Explaining fear of crime in Queensland

A model to explain fear of crime in Queensland is developed and fitted to data from the 1991 Queensland Crime Victims Survey. Fear of crime is measured from the answers to the question about respondents' feelings of safety when walking alone in their area after dark. The results suggest that factors such as gender, age, poverty, educational level, labor force status, level of incivility in the area, perceived amount of crime in the area, and neighborhood cohesion all make an impact on fear of crime in a way that is consistent with the theory. The results also show that fear of crimein Queensland is explained by very concrete factors that can be subject to intervention and policy formulation by relevant bodies.The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Government Statistician's Office or the Queensland Government.     

Territorial features,disorder and fear of crime in residential neighbourhoods in Malaysia: testing for multigroup invariance

This research examined the relationships between territoriality, disorder, crime, perceived risk and fear of crime and determined whether these relationships are constant between neighbourhoods. Questionnaire surveys and on-site observations were conducted on a sample of 320 residents from two neighbourhoods in Malaysia. Tests for invariance were conducted to determine whether coefficients differed across neighbourhoods. Confirmatory factor analytic models of the constructs exhibited adequate fit following multiple criteria within each and across samples. Results from these analyses suggested that the relationships between disorder and perceived risk, victimisation, and fear of crime were significant in both samples. Although high territoriality was associated with low-crime experiences in the low-crime area, no significant relationship was observed in the high-crime area. The findings illustrated the importance of examining territoriality and perceptions of disorder within the neighbourhood contexts.     

Perceptually contemporaneous offenses: Gender and fear of crime among African-American university students

There is consensus in the fear of crime literature that women are more afraid of crime than men. Research has explored perceptually contemporaneous offenses to explain the differences in male and female fear, and to explore the possibility that different crimes shape their respective fears. Victimization studies consistently find that African-American citizens are at a higher risk of crime and fear of crime. Using a 2013 sample of a Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) in the south, the present study will 1) report gender differences in fear of crime, 2) test whether gender differences in fear of crime are explained by perceptually contemporaneous offenses, and 3) assess whether or not men and women share the same master offenses.     

Optimal Targeting of Incivility-Reduction Strategies

Neighborhood incivilities—minor breaches of order such as vandalism, vacant houses, and trash on the streets—are, as a group, important causes of fear of crime and neighborhood dissatisfaction. Nevertheless, it is uncertain how much individual incivilities differ in importance, and which incivilities are most important. A survey of residents of 30 Baltimore neighborhoods suggests that different incivilities influence perceptions of the amount of crime, fear of crime, and neighborhood satisfaction, and that the patterns of influence differ among neighborhoods. As a result, top-down and city-wide responses to crime, fear, and neighborhood satisfaction problems may be less effective than responses tailored to individual neighborhood conditions.     

The fear of reprisal and the failure of victims to report a personal crime

Most people who fail to report their victimizations to the police state either that the incident was not serious enough to warrant official attention or that nothing could be done. However, a small proportion of victims states that they did not report because of their fear of reprisal. Based on National Crime Panel victimization data, the offense and personal characteristics of these victims are contrasted with the total victim and nonreporting victim populations. Contrary to the general reasons for not reporting a crime, several personal and offense characteristics are related to reprisal. For instance, reprisal is more often a factor in personal victimizations where victims are female and acquainted with their offenders. The more dangerous the incident, the more often reprisal is the stated reason for not calling the police. The results of the analysis strongly suggest that in certain social environments the fear of reprisal is a major factor in the reporting of crime.     

Women's fear of violent crime: An exploratory test of a feminist hypothesis

Government-sponsored national victimization surveys in several countries have found consistently that women's fear of violent crime is much greater than their actual chances of being violently victimized. Not suprisingly, most attempts to account for this discrepancy begin with the assumption that women's fear is subjectively based. A few feminist theorists, however, have challenged this view. They argue that women's fear of violent crime is much more objective than the crime surveys indicate. Women's fear results in part, they suggest, from being physically abused by a husband, boyfriend, or other male intimate; an experience largely untouched in the crime surveys. Such abuse creates a generalized fear of male violence, which has shown up in the victimization surveys as fear of violent crime in public places. This study tested, and found some support for, the feminist hypothesis, using data from a telephone survey of a representative sample of 315 Toronto women.     

The interaction of age with the correlates and causes of crime

We use data from a survey covering ages 15–94 to test the Hirschi/Gottfredson hypothesis that the correlates and causes of crime do not interact with age. These data reveal some nonchance interaction between age and demographic and theoretical predictors of criminal behavior that is localized in specific age categories and around particular variables and/or offenses. Overall, however, such interaction does not appear to be substantial, nor does it seem to have important consequences for generalizing from age restricted samples, particularly where generalization is of the most common type-from youth samples to adults. Therefore, despite some results contrary to a strict assertion that the causes and correlates of crime are the same for all ages, our findings support the thrust of the Hirschi/Gottfredson interaction hypothesis.     

Fear of victimization and sensitivity to risk

The degree to which a crime is feared is dependent not only on the perceived risk of that crime, but also on individuals' sensitivity to risk. We show that sensitivity to risk varies systematically across offenses in proportion to their perceived seriousness. Based on these findings, some general principles about fear are stated, and the relation between this work and some of our earlier work on fear is discussed.     

论非法经营罪的几个问题

非法经营罪的“其他严重扰乱市场秩序的非法经营行为”概括抽象,故有人认为该罪已成新的“口袋罪”,应分解或废除。理解此款只要遵循有附属刑法、行政法规、司法解释的明文规定且可追究刑责才纳入的原则,此罪就无侵犯罪刑法定原则之虑;中国现继续深化改革国情决定此罪应有灵活性,没必要分解或废除：修正案（七）颁布后的传销行为不能再定本罪。无经营主体资格出版、印刷、销售他人享有着作权的作品的,其行为既符合本罪又符合侵犯他人着作权罪或销售侵权复制品罪,属于法条竞合犯,应以后者定处。     

Some explanations of crime among four ethnic groups in the Netherlands

Since 1950 there has been large-scale immigration to Western Europe, mainly from Muslim countries. This paper focuses on the degree of involvement in crime of ethnic minority boys as compared to indigenous boys and on the possible causes of these crime involvements. A random sample from three ethnic minority boys (Moroccans, Turks, Surinamese) was taken. A control group consisted of indigenous boys with a comparable socioeconomic background as the minority respondents. Data were gathered about self-report and recorded delinquency, family and school life, leisure time, traditionalism, migration problems, and socioeconomic status. It appears that the arrest rates among the minority youths are substantially higher than among the comparable Dutch boys. A number of explanations are considered: strain, lack of social control, cultural dissonance, and migration problems. Results show that only social control factors explain criminality within the groups, indicating that the causes of criminality among ethnic minority boys may essentially be the same as those among the indigenous boys.     

论不作为犯之作为义务程度及其功能

作为不作为犯罪成立前提之作为义务，不仅存在有无之分，还存在程度之别：从道德义务上升为法律义务是一个量变引起质变的过程，这种质和量的辨证关系充分说明法律义务存在程度的差异；法律义务是刑事责任的前提和基础，责任有轻重之分，义务自然有程度之别；司法实践中行为人有无作为义务难以判断，也说明作为义务存在程度的差别。作为义务程度概念的确立，为刑法学界对不作为犯的研究开辟了新的领域，将促进对不作为犯的深入研究：可以为确定不作为犯罪的范围提供理论指导；可以为确定不作为犯的刑事责任轻重提供依据；还可以为科学判断作为义务的有无提供新的思路。     

Fear of Crime among Gang and Non-Gang Offenders: Comparing the Effects of Perpetration,Victimization, and Neighborhood Factors

This is the first study to examine adult offenders’ fear of property, personal, and gang crime. We examine five research questions among 2,414 jail inmates, focusing on how afraid offenders are of crime. We compare current, ex-gang, and non-gang members. We ask if more experience with crime perpetration and victimization and more perceptions of social disorganization increase offenders’ fear of crime. Finally, we ask if the importance of these factors in predicting fear varies by gang status. Results show that offenders, generally, were not very afraid of crime. Although ex-gang and current gang members believed they were more likely to experience property, personal, and gang crime, they reported less fear than non-gang members. Crime perpetration did not influence offenders’ fear, but less experience with personal crime victimization predicted fear of personal and gang crime among non-gang members. The results also indicate that perceptions of social disorganization better explain fear among non-gang members than ex-gang and current gang members.     

妨害传染病防治罪的几个构成要件问题

妨害传染病防治罪的客体应当表述为"国家对传染病防治的管理制度";其客观要件"引起甲类传染病传播或者有传播严重危险"包括实害犯与危险犯两种形态;其主观要件应为过失,故意则不能构成。     

试析构建“和谐社会”进程中农民工犯罪问题

城市农民工是城市中的特殊群体。一直以来,由于受制度歧视,社会保障机制不完善等原因的影响,加之自身素质低下,造成了城市农民工的犯罪活动频繁发生,危害了安定的社会秩序,侵害了公民的人身和财产权益,激化了社会矛盾,增添了社会不稳定、不和谐的因素。因此,本文从构建和谐社会的视角着笔,重点分析了当前农民工犯罪的现状及产生原因,并就如何在新的形势下解决农民工犯罪问题提出了自己的看法和观点。     

经济犯罪原因剖析与预防对策研究

经济犯罪已经成为我国市场经济环境下频发的一种犯罪类型。任何犯罪都不是一个犯罪原因简单造成的,而经济犯罪更应从社会、人的本性以及经济运行机制等方面去分析;同时,对经济犯罪的预防也应该从整体、根本上着手,在预防手段的现代化、转变立法思想、建立诚信社会等方面打防并举。     

罪数形态研究述评

在过去的三十年间,我国关于罪数形态的理论研究从无到有、从粗到细。目前,罪数形态已经成为学术界关注程度相当高的一个研究领域。总体来看,在罪数判断标准和一罪类型体系这两个问题上,理论界已经基本形成通说观点,当然也还存在不同声音;与之相比,关于具体罪数形态的概念内涵、处罚原则、存废取舍等诸多问题,则存在更多争议,个别问题的研究显得较为混乱。     

秦汉律中的职务犯罪——以“公罪”为考察对象

严格维护国家权力的有效性与畅通性,惩治国家权力行使者的各种违法、违制行为,无疑是中国古代法律的重要功能之一。公罪的产生,渊源于春秋战国以来集权观念的强化与官僚政治体系的严密。公罪的主要功用,即在于对官吏的职务犯罪加以性质区分,以适用不同的处罚。在秦汉律中,虽未见公罪之名,但公罪之实已具形态,其构成要件、罪过形态的区分、责任连带等都与后世律有一定的关联。犯罪公私的区分,使公罪作为类概念而适用于官吏非出于私利的失职、违制等犯罪行为,因此包容性甚广。其入于《名例》,正在于为官吏职务犯罪的繁杂性提供一个定性标准。     

“VTS”职务过失罪与非罪的法理分析

船舶交通服务VTS(Vessel Traffic Services)中心是交通主管机关为增进水上交通安全、提高交通运输效率以及保护海洋环境而组织设立的监管与服务系统。近30年来,各地VTS系统硬件建设与技术破解能力日新月异,相比之下软件管理和职务风险防范能力明显滞后。VTS值班人员的渎职犯罪风险伴随水上交管失控或失误事故而逐渐升级,检察机关对案件的介入使该问题的解决方案不得不注入刑法思考。VTS值班人员具备渎职犯罪的身份条件,其职务过失理论上属于监管过失,但是,职务的懈怠与危害结果之间具有间接的因果关系,认定玩忽职守罪不符合犯罪客观方面的要求。依据大陆法系刑法的"依赖原则"和"被允许的风险"之理论,VTS值班人员的职务过失在客观归责环节可阻却刑事责任。     

Perceptions of victimization risk and fear of crime among lesbians and gay men

Research on fear of crime has evolved to suggest the existence of a complex relationship between individual, lifestyle, and contextual factors. Past work generally focuses on predominantly heterosexual populations; this study examines correlates of fear of crime and perceptions of risk among a sample of 272 self-identified lesbians and gay men. Higher levels of perceived risk and fear of victimization were found among females, persons in neighborhoods characterized by incivility, and persons who had experienced previous victimization. Perceived risks of personal and property victimization were similar for males and females. Contrary to past research, women did not seem to view all types of potential victimization as opportunities for sexual assault. Instead, fear of victimization was offense specific--past personal victimization predicted fear of future personal victimization, and past property victimization predicted fear of future property victimization. Similarities and differences between current findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

The cartography of responses to state crime: understanding the linkages among state abuses/crimes/deviance/harms/illegalities/wrongs,resistance/control,and state organizational reactions

Although a considerable amount of thoughtful scholarly research on state crime has been conducted and published, researchers have failed to assemble a comprehensive model of the process and reactions that begin after state crime has occurred and been detected. This article outlines a heuristic model that presents the major political actors that participate in this process and the relationships that can develop among them. In order to create the model, research that has been conducted on state crime is reviewed and integrated, difficulties with this work are analyzed, and recommendations about future research that can be conducted using the model are made.