Decades of study have revealed much about risk factors for delinquency and crime. Individual characteristics and various factors can increase the probability of offending and may also predict substance abuse, and other problems during adolescence and early adulthood. Because risk factors can predict future criminal behavior, prevention and intervention programs focus on mitigating them in a young person’s life. In addition, longitudinal studies have identified protective factors that inhibit criminal behavior. Programs that strengthen these protective factors can reduce the risk of delinquency. Most prevention and intervention programs that address risk factors have not been adequately evaluated. This article gives a short overview of what has been done over the last years. Source: Justice Research August 2014, https://ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/243993.pdf.

Eine Zehnjahresbilanz der Telekommunikationsüberwachung des BND legt Jürgen Scheele vor und zeigt auch anhand der einzelnen Anlässe (Terrorismus, Rüstungshandel, BtM), dass in der Gesamtheit eine sinkende Trefferrelevanz bei stark steigender Netzüberwachung zu verzeichnen ist. J. Scheele, Verdachtslose Rasterfahndung des BND. In: Bürgerrechte und Polizei/CILIP 5, 2014, S. 34 – 43.

Verbrechensfurcht kann reale Auswirkungen auf die betroffenen haben, wie Kriminologen wissen. Daher muss sie ernst genommen werden. In einem Beitrag in „Psychologie Heute“ macht C. Augner deutlich, dass Potentielle, als solche subjektiv empfundene Gefahren auch dann objektive Auswirkungen auf die Betroffenen haben können, wenn sie nicht existieren. Die eigene Erwartungshaltung macht die Personen krank. Quelle: C. Augner, Auch eingebildete gefahren können krank machen. In: Psychologie Heute August 2014, S. 30 ff.

In popular culture, Mafia members are often portrayed as ruthless, callous and remorseless, but there is no empirical research on their personality traits. A recent study examined levels of psychopathic traits among Mafia members who have been convicted of a criminal offence. Mafia members showed significant antisocial traits but they maintained a capacity for emotional connection and greater likelihood of engaging with training and resocialisation programmes than other imprisoned offenders in Italy. Source: Adriano Schimmenti et al., Mafia and psychopathy. In: Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, Feb. 2014, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cbm.1902/abstract.

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