INVESTIGATIVE SITUATIONS OF INTERROGATION OF A VIOLENT CRIMINAL DEFENDANT

The article examines the problems of the tactics of interrogating the defendant when the court considerscriminal cases of violent crimes against the person. The urgency of such a study is substantiated. Theimportance of the interrogation of the defendant in the establishment by the court of the circumstances ofthe criminal event in question is noted. Typical situations of judicial investigation are determined, dependingon the position of the defendant. The differences of such situations from investigative situations emerging atthe stage of preliminary investigation are revealed. The features of investigative situations of interrogation ofthe defendant, their significance for the construction of the tactics of the judicial investigation are considered.The peculiarities of the formation of the testimony of the defendant during the judicial examination ofcriminal cases of violent crimes, the factors influencing their formation are revealed. Highlighted the typicalversions put forward by the defense when the court is considering criminal cases of violent crimes. Tacticalrecommendations for organizing the interrogation of the defendant are formulated, the circumstancesthat require clarification during interrogation are indicated, tactical techniques that can be used by theprosecution to ensure the effectiveness of the interrogation are determined.

Pharmacotherapy of Primary Impulsive Aggression in Violent Criminal Offenders

Primary impulsive aggression (PIA) can be implicated as a common factor that results in an arrest, disciplinary, and restraint measures during confinement, and criminal recidivism after release. Evidence suggests that anti-impulsive aggression agents (AIAAs) can diminish or prevent impulsive aggression even when occurring with personality pathology such as borderline or antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), common conditions in offender populations. A previous review identified agents that have been subjected to controlled drug trials of sufficient quality, and subsequently, a decisional algorithm was developed for selecting an AIAA for individuals with IA. This selection process began with the five agents that showed efficacy in two or more quality studies from the earlier review. Today, 8 years after the quality review study, the present authors undertook this follow-up literature review. The aims of the present review were to survey the literature to identify and assess: (1) drug trials of comparable quality published since the 2013 review, including trials of the previously identified AIAAs as well as trials of agents not included in the earlier review; (2) severity of aggressive outbursts; (3) the materiality of risks or side-effects that are associated with individual AIAAs as well as antipsychotic agents commonly used to control clinical aggression; (4) efficacy of these agents in special populations (e.g., females); and (5) cost and convenience of each agent. Improved pharmacotherapy of PIA by addressing risks, side effects and practicality as well as the efficacy of AIAAs, should promote the rehabilitation and reintegration of some pathologically aggressive offenders back into the community.

TACTICAL-PSYCHOLOGICAL FEATURES OF THE CHILD'S INTERVIEW IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS

The tactical and psychological features of the organization in preparation for the survey (interrogation) of minors in the criminal proceedings of victims of violent criminal offenses. The stages of preparation according to the requirements of the legislation for conducting the interrogation (interrogation) of a minor in the pre-trial investigation and psychological features during the tactics of interrogation of a minor witness, victim, suspect are considered.

The cultural scope and criminological potential of the “hardman story”

The true crime genre has become synonymous with the serial killer. As such, other narratives dealing with different types of violent criminal subjects have been overlooked in academic and media analyses. The following article explores a subgenre of true crime which has been overlooked—the life story of the violent criminal or “hardman biography.” However, in acknowledging the hardman, the discussion also reveals his presence across fact/fiction boundaries and a range of cultural terrain. Following a discussion of the cultural space this figure occupies, I turn my attention to hardman stories which exist predominantly in the local imaginary and focus on one such text which tells the story of a violent protagonist and cultures of crime and violence in the North of England in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In so doing, I focus on how this text animates cultures of violence and marginality left in the wake of deindustrialization and economic decline, combining this with relevant theoretical and ethnographic work. I conclude by arguing that the text is a further example of the way in which popular criminology can complement and advance academic criminological understandings of crime and violence.

Short and Long Time Bloodstains Age Determination by Colorimetric Analysis: A Pilot Study

Bloodstains found at crime scenes represent a crucial source of information for investigative purposes. However, in forensic practice, no technique is currently used to estimate the time from deposition of bloodstains. This preliminary study focuses on the age estimation of bloodstains by exploiting the color variations over time due to the oxidation of the blood. For this purpose, we used a colorimetric methodology in order to easily obtain objective, univocal and reproducible results. We developed two bloodstain age prediction algorithms: a short-term and a long-term useful model for the first 24h and 60 days, respectively. Both models showed high levels of classification accuracy, particularly for the long-term model. Although a small-scale study, these results improve the potential application of colorimetric analysis in the time-line reconstruction of violent criminal events.

The necessity defence and anthropogenic global warming protests: The times they are a-changin’

The Extinction Rebellion protests of 2019 and 2020 resulted in peaceful protesters being charged for a range of minor, non-violent criminal offences. The defence to those charges is necessity, a defence tightly restricted in its use by the courts. This article argues that in the specific context of minor criminal offences committed during anthropogenic global warming (AGW) protests, necessity must be reconceptualised. This is particularly so given the growing international recognition of that defence in AGW protest matters, the increasing state prohibition on protest and the unique manner in which AGW protests subvert the strict application of the rule of law.

Schema therapy for violent PD offenders: a randomized clinical trial

Background Violent criminal offenders with personality disorders (PD's) can cause immense harm, but are often deemed untreatable. This study aimed to conduct a randomized clinical trial to test the effectiveness of long-term psychotherapy for rehabilitating offenders with PDs. Methods We compared schema therapy (ST), an evidence-based psychotherapy for PDs, to treatment-as-usual (TAU) at eight high-security forensic hospitals in the Netherlands. Patients in both conditions received multiple treatment modalities and differed only in the individual, study-specific therapy they received. One-hundred-three male offenders with antisocial, narcissistic, borderline, or paranoid PDs, or Cluster B PD-not-otherwise-specified, were assigned to 3 years of ST or TAU and assessed every 6 months. Primary outcomes were rehabilitation, involving gradual reintegration into the community, and PD symptoms. Results Patients in both conditions showed moderate to large improvements in outcomes. ST was superior to TAU on both primary outcomes – rehabilitation (i.e. attaining supervised and unsupervised leave) and PD symptoms – and six of nine secondary outcomes, with small to moderate advantages over TAU. ST patients moved more rapidly through rehabilitation (supervised leave, treatment*time: F(5308) = 9.40, p < 0.001; unsupervised leave, treatment*time: F(5472) = 3.45, p = 0.004), and showed faster improvements on PD scales (treatment*time: t(1387) = −2.85, p = 0.005). Conclusions These findings contradict pessimistic views on the treatability of violent offenders with PDs, and support the effectiveness of long-term psychotherapy for rehabilitating these patients, facilitating their re-entry into the community.

Violent criminal death involving face, head and neck: processes, expert reports and epidemiological data

In criminal lawsuits, the magistrate often needs technical contribution of an expert on the subject related to the crime, for the application of the penal sanction. This study aimed to analyze lawsuits, expert reports and epidemiological data of violent death cases, in which there was involvement of the face, head and neck in the region that covered by the Legal Medical Institute (LMI) of Araraquara-SP. For this purpose, decisions of the Court of Justice of São Paulo State were researched, in the period from 2012 to September 2017. The judgments were read and those related to consummated homicide, body injury followed by death and robbery were selected. The expert reports corresponding to the selected cases were searched in the LMI of Araraquara. This search resulted in 49 reports, which were analyzed. We observed that the majority of homicide and robbery victims were male, white, under 40 years of age and of low education level. The epidemiological data found were consistent with the data presented by Brazilian government agencies. The expert reports analyzed were performed exclusively by medical examiners, using technical language and detailed description of the lesions and the instruments that caused them. The most frequent causes of death were traumatic brain injury (41.67%), multiple trauma (10.42%), hemorrhagic shock (10.42%) and anemia (10.42%). The most frequent instruments, which caused injuries, were the perforating-blunt (26.42%), the forceful (22.64%) and the perforating-cutting (20.75%). In general, the reports presented good quality, tending to be of great help for the clarification of criminal justice.

The roles of housing, financial, and food insecurities in understanding the relationship between childhood neglect and violence in adulthood

The aim of this study is to determine whether basic housing, financial, and food insecurities in part explain the relationship between childhood neglect and violence as documented in the “cycle of violence” literature. Using a prospective cohort design, neglected children (under the age of 12) with court substantiated histories (1967–1971) in one metropolitan Midwest area and demographically matched non-neglected children were followed into adulthood. Housing, financial, and food insecurities were assessed in 2003–2005 interviews at mean age 41. Official arrest data were used to measure violence ever and from 2003 through 2013. Mediation was tested using probit structural equation modeling. Controlling for age, sex, and race, childhood neglect predicted violent arrests and housing, financial, and food insecurities in middle adulthood. Housing and financial securities predicted violent arrests ever and after 2003, whereas food insecurity only predicted any violent arrest ever. Housing and financial insecurities partially mediated the relationship between childhood neglect and violent criminal behavior. Greater attention and efforts need to focus on providing basic housing, financial, and food support for neglected children to reduce their risk for violent criminal behavior.

A study on the nature of criminal offences in prisoners with psychiatric disorders

Background: There are very few Indian studies related to the nature of criminal offences in individuals with psychiatric disorders.Methods: Sample consisted of 50 prisoners admitted to a Mental hospital. Their diagnostic categorization was done according to ICD-10 diagnostic research criteria and criminal offences using the Indian Penal code (IPC). The criminal offences and nature of psychiatric illness were divided into two broad groups as violent/non-violent criminal offence and schizophrenia/non-schizophrenia groups respectively.Results: 46 males and 4 female prisoners participated. Murder (IPC 302) was the most common crime among the prisoners. 88% (44) of them had a history of violent crimes and 12% (6) had non-violent crimes. The violent crimes were mainly murder (IPC 302), attempt to murder (IPC 307), and culpable homicide not amounting to murder (IPC 304) and voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons (IPC 323, 324, 325, 326). The non-violent crimes were destroying, damaging or defiling (IPC 295), kidnapping (IPC 363), theft (IPC 379) and sexual crimes (IPC 376). All females had committed murder while males had other crimes in addition to murder.Conclusions: Murder, attempt to murder, rape, kidnapping, grievous injury and theft were the crimes committed by the prisoners. Murder was the most common crime committed by both male and female prisoners. Most prisoners with violent crimes (murder) had a diagnosis of schizophrenia. This has implications for mental health services, training of mental health professional research and policy in forensic psychiatry in the Indian setting.