Un enfoque para el estudio ambiental del miedo al crimen: Aproximación Integradora al Enclave del Miedo (AIEM)

Apresenta uma abordagem que complementa, de forma sintética e holística, os principais elementos das abordagens teóricas da explicação ambiental do medo do crime

El miedo (al crimen) como fuente de política criminal

En el presente artículo se analiza la relación entre el fenómeno del miedo al crimen en las sociedades occidentales modernas y los procesos político-criminales vinculados con incrementos punitivos y reacciones penales más severas ante la criminalidad. Para ello, en primer lugar, se presenta el fenómeno del miedo al crimen desde una aproximación criminológica y, a continuación, se examina el origen del interés político y científico por este fenómeno a partir del análisis del contexto histórico-político en el que nace la Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Street Act de 1968 en EEUU. Finalmente, concluimos con unas breves notas sobre prospectiva para un correcto tratamiento político-criminal de este fenómeno

Meeting you was a fake:Investigating the increase in romance fraud during COVID-19

Purpose Romance fraud refers to situations where an individual is deceived for financial gain by someone with whom the victim perceives to be in a romantic relationship. With the increase in internet use, the growth in loneliness and the increasing engagement in online dating sites during COVID-19, opportunities for romance fraud may have suffered an important increase. This paper aims to analyse changes in romance fraud, loneliness and internet use during the pandemic. Design/methodology/approach Data about romance fraud reported to the police in the UK, and survey data recorded by the Understanding Society longitudinal survey, are used to address our research questions. Auto regressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) modelling is used to analyse whether temporal changes observed are an effect of social changes associated with lockdown and stay-at-home orders. Findings The analysis shows that cyber-enabled romance fraud experienced a large increase after April 2020, which is greatly above any expected crime variation considering known pre-COVID trends. The increase in romance fraud was more abrupt among young adults than older persons. The results also indicate that only young adults experienced a significant increase in loneliness, while older adults reported a large increase in internet use during COVID. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is a first-of-its-kind paper analysing the effect of rapid social changes on a growing type of cyber-enabled fraud. It is likely that the growth in romance fraud during COVID is due to a combined effect of an increase in internet use and growing loneliness rates experienced by many people during the pandemic

Conceptual and Methodological Framework for a Digital Identity and Life-Course Study

The Digital Identity and Life-Course Study (DIALCS) project seeks to set the conceptual, theoretical and methodological foundations for a longitudinal life-course study focused on perceptions of, attitudes to, and behaviours with digital identity technology. This longitudinal study will repeatedly record data from a cohort of participants over a period of time to detect changes in the way they perceive and engage with digital identity technologies. No research has previously examined the adoption and engagement with digital identity technologies over the life-course. Generating such data would be essential not only to better understand citizens’ perceptions, attitudes and behaviours towards digital identity, and how these change over time, but also to analyse the impact of emerging and future digital identity technologies in the way people perceive, feel and develop their ‘self’ identity in digital settings. The research design of this project is structured in three stages. First, we undertook a rapid evidence assessment of studies on digital identity over the life-course. This was done to identify common themes in the literature, and most importantly, to highlight important gaps in research, which our study will aim to address. Second, we completed a conceptual mapping exercise aimed at linking the most common key terms in psycho-social theories of ‘self’ and digital identity IT frameworks. This second stage allowed us to identify key constructs that form the core of digital identity, both in psycho-social and technology frameworks. Finally, we ran a series of consultation meetings with domain experts in digital identity and longitudinal research methods. This was done to reach expert consensus on the conceptual, theoretical and methodological foundations for a longitudinal cohort study of digital identity over the life-course. After completing all of these, the following top-level recommendations were reached: ● The study should, where possible, enable descriptive analysis of key terms included in digital identity IT frameworks, government policies, and psycho-social theories of ‘self’. ● The study should follow a longitudinal life-course research design. ● The sample size should be large enough to enable population-level estimates and anticipate common attrition issues. Participants will be recruited at the age of 10. ● The sampling approach should follow a stratified random sampling. ● The study should use a combination of computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI), computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI), and face-to-face interviewing. ● The questionnaire should have two parts: ‘general screening form’ and ‘digital identity form(s)’. ● The study should include measures of use of digital devices, digital access to various platforms, perceptions about digital identity technologies, digital literacy, parental control, experiences with digital technologies, and detailed follow-up questions about the various observed ‘digital identities’ of respondents. The impact of the DIALCS will be substantial for scholarly understanding of digital identity, as well as for industry and policy. From an academic perspective, recording longitudinal data on perceptions, attitudes and behaviours with digital identity, both quantitative and qualitative, will enable researchers to address vital questions such as “what drives digital ‘self’ identity over the life-course?”, “how do people construct their ‘self’ identity in cyberspace?”, “what drives people’s decisions to engage with certain digital identity technologies but not others?”, “what are people’s perceptions of security and privacy with respect to digital identity technologies (and how these affect the construction of digital identity)?”, and “what indicators represent use and experience of digital identity (e.g., interactions per pseudonym, pseudonym time-lived, etc.)?

The Impact of Measurement Error in Regression Models Using Police Recorded Crime Rates

Objectives Assess the extent to which measurement error in police recorded crime rates impact the estimates of regression models exploring the causes and consequences of crime. Methods We focus on linear models where crime rates are included either as the response or as an explanatory variable, in their original scale or log-transformed. Two measurement error mechanisms are considered, systematic errors in the form of under-recorded crime, and random errors in the form of recording inconsistencies across areas. The extent to which such measurement error mechanisms impact model parameters is demonstrated algebraically using formal notation, and graphically using simulations. Results The impact of measurement error is highly variable across different settings. Depending on the crime type, the spatial resolution, but also where and how police recorded crime rates are introduced in the model, the measurement error induced biases could range from negligible to severe, affecting even estimates from explanatory variables free of measurement error. We also demonstrate how in models where crime rates are introduced as the response variable, the impact of measurement error could be eliminated using log-transformations. Conclusions The validity of a large share of the evidence base exploring the effects and consequences of crime is put into question. In interpreting findings from the literature relying on regression models and police recorded crime rates, we urge researchers to consider the biasing effects shown here. Future studies should also anticipate the impact in their findings and employ sensitivity analysis if the expected measurement error induced bias is non-negligible