Crime scene actions and offender characteristics in arsons

Purpose. Crime scene actions displayed by offenders in arsons were analysed in relation to offender characteristics and self‐reported motives. Methods. Data were drawn from an official police database and consisted of a random sample of arsons occurring in Finland between 1990 and 2001 (N = 189). The structure of dichotomous variables derived through a content analysis of crime scene actions and offender characteristics was analysed using non‐metric multidimensional scaling (MDS) analyses. Results. The analyses revealed four separate crime scene action types, with thematic emphasis on either expressive or instrumental motivation and the target being either a person or object. The MDS solution for offender characteristics suggested four types of offenders: Self‐destructive, Serial, Criminal, and Adolescent. In order to analyse the associations between action and characteristics themes, each case was assigned to one of the action and characteristic themes or a hybrid based on the frequency of variables present from each theme. Several statistically significant associations between the action and characteristic themes were found. Self‐reported motives were also analysed in relation to the themes. Conclusions. The results support the thematic classification of arsonists presented in Canter and Fritzon (1998). The results are discussed with regard to earlier research and deducing offender characteristics based on crime scene actions.     

Stranger sexual homicide: an exploratory behavioural analysis of offender crime scene actions

ABSTRACT

This study explores the role and function of homicidal and sexual violence in cases of stranger sexual homicide. The aim was to determine whether the instrumental/expressive hypothesis of physical violence and the overt/covert hypothesis of sexual violence applies to this crime. The method involved an analysis of the crime scene actions of 81 British stranger sexual killers using multidimensional scaling. Results suggest the instrumental/expressive hypothesis of physical violence and the overt/covert hypothesis of sexual violence does apply to stranger sexual homicide but they manifest as instrumental/overt and expressive/covert superordinate themes comprising four sub-themes reflecting rape, impersonal sexual assault, overkill and control. Although these superordinate themes can explain some stranger sexual homicides, a key hypothesis of this study is that the four sub-themes can also combine into different superordinate themes, knowledge of which can aid our understanding of this serious and deviant form of interpersonal violence.     

Psychotic versus non-psychotic firesetters: similarities and differences in characteristics

Firesetters with psychotic disorders constitute a distinct and important offender group. However, little is known about how psychotic firesetters differ from non-psychotic firesetters. More knowledge is required in order to treat this particular population effectively. Psychotic (n?=?30) and non-psychotic (n?=?94) firesetters of both sexes referred for pre-trial forensic mental health assessment in the Netherlands were compared on socio-demographic, pathological, judicial and event-related characteristics using binary and multivariate statistical tests. Results showed that psychotic firesetters were older, single and unemployed. They had a more extensive history of mental health problems, associated drug use and impaired self-reliance. Opposed to non-psychotic offenders, physical abuse in childhood and alcohol abuse were less prevalent. They had a more extensive history of prior convictions, committed the arsons more often alone and were less often intoxicated. Treatment implications are discussed as focusing treatment on these differences may contribute to treatment efficacy and prevention of recidivism.     

Addressing Juvenile Crime

At‐risk and offending juveniles remain the most promising target group for crime reduction efforts. Many of the problems these youths faced in the 1960s remain or have intensified, and policies to address them have shifted. Yet, research on the causes, consequences, and best responses to juvenile crime has advanced considerably and provides important lessons for policy makers and practitioners moving forward. These include (a) help don't hurt; (b) provide better procedural protections; (c) continue to build, implement, and refine evidence‐based programming; (d) tailor services; (e) tackle community‐level problems; (f) really listen and work together; (g) build better data systems; and (h) invest resources in children and teens. Providing a retrospective on the 1967 U.S. President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice report, I briefly summarize and update the Commission's findings on factors related to juvenile delinquency, outline the Commission's policy recommendations, review the research on policy and practice changes since the report, and consider current implications for policy and practice.     

Juvenile female and male sex offenders: a comparison of offender, victim, and judicial processing characteristics

This research examines 61 juvenile female sex offenders in terms of their offending patterns, demographics, and victim characteristics; these findings are compared to 122 juvenile male sex offenders. Relying on sex offender registration data and criminal history records, bivariate analyses are conducted to assess male-female differences. Logistic regression is also employed to further assess group membership (male and female). Females were typically younger than males at the time of their arrest for a sex offense. Female offenders also chose male and female victims proportionately, whereas males were more likely to choose female victims. Logistic regression analysis revealed two significant predictors of the offender's sex: victim's sex and length of sentence. This research, therefore, indicates different modalities of offense characteristics for males and females, which predicates different management strategies in terms of identification for these groups of offenders.     

Crime scene staging and its detection

Crime scene staging is a recognized phenomenon within the criminal justice field. This article defines the occurrence for staging, identifies the motives for staging, and identifies the act that precipitated the staging. It reports the results of an exploratory survey of 20 well-versed and highly trained law enforcement officers' experience with staging in fatal and nonfatal incidents, and it reports the most commonly observed forms of crime scene staging. Investigative strategies and indicators of staging are also presented.     

我国青少年犯罪及其防治探讨

本文认为由于对青少年犯罪问题没有足够重视,致使青少年教育工作存在不少问题:青少年违法犯罪增多,且呈低龄化、团伙化、暴力化,手段残忍,社会危害大。在此,笔者探讨了青少年犯罪率上升的原因,并提出了防治犯罪的几点对策。     

Adolescent homicides in Finland: offence and offender characteristics

Approximately 9% of the homicides in Finland are committed by adolescents under 20 years of age. The purpose of this study was to investigate the offence and offender characteristics in homicidal adolescents. Forensic psychiatric evaluation statements of adolescent offenders accused of a homicide during 1990-2001 were reviewed retrospectively (n=57). In 38% of the cases, there were multiple offenders. In 58% of the cases, the victim was an acquaintance, in 25% a stranger, in 12% a family member and in 5% of the cases an (ex)intimate partner. Sixty-nine percent of the offenders were intoxicated and 21% under the influence of drugs at the time of the killing. The most frequent motives were an argument (25%) and a robbery (25%). Sixty-four percent of the offenders had developmental problems and 42% had a crime history. Approximately half were diagnosed as having a conduct or a personality disorder, but 32% of the offenders were considered not to suffer from a mental illness or substance abuse. For 63%, the level of intellectual functioning was average or above average. There were signs of more than one form of violence in 54% of the cases and 28% of the cases contained excessive violence. The use of multiple and excessive violence was significantly related to the offender age, multiple offenders, offender-victim relationship and substance abuse, but not related to having developmental problems, crime history or mental illness.     

Serious and Violent Juvenile Crime: A Comprehensive Strategy

Abstract OJJDP is actively involved in the Department of Justice's “Pulling America's Communities Together” (PACT) program. Developed at the direction of Attorney General Janet Reno, this initiative is designed to provide training, technical assistance and program development resources to participating jurisdictions address violence in their communities. Four jurisdictions have been selected to date: Denver, Omaha, Atlanta, and the District of Columbia. In addition to making its wide range of training and technical assistance resources available to these jurisdictions, OJJDP is helping the sites assess their juvenile justice systems and develop plans to implement the Comprehensive Strategy. To help jurisdictions begin assessing their systems and existing youth violence problems, OJJDP is preparing a juvenile violence fact book, called “The State of Juvenile Justice.” In addition to presenting statistical data on the nature and scope of the problem across America, the fact book will encapsule program and policy positions of major juvenile justice professional associations regarding youth violence. Such knowledge will assist local jurisdictions in developing their own positions, strategies and programs. In addition to NCJFCJ, other groups such as the American Probation and Parole Association, the National Juvenile Detention Association, the American Correctional Association, and the Coalition of Juvenile Justice State Advisory Groups have been invited to participate in development of The State of Juvenile Justice document.     

Crime scene investigation in child-abuse cases

Although child abuse and neglect continue to appear in the medical literature frequently, little regarding scene investigation in such cases has been discussed. Many explanations have been offered for this deficit, the most common one is based on the time delay between infliction of the injury and discovery. At the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, child-abuse cases submitted for consultation repeatedly show deficits in the scene investigation and its documentation. Since the discovery of child abuse is dependent on either physical evidence of repetitive punitive measures or an injury pattern not in agreement with the alleged circumstances, it behooves the assigned investigator to make every attempt to document the scene(s) as in any other criminal investigation.     

Crime scene ethics: souvenirs, teaching material, and artifacts

Police and forensic specialists are ethically obliged to preserve the integrity of their investigations and their agencies' reputations. The American Academy of Forensic Sciences and the Canadian Society of Forensic Science provide no guidelines for crime scene ethics, or the retention of items from former crime scenes. Guidelines are necessary to define acceptable behavior relating to removing, keeping, or selling artifacts, souvenirs, or teaching specimens from former crime scenes, where such activities are not illegal, to prevent potential conflicts of interest and the appearance of impropriety. Proposed guidelines permit the retention of objects with educational value, provided they are not of significance to the case, they are not removed until the scene is released, permission has been obtained from the property owner and police investigator, and the item has no significant monetary value. Permission is necessary even if objects appear discarded, or are not typically regarded as property, e.g., animal bones.     

Self-Reported Delinquency and Alienation: A Study of Juvenile Crime

Based on a probability sample of 7542 from the seventh, ninth, 11th grade students of the Toledo metropolitan area, this study, using self-reported delinquency, investigated the relationship between alienation and deviant behavior. A positive association between alienation (normlessness and societal estrangement) and self-reported delinquency were observed. The degree of association and the direction still maintained when controlled for the age and sex of the students.     

Juvenile Crime Trends in Post-War Europe

In the literature, two models - routine activity and social control - are most often used in attempts to account for a continuous upward trend in the number of juvenile offenders during the post-war period. In Sweden, contrary to what we might expect given these models, the number of juvenile offenders has been stable, and may even have decreased, over the last 25 years. This article will present an analysis of juvenile crime trends in West European countries during the post-war period (1950-1995). A sensible way to begin a comparative study is to take advantage of the analyses already carried out by researchers in the relevant countries. Besides the official crime statistics this study also uses alternative statistics, that is, self-report studies and victim surveys. An obvious advantage with these surveys is that they are independent of the relevant country's judicial system and official statistics. The availability of data played an important part in the choice of countries to be included. In addition, contacts were established with researchers and research centres in most countries covered by the study.     

构建未成年人法律体系与犯罪预防

构建未成年人法律体系是社会和谐发展的需要。由于左右犯罪数量与性质的犯罪人主要是惯犯和累犯,而这部分人大多有早年犯罪史,因此,预防未成年人犯罪就成为预防犯罪的关键。这种预防不能仅针对未成年人和局限于犯罪范围内,而应通过立法治理未成年人的成长环境;同时,应以法律方式对未成年人的早期危害倾向进行干预;还应通过法律处罚给予未成年人特殊的教育与保护。     

Homicide by ligature strangulation in Finland: offence and offender characteristics

In Finland, homicide by ligature strangulation is a rare event. The purpose of this study was to investigate recent homicide cases by ligature strangulation and to analyse offence and offender characteristics. All forensic psychiatric evaluation statements of offenders accused of ligature strangulation homicides during the 7-year period 1996--2002 (n=19) were reviewed retrospectively. Thirty-five percent of the victims were females. In four cases, the victim was the offender's intimate partner; in one case, it was the stepson; in one case, a father and in the rest of the cases (n=13), an acquaintance. None of the cases involved planning, sadism or sexual elements. In 89% of the cases, the offender was either intoxicated or on drugs at the time of the offence and in 94% of the cases, the victim was found at the scene of the killing. Of the offenders, 63% had crime history, and approximately half of the offenders had experienced parental alcohol abuse, domestic violence or previous trauma. Most of the offenders were unemployed at the time of the offence. In all, 89% were diagnosed as having personality disorder and two were schizophrenic.     

少年刑事案件的刑法适用

对少年正确认定刑事责任,对少年犯罪人准确定罪与适用刑罚,是少年刑法制度中的重要问题。我国《刑法》第17条第2款的规定及刑罚在少年刑事案件适用过程中经常出现争议。对其中的主要争议的问题,笔者的看法是:已满14周岁不满16周岁的人,在绑架行为中杀害被绑架人应当负故意杀人的刑事责任,对其奸淫幼女行为的刑事责任应按案件的实际情况具体分析,此年龄阶段的少年不应成为转化型抢劫罪的主体。对少年犯罪从宽处罚原则应结合少年个别化的情况进行适用,无期徒刑应限制适用,财产刑的适用则应综合考虑其适用条件,并坚持“教育为主,惩罚为辅”的原则。