Identifying criminals: No biasing effect of criminal context on recalled threat

To date, it is still unclear whether there is a systematic pattern in the errors made in eyewitness recall and whether certain features of a person are more likely to lead to false identification. Moreover, we also do not know the extent of systematic errors impacting identification of a person from their body rather than solely their face. To address this, based on the contextual model of eyewitness identification (CMEI; Osborne & Davies, 2014, Applied Cognitive Psychology, 28[3], 392–402), we hypothesized that having framed a target as a perpetrator of a violent crime, participants would recall that target person as appearing more like a stereotypical criminal (i.e., more threatening). In three separate experiments, participants were first presented with either no frame, a neutral frame, or a criminal frame (perpetrators of a violent crime) accompanying a target (either a face or body). Participants were then asked to identify the original target from a selection of people that varied in facial threat or body musculature. Contrary to our hypotheses, we found no evidence of bias. However, identification accuracy was highest for the most threatening target bodies high in musculature, as well as bodies paired with detailed neutral contextual information. Overall, these findings suggest that while no systematic bias exists in the recall of criminal bodies, the nature of the body itself and the context in which it is presented can significantly impact identification accuracy.

The Reconvictions of Mentally Disordered Offenders - How, When, and Where?

Background Little is known about the recidivism of mentally disordered offenders after discharge from forensic psychiatric services. This is problematic because such knowledge could (i) help professionals who come into contact with this group to better plan interventions to prevent recidivism and (ii) clarify the effectiveness of forensic psychiatric care. The aim of this study was to investigate the new crimes of mentally disordered offenders who had been reconvicted after discharge from forensic psychiatric care. Methods Included in this study were all individuals who had been discharged from forensic psychiatric care in Sweden during 2009-2018, were included in the Swedish National Forensic Psychiatric Register, and had been reconvicted in a criminal court within the follow-up period of 2009-2018 (n=157). Retrospective registry data along with coded data from criminal judgments (n=210) were used to create a database. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed. Results 75% of included individuals were reconvicted for at least one violent crime, but only 9 individuals were reconvicted for a serious violent crime, which can be compared to the 44 individuals with serious violent index crimes. The most common crime was “Other violent”. The most common sentence was probation. The offender’s most common relationship to the victim was having no known relationship, followed by the victim being a person of authority. The most common circumstance of the crime leading to the reconviction was that it occurred without apparent provocation; other common circumstances were related to the exercise of public authority. The most common crime scene was a public place. Conclusions Even though the reconvictions of this group included many violent crimes, there were very few serious violent crimes. The finding that the victims of the crimes of mentally disordered offenders are most commonly either unknown to the perpetrator or persons of authority, and that the crimes are often perpetrated without apparent provocation or reason, is important information for all professionals who come into contact with this group and should be taken into consideration in order to assess risk more accurately.

New cabinet will struggle to improve Haiti’s politics

Significance The assassination of President Jovenel Moise in July, surging violent crime and a weak economy have left the unpopular acting prime minister, Ariel Henry, struggling to establish a new government. His cabinet, appointed in November, represents a compromise among various political factions. However, as multiple interests put pressure on these factions, the cabinet looks unlikely to turn the country’s fortunes around. Impacts High rates of crime will encourage increased undocumented migration to the Dominican Republic, stoking bilateral tensions. The ongoing investigation into Moise’s death will continue to focus attention on links between political groupings and drug gangs. Rising deportations of Haitians from the United States will put additional pressure on the beleaguered social system.

Environmental Conditions Associated With Youth Delinquency Events: A Temporal, Meteorological, and Contextual Perspective

Research on youth delinquency has been essential for gaining a deeper understanding of the etiology of delinquent behavior. Studies considering the environmental perspective have increased during the last decade, but relatively little attention has been paid to temporal patterns and weather conditions. The present study explores the seasonality of youth delinquency as well as the association between violent and non-violent youth offenses and temperature, rainfall, level of darkness, type of day, type of place, and companionship, using data gathered by the police along with data obtained from official weather agencies. To this end, we conducted ANOVA and contingency table analyses. Seasonality was found for non-violent crimes. Companionship, semi-public, and public places were all associated with a higher likelihood of non-violent crime, while darkness and public holidays raise the odds of violent crime to happen. No direct association was found between temperature and type of crime.

Climato-Economic Context of Regional Crime and Corruption Across the Russian Federation

Cross-national research claims that the crime-and-corruption gap between relatively poor and relatively rich countries is larger in more demanding climates that require more cash and capital to cope with the climate. However, this claim is premature because countries differ in many confounding ways including histories and politics. We, therefore, re-tested the climato-economic context of violent crime and corruption within Russia, a country with considerable regional differences in climate and income. Across the eighty-five administrative units of Russia, the crime-and-corruption gap between relatively poor and relatively rich regions is smaller in more demanding climates. Harsher climates are so strongly associated with higher crime levels that the potential influence of differences in wealth becomes negligible. Furthermore, harsher climates are so strongly associated with higher corruption rates in poorer regions but lower corruption rates in richer regions that the potential influence of the climatic demands as such becomes negligible.

Intimate Partner Violence and Subsequent Violent Offending Among Handgun Purchasers

Perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV) often reoffend, and firearm access increases risk of severe injury or fatality. Prior research identifies an association between a history of violent misdemeanor convictions among handgun purchasers and increased risk of subsequent arrest for a violent crime; the risk associated specifically with an IPV criminal history remains largely unexplored. The current study examined a cohort of 76,311 California adults who legally purchased a handgun in 2001 and followed them through 2013. Compared with purchasers who had no criminal history at the time of purchase, those with a history of only IPV ( n = 178) charges were at increased risk of subsequent arrest for a violent Crime Index crime (murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault; adjusted hazard ratio [AHR], 2.6; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.4–5.1), any violent crime (AHR, 3.2; 95% CI: 2.0–5.1), and an IPV crime (AHR, 5.2; 95% CI: 3.0–9.0). Purchasers with both IPV and non-IPV charges demonstrated the greatest risk of re-arrest relative to those with no criminal history. Despite the strength of the relationship between IPV and subsequent arrest, a small proportion of handgun purchasers with an IPV criminal history were re-arrested for firearm violence crimes, limiting application for risk assessment purposes. Results affirm prior research identifying IPV as a risk factor for future offending.

Re-Opening Dallas: A Short-Term Evaluation of COVID-19 Regulations and Crime

We investigated the relationship between COVID-19 stay-at-home regulations and property and violent crime indexes in Dallas, TX during the first 6 months of 2020. We tested for changes in property and violent crime trends using four key “intervention” dates: the stay-at-home order issued by Judge Clay Jenkins (March 24), the start of Governor Abbott’s phase one of re-opening (May 1), a second phase of more widespread re-openings (May 18), and a third phase of increased capacity limits for businesses (June 3). Our analyses point to two main findings: (1) the time between the initial stay-at-home policy and the phase one re-opening was associated with an increase in the trend of both violent and property crime (although at lower levels than pre-pandemic); and (2) the third phase of re-opening the City of Dallas was associated with higher daily counts of property and violent crime. Our findings suggest that policy makers need to consider policies not only related to police enforcement but also allocation of other social services, particularly when such a sudden policy (e.g., stay-at-home order) is implemented.

An Exploratory Study of Environmental Stress in Four High Violent Crime Cities: What Sets Them Apart?

Understanding the social contexts of violent crime remains controversial in the literature. In the current study, we examine common social contexts in four cities (Houston, TX, Baltimore, MD, Jackson, MS, Wilmington, DE). Data were examined in two studies. In the first, each city was compared to national county-level data on health outcomes. In the second, communities within the four cities were examined for correlates of crime. Results suggest that some common social contexts emerge: high STD rates, air pollution, single-parent homes, insufficient food resources and sleep, residential segregation, housing cost burdens, comparatively few older adults and comparatively more females, were common among the four high-violence cities. By contrast, all four cities unexpectedly had uncommonly low suicide rates compared to the national average. At the community level, unemployment, community stress, median household income, and population density all correlated with criminal outcomes. High-violence cities tended to have higher proportions of Black residents, however community level evaluations suggested that class-related issues, not race per se, was correlated with violent crime.