Prior Offenses Research Articles

Familiar Locations and Similar Activities: Examining the Contributions of Reliable and Relevant Knowledge in Offenders’ Crime Location Choices

This paper examines the recently theorized roles of the reliability and relevance of offenders’ knowledge of locations in their crime location choices. Using discrete choice models, we analyzed offenders’ pre-offense activity locations from police data (home addresses, family members’ home addresses, work, school, prior offenses, victimizations, non-crime incidents, and other police contacts) and 17,054 residential burglaries, 10,353 non-residential burglaries, 1,977 commercial robberies, 4,315 personal robberies, and 4,421 extra-familial sex offenses, in New Zealand. Offenders were most likely to offend where their prior activity locations indicated they had highly reliable and highly relevant knowledge—where they were both highly familiar with the area and had conducted similar activities—and less likely where offenders had less familiarity or less similar activities. The results support a recent extension of crime pattern theory and highlight the importance of including both reliability and relevance factors when modeling or predicting offenders’ crime location choices.

The Role of Psychopathic Traits and Supportive Parental Practices in Long-Term Juvenile Recidivism: a 10-Year Follow-Up

Recidivism rates of juvenile delinquents remain high despite numerous intervention efforts. Identifying factors that can predict (long-term) recidivism is therefore an important research issue. Knowledge on why juveniles re-offend is a key to effective interventions as it helps to identify factors most likely to be successful targets in intervention programs. A 10-year follow-up study prospectively examined whether psychopathic traits and supportive parental practices predicted the timing and frequency of recidivism in juvenile delinquents. Participants were 256 adolescents who were referred to treatment for serious antisocial behavior (72.4% male). Participants were between 12 and 18 years old at baseline (M = 15.9 years). Parents reported on juveniles’ psychopathic traits and supportive parental practices at baseline. At 10-year follow-up, the official recidivism data were collected. A substantial number of juveniles (86.3%) had recidivated at 10-year follow-up. Juvenile psychopathic traits and supportive parental practices did not incrementally predict the timing or frequency of recidivism over time over and beyond the static control variables gender and prior offenses. The present study confirms previous work suggesting that static risk factors gender and prior offenses are strongest predictors of recidivism.

Juvenile probation officers and discretionary decision-making: the effects of legal, physical, and social factors

Although sentencing recommendations should be based on legal factors, research shows that some juvenile probation officers (JPOs) also consider extra-legal factors. Indeed, research shows that stereotypes about certain demographics (e.g., young Black males) increase the perception of dangerousness and, in turn, result in harsher sentencing recommendations. The purpose of the current study was to identify the legal (seriousness of offense, prior offenses, and record), physical (race, gender, and age), and social factors (socioeconomic status, completeness of the juvenile’s family/family arrangement, presence of co-offenders) that the JPO considered the most important when making their sentencing recommendations. Data for the study came from a sample of juvenile probation officers in nine states. Participants were asked questions about sanctioning, disposition, and sentencing. The findings show that while the majority of JPOs rated legal factors (e.g., seriousness of offense) as the most important when making sentencing recommendations, a substantial proportion of the sample rated physical factors (e.g., race) as the most important factor considered when making sentencing recommendations. Implications and future directions for research are discussed.

Factors related to motivation to change and therapeutic alliance among men early in treatment following perpetration of child sexual abuse

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to investigate relationships between criminal history, cognitive distortions, social climate, motivation to change and therapeutic alliance at an early stage of treatment among people incarcerated for child sexual abuse. To do so, 223 men (M age = 47, range = 19–76 years) who took part in a treatment programme in Quebec, Canada, following perpetration of child sexual abuse were included in the study. Individual factors (number of prior offences; cognitive distortions), social climate, and their association with motivation and therapeutic alliance were examined. Multiple linear regressions revealed that participants with fewer cognitive distortions who perceived social climate more positively were more motivated to change and had a better alliance with their therapist. Participants with higher motivation also established better therapeutic alliances with programme staff. This study provides new knowledge on two major components of successful treatment and highlights the importance of a positive environment in forming therapeutic alliance. PRACTICE IMPACT STATEMENT Treatment providers should be mindful that the same cognitive distortions that are likely to be treatment targets can also be obstacles to motivation and the development of the therapeutic alliance. In terms of the treatment environment, providing a safe, open, and supportive social climate between inmates and programme staff contributes to higher motivation and better therapeutic alliance.

Understanding community attitudes toward miscarriages of justice: the role of social characteristics on perceptions of wrongfully convicted exonerees

ABSTRACT Objective: Not all exonerees are perceived equally. Attitudes toward exonerees are negatively impacted by social characteristics, such as race and criminal history; providing significant challenges for exonerees attempting to reintegrate into the community. The present study examined whether exoneree race, gender and criminal history influenced ratings of desired social distance. Method: A community sample of 1043 females and males completed an online survey. Participants were asked to read a vignette of a mock news article that described a wrongful conviction, then complete a desired social distance scale. Exoneree gender, race and criminal history were manipulated in the news article, with a minimum of 120 participants randomised to eight vignette conditions. Results: Exoneree race and the presence of a prior criminal history had significant main effects on participant attitudes regarding desired social distance. There were no interactions between exoneree gender, race and priors, but differences did emerge suggesting differential views of desired social distance for females and older participants when the exoneree had a prior offence. Conclusion: Social characteristics, demographics and individual differences may be particularly important in forming community attitudes toward wrongful conviction. This holds important implications for exoneree reintegration and community attitudes toward the Australian criminal justice system.

Mental health service contact following release from prison or hospital discharge in those with psychosis.

An association exists between psychosis and criminal offending, which evidence suggests can be reduced by effective mental health care for this vulnerable population. However mental health services often lose contact with people after diagnosis. The association between the first episode of psychosis and criminal offending highlights the need for effective mental health care for this vulnerable population. To investigate the association between the first diagnosis of psychosis (FDP) in prison or hospital and subsequent mental health service contact following release from prison or discharge from hospital. Individuals with a FDP either in prison (n = 492) or hospital setting (n = 24,910) between July 2006 and December 2011 in NSW (Australia), were followed post-release or discharge until their first mental health service contact in the community, the occurrence of an offence, death, or completion of the study period at the end of December 2012. Cox regression models were used to examine the predictors for the mental health service contacts following release or discharge. Over 70% of those with a FDP in prison or hospital had a psychosis-related or any community-based mental health service contact following release or discharge between July 2006 and December 2012. Those with a FDP in prison were more likely to have no contact with mental health services than those in hospital with no prior offence record (hazard ratio, HR = 3.14, 95% CI: 2.66-3.72 and adjusted hazard ratio, aHR = 3.05, 95% CI: 2.56-3.63) within a median follow-up time of 25 days for the prison group and 26 days for hospital group. Males, individuals of Aboriginal heritage and individuals diagnosed with substance-related psychoses compared to those with schizophrenia and related psychoses were less likely to have a mental health service contact following release or discharge in both the univariable and multivariable analysis. This study suggests that prior offending or a previous prison episode represents a barrier to mental health service contact in the community for those with a FDP. Effective rehabilitation planning while exiting prison and discharge planning from hospital are essential to the successful reintegration of these individuals with a FDP.

Getting to Proportionality: The Trouble with Sentencing for Possession of Child Pornography in Ontario

In this article we examine sentencing in 14 Ontario cases of possession of child pornography between 2007 and 2017 with the purpose of understanding the sentencing process in relation to the fundamental principle of proportionality and other principles employed to arrive at a fair, individualizing process as set out in Canadian sentencing law. In all cases the offenders are charged with possession only and have no prior offences. We situate these cases within the context of sentencing reform in general and child pornography law specifically, including the evolution of mandatory minimums, as they have evolved in both legislation and case law. Our cases cover two periods of mandatory minimums, 45 days and six months. Although we consider numerical sentences, probation and ancillary conditions awarded when examining our cases, we are interested in the process of determining the sentencing components. We analyse this process in two ways: by observing the judicial reasoning in calculating the seriousness of the crime and the blameworthiness of the offender and the balancing of other purposes and principles, particularly rehabilitation and parity; and, by considering three pairings of cases, each with similar quantity and quality of images, to compare the calculation of risk and its effect on determining the blameworthiness of the particular offender. Our findings reveal a polarization in judicial reasoning between a punitive process in which overemphasis of denunciation and deterrence and extreme versions of the reasoned apprehension of harm add weight to the seriousness of the crime on a par with contact abuse, and a more tempered and restrained one in which possession is considered on its own and other purposes and principles are weighed, such as rehabilitation and parity, to arrive at a more individualizing process. Mandatory minimums are no constraint as sentencing is much lengthier, especially under the 45-day mandatory minimum. In pairing like cases in terms of collections of images and videos we find a very subjective process in the calculating of risk in which like offenders are treated differently in terms of assessments of blameworthiness, based on questionable forensic methods and assumptions. Finally, we note the resources involved in investigative time, incarceration and the supervising of probation as well as lengthy ancillary conditions that may last decades after sentencing.

A new Geographic Profiling Suspect Mapping And Ranking Technique for crime investigations: GP‐SMART

AbstractThis study developed and tested a new geographic profiling method for automating suspect prioritisation in crime investigations. The Geographic Profiling Suspect Mapping And Ranking Technique (GP‐SMART) maps suspects' activity locations available in police records—such as home addresses, family members' home addresses, prior offence locations, locations of non‐crime incidents, and other contacts with police—and ranks suspects based on both the proximity and nature of these locations, relative to an input crime. In accuracy tests using solved burglary, robbery and extra‐familial sex offence cases in New Zealand (n = 4511), GP‐SMART ranked the offender at or near the top of the suspect list at rates greatly exceeding chance. Highlighting the benefit of its novel inclusion and differentiation of many different types of activity location, GP‐SMART also outperformed baseline methods—approximating existing algorithms—that ranked suspects using only the proximity of their activity locations, or home addresses, to the input crime.

Money Laundering and Tax Crimes in Spain: Doctrine and Jurisprudence

AbstractAs regulated in Spanish law, money laundering requires a prior illicit activity that has generated the assets that are the subject of laundering. One of the subjects that has been deeply discussed in recent years by certain doctrinal sectors, even with support in various jurisprudential rulings, has been the suitability of crimes against the Public Treasury, especially tax fraud, as the prior offence underlying money laundering. Thus, it has been debated whether the tax offender carrying out one of the activities typified in the Criminal Code (acquiring, possessing, using, converting or transmitting assets) automatically commits a type of money laundering. In that case, it would become an automatic and inevitable consequence of the tax crime itself. If, on the contrary, some other component must be required (essentially through the subjective elements of the unjust) to determine the existence of a second crime, that of money laundering, the prohibition of non-bis in idem confronts us, to a greater or lesser extent. Furthermore, doctrinal approaches and some judgements of the Spanish highest courts have generated a reinterpretation of the criminal law that fits badly with the principles of criminality. Nor is it easy to delineate the assets that are the object of the tax offence that may be subject to laundering, since, by definition, they are assets that were originally in possession of the offending subject and, besides, they are pecuniary obligations. To that extent, the presumption of innocence could, in many cases, determine the exoneration of the suspect.

Neighborhood Context and Juvenile Recidivism: A Spatial Analysis of Organizations and Reoffending Risk

Leveraging point-level spatial data from the Phoenix area, we consider the role of nearby organizations as contextual factors that amplify or reduce reoffending risk among juvenile offenders after court completion. Using survival models, we examine whether residential proximity to seven types of organizations impacts risk of recidivism, net of neighborhood disadvantage and offender characteristics. Aggregate neighborhood disadvantage was not associated with reoffending risk and organizational findings were mixed. Low-level offenders with more total organizations nearby had a higher risk of new property offenses, while the risk of drug and violent reoffending nearly doubled for diversion youth residing near police facilities or detention centers. Individual demographics and prior offense histories remained the strongest, most consistent predictors of juvenile recidivism.

A National Examination of the Spatial Extent and Similarity of Offenders’ Activity Spaces Using Police Data

It is well established that offenders’ routine activity locations (nodes) shape their crime locations, but research examining the geography of offenders’ routine activity spaces has to date largely been limited to a few core nodes such as homes and prior offense locations, and to small study areas. This paper explores the utility of police data to provide novel insights into the spatial extent of, and overlap between, individual offenders’ activity spaces. It includes a wider set of activity nodes (including relatives’ homes, schools, and non-crime incidents) and broadens the geographical scale to a national level, by comparison to previous studies. Using a police dataset including n = 60,229 burglary, robbery, and extra-familial sex offenders in New Zealand, a wide range of activity nodes were present for most burglary and robbery offenders, but fewer for sex offenders, reflecting sparser histories of police contact. In a novel test of the criminal profiling assumptions of homology and differentiation in a spatial context, we find that those who offend in nearby locations tend to share more activity space than those who offend further apart. However, in finding many offenders’ activity spaces span wide geographic distances, we highlight challenges for crime location choice research and geographic profiling practice.

Association Between Early Contact With Mental Health Services After an Offense and Reoffending in Individuals Diagnosed With Psychosis

Psychosis is a known risk factor for offending behavior, but little is known about the association between clinical contact with mental health services after an offense and reoffending. To examine the association between early contact with mental health services and reoffending after an index offense in individuals with psychosis. In this cohort study, individuals diagnosed with psychosis before their index offense from July 1, 2001, to December 31, 2012, and who received a noncustodial sentence were identified by linking health and offending databases in New South Wales, Australia. The incidence of and risk factors for reoffending and time to reoffending within 2 years from the index offense were examined using Cox proportional hazards regression and Kaplan-Meier survival estimates. Specifically, the association between contact with mental health services within 30 days after an offense and reoffending was examined. Data were analyzed from July 1, 2019, to March 5, 2020. Hospital admission, emergency department presentation, and contact with community mental health services associated with psychosis. Reoffending within 2 years of the index offense was compared in individuals with and without clinical contact with mental health services within 30 days after an offense, with adjustment for potential confounders. Of the 7030 offenders with psychosis (4933 male [70.2%]; median age at the index offense, 34 [interquartile range, 26-42] years), 2605 (37.1%) had clinical contact with mental health services within 30 days after the index offense. The risk of reoffending was significantly lower in those with vs without clinical contact (adjusted hazard ratio [AHR], 0.83; 95% CI, 0.76-0.91). The risk of reoffending was 30% less in male offenders with 5 or more clinical contacts compared with male offenders with no clinical contact (AHR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.59-0.84). Reoffending in both male and female offenders was associated with younger age (eg, AHR for male offenders aged <18 years, 3.31 [95% CI, 2.39-4.59]; AHR for female offenders aged <18 years, 2.60 [95% CI, 1.69-3.99]) and offending history (eg, AHR for male offenders with ≥4 prior offenses, 2.28 [95% CI, 1.98-2.64]; AHR for female offenders with ≥4 prior offenses, 2.22 [95% CI, 1.67-2.96]). In this cohort, early and frequent clinical contact with mental health services after an offense in individuals with psychosis was associated with reduced risk of reoffending in this group. More support may be needed for early treatment of those with serious mental illness who are at risk of reoffending.

Prediction of Youth and Adult Recidivism Among Spanish Juveniles Involved in Serious Offenses

This study analyzes the predictive validity of the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) for youth and adult recidivism in a Spanish juvenile sample. Participants’ age ranged between 14 and 18.09 years old ( N = 264) and 82% were boys and all had been sentenced to probation and custody centers. Data on juvenile and young adult recidivism were collected for the sample with mean follow-up periods of 13.74 and 20.19 months, respectively. The area under the curve, Kaplan–Meier and Cox regression survival analyses were each conducted to check for predictive validity. The findings demonstrated that the YLS/CMI is able to predict recidivism in both the juvenile period and the emerging adult period in a different cultural context. Prior Offenses and Education/Employment emerged as significant predictors for youth and young adult recidivism. The entire YLS/CMI is therefore an effective tool for risk classification in a different cultural sample.

Disproportionality in Juvenile Justice Diversion: An Examination of Teen Court Peer-Derived Consequences

AbstractJuvenile justice diversion programs, such as Teen Court (TC), represent an alternative to traditional juvenile justice responses to youth misbehavior and delinquency. However, although TC represents a potential strategy to address disproportionate minority contact, there is a dearth of research examining the extent to which TC programs are racially equitable. To address this gap, the current study examines racial disproportionality in a TC program in Arizona. Results indicated that in a diverse sample of youths involved in a TC program in Arizona, youths who identified as Latinx or American Indian were more likely to receive a severe consequence from the peer jury compared with their non-Latinx, white counterparts. Multiracial youths were less likely to receive a severe consequence compared with white youths. A hierarchical regression model indicated that offense-related variables explained the largest proportion of variance in number of consequence hours assigned. However, disparities for Latinx and American Indian youths compared with non-Latinx, white youths persisted after controlling for other demographics, type of offense, prior offenses, and additional charges. The results of the current study are the first to document racial disparity in the TC process.

The role of prior punishment in preventive detention decisions

ABSTRACTPreventive detention legislation allows for ongoing detention or supervision following completion of an offender’s sentence. Consideration of public protection should drive the administration of preventive detention, however research has indicated retributive concerns also drive decision making. Two studies were conducted to examine the motives driving preventive detention decisions, and how contextual variables affected the balance between retributive and public protection motives. In Study 1, participants were presented with information about an offender’s remorse, prior punishment, and risk of re-offence. In Study 2, participants were presented with information about an offender’s prior punishment and offence type, and the relative strength of various potential mediators was tested, to determine factors driving effects of prior punishment information. Overall, results demonstrated participants were driven by both retributive and public protection motives, as well as personal characteristics (e.g. political orientation, prejudice against offenders) when making preventive detention decisions. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for preventive detention legislation.

Student misconduct and admission to legal practice - new judicial approaches

The recent Victorian Supreme Court decision in Re Legal Profession Act 2004; re OG, a lawyer caused a stir among educators of legal ethics. This decision, like another decision in 2007, Re Humzy-Hancock, concerns student misconduct as a relevant matter for consideration in admission proceedings. It has been recognised for some time that student misconduct is significant evidence as to the character of an applicant in admission proceedings. In order to be admitted as a legal practitioner, the court must be satisfied that the applicant is 'a.fit and proper person' to practice, which involves in-depth inquiry into that person's moral character. Re OG indicates that we must now consider student misconduct to be relevant in any admission considerations and that non-disclosure of such incidents will be grounds for a person not to be admitted. In Victoria, the legislature has now codified consideration and disclosure of 'disciplinary action' against an applicant. However, Re Humzy-Hancock demonstrates that while the courts are taking an ever stricter line on disclosure as evidence of honesty of character, this does not mean that the court will not permit the applicant to defend his or her character with regard to the prior offence. Indeed, this article contends that the decisions discussed herein demonstrate that the courts in this area are intruding further than ever into what may be considered 'issues of academic or pastoral judgment'.

Adolescent offenders' current whereabouts predict locations of their future crimes.

Knowing where crime is likely to happen can help prevent it. Here I investigate whether two basic mechanisms of human mobility—preferential return and spatial exploration—explain and predict where offenders commit future crimes. A sample of 843 adolescents reported their hourly whereabouts during four days. In line with findings from other sources and populations, their locations were concentrated and predictable. During the subsequent four years, 70 of the 843 were apprehended for committing one or more crimes. Compared to others, these 70 future offenders had visited slightly more different locations. However, their action radius and the predictability of their whereabouts had been very similar to those who would not become offenders. The offenders perpetrated most of their crimes around places they had visited before, including places where they previously offended. These findings show that the predictability of human mobility applies to offending and to offenders as well, and helps us understand and forecast where they will commit future crimes. They may prove particularly useful in criminal investigations, as they suggest that police should generally prioritize suspects who are familiar with the location of the crime and its environs, either because of their legal routine activities or because of their prior offences.

Face-to-Face Restorative Justice Conferences for Intimate Partner Abuse: an Exploratory Study of Victim and Offender Views

Research QuestionIn what proportion of intimate partner abuse cases (in which offenders have made some level of formal admission of wrongdoing) would victims, offenders or both be willing to attend a face-to-face restorative justice conference, at least in principle?DataThe study included offenders, victims and dyads in 75 low-harm cases of intimate partner abuse (IPA), defined as punishable by 10 or fewer days of Cambridge Crime Harm Index value for the offence. Eligible cases were limited to couples involving a male offender who had admitted responsibility for the harm and a female victim, both age 18 years or over, in cases finalised within 6 months of the incident and with no new incidents since the presenting offence. Of the 75 eligible cases of IPA for which contact was attempted with 150 people, 54 people agreed to grant interviews: 34 victims (45% of those successfully contacted) and 20 offenders (49% of successful contacts) completed interviews, including 13 cases in which both offender and victim in the dyad gave interviews.MethodStructured phone interviews were conducted by police officers or staff within 10 months of case reporting. The key feasibility measure was a statement that the interviewee would be ‘likely’ to agree to participate in a face-to-face restorative justice conference (RJC) for crimes in an IPA relationship, based on a 5-point Likert scale.FindingsThere were 14 (41%) victims and five (25%) offenders who indicated they would likely or definitely be willing to participate in a RJC if one were offered to them now. Seven of the 13 dyads matched on some degree of willingness to participate between both parties. Victims and offenders with some reason for ongoing contact with the other party tended to be more interested in RJCs than those who had severed contact. Victims reporting lower current levels of fear of the offender and who self-reported fewer prior offences were more willing to participate in RJCs. Cases in which victims indicated willingness had more often resulted in a caution than a charge.ConclusionsThese findings demonstrated an appreciable level of interest in RJCs amongst victims and offenders in IPA cases with low harm. Based on the results of this study, a controlled trial could be considered offering this intervention to couples fitting the eligibility criteria of this study, with emphasis on couples found most likely to accept the offer.

Targeting Escalation and Harm in Intimate Partner Violence: Evidence from Northern Territory Police, Australia

Research QuestionDoes analysis of intimate partner violence (IPV) among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal couples in the Northern Territory (NT), Australia, reveal any predictable escalation in frequency or severity of harm over a 4-year observation period?DataWe examined all 61,796 incidents of IPV recorded by the NT Police for 23,104 unique couples (‘dyads’), over the 5-year period from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2014. For purposes of analysing changes over time in frequency and harm, we used standardised observation periods (generally 4 years) from first incident to end of observations.MethodsEach IPV incident was re-classified by crime type using the penal code of England and Wales, in order to measure the severity of harm in NT with the Cambridge Crime Harm Index (CHI). The CHI scores were used to test for patterns of concentration and escalation, based on the total days of recommended imprisonment for each offence type, summed across all offences of that type for the entire sample.FindingsThe findings were sharply split between Aboriginal and White dyads. While there was no evidence of escalation in either frequency or severity of IPV incidents in the White dyads, there was substantial evidence of escalation among Aboriginal offenders with three or more incidents in a 4-year period.Less than 2% of White offenders (2 of 111) had three or more incidents in 4 years, compared to 32.4% of Aboriginals (N = 105 out of 355 offenders).For those couples of both races known by police to have two or more incidents, there was a strong pattern of escalation in the frequency and seriousness of offending for up to 20 incidents over 4 years. While 66% of couples had desisted by year 3 with no further reports that year or the next, among the 34% of couples (N = 3621) persisting into year 3 the probability of a new incident by year 4 was 99.9%. Similarly, the time between incidents for these repeaters declined with each new incident, indicating an increase in frequency.Severity of harm also rose with repeated incidents, from 0.6 of expected Cambridge CHI value per dyad among couples with 1 to 5 incidents over 4 years to 3.82 times higher than expected value per dyad among those couples observed to have 16–20 incidents over 4 years—six times more harm among couples (almost entirely Aboriginals) with the highest frequency of incidents than among couples with the lowest frequency.ConclusionsThis targeting analysis confirms other research that shows no escalation in frequency or severity of domestic abuse among predominantly White European populations. Yet it also provides the first systematic test of the escalation hypothesis about IPV reported to police among Australian Aboriginal dyads. That evidence provides a strong basis in evidence for developing a two-track policy for policing IPV in Australian areas with substantial Indigenous populations. Track 1 would serve dyads (of either race) presenting for the first or second time, for whom a light touch may generally be sufficient. Yet any couple known to have had two or more prior offences could receive a far more intensive strategic investment, including the testing of new strategies for prevention of escalation in harm or frequency of IPV. Yet because this pattern of escalation is found only in a minority of Aboriginal dyads, it is important to base policy on evidence-based targeting of dyads with prior occurrences rather than race.

Psycho-social factors associated with maternal neonaticide

Current research presents five case studies of maternal neonaticide in Georgia. Participants were under the age of thirty, with incomplete secondary education, unemployed, dependent on their families’ low income, living in the rural areas of Georgia. In three cases, participants resided with their family of origin. They were not married or in a relationship with the father of the child. They described their families and communities as conservative, holding strong cultural/religious beliefs against premarital sexual relations/childbirth out of wedlock. They lacked problem solving and coping skills, avoided making decisions concerning the pregnancy by concealing it. This being their first pregnancy, they gave birth alone followed by panic and fear of detection, committed neonaticide and hid the body of the infant. None of them had a prior criminal record. In the remaining cases, participants were married, lived with their spouses and children, had financial hardships. Both reported psychological and physical abuse from their spouses. One of them had a prior criminal offense for possessing controlled substances. The motive for neonaticide was an unwanted child due to an extramarital affair and threat of financial abandonment from extended family. In both cases, infants suffered fatal injuries. All participants reported lack of social support and emotional neglect from family members. These results are in line with international research, suggesting that certain patterns among these mothers are shared. Psychosocial factors associated with neonaticide should be utilized in the process of planning and implementing preventive strategies in health, social and legal frameworks.Disclosure of interestThe author has not supplied his/her declaration of competing interest.