By Ayumi Takano, Kunihiko Takahashi, Tatsuhiko Anzai, Takashi Usami, Shiori Tsutsumi, Yuka Kanazawa, Yousuke Kumakura, Toshihiko Matsumoto

Background: Methamphetamine use is related to severe health, social, and criminal challenges. However, there is limited evidence regarding the factors associated with the recurrence of drug use among individuals who have used methamphetamine, particularly within populations involved in the criminal justice system. This study aimed to identify predictors of illicit drug use at a one-year follow-up among males in Japan who have used methamphetamine and are involved in the criminal justice system. Methods: The study participants were adult males on probation due to methamphetamine use or possession and were involved in a community-based program. The participants were recruited early in their probation period and participated in telephone-based surveys conducted by mental health center staff. We analyzed one-year follow-up data to investigate the recurrence rate of illicit drug use and associated risk factors using multiple logistic regression. Results: Out of 234 participants, 27 (11.5%) used illicit drugs during the one-year follow-up period. After adjusting for demographic characteristics, severity of drug use, type of probation, and use of treatment for substance use disorders, the use of social welfare services (OR = 2.78) and a lack of trustworthy relationships (OR = 3.17) were significantly associated with recurrence of illicit drug use. Conclusions: This study suggested that individuals facing challenges in maintaining stable living conditions and building trustworthy relationships were more likely to return to drug use early in their probation period. Comprehensive and tailored support focused on social stabilization and relationship-building is required to prompt recovery in males who have experienced methamphetamine use.

Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports, (2024)

By Ulla D. Berg, and Sebastian K. León

Each year the United States government detains and deports hundreds of thousands of people who prior to their removal are held in confinement for an average of 55 days. The short and long-term effects of the coronavirus pandemic on migrant detention and deportation continue to be evaluated in real time, including how we can best study it. This paper provides a timely analysis on the relationship between immigration enforcement and confinement, public health emergencies, and ethnographic methods. It makes two contributions. The first is methodological and focuses on the challenges and opportunities of ethnographic methods in carceral settings when pandemic-related protocols have raised additional challenges to conventional in-person prison ethnography. The second contribution is empirical and documents how we adapted ethnographic methods to an interdisciplinary research design and to the exigencies of the pandemic to study the spread of the coronavirus in four immigrant detention facilities in New Jersey, USA.

EthnographyVolume 25, Issue 3, September 2024, Pages 314-334

By Rivke Jaffe

Rivke Jaffe explains how despite Jamaica’s “dons” are associated with crime and violence, they have become figures of political authority and seen as legitimate leaders.

Throughout Kingston, Jamaica, figures known as “dons” exercise political authority and are seen as legitimate leaders despite their associations with crime and violence. In the absence of strong government support, they provide impoverished residents with access to security, conflict resolution, and various forms of welfare through their own resources and connections to Jamaica’s political parties. In The Rule of Dons, Rivke Jaffe shows how dons’ power relies on a widespread belief in their right to rule, explaining how criminal power is legitimized through a set of aesthetic, affective, and spatial mechanisms. She argues that dons must credibly embody an outlaw persona that stands outside of the political establishment while also connecting strategically to state institutions and mobilizing democratic ideals such as freedom and equality. As such, dons represent a form of authority that involves balancing an autocratic form of rule

with an established democratic order. While donmanship represents a historically and culturally specific type of political authority, Jaffe’s analysis of this phenomenon offers insights into the entanglement of violent autocratic rule and democratic institutions far beyond Jamaica.

Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2024. 217p.

By Elena Marushiakova, and Vesselin Popov

In their centuries-old history, the Roma (formerly known as Gypsies) experienced many difficult moments and cruel trials from their arrival in Europe until now. The history of the Roma in the USSR is no exception in this respect. Along with affirmative state policy towards them (at least until the end of the 1930s), they also fell victim to the massive political repressions of that time. In this book, the Roma victims of these repressions are made visible and the scale of the repressions against them is discussed. The authors describe the political repression of Roma not as an isolated historical phenomenon explicitly aimed at the Roma as a separate ethnic community but understand the events as a component of the mass terror and brutal against all Soviet citizens. In this way, the history of the Roma is inscribed in the general history of the USSR.

Leiden; Boston: Brill: 2024.

By Danielle Stibbe, Stijn Ruiter, Wouter Steenbeek, Asier Moneva

Objectives: This study investigates the effect of advertised rewards in credential leaks on the likelihood and speed of account hijacking. Methods: In an online field experiment, we created 176 honey Gmail accounts and randomly assigned them to eight different posts containing account credential leaks. We used a 2 × 2 experimental design, manipulating two key variables within the post titles: the number of accounts (5 K or 1.5 M) and the promise of access to additional platforms (absent or present). We then monitored the accounts for any subsequent activity. Results: Our findings indicate that the promise of access to additional platforms increased the likelihood and speed of an attempted access. Only 12 accounts were fully accessed, however, because most hijackers did not complete the second-factor authentication (2FA) process required for gaining full access. It seems that the 2FA acted as a deterrent to complete Gmail account hijacking. Conclusions: The study aligns with the rational choice perspective of crime, showing that the prospect of greater rewards leads to more attempted account accesses

Computers in Human Behavior Reports, Volume 14, May 2024, 100410

By Marleen Weulen Kranenbarg*, Stijn Ruiter, Jean Louis Van Gelder

The distinct setting in which cyber-dependent crime takes place may reduce the similarity in the deviance of social network members. We test this assumption by analysing the deviance of the most important social contacts of cyber-dependent offenders and traditional offenders in the Netherlands (N = 344 offenders; N = 1131 social contacts). As expected, similarity in deviance is weaker for cyber-dependent crime. Because this is a strong predictor of traditional offending, this has important implications for criminological research and practice. Additionally, for both crime types the offending behaviour of a person is more strongly linked to the deviance of social ties if those ties are of the same gender and age, and if the offender has daily contact with them. Implications and future criminological research suggestions are discussed.

European Journal of Criminology Volume 18, Issue 3, May 2021, Pages 386-406

By Sabine E. M. van Sleeuwen, Wouter Steenbeek, Stijn Ruiter

Objectives: Building on Hägerstrand’s time geography, we expect temporal consistency in individual offending behavior. We hypothesize that repeat offenders commit offenses at similar times of day and week. In addition, we expect stronger temporal consistency for crimes of the same type and for crimes committed within a shorter time span. Method: We use police-recorded crime data on 28,274 repeat offenders who committed 152,180 offenses between 1996 and 2009 in the greater The Hague area in the Netherlands. We use a Monte Carlo permutation procedure to compare the overall level of temporal consistency observed in the data to the temporal consistency that is to be expected given the overall temporal distribution of crime. Results: Repeat offenders show strong temporal consistency: they commit their crimes at more similar hours of day and week than expected. Moreover, the observed temporal consistency patterns are indeed stronger for offenses of the same type of crime and when less time has elapsed between the offenses, especially for offenses committed within a month after the prior offense. Discussion: The results are consistent with offenders having recurring rhythms that shape their temporal crime pattern. These findings might prove valuable for improving predictive policing methods and crime linkage analysis as well as interventions to reduce recidivism.

Journal of Quantitative Criminology (2021) 37:863–889

By Marleen Gorissen, Chantal JW van den Berg, Stijn Ruiter, Catrien CJH Bijleveld

Online disclosure of sexual violence victimisation is a relatively new phenomenon. While prior research has mainly relied on analysis of Twitter data from the #MeToo period, this study compares such disclosures across platforms over two years. Using machine learning, 2927 disclosures were identified for quantitative content analysis and multiple correspondence analysis. Online platforms differed in timing of the posts, information shared, information density, co-occurrence of information and the length of the disclosure message. Most disclosures were found on the platform Twitter, and during the #MeToo movement. These posts differ from disclosures on other platforms and outside the viral movement. Regarding the content, across all platforms and periods, clustering was found around offender-oriented information, making the offender an explicit part of the experience. This study shows that an exclusive focus on online disclosures on Twitter and during viral movements gives a biased and incomplete picture of what online disclosure of sexual victimisation entails. Our cross-platform analysis over time allows for more universal statements about the content and context of online disclosures of sexual victimisation.

Computers in Human Behavior, Volume 144, July 2023, 107724

By Barbara Menting, Marre Lammers, Stijn Ruiter*, Wim Bernasco

Crime pattern theory predicts that offenders commit offences in their activity spaces. We also propose that they most likely offend in the more frequently visited parts. Previous studies used offenders' residential areas or other activity space proxy measures but lacked data on other routinely visited places (e.g., work, school, and leisure activities). A major contribution of this study is the use of an online survey in which 78 offenders reported on their own activity spaces and committed offences (n = 140). Results show that offending is much more likely in offenders' activity spaces than elsewhere, and effects increase with visiting frequency. Although residential area is a good predictor, offenders' more extensive self-reported activity spaces predict much better where they commit offences.

The British Journal of Criminology, Volume 60, Issue 2, March 2020, Pages 303–322,

By Siobhan Lawler

As gatekeepers to restorative justice (RJ) programs for domestic and family violence (DFV) and sexual violence, stakeholders in referring agencies perform the critical role of assessing the suitability of cases for entry into these programs. This article draws on interviews with 47 stakeholders in an RJ program for DFV and sexual violence in the Australian Capital Territory to better understand stakeholder decision-making about referrals. Findings show stakeholders’ decisions around which matters to refer to RJ centre on assessments of victim‑survivors’ safety and offender accountability. Many stakeholders are risk averse when deciding whether to make a referral, which may inadvertently reduce opportunities for victim-survivors to benefit and achieve their justice goals.

Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 707, Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology. 2025. 15p.

Edited by Marcelo F. Aebi · Fernando Miró-Llinares · Stefano Caneppele

This open access book critically revisits 30 years of debate surrounding the evolution of crime trends, aiming to reconcile various hypotheses and controversies. It scrutinizes the concept of the "crime drop," highlighting the methodological pitfalls in understanding the causation mechanisms behind this phenomenon. By examining the impact of information and communication technologies (ICT) on daily routines and crime, the book challenges traditional notions of crime reduction. Drawing on extensive examples, data from official and non-official statistics, and crime surveys, this book illustrates how cyberspace has fundamentally reshaped the nature of crime. Despite this transformation, integrating cybercrime into conventional crime statistics remains an unaccomplished task. The book offers a thorough methodological discussion on measuring cybercrime, addressing the challenges researchers face in quantifying and explaining crimes committed both in cyberspace and across physical and digital boundaries. This book speaks to students, academics, researchers, and practitioners in the fields of criminology, criminal justice, and cybercrime. It is an invaluable resource for anyone seeking to understand the complexities of modern crime trends and the challenges posed by the digital age.

Cham: Springer Nature, 2025, 141 p.

Edited by Morgan Currie, Jeremy Knox and Callum McGregor

Data Justice and the Right to the City engages with theories of social justice and data-driven urbanism. It explores the intersecting concerns of data justice - both the harms and civic possibilities of the datafied society – and the right to the city - a call to redress the uneven distribution of resources and rights in urban contexts. These concerns are addressed through a variety of topics: digital social services, as cities use data and algorithms to administer to citizens; education, as data-driven practices transform learning and higher education; labour, as platforms create new precarities and risks for workers; and activists who seek to make creative and political interventions into these developments. This edited collection proposes frameworks for understanding the effects of data-driven technologies at the municipal scale and offers strategies for intervention by both scholars and citizens.

Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2023. 386p.

By Claire Duddy, William Downs

What are controlled drugs? Controlled drugs are substances that are considered harmful to human health and subject to legal controls. In the UK, these drugs are categorised as Class A, Class B or Class C according to their potential harm. Class A drugs like heroin and cocaine are considered the most harmful. They are subject to the strictest legal controls and penalties for misuse. Controlled drugs legislation The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 regulates the production, supply and possession of controlled drugs in the UK. The act is complemented by the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001, which set out exceptions that allow the lawful possession and use of certain controlled drugs for medical, dental and veterinary use. The regulations categorise drugs into five schedules, according to their medical usefulness and the potential harms of misuse. Schedule 1 drugs are considered to have no legitimate current medical use and are the most tightly controlled. Classification and scheduling decisions The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) is an independent expert advisory body that advises the government on the classification and scheduling of drugs. The Home Secretary can make changes to the classification of a drug after consultation with the ACMD. However, the government is not required to take their advice. The Library Insight Nitrous Oxide becomes a Class C drug describes how nitrous oxide was classified as a Class C substance, despite ACMD advice that it should become a controlled drug. Drug offences and enforcement It is an offence to import, produce, supply or possess a controlled drug, except in circumstances specified in law. The maximum sentences available are specified in schedule 4 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. In England and Wales, sentencing guidelines set out the appropriate sentence for convicted offenders. The drugs market is dominated by serious and organised crime groups, with several UK enforcement agencies involved in seeking to tackle the production, supply and importation of drugs. The National Crime Agency and Regional Organised Crime Units work with regional police forces and the British Transport Police, to tackle drug supply operating across police force boundaries, including county lines. The National Crime Agency also leads on cooperation with international agencies oversees to tackle international supply lines. Border Force is the lead agency for seeking to intercept drug shipments from crossing UK borders. Responding to drug possession The possession of any controlled drug is an offence under section 5 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, carrying a penalty of up to 7 years’ imprisonment. However, in many cases people found in possession of small quantities of drugs for personal use will not be prosecuted. The police have a large degree of discretion when deciding to arrest and prosecute an individual for drug possession or whether instead to issue an out of court resolution. In some areas of England and Wales, drug diversion programmes are being trialled to refer people into drug treatment services as an alternative to criminal justice sanctions entirely. There has also been debate about whether the government should go further in embracing a health-led approach to people who use drugs. For example, the Home Affairs Committee in 2023 called for responsibility for misuse of drugs to be jointly owned by the Home Office and Department of Health and Social Care, and for a wider use of drug diversion schemes and harm reduction measures. Changes to controlled drugs legislation There have been multiple calls for reform of controlled drugs legislation in the UK, including calls to change how drugs are classified and scheduled under the legislation. In December 2024, the Controlled Drugs (Procedure for Specification) Bill, a Private Member’s Bill sponsored by Alex McIntyre MP, is due to have its second reading in the House of Commons. This bill proposes changes to the processes used to change drug classifications. It aims to allow the government to make changes more quickly and allow corresponding changes to the classification of drugs (under the Misuse of Drugs Act) and scheduling of drugs (under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations) to be made at the same time.

Research Briefing, London: House of Commons Library, 2024. 36p.

By Aaron Chalfin and Brittany Street

This paper reviews and distills a wide array of recent social science literature and offers an evidence-based vision for how public safety can be maintained while relying less on the use of incarceration. We offer the following lessons from the literature. First, while interventions that increase economic opportunities have been shown to be effective in reducing criminal behavior, particularly income generating crime, interventions which change how people think appear to be even more effective at reducing the types of crimes that most frequently lead to incarceration. Second, a wide variety of investments targeted towards children in disadvantaged neighborhoods appear to be effective and likely pay for themselves over time. Third, while there is a natural concern that diverting criminal defendants from traditional prosecution will erode the deterrence value of criminal sanctions, the evidence suggests that for first-time and younger offenders, individuals who have been diverted – either through a formal program or informally via “non-prosecution” – tend to be less likely to be rearrested in the future. Fourth, the evidence suggests that law enforcement can play an important role in reducing the use of incarceration when police are visible and engage in high-value activities that deter crime or focus their arrest powers more intensively on violent and/or high-volume offenders; in doing so, they have the ability to reduce crime through deterrence and focused incapacitation without increasing the footprint of the justice system. Finally, there is potential to meaningfully reduce incarceration levels through sentencing reforms without compromising public safety – so long as the reforms are structured in such a way as to target the least criminally productive offenders, while retaining in custody those offenders who are most likely to commit the costliest offenses or who are likeliest to offend in high volumes.

Institute for the Quantitative Study of Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity,, 2023. 69p

By Jacob Kaplan · Aaron Chalfn

Observational evidence suggests that better ambient lighting leads people to feel safer when spending time outdoors in their community. We subject this finding to greater scrutiny and elaborate on the extent to which improvements in street lighting affect routine activities during nighttime hours. We report evidence from a survey experiment that examines individual's' perceptions of safety under two different intensities of nighttime ambient lighting. Brighter street lighting leads individuals to feel safer and over half of survey respondents are willing to pay an additional $400 per year in taxes in order to finance a hypothetical program which would replace dim yellow street lights with brighter LED lights. However, poor lighting does not change people’s willingness to spend time outdoors or to engage in behaviors which mitigate risk. Results suggest that street lighting is a means through which policymakers can both control crime and improve community well-being.

Security Journal (2022) 35:694–724

By Aaron Chalfin, Benjamin Hansen, Jason Lerner, and Lucie Parker

This paper offers experimental evidence that crime can be successfully reduced by changing the situational environment that potential victims and offenders face. We focus on a ubiquitous but surprisingly understudied feature of the urban landscape – street lighting – and report the first experimental evidence on the effect of street lighting on crime. Through a unique public partnership in New York City, temporary streetlights were randomly allocated to public housing developments from March through August 2016. We find evidence that communities that were assigned more lighting experienced sizable reductions in crime. After accounting for potential spatial spillovers, we find that the provision of street lights led, at a minimum, to a 36 percent reduction in nighttime outdoor index crimes.

NBER Working Paper No. 25798 Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2019 45p.

By Cherrell Green

While Black males are disproportionately impacted by gun homicide, they are also grossly impacted by non -fatal shootings. The impact of gun violence extends far beyond the immediate physical harm inflicted by bullets; this harm can permeate and disrupt personal relationships, create lasting psychological distress, and undermine a sense of safety within communities. However, the needs of injured Black men are often overlooked in public discourse. Despitethe prevalenceofthesetraumaticexperiencesinthe livesoflow-incomeBlackmen,theirresponseto trauma is often treated as pathology, with fewer resources devoted to addressing the adverse consequences associated with these experiences. This policy brief summarizes key findings from a study involving 18 in-person semi-structured interviews with Black men across the United States who have sustained a gunshot injury. The findings highlight the individual and institutional harm Black men with gunshot wounds (GSWs) experience at the hands of both police officers and health care providers. Consequently, this brief proposes changes designed to positively impact the lives of Black men affected by gun violence throughout the continuum of care.

San Diego: University of San Diego, Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice, 2024. 27p.

Shocking videos surfaced in late August of gun-wielding Venezuelan migrants storming an apartment building in the suburban city of Aurora, Colorado. One of the migrants, a 20-year-old, confessed that he is part of a Venezuelan gang called Tren de Aragua (TdA, or “Train from Aragua”). The Aurora police department is now beefing up its budget to confront the increased crime spilling over from the sanctuary city next door in Denver.Aurora was just the beginning. In the past 11 months, there have been increasing reports of TdA activity in no fewer than 30 major cities across America. At least 100 federal investigations involving the TdA are underway, catching most of the U.S. law enforcement community by surprise. Shooting two New York City

police officers, building sex trafficking rings in Louisiana, and murdering the Georgia nursing student Laken Riley and 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray in Houston are just some of the high- profile violent crimes carried out by the TdA. Moreover, given that the Venezuelan government does not cooperate or provide any data on suspected criminals coming from their country into the United States, some law enforcement officers have dubbed the TdA as “ghost criminals” with little to identify them other than confessions and/ or tattoos. The Tren de Aragua has been around for more than a decade, first as a Venezuelan prison gang, then as a transnational criminal organization (TCO) spreading throughout Latin America, and now as a major street gang terrorizing cities in at least 20 states throughout America—and growing. Many comparisons have been drawn between the TdA and the transnational Salvadoran gang, La Mara Salvatrucha 13 (MS-13). The TdA, however, is expanding much more quickly, likely due to its unique origin and state sponsorship in Venezuela. Unlike MS-13, which was born in Los Angeles in the 1980s, the TdA is foreign-born and was virtually nonexistent in America until 2021, distinct from other major TCOs such as MS-13 or the Mexican cartels. The TdA’s rapid expansion in the United States is a direct consequence of the Biden–Harris Administration’s failed immigration policies and lack of border enforcement.

KEY TAKEAWAYS The TdA’s goal is to establish territorial control and impose a criminal economy that connects illicit networks to penitentiaries in or near those neighborhoods. The new Trump Administration should work with Latin American partners to dismantle the TdA throughout the Western Hemisphere.

BACKGROUNDER No. 3876 | December 5, 2024

Washington DC: The Heritage Foundation, the Douglas ans Sarah Alison Center for National Security, 2024. 18p.

By Tadesse Simie Metekia and Matt Herbert

Summary Due to their difficult political paths – Ethiopia’s stalled transition and Tunisia’s reversal – these two nations demonstrate the effects of failing transitions and democratic backsliding on rising transnational organised crime. Reversing the current trend of organised crime depends heavily on restoring stability and rule-of-law-based democracies, which could be achieved through a revived political process that embraces dialogue and transitional justice to mitigate the challenges and enable governance structures to tackle the complexities of organised crime. Key points The surge in transnational organised crime in Ethiopia and Tunisia can be seen as a consequence of their unrealised political transitions due to: • ensuing economic upheaval that has been the major driver of transnational organised crimes in both countries • porous borders and ungoverned spaces that allow criminal networks to grow • attention to pressing security challenges, such as conflicts and terrorism, that create space for criminal networks to strengthen and operate with impunity

ENACT Africa, 2024. 48p.

By Matthew F. Garnett and Arialdi M. Miniño

Drug overdoses are one of the leading causes of injury death in adults and have risen over the past several decades in the United States (1–3). Overdoses involving synthetic opioids (fentanyl, for example) and stimulants (cocaine and methamphetamine, for example) have also risen in the past few years (1). This report presents rates of drug overdose deaths from the National Vital Statistics System over a 20-year period by demographic group and by the type of drugs involved, specifically, opioids and stimulants, with a focus on changes from 2022 to 2023. Key findings Data from the National Vital Statistics System ● The age-adjusted rate of drug overdose deaths increased from 8.9deaths per 100,000 standard population in 2003 to 32.6 in 2022; however, the rate decreased to 31.3 in 2023. ● Rates decreased between 2022 and 2023 for people ages 15–54 and increased for adults age 55 and older. ● From 2022 to 2023, rates decreased for White non-Hispanic people, while rates for other race and Hispanic-origin groups generally stayed the same or increased. ● Between 2022 and 2023, rates declined for deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone, heroin, and natural and semisynthetic opioids, while the rate for methadone remained the same. ● From 2022 to 2023, rates increased for deaths involving cocaine by 4.9% (from 8.2 to 8.6) and psychostimulants with abuse potential by 1.9% (10.4 to 10.6)

NCHS Data Brief No. 522, December 2024. 12p.
Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2024. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.15620/cdc/170565.