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1 – 10 of 125Mario A. Davila, Deborah J. Hartley and Ben Brown
The purpose of this study is to gain a broad understanding of public perceptions of the police and violence.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to gain a broad understanding of public perceptions of the police and violence.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses survey data collected from a nationally representative sample (N = 1,223) by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) Center for Public Affairs Research at the University of Chicago. Descriptive, bivariate correlational and multivariate regression analyses of the data were conducted.
Findings
Descriptive analyses show the populace is equally concerned about the police use of violence and violence against the police, but bivariate analyses indicate the two types of concern are unrelated, and multivariate regression analyses show that few variables impact both types of concern. Consistent with prior research, young people and racial/ethnic minorities reported greater concerns about police violence than did older adults and Whites, yet neither age nor race/ethnicity impacted concerns about violence against the police. Perceived mistreatment by the police was the only variable which impacted perceptions of police violence and violence against the police in a consistent and cogent manner.
Originality/value
This study is the first to examine public perceptions of the police as both the agents and victims of violence. The results indicate public perceptions of the police are more complex than was previously believed.
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Constant Van Graan, Vera Roos and Matthews Katjene
A significant increase in financial crime globally emphasises the importance of forensic interviewing to obtain useful and reliable information as part of a commercial forensic…
Abstract
Purpose
A significant increase in financial crime globally emphasises the importance of forensic interviewing to obtain useful and reliable information as part of a commercial forensic investigation. Previous research has identified two interviewing strategies that are aligned with the legal framework in South Africa: the PEACE model (P = preparation and planning; E = engage and explain; A = account, clarify and challenge; C = closure; E = evaluation) and the person-centred approach (PCA). The purpose of this paper is to explore the theoretical underpinnings and application of the PEACE model and the PCA as commercial investigative strategies aligned with the legal context in South Africa.
Design/methodology/approach
A scoping review was undertaken to identify literature relevant to the theoretical assumptions and application of the PEACE model and the PCA.
Findings
Literature for the most part reports on the PEACE model but offers very little information about the PCA. A critical analysis revealed that the PEACE model incorporates a clear guiding structure for eliciting information but lacks content needed to create an optimal interpersonal context. To promote this, the PCA proposes that interviewers demonstrate three relational variables: empathy, congruence and unconditional positive regard. The PCA suggests a basic structure for interviewing (beginning, middle and end), while providing very little guidance on how to structure the forensic interview and what information is to be elicited in each phase.
Originality/value
Combining the PEACE model and PCA presents an integrated interviewing technique best suited for obtaining useful and reliable information admissible in a South African court of law. The PEACE model has a clear structure, and the PCA assists in creating an optimal interpersonal context to obtain information in an interview.
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Danuta Rode, Joanna Kabzińska, Magdalena Rode, Ewa Habzda-Siwek and Daniel Boduszek
The role of evidence-based psychological knowledge in cases of juvenile offending is essential to make appropriate decisions relating to youth who violate legal or social norms…
Abstract
Purpose
The role of evidence-based psychological knowledge in cases of juvenile offending is essential to make appropriate decisions relating to youth who violate legal or social norms, as it carries implications for treatment, intervention and practice. Psychological expert opinions therefore need to meet high formal and methodological requirements while maintaining ethical standards. The purpose of this study is to investigate psychological expert opinions in cases of juvenile misbehavior reported to regional courts in Poland. Juvenile court proceedings concern cases of demoralization and/or delinquent offenses. Demoralization is a legal concept described in the Act of June 9, 2022 on juvenile support and resocialization. This concept was not defined; it was only described through examples of behaviors indicating demoralization. These include the following: violations of the principles of community life; evading compulsory education or schooling; use of alcohol, narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, their precursors, substitutes or new psychoactive substances; and prostitution.
Design/methodology/approach
To reach these goals, court records of juvenile cases in six district courts (N = 253) were gathered and analyzed. A semistructured questionnaire was used to examine the cases in which psychologists were appointed and to analyze the procedures used by these experts for assessing adolescents and their families.
Findings
Findings revealed that family judges appoint psychologists both in cases of “demoralization” (i.e. status offenses) and in cases of juvenile delinquency. The opinions were delivered by psychologists who were mostly members of diagnostic teams. Results indicate that such opinions generally comply with the minimal standards recommended by the Ministry of Justice, yet a few problems were observed with the determination of levels of demoralization.
Originality/value
The limitations of diagnostic tools used by psychologists are discussed, and recommendations for future practice are provided.
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Joshua J. Davis and Michael L. Birzer
The study examined rural police culture in one Kansas police agency.
Abstract
Purpose
The study examined rural police culture in one Kansas police agency.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used a qualitative ethnographic approach using in-depth interviews and non-participant observations to construct and interpret the culture of rural police through the lens of officers working in one rural police agency.
Findings
Five themes were found that described the complexities rural police officers face at this research site, including the law being at the center of officers’ actions, the nature of crime, officers serving as jack of all trades, community relationships and enforcement of crimes by teenagers, and how outside pressures from the community and increased concern for citizens' safety affect officers' daily lived experiences.
Originality/value
There is a dearth of scholarly literature addressing rural and small-town policing. This study is the first known qualitative study to be conducted on rural Kansas police, allowing a snapshot of the workings of rural Kansas police.
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Claire Nolasco Braaten and Lily Chi-Fang Tsai
This study aims to analyze corporate mail and wire fraud penalties, using bounded rationality in decision-making and assessing internal and external influences on prosecutorial…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to analyze corporate mail and wire fraud penalties, using bounded rationality in decision-making and assessing internal and external influences on prosecutorial choices.
Design/methodology/approach
The study analyzed 467 cases from 1992 to 2019, using data from the Corporate Prosecution Registry of the University of Virginia School of Law and Duke University School of Law. It examined corporations facing mail and wire fraud charges and other fraud crimes. Multiple regression linked predictor variables to the dependent variable, total payment.
Findings
The study found that corporate penalties tend to be lower for financial institutions or corporations in countries with US free trade agreements. Conversely, penalties are higher when the company is a U.S. public company or filed in districts with more pending criminal cases.
Originality/value
This study’s originality lies in applying the bounded rationality model to assess corporate prosecutorial decisions, unveiling external factors’ influence on corporate penalties.
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Fabrício Rios Nascimento Santos, Viviani Silva Lírio and Anderson Moreira Aristides dos Santos
In addition to being a violation of human rights, the practice of child labor can be related to criminality against young people. In view of this, the hypothesis tested in this…
Abstract
Purpose
In addition to being a violation of human rights, the practice of child labor can be related to criminality against young people. In view of this, the hypothesis tested in this article was that child labor aggravates youth homicide through educational level.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used annual data for the 26 states plus the Federal District for the period 2001 to 2014. To do so, the authors used the iterated feasible generalized least squares (IFGLS) estimator under the seemingly unrelated regressions (SUR) model.
Findings
The results showed that child labor positively affects the homicide of young people, showing education as a transmission channel through which the effect is materialized. The general conclusion, given this, that work is an alternative for children not to enter the world of crime due to its socializing character, cannot be sustained.
Practical implications
This evidence provides input to the formulation of policies and programs to eradicate or slow child labor. In addition to the social and economic rise of individuals, it is important to emphasize the role of education (human capital) in explaining economic growth.
Originality/value
So far, there is no record of national research that sought to empirically assess the effect of child labor on crime, in particular, on the homicide of young people, considering education as a transmission channel, and this assessment is the contribution of the present study to the economic literature on crime.
Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-03-2023-0163
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Pedro Pechorro, Paula Gomide, Matt DeLisi and Mário Simões
Recent developments in the psychometric assessment of youth psychopathic traits suggest that the inclusion of a conduct disorder (CD) factor to the traditional three factors of…
Abstract
Purpose
Recent developments in the psychometric assessment of youth psychopathic traits suggest that the inclusion of a conduct disorder (CD) factor to the traditional three factors of the psychopathy construct may improve the incremental validity of these measures. The purpose of the current study is to examine whether the addition of a CD factor incrementally improves the ability of the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory Short version (YPI-S) to predict criminal recidivism.
Design/methodology/approach
A longitudinal quantitative research design was used with a sample detained male youth (N = 214, Mage = 16.4 years, SDage = 1.3 years).
Findings
Results using the area under the curve analysis suggest that the inclusion of a CD factor slightly improves the capacity of the YPI-S to predict one-year general criminal recidivism, but it does not significantly increase its capacity to predict violent criminal recidivism. Results also indicate that a CD scale outperforms the YPI-S, even with an additional CD factor included, in terms of predicting one-year general and violent recidivism.
Practical implications
Self-reported youth psychopathic trait measures, even those that include a CD factor as a fourth factor, should be used with caution when the aim is to predict youth criminal recidivism.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study using a self-reported youth psychopathic traits measure with a CD factor to examine youth criminal recidivism.
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Thalia Anthony, Juanita Sherwood, Harry Blagg and Kieran Tranter
This chapter provides a brief overview of community sanctions in Australia and examines the extent to which McNeill’s analysis in Pervasive Punishment (2019) is applicable in the…
Abstract
This chapter provides a brief overview of community sanctions in Australia and examines the extent to which McNeill’s analysis in Pervasive Punishment (2019) is applicable in the Australian context. Two key issues in the Australian context are, firstly, state and territory-level variations within a federal political structure, and secondly, disproportionate Indigenous imprisonment and community sanction rates and the generally destructive impact of the criminal legal system on Indigenous communities and peoples. The chapter argues that developing a better agonistic politics around community sanctions requires descending from the broad level of historical and sociological analysis to examine state and territory-level variations in judicial and correctional structures, histories and cultures. Further, that Australian community sanctions cannot be understood without a primary focus on the differences between Indigenous and non-Indigenous rates, experiences and meaning. The key to addressing the destructive impact of criminal legal processes and practices on Indigenous peoples lies in developing Indigenous governance, empowerment, self-determination, sovereignty and nation-building. Two recent developments promoting Indigenous governance are examined: the Uluru Statement from the Heart and Justice Reinvestment projects initiated by First Nations communities, highlighting the importance of activism, contest and struggle by community organisations.
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