Enforcement policies: Frequency of inspection is more important than the severity of punishment

External enforcement policies aimed to reduce violations differ on two key components: the probability of inspection and the severity of punishments. Different lines of research offer competing predictions regarding the relative importance of each component. In three incentive compatible studies, students and Prolific crowdsourcing participants (Ntotal=430) repeatedly faced temptations to commit violations under two enforcement policies. Controlling for expected value, the results indicated that a policy combining High probability of Inspection with Low Severity of fine (HILS) was more effective than a policy combining Low probability of Inspection with High Severity of fine (LIHS). Consistent with the prediction of Decisions from Experience research, this finding held even when the severity of the fine was stated in advance to boost deterrence. In addition, the advantage of HILS over LIHS was greater as participants’ baseline rate of violation (without enforcement) was higher, implying that HILS is more effective among frequent offenders.

Examining the Coevolution of Drug Use Variety and Different Types of Offending Frequency Among Justice-Involved Adolescents

Past research demonstrates a strong link between drug use and crime among justice-involved adolescents, yet little is known about the joint development between drug use variety and various types of criminal offending frequencies from adolescence to young adulthood. Using a sample of male adolescent offenders ( N = 842), this article examines the coevolution of drug use variety and three separate types of offending frequencies. First, four group-based trajectory models identify unique group developmental patterns for drug use variety, drug sales offending, property offending, and violent offending. Next, three dual-trajectory models examine the coevolution between drug use variety and each type of criminal offending. Findings reveal a general pattern of desistance for both drug use and offending, while also illustrating notable variability in group trajectory patterns for drug use variety and criminal behavior. This article concludes that adolescents with elevated drug use variety make up a large proportion of frequent offenders.

Analysis of Aggressive Behavior Towards Healthcare Workers Before and During the Sars-Cov-2 Epidemic in Poland. Part 1

Aim: To analyze aggressive behavior towards healthcare workers before and during the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Poland and confront the obtained results with reports on this phenomenon from the scientific world. Material and methods: The study included 999 respondents constituting healthcare workers from all over Poland. The proprietary questionnaire consisting of three parts was the research tool. Results: 86% of healthcare personnel encountered violence in the workplace before announcing the epidemic state, and 81% – during the epidemic state. Respondents indicated that the frequency of this phenomenon increased significantly after that date. Patients were the most frequent offenders. Conclusions: Aggression being a relatively constant and unchanging problem in healthcare, according to the authors, requires the development of new, more effective solutions to improve the situation of victims. Encouraging staff to report aggressive behaviors and actively supporting them in these actions could lead to more frequent legal consequences for aggressors, increasing the chance for more respectful treatment of medical staff and disrupting the false sense of impunity in perpetrators.

Are frequent offenders more difficult to find and less willing to participate? An analysis of unit non-response in an online survey among offenders

The interpretation of research findings based on self-reported delinquency requires knowledge of how response rates depend on the attributes of potential respondents, including their prior offending. The purpose of the present study was to quantify the extent to which, in a sample of offenders, the two main determinants of non-response – non-contact and refusal – depend on prior offending frequency. We used binomial and multinomial regression models to assess whether frequent offenders are more difficult to contact and less willing to participate in online surveys. These hypotheses are tested on a sample of offenders who were invited by regular mail to participate in the Online Activity Space Inventory Survey (OASIS), an online survey on mobility and safety. Controlling for gender and age as potential confounders, our findings do not confirm that frequent offenders are less likely to be successfully contacted, but they do confirm that, if contacted, they are less likely to participate. Response rates in offender-based research are selective and thus potentially biased towards infrequent offenders. They generally favour conservative estimates and conclusions, implying that any associations found between crime and its predictors are likely stronger in reality.

A Prospective Study of Offending Patterns of Youth Homicide Offenders Into Adulthood

Although youth homicide offenders (YHOs) are portrayed as a group that warrants considerable attention from the justice system because of their high likelihood of future offending, little is known about this group’s offending trajectories and the nature of posthomicide offenses in adulthood. These questions were investigated using a sample of male and female YHOs ( n = 26), violent YHOs ( n = 358), and nonviolent YHOs ( n =139), all of whom were followed prospectively into adulthood. First, the prevalence of adult recidivism did not vary across the three groups. Second, YHOs were more frequent offenders prior to their homicide offense than after their homicide offense, and when they did offend posthomicide, it was typically a nonserious crime. Third, YHOs did not differ from other offenders in their association to a specific offending trajectory. These findings are discussed in the context of assessment and treatment of serious and violent youth.

My Brother’s Reaper: Examining Officially Reported Siblicide Incidents in the United States, 2000–2007

With higher rates than any other form of intrafamilial violence, Hoffman and Edwards (2004) note, sibling violence “constitutes a pandemic form of victimization of children, with the symptoms often going unrecognized and the effect ignored” (p. 187). Approximately 80% of children reside with at least one sibling (Kreider, 2008), and in its most extreme form sibling violence manifests as siblicide. Siblicide is poorly understood with fewer than 20 empirical studies identified in the extant literature since 1980 (see Eriksen & Jensen, 2006). The present work employs 8 years of Supplemental Homicide Report (SHR) data, 2000–2007, with siblicide victims and offenders age 21 years and younger, to construct contemporary victim and offender profiles examining incident characteristics. Findings highlight the sex-based nature of the offense with unique victimization patterns across victims and offenders. Older brothers using a firearm are the most frequent offenders against both male and female siblings. Strain as a theoretical foundation of siblicide is offered as an avenue for future inquiry.