Offenders' choice of target: Findings from victim surveys

This paper argues that victimological research on risks can contribute to the study of offender decision-making. It examines some of the problems in conventional approaches to the topic and discusses strengths and weaknesses of surveys of victimization as an additional source of information. It presents and discusses a conceptual framework for examining target selection, the key elements of which are proximity, yield, and accessibility. It presents a worked example in the shape of findings on burglary from the British Crime Survey.     

An Exploratory Study of Violence and Aggression Against Teachers in Middle and High Schools: Prevalence,Predictors, and Negative Consequences

ABSTRACT

Limited empirical findings suggest that teacher victimization at school is highly prevalent, with detrimental negative impacts on victimized teachers. Given the scarce body of literature on teacher victimization, further research is necessary to investigate its extent, predictors, and negative consequences. The present research, using a representative sample of 1,628 teachers in the southwest region of the United States, indicates a high prevalence of violence and aggression directed against teachers. Also, the research found that teachers’ uncertain and helping/friendly behaviors toward students were significantly related to various types of teacher victimization. Experiences involving the five victimization types (theft/property damage, physical assault, verbal abuse, sexual harassment, and noncontact aggression) are correlated with teachers’ self-reported job performance, student trust, safety at school, and thoughts about quitting. Directions for future research and policy implications are considered in the context of these findings.     

Violent Conduct and Victimization Risk in the Urban Illicit Drug Economy: A Prospective Examination

A small but growing body of criminological research examines the nature of social control mechanisms in the context of urban illicit drug markets in order to understand patterns of violence. Several studies find that merchants operating in this economy experience relatively high rates of violent victimization. Existing theoretical and empirical research suggests, however, that an aggressive posture serves a deterrent function in the illicit marketplace. Merchants with a violent persona will have significantly lower rates of victimization compared to their less-violent counterparts. Using a within-person design applied to prospective longitudinal data from a sample of urban males, this paper examines the proposition that violent conduct attenuates the relationship between participation in the illicit drug marketplace and risk for violent victimization. Combined, the results offer partial support for this proposition. We discuss the implications of this study for research on violent behavior, illegal drug markets, and victimization.     

青少年网络被害与网络犯罪心理

作为网络犯罪主体的青少年同时也是网络的受害者。目前青少年网络被害和网络犯罪已成为非常值得关注和亟待解决的问题。满足好奇心、贪财图利、渴望自我实现、宣泄情感等是诱发青少年网络犯罪的几种心理。应该根据青少年的身心特点,加强对青少年的教育和引导,预防和减少青少年网络被害和网络犯罪发生。     

Unsafe Feelings Among Teachers

Abstract

Teachers feeling unsafe in front of their classes tend to show a reduced commitment to their educational task. This can have a negative effect on pupils' performance and may cause behaviour problems. Feelings of unsafety are generally associated with pupils' antisocial behaviour.

We examined this proposition and found the correlation between the two factors to be less direct than is generally supposed. Subjective criminality-related factors (subjective victimization risk and own victimization experience) and well-being (including job perception, satisfaction with the pupils) are very important intermediate factors.

Measures intended to reduce teachers' feelings of unsafety should, therefore, not focus directly on pupil behaviour but on the situation in which the teacher has to work. More in particular, attention should be paid to the development of a positive image of and a respectful attitude towards young people, to teamwork and teacher support, and to the optimization of conditional factors (class size, work pressure, etc.).

The research material was collected via questionnaires completed by 1,432 teachers from 91 schools and secondary analyses of questionnaire data from 4,829 pupils (12 — to 18-year-olds) from the same schools. To complement the questionnaire data, twelve focus groups with teachers and eight with pupils were organised.     

DO NEIGHBORHOODS GENERATE FEAR OF CRIME? AN EMPIRICAL TEST USING THE BRITISH CRIME SURVEY*

For a long time, criminologists have contended that neighborhoods are important determinants of how individuals perceive their risk of criminal victimization. Yet, despite the theoretical importance and policy relevance of these claims, the empirical evidence base is surprisingly thin and inconsistent. Drawing on data from a national probability sample of individuals, linked to independent measures of neighborhood demographic characteristics, visual signs of physical disorder, and reported crime, we test four hypotheses about the mechanisms through which neighborhoods influence fear of crime. Our large sample size, analytical approach, and the independence of our empirical measures enable us to overcome some of the limitations that have hampered much previous research into this question. We find that neighborhood structural characteristics, visual signs of disorder, and recorded crime all have direct and independent effects on individual‐level fear of crime. Additionally, we demonstrate that individual differences in fear of crime are strongly moderated by neighborhood socioeconomic characteristics; between‐group differences in expressed fear of crime are both exacerbated and ameliorated by the characteristics of the areas in which people live.     

England's green and pleasant land? examining racist prejudice in a rural context

Popular constructions of rural England have perpetuated images of idyllic, problem-free environments that have largely masked the process of ‘othering’ that works to marginalize particular groups within rural society. Drawing on the findings of studies conducted in two rural English counties, Chakraborti and Garland assert that racist prejudice is very much part of the reality of rural living for minority ethnic groups whose presence in the countryside tends to be overlooked. They discuss the perceptions of established white rural communities and those of the victims of racial harassment to illustrate the disturbing nature, extent and impact of racism in rural areas, and suggest that the enduring ‘invisibility’ of the problem is compounded both by the under-reporting of such racist incidents and the reluctance of agencies to acknowledge the needs of minority ethnic groups in the countryside. Consequently, racist prejudice in the rural context will only be recognized as a significant issue through a greater appreciation of the diverse complexity of rural space, and the abandonment of singular, outdated notions of rurality.     

Characteristics of false allegation adult crimes

The purpose of this study was to identify common factors in false allegation adult crimes, by examining the dynamics involved in 30 confirmed false allegation cases. The authors conducted a comprehensive review of these adjudicated cases and then completed a collection instrument to capture offender demographics, offense characteristics, and motive. The results indicated that most false allegation crimes were committed by women (73.3%) and Caucasians (93.3%). Data indicated that more interpersonally violent allegations were primarily motivated by attention/sympathy needs (50.0%), whereas more impersonal offenses involved other motivations such as providing an alibi (16.7%) or profit (13.3%). Offenders tended to be younger, high school graduates with no higher education (43.3%). A total of 23.3% of offenders had a prior criminal history. Male offenders appeared as likely as women to be motivated by attention/sympathy; however, men tended to select more violent, nonsexual offenses (e.g., attempted murder) than women.     

Student Weapon Possession and the “Fear and Victimization Hypothesis”: Unraveling the Temporal Order

Using longitudinal data from nearly 4,000 students across 113 public schools in Kentucky, we attempt to unravel the direction of the relationships between student weapon carrying and various objective and subjective school‐crime experiences, including victimization, perceived risk of school victimization, and fear of school victimization. Overall, we found little support for the idea that fear and victimization increase weapon carrying, controlling for other theoretically important predictors, including delinquent offending. While 7th‐grade victimization was modestly associated with increased non‐gun weapon carrying in 8th grade, high perceptions of individual victimization risk in 7th grade decreased both subsequent gun and non‐gun weapon carrying. Fear of criminal victimization in 7th grade did not predict either type of subsequent (8th‐grade) weapon carrying. Though fear, risk, and victimization were inconsistent predictors of gun and non‐gun weapon carrying, we found strong and consistent support for the effects of weapon carrying on subsequent fear, risk, victimization, and offending. However, contrary to the implications of fear and victimization hypotheses, both gun carrying and non‐gun weapon carrying in the 8th grade increased fear of school crime, perceived risk, and actual victimization in the 9th grade. Implications of these findings for the applicability of a “weapons” or “triggering” effect are discussed.     

The Effect of Local Life Circumstances on Victimization of Drug‐Involved Women

While numerous studies have examined female victimization in the general population, fewer studies have focused specifically on high‐risk populations such as drug‐involved females. Of the existing literature, the Lifestyle Exposure and/or Routine Activities theory is frequently used to examine the antecedent conditions and correlates of female victimization. This study employs a dynamic modeling approach to examine the effect of short‐term change (i.e., monthly) in local life circumstances on female victimization within a criminogenic population. Results demonstrated that risk of victimization increased in months a woman was in a relationship, lived with a significant other and/or her children, engaged in criminogenic behavior, or lived in an transitory situation. Contrary to traditional theoretical expectations, conventional employment did not reduce a women’s likelihood of victimization.