By Peng Chen and Justin Kurland

“Strike Hard” is an enhanced law-enforcement strategy in China that aims to suppress crime, but measurement of the crime-reducing effect and potential changes in the spatiotemporal concentration of crime associated with “Strike Hard” remains unknown. This paper seeks to examine the impact, if any, of “Strike Hard” on the spatiotemporal clustering of burglary incidents. Two and half years of residential burglary incidents from Chaoyang, Beijing is used to examine repeat and near-repeat burglary incidents before, during, and after the “Strike Hard” intervention and a new technique that enables the comparison of repeat and near repeat patterns across di erent temporal periods is introduced to achieve this. The results demonstrate the intervention disrupted the repeat pattern during the “Strike Hard” period reducing the observed ratio of single-day repeat burglaries by 155%; however, these same single-day repeat burglary events increased by 41% after the cessation of the intervention. Findings with respect to near repeats are less remarkable with nominal evidence to support that the intervention produced a significant decrease, but coupled with other results, suggest that spatiotemporal displacement may have been an undesired by-product of “Strike Hard”. This study from a non-Western setting provides further evidence of the generalizability of findings related to repeat and near-repeat patterns of burglary and further highlights the limited preventative effects that the “Strike Hard” enhanced law enforcement campaign had on burglary

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2020, 9, 150

By Michael Zoorob, Daniel T. O'Brien

Crime is highly concentrated at places that lack capable place managers (i.e., landlords and their delegates). In response, numerous cities have instituted problem property interventions that pressure landowners to better manage properties suffering from decay, nuisance, or crime. This approach is distinctive in that it both targets a place and incentivizes those legally responsible to improve its management, yet little is known about the efficacy of such interventions. We assess the short- and long-term impacts of such interventions in Boston, Massachusetts, using matched difference-in-difference analyses. Problem property interventions reduced crime and disorder relative to comparable matched properties. They also led to property investment and landowner turnover, suggesting strengthened place management. In addition, drops in crime and disorder were observed at other properties on the same street, although not at other properties with the same owner throughout the city. This study, therefore, provides evidence that problem property interventions compel landowners to better manage the targeted property and that these effects have a diffusion of benefits on surrounding properties. The effect on place management, however, was limited to the target property and did not reliably generalize to the landowner's other holdings. This study reveals nuance in the ways that problem property interventions can benefit communities.

Criminology, Volume62, Issue1 February 2024 Pages 64-89

By Nick Petersen, Ojmarrh Mitchell, Shi Yan

In recent years, there has been a rise in so-called “progressive prosecutors” focused on criminal justice reforms. Although there has been considerable debate about the relationship between progressive prosecution policies and crime rates, there has been surprisingly little empirical research on the topic. Building on the limited extant research, we examined whether the inauguration of progressive prosecutors in the nation's 100 most populous counties impacted crime rates during a 21-year period (2000 to 2020). After developing an original database of progressive prosecutors in the 100 largest counties, we used heterogeneous difference-in-differences regressions to examine the influence of progressive prosecutors on crime rates. Results show that the inauguration of progressive prosecutors led to statistically higher index property (∼7%) and total crime rates (driven by rising property crimes), and these effects were strongest since 2013—a period with an increasing number of progressive prosecutors. However, violent crime rates generally were not higher after a progressive prosecutor assumed control.

Policy implications

Despite concerns that the election of progressive prosecutors leads to “surging” levels of violence, these findings suggest that progressive-oriented prosecutorial reforms led to relatively higher rates of property crime but had limited impact on rates of violent crime. In fact, in absolute terms, crime rates fell in jurisdictions with traditional and progressive prosecutors. Yet, relative property crime rates were greater after the inauguration of progressive prosecutors. Given that prior research shows progressive prosecutors reduce mass incarceration and racial inequalities, our findings indicate that higher property crime rates may be the price for these advancements.

Criminology & Public Policy Version of Record online: 18 April 2024

By Freya Rock

A Victim Personal Statement (VPS) is submitted by the victim of a crime to the sentencing court to document the physical, emotional, financial, or other impact of the crime. Victim impact statements have become a key element of the sentencing process, although concerns remain about a number of implementation challenges. • The VPS scheme was introduced in England and Wales in 2001 following a commitment in the Victims’ Charter of 1996. The right to submit a VPS is contained in the Victims’ Code. In contrast to other jurisdictions, the right is not currently based in statute. This is set to change with the coming into force of the Victims and Prisoners Bill that is currently passing through Parliament. • Research, including the Victims’ Commissioner’s (2015) study of the VPS scheme in England and Wales, suggests that victim impact statements may improve the proportionality of sentencing outcomes because judges find them helpful in determining the nature and extent of the harm caused. A more accurate calibration of the seriousness of the crime should lead to a more proportionate sentence. • Recent empirical data on the use of VPS are very limited. This restricts the conclusions which may reasonably be drawn about the benefits and burdens/disadvantages of victim impact statements. No data on the volume of victim statements are currently collected by either the Government or the Ministry of Justice, and questions about the VPS have not featured consistently on the Office for National Statistics’ National Crime Survey. • Roberts and Pina-Sanchez’s analyses of Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) data found that across the most recent administrations of the CSEW only 13% recalled receiving an offer. Of the victims who recalled being offered the opportunity to submit a statement, about half (53%) stated they had submitted one. Those who reported having submitted a VPS were asked whether in their opinion the VPS ‘was taken into account by the CJS’. Approximately one-third responded ‘yes, completely’, 30% chose ‘yes, to some extent’ and 34% responded ‘no’. • VPS research should document the reasons behind the low notification and uptake rates. Police officers’ understanding of, and attitudes towards, the VPS should be explored further to ascertain what needs to be done to ensure that the opportunity to submit a VPS is offered to all victims. • Research should explore how Victim Personal Statements are used by sentencers in England and Wales, particularly magistrates. Little is currently known beyond the Victims’ Commissioner’s (2015) finding that sentencers in England and Wales find the statements useful because they help to determine the nature and extent of the harm. • Another priority for future VPS research should be to undertake in-depth qualitative exploration of the reasons why victims in England and Wales choose to submit a VPS and their experiences of doing so. This would involve interviews with victims who have submitted a VPS, ideally before and after the sentencing hearing, to understand their hopes and expectations. • Researchers should also explore the impact the VPS has on the offender. Research has suggested that offenders may appreciate the full consequences of their criminal acts when the victim describes the impact of the crime. Hearing from the person most directly affected may be more meaningful than listening to a prosecutor’s description of the crime.

The Sentencing Academy. 2024, 18pg

By Haydn Morgan and Andrew Parker

  Recent years have witnessed a growing interest at a policy level regarding the intentional use of sport and physical activity as a key component within interventions designed to support individuals who have become connected with, or are vulnerable to, engagement in the criminal justice system (Meek, 2018; Norman et al., 2024). Despite growing evidence to support the instrumental use of sport and physical activity within such interventions, both in custodial and in community settings (Morgan and Parker, 2023), there remain significant misconceptions regarding the ‘power of sport’ to prevent and/or divert engagement with crime or support efforts to rehabilitate and address reoffending. These misconceptions are largely based on assumptions regarding the ‘life lessons’ that (automatically and universally) transfer from the sport domain to other contexts. However, the evidence is clear that there are other key mechanisms in play, beyond participation, that enable sport and physical activity interventions to impact criminal justice outcomes. The aim of this paper is to introduce some of the mechanisms that have been identified in previous research which contribute to the effective implementation of sport-based criminal justice interventions. In addition, since there has been relatively limited academic consideration of how sport and physical activity might be integrated into policy and practice around probation and resettlement, the paper offers suggestions for how these mechanisms may be integrated into efforts to support probation and youth justice services.

Manchester, UK:  HM Inspectorate of Probation. 2024, 14pg

By Abby Córdova

Gangs’ territorial control affects the lives of residents in thousands of neighborhoods across Latin America, particularly in northern Central American countries. I argue that gang dominance constrains the ability of neighborhood residents to mobilize politically and consequently resist gang violence through institutionalized channels. Living in gang-controlled neighborhoods results in fewer incentives and opportunities to make political elites accountable for one’s personal safety. Even residents who have already experienced crime firsthand are discouraged from turning to politics as a strategy to change the status quo. My theoretical insights identify mechanisms through which gangs’ neighborhood control affects nonelectoral and electoral participation. To test my hypotheses, I rely on census and public opinion data collected in seventy-one neighborhoods in El Salvador. This article offers the first systematic statistical analysis of the effect of gangs’ territorial control on political participation in the Latin American context. The findings suggest that living under gang rule undermines residents’ right to engage freely in politics in nuanced ways.

Latin American Research Review. 2019;54(1):201-221. doi:10.25222/larr.387

By Mark Ungar

To explain the high rates of violence in Central America’s Northern Triangle, this article argues that it is rooted in an armed arena comprised of state and nonstate actors with roles in security, ranging from the military to organized crime. In this space of collaboration, those actors bring resources and reap rewards, strengthening their relationships in the process. Of the many activities within the armed arena, one of the most destructive is the trafficking of firearms. Based on fieldwork in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, this article focuses on two sets of relationships that demonstrate the armed arena’s strength. The first set is the area of criminal justice, centered on investigations, ballistics, inventories, and destruction of arms. The second is the arms market: regional trafficking, internal arms sales, and the state’s licensing system. Evaluating governmental responses, the final section shows that arms control policies are most effective when they target and disrupt these relationships.

Latin American Research Review (2020) 55(3) 445-460

By Siobhan Lawler and Hayley Boxall

A significant proportion of users subjected to dating app facilitated sexual violence (DAFSV) make a report to the platform. However, the experiences of victim-survivors reporting to dating platforms has been underexamined in research.

Based on the analysis of a survey completed by 1,555 dating platform users in Australia who had reported DAFSV to the platform, this study found overall positive experiences reporting to platforms. However, victim-survivors’ experiences differed depending on their gender and sexual identity; LGB+ women reported the lowest levels of satisfaction with platforms’ responses, and heterosexual men the highest.

Further, respondents who were satisfied with how platforms responded to their reports of DAFSV were more likely to say that they would report again in the future. Respondents who said that the dating platform had provided them with information about other services were also more likely to report the incident to the police.

 Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 688. 

Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology. 2024. 17p.

By Luiz Dal Santo

Most of the scholarship on the ‘punitive turn’ has claimed that there have been two main trends in punishment since the 1970s: the rise of incarceration rates (quantitative dimension) and the worsening of prison conditions (qualitative dimension). Scholars argue that, in parallel with the rise of mass incarceration, there has been a fall of the rehabilitative ideal. In this view, prisons in core countries have basically operated as a warehouse, working towards neutralisation and incapacitation. Both trends are also viewed as reflecting a global convergence of penal policies. The analysis of the Brazilian case challenges this supposed universality. Drawing on official prison data, reports from non-governmental organisations, and secondary data, I argue that mass incarceration has not been accompanied by the same qualitative changes to prisons in ‘Western countries’ and Brazil. First, features of the so-called warehouse prison, such as low levels of prison activities, have always been present in Brazilian prisons, and are not an effect of mass incarceration. Furthermore, the consequences of mass incarceration in Brazilian prisons have, in fact, been ambivalent and, in some cases, may have alleviated inmates’ suffering, rather than intensifying experiences of confinement. Finally, instead of neutralising and controlling criminals, Brazilian prisons under mass incarceration have contributed to the emergence, empowerment, recruitment and organisation of gangs, whose powers now transcend the physical barriers of prison walls.

The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice, Volume 61, Issue4 December 2022 Pages 502-518

By Natalia Hanley,  Elisabeth Duursma, Amy Conley Wright, Helen Simpson and Laura Metcalfe

Family visits for people in Australian correctional centres stopped during the COVID-19 pandemic. Video visitation was introduced in most jurisdictions as an alternative option. This paper presents the findings from the first multi-jurisdictional study to explore the experiences and impacts of video visits between fathers in prison and their children. Findings show that there are significant benefits to video visitation for fathers, children and children’s carers, and corrective services. However, video visits are most beneficial as a complement, not alternative, to contact visits. There are opportunities to develop support for fathers and carers by focusing on visit quality.

Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 683. 

Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2024. 14p.

By Sjoukje van Deuren, Edward Kleemans, and Arjan Blokland

  In recent years, many European countries have taken far-reaching measures to combat the criminal activities of outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMCGs). Meanwhile, empirical research into the ways OMCGs are involved in and influence the crimes of their members is largely lacking. This study presents the main findings of research based on police files of cases that were filed against members of Dutch OMCGs. We apply a criminological scenario approach to analyse to what extent and in which ways OMCGs are involved in the crimes of their members. The results show that OMCG membership particularly plays an indirect role in the criminal behaviour of OMCG members. Board members, for example, give permission for criminal acts, regulate mutual relationships between members, non-members and rival OMCGs during conflict situations, and forbid (criminal) behaviour of members that is harmful to the OMCG. OMCGs function as a pool of co-offenders and as a market for criminal enterprises. Members also use the violent reputation of OMCGs in specific criminal activities. OMCGs are less frequently directly involved in crimes. Direct involvement of OMCGs is most apparent in organized inter-gang violence and violence against their own members.

European Journal of Criminology 19(6) , 2020.

By Euroopol

  Counterfeit goods sold during the corona crisis do not meet the required quality standards and pose a real threat to public health and safety. People who buy these fake products have a false sense of security, while they are in fact left unprotected against the virus. Therefore, we should not only go after the criminals behind these scams, but also, through prevention work, inform potential victims who are putting themselves and others at risk by using such fake goods.

Europol has been monitoring the activities of counterfeiters during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic since the beginning of the current crisis and can present an updated threat picture. The threat from counterfeit products related to COVID-19, especially those aimed at the healthcare sector, emerged quickly and created a notable impact. However, this threat is likely to subside once the current unique situation and its circumstances have passed. 

The Hague: Europol, 2020. 17p.

By Jessica Larsen & Stephanie Schandorf

According to the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, only state vessels are mandated to combat maritime piracy. However, private security companies supplement state efforts to protect seafarers and ensure freedom of navigation in piracy-prone regions. This is particularly the case in the western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Guinea: Private vessel protection rocketed in the 2010s, when piracy disturbed the freedom of navigation of vessels transiting the vital chokepoint for international trade in the Indian Ocean. In this theatre, no ships with armed guards onboard were ever successfully hijacked, and private protection was deemed largely effective.

In the Gulf of Guinea, the situation is different both legally and geographically. As Denmark has an estimated 30-40 vessels within the Gulf of Guinea at any given point, this calls for renewed consideration of how to manage private security operations at sea.

Copenhagen: DIIS - Danish Institute for International Studies, 2024. 4p.

By  Sine Plambech, Ahlam Chemlali,  and Maria Chiara Cerio

Themes as labour migration, trafficking, sex work, debt and reproductive health, are often tackled separately, but the reality experienced by women on the move shows that they are much more intertwined than it might seem.

This new DIIS Report aims at exploring these connections bringing to the core of the conversation the first-hand experience of migrant women from West Africa. Fifty-one women are interviewed at different points of their journeys from Nigeria and Ivory Coast through Niger, Tunisia, Libya, across the Mediterranean to Italy and onwards to Northern Europe.

Anchored in critical trafficking studies, the report draws on a trafficking-migration continuum to understand how categories of forced, voluntary or irregular migration will vary according to political and moral values. The women interviewed in this study did not define themselves as trafficked, but as women looking for safety and business opportunities. Taking into consideration their personal and individual stories allow us to overcome the invisibility of migrant women usually depicted as just victims of trafficking or criminals crossing European borders, and understanding them as agent with an active role in their migratory experience.

Irregular migrant women face several vulnerabilities as heightened levels of gender-based violence en route, including rape, maternal mortality and limited access to contraception and pregnancy termination. Migrant women en route implement harm reduction strategies to address these vulnerabilities and ultimately survive. Often this implies relying on dangerous and quick solutions and avoiding professional medical assistance or humanitarian aid, due to their fear of being deported or arrested.

Based on the stories and experiences of migrant women and practitioners, this report seeks to develop doable solutions to make this migratory path safer. It speaks directly to NGOs and practitioners in terms of implementing accessible spaces for women and girls’ specific needs, to health and medical organisations in order to provide reproductive health services in numerous points of the journey and finally to policy makers in the hope of bank and debt, sex work and migration policies reforms.

Copenhagen:  DIIS · Danish Institute for International Studies, 2022. 72p.

By Jacqueline Beard    

  Part 2 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 provides various measures that enable the police in England and Wales to monitor and manage sex offenders living in the local area. Notification requirements: The “sex offenders register” Certain sex offenders are required to notify the police of personal information such as their name, address and bank and credit card details, and to update the police whenever this information changes. The police record of this information is commonly referred to as the “sex offenders register”. There is no general public access to the “sex offenders register”. The child sex offender disclosure scheme allows parents, carers and guardians to formally ask the police to tell them if someone has a record for child sexual offences. The notification requirements are imposed automatically on offenders convicted of certain offences in the UK but can also be imposed on offenders convicted overseas. The notification requirements are imposed for a fixed or indefinite period, depending on the sentence received. The penalties for breaching notification requirements range from a fine to imprisonment for up to five years. Those offenders subject to an indefinite notification period can apply to the police for a determination that they no longer pose a risk and should no longer be on the register. The earliest point at which such an application can be made is 15 years after the date of the offender’s first notification (or eight years, for those aged under 18 when convicted). Sexual Harm Prevention Orders and Sexual Risk Orders There are two civil orders available to manage sex offenders and those who pose a risk of harm: Sexual Harm Prevention Orders (SHPOs) and Sexual Risk Orders (SROs). These orders can place a range of restrictions and/or positive requirements on individuals depending on the nature of the case, such as limiting their internet use or preventing travel abroad. The penalties for breach range from a fine to imprisonment for up to five years. Details can be found in the Home Office, Guidance on Part 2 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, November 2022.  

London: House of Commons Library, 2023. 23p.

By Louise Marie Hurel

  In February 2020, the Decree 10.222 established Brazil’s National Cybersecurity Strategy (E-Ciber) — the first official document to provide an overview regarding Brazil’s role in cybersecurity, as well as objectives and guiding principles for its development between 2020 and 2023. With the Covid-19 pandemic, thousands of people, governmental agencies, and businesses have rapidly adapted their activities to a largely virtual environment. This sudden migration led to new threats and attack surfaces for exploiting vulnerabilities. More than ever, different sectors must be prepared and trained to respond to and resist these threats. However, this was precisely the period in which Brazil suffered the worst cyber attack in its history – highlighting, yet again, that many challenges remain for ensuring that concerns with security turn into action across different sectors. This strategic paper identifies the main gaps and challenges for cybersecurity governance in Brazil. We unpack the main elements of E-Ciber in order to understand and place the country’s strategic vision historically as well as in relation to other international experiences. We adopt a principlesbased approach that seeks to strengthen and inform the implementation of strategic cybersecurity objectives in Brazil, which include: national and international coordination and cooperation; knowledge integration; sustainability of efforts; and cybersecurity-related training. 1 See Annex 1 for greater detail on the various challenges. This document is the result of three months of interviews with specialists from various sectors, thematic document analysis, and ethnographic work in different areas, forums, and debates. Challenges identified in interviews and field work include:1 (i) The absence of a shared vocabulary when referring to cybersecurity/digital issues in society; (ii) The association of cybersecurity with military affairs, responsibilities and institutions; (iii) Lack of understanding regarding specific and shared digital risks across sectors; (iv) The absence of mechanisms for sharing information regarding security risks/threats and knowledge across sectors; (v) Lack of normative, strategic, and operational alignment for incident response; and (vi) (vi)The existence of various cybersecurity maturity levels throughout society

Brazil: Igarape Institute, 2021. 43p.

By Carlos Vilalta and Gustavo Fondevila 

Not much information can be found on the size and trends of the prison population in Latin America. Over the past few years, our knowledge base has started to increase. Now we know, with certainty, that prison populations have been growing much faster than the general population, and that their living conditions are extremely harsh. 3 Thus it should not surprise us when we often hear of deadly prison riots happening in countries like Brazil, Venezuela, and Mexico, as a consequence of overcrowding and poor living conditions. Although living conditions in prisons in the region are still appalling, rapid growth seems to have come to an end. Trend data suggests that the Latin American prison population rate has stabilized. The objective of this study is to offer a data driven review of the growth, trends, and the principle reasons behind the rapid expansion of the prison population in the region during the past two decades. A key factor appears to be  the rise of prison populism. We do not provide an argument for the recent decrease in the growth rate, it is too early to determine whether the recent slow-down in prison population growth is due to a regime shift in the time series, or the effect of random variation. Still, ceteris paribus, we provide a projection of the prison population rate for the region. This Strategic Note fills a gap in the literature. Our particular contribution consists of the compilation of quantitative data of the region´s prison population, with the purpose of providing a broad but novel overview of the rapid growth and challenges to a wide audience of researchers and practitioners worldwide. 

Brazil: Igarape Institute, 2019. 16p.

By Vivian Miller

Peter Christian "Paddy" Barrie was a seasoned fraudster who transferred his horse doping and horse substitution skills from British to North American racetracks in the 1920s. His thoroughbred ringers were entered in elite races to guarantee winnings for syndicates and betting rings in the prohibition-era United States. This case study of a professional travelling criminal and the challenges he posed for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency in the early 1930s war on crime highlights both the importance of illegal betting to urban mobsters and the need for broader and more nuanced critiques of Depression-era organised crime activities and alliances.

Journal of American Studies, 2021. 35p.

By Vivien Miller 

This essay uses the 1950 “case of the clinking brassieres” to explore female theft in Miami at mid-century and the ways in which gender, race, class, respectability, and youth offered protections and shaped treatment within Florida’s criminal justice system. It focuses on the illegal activities of three female telephone employees, their criminal prosecution, and post-conviction relief. These seemingly respectable coin thieves challenged a familiar image of theft as a lower-class crime associated with poverty and economic need, while their blonde hair and white skin (and an idealization of the meanings of white beauty standards), complicated public attitudes in a period when “true” or serious criminals were racketeers and organised crime operatives.

European Social Science History Conference, 2013. 39p.

By The National Association of Manufacturers

Amid an unprecedented global health crisis, manufacturers have stepped up and taken the lead, working together and with national, state and local governments to fight the spread of COVID-19. Manufacturers deliver day-to-day necessities, lifesaving medical innovations and products that improve people’s lives in countless ways. While the pandemic has demonstrated anew the importance of American innovation and ingenuity, it has also revealed a serious threat: counterfeit products that put lives and livelihoods at risk. Counterfeiting is not a new problem; it has harmed manufacturers, American workers and consumers for years. But the problem is getting worse, and the COVID-19 pandemic has shown just how dangerous inaction can be. As part of the nation’s critical response effort, manufacturers have been supplying health care workers and other Americans on the front lines of this crisis with vital goods, including personal protective equipment, hospital beds, ventilators, hand sanitizers, cleaning supplies and other critical health care and safety products. But while manufacturing men and women work long hours to ramp up production of desperately needed products to fight the spread of this deadly illness, counterfeiters have exploited the crisis to peddle fake tests, dangerous vaccines and ineffective protective gear. These counterfeits are harming American citizens and hindering manufacturers’ efforts to protect their workers and communities. The prevalence of counterfeits in the COVID-19 response has brought new urgency to this long-simmering issue. So the National Association of Manufacturers is leading the charge against fake and counterfeit goods, bringing together diverse stakeholders and driving innovative policy solutions to address these issues once and for all and to ensure the long-term success of our sector and the safety and security of the people who rely on our products. 

Washington, DC: National Association of Manufacturers, 2020.  21p.