Journal of Experimental Criminology最新文献

Objective

This study aims to explore susceptibility to phishing emails by analysing the visual patterns of individuals.

Method

A quasi-experimental study was developed, using 28 emails (13 phishing; 13 legitimate; 2 control) which were subdivided into two groups (G1; G2) and presented to the participants who looked at a set of 15 emails. The sample consisted of 70 participants.

Results

Phishing emails showed significantly higher average fixation times and total fixations in the sender’s area compared to legitimate emails. However, no significant correlations were found between fixation time, total number of fixations in various areas of the email, and the accuracy of email identification (both general and phishing).

Conclusion

This pioneering study within the Portuguese context lays the foundation for future research on analysing and accurately detecting different types of emails, including differentiating between them. It also supports the development of targeted training to improve the recognition of various emails cues.

Objectives

This systematic review examined the reporting practices of propensity score modeling (PSM) in criminology and criminal justice studies.

Methods

There were 229 articles (with 527 individual sets of PSM analyses) published between 2000 and 2022 in the top 19 ranked criminology and criminal justice journals that were identified for study inclusion. These articles were systematically coded to assess the presence of key PSM reporting elements, including covariates, estimation methods, balancing strategy, matching type, sample size, balance assessment, sensitivity analysis, and post-PSM analyses.

Results

The use of PSM has increased dramatically over the last two decades. Study findings suggest that while there are many areas where the discipline has improved reporting over the last 22 years, there are still others that are sorely lacking. Our review reveals that only 28.9% of studies reported the propensity score technique used, 21.8% did not report pre- or post-PSM sample information, and 26.6% of all studies examined either did not report a balance assessment or reported using only one assessment which were largely null hypothesis significance testing.

Conclusions

Our findings provide a baseline assessment of PSM reporting and provide some guidance for conducting, reviewing, and publishing PSM research in criminology and criminal justice journals.

Objective

The objective of this study is to conduct the first peer-reviewed meta-analysis of the predictors of job satisfaction among law enforcement. We draw upon self-determination theory (SDT) to guide our selection of six antecedents to include in our analysis.

Methods

We utilize Schmidt and Hunter’s (2015) meta-analytic methods of correcting correlations individually for artifacts. We also employ meta-analytic sub-group comparison methods as part of a moderator analysis.

Results

The results in order from the smallest to the largest effect size are cynicism towards the public ρ = -.34, job autonomy ρ = .41, supervisor support ρ = .43, co-worker support ρ = .53, opportunities for professional development ρ = .58, and training ρ = .59. Regarding the subgroup analyses, the effect sizes for supervisor support were significantly weaker in individualistic countries than in collectivistic countries, and the effect size for autonomy was significantly stronger in individualistic countries than in collectivistic countries.

Conclusions

Our findings support the utility of SDT in explaining job satisfaction among law enforcement. While SDT has broad applications, the relative impact of each dimension of SDT on job satisfaction varies meaningfully across cultures.

Background

We sought to determine whether various ion scanner devices could provide a practical alternative in field-based research, where affordable and accessible drug screening is needed for comprehensive and ongoing investigation.

Methods

In Study 1, off-site sample analysis proved inconclusive, rendering Protocols A and B impractical for ongoing drug screening. Conversely, Study 2’s on-site, real-time analysis (Protocol C) emerged as a more effective method. The Itemizer3, particularly in Protocol C, excelled in discerning drug users. Comparing admitted drug use rates in both studies, the mere presence of an objective measure, confirmational or not, likely facilitated more truthful participant responses, highlighting the efficacy of real-time, on-site drug screening using IMS/ITMS technologies.

Findings

All samples analyzed off-site in Study 1 were found to be inconclusive. As such, Protocols A and B were not feasible for on-going drug screening and monitoring. Conversely, the results of Study 2 Protocol C demonstrated that harvesting samples directly off participants on-site and analyzing these in-real time to be a more efficacious method. Our findings in Protocol C also show that the Itemizer3 was better at identifying those who did not use drugs from those who did. Looking at the incidence rates of admitted drug use in Studies 1 and 2, we find that simply having an objective measure present (irrespective of whether it is confirmational or not) likely resulted in us obtaining more truthful responses from participants about their use of drugs.

Conclusions

Our results underscore IMS/ITMS practicality for on-site NED drug screening.

Objective

This Research Note describes the MAXLab Aggression and Bystander Intervention Scenario Set (MAXLab_ABISS) and provides empirical examples of its applicability. We describe the scenarios, elaborate on the production process, provide technical specifications, and explain how materials can be obtained.

Method

This modular stimulus set, which is currently available in the English, German and Dutch language, includes 360° videos for studying decision-making in interpersonal violence. It offers researchers a complimentary method to collect data on emotions, perceptions, and reactions to violent situations using immersive technology.

Results

Analysis from two samples (n = 101 and n = 55) show the immersive scenarios of the stimulus set are effective at evoking targeted emotional experiences at the moment of a crime decision.

Conclusion

MAXLab_ABISS is a safe and effective tool for studying decision making in real-life, emotion-laden criminogenic settings. We offer insights for how researchers can further use the materials to study decision making related to crime and violence.

Objectives

This study examines the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to reduce the time police officers spend writing reports, a task that consumes a significant portion of their workday.

Methods

In a pre-registered randomized controlled trial, we test this claim within the patrol division of a medium-sized police department (n = 85) at the individual report level (n = 755). Analyses utilize mixed-effects regression accounting for the nested structure of report-writing.

Results

AI assistance did not significantly affect the duration of writing police reports. Alternative specifications beyond those specified in the pre-registration, including a difference-in-differences approach observing report duration over a full year (n = 6084), confirm the null findings are robust.

Conclusions

Our findings contradict marketing expectations for the effect of this technology, suggesting no time savings in report-writing can be expected when using AI-assisted report-writing. Several other potential effects remain possible and untested.

Objectives

This study aims to identify effective strategies for disseminating scholarly evidence to corrections practitioners within the framework of translational criminology.

Methods

In this experimental study, corrections practitioners were randomly assigned to receive weekly executive summaries, full-text articles, or corrections news for five months. Data were collected through a pre-survey, a 2-month midpoint survey, and a post-survey to evaluate engagement and knowledge uptake.

Results

Participants receiving executive summaries showed the highest engagement but did not demonstrate enhanced comprehension compared to those receiving corrections news, who exhibited higher comprehension. Those accessing full-text articles reported the least comprehension and lower engagement, despite finding the information highly useful.

Conclusions

Given the mixed effectiveness of executive summaries and full-text articles, future research should develop tailored dissemination strategies to better meet the needs of corrections practitioners. The study highlights the critical roles of partnerships and pracademics in translating complex research for practical application.

The purpose of this response essay is to commend the authors of the article, “Evaluating the effectiveness of a fatigue training intervention for the Seattle Police Department” for calling attention to the issue of fatigue and addressing its negative impact on health and safety. We highlight the demanding role of police officers and how fatigue can have significant consequences. We also discuss how the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) is committed to calling attention to the importance of sufficient sleep, and review how effectively the online training course tackled the issue. The positive results from the online training program align well with the AASM’s priority of addressing and improving sleep health. The AASM finds the published trial to be groundbreaking work and agree that its cost-effective, low-burden strategy for combating fatigue can be a potential model for significantly improving sleep, mental health, and safe driving in police officers.

In “Cause, Effect, and the Structure of the Social World” (2023), Megan Stevenson makes a claim that randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have not had a significant effect in criminal justice settings. She then draws the conclusion that the gold standard for research designs, RCTs, are inherently incapable of doing so, demonstrating that the social world they intervene on is too complex, but also too resilient, to respond to the types of interventions that are evaluable by RCT. She calls the insistence that RCTs can work an “engineer’s” view of the world, which she discards as a myth. The argument then conflates RCTs with other methods of generating and sustaining change in organizations and systems, and closes suggesting RCTs should be discarded for less rigorous but more sweeping means of social reform. This article proceeds as follows: It characterizes Stevenson’s argument, which she asserts is empirical, as a de facto meta-analysis of criminal justice RCTs executed as a heuristic and presented in a narrative format. It argues that if a formal meta-analysis would be rendered invalid by violating established protocols, then a heuristic analysis that commits the same errors would be invalid as well. The analysis then presents the prohibitions on pooling studies with heterogeneous designs, interventions, outcomes, and metrics for the purpose of meta-analysis. It demonstrates that Stevenson pools a wide range of heterogenous studies, rendering her empirical meta-analytic claims problematic. It is true that many criminal justice RCTs have produced null or lackluster results—which also constitute an important outcome—and attempts to replicate significant findings have often been unsuccessful. This is not unique to criminal justice: psychology was recently in crisis when it was determined few of its most prominent studies could be replicated. However, less rigorous methods of reform do not solve this problem. Instead, more comprehensive research designs such as hybrid implementation/effectiveness trials can reveal aspects of our social world that impact external validity and generalizability. Findings from these studies can help illuminate the conditions that impact outcomes and sustainably modify highly resilient human behaviors. These methods arise from techniques in medicine and public health, which Stevenson brackets off as fundamentally different from criminal justice. This type of thinking may be the actual myth that prevents progress.

Objective

Calls for more transparent and replicable scientific practices have been increasing across scientific disciplines over the last decade, often referred to as the open science movement. Open science practices are arguably particularly important in fields like criminology and criminal justice where empirical findings aim to inform public policy and legal practice. Despite favorable views of these practices by criminal justice scholars, limited research has explored how often researchers actually use these open science practices.

Method

The current study measures the reported use of pre-registration, open access, open materials, open data, and open code in leading criminology and criminal justice journals from 2018 to 2022.

Results

Our results reveal limited use of open science practices, particularly pre-registration and open code.

Conclusions

Given these findings, we call for both journals and authors to consider adopting these practices to move toward a more transparent and replicable field.