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The purpose of this research is to identify the factors that influence organizational insiders to violate information security policies. There are numerous accounts of successful malicious activities conducted by employees and internal users of organizations. Researchers and organizations have begun looking at methods to reduce or mitigate the insider threat problem. Few proposed methods and models to identify, deter, and prevent the insider threat are based on empirical data. Additionally, few studies have focused on the targets or goals of the insider with organizational control as a foundation. From a target perspective, an organization might be able to control the outcome of a malicious insider threat attack. This research applied a criminology lens as an organization policy violation is, or resembles, a criminal activity. This research uses the Routine Activities Theory (RAT) as a guide to develop a theoretical model. The adoption of RAT was for its focus on the target and the protective controls, while still taking into account the motivated offender. The study identified the components of the model concerning insider threats, espionage, and illicit behavior related to information systems through literature. This led to the development of 10 hypotheses regarding the relationships of key factors that influence malicious insider activity. Data was collected using a scenario-based survey, which allowed for impartial responses from a third-person perspective. This technique has become popular in the field of criminology, as the effects of social desirability, acceptance, or repudiation will not be a concern. A pilot test verified the survey's ability to collect the appropriate data. The research employed Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) techniques to analyze and evaluate the data. SEM and CFA techniques identified the fit of the model and the factors that influence information security policy violations. The result of the analysis provided criteria to accept the hypotheses and to identify key factors that influence insider Information System policy violations. This research identified the relationships and the level of influence between each factor.

Sexual homicide is a rare occurrence. Little is known about the offending perspective of sexual homicide from a criminological standpoint. Recently, Chan, Heide, and Beauregard (2011) proposed an integrative theoretical framework using concepts and propositions of Social Learning Theory (differential association, definitions, differential reinforcement or punishment, and imitation) and Routine Activities Theory (a motivated offender, an attractive and suitable target, and the absence of a capable guardian or guardianship) to elucidate the sexual homicide offending dynamics. According to this integrative model, the individual-level view of the sexual murderers is explained by the social learning principles, while the offending process is complemented by the routine activities propositions from a micro-level to provide a better explained sexual homicide offending model. However, this model has yet to be tested empirically. In addition to testing the Chan et al.'s model, this study proposes and tests an alternative model by incorporating the construct of pre-crime precipitators to better explain the motivating factor of an offender to commit a sexual homicide. To empirically test both models, this study utilizes the dataset collected by a group of Canadian researchers on 230 incarcerated non-serial homicidal (N = 55) and non-homicidal (N = 175) sex offenders in the province of Quebec, Canada for the period between 1995 and 2005. Using step-wise logistic regression, four regression models are tested to examine the offending process of sexual homicide by investigating the effects of the offender's motivation, the target suitability and attractiveness, the absence of a capable guardian or guardianship, and the pre-crime precipitating factors in deciding the lethal outcome of a sexual offense. The theoretical model proposed by Chan and colleagues received some support. Consistent with Chan et al.'s theoretical propositions, findings suggest that the sex offender's sexually deviant behaviors and attitudes serve as a motivating factor, and the presence/absence of a capable guardian or guardianship at the immediate crime surroundings are significant factors in deciding the survival rate of the victim. Methodological limitations of the study, practical implications for offender profiling and crime preventive measures, and suggestions for future research are discussed.

The purpose of the study was to examine concern and exposure to crime in relation to the individual’s close relative’s/close friend's exposure to crime. Two binary logistic regressions were used based on data from a crime survey done by the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention. Previous research and victimological theories indicated that additional factors could be relevant to risk of exposure to crime. The identified factors were gender, age, academic achievements, occupation and whether the respondent was living alone. However the main focus of the study was close relative’s/close friend’s exposure to crime and its effect on the individual's concern and exposure to crime, in relation to the lifestyle and routine activities theory. The logistic regressions were used to analyse the data and the results indicated that risk for concern and exposure to crime was substantially higher if the individual had a close relative/close friend who was exposed to crime. The control variables and their effect on the aforementioned relationship were as previous research suggested it would be, and were used to explain some of the variance. / Studiens syfte var att undersöka om det finns ett samband mellan individens oro och utsatthet för brott och individens närståendes utsatthet för brott. För att undersöka det här användes data från Brottsförebyggande rådets nationella trygghetsundersökning och det genomfördes två logistiska regressionsanalyser. En genomgång av tidigare forskning och viktimologiska teorier indikerade att ett flertal faktorer påverkar risken för utsatthet. De faktorerna som identifierades och användes som kontrollvariabler var kön, ålder, utbildningsnivå, sysselsättning och boendesituation. Det primära fokuset i studien var om risken för oro och utsatthet påverkas av en närståendes utsatthet och om det kan förklaras av rutinaktiviteter och livsstil. Resultatet utifrån de logistiska regressionsanalyser visade att risken för att individen var orolig och/eller utsatt för brott ökade om individen hade en närstående som var utsatt för brott. Kontrollvariablernas påverkan stämde överens med förväntningar från tidigare forskning och bidrog till att förklara en del av variansen i respektive beroende variabel.

Studiens syfte har varit att undersöka hur brottsutsattheten hos taxiförare i Örnsköldsvik, Sundsvall, Hudiksvall och Gävle ser ut, att undersöka om situationella åtgärder kan tänkas minska risken för brottsutsatthet samt att få en inblick i taxiförarnas egna tankar kring hur risken för brottsutsatthet kan minskas. Detta har gjorts genom en enkätundersökning och materialet har analyserats genom univariat analys och innehållsanalys. Resultatet visar att brottsutsattheten skiljer sig mellan taxiförarna kopplat till ålder, kön, etnicitet och yrkeserfarenhet, att larm och kamera kan tänkas minska risken för brottsutsatthet samt att taxiförarna föreslår brottsförebyggande åtgärder såsom att installera övervakningskamera och att få utbildning i kundbemötande. De viktigaste slutsatserna som har dragits är att brottsutsatthet hos taxiförare fortfarande är ett problem och att säkerhetsåtgärder i form av larm och övervakningskamera samt utbildning i kundbemötande är önskvärt. / The purpose of this study has been to examine how the crime victimization among taxi drivers in Örnsköldsvik, Sundsvall, Hudiksvall and Gävle looks, to examine if situational measures conceivably reduce the risk of crime victimization and to get insight in what the taxi drives themselves think about how to reduce the risk of crime victimization. This has been examined through a questionnaire survey and the data has been analyzed through univariate analysis and content analysis. The results show that the crime victimization differs between the taxi drivers regarding age, sex, ethnicity and professional experience, that alarms and surveillance cameras conceivably reduce the risk of crime victimization, and that the taxi drivers suggest crime prevention measures such as installing surveillance cameras and education in customer service. The most important conclusions that have been drawn are that crime victimization among taxi drivers is still a problem and that safety measures in terms of alarms and surveillance cameras as well as education in customer service are desirable.

This thesis addresses a significant knowledge gap in the existing literature on bias-crime, which primarily focuses on minorities while neglecting the experiences of majorities. The primary objective of this study is to shed light on bias-crimes targeting majorities and compare their impact on fear of crime with those experienced by minorities. By analysing data from a sample of 1,616 victims, this research reveals that both minority and majority bias-crime victims exhibit similar patterns in terms of fear of crime. Notably, both groups experience heightened levels of fear compared to victims of non-bias crimes, with no significant difference observed between the two. Moreover, this study identifies several factors associated with fear of crime in both minority and majority victims, including recent victimisation, intersectionality, indirect victimisation, and the presence of visibility/visual identifiers. Although this thesis initially aimed to identify differences between the two groups, it ultimately found striking similarities. The discussion section critically examines the potential role of methodological limitations in shaping these findings and offers insights into their implications. By addressing this research gap, this thesis contributes to the criminological field by offering a more comprehensive understanding of bias-crime and its impact on fear of crime among both minority and majority populations.

Text in English / As an external cause of death, strangulation represents an extreme and particularly pernicious form of violence. Following the evidence gap in the extant literature, the current research examined the incidence, distributions, individual and situational predictors, and structural determinants of homicidal strangulation in the City of Johannesburg for the period 2001-2010. The thesis is structured around four discrete but interrelated studies, which collectively offer an initial contribution to the body of scholarship on homicide generally, and on the characteristics and patterns of strangulation homicide specifically. The research drew on data from the National Injury Mortality Surveillance System and the South African National Census. Study I is a descriptive study that quantifies the extent of homicidal strangulation in the City of Johannesburg and describes its distribution by characteristics of person, time, place and alcohol consumption. The remaining studies are analytical in focus, and are aimed at explaining homicidal strangulation in the City of Johannesburg in terms of its determinants. These studies are differentiated by their focus on individual-level and neighbourhood-level risks. Study II assesses overall homicide strangulation risk in relation to all the other leading causes of homicide. Study III undertakes further disaggregation to investigate homicidal strangulation risk by gender specifically. Study IV considers the socio-structural correlates and geographic distributions of fatal strangulation. The study engages select micro-level and macro-level theories that focus on the intersection between vulnerability and routine activities, gender and neighbourhood derivatives of violence to explain the social ecology of lethal strangulation. The research findings demonstrate that homicidal strangulation in the City of Johannesburg is a unique phenomenon that is distinct from overall homicide. As the fourth leading cause of homicide in the City of Johannesburg, fatal strangulation exhibits a marked female preponderance in victimisation and distinctive socio-demographic, spatio-temporal, sex-specific and neighbourhood-level variation in risk. The study is aligned with the increasing trend towards disaggregating overall homicide into more defined and conceptually meaningful categories of homicide. The study may represent one of the first empirical investigations that also attempts to offer theoretically-derived explanations of homicidal strangulation in South Africa. Fatal strangulation is a multi-faceted phenomenon that requires multi-dimensional and multi-level interventions directed at several points of its social ecology. / Psychology / D. Phil. (Psychology)

Text in English / As an external cause of death, strangulation represents an extreme and particularly pernicious form of violence. Following the evidence gap in the extant literature, the current research examined the incidence, distributions, individual and situational predictors, and structural determinants of homicidal strangulation in the City of Johannesburg for the period 2001-2010. The thesis is structured around four discrete but interrelated studies, which collectively offer an initial contribution to the body of scholarship on homicide generally, and on the characteristics and patterns of strangulation homicide specifically. The research drew on data from the National Injury Mortality Surveillance System and the South African National Census. Study I is a descriptive study that quantifies the extent of homicidal strangulation in the City of Johannesburg and describes its distribution by characteristics of person, time, place and alcohol consumption. The remaining studies are analytical in focus, and are aimed at explaining homicidal strangulation in the City of Johannesburg in terms of its determinants. These studies are differentiated by their focus on individual-level and neighbourhood-level risks. Study II assesses overall homicide strangulation risk in relation to all the other leading causes of homicide. Study III undertakes further disaggregation to investigate homicidal strangulation risk by gender specifically. Study IV considers the socio-structural correlates and geographic distributions of fatal strangulation. The study engages select micro-level and macro-level theories that focus on the intersection between vulnerability and routine activities, gender and neighbourhood derivatives of violence to explain the social ecology of lethal strangulation. The research findings demonstrate that homicidal strangulation in the City of Johannesburg is a unique phenomenon that is distinct from overall homicide. As the fourth leading cause of homicide in the City of Johannesburg, fatal strangulation exhibits a marked female preponderance in victimisation and distinctive socio-demographic, spatio-temporal, sex-specific and neighbourhood-level variation in risk. The study is aligned with the increasing trend towards disaggregating overall homicide into more defined and conceptually meaningful categories of homicide. The study may represent one of the first empirical investigations that also attempts to offer theoretically-derived explanations of homicidal strangulation in South Africa. Fatal strangulation is a multi-faceted phenomenon that requires multi-dimensional and multi-level interventions directed at several points of its social ecology. / Psychology / D. Phil. (Psychology)

This research explored, described and explained the nature and the extent of heritage crime as it manifested in the Gauteng Province of South Africa for the period 2006-2010. Gauteng was selected since it is deemed to be the hub of the legal trade. An operational definition of heritage objects was drafted for this study as ‘objects of artistic, cultural, historic or archaeological value regardless of age, housed in or curated by museums or galleries within Gauteng, and which are both tangible and moveable.’ Heritage crime for the purpose of this study was the illegal removal of any heritage object from a museum or gallery. The annual crime statistics released by the South African Police Services (SAPS) contain no reference to heritage crime of any sort. Therefore this research attempted to quantify the incidents of thefts experienced by museums and galleries in Gauteng for the period 2006-2010. Using a mixed method approach, data were gathered by qualitative and quantitative surveys. A total of 28 qualitative interviews were conducted. These data were integrated with the quantitative data which permitted the achievement of the strategic aims set out for this research. The following aims were achieved: • The roles and responsibilities of the custodians of the national estate were clarified; • International conventions designed to assist in combating crime perpetrated against cultural property were discussed; • The national legislation which guides the management, preservation and protection of heritage objects as well as the trade therein within South Africa was examined; • Policing agencies at the forefront of combating heritage crime were interviewed and international best practices were identified and compared with that which the SAPS are doing to address crime of this nature. These police agencies are situated in Italy, the United Kingdom, the USA and Germany; • The dynamics of the reported incidents of loss/theft were examined. Several anomalies were identified. Among these are the identification of the typologies of items being targeted and the possible identification of the type of thief perpetrating these crimes. • Through analysis of incidents it was also possible to highlight that the majority of thefts occur during the time when museums and galleries are open and that the items stolen are usually on open display (not affixed to the surface and not behind a barrier of any sort). Through the analysis of the data for legal trade and the theft incidents it was possible to design a Framework depicting the interface between the legal and illegal markets for trade in heritage objects. The research also provides law enforcement with minimum guidelines to ensure that crimes of this nature are addressed more effectively. / D.Litt. et Phil. / Department of Criminology (Police Science)