Search results

Social cognition is a prominent feature of explanations of crime, particularly violent crime. This paper aims to report a study that compared several aspects of the social cognition of convicted violent and non‐violent offenders.

Measures of social cognition were administered to 156 offenders, classified as violent and non‐violent according to index offence.

Analysis showed few significant differences between the violent and non‐violent offenders, although differences in thinking styles and social problem solving strategies were evident between high‐risk and low‐risk violent offenders.

The differences between high‐risk and lower risk violent offenders suggests that not all violent offenders function at the same level and so more precision is required in classifying offenders.

The current study is an exploratory study examining the relationship between the abuse histories of 89 sexual offenders and the constructs of locus of control, sexual attitudes, general empathy, and denial. Of the 89 offenders, 14.6% were sexually abused, 13.5% physically abused, and 9% both sexually and physically abused, with 61.5% having no abuse history. Analyses indicated that motivation to change was higher for abused versus non‐abused offenders, and that those who were sexually abused had significantly more cognitive distortions about children than those who experienced physical abuse. Although no differences emerged in locus of control scores, our findings indicated that physically abused offenders were more able to take on the perspective of others than those who have not experienced physical abuse. The findings provide several avenues to pursue in examining the longstanding effects of abuse in the thinking and cognitions of sexual offenders.

Sex offenders who refuse a place on a sex offender treatment programme are estimated to make up about half the prison sex offender population in England and Wales. It is important to motivate refusers to participate in treatment to reduce the likelihood of their re‐offending. In this pilot study we used the Personal Concerns Inventory‐Offender Adaptation (PCI‐OA), a semi‐structured motivational assessment, further adapting it for treatment refusers. We examined the effectiveness of the PCI‐OA (TR) with nine prisoners who had refused sex offender treatment (the treatment group) compared with nine refusers who received no intervention (the control group). The treatment group were at least 0.6 times as likely to show a positive motivational shift towards sex offender treatment as the untreated group. The practice implications of these results are discussed, and further evaluation of the PCI‐OA (TR) is recommended.

This article seeks to explore the historical context of government policy in relation to mentally disordered offenders. The article will relate this context to the work of the Probation Service, in particular the development of the Offender Management System (OASys), risk assessment and the implications and challenges that face the National Offender Management Service (NOMS). The key question to be assessed is whether NOMS and OASys can lead to a better service for those with mental disorder, and therefore reduce their risk.

This study explored the attitudes of prison officers, forensic staff and members of the public towards and male and female sex offenders. Participants were provided with a vignette depicting a specific sexual offence committed against either an adult or a child, by either a male or a female perpetrator, and were then asked to complete a scale assessing attitudes to sex offenders based on the offender depicted in the vignette. Forensic staff emerged as having the most positive attitudes to sex offenders, viewing them as individuals who could be rehabilitated. Prison officers emerged as having the most negative attitudes, in that they were supportive of harsh and untrusting attitudes. Overall, females emerged as viewing sex offenders in more positive terms, whereas males were more supportive of harsh attitudes to sex offenders. Respondents did not have a more negative attitude to female sex offenders than to male sex offenders.

The objectives of this study are to (a) identify spatial and temporal crime concentrations, (b) supplement the traditional place-based analysis that defines hot spots based on counted incidents with an analysis of crime severity and (c) add to the research of hot spots with an analysis of offender data.

This study explores crime concentration in mass transit settings, focusing on Edmonton’s Light Rail Transit (LRT) stations in 2017–2022. Pareto curves are used to observe the degree of concentration of crime in certain locations using multiple estimates; trajectory analysis is then used to observe crime patterns in the data on both places and offenders.

A total of 16.3% of stations accounted for 50% of recorded incidents. Train stations with high or low crime counts and severity remained as such consistently over time. Additionally, 3.6% of offenders accounted for 50% of incident count, while 5% accounted for 50% of harm. We did not observe differences in the patterns and distributions of crime concentrations when comparing crime counts and harm.

Hot spots and harm spots are synonymous in low-crime-harm environments: high-harm incidents are outliers, and their weight in the average crime severity score is limited. More sensitive severity measures are needed for high-frequenty, low-harm enviornments.

The findings underscore the benefits of integrating offender data in place-based applied research.

The findings provide additional evidence on the utility of place-based criminology and potentially cost-effective interventions.

Exhibiting an unprecedented rate of advancement, technology’s progression over the past two decades has regrettably led to a disturbing increase in the distribution of child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) online. Compounded by the emergence of an underground cryptocurrency market, which serves as a primary distribution channel for these materials, the investigation and sanctioning of CSAM present a complex and unique set of challenges. The purpose of this study is to accurately diagnose the CSAM sentencing landscape and build a more comprehensive, evidence-based legal framework in penology.

The study collected and analyzed case details regarding CSAM sanctions in a database sourced from the US Department of Justice for 2020. Various factors were analyzed such as the victim’s age, offender typology and previous conviction, accompanied by an analysis of how these factors affect the sentence length.

The study found that the hierarchical agency-level interactions give insight into resource allocation prioritization, as well as confirming a close relationship between prior conviction history and sentence length, with the victim’s age inversely related to sentence length. Leveraging data-driven insights, the study paves the way for more targeted and effective sanctions, ultimately contributing to the broader goal of safeguarding children from online sexual exploitation.

The paper provides a critical analysis of the complex landscape surrounding CSAM distribution and judicial sentencing. By examining case details and leveraging data-driven insights, it offers valuable contributions to understanding the interplay between various factors such as victim age, offender typology and prior convictions on sentencing outcomes. This comprehensive approach not only sheds light on the dynamics of CSAM sanctions but also lays the groundwork for evidence-based legal frameworks in penology. Its originality lies in its nuanced examination of hierarchical agency interactions and its potential to inform more targeted interventions for safeguarding children from online exploitation.

This paper aims to make a contribution to the offender-based perspective when researching white-collar and corporate crime. Previously, the offender-based perspective has emphasized general characteristics of actors such as social and occupational status, respectability and power.

This paper presents categories of offender types in their roles when offending.

Based on the theory of convenience with 14 convenience propositions along three dimensions, it is possible to identify eight offender categories.

Alternative theories for identification of offender categories might be applied in future research to compare with categories presented in this paper based on convenience theory.

These offender categories are labeled opportunist, illusionist, manipulator, ignorer, defender, reactionist, rescuer and controller.

The offender-bases rather than the offence-based perspective is needed to increase law enforcement understanding of white-collar and corporate crime.

When researchers study the extent of seriousness of white-collar and corporate crime in the future, it is suggested that they use such labels to distinguish between serious and less serious offenders.

Recently researchers working on criminal behaviour have interested in elder offenders as the population is getting older. Crime statistics showed that the number of offenders over the age 55 is increasing each year. These statistics revealed that older people engage not only in minor crimes but also engage in serious crimes. One of this kind of crimes is sexual abuse which is defined as sexual offending against the individuals who are incapable of giving consent. Although public view regarding to elder people sexuality is seen as they are incapable of this kind of acts because of their age, the statistics showed that contrary. Yet the reasons behind the offending behaviour of these elderly people is explained little by the researchers. The aim of this chapter is to review the psychological perspective including neurobiological, psychiatric, cognitive and behavioural perspective. Neurobiological and psychiatric approach mainly focused on disease that lead to criminal conduct like dementia or paedophilia. Cognitive approach emphasises the cognitive distortions regarding to sexual abuse behaviour. Behavioural approach proposed that the learning process based on classical conditioning and operant conditioning determine the sexual abuse behaviour. Yet none of the theories alone not enough to explain the sexual abuse behaviour in elderly people. There is a need for more studies on sex offending behaviour of elderly people in order to have comprehensive understanding of their behaviour and to put forward new theoretical models.