Unemployment Duration, Schooling and Property Crime

It is well known that there is no consensus with respect to the relationship between unemployment and crime. As well, there is very little research on the linkages between crime and the educational experiences of young people. In this paper we show a very strong positive relationship between criminal activity and the extent of youth male long-term unemployment. We also show that criminal activity is negatively associated high school completions, and positively associated with high school non-completion rates. The analysis suggests that labour market and education policies have the potential to significantly reduce property crime. However, increased high school participation of the targeted group only decreases crime if it results in graduation. This suggests that the effectiveness of education policy is a critical influence on crime activity, a unique finding for the literature

Vital Statistics Ireland: findings from the All-Ireland Gay Men’s Sex Survey 2000

Duration: March 2000 - September 2010 Sigma Research has been working with Ireland's Gay Health Network (GHN) since 2000. GHN is an umbrella organisation working towards gay men's health and HIV prevention. GHN instigated a community-based, self-completion survey to take place across The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland during the summer of 2000 and commissioned Sigma Research to work with them. This large-scale community research project was the third such survey among gay men in Ireland, and built on previous findings. After the development and piloting of the survey, recruitment commenced at Dublin Pride in June 2000 and continued throughout the summer at similar events in Belfast, Derry, Galway, Limerick and Waterford. Recruitment in bars and clubs took place in Dublin and Cork, and social groups in more rural area were sent copies of the questionnaire and a request to distribute them to their members. 1,290 questionnaires were returned by gay men (81%), bisexual men (11%) and other homosexually active men living in Ireland. 19% of all respondents lived in Northern Ireland. A full survey report, including implications for HIV prevention planning is available to download. Since 2003 Gay Health Network members - particularly The Gay Men's Health Service (Health Services Executive) and the Rainbow Project, Northern Ireland - have collaborated with our online UK version of the Gay Men’s Sex Survey (Vital Statistics) by promoting it to men in Ireland via community websites and postcards distributed on the gay scene. Real Lives, a summary report covering the main GMSS 2003 and 2004 data for men resident on the island of Ireland, was published in June 2006 and is available to download. It was published with The Gay Men's Health Service, Health Services Executive and the Rainbow Project. Real Lives II, a summary report covering the main GMSS 2005 and 2006 data for men resident on the island of Ireland, was published in June 2009 and is available to download. It was published with The Gay Men's Health Service, Health Services Executive and the Rainbow Rpoject. A summary report for Irish-resident men taking part in GMSS 2007 and 2008 will be published in June 2010

The impact of the COVID-19, social distancing, and movement restrictions on crime in NSW, Australia.

The spread of COVID-19 has prompted Governments around the world to impose draconian restrictions on business activity, public transport, and public freedom of movement. The effect of these restrictions appears to vary from country to country and, in some cases, from one area to another within a country. This paper examines the impact of the COVID-19 restrictions imposed in New South Wales (NSW) by the State Government. We examine week-to-week changes in 13 categories of crime (and four aggregated categories) from 2 January 2017 to 28 June 2020. Rather than using the pre-intervention data to make a forecast and then comparing that with what is actually observed, we use a Box-Jenkins (ARIMA) approach to model the entire time series. Our results are broadly in accord with those of other studies, but we find no effect of the lockdown (upward or downward) on domestic assault. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40163-021-00160-x

What do you need? 2001-02: findings from a national survey of people living with HIV

Duration: October 2000 - June 2002 Despite the importance attached to the needs of people with HIV in defining policy, there is no consensus about how such needs should be identified and measured. This UK-wide study gives priority to individual understandings of need, describing them in a way that respects the subjectivity of people's lives. Using self-completion, freepost return questionnaires the survey assesses difficulties and needs in the following 18 key areas of life: housing; eating and drinking; sleeping; household chores and looking after yourself; mobility; money; managing anxiety and depression; problems with drugs and alcohol; relationships with regular partners; looking after children; friendships; sex; discrimination; self-confidence; knowledge of HIV treatments; ability to take treatments regularly; dealing with health professionals; and training and opportunities. For each category, questions addressed experience of problems, feelings about personal state and capacity to benefit from further support. Data was collected between July and October 2001. Questionnaires were distributed by 200 service providers including HIV outpatients and GUM clinics, AIDS service organisations, HIV newsletters and the 'HIV-positive' press. This study recruited 1,821 people with HIV from across the UK which represented about 8% of the entire population of people with diagnosed HIV at that time. The most frequently reported problems related to anxiety and depression (67%), sleep (59%), sex (51%), self-confidence (48%) and eating / appetite (42%). Among those on anti-HIV therapy, 32% reported problems taking treatments and 26% reported problems dealing with health professionals, whereas problems with knowledge of HIV treatments were reported by only 5%. These problem indicators are only half the story. Some respondents were happy with their current state despite reporting a problem, suggesting an acceptance of the problem and / or satisfactory management of it. Alternatively, some respondents were unhappy with their current state but did not report a problem, indicating the importance of goals, as well as problems, in defining needs. Needs are complex and dynamic. They are shaped by immediate circumstances and resources, but also depend on individual perceptions of the value and possibilities of life. If the perceived possibilities of life increase, so may personal needs. The relationship of illness and treatments to needs is therefore far from straightforward. The final report was called What do you need? Findings from a national survey of people living with HIV. Results were also written up in a Journal article called The needs of people with HIV in the UK: findings from a national survey (International Journal of STDs & AIDS 2004)

HIV, sexual risk and ethnicity among gay and bisexual men in England: survey evidence for persisting health inequalities.

To examine ethnic group differences in HIV testing and sexual behaviours among a large sample of gay and bisexual men (GBM), 13 years after similar observations were made, assess national HIV prevention responses and inform planning priorities. Cross-sectional convenience self-completion online survey in summer 2014, designed and recruited in collaboration with community-based health promoters and gay internet services; comparison with earlier findings reporting on similarly designed survey in 2001. We recruited 15 388 GBM living in England who self-reported as follows: 18.5% from ethnic minorities; 9.0% tested HIV positive (cf. 17.0% and 5.4% in 2001). Compared with the white British, Asian men were no longer less likely to report diagnosed HIV but had an equal probability of doing so (2001 OR=0.32, 95% CI 0.13 to 0.79; 2014 OR=1.04, 95% CI 0.71 to 1.54); black men remained significantly more likely to report diagnosed HIV (2001 OR=2.06, 95% CI 1.56 to 3.29; 2014 OR=1.62, 95% CI 1.10 to 2.36) as did men in the other white group (2001 OR=1.54, 95% CI 1.23 to 1.93; 2014 OR=1.31, 95% CI 1.10 to 1.55). Overall annual incidence of reported HIV diagnoses in 2014 was 1.1%. Black men were significantly more likely to report diagnosis with HIV in the last 12 months than the white British (adjusted odds ratios (AOR) 2.57, 95% CI 1.22 to 5.39). No minority ethnic group was more or less likely to report condom unprotected anal intercourse (CUAI) in the last year but men in the Asian, black and all others groups were more likely than the white British to report CUAI with more than one non-steady partners. Among GBM in England, HIV prevalence continues to be higher among black men and other white men compared with the white British. The protective effect of being from an Asian background appears no longer to pertain. Sexual risk behaviours may account for some of these differences

My Care, I Care: A study of what people with HIV value about NHS HIV services across London

Duration: January 2012 - March 2013 As part of a larger review of HIV services in London, the London Specialised Commissioning Group (SCG) commissioned Sigma Research to investigate the views of people with diagnosed HIV about the London NHS HIV services provided to them. The final report from the research, which included a large-scale self-completion survey and eight focus groups, is available to download here. It is also available in printed format, free to UK addresses here. Almost 1400 people with diagnosed HIV self-completion the survey which was available in HIV clinics and online from early February to the end of July 2012. The survey covered: demographics, current service use, motivations for service choice, aspirations for service development and broader social care needs. Sampling and recruitment were controlled in an attempt to ensure a sample broadly representative of the population of people using HIV clinical services in London and to ensure representation from all 28 London clinics. The survey was promoted online by HIV organisations and some HIV clinics. In addition paper copies of the survey were administered by dedicated fieldworkers in all the 28 specialist HIV out-patients clinics in Greater London. Eight focus groups with key groups of people with HIV were used to investigate in more detail motivations for service use, satisfaction with services and aspirations and suggestions for service development

Cost-effectiveness analysis of the New South Wales adult drug court program

In New South Wales, Australia, a cost-effectiveness evaluation was conducted of an adult drug court (ADC) program as an alternative to jail for criminal offenders addicted to illicit drugs. This article describes the program, the cost-effectiveness analysis, and the results. The results of this study reveal that, for the 23-month period of the evaluation, the ADC was as cost-effective as were conventional sanctions in delaying the time to the first offense and more cost-effective in reducing the frequency of offending for those outcome measures selected. Although the evaluation was conducted using the traditional steps of a cost-effectiveness analysis, because of the complexity of the program and data limitations it was not always possible to adhere to textbook procedures. As such, each step involved in undertaking the cost-effectiveness analysis is discussed, highlighting the key issues faced in the evaluation. © 2004 Sage Publications