Protecting children from sex offenders online: when strangers become 'virtual friends'

This article describes findings from research funded by the Metropolitan Police and Crimestoppers which aimed to explore children's online experiences. A non-random, stratified sample of 200 London school children aged 10- 13 participated in focus groups. Preliminary findings are also presented from unpublished ongoing PhD research, which seeks to explore sex offender behaviour online and the policing of the internet (Martellozzo, 2005 ongoing). The findings are discussed in the context of sex offender's use of the internet. This research indicates that children do have some basic knowledge about 'stranger danger' but are not necessarily applying these lessons to cyberspace. The children in this study had sufficient awareness to not give personal details to strangers on the internet, and would not arrange to meet them. However, they made a distinction between 'strangers' and 'virtual friends' and this is an important point. Preliminary findings also highlight the difficulty of policing the internet and serve to illustrate the manner in which the Sexual Offences Act 2003 is applied to internet sexual offending in practice.

Efficacy of a psychological treatment for sex offenders. 'Eficacia de un tratamiento psicol??gico para delincuentes sexuales'

Resumen tomado de la publicaci??n. Resumen tambi??n en ingl??s

Psychometric evaluation of the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire in a Spanish sample of offenders

Resumen tomado de la publicaci??n

Social impact bond feasibility study APAC Portugal: enhancing ex-offenders��� lives

Este estudo é uma análise à eficácia de um Social Impact Bond como como instrumento financeiro no modelo de intervenção da APAC Portugal. O objetivo é o de melhorar a vida de ex-criminosos e reduzir os índices de reincidência de modo a apoiar a sua reinserção na sociedade após a libertação. Enquanto os custos de funcionamento de um estabelecimento prisional forem suportados pelo sector público, como é de lei, o modelo inovador de intervenção terá de encontrar um meio alternativo de financiamento. Sendo assim, testámos a rentabilidade de um Social Impact Bond através de um bem estruturado modelo Excel que simula o mecanismo de investimento, tendo os resultados demonstrado que um Social Impact Bond pode, de facto, financiar o modelo de intervenção da APAC Portugal de forma eficaz.

A Closer Look at the Factors that Affect Misdemeanor Offenders

This study examines the common belief that misdemeanor offences are usually committed by individuals from lower socio-economic classes. 1 suggest that this is a misconception and that individuals from all classes commit misdemeanors. The data are from the Monitoring the Future: A Continuing Study of American Youth (12thGrade Survey), 2000-2008 (University of Michigan. Institute for Social Research Survey Research Center). I will focus on 12th grade students from the years 2000 to 2008. For the purposes of this study, a misdemeanor is less severe than a felony and includes such crimes as disorderly conduct, shoplifting, public drunkenness, or minor assault. In addition, conviction for a misdemeanor usually results in a fine or imprisonment in a jail for less than a year. I will examine evidence tor the common belief about the characteristics of misdemeanor offenders and explore other influences on those who commit misdemeanors. This research shows that family relationships, the importance of religion to the respondent, and race have an effect on whether an individual commits a misdemeanor. The results of this study »"~'-10'."""'~ that other factors, besides social class, may be important for understanding misdemeanor activity.

Restructuring Justice: Moving Towards Gender-Responsive Programming and Alternatives to Incarceration for Non-Violent Female Offenders

The United States¿ Federal and State laws differentiate between acceptable (or, legal) and unacceptable (illegal) behavior by prescribing restrictive punishment to citizens and/or groups that violate these established rules. These regulations are written to treat every person equally and to fairly serve justice; furthermore, the sanctions placed on offenders seek to reform illegal behavior through limitations on freedoms and rehabilitative programs. Despite the effort to treat all offenders fairly regardless of social identity categories (e.g., sex, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, age, ability, and gender and sexual orientation) and to humanely eliminate illegal behavior, the American penal system perpetuates de facto discrimination against a multitude of peoples. Furthermore, soaring recidivism rates caused by unsuccessful re-entry of incarcerated offenders puts economic stress on Federal and State budgets. For these reasons, offenders, policy-makers, and law-abiding citizens should all have a vested interest in reforming the prison system. This thesis focuses on the failure of the United States corrections system to adequately address the gender-specific needs of non-violent female offenders. Several factors contribute to the gender-specific discrimination that women experience in the criminal justice system: 1) Trends in female criminality that skew women¿s crime towards drug-related crimes, prostitution, and property offenses; 2) Mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes that are disproportionate to the crime committed; 3) So-called ¿gender-neutral¿ educational, vocational, substance abuse, and mental health programming that intends to equally rehabilitate men and women, but in fact favors men; and 4) The isolating nature of prison structures that inhibits smooth re-entry into society. I argue that a shift in the placement and treatment of non-violent female offenders is necessary for effective rehabilitation and for reducing recidivism rates. The first component of this shift is the design and implementation of gender- responsive treatment (GRT) rather than gender-neutral approaches in rehabilitative programming. The second shift is the utilization of alternatives to incarceration, which provide both more humane treatment of offenders and smoother reintegration to society. Drawing on recent scholarship, information from prison advocacy organizations, and research with men in an alternative program, I provide a critical analysis of current policies and alternative programs, and suggest several proposals for future gender- responsive programs in prisons and in place of incarceration. I argue that the expansion of gender-responsive programming and alternatives to incarceration respond to the marginalization of female offenders, address concerns about the financial sustainability of the United States criminal justice system, and tackle high recidivism rates.

Thinner cortex in the frontal lobes in mentally disordered offenders

Antisocial and violent behaviour have been associated with both structural and functional brain abnormalities in the frontal and the temporal lobes. The aim of the present study was to assess cortical thickness in offenders undergoing forensic psychiatric assessments, one group with psychopathy (PSY, n=7) and one group with autism spectrum disorder (ASD, n=7) compared to each other as well as to a reference group consisting of healthy non-criminal subjects (RG, n=12). A second aim was to assess correlation between scores on a psychopathy checklist (PCL-SV) and cortical thickness. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and surface-based cortical segmentation were used to calculate cortical thickness. Analyses used both regions of interest and statistical maps. When the two groups of offenders were compared, there were no differences in cortical thickness, but the PSY group had thinner cortex in the temporal lobes and in the whole right hemisphere compared to RG. There were no differences in cortical thickness between the ASD group and RG. Across subjects there was a negative correlation between PCL-SV scores and cortical thickness in the temporal lobes and the whole right hemisphere. The findings indicate that thinner cortex in the temporal lobes is present in psychopathic offenders and that these regions are important for the expression of psychopathy. However, whether thinner temporal cortex is a cause or a consequence of the antisocial behaviour is still unknown.