Search Results (37)

The criminological approach to relapse is based, on the one hand, on the theories that explain the risk of relapse, including the risk level assessment tools, and on the other hand, on the rehabilitation theories—the Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) Model and The Good Live Model (GLM), which explain the mechanisms of reducing the risk of relapse in the assisted desistance paradigm. The objectives of this study focus on identifying the predictors of relapse in correlation with relapse inhibitors that combine a number of personal, psycho-emotional factors with psychopathological, socio-economic, and cultural accents. The method used is that of the case study from the perspective of clinical criminology, referring to forensic psychiatry through specific techniques and working procedures of some institutions in the correctional system—territorial structures of probation (TSP) in cooperation with the penitentiary system. The results of the study focus on the impact of standardized programs on the reduction in the risk of relapse after prison (RRR) and on personal and socio-familial factors involved in post-executional surveillance and post-criminal assistance. In conclusion, the current study highlights the need to corroborate the clinical or subjective assessment of relapse risk with the actual or objective assessment, which also includes the risk of violence in the framework of community monitoring from the perspective of community or social psychiatry. Full article

Background: Over the course of the last decade, cybercrime has become a significant global concern. A comprehensive approach to crimes that occur in cyber contexts needs to address not only the technological aspects of cybercrime but also the human elements. Therefore, the aim of the current research is twofold: first, to gain an in-depth understanding of the pathways that lead to criminal hacking behavior through interviews with current or former criminal hackers, and second, to explore how the lived experiences of these individuals fit within theoretical explanations of hacking. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of ten current and former criminal hackers. Participants for this study were recruited through social media and hacker forums. Interviews were conducted from November 2023 to March 2024. Data collected during the interviews were analyzed through a process of thematic analysis. Focusing on the lived experiences of these hackers, a “pathway of hacking” behavior, expanding upon those proposed in research emanating from Europe, was identified. Findings: Notably, the current study found that young males who are curious and creative in childhood, experience destabilizing events, and develop an early interest in technology are well placed to follow the pathway to criminal hacking behavior. Online gaming was identified as a possible gateway to criminal hacking activities. A sense of overcoming a challenge, being elite, and having “control over the machine” encourages youth to continue criminal hacking activities. In addition to the identification of a criminal hacking pathway, an integration of existing cyberpsychological, psychological, criminological, and sociological theories is presented to provide a theoretical explanation for the initiation, continuation, and desistence of criminal hacking behavior. This work represents the first effort to present an integration of theories (e.g., Social Learning, General Theory of Crime, Flow, and the cyberpsychological theoretical construct of the “Online Disinhibition Effect”) based on the stages of the criminal hacking pathway. Full article

Controversy surrounds the efficacy and welfare implications of different forms of dog training with several studies asserting that electronic shock collars have negative welfare impacts while not being more effective than non-aversive methods. However, these studies did not specify the schedule and intensity of punishment used or the effectiveness of the training method. In the current study, we attempted to train dogs across six sessions to desist from chasing a fast-moving lure in one of three randomly assigned conditions and then tested for retention and generalization in four further test trials. Group A was trained with e-collars; Group B was trained with non-aversive methods and the lure moving as with Group A; and Group C was trained as for Group B but with the lure initially moving slowly before its speed was progressively increased. All dogs in Group A stopped running towards the lure after one or two sessions, and none chased the lure in the first three tests: 67% of these dogs chased the lure in the final test in a novel arena. None of the dogs in the either Group B or C successfully refrained from chasing the moving lure in training or any test. Video behavior coding indicated few stress-related behaviors across the training groups. Full article

This article examines the perspectives of justice-involved children regarding the obstacles to accessing higher education (HE). It outlines the regulatory approach of the Office for Students (OfS) aimed at ensuring the sector aids disadvantaged children in ‘raising attainment’ through outreach activities to enhance the equality of opportunity. The analysis incorporates both desistance theory and ecological systems theory to understand children’s viewpoints on how being outside mainstream education affects their transition from specialised programs to further learning beyond secondary school. This approach is anchored in the ‘Child-First’ principle, a core aspect of the Youth Justice Board’s strategic plan for 2021–2024, emphasising the importance of children’s voices in efforts to divert them from the youth justice system, thereby reducing victimisation and fostering safer communities. The findings indicate that justice-involved children not in mainstream education who have supportive micro- and mesosystems are more likely to develop an identity aligned with continuing education post secondary school, through positive encouragement and relational environments that promote educational pathways. Thus, higher education can contribute to raising attainment for justice-involved children not in mainstream education by focusing on the broader ecological system surrounding the child, which can encourage a pro-social and pro-educational identity. Full article

The impact of romantic relationships during the adolescent period has received significantly less attention in the literature compared to the influence of romantic relationships during adulthood. Specifically, how these influences may differ between females and males. As such, the current study uses four waves of data from the Pathways to Desistance study to examine how elements of romantic relationships, including relationship quality, monitoring, and antisocial influence, affect adolescent delinquent behaviors by sex. Results indicated several important findings regarding the desistance effects of romantic relationship quality, monitoring, and antisocial influence on adolescent violent and non-violent offending, and these varied widely by sex. Limitations, future research, and policy recommendations are discussed. Full article

This study delves into heterosexual identity–behavior discordance, exploring the interaction between sexual identification and behavior in the UK. Analyzing representative 2010 data from the British population (N = 12,472), this research categorizes participants into different groups: nonheterosexual, concordant heterosexual, and three discordant heterosexual categories (closeted, experimenters, and desisters). These groups were compared in terms of sociodemographics, attitudes toward sexuality, risk behaviors, and health indicators. Discordance was associated with permissive social attitudes, including behaviors such as adultery and one-night stands, and with increased substance abuse and risky sexual behaviors, especially among the closeted. Surprisingly, the physical and mental health of discordant heterosexuals was similar to concordant heterosexuals, in contrast to the poorer health of nonheterosexuals. Due to the significant variations in lifestyles and health indicators among different groups, this study highlights the importance of providing targeted services and interventions. Full article

Money launderers prefer to use financial services as the ideal medium for laundering. This study aimed to provide an overview of the global AML/CFT regulations, application and how they should evolve in this dynamic environment. To gather more insight, a qualitative study was undertaken with relevant documents analysed. The main finding was that country implementation of the global AML/CFT regulations differed due to political and economic factors, amongst others. While the various AML/CFT enforcements done by sampled countries were mainly cease and desist orders and monetary penalties that were publicised, the drawbacks of global AML/CFT regulations centred on the application of these regulations and emerging trends. These include, among other definitions of money laundering, reference to the three stages of money laundering, the link between penalty and violations, technological innovations and regulation paradigm shift, cyber-attacks, and data privacy. This study contributes to the application and growing body of knowledge in that the advent of technology has resulted in better consumer experiences, new payment platforms, products and services. However, these innovations have broadened emerging money laundering risks and risks to the financial system in general. Hence, there is a need to conduct research-based FATF recommendations, as risk is dynamic and not static. Full article

The impact of intimate partner violence on procedural justice has not received much attention in extant literature. As such, the current study uses data from the Pathways to Desistance Study to examine how elements of intimate partner violence affect trust in police and perceptions of legitimacy toward the criminal justice system. Results indicated several important findings regarding the effects of intimate partner violence on procedural justice. Limitations, future research, and policy recommendations are discussed. Full article

This prospective case-cohort study examines the developmental pathway choices of 79 young people (13.25–23.75 years old; 33 biological males and 46 biological females) referred to a tertiary care hospital’s Department of Psychological Medicine (December 2013–November 2018, at ages 8.42–15.92 years) for diagnostic assessment for gender dysphoria (GD) and for potential gender-affirming medical interventions. All of the young people had attended a screening medical assessment (including puberty staging) by paediatricians. The Psychological Medicine assessment (individual and family) yielded a formal DSM-5 diagnosis of GD in 66 of the young people. Of the 13 not meeting DSM-5 criteria, two obtained a GD diagnosis at a later time. This yielded 68 young people (68/79; 86.1%) with formal diagnoses of GD who were potentially eligible for gender-affirming medical interventions and 11 young people (11/79; 13.9%) who were not. Follow-up took place between November 2022 and January 2023. Within the GD subgroup (n = 68) (with two lost to follow-up), six had desisted (desistance rate of 9.1%; 6/66), and 60 had persisted on a GD (transgender) pathway (persistence rate of 90.9%; 60/66). Within the cohort as a whole (with two lost to follow-up), the overall persistence rate was 77.9% (60/77), and overall desistance rate for gender-related distress was 22.1% (17/77). Ongoing mental health concerns were reported by 44/50 (88.0%), and educational/occupational outcomes varied widely. The study highlights the importance of careful screening, comprehensive biopsychosocial (including family) assessment, and holistic therapeutic support. Even in highly screened samples of children and adolescents seeking a GD diagnosis and gender-affirming medical care, outcome pathways follow a diverse range of possibilities. Full article

While several prior studies have examined the prevalence and predictors of recidivism among juvenile homicide offenders (JHOs), much less scholarly attention has been devoted to exploring the post-release factors that influence JHOs to desist from criminal behavior. Given relatively recent rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court, individuals who commit homicide offenses as juveniles are less likely to spend the rest of their lives in prison. Accordingly, it is important to understand the factors associated with desistance in the post-incarceration lives of JHOs. The present study was designed to assess the effects of post-release factors on JHOs’ recidivism outcomes, using a sample of 19 male JHOs from a southeastern U.S. state who were convicted as adults and sentenced to serve time in prison in the 1980s. These men were interviewed approximately 35 years after their original homicide offense about their adjustment to life in prison and after release, as well as their reasons for engaging in criminal behavior during adolescence. Thematic qualitative analysis was used to identify the post-release factors that were prevalent in the lives of the JHOs who desisted from crime. These five factors included avoiding old neighborhood and friends, positive intimate relationship, stable employment, human agency, and generativity. The implications of the findings for the prevention of recidivism among JHOs, as well as avenues for future research, are discussed. Full article

This article is a Christian theological evaluation of African neo-Pentecostal prophets’ (ANPPs) projection of God as a servant of prophetic rituals in their solutions to poor human agency (power to act) and transcendence (power to overcome) in Africa. Instead of propagating a personal relational God who transforms the poor and empowers their agency and transcendence by personally engaging with them, ANPPs propagate a God who works by ritual manipulation. The main question answered in the article is: what is the notion of God that informs and guides the ANPPs’ engagement with human agency and transcendence in Africa? The question is answered by first presenting a framework of God’s personality. The ANPPs’ impersonalized view of God is described. The basis of the impersonalisation of God in ATR is presented. The vulnerability of human agency and transcendence as a result of the impersonalisation of God is described. The article closes by proposing how a personal Trinitarian view of God rejects the ANPP impersonalisation of God and describes how the Trinitarian view can assist in addressing the problem of human agency and transcendence among poor Africans. The contribution of the article lies in challenging ANPPs to desist from addressing poor human agency and transcendence in Africa by propagating a version of God who is a servant of magical rituals instead of a relational God who is personally involved with the poor to empower them to overcome the hindrances to their human flourishing. Full article

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected people’s daily lives on multiple levels. At highest risk are the most vulnerable members of the society, whose lives were already affected by various risks even before the pandemic. This study investigates how clients in inpatient substance use disorder treatment experienced the COVID-19 restrictions and their influence on recovery. The research data consists of six focus group interviews conducted remotely using a semi-structured thematic interview method. The focus group clients (N = 19) were currently in inpatient substance abuse treatment during the pandemic and the ensuring restrictions. The data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The results show that the COVID-19 restrictions have influenced the clients’ desistance processes throughout the pandemic. The restrictions seemed to exacerbate substance abuse problems before treatment initiation and highlight the importance of peer support during treatment. Moreover, the restrictions seemed to change the function and hamper the management of social capital, raise concerns about returning home, as well as intensifying the inter-municipal segregation of services. To conclude, attention should be paid to facilitating and ensuring informal support and managing social capital. In light of this study, it seems necessary to explore the social conditions among clients in inpatient substance abuse treatment during the pandemic. Full article

Desistance from crime is a popular topic in global criminological research; however, few studies have focused on desistance among delinquent youth, particularly in non-Western societies. This study extends the current knowledge by examining pathways of youth desistance in Hong Kong. Thirty delinquent youth and six parent–child dyads were interviewed, and the study found that filial piety significantly impacts the process of youth desistance. Three main forms of social capital were closely associated with youth desistance: the revival of reciprocal family bonding, the presence of a prosocial role model, and religious bonding. An interactive model was constructed to illustrate the seven stages of desistance and highlight the key elements for successful desistance among youth delinquents in Hong Kong. Full article

This article examines the ways that Danish gang exit programs engage police officers and gang defectors in a pervasive work on belonging between gangs, kinship networks and the state. In urban Denmark, the majority of gang exit candidates are of ethnic-minority background and form part of the street-gang environment in marginalized migrant neighborhoods. This is an intimate social environment constituted by diasporic kinship networks, where gang formations are entangled with kinship formations. Hence, when gang defectors leave their gang, they also often leave their family and childhood home for a life in unfamiliar places and positions. As I show, gang desistance is thus a highly dilemmatic process in which gang defectors find themselves “unhinged” from meaningful social and kinship relationships and in search of new ways of embedding themselves into a social world. Based on an ethnographic study of gang exit processes in Denmark’s second largest city, Aarhus, this article shows how police officers and gang defectors seek to (re)shape ties of belonging between gangs, kinship networks and the state. The process, I argue, illuminates the intimate aspect of the notion of belonging, in which kin and state relatedness is deeply rooted in interpersonal spaces and relationships. Full article

We report on the findings of a mixed methods longitudinal study of 84 African American fathers of young children who were enrolled into the study during the father’s jail stay. Participants were assessed using interviews, self-report measures, and administrative records on frequency of father–child contact, father–caregiver relationship quality, family support, paternal pre-incarceration employment, fathers’ plans to live with the child upon reentry, history of substance abuse, and new convictions one year following release from jail. Qualitative analysis revealed three primary identities of fathers during incarceration: father as nurturer, father as protector, and father as provider. Qualitative analysis of interview data detailed the ways in which the context of incarceration and the presence of the criminal justice system interacts with these identities to impact family structure, parent–child visits, plans for release, and motivation for desistance. Quantitative analysis indicated heterogeneity among fathers, with links between parent–child contact and desistance conditional on fathers’ plans for coresidence with children as well as family support and relationship quality. Taken together, the findings highlight the strengths of African American fathers and their families despite the risks associated with incarceration, including the importance of family support and children as motivation for desistance. The results have implications for how the justice system weighs the bidirectional influences of fathers and families. Full article