Victim-offender contact has been studied extensively in prisons, but research on contact between victims and mentally disordered offenders in forensic mental health settings is lacking. Therefore, an exploratory study was conducted on contact between victims and offenders in four Dutch forensic psychiatric hospitals. These offenders have committed serious (sexually) violent offenses, for which they could not be held fully responsible due to severe psychopathology. During the mandatory treatment, it is possible for offenders and their victims to engage in contact with each other if both parties agree to this. To explore the conditions under which this contact is suitable, we interviewed 35 social workers about their experiences in 57 cases from four Dutch forensic psychiatric hospitals. Findings demonstrated that, according to the social workers, no type of offense or psychopathology were obvious exclusion criteria for victim-offender contact. Social workers described offenders' problem awareness, stable psychiatric condition, and ability to keep to agreements as important factors that enable victim-offender contact. Implications and suggestions for future research are provided.
"Probation is a fast-developing field that plays an important role in the response to crime and the prevention of reoffending. Probation covers various sanctions and community-based measures, including supervision and community service, designed to promote community safety and the social inclusion of offenders. This brochure is intended for justice ministers, other politicians and senior civil servants interested in setting up or upgrading a probation service. The ‘key message’ highlights the main topics and messages in this brochure. Readers who want to learn more about the benefits of probation and about how to bring these into practice should read the full text."
Crime script analysis as a methodology to analyse criminal processes is underdeveloped. This is apparent from the various approaches in which scholars apply crime scripting and present their cybercrime scripts. The plethora of scripting methods raise significant concerns about the reliability and validity of these scripting studies. In this methodological paper, we demonstrate how object-oriented modelling (OOM) could address some of the currently identified methodological issues, thereby refining crime script analysis. More specifically, we suggest to visualise crime scripts using static and dynamic modelling with the Unified Modelling Language (UML) to harmonise cybercrime scripts without compromising their depth. Static models visualise objects in a system or process, their attributes and their relationships. Dynamic models visualise actions and interactions during a process. Creating these models in addition to the typical textual narrative could aid analysts to more systematically consider, organise and relate key aspects of crime scripts. In turn, this approach might, amongst others, facilitate alternative ways of identifying intervention measures, theorising about offender decision-making, and an improved shared understanding of the crime phenomenon analysed. We illustrate the application of these models with a phishing script.
MULTIFILE