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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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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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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.

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Friends of the Forensic Science Club, this week we present the paper “The Salience of Antisocial Personality Disorder for Predicting Substance Use and Violent Behavior: The Moderating Role of Deviant Peers” by Wojciechowski, T. W. (2020), in which the author carries out a study to know how the relationships with adolescents with deviant behavior influence other adolescents, putting the focus of attention on violent behaviors and drug use. 

We know that young people are a particularly vulnerable group of population because their personality is not fully developed. That is why we must pay special attention to what happens to them at this stage of their life so that they develop in a typical way.

A mental disorder that is especially dangerous and that appears frequently in adolescence is antisocial personality disorder (APD from now on). This disease is characterized by a pattern of manipulative, aggressive and impulsive behavior, which despises and violates the rights of others. Plus, they do not regret participating or performing illegal acts.

APD has been shown to be associated with substance use and violent crime, among other antisocial behaviors.

In the same way that having friends who like to go to the cinema can make us enjoy it more, the author wonders, then, if in this context the association with young people with deviant behaviors will also influence the development of an APD, drug abuse and/or the tendency to commit violent crimes.

The association with deviant youth has already been highlighted in previous research as a risk factor for developing APD. It is believed that one reason may be the fact that APD tends to appear early, in adolescence, when we are especially vulnerable to deviant acts performed by peers.

In fact, according to a study mentioned in the article, associating with deviant youth models and reinforces antisocial behavior, actually. If this persists, it can be very dangerous, since the reinforced entrenchment of a deviant lifestyle can inhibit the transition to a normative life.

It is suggested in other studies that, although the frequency of association with deviant partners tends to decrease in adulthood, if it existed even then, it could continue to influence the appearance of APD.

However, it should be mentioned that APD is characterized, as we have pointed out before, by manipulative and impulsive behavior and disregard for the emotions of others, so we could say that this must necessarily decrease interactions with peers.

That is to say, it is possible that after developing an APD the person will experiment certain isolation as he/she grows older, with the dangers that this entails. This is something that can happen whether someone has APD or not, but it is true that people who deal with this disease have special circumstances that can make these events particularly important.

In this study, the author focuses on studying how the relationship with deviant young people would influence violent behaviors and substance abuse.

First, because the impulsive nature of this disorder is one of the reasons attributed to the high risk of drug use. In addition, young people often use drugs understanding it as a social ritual. As the transition to adulthood occurs, there may be a continuity in this behavior for individuals diagnosed with APD.

On the other hand, the influence of deviant youth in relation to violent crimes can also be amplified for those with APD, adding to previous research findings that suggest that people with APD are at very high risk of committing violent crimes.

The author uses data obtained from a previous study of more than 1,000 juvenile offenders whose cases were followed for 84 months.

The findings show that the association with deviant partners does work as a moderator of the diagnosis of APD and of drug use and the commission of violent crimes.

However, it does not act as a moderator as it was expected in violent crimes. Individuals with APD committed violent crimes more frequently, but it did not affect contact with deviant youth. On the other hand, it did influence young people not diagnosed with APD, causing them to participate in violent crimes more frequently.

Regarding drug use in young people with APD, it was found that the association with deviant young people had a significant influence only on marijuana use, increasing it.

The author points out that intensive prevention work should be carried out from an early age to reduce the development of antisocial personality disorders, since that is when they begin to appear.

He also comments that future research could focus on investigating why the association with deviant youth affects youth with APD when using marijuana, and not using alcohol or other drugs.

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.

Friends of the Forensic Science Blog, this week we present the paper “Psychological Profile, Emotion Regulation, and Aggression in Police Applicants: a Swiss Cross-Sectional Study”, by Ceschi, G.; Meylan, S.; Rowe, C. and Boudoukha, A. H. (2022), in which authors carry out a study to know the general psychological characteristics that police officers use to share, and how these interact with the critical situations they are exposed to. 

While ensuring public safety, police officers are repeatedly exposed to stressful, violent and traumatic situations, which translates into tremendous psychological pressure. 

For example, it is not uncommon for a police officer to be required to provide protection to the victim of a crime while, at the same time, he/she has to deal with a dangerous offender. 

These situations require sophisticated emotion control and coping strategies, a strong personal predisposition to deal with stress, and enough cognitive resources to manage all of the above. 

Not surprisingly, previous research has shown that exposure to traumatic events contributes to the development of mental health problems. For example, these are associated with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, anger and aggressive attitudes.

Research suggests that police officers may “give clues” to possible mental health problems indirectly. For example, they may exhibit chronic fatigue, worries about some aspects of their work and personal lives, feelings of lack of support from their superiors, feelings of work overload…. 

However, it is interesting to mention that, despite the fact that police officers are continuously exposed to stressful events, only a minority of them report chronic post-traumatic stress disorders or major emotional imbalances. For example, a 2010 Swedish study found that police officers had better mental health than the civilian population.

In short, police officers show good emotional competencies in the face of adverse events. However, the fact that they are significantly and recurrently exposed to traumatic situations throughout their professional career puts them at risk of eventually suffering from emotional imbalance and a progressive erosion of their original temperament. 

It is therefore necessary to anticipate this in order to be able to support at-risk police officers from the beginning of their career, and to help preserve their mental health and professional potential in the best way. 

The aim of the present study was to describe the psychological profile of aspiring police officers in the Swiss context, assessing their levels of stress, anxiety, depression, happiness, aggressiveness, impulsivity… among others. 

For this purpose, a sample of 149 police applicants between 20 and 36 years participated, also, a control group of 110 people between 18 and 33 years. Both groups were asked to complete a series of scientifically valid tests and scales to assess their personality traits. 

In line with previous findings, the authors’ research confirms that police applicants in the Swiss context have a similar psychological profile that is mainly characterized by balanced affective feelings; that is, they have low levels of anxiety, depression, and anger. 

In addition, they self-report few impulsive dispositions and seem to be more likely to think about consequences before acting and to maintain concentration even when performing complex or boring tasks (that is, they are more persistent).

However, this remarkably balanced psychological profile must be tempered by a marked socially desirable style that leads candidates to present themselves in an overly positive light

It has been found that police applicants tend to deceive themselves more than the rest of the population, according to studies from 1997 and 1999. 

Repression would be a factor influencing the latter. In addition, it would also affect the evaluation of stressful situations. That is, repression may cause these people to selectively avoid paying attention to negative information or stimuli and, when they are exposed with them, they may tend to interpret these situations as non-threatening, non-dangerous, and overestimate their own coping potential and capacity for control. 

On the other hand, the current study indicates that the aggressive action tendencies of aspiring police officers are influenced by their high levels of anxiety in certain moments, degree of urgency when confronted with negative feelings, and a marked sensitivity to reward.

That is, more reward-sensitive police applicants, motivated by positive incentives and gratitude, might more readily use aggressive attitudes when encountering obstacles. Thus, authors consider that the desire for rewards can be considered a risk factor for aggressive attitudes. 

Authors understand, therefore, that there is a psychological profile that is intuitively selected, which is specific and consistent with the repressive coping style. In fact, this profile is very favorable in providing, at least initially, a positive image of the candidate that includes good adaptive strategies when dealing with adversities. What should not be forgotten is that chronic exposure to stressful events erodes the individual’s coping potential. 

Authors point out that while this study is revealing, more empirical work is needed to draw conclusions. What can be confirmed is that the findings reveal the importance of continuing efforts to understand law enforcement members’ methods of coping with stressful situations. 

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Friends of the Forensic Science Club, this week we present the paper “Psycholinguistic and socioemotional characteristics of young offenders: do language abilities and gender matter?”, by Winstanley, M.; Webb, R. T. and Conti-Ramsden, G. (2022), in which authors carry out a study to know how the lack of language skills may be related to an increase in the tendency of offend in young people. 

 Juvenile delinquency is a serious and costly problem for society, which also generates fear in citizens. For this reason, careful consideration of the issue and an understanding of the factors that are related to the tendency to offend, including the psycholinguistic and socioemotional characteristics of young people who become involved in delinquency, are necessary.

Language in particular, provides a focus for identifying distressed groups in youth offender profiles, whether or not they are diagnosed with developmental language disorders. 

This knowledge can inform both policy and practice in rehabilitation planning and strategies.

Developmental language disorder refers to significant and persistent problems in understanding and/or using spoken language. These problems won’t be associated with other difficulties, such as a hearing impairment or autism spectrum disorder.

Recent evidence has highlighted an association between delinquency and language development disorder that persists even after controlling for possible confounding factors such as socioeconomic status and/or years of schooling. 

In the scarce previous literature on the subject, the deficits shown by juvenile delinquents in language-based tasks have been assessed from different points of view: form, content, or language use from the word to the sentence and discourse level have been taken into account. As a result, it has been shown that approximately 50% of juvenile delinquents have language deficits that would justify a diagnosis of developmental language disorder, without having been previously recognized. 

Authors suggest that young people with a history of delinquency may be more likely to exhibit a developmental language disorder due to reduced effectiveness of the rehabilitation methods used. 

In this study, the authors determine the language skills of a group of first-time offenders, also examining nonverbal skills. 

On the other hand, it is interesting to note that difficulties with reading have been linked to behavioral problems in childhood, having to do with both behavioral dominance and hyperactivity. 

A 2000 study found that the young offenders surveyed had a reading level 11.3 years below their chronological age. In addition, reading comprehension has been noted as a predictor of recidivism in groups of youth between the ages of 16 and 19, as low alphabetization may limit a person’s ability to access formal justice documentation.

On the other hand, behavioral problems in childhood have been associated with adult delinquency. 

In addition, the literature related to the prevalence of developmental language disorder in children exhibiting conduct problems, raises concerns regarding the referral of children to rehabilitation services that pay little attention to language skills. 

The authors felt it appropriate to include the variable of gender in their study, since, as a general rule, there are fewer young females than males in the justice system, and experts tended to conduct analyses with both groups together. 

The sample included 145 young people, 112 males and 33 females. Participants were assessed in 1 or 2 1-hour sessions in which parents and staff were encouraged to participate. Psycholinguistic, socioemotional, and contextual measures were obtained through scientifically valid tests and scales. 

87 of the juvenile offenders who participated in the study met the criteria for the diagnosis of a developmental language disorder. It was equally frequent in males (58%) as in females (67%). 

The majority of participants with developmental language disorder, regardless of gender, showed severe language difficulties, and only 2 reported having previously accessed services related to speech therapy. This lack of identification of language needs is a cause for concern, especially when considering potential opportunities for its treatment to function as a protective factor against delinquency.

There were also no significant gender differences in the psycholinguistic and socioemotional profiles of male and female juvenile offenders, except for higher levels of general emotional difficulty in females. 

It should be noted that most of the participants commented that they found it very difficult to read, and in fact, 19 of them abandoned the reading comprehension tasks because they could not answer correctly. 

What these data reveal to us is, in short, that young offenders with developmental language disorder are at a greater disadvantage than those without. 

Authors point out the need for language assessment and the identification of language developmental disorder as a crucial part of criminal justice services and a potential priority that may be useful in intervention with juvenile offenders. 

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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.

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Friends of the Forensic Science Club, this week we present the paper “Bringing Light into the Dark: Associations of Fire Interest and Fire Setting With the Dark Tetrad”, by Wehner, C.; Ziegler, M.; Kirchhof, S. and Lämmle, L. (2022), in which authors carry out a study to know whether a relationship between the traits of the so-called Dark Tetrad and the fascination with fire or arson exists. 

Fire has always played an important role in humanity, whether as a source of heat and light, as a means of cooking, or as a source of entertainment. However, tragic cases such as forest fires, or the Notre Dame fire in 2019, bring to public awareness the destructive potential that fire also possesses. 

Whether deliberately or by accident, an uncontrolled fire causes serious damage to both people and property. Fires caused 3,655 deaths in the United States in 2018, and of those, 350 were the result of arson. 

Because of this destructive potential, there is a need to explore fire-setting behavior and investigate what factors lead an individual to that point. 

Research has identified several psychological vulnerabilities that qualify as potential risk factors. One of these is an interest or fascination with fire, as well as with starting fires. 

Many studies have focused on the importance of integrating findings on personality disorders and mental pathologies to the fire issue. A better understanding of the relationship between complex and dark traits and fire setting may improve prevention efforts, or may even help to develop theories about how a pathology that leads to this behavior develops. 

It has been hypothesized that two traits associated with interest in fire and fire setting are impulsivity and thrill seeking. The link between fire setting and impulsivity, in particular, has been empirically demonstrated.

Since psychopathy includes impulsivity as one of its core aspects, authors consider it potentially relevant to the prediction of fire setting. 

Other variables include other traits of the Dark Tetrad. This is better known as the Dark Triad, but some authors call it the “Tetrad” by adding one more factor, in total: psychopathy, narcissism, Machiavellianism and sadism. 

When we think of arson, the first thing we think of is pyromania. This is classified by a great interest in fire, but also by experiences in which before setting a fire, one feels tension and excitement and after the act, a great relief. Because of these criteria, it is complicated to diagnose pyromania, so the vast majority of people with this disorder do not know about it and, worse, do not treat it. 

One theory that incorporated interest in fire as an important factor in triggering them is the Multi-Trajectory Theory of Firesetting (M-TTAF). It describes how psychological vulnerabilities and other factors, such as cultural or developmental aspects, as well as situational context and social learning, can trigger a fire. Authors suggested four possible trajectories within this theory: antisocial, grievance, interest in fire and need for recognition, with a fifth, which would be a combination of the other four. 

To this end, authors conducted a study in which 222 people participated and were given a series of questionnaires related to the fascination with fire, the Dark Tetrad and the M-TTAF. 

Psychopathy and direct physical sadism were found to be significantly correlated with interest in fire and the environment. Direct verbal sadism was positively correlated, on the one hand, also with interest in fire, and on the other hand, with fire provocation. 

The latter two tendencies correlated positively, in turn, with the M-TTAF, suggesting that interest in fire is an important factor for some people, but not for all. For example, someone who follows the grievance trajectory proposed by the model would be more motivated by revenge or retribution when committing a fire than by interest in the fire itself. 

Vicarious sadism was related, on the other hand, to the satisfaction produced only by seeing the fire of an active fire. 

In addition, the relationship between impulsivity and fire setting was seen once again. And psychopathy showed the strongest relationship among the other Dark Tetrad traits. Since impulsivity is a key facet of psychopathy, it seems logical to cautiously relate fire setting to psychopathy.

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Friends of the Forensic Science Club, this week we present the paper “Masochist or Murderer? A Discourse Analytic Study Exploring Social Constructions of Sexually Violent Male Perpetrators, Female Victims-Survivors and the Rough Sex Defense on Twitter”, by Sowersby, C. J.; Erskine-Shaw, M. and Willmott, D. (2022), in which authors carry out an analysis of Twitter publications in which people talk about sexuality, violence, victims and gender, bearing in mind that, nowadays, social networks help to shape social collective thinking. 

We have already mentioned on several occasions that sexual violence is one of the major problems facing modern society. Crime statistics show the increasing prevalence of this type of violence around the world. Since 2014, countries such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand or Ireland have experienced increases in sex crimes recorded by police, while statistics in the United States reveal the same trend since 2013. 

These data are disconcerting, although one of the explanations proposed for them is that rates have increased due to a greater awareness of abuse cases, among other reasons, due to the emergence of awareness and sensitization campaigns, as well as support for victims gender and sexual violence, such as the #MeToo movement. 

It may also be due to an improvement in police training to deal with these types of cases, along with a greater willingness to investigate these allegations.

On the other hand, while it is recognized that both men and women experience sexual violence, the figures for reported crimes stand out for a gender gap, as, in general, men are the perpetrators of these crimes and women, the victims. 

In England and Wales, data reveal that 98% of those prosecuted for serious sexual offenses are men and women represent the 84% of the victims. 

Authors mention that there may be an unknown number of male victims who do not come to light because of the stigma that still surrounds male sexual victimization, and because of societal expectations around the male gender role. 

Interestingly, along with concerns about the prevalence of abuse against women, there is recent media coverage of numerous high-profile sexual crimes, which has brought the issue of women’s safety into the public consciousness. 

This has led to media coverage that reaches social networks, creating debates and generating opinions that are made public. 

And, despite the importance of the phenomenon surrounding sexual violence, there is very little research dedicated to exploring public attitudes toward it and relating them, in turn, to “rough sex”. 

And why rough sex? Research places particular emphasis on distinguishing between rough sex and sexual violence because the line between the two concepts is very thin. 

This type of sexuality, while involving a certain degree of force or aggression, has consent at its core. Violent fetishism, bodily harm, humiliation, domination or submission, are some of the experiences that can be lived by those who practice this type of sex safely, due to its dangerousness, which can be more or less extreme. 

To distinguish between sexual violence and violent sex, the important thing is, as we have said, consent. However, there are times when consent is precarious, especially in situations of trauma or with an abuse background. 

The research also mentions pornography, with an increasing success of the most violent categories, which contributes to blurring the differences between rough sex and actual rape or sexual assault. 

On the other hand, and returning to the media influence of social networks on collective thinking, authors mention the concept of “slut-shaming”, which is often used to blame the victims of sexual violence, especially if they are women. Slut-shaming, for example, uses the fact that a woman has been drinking alcohol or has a very active sex life as an “excuse” for the sexual assault experienced. This highlights the need for research on all of the above data, with special emphasis on gender roles and the influence of the hard sex on the perception of sexual violence. 

To do this, authors search inside of Twitter, which is one of the most popular social networks today. 

They found that the dichotomy “virgin-whore” often appears to talk about women, which categorizes them in an extreme way based on their sexual preferences and constructs negative and defamatory language. For example, those women who do not like rough sex, are often labeled as “saints” or “boring,” the opposite for those who do, who are insulted and humiliated. This is very interesting, above all, because it contributes to the blaming of the victims of sexual violence. 

On the other hand, rough sex is increasingly legitimized as a normative sexuality, downplaying its potential dangerousness. 

The conceptions associated with gender roles are also extreme, not only in the case of women, but also in the case of men, making it seem that it is in their biological nature to be aggressive and hypersexual beings. 

In short, efforts, resources and research are needed to better understand the phenomenon of social networks and how they shape public opinion. Moreover, given the magnitude of the problem of sexual violence, understanding it, preventing it and acting appropriately with the victims is an absolute priority.

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Friends of the Forensic Science Club, this week we present the paper “How bad is crime for business? Evidence from consumer behavior”, by Fe, H. and Sanfelice, V. (2022), in which authors carry out a study with data from Chicago city to understand the behavior of consumers when it comes about choosing what business to frequent, considering criminality rates of the place in which they are. 

Numerous studies suggest that fear of victimization causes consumers, workers and entrepreneurs to alter their activities. Crime, and the behavioral changes it brings, increases the cost of doing business in a place and thus, affects the economic development of the entire area. 

The economic literature has dedicated little attention to studying whether crime impacts business activities, and if so, how, specifically exploring consumer behavior. 

This is the authors’ goal with this article: to fill the gap in the literature on this point by measuring consumer behavior as a result of criminal activities in an area. Understanding this is critical for businesses, urban planners, urban criminology and policy makers. 

In recent times, the presence of small local businesses such as coffee shops, supermarkets and pubs has become a symbol of neighborhood development. Measuring consumer response to local crime, therefore, helps policymakers understand how crime can affect efforts to boost economic development. 

A 2019 study reported that a higher prevalence of violent and private property crime would be significantly associated with both business failure and business relocation. Another 2016 study found that neighborhood crime reduces commercial property values. However, there is no clear consensus on the effect of crime, as most empirical results do not yet have causal interpretations.

To understand the relationship between crime and consumer choice, three roles must be examined: the consumer, the offender, and the business. 

Criminological theory recognizes that a motivated offender, the presence of a suitable target and the absence of effective protection are essential elements that lead to crime. Aware of these elements, citizens assimilate the risk of becoming victims and modify their actions accordingly. 

The level of crime associated with the location of a place can affect the consumers of a business in several ways. For example, individuals may consider the risk of becoming a victim of crime while physically visiting an establishment and may choose to avoid certain areas. 

The perception of violence has also affected residential decision making, reshaping cities as families flee to the suburbs in search of a safer environment.

Consumers can also be affected through the emotional experiences associated with using a service: positive experiences in an environment have a positive influence on emotions, and vice versa. 

On the other hand, people can also assess their risk of being victimized through observation, as already pointed out by the famous broken window theory, or, for example, by being aware of police presence in a place. 

On the other hand, there are several ways in which consumer flow affects individuals’ decision to commit crimes. For example, places with more people offer more opportunities for offenders to strike. A greater flow of people in urban areas can also disrupt social order and facilitate the discreteness of illicit activities by decreasing the likelihood of criminal apprehension. Even consumers can become criminals when gatherings generate social conflict. 

As for businesses, they may suffer from crimes such as theft or robbery, and spend a lot of economic resources on prevention and protection measures to increase private security. On the other hand, crime can lead to a decrease in economic benefits if it scares away consumers. 

Authors analyzed data from the police authorities of the city of Chicago, one of the largest cities in the United States.

The main results suggest that the effect of crime on consumer visits to businesses is important and significant when incidents occur in public spaces, while crimes occurring in private residences do not have a statistically relevant effect. 

On the other hand, crime appears to have a negative effect on the number of visits and the number of customers an establishment receives, but no significant effects were found on the length of time these customers stayed in the stores or business.

And, not surprisingly, nighttime visits are more sensitive to changes in crime than daytime visits. 

The article’s findings are consistent with the argument that the perception of violence and the risk of victimization drives consumers away, making businesses potentially less profitable.

Understanding this is useful in helping policymakers and local agencies plan for the revival and economic development of communities, hand-in-hand with effective crime prevention policies. 

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, 100% online programs that can be taken in Spanish or English, with special grants for the Forensic Science Club readers.

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