Pub Date : 2026-01-22DOI: 10.1016/j.ijlcj.2026.100824
Maria Eduarda Souza Costa , Leandro Moreira , Enzo Barberio Mariano , Diogo Ferraz
Brazil faces a persistent penitentiary crisis marked by institutional fragility, social inequality, and chronic underinvestment, while empirical evidence on the efficiency of its prisons remains limited. This study addresses this gap by evaluating the performance of 55 Penitentiary Units (PUs) in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais using a dual-model framework based on Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Two dimensions of institutional performance are examined: Custodial Services Efficiency (CSE), which captures each PU’s ability to ensure secure accommodation, supervision, and administrative control; and Social Services Efficiency (SSE), which reflects the provision of staff-based services related to inmate well-being, including healthcare, education, and psychosocial support. These two dimensions are integrated into a composite index, the Prison System Efficiency Index (PSEI), which provides a global efficiency score for each PU. The findings reveal that nearly 90% of PUs operate with low or very low efficiency, and that small PUs tend to outperform larger ones. Paradoxically, PUs in less urbanized areas often show higher SSE scores despite custodial constraints. By revealing structural asymmetries and scale-related disadvantages, the results contribute to international debates on prison governance and demonstrate the need for more equitable and evidence-based penal policy in the Global South.
{"title":"Assessing the efficiency of penitentiary system in Minas Gerais, Brazil: Evidence from Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)","authors":"Maria Eduarda Souza Costa , Leandro Moreira , Enzo Barberio Mariano , Diogo Ferraz","doi":"10.1016/j.ijlcj.2026.100824","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijlcj.2026.100824","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Brazil faces a persistent penitentiary crisis marked by institutional fragility, social inequality, and chronic underinvestment, while empirical evidence on the efficiency of its prisons remains limited. This study addresses this gap by evaluating the performance of 55 Penitentiary Units (PUs) in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais using a dual-model framework based on Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Two dimensions of institutional performance are examined: Custodial Services Efficiency (CSE), which captures each PU’s ability to ensure secure accommodation, supervision, and administrative control; and Social Services Efficiency (SSE), which reflects the provision of staff-based services related to inmate well-being, including healthcare, education, and psychosocial support. These two dimensions are integrated into a composite index, the Prison System Efficiency Index (PSEI), which provides a global efficiency score for each PU. The findings reveal that nearly 90% of PUs operate with low or very low efficiency, and that small PUs tend to outperform larger ones. Paradoxically, PUs in less urbanized areas often show higher SSE scores despite custodial constraints. By revealing structural asymmetries and scale-related disadvantages, the results contribute to international debates on prison governance and demonstrate the need for more equitable and evidence-based penal policy in the Global South.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":46026,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Law Crime and Justice","volume":"84 ","pages":"Article 100824"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146037794","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-29DOI: 10.1016/j.ijlcj.2025.100823
Benjamin Okorie Ajah , Dominic Chukwuemeka Onyejegbu , Chima Theresa Isife , Olisa Anthony Enweonwu , Uzochukwu Chukwuka Chinweze , Nkechinyere O. Anyadike , Kingsley Obumunaeme Ilo , Joy Chikaodili Omaliko , Ngozi Asadu , Chibuike Chris Ogbonna Ugwu , Ogbonna Onyebuchi Okemini , Leweanya Kingsley Chukwuemeka , Jonas Ohabuenyi , Christopher Okoro Uzoigwe , David O. Iloma , John Chijioke Madubuko , Godwin Emeka Ngwu
There have been speculative debates and assumptions on the causes, implications, and proper sanctions for Yahoo-Plus, primarily from academic, non-academic, and media writers. These discussions are valuable as they highlight the dangers of Yahoo-Plus and propose solutions. However, none have conducted a detailed study from the offenders' perspectives. Deviating from conventional approaches, this study examines the narrative accounts, feelings, and perceptions of Yahoo-Plus offenders in Enugu and Abakaliki Correctional Centers, Nigeria. Yahoo-Plus, defined as a hybrid cybercrime involving ritual violence (e.g., human sacrifice) to enhance online fraud success, represents a disturbing evolution in criminal behavior. Using in-depth interviews, the study explores the sociocultural and psychological drivers of Yahoo-Plus based on offenders’ interpretative meanings. A cross-sectional research design and snowball sampling technique were employed to select a sample of 42 from a population of 67 convicted and awaiting-trial inmates. Findings confirm that Yahoo-Plus is deeply entrenched in Nigeria and is increasing, driven by the utilitarian culture of modern society that prioritizes material acquisition and wealth. Based on these findings, the study calls for urgent policy measures to address social exclusion and poverty, create meaningful employment opportunities for youth, and reorient societal values through structured educational reforms. This approach aims to address the sociocultural disorientation fueling Yahoo-Plus while advocating for balanced, evidence-based policy interventions.
{"title":"Narrative accounts, feelings, and perceptions of yahoo-plus offenders in Enugu and Abakaliki correctional centers, Nigeria","authors":"Benjamin Okorie Ajah , Dominic Chukwuemeka Onyejegbu , Chima Theresa Isife , Olisa Anthony Enweonwu , Uzochukwu Chukwuka Chinweze , Nkechinyere O. Anyadike , Kingsley Obumunaeme Ilo , Joy Chikaodili Omaliko , Ngozi Asadu , Chibuike Chris Ogbonna Ugwu , Ogbonna Onyebuchi Okemini , Leweanya Kingsley Chukwuemeka , Jonas Ohabuenyi , Christopher Okoro Uzoigwe , David O. Iloma , John Chijioke Madubuko , Godwin Emeka Ngwu","doi":"10.1016/j.ijlcj.2025.100823","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijlcj.2025.100823","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>There have been speculative debates and assumptions on the causes, implications, and proper sanctions for Yahoo-Plus, primarily from academic, non-academic, and media writers. These discussions are valuable as they highlight the dangers of Yahoo-Plus and propose solutions. However, none have conducted a detailed study from the offenders' perspectives. Deviating from conventional approaches, this study examines the narrative accounts, feelings, and perceptions of Yahoo-Plus offenders in Enugu and Abakaliki Correctional Centers, Nigeria. Yahoo-Plus, defined as a hybrid cybercrime involving ritual violence (e.g., human sacrifice) to enhance online fraud success, represents a disturbing evolution in criminal behavior. Using in-depth interviews, the study explores the sociocultural and psychological drivers of Yahoo-Plus based on offenders’ interpretative meanings. A cross-sectional research design and snowball sampling technique were employed to select a sample of 42 from a population of 67 convicted and awaiting-trial inmates. Findings confirm that Yahoo-Plus is deeply entrenched in Nigeria and is increasing, driven by the utilitarian culture of modern society that prioritizes material acquisition and wealth. Based on these findings, the study calls for urgent policy measures to address social exclusion and poverty, create meaningful employment opportunities for youth, and reorient societal values through structured educational reforms. This approach aims to address the sociocultural disorientation fueling Yahoo-Plus while advocating for balanced, evidence-based policy interventions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":46026,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Law Crime and Justice","volume":"84 ","pages":"Article 100823"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145884107","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-25DOI: 10.1016/j.ijlcj.2025.100822
Levent Emre Özgüç
This study evaluates the core claims of deterrence theory in the context of drunk driving among Turkish drivers. Using a scenario-based, 3 × 3 factorial survey, 1153 respondents read one randomly assigned vignette that varied the likelihood of police detection (low/medium/high) and the severity of legal sanctions (fine only/fine + license suspension/fine + license suspension + imprisonment). Participants then reported (a) their perceived certainty of apprehension, (b) the perceived severity of punishment, and (c) their likelihood of driving after drinking. Additional items captured demographics, lifetime drunk-driving frequency and punishment history.
Findings replicate several patterns in a non-Western setting. Higher perceived certainty and, to a lesser extent, higher perceived severity were associated with lower offending intentions. Environmental cues embedded in the vignettes systematically shifted certainty and severity perceptions. Prior drunk-driving experience lowered perceived certainty, but prior punishment did not raise it, offering only partial support for specific deterrence. Certainty effects emerged only above a 70 % subjective likelihood of apprehension, and severity mattered chiefly when certainty was moderate. The limited impact of formal punishment, together with evidence of compliance despite low perceived risk, suggests an important role for informal social controls in Turkey's drunk-driving deterrence landscape.
{"title":"Deterrence, prior experience, and drunk-driving intentions: A survey experiment among Turkish drivers","authors":"Levent Emre Özgüç","doi":"10.1016/j.ijlcj.2025.100822","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijlcj.2025.100822","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study evaluates the core claims of deterrence theory in the context of drunk driving among Turkish drivers. Using a scenario-based, 3 × 3 factorial survey, 1153 respondents read one randomly assigned vignette that varied the likelihood of police detection (low/medium/high) and the severity of legal sanctions (fine only/fine + license suspension/fine + license suspension + imprisonment). Participants then reported (a) their perceived certainty of apprehension, (b) the perceived severity of punishment, and (c) their likelihood of driving after drinking. Additional items captured demographics, lifetime drunk-driving frequency and punishment history.</div><div>Findings replicate several patterns in a non-Western setting. Higher perceived certainty and, to a lesser extent, higher perceived severity were associated with lower offending intentions. Environmental cues embedded in the vignettes systematically shifted certainty and severity perceptions. Prior drunk-driving experience lowered perceived certainty, but prior punishment did not raise it, offering only partial support for specific deterrence. Certainty effects emerged only above a 70 % subjective likelihood of apprehension, and severity mattered chiefly when certainty was moderate. The limited impact of formal punishment, together with evidence of compliance despite low perceived risk, suggests an important role for informal social controls in Turkey's drunk-driving deterrence landscape.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":46026,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Law Crime and Justice","volume":"84 ","pages":"Article 100822"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145840601","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-12DOI: 10.1016/j.ijlcj.2025.100820
Zhewei Mao , Jun Wu , Feng Zhu , Zhi Ye
Adolescents' deviant behaviors have remained an important concern to schools and the public over the past decades. A growing body of research has demonstrated the key value of procedural justice in reducing school delinquency. However, whether the associations between procedural justice and different types of deviant behaviors differ, and whether personal victimization experiences would affect the association of procedural justice and deviant behaviors are still unknown. The current study examined the association of adolescents' perceived procedural justice with two typical deviant behaviors (i.e., skipping school and physical fighting) in school and explored the moderating effect of bullying victimization on the associations between procedural justice and deviant behaviors. The data were derived from the 2022 National Crime Victimization Survey School Crime Supplement, which was a national survey and cross-sectional sample in the United States. The final sample contained 3017 participants (53.50 % males, Mage = 14.74, SD = 1.87). The findings revealed that perceived procedural justice of students was both negatively related to skipping school and physical fighting. Additionally, bullying victimization was found to play a significant moderating effect on the link between perceived procedural justice and skipping school; however, the moderating effect of bullying victimization on the association between perceived procedural justice and physical fighting was not significant. This research contributes to understanding the association between perceived procedural justice and different types of deviant behaviors in the school context. It also sheds light on providing tentative guidance for school delinquency prevention policies.
{"title":"Perceived procedural justice and deviant behaviors in school: The moderating role of bullying victimization","authors":"Zhewei Mao , Jun Wu , Feng Zhu , Zhi Ye","doi":"10.1016/j.ijlcj.2025.100820","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijlcj.2025.100820","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Adolescents' deviant behaviors have remained an important concern to schools and the public over the past decades. A growing body of research has demonstrated the key value of procedural justice in reducing school delinquency. However, whether the associations between procedural justice and different types of deviant behaviors differ, and whether personal victimization experiences would affect the association of procedural justice and deviant behaviors are still unknown. The current study examined the association of adolescents' perceived procedural justice with two typical deviant behaviors (i.e., skipping school and physical fighting) in school and explored the moderating effect of bullying victimization on the associations between procedural justice and deviant behaviors. The data were derived from the 2022 National Crime Victimization Survey School Crime Supplement, which was a national survey and cross-sectional sample in the United States. The final sample contained 3017 participants (53.50 % males, <em>M</em><sub><em>age</em></sub> = 14.74, <em>SD</em> = 1.87). The findings revealed that perceived procedural justice of students was both negatively related to skipping school and physical fighting. Additionally, bullying victimization was found to play a significant moderating effect on the link between perceived procedural justice and skipping school; however, the moderating effect of bullying victimization on the association between perceived procedural justice and physical fighting was not significant. This research contributes to understanding the association between perceived procedural justice and different types of deviant behaviors in the school context. It also sheds light on providing tentative guidance for school delinquency prevention policies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":46026,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Law Crime and Justice","volume":"84 ","pages":"Article 100820"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145749919","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-11DOI: 10.1016/j.ijlcj.2025.100800
April Smith
This study examines the value of peer mentoring within a women's prison as a mechanism for enhancing employability and employment prospects post-release, while addressing perceived barriers to employer decision-making. Drawing upon the views of peer mentors and staff at a female prison in England and Wales, the study highlights how mentoring roles provide opportunities to gain formal qualifications and foster softer, person-centric attributes such as confidence, self-esteem, and a renewed sense of purpose. At the same time, it explores systemic and personal barriers mentors face in transitioning from prison-based mentoring roles to employment post-release, including stigma, limited opportunities for progression, and concerns about identity fragility, particularly for a role that is tied to their history of offending, which many aspire to leave behind. Despite these challenges, peer mentors often expressed a motivation to gain work in advice and guidance roles upon release. The research underscores the importance of recognising peer mentoring as having salient employability related gains. However, to fully unlock its potential as a bridge to meaningful employment, these roles should be supported by structured pathways to opportunities after release.
{"title":"Perspectives on peer mentoring and employment prospects post release for incarcerated women in England and Wales","authors":"April Smith","doi":"10.1016/j.ijlcj.2025.100800","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijlcj.2025.100800","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines the value of peer mentoring within a women's prison as a mechanism for enhancing employability and employment prospects post-release, while addressing perceived barriers to employer decision-making. Drawing upon the views of peer mentors and staff at a female prison in England and Wales, the study highlights how mentoring roles provide opportunities to gain formal qualifications and foster softer, person-centric attributes such as confidence, self-esteem, and a renewed sense of purpose. At the same time, it explores systemic and personal barriers mentors face in transitioning from prison-based mentoring roles to employment post-release, including stigma, limited opportunities for progression, and concerns about identity fragility, particularly for a role that is tied to their history of offending, which many aspire to leave behind. Despite these challenges, peer mentors often expressed a motivation to gain work in advice and guidance roles upon release. The research underscores the importance of recognising peer mentoring as having salient employability related gains. However, to fully unlock its potential as a bridge to meaningful employment, these roles should be supported by structured pathways to opportunities after release.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":46026,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Law Crime and Justice","volume":"84 ","pages":"Article 100800"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145749920","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-05DOI: 10.1016/j.ijlcj.2025.100808
Luyuan Bai
Criminal record expungement is essential to the resocialisation of former offenders, as it removes long-term barriers to education, employment, and equal civic participation. Germany offers one of the most mature models in this regard, grounded in a historical, constitutional and legislative commitment to resocialisation, and operationalised through age-differentiated treatment, a phased sealing-expungement system, a nuanced balance of public interests and individual reintegration, and strong safeguards for privacy and data protection. Drawing on these insights and the longstanding jurisprudential ties between Germany and China, the paper reflects on China's experience with juvenile record sealing and record inquiry mechanisms. Despite their contributions, the practices reveal structural weaknesses—marked by fragmentation, risk-driven orientation and weak legal effect—while the application of collateral consequences across employment, education and social welfare continues to undermine resocialisation. Against the backdrop of rising minor offences and large numbers of offenders re-entering society, this paper argues that a rights-oriented sealing regime is both normatively necessary and institutionally feasible. It rests on embedding resocialisation as a guiding principle, structuring the regime through staged legislative pathways and phased design, and reinforcing legal effects through differentiated consequences and procedural safeguards.
{"title":"Criminal record expungement and resocialisation: German experience and reflections for China","authors":"Luyuan Bai","doi":"10.1016/j.ijlcj.2025.100808","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijlcj.2025.100808","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Criminal record expungement is essential to the resocialisation of former offenders, as it removes long-term barriers to education, employment, and equal civic participation. Germany offers one of the most mature models in this regard, grounded in a historical, constitutional and legislative commitment to resocialisation, and operationalised through age-differentiated treatment, a phased sealing-expungement system, a nuanced balance of public interests and individual reintegration, and strong safeguards for privacy and data protection. Drawing on these insights and the longstanding jurisprudential ties between Germany and China, the paper reflects on China's experience with juvenile record sealing and record inquiry mechanisms. Despite their contributions, the practices reveal structural weaknesses—marked by fragmentation, risk-driven orientation and weak legal effect—while the application of collateral consequences across employment, education and social welfare continues to undermine resocialisation. Against the backdrop of rising minor offences and large numbers of offenders re-entering society, this paper argues that a rights-oriented sealing regime is both normatively necessary and institutionally feasible. It rests on embedding resocialisation as a guiding principle, structuring the regime through staged legislative pathways and phased design, and reinforcing legal effects through differentiated consequences and procedural safeguards.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":46026,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Law Crime and Justice","volume":"84 ","pages":"Article 100808"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145665406","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-05DOI: 10.1016/j.ijlcj.2025.100805
Mads Skipanes , Johannes Pippidis Lorentzen , Sule Yildirim Yayilgan
Case management systems (CMSs) are essential to modern criminal investigations but remain underexplored compared to systems for predictive policing and digital forensics. This study examines how investigators use CMSs, which capabilities remain insufficient, and how these systems can better support their work. Through interviews with practitioners across European jurisdictions, we identify an investigative workflow of six concurrent dimensions and propose a two-tier model distinguishing preparation and exploration for knowledge discoveries. While CMSs effectively manage actions and decision-making, critical gaps persist for knowledge discovery, such as text analysis, hypothesis testing, and information retrieval. We derive functional requirements by workflow dimensions, offering guidance on which capabilities should be embedded in core systems and which are better delivered as modular services. These findings inform the design of CMSs that combine stable infrastructure with flexible tools.
{"title":"Understanding the role of case management systems in criminal investigations","authors":"Mads Skipanes , Johannes Pippidis Lorentzen , Sule Yildirim Yayilgan","doi":"10.1016/j.ijlcj.2025.100805","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijlcj.2025.100805","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Case management systems (CMSs) are essential to modern criminal investigations but remain underexplored compared to systems for predictive policing and digital forensics. This study examines how investigators use CMSs, which capabilities remain insufficient, and how these systems can better support their work. Through interviews with practitioners across European jurisdictions, we identify an investigative workflow of six concurrent dimensions and propose a two-tier model distinguishing preparation and exploration for knowledge discoveries. While CMSs effectively manage actions and decision-making, critical gaps persist for knowledge discovery, such as text analysis, hypothesis testing, and information retrieval. We derive functional requirements by workflow dimensions, offering guidance on which capabilities should be embedded in core systems and which are better delivered as modular services. These findings inform the design of CMSs that combine stable infrastructure with flexible tools.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":46026,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Law Crime and Justice","volume":"84 ","pages":"Article 100805"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145693478","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-01DOI: 10.1016/j.ijlcj.2025.100806
Francis Pakes , Helgi Gunnlaugsson
Halfway houses exist to serve as a bridge between prison and society, to enable prisoners to experience a softer landing back into society. Halfway houses are typically small urban or suburban institutions where between 10 and 30 residents live whilst they work, learn or engage in other activities. They are common in the Nordic countries yet for the most part have largely escaped criminological scrutiny. This article focuses on Iceland's only halfway house, called Vernd after the charity that founded it. Despite being outside the prison system it occupies a prominent place in the penal journey of about half of all prisoners. We consider official data on turnover, and bring in voices and opinions from residents to examine to what extent this halfway house embodies pervasive punishment, and in doing so it considers issues of resettlement and citizenship. It concludes that this halfway house in Iceland is more integrated into penal practice than halfway houses in Denmark, Norway or Sweden but that the citizenship status of its residents, in particular in relation to various forms of benefits, requires strengthening. Finally, this article hopes to serve as an invitation to study halfway houses elsewhere.
{"title":"Resettlement and citizenship in Iceland: The role and position of halfway house Vernd","authors":"Francis Pakes , Helgi Gunnlaugsson","doi":"10.1016/j.ijlcj.2025.100806","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijlcj.2025.100806","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Halfway houses exist to serve as a bridge between prison and society, to enable prisoners to experience a softer landing back into society. Halfway houses are typically small urban or suburban institutions where between 10 and 30 residents live whilst they work, learn or engage in other activities. They are common in the Nordic countries yet for the most part have largely escaped criminological scrutiny. This article focuses on Iceland's only halfway house, called <em>Vernd</em> after the charity that founded it. Despite being outside the prison system it occupies a prominent place in the penal journey of about half of all prisoners. We consider official data on turnover, and bring in voices and opinions from residents to examine to what extent this halfway house embodies pervasive punishment, and in doing so it considers issues of resettlement and citizenship. It concludes that this halfway house in Iceland is more integrated into penal practice than halfway houses in Denmark, Norway or Sweden but that the citizenship status of its residents, in particular in relation to various forms of benefits, requires strengthening. Finally, this article hopes to serve as an invitation to study halfway houses elsewhere.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":46026,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Law Crime and Justice","volume":"83 ","pages":"Article 100806"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145614401","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-01DOI: 10.1016/j.ijlcj.2025.100793
Anniina Jokinen
Forced marriage is a globally under-reported crime, widely recognized as a violation of human rights and a form of gender-based and honour-based violence. It is also closely linked to human trafficking. In Finland, forced marriage is not criminalised as a separate offence but is primarily conceptualized as a form of human trafficking. Given the limited research on forced marriage in Finland, this article deliberately focuses on describing the phenomenon and its manifestations. Using the concept of the continuum of violence, the article examines how professionals in Finland navigate forced marriage cases along the continuum from honour-based violence to human trafficking. Based on a thematic analysis of semi-structured expert interviews, the study explores how professionals identify and interpret gendered and honour-based violence in the context of forced marriage and trafficking, and how they operationalise this understanding in practice. The article highlights the multi-dimensional continuum of abuse, exploitation, and control experienced by victims. Particular attention is paid to how professionals identify and address forced marriage through victim support and criminal justice systems.
{"title":"Forced marriage in Finland: A continuum from honour-based violence to human trafficking","authors":"Anniina Jokinen","doi":"10.1016/j.ijlcj.2025.100793","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijlcj.2025.100793","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Forced marriage is a globally under-reported crime, widely recognized as a violation of human rights and a form of gender-based and honour-based violence. It is also closely linked to human trafficking. In Finland, forced marriage is not criminalised as a separate offence but is primarily conceptualized as a form of human trafficking. Given the limited research on forced marriage in Finland, this article deliberately focuses on describing the phenomenon and its manifestations. Using the concept of the continuum of violence, the article examines how professionals in Finland navigate forced marriage cases along the continuum from honour-based violence to human trafficking. Based on a thematic analysis of semi-structured expert interviews, the study explores how professionals identify and interpret gendered and honour-based violence in the context of forced marriage and trafficking, and how they operationalise this understanding in practice. The article highlights the multi-dimensional continuum of abuse, exploitation, and control experienced by victims. Particular attention is paid to how professionals identify and address forced marriage through victim support and criminal justice systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":46026,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Law Crime and Justice","volume":"83 ","pages":"Article 100793"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145684763","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-01DOI: 10.1016/j.ijlcj.2025.100797
Claudia Pecorella, Noemi Maria Cardinale
In the Italian Criminal Code of 1930, honour-based violence was recognized as a mitigating circumstance for causing the death or injury of a spouse, daughter, or sister involved in «an illegitimate carnal relationship», as well as for the killing of a newborn or fetus resulting from such a relationship. These provisions were justified by the perceived need to protect personal or family honour. Law 442/1981 repealed them, declaring honour-based justification unacceptable in light of cultural changes in Italian society. Nevertheless, honour still plays a significant role, not only within immigrant communities - brought to judicial attention through cases of young women's murders – but also within Italian society at large. The persisting patriarchal culture uses honour to preserve its power, turning reactions to transgressions of its rules into duties imposed by the family. A case law study on domestic abuse confirms this dynamic: analysis of 194 judgments from the Criminal Court of Milan – the Italian city with the highest percentage of foreign residents – showed that Italian women suffered violence in the name of so-called honour at the hands of their husbands in the same way as immigrant women. Although perpetrators rarely invoke honour explicitly (unlike in some honour killing cases), it clearly emerges as the root cause of violent behaviours aimed at asserting supremacy and hegemonic masculinity, as reflected in victims' testimonies.
{"title":"New and old in the fight against honour-based violence in Italy","authors":"Claudia Pecorella, Noemi Maria Cardinale","doi":"10.1016/j.ijlcj.2025.100797","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijlcj.2025.100797","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In the Italian Criminal Code of 1930, honour-based violence was recognized as a mitigating circumstance for causing the death or injury of a spouse, daughter, or sister involved in «<em>an illegitimate carnal relationship</em>», as well as for the killing of a newborn or fetus resulting from such a relationship. These provisions were justified by the perceived need to protect personal or family honour. Law 442/1981 repealed them, declaring honour-based justification unacceptable in light of cultural changes in Italian society. Nevertheless, honour still plays a significant role, not only within immigrant communities - brought to judicial attention through cases of young women's murders – but also within Italian society at large. The persisting patriarchal culture uses honour to preserve its power, turning reactions to transgressions of its rules into duties imposed by the family. A case law study on domestic abuse confirms this dynamic: analysis of 194 judgments from the Criminal Court of Milan – the Italian city with the highest percentage of foreign residents – showed that Italian women suffered violence in the name of so-called honour at the hands of their husbands in the same way as immigrant women. Although perpetrators rarely invoke honour explicitly (unlike in some honour killing cases), it clearly emerges as the root cause of violent behaviours aimed at asserting supremacy and hegemonic masculinity, as reflected in victims' testimonies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":46026,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Law Crime and Justice","volume":"83 ","pages":"Article 100797"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145684764","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：
京公网安备 11010802042870号