Credible messengers—individuals with lived experience of violence either as perpetrators or victims—are central to many community-based violence intervention (CVI) programs. Although the use of credible messengers as case managers in CVI programs is expanding, research is limited on what contributes to their effectiveness. This study examines the skills and traits credible messengers utilize to engage participants and support behavior change. Interviews and focus groups with staff from a violence intervention program were conducted, and transcripts were thematically analyzed using iterative deductive–inductive coding and a team-based pile sort. The analyses, later validated through member checking, resulted in the identification of seven core traits and skills, along with 14 subthemes that shape effective participant engagement. By illuminating the interpersonal foundations of credible messenger work, this study advances scholarship on the processes underlying critical components of CVI programming and offers insights into optimizing case management training and program implementation.

Scholarship finds that defendants face various punishments when attempting to intervene during open court proceedings. Some research also suggests a link between defense counsel type (public/private), defendant interventions, and punishment. Using observational data from a virtual pretrial courtroom, our study examines the effects of defense counsel type on defendant intervention attempts and the impact of attempts on pretrial decisions. Descriptives indicate that intervention attempts were more prevalent among defendants represented by public defenders than by private counsel, and defendants were frequently silenced or ignored—in about 38% of cases. Multivariate results indicate that representation type has no statistically significant effect on intervention attempts. However, we find an interplay between prior system contact and intervention attempts. Findings also indicate that interventions are associated with an increased likelihood of detention. This study highlights the importance of using observational data to gain a more nuanced understanding of pretrial courts, defendant behaviors, and punishment.

Adolescents in juvenile justice centers (JJCs) are among the most vulnerable youth populations, yet they remain underrepresented in developmental research. Bullying is widespread in JJCs, but little is known about how youth interpret and cope with victimization, particularly in relation to institutional climates informed by staff attitudes. This study examined whether staff attitudes toward bullying moderate the relationship between victimization and justice-involved adolescents’ appraisal of coping strategies. Data were collected from 141 adolescents and 150 staff across seven JJCs in Italy and Portugal. Multilevel models tested associations between victimization and coping appraisals, accounting for cross-level interactions with staff-reported attitudes. Over 70% of participants reported experiencing bullying. Victimization was positively associated with aggressive, self-harming, and avoidant coping. In JJCs where staff justified bullying, the link with avoidant coping strengthened. Disapproval of bullying buffered the association with aggressive coping. Promoting justice-oriented cultures within JJCs may support more adaptive coping among detained youth.

Secondary prevention targeting individuals at risk of offending presents a promising strategy to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse, yet programs remain scarce and help-seeking individuals face various barriers. In response, internet-delivered programs such as Prevent It 2.0, an anonymous cognitive behavioral therapy intervention, are being developed. Effective recruitment could benefit from collaboration with the criminal police as referrers. This study examined the perceptions of German, Portuguese, and Swedish criminal police officers regarding Prevent It 2.0 and their potential role in recruitment. Using a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) framework to inform data generation, reflexive thematic analysis of six focus groups revealed the program’s perceived potential and limitations. Officers highlighted it as an accessible, low-threshold, and anonymous option, expressing their willingness to refer individuals and indicating a potential for integrated, interdisciplinary prevention strategies. Participants also emphasized the need for continued program refinement and sensitivity to sociocultural influences. Recommendations for implementation and recruitment are discussed.

Using data from a survey of full-time employees at a large private university ( n = 872), this study examines the relationship between thoughtfully reflective decision-making (TRDM) and cybercrime and the moderating roles of self-control and deviant peer associations. Results show that TRDM, self-control, and peer associations are each significantly associated with projected cybercrime in the expected directions. Furthermore, interaction analyses reveal that, while self-control does not moderate the TRDM–cybercrime link, peer deviance does: TRDM’s crime-protective effect weakens and becomes nonsignificant at higher than average levels of peer involvement in cybercrime. These findings highlight the importance of peer context in shaping the influence of reflective decision-making on cyber offending.

Accurate risk assessment of individuals convicted of sexual offenses is crucial to prevent reoffending and prolonged institutionalization. However, findings indicate a heterogenous quality of risk assessment reports. Some of the qualitative variance may reflect differences in the strength of empirical evidence linking risk factors to reoffending. Some factors that have historically been important treatment targets have meta-analytically been shown to be empirically unsupported. To investigate the influence of unsupported risk factors on the decision-making process, the present study examined risk assessment reports ( N = 304) conducted between 1999 and 2016. Results showed a heterogenous consideration of empirically (un)supported risk factors. Reports following a structured risk assessment approach considered significantly more empirically supported risk factors than reports based on an unstructured, clinical-intuitive assessment procedure. Taken together, our findings provide further support for the use of structured and standardized risk assessment procedures and caution expert witnesses against incorporating empirically unsupported risk factors.

Research has begun to explore the role of procedural justice in prison contexts. One potential benefit of procedural justice in prisons is an uplift in the well-being of people in prison. The well-being of people in prison matters because it is associated with reduced recidivism upon release. This study draws on survey data collected from incarcerated individuals in Australia to examine the associations between their perceptions of procedural justice, staff relationships, prison safety, and their self-reported mental well-being over time. Using cross-sectional data, we find procedural justice perceptions are positively associated with respondents’ well-being, and that staff relationships and perceived prison safety mediate this pathway. However, when examined longitudinally, only staff relationships mediate the procedural justice and well-being relationship. These results highlight the utility of procedural justice training in prison environments, and the need for future research to consider how prison officers can foster relationships that are procedurally just and appropriate.

We conducted a formative evaluation and evaluability assessment of a novel approach to domestic violence (DV) intervention in Seattle, Washington: The Domestic Violence Intervention Project (DVIP). The DVIP seeks to address DV through evidence-based DV intervention programming and a multi-agency response. Using document reviews, deidentified case file reviews, focus groups with DVIP team members, and a data review, we examined: (1) the extent to which the program theory aligns with the program implemented, (2) the likelihood the program will produce positive results as currently applied, and (3) the feasibility of outcome evaluations as currently designed. Findings suggest that the DVIP is ready for an outcome evaluation. We also discuss broader implications for the field of DV intervention research.

Sociolegal scholarship tends to emphasize the vast discretionary power of prosecutors. Yet, the election of progressive prosecutors raises the question of whether their power is absolute, or whether it is contingent on abiding by traditional prosecutorial norms. Using semistructured interviews with prosecutors and staff in two jurisdictions led by progressive prosecutors ( n = 43), this study examines the barriers to prosecution reform posed by other actors in the court community. Results show that court community actors resist changes to standard case processing norms when progressive lead prosecutors are elected. These findings suggest the prosecutors’ power is contingent, rather than absolute, as other court actors—especially judges—respond to the election of a progressive lead prosecutor by asserting previously unused regulatory powers. In that way, the extent to which progressive lead prosecutors can achieve their goals depends, not only on buy-in from their staff but also on compliance from other court actors.

We examined how college students perceived and discussed an intimate partner stalking case during mock jury deliberations. Specifically, undergraduates constituting 22 mixed-gender mock juries provided individual pre- and postdeliberation verdicts and deliberated in mixed-gender groups. We used Pathfinder analyses to derive semantic networks from their written pre- and postdeliberation verdict reasoning and the transcribed jury deliberations. During deliberations, women primarily made pro-alleged victim and antidefendant comments, considering the alleged victim’s fear and the defendant’s capability of harm. Men mainly made prodefendant comments, such as romanticizing his behavior. After deliberations, women became more prodefendant in their verdict reasons, while men remained similarly prodefendant and sometimes anti-alleged victim pre- and postdeliberations. Results provide evidence for gendered perceptions of criminal stalking, particularly pertaining to defendant threat and alleged victim fear. We consider implications for stalking legislation and education, and legal decision-making.