Despite the increase in terrorism research post September 11, 2001, little is known about domestic terrorism though it occurs at overwhelmingly higher rates as compared to transnational terrorism. Although the use of criminological theory and methods to study terrorism has increased recently, there are relatively few terrorism studies within the criminological literature. Drawing upon extant criminological theories of violence among countries, this study uses the recently created Global Terrorism Database to examine the distribution and correlates of domestic terrorism among 72 developed nations between 1970 and 1997. This study examined the following questions. First, do prior established predictors of criminal violence (i.e., economy, inequality, social welfare, political orientation, ethnic fractionalization, population, and pre-existing violence) also predict domestic terrorism at the country level? Second, is the relationship between these macro-structural and cultural variables in the same direction as found in the previously published literature? Using a series of contemporaneous cross-sectional analyses and lagged cross-sectional analysis, the results from this study indicate that there is considerable similarity between the correlates of cross-national homicide and correlates of domestic terrorism. There was considerable evidence for the relationship between population size and overall levels of domestic terrorism. This relationship was robust across short time intervals (1970s), the full time span (1970-1997), as well as in the long and short term lagged analyses (1970-1990 predictors of domestic terrorism in 1991-1997 and 1991-1994 predictors on 1995-1997 domestic terrorism). On the contrary I did not find evidence that large youth populations are significantly related to higher levels of domestic terrorism. Income inequality (GINI) also emerged as a significant correlate of domestic terrorism in the long and short term contemporaneous analyses. Those countries that had higher overall levels of income inequality for the entire time span also had higher levels of domestic terrorism, compared to those countries with low levels of income inequality. Contrary to theoretical expectations yet supportive of prior criminological research, this study found that stronger democracies actually have more domestic terrorism. In particular, those countries with more restrictions placed on executive decision-making power, tend to have more domestic terrorism events, compared to those countries with less restrictive executive decision-making processes. This study concludes with a discussion of the results within the larger criminological literature as well as future avenues of research.

In the years following the 11 September 2001 attacks, research in the area of terrorism expanded exponentially. However, the changing nature of terrorism and lack of available data make it a difficult topic for criminologists to study; as academics we do not have access to the governmental data and data that is publicly available is often restricted due to the sensitive nature of national security issues. As first hand data is not available, an alternate data source, court records, may provide insight to the profile of current terrorists/terrorist supporters in the United States. Using court data from 71 cases of individuals in the United States charged with providing support to ISIS, and comparing this profile to the established profiles of other non-traditional criminal groups, this exploratory study attempts to be a first effort in examining the contributions criminology can make to the study of terrorism; from both theoretical and law enforcement perspectives.

No description available.

More than a decade has passed since Agnew (2005) introduced his General Theory of Crime and Delinquency (GTCD). Despite this interval, GTCD remains a relatively untested theory. Drawing on previous testing efforts, the current research provides a systematic assessment of Agnew's theoretical propositions. It also provides only the second empirical examination of Cochran's (2015) extension of GTCD, which incorporates religion as a sixth distinct life domain. Nested negative binomial regression modeling and Poisson regression modeling are used to assess the effects of life domains on several diverse forms of self-reported criminal behavior at two distinct stages of development: adolescence and adulthood. Data are drawn from two waves of the second generation of the Kaplan Longitudinal and Multigenerational Study. Consistent with prior empirical tests, results provide mixed support for theoretical propositions, highlighting the complexity of Agnew’s initial theory. Specifically, general support is provided for the direct effects of both theories’ variables, indicating they are important to the explanation of crime. Also, in line with Cochran's findings, initial observed effects of religious variables on criminal behavior are reduced to non-significance when all other predictors are introduced in most regression models, hinting that the incorporation of such variables may be incongruous with Agnew's chosen method of theoretical integration. However, religious variables emerge as significant predictors of general crime during adulthood, suggesting that the relationship between these variables and crime is more complex than anticipated. Additionally, strong support is found for the proposition that the effects of life domains are primarily contemporaneous. Results offer weaker support, however, for the assertion that life domain effects are largely mediated by constraints against crime and motivations towards it. Policy implications for the creation of theoretically-informed crime prevention and intervention strategies tailored to specific developmental stage are discussed.

Criminologists have long since marginalized passivity as a variable of interest when studying the phenomenon of harm-doing. In this thesis, I explore the role of passivity in such instances and build a case for its centrality to deviance. I also undertake a number of other tasks. First, I review the extent to which research throughout the academy has connected passivity to violence. Second, I explore whether criminological theories have incorporated the variable of passivity and how they could. Lastly, I reflect on why more work on passivity has not been done given its manifest connection to harm, and I offer suggestions on how criminology can move forward in integrating bystander behavior in its theories of harm-doing.

The criminal‘s personality is the subject of research of various sciences. Every discipline raises it’s tasks and uses it’s and generally accredited methods at the time of analysis of problem of criminal’s personality. The person, who has done a criminal act as the subject of research is being analyzed from various sides – as the personality, as the subject of a criminal act and as individual.

Nusikalstamumo, drausmės pažeidimų ir kriminologinės prevencijos teisinis reglamentavimas Lietuvos kariuomenėje tema aktuali, nes karių padaromos veikos sulaukia didelio susidomėjimo visuomenėje. Taip pat ši tema nėra plačiai išnagrinėta. Tyrimo problema - apibendrintos informacijos apie nusikalstamumą ir drausmės pažeidimus Lietuvos kariuomenėje stygius. Tyrimo objektas - socialiniai procesai Lietuvos kariuomenėje bei teisės pažeidimų kontrolė ir reglamentavimas. Tikslas - analizuoti nusikaltimų ir drausmės pažeidimų Lietuvos kariuomenėje procesus ir jų teisinį reglamentavimą bei pateikti siūlymus padėsiančius pagerinti situaciją nusikalstamumo ir drausmės pažeidimų Lietuvos kariuomenėje prevencijos tobulinimo srityje. Magistro baigiamojo darbo uždaviniai: 1) atskleisti Lietuvos kariuomenės veiklos bei nusikalstamumo ir drausmės pažeidimų Lietuvos kariuomenėje teisinio reglamentavimo pobūdį, žvelgiant per istorinio konteksto prizmę; 2) apibūdinti institucijas, tiriančias nusikaltimus ir drausmės pažeidimus Lietuvos kariuomenėje, bei atskleisti jų vaidmenį šiame procese; 3) analizuoti kriminologinę nusikalstamumo ir drausmės pažeidimų charakteristiką Lietuvos kariuomenėje 2009-2011 m. laikotarpiu. / The theme – The Legal Regulation of Criminality, Disciplinary Violations and Criminological Prevention in Lithuanian Military is really relevant due to the public interest for deed acts which are committed by the military personnel. This theme is not examined widely. The problem of this research defines the lack of summarized information about criminality and disciplinary violations in Lithuanian military. Research object – the social processes in Lithuanian military, the control and legal nature of law violations. The aim of this research is to analyze the processes and legal regulation of criminality and disciplinary violations in Lithuanian military and to give some suggestions how to ensure effective prevention tools for these activities. The tasks of Master’s Work are these: 1) to reveal legal regulation of Lithuanian military activity, also criminality and disciplinary violations in the military; thought historical view; 2) to describe institutions, whose are investigating the crimes and disciplinary violations in Lithuanian military and to enclose their role in this process; 3) to analyze the criminological characteristic and disciplinary violations in Lithuanian military during the period of 2009–2011.

This study aims at analyzing the content of high school textbooks in social sciences, more specifically the field of law and order, and comparing this with the current research situation in the field. Another purpose is to investigate whether the new type of serious gang crime, which in particular has grown in various immigrant suburbs, adjacent to our largest cities, as reported in the media in recent years, has also looked into the textbooks. The essay uses a constructivist theory formation. The constructivist theory considers that different actors, based on their ideological positions, create different descriptions of current social phenomena, descriptions aimed at influencing the recipient to incorporate specific perceptions of reality and values. In this context, the teaching materials become a political product that is not so much about describing a social phenomenon as complex and objective as possible a complex, but, above all, it will be understood as the attempt of the various parties to convey their specific interpretations and interests of the phenomenon. The survey shows that all analyzing textbooks directly or indirectly highlight the men and adolescents group, and to some extent also people in an exposed psychosocial position that overrepresented in a criminal context. In cases where textbooks address statements about people committing crimes, socio-economic and psychosocial vulnerabilities are mentioned, as well as explanations of the social plane in terms of control and casualty structures. In this regard, textbooks fail to report a broad and current research on the mechanisms of crime. None of the textbooks deal with the new crime that has emerged in different socially vulnerable areas to our metropolitan areas, believing that this has gained a lot of space in the media and that the syllabuses in social sciences emphasize that the subject will highlight current social phenomena. All books consistently choose to not treat people it with a foreign background's overrepresentation in a criminal context. Nor should it be noted that some people have a biological vulnerability in committing crimes, for example, that individuals with ADHD diagnosis are heavily overrepresented in crime statistics. / <p>Godkännane datum: 2018-05-31</p>

abstract: The victim-offender overlap is a widely accepted empirical fact in criminology. While many methodological strategies have been used to study overlap, prior studies have assumed that it is uniform, taking little consideration into the potential differences within the overlap. The larger body of criminological research on pathways to crime suggests that victim-offenders also have variability in their victimization experiences and offending patterns. Not accounting for variation within the overlap has produced inconsistent findings in terms of establishing theoretical explanations for the victimization and offending relationship. Several general theories of crime have merit in their assumptions about the relationship between victimization and offending. Routine activity/lifestyle theory, low self-control theory, and general strain theory offer insight into the overlap. Variables derived from these three general theories are assessed to test their ability to explain a more complex conceptualization of the victim-offender overlap. Using data on 3,341 individuals drawn from four waves of the publically available National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), a latent class analysis establishes unique victim-offender overlap taxonomies. A multinomial logistic regression is conducted to test how well theoretically derived variables from three general theories (e.g., routine activity theory, low self-control theory, and general strain theory) predict membership in the unique victim-offender overlap taxonomies. Additional multinomial logistic regressions are run using a split sample analyses to test the invariance of the findings across different social groupings (e.g., gender and race/ethnicity). Comparing the more complex operationalization of the victim-offender overlap with the baseline regression models shows notable differences. For example, depression significantly predicts membership in the general victim-offender overlap group, but when taking into consideration variation within the overlap, depression does not consistently predict membership in all taxonomies. Similar results are found for routine activity/lifestyle theory and low self-control theory. Tests of invariance across gender and race/ethnicity highlight the need to consider how theoretical explanations of the victim-offender overlap differ based on social groupings. Males and females have unique risks and needs and these should be reflected in how routines and negative emotions are measured. The findings underscore the need to consider overlap when studying the relationship between victims and offenders. Implications for theory, future research, and policy are also discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Criminology and Criminal Justice 2018

abstract: Social learning theory has enjoyed decades of supportive research and has been applied to a wide range of criminal and deviant behavior. Still eluding criminological theorists, however, is a meaningful understanding of the causal processes underlying social learning. This lack of knowledge is due in part to a relative reluctance to examine value transmission as a process in the contexts of mentorship, role modeling, and social learning. With this empirical gap in mind, the present study seeks to isolate and classify meaningful themes in mentorship through loosely structured interviews with young men on the periphery of the criminal processing system. The purposive sample is drawn from youth in a Southwestern state, living in a state-funded, privately run group home for children of unfit, incarcerated, or deported/undocumented parents. The youth included in the study have recently passed the age of eighteen, and have elected to stay in the group home on a voluntary basis pending the completion of a High School diploma. Further, both the subjects and the researcher participate in a program which imparts mentorship through art projects, free expression, and ongoing, semi-structured exposure to prosocial adults. This study therefore provides a unique opportunity to explore qualitatively social learning concepts through the eyes of troubled youth, and to generate new lines of theory to facilitate the empirical testing of social learning as a process. Implications for future research are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Criminology and Criminal Justice 2012