By  DeFacto Consultancy

 This analysis reveals that the media predominantly reported on cases of physical (76.9%) and sexual (68.3%) violence. On the other hand, cases of structural/systemic violence were reported in 10.9% of the analysed media reports, while cases of economic violence in 10.3% of cases. The media have the least frequently covered online or digital violence (9.8%) and selective abortion cases (7%). z In more than half of the analysed cases (58.1%) the media reported cases of gender-based violence (GBV) as a private matter. Furthermore, media have the most commonly reported physical (63.8%) and sexual (61.8%) violence as private matters, and reports on these two types of violence were least often categorized as educational in nature. In slightly more than half of the cases (50.7%), the media reported domestic violence as a private matter.

z The principle of presumption of innocence of the perpetrator was observed in 99.4% of the analysed cases. z The media have rarely use stereotypes to describe victims of GBV and infrequently provide justification for the perpetrators. z Sensationalistic elements are present in reporting on GBV, with 10.8% of the cases in headlines and 3.9% of the cases within the actual media reports. In slightly over one-fifth of the cases (21%), analysed media reports featured some form of sensationalistic audio-visual material. z The analysis shows that when reporting on GBV, the media used the statement of the victim in 14.4% and the statement of the (potential) perpetrator in 7.4% of the cases. These media reports did not record whether the statements were used with or without the consent of those quoted. z Media reporting on GBV was educational in nature in only 15.2% of cases. Additionally, statistical data were used in only 14.7% of the analysed media reports, and expert opinions were featured in only 20.9% of them. z Media reporting on GBV lacked more comprehensive contextualization of the issue; journalists rarely use comparative examples, statistical data, or legislative analysis. Effects of media reporting z Unprofessional media reporting on gender-based violence contributes to the reinforcement of societal stereotypes. z Traditional respondents (30%) tend to form negative views regarding the attribution of blame to women, the victims of violence when exposed to unprofessional media reporting. 

z 22% of citizens believe that a man is always to blame for violence committed by a man against a woman/partner. Additionally, 30.1% believe that a man is mostly to blame but that some blame falls on the woman. Furthermore, 3.4% believe that a woman is mostly to blame and that she provoked the incident. The largest group, comprising 44.5% of respondents, states that it is difficult to ascertain blame until both sides are heard. z Among respondents with authoritarian tendencies, one-third (34%) endorse sanctions if a partner does not fulfil household or marital obligations. When these respondents are exposed to unprofessional media reporting on GBV, every second person (51%) believes that sanctions should exist. z One in four respondents, i.e. 27.4 % of citizens, believe that women and girls falsely claim to be victims of violence just to attract attention to themselves. z Among respondents who say there is more violence against women today than before, there are significantly more of those who have read a professionally written article (56.3%) on GBV as part of an experimental treatment, while 25.4% have been exposed to an unprofessionally written article. 

Vienna: OSCE, 2023. 68p.

By Clara Martiny, Cécile Simmons, Francesca Visser, Rhea Bhatnagar, Isabel Jones, Allison Castillo Small

In 2022, the United States witnessed both dramatic breakthroughs and calamitous setbacks on women’s rights, from Ketanji Brown becoming the first Black woman to sit on Supreme Court of the United States to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, a legal precedent that protected a woman’s right to bodily autonomy for over 50 years. These events, among many others, had an undeniable impact on the US information environment, with 2022 seeing the rapid growth in popularity of misogynistic and male supremacist influencers who openly advocate for violence against women and campaigns of hate and disinformation targeted against women celebrities speaking out against the abuse they have faced.

This report looks back at 2022 to examine online conversations around nine different real-world events impacting women in the US and explores the potential correlation between these offline events and the targeting of women with misogynistic and abusive content on social media. This study also attempts to identify how misogyny, abusive content, and gendered disinformation may be amplified and deployed in the lead-up to the 2024 US presidential election.

Berlin: IDS - Institute for Security Dialogue, 2023. 31p.

By Michael T. Light, Jingying Hea, and Jason P. Robey

We make use of uniquely comprehensive arrest data from the Texas Department of Public Safety to compare the criminality of undocumented immigrants to legal immigrants and native-born US citizens between 2012 and 2018. We find that undocumented immigrants have substantially lower crime rates than native-born citizens and legal immigrants across a range of felony offenses. Relative to undocumented immigrants, US-born citizens are over 2 times more likely to be arrested for violent crimes, 2.5 times more likely to be arrested for drug crimes, and over 4 times more likely to be arrested for property crimes. In addition, the proportion of arrests involving undocumented immigrants in Texas was relatively stable or decreasing over this period. The differences between US-born citizens and undocumented immigrants are robust to using alternative estimates of the broader undocumented population, alternate classifications of those counted as “undocumented” at arrest and substituting misdemeanors or convictions as measures of crime.

 Madison, Wisconsin: 2020. 8p.

By Rebecca Shea and Jared B. Smith
  All federal programs and operations are at risk of fraud. Therefore, agencies need robust processes in place to prevent, detect, and respond to fraud. While the government obligated almost $40 trillion from fiscal years 2018 through 2022, no reliable estimates of fraud losses affecting the federal government previously existed. As part of GAO’s work on managing fraud risks, this report (1) estimates the range of total direct annual financial losses from fraud based on 2018-2022 data and (2) identifies opportunities and challenges in fraud estimation to support fraud risk management. GAO estimated the range of total direct annual financial losses from fraud based on 2018-2022 data using a Monte Carlo simulation model. GAO identified opportunities and challenges through interviews and data collection focused on 12 agencies representing about 90 percent of federal obligations. What GAO Recommends GAO is making two recommendations to OMB—one in collaboration with the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) and the other with agency input to improve the availability of fraud-related data. GAO is also making a recommendation to the Department of the Treasury to expand government-wide fraud estimation, in consultation with OMB. OMB generally agreed with the recommendations but disagreed with the estimate. GAO believes the estimate is sound, as discussed in the report. CIGIE stated it would work with OMB to consider how OIGs might improve fraud-related data. Treasury agreed with the recommendation.   

Washington, DC: U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2024. 80p.

By Wang-Sheng Lee, Umair Khalil, David W. Johnston: 

  This paper estimates the impacts of religiosity on criminal activity using a city-wide shock to religious sentiment from a 2015 Papal visit. Using daily data on all reported offences between 2010 and 2015 in Philadelphia at the census tract level and a difference-in differences approach, we demonstrate significant reductions in less serious crimes in the week of the visit and for several weeks following. Reductions are particularly pronounced for drug offences and in historically Christian areas. Notably, similar crime effects are not found for President Obama’s 2015 visit, suggesting changes in police deployment do not drive results.  

   IZA DP No. 16933

Bonn, Germany:  IZA – Institute of Labor Economics, 2024. 33p.

By Michael French, Gulcin Gumus:

   Although they comprise a relatively small subset of all traffic deaths, hit-and-run fatalities are both contemptible and preventable. We analyze longitudinal data from 1982-2008 to examine the effects of blood alcohol concentration (BAC) laws on hit-and-run traffic fatalities. Our results suggest that lower BAC limits may have an unintended consequence of increasing hit-and-run fatalities, while a similar effect is absent for non-hit-and-run fatalities. Specifically, we find that adoption of a .08 BAC limit is associated with an 8.3% increase in hit-and-run fatalities. This unintended effect is more pronounced in urban areas and during weekends, which are typical settings for hit-and-run incidents

IZA DP No. 16774 

Bonn, Germany:  IZA – Institute of Labor Economics, 2024. 41p.

By Alexandra Gannoni,  Alexandra Voce,  Sarah Napier,  Hayley Boxall,  Dana Thomsen

This study reviews initiatives that aim to prevent child sexual abuse material (CSAM) offending, including evidence of effectiveness. Information was sourced via a literature search and input from an international expert advisory group. The study identified 74 initiatives in 16 countries, and 34 eligible studies measuring implementation and effectiveness.

The CSAM offending prevention initiatives identified in the study include helplines, therapeutic treatment and psychoeducation, online self-management courses, education and awareness campaigns, and other forms of support. Importantly, findings indicate that media and social media campaigns have successfully reached large numbers of offenders, both detected and undetected. While outcomes of programs are mixed, findings indicate that prevention initiatives can encourage help-seeking, reduce risk factors for offending, enhance protective factors, and reduce contact sexual offending against children. Findings also suggest that initiatives aimed at contact child sexual abuse offenders are not necessarily effective in reducing CSAM offending. Evaluations of initiatives aimed specifically at CSAM offending show promise but are limited methodologically. Further and more robust evaluations are required to determine their effect on CSAM use.

Research Report no. 28. 

Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2023. 120p.

By Hayley Boxall,  Samantha Lyneham,  Christie Black,  Alexandra Gannoni

Sexual exploitation can have significant short- and longer-term impacts on victim-survivors. However, there is currently a lack of research exploring the support needs of sexual exploitation victim-survivors accessing support in Australia, and barriers to support provision. To address this knowledge gap, we analysed case management records for 50 victim-survivors of sexual exploitation in Australia and conducted interviews with 12 victim-survivor caseworkers.

On average, victim-survivors required support across six domains, the most common being financial hardship, mental health, social isolation and housing and accommodation. The most crucial barriers to service provision were systemic in nature. For example, some victim‑survivors on temporary visas were ineligible for government funded medical services, affordable housing or welfare schemes, which placed significant financial burdens on victim‑survivors and support services.

These findings demonstrate that to support the recovery of victim-survivors, services need to be funded appropriately to ensure they can provide holistic wraparound interventions.

Research Report no. 29. 

Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology. 2023. 51[p.

By Heather Wolbers, Hayley Boxall, Anthony Morgan

Drawing on a large sample of female carers living in Australia (n=3,775), this study aims to document and explore children and young people’s experiences of abuse in the past 12 months. We focus on children’s exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetrated against their female carers, as well as children being the target of direct physical and emotional abuse themselves.

Overall, a significant proportion of respondents who had a child in their care during the past 12 months said that a child was exposed to IPV perpetrated against them (14.1%). One in nine said a child in their care had been the target of direct abuse perpetrated by their current or most recent former partner (11.5%). Critically, one-third of respondents who experienced IPV said a child was exposed to the violence at least once in the past 12 months (34.8%).

A number of factors were associated with an increased likelihood of children being subjected to direct abuse. These included the characteristics of respondents and their relationships, children and households. We also present evidence linking economic factors, including changes in employment, with the direct abuse of children.

Research Report no. 26. 

Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2023. 72p.

MAY CONTAIN MARKUP

FRANK PARTNOY

In "Infectious Greed: How Deceit and Risk Corrupted the Financial Markets, delves into the intricate web of deceit and risk that has plagued the financial markets. This gripping exposé uncovers the various factors that led to the corruption and downfall of the financial sector, offering a stark look at the dark underbelly of greed and deception. Through meticulous research and compelling narratives, [author name] sheds light on the devastating consequences of unchecked avarice and manipulation within the realm of high finance. A must-read for anyone seeking to understand the forces at play behind some of the most notorious financial scandals in history.

Henry Holt and Company. New York. 2003. 470p.

MAY CONTAIN MARKUP

Marc Goodman

In "Future Crimes: Inside The Digital Underground And The Battle For Our Connected World," author Marc Goodman delves into the dark and complex world of cybercrime. He explores the ways in which technology has transformed criminal activities, from hacking and identity theft to cyberterrorism and digital espionage. Goodman sheds light on the threats that the digital age poses to individuals, organizations, and governments, urging readers to become more vigilant and informed about cybersecurity. Through detailed research and gripping real-life stories, "Future Crimes" offers a compelling and sobering look at the vulnerabilities of our interconnected world.

ANCHOR BOOKS. A Division of Penguin Random House LLC New York. 2016. 601p.

MAY CONTAIN MARKUP

ROBERT W. TAYLOR, TORY J.CAETI, D. KALL LOPER, ERIC J. FRITSCH, and JOHN LIEDERBACH

FROM THE PREFACE: “The first section of the book covers the etiology of the digital crime and digital terrorism problem. The focus in this section is on the types of crimes and acts of terrorism that are committed using computers, networks, and the Internet. Additionally, the reasons why offenders commit these types of crimes are examined in relation to current criminological theories and explanations. As the reader will find, applying criminological theory to digital crime and terrorism is a relatively recent conception. Finally, the section concludes with a chapter on digital criminals and hackers. Chapter I provides an introduction and overview of computer crime. In particular, a categorization of types of computer crimes is presented including I) the computer as the target, 2) the computer as an instrument of a crime, 3) the computer as incidental to crime, and 4) crimes associated with the prevalence of computers. Chapter 2 provides a definition and overview of two key areas of concern in regards to computer crimes, specifically "information warfare" and "cyber-terrorism." Chapter 3 reviews criminological theories that can explain digital crime. Since few theories have been applied directly to digital crime, this chapter focuses on the classic criminological theories that can be applied to digital crime. In other words, the theories discussed in this chapter were developed to explain crime in general, not digital crime specifically. In particular, this chapter focuses on choice, deterrence, psychological. social structure, and social process theories. Finally, Chapter 4 presents an overview of the hacker subculture and presents a typology of hacker types based on relative levels of skill, resources, and enculturation in the values of the hacker subculture. The chapter closes with a discussion of contemporary hacker roles and terminology.”

Prentice Hall. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. 2006. 413p.

MAY CONTAIN MARKUP

By Kevin Cardwell, Timothy Clinton, Tyler Cohen, Edward Collins, James "Jim" Cornell, Michael Cross, Larry Depew, Art Ehuan, Michael Gregg, Captain Benjamin R. Jean, Kevin O'Shea, Kevin Reis ,Anthony Reyes, Sondra Schneider ,Amber Schroader, Karen Schuler, Jesse Varsalone ,Jack Wiles and Craig Wright

INTRODUCTION: “As is often the case with security compromises, it's not a matter of if your company will be compromised, but when. If I had known the employee I hired was going to resign, break into my office, and damage my computers in the span of three days, hindsight being 20/20,I would have sent notification to the security guards at the front door placing them on high alert and made sure he was not granted access to the building after he resigned. Of course, I in hindsight, I should have done a better job of hiring critical personnel .He was hired as a computer security analyst and security hacker instructor; and was (or should have been) the best example of ethical conduct.

Clearly, we see only what we want to see when hiring staff and you won't know whether an employee is ethical until a compromise occurs. Even if my blinders had been off, I would have never seen this compromise coming. It boggles the mind to think that anyone would ruin or jeopardize his career in computer security for so little. But he did break into the building and he did damage our computers, and therefore he will be held accountable for his actions, as detailed in the following forensic information. Pay attention when the legal issues are reviewed.You will learn bits and pieces regarding how to make your life easier by knowing what you really need to know "when" your computer security compromise occurs.

Computer forensics is the preservation, identification, extraction, interpretation, and documentation of computer evidence. In Chapter 9 of Cyber Crime Investigations, digital forensics is referred to as "the scientific acquisition, analysis, and preservation of data contained in electronic media whose information can be used as evidence in a court of law"

Syngress Publishing. Inc. Elsevier, Inc.. Burlington, MA. 2007. 727p.

By DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE NEW ZEALAND

“…The study includes statistical information to the extent that it is available. The law and administrative procedures are described and where appropriate psychological and sociological factors are discussed. This factual background is essential for informed consideration of the criminal scene. Inevitably interpretations are made and a variety of opinion is offered. It was not the purpose of the Department to produce a colourless official document devoid of all contentious matter. Although there has been a measure of co-ordination, diversity of opinion and spontaneity remain. It would therefore be difficult to agree with everything that is said or suggested.”

Ministry of Justice. New Zealand. 1968. 410p.

By Rumbi Matamba and Chwayita Thobela

Over the past decade, the GI-TOC has documented a staggering 108% increase in targeted killings in South Africa. While South Africa has long grappled with high levels of violence, as evidenced by a per capita murder rate of 45 per 100,000 in 2022/23, or approximately 70 murders a day, targeted killings have notably escalated, particularly political killings at local municipal level. Hitmen have become more daring, incidents more public and victims more high-profile. Coupled with the deficiencies in South Africa’s overburdened criminal justice system, where only about 15% of all murders are solved, the picture that emerges is one of a situation that is barely contained.

GI-TOC recorded 131 targeted killings in South Africa in 2023, just ten fewer than in 2022. The 131 cases were grouped into four categories: organized-crime related (46 cases or 35% of incidents), minibus taxi-industry related (45 incidents, or 34%), political assassinations (31 incidents, or nearly 24%) and personal assassinations (9 incidents, or nearly 7%). While every effort is made to ensure that the data is robust and accurate, this is almost certainly an undercount as the database draws on publicly available information such as press reports, media statements from affected families, court records, and media statements by the criminal justice sector.

This report is framed in the context of South Africa’s 2024 general elections. Previous analysis has shown that there are always spikes in political assassinations during election years, particularly in long-contested provinces such as KwaZulu-Natal. The 2024 elections, the sixth national election in the country’s 30 years of democracy, have been earmarked as a potential watershed moment.

Political violence and assassinations pose a very real threat to the country’s democracy. They are not an isolated phenomenon and they intersect with organized crime and criminal networks. The intertwining of criminal networks and political assassinations in South Africa underscores the urgent need for comprehensive strategies to tackle organized crime and stop targeted killings.

Geneva, SWIT: Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, 2024. 32p.

By David Pyrooz

Between 1990 and 2021, for adult offenders, Colorado punished felony murder with a mandatory minimum sentence of life without parole. Felony murder was classified as a class 1 felony, along with other theories of first-degree murder, such as after-deliberation and extreme indifference murder, as well as first-degree kidnapping, until Governor Jared Polis signed Senate Bill 124, effective September 15, 2021, reclassifying the offense to a class 2 felony. As a result, felony murder is now punishable by a sentence of 16-48 years.

The purpose of this study is to provide a statistical portrait of people who have been convicted of felony murder between 1990 and 2021. Data were acquired through open records requests from the Colorado Department of Corrections (“CDOC”) and the State Court Administrator’s Office (“SCAO”), along with public data from the Colorado State Demography Office. This study’s primary unit of analysis is a criminal case, meaning a criminal case identifiable by a single case number in which a person was found guilty. With respect to felony murder, a felony murder case means one with one or more felony murder convictions where no other theory of first-degree murder was proven with respect to that or those homicide(s).

Unpublished paper, 2023.

By Hannah Miles and Samantha Bricknell

The National Homicide Monitoring Program is Australia’s only national data collection on homicide incidents, victims and offenders. This report describes 232 homicide incidents recorded by Australian state and territory police between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2023. During this 12-month period there were 247 victims of homicide and 260 identified offenders

Statistical Report no. 46. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2024. 49p.

By Ernesto Lopez, Robert Boxerman and Keley CundiffEErnes

Since shortly after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Council on Criminal Justice has tracked changing rates of violent and property crime in large cities across the United States. The pandemic, as well as the social justice protests during the summer of 2020 and other factors, have altered the motives, means, and opportunities to commit crimes.

Prepared for the Council on Criminal Justice’s Crime Trends Working Group, this report focuses on trends in shoplifting, a subset of retail theft which, in turn, is a subset of overall larceny-theft. The FBI defines larceny-theft as the unlawful taking of property without force, violence, or fraud.

The report looks at shoplifting patterns from before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic through mid-year 2023. To date, attempts to measure changes in retail theft, including organized retail theft, have relied on retail industry data5 or have been limited to one state.

The city-specific data included in this report are drawn from open-data sources from 24 cities that, over the past five years, have consistently reported specific shoplifting data. Additional data come from the U.S. Justice Department’s National Incident-Based Reporting Program (NIBRS).7 The NIBRS data include a sample of 3,812 local law enforcement agencies. The analyses examine the changing frequency of reported shoplifting, trends in other property offenses, changes in the value of stolen goods, offenses that co-occur with shoplifting, and the number of people involved in each incident.

This report does not discuss in detail shoplifting data from the National Retail Federation’s Retail Security Survey.8 The 2021 survey (data ending in 2020) was the last year the survey reported figures on the number of incidents and the value of stolen goods. Because of this change, data from the survey could not be included.

Due to a lack of available data, this report does not examine factors that could be influencing the trends. Potential factors include changes in retailers’ anti-theft measures and changes in how retailers report shoplifting to law enforcement, which could be based on their perceptions of the extent to which local police or prosecutors will apprehend suspects and pursue criminal charges. Because these data rely on reported incidents, they almost certainly undercount total shoplifting. The findings presented here should be viewed with these considerations in mind.

Washington, DC: Council on Criminal Justice, 2023. 8p.

By Lucy Bryant

Figures from the UK Office for National Statistics (2021a) suggest that alcohol-related violence in England and Wales has been declining – both as a total figure (1,001,000 in 2009/10 to 525,000 in 2019/20) and as a proportion of all violent incidents (54% in 2009/10 to 42% in 2019/20). ■ This decline remains unexplained and generally unexamined – however, there are existing bodies of research that might offer insight into this trend. ■ This report examines possible explanations for the decline seen in alcohol-related violence – drawing on existing literature exploring: changing patterns in violence (e.g., Farrell et al. 2014), alcohol’s relationship with violence (e.g., Graham & Livingston 2011), and the measurement of violence (e.g., Reiner 2016). ■ Changing patterns in youth drinking might contribute to this violence decline. It is younger, rather than older age groups, who predominantly engage in violence in night-time economy settings (Finney 2004). Youth drinking in England has seen a recent downturn (e.g., Oldham et al. 2018), corresponding to some degree with declines in alcohol-related violence.

■ A steeper decline in alcohol-related violence relative to violence overall appears to be accounted for by shi s in alcohol-related stranger and acquaintance violence. Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) data show that the proportion of stranger and acquaintance violence incidents that were alcohol related fell between 2009/10 and 2019/20, whilst the proportion of domestic violence incidents which were alcohol-related generally remained stable. ■ It is possible data artefacts such as counting errors contained in national statistics form some part of the trend investigated here. While the CSEW is a widely respected data source (Tilley & Tseloni 2016), limitations in its capturing of violent incidents have been previously identified (e.g., Walby et al. 2016). It is important to consider the impact any such data artefact might have on alcohol related violence trends – investigation of the production of these National Statistics should be undertaken to assess this.   

London: Institute of Alcohol Studies, 2023. 21p.

BY Lyn Mikel Brown

For some time, reality TV, talk shows, soap-operas, and sitcoms have turned their spotlights on women and girls who thrive on competition and nastiness. Few fairytales lack the evil stepmother, wicked witch, or jealous sister. Even cartoons feature mean and sassy girls who only become sweet and innocent when adults appear. And recently, popular books and magazines have turned their gaze away from ways of positively influencing girls' independence and self-esteem and towards the topic of girls' meanness to other girls. What does this say about the way our culture views girlhood? How much do these portrayals affect the way girls view themselves?

In Girlfighting, psychologist and educator Lyn Mikel Brown scrutinizes the way our culture nurtures and reinforces this sort of meanness in girls. She argues that the old adage “girls will be girls”—gossipy, competitive, cliquish, backstabbing— and the idea that fighting is part of a developmental stage or a rite-of-passage, are not acceptable explanations. Instead, she asserts, girls are discouraged from expressing strong feelings and are pressured to fulfill unrealistic expectations, to be popular, and struggle to find their way in a society that still reinforces gender stereotypes and places greater value on boys. Under such pressure, in their frustration and anger, girls (often unconsciously) find it less risky to take out their fears and anxieties on other girls instead of challenging the ways boys treat them, the way the media represents them, or the way the culture at large supports sexist practices.

Girlfighting traces the changes in girls' thoughts, actions and feelings from childhood into young adulthood, providing the developmental understanding and theoretical explanation often lacking in other conversations. Through interviews with over 400 girls of diverse racial, economic, and geographic backgrounds, Brown chronicles the labyrinthine journey girls take from direct and outspoken children who like and trust other girls, to distrusting and competitive young women. She argues that this familiar pathway can and should be interrupted and provides ways to move beyond girlfighting to build girl allies and to support coalitions among girls.

By allowing the voices of girls to be heard, Brown demonstrates the complex and often contradictory realities girls face, helping us to better understand and critique the socializing forces in their lives and challenging us to rethink the messages we send them.

New York; London: NYU Press, 2003. 259p.