Criminaliteit en criminologie in een gedigitaliseerde wereld

__Abstract__ Wat betekent de komst van het internet voor criminaliteit en de bestrijding ervan? Dit themanummer staat stil bij deze belangrijke ontwikkeling in onze samenleving. In deze redactionele inleiding staan we allereerst stil bij de aan het internet gelieerde criminaliteit: cybercrime. Wat is het precies? Vervolgens richten we ons op de criminologische hoofdvragen die de opkomst van het internet met zich meebrengt. Ontstaat hierdoor meer criminaliteit? Wie zijn de betrokkenen? Wat doen we ertegen? Verder staan we stil bij de mogelijkheden voor het doen van criminologisch onderzoek met onlinemateriaal, zoals onlineobservatie en Big Data. Tot slot geven we een schets van de manier waarop hoogwaardige ICT behulpzaam kan zijn in de opsporing van criminaliteit. Al met al kunnen we spreken van een jong aandachtsveld binnen de criminologie waar tal van interessante onderzoeksthema’s vragen om een verdere uitwerking

Connected and fearful? Exploring fear of online financial crime, Internet behaviour and their relationship

Although it is generally acknowledged that the development of the Internet created new criminal opportunities, the ways this is experienced by the general population has received limited attention. The current study seeks to explore the degrees to which people report fear of online crime, its correlates, and how online fear is related to protective and avoidance behaviour. We focus on online financial crimes. Results based on a large, representative, survey indicate an intermediate level of fear of online crime among the general Dutch population. Various sociodemographic characteristics and victimization experiences are shown to predict fear of online financial crime. We also find online fear to be a strong predictor of avoidance behaviour, given negative relationships with online purchasing and banking, thereby impeding individuals’ perceived online freedom and opportunities. Finally, the results found no indications that fear may stimulate protective behaviour of one’s computer.Criminal Justice: Legitimacy, accountability, and effectivit

Современные проблемы развития теории функционально устойчивых сложных систем управления

Employment is believed to function as a ‘turning point’ for released offenders. Several theories state that employment can diminish recidivism, and offer different mechanisms to connect employment and crime, such as job stability and job quality. This study examines the effect of employment and employment characteristics on recidivism among Dutch ex-prisoners. Although recidivism risks are high among this group, longitudinal research on the effect of employment on recidivism risks is scarce. We based our analyses on longitudinal data of the Prison Project (n=842) and found that job stability reduces the risk of recidivism. The results indicate that not the guidance to a job, or a high-quality job, but the guidance to stable employment could help to reduce crime rates among this high-risk offender group

Studying Ethnic Disparities in Sentencing: The Importance of Refining Ethnic Minority Measures

Ethnic and racial disparities in sentencing receive considerable scholarly inquiry. Much of this research, though, is limited to black/white or black/white/Hispanic comparisons in the United States. This study examines ethnic disparities in more detail by comparing imprisonment decisions for several understudied (specific) ethnic minority groups, such as Surinamese and Moroccan suspects. Moreover, this study addresses the fundamental issue about how distinct immigrant generations are sanctioned and whether this is a marker of stratification. This broadens our insight in the role of ethnicity as a sentencing factor, since the distinct ethnic groups and immigrant generations differ in their level of economic and social integration in the Dutch society. Three different datasets are analyzed to assess ethnic disparities in sentencing in the Netherlands, allowing us to take other sentencing factors, such as criminal history, offense characteristics, and personal circumstances, into account. These three data sources include data on different suspect populations because they are collected at different stages of the criminal proceedings. Results suggest that there are first-generation and second-generation ethnic disparities in imprisonment decisions in all datasets, even after controlling in detail for other sentencing factors.Criminal Justice: Legitimacy, accountability, and effectivit

Not just any job will do: A study on employment characteristics and recidivism risks after release

Ex-prisoners’ recidivism risks are high. Several theories state that employment can reduce these risks but emphasize that the protective role of employment is conditional on job qualities (work intensity, job duration, etc.). Longitudinal research on the role of employment in ex-prisoners’ recidivism patterns is scarce, and most existing work used a simplistic employment measure (i.e., employed vs. unemployed), leaving the topic of job quality underexplored. This study examines the association between employment characteristics and recidivism among Dutch ex-prisoners. Using longitudinal data of the Prison Project (n = 714), we found that not just any job, but particularly stable employment and jobs with a higher occupational level could help reduce crime rates among these high-risk offenders. Many ex-prisoners face a human capital deficit that complicates the guidance to high-quality jobs. It might, however, be possible to help place ex-prisoners in stable employment.Criminal Justice: Legitimacy, accountability, and effectivit

LISS panel - Conventional and Computer Crime Victimization - Wave 6

The survey focuses on experiences of digital crime victimization among the general public. It aims to estimate prevalence of computer crime victimization, its social distribution, the relationship between conventional and computer crime victimization, and individual development in victimization and its risk factors. This is the sixth wave of the questionnaire; wave 1 is administered in 2008, wave 2 in 2010, wave 3 in 2012, wave 4 in 2014 and wave 5 in 2016.Suggestions for data usage: The data files are accessible via Centerdata. For more information, please use the link under Relations or www.lissdata.nl