Recruitment into organised criminal groups: A systematic review

This paper provides a narrative synthesis of the results of a systematic review of the social, psychological and economic factors leading to recruitment into organised crime. This is based on the analysis of evidence emerging from 47 qualitative, quantitative and mixed-method studies published in or before 2017. While the selected studies varied markedly in method and quality, several factors emerged as particularly important in understanding recruitment into organised criminal groups. These included the role of social relations (family, kinship, friendship and work-relations), criminal background and criminal skills

Retrying Leopold and Loeb: A Neuropsychological Perspective

They called it the crime of the century; in 1924 in Chicago two brilliant, well-educated, and wealthy young men kidnapped and murdered a 14-year-old boy and killed him for the thrill of it . Expert testimony was presented by several well-known psychiatrists and psychologists, but even with all their clinical insights, none could reach a conclusion about the causal relation between their disturbed childhoods and a violent senseless crime. In fact, the well-known criminal defense attorney Clarence Darrow made little mention of the extensive psychiatric and psychological workups, and the judge did not deal with it in his sentencing. A review of the findings does suggest a delusional disorder for one of the defendants and psychopathy for the other; the interaction of these two disordered personalities led to a perfect storm a confluence of factors that only in combination could result in the brutal crime. Recent developments in neuropsychology allow us to see how these two disordered personalities interacted; the neuropsychological basis of delusional disorder and of psychopathy will be explored in this presentation along with a re-imagined closing argument by their attorney

A matter of costs and benefits? The role of morality, legitimacy and self-control as moderators of the link between rationality and youth delinquency in Uruguay

The question about the rationality of crime and violence is not only a controversial issue but also has strong policy implications. Despite the large number of rationality studies in criminology, there is little empirical evidence on how rationality can be moderated by non-rational mechanisms. Additionally, many studies examining the influence of rational choice on crime suffer from several methodological problems associated with small and biased samples, limitations of the dependent variable, varying operationaliations of rationality, and scarce inclusion of validated non-rational causal mechanisms. Finally, there is a lack of cross-cultural validity of rational and non-rational predictors of crime since most studies have been conducted in high-income societies. Little research has examined how well these explanations can fit the socio-economic, cultural and institutional characteristics of the Latin-American context. The goal of this study was to examine a rational choice model of crime and its interactions with three well known non-rational causal mechanisms in criminology: morality, legitimacy and self-control. The study involved the application of a survey on 2,204 9th grade youths from a representative sample of high schools in a middle income society in Latin America: Montevideo, Uruguay. The questionnaire was an adaptation of the Zurich Project on the Social Development of Children Study. The analysis was conducted using count regression models including principal and interaction effects based on a hierarchical or blockwise entry method. Results indicated that rationality plays a robust but modest explanatory role even after including socio-demographic variables and the three non-rational predictors. Rational choice theory was supported as a general theory that accounts not only for general crime but also for property and violent crimes. Additionally, rationality had stronger effects than two of the other three non-rational mechanisms: legitimacy and morality. Different dimensions of rationality were examined. Analyses showed that inner costs and peer reactions have significant associations with all types of youth crime, whereas formidability, parents’ reactions and police reactions did not. Finally, the analysis of interactions suggested that the link between rationality and youth crime is mostly unaffected by self-control as a moderator, and moderately conditioned by legitimacy and morality, particularly the latter. Findings, although provisional in Latin-American context, may provide new insights for future research in rational and non-rational mechanisms of youth crime. Research and policy implications of these findings are discussed.Agencia Nacional de Investigación e Innovació

Mental health and spirituality of female prisoners in a women’s prison in Chile

Background The mental health of prisoners is of growing global health importance as prison populations increase exponentially. Though additional risks of mental disorder and poor mental wellbeing of prisoners are now better understood, women, especially those in low and middle income countries, and in regions outside North America and Europe are underrepresented in prison mental health studies. There is strong evidence of associations between religion and spirituality (RS) and mental health in the general population in North America and Europe. This thesis aims to measure and explain any associations between RS and depression and mental wellbeing among female prisoners in Chile. Methods An explanatory sequential mixed methods approach comprised an initial quantitative study linked to a subsequent qualitative study. In the quantitative phase, 94 randomly sampled female prisoners in Chile participated in a pooled two-stage cross-sectional survey which collected data on background, mental health and RS variables. Mental wellbeing was measured using the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS). Self-report depression data were collected and 40 prisoners were also administered the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). RS variables included: affiliation, personal importance, involvement (frequency of attending services), benefits and beliefs. The design of the qualitative phase was informed by quantitative study findings. Six prisoners who had participated in the cross-sectional survey attended one of two focus groups. Individual in-depth interviews were conducted with 3 prison chaplains and 2 health professionals from the prison health centre. Topic guides for focus groups and interviews were used to facilitate discussions on the mental health and RS of female prisoners and to elicit views on selected findings from the quantitative study. Logistical regression techniques were used to statistically test the hypothesis of no association between RS and depression and mental wellbeing. Audio-recorded qualitative data were transcribed in Spanish and analysed thematically in English. Results Of the 94 women, 11 (11.7%) reported a current professional diagnosis of depression, while major depression was confirmed in 13 (32.5%) of the 40 women assessed using the MINI. The women had a median WEMWBS score of 55 (IQR 43- 61) out of 70. Religiosity was high among the sample with 86 (91.5%) women affiliated to mainstream Christianity and 69 (73.4%) who considered RS to be personally very important. In a sample of 40 women, frequency of attendance at RS services was significantly higher in prison than during the year prior to incarceration (Wilcoxon Sign Ranks Test Z=3.1; p<0.002). No significant associations were found between depression and mental wellbeing, and the key RS variables. However, 61 (89.7%) women believed there was a connection between their mental health and spirituality. The qualitative data revealed differences within and between participant groups in understandings of mental health and RS terminology and concepts. Themes emerged around the prison determinants of mental health and the mental health effects of the female gender. Prisoners identified RS variables that influenced mental health which had not been measured in the survey. Explanations were found for the divergent survey results of the association between RS and mental health. The data showed how RS shapes prisoners’ help-seeking behaviour and attitudes to mental health care. Conclusion The association between RS and mental health among prisoners in Chile remains unclear but may differ from established patterns reported in non-prisoner populations. This a challenging area of study with an additional layer of complexity present in prison populations where there are high levels of religiosity and spirituality. Larger studies are needed to confirm the quantitative findings, while qualitative findings should lead to raised awareness of RS in the development of prison mental health strategies in accordance with the needs of a given population