{"title":"Exploring the factors that differentiate individual and group offenders in cyber-dependent crime","authors":"L.M.J. Bekkers , T.J. Holt , E.R. Leukfeldt","doi":"10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2025.102522","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2025.102522","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Not much is known about the characteristics of solo offenders relative to group offenders engaged in cyber-dependent crime. This cross-sectional survey study utilized a general population sample of 1240 Dutch young people. Respondents completed a battery of validated measurements that measured lifetime offending behaviors and screened for risk factors. Multinominal regression models were estimated to explore the factors that differentiate solo offenders from group offenders engaged in low-tech and high-tech forms of cybercrime. Analyses revealed that solo offenders showed a different profile than those who offend together with others, and that correlates were particularly dependent on the level of technical sophistication of crimes. Low-tech solo offenders seemed to act more opportunistically, whereas high-tech solo offenders had programming skills and higher levels of self-control. Findings imply that co-offending in cyber-dependent crime may be more of an instrumental choice for offenders who have insufficient capabilities to offend alone.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48272,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Criminal Justice","volume":"101 ","pages":"Article 102522"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145220616","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The empirical clustering of crimes","authors":"Alora McCarthy , Haomin Chen , Bryanna Fox , Edelyn Verona","doi":"10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2025.102526","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2025.102526","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Despite wide use among researchers and law enforcement, crime classification structures have received little empirical study to validate their theoretical models. Specifically, few studies have examined the empirical structure of crime categories across a large range of offenses to examine adherence to traditional classification systems (e.g., violent vs. non-violent; crimes against persons, property, and society). This study first identified how crimes clustered together empirically in a sample of Florida jail inmates (Aim 1; <em>N</em> = 832, 68% men, 72% White, 83% non-Hispanic) and then tested the replicability of that grouping in a second sample of justice-involved individuals in Illinois (Aim 2; <em>N</em> = 794, 62% men, 51% Black, 96% non-Hispanic). The psychological and behavioral correlates of the factors were then explored (Aim 3). Results from exploratory factor analysis in Sample 1 and exploratory structural equation modeling in Sample 2 indicated a 4-factor structure best fit the data, supporting and expanding the Uniform Crime Report/National Incident-Based Reporting System 3-factor model (i.e., crimes against persons, property, and society). Property and societal crime factors were highly replicable across samples; two factors related to violent crimes were present in both samples but differed in their composition, suggesting the need for more research to understand violent crime heterogeneity. Correlations between the crime factors and external criteria indicated mixed support for the construct coherence of the factors. Most consistently, all crime factors were related to callous unemotional, impulsive, and aggressive traits across samples, suggesting that these characteristics offer little discriminatory ability in understanding criminal behavior.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48272,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Criminal Justice","volume":"101 ","pages":"Article 102526"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145220617","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Understanding victimization of people held in U.S. prisons and jails: The generalizability of an opportunity framework","authors":"Brandon K. Applegate , Nicola Pasquire","doi":"10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2025.102519","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2025.102519","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Despite the legal and practical obligation of correctional institutions to prevent victimization of people held in prisons and jails, relatively little research has sought to understand variation in the risk of victimization during incarceration. This characterization is particularly true in the context of detention in local jails and for property victimization. Moreover, the existing literature varies in methodology, model specification, and other features in ways that obscure our ability to determine the generalizability of explanatory models. The current study analyzes nationally representative data on multiple measures of victimization among people incarcerated in U.S. prisons and jails to assess the generalizability of an opportunity framework for understanding this phenomenon. We find that some aspects of the opportunity framework consistently predict victimization regardless of type, location, or perpetrator. Others vary in important ways. Based on our analyses, we provide suggestions for moving the study of victimization during incarceration forward.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48272,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Criminal Justice","volume":"101 ","pages":"Article 102519"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145158393","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Generalized Gini coefficient, its statistical significance, and the local areas driving the global result","authors":"Yichao Gao , Martin A. Andresen","doi":"10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2025.102524","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2025.102524","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objectives</h3><div>Review the Gini coefficient and how it has been tested for statistically significant concentrations. Discuss and implement baseline distribution for statistical testing. Identify where and how much local level change is needed to generate spatial concentrations.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Calculation of Gini coefficients with simulations to generate non-rejection envelope for seven crime types. Employ local spatial statistics, Andresen's Dissimilarity Index<em>,</em> to identify where local level changes are driving global changes in Gini coefficients.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>We show that random sampling with replacement is the most appropriate baseline data generating process for testing the statistical significance of concentrations using the Gini coefficient. We also show, consistent with previous research, that apparent concentrations may appear under randomness and that a few places with high degrees of concentration are able to generate high levels of global concentrations measured using the Gini coefficient.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>The Gini coefficient is an excellent metric for measuring concentration. Any testing for statistically significant concentrations should employ random sampling with replacement as the data generating process. High degrees of concentrations correspond to a relatively small number of places that have more events than expected.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48272,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Criminal Justice","volume":"101 ","pages":"Article 102524"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145158392","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ryan Bagwell , Wanda E. Leal , Allison Kondrat , Alex R. Piquero
{"title":"Variation in location and type of property calls for service in New Orleans on NFL and NBA Gamedays","authors":"Ryan Bagwell , Wanda E. Leal , Allison Kondrat , Alex R. Piquero","doi":"10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2025.102518","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2025.102518","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>There is a growing body of research devoted to examining how sporting venues may alter patterns of crime in areas surrounding such facilities. Overall research indicates that sporting events may contribute to increases in crime rates, however, this varies based on several factors such as the type of crime, type of sporting event, and the location of the stadium/arena. The current study extends this line of research by implementing a time series analysis and using two clustering methods: hot spot analysis and multivariate clustering to examine property crime related calls for service on days the New Orleans Saints (NFL team) play home games at Caesar's Superdome and the New Orleans Pelicans (NBA team) play home games at Smoothie King Center over a four-year period. Results show that property calls for service increase on days with sporting events, although the effect is not statistically significant. Hot spots are stable across days, centered in tourist areas of the Central Business District and French Quarter, yet show event-specific variation. High theft clusters are located near Bourbon Street and are consistent across contexts, although clusters expand beyond Bourbon Street for both Saints and Pelicans home game days. The results illustrate how nodes, pathways, and edges contextualize the spatial clustering of property calls for service across two sporting venues. Implications and policy directions are highlighted.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48272,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Criminal Justice","volume":"101 ","pages":"Article 102518"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145158395","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Guy Giguère , Patrick Lussier , Christian Bourassa
{"title":"Validation of the ORAC-PCQ, an actuarial risk assessment tool for general recidivism: A psychometric analysis based on Messick's validity framework","authors":"Guy Giguère , Patrick Lussier , Christian Bourassa","doi":"10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2025.102517","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2025.102517","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This article introduces Messick's approach to validation by examining the psychometric properties of ORAC-PCQ, an actuarial tool that has been used in the province of Quebec since 2019. The instrument replaced the LS/CMI, which was deemed too time consuming for Quebec's correctional system which deals with short-term incarceration terms (less than 2 years) and probation. The instrument maintains adherence to risk, need and responsivity principles espoused by other comparable instruments, but it is more tailored toward short-term sentences. Messick's approach to validity testing, which departs from prior psychometric tests used with actuarial assessment tools, was used to assess the psychometric qualities of the ORAC-PCQ. Empirical analyses were conducted with both the ORAC-PCQ and the LS/CMI using data from two samples each (19,349 men and 3522 women with the ORAC-PCQ and 44,077 men and 6490 women with the LS/CMI). The promising results stress the relevance of Messick's approach as a more advanced validation process by which risk assessment tool can be examined.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48272,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Criminal Justice","volume":"101 ","pages":"Article 102517"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145158394","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The tangled history of social network analysis and gang research—A long way from Street Corner Society","authors":"Jason Gravel , Martin Bouchard","doi":"10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2025.102514","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2025.102514","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This article traces the tangled history of social network analysis (SNA) and gang research, showing that relational thinking shaped the field since its origins –even when formal methods lagged behind. Through an analysis of classic studies, we demonstrate how early structural intuitions anticipated modern network concepts. We then synthesize modern classics and new contributions in this area of research, organizing research into six strands: 1) co-offending in the gang context, 2) policing and policy analysis, 3) territoriality and spatial dimensions of gang networks, 4) ego-networks and individual analyses of gang members, 5) group processes, organization, and composition, and 6) gang violence and conflicts. Across these strands, we highlight methodological and theoretical innovations, and policy implications of relational approaches to gangs. The history of SNA in gang research, we argue, reveals SNA as not simply a new shiny methodological toy but as a theoretical lens linking individual, group, and ecological explanations of gang behavior yielding actionable insights for prevention and intervention. Recent scholarship has cemented SNA as a critical asset to the gang scholar’s toolbox.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48272,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Criminal Justice","volume":"101 ","pages":"Article 102514"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145096117","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rebekkah L. Gross, John Leverso, Brittany E. Hayes
{"title":"The association of gang embeddedness and sexual victimization with mental health outcomes","authors":"Rebekkah L. Gross, John Leverso, Brittany E. Hayes","doi":"10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2025.102516","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2025.102516","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Justice-involved girls face disproportionately high rates of trauma, sexual victimization, and mental health challenges, yet little research has explored how gang involvement compounds these risks. Using data from the Northwestern Juvenile Project (<em>N</em> = 416), a longitudinal study of justice-involved youth that assessed a wide range of health, social, and legal topics through structured interviews, the present study focuses on the associations between gang membership, gang embeddedness, sexual victimization, and mental health outcomes—specifically mood disorders and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)—among justice-involved girls. Analyses pooled across Waves 2–5 and conducted with logistic regression models with clustered standard errors reveal that sexual victimization significantly increases the odds of both mood disorders and PTSD, while gang membership alone is not a significant indicator. However, deeper gang embeddedness is associated with higher odds of PTSD, and perceived gang organization is linked to increased odds of mood disorders. These findings highlight the critical role of proximal, gendered harms—particularly sexual victimization and deeper gang involvement—in shaping mental health outcomes beyond broader structural adversities. This study extends gender-focused gang research by quantifying the mental health risks tied to gang structure and depth of involvement, underscoring the need for trauma-informed, gender-responsive interventions for justice-involved girls embedded in gang environments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48272,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Criminal Justice","volume":"101 ","pages":"Article 102516"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145096116","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Does first arrest change perceptions of arrest risk? Evidence from a matched analysis of youth in the U.S.","authors":"Sunmin Hong , Wenyi Wang , Sungil Han","doi":"10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2025.102515","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2025.102515","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Deterrence theory assumes that legal sanctions increase perceived certainty of arrest, thereby discouraging future offending. However, little is known about how adolescents revise their perceptions following a first arrest, particularly across gender. This study examines whether a first arrest during adolescence alters perceived risk of arrest, using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997. A 2 × 2 difference-indifferences design with propensity score matching is employed to estimate the effect of first arrest on perceived risk of arrest. Results indicate no significant change in perceived risk of arrest for the overall sample, a significant decrease among females, and no significant effect among males. These findings contribute to an expanded understanding of specific deterrence by indicating that punitive contact may, for some youth, reduce rather than strengthen deterrent beliefs. Gender-responsive and developmentally informed policies are needed to ensure that justice interventions achieve their intended effects.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48272,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Criminal Justice","volume":"101 ","pages":"Article 102515"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145096115","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Evidence of cumulative disadvantage and the liberation hypothesis in court cases involving resisting arrest","authors":"R.R. Dunlea, Pauline K. Brennan","doi":"10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2025.102513","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2025.102513","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Guided by the focal concerns perspective, liberation hypothesis, and cumulative disadvantage framework, this study assesses the extent to which Black and Hispanic men receive punitive treatment throughout prosecution and sentencing for charges of resisting arrest with violence (felony) or without violence (misdemeanor). Using a sample of more than 37,000 cases referred for resisting arrest to a large urban Florida prosecutor's office, we examine racial and gender disparities in filing, charging, conviction, and sentencing. Findings demonstrate a cumulative disadvantage for Black men in case processing throughout prosecution, with small disparities at each decision point compounding to create a large disadvantage by the point of conviction for resisting arrest. A larger disparity for Hispanic men was observed at sentencing. Consistent with the liberation hypothesis, the observed cumulative disadvantage was confined to cases involving resisting arrest without violence. Findings highlight the need to consider low-level cases and early discretionary decision points as key contributors to the inequality experienced by men of color in the legal system.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48272,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Criminal Justice","volume":"101 ","pages":"Article 102513"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145096114","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}