live or on video. The complainant behaved either in an emotional or a neutral manner. Result showed that the presentation mode but not the EVE affected the assessors' credibility assessments: The complainant was perceived as more truthful when communicating live, as opposed to via video. Practical implications, as well as the generality of the EVE, are discussed. © 2014 Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

22 CFR 40.5 - Limitations on the use of National Crime Information Center (NCIC) criminal history information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... Information Center (NCIC) criminal history information. 40.5 Section 40.5 Foreign Relations DEPARTMENT OF... Center (NCIC) criminal history information. (a) Authorized access. The FBI's National Crime Information Center (NCIC) criminal history records are law enforcement sensitive and can only be accessed by...

22 CFR 40.5 - Limitations on the use of National Crime Information Center (NCIC) criminal history information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... Information Center (NCIC) criminal history information. 40.5 Section 40.5 Foreign Relations DEPARTMENT OF... Center (NCIC) criminal history information. (a) Authorized access. The FBI's National Crime Information Center (NCIC) criminal history records are law enforcement sensitive and can only be accessed by...

22 CFR 40.5 - Limitations on the use of National Crime Information Center (NCIC) criminal history information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... Information Center (NCIC) criminal history information. 40.5 Section 40.5 Foreign Relations DEPARTMENT OF... Center (NCIC) criminal history information. (a) Authorized access. The FBI's National Crime Information Center (NCIC) criminal history records are law enforcement sensitive and can only be accessed by...

22 CFR 40.5 - Limitations on the use of National Crime Information Center (NCIC) criminal history information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... Information Center (NCIC) criminal history information. 40.5 Section 40.5 Foreign Relations DEPARTMENT OF... Center (NCIC) criminal history information. (a) Authorized access. The FBI's National Crime Information Center (NCIC) criminal history records are law enforcement sensitive and can only be accessed by...

22 CFR 40.5 - Limitations on the use of National Crime Information Center (NCIC) criminal history information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... Information Center (NCIC) criminal history information. 40.5 Section 40.5 Foreign Relations DEPARTMENT OF... Center (NCIC) criminal history information. (a) Authorized access. The FBI's National Crime Information Center (NCIC) criminal history records are law enforcement sensitive and can only be accessed by...

2011 Workplace and Equal Opportunity Survey of Reserve Component Members: Qualitative Analysis on Extremist Groups, Hate Crimes, and Gangs

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-06-15

sometimes victims of crimes such as vandalism , robbery, property defacement, and assault because of their military affiliation.  “The problems are with the...are targeted with vandalism , Military Members personal property is being damaged.” —USMCR, male, senior enlisted, White  “I live near [LOCATION...White  “There are young teenagers that are in the gangs. Some of these teens do crimes such as theft or trespassing.” —ANG, male, senior

Gun Theft and Crime.

PubMed

Cook, Philip J

2018-06-01

Some law enforcement officials and other observers have asserted that theft is the primary source of guns to crime. In fact, the role of theft in supplying the guns used in robbery, assault, and murder is unknown, and current evidence provides little guidance about whether an effective program to reduce gun theft would reduce gun violence. The current article analyzes publicly available national data on gun theft together with a unique data set for Chicago. The results tend to support a conclusion that stolen guns play only a minor role in crime. First, publicly available data are used to calculate that thefts are only about 1% of all gun transactions nationwide. Second, an analysis of original data from Chicago demonstrates that less than 3% of crime guns recovered by the police have been reported stolen to the Chicago Police Department (CPD). If a gun is reported stolen, there is a 20% chance that it will be recovered, usually in conjunction with an arrest for illegal carrying. Less than half of those picked up with a stolen gun have a criminal record that includes violent offenses. Third, results from surveys of convicted criminals, both nationally and in Chicago, suggest that it is rare for respondents to have stolen the gun used in their most recent crime. The data on which these results are based have various shortcomings. A research agenda is proposed that would provide more certainty about the role of theft.

Assessing the Role of Context on the Relationship Between Adolescent Marijuana Use and Property Crimes in Mexico.

PubMed

Vilalta, Carlos Javier; Allmang, Skye

2017-01-28

A limited amount of research has been conducted on the association between marijuana use and adolescent crime in developing countries such as Mexico, where crime rates are high and marijuana use is increasing. To examine the association between the frequency of marijuana use and the likelihood of committing of a property crime, and to identify contextual factors explaining individual differences in the likelihood of committing a property crime. The contribution of marijuana use to property crimes was examined based on two nationwide probabilistic surveys of public high school students, using a multilevel mixed effects logistic regression model. Marijuana use significantly increased the odds of committing a property crime. Differences between schools were observed in the random effects of marijuana use, suggesting that the likelihood of committing a property crime was differentially affected by contextual factors. In addition, students who were victims of bullying by peers and who had parents that abused alcohol had higher odds of committing a property crime. Perceived disorder in students' schools and neighborhoods also increased students' odds of reporting that they had committed a property crime. The importance of the effect of school context on the relationship between marijuana use and the commission of a property crime among Mexican public high school students seemed to increase over time. However, these results may also be due to changes in sampling designs over time.

78 FR 66954 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comments Requested Methodological...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-07

... DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Office of Justice Programs [OMB No. 1121-NEW] Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comments Requested Methodological Research To Support the National Crime... related to the National Crime Victimization Survey Redesign Research (NCVS-RR) program: Methodological...

Mental Health Correlates of the Victim-Perpetrator Relationship among Interpersonally Victimized Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawyer, Steven R.; Ruggiero, Kenneth J.; Resnick, Heidi S.; Kilpatrick, Dean G.; Saunders, Benjamin E.

2006-01-01

This research examines mental health correlates of different victim-perpetrator relationships among adolescent victims of interpersonal violence. A large and nationally representative sample of adolescents (N = 4,023) responded to structured telephone interviews concerning mental health functioning (posttraumatic stress disorder--PTSD, major…

Cross-National Data on Victims of Bullying: What Is Really Being Measured?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Peter K.; Robinson, Susanne; Marchi, Barbara

2016-01-01

There are four sources of large-scale self-report survey data on victim rates, cross-nationally. These are EU Kids Online, Global School Health Survey, Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, and Health Behaviour of School-aged Children. There are some differences in methodology between these surveys, but all use pupil self-report…

Urban Poverty and Neighborhood Effects on Crime: Incorporating Spatial and Network Perspectives

PubMed Central

Graif, Corina; Gladfelter, Andrew S.; Matthews, Stephen A.

2015-01-01

Research on neighborhoods and crime is on a remarkable growth trajectory. In this article, we survey important recent developments in the scholarship on neighborhood effects and the spatial stratification of poverty and urban crime. We advance the case that, in understanding the impact of neighborhoods and poverty on crime, sociological and criminological research would benefit from expanding the analytical focus from residential neighborhoods to the network of neighborhoods individuals are exposed to during their daily routine activities. This perspective is supported by reemerging scholarship on activity spaces and macro-level research on inter-neighborhood connections. We highlight work indicating that non-residential contexts add variation in criminogenic exposure, which in turn influence offending behavior and victimization risk. Also, we draw on recent insights from research on gang violence, social and institutional connections, and spatial mismatch, and call for advancements in the scholarship on urban poverty that investigates the salience of inter-neighborhood connections in evaluating the spatial stratification of criminogenic risk for individuals and communities. PMID:27375773

Individual and Family Predictors of the Perpetration of Dating Violence and Victimization in Late Adolescence

PubMed Central

Makin-Byrd, Kerry; Bierman, Karen L.

2012-01-01

Teen dating violence is a crime of national concern with approximately one-fourth of adolescents reporting victimization of physical, psychological, or sexual dating violence each year. The present study examined how aggressive family dynamics in both childhood and early adolescence predicted the perpetration of dating violence and victimization in late adolescence. Children (n=401, 43% female) were followed from kindergarten entry to the age of 18 years. Early adolescent aggressive-oppositional problems at home and aggressive-oppositional problems at school each made unique predictions to the emergence of dating violence in late adolescence. The results suggest that aggressive family dynamics during childhood and early adolescence influence the development of dating violence primarily by fostering a child’s oppositional-aggressive responding style initially in the home, which is then generalized to other contexts. Although this study is limited by weaknesses detailed in the discussion, the contribution of longitudinal evidence including parent, teacher, and adolescent reports from both boys and girls, a dual-emphasis on the prediction of perpetration and victimization, as well as an analysis of both relations between variables and person-oriented group comparisons combine to make a unique contribution to the growing literature on adolescent partner violence. PMID:22990881

SUSTAINED ABSTINENCE AND THE DRUG CRIME CONNECTION

PubMed Central

Tiburcio, Nelson Jose

2018-01-01

This article examines the impact of violence on individuals and communities pursuant to drug use and sales activities. It presents case study material from individuals that engaged in the opioid recovery process, and importantly, were able to desist from criminal activities, many of them potentially violent in nature. The article begins with a discussion of Victimology, within the contexts of drug use leading to violence or contributing in some way to the plight of the victim. It reflects on various self reported issues and concerns as expressed by four study participants. If one is to examine violence in its various forms, one needs to consider the victim. After all, violence and violent acts, in essence, require that there be a protagonist of some sort, but also a victim. All too often, the victim’s role in these activities is overlooked or given perfunctory consideration. In many cases, the players in these episodes sometimes don’t even realize they are also victims within a structural framework, that is, “they fall victim to the only opportunities at their disposal…” One of the study’s goals was to see how abstaining from drug use affected desistance and engagement in violent activities and the data suggest that indeed, the heroin crime connection also occurs in reverse. In this light, this article portrays a snapshot of some of the tools that enable ex-offenders re-entering various communities to experience successful prolonged abstinence, and avoid further involvement with the criminal justice system, as well as the danger and violence present within the drug dealing hierarchies. PMID:29743882

Teens, Crime, and the Community. 1995 Student Impact Assessment Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Social Science Education Consortium, Inc., Boulder, CO.

Since 1985, the National Crime Prevention Council and the National Institute for Citizen Education in the Law have collaborated to support the implementation of the Teens, Crime, and the Community (TCC) curriculum in schools, community-based organizations, and juvenile justice settings. The curriculum is intended for youth at seventh- through…

Understanding Gang Membership and Crime Victimization among Jail Inmates: Testing the Effects of Self-Control

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fox, Kathleen A.; Lane, Jodi; Akers, Ronald L.

2013-01-01

Although previous research has examined factors related to gang membership and offending, research on the relationship between gangs and victimization is limited. The present study builds on previous research and examines gang membership, victimization, and self-control among 2,414 jail inmates. Results from self-report surveys indicate that gang…

Underwater disaster victim identification: the process and the problems.

PubMed

Winskog, Calle

2012-06-01

An underwater disaster may involve a crime scene investigation which should be handled as if it were located above water and include a detailed description and documentation of items, belongings and findings. The environment, however, creates special circumstances, each with specific problems that are not encountered during land investigations. Risks associated with underwater recovery cannot be overestimated and underwater disaster recovery diving should not be performed without special training and careful pre-dive planning. Handling of cadavers in an underwater recovery operation also requires special training and a systematic approach to victim recovery. Environmental circumstances, local judicial requirements, religious and cultural issues and the scope of the disaster are only some of the factors that have to be considered before commencing any aquatic disaster victim recovery operation.

Attitudes and Reality: The Impact of Perceptions of Police on Students' Victimization Reporting Behaviors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

James, Jennifer Veronica

2010-01-01

The present study attempted to accurately measure crimes that occur on a college campus and whether students' perceptions of police influenced their decisions to report their victimization. A specific emphasis was placed on sexual assaults. Previous research has examined the reporting of sexual assault (Bachman, 1998; Sampson, 2002), sexual…

Elevated Prevalence of Suicide Attempts among Victims of Police Violence in the USA.

PubMed

DeVylder, Jordan E; Frey, Jodi J; Cogburn, Courtney D; Wilcox, Holly C; Sharpe, Tanya L; Oh, Hans Y; Nam, Boyoung; Link, Bruce G

2017-10-01

Recent evidence suggests that police victimization is widespread in the USA and psychologically impactful. We hypothesized that civilian-reported police victimization, particularly assaultive victimization (i.e., physical/sexual), would be associated with a greater prevalence of suicide attempts and suicidal ideation. Data were drawn from the Survey of Police-Public Encounters, a population-based survey of adults (N = 1615) residing in four US cities. Surveys assessed lifetime exposure to police victimization based on the World Health Organization domains of violence (i.e., physical, sexual, psychological, and neglect), using the Police Practices Inventory. Logistic regression models tested for associations between police victimization and (1) past 12-month suicide attempts and (2) past 12-month suicidal ideation, adjusted for demographic factors (i.e., gender, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, income), crime involvement, past intimate partner and sexual victimization exposure, and lifetime mental illness. Police victimization was associated with suicide attempts but not suicidal ideation in adjusted analyses. Specifically, odds of attempts were greatly increased for respondents reporting assaultive forms of victimization, including physical victimization (odds ratio = 4.5), physical victimization with a weapon (odds ratio = 10.7), and sexual victimization (odds ratio = 10.2). Assessing for police victimization and other violence exposures may be a useful component of suicide risk screening in urban US settings. Further, community-based efforts should be made to reduce the prevalence of exposure to police victimization.

Poly-victimization and risk of posttraumatic, depressive, and substance use disorders and involvement in delinquency in a national sample of adolescents.

PubMed

Ford, Julian D; Elhai, Jon D; Connor, Daniel F; Frueh, B Christopher

2010-06-01

Adolescents exposed to multiple forms of psychological trauma ("poly-victimization," Finkelhor et al. Child Abuse Negl 2007;31:7-26) may be at high risk for psychiatric and behavioral problems. This study empirically identifies trauma profiles in a national sample of adolescents to ascertain correlates of poly-victimization. Latent Class analyses and logistic regression analyses were used with data from the National Survey of Adolescents to identify trauma profiles and each profile's risk of posttraumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder, substance use disorders, and delinquency involvement and deviant peer group relationships. Poly-victimization classes were also compared to classes with trauma exposure of lesser complexity. Six mutually exclusive trauma profiles (latent classes) were identified. Four classes were characterized by high likelihood of poly-victimization, including abuse victims (8%), physical assault victims (9%), and community violence victims (15.5%). Poly-victimization class members, especially abuse and assault victims, were more likely than do youth traumatized by witnessing violence or exposure to disaster/accident trauma to have psychiatric diagnosis and (independent of psychiatric diagnoses or demographics) to be involved in delinquency with delinquent peers. Poly-victimization is prevalent among adolescents and places youth at high risk for psychiatric impairment and for delinquency. Moreover, poly-victimized youths' risk of delinquency cannot be fully accounted for by posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, or substance use problems, suggesting that adolescent healthcare providers should consider poly-victimization as a risk for behavioral and legal problems even when PTSD, depression, or addiction symptoms are not clinically significant. Copyright 2010 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Victimization and Violent Offending: An Assessment of the Victim-Offender Overlap Among Native American Adolescents and Young Adults

PubMed Central

Reingle, Jennifer M.; Maldonado-Molina, Mildred M.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this article is to evaluate the victim–offender overlap among a nationally representative sample of Native American adolescents and young adults. Data for this study were obtained from 338 Native American youth who participated in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) Waves I-IV. Group-based trajectory modeling was used to estimate trajectories of violence and victimization separately. Bivariate tests were used to assess the overlap between victimization and violent trajectory groups. Multinomial regression procedures were used to assess the predictors of victimization, offending, and the overlap category of both victimization and offending. Three trajectory groups were found for violence (nonviolent, escalators, and desistors) and victimization (nonvictim, decreasing victimization, and increasing victimization). We found substantial evidence of an overlap between victimization and offending among Native Americans, as 27.5% of the sample reported both victimization and offending. Those in the overlap group had greater number of risk factors present at baseline. These results suggest that the victim–offender overlap is present in Native American adolescents. Explanations and implications are discussed. PMID:24078778

Criminal victimization in childhood and adolescence according to official records: the Pelotas (Brazil) birth cohort study

PubMed Central

Giraldo Gallo, Erika Alejandra; Menezes, Ana Maria B.; Murray, Joseph; Duarte da Silva, Luciana Anselmi; Wehrmeister, Fernando César; Gonçalves, Helen; Barros, Fernando

2016-01-01

This article describes different types of officially recorded victimization among 5,249 children in the 1993 birth cohort in the city of Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. Official data were obtained from the Secretariat for Public Security and the Special Court for Children and Youth. Victimization was registered for in 1,150 cohort members, with 1,396 incidents recorded as of December 31, 2012. The total incidence of victimization was 15.7 ocorrences per 1,000 person-years, with the majority involving violent victimization (12.7 per 1,000 person-years). Victimization increased gradually in childhood and rapidly throughout adolescence. The highest incidence rates were among females (p < 0.05), the poor (p < 0.05), children of adolescent mothers (p < 0.001), and children of single mothers (p < 0.05). The most common violent victimization types were physical injuries, robbery, and crimes against personal freedom; non-violent victimization mainly involved theft. Studies like this help identify lifetime risk and protective factors for victimization, highlighting the importance of surveillance and control measures against violence. PMID:27580232

The Role of Cognition, Personality, and Trust in Fraud Victimization in Older Adults

PubMed Central

Judges, Rebecca A.; Gallant, Sara N.; Yang, Lixia; Lee, Kang

2017-01-01

Older adults are more at risk to become a victim of consumer fraud than any other type of crime (Carcach et al., 2001) but the research on the psychological profiles of senior fraud victims is lacking. To bridge this significant gap, we surveyed 151 (120 female, 111 Caucasian) community-dwelling older adults in Southern Ontario between 60 and 90 years of age about their experiences with fraud. Participants had not been diagnosed with cognitive impairment or a neurological disorder by their doctor and looked after their own finances. We assessed their self-reported cognitive abilities using the MASQ, personality on the 60-item HEXACO Personality Inventory, and trust tendencies using a scale from the World Values Survey. There were no demographic differences between victims and non-victims. We found that victims exhibit lower levels of cognitive ability, lower honesty-humility, and lower conscientiousness than non-victims. Victims and non-victims did not differ in reported levels of interpersonal trust. Subsequent regression analyses showed that cognition is an important component in victimization over and above other social factors. The present findings suggest that fraud prevention programs should focus on improving adults’ overall cognitive functioning. Further investigation is needed to understand how age-related cognitive changes affect vulnerability to fraud and which cognitive processes are most important for preventing fraud victimization. PMID:28450847

Intimate partner homicide and corollary victims in 16 states: National Violent Death Reporting System, 2003-2009.

PubMed

Smith, Sharon G; Fowler, Katherine A; Niolon, Phyllis H

2014-03-01

We estimated the frequency and examined the characteristics of intimate partner homicide and related deaths in 16 US states participating in the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS), a state-based surveillance system. We used a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods to analyze NVDRS data from 2003 to 2009. We selected deaths linked to intimate partner violence for analysis. Our sample comprised 4470 persons who died in the course of 3350 intimate partner violence-related homicide incidents. Intimate partners and corollary victims represented 80% and 20% of homicide victims, respectively. Corollary homicide victims included family members, new intimate partners, friends, acquaintances, police officers, and strangers. Our findings, from the first multiple-state study of intimate partner homicide and corollary homicides, demonstrate that the burden of intimate partner violence extends beyond the couple involved. Systems (e.g., criminal justice, medical care, and shelters) whose representatives routinely interact with victims of intimate partner violence can help assess the potential for lethal danger, which may prevent intimate partner and corollary victims from harm.

Unraveling the Determinants of Fear of Crime Among Men and Women in Istanbul: Examining the Impact of Perceived Risk and Fear of Sexual Assault.

PubMed

Özaşçılar, Mine; Ziyalar, Neylan

2017-07-01

Studies have examined university students' fear of crime focusing on the relationship between the fear of sexual assault and fear of other crimes, termed the shadow of sexual assault hypothesis; however, no study to date has examined the shadow thesis in a Turkish context. Drawing on the shadow thesis, using a sample of 723 university students in Istanbul, this study focuses on the effect of fear of sexual assault and perceived risk of crime to general fear of crime among university students in Istanbul. Also, the predictors of fear of crime are explored to examine the relationship between lifestyle characteristics, constrained behaviors, and fear. The findings of the study supported the shadow thesis, indicating that fear of sexual assault shaped the nonsexual crimes, especially crimes involving face-to-face confrontations between the victim and offender. Furthermore, lifestyle characteristics are correlated with the men's fear of nonsexual crimes, particularly fear of robbery, aggravated assault, and burglary home.

Victimization and adversity among children experiencing war-related parental absence or deployment in a nationally representative US sample.

PubMed

Turner, Heather A; Finkelhor, David; Hamby, Sherry; Henly, Megan

2017-05-01

This study compares children and youth who have experienced lifetime war-related parental absence or deployment with those having no such history on a variety of victimization types, non-victimization adversity, trauma symptoms, and delinquency; and assesses whether cumulative adversity and victimization help to explain elevated emotional and behavioral problems among children of parents who have experienced war-related absence or deployment. The National Surveys of Children's Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV) are comprised of three cross-sectional telephone surveys conducted in 2008, 2011, and 2014. Data were collected on the experiences of children aged one month to seventeen years. In each survey, interviews were conducted with youth 10-17 years old and with caregivers of children 0-9 years old. The analyses use pooled data from all three U.S. nationally-representative samples (total sample size of 13,052). Lifetime parental war-related absence or deployment was a marker for elevated childhood exposure to a wide array of victimization and adversity types. Cumulative past year exposure to multiple forms of victimization and adversity fully explained elevated trauma symptoms and delinquency in this population of children. Given the breadth of victimization and adversity risk, children with histories of parental war-related absence or deployment, as well as their families, represent important target groups for broad-based prevention and interventions to reduce exposure and ameliorate consequences when it does occur. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Canadian proposal for crimes against the environment: pollution as a criminal act

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shrader-Frechette, K.

1986-06-01

The author examines the proposal of the Law Reform Commission which would add crimes against the environment to Canada's Criminal Code. She discusses the possibility that making pollution a criminal rather than a civil offense would not reduce pollution or polluters. She suggests that polluters should be required to pay into a fund which could be used to compensate victims, and, further, that all liability limits should be removed.

Social change, institutional anomie, and serious property crime in transitional Russia

PubMed Central

Kim, Sang-Weon; Pridemore, William Alex

2006-01-01

This study examined socioeconomic change, social institutions, and serious property crime in transitional Russia. Durkheim’s anomie theory and recent research on violence in Russia led us to expect an association between negative socioeconomic change and property crime. Based upon institutional anomie theory, we also tested the hypothesis that the association between change and crime is conditioned by the strength of non-economic social institutions. Using crime data from the Russian Ministry of the Interior and an index of socioeconomic change, we used OLS regression to estimate cross-sectional models using the Russian regions (n=78) as the unit of analysis. Results surprisingly showed no effect of socioeconomic change on two different measures of robbery, only very limited support for the hypothesis of direct effects of social institutions on crime, and obviously no support for the hypothesis that institutions moderate the effect of change on crime. We interpret these findings in the context of transitional Russia and conclude that rigorous research in other nations is important in determining the generalizability of criminological theories developed to explain crime in Western nations. PMID:17372622

Implicit Social Cognitive Processes Underlying Victim Self and Identity: Evidence With College-Aged Adults.

PubMed

Sachs, Nicole M; Veysey, Bonita M; Rivera, Luis M

2017-11-01

Past research on victimization has relied predominantly on individuals' awareness of and willingness to self-report a victimization experience and its effect on self and identity processes. The present research adopts theoretical and methodological innovations in implicit social cognition research to provide a new perspective on how a violent victimization experience might influence identity processes outside of conscious awareness. Our main goal was to test whether individuals who have victimization experience implicitly associate the self with victims (implicit victim identity) and their stereotypes (implicit victim self-stereotyping), and the relation of these associations to explicit victim identity and self-stereotyping. Two pretests with undergraduate student participants ( Ns = 122 and 72) identified victim-related word stimuli for two Single Category Implicit Association Test (SC-IAT) measures of implicit victim identity and self-stereotyping. In Pretest Study A, participants read crime vignettes and listed words that described a victim, then in Pretest Study B, participants rated these words on victim relatedness and valence. The Main Study recruited undergraduate student participants ( N = 101) who completed the SC-IATs, self-report measures of explicit victim identity and self-stereotyping, and victimization experiences. Three of our five hypotheses were supported. Individuals with past victimization experience exhibited strong explicit victim identity and self-stereotyping, but not implicit victim identity and self-stereotyping, relative to those with no victimization experience. Explicit and implicit victim identity and self-stereotyping were unrelated. Finally, among individuals with victimization experience, a strong implicit victim identity was associated with strong implicit victim self-stereotyping. This research has implications for understanding the processes underlying revictimization and for preventing further victimization.

Gender Differences in the Routine Activities Associated With Risks for Larceny in South Korea.

PubMed

Moon, Byongook; Morash, Merry; Jeong, SeokJin; Yoon, Hae-Sung

2016-08-01

The present research uses data from the 2010 Korean National Criminal Victimization Survey to examine gender differences in larceny victimization and in predictors of victimization (i.e., target attractiveness, exposure to potential offenders, target hardening, guardianship, and proximity to crime and social disorder) identified by routine activity theory. The findings show no significant gender difference in general larceny victimization, suggesting that Korean females are just as likely to be victims of theft of personal belongings as males. Consistent with the theory, physical proximity to crime and social disorder are significant predictors of larceny victimization for both males and females. However, public transportation appears to have unexpected protective influences for both gender groups, showing the importance of differences in national context. Overall, the current research provides partial support for routine activity theory's applicability in explaining larceny victimization across gender groups outside of the Western context. It also raises questions about reasons for women's increasing larceny victimization rates in Korea. © The Author(s) 2015.

Geriatric Assault Victims Treated at U.S. Trauma Centers: Five-Year Analysis of the National Trauma Data Bank

PubMed Central

Rosen, Tony; Clark, Sunday; Bloemen, Elizabeth M.; Mulcare, Mary R.; Stern, Michael E.; Hall, Jeffrey E.; Flomenbaum, Neal; Lachs, Mark S.; Eachempati, Soumitra R.

2016-01-01

Introduction While geriatric trauma patients have begun to receive increased attention, little research has investigated assault-related injuries among older adults. Our goal was to describe characteristics, treatment, and outcomes of geriatric assault victims and compare them to geriatric victims of and younger accidental injury assault victims. Patients and Methods We conducted a retrospective analysis of the 2008–2012 National Trauma Data Bank. We identified cases of assault-related injury admitted to trauma centers in patients aged ≥60 using the variable “intent of injury.” Results 3,564 victims of assault-related injury in patients aged ≥60 were identified and compared to 200,194 geriatric accident victims and 94,511 assault victims aged 18–59. Geriatric assault victims were more likely than geriatric accidental injury victims to be male (81% vs. 47%) and were younger than accidental injury victims (67±7 vs. 74±9 years). More geriatric assault victims tested positive for alcohol or drugs than geriatric accident victims (30% vs. 9%). Injuries for geriatric assault victims were more commonly on the face (30%) and head (27%) than for either comparison group. Traumatic brain injury (34%) and penetrating injury (32%) occurred commonly. The median injury severity score (ISS) for geriatric assault victims was 9, with 34% having severe trauma (ISS≥16). Median length of stay was 3 days, 39% required ICU care, and in-hospital mortality was 8%. Injury severity was greater in geriatric than younger adult assault victims, and, even when controlling for injury severity, in-hospital mortality, length of hospitalization, and need for ICU-level care were significantly higher in older adults. Conclusions Geriatric assault victims have characteristics and injury patterns that differ significantly from geriatric accidental injury victims. These victims also have more severe injuries, higher mortality, and poorer outcomes than younger victims. Additional research

Geriatric assault victims treated at U.S. trauma centers: Five-year analysis of the national trauma data bank.

PubMed

Rosen, Tony; Clark, Sunday; Bloemen, Elizabeth M; Mulcare, Mary R; Stern, Michael E; Hall, Jeffrey E; Flomenbaum, Neal E; Lachs, Mark S; Eachempati, Soumitra R

2016-12-01

While geriatric trauma patients have begun to receive increased attention, little research has investigated assault-related injuries among older adults. Our goal was to describe characteristics, treatment, and outcomes of geriatric assault victims and compare them both to geriatric victims of accidental injury and younger assault victims. We conducted a retrospective analysis of the 2008-2012 National Trauma Data Bank. We identified cases of assault-related injury admitted to trauma centers in patients aged ≥60 using the variable "intent of injury." 3564 victims of assault-related injury in patients aged ≥60 were identified and compared to 200,194 geriatric accident victims and 94,511 assault victims aged 18-59. Geriatric assault victims were more likely than geriatric accidental injury victims to be male (81% vs. 47%) and were younger than accidental injury victims (67±7 vs. 74±9 years). More geriatric assault victims tested positive for alcohol or drugs than geriatric accident victims (30% vs. 9%). Injuries for geriatric assault victims were more commonly on the face (30%) and head (27%) than for either comparison group. Traumatic brain injury (34%) and penetrating injury (32%) occurred commonly. The median injury severity score (ISS) for geriatric assault victims was 9, with 34% having severe trauma (ISS≥16). Median length of stay was 3 days, 39% required ICU care, and in-hospital mortality was 8%. Injury severity was greater in geriatric than younger adult assault victims, and, even when controlling for injury severity, in-hospital mortality, length of hospitalization, and need for ICU-level care were significantly higher in older adults. Geriatric assault victims have characteristics and injury patterns that differ significantly from geriatric accidental injury victims. These victims also have more severe injuries, higher mortality, and poorer outcomes than younger victims. Additional research is necessary to improve identification of these victims and

76 FR 66086 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection, Comments Requested: Reinstatement...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-25

... Approved Collection for Which Approval Has Expired, Identity Theft Supplement (ITS) to the National Crime... approved collection for which approval has expired. (2) Title of the Form/Collection: Identity Theft... United States. The Identity Theft Supplement (ITS) to the National Crime Victimization Survey collects...

The impact of state laws protecting abortion clinics and reproductive rights on crimes against abortion providers: deterrence, backlash, or neither?

PubMed

Pridemore, William Alex; Freilich, Joshua D

2007-12-01

Since Roe v. Wade, most states have passed laws either restricting or further protecting reproductive rights. During a wave of anti-abortion violence in the early 1990s, several states also enacted legislation protecting abortion clinics, staff, and patients. One hypothesis drawn from the theoretical literature predicts that these laws provide a deterrent effect and thus fewer anti-abortion crimes in states that protect clinics and reproductive rights. An alternative hypothesis drawn from the literature expects a backlash effect from radical members of the movement and thus more crimes in states with protective legislation. We tested these competing hypotheses by taking advantage of unique data sets that gauge the strength of laws protecting clinics and reproductive rights and that provide self-report victimization data from clinics. Employing logistic regression and controlling for several potential covariates, we found null effects and thus no support for either hypothesis. The null findings were consistent across a number of different types of victimization. Our discussion contextualizes these results in terms of previous research on crimes against abortion providers, discusses alternative explanations for the null findings, and considers the implications for future policy development and research.

Black Women, Crime and Crime Prevention.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scott, Elsie L.

Several factors indicate that there is a relationship between economic conditions and crime among black women. Crime statistics show that outside of the misdemeanors of drunkenness and disorderly conduct, black women tend to be arrested for larceny and prostitution, both economic crimes. The fact that black women are at the bottom of the economic…

The costs of crime associated with stimulant use in a Canadian setting.

PubMed

Enns, Benjamin; Krebs, Emanuel; DeBeck, Kora; Hayashi, Kanna; Milloy, M-J; Richardson, Lindsey; Wood, Evan; Nosyk, Bohdan

2017-11-01

Costs attributable to criminal activity are a major component of the economic burden of substance use disorders, yet there is a paucity of empirical evidence on this topic. Our aim was to estimate the costs of crime associated with different forms and intensities of stimulant use. Retrospective cohort study, including individuals from three prospective cohorts in Vancouver, Canada, measured biannually (2011-2015), reporting stimulant use at baseline assessment. Monthly crime costs included policing, court, corrections, and criminal victimization (2016 CAD). We estimated monthly crime costs associated with mutually exclusive categories of crack, cocaine, methamphetamine, and polystimulant use, stratified by daily/non-daily use, relative to stimulant abstinence, as well as the independent effects of treatment (opioid agonist (OAT) and other addiction treatment). We used a two-part model, capturing the probability of criminal activity and costs of crime with generalized linear logistic and gamma regression models, respectively, controlling for age, gender, education, homelessness, mental health issues, employment, prior incarceration, alcohol and opioid use. The study sample included 1599 individuals (median age 39, 65.9% male) assessed over 5299 biannual interviews. Estimates of associated monthly crime costs ranged from $5449 [95% C.I.: $2180, $8719] for non-daily polystimulant use, to $8893 [$4196, $13,589] for daily polystimulant use. Cost differences between daily/non-daily use, injection/non-injection, and stimulant type were not statistically significant. Drug treatment was not associated with lower monthly crime costs in our sample. Substantial crime-related costs were associated with stimulant use, emphasizing the urgency for development and implementation of efficacious treatment regimens. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Technology-based interpersonal victimization: predictors of patterns of victimization over time.

PubMed

Korchmaros, Josephine D; Mitchell, Kimberly J; Ybarra, Michele L

2014-05-01

The objective of this study was to identify factors that could predict youth's future technology-based interpersonal victimization and the pattern of that future victimization over time. Data from Growing up With Media, a national, longitudinal, online study were analyzed. At baseline, participants (N = 1,018) were 10- to 15-year-old English speakers who had used the Internet at least once in the last 6 months. Twenty-nine percent reported repeat technology-based interpersonal victimization over a 2-year period (re-victimized group); 10% were victims during only Year 1 (desisted victimized group); and 17% reported victimization during only Year 2 (later victimized group). Of the individual risk factors examined, prior technology-based interpersonal victimization and current amount of Internet use had the strongest overall associations with pattern of technology-based interpersonal victimization over the subsequent 2-year period. There was substantial overlap among the individual risk factors. Thus, they could be thought of more simply in terms of four latent risk and three individual risk factors. On average, across these seven risk factors, repeat victims had the greatest average risk score (0.21) and the not victimized group had the lowest (-0.16). Repeat victims were more likely to be female and older and had more prior experience with problem behaviors, substance use, and negative parent-child relationships as compared with the other three groups. Being female, prior experience with problem behavior, prior substance use, and prior negative parent-child relationships were also associated with frequency of technology-based interpersonal victimization in the near (Year 1) and more distant (Year 2) future. Many of these risk factors related to technology-based victimization over time are malleable, suggesting opportunities for effective targeting of future prevention efforts.

Crime and Crime Management in Nigeria Tertiary Institutions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adebanjo, Margaret Adewunmi

2014-01-01

This paper examines crime and its management in Nigerian tertiary institutions. Tertiary institutions today have become arenas for crime activities such as rape, cultism, murder, theft, internet fraud, drug abuse, and examination malpractices. This paper delves into what crime is, and its causes; and the positions of the law on crime management.…

Victimization and perpetration of intimate partner violence and substance use disorders in a nationally representative sample.

PubMed

Afifi, Tracie O; Henriksen, Christine A; Asmundson, Gordon J G; Sareen, Jitender

2012-08-01

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between perpetration and victimization of physical and sexual intimate partner violence (IPV) in the past year and substance use disorders (SUDs) in the past year, including alcohol, sedatives/tranquilizers, cocaine, cannabis, and nicotine stratified according to sex. Data were from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. A series of adjusted logistic regression models were conducted. Among men and women, all types of SUDs were associated with increased odds of IPV perpetration (odds ranging from 1.4 to 8.5 adjusting for sociodemographic variables). IPV victimization increased the odds of having all types of SUDs for male and female victims, with the exception of sedatives/tranquilizer abuse/dependence among women (odds ranging from 1.5 to 6.0 adjusting for sociodemographic variables). Substances that had the most robust relationship with perpetration and victimization of IPV included alcohol and cannabis, after adjusting for sociodemographic variables, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, and mutual violence.

Lessons Learned: Conducting Research With Victims Portrayed in Sexual Abuse Images and Their Parents.

PubMed

Walsh, Wendy A; Wolak, Janis; Lounsbury, Kaitlin; Howley, Susan; Lippert, Tonya; Thompson, Lawrence

2016-03-27

Victims portrayed in sexual abuse images may be resistant to participate in research because of embarrassment or shame due to the sensitive nature and potential permanency of images. No studies we are aware of explore reactions to participating in research after this type of crime. Telephone interviews were conducted with convenience samples of parents (n= 46) and adolescents who were victims of child sexual abuse (n= 11; some of whom were portrayed in sexual abuse images), and online surveys were completed by adult survivors depicted in abuse images (N= 133). The first lesson was that few agencies tracked this type of crime. This lack of tracking raises the question as to what types of data should be collected and tracked as part of an investigation. The second lesson was that few victims at the two participating agencies had been portrayed in sexual abuse images (4%-5%). The third lesson was that once possible cases were identified, we found relatively high percentages of consent to contact and interview completions. This implies that researchers and service providers should not be hesitant about conducting research after an investigation of child sexual abuse. The fourth lesson was that the vast majority of participants reported not being upset by the questions. We hope that the data presented here will encourage agencies to reconsider the types of data being tracked and will encourage researchers to conduct in-depth research with populations that are often difficult to reach to continue improving the professional response to child victimization. © The Author(s) 2016.

76 FR 50758 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comments Requested-Reinstatement...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-16

... Approved Collection for Which Approval Has Expired, Identity Theft Supplement (ITS) to the National Crime... Form/Collection: Identity Theft Supplement (ITS) to the National Crime Victimization Survey. (3) Agency... administered to persons 16 years or older in NCVS sampled households in the United States. The Identity Theft...

Weapon Involvement in the Victimization of Children.

PubMed

Mitchell, Kimberly J; Hamby, Sherry L; Turner, Heather A; Shattuck, Anne; Jones, Lisa M

2015-07-01

To report the prevalence of weapons involved in the victimization of youth with particular emphasis on weapons with a "high lethality risk" and how such exposure fits into the broader victimization and life experiences of children and adolescents. Data were collected as part of the Second National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence, a nationally representative telephone survey of youth ages 2 to 17 years and caregivers (N = 4114) conducted in 2011. Estimates from the Second National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence indicate that almost 14 million youth, ages 2–17, in the United States have been exposed to violence involving a weapon in their lifetimes as witnesses or victims,or .1 in 5 children in this age group [corrected]. More than 2 million youth in the United States (1 in 33) have been directly assaulted in incidents where the high lethality risk weapons of guns and knives were used. Differences were noted between victimizations involving higher and lower lethality risk weapons as well as between any weapon involvement versus none. Poly-victims, youth with 7 or more victimization types, were particularly likely to experience victimization with any weapon, as well as victimization with a highly lethal weapon compared with nonpoly-victims. Findings add to the field's broadening conceptualization of youth victimization highlighting the potentially highly consequential risk factor of weapon exposure as a component of victimization experiences on the mental health of youth. Further work on improving gun safety practices and taking steps to reduce children's exposure to weapon-involved violence is warranted to reduce this problem. Copyright © 2015 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Sexual victimization among a national probability sample of adolescent women.

PubMed

Raghavan, Ramesh; Bogart, Laura M; Elliott, Marc N; Vestal, Katherine D; Schuster, Mark A

2004-01-01

Forced sexual intercourse is becoming more salient for adolescent women nationwide, but little is known about sexual revictimization and its mediators among adolescents in middle and high school. Data on 7,545 adolescent women who participated in both Wave 1 (April-December 1995) and Wave 2 (1996) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health were used in logistic regression analyses to identify predictors of completed forced sexual intercourse, estimate prevalence of sexual revictimization and determine mediators of the relationship between history of forced sex and sexual revictimization. At Wave 1, 7% of adolescent women reported having been forced into sexual intercourse. Of these, 8% were revictimized in the following year. In multivariate analyses, predictors of sexual victimization by Wave 1 included having been in a romantic relationship in the past 18 months (odds ratio, 2.1), having been exposed to violence in the past year (1.9), alcohol use in the last year (1.7), marijuana use in the last 30 days (1.5) and increasing levels of emotional distress (1.4). Predictors of sexual victimization between waves included having had sex by the first wave (2.3), alcohol use (2.0), recent cocaine use (4.7), rising levels of emotional distress (1.4) and genital touching within romantic relationships (2.7). Health care providers, teachers and school counselors can play key roles in identifying adolescent women at high risk for sexual victimization and revictimization by being attuned to adolescents' mental health symptoms, substance use and levels of sexual activity.

Problems in Education about Violence: Factors Affecting the Perceived Increase in Violent Crime.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mersky, Rebecca A.; Chambliss, Catherine

Although most national and regional statistics show that violent crimes have been declining, there is a widespread misperception among the public that such crimes are increasing. The Perception and Experience of Violent Crime survey, based on research on actual rates and perceptions of crime, was administered to subjects enrolled in a college…

Understanding the Cycle: Childhood Maltreatment and Future Crime

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Currie, Janet; Tekin, Erdal

2012-01-01

Child maltreatment is a major social problem. This paper focuses on measuring the relationship between child maltreatment and crime using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). We focus on crime because it is one of the most costly potential outcomes of maltreatment. Our work addresses two main limitations of…

Posttraumatic Anger, Recalled Peritraumatic Emotions, and PTSD in Victims of Violent Crime

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kunst, M. J. J.; Winkel, F. W.; Bogaerts, S.

2011-01-01

A mixed cross-sectional and longitudinal design was employed to explore the association between posttraumatic anger and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; symptoms) in victims of civilian violence. It was speculated that this relationship is mainly due to concurrent recalled peritraumatic emotions. Such emotions may be interpreted to result from…

Preventing Hate Crime and Profiling Hate Crime Offenders.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, James F.; Dyson, Laronistine; Brooks, Willie, Jr.

2002-01-01

Despite the Hate Crime Statistics Act, signed into law in 1990 to make hate crimes a federal offense, these types of crimes appear to be continuing in the new millennium. Provides hate crime statistics for 1996-98, presents theories on the cause and spread of hate, asserts that a general profile of those with a propensity to act on hate can be…

Geography of Crime and Its Relation to Location: The City of Balıkesir (Turkey)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aksoy, Erman

2017-10-01

A person cannot continue his/her own life without security which is one of the basic needs of the human being, for not only personal security but also the security of the persons’ living environment is of extreme importance. We can talk about the habitability and sustainability of the urban environment so long as the people may, in time and in place, freely select all their activities, such as their residence, work, education, shopping and entertainment options. On the other hand, it is well known that crime in the cities that create insecurity is directly related to urban areas and urban utilization. In the realization of an act of crime, the fact that the victim and the concepts of place are as much impactful as the convict indicates that the place where the crime is committed is, at least, as responsible as the person who commits the crime. Based on this fact, in this article, we shall attempt at identifying the reasons related to place by examining the relation between the factors that bring the crime into being and the urban utilization in the City of Balıkesir. Thus, in the fight against crime, the prevention of crime and/or its avoidance, which is not the duty and under the authority of only the law enforcement agency, the attention and also that of other disciplines (Sociology and Criminology) is invited to be focused on the effectiveness of urban planning.

Intimate Partner Homicide and Corollary Victims in 16 States: National Violent Death Reporting System, 2003–2009

PubMed Central

Fowler, Katherine A.; Niolon, Phyllis H.

2014-01-01

Objectives. We estimated the frequency and examined the characteristics of intimate partner homicide and related deaths in 16 US states participating in the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS), a state-based surveillance system. Methods. We used a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods to analyze NVDRS data from 2003 to 2009. We selected deaths linked to intimate partner violence for analysis. Results. Our sample comprised 4470 persons who died in the course of 3350 intimate partner violence–related homicide incidents. Intimate partners and corollary victims represented 80% and 20% of homicide victims, respectively. Corollary homicide victims included family members, new intimate partners, friends, acquaintances, police officers, and strangers. Conclusions. Our findings, from the first multiple-state study of intimate partner homicide and corollary homicides, demonstrate that the burden of intimate partner violence extends beyond the couple involved. Systems (e.g., criminal justice, medical care, and shelters) whose representatives routinely interact with victims of intimate partner violence can help assess the potential for lethal danger, which may prevent intimate partner and corollary victims from harm. PMID:24432943

Analysis of DNA Methylation in Young People: Limited Evidence for an Association Between Victimization Stress and Epigenetic Variation in Blood.

PubMed

Marzi, Sarah J; Sugden, Karen; Arseneault, Louise; Belsky, Daniel W; Burrage, Joe; Corcoran, David L; Danese, Andrea; Fisher, Helen L; Hannon, Eilis; Moffitt, Terrie E; Odgers, Candice L; Pariante, Carmine; Poulton, Richie; Williams, Benjamin S; Wong, Chloe C Y; Mill, Jonathan; Caspi, Avshalom

2018-06-01

DNA methylation has been proposed as an epigenetic mechanism by which early-life experiences become "embedded" in the genome and alter transcriptional processes to compromise health. The authors sought to investigate whether early-life victimization stress is associated with genome-wide DNA methylation. The authors tested the hypothesis that victimization is associated with DNA methylation in the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Study, a nationally representative 1994-1995 birth cohort of 2,232 twins born in England and Wales and assessed at ages 5, 7, 10, 12, and 18 years. Multiple forms of victimization were ascertained in childhood and adolescence (including physical, sexual, and emotional abuse; neglect; exposure to intimate-partner violence; bullying; cyber-victimization; and crime). Epigenome-wide analyses of polyvictimization across childhood and adolescence revealed few significant associations with DNA methylation in peripheral blood at age 18, but these analyses were confounded by tobacco smoking and/or did not survive co-twin control tests. Secondary analyses of specific forms of victimization revealed sparse associations with DNA methylation that did not replicate across different operationalizations of the same putative victimization experience. Hypothesis-driven analyses of six candidate genes in the stress response (NR3C1, FKBP5, BDNF, AVP, CRHR1, SLC6A4) did not reveal predicted associations with DNA methylation in probes annotated to these genes. Findings from this epidemiological analysis of the epigenetic effects of early-life stress do not support the hypothesis of robust changes in DNA methylation in victimized young people. We need to come to terms with the possibility that epigenetic epidemiology is not yet well matched to experimental, nonhuman models in uncovering the biological embedding of stress.

Alcohol, illegal drugs, violent crime, and traffic-related and other unintended injuries in U.S. local and national news.

PubMed

Slater, Michael D; Long, Marilee; Ford, Valerie L

2006-11-01

The present study seeks to establish the extent to which media coverage acknowledges alcohol's contribution to violent crime as well as to motor vehicle injuries and other injury incidents. The study content-analyzes a unique sample, closely approximating national representativeness, of local and national television news, local newspapers, and national magazines randomly sampled during a 2-year period. Alcohol's role in violent crime and, to a lesser extent, in motor vehicle and other injury incidents is underreported relative to available estimates regarding alcohol-attributable fractions. Relative frequency of various news frames for coverage of alcohol and illegal drugs and differences in coverage of alcohol and illegal drugs as a function of the type of story and news medium are described. The underreporting in the United States of alcohol's contribution to serious and fatal injury from these causes may reduce public perceptions of alcohol-related risks, potentially influencing behavior, including public support of alcohol-control policies. This provides an opportunity for media-advocacy approaches to improve public health content of news coverage.

75 FR 20893 - National Day of Service and Remembrance for Victims and Survivors of Terrorism, 2010

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-21

... Nation, and the human spirit. Terrorists prey on the innocent and vulnerable, and have nothing to offer..., and acts of community service in memory of the victims and survivors of terrorism worldwide. IN...

77 FR 50718 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comments Requested: Extension of a...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-22

...; Victims of Crime Act, Crime Victim Assistance Grant Program State Performance Report ACTION: 30-Day Notice... (OJP), Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) will be submitting the following information collection... Form/Collection: Victims of Crime Act, Crime Victim Assistance Grant Program, State Performance Report...

The Relationship of Campus Crime to Campus and Community Characteristics. AIR 1993 Annual Forum Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Volkwein, J. Fredericks; And Others

A study of campus crime trends from 1974 to 1990 examines the relationships between campus crime and college characteristics. The research drew on merged national databases containing federal crime statistics, community demographic data, and campus characteristics. The results show that campus rates of both violent crime and property crime are…

Are severely injured trauma victims in Norway offered advanced pre-hospital care? National, retrospective, observational cohort.

PubMed

Wisborg, T; Ellensen, E N; Svege, I; Dehli, T

2017-08-01

Studies of severely injured patients suggest that advanced pre-hospital care and/or rapid transportation provides a survival benefit. This benefit depends on the disposition of resources to patients with the greatest need. Norway has 19 Emergency Helicopters (HEMS) staffed by anaesthesiologists on duty 24/7/365. National regulations describe indications for their use, and the use of the national emergency medical dispatch guideline is recommended. We assessed whether severely injured patients had been treated or transported by advanced resources on a national scale. A national survey was conducted collecting data for 2013 from local trauma registries at all hospitals caring for severely injured patients. Patients were analysed according to hospital level; trauma centres or acute care hospitals with trauma functions. Patients with an Injury Severity Score (ISS) > 15 were considered severely injured. Three trauma centres (75%) and 17 acute care hospitals (53%) had data for trauma patients from 2013, a total of 3535 trauma registry entries (primary admissions only), including 604 victims with an ISS > 15. Of these 604 victims, advanced resources were treating and/or transporting 51%. Sixty percent of the severely injured admitted directly to trauma centres received advanced services, while only 37% of the severely injured admitted primarily to acute care hospitals received these services. A highly developed and widely distributed HEMS system reached only half of severely injured trauma victims in Norway in 2013. © 2017 The Authors. Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica Foundation.

77 FR 8278 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comments Requested: Extension of a...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-14

...; Victims of Crime Act, Crime Victim Assistance Grant Program Performance Report ACTION: 30-Day Notice of... for Victims of Crime (OVC) will be submitting the following information collection request to the.../Collection: Victims of Crime Act, Crime Victim Assistance Grant Program, Subgrant Award Report. (3) Agency...

Crime Victimization among Immigrant Latino Day Laborers in Post-Katrina New Orleans

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Negi, Nalini Junko; Cepeda, Alice; Valdez, Avelardo

2013-01-01

Reports indicate that the criminal victimization of Latino immigrants in the United States has been increasing yet is often underreported. This may be especially true in new immigrant settlement cities that lack an established Latino community to provide support and feelings of security. New Orleans is an important context to investigate criminal…

The Problem of Untested Sexual Assault Kits: Why Are Some Kits Never Submitted to a Crime Laboratory?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Patterson, Debra; Campbell, Rebecca

2012-01-01

Victims of sexual assault are often advised to seek postassault medical care to have a forensic exam, which includes evidence collection (termed a "sexual assault kit" [SAK]). After the exam, law enforcement personnel are supposed to submit the SAK to a crime laboratory for analysis. However, recent media reports suggest that in many communities…

Crime and Violence among MDMA Users in the United States

PubMed Central

Vaughn, Michael G.; Salas-Wright, Christopher P.; DeLisi, Matt; Perron, Brian E.; Cordova, David

2015-01-01

The question of whether MDMA use is associated with increased crime and violence has not been adequately explored especially in nationally representative samples. This study used data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) to assess the association between MDMA use and violent and non-violent antisocial behavior while controlling for sociodemographic variables, lifetime psychiatric, alcohol and drug use disorders, and family history of antisocial behavior. MDMA users, both male and female, were involved in a number of crimes in acts of violence including drunk driving, shoplifting, theft, intimate partner violence, and fighting. Notably, female MDMA users were more antisocial than male non-MDMA users. Although adjusting the results for numerous confounds attenuated the relationships, MDMA users were still at significantly greater odds of engaging in violent and nonviolent crime than non-MDMA users. Although MDMA has been considered a facilitator of empathy and closeness, the current study suggests a dark side as MDMA is associated with a broad array of crimes and transgressions. Additional tests of the MDMA-crime link are needed to properly inform policy. PMID:29546096

[Definition of crime and judiciary procedures].

PubMed

de Graëve, Loïc

2002-04-01

The word crime takes various definitions depending on the criminal, sociological, political, or even penal viewpoint. On the one hand, it relies upon various references which can be sizeable or superficial values, individual or collective values, moral or material values, national or universal values. On the other hand, the notion of crime gathers behaviours that are considered by the entire population and the legislator as the strongest violations of the fundamental interests of the human being, of the social group and of the state-controlled institutions. Despite the multiplicity of those meanings, repression of crime comes within the framework of a precise judiciary procedure, dooming to failure any attempt at arbitrary decisions. The unfolding proceedings in the assizes courts are the most obvious demonstrations of that.

DNA analysis of dental pulp to link incinerated remains of homicide victim to crime scene.

PubMed

Sweet, D J; Sweet, C H

1995-03-01

Teeth endure postmortem degradation and extreme changes in ambient temperature and pressure better than most human tissues. This ability to resist deterioration allows the teeth to be studied as a method of establishing the identity of a decedent. Additionally, dental hard tissues, and in some instances soft tissues, may provide investigators with other sources of forensic data. In this case, a female homicide victim was transported to a location where her remains were burned. The high temperatures of a gasoline fire effectively incinerated the body precluding deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) analysis from conventional sites. However, most of the teeth survived the conflagration. They were used to identify the victim. Additionally, the dental pulps were found to be an excellent source of high molecular weight genomic DNA. This proved to be an effective method to link the victim's body to biological evidence recovered from the site of the murder.

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime International Network of Drug Dependence Treatment and Rehabilitation Resource Centres: Treatnet

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tomas-Rossello, Juana; Rawson, Richard A.; Zarza, Maria J.; Bellows, Anne; Busse, Anja; Saenz, Elizabeth; Freese, Thomas; Shawkey, Mansour; Carise, Deni; Ali, Robert; Ling, Walter

2010-01-01

Key to the dissemination of evidence-based addiction treatments is the exchange of experiences and mutual support among treatment practitioners, as well as the availability of accurate addiction training materials and effective trainers. To address the shortage of such resources, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) created…

Student victimization by school staff in the context of an Israeli national school safety campaign.

PubMed

Khoury-Kassabri, Mona; Astor, Ron Avi; Benbenishty, Rami

2008-01-01

In this study, we examined and compared findings from four nationally representative studies of victimization of students by school staff in Israel. We explored whether levels of student victimization by school staff (teachers, principals, secretaries, janitors, etc.) have changed between 1998, 1999, 2002, and 2005, and whether patterns of group differences (gender, age, and cultural groups) were replicated across those four points in time. We employed representative samples stratified by ethnic affiliation and school levels. In 1998, there were 15,916 4th-11th grade students from 232 schools; in 1999, 16,414 4th-11th grade students from 239 schools; in 2002, 21,577 4th-11th grade students from 410 schools and in 2005, 27,316 4th-11th grade students from 526 schools across Israel. Overall, the results reveal that for the entire student population in Israel reports of victimization are quite similar across the four waves of data collection. Levels of physical victimization were consistently higher among boys and Arab students, but other group differences were less consistent, especially with regard to differences between age groups. (c) 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The Influence of Gender Ideology, Victim Resistance, and Spiking a Drink on Acquaintance Rape Attributions.

PubMed

Angelone, D J; Mitchell, Damon; Smith, Danielle

2016-02-24

The current study examined observer's attributions about the victim and perpetrator of an alleged acquaintance rape. Participants included 504 college students from a public university in the northeastern United States who read a brief crime report and completed a series of questionnaires for course credit. While men tended to attribute more blame to the victim than women, gender ideology emerged as a stronger predictor of rape attributions, and some types of sexist beliefs were associated with greater victim blaming and others with less victim blaming. Endorsement of hostile sexism, rape myths, and heterosexual intimacy was generally associated with the attribution of greater victim culpability, as well as less perpetrator culpability, perpetrator criminality, and victim credibility. However, complementary gender differentiation was associated with greater perpetrator culpability and criminality, while protective paternalism was associated with greater victim credibility. Observers attributed lower victim culpability and greater perpetrator criminality when the victim's drink was spiked, and attributed greater perpetrator culpability when the victim verbally resisted the perpetrator's advances. Given the implications that observer attitudes can have on professional and personal support for survivors, as well as juror decision making, the ongoing examination of the complex interplay between the person and situational factors affecting attributions of rape is essential. Sexual assault prevention programs may also benefit from a psychoeducational component that targets reducing traditional gender ideology. © The Author(s) 2016.

'Lowering the threshold of effective deterrence'-Testing the effect of private security agents in public spaces on crime: A randomized controlled trial in a mass transit system.

PubMed

Ariel, Barak; Bland, Matthew; Sutherland, Alex

2017-01-01

Supplementing local police forces is a burgeoning multibillion-dollar private security industry. Millions of formal surveillance agents in public settings are tasked to act as preventative guardians, as their high visibility presence is hypothesized to create a deterrent threat to potential offenders. Yet, rigorous evidence is lacking. We randomly assigned all train stations in the South West of England that experienced crime into treatment and controls conditions over a six-month period. Treatment consisted of directed patrol by uniformed, unarmed security agents. Hand-held trackers on every agent yielded precise measurements of all patrol time in the stations. Count-based regression models, estimated marginal means and odds-ratios are used to assess the effect of these patrols on crimes reported to the police by victims, as well as new crimes detected by police officers. Outcomes are measured at both specified target locations to which security guards were instructed to attend, as well as at the entire station complexes. Analyses show that 41% more patrol visits and 29% more minutes spent by security agents at treatment compared to control stations led to a significant 16% reduction in victim-generated crimes at the entirety of the stations' complexes, with a 49% increase in police-generated detections at the target locations. The findings illustrate the efficacy of private policing for crime prevention theory.

Young Men’s Suicidal Behavior, Depression, Crime, and Substance Use Risks Linked to Childhood Teasing

PubMed Central

Kerr, David C. R.; Gini, Gianluca; Capaldi, Deborah M.

2017-01-01

The consequences in adulthood of bullying, teasing, and other peer victimization experiences in childhood rarely have been considered in prospective studies. Studies of peer victimization are mixed regarding whether negative outcomes are explained by pre-existing child vulnerabilities. Furthermore, replication of prior studies with broader definitions and other methods and demographic groups is needed. Based on mother, father, and teacher reports at ages 10–12 years, we classified American boys (n = 206) from higher delinquency neighborhoods as perpetrators of teasing, victims, perpetrator–victims, or uninvolved (n = 26, 35, 29, and 116, respectively). Family income, parent and child depressive symptoms, and child antisocial behavior served as controls. Boys were assessed to age 34 years for suicide-attempt history (including death) and adult (ages 20–32 years) suicidal ideation, depressive symptoms, alcohol use, patterned tobacco and illicit drug use, and arrest. Relative to uninvolved boys, means or odds were higher for: suicide attempt among perpetrator–victims; all three groups for depressive symptoms and clinically significant symptoms; arrest for perpetrators and perpetrator–victims; number of arrests and violent arrest among perpetrator–victims; and patterned tobacco use among perpetrators and perpetrator–victims. With childhood vulnerabilities controlled, however, odds remained higher only for suicide attempt among perpetrator–victims, and criminal arrest and patterned tobacco use among perpetrators. Overall, childhood involvement in teasing predicted serious adverse outcomes in adulthood, in some cases beyond childhood risks. Programs that prevent peer victimization and identify already involved individuals for additional services may have positive impacts on the diverse public health problems of suicide, crime, depression, and tobacco use. PMID:28242365

Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2017. NCES 2018-036/NCJ 251413

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Anlan; Wang, Ke; Zhang, Jizhi; Kemp, Jana; Diliberti, Melissa; Oudekerk, Barbara A.

2018-01-01

A joint effort by the National Center for Education Statistics and the Bureau of Justice Statistics, this annual report examines crime occurring in schools and colleges. This report presents data on crime at school from the perspectives of students, teachers, principals, and the general population from an array of sources--the National Crime…

Young men's suicidal behavior, depression, crime, and substance use risks linked to childhood teasing.

PubMed

Kerr, David C R; Gini, Gianluca; Capaldi, Deborah M

2017-05-01

The consequences in adulthood of bullying, teasing, and other peer victimization experiences in childhood rarely have been considered in prospective studies. Studies of peer victimization are mixed regarding whether negative outcomes are explained by pre-existing child vulnerabilities. Furthermore, replication of prior studies with broader definitions and other methods and demographic groups is needed. Based on mother, father, and teacher reports at ages 10-12 years, we classified American boys (n=206) from higher delinquency neighborhoods as perpetrators of teasing, victims, perpetrator-victims, or uninvolved (n=26, 35, 29, and 116, respectively). Family income, parent and child depressive symptoms, and child antisocial behavior served as controls. Boys were assessed to age 34 years for suicide-attempt history (including death) and adult (ages 20-32 years) suicidal ideation, depressive symptoms, alcohol use, patterned tobacco and illicit drug use, and arrest. Relative to uninvolved boys, means or odds were higher for: suicide attempt among perpetrator-victims; all three groups for depressive symptoms and clinically significant symptoms; arrest for perpetrators and perpetrator-victims; number of arrests and violent arrest among perpetrator-victims; and patterned tobacco use among perpetrators and perpetrator-victims. With childhood vulnerabilities controlled, however, odds remained higher only for suicide attempt among perpetrator-victims, and criminal arrest and patterned tobacco use among perpetrators. Overall, childhood involvement in teasing predicted serious adverse outcomes in adulthood, in some cases beyond childhood risks. Programs that prevent peer victimization and identify already involved individuals for additional services may have positive impacts on the diverse public health problems of suicide, crime, depression, and tobacco use. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2013. NCES 2014-042/NCJ 243299

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robers, Simone; Kemp, Jana; Rathbun, Amy; Morgan, Rachel E.

2014-01-01

"Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2013" provides the most recent national indicators on school crime and safety. The information presented in this report is intended to serve as a reference for policymakers and practitioners so that they can develop effective programs and policies aimed at violence and school crime prevention.…

Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2008. NCES 2009-022/NCJ 226343

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dinkes, Rachel; Kemp, Jana; Baum, Katrina

2009-01-01

"Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2008" provides the most recent national indicators on school crime and safety. The information presented in this report is intended to serve as a reference for policymakers and practitioners so that they can develop effective programs and policies aimed at violence and school crime prevention. The…

Alcohol outlet business hours and violent crime in New York state.

PubMed

Schofield, Timothy P; Denson, Thomas F

2013-01-01

Alcohol-related harm places a significant strain on victims, perpetrators and society. The present research reports on how licensed alcohol outlet business hours may influence the reported incidence of interpersonal violence and the associated burden of disease. We examined the relationship between alcohol outlet business hours and violent crime in 2009 in New York State (excluding New York City). Regression analyses modeled the burden of disease for the violence associated with outlet business hours. Every 1 h increase in weekly outlet business hours was associated with a greater reported incidence of violent crimes generally, more reported aggravated assaults and more reported non-gun violence. The estimated cost from having licensed premises open after 1 a.m. was $194 million in 2009. The findings suggest that alcohol outlet business hours affect the incidence of reported violence even in regions that would not be considered to have severe problems with alcohol-fueled violence.

Antipsychotics, mood stabilisers, and risk of violent crime.

PubMed

Fazel, Seena; Zetterqvist, Johan; Larsson, Henrik; Långström, Niklas; Lichtenstein, Paul

2014-09-27

Antipsychotics and mood stabilisers are prescribed widely to patients with psychiatric disorders worldwide. Despite clear evidence for their efficacy in relapse prevention and symptom relief, their effect on some adverse outcomes, including the perpetration of violent crime, is unclear. We aimed to establish the effect of antipsychotics and mood stabilisers on the rate of violent crime committed by patients with psychiatric disorders in Sweden. We used linked Swedish national registers to study 82,647 patients who were prescribed antipsychotics or mood stabilisers, their psychiatric diagnoses, and subsequent criminal convictions in 2006-09. We did within-individual analyses to compare the rate of violent criminality during the time that patients were prescribed these medications versus the rate for the same patients while they were not receiving the drugs to adjust for all confounders that remained constant within each participant during follow-up. The primary outcome was the occurrence of violent crime, according to Sweden's national crime register. In 2006-09, 40,937 men in Sweden were prescribed antipsychotics or mood stabilisers, of whom 2657 (6·5%) were convicted of a violent crime during the study period. In the same period, 41,710 women were prescribed these drugs, of whom 604 (1·4 %) had convictions for violent crime. Compared with periods when participants were not on medication, violent crime fell by 45% in patients receiving antipsychotics (hazard ratio [HR] 0·55, 95% CI 0·47-0·64) and by 24% in patients prescribed mood stabilisers (0·76, 0·62-0·93). However, we identified potentially important differences by diagnosis-mood stabilisers were associated with a reduced rate of violent crime only in patients with bipolar disorder. The rate of violence reduction for antipsychotics remained between 22% and 29% in sensitivity analyses that used different outcomes (any crime, drug-related crime, less severe crime, and violent arrest), and was stronger in

Antipsychotics, mood stabilisers, and risk of violent crime

PubMed Central

Fazel, Seena; Zetterqvist, Johan; Larsson, Henrik; Långström, Niklas; Lichtenstein, Paul

2014-01-01

Summary Background Antipsychotics and mood stabilisers are prescribed widely to patients with psychiatric disorders worldwide. Despite clear evidence for their efficacy in relapse prevention and symptom relief, their effect on some adverse outcomes, including the perpetration of violent crime, is unclear. We aimed to establish the effect of antipsychotics and mood stabilisers on the rate of violent crime committed by patients with psychiatric disorders in Sweden. Methods We used linked Swedish national registers to study 82 647 patients who were prescribed antipsychotics or mood stabilisers, their psychiatric diagnoses, and subsequent criminal convictions in 2006–09. We did within-individual analyses to compare the rate of violent criminality during the time that patients were prescribed these medications versus the rate for the same patients while they were not receiving the drugs to adjust for all confounders that remained constant within each participant during follow-up. The primary outcome was the occurrence of violent crime, according to Sweden's national crime register. Findings In 2006–09, 40 937 men in Sweden were prescribed antipsychotics or mood stabilisers, of whom 2657 (6·5%) were convicted of a violent crime during the study period. In the same period, 41 710 women were prescribed these drugs, of whom 604 (1·4 %) had convictions for violent crime. Compared with periods when participants were not on medication, violent crime fell by 45% in patients receiving antipsychotics (hazard ratio [HR] 0·55, 95% CI 0·47–0·64) and by 24% in patients prescribed mood stabilisers (0·76, 0·62–0·93). However, we identified potentially important differences by diagnosis—mood stabilisers were associated with a reduced rate of violent crime only in patients with bipolar disorder. The rate of violence reduction for antipsychotics remained between 22% and 29% in sensitivity analyses that used different outcomes (any crime, drug-related crime, less

Juvenile delinquency and victimization: a theoretical typology.

PubMed

Cuevas, Carlos A; Finkelhor, David; Turner, Heather A; Ormrod, Richard K

2007-12-01

It is a widely voiced notion that juvenile delinquency and victimization co-occur extensively in the youth population, in particular because delinquent youth engage in risky activities. But theory from the bullying and traumatic stress literatures suggests that there may be additional pathways by which delinquency and victimization are connected. This analysis looks for possible subtypes of delinquents and victims consistent with such pathways. Using the Developmental Victimization Survey, a national sample of 1,000 youth aged 10 to 17 were interviewed over the phone. Support emerges for three distinct types of delinquent-victims, who are termed bully-victims, delinquent sex/maltreatment- victims, and property delinquent-victims. There is also evidence for substantial groups of youth who are primarily delinquent but not seriously victimized, as well as youth who are primarily victimized but not delinquent.

Underestimates of unintentional firearm fatalities: comparing Supplementary Homicide Report data with the National Vital Statistics System

PubMed Central

Barber, C; Hemenway, D; Hochstadt, J; Azrael, D

2002-01-01

Objective: A growing body of evidence suggests that the nation's vital statistics system undercounts unintentional firearm deaths that are not self inflicted. This issue was examined by comparing how unintentional firearm injuries identified in police Supplementary Homicide Report (SHR) data were coded in the National Vital Statistics System. Methods: National Vital Statistics System data are based on death certificates and divide firearm fatalities into six subcategories: homicide, suicide, accident, legal intervention, war operations, and undetermined. SHRs are completed by local police departments as part of the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports program. The SHR divides homicides into two categories: "murder and non-negligent manslaughter" (type A) and "negligent manslaughter" (type B). Type B shooting deaths are those that are inflicted by another person and that a police investigation determined were inflicted unintentionally, as in a child killing a playmate after mistaking a gun for a toy. In 1997, the SHR classified 168 shooting victims this way. Using probabilistic matching, 140 of these victims were linked to their death certificate records. Results: Among the 140 linked cases, 75% were recorded on the death certificate as homicides and only 23% as accidents. Conclusion: Official data from the National Vital Statistics System almost certainly undercount firearm accidents when the victim is shot by another person. PMID:12226128

Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2012. NCES 2013-036/NCJ 241446

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robers, Simone; Kemp, Jana; Truman, Jennifer

2013-01-01

Establishing reliable indicators of the current state of school crime and safety across the nation and regularly updating and monitoring these indicators is important in ensuring the safety of our nation's students. This is the aim of "Indicators of School Crime and Safety." This report is the fifteenth in a series of annual publications…

A New Perspective on Violent Crime Burden Index: Evidence from Indian Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chaudhuri, Kausik; Chowdhury, Payel; Reilly, Kevin

2013-01-01

Given limited resource availability in a developing nation like India, faced with high incidences of crime, it is important to optimize on the resources spent in combating crime by channelling them to proper direction. This requires an understanding of the actual and overall level of crime across India. Our paper provides a complete understanding…

Reports of Bullying and Other Unfavorable Conditions at School. Data Point. NCES 2016-169

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cidade, Melissa; Lessne, Deborah

2016-01-01

Data from the School Crime Supplement (SCS) to the National Crime Victimization Survey (2013), a nationally representative sample survey of students ages 12 through 18, were used to evaluate co-occurring reports of bullying and other unfavorable conditions at school. Analysis is restricted to those respondents who were enrolled in grades 6 through…

National Crime Information Center Mandatory Minimum Standards Curriculum for Full Access Terminal Operators. Volume Two--NCIC "Hot" Files.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington, DC. National Crime Information Center.

This document is the second volume of a two-volume set of lesson plans that together make up a complete training package for full-service terminal operators. The lesson plans are designed to ensure that a state's National Crime Information Center (NCIC) training program meets Advisory Policy Board standards. (NCIC is a nationwide computerized…

Offenders with Intellectual Disability: Characteristics, Prevalence, and Issues in Forensic Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salekin, Karen L.; Olley, J. Gregory; Hedge, Krystal A.

2010-01-01

Although the problem of people with disabilities as victims of crime has been well recognized, the known characteristics of people with intellectual disabilities (ID) also make them vulnerable to becoming perpetrators of crimes. Most such crimes are minor, but the 2002 "Atkins v. Virginia" decision called national attention to people with ID and…

‘Lowering the threshold of effective deterrence’—Testing the effect of private security agents in public spaces on crime: A randomized controlled trial in a mass transit system

PubMed Central

Bland, Matthew; Sutherland, Alex

2017-01-01

Supplementing local police forces is a burgeoning multibillion-dollar private security industry. Millions of formal surveillance agents in public settings are tasked to act as preventative guardians, as their high visibility presence is hypothesized to create a deterrent threat to potential offenders. Yet, rigorous evidence is lacking. We randomly assigned all train stations in the South West of England that experienced crime into treatment and controls conditions over a six-month period. Treatment consisted of directed patrol by uniformed, unarmed security agents. Hand-held trackers on every agent yielded precise measurements of all patrol time in the stations. Count-based regression models, estimated marginal means and odds-ratios are used to assess the effect of these patrols on crimes reported to the police by victims, as well as new crimes detected by police officers. Outcomes are measured at both specified target locations to which security guards were instructed to attend, as well as at the entire station complexes. Analyses show that 41% more patrol visits and 29% more minutes spent by security agents at treatment compared to control stations led to a significant 16% reduction in victim-generated crimes at the entirety of the stations’ complexes, with a 49% increase in police-generated detections at the target locations. The findings illustrate the efficacy of private policing for crime prevention theory. PMID:29211735

DVI missions in the Carribean-the practical aspects of disaster victim identification.

PubMed

Winskog, Calle

2012-06-01

Human trafficking of young men from Africa to Europe is a crime with often devastating consequences. The African continent loses members of the younger generation and many die during the attempt to reach their destinations. The identification of these victims is often difficult, however the structured and by now well-established procedures utilizing standard disaster victim identification protocols provide a reliable and functional approach. The logistics involved are straightforward, and one of the many functions of the team leader is to monitor and control the flow of cases through the system. The importance of ante mortem data for the purposes of identification is clear-no ante mortem data means no identification. Two different missions conducted in the Caribbean are described to illustrate particular difficulties that may occur.

Trends in Intimate Partner Violence: 1980-2008

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Powers, Rachael A.; Kaukinen, Catherine Elizabeth

2012-01-01

Research on trends in partner violence has primarily relied on official measures of victimization focusing primarily on women's risk for intimate partner homicide. The current study uses 28 years of data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) to examine the trends of intimate partner violence against female victims and identify…

Staged crime scene determination by handling physical and digital evidence: Reports and review of the literature.

PubMed

Lupariello, Francesco; Curti, Serena; Barber Duval, Janet; Abbattista, Giovanni; Di Vella, Giancarlo

2018-05-16

Geberth in 2006 stated that "staging is a conscious criminal action on the part of an offender to thwart an investigation." In the present paper two crime scenes staged by handling digital evidence are reported. The first case involves a 50-year-old woman who had been living with the offender for three years before he murdered her at the end of their relationship. He staged the scene as a sex-related crime committed by an unknown perpetrator. The second case concerns a young woman who was found dead in Southern Italy in January 2004 with a gunshot on the forehead. The boyfriend, responsible for the murder, had staged the crime scene as a suicide. Three years earlier in Germany, he had also murdered the victim's mother. In both cases, the correlation of physical and digital forensic evidence was crucial in the definition of the manner of death. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

32 CFR 635.36 - Notification.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 32 National Defense 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Notification. 635.36 Section 635.36 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY (CONTINUED) LAW ENFORCEMENT AND CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTING Victim and Witness Assistance Procedures § 635.36 Notification. (a) In addition to providing crime victims...

The Effect of Neighborhood Recorded Crime on Fear: Does Neighborhood Social Context Matter?

PubMed

Pearson, Amber L; Breetzke, Gregory; Ivory, Vivienne

2015-09-01

A number of individual and neighborhood-level factors may influence the relationship between recorded crime in one's neighborhood and fear of crime. Understanding these factors may assist in reducing fear, which has been associated with poorer physical and mental health. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the effect of recorded crime rates on fear differs based on the neighborhood social context (social fragmentation) using hierarchical regression modelling, with separate analyses by crime type. Recorded crimes (2008-2010) and national (New Zealand) survey data were used. Higher crime in a neighborhood was associated with higher fear of crime, with only small effect size differences in feelings of fear by recorded type of crime. However, when stratified, the associations between violent and drug/alcohol crimes and fear of crime were larger for those living in highly fragmented neighborhoods compared with less fragmented neighborhoods. Efforts to alleviate fear of crime should focus on the broader neighborhood social context in which these feelings are espoused.

Victim assistance - resources

MedlinePlus

Rape - resources; Resources - rape ... The following organizations are good resources for information on domestic violence and rape : Administration for Children and Families -- www.acf.hhs.gov The National Center for Victims ...

Health promotion messages in entertainment media: crime drama viewership and intentions to intervene in a sexual assault situation.

PubMed

Hust, Stacey J T; Marett, Emily Garrigues; Lei, Ming; Chang, Hua; Ren, Chunbo; McNab, Anna Lazárová; Adams, Paula M

2013-01-01

Popular crime dramas have tackled sensitive issues such as sexual assault with increasing frequency over the past 20 years. These popular programs increasingly demonstrate the emotional and physical effect of sexual assault on its victims, and in some instances they depict individuals being rewarded for intervening to prevent or stop an assault in progress. It is possible that this content could affect attitudes related to sexual assault prevention. However, no previous research has examined this possibility. In the fall 2008 semester, 508 undergraduates at a large northwestern university completed a questionnaire about media use and bystander intervention in a sexual assault situation. Results from hierarchical regressions lend support for the integrative model of behavioral prediction in that instrumentality, rape myth acceptance, perceived social norms, perceived efficacy related to intervening, and exposure to primetime crime dramas were associated with participants' intentions to intervene in a sexual assault. The results suggest that crime dramas may be a useful venue for prevention messages as exposure to crime dramas uniquely contributed to intentions to intervene in a sexual assault.

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors and Violent Crime: A Cohort Study.

PubMed

Molero, Yasmina; Lichtenstein, Paul; Zetterqvist, Johan; Gumpert, Clara Hellner; Fazel, Seena

2015-09-01

Although selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are widely prescribed, associations with violence are uncertain. From Swedish national registers we extracted information on 856,493 individuals who were prescribed SSRIs, and subsequent violent crimes during 2006 through 2009. We used stratified Cox regression analyses to compare the rate of violent crime while individuals were prescribed these medications with the rate in the same individuals while not receiving medication. Adjustments were made for other psychotropic medications. Information on all medications was extracted from the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register, with complete national data on all dispensed medications. Information on violent crime convictions was extracted from the Swedish national crime register. Using within-individual models, there was an overall association between SSRIs and violent crime convictions (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.19, 95% CI 1.08-1.32, p < 0.001, absolute risk = 1.0%). With age stratification, there was a significant association between SSRIs and violent crime convictions for individuals aged 15 to 24 y (HR = 1.43, 95% CI 1.19-1.73, p < 0.001, absolute risk = 3.0%). However, there were no significant associations in those aged 25-34 y (HR = 1.20, 95% CI 0.95-1.52, p = 0.125, absolute risk = 1.6%), in those aged 35-44 y (HR = 1.06, 95% CI 0.83-1.35, p = 0.666, absolute risk = 1.2%), or in those aged 45 y or older (HR = 1.07, 95% CI 0.84-1.35, p = 0.594, absolute risk = 0.3%). Associations in those aged 15 to 24 y were also found for violent crime arrests with preliminary investigations (HR = 1.28, 95% CI 1.16-1.41, p < 0.001), non-violent crime convictions (HR = 1.22, 95% CI 1.10-1.34, p < 0.001), non-violent crime arrests (HR = 1.13, 95% CI 1.07-1.20, p < 0.001), non-fatal injuries from accidents (HR = 1.29, 95% CI 1.22-1.36, p < 0.001), and emergency inpatient or outpatient treatment for alcohol intoxication or misuse (HR = 1.98, 95% CI 1.76-2.21, p < 0.001). With age and

Motor Vehicle Theft. Special Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harlow, Caroline Wolf

Thirteen years of data from the National Crime Survey were analyzed to examine the characteristics of motor vehicle theft, to identify trends during the past 13 years, and to determine who are most likely to be victims of motor vehicle theft. All motor vehicle thefts reported to the National Crime Survey from 1973 through 1985 were examined.…

Trends in Hate-Related Words at School among Students Ages 12 to 18. Data Point. NCES 2016-166

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cidade, Melissa; Lessne, Deborah

2016-01-01

Data from the School Crime Supplement (SCS) to the National Crime Victimization Survey, a nationally representative sample survey of students ages 12 through 18, were used to analyze trends in hate-related words. The SCS study is completed every other year. Data from seven consecutive surveys are included in this report: school years 2000-01,…

Trends in Bullying at School among Students Ages 12 to 18. Data Point. NCES 2016-004

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cidade, Melissa; Lessne, Deborah

2016-01-01

Data from the School Crime Supplement (SCS) to the National Crime Victimization Survey, a nationally representative sample survey of students ages 12 through 18, were used to examine trends in bullying at school. The SCS study is completed every other year. Data from five consecutive surveys are included in this report: school years 2004-05,…

In Campus-Crime Reports, There's Little Safety in the Numbers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lipka, Sara

2009-01-01

Numbers suggest certainty, and when it comes to campus crime, everybody wants answers. Enacted nearly two decades ago, the federal Clery Act requires colleges to send the government detailed reports annually, describing their policies and tallying their total crimes. But even as campus security has become a national concern, some scholars of the…

Evaluations of Antigay Hate Crimes and Hate Crime Legislation: Independent and Differentially Predicted.

PubMed

Wilkinson, Wayne W; Peters, Christopher S

2017-08-11

Minimal studies have investigated individuals' evaluations of antigay hate crimes and hate crime legislation simultaneously, with most research focusing on one or the other. In a sample of 246 heterosexual undergraduates, the present study found that evaluations of antigay hate crimes and hate crime legislation were unrelated. Higher social dominance orientation (SDO) and crime control orientation scores were associated with more positive evaluations of antigay hate crimes. Positive evaluations of hate crime legislation were associated with more positive attitudes toward gay men and lesbians. We also found that the relationship between SDO and evaluations were mediated by crime control beliefs (for hate crimes evaluations) and antigay attitudes (for hate crime legislation evaluations). The present findings have possible implications for the manner in which organizations advocate for the extension of hate crime legislation to include sexual orientation.

Issues and challenges in the application of Husserlian phenomenology to the lived experience of hate crime and its legal aftermath: an enlightenment prejudice against prejudice?

PubMed

Salter, Michael; McGuire, Kim

2015-06-01

The field of hate crime research addresses the presence, sources, and impact of particular types of expressions of prejudice, often perceived as particularly damaging and hurtful forms of interpersonal abuse and violence. There is the reflexive question of the possibilities of researchers themselves ever being able to adopt a truly "unprejudiced" approach to the presence of such damaging prejudices. Can this goal be realized without a researcher necessarily losing an experientially grounded understanding of what these meanings, values and purposes have come to mean, and how they are themselves interpretively reconstituted anew, including within the lived experience of victims, witnesses, police, prosecutors, judges, and victim support workers? A possible philosophically informed approach to the dilemmas posed by this topic is offered by Husserl's phenomenology. This study critically explores the possibilities, reflective stages, and theoretical limitations of a sympathetically reconstructed Husserlian approach to hate crime. It argues that despite its manifest tensions, gaps, ambiguities, and internal contradictions, aspects of the Husserlian philosophical approach directed toward the different levels of experienced hate crime still retain the potential to both challenge and advance our understanding of this topic. © The Author(s) 2014.

Crime and subjective well-being in the countries of the former Soviet Union.

PubMed

Stickley, Andrew; Koyanagi, Ai; Roberts, Bayard; Goryakin, Yevgeniy; McKee, Martin

2015-10-03

Criminal victimisation and subjective well-being have both been linked to health outcomes, although as yet, comparatively little is known about the relationship between these two phenomena. In this study we used data from nine countries of the former Soviet Union (fSU) to examine the association between different types of crime and subjective well-being. Data were obtained from 18,000 individuals aged 18 and above collected during the Health in Times of Transition (HITT) survey in 2010/11 in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Ukraine. Information was obtained on respondents' experience of crime (violence and theft) and self-reported affective (happiness) and cognitive (life satisfaction) well-being. Ordered probit and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analyses were undertaken to examine the associations between these variables. In pooled country analyses, experiencing violence was associated with significantly lower happiness and life satisfaction. Theft victimisation was associated with significantly reduced life satisfaction but not happiness. Among the individual countries, there was a more pronounced association between violent victimisation and reduced happiness in Kazakhstan and Moldova. The finding that criminal victimisation is linked to lower levels of subjective well-being highlights the importance of reducing crime in the fSU, and also of having effective support services in place for victims of crime to reduce its detrimental effects on health and well-being.

Risk Factors for Women Being Under the Influence of Alcohol Compared With Other Illicit Substances at the Time of Committing Violent Crimes.

PubMed

Brewer-Smyth, Kathleen; Pohlig, Ryan T

We investigated women under the influence of alcohol compared with other illicit substances at the time of committing a crime to identify predictors of being under the influence of alcohol and female-enacted crime. Analyses of data, obtained from private interviews and examinations of female prison inmates, included regression analyses exploring predictors of being under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crime and predictors of violent crime. In addition, a reanalysis of a previously reported model, predicting conviction of a violent crime, was conducted including a new variable, being under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crime. Those under the influence of alcohol at the time of their crime had experienced greater nonfamilial childhood sexual abuse and traumatic brain injuries with loss of consciousness predating their crime. They were more likely to have committed a violent, rather than nonviolent, crime compared with those under the influence of other substances, with the latter being not significantly different for those not under the influence of any substance. Being under the influence of alcohol increased the risk of committing a violent crime, adjusting for other predictors of female violence. Women under the influence of alcohol are at a greater risk for committing violent crimes than those under the influence of other substances. Female nonfamilial childhood sexual abuse and traumatic brain injury victims were at a higher risk for being under the influence of alcohol, in comparison with other substances, at the time of committing a violent crime.