When is violence not a crime? : factors associated with victims' labelling of violence as a crime

Many people do not regard violence against them as a crime, but the factors that influence this response are unknown. Understanding how the ‘crimeworthiness’ of violence is interpreted allows an insight into how victims make sense of their experience, how communities influence attitudes towards victimisation and the reporting of crime to the police. A pooled cross-sectional sample of respondents to the Crime Survey for England and Wales was used to identify factors associated with the decision to label or discount a violent incident as a crime. Individual and neighbourhood-level effects were estimated using multilevel modelling. Harm, the perceived unjustness of the incident and victim-offender relational distance predicted labelling, whereas frequency of victimisation and victim initiation of the incident predicted discounting. Neighbourhood and neighbourhood crime had little effect on victims’ interpretations of the ‘crimeworthiness’ of violence. When victims interpret violence against them, they appear to do so unencumbered by social norms, but are influenced by the impact of the violence, the ‘prototypicality’ of the incident as a crime and their previous experience of violence

Weapon-carrying and the reduction of violent harm

Criminology has much to offer activities to reduce the harm of violent incidents –– particularly by reducing weapon-carrying and use – but the discipline’s engagement with the harm reduction agenda has been limited. In addressing this, the paper identifies risk factors for carrying a weapon by a young person in England and Wales. It demonstrates that this decision is influenced by individual-, interpersonal- and community-level factors and that weapon carriers can be distinguished from other respondents using relatively few characteristics. The study also shows that defensive factors, such as victimisation and concerns about personal safety are relevant to understanding weapon-carrying, but they are outweighed by criminogenic factors such as violence, neighbourhood disorder and, importantly, lack of trust in the police

Violence, worry and trust in the emergence of weapon-carrying

This paper identifies longitudinal predictors of weapon-carrying in a sample of 10–25 year olds in England and Wales. It conceptualises weapon-carrying as anticipation of an adverse event and proposes hypotheses about the origins of weapon-carrying derived from the field of risk analysis. Specifically, it tests if worry about victimisation and experience of violence predict later weapon-carrying and assesses the moderating influence of trust in the police. The results indicate that worry about victimisation does not predict weapon-carrying, but experience of violence does. Distrust of police and peer criminality were also identified as important precursors to weapon-carrying. The study provides further evidence that, at least over longer periods, weapon-carrying is a product of experience of violence and criminogenic factors rather than a response to concern about victimisation

High stakes: The role of weapons in offender decision making

This chapter describes the contradictory roles that weapons play in offender decision making as mechanisms that can both increase the physical harm to a victim of violence and also reduce the need for physical harm in victims of robbery. Because weapons serve simultaneously offensive and defensive purposes, the way in which offenders carry and use weapons is subject to a complex decision-making process. This process is presented and interpreted from a rational perspective, incorporating an offender’s calculation of potential benefits and costs as well as the uncertainty of a victim’s response. A rational analysis of weapon carrying and use is presented along with research evidence suggesting that culture and availability are important influences on weapon of choice and weapon-related behavior. The chapter concludes with a review of the effectiveness of weapons in reducing victim resistance and retaliation showing that weapon use is a high-reward/high-cost activity

Early diversion and empowerment policing : evaluating an adult female offender triage project

This paper provides an evaluation of a police pilot early-diversion scheme for adult females who were arrested for low-severity offences using a natural experiment design. The intervention is novel in that it diverts arrestees to a women’s centre for assistance to address their criminogenic needs rather than process them through the criminal justice system. The intervention is timely and attractive given its rehabilitative features and its potential for reducing demand on the criminal justice system through community resolution. The study found a promising effect of the intervention on rates of rearrest and daily risk of rearrest over a twelve month follow-up period, but a higher frequency of rearrest among those of the intervention group who were rearrested. The findings are discussed in relation to the political context, theoretical background and police performance and the gendered dynamics of offending

Service provider difficulties in operationalising coercive control

We examined perspectives of social workers, police officers, and specialist domestic abuse practitioners about their perceived ability and organizational readiness to respond effectively to incidents of coercive and controlling behavior. Interviews revealed intervention and risk assessment strategies structured around an outdated, maladaptive concept of domestic abuse as an unambiguous and violent event and frontline services that lacked appreciation of the power dynamics inherent in controlling relationships. The analysis demonstrates how lack of definitional clarity around nonphysical domestic abuse can increase the use of discretion by frontline services and, by extension, increase the discounting of coercive control by pressured frontline officers

Service provider difficulties in operationalising coercive control

© The Author(s) 2018. We examined perspectives of social workers, police officers, and specialist domestic abuse practitioners about their perceived ability and organizational readiness to respond effectively to incidents of coercive and controlling behavior. Interviews revealed intervention and risk assessment strategies structured around an outdated, maladaptive concept of domestic abuse as an unambiguous and violent event and frontline services that lacked appreciation of the power dynamics inherent in controlling relationships. The analysis demonstrates how lack of definitional clarity around nonphysical domestic abuse can increase the use of discretion by frontline services and, by extension, increase the discounting of coercive control by pressured frontline officers

The reduction of intoxication and disorder in premises licensed to serve alcohol: An exploratory randomised controlled trial

Background: Licensed premises offer a valuable point of intervention to reduce alcohol-related harm. Objective: To describe the research design for an exploratory trial examining the feasibility and acceptability of a premises-level intervention designed to reduce severe intoxication and related disorder. The study also aims to assess the feasibility of a potential future large scale effectiveness trial and provide information on key trial design parameters including inclusion criteria, premises recruitment methods, strategies to implement the intervention and trial design, outcome measures, data collection methods and intra-cluster correlations. Design: A randomised controlled trial in licensed premises that had experienced at least one assault in the year preceding the intervention, documented in police or hospital Emergency Department (ED) records. Premises were recruited from four study areas by piloting four recruitment strategies of varying intensity. Thirty two licensed premises were grouped into matched pairs to reduce potential bias and randomly allocated to the control or intervention condition. The study included a nested process evaluation to provide information on intervention acceptability and implementation. Outcome measures included police-recorded violent incidents, assault-related attendances at each premises ’ local ED and patron Breath Alcohol Concentration assessed on exiting and entering study premises. Results: The most successful recruitment method involved local police licensing officers and yielded a 100% success rate. Police-records of violence provided the most appropriate source of data about disorder at the premises level. Conclusion: The methodology of an exploratory trial is presented and despite challenges presented by the study environment it is argued an exploratory trial is warranted. Initial investigations in recruitment methods suggest that study premises should be recruited with the assistance of police officers. Police data were of sufficient quality to identify disorder and street surveys are a feasible method for measuring intoxication at the individual level. Trial registration: UKCRN 7090; ISRCTN: 80875696. Funding: Medical Research Council (G0701758) to Simon Moore, Simon Murphy, Laurence Moore and Jonathan Shepherd.

An exploratory randomised controlled trial of a premises-level intervention to reduce alcohol-related harm including violence in the United Kingdom

<b>Background</b><p></p> To assess the feasibility of a randomised controlled trial of a licensed premises intervention to reduce severe intoxication and disorder; to establish effect sizes and identify appropriate approaches to the development and maintenance of a rigorous research design and intervention implementation.<p></p> <b>Methods</b><p></p> An exploratory two-armed parallel randomised controlled trial with a nested process evaluation. An audit of risk factors and a tailored action plan for high risk premises, with three month follow up audit and feedback. Thirty-two premises that had experienced at least one assault in the year prior to the intervention were recruited, match paired and randomly allocated to control or intervention group. Police violence data and data from a street survey of study premises’ customers, including measures of breath alcohol concentration and surveyor rated customer intoxication, were used to assess effect sizes for a future definitive trial. A nested process evaluation explored implementation barriers and the fidelity of the intervention with key stakeholders and senior staff in intervention premises using semi-structured interviews.<p></p> <b>Results</b><p></p> The process evaluation indicated implementation barriers and low fidelity, with a reluctance to implement the intervention and to submit to a formal risk audit. Power calculations suggest the intervention effect on violence and subjective intoxication would be raised to significance with a study size of 517 premises.<p></p> <b>Conclusions</b><p></p> It is methodologically feasible to conduct randomised controlled trials where licensed premises are the unit of allocation. However, lack of enthusiasm in senior premises staff indicates the need for intervention enforcement, rather than voluntary agreements, and on-going strategies to promote sustainability

Characterising the incidence and mode of visceral stent failure after fenestrated endovascular aneurysm repair (FEVAR).

BackgroundIn FEVAR, visceral stents provide continuity and maintain perfusion between the main body of the stent and the respective visceral artery. The aim of this study was to characterise the incidence and mode of visceral stent failure (type Ic endoleak, type IIIa endoleak, stenosis/kink, fracture, crush and occlusion) after FEVAR in a large cohort of patients at a high-volume centre.MethodsA retrospective review of visceral stents placed during FEVAR over 15 years (February 2003-December 2018) was performed. Kaplan-Meier analyses of freedom from visceral stent-related complications were performed. The outcomes between graft configurations of varying complexity were compared, as were the outcomes of different stent types and different visceral vessels.ResultsVisceral stent complications occurred in 47/236 patients (19.9%) and 54/653 stents (8.3%). Median follow up was 3.7 years (IQR 1.7-5.3 years). There was no difference in visceral stent complication rate between renal, SMA and coeliac arteries. Visceral stent complications were more frequent in more complex grafts compared to less complex grafts. Visceral stent complications were more frequent in uncovered stents compared to covered stents. Visceral stent-related endoleaks (type Ic and type IIIa) occurred exclusively around renal artery stents. The most common modes of failure with SMA stents were kinking and fracture, whereas with coeliac artery stents it was external crush.ConclusionVisceral stent complications after FEVAR are common and merit continued and close long-term surveillance. The mode of visceral stent failure varies across the vessels in which the stents are located