Search Results (799)

Safety perceptions are central to destination choice and visitor satisfaction at tourist venues, yet research on crime and public safety in theme park settings remains sparse. This study examines visitor perceptions of public safety at the two most-attended theme park destinations in the United States—Walt Disney World (Orlando, FL, USA) and the Disneyland Resort (Anaheim, CA, USA)—across three domains: within the parks, in parking lots, and on shuttle buses. Using data from a Qualtrics survey, this brief report compared safety perceptions by gender across both destinations. Findings indicate that visitors overwhelmingly perceive themselves as safe within the parks; however, safety perceptions are somewhat lower in parking lots and on shuttle buses. Importantly, while males and females report comparable perceptions of safety within the parks, females report significantly lower safety perceptions in parking lots and on shuttle buses, especially at Disney World. Implications for future research and practice are noted. Full article

Foster care placements involve various role players from the child’s entry into the system through the child’s exit. Positive role fulfilment implies acting in accordance with the respective role expectations while also being dynamic in nature. Key participants in the foster care system include social workers, foster parents, and foster children. These role players all have roles necessary for the foster care placement to be positive. Using role and identity theory, with an underlying Africentric philosophy, as a theoretical framework, this qualitative study sought to describe social workers’ perspectives on positive role fulfilment among role players within the foster child’s care circle in supporting well-being. Data were collected from twelve participants, comprising ten foster care social workers and two social work supervisors, through a focus group discussion and one-on-one interviews. In addition, two foster care policy developers were consulted as key stakeholders to provide contextual insight into the legislative and policy environment. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings showed that social workers face structural challenges, including high caseloads, a shortage of social workers and uncertainty regarding roles, which sometimes make it difficult to fulfil their roles as expected. With that said, they believed that positive role fulfilment influenced the positive nature of foster care placements. When roles are known and met, the care circle enhances the well-being of the foster child. The study concludes that social workers know what they are required to do for the child’s well-being. The recommendation is that an Africentric foster care supervision and monitoring framework be developed to sensitise the role players of their roles and responsibilities in the foster care system. Full article

Accurate crime spatiotemporal prediction is crucial for crime prevention. However, crime occurrences are influenced by diverse and interacting social factors, resulting in dynamically evolving distributions with non-stationarity and spatial heterogeneity. Most existing methods focus on data preprocessing or architectural enhancements and remain offline models, which limits their generalization capability. To address these challenges, we propose a novel spatial semantic-guided online learning framework. Specifically, we first compute the spatial semantic similarity between urban regions using points of interest. Based on this, we then introduce a contrastive learning objective guided by this similarity during training. This design aims to enhance the model’s ability to capture both the similarities and discrepancies among regions. During the prediction process, an iterative online learning strategy is employed to adapt to dynamically changing crime patterns. By continuously fine-tuning the model with streaming data, the proposed framework improves robustness and generalization under non-stationary crime spatiotemporal distributions. Finally, extensive experiments on real-world crime datasets indicate the effectiveness and stability of our proposed approach. Full article

Despite intimate partner violence (IPV) being a global issue, research on societal attitudes focuses on victim-survivor over and above perpetrator characteristics. Across two studies, we investigated whether judgements (measured across victim blame, perceived criminality, and anticipated harm) differed as a function of perpetrator sex (male, female) and whether the perpetrator reported a general (Study 1: n = 183) or specific (physical, mental) disability (Study 2: n = 237). After controlling for variation in personality, beliefs, and demographics, we consistently observed punitive judgements (i.e., less victim blame, and higher perceived criminality and anticipated harm) for vignettes depicting the perpetrator as male and not disabled. Findings are discussed within frameworks that examine the intersection of disability and violence, and how typical depictions of perpetrators of IPV mitigate the recognition of IPV and the minimisation thereof. We call for an international, qualitative exploration into the role of disability in IPV through the experiences of victim-survivors and perpetrators, and further interrogation into how disability in this context impacts victim-blame reduction interventions, support provision, and legal system responses. Full article

Social and economic satisfaction gaps are theoretical differences between a resident’s socially or monetarily most preferred affordable home attributes and the actual attributes of their current home. In this study, the satisfaction gaps of two samples of respondents are predicted with their social utility data for preferred attributes in 1987 and 2020, in conjunction with the asking or sale prices and comparable attributes of single detached or similar homes merged with small-area census data for periods up to those dates. Average social and economic gaps of less than 20% affirm respondents’ overall satisfaction with their current homes, most of whom were recent movers. However, wider social satisfaction gaps among the minority of residents may reflect dissatisfaction with new suburban locations in one sample and older inner city housing in the other. Four practical and theoretical contributions of the utility modelling of residential satisfaction gaps in objective and subjective home attributes, as opposed to direct surveying of residential satisfaction, are concluded. Full article

The United States has one of the world’s largest criminal justice systems, with nearly 5.5 million people under correctional supervision and almost 2 million incarcerated. This scale of confinement, coupled with the rise of privatization across correctional and related services, reflects a broader neoliberal trend in public governance. This paper explores the consequences of privatization and marketization of the U.S. criminal justice system—particularly the proliferation of private prisons and immigrant detention centers—and draws parallels to the consequences of privatization of health and social care, especially long-term care (LTC). Both systems reveal shared logics of marketization that prioritize profit maximization, efficiency, and cost-cutting at the expense of care, justice, and equity. Relying on interdisciplinary perspectives from public health and criminology, this paper situates private corrections within the health policy framework of the Commercial Determinants of Health (CDoH), arguing that privatized carceral institutions not only harm incarcerated individuals but also endanger workers, families, and surrounding communities through systemic under-resourcing, precarious labor conditions, and structural violence. By comparing the private, for-profit prison industry with private for-profit LTC systems, we illustrate how these structures have commodified both care and correctional systems. These findings suggest that privatization within carceral and care sectors perpetuates health inequities and reinforces cycles of racial, gendered, and economic disadvantage. Accordingly, this paper calls for strengthening publicly held models and a reassertion of public accountability and interdisciplinary collaboration to restore social justice, health, and human dignity as central organizing principles of both systems for residents, workers, their families, and communities. Full article

Background: Wastewater systems provide an integrated One Health perspective on antimicrobial resistance but remain uneven globally, with limited data from rapidly urbanizing and highly connected regions such as the Arabian Gulf. Methods: An eight-month prospective study was conducted in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with monthly sampling from nine community and two hospital nodes and two wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). Samples were analysed using high-throughput quantitative PCR (HT-qPCR; Resistomap, Finland) with a 72-target One Health gene panel. Results: Across the 120 samples analyzed, the number of detected gene targets ranged from 26 to 68 genes, with the highest diversity in hospital wastewater and the lowest in WWTP effluent. Pathogen-associated markers were detected in all sources, with enterococci, Escherichia coli, and Klebsiella pneumoniae predominant. Hospital wastewater showed broader pathogen-associated gene markers, including those linked to Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) associated with macrolide–lincosamide–streptogramin B, tetracycline, and aminoglycoside resistance were widespread. Community and influent samples were dominated by msrE, tet(M), and aminoglycoside resistance genes, whereas hospital wastewater showed the highest ARG burden, including enrichment of aac(6′)-Ib, qnrS2, bla_GES, bla_TEM, bla_KPC-2, and bla_IMP-1. Several ARGs, including mcr-1, persisted in WWTP effluent. Mobile genetic elements (MGEs) were ubiquitous, with integron-associated markers prominent in WWTP effluent. ARG–MGE network analysis demonstrated extensive co-occurrence, with MGEs as central hubs linking multiple ARGs. Conclusions: Wastewater captures distinct resistome profiles across urban compartments, supporting its role for AMR surveillance. The persistence of ARGs and MGEs in WWTP effluent highlights the potential for environmental dissemination, through reuse of treated wastewater. Full article

Youth substance abuse represents a complex social and security problem which cannot be adequately captured solely through crime statistics. In the context of the Slovak Republic, there is a lack of systematic research linking healthcare data on intoxications with criminological indicators, which limits the effective design of preventive measures. The research analyses substance abuse (according to ICD 10 F10–F19) among youth in the NUTS 3 regions of the Slovak Republic during 2019–2024 and their descriptive association with drug-related crime. Analysis is based on data provided by public administration entities—the National Health Information Centre of the Slovak Republic (data on youth hospitalisation), the Operational Centre of the Emergency Medical Service of the Slovak Republic (data on EMS call-outs) and the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic (data on crime). The provided data represent the whole population of the Slovak Republic. To enable comparison between datasets, two standardised indices are constructed: an EMS index representing a number of EMS call-outs and urgent hospitalisations per 100,000 inhabitants of the respective youth age group and a crime index representing a number of drug-related criminal offences per 100,000 total regional inhabitants. A total of 4486 emergency interventions with F10–F19 diagnoses were identified, with the highest proportion being disorders caused by alcohol (F10), more common among juveniles (14–17) than in minors (6–13). The analysis identifies a moderate positive association between the regional EMS index for F10 and F11–F19 diagnoses (correl youth = 0.66; correl juveniles = 0.55) and a weak negative association between the F11–F19 EMS index and the drug-related crime index (correl youth = −0.28; correl minors = −0.52). The Pearson correlation coefficients are reported as descriptive indicators. Formal statistical inference was not the aim of this study. The findings suggest that crime statistics alone inadequately reflect the health risks of youth substance abuse, underscoring the need to link healthcare, criminological, and demographic data and to develop regionally targeted prevention. Full article

Despite extensive research on social engineering victimisation on social networking sites (SNSs) across the Internet, user susceptibility continues to increase, indicating that existing explanatory models remain incomplete. Previous studies have predominantly examined susceptibility through isolated factors, including individual traits, message characteristics, or source attributes, while often overlooking how evolving Internet-based SNS environments interact with human and social factors. To address this gap, this study presents an interdisciplinary qualitative investigation into emerging determinants of user susceptibility to social engineering cyberattacks (SECAs) on Internet-enabled SNS platforms. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 18 experts from cybersecurity, psychology, sociology, criminology, and linguistics, the study captures perspectives that are rarely integrated within a single analytical framework. Using NVivo 14 and inductive thematic analysis, six core themes and seven sub-themes were identified, revealing previously underexplored cognitive-emotional, social-relational, and platform-mediated mechanisms of victimisation. The key contribution of this research is not the identification of entirely new susceptibility factors, but the development of an interdisciplinary framework that integrates these previously disconnected dimensions. By foregrounding the role of SNS design affordances within the broader Internet ecosystem and their interaction with human cognition and social dynamics, this study advances current understanding beyond fragmented models of user vulnerability. The findings provide a novel conceptual foundation for future empirical research and inform the design of more effective, context-aware mitigation and awareness strategies for SECAs on Internet-based SNSs. Full article

Background and Objectives: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major public health concern, with nearly one in three women experiencing rape, physical assault, stalking, emotional manipulation, or a combination of these behaviors in their lifetime. As an often neglected cause of injury worldwide, IPV is underreported and not well recognized by healthcare professionals. Employment has been identified as a key factor in women’s successful disentanglement from IPV. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the factors that influenced women who had experienced IPV, established a career path, and successfully disentangled from IPV. Materials and Methods: Women who experienced IPV were recruited from a local university. Results: Ten female participants completed open-ended interviews (mean age = 47, SD = 10.25). Five main themes emerged as the most important in disentangling from their abusive situation: tipping point, grit, religion, children, and education/career. The main theme or step in the process that led to disentanglement was the tipping point. Once the tipping point had been reached, participants moved toward disentanglement. Conclusions: Disentanglement from IPV was enhanced for women who reached a tipping point of abuse. Full article

This study examines the impact of imprisonment on the families of incarcerated men in England and Wales. Drawing on mixed-methods survey data collected in collaboration with the Prison Advice and Care Trust (PACT), the research is based on responses from 42 participants. The sample comprised 21 partners/spouses, 11 parents, 5 adult children, 2 siblings, 1 other relative and 1 friend of an incarcerated individual, with 1 participant preferring not to disclose their relationship. The study explores the financial, social, emotional and relational consequences associated with imprisonment. Findings indicate that financial strain was a significant pressure for many participants, driven by loss of income alongside the costs associated with maintaining contact. Participants also described experiences of stigma, social withdrawal, emotional distress and changes to family responsibilities, highlighting the multiple challenges associated with imprisonment for family members. Consistent with emerging research highlighting the wider emotional and psychological consequences of imprisonment for family members, the findings suggest that these pressures were often experienced as interconnected aspects of participants’ experiences rather than in isolation. The study illustrates the value of the symbiotic harms framework for understanding the relational and interconnected dimensions of family members’ experiences of imprisonment in a UK context and highlights the practical and emotional labour involved in maintaining family relationships during imprisonment. The findings underscore the importance of recognising families as individuals directly affected by imprisonment and by the wider consequences of penal policy. Full article

Dark web drug market participants (both buyers and vendors) face frequent disruptions that affect their access to marketplaces. While these disruptions vary in their duration and the actors involved, existing research has largely concentrated on closures by law enforcement. Recognising the broader range of disruptions experienced by participants is essential for understanding how dark web markets adapt and evolve. This paper presents a typology of dark web drug market disruptions, informed by the current literature, categorising disruptions along two key dimensions: the duration of the disruption (temporary versus permanent) and the actor involved (internal versus external) in the disruption. This typology provides a comprehensive framework for analysing how different forms of disruption may influence market participant decision-making processes and the resilience of illicit online drug markets. In doing so, the typology highlights how disruptions that differ in duration and origin may have varying implications for participant behaviour and market resilience. Full article

Most delinquent behavior occurs within age-homogeneous peer groups. Using incident-level data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), this study reassesses the extent to which contemporary juvenile group offending reflects peer-only networks versus cross-age collaboration. Results show that while juvenile-only groups remain the dominant pattern, approximately one-third of co-offending incidents involve adult participants. Mixed-age groups are associated with group size, offense type, and situational context, and are especially common in serious offenses such as homicide, aggravated assault, and drug crimes. Mixed-age co-offending is also associated with greater offense severity, particularly higher odds of victim physical injury. These findings have important implications for the criminal justice system’s response to juvenile crime. While most juvenile offending diversion programs currently focus on interventions that counter peer influence and reduce the time spent with peers engaging in antisocial behavior, intervention strategies that also address the facilitating role of adult co-offenders may also be necessary. Full article

A central question in contemporary bail reform is whether the different forms of monetary release used in large U.S. jurisdictions, commercial surety bonds, deposit bonds, full cash bonds, and property bonds, produce systematically different pretrial outcomes. The commercial bail industry has long defended its role on the grounds that bondsman-supervised release produces superior pretrial outcomes through a private enforcement function not available under alternative mechanisms. The present study tests this claim using data from the 2009 State Court Processing Statistics program on 5271 felony defendants released on financial conditions in 35 large urban counties. Logistic regression models with county fixed effects and cluster-robust standard errors estimate the association between release mechanism and two outcomes, pretrial rearrest and failure to appear (FTA), net of bail amount, prior criminal record, seriousness of offense, criminal justice status at arrest, time from arrest to release, type of legal representation, and demographic characteristics. Three findings emerge. First, defendants released on deposit bonds exhibit substantially lower odds of pretrial rearrest than otherwise comparable defendants released on commercial surety bonds, a finding that is robust across a battery of sensitivity analyses. Second, defendants released on full cash bonds exhibit substantially lower odds of FTA than otherwise comparable defendants released on commercial surety bonds, although this finding is somewhat sensitive to specification choice and is partly mediated by bail amount. Third, no specification supports the public-safety claim made on behalf of commercial bail because surety bonds do not outperform the alternatives for either outcome. These findings indicate that the principal empirical justification for the commercial bail industry is not supported by nationally representative data, and that a shift away from commercial bail toward court-administered alternatives is unlikely to impose behavioral costs and may produce modest public-safety gains. Full article

Zoomafia is frequently invoked in Italian public, advocacy, and institutional discourse to describe profit-oriented animal-related crime, but the term remains analytically broad and insufficiently connected to criminological theory. This narrative criminological review examines zoomafia as a cautious social-scientific lens for studying organized animal-related crime across heterogeneous illicit markets. Keyword-driven searches in Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and targeted criminological, legal, policy, and institutional sources were complemented by citation tracking and qualitative source selection. Peer-reviewed scholarship forms the analytical core, while legal, institutional, and advocacy materials are used selectively and with explicit evidentiary limits. Findings suggest that organized animal-related crime is best understood through market governance, brokerage, legal-illegal interface management, digital mediation, logistics, facilitation, evidentiary visibility, and variable convergence with other illicit economies, rather than through generic offence labels alone. The Italian perspective is analytically useful because companion-animal trafficking, dog fighting and betting circuits, clandestine horse racing, illicit slaughtering, wildlife trafficking, and online-facilitated trade can be compared within a shared frame that also exposes the limits of rhetorical mafia labelling. The article argues that zoomafia should not be treated as a self-proving mafia label, a new legal category, or a synonym for wildlife trafficking, but as a comparative framework for identifying organizational features, enforcement constraints, and evidentiary thresholds. The evidence base remains stronger on strategic recommendations than on robust comparative evaluation of enforcement effectiveness. Full article