Unregistered residents and registered crime: an estimate for asylum seekers and irregular migrants in Norway

The purpose of our study has been to better estimate the number and types of crimes committed by asylum seekers and irregular migrants. While data on immigration status for non-residents are lacking in Norwegian crime statistics, we use indirect identifiers (lack of a national ID number, citizenship, residency) to arrive at an estimate for persons with a pending asylum claim and the related group of irregular migrants (i.e. non-EU citizens). A very small amount of the total crimes registered with a known offender are committed by this group. However, these groups are most likely overrepresented as offenders compared to the registered resident population, also when taking age and gender into consideration. Our method is recommended in a field otherwise dominated by political arguments and as an alternative to registering asylum status in crime registers.     

命案发案特点与侦破对策

提高命案侦破能力,实现“命案必破”的奋斗目标,是摆在公安机关当前的一项重大任务。目前,在故意杀人等严重刑事案件中,犯罪分子作案手段和方法出现了新特点、新趋势。公安机关应根据新变化．把握新特点,有针对性地采取相应措施,不断提高侦破命案能力,努力实现“命案必破”的目标。     

17例杀亲案件的回顾性分析

目的总结杀亲案件的特点,为此类案件的分析、预防提供参考。方法调查溧阳地区2004—2014年破获的17例杀亲案件,对原始登记信息、现场勘验笔录、尸体检验鉴定书、破案情况进行统计分析。结果 17例杀亲案件中受害人以女性居多,嫌疑人以男性居多,杀人动机以配偶不忠或怀疑配偶不忠占较高比例。杀亲案件中有精神病患者杀人、伪装杀人,嫌疑人杀人后自杀占有一定比例。结论杀亲案件多与婚外性行为、精神病患者杀人等家庭因素有关,部分为杀人旋即自杀,致伤工具具有简单随意、易于获取的特点。     

Injury‐Related Healthcare Use and Risk of Filicide Victimization: A Population‐Based Case–Control Study

Research on child‐related risk factors for filicide is scant. We investigated whether prior healthcare use for injury (including poisoning) influences filicide risk. Victims (0–14 years; n = 71) were identified in a national autopsy database for the years 1994–2012 and compared to matched, general population controls (n = 355). Healthcare use data were retrieved from a national patient registry. Risks were estimated using odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). For females, prior inpatient care for injury conferred a statistically significant sevenfold risk (OR = 6.67 [95% CI: 1.49–29.79]), and any prior injury‐related healthcare use conferred a statistically significant fourfold risk (OR = 3.57 [95% CI: 1.13–11.25]), of filicide victimization. No statistically significant risks were found for males. Healthcare personnel should be aware that children treated for injuries, especially females, may be at an elevated risk of filicide victimization. Nevertheless, the filicide base rate remains low, and parents may be stigmatized by unfounded alerts; thus, prudent reflection should precede reports to the authorities.     

Body Transportation after Homicides: Offender and Offense Characteristics

Body transportation is defined as moving the body of the victim from the scene of a homicide to another location. We analyzed data on 513 South Korean homicide cases with convictions to compare 104 homicides involving the transportation of victims’ bodies with 409 homicides that did not. Offenders who transported their victims’ bodies were significantly younger and more likely to be related to the victims and were less likely to use sharp instruments and more likely to use blunt instruments or strangle the victims than offenders who did not. Victims of homicide involving body transportation were more likely to suffer injuries to the neck and head and less likely to suffer injuries to the torso. Finally, offenders who transported victims’ bodies were more likely to have planned the offense and destroyed evidence. The present findings have practical implications for police investigations.     

Race,Place, and Police-Caused Homicide in U.S. Municipalities

We test structural hypotheses regarding police-caused homicides of minorities. Past research has tested minority threat and community violence hypotheses. The former maintains that relatively large minority populations are subjectively perceived as threats and experience a higher incidence of police-caused homicide than whites do, the latter that higher rates of violent crime among minorities create objective threats that explain these disparities. That research has largely ignored some important issues, including: alternative specifications of the minority threat hypothesis; the place hypothesis, which maintains highly segregated minority populations are perceived as especially threatening by police; and police-caused homicide in the Hispanic population. Using data for large U.S. cities, we conducted total-incidence and group-specific analyses to address these issues. A curvilinear minority threat hypothesis was supported by the Hispanic group-specific findings, whereas the place hypothesis found strong support in both total and group-specific analyses. These results provide new insights into patterns of police-caused homicide.     

Differences between Homicides Committed by Lone and Multiple Offenders in Korea

The aim of this study was to differentiate between homicides committed by multiple offenders and homicides committed by lone offenders. Using data on homicide incidents that occurred in South Korea between 1985 and 2008, we compared 134 homicides committed by multiple offenders, with 369 homicides committed by lone offenders. A greater proportion of homicides committed by multiple offenders involved injuries to the victim's head compared to homicides by lone offenders. Homicides committed by multiple offenders were more likely to involve blunt instruments and ligatures, whereas homicides by lone offenders were more likely to involve sharp instruments. In addition, a majority of the homicides committed by multiple offenders were planned. The results of this study have practical implications for homicide investigations, as well as theoretical implications for homicide research on the difference in offense behaviors based on the number of offenders.     

Obesity,Body Mass Index,and Homicide

The body mass indexes (BMIs) of 100 randomly selected homicide cases from the files of Forensic Science SA were compared to the Australian and South Australian populations. There were 70 males and 30 females (M:F = 2.3:1; age range 18–84 years; mean 42.3 years). There was a substantially lower proportion of obese individuals in the homicide population compared to the general Australian and South Australian populations (19% [vs.] 27.9% and 30%, respectively). A second group of 144 randomly selected autopsy cases where the BMI was ≥40 kg/m² was analyzed. There were 77 males and 67 females (M:F = 1.2:1; age range 23–78 years; mean 46.7 years). The majority of deaths were natural (N = 108), with no homicides. A negative association between obesity and homicide has, therefore, been demonstrated. Reasons for the lower numbers of obese/morbidly obese individuals among homicide victims are unclear, but may include physical protection afforded by fat padding from sharp force injuries, and relative sociodemographic isolation.