Research suggests that co-offending among juveniles can be problematic. Few studies examine how specific locations moderate the relationship between age, co-offending, and subsequent violence. Using the National Incident-Based Reporting System (2016–2020), this study will analyze the influence of age on the impact of solo and co-offending in shopping malls while considering situational factors that affect victim injuries. By treating the shopping mall as a consistent environment, this paper investigates the correlation between age and co-offending using the logic of offender convergence settings. Findings show that when juveniles engage in co-offending behavior, they are more likely to do so at shopping malls. Implications for theoretical progress, security strategies, and potential research are also addressed.

In comparison to white students, the study of Black student attitudes toward crime reporting on college campuses is deficient, especially in historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Using approximately 100 completed student questionnaires, statistical results suggest that the majority of students express a willingness to report a campus-related crime to campus police. The highest reported explanation for refusing to report a crime is based upon the prospect of being labeled in a negative manner. The highest reported explanation for reporting a crime is based upon the receipt of a financial reward and anonymity. Bivariate calculations indicate that age, gender, and residential status are significantly associated with crime reporting decisions. Policy implications, areas of further research, and limitations are provided.

The power threat theory (PTT) in criminal justice, as well as traffic stop studies, has been well documented; especially in within Black populations. Through the use of reported traffic stop data between 2010-2019, the purpose of this study is to determine 1) the extent to which racial disparities exist as a result of traffic stop decisions and 2) whether traffic stops decisions are consistent with the power threat thesis. Results reveal that Blacks, compared to other racial categories, are significantly more likely to experience traffic stops, thus supporting PTT. Areas of further research, limitations, and policy implications are identified.

Disproportionate minority confinement (DMC) has been examined in juvenile justice research. However, studies associated with characteristics of criminal and juvenile justice personnel in relation to the high rate of minority youth arrest rates is deficient. Using nearly 100 surveys, the purpose of this study is to identify the opinions of law enforcement personnel in association with official data provided by the Uniform Crime Reports. Chi-square results reveal that race (as well as other characteristics) are significantly linked with opinions related to disproportionate minority youth arrest. This includes reported explanations, impact, and solutions (i.e., ideas related to nonarrest measures, etc.). Areas of further inquiry, limitations, and policy implications are provided.

The critical race theory has been predictive of how minority youth are treated in the juvenile and criminal justice systems in the United States. However, the theory has not been applied in explaining the existence of wrongful convictions among juveniles. Using secondary data derived from the National Exoneration Registry, the purpose of this study is to identify specific factors (e.g., DNA evidence, etc.) related to the wrongful convictions of Black youth who have been exonerated. Compared to other racial categories, the results reveal that Black youth are more likely to experience wrongful convictions as a result of false confessions, faulty eyewitness identification, perjury, and official misconduct. Limitations, policy implications, and areas of further investigation are offered.

Despite a recent increase in the reporting of crime, student attitudes associated with crime on college campuses have been well documented. To the contrary, there is a deficiency of studies that examine the views of students who attend Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The purpose of this exploratory study is to identify student attitudes in relation to crime within the context of victimization, offender characteristics, and crime prevention measures. Analyzing nearly 200 questionnaires, chi-square analyses reveal that age, gender, and residential status bear statistically significant relationships in association with student attitudes towards various aspects of campus-related crime. In a similar vein, binary logistic regression models demonstrate the existence of significant associations in a number of specific categories such as victimization and crime prevention measures. Limitations, areas of further research, and policy implications are discussed.

The existence of race-based stigma among minority populations in the United States has been well-documented. Notably, the acting White accusation has garnered considerable attention in relation to the African American population. Interestingly, studies related to this accusation have been primarily centered around Black students at Predominately White Institutions. Comparably, a focus on African American college students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities is limited. The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which student characteristics (i.e., age, classification) are associated with the acting White accusation. Utilizing a quantitative method design, we analyzed over 100 student surveys which identified a number of significant outcomes. Through the use of ANOVA, findings indicate that both student classification and age are significantly associated with a number of aspects related to the race-based stigmatization. Limitations, policy implications, and areas of further research are discussed.

Smashing the vory was not just a policing priority, it would be a metaphor for a convincing break from the past. After all, the vory were symbolically powerful, and this connects to the second theme of the book: the creation, reinvention and application of the mythology of organised crime. Gangsters do this all the time, developing folkloric rituals and puffing up their public personae to intimidate victims, attract neophytes and deter enemies. Learning the lessons of Italian Anti-mafia campaigns and efforts to cleanse US schools of street gang influence, the government campaign involved not just criminalising being or associating with vory and instituting a radical reform of the prison system and the police. It also sought to undercut their mythic status and powerful brand name: humiliating them in the media and changing the educational curriculum to try and minimise their appeal to a new generation of recruits. However, since then both the criminals and the state have continued to find value in talking up the survival of this moribund phenomenon: ‘this is why mafias never die, or at least why nobody ever dares declares them dead’ (p. 171). The cultural roots of the Georgian vory are still present, and they make a terribly handy myth for everyone concerned. The vory themselves want to assert their continued survival and relevance, the non-vor gangsters enjoy having an even worst alternative alongside whom they seem reasonable and unthreatening, and the state can blame criminal machinations for every upset, from street protests to army mutinies. In many ways this is an exemplary book on how to study organised crime. It is informed by wide reading across the disciplinary boundaries, draws on extensive and groundbreaking in-country primary research, is descriptively and conceptually dense and yet remains readable throughout. This is not only the current go-to book on Georgian crime, it will be of value to scholars of organised crime and anti-mafia campaigns more generally and nicely expands the range of works seeking to place Gambetta’s model in new cultural contexts.

doubt). See for example, Lempert (1998). The Daubert standard applies only in federal cases and in state courts that have adopted that test; in other states, the Frye standard is still the law. See for example, Reeves (2009). In discussing the so-called BTK serial killer case (p. 45), she refers to ‘‘Rader’s daughter,’’ without indicating that Rader was the BTK killer. See for example, Tanaka (2005). Structurally, the seriatim listing of research studies (e.g., Faigman & Baglioni, 1988; Thompson & Schumann, 1987 etc., pp. 57–69, and the similar list of cases involving DNA testimony, pp. 36–48) should have been recast into descriptive paragraphs. The correct word on p. 60 is effect, not affect. The sentence beginning with ‘‘While 89% of respondents. . .’’ (p. 23) makes no sense as written.