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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.

The purpose of this study was to examine the internalization of group-level identities held by people who are on the sex offense registry and how these influence emotions and the willingness to accept treatment. The types and consequences of identities and stigmas are often examined at the individual level, but most people belong to groups that hold collective identities that can be detected in phrases such as “we, us, our,” etc.

Longitudinal data from 2008 to 2024 was used to examine registrant’s group identities. Interviews were conducted with 115 registrants and 40 of their family members, and narrative research analysis was used to assess how participants’ levels of liminality influence why some on the registry never come to see themselves as sex criminals.

Three group-level identities were found that corresponded with varying phases of liminality. The first group had a fixed mindset, no liminality and a strong sense of self. The second group of registrants had liminoid experiences, allowing them to change the way they saw themselves over time. This group had a growth mindset that believed change was attainable. The third group exhibited fixed mindset, as they either always saw themselves as sex criminals and required no transition or came to see themselves as sex offenders post-punishment.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, there are no studies that have examined group-level identities among people convicted of sex crimes or what the consequences of group identities have on behavior.

This study aims to use a novel data set of 636 murderers sentenced to death in California to investigate homicide offenses that are committed but not prosecuted or officially solved, a concept known as the dark figure of crime.

Uaing appellate records from the Supreme Court of California, which contain extensive information about the offender’s background, criminal offense history and mental health diagnoses, it was revealed that one-third of the offenders in the sample have additional homicide offenses for which they likely bear responsibility, but were not prosecuted.

Most of these involve one or two additional homicides, though a wide range was observed spanning 0 to 93 additional victims. Those with a dark figure of murder and unsolved homicides had substantially more prior arrests, convictions and prison incarcerations and were higher in psychopathy, sexual sadism, homicidal ideation and gang involvement than offenders without a dark figure. Psychopathy and homicidal ideation were the most robust predictors of both the presence and magnitude of a dark figure of murder and unsolved homicides, whereas sexual sadism was inconsistently associated.

A disproportionate amount of the unsolved murders in the USA are likely perpetrated by the most pathological types of offenders, those with extensive antisocial careers and severe externalizing psychopathology.

This systematic review sought to examine the research body on acquisitive offending among female offenders, specifically exploring what factors may take females closer towards engaging in acquisitive offending and what factors may support desistance from this behaviour.

A systematic review was conducted, using the recommended guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. A total of 8,129 initial articles were identified from the search terms, 77 articles were deemed suitable to meet the inclusion criteria and are explored in the results section. Papers were screened for quality appraisal and risk of bias.

Ten factors were identified that took females closer towards offending. Five factors were identified that took females away from offending. Based on the findings, four typologies of female acquisitive offenders were identified: short-term orientation (adolescent); mental health orientation; life-course persistent (theft); and acquisitive diversity (including robbery and burglary).

Future research would benefit from exploring a more rich understanding of the mechanisms that underpin why females engage in acquisitive offending and what factors contribute towards their desistance. A wider range of bio-psycho-social factors, which may increase the risk of acquisitive offending, should also be considered in future research alongside ways in which interventions may be gender-responsive.

This review provides insight into the differing functions and typologies of female acquisitive offending. Interventions for each of these typologies are considered within the review.

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.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether indicating victims of sexual attacks actively resisted their attacker or froze during their assault affected perceptions of victim blame, perpetrator blame and seriousness of the crime. We also tested whether victim and perpetrator gender or participants’ rape myth endorsement moderated the outcomes.

This study was a cross-sectional, vignette survey study with a 2 × 2 between-participants experimental design. Participants read a mock police report describing an alleged rape with a female or male victim who either resisted or froze, while perpetrator gender was adjusted heteronormatively.

Freezing and male victims were blamed more than resisting and female victims. Perpetrators were blamed more when the victim resisted, but male and female perpetrators were blamed equally. Seriousness of the crime was higher for male perpetrators and when the victim resisted. Female, but not male, rape myth acceptance moderated the relationship between victim behaviour and outcome variables.

This study highlights the influence of expectations about victim behaviour on perceptions of rape victims and the pervasive influence of rape myths when evaluating female rape victims. The data is drawn from the German border region of the Netherlands, which is an especially valuable population given the evolving legal definitions of rape in both countries.

Several studies have been conducted to understand why the conviction rate for rape and serious sexual offences (RASSO) remains so low. Increasing pressure and criticism have led to questioning why improvements in RASSO investigations are proving ineffective. The purpose of this study was to capture police officers’ perspective of police specialism while investigating RASSO.

A total of 82 semi-structured interviews were conducted. Data collection spanned across two years, from October 2021 until May 2023, and included police officers from four police forces in England and Wales. Template analysis was used to identify recurrent patterns around police specialism for RASSO.

Most officers viewed specialism as a tool to improve how police forces prevent and tackle RASSO. In spite of this, the lack of prioritisation of specialist training, roles and units specifically for this crime type has hindered the development of evidence-based practice in policing. The impact on well-being, resources, organisational support and role identity has been explored.

This is the first qualitative study, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, to look at officers’ insights on police specialism for RASSO in England and Wales. Officers discussed day-to-day challenges associated with conducting RASSO investigations while reflecting on potential advantages related to dedicated specialist units and/or specialist roles.

Adolescents with harmful sexual behaviors (AHSB) who drop out of treatment are more likely to continue offending than are those who complete treatment; therefore, it is important to identify factors that heighten the risk of dropout, so they can be detected early. The purpose of this paper is to present the predictors of treatment dropout derived from a community sample of AHSB in New Zealand.

Pretreatment data on 100 males (aged 12–16) in community-based treatment for harmful sexual behavior were analyzed. Data on 50 adolescents who dropped out were matched by age and ethnicity to 50 adolescents who completed treatment. Pretreatment variables were identified using the Estimate of Risk of Adolescent Sexual Offence Recidivism. The degree to which these variables influenced treatment dropout was tested using logistic regression.

Compared to those who completed treatment, adolescents who dropped out were more likely to have a prior history of personal victimization, to deny or minimize their behavior, to have been mandated to attend treatment and to have engaged in noncontact offences.

Screening for a prior history of personal victimization, denial or minimization, mandated treatment and noncontact offences may facilitate the prediction of dropout risk more confidently. Addressing these pretreatment risk variables has the potential to improve treatment completion rates.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to highlight treatment dropout predictors in a New Zealand community sample.

Sexual harassment is a worldwide and prevalent problem that can have severe consequences. The #MeToo movement has highlighted that sexual harassment is not an isolated event and is linked to misogynistic cognitions and other forms of sexual violence. However, there is a lack of research regarding the relationship between sexual harassment and its nomological network, particularly in the general population. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore the nomological network of harassment.

The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between perception of harassment and rape myths (RMS), with paraphilia (fantasy and behaviour) as mediators. In addition, the prevalence of paraphilia in the general population was explored and gender difference was analysed. Frequencies, Pearson's r correlations, independent sample t-tests and mediation analyses were conducted on a sample of n = 254 participants from the general population.

Analyses revealed that half of the sample have engaged in at least one paraphilia behaviour. Furthermore, correlations between a more lenient perception of harassment, RM acceptance and paraphilia were found, as well as significant gender differences. Finally, mediation models revealed a strong relationship between RM acceptance and a more lenient perception of harassment, with paraphilia mediating this relationship.

This study has several implications, highlighting the role of misogynistic cognitions in predicting a lenient perception of sexual harassment, and thus, proposing a key focus for prevention and intervention models.

This research is mostly conducted on male samples in these areas; thus, this study aimed to collect data from a diverse sample that may provide a better overview of sexual harassment and its nomological network.

The article presents research on the long-term information needs of homicide bereaved individuals in the context of record-keeping practice within Major Crime Units (MCU) in England. The research objectives were to: (1) identify the long-term information needs of individuals bereaved by homicide; (2) establish MCU officer perceptions on the provision of information to individuals bereaved by homicide; (3) establish the current practice of MCU officers in managing and providing access to homicide records and (4) explore the capability of current recordkeeping practice to move beyond the use of homicide records for their primary “policing” purpose.

The research objectives were met by combining findings from a literature review across policing, bereavement, death, victimology, criminology, records management and archival studies with results from a singular interview-based study with officers at the Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire Major Crime Unit (BHCMCU).

The findings indicate that the long-term information needs of homicide bereaved individuals are ill-served by the current police recordkeeping framework which provides them with little involvement in record-keeping decision-making and limited long-term access to the information required for sensemaking/adaption in a post-homicide world. In this context, the research demonstrates a long term need for: (1) information access; (2) support for access; (3) a direct and personalised information access service and (4) trauma-informed and victim/survivor centred practice in police recordkeeping contexts.

The research addresses a major gap across disciplinary research literature in its focus on the ways investigative information is disclosed by the police to the bereaved following case closure.