This study deals with the French action civile, whereby the victim of a criminal offence may participate, as civil party, in the criminal proceedings brought against the offender, and there claim reparation from such offender if he can prove that he has suffered loss or damage directly resulting from the offence. This procedure differs from what obtains in the common-law jurisdictions, where a crime victim's participation in the criminal trial is limited to being a witness for the prosecution, and can only bring an action for damages before the civil courts. / In addition to examining the requirements for the admissibility of the action civile, the study elicits certain procedural and evidentiary issues, such as the burden and standard of proof, the Civilian approach to tortious liability, res judicata, the problem of judicial interpretation of code provisions by a common-law jurisdiction and the respective merits that justify the civil party action. These issues occasionally provide the background for a critical and comparative analysis in relation to common-law procedural practice. / The study also seeks to demonstrate the need for greater victim participation in the criminal process and, thereby, attempts to defeat the generally-held view in common-law jurisdictions that the victim's place is the witness box. In this way, it may be a helpful source of reference for a common-law - Civil law mixed system, like Cameroon's, that is going through a legal harmonisation process, and other common-law jurisdictions that may want to adopt the civil party procedure.

In this thesis I examine the historical development of criminological thought and theory. I argue that criminology's history generally follows the structure of history advanced by Thomas Kuhn in his The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. As such, I argue that the history of criminological development is a history of successive periods, punctuated by periods of crisis. Specifically, criminology's historical development is characterized by four successive periods, which are as follows: (1) a pre-paradigm period in which at least three different paradigms exist, in competition for dominance in the field; (2) a paradigm period characterized by the dominance and universal acceptance of positivism by the scientific community of criminologists; (3) a period of crisis in which critical criminology, an alternative paradigm, successfully challenged the positivist paradigm and pushed the discipline into a state of crisis; and (4) a period characterized by, on the one hand, the triumph of the positivist paradigm over its challengers, and on the other hand, by a period in which alternative paradigms, confined to the fringes, nevertheless incessantly challenge the foundations and first principles of the positivism paradigm. My one caveat is that we view the fourth historical period of criminology as a stage rather than what Kuhn terms a paradigm. Stage is a term invoked in order to extend the limits of Kuhn's model and to develop it further. / Dans cette thèse, j'examine le développement historique de la pensée et de la théorie criminologique. Je soutiens que l'histoire de la criminologie suit généralement la structure de l'histoire avancée par Thomas Kuhn dans son livre La Structure des Révolutions Scientifiques. Je soutiens que l'histoire du développement criminologique est une histoire de périodes successives, ponctuée par des périodes de crise. Plus précisément, nous pouvons identifier quatre périodes successives le développement historique de la criminologie: (1) une période de pré-paradigme dans lequel au moins trois paradigmes différents sont en concurrence pour la domination dans le domaine; (2) une période de paradigme caractérisé par la domination et l'acceptation universelle du positivisme par la communauté scientifique des criminologues; (3) une période de crise dans laquelle la criminologie critique, en tant que paradigme alternatif, a remis en question le paradigme positiviste et poussé la discipline dans un état de crise, et (4) une période caractérisée par, d'une part, le triomphe du paradigme positiviste sur ses concurrents, et d'autre part, par une période durant laquelle des paradigmes alternatifs, confinés a la périphérie, mais ne cessant néanmoins de remettre en question les fondements et les principes premiers du paradigme du positivisme. La problématique que j'identifie est de dire nous voyons la quatrième période historique de la criminologie comme une étape au lieu de la voir comme ce que Kuhn a appelé un paradigme. Le terme 'étape' est invoqué afin d'étendre les limites du modèle de Kuhn et de le développer davantage.

The children of offenders have often been referred to as the "hidden victims of crime," with parental incarceration shown to have a negative and profound impact on the children. However, despite pressing concerns regarding the welfare of these children, significant gaps exist in our understanding of their well-being, of the way in which certain factors impact their well-being, and of the relationship between the condition of the children's well-being and their deviant and criminal behaviour. In addition, there is a significant paucity of research addressing the topic of children of incarcerated parents from a Canadian perspective. Therefore, the goal of this study is to address these limitations in the literature and to provide greater insight into the experiences of the children of offenders in Canada. The data for this study is drawn from in-person semi-structured interviews conducted with three groupings of individuals, including: practitioners who had experience with children of incarcerated parents in a professional capacity; the legal guardians of children with an incarcerated parent; and the children of an incarcerated parent. The study includes a sample size of 47 participants in Kingston, Ontario. Based on an index comprised of four key indicators of well-being (emotional, behavioural, academic, and social), analyses of the data indicated that the majority of the children were doing poorly across multiple dimensions. It was further evident that there were some prominent factors that impacted upon the well-being of the children of incarcerated parents, including the children's quality of care, the stigma surrounding parental incarceration, and available social support networks. Lastly, in investigating the relationship between the condition of the children's overall well-being and their participation in deviant and criminal behaviour, it is determined that, while overall well-being may provide a partial predictor for these negative outcomes, it is anger / On réfère aux enfants de parents criminels comme étant les « victimes cachées du crime » puisque l'incarcération de leurs parents a un impact négatif profond sur eux. Pourtant, malgré les inquiétudes pressantes concernant la qualité de vie de ces enfants, il existe des lacunes sérieuses entre notre compréhension de leur bien-être, la façon dans laquelle certains facteurs peuvent affecter leur bien-être et la relation entre la condition de vie des enfants et leurs comportements déviants et criminels. De plus, il y a un grand manque de recherches axées sur les enfants de parents incarcérés qui offrent une perspective Canadienne. C'est la raison pour laquelle cette étude a comme but d'adressé les lacunes dans la littérature actuelle en permettant un aperçu plus complet des expériences de vie des enfants de parents criminels au Canada. Les données pour cette étude proviennent d'entrevues en personne semi-structuré avec trois groupes d'individus, incluant : des professionnels qui avaient de l'expérience avec des enfants de parents incarcérés ; les tuteurs légales d'enfants dont un parent est incarcéré ; et les enfants de parents incarcérés. L'étude comprend un échantillon de 47 participants de Kingston, Ontario. Quatre indicateurs ont été utilisés pour évaluer le bien-être (émotionnel, comportemental, académique, et social) et l'analyse des données indique que la majorité des enfants avaient des difficultés à plus qu'un niveau. Il était aussi évident que certains facteurs avaient un impacte plus important sur le bien-être des enfants de parents incarcérés, incluant : la qualité des soins offerts aux enfants, le stigma qui existe envers l'incarcération parental, ainsi que le réseaux de soutien social disponibles. Finalement, en investiguant les relations entre le bien-être des enfants et leur participation dans des comportements déviants and criminels, une détermination peut être faite que malgré les pr

<p> This study utilized the meta-analysis technique to explore the relationship between domestic violence exposure and children's externalizing and internalizing outcomes. Results from 22 reviewed studies produced mean weighted effect size Cohen's d values of .63 and .59 for the association between domestic violence exposure and children's internalizing and externalizing behaviors accordingly. An overall weighted effect size of <i>d</i>=.62 was calculated for the association between domestic violence exposure and children's behavioral outcomes. Results from overall weighted effect size <i> d</i> values of .44 (hear), .55 (witness), and .62 (experience) were calculated for the relationship between domestic violence exposure and children's behavioral outcomes. Results from this meta-analysis conclude a moderate to large association between domestic violence exposure and child behavior outcomes, with experiencing domestic violence being the most highly associated with child behavior outcomes. An analysis of policy, rehabilitation, and intervention programs will be discussed. Recommendations for future domestic violence research are discussed.</p>

<p> The ability to detect and obtain DNA profiles from body fluid stains on clothing is important in solving crimes. However, many crimes are reported after a significant delay and stained clothing is sometimes exposed to water, detergents, and/or other cleaning agents before it is collected as evidence. Research on the effects of water immersion and aqueous-based cleaning methods (e.g. machine laundering, detergents, machine drying) indicates that a number of variables affect whether a stain can be detected post-exposure, including the body fluid examined, the fabric type, and the presence or absence of detergents and agitation. However, the effects of dry-cleaning on body fluid stains are not well understood, despite the fact that many fabrics are &ldquo;dry-clean only.&rdquo; Additionally, most of the available information on dry-cleaning is based on the chemical perchloroethylene (Perc) and due to a 2007 ban on Perc, research was needed to examine the effects of available dry-cleaning alternatives. Three dry-clean-only fabrics were stained with semen and submitted for dry cleaning. Two green dry-cleaners were used, one using the petroleum-based DF2000&trade; and one using the silicone-based GreenEarth^&reg; process. After dry-cleaning, the stained fabrics were screened using a 5000 &Aring; Crime-lite^&reg; and an acid phosphatase (AP) spot test. The sperm were then released from the fabric and detected using a Christmas Tree stain assay. Regardless of the results of the screening tests, the stains were removed and analyzed for DNA. The DNA was extracted using QIAamp^&reg; DNA Investigator kits, quantitated by qPCR using Quantifiler^&reg; Duo DNA Quantification kits, and genotyped using AmpFlSTR Identifiler^&reg; Plus kits. It was found that dry-cleaned semen stains were often difficult to detect with the Crime-lite^&reg; and the AP spot test but that sperm were present in abundance during the Christmas Tree stain assay. It was also found that enough DNA could be recovered to generate full Identifiler^&reg; Plus profiles from all samples. Therefore, it is important for analysts to exercise caution when screening dry-cleaned evidence as stains may be missed that carry probative genetic information. </p>

<p> Studies examining homicide rates often have two limitations. First, there is a lack of rich, dynamic data to account for change, and second, no consideration of formal social controls at the neighborhood-level. To address these limitations, longitudinal data from Washington, D.C. was collected at the neighborhood level. This homicide incident and neighborhood demographic data, which spans from 1998-2006, allow for a test of two theoretical perspectives within a classical/social control sphere, namely social disorganization and deterrence. This work poses two main questions: Do dynamic structural factors influence homicide rates across neighborhoods? Does aggregate deterrence influence homicide rates across neighborhoods? Results suggest that dynamic structural factors predict homicide rates better than static factors, though deterrence results are insignificant. Implications and avenues for future research are also discussed. </p>

<p>Life course criminology seeks to explain the factors that lead and deter individuals from engaging in persistent later-life criminality. However, the cultivation of marijuana has yet to be tested by life course related means. This thesis uses data from both the Marijuana Growers' Survey and the Belgian Marijuana Growers' Survey to examine the extent that life course related variables are associated with transitions within marijuana growers. Results suggest little support for life course related variables, and instead suggest that motivations are more important in dictating transitions associated with an increase in profit and operations. Implications of these results are discussed and policy recommendations are made. </p>

<p> Human trafficking is one of the most profitable and quickly growing organized crimes. Human trafficking occurs across the globe, including in the United States. The high profits from human trafficking outweigh the risks to the trafficker, making this a lucrative crime. Victims of trafficking are often not willing to come forward, making prosecution difficult. Federal laws and regulations have evolved over the years to be a valuable tool. However, inconsistencies in state laws surrounding trafficking often leave the burden of identification and prosecution on federal agencies. Anti-money laundering efforts are one of the ways this crime can be identified and prevented. Human trafficking profiles of high risk businesses, trafficker characteristics, victim characteristics, and money laundering red flags should be combined to create a typology that can be used by financial institutions and law enforcement to identify possible human trafficking activity. Existing money laundering statutes should be used more often during the prosecution stage to add additional sentencing times and allow for seizure of assets.</p>

<p> This paper investigates factors affecting susceptibility to online dating fraud victimization among a sample of 110 Internet users. Demographic factors such as age, income, marital status, employment, education, and country of residence are analyzed. Applicability of Routine Activities Theory to online scams is discussed, and variables such as computer use and proficiency, awareness of online scams, past experience with international dating, and interest in online dating are analyzed. Study differentiates between likelihood and severity of victimization. Findings indicate that factors most likely to affect vulnerability to online dating fraud victimization are: interest in online dating, interest in international dating, and years of computer use. Contrary to expectations, none of the demographic factors and none of the variables measuring level of awareness about online scams were statistically significant. For many variables, patterns of likelihood of victimization were different from the patterns of severity of victimization.</p>

<p> It is widely accepted that a confession is one of the most incriminating piece of evidence that can be presented in a criminal case (Kassin &amp; Neumann, 1997). However, little prior research has examined the impact of situational characteristics (e.g., length of interrogation, how recently suspect has slept, etc.) of the interrogation and resulting confession. While police tactics and personal characteristics are known to impact perceptions of the resulting confession, little is known about how aspects of an interrogation might impact the perceptions of jurors. In three studies, this dissertation seeks to determine how mock jurors' perceptions of evidence strength are impacted by the inclusion of known risk factors for false confessions. </p><p> The first study uses an in-person, student sample to evaluate the impact of interrogation length, how recently the suspect slept, and how many interrogators questioned the suspect. The second study repeats the measures of the first study using an online sample of adults. Situational interrogation factors, specifically the length of the interrogation, were found to have a significant effect on perceived evidence strength and resulting trial verdict. A confession resulting from a lengthy (16 hour) interrogation was perceived to be significantly weaker than a confession resulting from a shorter (1 hour) interrogation. Overall, when situational interrogation factors were presented to mock jurors, the evidence was perceived to be weaker and less indicative of guilt, and respondents voted to convict the defendant significantly less often. </p><p> The final study varies the age of the defendant and the alleged crime committed along with the length of the interrogation to determine whether any or all of these factors impact perceptions of evidence strength. This third study finds that confessions offered by younger defendants are viewed as less strong than older defendants, and that this effect is magnified when there is a lengthy interrogation. Similarly, defendants accused of murder who faced a lengthy interrogation were less likely to be convicted than those accused of assault. The final chapter concludes with an overall discussion of the three studies and avenues for future research.</p>