Fear of victimization in Mexico

The aim of this study was to explore the influence on Mexican citizens of several variables that have been reported as being important in the literature on fear of victimization. Sociodemographic variables such as gender, age group and socioeconomic level, together with perceived risk of victimization, perceived seriousness in the face of different acts, experienced victimizations and perception of control of violence and crime are included among these variables. One hundred and eighty-one people were interviewed in a cross-sectional field study. Multiple regression analyses were carried out in three fear of victimization dimensions: personal, property and general situations. On the whole, the findings confirm the influence of the aforesaid variables. Being a woman, feeling at risk of being the object of violent attacks and the seriousness with which moderately violent acts are perceived were some of the major variables considered to predict fear of victimization.     

Community engagement,greening, and violent crime: A test of the greening hypothesis and Busy Streets

Researchers have documented that vacant lot greening can reduce community-level crime and violence. Busy Streets Theory (BST) suggests that residents who are involved in the greening process can help to improve physical environments and build social connections that deter crime and violence. Yet few researchers have explored how community engagement in the greening process may affect crime and violence outcomes. We applied BST to test the effects of community-engaged vacant lot greening compared to vacant lots that received either professional mowing or no treatment, on the density of violent crime around study lots. Using mixed effects regression models, we analyzed trends in violent crime density over the summer months from 2016 to 2018 at 2102 street segments in Youngstown, OH. These street segments fell within 150 meters of an intervention parcel that was classified as one of three conditions: community-engaged maintenance, professional mowing, or no treatment (control). We found that street segments in areas receiving community-engaged maintenance or professional mowing experienced greater declines in violent crime density than street segments in areas receiving no treatment, and more decline occurred in the community-engaged condition compared to the professional mow condition. Our findings support BST and suggest that community-engaged greening of vacant lots in postindustrial cities with a concentrated vacancy can reduce crime and violence.     

创造力有其“阴暗面”

创造力有其“阴暗面”。从产品角度而言,创造力可产出伤害性或消极的产品;从个体角度而言,高创造力者可能具有一些消极特征,如精神疾病易感性强、宜人性差、说谎、不诚信等;从情境角度而言,高创造力表现可能与不信任感、生存危机感、社会拒绝等消极因素有关。未来研究应开发高生态效度的恶意创造力测评工具,改进计算恶意创造力水平的算法,探索消极个体特征和消极情境因素作用于创造性思维的认知与神经机制。     

Commuters and marauders: an examination of the spatial behaviour of serial criminals

The demographic characteristics of serial offenders that distinguish between the commuter and the marauder offence styles were examined. Proposed by Canter and Larkin (1993) these two styles represent competing models of criminal spatial behaviour under which the home base plays a role in offence site selection. Data on serial burglars, arsonists and sex offenders were extracted from the criminal records maintained by the NSW Police Service. The offence style of each offender's crime series was identified in order to relate the offence style to the demographic variables, and to examine the offender's first and last offences in a series. A commuter offence style was more likely to be adopted by burglars and generally by adult males. A marauding offence style was apparent in sex offenders and metropolitan based offenders. There was a progression in the distance travelled to offend across all crime types, as the last offence was located further from the home base by comparison with the first. These findings serve to validate the conceptual distinction between commuter and marauder offence styles. Several implications for further research are addressed. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Crime scene actions and offender characteristics in a sample of Finnish stranger rapes

The crime scene actions employed by offenders in stranger rapes were analysed in relation to offender characteristics. Data were drawn from an official police database and consisted of stranger rapes occurring in Finland between 1992 and 2001 (n = 100). The structure of dichotomous variables derived through a content analysis of crime scene actions and offender characteristics were analysed with non‐metric multidimensional scaling (MDS). The first analysis revealed three separate action themes, with thematic emphases on Hostility, Involvement or Theft. The MDS‐solution for offender characteristics suggested four themes: Conventional; Psychiatric/Elderly; Criminal/Violent; and Criminal/Property. Each case was assigned to one of the themes or as a hybrid in order to analyse the associations between action themes and characteristics. The only significant association was found between the action theme, Theft and characteristics theme Criminal/Property. The results are discussed in relation to previous research. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A predictive model for psychological reactions to crime in Italy: an analysis of fear of crime and concern about crime as a social problem

In this study a model for predicting fear of crime (FC) and concern about crime as a social problem (CC) in Italy has been built, using three sets of independent variables concerning: (a) the sociodemographic and criminal victimization domain; (b) the psychosocial domain; and (c) the mass media. A secondary analysis on data gathered by the Observatory of the North‐West (N = 3262, a mail panel that is representative of the Italian population over 18) has been performed. Results showed that FC and CC are related yet distinct constructs: FC is less widespread than CC, and has different predictors. FC predictors are sociodemographic, psychosocial and, above all, victimization variables; whereas mass media and psychosocial variables predict CC. Results were compared with the literature on the topic. Implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Social learning,sexual and physical abuse,and adult crime

This research examines the relationship between childhood physical and sexual abuse and the types of crimes committed by male adult offenders. We use the method of discriminant prediction to determine whether independent and dependent variables are related in ways that theories predict. Our analyses of data from the Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities suggest that offenders model specific behaviors to which they have been exposed. Male offenders who were sexually abused as a child are more likely to commit sexual offenses, particularly sexual offenses against children, than nonsexual offenses. Offenders who were physically abused are more likely to engage in violent offenses than nonviolent offenses. Further analyses show that sexual offenders, and to a lesser extent violent offenders, are likely to specialize in those offenses. Our results are consistent with a social learning approach. They address a heretofore neglected issue: what exactly do children model when they are mistreated. Aggr. Behav. 35:489–501, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Overlap and correlates of different types of aggression among adults: Results from a cross‐sectional survey in Bogotá, Colombia

Our objective is to establish the prevalence and overlap among different forms of violence and the importance of known correlates of aggression in Bogotá, Colombia. Our method is a cross‐sectional household survey of violence amongst a random sample (n=3007) of the general population between the ages of 15 and 60. In this population the more severe forms of aggression tend to appear concurrently with the less severe forms. Multivariate analyses of the data show that a family history of crime, physical aggression among family members, lack of clarity of parental norms, beliefs justifying the use of violence, and alcohol consumption are the main correlates of verbal and physical aggression independent of age, gender and social class. Although the findings are limited by the cross‐sectional design, exclusion of the institutionalized population, and reliance on retrospective self‐reports, they provide population‐based estimates of different forms of aggression and support for known correlates of aggression in a Latin American context. Aggr. Behav. 29:191–201, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Psychopathology Following Interpersonal Violence: A Comparison of Risk Factors in Older and Younger Adults

A randomly selected sample of 549 women age 55 years and older and 2,669 women age 18–34 years was interviewed via telephone to determine prevalences of physical and sexual assault, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology, and depression. Prevalences of sexual and physical assaults were lower in older compared to younger women. In addition, given a trauma, prevalences and proportionate risk of posttraumatic psychopathology and depression were also lower for older, relative to younger women. Specifically, multivariate analyses revealed that sexual assault predicted only PTSD avoidance in older adults, but all forms of PTSD symptomatology and depression in younger adult women. Similarly, physical assault predicted only PTSD re-experiencing symptoms in older women, but all forms of PTSD symptoms and depression in younger women. Self-reported health status was not associated with any increased risk of psychopathology, and low income predicted increased avoidance and depression only in younger women.     

论我国刑法妨害传染病防治罪的完善

认为妨害传染病防治罪的可罚范围有待拓宽,应将一些乙类传染病和其他突发性强、致死率高的传染病纳入本罪规制的范围;行为方式有待明确,运用刑法典与附属刑法相配合的立法模式是一种较为理想的做法;刑罚设置上有待进一步完善,增加罚金刑的适用,对后果特别严重的情形可以结果加重犯来处理。