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Revision about minors trafficked for exploitation in criminal activities. Forensic Science Club

By 5 Mins Read

Friends of the Forensic Science Club, this week we present the paper “‘Little Rascals’ or Not-So-
Ideal Victims: Dealing with minors trafficked for exploitation in criminal activities in the Netherlands”, by Breuil, B. O. (2021), in which the author revises the problem of minor trafficked in criminal activities in the Netherlands’ context.

We know that one of the great scourges in our society that still exists today is human trafficking. The best known is trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation, which drags millions and millions of people to cruel destinations, from which it is very difficult to get out.

However, there is also trafficking for criminal purposes, where the majority of victims are, once
again, the most vulnerable people: children and teenagers.

In the Netherlands, the context of this study, the defended idea is that the interests of minors should
be guaranteed in these types of cases, and that victims of trafficking should not be held responsible
or punished for the crimes they were forced to commit. However, society often regards these
punishments as deserved and fair.

So are front-line actors (police and authority figures) prepared to identify and deal with these cases?

This topic is discussed in the research carried out by the author in 2015 and 2016, about children
and young people exploited in criminal activities in the Netherlands.

At the time it was carried out, only five cases had been successfully tried in court. And although the
visibility of the phenomenon has increased in recent years, it is unfortunately a form of trafficking
that remains under-researched, in the Netherlands but also in the rest of the world.

The objective of the article is, therefore, to contribute to filling this gap, providing ideas that may be
relevant to public institutions for child protection.

The research revolves around two questions: first, what knowledge exists about the phenomenon, its
definition, characteristics, the profiles of the perpetrators and victims, and so on. On the other hand,
some cases were investigated in order to explore the different manifestations of the phenomenon.

One of the problems posed by this criminal typology is the reduced amount of literature on it. Based
on the limited data that exist, the most common crimes in this context would be: pickpocketing,
forced begging, robbery, shoplifting, illegal street vending or drug trafficking. Regarding the first four activities, there is a strong emphasis on research on Roma children, from Central and Eastern Europe, as the main victims of this exploitation.

However, the author mentions that we need to be skeptical about the “ethnitization” of the
phenomenon. The most important thing in the victimization of minors for these crimes are the
socioeconomic disadvantages of their families, living in segregated, impoverished and crime-prone
neighborhoods, with sick, unemployed parents, that sometimes can be alcohol or drug users. There
is no reason for children of other ethnic groups living in similar circumstances to not be victimized:
it is not about race, but about disadvantaged living conditions. This also has negative consequences on parents and the Roma culture, who are perceived as perpetrators.

A very interesting aspect that should be considered is that the assumptions about how the victims
should be, dissuade the authorities from granting the status of victim to minors who do not fit this
ideal, since there is a belief that these minors arrived with their families to the host country to enjoy
its social benefits, being this an assumption that can impair their ability to see them as victims.
In other words, although they may be identified as victims of trafficking for criminal purposes, this
does not guarantee that they are actually recognized as such, due to the stigmatization they suffer.

There is also a cognitive bias that makes it easier to consider women victims than men. Some of the
authority figures interviewed for the author’s study observed that the possibility of girls being
trafficked is more obvious.

On the other hand, it is difficult for cases of exploitation of minors for criminal activities to reach
the courts. According to the investigation, it is because at some point in the investigation of the
crime, the idea is lost, it is no longer considered trafficking.

Sometimes it happens because professionals prefer not to label the case as human trafficking in an
official way, in order to be as objective as possible and interpret the facts from a neutral role.

At other times, it is considered that labeling a case as human trafficking might not be in the best
interest and well-being of the child. This follows the argument that, in some cases, legally qualifying facts as a consequence of trafficking avoids addressing the structural causes (political, economic and social), to the benefit of punitive criminal justice reactions.

In other words, prosecuting and imprisoning parents for trafficking their children can have serious
consequences for children and worsen their living conditions. An intervention aimed at protecting
them, supporting parents in raising children, improving their living conditions, would produce
better results.

These combined efforts could pave the way for better identification of the trafficking of minors for
exploitation in criminal activities, and ensure that children’s rights are respected, including the right
to not be punished for crimes they were forced to commit. It would also be necessary to address
economic, social, cultural and gender inequalities, while keeping the best interests of children in the
spotlight.

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Criminology

Aggressive defiant behavior in adults with intellectual disabilities: are there any factors influencing its development? Forensic Science Blog

By 5 Mins Read

Friends of the Forensic Science Blog, this week we present the paper “Aggressive challenging behavior in adults with intellectual disability: An electronic register-based cohort study of clinical outcome and service use”, by Smith, J.; Baksh, R. A.; Hassiotis, A.; Sheehan, R.; Ke, C.; Wong, T. L. B.; Strydom, A. and PETAL investigators (2022), in which authors compiled information about patients with intellectual disability to know better how aggressive defiant behavior is presented in this population.

 Intellectual disability is a lifelong condition, characterized by impaired cognition, language and social skills, affecting approximately 1% of the world’s population.

Challenging behavior, which includes self-injury, aggression, threats, physical violence, and sexually aggressive behavior, among others, is estimated to have a prevalence of approximately 10% among adults with intellectual disability, and tends to persist over time, with a rate of approximately 25% at 2 years. 

Aggressive challenging behavior is a common reason for referral of adults with intellectual disabilities to health services, and can have serious consequences, from family and caregiver stress to contact of the person with the disability with the criminal justice system.

Some previous studies that have explored factors associated with aggressive challenging behavior in adults with intellectual disabilities have shown that male gender, some comorbid autism spectrum disorder, communication problems, and disability aggravation are associated with higher levels of aggression. 

The authors’ aim in this study was to update the available information on factors associated with aggressive challenging behavior in adults with intellectual disabilities.

To this end, data from the South London and Maudsley (SLaM) National Health Service (NHS) Foundation Trust in the United Kingdom were considered. SLaM is one of the largest providers of mental health care in the European area. 

Data from patients older than 18 years old were considered. These had to have had an episode of outpatient care that included direct contact with a team specializing in mental health, more specifically, intellectual disability, all between January 2014 and December 2018. There were a total of 1,225 patient records analyzed.

Some of the most interesting insights the study yielded was that episodes with high frequency of aggression were of longer duration than those episodes with lower frequency (over 2 years vs. approximately 4 months). 

Younger adults, mean age approximately 31 years, had a higher frequency of episodes of aggression. 

Mood instability, irritability, and agitation were strongly associated with a higher occurrence of aggressive defiant behaviors. 

Nearly 60% of the patients had at some point a diagnosis of pervasive developmental disorder.

Authors found that aggressive challenging behavior occurs in the majority of clinical care episodes requiring the involvement of a specialized intellectual disability health care team.

It appears that, as discussed above, being younger, having a diagnosis of pervasive developmental disorder, and mood instability and irritability all play a role and are risk factors. 

Other risk factors included the presence of a common mental disorder, personality disorders, and agitation during aggressive episodes. 

The amount of social and health care provided, although very important for families, did not really prove to be a risk factor.

A very important point made by the authors, is that mental illness or mental health problems are often not diagnosed in people with disabilities because of atypical behavioral manifestations that already exist. That is, some behaviors that may inform a mental disorder are taken to be consequences of intellectual disability. Therefore, there is a high level of diagnostic uncertainty. 

In a recent study based on a group of 142 people with intellectual disabilities, it was shown that almost one third of the participants had some type of undiagnosed mental health problem, with major depressive and anxiety disorders being the most common. 

Authors point out the importance of devoting efforts and resources to research on people with intellectual disabilities, first, to understand the health condition with which they live and, second, to help bring their quality of life as close as possible to that of those with typical intellectual development. 

In addition, understanding why aggressive behaviors arise would help not only these individuals but also their environment and interpersonal relationships, which would gain stability and quality.

It is important to consider aggressive challenging behavior as a public health problem that needs more research and clinical investment, as well as more effective forms of individualized intervention and support.

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Dark Triad, self-control and antisocial behavior: how do they interact? Forensic Science Club

By 4 Mins Read

Friends of the Forensic Science Club, this week we present the paper “Dark Triad Personalities, Self-Control, and antisocial/criminal outcomes in Youth” by Pechorro, P.; DeLisi, M.; Gonçalves, R. A.; Braga, T. and Maroco, J. (2021), in which authors carry out a study to examine whether self-control mediates the relations between the Dark Triad and some aspects such as crime or mental disorders.

Research in criminology and various areas of psychology, such as developmental psychopathology or personality, consistently points out to the existence of dark personality characteristics and comments that these are associated with various behavioral problems.

Within these traits would appear self-control, and also the famous Dark Triad composed of narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy.

Narcissism is characterized by being selfish, self-centered, having low empathy, and a high need to be admired by others.

When a person is Machiavellian, he is cunning, intriguing and unscrupulous in his behavior, in addition, he tends to exploit others for his own benefit.

Finally, psychopathy shares many features with antisocial personality disorder and describes a person with little empathy, very little emotional connection with others, impulsive, and a tendency to engage in reckless behavior, which sometimes leads them to commit crimes.

Although the Dark Triad and self-control are different ideas, they have common points. Both embody an individual who has very poor emotional regulation and behavior, is self-centered and pursues self-interest without taking others into account; in addition, that person would be a lying and manipulative person, prone to behavioral problems.

To date, there are several meta-analytic studies indicating that the Dark Triad and self-control are significantly related to a variety of antisocial outcomes and personality pathologies.

It is important to note that, although self-control and the Dark Triad are consistently associated, there is little research that has examined these two concepts together: only 5% of the studies found by Miller in his 2019 meta-analysis (cited in Article).

Larson carried out an analysis in 2015 in which it was seen that almost 60% of the participants had a low level of narcissism and a high level of self-control and, therefore, exhibited a normative functioning of their personality; however, 6.4% of the sample presented high narcissism and very low self-control.

This part of the sample had a psychiatric risk profile, more likely to abuse substances and experience violence. In addition, they were also more at risk of committing crimes such as intimate partner violence, cruelty to animals, theft, sexual assault…

The study thus showed that there is apparently a tendency to crime when the characteristics of narcissism (which is one of the characteristics of the Dark Triad) and low self-control are present.

In this study, the authors investigate whether self-control mediates the relationships between the Dark Triad and some behavioral disorders in a sample of Portuguese youth. In doing so, the Dark Triad’s links to self-control and criminality were examined.

The sample consisted of 567 young people between 14 and 18 years old. A series of tests and scales validated by the scientific community were used to examine self-control, delinquency, behavioral disorders, among others.

Analyzes showed that psychopathy had the greatest impact in terms of links to low self-control and juvenile delinquency, conduct disorder, and crime severity.

This is consistent with psychopathy’s reputation as one of the most important drivers of crime.

The findings also indicated that low self-control partially mediated the association between psychopathy and Machiavellianism.

On the other hand, narcissism had little or no direct significant effect on the results, and even had negative associations with low self-control. This is consistent with previous studies.

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You will earn a degree from Evidentia University, a licensed university in the United States, a country that has one of the most prestigious and demanding educational systems in the world. This guarantees a quality education with international recognition. Start today from just $208 a month and build your future in this fascinating field!

If you want to know more about the criminal mind, criminal profiling, and forensic science, don’t miss our Certificate in Criminal Profiling, a 100% online program certified by Heritage University (USA), with special grants for the Forensic Science Club readers.

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Criminal profiling

Comparison between homicides committed by women and homicides committed by men in Spain. Forensic Sciences Club

By 5 Mins Read

Friends of the Forensic Sciences Club, this week we present the paper “Does she kill like he kills? Comparison of homicides committed by women with homicides committed by men in Spain” by Santos-Hermoso, J.; Quintana-Touza, J. M.; Medina-Bueno, Z. and Gómez-Colino, M. R. (2021), in which authors make an analysis of the differences between how women kill and how men kill.

Criminal behavior studies have shown that most crimes, especially violent crimes, are committed by men.

In the Spanish context, the average rate of crime committed by men between 2010 and 2018 was five times higher than the ones committed by women.

Despite the differences reflected in this data, over the past 20 years there has been a steady increasement of the number of women convicted because of violent crimes. And not only in Spain; in fact, Finland found an increasement in homicides committed by women between 1995 and 2004.

Although the study of women as victims of homicide has been widely studied, the same does not happen if we think of them as victimizers. This is so, mainly, due to the low level of prevalence of female murderers. And within the group of investigations on homicidal women, there are even fewer that analyze the homicides committed by them outside the family sphere.

But what do we know so far? Well, one of the main conclusions drawn from these comparative studies is that women kill mainly members of their family, while men tend to kill acquaintances and/or strangers.

Regarding the gender of the victims, most studies show that both men and women prefer the latter.

On the other hand, it seems that young victims tend to be associated with women, mainly because of the involvement of them in filicide cases.

Regarding the characteristics of the aggressors, literature speaks about the fact that women tend to be married or in a relationship and live with other people, while men tend to be single and live alone. Another fact would be that men tend to have more criminal records than women do.

When it comes about the consumption of alcohol and drugs, it is also more likely that men have consumed some substance at the moment of the incident, while, regarding mental illnesses, it is more likely that women are the ones with a previous diagnosis.

Men kill in public settings and outdoors, while women kill in closed spaces, such as homes. Men, in addition, use firearms to a greater extent, and women tend to use suffocation or knives.

With these data from previous works, authors carry out a study with the intention of delving into the differences between one type of homicide and the other, but not limited to a specific area such as couple cases or filicides.

To do this, they analyze cases corresponding to 577 homicides resolved by the Spanish Civil Guard between 2013 and 2018 (95.5% of the total cases registered in those years).

What were the results obtained?

In the first place, it should be noted that female perpetrators constituted a 9.8% of the total perpetrators analyzed. Of this percentage, 3 out of 4 were homicides committed by women in the family environment, highlighting the cases of filicide.

Regarding the gender of the victims, it was surprisingly observed that women predominantly kill men, and not women as it was believed; while in men, the opposite occurs. Women would also prefer young people, so in those cases where the victim is a young man, the homicide is more likely to have been committed by a woman.

Regarding the psychosocial profile, women kill victims who can be considered vulnerable, either because of what we have just mentioned about youth, or because these victims may exhibit some type of mental illness or difficulty to a greater extent than the victims of men.

Regarding the perpetrators, the information provided by the authors’ study is that women are, on average, somewhat older than men, but the difference is not significant.

An important finding that confirms conclusions from previous research is that, to a greater extent than men, women tend to present or be diagnosed with mental disorders at the time of the incident. On the other hand, men are more frequently under the influence of substances.

An interesting finding is that women tend to commit homicides during the afternoon. They are not usually carried out in the presence of witnesses, probably because, as we have already seen, they prefer closed spaces.

Also, as other research suggested, it appears that women tend to displace bodies. This can be explained because most of their victims are relatives and they may choose to displace the body as a method of disengagement; on the other hand, given that underage victims are associated with women, their bodies are easier to move.

There seems to be a consensus that firearms are used primarily by men and suffocation methods by women. Of the 100 cases in the study in which firearms were used, only 1 involved a female aggressor.

In terms of post-homicide behaviors of perpetrators, studies suggest that women remain on the scene and tend to confess more frequently than men.

This study provides an interesting basis on which to further investigate the differences between homicides by men and those by women. Although an existing limitation could be that, we know that women mainly commit homicides in the family environment, but are there differences between family homicides committed by women and men?

On the other hand, it is still necessary to develop studies that include the analysis of other variables, such as whether or not there is a prior relationship between victim and perpetrator. The authors talk about this point as an idea from which future research could start.

If you want to know more about the criminal mind, criminal profiling, and forensic science, don’t miss our Certificate in Criminal Profiling, a 100% online program certified by Heritage University (USA), with special grants for the Forensic Science Club readers.

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Psychology

Ex-juvenile offenders think about what made them commit murders. Forensic Science Club

By 5 Mins Read

Friends of the Forensic Science Club, this week we present the paper “Juvenile Homicide Offenders Look Back 35 years later: Reasons They Were Involved In Murder” by Heide, K. M. (2020), in which the author carries out a series of interviews with people that, in their youth, served time for committing murders, to investigate which are the causes that made them commit them, according to their own opinion.

 The homicide committed by young people and the subsequent treatment of justice with them, has been a controversial issue and to which experts have paid attention especially since the last century.

When young people engage in violent crime, especially murder, society questions why, and what should be done about them.

In the context of the United States there are two periods in which the murders committed by minors increased. The first occurred between 1960 and 1975, when juvenile arrests for murder and homicide increased by 200%. The second stage occurred between 1984 and 1993, when arrests of minors went from 1,004 to 3,284. In addition, of these arrests, the percentage of homicides went from 7.3% to 16.2%.

This significant increase in the involvement of minors in murders also occurred at a time when the youth population was declining.

Experts warned the nation to expect a wave of young predators and predicted there would be a continued escalation in child murders in the coming years.

In response to this phenomenon, a series of laws were passed in the United States in the late 1980s and 1990s that facilitated the transfer of juveniles involved in serious crimes such as murder to adult court.

Juveniles convicted in the adult criminal justice system during that period, like them, were subject to the death penalty, life in prison without parole, and long prison terms.

In the 21st century, the courts of the United States recognized that minors have a different development from that of adults. Because their brains are not fully developed, they are less equipped to critically assess situations and tend to be more impulsive. They are also more vulnerable to peer pressure and have limited ability to extricate themselves from unfavorable environments in their homes or neighbourhoods.

Some experts investigate what happened to these young people once a few years had passed since the crime was committed. Those who had been released from prison, had they reoffended? Those who had not been released, had they reoffended in prison?

Vries and Liem followed 137 young people convicted of homicide who were admitted to juvenile facilities in the Netherlands. The follow-up was carried out for a period between 1 and 16 years. 59% were sentenced again for other crimes, including more murders.

These authors consider that age at first arrest, age at time of homicide, number of prior crimes, and relationships with criminal friends were significant predictors of crime.

To analyze recidivism, impressions regarding their crimes, and other factors, the author conducted a series of interviews with people who were part of the sample of one of Heide’s studies.

Heide conducted five follow-up studies of a group of young men convicted of murder, attempted murder, or homicide. These young people had been tried in adult courts with the consequent penalties.

At the time of writing this article, these young people were already a little over 50 years old, because 35 had passed since the first study. They were given semi-structured interviews with open and closed questions about their experiences in prison, their post-release experiences, recidivism, and were asked preferably what the reasons were for getting into trouble.

One factor stands out as the most important reason. 70% of the participants identified peer pressure as the most influential factor in their criminal involvement. More than 50% said that the most important factors were drug addiction, in addition to living with daily crime in their neighborhoods.

This is consistent with subcultural theory and social disorganization theory.

Only a third of those interviewed said they acted impulsively. We must remember that impulsiveness is a very significant feature of psychopathy and a major factor in the self-control theory of crime, which is sometimes also called the general theory of crime.

Within the limitations of the study, the author points out that the follow-up period should be reduced, since some subjects who participated in the original study had already died when these interviews were conducted.

She proposes dissuading rehabilitated youth from returning to their old neighborhoods, particularly if their homes were in communities where crime was common. It is also recommended that they do not associate with their old friends if they still live in this environment.

If you want to know more about the criminal mind, criminal profiling, and forensic science, don’t miss our Certificate in Criminal Profiling, a 100% online program certified by Heritage University (USA), with special grants for the Forensic Science Club readers

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Crime

The concept of Lie and its identification in Criminal Proceedings. Forensic Science Club

By 6 Mins Read

Friends of the Forensic Science Club, this week we present the paper “The Concept of Lie and its Identification in Criminal Proceedings” by Antonov, I. O.; Burganova, G. V. and Nasyrova, Y. M. (2021), in which authors expose a general vision of deception and its concept and how this matter is explored in a forensic environment.

This week we will talk about deception, in a paper which is closely related to our Nonverbal Communication Club.

We already know that police forces’ work is aimed at the timely and quick detection of crime. That is why it is important not only the identification of these criminal acts, but also knowing who is guilty and avoid them to run away from the criminal consequences derived from their behavior.

One way of avoiding this, is presenting false testimony during an interrogatory and, moreover, in face-to-face confrontations.

This happens commonly, and, obviously, complicates the forensic process. Makes it difficult to collect evidence and expose those responsible for the criminal case.

Due to the importance of recognizing this kind of fake declarations and the effects for people of accepting criminal consequences or not, authors revise the lie concept and how it is investigated in a forensic environment.

Regarding a lie definition, authors point out this as one of them: “a conscious incorrect statement that serves to achieve certain goals through deceit”.

Moreover, according to numerous authors, three characteristics of deception would exist. First would be the consciousness, a person knows that his or her statement is untrue; second, the intention to deceive another person is mandatory; third, the person pursues certain motives and goals by communicating false information, in particular, he or she seeks benefit from avoiding the negative consequences of the situation.

Besides, according to other authors, we could distinguish between an active lie and a passive lie.

For instance, in a criminal environment, proportionate false testimony to who is interrogating us, knowing that it is not true, would be an active lie. On the contrary, passive lie would simply be to conceal some information about the case.

Due to how complex is the phenomenon, and knowing that there are so many factors involved, a great effort is required by authorities when it comes about investigate how to discern in forensic environments between the truth and a lie.

Authors start to mention some of the techniques used for this.

For instance, video recording makes it possible to expose the person who is being interrogated, to record the content of the investigative action and its dynamics. Plus, it is useful to demonstrate that no violence or coaction has existed against interrogated people.

The use of video footage is very useful if we want to detect false testimony. One of the reasons is that, with a video, we could analyze the whole meeting the times it is required.

Audio recording would be also recommended for various reasons. Firstly, it would be possible to infer the emotional state of the person being questioned through his or her intonation, the volume of his or her voice and other prosodic factors.

And, besides, it can be used to compare and look for contradictions in case the person’s testimony changes with the time.

The observation method is also used in the process of detecting false testimony. It allows us to infer the emotions and the psychological state of the person involved through nonverbal and verbal communication. It is a method used commonly by the scientific community.

These methods have shown their effectivity following the idea that when a person lies, also experiments some psychophysiological changes because he or she is going through an intense emotional state.

This is a recurrent idea that many authors have worked with: they bear in mind that, with deception, a cognitive effort comes, whose consequences are observable.

It is worthwhile saying that investigating lies from an empirical perspective in the forensic environment is something that each day more authors are turning their efforts to.

They pay attention to prosodic elements, gestures, facial expressions, body movements…

Plus, an adequate diagnosis and prediction about the psychological state of the person, his or her temperament and character, makes it possible to assume the line in which this person’s future behavior would go in a particular situation, such as the interrogatory.

Recognizing and overcoming lies in testimonies continues to be one of the main tasks of an investigator when studying a criminal case.

In fact, more and more attention is being paid to scientifically supported contributions from leading authors on the subject.

However, authors comment that there is still a very long way to go, and resources must continue to be invested to discover more about lie detection techniques and how they can be applied to the forensic and criminal field.

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If you’ve always dreamed of understanding criminal minds and applying your knowledge to solving crimes, you can now make that a reality. The Master in Criminal Profiling prepares you to work in the fascinating world of forensic science. Study 100% online from anywhere in the world and earn a degree from Evidentia University, a licensed university in the United States.

The world of forensic science is constantly evolving, and you can be on the front line. With the Master in Criminal Profiling, you will study criminology and criminal profiling online, with complete flexibility.

You will earn a degree from Evidentia University, a licensed university in the United States, a country that has one of the most prestigious and demanding educational systems in the world. This guarantees a quality education with international recognition. Start today from just $208 a month and build your future in this fascinating field!

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Criminology

The closer, the better: do criminals choose the location of their crimes based on their routine? Forensic Science Club

By 4 Mins Read

Friends of the Forensic Science Club, this week we present the paper “Relationships Between Offenders’ Crime Locations and Different Prior Activity Locations as Recorded in Police Data”, by Curtis-Ham, S.; Bernasco, W.; Medvedev, O. N. and Polaschek, D. L. L. (2022), in which authors carry out an exhaustive study to know more about the patterns of geographical choice of criminals, to discover whether a relationship between them and the offenders’ routines exist. 

We know from routine activity theory and crime pattern theory that crimes occur when opportunity (that is, the presence of a suitable and available target) overlaps with offenders’ known locations through their routinary noncriminal activities, such as where they live, work, or socialize with family or friends.

Recent theoretical development suggests that some types of activity locations are more important than others for offenders’ crime location choices. Understanding which they are more likely to choose to commit their crimes has very important implications for crime prevention and investigation. It can help identify high-risk locations and inform the most appropriate risk management strategies. It can also help in geographic profiling for crime investigation. 

But, despite the practical importance of being able to predict, at an individual level, where a person will commit a crime, there is little research that empirically explores the extent to which various types of activity locations differ from one another in their influence on crime. 

Studies to date have only compared a limited subset of locations (e.g., the offender’s home, homes of family members, or locations of prior offenses). This study leverages a large national dataset of widely disparate locations pertaining to offenders’ pre-crime activities recorded in a police database in a previously unresearched context (New Zealand). 

Drawing on environmental psychology, crime pattern theory emphasizes the role of people’s routine activities in generating awareness of criminal opportunities. 

First, offenders might identify criminal opportunities more easily and more frequently near their places of activity, called nodes. Qualitative studies have confirmed that home, work, and other places of non-criminal activity have the potential to generate crime opportunity awareness. Recent quantitative studies have estimated the greater likelihood of offenders committing crimes near their homes, the homes of close relatives, and the locations of previous offenses, compared to other locations.

On the other hand, the role of routine activities in generating awareness of criminal opportunities means that the probability of offending tends to be highest near activity nodes and decreases with distance. This pattern of decreasing distance reflects that people are more familiar with areas closer than farther away from their activity locations, and familiarity is an important factor in the choice of crime location. 

All this also reflects the principle of least effort: in theory, people travel the shortest distance necessary to find the opportunity to commit a crime. 

The main objective of the article is to expand the understanding of how all these associations happen in reality. To do this, data on crimes and nodes of offender activity were collected from the National Intelligence Application (NIA), a New Zealand Police database. The offenses included were all residential and non-residential burglaries, commercial and personal burglaries, and extra-familial sexual offenses committed between 2009 and 2018. In addition, in all of these, an offender was identified with sufficient evidence to proceed against him/her. 

The results obtained revealed that almost all nodes were significantly and positively associated with the choice of crime location. 

Consistent with expectations based on crime pattern theory, crime was almost always more likely in the surroundings of activity nodes and decreased with distance. Crime near home showed the strongest associations, followed by immediate family homes. This information is especially relevant and novel for nonresidential burglary and extrafamilial sexual offenses.

In addition, it appears that individuals are more likely to offend near immediate family homes versus more distant relatives’ and intimate partners’. 

These findings, the authors note, are interesting because they may help to identify more accurately who is more likely to have committed a crime in a particular location, given the nature of the crime.

If you want to know more about the criminal mind, criminal profiling, and forensic science, don’t miss our Master of Science in Criminal Profiling or our Master of Science in Anti-Fraud Behavioral Analysis

The world of forensic science is constantly evolving, and you can be on the front line. With the Master in Criminal Profiling, you will study criminology and criminal profiling online, with complete flexibility.

You will earn a degree from Evidentia University, a licensed university in the United States, a country that has one of the most prestigious and demanding educational systems in the world. This guarantees a quality education with international recognition. Start today from just $208 a month and build your future in this fascinating field!

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Criminology

Which are the factors that influence a minor to commit serial murders? Forensic Science Club

By 4 Mins Read
cropped view of killer washing knife in sink after murder

Friends of the Forensic Science Club, this week we present the paper “Youth Serial Killers: Psychological and Criminological Profiles”, by García-Baamonde, M. E.; Blázquez-Alonso, M.; Moreno-Manso, J. M.; Guerrero-Barona, E. and Guerrero-Molina, M. (2022), in which authors make a revision of previous literature on youth that has committed serial murders, to know some interesting data to elaborate their criminal profiles. 

The phenomenon of serial murders occupies a unique place in the field of criminology, but also in the criminal justice system, especially when the perpetrators of these and other types of violent crimes are minors.

In addition, there is a great lack of understanding of the phenomenon of serial murders. The issue is surrounded by great media sensationalism that always arises around the question of whether serial killers are born or made.

On the other hand, there are many media that classify those who commit these crimes as “monsters” or “demons”, this being one more part of the media circus that surrounds these cases both at the judicial and social levels. This contributes and feeds the collective mentality influenced by the media that does not skimp on giving details about the crimes and that, sometimes, can even turn the perpetrators into celebrities.

In order to gain a better understanding of the phenomenon of serial murders, their extent and seriousness, and focusing on those committed by young people, authors carried out a review of the literature on the topic. 

Authors consider that legal and social problems do not occur only in cases in which young people or minors commit serial murders, but since they commit violent crimes.

Despite the terminology often used by the media, young offenders are not monsters or beasts, and often have no criminal record.

Sometimes these first crimes take place because they cannot refuse peer pressure. Normally, there will usually be an explanation.

One thing that strikes the authors, and is of particular concern to them, is that since the mid-1980s and around the early 1990s, there has been an unprecedented growth in youth homicides. The data suggests that young people are currently involved in more crimes than previous generations.

The most common case is these young people belonging to street gangs, a very particular criminal phenomenon, since it has specific variables that make it different from the rest of juvenile delinquency.

Based on these data, the psychosocial and criminological profile of young people who commit homicides is not comparable to the criminal profile of common murderers. 

It should also be mentioned that cases of serial killers where the perpetrators are children or young people are, of course, much less frequent than cases of adults.

Some of these young people come from broken families where they are not able to acquire a stable personality. Thus, they continually seek to satisfy their desires through fantasies of domination and control.

Similarly, some may have experienced physical, sexual and emotional abuse, often simultaneously.

Research on the impact of child maltreatment on violent behavior has shown that maltreatment and exposure to violence, in any form, is an important predictor of criminal behavior.

On the other hand, psychopathy appears, which we all know, and which generates serious problems in the affective, interpersonal and behavioral dimension of humans, so much that psychopaths can victimize others without their ethical awareness being affected.

Many features of psychopathy begin to emerge in childhood and can be more or less easily identified, as well as in adolescence and young adulthood. For this reason, attention should be paid to minors who experience risk factors such as mental health problems, problems in their upbringing, a history of substance abuse, very intense impulsiveness, emotional instability, total absence of guilt, etc.

This article has some limitations. For example, there is a low prevalence of juvenile serial killers, which makes it difficult to study these specific cases, so the analysis should be taken with caution.

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Growing up in single-parent families and the criminal involvement of adolescents. Forensic Science Club

By 5 Mins Read

Friends of the Forensic Science Club, this week we present the paper “Growing up in single-parent families and the criminal involvement of adolescents: a systematic review”, by Kroese, J.; Bernasco, W.; Liefbroer, A. C. y Rouwendal, J. (2021), in which authors make a revision of the existing literature about the consequences of growing up in a single-parent family, with special attention to the bonding with crime. 

Many children grow up in single parent families; in fact, according to statistics, the number of families with only one biological father present has increased in Western countries in the past few years.

Growing up in a family of this kind, usually occurs because it has previously gone through a separation, divorce, death of one of the parents, etcetera. However, this last case is the least common, since the percentage of single-parent families due to divorce, separation and single mothers is increasing.

Authors consider that, observing the increasement of the statistics regarding the existence of this type of family, the consequences of growing up in that context should be studied.

Previous research has suggested that growing up in a single parent family has negative effects on children’s emotional well-being, as well as on their cognitive development and school performance. In addition, behavior control problems or anxiety have been reported in children belonging to these families.

These studies point to the divorce as a very important factor, identified as a stressor for children.

What about crime? Being associated with crime during adolescence has been suggested to be a risk factor for young people who have grown up in families with only one parent present. This is also associated with poorer health and well-being and a greater likelihood of continuing criminal activities in adulthood.

However, even though there is not a large amount of literature about young people from single-parent families and their relationship with crime, the links between crime and young people in general have been studied on numerous occasions.

There is the theory of social control, which suggests that adolescents participate in crime because they have a lack of affective bonds with their parents, a lack of commitment to the rules, do not engage in conventional activities and do not develop the belief of the rules deserving respect.

For example, if there are very weak bonds with parents, children and young people may feel more stimulated by spending time in criminogenic environments rather than with their parents.

There is also the family crisis model. This model suggests that family disruptions are important determinants of children’s well-being. For example, experiencing divorce or separation from parents causes psychological stress, emotional resentment, and social tension in children.

Consequently, emotional resentment in children could decrease the level of family bonding and increase the child’s criminal behavior.

On the other hand, this same model maintains that experiencing the death of one of the parents causes anxiety, emotional stress and depression.

Therefore, it seems coherent to suggest that, according to this model, criminal behavior is more likely to appear in young people who belong to single-parent families who have experienced divorce or separation, rather than in young people from single-parent families due to the death of one of the parents.

However, this is only a small part of the existing literature. Authors carry out their own study, researching articles on the subject. Finally, the sample number was 48.

Conclusions are interesting: first, it appears that being a crime-related adolescent and being born and raised in a single-parent family are closely related facts; second, only one study reports the effects of each of the different reasons for the appearance of single-parent families as criminogenic factors for young people, so it is clear that more research is needed.

Regarding the first question, the vast majority of the articles studied, report a positive relationship between both ideas.

It was found that in a study conducted with reports on juvenile convictions, it is suggested that adolescents from single-parent families due to divorce or separation showed higher levels of delinquency than adolescents from single-parent families due to the death of one of the parents.

This finding is consistent with the expectations of the family crisis model. Although, this and other theories mentioned in the article are not enough to fully explain this phenomenon.

Therefore, there are limitations. For example, almost all adolescent behavioral data was self-reported. It is possible that for this reason, there is an underestimation of the real levels of crime. On the other hand, in almost 30% of the studies only children were included as participants.

There are several suggestions for future research, such as conducting the studies in contexts other than the United States.

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Risk factors for the criminal career of sexual offenders compared to other type of offenders. Forensic Science Club

By 4 Mins Read

Friends of the Forensic Science Club, this week we present the paper “Non-intimate Relationships and Psychopathic Interpersonal and Affective Deficits as Risk Factors for Criminal Career: a Comparison Between Sex Offenders and Other Offenders”, by Ferretti, F.; Pozza, A.; Carabellese, F.; Schimmenti, A.; Santoro, G.; Mandarelli, G.; Gualtieri, G.; Carabellese, F.; Catanesi, R. and Coluccia, A. (2021), in which authors carry out a study to know how the non-intimate relationships and psychopathic interpersonal an affective deficits can work as risk factors that affect the criminal career of sexual offenders, comparing them to other offenders.

Since the beginning of Criminology, the criminals’ personal history, the development pattern of their careers and the risk factors that lead them to these destinations have always been considered a topic of great interest.

For example, the relationship between the traumatic experiences of victims of sexual abuse and the emergence of dysfunctional sexual behaviors was investigated by numerous experts, leading to the conclusion that other underlying causes of sexual crimes should be sought, because the victim/aggressor paradigm is too reductionist.

Attention has also been paid to psychiatric disorders, which play an important role; in the case of sex offenders especially schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and mood and personality disorders.

On the other hand, psychopathy appears, whose relevance in criminal behavior and violent behavior is widely recognized in the literature. It is generally assessed using the Revised Psychopathy Checklist (PCL-R), which covers the factors of interpersonal and affective deficits and antisocial behavior.

The association of psychopathy with sexual crimes is not new. In a study mentioned in the article, it was found that the presence of psychopathy in sexual offenders constitutes a predictive factor of criminal recidivism in this but also other types of crimes.

Other studies have shown that the relational failures of caregivers and attachment figures, can lead the child to experience difficulties in their interpersonal self-regulation. These difficulties can constitute a risk for adults by promoting aggressive behaviors, difficulties in emotional regulation and sexual problems, as can be found in many cases of psychopathy, sadism and paraphilias.

As we can see, there is such a variety of ideas that it is difficult to accurately identify the risk factors that can affect the dysfunctional sexual behavior of sex offenders.

The objective of this study was to explore the relevance of life events in the criminal outcome, comparing sexual offenders with other types of offenders. Experiences related to violence problems, antisocial behaviors, personal relationship problems, substance use, traumatic experiences and parenting styles were studied.

A total of 88 sex offenders and 102 people serving sentences for other types of crimes participated.

Among sex offenders, most of the inmates (76%) served time for child abuse.

In the category of other offenders, were convicts serving time for murder, assault, crimes against property and against the state, but not sexual crimes.

A set of items from the HCR-20 V3 scale was used to evaluate risk factors.

Non-sexual offenders were found to be more likely to have a history of violence and antisocial behavior problems in adolescence and adulthood, along with substance abuse problems. Only one risk factor, the absence of problems in non-intimate relationships, differentiates the criminal career of non-sexual offenders and sexual offenders.

These non-intimate relationships are defined as bonds with family members, friends, or acquaintances, which do not involve any type of sexual dimension. Social isolation, emotional distance, instability, conflict, manipulation of others, inappropriate sexualization, and violence in non-intimate relationships are indicators to consider.

Compared with the group of non-sexual offenders, sexual offenders showed higher levels of interpersonal and affective psychopathic deficits, and lower levels of antisocial behaviors.

With this study the importance of poor non-intimate relationships in predicting the criminal career of sex offenders is confirmed. Above all, inappropriate sexualization, violence and the escalation of problems are important in this context.

Authors consider that treatment programs for sex offenders should be aimed at preventing recidivism, and therefore should address these deficits in non-intimate relationships, and target psychopathic traits, specifically interpersonal and affective traits. For example, through cognitive behavioral therapy, which has been shown to be an effective treatment for psychopathic traits.

If you want to know more about the criminal mind, criminal profiling, and forensic science, don’t miss our Certificate in Criminal Profiling, a 100% online program certified by Heritage University (USA), with special grants for the Forensic Science Club readers.

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Forensic Science Club