Violent Offenses Research Articles

Lethal and non-lethal violent offences in intimate and non-intimate relationships in Norway between 2016 and 2020

Lethal and non-lethal violent offences in intimate and non-intimate relationships in Norway between 2016 and 2020

Pengaturan Marital Rape di Indonesia Perspektif Fiqh Jinayah tentang Keluarga

The purpose of this research is to explore the regulation related to the problem of marital rape in Indonesian legislation, especially after the enactment of the new Criminal Code Law by using the perspective of fiqh jinayah on family. This research is a doctrinal study with a conceptual approach and a legislative approach. Based on the research conducted, several conclusions can be formulated: First, marital rape that occurs in the household can be classified as a criminal offence of sexual violence. In addition, the regulation of marital rape in Indonesia is not yet specific and integrated so that it is still scattered in various regulations. Secondly, based on the perspective of fiqh jinayah, marital rape is included in the category of jarimah ta'zir because it is related to human honour. In the perspective of family jinayah fiqh, marital rape is also not justified and is an injustice according to Islam. Some sanctions in jinayah fiqh that can be applied to perpetrators of marital rape include diyat and ta'zir.

Уголовно-правовые меры специальной профилактики насильственных посягательств и их реализация полицией при межотраслевой конкуренции права

Introduction. The article deals with the issues of effectiveness of one of the directions of police activity in the sphere of special prevention of offences – the suppression of the most dangerous violent encroachments, infliction of harm when apprehending a person having committed a crime, through the use of physical force, special means and firearms by police officers. The lack of consistency in legal regulation, in particular, in the conditions of legality of necessary defence in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and the Federal Law of 7 February 2011 No.3 “On Police”, leads to interbranch competition of non-contradictory norms of different branches of law, regulating analogous social relations in the sphere of protection of a person and the rights of the defeated or other persons, but with a different degree of specification of the legal prescription. In a number of cases, the current situation leads to a decrease in the effectiveness of the protection of an individual from violent encroachments, the appearance of possible negative consequences for the personal safety of an official himself protected by the state from legal injustice and court errors. Methods and Results. Based on the ideas on the dialectical connection between the state policy in the sphere of counteraction to crime and criminal law, the author critically assesses the system of legal regulation of the use of measures of special prevention of violent offences on the example of the use of firearms by police officers in the situation of necessary defence. With the use of axiological, logical-legal methods and content analysis the author’s variant of comprehensive approach to improving the mechanism of counteraction to violent offences through criminal-legal measures is given. This author’s alternative is brought for discussion by specialists of criminal-legal profile.

Does Criminal Versatility Predict Recidivism? Results from Cox Proportional-Hazards and Binomial Logistic Regression Analyses

The purpose of this study was to determine whether criminal versatility predicts future recidivism. A Cox proportional-hazards survival analysis of 1,101 male inmates showed that criminal versatility predicted recidivism after controlling for age, race, education, violent instant offense, sentence length, prior substance abuse, general criminal thinking, age at first conviction, and number of prior convictions. A hazard ratio of 1.09 revealed that a one-point increase on an 11-point criminal versatility scale predicted a 9% increase in the probability of future recidivism. These results were confirmed in a binomial logistic regression controlling for time at risk in the community. This is one of the first studies to highlight the clinical significance of criminal versatility in establishing risk for future offending.

Mental Health Among Incarcerated Male Youth With Violent and Sexual Offense Convictions by Race and Offense Type.

Incarcerated adolescents are at increased risk for negative mental health outcomes. Race and offense type can differentially influence legal outcomes as well as mental health symptom presentation. Our study examined whether adolescent mental health problems differed for 1,303 male youth at a Southeastern U.S.-based juvenile prison depending on the adolescent's race and offense type (specifically offenses involving physical or sexual violence). Results indicated significantly different patterns of mental health symptoms and psychopathic traits between Black and White male youth and between male youth with adjudicated violent and sexual offenses. Study findings have important implications for policies and practices centered around rehabilitative practices in juvenile prisons.

Psychopathy traits explain variance shared between features of substance use disorders and violence.

There is a substantial research literature on identifying risk and protective factors for violence perpetration. Substance use disorders have long been identified as constituting a significant predictor of violent behaviour. Psychopathy traits have also been similarly recognised, but inter-relationships between psychopathy traits, features of substance use disorders and violence have been little explored. To determine the degree to which shared variance between substance dependence symptoms and violence, as indicated by criminal charges for violent offences, among jailed men can be explained by psychopathy traits. Features of dependence on substances in three drug classes (alcohol, cannabis and cocaine) were assessed in a sample of 682 men in a county jail awaiting trial on criminal charges, many for violent offences. Statistical comparisons of zero-order and partial correlations tested whether accounting for psychopathy total and facet scores, assessed by the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), affected associations between substance dependence symptoms and violent charges. Total PCL-R scores accounted for a significant proportion of the shared variance between the history of criminal charges for violence offences and lifetime substance dependence symptoms in all three drug classes. At the facet level, controlling for ratings on the interpersonal and modified antisocial facets reduced the association between criminal charges for violent offences and symptoms of cocaine dependence; controlling for ratings on a modified antisocial facetalso attenuated links between alcohol and cannabis dependence symptoms and history of charges for violent offences. These findings build on the sparse literature to date on the role of psychopathy traits on relationships between features of substance use disorders and violence. Given that the observed connection between substance dependence symptoms and charges for violent offences is partly accounted for by individual differences in psychopathy traits, it follows that effective treatment for those traits may be useful, perhaps essential to reducing links between features of some substance use disorders and violent offending.

Machiavellianism as a crucial Dark Tetrad trait for the prediction of life-course criminal behavior

The Dark Tetrad (Machiavellianism, psychopathy, narcissism, and sadism) is a taxonomy of personality dispositions toward immoral, antisocial, and antagonistic behavior; still, its predictive power in the domain of criminal behavior is rarely tested. In the present research, we analyzed the associations between the Dark Tetrad and several indicators of criminal behavior (onset of criminal behavior, juvenile correctional measures, problematic use of psychoactive substances [PUPS], penal recidivism, number of convictions, violent offences, and the risk of future recidivism) in a sample of Serbian prisoners (N = 471). While all dark traits were positively associated with criminal behavior indicators on a zero-order level (except violent offences), regression analyses identified Machiavellianism as the most prominent predictor. Psychopathy positively predicted PUPS, while narcissism had a negative contribution to PUPS and penal recidivism. Interactions with the participants’ sex showed that sadism represents a risk factor for females regarding early offences and PUPS, while Machiavellianism elevates the chance of repeated prison sentences for men. Finally, the structural model showed that juvenile offending mediates the association between Machiavellianism and general criminal recidivism. Findings showed the fruitfulness of assessing the Dark Tetrad traits in order to predict various aspects of criminal behavior.

An Integrated Test of Power-Control Theory by Delinquency Types: Assessing Additional Factors Predicting Adolescents’ Risk-taking Preferences

Prior tests of power-control theory (“PCT”) have primarily utilized the U.S. or Canadian samples, lacked integration with other theoretical frameworks, and overlooked diverse offense types. This study aims to address these limitations by testing PCT while considering various criminogenic factors and assessing its relative significance across status, property, and violent offenses using an international sample. Structural equation modeling analysis reveals support for PCT’s core assumption that the gender effect on offending, wherein boys are more likely to commit offenses than girls, is less pronounced in egalitarian families than patriarchal families, particularly in status and violent offenses, but not in property offenses. However, other PCT assumptions were partially supported or not supported. We discuss implications for policy, theory, and future research.

Associations between the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion and youth violent offense charges and adjudications from 2008 to 2018.

Associations between the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion and youth violent offense charges and adjudications from 2008 to 2018.

A Comparison of Severely Injured Patients after Suicide Attempts and Violent Crimes-A Retrospective Study of a Level 1 Trauma Center.

Seriously injured persons with pre-existing psychiatric conditions or those injured due to violent crimes represent a particularly vulnerable treatment group. All patients with injuries from suicidal attempts (PSAs) or patients with injuries from violent offenses (PVOs) that presented to the university emergency room of a Level 1 trauma center in Germany between 1 January 2017 and 31 November 2022 were retrospectively investigated. It can be seen that PVOs were significantly younger compared to PSAs (p = 0.03). Total hospital stay was significantly longer for PSAs compared to PVOs (p < 0.001). PSAs were also significantly more severely injured than PVOs (p < 0.001). Our study was able to show a significant difference between both patient groups in the region of injury (p < 0.001). PSAs had a significantly more extensive psychiatric history than PVOs (p < 0.001). Injuries from suicide attempts and violent offenses are a serious and growing public health problem, but one that can be addressed through timely, evidence-based, and often cost-effective interventions. It requires early interaction among multiple disciplines and a standardized approach.

Does pretrial detention influence time until re-involvement with the criminal legal system?

PurposeThe current study was designed to evaluate the effects of time spent in pretrial detention on the number of days from release until experiencing an arrest for a new offense and a new violent offense. MethodsUsing a sample of 31,598 individuals from three counties in the United States, the evaluation estimated the effects of spending 2–3 days, 3–7 days, and >7 days in pretrial detention – compared to admitted to jail and released on the same or next day (0 to 1 day– on the number of days from release until a new criminal arrest and new violent criminal arrest. The primary models were replicated using inverse probability weighting and propensity score matching. ResultsThe results of the study suggest that spending 2–3 days, 3–7 days, and >7 days in pretrial detention was associated with an increased probability of a new criminal arrest and new violent criminal arrest earlier when compared to spending 0 to 1 day in pretrial detention. ConclusionsThis research is consistent with the prior literature, suggesting that spending more time in pretrial detention might be criminogenic and contribute to an increased rate of churn through the criminal legal system.

Standardized risk levels for violent recidivism risk assessed with the HCR-20: an exploration

ABSTRACT Risk assessment plays an important role in forensic mental health care. The way the conclusions of those risk assessments are communicated varies considerably across instruments. In an effort to make them more comparable, Hanson, R. K., Bourgon, G., McGrath, R., Kroner, D. D., Amora, D. A., Thomas, S. S., & Tavarez, L. P. [2017. A five-level risk and needs system: Maximizing assessment results in corrections through the development of a common language. The Council of State Governments Justice Center. https://csgjusticecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/A-Five-Level-Risk-and-Needs-System_Report.pdf] developed the Five-Level Risk and Needs System, placing the conclusions of different instruments along five theoretically meaningful levels. The current study explores a Five-Level Risk and Needs system for violent recidivism to which the numerical codings of the HCR-20 Version 2 and its successor, the HCR-20V3 are calibrated, using a combined sample from six previous studies for the HCR-20 Version 2 (n = 411 males with a violent index offence) and a pilot sample for the HCR-20V3 (n = 66 males with a violent index offence). Baselines for the five levels were defined by a combination of theoretical (e.g. expert meetings) and empirical (e.g. literature review) considerations. The calibration of the HCR-20 Version 2 was able to detect four levels, from a combined level I/II to an adjusted level V. The provisional calibration of the HCR-20V3 showed a substantial overlap with the HCR-20 Version 2, with each level boundary having a 2-point difference. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Predictors of psychosocial functioning in people diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorders that committed violent offences and in those that did not: Results of the Recoviwel study

Psychosocial functioning represents a core treatment target of Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders (SSD), and several clinical and cognitive factors contribute to its impairment. However, determinants of psychosocial functioning in people living with SSD that committed violent offences remain to be more thoroughly explored. This study aims to separately assess and compare predictors of psychosocial functioning in people with SSD that did and that did not commit violent offences considering several clinical, cognitive and violence-related parameters. Fifty inmates convicted for violent crimes in a forensic psychiatry setting diagnosed with SSD (OP group) and fifty participants matched for age, gender, education, and diagnosis (Non-OP group) were included in the study. A higher risk of violent relapse as measured by HCR-20 clinical subscale scores (p < 0.002) and greater global clinical severity as measured by CGI-S scores (p = 0.023) emerged as individual predictors of worse psychosocial functioning, as measured by PSP scores, in the OP group. Greater global clinical severity (p < 0.001), worse performance in the processing speed domain as measured by the BACS Symbol Coding (p = 0.002) and TMT-A tests (p = 0.016) and higher levels of non-planning impulsivity as measured by BIS-11 scores (p < 0.001) emerged as individual predictors of worse psychosocial functioning in the Non-OP group. These results confirm that clinical severity impacts psychosocial functioning in all individuals diagnosed with SSD and suggest that while cognitive impairment clearly represents a determinant of worse functional outcomes in most patients, the risk of violent relapse is a specific predictor of worse psychosocial functioning in people with SSD that committed criminal offences.

Homelessness, psychiatric disorders, and violence in Denmark: a population-based cohort study

Homelessness is associated with adverse health and social outcomes. People experiencing homelessness have been found to have a high risk of violent crime victimisation as well as high prevalence of psychiatric disorders. It is poorly understood whether experiencing homelessness is associated with additional risks of violent offending and whether psychiatric disorders contribute to these risks. We examined the association between homelessness, psychiatric disorders, and first violence offence leading to conviction. We did a nationwide, register-based cohort study of all Danish residents who were alive at least 1 day during the study period, born between Jan 1, 1980, and Dec 31, 2006, and aged 15 years or older retrieved from the Danish Civil Registration System, which was linked to registers with information on homelessness, health care, and criminality. The exposure was any experience of homelessness, which was defined as having at least one contact with a homeless shelter during the study period. The outcome was first violent offence leading to a conviction. We calculated incidence rates per 10 000 person-years, incidence rate ratios (IRRs) using Poisson regression analysis, and probability of conviction of a violent offence using an Aalen-Johansen estimator. Analyses were stratified by sex and adjusted for calendar year of the study period, age, other sociodemographic factors, and psychiatric disorders. The study cohort included 1 786 433 Danish residents aged 15-42 years living in Denmark at some point from Jan 1, 2001, to Dec 31, 2021, contributing to 21 336 322 person-years at risk, of whom 57 084 (3·2%) individuals had their first violent offence leading to conviction during follow-up. 10 years after their first contact with a homeless shelter, 22·9% (95% CI 21·6-24·2) of men and 7·7% (6·8-8·7) of women had committed at least one violent crime leading to conviction. The fully adjusted IRRs of a violent offence leading to conviction were 4·8 (4·5-5·1) in men and 6·3 (5·6-7·2) in women experiencing homelessness compared with individuals who had not experienced homelessness. The IRR for a violent offence leading to conviction was highest in individuals experiencing homelessness and having co-occurring psychiatric disorders compared with those not experiencing homelessness and without co-occurring psychiatric disorders, especially drug use disorders (IRR in those experiencing homelessness and having a drug use disorder: 15·3 [14·1-16·7] in men and 40·1 [33·9-47·5] in women compared with individuals not experiencing homelessness and having no drug use disorder). Individuals experiencing homelessness had higher risks of a violent offence leading to conviction than those who had not experienced homelessness. In addition to preventing homelessness, public health and policy should consider how to reduce the risk of adverse outcomes in people experiencing homelessness. Lundbeck Foundation.

THE EXERCISE OF PUBLIC HEALTH POWERS IN MENTAL HEALTHCARE - THE IMPACT ON PUBLIC SAFETY

To ensure public safety, most European states have statutory powers enabling a range of compulsory interventions for persons with infectious diseases and mental disorders. The evidence of their meaningfulness in mental health patients is dubious, especially regarding their preventive effect on public safety. To reveal the mental health services' impact on violent offense commissions after discharge from involuntary inpatient care, a retrospective three-case series study was conducted. A scoping literature review was performed to construct the recommendations for practice improvement and further studies. Based on individual clinical expertise, the common issues in delivering involuntary mental healthcare in Latvia are described. To conclude, coercive psychiatric interventions shall be considered as a part of internal security and human rights protection and, therefore, shall be surveilled, in line with communicable diseases. Legal mechanisms (temporary protection against violence, coercive measures of a medical nature) are not effective against persons with severe mental illness and fail to prevent violent incidents. By the time being, during involuntary admission and treatment, the patient is subjected to various safety risks, that are inconsistent with the basic rights or best interests, and thus determines the state's obligation to promote voluntary treatment and provide the least restrictive approach.

Delusions and Delinquencies: A Comparison of Violent and Non-Violent Offenders With Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders.

The relationship between schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) and violent offending has long been the subject of research. The present study attempts to identify the content of delusions, an understudied factor in this regard, that differentiates between violent and non-violent offenses. Limitations, clinical relevance, and future directions are discussed. Employing a retrospective study design, machine learning algorithms and a comprehensive set of variables were applied to a sample of 366 offenders with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder in a Swiss forensic psychiatry department. Taking into account the different contents and affects associated with delusions, eight variables were identified as having an impact on discriminating between violent and non-violent offenses with an AUC of 0.68, a sensitivity of 30.8%, and a specificity of 91.9%, suggesting that the variables found are useful for discriminating between violent and non-violent offenses. Delusions of grandiosity, delusional police and/or army pursuit, delusional perceived physical and/or mental injury, and delusions of control or passivity were more predictive of non-violent offenses, while delusions with aggressive content or delusions associated with the emotions of anger, distress, or agitation were more frequently associated with violent offenses. Our findings extend and confirm current research on the content of delusions in patients with SSD. In particular, we found that the symptoms of threat/control override (TCO) do not directly lead to violent behavior but are mediated by other variables such as anger. Notably, delusions traditionally seen as symptoms of TCO, appear to have a protective value against violent behavior. These findings will hopefully help to reduce the stigma commonly and erroneously associated with mental illness, while supporting the development of effective therapeutic approaches.

Prosecuting strangulation offences: understanding complainant withdrawal using a social entrapment lens

ABSTRACT In many countries, one of the central challenges to the successful prosecution of domestic violence offences is the complainant’s disengagement from the prosecution process. Withdrawal is particularly likely in cases of serious domestic violence with limited physical evidence, such as strangulation. Recently countries including England and Wales and Australian jurisdictions have introduced discrete offences of strangulation, a behaviour commonly associated with domestic violence and coercive control, that is extremely risky and dangerous. In this paper, we aim to build on our understanding of complainant withdrawal in strangulation cases. Drawing on a sample of strangulation offence prosecution casefiles in Queensland, Australia we examine five casefiles using a social entrapment lens. We argue that using this lens improves understanding of the factual context in which complainants withdraw their support for prosecution and may have implications for prosecution practice.

The development of a model of decision-making during an act of serious violence using the Critical Decision Method

ABSTRACT To date, psychological theories of aggression have shown limited applicability to the first-hand experience of real-world violence. Examining the experiences of those directly involved in violent offending, may enable professionals to develop a strengthened and more refined understanding. The current study aimed to develop a theoretical model of offender experiences of decision-making, during the commission of a violent offence. The Critical Decision Method (CDM) for cognitive task analysis was conducted within a British prison, with nine participants who had been convicted of a serious violent offence. Interview transcripts were analysed using constructivist Grounded Theory (CGT). Seven themes were interpreted from participant narratives: (i) predisposing influences, (ii) environment, (iii) emotion, (iv) triggering events, (v) decision to act, (vi) identity and (vii) severity of harm caused to the victim. Participants’ narratives were found to focus upon a process of decision-making which followed a sequence of events, from the impact of early experiences, through to the in-the-moment decisions, that led to acting in a violent manner. This study provides novel insights into the experience of violent decision-making. Participants emphasised the role of emotion and identity. A range of clinical implications are discussed which highlight the important role of emotion regulation and identity transformation in the rehabilitation of violent offenders.

Using Latent Class Analysis to Identify Need Typologies and Recidivism Likelihood Among Women Who Perpetrate Violence.

Understanding the heterogeneity of women who engage in violence is critical to provide effective treatment and reduce the likelihood of recidivism. Existing typologies of women who engage in violence have been created using mixed methodological approaches; the field would benefit from replication using a quantitative clustering method-latent class analysis (LCA)-as it is arguably more objective than methods used to date. A LCA was conducted using archival data involving 3,773 justice-impacted women in Western Canada to identify unique subgroups of women who perpetrate violence. Three distinct profiles emerged: (a) intimate partner violence (IPV)-only (40.5%), wherein almost all women reported only perpetrating domestic violence and had zero or only one previous violent conviction, (b) patterned (19.1%), wherein violence was perpetrated toward domestic partners and unknown victims, and the majority had two or more previous violent convictions, and (c) isolated (40.4%), wherein very few perpetrated domestic violence, some perpetrated violence toward unknowns, and the majority had either zero or only one previous conviction for a violent offense. Need profiles and recidivism outcomes were further analyzed as a function of group membership. As hypothesized, the group with the greatest criminal history and use of violence reported the greatest needs. Recidivism also increased as the number of dynamic needs increased. Notably, 80.9% of the sample was predominantly low risk/low need and were identified as IPV-only or isolated women. Implications of these findings may be used to inform risk classification, treatment targets, and treatment intensity required to reduce the likelihood of recidivism among women who perpetrate violence.

Crime over the welfare payment cycle

AbstractThis study examines criminal behavior over the welfare payment cycle. Using unique individual‐level administrative data on welfare recipients, we exploit exogenous variation in payment dates over time and across Dutch municipalities. The results suggest that financially motivated crime increases by 12% over the payment cycle, indicating serious financial constraints toward the end of the month. Non‐financially motivated offenses, particularly sex and violent offenses and driving under the influence offenses (DUIs), peak directly after benefits receipt and decrease over the payment cycle, suggesting an underlying spike in consumption conducive to crime. Public order offenses and DUIs also increase with weekend disbursement.