A new study by researchers from the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and American University’s School of Public Affairs analyzed and categorized crimes against animals as either neglect or intentional cruelty. The research is based on newly available police data from across the country.
Tag: Crime
Study Suggests People Hurt Other People to Signal their own Goodness
Findings from a new University of California San Diego Rady School of Management study reveal people often hurt others because in their mind, it is morally right or even obligatory to be violent and as a result, they do not respond rationally to material benefits.

Terrorism – A Threat for Urban Dwellers Be in the Know, Be on the Lookout for a Safe Society
Chula Political Science Lecturer alerts our society on the dangers of “urban terrorism” and the need to build a knowledge base for crisis management should an incident occur while also proposing that the government should invest in national security.
Punishment alone isn’t the deterrent many think it is, ASU professor says in new book
Adam Fine, an ASU assistant professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Arizona State University, has co-written a book on misbehavior.
National Institute of Justice funds UCI evaluation of new Orange County Jail program
Irvine, Calif., Aug. 24, 2021 – The Orange County Sheriff’s Department and the University of California, Irvine are partnering to determine whether changing the jail experience can improve outcomes for young men upon their release.
Bringing the jury to the crime scene via a 3D headset
A new study published by the University of South Australia provides overwhelming evidence in favour of using virtual reality in the courtroom, effectively dropping jurors right in the middle of a car accident or murder scene.
Director of UCI Cybersecurity Policy & Research Institute available to address recent ransomware attacks.
As the first executive director of the multidisciplinary Cybersecurity Policy & Research Institute at the University of California, Irvine, Bryan Cunningham is focused on solution-oriented strategies to address technical, legal and policy challenges to combat cyber threats, protect individual privacy and civil…
An Epidemic of Community Violence
Project HEAL (“Help, Empower, and Lead”), a hospital-based violence intervention program working in coordination with the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center, opened its doors this month with the mission to address community, domestic, and gang-related violence in Monmouth County.
2021 Posters on the Hill Spotlights Exemplary Undergraduate Research Projects for Policymakers, Scholars, and the Public
Via a virtual public poster session on April 28, undergraduate researchers from colleges and universities in 42 states and the District of Columbia will share their research projects in the 2021 Posters on the Hill event, sponsored by the Council on Undergraduate Research.

IU experts available to comment on shooting at FedEx facility in Indianapolis
INDIANAPOLIS and BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — A gunman opened fire at the FedEx Ground Plainfield Operations Center on Thursday, April 15, killing eight people and injuring at least seven others. The suspected gunman is believed to have committed suicide. The Indianapolis…
GIS technology helps map out how America’s mafia networks were ‘connected’
A team of researchers used geographic information systems — a collection of tools for geographic mapping and analysis of the Earth and society — and data from a government database on mafia ties during the 1960s, to examine how these networks were built, maintained and grown. The researchers said that this spatial social networks study offers a unique look at the mafia’s loosely affiliated criminal groups. Often called families, these groups were connected — internally and externally — to maintain a balance between security and effectiveness, referred to as the efficiency-security tradeoff.

University of Bristol’s cyber security experts launch new guidelines to help police crackdown on organised crime
A new centre established by the University of Bristol to help protect citizens online has created a shared data science framework to help law enforcement investigate organised crime.

UC San Diego Mexico Violence Resource Project Goes Beyond Cartels to Study Drug War
The Mexico Violence Resource Project—a new initiative from the University of California San Diego’s Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies—was recently launched to provide policymakers and journalists analysis and information to better understand the complicated escalation of violence in Mexico.
Problem gambling and crime appear co-symptomatic, not causal
New research from a University at Buffalo sociologist is providing valuable insight into better understanding the association between criminal behaviors and problem gambling.
“We’re finding that it’s not so much that problem gambling causes crime, but rather that the same background characteristics that contribute to predicting the likelihood of someone being a problem gambler also predict that they’ll engage in crime,” says Christopher Dennison, an assistant professor of sociology at UB.
$2.7 million gift by Arnold Ventures to UCI funds most comprehensive prison violence study to date
Irvine, Calif., June 29, 2020 — The University of California, Irvine has received a $2.7 million gift by Arnold Ventures to conduct the most comprehensive study to date into the sources and consequences of prison violence in seven states. Findings from the three-year, multi-strategy investigation will be used to create an evidence-based framework for reducing and preventing incidents of violence.

Studies examine how race affects perceptions of law-involved Blacks, school discipline
The extent of discriminatory treatment Black adults and children experience at every point of contact within the legal system and the biases that result in Black children’s behavior being managed more harshly in school are detailed in two new analyses from researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

IU experts available to comment on race, policing and criminal justice
Protests have erupted all over the nation in response to the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other African Americans killed by police. The Black Lives Matter movement has called out these latest deaths as evidence of police brutality…

Planting seeds for a safe and healthy society
A new West Virginia University research collaborative is working to address the many challenging conditions facing the state and Appalachia.

Crime trends during COVID-19 pandemic will shift beyond common street crime, says WVU sociologist
With the novel coronavirus pandemic keeping Americans indoors, preliminary data suggests it has led to a decrease in crime. But one crime expert at West Virginia University cautions that “every crisis is an opportunity for people to discover themselves, and to reveal who they are to others.”

Layoffs lead to more violent crime: study
Displaced workers experienced a 20% increase in criminal charges the year after being laid off
No increase in crime under California’s ‘sanctuary state’ status, UCI study finds
Irvine, Calif., March 5, 2020 — The implementation of California Senate Bill 54 – which limits, but does not prohibit, state and local police cooperation with federal immigration authorities – did not cause an increase in crime, according to a new study from researchers at the University of California, Irvine. This is the first systematic analysis to be conducted on the impact of the measure since California’s “sanctuary state” status went into effect on Jan.
IMPROVING EYEWITNESS IDENTIFICATION KEY TO PROTECTING INNOCENT PEOPLE
Law enforcement officials can reduce mistakes by eyewitnesses to crimes if they follow a series of recommendations that include interviewing witnesses as soon as possible after a crime and videotaping the session, according to the American Psychology-Law Society, a division of the American Psychological Association.
Organized cybercrime – not your average mafia
Research from Michigan State University is one of the first to identify common attributes of cybercrime networks, revealing how these groups function and work together to cause an estimated $445-600 billion of harm globally per year.
HERE’S WHAT POLICE KNOW ABOUT DIGITAL EVIDENCE
Researchers from Michigan State Unviersity are among the first to measure how well law enforcement officers can identify and use digital evidence.

As ‘Orange is the New Black’ Ends, UNLV Professor Explores How Conditions Have Changed for Incarcerated Women
The Litchfield Correctional Facility in upstate New York might be the fictitious background of Netflix’s hit series “Orange is the New Black.” But the stories of the inmates — portrayed by Hollywood actresses — could be easily found throughout real…