The paper focuses on the educational system for the future prison staff that is chiefly based on a dedicated university course, i.e. rehabilitation. The paper presents differences between students and problems arising from their inherent properties, being greater readiness for aggression and approval of aggression. The presented study was aimed at verifying the hypothesis on the relationship between perceived conditionings of aggressive behaviours and personal experience of being a victim or an aggressor together with the attitude towards it and the chosen occupational role. The studied group consisted of 79 students. The research tools were Mini - DIA, The Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire and the Inventory of Social and Moral Approval of Interpersonal Aggression were also used. The results obtained indicate different determinants for persons involved in perpetration or victimization and for those displaying low levels of such behaviour. It was assumed that people majoring in rehabilitation more often assume the role of an aggressor or a victim than students majoring in other disciplines. Research findings were supposed to contribute to developing a prevention model among students and other people working in the field of violence and violence handling, as well as to emphasise the need to reflect upon and possibly change personal attitudes towards these behaviours.
In this study, we tested whether modified cognitive interviewing (MCI) is a valid method for distinguishing between genuine and deceptive human eyewitness accounts.102 healthy military personnel were the participants of this study.54 were assigned to a manual task condition and 48 to a cognitive task condition.Of the 54 assigned to the manual task, 17 truly performed the task and were truthful when interviewed about their activities; 18 performed the task and, when interviewed denied having performed the task; 19 read the instructions regarding the manual task and when interviewed falsely claimed to have performed the task.Of the 48 participants assigned to the cognitive task, 20 performed the task and reported truthfully about their activities; 13 performed the task and denied having participated in the task; 15 read the instructions about the cognitive task and when interviewed claimed to have actually performed the task.The transcripts of interviews were rated by individuals trained in cognitive interviewing; forensic speech variables (response length, unique word count and type-token ratio (TTR)) were coded from transcripts.Human rater judgments and computer-based speech analysis performed better than chance; computer based judgments were superior to the human judgments (i.e., 80% vs. 62%, respectively).Speech content variables derived from MCI differed significantly, and in different ways, between the truthful and false claimant participants and also between the truthful and denial type participants.MCI derived statement analysis methods are a scientifically valid method that can be used by professionals tasked with distinguishing between true claims, false claims and denials.
Over the past 15 years, people in the the Association of Penitentiary "Patronat" have helped families of persons detained (most often the wives and children).This article describes what is done and what should be done in the area to help people in this situation, as well as the most common problems families who are trying to maintain the bonds of closeness "in spite of walls and barriers".
This study explores the contribution that traumatic experiences and psychological post-traumatic stress symptoms make to predicting subsequent revictimisation in a sample of violent crime victims.In addition, the timing of first trauma exposure was also explored.Fifty-four adult victims (27 male and 27 female) of police recorded violent crime were interviewed and their traumatic exposure history, trauma symptomology, age at first trauma exposure as well as psychological and psychosocial functioning were assessed.These victims were followed longitudinally and subsequent revictimisation between six and twelve months post index victimisation measured.A greater number of types of trauma exposure was related lower emotional stability, higher trauma symptomology and revictimisation.Those victims with childhood traumatic exposure reported more trauma symptomology exposure than those without prior exposure.The implications for law enforcement and victim services are discussed.
Any work in total institutions, including correctional facilities and remand centres, requires special mental and physical qualifications; the personnel are exposed to stress, which, consequently, can lead to various aggressive behaviours.In the article entitles: Aggression in Prison Service Personnel and its Causation its authors have put forward the following research problems:1. Is there any association between the occupational stress level and the aggression level in Prison Service employees?2. Is there any association between the level of family functioning and the aggression level in Prison Service employees?3. Do the factors of dwelling place, workplace, seniority and the position in the chain of command affect dependence between stress, family functionality and aggression level in Prison Service employees?In conclusion, dependences among the defined variables were shown, proving association between stress level and aggressive behaviours in relation to person's dwelling place and workplace, seniority and position in the chain of command as well as respondents' family functionality.
The delinquency of social minorities is frequently discussed, including the social minorities' victimization. The potential crime causes and the consequences for both the minority and majority provoke numerous researchers in various science fields. On the other hand, the amount of data on crimes committed by social minorities is limited due to the desire to avoid discrimination and support social inclusion into the majority society. A specific position is held by foreigners with permanent residence; however, without a citizenship. This article analyses the situation in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, and Ukraine in terms of the general perception of delinquency, the perceived benefits and drawbacks of co-existence with a different nationality. It is important to analyse this topic because there are multiple problems in the social exclusion of other nationality representatives. These problems do not have visible solutions. Some of these problems are caused by locally increased crime rates of minorities coupled with grater rates of victimization.
White collar crime is the least studied and the least understood crime type in comparison to traditional crime types.This review highlights the recent developments in the state of knowledge over the white collar criminals.The review concerns the topics of demography, motivation for offending and career criminality among white collar criminals.It compiles the international results (mainly West-European) so far in the three topics.The review ends with a request on further research that needs to be done in four aspects: what is the main demographic difference between white collar offenders and confirmative non-offenders?How can we explain the difference in the age-crime relationship between street criminals and white collar criminals?Why do we still have the gender divergences by white collar criminals, despite the fact that women increase their participation into the labor market?And why do we know so little about the criminal motivation among white collar criminals?
In the present article, we analyze socio-demographic profiles regarding wrongful attitudes toward white-collar crime.This is a well-researched area, however where the vast majority of the studies comes from the USA and UK.In this paper we will investigate wrongful attitudes in a different context -Sweden.We will furthermore not only focus on those having a restricted view of white collar crime, but also people with a liberal view, i.e. people who do not consider white collar crime to be seriously wrong.To identify different groups regarding attitudes towards white collar crime we have used Latent Class Analyses, with the result that we can identify four different groups, among which we focus on a large group (containing 35 % of the sample) having the most restricted view of white collar crime, and a small group (4.5 % of the sample) having the most liberal view of white collar crime.The socio-demographic profile of people having a restricted view of white collar crime is quite similar to the previous research.The restricted group consists in general of elderly women that infrequently uses Internet.The liberal group is in great extent an opposite group -containing young men regularly using Internet.We conclude that it is the latter group that is of most interest for future research, not the least because it is a group that may be breeding general distrust, which may strain the society's social solidarity and trustfulness.
Hatred is a deep and emotional extreme dislike.The objects of such hatred can vary extensively.Hatred is often associated with disposition towards hostility against the objects of hatred.And can drive oneself to extreme behaviors such as violence, murder, and war.In childhood and adolescence the attitudes of intolerance -impregnated with hatredare formed, and these are extremely difficult to eradicate later.This paper goes through psychological perspective of hate and the different roles of cognition in hatred and violence.Then the duplex theory of hatred is presented considering some approaches to the origin of violent behaviors.Taking into consideration that complex problems do not respond to simple solutions, a potential alternative based on family and school education plays a major role.Learning conflict resolution based on negotiation and compromise seems essential, in addition to adopting intellectually and morally combative attitudes against violence.
It is well-known that suicidal behavior is very common among criminal justice clients, both among those serving community sentences and among prison inmates.Suicide rates among prisoners are considerably higher than in the general population.There is great concern over high rates of suicide and suicidal behavior in prisons, with suicide prevention becoming a major challenge for penal institutions in many countries.In particular, Italian prisons are facing an important crisis.The aim of the present descriptive review is to investigate suicide in prisons, with particular attention to the Italian situation.To date, there are no comprehensive data on this phenomenon for reasons that are critically discussed in this paper.First, we focus on epidemiology, and try to summarize existing heterogeneous data.Demographic, criminological and clinical risk factors associated with suicide in prisoners are then examined.Understanding the process by which certain prisoners, under specific circumstances, contemplate, plan and decide to end their lives is critical to suicidal prevention, as discussed in the third part of the review.Finally, we suggest possible future investigations to improve detection of specific risk factors and we discuss the challenges to be faced in order to decrease suicide rate among prisoners.
Objectives: Researchers have suggested that approximately 1% of individuals within the community have psychopathic tendencies (Neumann and Hare, 2008), although confirmatory evidence is scant.Design: The current study aimed to extend previous research beyond university student samples to explore the effect of impression management and self-deception on the identification of psychopathic traits.Methods: A non-incarcerated community sample comprising of 300 adults completed the Self-Reported Psychopathy scale -version 3 (SRP-III; Paulhus, Hemphill & Hare, in press) as well as the Paulhus Deception Scales (PDS; Paulhus, 1998).Results: Results indicated that at least 1% of the current community sample had clear psychopathic tendencies, and that such tendencies were found in younger males who misused alcohol.Conclusions: Importantly, individuals with psychopathic traits did not present with an inflated propensity to distort assessment responses, which provides support for future research endeavours that aim to conduct larger-scale psychopathy assessments within the community.This paper further outlines the study implications in regards to the practical assessment of psychopathy.
Policing involves inter-subjective mechanisms needed to infer the violation of social values or to motivate prosocial actions.These mechanisms can be observed in the attitudes and problems that officers believe influence their work performance, but this first-person approach is not considered in recent police reforms in Mexico.We present an ethnographic examination and a psychometric evaluation with the objective of identifying attitudes and perceptions that a group of municipal police officers in Mexico formed about themselves and their institution, as well as the difficulties in their day-to-day role.Some of the fundamental qualities for being a police officer imply attitudes of risk and cooperation linked to human motivational systems denoting the welfare of others.The concepts of social welfare and cooperation can be used as ethical and motivational mechanisms during training.Social intersubjectivity is relevant since officers have legitimate permission to use coercion as a means of social justice and order.It becomes necessary to have institutional supervision, as well as training in interpersonal skills, and regulation of adverse states, which can be elicited by the apparent inconsistency between the use of coercion and the promotion of order and justice.
Alcohol has consistently been demonstrated to increase levels of aggression and violence, particularly in late night licensed venues.Since 2005, the City of Geelong in Australia has implemented a substantial number of interventions to reduce alcohol related violence, including a liquor accord, increased police surveillance, ID scanners, CCTV, a radio network and an alcohol industry sponsored social marketing campaign.The aim of the current study is to assess the individual and collective impact of community interventions on indicators of alcohol-related assaults in the Geelong region.This paper reports stage one findings from the Dealing with Alcohol-related problems in the Night-time Economy project (DANTE) and specifically examines assault rate data from both emergency department presentations, ICD-10 classification codes, and police records of assaults.None of the interventions were associated with reductions in alcohol-related assault or intoxication in Geelong, either individually or when combined.However, the alcohol industry sponsored social marketing campaign 'Just Think' was associated with an increase in assault rates.Community level interventions appeared to have had little effect on assault rates during high alcohol times.It is also possible that social marketing campaigns without practical strategies are associated with increased assault rates.The findings also raise questions about whether interventions should be targeted at reducing whole-of-community alcohol consumption.
Stalking and intimate partner abuse (IPA) are two criminal problems that often come to the attention of the police.While there are many similarities between intimate partner stalking and IPA and many refer to intimate partner stalking as a variant of IPA (Logan, Leukefeld, and Walker, 2000), there may be differences in these cases, particularly at the point that they come to the attention of the police.These differences may have important implications for how the police respond and/or are able to respond.Using a sample of 1440 domestic disturbance reports from a large police department in the western United States, this study explores the differences and similarities between these two populations including a discussion of how these problems impact arrest with an end goal of aiding police in the appropriate response to these two criminal problems and adding to the literature on stalking in the context of intimate partner abuse and intimate partner abuse.Ultimately, both differences and similarities were found.Implications are discussed.
This presentation focuses on some important general topics related to aggression and terrorism, with an special emphasis on the situation of security in Colombia. First there is an overview of the violence in Colombia, showing its re- cent achievements in security, with a decrease of the activity of the leftist guerrillas and the rightwing paramilitaries. But Colombia is still not safe enough due to the increase of criminal gangs, mostly purely criminal, dedicated to the cocaine trade, and lacking the ideological conviction of their forebears. Some of the more important sequels, such as the situation of millions of dispossessed are also considered, suggesting the need of an effective agrarian reform as being part of any real solution. The second part is dedicated to more general topics related to aggression and terrorism: their interactions with psychobiology, such as the psychological profile and sexual differences in terrorists or the psychological impact of the nuclear terrorism, the impact of education (school, family and mass media) and of criminal justice (from conceptual considerations on the balance between security and freedom to more specific attempts of rehabilitation of delinquents). Lastly, founded on the message of the Seville Statement on Violence proclaimed a quarter century ago, a hopeful conside- ration about the future is done.
Insights from developmental psychology provide a useful perspective from which to understand why young people might engage in higher levels of antisocial behavior than adults.They can also be useful in term of highlighting which aspects of development result in young people making less mature judgments.Yet despite this extensive body of knowledge, there is no psychological or legal definition of maturity that can be applied to legal decision making.Within a criminal context, investigations of adolescent immaturity have emphasized cognitive factors, influenced by the informed consent model which places a premium on factors such as "knowledge" and "competence", with an emphasis on cognitive functioning (e.g., thinking, reasoning, and understanding).This approach has been criticized for failing to adequately illustrate differences between adolescent and adult decision making.This paper reviews the notion of psychological maturity and comments on the importance of a broader assessment that includes psychosocial factors in the face of a growing trend in many jurisdictions to transfer juvenile offenders to the adult jurisdiction based on the severity of crime committed rather than their level of culpability.
The role of criminological theory should be to inform practice.Program developers should start with a recognized theory about the causes of crime and then design interventions that target factors identified in that theory.Unfortunately, the link between theory and practice is not always apparent.In this paper, a number of prominent developmental theories of crime are considered.These theories are significant in that they provide a strong basis for understanding young offending, and how both the criminal justice system and service providers should approach the task of working constructively with those who appear before the court.This is followed by a review of programs that have been designed to address the risk factors identified in these developmental theories.
The degree of acceptance of various forms of aggression in different situations was analyzed by administering self-report questionnaires. Previous studies on justification of interpersonal aggression, in 'normal' adult populations, in quite different cultures, have shown overall similar, but not identical, features. A similar trend of justification, but at a higher level, was expected in special 'deviant' populations, such as prisoners and psychiatric patients. The present study focuses on the way in which young re-offenders serving in reformatories justify different types of interpersonal aggression in a variety of settings. As a control population, a sample of students of similar age living in the same area was used. Results: the young delinquent population justified aggression at a higher level than 'normal' teenagers of similar age in all situations, except 'when communication breaks down'. Specifically their justification of physical aggression as well as of threatening was also higher, whereas no significant differences were found related to passive aggression (hindering) or verbal emotional acts (shouting, being furious, or showing rage). In certain situations a rather striking prevalence among girls was observed. In conclusion, young delinquents showed a higher justification of aggression, notably of its most drastic physical forms, in virtually all situations.
Estimates of the prevalence of psychological harassment (mobbing/bullying) in the workplace vary enormously from one country to another.One of the main reasons for this variation is the method of evaluation used to make these estimates.Research on mobbing or bullying at work is basically guided by two methods: the perceived victimization method and the perceived exposure to bullying behaviors method.These methods, and their combination, were used to estimate the prevalence of bullying in a representative sample of the working population (N = 1730) of the Region of Valencia (Spain).The results obtained suggest the following percentages of victims: (i) perceived victimization: 19.5% (N = 338); (ii) exposure to bullying behavior: 12.8% (N = 221); (iii) both methods: 8.4% (N = 146).The study offers other results related to the correspondence between the methods, the most and least frequent bullying behaviors, and the gender and status of the bully.
