Categories Of Offenders Research Articles

Criminal sanctions against juveniles

Minors represent a specific category of offenders. This is related to their age moving in a span of time from the age of 14 to the age of 18. A distinction has been made between younger minors (14-16 years old) and older minors (16-18 years old). In the first case there can be imposed only educational measures while in the second one there can even be imposed a sanction of a juvenile prison. This attitude of the majority of legislators in the comparative law is caused by bio-psychological characteristics of minors which affect the process of their re-socialization and reintegration into society. This approach is evident in most of the international and European legal documents regulating the system of both criminal (diversion) measures and criminal sanctions. On this basis, in Serbia, it is regulated the area of the juvenile criminal law. Starting from the previously mentioned facts, the author of this paper will seek to highlight the area within which criminal sanctions against minors are included. By this it is meant to establish the concept, type, method of imposing the criminal penalties against minors as well as the possibilities of their efficient implementation.

A Behavioral Genetic Test of the Evolutionary Taxonomy

Life-course-persistent (LCP) offending has been intensely studied over the last several decades resulting in an impressive amount of evidence linking chronic offending with a host of negative outcomes including violence, impulsiveness, and sexual promiscuity. Although much evidence also exists regarding the origins of LCP offending, emergent work is attempting to unify this knowledge under the umbrella of evolutionary biology using life history theory. The current study draws on this work—specifically, the Evolutionary Taxonomy—in order to further probe the etiology of chronic antisocial behavior. Using quantitative genetic methods and data from a national sample of twins, the current study examines whether LCP offending and the life history trait of sexual promiscuity might be linked at an underlying genetic level. Analyses of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) data suggest that a shared genetic scaffold might be responsible for some of the covariation of LCP offending with the life history trait of sexual promiscuity. Specifically, the current analyses revealed evidence that overlapping genetic factors influenced both sexual involvement and LCP offender classification. Our results offer insight regarding the evolution of the traits that distinguish LCP offenders from the rest of the population. LCP offending may represent a set of life history traits that, over the course of human evolution, clustered together in small segments of the population. The findings lend support for the Evolutionary Taxonomy proposed to explain the ultimate origins of criminal offending.

The Involvement of School Students in Criminal Activities and Its Position in the Malaysian Law

The involvement of secondary school students in Malaysia in criminal activities is escalating and causing alarm to the society as a whole. There are several identified categories of crimes involving secondary school students, for instance theft, snatching, rape, housebreaking and robbery. In Malaysia there are specific legal provisions that govern criminal acts committed by those between the ages of 12 to 18 years old. Those provisions are the Penal Code and the Child Act 2001. From those provisions it can be seen that the age of criminal responsibility under the Malaysian criminal justice system is 10 years old while the definition of a child under the law is below 18 years of age. In consideration of the current scenario in Malaysia, this article seeks to discuss the relevant legal provisions pertaining to the status of school going children who committed crimes. In doing so, it will then be possible to identify the extent of their criminal responsibility and the types of punishment that may be imposed on this category of offenders. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n4s3p403

ROC Analysis on Viewing Time and Choice Reaction Time on the Basis of Criteria for Classification of Sex Offenders

본 연구는 성범죄자들을 대상으로 아동 성범죄자와 소아성애적 아동 성범죄자를 분류하는 기준을 달리하여 집단을 구분하였다. 그런 다음 주의과정을 적용한 시각탐색과제와 매력도평가과제를 실시하여 이들 집단 차이를 살펴보았다. 실험참여자들은 제시된 시각자극에서 점의 위치를 판단하는 시각탐색과제와 제시된 자극에 대해 얼마나 매력적인가를 평가하는 데 소요된 시간을 측정하는 매력도평가과제를 수행하였다. 우선, 성범죄자들을 피해자의 연령을 기준으로 13세 미만과 13세 이상 집단으로 구분하고 내준적 측정법을 적용한 시각탐색과제와 매력도평가과제에 대해 ROC분석을 실시하였다. 그 결과, 시각탐색과제에서는 차이가 없었다. 그러나 매력도평가과제에서는 아동남자, 아동여자, 성인남자를 제외하고, 성인여자의 자극에서 유의미한 결과가 나타났다. 다음으로, 소아성애자 선별 척도인 SSPI 점수를 기준으로 전체 성범죄자 집단에서 소아성애적 아동 성범죄자로 선별된 집단을 구성하고 내준적 측정법을 적용한 시각탐색과제와 매력도평가과제에 대한 ROC분석을 실시하였다. 그 결과, 소아애적 아동성범죄자로 선별된 집단은 아동여자 자극에 대해서는 매우 빠른 반응시간과 성인남자에서는 매우 느린 반응시간을 보여주었다. 하지만 매력도 과제에서는 아동남자, 아동여자, 성인남자, 성인여자 모두 유의미하지 않은 것으로 나타났다.

What Predicts Where Sex Offenders Live? An Examination of Census Tract Data in Minnesota

Communities across the United States have become increasingly concerned over the presence of sex offenders in their neighborhoods. The purpose of this research is to examine the factors that are associated with the concentration of sex offenders in a large geographic area with few residency restrictions. This research also examines multiple categories of sex offenders subject to varying levels of community notification, allowing for an assessment of what, if any, effect community notification has on the residential patterns of sex offenders. Concentrated disadvantage, concentrated affluence, and housing affordability are all significant factors in explaining the concentration of multiple categories of sex offenders. Concentrated affluence relative to poverty is the most consistent predictor of sex offender concentration, revealing that more affluent communities ward off sex offender residents, regardless of community notification requirements.

The Adolescence–Adulthood Transition and Desistance from Crime: Examining the Underlying Structure of Desistance

Describing and explaining desistance in special categories of juvenile offenders, such as chronic, serious, violent, and sexual offenders, represents a challenge for researchers and practitioners alike. In fact, there is little agreement as to how to best define and measure desistance from crime. In the current study, four conceptualizations of desistance are examined with a sample of 349 incarcerated juvenile offenders. Based on longitudinal data measured from age 12 to 23, desistance was examined through four modeling strategies. Results highlighted inconsistencies in classifying offenders as desisters/persisters across the modeling strategies used. Of importance, following the transition into adulthood, evidence suggests that most of these individuals were not on a life-course pattern of serious, violent, and sexual offending but rather at different stages of desistance. Based on the study findings, a unified model of desistance is proposed to describe and explain desistance from crime among juvenile offenders.

Pharmacological interventions for those who have sexually offended or are at risk of offending.

This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows: To evaluate the effects of pharmacological interventions on target sexual behaviour for people who have been convicted or at risk of sexual offending.

Detection of Dynamic Risk Factors and Correctional Practice

Taxman and Caudy (2015, this issue) argue for the utility of basing correctional interventions on individual need profiles as opposed to levels of reoffending risk and lists of risk dynamic factors. Although they acknowledge the value of the risk‐ need‐responsivity (RNR) framework in guiding offender classification and subsequent correctional interventions, the inability of the RNR model to bridge the theory-practice gap is recognized as a major weakness. The problem is that offenders vary in terms of their psychological and social problems, and this variability is often overlooked by correctional jurisdictions that use the RNR to construct policy and programs for offenders. In other words, the RNR is too blunt an instrument to reflect adequately the real-world experiences and treatment needs of individual offenders—treatment needs that span both programs and case management. Taxman and Caudy’s (2015) response to the problem of offender need heterogeneity is to search for clusters of dynamic risk factors they label “criminogenic needs” and “lifestyle destabilizers.” They believe that the best way to reduce recidivism rates is by developing a more fine-grained understanding of risk profiles and to use the subsequent grouping of offenders to determine the type and duration of intervention packages. To achieve this end, latent class analysis (LCA) was used to detect groups of offenders (from a sample of 17,252 offenders on probation) with similar clusters of needs and lifestyle destabilizers using a risk-assessment scale and measures of 11 classes of dynamic risk factors, including substance abuse, low self-control, antisocial peers, antisocial values, employment education, and family support. The employment of this statistical technique resulted in four groups: class 1—moderate needs with high destabilizers, class 2—low need with few destabilizers,

Características sociodemográficas de migrantes bolivianas com gestação decorrente de violência sexual atendidas em serviço público de referência para abortamento legal, São Paulo, Brasil, 2002‐2014

IntroductionThe city of São Paulo is one of the main destinations of Bolivian migrant women in search of work. However, her are subjected to poor living conditions and work that make them more vulnerable to suffer violence, included sexual. ObjectiveTo identify sociodemographic characteristics of Bolivian migrants with pregnancy resulting from rape, met in public service reference for legal abortion. MethodRetrospective study and documentation. Convenience sample with 38 Bolivian women who requested abortion for pregnancy resulting from rape between 2002 and 2014. The study variables were the origin of region, age, education, occupation, marital status, religion, offender classification, reporting to the police, circumstances of sexual crime and its consequences. ResultsThe age ranged from 13‐34 years, mean 24.0±6.3 years. Most were single (63.2%), Catholic (55.3%), working (71.1%) and incomplete primary education (28.9%), residing on the east side (44.7%). Sexual violence occurred mainly at home (26.3%) or during leisure (23.7%), perpetrated by unknown (63.2%) by physical violence and threat (39.5%). Most of the cases were referred by public health services (39.5%) carrying police report (52.6%) and mean gestational age of 12.1 weeks. Pregnancy was interrupted in 30 cases (78.9%) and the main abortion ground for refusal was gestational age ≥ 23 weeks. ConclusionsIn many ways the sexual violence against women Bolivian migrants, resemble the situations experienced by women in large urban centers addressed in public places by unknown assailants. However, the results suggest that the Bolivian migrants are more likely to rape practiced with physical violence and less able to communicate the crime to the police.

Demographics and Classification of Sexual Offenders and Associations with Non- Compliance of the Tennessee Sexual Offender Registration Laws

Demographics and Classification of Sexual Offenders and Associations with Non- Compliance of the Tennessee Sexual Offender Registration Laws

Does Gender Change Things? Analysis of the Difference Between Male and Female Violent Crime for Solo and Co-Offenders

Abstract The narrowing of the gender gap among violent male and female offenders has led to inquiry of the relationship between gender and violent co-offending relationships. This study examines the relationship between offender/offense and victim characteristics to offender categories: solo or co-offender, offender categories according to number and gender, and the presence of a female offender (no female, one female, or two females) using official National Incident-Based Reporting System data. The findings indicate that co-offenders were significantly more likely than solo offenders to have multiple victims. Incidents involving at least one female offender are more likely to have multiple victims and at least one female victim. Several factors were significantly related to incidents involving more severe offenses: a lack of the presence of a female offender, co-offenders, suspected weapon use, an offender who is a minority, male victim, victim is not related to the offender(s), and a solo victim. As the...

Prediction of Offending: SARPO—The Czech Tool for Assessment of Offenders' Criminogenic Risk and Needs

In the past three decades, developed prison and probation services have paid large attention to risk assessment tools predicting the probability of reoffending. This not only resulted in a more accurate classification of offenders, but also in a more informed choice of effective intervention helping to reduce relapse in offending behaviour. In terms of reducing the risk of reoffending intervention programmes considering the principle of criminogenic risks, needs, and responsivity proved successful, while imprisonment on its own, where intervention methods were not applied, showed only limited effectiveness. For historical reasons, the Czech Prison Service underwent a different development, although its objectives were similar. It was not until the beginning of a new millennium when the Czech prison system together with a newly created probation service decided to seek new methods of assessing offenders based on criminogenic risks. This paper presents development and results of the first Czech tool used for assessment of offenders’ risks and needs, called SARPO (from the Czech abbreviation of Complex Analysis of Offenders’ Risk and Needs).

Classification of offenders with mental health problems and problematic substance use using the Addiction Severity Index version 6: analysis of three-year follow-up data and predictive validity

Previous research is scarce on the problems and needs of the “triply troubled” – among offenders with mental health problems and problematic substance use. Classifying this population into clusters based on problem profiles may provide information about individual needs for treatment. In a previous study, we identified four clusters of triply troubled: less troubled, severely triply troubled, triply troubled with medical problems, and working triply troubled. The present study explored the stability and predictive validity of these clusters in a naturalistic design. In total, 125 triply troubled individuals included in any of the four clusters were followed for approximately three years with regard to their inpatient and outpatient treatment participation. They were also interviewed with the 6th version of the Addiction Severity Index, the Psychopathy Checklist–Revised, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life–Bref. The main finding of the study was that on average the participants of all four cl...

Contradictions of the Misdemeanor Law in the area of sanctions for minors with special review to the measures that are of the medical character

Minors represent a special category of offenders, due to the age at the time of commission of a misdemeanor. Hence, the law prescribes special sanctions for them. A special attention has been given to measures that are of medical character. However, the Law on Misdemeanors has contradictory provisions in terms of sanctions for minors by differentiating, in certain provisions, between younger and older minors. In the first part, this paper deals in general with offenders of misdemeanors that are minors, while sanctions are dealt with in the second part of the paper. Central part of the paper deals with the issues surrounding protective measure 'Mandatory treatment of alcohol and psychoactive substance addicts', by pointing to some irrational provisions of the Law. In relations to that issue, the paper discuss whether in certain situations the law is more harsh on minors that commit misdemeanor offences or minors that commit criminal offences, having in mind prescribed sanctions.

O młodocianym w ujęciu kodeksu karnego

The article is devoted to a specific category of offenders i.e. juveniles. Firstly, the legal definition of the juvenile, provided under Art. 115 § 10 of the Criminal Code, is analyzed, making a distinction between the notion of the juvenile and the notion of the minor. Then the grounds for the special treatment of juvenile offenders are examined. A special attention is paid to the presumption of lesser degree of juvenile’s guilt and their susceptibility to be affected, which constitutes a good prospect for their education (reformation, reclamation). Finally, the criteria on the basis of which it is established whether an offender is a juvenile offender or not, are analyzed. A special attention is given to the criterion which states that a juvenile is an offender who has not reached the age of 24 years at the time of the trial in the first instance.

Recidivism after a Treatment in a Disciplinary Centre for Juveniles

(ProQuest: ... denotes non-US-ASCII text omitted.)...AbstractThe aim of this paper is to examine recidivists' and non-recidivists' differences in characteristics of the psychosocial functioning after a treatment in a Disciplinary Centre for Juveniles in Sarajevo Canton, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The research was conducted on a sample of 131 juvenile delinquents adjudicated with the educational measure of referral to the juvenile disciplinary centre. The statistical analysis was performed in the SPSS 17.0 program package. The differences between recidivists and non-recidivists were measured using Mann-Whitney test on all variables. A group of four variables were compared by: (a) school factors, (b) family factors, (c) spare time activities and peer relationships and (d) personality and behaviour of juveniles. The results have shown that risk factors are more pronounced in recidivists in all four areas of the psychosocial functioning. The largest difference is in the areas related to spare time activities and peer-relationships, as well as family functioning. The results indicate that the intensified treatment should focus on these areas in order to prevent recidivism.Keywords: recidivism, educational measure, responsiveness factorsIntroductionEvery society had its youth whose behaviour deviated from the socially acceptable and as such it was condemned or sanctioned in one way or another. Juvenile delinquency is a dynamic category subjected to various changes in its scope, phenomenology and implemented interventions. In comparison to crime committed by adults, juvenile delinquency is specific in terms of the age category of offenders, motivation, type of offense and applicable interventions (1). Youth engaged crime represents a considerable problem for society and their families (2). It remains an unresolved question how to respond to the delinquent behaviour and with what methods, e.g. sanctions, while simultaneously ensuring that they take responsibility for their behaviour, since it is necessary to establish a balance between the retribution and rehabilitation elements each sanction has (3). Educational measures are now the largest and the most frequently pronounced type of criminal sanctions for juveniles, with the purpose of providing education, rehabilitation and a proper development of the juvenile (4). Amongst all education measures, a significant place is reserved for the educational measure of referral to the Disciplinary Centre due to its specificities in relation to its implementation and juveniles adjudicated with this measure. The purpose of the imposition of these measures is that, in a relatively short period of time, a powerful impact may be achieved in children via various strategies, in strictly structured conditions by means of direct methods focused on behavioural modifications, development of a personal responsibility and prevention of future criminal acts (4). The efficiency of a treatment method may be assessed by measuring the number of juveniles who come again into conflict with the law (recidivism) or via other different indicators of progress in social functioning (5). Considering the consensus in general literature that adult criminals begin their criminal careers in their juvenile years suggesting that, in order to fight adult criminality, we must begin by controlling juvenile delinquency, the recidivism of young offenders presents an even more disturbing problem. Understanding juvenile recidivism is crucial for the development of effective policy responses to the broader ramifications of juvenile offense (6). Recidivism is most frequently defined as any arrest or offence within a specified follow-up period after release from a detention or rehabilitation facility (7) and it is alsoa key indicator for determining whether criminal justice interventions, from diversion to incarceration, are making a difference in turning offenders away from crime. …

Measure of Penalty on Juvenile Delinquents Held Liable under the Penal Code

Characteristic traits of the juvenile delinquents - persons who do not have a fully shaped personality or much life experience, and are susceptible to negative influences - are viewed as a sufficient reason for adopting separate principle of liability towards this category of offenders. The Author underlines that among basic principles of the Penal Law a significant place is taken by the determination of the offender's minimum age at which a young person stops to be a juvenile and can incur criminal liability on general terms (when an offender turned 17). According to art. 10, par. 2 of the Penal Code, it is allowed to treat a juvenile as an adult offender and punish him for an offence, when juvenile turned 15 and committed one of the acts prohibited under the regulations of the Penal Code (an attempt on the President's life, plain and felony murder, inflicting grievous bodily injury, causing a commonly dangerous situation, hijacking of a ship or an aircraft, causing disaster, aggravated sexual assault, qualified active assault on a public functionary, taking hostage or armed robbery) and the circumstances of the case, juvenile offender's stage of development, his traits and personal conditions warrant this, and when the previously applied didactic and corrective measures proved ineffective.

No Evidence of Specific Deterrence under Penal Moderation: Imprisonment and Recidivism in Finland

International literature on prison effects on recidivism tends to find little evidence of specific deterrence. If anything, imprisonment seems more likely to increase than decrease rates of offending. The present study adds to this literature by examining imprisonment and recidivism in Finland, a nation characterized by an exceptionally moderate penal culture. It has been suggested that severe sanctions need to be imposed selectively in order for them to be effective. In this research, we estimated the impact of first imprisonment on recidivism in comparison with offenders sentenced to either suspended imprisonment or community service. Using data from government population registries, we controlled for a large number of legal and extra-legal confounding factors, including criminal history and socio-demographic characteristics. We found no evidence of reduced recidivism as a result of imprisonment. Instead, consistent with prior research, we find evidence of increased recidivism in certain offender categories. We conclude with a discussion of policy implications.

Enforcement Discretion and Executive Duty

Recent Presidents have claimed wide-ranging authority to decline enforcement of federal laws. The Obama Administration, for example, has announced policies of abstaining from investigation and prosecution of certain federal marijuana crimes, postponing enforcement of key provisions of the Affordable Care Act, and suspending enforcement of removal statutes against certain undocumented immigrants. While these examples highlight how exercises of executive enforcement discretion — the authority to turn a blind eye to legal violations — may effectively reshape federal policy, prior scholarship has offered no satisfactory account of the proper scope of, and constitutional basis for, this putative executive authority. This Article fills that gap. Through close examination of the Constitution’s text, structure, and normative underpinnings, as well as relevant historical practice, this Article demonstrates that constitutional authority for enforcement discretion exists — but it is both limited and defeasible. Presidents may properly decline to enforce civil and criminal prohibitions in particular cases, notwithstanding their obligation under the Take Care Clause to ensure that “the Laws be faithfully executed.” Congress also may expand the scope of executive enforcement discretion by authorizing broader nonenforcement. But absent such congressional authorization, the President’s nonenforcement authority extends neither to prospective licensing of prohibited conduct nor to policy-based nonenforcement of federal laws for entire categories of offenders. Presuming such forms of executive discretion would collide with another deeply rooted constitutional tradition: the principle that American Presidents, unlike English kings, lack authority to suspend statutes or grant dispensations that prospectively excuse legal violations. This framework not only clarifies the proper executive duty with respect to enforcement of federal statutes but also points the way to proper resolution of other recurrent separation of powers issues.

A Factor Mixture Model Approach to Elaborating on Offender Mental Health Classification With the MMPI–2–RF

A large proportion of prison inmates suffer from mental illnesses or severe personality disorders; therefore, offender classification is a worthwhile endeavor both for efficiently allocating mental health treatment resources and security risk classification. This study sought to elaborate on offender classification by using an advanced statistical technique, factor mixture modeling, which capitalizes on the strengths of both latent trait analysis and latent class analysis. A sample consisting of 616 male and 194 female prison inmates was used for this purpose. The MMPI–2–RF Restructured Clinical (RC) scales were used to elaborate on a variety of latent trait, latent class, and factor mixture models. A 3-factor, 5-class mixture model was deemed optimal in this sample. Remaining MMPI–2–RF scales as well as scores on external criterion measures relevant to externalizing psychopathology were used to further elaborate on the utility of the resulting latent classes. These analyses indicated that 3 of the 5 classes were predominantly different expressions of externalizing personality proclivities, whereas the remaining 2 indicated inmates with substantial internalizing or thought-disordered characteristics. Implications of these findings are discussed.