International Journal of Law Crime and Justice最新文献

Knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of police officers are important in shaping public opinion on the death penalty. However, there is a paucity of research in the Caribbean on police officers’ attitudes towards the death penalty and thus insufficient police scholarship on this topical issue. More specifically, there is a noticeable sparseness of scholarship on the death penalty using police recruits as proxies for such studies. As a result of this lacuna, the current study examined attitudes of police recruits towards the death penalty using a mixed-method approach to gather data on attitudes towards the death penalty as well as alternatives to the death penalty. Questionnaires were distributed to one hundred and seven individuals undergoing police recruit training at the Police Academy in Trinidad and Tobago. The data were distilled by gender, education level, marital status, and age range to determine attitudes towards the death penalty among the recruit population. The findings revealed: (1) high levels of support for the death penalty, (2) the death penalty is the most appropriate sentence for persons found guilty of murder, and (3) life imprisonment without the possibility of parole as the best alternative sentencing option to the death penalty. Three themes (consistent application of the death penalty, life imprisonment without parole, and murder only) emanated from the qualitative component of the instrument and these are discussed.

The purpose of this research is to examine the effect of family climate and childhood trauma on individuals with involvement in crime compared to individuals with no involvement in crime. The data were collected using a sociodemographic information form, the Family Climate Scale (FCS), and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). FCS cognitive cohesion subscale scores were significantly lower in the case group than in the control group, while CTQ emotional abuse, physical neglect, emotional neglect, sexual abuse, and overprotection subscale, and total CTQ scores were significantly higher. Within that context, we recommend that interventions targeting the families of children and young people and other adults with whom they are in contact be prioritized in endeavors to prevent child delinquency and also chronic criminality persisting in adulthood.

Our study analyzes data from the Corporate Prosecution Registry of the University of Virginia School of Law and Duke University School of Law. This registry provides information on federal organizational prosecutions in the United States, including detailed information about every federal organizational prosecution since 2001, as well as deferred and non-prosecution agreements with organizations since 1990. We examine a subset of corporate violators, namely those who allegedly committed five types of fraud, namely, accounting fraud, mail fraud and wire fraud prosecutions, health care fraud, securities fraud, and tax fraud. We utilize the framework of bounded rationality of decision making to hypothesize that prosecutors are influenced by internal and external factors that affect the total penalties ultimately levied on corporate violators. Specifically, our results indicate that corporate penalties are significantly more likely to be lower when U.S. Department of Justice sections are involved in the prosecution and the company's country of incorporation has a Free Trade Agreement with the U.S. but significantly more likely to be higher when the violator is a U.S. public company.

Police use of force is a critical area of concern, in Canada, North America, and globally. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 40 Indigenous community members, this article provides insight into direct and vicarious experiences with police use of force. The research illustrates that most Indigenous respondents have experienced police use of force—either directly, vicariously, or both. Most of the experiences with police use of force involved physical types of encounters. In many cases, individuals were injured but did not receive medical attention. The findings underscore the variety of ways Indigenous peoples have experienced police use of force and how these encounters have had negative long-term impacts. Policy implications such as stronger accountability and reporting mechanisms for documenting use of force as well as the implementation of body-worn cameras for police are examined.

This paper questions whether the law is equipped to respond to the range of behaviours that characterise domestic abuse, especially those behaviours that are associated with coercion and control and, in particular, the disclosure of private sexual images to this end. A willingness to recognise notions of intimate terrorism and coercive control as an integral part of this gendered harm has now been embedded in our legislative regime through the enactment of s.76 Serious Crime Act. Alongside, s.33 Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 has criminalised so-called ‘revenge porn’ through prohibiting the disclosure of intimate sexual images. In this paper, I argue that neither of these offences truly reflect the experiences of women and both involve barriers to justice. In particular, I argue that, where coercion and the disclosure of private sexual images/threats to disclose the same, or other demeaning images coincide, the legal framework is particularly ill-equipped to respond.

This study delves into the narrative criminological facets of Agnew's (2016) four-factor theory on crime resistance and susceptibility, particularly within the realm of organized crime. Drawing insights from thirty-two interviews with college students and other young adults residing in a Mafia-influenced area, the study observes that the four inducements to crime—Negativity, Pleasure and Sensation Seeking, Conventional Efficacy and Perceived Social Support, and Environmental Sensitivity—also manifest as narratives that inspire or induce a resistance to an affiliation with organized crime. Nevertheless, the distinct nuances of narrative criminology and the unique characteristics of organized crime reveal additional influencing factors. Cultural and discursive narrative themes, such as Familism, Opportunities and Careerism, and Ambiguities and Contradictions, highlight the capacity of narrative criminology to unearth dimensions and interpretations often overlooked by more traditional methodologies. Given these considerations, this study represents the inaugural endeavor to integrate narrative criminology within a formal theory of crime resistance and susceptibility.

Wrongful conviction of an innocent person is an extreme type of injustice that plagues the criminal justice system today. Wrongful conviction for a sexual offense is especially traumatic for the individual due to the inherent stigma surrounding this type of crime; however, there is a dearth of research focusing on the unique aspects of both the offense and the investigation that may contribute to those convictions. The current study sought to answer the following research questions: 1-Are most sexual assault wrongful convictions in series inter-racial? 2- Does relational misattribution play a role in wrongful conviction for sexual assault? 3-Where in the series do wrongful convictions occur? 4-Do wrongful convictions in serial sexual assault cases occur primarily due to behavioral inconsistency on the part of the perpetrator (i.e., the crime for which there is a wrongful conviction appears to be significantly different from the rest of the series) leading to linkage blindness? 5-To what extent does police misconduct and other investigative issues play a role in mishandling of the offense as a one-off as opposed to part of series? Data for this study included 43 violent sexual series where a proven wrongful conviction was present for at least one of the crimes. Results suggest that thorough investigation, evidence testing, and the ability to reopen cases after similar incidents can reduce wrongful sexual assault convictions. Distinguishing between group and solo offending, stranger and acquaintance offenses, and developing investigative models that account for serial crime behavior change can improve investigative accuracy.

This study explores cyberbullying and cyberstalking in higher education from the victims' perspective. It presents a novel contribution byutlising a convenience sample of students and staff in a university setting in England. Their perceptions as victims were collected through a semi-structured online survey during the COVID-19 pandemic. This temporal setting helps to explore how external traumatic events, collective restrictions, and increased internet use affect online social interactions. A quantitative method is employed to gain a deeper understanding of the complexity of human behaviour and factors that contribute to changes in the everyday lives of victims. Despite the exploratory nature of this study, the empirical insights provide valuable contributions that can inform the development of innovative best practice and evidence-based policies to support victims in higher education.

Although the science behind hot spot policing is robust and grounded in theory, implementation issues prevent it from becoming commonplace in everyday policing. The mounting evidence suggests that “hot spot policing” (Sherman and Weisburd 1995) is rarely applied in police routines. The paper critically discusses three common problems with the implementation of this approach into policy: officers' motivation, organisational resistance, and technological failures. Two competing solutions are proposed to these endemic issues: instituting specialised hot spot policing units or outsourcing the job of ‘cooling down’ hot spots to alternative non-police entities, partially or wholly.

Child homicide remains responsible for a high number of child deaths despite decreasing in recent decades. Much of the research on child homicide has focused specifically on filicide or the broader characteristics of child homicide. Little research has examined whether the degree of intimacy between victims and perpetrators in child homicide cases may impact criminal justice outcomes. Focusing on 603 cases of child homicide between 1985 and 2018 in Ontario, Canada, this exploratory study compares the criminal justice outcomes of perpetrators with a familial relationship, non-familial relationship, and no prior relationship with the victim. Results show that familial perpetrators were less likely to be convicted of murder. Stereotypes about intimacy and violence that may impact criminal justice outcomes in child homicide cases are explored. Suggestions for future research on the effect of intimacy on criminal justice outcomes are highlighted, and policy implications are also discussed.