De Novo Advanced Adult‐Onset Offending: New Evidence from a Population of Federal Correctional Clients

Adult antisocial behavior is almost always predated by delinquency during childhood or adolescence; however, there is also evidence of adult‐onset criminal offending. This study examined this controversial subgroup of offenders using self‐reported and official data from a total population of federal correctional clients selected from the Midwestern United States. Difference of means t‐tests, chi‐square tests, and logistic regression models found that 11.7% of clients had an adult onset of offending and 2.7% of clients (n = 23) had an onset occurring at age 60 years or older. This group—introduced as de novo advanced adult‐onset offenders—had high socioeconomic status, mixed evidence of adverse childhood experiences, and virtually no usage of drugs with the exception of alcohol. These offenders were primarily convicted of social security and white‐collar crimes and evinced remarkably low psychopathology and criminal risk. More research is needed to replicate the phenomenon of de novo advanced adult‐onset offending.     

The canary in the data mine

The present article aims at portraying the type of profile best required to fulfil the function of a Data Protection Officer (DPO) within the EU public sector. The article proposes the idiom of the “canary in a coal mine” as best positioned to describe the multidisciplinary role of DPOs. Due to the particularity and sensitivity of their function, Data Protection Officers act as early indicators of data protection incompliance within their respective area of expertise. Only when being functionally independent, Data Protection Officers could master the role of “canaries in the data mine” thus preventing possible data protection breaches and violations.     

Evaluation of a restorative justice-based,community-based program for people who have offended sexually: participant impact

Community Justice Initiatives, Kitchener, Canada, offers a Restorative Justice program called Revive to people impacted by sexual harm, including men who have offended sexually. This volunteer-led program treats participants with compassion while holding them accountable for sexual harm perpetrated. Program goals include reducing isolation, promoting self-awareness, and fostering healing. Based on restorative justice principles, positive community reintegration and reduction of further sexual offending are the ultimate goals of the program.

We evaluated information from a questionnaire administered at intake, after the 7-week phase, and again after participation in the peer-support group. Participants responded quantitatively about the impact of Revive on six sexual offense-related outcomes statements (e.g., gaining understanding of their triggers, understanding why they sexually offended). They also indicated the impact of Revive on psychosocial dimensions such as stigma perception and social support. Qualitative questions further elucidated the experience of Revive participation. Findings suggest that Revive has an impact on self-understanding of why they sexually offended, victim empathy, as well as stress reduction and increased self-esteem. We conclude that the restorative justice framework is a very hopeful, positive one and that the Revive program is effective at enacting restorative justice-based principles.     

A new psychometric instrument assessing vulnerability to risk of suicide and self-harm behaviour in offenders: Suicide Concerns for Offenders in Prison Environment (SCOPE)

This study aimed to develop a new psychometric instrument to assess vulnerability to risk of suicide and nonfatal self-harm behaviour in young adult male and female offenders. In total three studies were conducted to assess the psychometric properties of the new instrument using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis in different samples. Participants in all three studies included a total of 1,166 young adult offenders across six Her Majesty's Prisons. The new instrument, Suicide Concerns for Offenders in Prison Environment (SCOPE), contained 28 items scoring on two subscales. The factorial structure of the new instrument initially obtained with exploratory factor analysis was subsequently confirmed in a new sample. The internal consistency of the two subscales were acceptable but the test-retest reliability coefficients were moderate. Concurrent validation with the Beck Hopelessness Scale was acceptable and SCOPE showed the ability to discriminate between those at risk and those with no known history of attempted suicide and nonfatal self-harm behaviour ( p < 0.01).     

The danger assessment: validation of a lethality risk assessment instrument for intimate partner femicide

The Danger Assessment (DA) is an instrument designed to assess the likelihood of lethality or near lethality occurring in a case of intimate partner violence. This article describes the development, psychometric validation, and suggestions for use of the DA. An 11-city study of intimate partner femicide used multivariate analysis to test the predictive validity of the risk factors on the DA from intimate partner femicide cases (N = 310) compared with 324 abused women in the same cities (controls). The results were used to revise the DA (four items added; one "double-barreled" item divided into two), and the calculated weights (adjusted odds ratios) used to develop a scoring algorithm with levels of risk. These levels of risk were then tested with an independent sample of attempted femicides (N = 194) with a final outcome of .90 of the cases included in the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.     

Risk Factor Models for Adolescent Verbal and Physical Aggression Toward Fathers

Using a French-Canadian population-based longitudinal data set, we examine the impact of socioeconomic factors (paternal education and family structure); inherent individual factors (child gender and developmental trajectories of physical aggression from early to later childhood, problematic substance use), family environment (concurrent parent-child involvement, parental problematic substance use), and prospective and concurrent parenting process variables (mean parental supervision at puberty, concurrent punishment practices) as predictors of adolescent-directed aggression against fathers (in the last 6 months). A childhood behavioral pattern characterized by physical aggression showed the highest risk of adolescent-directed verbal and physical aggression toward fathers, regardless of sex. In terms of parental practices, verbal (and not corporal) punishment in the last 6 months significantly predicted aggression toward fathers. A childhood life-course of violence is likely to culminate in aggression toward fathers during adolescence. Beyond this risk, it seems that harsh verbal punishment by parents builds up the odds of child-directed aggression against fathers.     

Reforming Budget Systems in Countries of the Former Soviet Union

The countries of the former Soviet Union (FSU) required considerable revision to their budget processes and procedures to establish systems consistent with transformation from controlled dependencies within a larger planned economy to independent governments of fledgling market-oriented democracies. This article considers the degree to which preexisting, reforming, and reformed budget systems in FSU countries deliver the basic expectations of a public sector resource allocation system. Evidence indicates failures to realign budgeting and finance systems designed for command and control environments to the demands of more market based economic systems, with effects often magnified by the hybrid economies of these transitional states. Significant difficulties and shortcomings in the ability of existing systems to perform basic public sector allocation, management, and control functions are the result, but some countries are ahead of others and their experience can guide reforms across the FSU.