Homicide Crime Research Articles

Application of spatiotemporal scan statistics in cases of intentional homicides in northern Brazil

The crime of intentional homicide in Brazil is worrying. In the northern region, this type of crime has been growing since 2020. In this sense, we decided to apply Kuldorff's prospective space-time scan statistics in order to identify emerging counties. We conclude that there are two emerging clusters of high relative risk (Amazonas and Pará) that require rapid intervention and two clusters of low relative risk (Acre, Roraima, Amazonas, Amapá and Pará) that do not require urgent intervention. Some characteristics of these two clusters are presented: radius, population, relative risk, likelihood ratio.

COMPARISON OF CLINICAL AND CRIMINAL CHARACTERISTICS OF MALE AND FEMALE CASES IN THE PRISONER SERVICE FOR MURDER OR ATTEMPTED MURDER

Background: The aim of the study is to compare male and female cases who were in the prisoner service and committed murder/attempted murder in terms of clinical and criminal characteristics. Methods: Information about 101 female and 101 male cases who were admitted to the prisoner service for murder and/or attempted murder were collected through a data form as a result of examining the hospitalization files. Results: The rate of men having psychotic disorders (50.8%) was found to be higher than the rate of women (20.4%). While men's rates of having antisocial personality disorder are higher than women's rates, women's borderline personality disorder rates are significantly higher than men's rates. The rate of women's previous history of suicide (50.5%) is higher than the rate of men's history (35.6%). It was seen that the rate of women admitted to the service to be their first crime was higher (87.1%) than men (46.5%). Conclusion: It is important to take gender-based differences into account and organize personalized treatment during the forensic treatment process. More clinical research on gender differences in homicide crimes is needed.

A vitimização secundária de testemunhas em inquéritos policiais e processos criminais na apuração de homicídios

Secondary victimization, or re-victimization, is a phenomenon caused by state agents involved with the criminal justice system, affecting victims and witnesses of crimes, especially homicide crimes. A significant number of witnesses choose not to collaborate with justice in the investigation of the homicide, for fear of retaliation by criminals and lack of police or court protection, which ends up leading to impunity. This study aimed to analyze the process of secondary victimization of witnesses in police inquiry and criminal proceedings in the homicide investigation, in addition to identifying the causes of such victimization and proposing actions that may minimize it. Non-systematic bibliographic research was carried out in the Google Scholar and Scielo databases, using the terms “vitimização de testemunhas”, “homicídio”, “witness victimization”, “secondary witness victimization” and “homicide secondary victimization” as keywords, applying the specific period filter (2016 – 2021). Thirteen probable causes for secondary victimization were identified, proposing some measures to try to avoid or minimize it. It was concluded that only by protecting homicide witnesses will it be possible to achieve better rates in the investigation of these crimes.

The importance of clothing in solving homicide crimes, and the integration between the specialized services of the civil police of the state of Rio de Janeiro

The importance of clothing in solving homicide crimes, and the integration between the specialized services of the civil police of the state of Rio de Janeiro

Implikasi Autopsi Forensik Dalam Penyidikan Tindak Pidana Pembunuhan

Introduction: Forensic autopsy is the examination of a corpse after death to determine the cause and manner of death, and to identify possible disease or injury to the body of a deceased person.Purposes of the Research: The purpose of this study is to analyze and discuss the implications of a forensic autopsy in the investigation of a crime of murder and the obstacles encountered in the forensic autopsy process.Methods of the Research: In this legal research, writing uses normative juridical research, problem approaches namely statutory approaches, conceptual approaches, and case approaches. The legal materials used are primary legal materials, secondary legal materials and tertiary legal materials.Results of the Research: The results of this study indicate that the implications of a forensic autopsy in the investigation of a crime of murder can find and obtain material truth, namely the truth that actually happened and there were errors and can be held criminally responsible for the perpetrators of a crime of murder in an investigation of a crime of murder in the process of proving and can convince the judge in deciding the case. The obstacles encountered in the forensic autopsy process in the crime of homicide were the refusal of an autopsy from the victim's family, the absence of forensic experts, the lack of facilities and infrastructure to support the implementation of a forensic autopsy.

Legislation Related to School Shootings in Great Britain

Introduction: school shootings remain a highly relevant topic for investigation because the social environment and interpersonal relationships play a leading role in the formation of aggressive intentions of perpetrators. The purpose of this study is to provide an overview of British legislation related to school shootings. Historically, the law of homicide in the United Kingdom has had a number of distinguishing marks. Structurally, the Scots law of homicide resembles the law of England and Wales because the offences of murder and culpable homicide in Scotland closely resemble the offences of murder and manslaughter in England and Wales. Methods: empirical methods of comparison; specific scientific methods: legal dogmatic method and method of legal norm interpretation. Results: the paper describes the law of homicide in England and Wales, including the common law, the relevant sections of British legislation and the proposals of the Law Commission for the creation of a new Homicide Act with a three‐tier structure of general homicide. This overview also encompasses the punishment regime for murder by the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and Sentencing Act 2020. The law of England and Wales is compared with the law of Scotland, especially its crimes of homicide, sentencing guidelines and juvenile justice. Also, the article deals with rules concerning gun ownership. The 1996 Dunblane school shooting in the United Kingdom played a critical role in this issue as it sparked a campaign to change gun laws, which resulted in British lawmakers banning private possession of handguns.

Analysis of the Concepts of the Objective Aspect of Homicide and Culpable Bodily Harm

In the paper, the authors focus on the analysis of the objective aspect of the crime of homicide and culpable bodily harm with an emphasis on the caused consequence. In addition to the traditional approaches to the interpretation of relevant concepts, they focus their attention on interpretative problems occurring in application practice, while also pointing out possible ways of solving them. Finally, special attention is paid to the process of imputation of special qualifying terms (circumstances conditioning the application of a higher penalty rate), the authors point out the need to avoid application duality in the process of imputation of these features, i.e. to proceed in accordance with the substantive line of the ne bis in idem principle.

REGIONAL GAP IN SPENDING ON PUBLIC SECURITY AND CRIME IN BRAZIL

Theoretical literature indicates that public security spending matters to deter criminal behavior. Nevertheless, most empirical studies aiming to quantify the influence of public security spending on crime have largely been unable to establish a statistically significant relationship between these variables. In response to this, we introduced a novel proxy that measures the rationing of public security expenditures in each region. When testing it for crimes of homicide, robbery, and theft of vehicles through the GMM-SYS estimator, we found statistical evidence that its occurrence influences criminal behavior. We believe its inception contributes valuable evidence to the economic literature, shedding light on the debate surrounding the allocative efficiency of security spending resources.

ZARURIY MUDOFAA CHEGARASIDAN CHETGA CHIQIB QASDDAN ODAM O‘LDIRISH JINOYATI TARKIBINI ANIQLASH VA KVALIFIKATSIYA QILISH MASALALARI

This article analyzes the issues of determining and qualifying the crime of intentional homicide, deviating from the limits of the necessary defense. Also, in the article, the objective side of murder, provided for in Article 100 of the Criminal Code, is characterized by the presence of the following signs: socially dangerous behavior of the defendant; a socially dangerous consequence in the form of the death of the aggressor; and the causal connection between the actions and the specified consequences are also highlighted. In addition, the necessary defense in the article is to repel aggression. As a basis for the use of defense, the aggression is committed by means of socially dangerous actions, and the socially dangerous aggression cannot be repelled by inaction, but the consequences arise by avoiding the negative effects of the aggressor, for example, running away or turning to law enforcement agencies for help. There are also ideas about not allowing it. Also, in the article, the necessary conditions of defense include not only criminal aggression but also the forces, means, and opportunities of the defender to repel this aggression, as well as other objective factors that determine the ratio of the forces of the aggressor and the defender and distinguish relatively favorable and unfavorable defense conditions. These damage limits, as well as significant implications for deviations from them, are also stated.

Estimating the time of death by examining fly eggs

Forensic entomology is an interdisciplinary field of science closely related to forensic medicine, which studies insects from a forensic perspective. At the scene of homicide crimes, if insect remains are found on the victim, these are great help unravel the circumstances of death. The carrion flies (Diptera: Calliphora) are usually the first to colonise the corpse and one of the most frequently observed group of animal at the scene or in the autopsy room. In this case study, I will show how the examination of the eggs of a forensically important fly species found on one victim of the double homicide helped to establish the time of death and its significance as evidence. The fly eggs found on one of the victim, a man, were examined by conventional light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and micro-computed tomography. These technical tools were crucial in determining the species of insect present and identifying its development stages. The carrion flies - together with other invastigative data - contributed to confirm that the suspect perpetrator was present at the time of the crime. Orv Hetil. 2023; 164(38): 1518-1522.

Critical Review about Parricide Crimes of Korean Criminal Law

Purpose: In recent years, the number of infanticide cases has been steady at around 30 per year and the number of toddler murders at around 10 per year, which are generally punishable as ordinary murder. Also Crimes against immediate family members are subject to aggravated penalties. A person(descendant) who kills a member of his or her own or his or her spouse's immediate family is guilty of subsistence murder, which is punishable by death, life imprisonment, or imprisonment for seven years or more. This is a more severe offense than ordinary murder, which is punishable by death, life imprisonment, or imprisonment for five years or more. Most survival-related violent crimes, such as injury, assault, abandonment, abuse, arrest, confinement, and intimidation, have aggravated penalties. However, under the current law, there is no provision for aggravated punishment for violent crimes against direct survivors. There is an aggravated punishment for the murder of a direct survivor by a direct descendant, but there is no aggravated punishment for the murder of a direct descendant by a direct descendant. The Korean Constitution stipulates that “no one shall be discriminated against on the basis of social status”, which may violate the Equal Rights Clause of Article 11 of the Constitution. In other words, it is unconstitutional because it may constitute “discrimination based on birth”. Therefore, we would like to critically examine whether the Korean criminal law should continue to provide for the offense of feticide.
 Method: The aggravated punishment of capital murder is one of the most controversial issues in society. In this critical review of the aggravated murder penalty, we will first look at the Constitutional Court's decision on the aggravated murder penalty. Second, we will look at the arguments in favor of and against the aggravated penalty of capital murder. Third, we will examine the current state of affairs through a comparative legal review of foreign jurisprudence on the aggravated punishment of capital murder. Fourth, the legal, moral, and religious perspectives on the aggravated punishment of capital murder will be discussed. Fifth, based on the above discussion, we will provide a direction on whether to abolish the aggravated penalty of capital murder.
 Results: It is recommended that the aggravated punishment for survival murder be abolished as it violates the right to equality under the Korean Constitution. Even if it is abolished, the purpose of the punishment can still be realized through judicial modification.
 Conclusion: In light of the meaning and legislative purpose of the provision that aggravates the crime of intentional homicide, it cannot be said that the legislative act of selecting a comparative standard, i.e., that intentional homicide is more severely punished than ordinary homicide in the Korean Penal Code, is unconstitutional. However, while the criminal laws have the same criminal offense of killing a person, there is a difference in the 'presence or absence of paternity'. The abolition of capital murder is consistent with the principle of proportionality. It would be contrary to the principle of proportionality to impose severe restrictions based on prosecutorial convenience. For these reasons, it would be a violation of the constitutional principle of equality, and even if it is not unconstitutional, it is difficult to see that it reflects constitutional values such as the principle of equality.

WEATHER CHANGES INFLUENCE THE CRIME ACTIVITY TOWARDS THE QUALITY OF LIFE

The controversy over weather changes will lead to more stress, less social control, reduced social support, criminal tendencies, more possibilities for crime, and societal conflict. The factors driving criminal activity have received much attention, and voluminous literature has related the incidence of changing weather changes to criminal activity. However, weather variables can affect the environment and human behaviour differently. For example, past scholars found that homicidal crime has a connection with the weather change. However, although studies look at the relationship between crime and weather change, the source of the data is debatable. In addition, empirical studies showing the relationship between property crime and weather change are challenging to obtain because none can be found. Therefore, this paper aims to identify the pattern of criminal activity based on weather changes to address this situation. In this paper, the research methodology uses quantitative data. The crime data were gathered from the Royal Malaysia Police (RMP), and the weather data was gathered from Meteorological Department for Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, and Johor from 2011 to 2020. The data were analysed using SPSS statistical and illustrated in the bar graph method to identify the pattern and relationship between crime and weather. This study found that non-aggressive and property crime is less influenced by the high temperature but influenced by the ambient temperature and humidity. Future research on the relationship between crime and weather towards the quality of life of people must be theoretically grounded and use measures of crime and weather that are justified by the quality-of-life index theory.

The Deterrence Effect of Police Stations on Crime in Buenos Aires and Mexico City

Police stations are not only necessary but constitute a physical representation of police force presence in neighborhoods. The deterrence effect that their location has on crime is supported by structural deterrence theory. However, few studies have empirically examined this deterrence effect, much less from a comparative perspective. Based on the cases of Buenos Aires and Mexico City, this study finds descriptive evidence of a deterrence effect of police stations and micro stations on crimes of homicide, carjacking, and vehicle theft. These findings are further supported by the examination of significantly different crime distributions around parking lots and bank locations as counterexamples to police locations.

Interrogating Two Concepts in Islamic Criminal Jurisprudence: Victim’s Family vs. Offender’s Family

Abstract Calls for abolition of the death penalty invariably encounter a negative response by those political regimes which exploit the classical rigid definition of victim’s family concept. The death penalty could not be abolished by the legislative authority because the heirs of victim are the only people who have the right to waive death penalty based on the classical understanding of the definition of the victim’s family. I argue that if the definition of the victim’s family is revisited to have the same flexibility as the offender’s family, the Nation-State may be included in the definition, and the legislative authority will have the power to abolish the death penalty. Furthermore, revisiting these two terms within the contemporary context would have an impact on the gap between Shariʿa and national legal systems. The social contexts of the two legal systems have been shaped based on two different social bases: modernity and pre-modernity. The two different social bases have created a gap that is exploited in many controversial issues, not only the death penalty in the Muslim world but also harsh penalties in some Muslim legal systems, the right of a husband to discipline his wife, gender equality, legal perspectives on homosexuality, the absence of a clear distinction between public and private realms, and ignoring any distinction separating out the role to the public and nation in crimes of homicide and bodily injuries. Thus, the purpose of reviewing these two concepts from a perspective oriented towards the contemporary context is an attempt to bridge the gap between national criminal legal systems and the Shariʿa pre-modern criminal system, so that these controversial issues may be appropriately relocated in the modern national systems of Egypt and the Muslim world.

Relationship between psychiatric symptoms, childhood traumas, and types of crime of convicts in Elazig closed prisons

Our study aimed to examine the childhood traumas and psychiatric symptoms of prisoners and their relationship with crime types. Persons convicted in Elazig Penitentiary Institutions were included in the study. The Demographic and Clinical Evaluation Form, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and Symptom Checklist (SCL-90) were administered to all participants. A total of 370 people were included in the study. For prisoners who have been imprisoned before, CTQ-physical abuse, BAI, SCL-90-somatization, anxiety, and hostility subscale scores were higher than those who entered the prison for the first time (p values: 0.020, 0.003, 0.016, 0.017, 0.047, respectively). Prisoners with a family history of prison entry had higher SCL-90 test all subscale scores, total scores and CTQ physical abuse subscale scores than the group without a family history of prison entry. Those exposed to violence in childhood and those who had attempted suicide before had higher scores on all scales. Those with a history of alcohol and substance use had higher total scores on the CTQ-emotional abuse and sexual abuse scale. According to the type of crime committed, only the CTQ-sexual abuse subscale scores differed. These subscale scores of the prisoners involved in more than one crime were higher than those involved in a single crime (p=0.030). The CTQ-sexual abuse subscale scores of those who were involved in the crime of willful homicide were calculated to be high (p=0.030). It was thought that preventing abuse, violence, and traumas in childhood may be necessary in reducing the tendency to crimes.

Psychopathy and Female-Intimate Partner Homicide in Spain: A Brief Overview on recent research

Some studies that assessed psychopathic characteristics through the PCL-R in some different but complementary samples of male offenders convicted for a crime of Intimate Partner Homicide (IPH) in recent research carried out in Spain are commented in this article, based on my opinion and technical considerations. This research arose from a comprehensive project carried out by a National Team of expert reviewers in the cases of violence against the women in the couple relationship. Some preliminary findings were presented in the Congress of Legal and Forensic Psychology in 2018 in Granada. It is highlighted the relevance of the congresses to disseminate findings. In 2023, one article has been published in the journal Anuario de Psicología Jurídica. The main objective was to assess the prevalence of psychopathy and the psychopathic characteristics measured by the facets of the PCL-R, and then their relationship with both consummated and unsuccessful suicide attempts was analyzed. Also, other scholars published a previous article in the year 2022 in which they compared the presence of some different characteristics between the victims (e.g., addictions to substances, economic dependency, or prior complaint, among others) and the male offenders psychopathic characteristics, measured in a slightly larger sample.

Law incentives for juvenile recruiting by drug trafficking gangs: empirical evidence from Rio de Janeiro

We evaluate the deterrence effects of the age of criminal responsibility on total drug trafficking and homicide crimes per age, based on a quasi-experiment generated by differences in punishment severity for these crimes prescribed by the Statute of the Child and Adolescent and by the Penal Code in Brazil. To this end, information from arrests conducted by the civil and military police of Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and 2017 is used to estimate the local effects of treatment through a Regression Discontinuity Design. Instead of using recidivism data and/or grouping crimes with distinct punishment severity, we use as an outcome variable the total number of arrests (crimes) per age for drug trafficking and homicides, which are the most common crimes related to organized crime in Rio de Janeiro. The results indicate that, ceteris paribus, the increase in punishment severity generated by the Penal Code can reduce the number of drug trafficking-related crimes by 9% and homicides by 37%. Through simple cost–benefit analysis, we suggest that increasing the punishment severity for minors who commit homicide could reduce juveniles’ engagement in a criminal career associated with gangs and generate gains in social well-being.

Murder of Two or More Persons: what did the Supreme Court Mean?

The article is devoted to the problem of excessive qualification for multiple homicide crimes. The author shows the evolution of the attribute “murder of two or more persons”, carries out its correlation with related circumstances aggravating criminal liability, explores controversial issues of criminal legal assessment of attempted murder and murder under aggravating circumstances as independent acts.In conclusion, a new version of the provisions of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation regarding the murder of two or more persons as a completed crime is proposed.

The private forensic presumption of mental disease or another diseased state of mentality of the victim and its significance in the judicial investigation of homicidal crimes

The private forensic presumption of mental disease or another diseased state of mentality of the victim and its significance in the judicial investigation of homicidal crimes

Analysis of Examination of Evidence Through the Scientific Crime Investigation Method in the Disclosure of Homicide Crimes

Background: Law enforcement is one of the efforts to create order, security, and peace in the community, especially enforcement after violations of the law.
 
 Objective: This study aims to find out and analyze the strengthening of evidence through scientific crime investigation in homicide crimes. As well as knowing and analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of using the scientific crime investigation method in crime scene processing carried out by the forensic laboratory.
 
 Methods: This research belongs to the normative type of research. So that it can be known that the scientific crime investigation method is used in proving the crime of forensic murder.
 
 Result: Article 184 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Procedure Code has restrictively regulated valid evidence according to the law. Apart from the aforesaid evidence, it is not justifiable to be used to prove the wrongs committed by the accused. Judges, public prosecutors, defendants, and legal counsel, are limited and bound to use evidence by the rules of criminal procedure only. Evidence using evidence other than the evidence provided in Article 184 paragraph (1) has no binding evidentiary force value.
 
 Conclusion: Based on the explanation above, it can be concluded that the scientific crime investigation method is used in proving the crime of forensic murder