By Thana Ridha and Sylvie Frigon

For over forty years, William Head on Stage (WHoS) has operated as an inmate-run prison theatre, making it one of Canada’s longest-standing prison arts initiatives.

Staging Prison Theatre in Canada: Setting the Spotlight on William Head on Stage delves into the story of WHoS through the voices of the men involved, offering a unique criminological perspective that situates their experiences within the prison context.

The analysis explores how WHoS creates an alternative space within the social and emotional realities of incarceration. By unlocking participants’ capacities, skills, and confidence, the initiative fosters a sense of agency and community both inside the prison and beyond. WHoS becomes a space for transformation, offering men opportunities to re-imagine themselves and build meaningful connections.

This work underscores the broader significance of arts-based initiatives like WHoS, not only within prisons but also in the fields of criminology, theatre, and community engagement. It offers valuable insights for correctional administrators, criminologists, theatre practitioners, scholars, students, and anyone interested in the intersection of art and rehabilitation.

By Carina Gallo, Kerstin Svensson

This book provides a rich analysis of the history of Swedish victim support. With the majority of research on victim support centering on the Anglosphere, this book offers a unique case study for considering the role of the victim in the criminal justice system. While Sweden has enacted many laws to support victims, and victim assistance programs have grown rapidly, welfare policy has become more restrictive and crime policy, to some degree, more punitive.

By Carolyn McKay

This open access book examines the impact of digitalisation processes on fair, accessible and inclusive criminal justice for vulnerable individuals. Based on original empirical data from an Australian Research Council funded national study, the book evaluates digitalised criminal justice, specifically, the increasing use of remote hearings and virtual courts, and the interrelationship with vulnerability. It asks: in what ways do remote communication technologies, such as videolinks, videoconferencing, and pre-recorded evidence, assist or disadvantage vulnerable witnesses, complainants, victims and defendants in the criminal justice system? By interviewing and surveying 175 Australian judicial officers, prosecutors, defence lawyers and affiliated professionals, the book examines the impact of digitalised criminal justice on all vulnerable individuals. Themes include the benefits and challenges to human connection, communication, comprehension and confidentiality, as well as court authority, cross-examination, and emotional expression. While there are certain universal and non-contentious experiences of videolinks, the key practical findings are sharply delineated between vulnerable witnesses versus vulnerable defendants. Theoretically, the book merges digital criminology with vulnerability theories to contribute understandings of ‘digital vulnerability’, that is, the interplay between digital technologies and vulnerable individuals in criminal justice. Digital Vulnerability in Criminal Justice provides critical and contemporary insights, and forward-looking recommendations for ensuring fair digitalised criminal justice into the future.

By Gregory Cote

It is widely accepted that modern policing first came into existence with a bill passed in 1829, establishing the Metropolitan London Police under British Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel. It is Peel after all, who has been labeled the founder of modern policing, an English institution that inspired North American police. I argue that it was Jeremy Bentham who developed an early model of modern policing and whose work on applying his utilitarian philosophy to institutional reform directly influenced Peel’s innovation. I intend to show how Bentham and reformer Patrick Colquhoun established the first modern police department when they
collaborated in drafting the Thames River Police Bill adopted by Parliament in 1800, almost thirty years before Peel’s legislation. It is the Thames River Police created by Bentham and Colquhoun that is the world’s oldest, not the Metropolitan London Police introduced by Peel. John Stuart Mill once wrote that Bentham was a great subversive. And as the great subversive whose years of work on improving police was often done in secret and whose efforts were largely ignored, it is Bentham not Peel, who should be considered the single most important figure in the development of modern policing.

Edited and adapted by Graeme R. Newman and Claude. of the classic by William Healy and Mary Tenney Healy.

Why would someone tell elaborate lies that bring no gain, damage their own interests, and are certain to be exposed? Why would a fifteen-year-old falsely accuse her own mother of murder, or a university student confess to a killing that never happened?

In 1915, William Healy, America's pioneer of scientific delinquency research, and his wife, Mary Tenney Healy, published the first major study in English of this baffling behavior. Pathological Lying, Accusation, and Swindling drew on case records from the Juvenile Psychopathic Institute of the Chicago Juvenile Court. It defined a phenomenon that courts, lawyers, and physicians barely recognized: falsification "entirely disproportionate to any discernible end in view," by people who were otherwise mentally normal.

The Healys' cases are unforgettable:

• a young woman who posed as a missing heiress and inserted a hairpin into her own surgical scar to gain admission to hospitals

• a nine-year-old whose false accusation sent her father and brother to jail

• a German immigrant boy who haunted New York courtrooms as a self-taught "lawyer" while swindling his way across the country

• a girl whose false story of vice, told after a revival meeting, set the police investigating the city's underworld

Tracing each career back to childhood, the Healys found its roots in deception that worked, in households where lying was normal, in early experiences that had to be kept secret, and in hidden mental conflicts. Their most striking conclusion was that, contrary to earlier European opinion, many pathological liars could be cured.

This Read-Me.Org Reader's Guide explains the book question by question in clear, modern English. It includes:

• summaries of all 27 case histories, with fuller treatment of the most important ones

• the earlier German studies that introduced the term pseudologia phantastica

• the Healys' findings on causes, testimony, and treatment

• a new Introduction, and a section connecting the book to Munchausen syndrome, false confessions, eyewitness research, child testimony, and famous impostors

• a guide to the cases, a chronology, suggestions for further reading, a glossary of historical terms, and 28 review and discussion questions

Essential reading for students and practitioners in criminology, psychology, psychiatry, law, social work, and anyone who has ever wondered why some people cannot stop lying.

Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2026. 46p..

Edited by Scott Jacques and Philip Schofield

Jeremy Bentham’s ideas on punishment are famous. Every criminology student learns about Bentham, and every criminologist contends with him, as advocate or opponent. This discourse concerns his ideas about punishment, namely with respect to legislation and the panopticon. Yet, scholars and students are generally ignorant of Bentham’s ideas on police. Hitherto, these ideas have been largely unknowable. Now, thanks to UCL’s Bentham Project, these ideas are public. Jeremy Bentham on Police celebrates this achievement by exploring the story of Bentham’s writings on police and considering their relevance to the past, present and future of criminology. After Scott Jacques introduces the book, the Director of the Bentham Project, Philip Schofield, describes and explains how it works. Then Michael Quinn, who brought together Bentham’s writings on police, delves into the personal and socio-historical background in which they were created. An extract follows, representing the most (criminologically-)relevant passages from Bentham’s police writings. Finally, a rich variety of scholars offer their thoughts on what those writings mean for criminology. These contributions come from Anthony A. Braga, Ronald Clarke, David J. Cox, Stephen Douglas, Stephen Engelmann, G. Geltner, Joel F. Harrington, Jonathan Jacobs, Paul Knepper, Gloria Laycock, Gary T. Marx, Daniel S. Nagin, Graeme R. Newman, Pat O’Malley, Eric L. Piza, Kim Rossmo, Lucia Summers and Dean Wilson.

By Vania Ceccato, Andy Newton

This book offers a comprehensive overview of areas with elevated levels of crime, which we consider ‘risky places.’ These can be facilities, nodes, or paths and can be found everywhere, from small towns to megacities. Crime and fear are examined from the perspective of those who use these places, based on examples from the US, the UK, Sweden, Nigeria, Brazil, China, Australia, and more. Advocating for a systems thinking approach, the book shows what can be learned from risky places and identifies ways to address their inherent problems. The book also assesses current barriers to applying systems thinking and identifies ways to foster interconnected long-term crime prevention strategies that meet the diverse needs of multiple stakeholders. Aimed at academics, students, and professionals in urban planning, criminology, geography, and related fields, this book is a vital resource for those dedicated to creating safer, more inclusive, and sustainable environments.

By Lorraine Mazerolle,
Kevin Petersen,
Michelle Sydes and
Janet Ransley

Partnerships in policing are used worldwide to reduce crime and disorder problems. Police forge partnerships with businesses, government agencies, and communities to co-produce public safety. Third-party policing (TPP) is a particular type of partnership that involves the police addressing crime and disorder by working through (and with) third-party partners. This Element focuses on the nature and effectiveness of TPP partnerships. Using systematic review and meta-analytic techniques, it shows that TPP interventions are effective in efforts to reduce crime and disorder, without displacement of these problems. Cooperative partnerships are associated with considerably larger crime control effects than interventions relying on coercive engagement styles. Dyad partnerships – twosome partnerships between police and one third party – are likely to offer the “sweet spot” in TPP. The Element concludes that partnership policing using non criminal justice legal levers is a promising approach to crime control.

By Annelieke Mooij

This open access book examines regulating an environment that has no jurisdiction, is fully anonymous and infinitely vast? Welcome to the Metaverse, an online virtual reality that is expected to add billions to the global economy. The Metaverse offers a new type of virtual economy with practically endless business opportunities. The question is how to prevent these opportunities from being abused to commit money laundering and finance terrorism (MLFT).

This book explores the current European Union legislation designed to prevent MLFT in connection with the Metaverse. It analyses the legislation in relation to the three traditional stages of MLFT: placement, layering and integration. Furthermore, some additional risks specific to the Metaverse are discussed, such as Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and the high level of anonymity. The book concludes that the current legislation is not suitable for facing the new challenges of the Metaverse.


In turn, the book puts forward a novel approach to regulating and enforcing MLFT legislation: using a system of smart assets equipped with AI to prevent and detect MLFT. In addition, it makes recommendations on how to improve the legal framework with regard to the new challenges arising from the Metaverse. Particular attention is given to creating a legal framework that incorporates the use of smart assets and the Internet of Things, in order to provide a safe environment for potential users and society.

By Helena Machado and Rafaela Granja

Genetic Surveillance and Crime Control presents a new empirical and conceptual framework for understanding trends of genetic surveillance in different countries in Europe and in other jurisdictions around the world. The use of DNA or genome for state-level surveillance for crime governance is becoming the norm in democratic societies. In the post-DNA, contemporary modes of criminal identification are gradually changing through the increasing expansion of transnational sharing of DNA data, along with the development of highly controversial genetic technologies that pose acute challenges to privacy and generate fears of discrimination, racism and stigmatization. Some questions that guide this book are: How is genetic surveillance in the governance of crime intertwined with society, ethics, culture, and politics? What are the views and expectations of diverse stakeholders –scientists, police agencies, and non-governmental organizations? How can social sciences research about genetic surveillance accommodate socio-cultural and historical differences, and be sensitive to specificities of post-authoritarian societies in Europe?　 Taking an interdisciplinary approach focused on challenges to genetic privacy, human rights and citizenship in contemporary societies , this book will be of interest to students and scholars of social studies of science and technology, sociology, criminology, law and policing, international relations and forensic sciences.

By Violence Policy Center

Large capacity ammunition magazines are the common thread running through most mass shootings in the United States. Since 1980, there have been at least 110 mass shootings (three or more fatalities not including the shooter) where the shooter used large capacity ammunition magazines containing more than 10 rounds. A total of 981 people were killed in these shootings, and 1,328 were wounded. This number is likely a significant undercount of actual incidents as there is no consistent collection or reporting on thisdata. Even in many high-profile shootings, information on magazine capacity is neither released nor reported. The Violence Policy Center has compiled this list of incidents by analyzing news reports and follow-up investigative reports on mass shootings. Only shootings in which there is specific information that large capacity magazines were used are included. Columbine shooter armed with Intratec TEC-DC9 assault pistol equipped with high capacity ammunition magazine

Large capacity ammunition magazines are the common thread running through most mass shootings in the United States. Since 1980, there have been at least 110 mass shootings (three or more fatalities not including
the shooter) where the shooter used large capacity ammunition magazines containing more than 10 rounds.
A total of 981 people were killed in these shootings, and 1,328 were wounded. This number is likely a significant undercount of actual incidents as there is no consistent collection or reporting on this data. Even in many high-profile shootings, information on magazine capacity is neither released nor reported. The Violence Policy Center has compiled this list of incidents by analyzing news reports and follow-up investigative reports on mass shootings. Only shootings in which there is specific information that large capacity magazines were used are included.

By Rose Kim, Elizabeth Wagner, Nandita Somayaji, Silvia Villarreal, Cassandra Crifasi


44,447 people died from gun violence in the United States in 2024. Each day, an average of 121 people died from gun violence—one death every 12 minutes. Gun suicides reached an all-time high in the total number of deaths for the fourth consecutive year. For the past five years, guns remained the leading cause of death among young people (ages 1–17), with more deaths than any other single cause, including car crashes, overdoses, and cancers. While males have higher gun death rates and are at elevated risk for gun violence overall, females are uniquely impacted by the intersection between gun violence and domestic violence—nearly half of all females who are murdered are killed by a current or former intimate partner, and more than half of these intimate partner homicides are by gun. In this year’s report, we examined the overall rise of female gun deaths and their disproportionate impact across certain races and ethnicities from 2015 to 2024.

While the burden of gun violence in the U.S. remains high, there are evidence-based, equitable solutions to save lives. These solutions are supported by most people, including gun owners. Despite this broad support, policymakers hesitate to heed the evidence and enact policies that will save lives.

Each year, it is our mission to provide policymakers and the public accurate and up-to-date data on gun fatalities and illustrate the enormous toll gun violence has on our country. This report is an update to “Gun Violence in the United States 2023: Examining the Gun Suicide Epidemic.” It uses firearm mortality data listed on death certificates that are provided to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and made available through the CDC WONDER Underlying Cause of Death database. The substantial lag in data availability makes it challenging to understand the burden of gun violence in real time; however, understanding the magnitude of this issue, even with the time lag, is essential to inform public health interventions to reduce violence.We recognize that each data point discussed in this report is a person who died by gun violence. This loss has an immeasurable impact on families, friends, and communities; data can only partly illuminate the true burden of gun violence. In addition to analyzing the data, we must listen to and uplift the voices of those directly impacted by gun violence, their loved ones, and their communities

By Michael Sanders, Kate Bancroftb, Susannah Humea, Oliver Chetwyndc and Paul Quintonca

We aim to test the impact of a new national curriculum for public and personal safety training (PPST) developed by the College ofPolicing, which aims to reduce the use of force by police. We con-duct a large-scale Stepped Wedge Pragmatic Controlled Trial with a single police force and 1843 participating police officers.Officers were assigned to be trained during a particular week of the year. We find statistically significant reductions in the use of force by police officers as a result of the training. These effects are a reduction of between 8.0% and 10.9% in the propensity to use force in a given week compared to the counterfactual. The Effect is accompanied by a significant reduction in the likelihood of injury to civilians, and no rise in the risk of harm to officers.We conclude that the PPST curriculum appears effective at reduc-ing use of force by police in a large scale, robust trial

By Erika Fortunato, Reneta Slikboer, Marie Henshaw, Denny Meyer and James RP Oglof

Abstract | Despite increasing research on online child sexual exploitation, limited research compares female and male perpetrators. This study examined 116 females and 116 age-matched males known to police for online child sexual exploitation on group characteristics and risk of reoffending. Some differences emerged, with females co-offending and experiencing violent victimisation more often thanmales. However, several similarities were also apparent, including that females and males had similar risk of recidivism. These findings have implications for policy and highlight several important avenues for future research.

By Sobhan Lawler, Samantha Lyneham, Christopher Dowling

Over the past decade, cyber-scam centres dedicated to running online scams at a massive scale have proliferated across areas of South-East Asia, partly fuelled by a workforce of persons who have been trafficked for the purpose of forced criminality. Alongside the scams, which affect victims globally, these centres themselves have become sites of significant exploitation. Historically, women and girls constitute the majority of victim-survivors of trafficking overall, but the extent to which gender shapes pathways into, and experiences of, exploitation in this context is only beginning to be explored. To understand women and girls’ experiences of trafficking into cyber-scam centres for forced criminality, the research involved qualitative consultations with 86 stakeholders in the South East Asian region and in-depth interviews with three victim-survivors.

Women and girls are predominantly recruited into cyber-scam centres through someone they know, using strategies that exploit relational trust. Women in cyber-scam centres commonly experience compounded forms of exploitation, most often forced criminality (online scamming) as well as sexual exploitation. Sex work, threats and extreme forms of violence are routine control mechanisms used by criminal organisations to make people of all genders perform and conform in this environment. Gender-responsive approaches are imperative for addressing the complex and multiple forms of exploitation that women experience while inside cyber-scam centres and post-release. Recommendations are made for developing gendered awareness campaigns, trauma-informed victim identification processes and aftercare, and strengthening partnerships across the region.

By Christopher Dowling and Laura Doherty

The production and availability of pornography has increased dramatically over the past few decades. Concerns have been raised regarding pornography’s influence on sexual violence, particularly among men, who constitute the majority of its audience. While a vast body of research has examined the association between pornography use and sexual violence, questions remain regarding the strength of this association, including among Australian men, and its underlying mechanisms.

Drawing on the survey responses of almost 2,000 Australian heterosexual cisgender men, the current study examined the association of intentional pornography viewing across the life course and self-reported sexual violence perpetration in the 12 months preceding survey completion. It also examined the extent to which this association is mediated by pornography’s effect on respondents’ attitudes towards sex and women. Findings show that more frequent intentional viewing of violent pornography is associated with a small but statistically significant increase in the probability of having perpetrated sexual violence. Meanwhile, the probability of perpetrating sexual violence does not significantly change with an increase in the intentional viewing of any (ie violent or non-violent) pornography. Furthermore, a portion of the relationship between the frequency of intentional violent pornography viewing and sexual violence perpetration is mediated by the degree to which respondents exhibit a promiscuous, emotionally detached orientation towards sex and hostile attitudes towards women. However, the importance of these mediators varies between respondents. This study provides valuable information to inform measures to prevent and counteract any potential negative impacts of violent pornography on sexual behaviour.

By Samantha Bricknell and Amy McDonald

The Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery National Minimum Dataset is anational data collection on modern slavery events. This study describes modern slavery reports received between July 2024 and June 2025, the characteristics of victim-survivors and perpetrators, the nature of Australia Government-funded support provided to victim-survivors and the outcomes of modern slavery prosecutions.

By Min-Taec Kim, Fan Cheng
The Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) has released a new study that considered whether linked data from health, education, child protection (and more) can be used to predict which children are likely to offend before turning 18. The study found: Whole-of-population level: Machine learning methods applied to large-linked data can identify future young offenders with reasonable accuracy. Aboriginal young people: The models were far less accurate for Aboriginal young people and could not be reliably used for this group. Offending predictions for Aboriginal young people were more likely to be wrong than for non-Aboriginal young people – a higher rate of false positives. This raises significant ethical concerns about the practical use of such models for Aboriginal people and other sub-populations. Predictive factors over time: The study also identified key predictors of offending and how these change with age. At birth, gender and parental characteristics are most influential. Between ages 5 and 10, child protection reports and disability become important. By age 15, school suspension is the strongest predictor of youth offending.

By Queensland Parliament. Education, Arts and Communities Committee

Responses to elder abuse, and opportunities to improve responses to elder abuse within the government, broader community, non-government and private sectors. The report provides 16 recommendations.

Key findings
Elder abuse often occurs in private settings, frequently within families, and remains underreported due to victims’ reluctance or lack of awareness. Evidence indicates that elder abuse stems from a complex and evolving environment, marked by ambiguous definitions and diverse causes. Contributing factors include family stress, social isolation and financial pressures. The committee noted pervasive ageism, whereby older people are at once undervalued yet expected to share their assets with younger generations. Data collection by government and funded services was found to be inadequate, inconsistent and poorly integrated across agencies. In addition to recommending that the Legislative Assembly note the report, the committee made 15 recommendations around the following key themes, to: improve data collection, management and reporting strengthen Queensland’s elder abuse prevention and response frameworks collaborate at a national level to ensure consistent reform.

By Laura Gobey
Child abuse and neglect is a major problem in Australia. This policy and practice paper provides an overview of recent research evidence on the risk and protective factors for child abuse and neglect in families. It also discusses how knowledge of risk and protective factors can inform practice for practitioners and other professionals working with children and families.