The Practice of Spiritual Criminology: A Non-Doing Companionship for Crime Desistance

Spiritual criminology (SC) is an umbrella term for various criminological theories, models and practices that share reference to the spiritual dimension of human existence. Informed by a growing body of research that applies spiritual approaches to various aspects of criminology, SC attempts to provide a common thread shared by most approaches to spirituality: a voluntary self-journey that begins with an elevated level of self-centeredness and is aimed at self-transformation. Based on an extensive review of the literature, this paper proposes three general principles for spiritual accompaniment of people who offended: mindful non-doing, being and acting; love and compassion; and compassionate inclusion. These principles can be applied by combining several practices: renouncing control over knowledge, process and outcomes; creating a moral atmosphere that includes forgiveness and nonjudgment; and self-modeling. SC is shown to contribute to the rehabilitation of people who offended and also to crime prevention.

“I’m Going to be Successful Someday”: Women’s Personal Projects to Improve Their Lives, and Implications for Clarifying the Nature of Agency in Criminological Theories of Desistance

Women’s agency to construct prosocial lives remains understudied in criminology. This qualitative inquiry explores the nature and outcomes of women’s personal projects, which reflect their agency. In up to five interviews, 401 women on probation and parole explained efforts to improve their lives. Psychological theory on personal projects guided analysis that revealed information on project meaning and facilitators and barriers to project pursuit. Women shared a motivation to avoid trouble and establish prosocial lives. Outcomes were improved by social support and prosocial opportunities. Findings have implications for defining and analyzing agency in desistance research and for correctional responses to women.

MUSIC AS A FACTOR IN ETIOLOGY OF CRIME: CAN IT MAKE US ACCEPT THE UNACCEPTABLE?

With no intention to present the importance of music for our lives and for the culture, lesser than it truly has, authors are testing the role of music as a potential factor in etiology of crime. More specifically, they are trying to question whether the music lyrics whose content indicates acceptability of actions that are usually not acceptable, moreover that are criminal, might have an influence on individual so that person perpetrates criminal offence. After brief overview of criminological theories that correlate music and crime, authors will present qualitative study on lyrics of one of the most famous rap duos in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the analysis of the text, and results of survey conducted among student population of Bosnia and Herzegovina, regarding the general and personal influence of the duo's music.

Community multiculturalism and immigrant crime

There is considerable international and local-level variation in immigrant crime. In this article, we propose a theoretical model to better understand that contextual variation. Furthermore, we present the results of our first attempts to empirically assess the validity of the framework, focussing on local-level variation in crime among residents of Turkish or Moroccan origin in the Netherlands. The proposed model connects Berry's acculturation theory to criminological theories, using relevant findings from the immigration acculturation literature as starting points. It theorises that host societies with a ‘multicultural acculturation orientation’ tend to reduce immigrant crime by fostering informal social control and attenuating criminogenic strains. The empirical analyses explore whether local-level variation in multicultural attitudes among the native-Dutch indeed predicts municipal variation in the number of registered suspected crimes among first- and second-generation immigrants, focussing on men of Turkish or Moroccan origin residing in 35 Dutch cities. The empirical analyses are based on a unique database that combines aggregated survey data, which were used to measure natives’ acculturation attitudes, with administrative microdata, including micro-level police data. Evidence is found for a protective effect of local-level multiculturalism for first-generation immigrant crime in particular, especially for immigrant men living in larger local immigrant communities. We also find stronger effects for the more cohesive and societally accepted Turkish-Dutch group than for the more fragmented and excluded Moroccan-Dutch.

Criminological analysis of determinants of criminal behavior

This article analyzes the process of determination of criminal conduct. The authors argue that the reasons for criminal conduct are individual and can vary significantly on a case-by-case basis. Its dependence on both biological and social factors is stated. The combination of pathological heredity, social environment, political and economic factors can cause criminal behavior. At the same time, the psychological aspects of illegal acts are taken into account within almost all criminological theories to a greater or lesser extent. Criminal behavior is always demonstrated only by an individual and, above all, it is a manifestation of psychological deformities, expressed in the phenomenon of criminogenic contamination. Therefore, understanding its essence will better determine the nature of the warning influence. As a result, it is possible to answer several questions about the determination and nature of criminal behavior, the reasons for the commission of criminal offenses, the peculiarities of the functioning of the mental sphere, psychological problems, complexes, etc. This information helps to optimize methods of crime prevention, provide for further actions of serial criminals, help in the identification of offenders and the investigation of criminal cases.

Revising the Critical Gaze: An Inversion of Criminological Theories to Center Race, Racism, and Resistance

<p>We offer a method to invert and redefine three predominant criminological theories from deficit-based to strength-based theories of crime. Using a nine-step protocol, we devised procedures on how to perform theoretical inversions, which include critically assessing the original framework of an identified theory, assuming an opposite frame, listing the original propositions, and applying an opposing frame to revise the original theory’s proposition. Our inversion method produced punitive provocation theory, critical environmental adaptation theory, and socio-structural induction theory, as theoretical inversions of deterrence, social disorganization, and self-control theories. We suggest different measurement options for these new inverted theories, including a focus on the structural antecedents of crime such as racial/ethnic discrimination, exclusion, surveillance practices, and divestment from communities. To ameliorate under-theorizing and create a more equitable and less harmful society, we urge theorists, researchers, and practitioners to adopt a more inclusive, critical, and reflexive approach to understanding human behavior.</p>

Forecasting the future while investigating the past. The use of computational models in pre-trial detention decisions.

The paper focuses on the traditional purpose of pre-trial detention (and other precautionary measures) to prevent specific risks. While liberty is the rule, before conviction, pre-trial detention is an absolute exception, competing with the opposite principle of the presumption of innocence: providing valuable and accurate justification for balancing the interest to prevent risk with the presumption of innocence is an overarching difficulty for judges, in the whole western world. Which the solutions? The paper reflects and compares the traditional solution of legal presumptions with the newer trend of actuarial assessment tools, based on psycho-criminological theories, based on the Italian and the uS federal systems.

The Batty Effect: Victim-Survivors and Domestic and Family Violence Policy Change

This article explores the influence of victim-survivors as change agents through the examination of the case of domestic and family violence advocate Rosie Batty. Utilizing public policy and criminological theories, and drawing from interviews with Batty and policy actors, the article examines the “Batty effect” and the convergence of factors that helped drive significant social and policy reforms in Australia. The article considers how Batty reflects characteristics of the policy entrepreneur and ideal victim, and how the sociopolitical context at the time provided the conditions for change. We conclude by exploring the implications for victim-survivor led policy change.

Do as I Say, Not as I Do? Examining Possible Individual-Level Moderators in the Relationship Between Criminal Attitudes and Offending

Several criminological theories and numerous research studies suggest that criminal attitudes are related to delinquency and criminal behavior. In contrast, there is also an emerging body of literature that suggests that the behavior of many individuals is not consistent with their attitudes. This study addresses this contradiction in the literature by examining two possible individual-level moderators (i.e., self-control and depressive symptoms) that may explain why some adolescents may be involved in delinquent behavior when they report having attitudes disapproving of delinquency. The findings reveal that attitudes disapproving of delinquency are negatively associated with delinquent involvement; however, many respondents with attitudes of disapproving of delinquency still engaged in delinquent behavior. In addition, the findings suggest that self-control and depressive symptoms may moderate the association between attitudes disapproving of delinquency and delinquent involvement.