Using social network analysis to target criminal networks

Using social network analysis (SNA), we propose a model for targeting criminal networks. The model we present here is a revised version of our existing model (Schwartz and Rouselle in IALEIA Journal, 18(1):18–14, 2008), which itself builds on Steve Borgatti’s SNA-based key player approach. Whereas Borgatti’s approach focuses solely on actors’ network positions, our model also incorporates the relative strength or potency of actors, as well as the strength of the relationships binding network actors.

Changing institutional culture in the wake of clerical abuse – the essentials of restorative and legal regulation

The Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse completed its final report in December 2017 after five years of hearings. The Royal Commission was the culmination of pressure from a series of public inquiries about institutional sexual abuse and sustained advocacy from victims and survivor support groups. The Commission made recommendations designed to change institutional leadership, governance and culture. The challenge is to have that change embedded in institutional culture. This paper considers how this might be done in a specific institution, the Catholic Church given that more than two-thirds of reported abuse in faith-based institutions occurred within its ranks. Regulatory theory suggests effective regulation must be responsive to past institutional behaviour. In the case of the Church, the task is profound given its strong self-protective culture which has long shielded abusers. The form of regulation must provide a balance where criminal sanctions loom large in the background while redress processes proceed in the foreground to repair both the harm suffered by survivors and renew Church culture.     

Female student athletes’ perceptions of acceptability and the occurrence of sexual-related behaviour by their coaches in India

The current study assessed the perceptions of acceptable sexual behaviour of coaches and the occurrence of sexual harassment among female student in India. A sample of 180 Indian female student-athletes at intercollegiate and inter-university levels with male coaches participated in this study. A questionnaire on sport-specific Touch and Behaviour versus Unwanted Intimacy from coaches (Vanden Auweele et al., 2008), consisting of 41 items on a 5-point rating scale was used. The participants were asked to indicate the acceptability of specific coaching behaviour as well as the occurrence of the behaviour represented in each item. The acceptability of the behaviour was determined by means and standard deviations, while the occurrence was determined by frequencies. Factor analysis was performed to determine the structure of the coaches’ behaviour and athletes’ acceptability thereof, which yielded four factors. Cronbach’s alpha was used to determine the internal consistency of the extracted items on each factor. Two factors, namely, unwanted sexual behaviour and inappropriate verbal and physical sexual behaviour, were regarded by athletes as very serious and unacceptable coach behaviour, while a third factor represented context-dependent suspicious behaviour (a grey area in which athletes differ in their opinion) and was perceived to be serious and unacceptable. A fourth factor represented acceptable behaviour. The occurrence of very serious and unacceptable behaviour was reported by 31% of the female athletes.     

Are We Getting Value for Money from Behavioral Interventions for Offenders? A Research Note Reviewing the Economic Evaluation Literature

Public expenditure on the criminal justice system represents a significant fiscal burden to government worldwide, making the economic evaluation of interventions aimed at improving justice outcomes critical to informing resource allocation. This study systematically reviews and assesses the scope and quality of economic evaluations of behavioral interventions aimed at reducing reoffending. Only seventeen studies met the inclusion criteria, with wide variation in methodological approaches, including differences in costing perspectives, study design, and the definition of cost and outcome measures. The majority of behavioral interventions for offenders remain unevaluated from an economic perspective, representing a significant evidence gap for informing cost-effective and efficient allocation decision. Based on the studies reviewed, economic benefit can be derived from investing in offender behavioral programs. However, whether this investment represents ‘value for money’ remains unclear. What is clear is that economic evaluations in the justice health sector lag behind research in other areas of public policy.     

Who Benefits from Community Mental Health Care? Using Latent Profile Analysis to Identify Differential Treatment Outcomes for Youth

Treatment effectiveness has been shown to vary across subgroups of youth based on characteristics such as comorbidity, problem severity, gender, and age. The current study aims to explore if subgroups of youth, identified by applying latent profile analysis to parent-reported symptoms, age, and gender, are better served by specific usual care services. Archival data from a community mental health center were utilized, including parent-reports of symptoms for 953 youth (44.4% female; ages 4–18) across multiple time-points, and services received. Latent profile analysis identified five subgroups including Low Risk, High Risk, Internalizing, Externalizing, and Delinquent/Depressed. The relationship between the intensity level of services and symptoms varied across subgroups. Specifically, high intensity services were related to a greater reduction in symptoms for the Internalizing, Externalizing, and High Risk subgroups. Implications for future developmental research and clinical applications are discussed.     

Rail Franchises,Competition and Public Service

The use of franchises to deliver rail services has raised major problems. Franchises restrict competition in the market, whilst competitive bidding for franchises has met with difficulties, notably in relation to risk transfer and the recent use of short‐term contracts that have not been awarded competitively. Further, franchise agreements are detailed and highly stipulative and do not achieve the flexibility and opportunities for innovation originally intended. This reflects an underlying lack of trust resulting from the arrangements adopted on privatisation. By contrast, in Sweden regional services have been procured through contracts with limited risk transfer, and in Italy provision of services has been entrusted to a dominant operator with comparatively limited detailed service specifications; both seem to have been more successful. For the future in the UK, possibilities include greater use of competition, a return to public ownership, regionalisation, and the use of concessions with limited risk transfer to secure stability.