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Purpose – This chapter examines the relationship between prenatal testing, Down syndrome identification, and selective termination practices, and it does so by considering whether the selective termination of fetuses with Down syndrome might constitute genocidal practices.

Methodology/approach – Exploratory and speculative in nature, this chapter brings the phenomenon of prenatal testing and selective termination practices together, and explores whether the increasingly widespread termination of fetuses with Down syndrome fits within definitions of genocide.

Findings – Addressing perceptions of Down syndrome and disability, and integrating aspects of crip politics and definitions of genocide, this chapter concludes that the phenomenon of selective termination involving fetuses with Down syndrome can constitute genocide when particular definitions and interpretations are adopted.

Originality/value – This chapter is perhaps the first academic text to critically evaluate the relationship between prenatal testing, selective termination of fetuses with Down syndrome, and criminological genocide scholarship. Importantly, it does not evaluate individual decision-making practices regarding termination, but instead focuses on collective practices and conditions that work to minimize the number of people with Down syndrome in society.

Over the last few decades there has been increased interest in studying the phenomenon of violence among people with intellectual disabilities (ID). Research addressing offending and victimization among this population suffers from generalised androcentrism by extrapolating findings to women, and is also homogenising, ignoring any individual and gendered differences. Existing research also demonstrates a clear focus on vulnerability and increased risk of victimization, but very little attention has been paid to women with ID as perpetrators of crime. Many factors play a role in the process of victimisation and offence, which implies the need to deconstruct the hegemonic vision of violence and examine its different manifestations and nuances. Therefore, this chapter provides a critical and historical review of the role of women with ID as victims and perpetrators of crime, by synthesising the different levels of analysis of the subject using an intersectionality approach. In conclusion, the evidence so far does not elucidate the prevalence or characteristics of these offenders. What we do know is that this group faces interacting, individual, social and environmental difficulties. They report high rates of victimisation and mental health comorbidity. Altogether they reveal an overlapping status of victim and offender.

Much of the current criminological research regarding police and the autistic community focuses on police training for interacting with autistic individuals or the experiences, fears and perceptions of parents or caregivers. Largely absent from the criminological research are the opinions and perceptions of autistic adults. The purpose of the paper is to examine perceptions of the police and police-led initiatives among these individuals.

The authors analyze data from 121 autistic adults regarding their perceptions of the police and police-led autism awareness efforts using ordinary least squares (OLS) regression. Variables of interest include perceptions of procedural justice, police treatment of autistic individuals, fear of interacting with police and perceptions of police autism awareness campaigns.

Findings indicate that autistic respondents vary in perceptions of the police. Prior negative experiences with police have a stronger influence on perceptions than do positive experiences. Support for awareness campaigns is also varied.

Despite high-profile police incidents involving autistic individuals, there have been no empirical examinations of autistic adults' global perceptions of the police or police-led autism awareness campaigns. The current study addresses that oversight by directly examining autistic adults' perceptions. The approach is particularly salient given the ongoing police public scrutiny surrounding officer interactions with individuals from special populations, which is largely uninformed by research centering the voices of impacted individuals.

The purpose of this paper is to examine characteristics of gang organization in youth correctional facilities as reported by youth and staff as well as to analyze the relationship between institutional violence and level of gang organization.

The data were collected through interviews with staff and youth in correctional facilities. Gang organization level averages are compared across youth and official perspectives, and the variability of responses among youth is also examined. Negative binomial regression models are conducted to determine the association between perceived level of gang organization and officially recorded violent behavior, both prior to and subsequent to the interview.

Perceptions of institutional gang organization vary notably depending on who is reporting. In contrast with prior studies of street gangs, controlling for youth demographics and offense characteristics, the authors find no significant relationship between gang organization and violence.

The sample size is small and the data are cross-sectional. Future studies will need to be conducted in order to confirm these findings, as they contradict prior studies. The analysis of street gang organization may need to be approached differently by scholars.

Research has not been conducted on the organizational structure of gangs in youth correctional facilities or its relationship to institutional violence.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the violence-reduction effects following an FBI-led gang takedown in South Central Los Angeles.

The time series impact of the intervention was estimated using a Bayesian diffusion-regression state-space model designed to infer a causal effect of an intervention using data from a similar (non-targeted) gang area as a control.

A statistically significant 22 percent reduction in violent crime was observed, a reduction that lasted at least nine months after the interdiction.

The research method does make assumptions about the equivalency of the control area, though statistical checks are employed to confirm the control area crime rate trended similarly to the target area prior to the intervention.

The paper demonstrates a minimum nine-month benefit to a gang takedown in the target area, suggesting that relatively long-term benefits from focused law enforcement activity are possible.

Longer-term crime reduction beyond just the day of the intervention can aid communities struggling with high crime and rampant gang activity.

Few FBI-led gang task force interventions have been studied for their crime reduction benefit at the neighborhood level. This study adds to that limited literature. It also introduces a methodology that can incorporate crime rates from a control area into the analysis, and overcome some limitations imposed by ARIMA modeling.