Criminal Justice Review

In recent years, scholars’ calls for progress in the field have noted mainstream criminology's historical reluctance to include certain social constructs, particularly sexuality. The current study employed a content analysis to examine articles published between 2015–2019 in Criminology and Journal of Interpersonal Violence (JIV) to determine inclusion of sexuality both within the body of the article and as a variable. Findings indicate while the inclusion of sexuality was limited in both journals, JIV, which has a stated diversity-focused orientation, included sexuality at a higher rate than the mainstream criminological journal, Criminology. Importantly, in both journals, conceptualizations and operationalizations of sexuality, when it was measured as a variable, rarely fell outside of a binary measure. This suggests that the measurement and inclusion of sexuality is still lacking, and the call for inclusivity has not been fully heeded. Unless sexuality is included as a characteristic in research, its impact cannot be definitively determined and, therefore, cannot contribute to the formation of effective policy and practice.

This meta-analysis aimed to re-examine the available evidence on the effectiveness of the risk, need, and responsivity principles of the RNR model in family interventions for juvenile delinquency. As previous reviews did not examine these principles fully in line with their original definitions, this review aimed to improve the coding of the RNR principles and to re-evaluate their association with intervention effectiveness. A three-level meta-analysis of k  =  31 studies reporting on 71 effect sizes revealed an overall small and significant intervention effect (d  =  0.382, p < .001). Although larger effects were found for interventions adhering to any of the RNR principles, none of the RNR principles significantly moderated overall intervention effectiveness. Interventions specifically targeting antisocial recreational activities, and interventions taking into account the youth's age and cultural background did significantly increase overall effectiveness. The results reveal that strong and convincing empirical support for the RNR principles is not yet available, which can mainly be explained by limitations in the design of primary studies on the RNR principles and intervention effectiveness. Suggestions are offered to improve the quality of both primary and secondary research that is needed for establishing a better empirical evidence for the widely acknowledged RNR model.

In the last few years, a considerable volume of body-worn camera (BWC) studies has evaluated to what extent this technology influences a range of policing outcomes. However, to date, a limited body of research explores how the implementation of this technology influences court-based outcomes. Using interrupted series analysis, and a sample of 13,000 incidents from a small police department, this research evaluates to what extent the implementation of BWCs impacted the adjudication process through an analysis of time to disposition, rate of convictions, and rate of dismissals. The results of our study show partial support for claims being made about the impact of BWCs on the court system. Namely, the number of incidents being referred for prosecution and the number of guilty decisions being reached saw a marginal increase after the implementation of BWCs. Additionally, the number of days to complete adjudication saw a decrease overall during the post-implementation period. The policy implications of these findings are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to test whether higher-than-average rates of homicide in the southern U.S. can be attributed to a southern subculture of violence (SSOV). Analyses revealed that only when the five border states were added to the eleven that seceded from the Union was homicide significantly elevated in the South. Consistent with the SSOV, this effect was restricted to homicides in which the victim was White. These results suggest that the SSOV deserves further study and that the effect be may partially the result of a state's position on slavery around the time of the Civil War.

This study brings to the fore, insights into three key factors that had been widely noted to play significant roles in driving effective pandemic policing. These are the preparedness of the police as first responders to a public health crisis, the level of public trust in the police as a legitimate power holder, and community engagement as a tool to drive public support and participation in fighting COVID-19. Using the Nigeria police as a case study, with the damning reports of abuse of power and other misconduct, this study examined how the police responded to COVID-19 mandates and community participation. Interviews with 40 police officers who enforced the COVID-19 lockdown, 16 senior police officers, and 18 community leaders within Lagos and Ogun states were conducted, and a thematic analysis of the narratives was carried out. Findings indicated that community engagement was not effectively deployed by the Nigerian police in the course of pandemic policing. This was due to a lack of police preparedness, over-reliance on the use of force for public control, public distrust in the police, and a lack of prior practice of community engagement by the police. Public distrust in the police was found to be central to peoples’ disobedience to COVID-19 rules which worsened police-community relations, culminating in protests against the police and its formations. These findings have important policy and practical implications if police legitimacy and post-COVID police-community relations are to improve.