Criminology Commons^™

False Reports Of Stalking: Motivations And Investigative Considerations, Wayne Petherick, Alicia Jenkins

Wayne Petherick

Stalking is a crime involving repeated and often prolonged harassment of one individual, usually by one other. Despite the prevalence of this interpersonal crime, not all stalking allegations are legitimate, with some being false claims based on a variety of different factors such as false belief, attention or sympathy, and revenge. This study of a sample of false claimants sought to determine whether there are features, such as duration, relationship status and employment among which others could be used to determine the veracity of a stalking complaint. This sample was compared to other like samples and to the common characteristics …

Getting Away With Murder: An Examination Of Detected Homicides Staged As Suicides, Claire Ferguson, Wayne Petherick

Wayne Petherick

Staged crime scenes involve an offender deliberately altering evidence to simulate events to mislead investigators. Despite likely occurring more often than reported in the literature due to success in offender deception, the exact frequency of staged crime scenes is unknown. In an attempt to bridge this gap, a legal database was searched for detected staged scenes. A total of 115 cases were examined, and this study reports on 16 staged suicides that were examined through descriptive analysis. Findings indicate the frequent involvement of firearms, hanging, or asphyxia, and that offenders are usually known to victims, although not necessarily intimately.

Stopping The Stalker: Victim Responses To Stalking, Terry Goldsworthy, Matthew Raj

Matthew Raj

Can a person truly overcome being a victim of crime, and, if so, how? Can anyone surpass their victimization, or is it only the most resilient? Should a victim respond in a certain way to specific types of offences? The following chapter explores these questions, focusing on the offence of stalking, and examines the effectiveness of victim responses to unwanted pursuit. This chapter also refers to factors that may escalate stalking behaviour, based on an empirical examination of previous studies. The authors attempt to unravel the uncertainties associated with whether or not to respond to a stalker, and highlight the …

Theories Of Crime : A Reader, Claire Renzetti, Daniel Curran, Patrick Carr

Daniel J. Curran

This reader contains excerpts from criminologists' writings on many of the most recent sociological, biological, and psychological theories of crime.

Editors Renzetti, Curran, and Carr have compiled one of the most thorough books on the market in terms of presenting diverse theoretical perspectives. They offer introductions to each theory, briefly outlining the theory's strengths and weaknesses, and provide a set of discussion questions at the end of each theory. Excerpted readings were chosen for their accessibility to all students.

(Description from Google Books)

Clergy Sexual Abuse: Social Science Perspectives, Claire Renzetti, Sandra Yocum

Sandra A. Yocum

This book brings together experts primarily from the fields of criminology, criminal justice, law, and social work, but also cultural anthropology and psychology, to analyze clergy sexual abuse from the perspective of their individual disciplines. Contributors examine the latest data and analyses on the scope and impact of clergy sexual abuse, frame the problem in terms of sociological and criminological theories of crime and deviance, explore the social and legal issues the problem raises for the personal and communal life of faith communities, and discuss possibilities for reform, reconciliation, and healing. Covering sexual abuse of both minors and adults, chapters …

Decriminalized Prostitution In Rhode Island: Impunity For Violence And Exploitation, Donna M. Hughes Dr., Melanie Shapiro Esq

Donna M. Hughes

For 29 years (1980 to 2009) prostitution was decriminalized in Rhode Island. Lack of laws or regulations created a permissive legal, economic and cultural environment for the growth of sex businesses. During this time, sexual exploitation and violence against women and girls were integrated into the economic development of urban areas. The number of sex businesses grew rapidly during this period. Organized crime groups operated brothels and extorted money from adult entertainment businesses. Rhode Island became a destination for pimps, traffickers, and other violent criminals. The lack of laws impeded police from investigating serious crimes.