Intimate partner violence and stalking\ud

“Stalker guilty of stabbing ex-girlfriend to death in "brutal' attack”, reads the London Evening Standard news headline (Bailey, 2010). This article goes onto describe how Gemma Doorman, 24, was stabbed to death in July 2008, as she left a restaurant in South-West London, by her ex-partner Vikramgit Singh. The ‘frenzied attack’ occurred after months of stalking and harassment, which Miss Doorman had previously reported to the police. This is just one example of many worldwide media headlines that depict stories of relationships that have culminated in the murder of one partner. While, not all cases of partner homicide are characterised by stalking and harassment, most victims of stalking know their perpetrator, and in a large proportion of stalking cases the target is an ex-intimate partner (Spitzberg, 2002). Such murder cases provoke questions about why the fatality occurred and whether this arguably foreseeable event could have been prevented. These are questions that many academics and practitioners in the field have endeavoured to answer

Do context and emotional reaction to physical dating violence interact to increase the likelihood of disclosure in 13 year-old British adolescents?

The present study examines the contextual antecedent correlates and consequences of adolescents’ involvement in dating violence and their role as correlates of disclosure in a sample of 3604, 13 year-old adolescents (1838, 51.6% female; 91% White) from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Of the sample, 322 (10.5%) reported using violence and 382 (11.7%) reported experiencing violence in romantic relationships, with males more likely to identify themselves as victims, and girls more likely to be perpetrators and perpetrator/victims. Girls however, were more likely to disclose their experiences. Males were more likely to be victimized due to anger and jealousy and perpetration was explained as being part of a game or done in self defense. For females victimization was experienced in the context of a game and perpetration was initiated due to anger or responding to being annoyed by their partners. Associations were found for each gender in relation to the context of the violence and the resulting emotional response to the experience. These findings need to be considered in relation to what educational strategies may be required in order to ensure that adolescents can enjoy healthy dating relationships

Offending competency and coercive control in intimate partner violence

This paper considers some of the ways in which intervention approaches for perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV) might be enhanced through the explicit consideration of the offense process. It is suggested that those who are experts in perpetrating this type of violence routinely use coercive controlling violence in intimate relationships. This group, for whom violence is instrumental, are not only likely to be at highest risk of offending, but also the most difficult to treat. They are more likely to have long developmental histories of violence, hold entrenched attitudes, and utilize knowledge about the effects of intimidation to avoid detection. It is suggested that specific consideration of what is known about the causes and correlates of IPV in those who follow this approach-explicit pathway can improve the outcomes of current perpetrator behavior change programs

Factors Associated with Desistance from Violence in Prison: An Exploratory Study

Desistance from crime has been of increasing interest within criminal justice literature, but desistance from offending behaviour whilst in custodial environments has not yet been investigated. Violence within prison establishments continues to be a significant problem, therefore this study investigated the factors that are associated with desistance from custodial violence in 63 UK Category C adult male prisoners with a record of violence in prison. Participants completed measures of eight social and subjective factors associated with desistance in community samples. Those who had desisted from prison violence for 12 months or more showed greater levels of pro-social attitudes, agency and resilience than those who persisted in violence. Agency independently predicted desistance and this was particularly the case for younger offenders. Internal shifts appeared to be supported by a positive work environment. It is concluded that in custody an internal shift in perspective is especially important for desistance, and that this can be supported by the social environment. Opportunities to intervene may be greater in younger prisoners. It is recommended that current initiatives in developing agency and positive social interaction, such as Psychologically Informed Planned Environments, are further developed

Examination of Firearms and Forensics in Europe and aCross Territories: Final Report

The purpose of this project was to assess the nature and prevalence of GEC across Europe, and to examine the potential for reduction through policing, legislation, and the use of ballistic information sharing. More specifically, the questions addressed by this project are: 1) What is the nature, prevalence and impact of gun crime in Europe? 2) What are the challenges of implementing policies to prevent and mitigate the impact of gun crime? 3) What are the emerging threats to current and future gun crime policy? 4) How can gun crime be effectively policed, and what are the challenges for police organisations? 5) How is ballistics intelligence currently used in Baltic and EU countries? 6) Does ballistic intelligence provide evidence, beyond that provided by the INTERPOL Ballistic Information Network (IBIN) that crime guns do travel across EU borders? 7) Can ballistic intelligence facilitate cross-border co-operation and communication about GEC and lead to greater crime linkage detection and solution

Conduct Disorder Symptoms in Pre-School Children Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence: Gender Differences in Risk and Resilience

This study utilized data involving 7,743 children (51.6% boys) aged four from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) cohort. Children were cross-categorized into four groups: Resilient, Non-resilient, Vulnerable and Competent. Maternal depression and life events, parenting, attachment, social development and temperament were analyzed as dependent variables, and were examined as predictors of group membership. Results showed that resilient boys were less emotional, less active, and more shy and had higher-educated mothers than the non-resilient boys. Resilient girls were less emotional, less active, more shy, less socially developmentally advanced, had more secure attachment to their mothers, and their mothers were better educated and reported more positive parenting strategies than non-resilient girls. Different approaches to intervention may be needed for IPV-exposed preschool boys and girls