Prior Criminal Record Research Articles

Individual, firearm, and purchasing characteristics associated with risk of firearm-related violent crime arrest: a nested case-control study

BackgroundFirearm purchasing records offer a potentially important administrative data source to identify individuals at elevated risk of perpetrating firearm violence. In this study, we describe individual, firearm, and transaction characteristics of purchasers in California who were arrested for a firearm-related violent crime (FRV) as compared to the general population of registered purchasers in the state.MethodsRelying on a dataset of all individuals with transaction records in California (1996–2021), linked to criminal records (1980–2021), we enrolled a cohort of individuals for whom we could capture the legal firearm purchase history. We identified those arrested for FRV post purchase, and using incidence density sampling, gender-matched cases to ten purchasers (controls) who remained “at risk” at the time the case was arrested. We focused on the purchase closest in time prior to the arrest (“index” purchase). We implemented conditional logistic regression and included models with controls for individual- and community-level demographics, as well as interactions between firearm and purchasing characteristics and criminal history.ResultsThe cohort included 1,212,144 individuals, of whom 6153 were arrested for FRV (0.5%). Cases were matched to 61,530 controls to form the study sample. The largest risk factor was a prior criminal history: purchasers had 5.84 times the risk of FRV if they had a prior arrest within three years of the index purchase (CI 5.44–6.27). Several transaction and firearm characteristics were also associated with FRV. For example, risk increased if the firearm was redeemed at a pawn shop (aIRR: 1.37, CI 1.05–1.77) and decreased if the transaction was a registered private party transfer (vs. retail purchase) (aIRR: 0.83, CI 0.76–0.90) or the firearm was a bolt action firearm (vs. semi-automatic) (aIRR: 0.64, CI 0.51–0.79). In the interaction models, most of the purchase and firearm features only remained significant among those with no criminal history.ConclusionsGiven limited data on firearm transactions, there has been little research on whether the type of firearm an individual purchases or the nature of the purchase might serve as indicators of risk for FRV. We found several transaction and firearm features were associated with risk of FRV. Notably, these features provided little evidence of additional risk for those with a prior criminal record.

Wrongful Convictions with Prison Sentences in Spain

Researchers worldwide have extensively explored the factors contributing to wrongful convictions and the characteristics of individuals affected by these miscarriages of justice for over a century. Despite these global efforts, limited research has been conducted on this issue in Spain. This study seeks to address this gap. We trained coders to assess available review judgments issued by the Spanish Supreme Court from 1996 to 2022. We identified 89 cases of individuals wrongly sentenced to deprivation of liberty. Our findings indicated that 92% of those wrongfully convicted were male, with the majority having a prior criminal record. Most exonerations involved minor crimes, and 85% of individuals were sentenced to less than 4.5 years of deprivation of liberty. Professional misconduct emerged as the primary contributing factor, followed by the misapplication of forensic science, misidentifications, false testimonies, and false confessions. This project sheds light on wrongful convictions in Spain, emphasizing the need for comprehensive measures to address this issue. The current results have practical implications for justice professionals, policymakers, and legal practitioners. It is crucial to educate professionals in the judicial system on the causes of judicial errors, the biases that may influence them, and best practices to improve processes and reduce the occurrence of wrongful convictions.

Assessing Barriers to Upward Mobility in the Cape Fear Region

Researchers explore upward mobility to better understand how economic and employment factors drive or undermine social justice and equity in the United States. This scholarship can inform activists and researchers seeking to design solutions that help overcome systemic challenges to upward mobility. Therefore, as an interdisciplinary team of scholars in a public university, we collaborated with community partners to conduct a case study in which we assessed the barriers to—and the drivers of—upward mobility in a medium-sized city in Southeastern North Carolina. We conducted key informant interviews and focus groups with a cross-section of local residents to learn about their experiences securing employment, earning a living wage, and participating in professional development opportunities, as well as identifying promising employees. Our findings indicate that there are multiple barriers to upward mobility in this region. The most commonly cited barriers include affordable housing, the cost of childcare, a prior criminal record, transportation, and racism and discrimination.

Миграция “цифровых кочевников”: глобальные тренды и позиции стран

The practice of working online that has become widespread in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and unstable geopolitical situation in the world in the last years, has shown representatives of different professions, incomes, ages, and life situations an opportunity to live in one state and at the same time work in another, to experience even freer and easier lifestyle, change their location several times a year. New generation of such professionals is more mobile, as they tend to move more often through state borders seeking for the most attractive place for relocation in the momentum, using alternative methods to transfer capital, and working via the Internet. In many states, the status of remote workers has rapidly received a legal implementation, so now they can be identified as “digital nomads”. Immigration programs often allow highly qualified and efficient online workers to be legalized in a new host country literally by a simplified procedure: the key criteria are their level of earnings and the lack of a prior criminal record, which opens a variety of directions for “nomads”. Although each region and country is attractive to foreign workers in its own way, “digital nomadism” poses a number of risks for travelers: the rapid and serious increase in the number of “remote workers” is forcing government agencies in many countries to be more careful in revising already approved migration and other requirements for “digital nomads” and their families. Nevertheless, it cannot be ruled out that in the near future, a race between some of the most forward-looking countries may begin in order to attract the most qualified and wealthy foreign professionals, which will entail the formation of more attractive conditions for “remote workers” in these countries.

Risk assessment of agressive behavior in schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder : a cross-sectional study

IntroductionPsychotic disorders have been consistently associated with aggressive behaviors. Psychiatrists are frequently asked to perform assessment regarding potentially aggressive patients. Thus, many psychometric instruments can be useful for identifying the risk of violence and thereby offering appropriate treatment for these individuals.ObjectivesThe aims of this study were to assess the risk of agressive behavior in inpatients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and to determine its correlates.MethodsUsing face-to-face interviews, inpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, in psychiatric department of the University Hospital in Sfax (Tunisia) were included in this cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study, carried out between novembre 2020 and octobre 2022.The modified overt aggression scale (MOAS) and historical clinical risk management-20 (HCR-20) questionnaire were used for data acquisition. The HCR-20 score of 20 was used as threshold to divide the sample to violent patients (scoring>20) and non-violent patients (scoring ≤ 20).ResultsThe sample consisted of 60 male inpatients. The mean age was 38.23± 10.37 years.In our sample, 68.3% were single, 35% didn’t reach the secondary educational level, 16.7% used psychoactive substance(s), 35% had prior criminal record, 30% had a history of suicidal attempt and 81.7% had previous hospitalization.The mean score of MOAS was 13.08±8.19. The mean total HCR-20 score was 19.25±5.26. The Historical, Clinical and Risk Management subscales showed mean scores of 8.33±2.96, 5.62±1.89, and 5.28±2.42, respectively.The violent patients represented 45% of the sample.The mean scores of the items H3, H10, C1, C2, C4 and R5 of HCR-20 were respectively : 1.33±0.79, 1.20±0.77, 1.22±0.88, 0.38±0.71, 1.30±0.64 and 1.28±0.73.There was no statistical difference between the two groups in socio-demographic factors.A history of suicidal attempts was significantly more common in the group of violent patients (p=0.029).Regarding the HCR subscales, H3 score (relationship instability) and H10 score (Prior supervision failure) were significantly higher among violent patients (p=0.018 and 0.003 respectively). The C1 score (lack of insight), the C2 score (negative attitudes) and the C4 score (impulsivity) were also significantly higher among violent patients (p=0.016, 0.009 and 0.005 rescpectively).The item R5 (stress) of the risk management subscale was significantly higher in the group of violent patients (p=0.003).The total MOAS score detected severe agression in the nonviolent group (p=0.031).ConclusionsOur study suggests the efficacy of HCR-20 in identifying and distinguishing between violent and nonviolent patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. The use of such reliable instrument in clinical psychiatric settings should be encouraged.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

(Ne)osuđivanost kao diskriminatorski uslov za zasnivanje radnog odnosa

In the context of employment, a form of direct discrimination is frequently embodied in prototypical examples of job advertisement, such as "A female worker needed to work in a bakery" or "Send a CV including a photo". The competent institutions often reacted to such and similar advertisements, and the citizens' awareness has been raised to such an extent that they often get organized (as "testers") to gather evidence and establish whether such conduct constitutes a discriminatory act. In this regard, the authors examine why some personal characteristics that are sometimes required from candidates (age, gender, appearance, etc.) are considered advantageous and do not cause the candidates revolt. How it is possible that even state authorities can ask the candidate for confirmation that he/she has not been convicted or that no legal proceeding is underway against him/her? Is the certificate on no prior criminal record really crucial for the position of a nurse or a medical technician (orderly) in cases where a person has been convicted of a minor offence against road safety? Is an unconvicted cook better at making sushi than the one convicted of negligently causing a car accident? How does the state provide for the possibility of resocialization of convicted offenders if it requires this type of certificate for jobs in the public sector, without making any distinction between the specific type of committed offence and the length of the imposed sentence? Finally, what about the presumption of innocence, one of the basic postulates of criminal procedure? By analyzing the current legal provisions and the practice of independent bodies and international institutions on this matter, the authors aim to address these and other questions that have been raised both in theory and in practice.

Faith in Trump and the willingness to punish white-collar crime: Chinese Americans as an out-group.

ObjectivesThe first goal of the study was to investigate the willingness of former President Trump’s supporters to punish a particular form of white-collar crime (i.e., bank fraud). The second objective was to test whether the race of the person who committed the bank fraud influenced Trump supporters’ willingness to punish.MethodsThis study used data from factorial vignettes that were administered to a national sample of adults in 2021 (N = 1509). A 2 (race of the individual who committed bank fraud) × 2 (prior criminal record) × 2 (COVID-19 related fraud) between-subject experimental design was used. Multivariate techniques were used to regress the dependent variables (e.g., length of prison sentence) onto the faith in Trump scale, the experimental conditions, and other variables.ResultsParticipants who expressed a strong faith in Trump were less likely to support sending an adult male who committed bank fraud to prison, but they were more supportive of deporting the individual to another country. The effect of faith in Trump changed when the race of the person who committed bank fraud was manipulated. Specifically, participants who expressed greater faith in Trump were more likely to view bank fraud as harmful and wrong, more likely to support the use of prison and recommend longer prison sentences, and expressed greater support for deporting the individual when he was depicted as Chinese American.ConclusionsAllegiance to the former president likely increased the targeting of Chinese Americans as out-group members in need of greater social control.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11292-022-09528-8.

Perceptions of Substance Use Disorder and Associated Sanctions: A Factorial Vignette Experiment

This study examines whether characteristics of people who use drugs (PWUD) influence public perceptions of substance use disorder (SUD) and punitiveness. Using a full-factorial vignette experiment, a nationwide sample (N = 448), and a series of regression models, I estimate the causal effect of characteristics of PWUD on substance use evaluations and punitiveness. Results reveal that drug type and prior criminal drug record affected both SUD and punitive judgements, implying a prosocial punitiveness, where punishments are intended to rehabilitate. Demographics of PWUD (e.g., race, sex, etc.) mattered little. However, racial resentment moderated the relationship between SUD and punitiveness, suggesting aggressive punitiveness. These findings imply that SUD evaluations and punitiveness are linked in the public mind, suggesting that citizens may see punishments as a way to address SUD by helping PWUD recover. This is not true for racially resentful respondents, who appear to want to punish PWUD for punishment's sake.

Does She Kill Like He Kills? Comparison of Homicides Committed by Women with Homicides Committed by Men in Spain

The homicides committed by women make up between 5 and 15% of the total number of homicides recorded in the world. Studies based on the gender of the perpetrator have been uncommon due to the low level of prevalence of female homicide offenders, but this tendency is currently undergoing a change. Nonetheless, in general, there is still limited knowledge of the role of women in serious crime, which makes the task of criminal policy more difficult. Therefore, the present investigation seeks to perform a comparative analysis of the homicides committed by women (n = 56) with those committed by men (n = 521). The cases in this sample correspond to homicides solved in Spain by the Civil Guard between the years 2013 and 2018. The findings of the study show that homicides by women have distinctive characteristics, with 3 out of every 4 taking place in the family environment, and these being dominated by cases of filicide. The victims are underage males with some type of vulnerability and a mental disorder. The female perpetrators tend to have a partner and live with somebody, have a mental disorder and do not present a prior criminal record. With regard to the crime, homicides perpetrated by women take place in the afternoon, without witnesses and in residences; when it comes to the criminal behaviours, they use weapons of opportunity, above all asphyxiating methods, they alter the scene and do not flee from the scene of the crime.

Punishing for the Past (Sometimes): Judicial Perspectives on Criminal History Enhancements

Prior criminal record is routinely cited as one of the primary determinants of sentencing, and the common view is that prior record was a leading factor in non-guidelines jurisdictions going back decades. Yet, recent findings from a non-guidelines state failed to conform to this account. This study uses interviews with judges from a non-guidelines state to understand the role of prior record in sentencing in an unstructured sentencing state. This study also reexamines some of the early sentencing guidelines formation literature and finds some indications that pre-guidelines, prior record was not universally an instrumental predictor of sentence length.

The U.S. Sentencing Commission’s Recidivism Studies

Recidivism is now the guiding principle of punishment and has become the new hallmark of criminal justice reform, as reflected in the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s recidivism project. So far, the Commission has issued three reports in 2020 alone, which outline the parameters within which “safe” criminal justice reform can proceed. Yet the overly broad definition of “recidivism” and the focus on easily measurable and static risk factors, such as prior criminal record, create a feedback loop. The Commission’s work should come with a warning label. Its recidivism studies should not be consumed on their own. Instead, they must be read in conjunction with U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services recidivism research, which includes data on the impact of programming, treatment, and services on reentry success. Yet, concerns about undercounting recidivism events drive the entire U.S. approach. Western European studies reflect different philosophies and values that explain some of the underlying reasons for the dramatically different imprisonment rates on the two sides of the Atlantic. These recidivism studies raise also questions about the Commission’s role. Its ongoing preference for imprisonment indicates that it continues to consider itself the guardian of incarceration-driven guidelines. The studies reenforce the status quo and the Commission’s role in it. They threaten to propel us into data-driven selective incapacitation and continuously long prison terms for those with prior criminal records, all in the name of public safety.

Blame based on one's name? Extralegal disparities in criminal conviction and sentencing

We examine whether the perceived ethnoreligious origin of defendant's name matters for criminal justice outcomes. Drawing on data on adjudication of drug offenses in Belgium, we find that defendants with a perceived Islamic name face on average three to five percentage points greater prospects of conviction than defendants with a Belgian name. The name effect is not discernible with respect to sentence severity, does not take place in custody decisions, affects primarily male defendants, magnifies the effect of prior criminal record, occurs only when the presiding judge has had limited opportunity for exposure to Islamic culture, and, importantly, obtains even for defendants who never physically appeared before the judge. Our findings are consistent with the interpretation that judges sometimes rely on defendant's name to form perceptions of defendant's ethnoreligious identity and, in turn, attributions of defendant's culpability. Any underlying judicial bias is likely implicit and not systemic in nature.

The Usual Suspects: Prior Criminal Record and the Probability of Arrest

A unique dataset is analyzed to investigate the effect of a criminal suspect’s prior criminal record on the probability of arrest. Multivariate logistic regression results show that a criminal suspect with a prior criminal record is approximately 29 times more likely than a suspect without a criminal record to be arrested by police. While findings also reveal that Black suspects and Black suspects with a prior criminal record do not have an enhanced proclivity of arrest, Black suspects with a prior criminal record who target White victims are almost three times more apt to be arrested. When juxtaposed with the finding in the baseline model of a substantive relationship between a suspect’s race and the likelihood of arrest absent the control for prior criminal record, our results suggest that any correlation evinced between a criminal suspect’s race and the likelihood of arrest without controlling for the suspect’s prior criminal history may be spurious due to omitted variable bias.

Social Status, Equal Treatment, and Pretrial Detention: Evidence from China and its Implications

The principle of equal treatment is fundamental to the fairness of any pretrial detention system, yet scholarship on this issue in the Chinese context is scarce. Based on 520 samples concerning pretrial decisions from one city court in China, this study reveals that the principle of equal treatment was not well enforced in that particular pretrial context. Our statistical analysis shows that legal factors such as the seriousness of the crime, a defendant’s prior criminal record, and joint-crime status (i.e., several perpetrators commit a crime jointly), as well as some extra-legal demographic factors significantly influence pretrial decisions on release or detention. We added new variables of domicile, joint-crime, and the type of pretrial detention within the context of the Chinese system. This theoretical focus on contextual factors may be useful for similar European studies.

Trato procesal y uso de la detención preventiva en una muestra de audiencias de control de garantías en Bogotá y Cali

Este artículo examina los factores que condicionan el trato y la disposición preliminar de casos penales. Para esto estimamos modelos multivariados basados en la observación aleatoria de audiencias en Bogotá y Cali (N = 330), lo que incluyó la recolección de datos sobre el comportamiento de los jueces, sus decisiones y las características de las personas detenidas. Se demuestra que factores "extralegales", como, por ejemplo, el tipo de defensa o el origen étnico o racial de los procesados, están asociados con la variación en el trato e imposición de la detención preventiva, además de criterios "legales" relacionados con la gravedad de los delitos y las condenas previas.

Perceptions of School Shooters Depend on Prior Criminal Record but Not Targeted Age Group.

Individuals with a prior criminal record are viewed more negatively than those with a clean record, which is often exemplified in harsher sentencing, higher risk assessment ratings, and higher psychopathy ratings. However, what has not yet been explored is whether the age of the targeted victim population (children vs. adults) affects these perceptions. Given that school shooting incidents are a current societal issue, this study aimed to investigate whether the presence of a prior criminal record and age of the victim population affect decisions regarding school shooting offenders. Participants were exposed to school shooting vignettes describing the offender (prior criminal record vs. not) and targeted victims (children vs. adults). They were asked to determine an appropriate sentence and rate the offender's risk of future violence and psychopathy score. Violence risk ratings (measured by the Historical Clinical Risk Management-20 [HCR-20]) and psychopathy ratings (measured by the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised [PCL-R]) depended on the presence of a prior criminal record, such that those with a prior criminal record were perceived as a greater violence risk and as exhibiting more psychopathic traits than their clean-record counterparts. However, punishment severity did not depend on prior criminal record. Likewise, age group of the targeted population had no effect on participants' perceptions of school shooting offenders. These findings contribute to our knowledge of how offender- and incident-specific factors affect perceptions, which has important implications for understanding which factors affect impartiality within our criminal justice system.

Arrest and Prosecution of Animal Sex Abuse (Bestiality) Offenders in the United States, 1975-2015.

Bestiality is an uncomfortable topic about which there is limited scientific literature. Prevalence research has focused on self-reported acts, and no research has established the actual frequency and nature of deliberate sex acts with animals. This quantitative, descriptive study examined 456 arrests for bestiality-related incidents in the United States from 1975 to 2015 to explore patterns of offending, offender characteristics, and how cases were adjudicated. The results suggest that animal sex offending may be linked to other criminal behavior, and involves a spectrum of sexual acts, including coercive, violent, and non-violent penetration; solicitation for sex with animals; and deviant behavior including torture and necrophilia. Findings of concern were that 31.6% of animal sex offenders also sexually offended against children and adults; 52.9% had a prior or subsequent criminal record involving human sexual abuse, animal abuse, interpersonal violence, substances, or property offenses; and only 39.1% of arrests involving the direct sexual abuse of animals resulted in prosecution. The broad range of sexual assault patterns and varied legal outcomes suggest that bestiality is more pervasive and more serious than previously thought and point to a need for additional research to aid in detection, intervention, sentencing, treatment, and supervision methods.

Smart sentencing guidelines: The effect of marginal policy changes on recidivism

Public appeals regarding criminal justice have shifted somewhat from “tough on crime” to “smart justice” that is more lenient when tradeoffs merit it. Among other considerations, smart sentencing policy depends on how sentence severity affects recidivism. Using administrative data on two common non-violent felonies committed by adults in Michigan, we measure the effect of sentences on offenders' future criminal activity. Discontinuities in the legislative guidelines that constrain sentences chosen by Michigan judges provide exogenous variation in sentence severity. Harsher sentences generated by sentencing guidelines significantly reduce recidivism by felony shoplifters but not repeat drunk drivers. Recidivism falls most for young, male offenders from Southeast Michigan and varies non-monotonically with prior criminal record. Because of such heterogeneity, any empirical strategy measures a local average treatment effect relevant to a particular population of offenders. Contrary to our main results, we find no evidence that harsher sentences induced by judge assignments reduce recidivism in our sample. When sentencing guidelines provide the primary practical policy lever, “smart justice” should incorporate directly relevant empirical evidence that accounts for offense- and offender-specific tradeoffs between public safety and the public budget.

Blame Based on One's Name? Extralegal Disparities in Criminal Conviction and Sentencing

We examine whether the perceived ethnoreligious origin of defendant's name matters for criminal justice outcomes. Drawing on data on adjudication of drug offenses in Belgium, we find that defendants with a perceived Islamic name face on average three to five percentage points greater prospects of conviction than defendants with a Belgian name. The name effect is not discernible with respect to sentence severity, does not take place in custody decisions, affects primarily male defendants, magnifies the effect of prior criminal record, occurs only when the presiding judge has had limited opportunity for exposure to Islamic culture, and, importantly, obtains even for defendants who never physically appeared before the judge. Our findings are consistent with the interpretation that judges sometimes rely on defendant's name to form perceptions of defendant's ethnoreligious identity and, in turn, attributions of defendant's culpability. Any underlying judicial bias is likely implicit and not systemic in nature.

Dyskryminacja w nawiązaniu stosunku pracy ze względu na karalność

Employee rights are protected by the Labour Code and other labor laws. Protective function of this branch of law is fullfilled, among others, by provisions on the prohibition of discrimination. In certain circumstances, the provisions provide legal protection also for candidates for employees, indicating what a potential employer may require from the candidate, how he should behave towards him and what are the permitted criteria for evaluating job-seeker in the course of the recruitment for the position. Discrimination may therefore occur at the stage of looking for a job by a potential employee, especially during the recruitment procedure. The Labour Code contains open catalog of causes of discrimination, and therefore often appear doubts as to whether the action of the employer bears the hallmarks of discrimination, whether it is an acceptable action. Because of this, it is reasonable to attempt to answer the question whether it is permissible to differentiate the situation of candidates for jobs at employment relationships due to a prior criminal record. This will determine the relationship between the discretionary power of the employer to choose the best candidate for the job, and the equal treatment of all potential employees, including due to the content of their criminal cards.