The Crime and Threat Image Set (CaTIS): a validated stimulus set to experimentally explore fear of crime

Objectives

Fear of crime may develop in response to crime specifically (the narrow pathway) or may be a projection of broader threats (the broad pathway). New approaches are needed to examine how crime and threat, independently and in combination, influence people’s fear. To address this need, we created, evaluated, and validated an image set that varied across the dimensions of threat and crime.

Method

We used a 2 (Threat: high vs. low) × 2 (Crime: high vs. low) within-subjects factorial design. In three studies, participants (N = 24, 29, and 176, respectively) gave threat, crime, and fear ratings towards images. Participants also completed two traditional fear of crime measures and a measure of anxiety. Two evaluation studies explored the suitability of 178 images to produce a final set of 80 images (20 in each of the four categories). We validated this final set of 80 images in a third study.

Results

The validated Crime and Threat Image Set (CaTIS) contains 78 images across four categories: threat-and-crime (high-crime, high-threat), threat-only (low-crime, high-threat), crime-only (high-crime, low-threat), and neutral (low-crime, low-threat). There were significant main effects of threat and crime, and an interaction between Threat × Crime, on participants’ fear ratings. Participants’ own ratings of threat—but not crime—had a strong relationship with their fear ratings.

Conclusions

Threat had a stronger influence on participants’ fear ratings than crime. Thus, what is typically referred to as fear of crime may reflect broader fear. Further research with the CaTIS could explore the expression of this fear.

     

A further look at long cycles and criminal justice legislation

This article builds on the work of Barlow and Barlow, who use models based on the long economic cycle as a theoretical and empirical means for reorientating examinations of criminal justice trends. Empirically, using factor-analytic and multivariate logistic and OLS procedures, we find some support for long-cycle-model interpretations of trends in federal criminal justice legislation. Equally important, we find no support for a connection between federal criminal justice legislative trends and levels of crime. Our analysis suggests that economic processes exist independent of economic long cycles and crime trends, and that these also should be considered in discussing trends in crime control. In conclusion, we argue that alternative economically situated, contextualized models which look beyond the crimejustice nexus are needed if criminal justice theory and research are to be revitalized.     

Women in Crime and Justice

ABSTRACT

Drawing upon feminist research on women in crime and justice, this study examines patterns of female crime in Israel over four decades and the criminal justice response to female offenders over two decades. The data show that crime patterns of Israeli women and the criminal justice response to their transgressions show remarkable resemblance to those discerned in other western countries. The article concludes that feminist insights and explanatory mechanisms suggested in other western countries are congruent with findings about women in crime and justice in Israel.     

EDITORIAL

Abstract

Guided by the theoretical framework of quality of life and social disorganization, this study combined data from three independent sources (4,469 community surveys, Census Bureau, and police crime records) to simultaneously examine the influence of contextual characteristics (concentrated disadvantage, social isolation, and violent crime) on residents' perceived incivilities across 10 city council districts in San Antonio, Texas, net of citizen-level covariates. Several findings emerged from the Poisson hierarchical analysis. At the citizen-level, Latino, age, homeowner, perceived safety, and quality of life rating were significantly related to perceived incivility. At the council district level, all the contextual variables were positively and significantly associated with the outcome. Implications from these findings are considered.     

Perceptions of crime seriousness in eight African-American communities: The influence of individual,environmental, and crime-based factors

Using secondary data analysis, we examine the perceptions of crime seriousness among 621 African-Americans living in eight urban neighborhoods stratified by crime rate and income level. On the basis of the literature exploring perception formation and attitudes toward crime seriousness, we hypothesize that individual-level variables, community-level variables, experiential variables, and the motive for the crime will influence respondents' perceptions of crime seriousness. The results of six multiple regression models suggest that gender, age, community crime rate, city of residence, religiosity, and fear of crime significantly influence respondents' view of crime. We challenge the assumption that there is considerable consensus regarding perceptions of crime seriousness, and discuss the implications for the justice system.     

Citizen crime prevention: Domains and participation

Attempts to engender citizens' participation in crime-prevention activities have met with varied degrees of success. Indeed, studies find great differences in participants. Part of the reason may be that different types of crime prevention are considered in the various programs and analyses. The present study uses the National Crime Survey: Victims Risk Supplement to uncover different domains of crime prevention activity and to investigate who participates in crime prevention. Five distinct types of crime-preventive behavior are isolated in the analysis. Further, path analytic techniques reveal that different demographic and crime related factors influence participation in the various crime-prevention activities. These results suggest that participation in crime prevention is complex and that we need more knowledge about who participates in different crime-prevention programs in order to promote such participation more effectively.     

Medical criminals: Physicians and white-collar offenses

Lawbreaking by professionals remains an understudied area in the field of white-collar crime. This article presents a review of crime in the practice of medicine, focusing on the misdeeds of physicians. The role of physician power in producing such acts is analyzed from both historical and theoretical perspectives, and a brief inventory of forms of medical wrongdoing is presented. The article also considers the ways in which formal medical training can influence later wrongdoing, and discusses issues related to the control of medical crime.     

Crime is Part of the Problem: Contexts of Lethal Violence in Finland and the USA

According to Zimring & Hawkins, the exceptionally high level of homicide in the USA is unrelated to the nation's overall crime problem. In contrast to this statement, a critical review of their evidence suggests that criminal activity may explain a significant share of the excess levels of lethal violence in the USA. As a first step towards testing this hypothesis, we have created a uniform victim-level data file of information on the method and the situational context of homicide cases in Finland and the USA. In support of the hypothesis, we find that homicides that occur in the context of another crime are much more prevalent in the USA than in Finland. This difference accounts for 35% of the overall gap in the homicide rate between these two nations. Moreover, our research indicates that the effect of the criminal context cannot be reduced to the 'instrument effect', i.e. the fact that handguns are much more prevalent in the USA. In light of these findings, it would be premature, in terms both of theory and of public policy, to treat lethal violence as a problem entirely independent of other crime.     

Swedish crime scene technicians: facilitations,epistemic frictions and professionalization from the outside

ABSTRACT

This article investigates the role of crime scene technicians in the Swedish criminal justice system, and particularly how Swedish crime scene technicians not only examine crime scenes but also facilitate the criminal justice system’s joint production of forensic evidence. It proposes thinking about the criminal justice system as a conglomeration of epistemic cultures, that is, of communities with different ways of producing and understanding forensic evidence. Such a perspective makes it possible to understand interprofessional frictions as epistemic frictions as well as to draw attention to the facilitations, mediations and translations that crime scene technicians perform. This perspective also makes it possible to illuminate how the crime scene technicians’ professionalization – a professionalization from the outside – affects both their future crime scene work and their facilitations.     

Crime prevention in a communitarian society: Bang-jiao and tiao-jie in the people's Republic of China

This paper examines two important strategies of community crime prevention in contemporary Chinese society: bang-jiao and tiao-jie. Bang-jiao refers to community efforts to reintegrate offenders into the community. Tiao-jie refers to community groups designed to resolve disputes among neighbors and family members, and in doing so, to reduce crime. We describe these strategies, discuss their philosophical underpinnings, and identify the features of Chinese society that support their implementation. We also explore their effectiveness with survey data from a sample of offenders in Tianjin, China. Our empirical analyses suggest that bang-jiao and tiao-jie may indeed be important structural mechanisms for crime control in a communitarian society.     

Nature and Impact of Criminal Victimization in Barbados

ABSTRACT

This article examines the nature and impact of crime through the survey of victims who reported crimes against them to the Barbados Police Force in 1998. The study shows that the victims reported serious concern about the high level of crime in Barbados. Further, the study found that concern about crime was influenced by many factors including the type of crime, age, gender, and occupation. In addition, the findings of the study pointed to physical injuries, economic cost, and emotional impacts on the victims, even though many victims underestimated the economic cost of their victimization.     

Legitimacy invariance and campus crime: the impact of campus police legitimacy in different reporting contexts

ABSTRACT

This paper examines whether campus police legitimacy relevance varies across different crime contexts. 519 respondents from 31 undergraduate sections at a public university rated campus police legitimacy as well as their willingness to report a campus crime to the public safety department. Students were assigned to different crime vignettes, involving experimental manipulation of crime type: petty theft, indecent exposure, aggravated assault, and gun possession on a college campus. Results indicate general support for the procedural justice model, specifically the invariance of the influence of legitimacy on reporting. This paper argues for increased specificity in measurement of cooperation beyond general willingness to assist, or a single crime context.     

Discourse Analysis on Media Reports of Perceptions About Religion as a Solution to Jamaica's Crime Problems

ABSTRACT

This discussion, which focuses on Jamaica's crime rates, explanations for these trends, and recommended solutions, is based on discourses about the role of religion in crime resolution and specifically on the issue of (re)integrating religion in addressing Jamaica's crime problems. The analysis draws on the content of news, editorials, commentaries, and letters to the editor in both the Jamaica Daily Gleaner and the Jamaica Observer on the topic of religion and crime. It also looks specifically at the disjuncture between perceptions of and by the church regarding its role in crime resolution.     

Neighbourhood outreach: a novel approach to Liaison and Diversion

Aims and method: We evaluate the initial outcomes from the Cornwall Criminal Justice Liaison and Diversion Service (CJLDS) which includes a pilot Neighbourhood Outreach scheme to support police with vulnerable individuals with suspected mental illness but not necessarily criminal involvement. Results: We review the first nine months’ operational data, including a six month follow-up of the initial three months’ to assess the impact of intervention. The service identified a large proportion of new cases of mental illness at an earlier stage. Intervention significantly reduced the number of contacts with police and may suggest a reduction in the severity of crime. Clinical implications: The Cornwall CJLDS with its pilot Neighbourhood Outreach has had a significant impact on both health and on crime, with additional cost savings. The degree to which this is replicable is discussed. Declaration of interest: None     

Consistency in crime site selection: An investigation of crime sites used by serial sex offenders across crime series

PurposeKnowing sites used by serial sex offenders to commit their crimes is highly beneficial for criminal investigations. However, environmental choices of serial sex offenders remain unclear to this date. Considering the challenges these offenders pose to law enforcement, the study aims to identify sites serial sex offenders use to encounter and release their victims and investigate their stability across crime series.MethodsThe study uses latent class analysis (LCA) to identify victim encounter and release sites used by 72 serial sex offenders having committed 361 sex offenses. Additional LCA are performed to investigate the stability of these offense environments across offenders' crimes series.ResultsDistinct profiles of crime sites that are recurrent across crime series are found, suggesting that serial sex offenders present a limited diversity of victim encounter and victim release sites. Encounter sites representative of longer crime series are also identified. Specifically, the use of sites known to "attract" potential victims decreases over series and offenders become more risk-taking in regard of sites used to encounter their victims.ConclusionsThe study identifies patterns of site- selection for the victim encounter and release in cases of serial crimes. Implications for crime linkage and police investigations strategies are discussed.     

The Most-Cited Scholars and Works in Women and Crime Publications

ABSTRACT

Previous studies that have reported the most-cited scholars and works in criminology and criminal justice journals and textbooks have seldom acknowledged the important contributions of women and/or women and crime scholars to criminology and criminal justice. Here we extend citation analysis to the examination of 174 women and crime publications appearing from 1990 to 1996. We list the 50 most-cited scholars and the 29 most-cited works in these publications. We then compare our findings to other studies of the most-cited scholars and works in leading criminology and criminal justice journals and textbooks. The paper concludes with some thoughts about the importance of citation analysis in women and crime studies.     

Reporting of crime to the police in the Federal Republic of Germany: A comparison of the old and the new lands

A victimization survey of 7,026 households in the former east and west German Länder (states) carried out one year after the unification of Germany presented a unique opportunity to examine factors associated with the reporting of crime to the police. Logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with variation in the dependent variable, reporting of crime to the police, controlling for victimizations which occurred prior to and subsequent to unification, as well as whether the victim resided in the former east or west German Länder. The amount of loss in German Marks or seriousness of physical injury were the principle determinants of whether a crime was reported to the police.     

Breaking news: How local TV news and real-world conditions affect fear of crime

Many Americans report that they are fearful of crime. One frequently cited source of this fear is the mass media. The media, and local television news in particular, often report on incidents of crime, and do so in a selective and sometimes sensational manner. This paper examines the role of the media in shaping crime fears, in conjunction with both demographic factors and local crime conditions. Unlike most previous research in this area, which typically focuses on only one medium, the present study examines the effects of several—local and national television, radio, newspapers, and the Internet. The findings address four theoretical perspectives on the relationship among the media, real-world conditions, and fear of crime.     

Racial segregation and property crime: Examining the mediating effect of police strength

Research has not yet considered the relationship between property crime and segregation and the influence of police strength on the association of segregation and crime. To address these issues, this article examines the association of racial segregation with burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft for 1990. The results reveal that segregation is significantly and positively associated with all three measures of property crime. When data on police strength are introduced into the models, segregation-crime coefficients are significantly attenuated, and two are rendered nonsignificant, providing evidence that the segregation-property crime association is at least partly mediated through police strength.