Crime & Delinquency

Despite most sentencing variance being explained by legal factors, most sentencing research continues to focus on extralegal factors. While the focus on extralegal characteristics is warranted, it has left the larger part of the sentencing story understudied. Leveraging methamphetamine trafficking laws and data, this study employs descriptive and multivariate analyses to unpack the consequences of mandatory minimum thresholds. Results show that the case fact Congress draws mandatory minimum eligibility upon triggers a selection effect where formal rationality increases, sentencing outcomes become uniquely patterned, and assumptions underlying multivariate effects begin to falter. Research along this line will (1) demonstrate that legal relevance depends on circumstance, (2) highlight needs in data capacity, and (3) reveal shortcomings associated with current reforms.

The past century has produced abundant scholarship on policing. Glaringly absent, despite thousands of studies, has been an explicit attempt to build an interdisciplinary and causal theory of police behavior. Although theories about various aspects of policing exist, as a general rule they are cut-off from the insights of other behavioral sciences. There remains a need for a causal theory capable of explaining police behaviors and outcomes. We present a nascent theory of policing intended to provide a parsimonious, individual-level explanation of the complexities of policing. In the spirit of Popper, we offer “provisional” ideas that can be tested.

Societal and legal responses to adolescent sexual offending are often punitive rather than developmentally informed, assuming that adolescents who have sexually offended (AHSO) pose a high risk of sexual recidivism. This study examined long-term outcomes of 351 AHSO (aged 12–18 years) assessed in an outpatient forensic setting. Follow-up averaged 22 years, with participants reaching a mean age of 37. Overall, 62.4% reoffended, primarily for property (45.0%), justice administration (43.9%), or nonsexual violent offenses (40.7%). Sexual recidivism was far less frequent (13.4%), occurring mainly in the early years and stabilizing at low levels. Survival analyses indicated that while sexual recidivism plateaued, nonsexual reoffending showed more sustained patterns over time. These findings challenge assumptions about enduring sexual risk among AHSO and call into question the proportionality of lengthy, restrictive sanctions.

The terms immigration and immigrants elicit powerful sentiments in the U.S. population. On the one hand, both terms unequivocally serve as a rallying cry by those who oppose immigration. On the other hand, these terms are embraced by a segment of the population that welcomes immigrants fleeing from poverty, persecution, and high levels of crime in their home countries. To add to the contemporary debate on immigration, the current study examines Black Americans’ attitudes toward immigration in the United States. Using the 2024 General Social Survey dataset and hierarchical logistic and multiple regression models, we found that the region of the country was significantly related to the belief that immigrants should adopt U.S. culture. Also, male and older participants were less likely than female and younger participants, respectively, to believe that immigrants should keep their own culture. Finally, compared to those who neither agreed nor disagreed, participants who agreed that immigrants take jobs away from native-born citizens were more likely to indicate that immigrants increase crime in the community. The implications of our findings for policy and future research are addressed.

The current study explores the role of mental health treatment (i.e., medication, counseling services) in mediating the relationships between mental illness, misconduct, and disciplinary segregation across sex. Using a nationally representative sample of incarcerated men (n = 10,415) and women (n = 2,687), gender-disaggregated KHB logistic regression models examine these relationships. Findings suggest that using mental health services while incarcerated may lessen the effects of mental illness on misconduct and subsequent disciplinary segregation for both incarcerated men and women, but these effects vary across gender by type of mental health diagnosis. Overall, the findings underscore the importance of gendered explorations of mental illness in the carceral experience.

Although procedural justice is an important factor shaping individuals’ perceptions of crime and safety, its role in school settings remains understudied. Using the 2022 NCVS School Crime Supplement, this study examined whether perceived procedural justice in school practices buffers adolescents from the negative consequences of hate-related victimization focusing on fear of crime. Students who experienced hate-related victimization at school reported higher fear of crime than their non-victimized peers, including greater emotional distress and avoidance behaviors. This relationship particularly for emotional distress weakened as perceived procedural justice increased. This buffering effect was more pronounced among students who had experienced hate-related victimization in schools. Procedural justice may serve as a protective factor, mitigating the psychological harm associated with hate-related victimization in schools.

Cyber fraud victimization among adolescents remains mechanistically underexplored despite growing global concern. Using self-reported data from 929 Chinese high school students, this study employs structural equation modeling informed by the general theory of crime, lifestyle–routine activity theory, and online risk-taking. Treating victimization as sequential—fraud targeting followed by financial loss—findings reveal that a deviant online lifestyle is the strongest predictor across both stages. After accounting for online risk-taking, the direct effects of low self-control on cyber fraud victimization become non-significant. Paradoxically, non-deviant online routines increase targeting exposure while reducing financial loss likelihood. These findings highlight the importance of risk-oriented mechanisms in explaining adolescent cyber fraud victimization.

Fatal violence against the transgender community has been declared an epidemic by the American Medical Association, yet remains understudied. This study examines the unique correlates for transgender homicide and compares them to general homicides using data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System and the Tracking Transgender Homicide in America database. The primary analytic sample includes 24,664 general homicides and 314 transgender homicides. Findings reveal that transgender victims are more likely to be younger, female, and racial minorities. Interaction effects show elevated risks in cases involving male offenders and victims who are women. These results emphasize the need for targeted interventions and inclusive policies to address the specific vulnerabilities faced by transgender individuals.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ) individuals remain disproportionately vulnerable to stigma, discrimination, and violence, especially during societal crises. This study investigates the asymmetric impact of pandemic uncertainty on LGBTQ-targeted crimes across ten countries: USA, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Australia, Spain, New Zealand, Sweden, and Italy. Using the Quantile-on-Quantile method, the study explores country-specific patterns and finds a strong positive association between pandemic-induced uncertainty and LGBTQ-targeted crimes in most selected countries, but the findings are asymmetric because the strength, and in some cases the direction, of the relationship shifts across uncertainty and crime intensity levels. Cross-country differences in asymmetry underscore the need for nuanced, context-specific policies targeting high-risk periods when uncertainty shocks drive the sharpest increases in victimization.

This study examines repeat victimization (RV) and multiple victimization (MV) in business cybercrime using data from the 2024 UK Cyber Security Breaches Survey (CSBS). Drawing on Routine Activity Theory, particularly its VIVA framework (value, inertia, visibility, accessibility) and capable guardianship, it investigates how organizational characteristics, routine activities, and cybersecurity practices influence victimization risks. The study applies multinomial logit, bivariate probit, and hurdle negative binomial models. Results show that RV and MV risk is not evenly distributed among victimized businesses, and that the predictors associated with initial or single victimization differ from those predicting RV and MV. The findings highlight the limitations of one-size-fits-all prevention strategies and call for more tailored, stage-specific prevention responses.

This special issue examines online financial crime and global responses, bringing together 10 empirical studies from diverse disciplines. As digital technologies reshape financial systems, offenses such as online fraud, identity theft, ransomware, and cryptocurrency-related crime have expanded in scale and complexity, generating significant harm. The contributions analyze offender behavior, victimization patterns, and guardianship across digital environments using varied data and methods. Guided by the Routine Activity Theory, this special issue brings together studies that demonstrate how offenders exploit technological systems, how individuals and organizations become vulnerable, and how institutional and technological controls influence prevention. Collectively, the findings highlight the transnational and adaptive nature of cyber-enabled financial crime and emphasize the need for integrated prevention, enforcement, and regulatory strategies.

Persons with disabilities face higher stalking risk than those without disabilities, yet formal reporting to law enforcement remains low. Using 2019 National Crime Victimization Survey Supplemental Victimization Survey (NCVS-SVS) data, this study examines stalking prevalence by disability status and type (N = 103,656). A subsample of stalking victims (n = 1,320) assesses reporting and consequences across four disability types (blind, deaf, cognitive, and physical). Results show higher stalking rates among persons with disabilities, especially cognitive disabilities. Despite elevated risk, persons with disabilities are not more likely to report victimization, and individuals with cognitive disabilities report the greatest fear of losing freedom. These findings suggest that routine activities increase exposure to motivated offenders while limiting access to capable guardianship, and that disability status reflects broader physical and social vulnerabilities emphasized in social vulnerability frameworks.

Identity theft targeting American citizens continues to rise. While prior research has linked this trend to data breaches and scams, a more recent development—check theft from U.S. Postal Service (USPS) mailboxes—may also be contributing to the problem. However, the absence of official data connecting check theft to identity theft limits our ability to fully assess this relationship. This paper investigates whether check theft activity observed on Telegram, a major platform for illicit trade, can predict officially reported identity theft incidents as recorded by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). By integrating open-source intelligence (OSINT), we were able to collect and analyze publicly available data and compare it with formal crime reports, to illustrate how combining alternative and official data sources can enhance our understanding of the online fraud ecosystem, particularly the factors driving identity theft.

The aim of the current study was to examine the link between cyberbullying and mental health issues among adolescents in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A total of 1113 adolescents from both government and private schools participated. Findings showed that private school students were more likely to be involved in and victimized by cyberbullying than their counterparts in government schools. Female adolescents and those in general secondary schools were more likely to perpetrate and be victims. Adolescents reported experiencing high levels of anxiety, moderate depression, and mild stress. Cyberbullying was significantly linked to mental health problems. The findings suggest that a collaborative effort among mental health professionals, educators, parents, and policymakers is needed to address the adverse effects of cyberbullying.

Emerging adult offenders ages 18 to 25 are legally adults while maintaining neurodevelopmental similarities to adolescents, creating a challenge for the court as to whether to sentence them as adults or juveniles. Using Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing data from 2015 to 2019, this study examines whether non-incarcerated sanctions differ across emerging-adult groups and older adults, and whether county context shapes these decisions. Multilevel models show that emerging adult offenders tend to receive more lenient sanctions than older offenders, and individuals ages 18 to 21 are more likely than those ages 22 to 25 to receive community-based sanctions. County political orientation and urbanization are associated with non-incarcerated sentences, but not with probation-versus-RIP sanctions. Results highlight differential sanctions for emerging adult offenders and the role of contextual factors in sentencing.

Digital technology has provided new opportunities for fraud perpetration—and led to widespread concern about digital fraud. This study explores fear of digital fraud in the US using national survey samples collected from 2015 to 2022. We began with an exploratory factor analysis to show that fears of digital fraud are distinct from fears about other crimes, and that the US public consistently reports being the most afraid of digital fraud. We next explored sociodemographic differences and showed that fear of digital fraud can explain a substantial portion of the association between fear of new technology and poor mental health. We conclude with a discussion of societal implications and opportunities for future scholarship.

Cryptocurrency has transformed financial transactions and online interactions, but it has also created new avenues for cybercrime. This study examines factors influencing susceptibility to crypto-enabled (ransomware, DDoS) and crypto-dependent (crypto-fraud, crypto-cyberattack) crimes using a nationally representative U.S. sample of 406 adults, guided by routine activities theory. In particular, the study investigates the major risk factors associated with different types of cybercrime victimization and examines whether these factors vary across crime types. Results show that password change frequency was the only consistent capable guardianship factor, predicting increased victimization risk across all crimes. Online gaming was a consistent motivated offender factor, linked to higher risk of ransomware, DDoS, and crypto-fraud. Frequent social media use lowered ransomware risk. Prior IT work experience, privacy scores, technology comfort scores, online banking, and online shopping were significant suitable target indicators. Findings highlight the need to improve digital literacy and promote proactive security behaviors to reduce cybercrime vulnerability.

This study aims to investigate developmental heterogeneity in cyber deviance during adolescence and the role of adolescent-specific strains in predicting trajectory group assignment. Using longitudinal data from over 3,000 eighth-grade students across 5 years, group-based trajectory modeling identified distinct developmental patterns of cyber deviance. Multinomial logistic regression models were employed to examine the relationship between strain variables and trajectory group membership. A four-group developmental model was the most optimal fit for the data. Strain variables, including appearance-related stressors and delinquent peer influence, significantly predicted trajectory groups with higher cyber deviance levels. Interventions aiming to mitigate adolescent cyber deviance should address stressors such as appearance-related strains and delinquent peer influence, and promote responsible online behavior, particularly among high-risk groups.

Frontline-administrator misalignment in general evaluations of health can undermine efforts to improve correctional officer well-being. This study examined optimization bias in correctional leadership—administrators’ overestimation of officer well-being. Using paired surveys from (n = 308) officers and (n = 104) administrators, cross-role perceptions regarding relational access and well-being revealed disparities between both groups. For example, all administrators indicated staff could approach them when experiencing problems, whereas only 31.9% of officers felt the same. Administrators also rated staff physical health higher than officers. Additional discrepancies concerned health interventions, with administrators favoring communication-based programs, while officers emphasized structural conditions as conduits to improved well-being. Strategies to align these perceptual outcomes are proposed in light of these findings.

Telecom-fraud has grown rapidly in China, prompting concerns about the effectiveness of punitive policies. Drawing on deterrence theory, this study examines how legally prescribed aggravating factors shape subsequent fraud trends. Using 108,478 cases from 2014 to 2021 and coding aggravators specified in the 2011, 2016, and 2021 judicial interpretations, we analyze spatial patterns and estimate longitudinal Poisson models for completed and attempted offenses. Findings show that aggravators involving serious harm, prior punishment, and victim vulnerability predict declines in later case counts, whereas technologically sophisticated or organizationally coordinated schemes correspond to increases. The results indicate selective rather than uniform deterrence and highlight the need to complement punitive measures with regulatory and technological interventions.