An exploration of burglary in the criminal histories of sex offenders referred for civil commitment

Commission of nonsexual crimes generally antedates officially recorded sexual offenses. In particular, burglary has been hypothesized to be a potential ‘stepping stone’ in the development of one's sexual criminal career in the same way that marijuana has often been considered a ‘gateway drug’ to more serious drug-related offenses. The present study examined the officially recorded criminal histories of 828 male sex offenders to determine the relevance of burglary in their criminal histories. One third of the men in the sample (n=281, 34%) had been charged at least once for burglary. These 281 men committed a total of 762 separate incidents of burglary. Offenders with at least one officially recorded charge for burglary (BSOs) were compared with those with no such charges (SOs). Next, the characteristics of each burglary were examined and four distinct types of burglary were identified: nonsexual, covertly sexual, overtly sexual, and combination burglary/rape. BSOs accrued twice as many charges as the SOs and were significantly more likely to have an earlier age of onset, a longer criminal career, more employment problems, elementary school problems, antisocial behavior, and substance abuse.     

Criminal attitudes and psychopathic personality attributes of youth gang offenders in Singapore

Gang-affiliated youth are responsible for a disproportionate amount of serious and violent offenses. However, there is scant focus on the psychological variables that could be important for treatment planning and program development. Awareness of these variables is important for treatment planning and program development and also, potentially, for understanding which youth may be attracted to gangs. This study compared the criminal attitudes and psychopathic personality attributes of gang- and nongang-affiliated youth offenders (N=168) residing in youth correctional institutions in Singapore. Multivariate analyses indicated that favorable attitudes toward gangs (ATG), violence, and criminal associates remained significantly associated with gang membership after accounting for favorable attitudes toward violence and criminal associates, as well as increased attitudes of entitlement and impulsive/irresponsible traits. These attitudes were likely to perpetuate gang affiliation and criminal behavior, and thus should be a focus for intervention and rehabilitation efforts.     

Mexican American Attitudes Towards Crime

Abstract

The study seeks to determine (1) whether the crime seriousness ranking hierarchy identified by Rossi et al. in 1974 persists and (2) whether intra-group agreement on the relative ordering of crimes exists within a Mexican American sample stratified by age and sex. A self-administered survey questionnaire surveyed a sample of 525 college students and 426 parents. Respondents were asked to rank 20 crime offenses according to perceived seriousness. The analyses indicate that the older cohort of respondents is more conservative than the college students and that female students have lower tolerance for crime than their male counterparts. Among Mexican Americans, significant generational and sex differences exist in how serious certain behaviors are perceived.     

犯罪心理测试反测试及其对策

犯罪心理测试技术是在甄别嫌疑人过程中使用的测谎方法.但由于测试中的原理机制等问题,反测试手段可以以多种方式对测过程和测试结果进行干扰.加强犯罪心理测试中的监控并提高反测试识别技术,可以较好地应对测试中出现的反测试.反测试的出现本身就是逃避测试的表现,一旦发现被测人存在反测试行为或心理,则应重点对其进行调查.随着新技术的发展,脑电测试结合测谎范式进行检测有了一定的研究基础,为今后的测谎方式提供了更多的选择.     

英美刑法中的犯意转移理论

犯意转移原则用以解决D意图杀死V1而实际杀死了v2等类似情形之责任认定问题。该原则起源于16世纪的英国普通法,对英美刑法司法及立法产生了广泛、深远的影响,但亦面临着实践窘境及学者的猛烈批判。作为事实错误不免责之理论,犯意转移原则是建立在抽象故意观基础上的刑罚政策选择。在打击错误的场合,犯意转移原则对于D的责任认定并不妥适,因为它忽视了刑事责任的认定在主观与客观、事实与规范、自由与强制之间的博弈。     

Dynamic Attenuation: Terrorism,Transnational Crime and the Role of the US Army Special Forces

This article analyses the ability of the US Army Special Forces to combat illicit networks (criminal and terrorist) through ‘dynamic attenuation’. It is argued that a process of dynamic attenuation, where network ties and not the actors in the network are targeted, should replace the current US strategy of ‘killing or capturing’ criminal agents threatening US interests. By dynamically attenuating (not destroying) the ties between and among criminal actors and criminal organisations, the US can effectively reduce the capability of criminal organisations to operate and achieve their missions (profit and/or terror). This argument is substantiated by assessing the environments where criminal networks thrive, the characteristics of criminal networks, the utility of targeting networks instead of individual actors, and through a comparison of criminal organisations' and US Army Special Forces' strengths and weaknesses. This article concludes with implications and recommendations for US policy in the fight against criminal organisations.     

Criminal constitutions

Why do criminals use constitutions? This article argues that constitutions perform three functions in criminal organisations. First, criminal constitutions promote consensus by creating common knowledge among criminals about what the organisation expects of them and what they can expect of the organisation's other members. Second, criminal constitutions regulate behaviours that are privately beneficially to individual criminals but costly to their organisation as a whole. Third, criminal constitutions generate information about member misconduct and coordinate the enforcement of rules that prohibit such behaviour. By performing these functions, constitutions facilitate criminal cooperation and enhance criminals' profit. To examine our hypothesis we examine the constitutions of two criminal organisations: eighteenth-century Caribbean pirates and the contemporary Californian prison gang, La Nuestra Familia.     

海洋刑法学的提出与国际海上犯罪的立法规制

随着人类社会对海洋资源的开发与利用,涉海领域的犯罪将愈演愈烈,直接危及作为海洋大国的中国的经济健康发展,加之我国刑事立法与刑事法学的严重滞后,迫切需要加强海洋刑法学的研究;海洋刑法学的研究对象是国际海上犯罪,其重点在于"国际"、"海上"犯罪,较之一般犯罪在法律适用、行为方式、行为时空等方面存在明显区隔;对于国际条约中所涉及的国际海上犯罪在国内的适用应采取转化的操作模式,可考虑在刑法典中独立设置章节对其进行规定。     

论刑法作为宪法的罚则及二者的关系模式

目前关于宪法和刑法关系的表述,是一种基于宪法文本的解读,没有论及当前的法律设计是否合理。宪法是法律世界的统领,为个人权利对抗刑罚权力提供平台,形成对刑法审视,并且贯穿定罪和量刑两大根本领域。具体而言,对宪法秩序的破坏是犯罪行为具有严重社会危害性的指针和标准;只有宪法才能说明刑罚的正当性来源于人民。因此,刑法是宪法的一种罚则,宪法在由精神、原则和规范所组成的框架内指引着刑法的创设和发展。