Factors predicting recommendations for civil commitment of sexually violent predators under Florida's Jimmy Ryce Act

This study investigated the factors considered by forensic examiners when evaluating sexually violent predators (SVP) for civil commitment under Florida's “Jimmy Ryce Act.” The project was funded by a pre-doctoral research grant awarded by the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA). ^ This study proposed two specific research questions. First, what is the direct relationship between actuarial risk assessment scores and recommendations for sex offender civil commitment? Second, which other variables are likely to influence SVP commitment decisions, and to what degree? The purpose of the study was to determine if risk assessment practices are evidence-based, and whether offenders selected for commitment meet statutory criteria. ^ The purposive sample of 450 SVPs was drawn from the population of sex offenders evaluated for civil commitment in Florida between July 1, 2000 and June 30, 2001. Data were extracted from SVP evaluations provided by the Florida Department of Children and Families. Using multivariate logistic regression, this correlational research design examined the relationship between the dependent variable, commitment decision, and several sets of independent variables. The independent variables were derived from a review of the literature, and were grouped conceptually according to their degree of correlation with sex offense recidivism. Independent variables included diagnoses, actuarial risk assessment scores, empirically validated static and dynamic risk factors, consensus based risk factors, evaluator characteristics, and demographics. This study investigated the degree to which the identified variables predicted civil commitment decisions. ^ Logistic regression results revealed that the statistically significant predictors of recommendations for sex offender civil commitment were actuarial risk assessment scores, diagnoses of Pedophilia and Paraphilia NOS, psychopathy, younger age of victim, and non-minority race. Discriminant function analysis confirmed that these variables correctly predicted commitment decisions in 90% of cases. ^ It appears that civil commitment evaluators in Florida used empirically-based assessment procedures, and did not make decisions that were heavily influenced by extraneous factors. SVPs recommended for commitment consistently met the criteria set forth by the U.S. Supreme Court in Hendricks v. Kansas (1997): they suffered from a mental abnormality predisposing them to sexual violence, and risk assessment determined that they were likely to reoffend. ^

Law Enforcement Actions in Urban Spaces Governed by Violent Non-State Entities: Lessons from Latin America

In response to a crime epidemic afflicting Latin America since the early 1990s, several countries in the region have resorted to using heavy-force police or military units to physically retake territories de facto controlled by non-State criminal or insurgent groups. After a period of territory control, the heavy forces hand law enforcement functions in the retaken territories to regular police officers, with the hope that the territories and their populations will remain under the control of the state. To a varying degree, intensity, and consistency, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Jamaica have adopted such policies since the mid-1990s. During such operations, governments need to pursue two interrelated objectives: to better establish the state’s physical presence and to realign the allegiance of the population in those areas toward the state and away from the non-State criminal entities. From the perspective of law enforcement, such operations entail several critical decisions and junctions, such as: Whether or not to announce the force insertion in advance. The decision trades off the element of surprise and the ability to capture key leaders of the criminal organizations against the ability to minimize civilian casualties and force levels. The latter, however, may allow criminals to go to ground and escape capture. Governments thus must decide whether they merely seek to displace criminal groups to other areas or maximize their decapitation capacity. Intelligence flows rarely come from the population. Often, rival criminal groups are the best source of intelligence. However, cooperation between the State and such groups that goes beyond using vetted intelligence provided by the groups, such as a State tolerance for militias, compromises the rule-of-law integrity of the State and ultimately can eviscerate even public safety gains. Sustaining security after initial clearing operations is at times even more challenging than conducting the initial operations. Although unlike the heavy forces, traditional police forces, especially if designed as community police, have the capacity to develop trust of the community and ultimately focus on crime prevention, developing such trust often takes a long time. To develop the community’s trust, regular police forces need to conduct frequent on-foot patrols with intensive nonthreatening interactions with the population and minimize the use of force. Moreover, sufficiently robust patrol units need to be placed in designated beats for substantial amount of time, often at least over a year. Establishing oversight mechanisms, including joint police-citizens’ boards, further facilities building trust in the police among the community. After disruption of the established criminal order, street crime often significantly rises and both the heavy-force and community-police units often struggle to contain it. The increase in street crime alienates the population of the retaken territory from the State. Thus developing a capacity to address street crime is critical. Moreover, the community police units tend to be vulnerable (especially initially) to efforts by displaced criminals to reoccupy the cleared territories. Losing a cleared territory back to criminal groups is extremely costly in terms of losing any established trust and being able to recover it. Rather than operating on a priori determined handover schedule, a careful assessment of the relative strength of regular police and criminal groups post-clearing operations is likely to be a better guide for timing the handover from heavy forces to regular police units. Cleared territories often experience not only a peace dividend, but also a peace deficit – in the rise new serious crime (in addition to street crime). Newly – valuable land and other previously-inaccessible resources can lead to land speculation and forced displacement; various other forms of new crime can also significantly rise. Community police forces often struggle to cope with such crime, especially as it is frequently linked to legal business. Such new crime often receives little to no attention in the design of the operations to retake territories from criminal groups. But without developing an effective response to such new crime, the public safety gains of the clearing operations can be altogether lost.

Risk and resilience factors associated with delinquent behavior among African -American adolescent males

Juvenile crime is a social problem of increasing concern to many citizens in the United States. In 2000, there were an estimated 2.4 million juvenile arrests for a variety of crimes ranging from misdemeanors to violent felony offenses. African American males are disproportionately represented among juvenile offenders in the United States. In 2000, black youth were approximately 16% of the U.S. population between the ages of 10–17; however, they accounted for 42% of juvenile arrests for violent crime. ^ This study explored putative factors associated with juvenile offending among a sample of African American adolescent males. The independent variables in this study were academic achievement, religiosity, parenting styles and discrimination. The dependent variables were delinquent behavior and arrest. The data used in this study were from a larger NIDA funded longitudinal study that included approximately 425 African American youths. The data collection method involved structured interviews and questionnaires. The participants for the original study were selected via random sampling from all students attending middle school in Miami-Dade County. The study examined the hypotheses that African American males retrospectively reporting (a) high academic achievement, (b) high religiosity, (c) authoritarian parenting and (d) low perceptions of discrimination are less likely to be involved in delinquent behavior and are also less likely to be arrested. ^ Results indicated that among African American adolescent males, delinquent behavior had a significant relationship (p < .05) with academic achievement, perceived discrimination and the interaction between perceived discrimination and experienced discrimination. Arrest was significantly related to academic achievement (p < .001), religious perception (p < .05), and church attendance (p < 05). Neither dependent variable was significantly related to parenting styles. ^ The findings indicated that experimental studies are needed to clarify cause and effect relationship among the variables associated with juvenile offending among African American males, which may differ from those associated with juvenile offending among other groups. ^

Risk and resilience factors associated with delinquent behavior among African American adolescent males

Juvenile crime is a social problem of increasing concern to many citizens in the United States. In 2000, there were an estimated 2.4 million juvenile arrests for a variety of crimes ranging from misdemeanors to violent felony offenses. African American males are disproportionately represented among juvenile offenders in the United States. In 2000, black youth were approximately 16% of the U.S. population between the ages of 10-17; however, they accounted for 42% of juvenile arrests for violent crime. This study explored putative factors associated with juvenile offending among a sample of African American adolescent males. The independent variables in this study were academic achievement, religiosity, parenting styles and discrimination. The dependent variables were delinquent behavior and arrest. The data used in this study were from a larger NIDA funded longitudinal study that included approximately 425 African American youths. The data collection method involved structured interviews and questionnaires. The participants for the original study were selected via random sampling from all students attending middle school in Miami-Dade County. The study examined the hypotheses that African American males retrospectively reporting (a) high academic achievement, (b) high religiosity, (c) authoritarian parenting and (d) low perceptions of discrimination are less likely to be involved in delinquent behavior and are also less likely to be arrested. Results indicated that among African American adolescent males, delinquent behavior had a significant relationship (p The findings indicated that experimental studies are needed to clarify cause and effect relationship among the variables associated with juvenile offending among African American males, which may differ from those associated with juvenile offending among other groups.

The challenges of safeguarding and securing cultural heritage materials during violent conflict in Nigeria.

Almost every community, country and continent is experiencing a form of conflict, war or disaster. These wars have claimed lives, antiquities, heritage materials, contemporary Arts, Galleries, Museums, Archives, Monuments andHeritage sites. The aim of this study is to explore the challenges of safeguarding cultural heritage material during violent conflict in Nigeria bearing in mind the two UNESCO world heritage sites in Nigeria: Sukur kingdom and Osun Oshogbo sacred Grove. The outcome of this study will help the policy makers to address the challenges of safeguarding cultural heritage materials in times of conflicts, bridge the gap on the existing literature concerning the safeguarding of cultural heritage materials in times of conflict and to make a modest contribution to the existing body of knowledge on cultural heritage protection in Nigeria in particular and other parts of the world in general. This study relies on both primary and secondary sources using questionnaire and oral interview to elicit information from selected relevant cultural agencies, journalists and scholars in the field of art and culture. Relevant literature and documents on the challenges of safeguarding and securing of cultural heritage materials during conflicts were reviewed. The data gathered from the questionnaires and the oral interview is presented in frequency tabular form to give precise and comprehensive insight into the study findings. Notable among the challenges were insecurity and lack of professionalism in the field of cultural heritage profession. The study also revealed that governments are not enforcing the global laws and conventions for the protection of cultural heritage materials in times of violent conflict. The communities where these materials are located have little or no knowledge about the import of these materials and do not take part in securing them in the event of conflict. It is crucial that we place high value on heritage materials since they are inextricably linked with our identity and where we come from. It is strongly recommended that Cultural Heritage Institutions should involve as much as possible the local communities living around the sites by creating awareness educating and encouraging them to take ownership of the Sites located within their communities. They must ensure that the site is safeguarded against all forms of threat. Items of heritage value are not often considered in most disaster management plans therefore there is the need to consider heritage as priority just as the protection of lives and property.

Crimes against the elderly conference

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Aged and crime seminar (crimes against the elderly conference)

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Crimes against the elderly conference

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Crimes Against Women Conference

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Florence Rush, author of "The Best Kept Secret" about child molestation, speaks at Crimes Against Women conference

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Lt. Mary Keefe, from the Sex Crimes Analysis Unit, talks to women on how to prevent rape

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Crimes Against Women conference with Pauline Haines, International Indian Treaty Council; Sandy Ramos, N.J. Battered Women's Safe House Founder; and Daphne Busby, Sisterhood of Black Single Mothers

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Crimes lucratifs des jeunes de la rue : réanalyse de l'impact criminogène de la rue

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Crimes lucratifs des jeunes de la rue : réanalyse de l'impact criminogène de la rue

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.