Multiple perpetrator rape in Ghana: offenders,victims and offence characteristics

Multiple perpetrator rape (MPR) is criminalised in Ghana but there is a dearth of research and official statistics on the phenomenon. This study explores some of the key characteristics of MPR in Ghana as reported in the media. Keyword search of the news archives of 9 Ghanaian media outlets generated 57 cases of MPR reported from January 2000 through June 2016. Content analysis of the cases showed 61 all-female victims and 57 all-male perpetrator groups. The average victim age was 17.9 years and the modal perpetrator-group size was two. The majority of the victims knew at least one member of the perpetrator groups. The perpetrator groups approached their victims outdoors but raped them indoors, using violent techniques to compel compliance. Although the characteristics of MPR in Ghana, as observed in this study, are comparatively similar to those found in other African countries, further studies are recommended for a nuanced understanding of MPR in Ghana.     

Staff members’ evaluation of inpatients’ motivation for aggression – the roles of staff restrictions and aggression severity

Improved understanding of inpatient aggression can come from systematic assessment of motivation for aggressive incidents. This study investigates staff members’ evaluation of motivation for aggressive incidents, and how such evaluations are influenced by staff restrictions and aggression severity. Staff reports of aggressive incidents in a secure psychiatric unit were collected in clinical practice over a ten-year period (2006–2015). Motivation for aggression was assessed with the Aggressive Incident Motivation Evaluation Scale, measuring irritable, instrumental, and defensive dimensions. Information about staff restrictions was collected with the Staff Observation Aggression Scale – Revised, and severity was rated with the Visual Analog Scale. Multilevel analyses of 2649 aggressive incidents, committed by 67 inpatients, revealed greater variation in aggression motivation across incidents than between individual patients. Staff restrictions preceding the aggressive incident and rating of severity were positively related to staffs’ evaluation of motivation for aggression, but their impacts differed across motivational dimensions. Staff reports of motivation provide important additional information beyond current standard report forms. Systematically evaluating motivation is essential to risk management, and may contribute to develop more fine-tuned interventions for preventing and managing aggression in inpatient settings.     

Broadcasting Badness: Violence,Identity, and Performance in the Online Gang Rap Scene

This study contributes to an emerging literature both detailing Internet usage among street gangs and gang members and exploring how street life is presented in underground rap music. We present a content and cultural analysis of 78 rap videos posted on YouTube by gang members in Buffalo, New York, between 2009 and the first few months of 2015. Violence was the most dominant and consistent theme in the videos. We find that online space operates like a virtual street corner enabling individuals and groups to perform social and collective gang identities that emphasize and exaggerate their capacities for lethal violence. Online gang rap videos use violent imagery, revisit violent events, and reference gang conflicts to enhance both gang myth-making and social or collective identity development.     

Neighborhood Advantage,Relative Status,and Violence Among Foreign-Born Adolescents

Immigrant families and contexts are protective for delinquency, even though recent immigrants are more likely to be poor and reside in disadvantaged settings. Yet it is unclear whether the protective effects of immigrant status depend on the match between family SES and neighborhood advantage. This study examines the interplay among immigrant status, family SES, and neighborhood advantage in predicting adolescent violence. Using multilevel longitudinal data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (N = 1,908), findings show that first-generation adolescents from low-SES families have the highest odds of violence in the most advantaged contexts, exceeding that of even third-generation adolescents. In contrast, high-SES first-generation adolescents have the highest probability of violence in less advantaged contexts, but the lowest in the most advantaged neighborhoods. The results identify conditions under which the protective nature of immigrant status is eroded, and highlight the importance of relative status for understanding violence among foreign-born adolescents.     

论抢劫罪与敲诈勒索罪的区别

抢劫罪与敲诈勒索罪最容易发生混淆的地方是,当两罪都表现为当场使用暴力,当场取财和以当场使用暴力相威胁,当场取财的两种情况。此时,两罪的真正区别就在于暴力所指向的对象不同。抢劫罪的暴力及暴力威胁指向的是人身,而敲诈勒索罪的暴力及暴力威胁所指向的是人身以外的物。     

我国应对炸弹恐吓事件的工作缺失及其对策

近来,我国境内发生多起炸弹恐吓事件,造成了较大伤亡和财产损失,引起了社会公众的恐慌。炸弹恐吓事件有各种特征及其成因,我国应对此类事件有一些缺失,要采取一些对策预防和打击炸弹恐吓事件。     

WHEN BEING GOOD IS BAD: AN EXPANSION OF NEUTRALIZATION THEORY*

Traditional subcultural theorists maintain that offenders operate in an environment in which oppositional norms catering to ethics of violence, toughness and respect dominate the social landscape. Such offenders actively reject middle‐class value systems and operate beyond the boundaries of what is considered decent society. In their seminal work introducing Neutralization Theory, Sykes and Matza criticized such subcultural perspectives for overemphasizing the extent to which actors reject mainstream values (1957). They maintained that offenders and delinquents are aware of conventional values, understand that their offending is wrong, and self‐talk before offending to mitigate the anticipated shame and guilt associated with violating societal norms. This study analyzes street offender decision making and behavior in an effort to expand that perspective. The analyzed data was taken from interviews of hardcore, active, noninstitutionalized (uncaught) drug dealers, street robbers and carjackers to determine how they neutralize to support their offending. Findings indicate that these offenders strive to protect a self‐image consistent with a code of the streets orientation rather than a conventional one. That is, they neutralize being good rather than being bad. This suggests that expanding the scope of neutralization theory beyond the confines of conventional value systems will allow the theory to explain the behavior of a larger group of offenders. It also takes into account the kinds of real‐world contextual forces that now influence urban crime.     

Socioeconomic Predictors of Intimate Partner Violence Among White, Black, and Hispanic Couples in the United States

This study assesses the relative influence of various SES measures on the probability of intimate partner violence (IPV) among a national sample of White, Black, and Hispanic married and cohabiting couples. Participants were interviewed in conjunction with the 1995 National Alcohol Survey. Sociodemographic, psychosocial, and alcohol consumption data were obtained from both members of the couple. IPV was measured through the Conflict Tactics Scale, Form R. Bivariate tests were employed to investigate the association between SES and IPV. Deviance statistics, based on contrasting transformed likelihood measures obtained through multivariate logistic regression models, were computed to assess the relative influence of SES on the probability of IPV. Results indicate that annual household income had the greatest relative influence on the probability of partner violence. Future research is needed to explore the pathways by which SES contributes to the risk of partner violence.     

An evaluation of a group treatment approach for children who have witnessed wife abuse

The present study evaluated a time-limited group treatment program developed by Jaffe et al.(1986) for child witnesses of wife abuse. The sample of children between the ages of 8–13 years, in both the treatment and control groups, was referred by agencies in the community. The evaluation based on the Child Witness to Violence Questionnaire, measured three variables: attitudes and responses to anger, knowledge of support and safety skills, and sense of responsibility for the parents and for the violence. An analysis of covariance of the pretreatment/posttreatment data showed significant differences on the first and third variables: attitudes and responses to anger, and sense of responsibility for the parents and violence measured. The second variable, safety and support skills, showed no significant difference between groups. Consideration was given to additional findings, limitations of the study, and recommendations for program change.