Justice Professionals Research Articles

A Systematic Review of Professionals’ Knowledge and Perceptions on Child Trafficking

ABSTRACT Child trafficking is a complex and multifaceted crime, representing a challenge for professionals who work daily to protect its victims. This systematic review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) recommendations to understand the knowledge and perceptions of professionals who work with child trafficking victims. Our search yielded 21 articles for inclusion in the review. The samples consisted of social, justice, healthcare, and education professionals, as well as stakeholders and/or other professionals. The results were organized into the following themes: qualifications and professional experience that may influence knowledge and perceptions; knowledge and perceptions about the victimization process, the impact of victimization, the judicial process, and professional practices; and a lack of knowledge about the subject, specifically regarding the definition of child trafficking, risk and vulnerability factors, the scale and prevalence of the phenomenon, victimization dynamics, the legislative and policy framework, and professional practices. The findings suggest that organizational policies and practices should prioritize investing in training specialized professionals, not just in recognizing the phenomenon but also in delivering practices that focus on meeting the needs of the victims. This study will hopefully inform the development of awareness and training programs based on the needs and challenges faced by these professionals.

Human Dignity, Rights and Victim Participation in Criminal Justice

Human dignity is the cornerstone of human rights and central to the Treaty on European Union (EU) and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. It is embedded within constitutions across EU countries. This strong commitment to human dignity has given rise to extensive reflection on its centrality to correcting rights violations, inequality, discrimination and the oppressive conduct of state institutions. This article explores the work that human dignity does for people victimised by crime in the EU. We argue that the agentic human, central to the idea of victim participation, originates in human dignity. However, using a dignity lens, an analysis of victims’ rights documents and rights research reveals a paradox within the victim-friendly civil law jurisdictions of Europe. That is, the procedural position of the victim established in tradition and law is undermined by justice professionals’ attachment to the idea of the state’s ownership of the violation. We then discuss jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights relevant to the protection of human dignity to identify how this tension between the protection of individual victim rights, especially the right to remedy, and public interest is adjudicated. We suggest that the Court’s attention to individual rights should be harnessed by victim rights advocates and lawyers. While the victim’s procedural role matters to their substantive and meaningful participation in criminal proceedings, it is their right and capacity to act independent of the state that may matter more.

Collaboration between Criminal Justice and Child Protection in Cases of Child Sexual Abuse: Unveiling Inhibiting and Facilitating Factors

AbstractVictims of child sexual abuse (CSA) in criminal proceedings face a range of stress factors. In response to this, collaboration between criminal justice and child protection professionals has been established both legally and informally, such as in the newly established Childhood Houses in Germany, which follow the model of the Scandinavian Barnahus to reduce stress and prevent revictimisation. This study intends to identify facilitating and inhibiting factors in the collaboration between the child protection and criminal justice systems in cases of CSA in Germany. Twenty‐eight qualitative interviews with experts from child protection, like counselling centre employees (n = 5), psychosocial court supporters (n = 5) and youth welfare office workers (n = 5), and the criminal justice system, like prosecutors (n = 5), police officers (n = 5) and attorneys (n = 3). The interviews are structured by a questionnaire and analysed using Kuckartz's method of qualitative content analysis (QCA). Findings show that key factors like information flow, assessments of collaboration partners, uncertainties about laws and actors' perspectives on reporting and networking determine the success or failure of interagency collaboration.

‘It f**ked me up bad, man … It f**ked my head up, bad, man, bad’: The impact of Covid‐19 on children's mental health and well‐being in the youth justice system

AbstractThis article presents the findings from the United Kingdom's (UK's) first in‐depth exploration of the impacts of Covid‐19 on children at each stage of the youth justice system. Based on interviews with 140 youth justice professionals, participatory research with 40 children in custody and in the community, and a survey of all 157 youth offending teams in England and Wales, the research demonstrates that the pandemic increased the vulnerabilities of justice‐involved children; children who are routinely exposed to health anxieties, instability and inequalities, adverse experiences in the home, systemic racism and school exclusion. Professionals and children reported an increase in mental health illnesses such as anxiety and depression due to range of intersecting factors such as isolation, lack of socialising, lack of routine, lack of physical activity and poor sleep patterns. Post‐pandemic, there is an urgent need for a systemic commitment to addressing the mental health vulnerabilities of justice‐involved children.

Digital vulnerability: People-in-prison, videoconferencing and the digital criminal justice system

Since the COVID-19 pandemic forced prisons into extended lockdowns, people-in-prison have been increasingly reliant on remote access technologies such as videoconferencing to interact with the outside world from their carceral context. During the pandemic, both corrective services and criminal courts found that these communication technologies could adequately facilitate court appearances, legal conferencing, health services and visitations. Now, despite the lessening panic regarding COVID-19, there are suggestions that authorities are keen to continue, if not increase, the usage of video links meaning that people-in-prison will experience decreasing human contact. The argument is that COVID-19 “successes” are being used as an excuse to cement remote hearings and visits. This points to a future of absolute confinement uninterrupted by “inconvenient” physical court attendance or human visitors. This article will focus on the “digital vulnerability” of people-in-prison, that is, the intersection between the vulnerabilities of incarcerated people with the use of remote communication technologies such as videoconferencing or video links, and the digital inequalities that may be provoked or solved. The article will draw on qualitative research – fieldwork interviews with judicial officers, lawyers and associated criminal justice professionals – that reveal critical perspectives on the impacts of digital transformation on vulnerable people-in-prison. For instance, when asked about the vulnerabilities of people-in-prison, one defence lawyer (DL1) expressed the view that “no one cares about defendants” or their vulnerabilities, nor their abilities to engage with video links, comprehend or play any role in their own remote legal matters. We analyse our source materials through a framework of vulnerability theory and the developing concept of digital vulnerability. In this way, we seek to offer new knowledge regarding prison digital transformation, specifically the relationship between digital technologies in correctional environments and the vulnerable incarcerated population.

The protective effects of prior military service on burnout in criminal justice professions: A multiagency comparison.

The protective effects of prior military service on burnout in criminal justice professions: A multiagency comparison.

Assessing the availability of legal support through the ‘Help with family Mediation’ legal aid scheme

ABSTRACT The accessibility of legal support for private family matters has been devastated by decades of reform. At the time of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, legal advice supposedly remained available to support those in family mediation via the ‘Help with Family Mediation’ scheme. However, initial evidence suggests that lawyers rarely engage in the scheme because of a lack of financial incentives. Statistics on Help with Family Mediation are released every financial quarter, but have not been properly scrutinised in academic commentary or public policy. This article outlines findings from the first quantitative study on Help with Family Mediation. The study confirms that the scheme remains largely unavailable and has declined in use since 2016. It reveals that the scheme has dealt with a higher proportion of finance-related disputes over time, with more cases also resulting in a financial benefit. Statistical analysis then confirms a relationship between the type of dispute and whether an agreement is reached in mediation. The article concludes by highlighting the implications of these findings beyond their relevance to lawyers. Altogether, the study demonstrates a need for further research on family justice professionals, as well as family justice data, more widely.

Beyond recidivism: reconceptualizing success through relational health for trauma-exposed youth experiencing juvenile justice involvement.

Youth who have histories of trauma exposure face unique barriers and needs in navigating the juvenile justice system. Accordingly, reliance on recidivism as the primary "success" metric falls short for trauma-impacted youth and may actually prolong their justice involvement. Caregivers and juvenile justice professionals (i.e., judges, attorneys, detention and probation staff, case managers, and mental health clinicians) often struggle to identify and adequately address these challenges and pitfalls. This policy brief provides an overview of specialized considerations for traumatized youth with respect to common policies and practices, namely mandated placement, treatment, and timelines. Specific examples and actionable recommendations are provided to assist juvenile justice professionals and treatment providers with systemic efforts to more appropriately and effectively customize juvenile justice policies and programs for these extremely vulnerable youth.

Women and Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder: Contributors to Treatment Success From the Perspectives of Women in Recovery, Women With Past Attempts in Drug Treatment, and Health and Criminal Justice Professionals.

The disproportionate incidence of opioid use disorder (OUD) and the alarming increases in opioid-related overdose deaths among women highlight a clear need for the expansion of effective harm reduction and treatment practices. Research supports medications for opioid use disorders (MOUD) as an effective intervention; however, with low rates of utilization of such, there is a need to identify factors that facilitate MOUD treatment uptake and retention for women. Thus, the current study examines contributors to treatment success through the triangulation of perspectives from affected women as well as health and criminal justice professionals. Interviews (N = 42) were conducted from May to July 2022 with women in recovery who previously used or currently use MOUD (N = 10), women who currently use opioids who terminated a MOUD program previously (N = 10), SUD treatment professionals (N = 12), and criminal justice professionals who work with women who use opioids (N = 10). Interviews for all participants centered around their backgrounds, perceived barriers and facilitators to MOUD treatment, and issues specific to women in treatment for substance use disorder. We used a thematic qualitative data analysis process to analyze transcripts. Participants highlighted contributors to treatment success from 3 domains: (1) internal processes (including promoting self-efficacy and setting realistic goals), (2) access to resources (including material resources, such as food and shelter, educational resources and social support), and (3) treatment structure (such as treatment type and protocol). Internal processes, access to resources, and treatment structure contribute to MOUD treatment success for women with OUD. Structured support where experiences are shared, and realistic goals are set, may promote feelings of acceptance and empowerment, thereby bolstering chances of treatment success. Additionally, the court system can promote evidence-based and trauma-informed substance use treatment and provide accessible educational resources related to substance use to extend these benefits to more women.

Pregnancy- and parenting-related barriers to receiving medication for opioid use disorder: A multi-paneled qualitative study of women in treatment, women who terminated treatment, and the professionals who serve them.

Women face unique barriers when seeking treatment for substance use disorders, often related to pregnancy and parenting. This study adds to the extant literature by elucidating the pregnancy- and parenting-related barriers women face when initiating or continuing medication for opioid use disorder, specifically. This study is based on qualitative semi-structured interviews. Three subgroups participated in semi-structured interviews regarding their experiences (N = 42): women with current or past opioid use disorders who have used or were presently using medication for opioid use disorder, professionals working in substance use disorder treatment programs, and criminal justice professionals. Three parenting-related subthemes were identified: (1) insufficient access to childcare to navigate appointments and meetings, (2) fear of losing custody of, or access to, one's children, and (3) prioritizing one's children's needs before one's own. Three subthemes were identified with regard to pregnancy as a barrier: (1) hesitancy among physicians to prescribe medication for opioid use disorder for pregnant patients, (2) limited access to resources in rural areas, and (3) difficulty navigating a complex, decentralized health system. Systemic changes are needed to reduce pregnant and parenting women's barriers to seeking medication for opioid use disorder. These include improved childcare support at both in-patient and outpatient treatment programs, which would assuage women's barriers related to childcare, as well as their fears of losing access to their children if they spend time away from their children for treatment. An additional systemic improvement that may reduce barriers for these women is access to comprehensive, integrated care for their prenatal care, postpartum care, pediatric appointments, and appropriate substance use disorder treatment.

A ‘Minor’ Concern: An In-Depth Analysis on the Rising Incidents and Crime Cycle of Juvenile Delinquency

This paper, titled "A Minor Concern," challenges the prevailing notion that juvenile delinquency is a minor issue, asserting its profound significance in contemporary society. Despite often being marginalised, juvenile delinquency represents a severe challenge that demands immediate and comprehensive attention. The study adopts a multi-faceted approach, beginning with an extensive literature review that exposes systemic flaws, ineffective rehabilitation methods, and socio-economic drivers of juvenile crime. This review forms a critical backdrop for understanding the depth of the issue. The research incorporates an online survey conducted through Google Forms, capturing data from juvenile justice professionals, social workers, and the general public. This survey aims to gauge perceptions and gather empirical data on the prevalence, causes, and effectiveness of current interventions, revealing discrepancies between public views and on-ground realities. Interviews with police officers from C.R. Park, Defence Colony, and Hauz Khas Police Stations provide insights into operational challenges and systemic issues within the juvenile justice system. Their perspectives underscore practical inefficiencies and the urgent need for reform. Further insights are drawn from officers at Delhi Juvenile Home, Majnu-ka-Tila, and The Observation Home for Boys-II, Sewa Kutir, Mukherjee Nagar. Their accounts of the challenges in rehabilitating juvenile offenders highlight the gap between policy intentions and practical outcomes, emphasizing the critical need for effective support and systemic change. In conclusion, "A Minor Concern" aims to demonstrate that juvenile delinquency is a significant issue requiring urgent reform. By integrating literature review, empirical data, and professional insights, the study advocates for a comprehensive revaluation of current juvenile justice practices and the development of effective, evidence-based interventions.

Modification of drug crimes in cyberspace as a threat to the nation’s spiritual health

The purpose of this study is to identify the main problems of drug cybercrime, as well as to justify the detrimental impact of the contactless distribution of narcotic drugs on the spiritual health of the nation. The illegal sale of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances is one of the topical issues of modern society. The methodological basis of this study was comparative legal, formal logical, and statistical methods, as well as methods of logical deduction and induction. Today, cyberspace is increasingly being used for the trafficking of synthetic drugs. The problem of drug cybercrime is one of the main components of the public and information security of the Russian Federation. The use of cyberspace and cryptocurrencies for illicit drug trafficking poses serious challenges for criminal justice professionals, especially for law enforcement agencies. The analysis indicates the objective need for further elaboration of proposals in the disclosure of crimes related to drug trafficking committed remotely. It is argued that it is the anonymity of users of shady sites of the Global Network that complicates the work of law enforcement agencies to counter the «virtual drug business». A comprehensive analysis of the identified trends in the modification of drug crime using information technologies of the Internet was carried out. Certain problems of an organizational and legal nature when investigating drug crimes in a virtual environment are highlighted, and possible options for their solution are presented.

Identifikasi Risiko Keselamatan Kerja Dengan Menggunakan Metoda Job Safety Analysis (JSA) Pada Rencana Proyek Perkantoran Terpadu Kota Payakumbuh

Office facilities and infrastructure are one of the main components supporting the running of government activities in an area, which aims to provide services to the community. Therefore, the Payakumbuh City Government will carry out work to build an office complex consisting of the Health Service Office, Inspectorate Office, Social Service Office and Environmental Service Office. Based on PUPR Ministerial Regulation No. 10 of 2021, it is required that before construction work is carried out, an Occupational Health and Safety study or known as Job Safety Analysis (JSA) must first be carried out. This research was conducted using a semi-qualitative method with analysis of the judgments of experts (justice professionals) which aims to transform raw data into easy-to-understand information in the form of more concise and clear information. In this research, an analysis was carried out to determine the possible risk of occupational hazards based on the frequency and severity values resulting from work, guided by PUPR Ministerial Decree No. 10 of 2021. Based on the research results, it was found that the level of potential risk of occupational accident hazards was divided into 3: major risk level, medium risk level and high level. small risk. There are 4 variables at the high risk level, 20 variables at the medium risk level and 26 variables at the small risk level. Of the three risk level categories, mitigation can be done using control methods such as substitution, elimination, engineering and administrative control methods.

Knowledge, attitudes and practices towards fetal alcohol spectrum disorder among lawyers in New Zealand

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is a developmental disability that can cause difficulties with communication, emotional regulation and executive function, making people with FASD vulnerable to adverse involvement within the criminal justice system. Justice professionals’ knowledge and attitudes of FASD is critical to identifying appropriate responses, management and sentencing in the justice system. This research aims to understand the FASD knowledge, attitudes and practices among lawyers working in the justice sector in Aotearoa, New Zealand. We conducted an online survey on the awareness, knowledge and beliefs of FASD, experience and professional practice with FASD of justice professionals working in the justice sector in New Zealand. Of the 56 participants, most were lawyers. All participants were aware of FASD but had gaps in their knowledge and few felt well prepared to support someone with FASD. There is a need to develop policies, training and support for lawyers, around FASD.

On (Measuring) Recidivism, Penal Populism and the Future of Recidivism Research

It is common criminological knowledge that recidivism – relapse into criminal behaviour – is a major predictor of future criminal behaviour, one could say a ‘hard-core’ criminogenic factor, esp. when displayed at a young age. Yet, despite its prominence and importance in both criminology and the discipline and practice of criminal law, there is an ongoing confusion about the concept and social construction of recidivism, its basic terminology, approaches to its measurement (methodology), and finally about the best ways to deal with it. In the paper at hand, we aim to unravel at least some of the grand mysteries surrounding recidivism and its research, targeting particularly domestic criminal justice professionals and researchers, since we have found a certain lack of relevant and up-to-date Croatian publications on this topic. Instead of simply presenting or arguing for any of the competing perspectives, such as the criminological, normative or penological, or a more practical instead of a scientific perspective (to name but a few), we critically analyse each of these perspectives, highlighting their pros and cons, while leaving it to the readers to choose any or all of them – depending on their own perspectives and purposes. Thus, key findings from recidivism research are discussed in the context of steadily growing penal populism, which is characterised by broadening the scope of criminalisation and increasing sentencing frameworks as well as harsher punishment practices, targeting in particular recidivists. All this occurs in the context of populist public and media discourse about crime and criminals, which effectively undermines any notion of evidence-based crime policy. But times are changing and the future of recidivism research, spearheaded by neuropenology, might very well provide us with a new kind of knowledge and understanding needed to put a check on penal populism.

Who Do We Call “Creepy?”: Sex Workers’ Relationships as Targets of Intimate Intervention

Like other forms of problem-solving justice, prostitution diversion programs (PDPs) are designed to (re)shape thinking and behaviors. The authority to surveil and punish stems from criminalization of sex work, itself an act of control over women and their bodies. The court cues normative behaviors through rewards and punishments based on information gleaned through ongoing surveillance in and out of court. Using a critical feminist lens, we draw on ethnographic and interview data from studies of two court-affiliated PDPs to examine the regulation of women's bodies and intimate relationships. We found that criminal justice professionals explicitly viewed constant discussion and surveillance of all facets of PDP participants’ lives as a tool to cause participants to internalize particular understandings of normative relationships. Such normative understandings involve assumptions about which men are “creepy” that do not always reflect women's lived experiences and decontextualize relationships in ways that are incompatible with women's own assessments of these relationships. This analysis contributes to feminist social work by revealing the social control functions of such programs, which employ “creepy” intrusion to police the boundaries between unacceptable and normative behavior while simultaneously disregarding the systemic forces that shape women's choices and constructions of normativity.

Small-scale, Community-Embedded Youth Justice Facilities: Lessons from Dutch Reforms and Recommendations for Cross-Jurisdictional Implementation

Youth justice settings should provide safe, therapeutic environments, tailored to young people's needs. Current custodial models rarely meet these aims, mainly because a focus on security tends to outweigh an emphasis on care, diminishing rather than encouraging young people's positive development. This article reports on a three-year evaluation of youth justice reforms in the Netherlands, including small-scale, community-embedded facilities with an emphasis on relational security. We outline key operational elements and conditions for implementation of these facilities to provide guidance for youth justice professionals, and for managers and policymakers seeking to promote political and financial investments in effective youth justice strategies.

Intermediaries in the criminal justice system: professional work, jurisdictions, and boundary work

AbstractIntermediaries are communication experts who facilitate communication between individuals with communication needs and the criminal justice system. In executing the role, intermediaries interact with police, lawyers, judges and other criminal justice professionals. But is the intermediary a professional in its own right? This article argues that a more useful question to ask is whether intermediaries engage in what Andrew Abbott terms ‘professional work’. It reveals how the role tussles for legitimate control over its work tasks through the staking of ‘jurisdictional claims’. Intermediaries do so through the performance of ‘boundary work’ which involves the construction and negotiating of boundaries that mediate interaction. This article presents findings from thirty-one in-depth, semi-structured interviews with intermediaries and judges in England and Wales and Northern Ireland. It concludes that the future of the intermediary role and its work depends largely on the type of ‘jurisdictional settlement’ which its practitioners seek to carve out.

Antecedents of legal cynicism unpacked: The impact of parental incarceration, race, and ACEs on its development

PurposeThe recent rise in homicide has led to ongoing debate on the role of law enforcement due to research that suggests cynicism in the legal system can be criminogenic and lead to violence. Understanding how and why legal cynicism develops is important to improve police-community relationships and to lower crime. MethodsThe current study uses a national data set and structural equation modeling to understand how familial factors such as parental incarceration, experiencing adverse childhood experiences, and youth race are predictive of legal cynicism and how this might be mediated through experiencing police stops. ResultsFindings suggest race, parental incarceration, and ACEs are all directly predictive of police stops and indirectly predictive of legal cynicism. Only race and parental incarceration directly predict legal cynicism. ConclusionsGiven the current concerns over rising violent crime rates in urban cities and the quality and nature of police-citizen interactions, our results provide a timely analysis of risk factors contributing to the development of legal cynicism. Findings suggest that, not only must we be concerned with the well-documented impact of police contact, we should expand our view to include experiences with parental incarceration. Implications for practitioners and criminal justice professionals are discussed.

Training on brain injury for juvenile justice professionals: Findings from pre- and post-training surveys and focus groups

Despite the need for improved knowledge and skill, little peer-reviewed research evidence exists to support the design, implementation, and effectiveness of brain injury training specifically in the justice system. The present study sought to build upon the findings from Riccardi et al. (2022) to design, conduct, and evaluate a pilot training on brain injury for juvenile justice professionals. Juvenile court professionals completed pre- and post-training focus group interviews (n = 5) and surveys (N = 28). Focus group participants’ responses were grouped into various themes related to perspectives on brain injury and training preferences, including current challenges, content needs, methods desired, most helpful content and methods, professional changes since training, and suggested modifications to the training. Average knowledge and confidence scores improved significantly from pre- to post- training with large effect sizes. The preliminary findings of this research study may be used to support change in training practices and administrative procedures, as well as support the need for continued research in brain injury in JIYs.