Linking arson incidents on the basis of crime scene behavior

The present study investigated the possibility of statistically linking arson cases based on consistency of behaviors from one crime scente to another. Serial and spree arson cases were studied to differentiate underlying themes and to link cases committed by the same offender. The material consisted of 248 arson cases which formed 42 series of arsons. A content analysis using 45 dichotomous variables was carried out and principal compnents (PCA) analysis was performed to identify underlying themes. Summary scores reflecting the themes were calculated. Linking effectiveness was tested with a discriminant analysis using the summary scores. The PCA analysis was successful and underlying themes which were in accordance with previous studies could be identified. Six factors were retained, in the PCA. The linking of the arson cases was possible to a satisfactory level: 33% of the cases could be correctly linked and for over 50% of the cases, the series they actually belonged to was among the ten series identified as most probable on the basis of the linking analysis. From a practical point of view, the results could be used as a basis for developing support systems for police investigations of arson. This research was financially supported by the Finnish Ministry of Interior and by Grant 54456 from the Academy of Finland.     

A re-examination of the MMPI-2 aggressiveness and immaturity indices in law enforcement screening

This study reports an analysis of Bartol's (1991) Immaturity Index and Hargrave and associates' (1988) Aggressiveness Index as a measure of police conduct. The correlations between the supervisory ratings and the Immaturity and Aggressiveness indices were examined for 1020 law enforcement officers. The results showed that Immaturity Index was related to termination for failure to complete training and insubordination. The Aggressiveness Index was related to a termination for failure to complete training and several other problematic police behaviors, but was not found to be specifically linked with acts of aggression. Implications for using these two indices in law enforcement selection are discussed. Authors' Note: Cary Rostow, Ph.D. is president of Matrix, Inc., Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and is in private practice in Baton Rouge. Robert Davis, Ph.D., is executive vice-president and director of science, research, and development for Matrix, Inc., and has a private practice in Baton Rouge. James B. Pinston, Ph.D., is a clinical neuropsychologist within the department of neurology at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center and School of Medicine in Shreveport, Louisiana. Dennis R. Combs, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Tulsa. Dennis R. Dixon, M.A., is currently a doctoral student at Louisiana State University.     

Correlates of the Co-Occurrence of Wife Abuse and Child Abuse Among a Representative Sample

The co-occurrence of domestic violence and child abuse is well documented (Appel, A. E., & Holden, G. W. (1998). J. Fam. Psychol. 12: 578–599; Edleson, J. L. (1999). Violence Against Women 5: 134–154). However, little is known about the correlates of co-occurring wife and child abuse. Analyzing data from the 1985 National Family Violence Survey (subsample N = 2733), this study identified risk factors associated with the co-occurrence of wife and child abuse. One-way ANOVA and chi-square analyses were conducted to compare characteristics of parents, children, and households among subgroups of families reporting some form of abuse. Key differences emerged between the three types of homes compared (i.e., those with child abuse alone, wife abuse alone, or wife and child abuse), indicating possibly distinct etiologies and processes. In particular, the co-occurrence of wife and child abuse was marked by less education, worse health, increased reports of depression, and increased husband drug use. Findings may be useful to practitioners and researchers interested in risk factors for different forms of family violence.The total does not equal 100% because certain states report more than one form of maltreatment per child.     

When Public Protection Becomes Punishment? The UK Use of Civil Measures to Contain the Sex Offender

In keeping with many countries the UK has moved the problem of sexual offending up the political agenda. On the criminal justice side sentences have been increased and supervision periods extended. On the civil side a raft of new measures have been put in place to regulate the behaviour of sex offenders in the interest of community safety and child protection; this paper examines these measures and, in particular takes the sex offender ‘register’ as a case study to show how political imperatives have been brought to bear with little reference to the research or professional views of practitioners in this area. It is contended that under these political pressures, what starts life as a preventive, regulatory measure can easily become a more punitive measure in its own right; as such it may be liable to challenge by those subject to it for failing to fulfil its primary purpose and for straying across a line between the civil and criminal aspects of intervention.     

Digital Realism and the Governance of Spam as Cybercrime

Spamming is a major threat to the formation of public trust in the Internet and discourages broader civil participation in the emerging information society. To the individual, spams are usually little more than a nuisance, but collectively they expose Internet users to a panoply of new risks while threatening the communications and commercial infrastructure. Spamming also raises important questions of criminological interest. On the one hand it is an example of a pure cybercrime – a harmful behaviour mediated by the Internet that is the subject of criminal law, while on the other hand, it is a behaviour that has in practice been most effectively contained technologically by the manipulation of ‘code’ – but at what cost? Because there is not an agreed meaning as to what constitutes ‘online order’ that renders it simply and uncritically reducible to a set of formulae and algorithms that can be subsequently imposed (surreptitiously) by technological processes. The imposition of order online, as it is offline, needs to be subject to critical discussion and also checks and balances that have their origins in the authority of law. This article deconstructs and analyses spamming behaviour, before exploring the boundaries between law and code (technology) as governance in order to inform and stimulate the debate over the embedding of cybercrime prevention policy within the code itself.     

Foundation Ownership and Financial Performance: Do Companies Need Owners?

A curious ownership structure is found in Northern Europe—foundations that own and operate business companies. The foundations are non-profit entities, they have no members and no owners, and they cannot be dissolved. In many cases, these entities control more than 50% of the votes in successful international companies. Obviously, this structure completely blocks the market for corporate control, but it also violates other basic principles of agency theory and corporate finance. Nevertheless, we present evidence that a sample of foundation-owned companies listed on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange are at least as efficient as other listed companies in terms of risk adjusted stock returns, accounting returns and Tobins Q. Thus, they question whether profit-seeking ownership is a necessary condition for competitive enterprise.JEL Classification: D23, G34, L31     

Materialities of Legal Proceedings

The author explores materialities as pre-established and co-producing features of criminal proceedings. This is done by discussing courtrooms, files and stories in relation to English Crown Court hearings. The three materialities gain significance in the course of the court hearing, but do not derive from it. They exceed the course of talk-in-court. Once the hearing started, the pre-established materialities can be referred to but not simply modified. Materialities, in this line, provide stability and guidance for the hearing. They facilitate, purify and condense it. However, their temporal separation causes problems for those who run the show. Materialities can be employed but not fully integrated. Unwelcome parts do, at times, disturb, disrupt and complicate the current dealings.     

Differences in attitudes toward gays and lesbians among criminal justice and non-criminal justice majors

The criminal justice system is supposed to protect and serve all members of the community equally; therefore, any prejudicial attitudes harbored by criminal justice students may negatively impact their job performance as future justice professionals. Four hundred and eighty-four students at a large Midwestern university were surveyed on their views toward gay and lesbian persons and issues. The responses of criminal justice majors were compared to the responses of students majoring in other fields. Criminal justice majors tended to have more negative views of gays and lesbians than students in other majors. However, there was not a significant difference between the two groups of students in their willingness to extend rights to and socialize with gay and lesbian individuals.