This study explored the impact of individual-level characteristics of individuals convicted of sexual offences (ICSOs) on community social support for ICSO spouses, an important component of public safety given the role of family social support on sexual offence desistence. A 3x2x4 factorial design was used to identify how sex offence type, victim gender, and neutralisation strategies influence community members’ willingness to support ICSO spouses. The survey was conducted among undergraduate students at three University of Texas academic institutions, with a final sample size of 394 participants. Results indicate that non-consensual contact offences significantly reduce community support, while the gender of the victim and neutralisation techniques do not have a significant impact. This suggests that crime type may be the predominant indicator of community support.

Keywords: social support, sexual offence, social distance.

Historically, the sexual offender population comprised men, which constituted a focal point of most sex offender research. However, there is often a common misconception concerning women offenders or perpetrators, as women are perceived as incapable of committing sexual offences. Researchers confirmed that not only are women capable of becoming sexual perpetrators, but they usually derive from specific classification schemas that elucidate women and these crimes. Victims of these heinous acts are on the rise and often are unreported and understudied, especially for older and disabled populations. Theoretically, behavioural and psychodynamic perspectives precisely depict how the role of societal perceptions affects the subconscious emotional and behavioural factors associated with sexual offenders. Demographic and motivation factors vary and may include perpetrators seeking love, dominance, and validation. This review aims to explore characteristics, assess the prevalence and analyse the consequences that arise when sexual assaults are identified, reported, and prosecuted as female perpetrators.

Keywords: Female sex offender, Male sex offenders, Typologies, Characteristics, and Behaviour, Intellectual disability, Autism, ADHD, Sexual victimization, Female perpetrator.

Building on past positive psychology interventions, the current study developed an Arm of Hope (ARM) (i.e., accomplishment, relationships, meaning, health, optimism, positive emotions, and engagement) positive psychology intervention based on the theory of positive policing. Using Seligman’s PERMA model (i.e., pleasure, engagement, meaning, positive relationships, and accomplishment), the current study added health and optimism to determine whether an ARM intervention improved the well-being of police officers. Using simple random sampling, 300 officers working in the District of Panchkula in the State of Haryana in India were asked to be part of the study, and 224 agreed. Officers were randomly assigned to either the experimental or control group. At the end of the study, officers in the experimental group had a statistically significant improvement in well-being compared to those in the control group. Future research should test the effectiveness of the positive psychological intervention with officers in other nations.

Keywords: Police; Well-Being; Positive Psychology; Law Enforcement; India.

Consumer trust is a foundational element of the digital marketplace, where reviews serve as informal yet powerful systems of reputation and decision-making. However, the proliferation of fake reviews is strategically crafted, commercially motivated, and often algorithmically disguised, where algorithms are used to shape visibility, credibility, or authenticity, often without the user’s awareness, thereby threatening consumer trust. This paper investigates fake reviews as a form of digital deviance, drawing on theories of social capital, deviance, and the commodification of public opinion. Using the New York Attorney General’s 2013 Operation Clean Turf as a central case study, this research examines how fake reviews are produced, legitimised, and institutionalised within platform capitalism. T To strengthen the analysis and address broader patterns in enforcement, we also draw on three additional regulatory cases—FTC v. Fashion Nova, FTC v. Sitejabber, and the FTC’s 2024 nationwide fake-review rule—to situate Operation Clean Turf within a wider landscape of contemporary review fraud and regulatory response. Through qualitative analysis of legal documents, news coverage, and regulatory responses, we identify key themes: the industrialisation of deception, platform exploitation, economic rationality, and the normalisation of unethical behaviour. We also explore recent cases from 2024 involving companies like Vevor and Sitejabber, alongside the emerging threat of AI-generated reviews. Findings reveal that fake reviews are not isolated anomalies but systemic artefacts of a digital economy that incentivises manipulation over authenticity.

Keywords: Digital Deviance, Social Capital, Consumer Trust.

The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine police officers’ perceptions of body-worn cameras through in-depth interviews with officers from a U.S.–Mexico border community. Emergent themes from officers’ narratives were later interpreted using Routine Activities Theory to contextualise police–civilian encounters involving BWCs. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 11 police officers from a U.S.–Mexico border community, the study explores how BWCs shape police–civilian encounters through the interaction of motivated behaviour, suitable targets, and capable guardianship. Officers generally viewed BWCs as an essential tool that enhances accountability and professionalism, functioning as a form of situational guardianship during police–civilian encounters. Officers reported that the presence of BWCs often influenced civilian behaviour, increasing compliance and discouraging misconduct, consistent with shifts in motivated behaviour under heightened surveillance. Narratives also revealed that officers perceived themselves as suitable targets for complaints or allegations in the absence of functional BWCs, particularly when technological malfunctions occurred. These malfunctions were described as disrupting guardianship and altering the dynamics of police–civilian encounters by increasing uncertainty and perceived vulnerability. Overall, the findings demonstrate how BWCs operate as embedded technological actors within routine policing activities and highlight their role in stabilising police–civilian interactions within contemporary law enforcement.

Keywords: Body-Worn Cameras, Police Officer Perceptions, Police–Civilian Encounters.Routine Activities Theory.

This qualitative secondary data analysis (SDA) examined arrest and incarceration as potential turning points in the exit trajectories of women who survived commercial sexual exploitation. Narrative responses from 189 participants in a national mixed-methods dataset informed analysis of open-ended reflections on how confinement shaped safety-oriented decision-making, sobriety, and recovery efforts. Thematic analysis yielded three domains of meaning-making: enforced separation from traffickers, exploitative environments, and substances; involuntary sobriety with increased cognitive clarity; and reflective insight related to identity, safety, spirituality, and readiness for change. Survivors frequently described jail or prison as a rare period of physical protection and introspection, while also reporting post-release barriers that increased vulnerability to re-exploitation, including criminalisation of victim-related behaviours, limited trauma-informed services (TIS), and economic instability. Findings supported TIS identification within correctional settings and coordinated cross-sector responses that strengthen outreach, continuity of care, and access to housing and recovery resources. Implications include evaluating justice-system touchpoints as leverage points for sustained exit and reintegration when survivor-centred pathways are available during and immediately following confinement.

Keywords: commercial sexual exploitation, incarceration, sobriety, recidivism, survivor-informed care.

Some criminals are more dangerous than others. Although killers capture the public imagination, corporations and state leaders are more dangerous in practice. Yet the crimes of the powerful are rarely punished as severely as street crimes. When George Trepal poisoned his Florida neighbours with thallium, killing one victim, he was sentenced to death. However, when Thomas Midgley Jr. employed a known poison (lead) as a fuel additive to prevent engine knock, there was no criminal inquiry, even when 15 production line workers died during initial production. Midgley, despite being poisoned himself, misrepresented tetraethyl as benign, and consequently, an estimated 147 million people died. Midgley also solved the problem of safe refrigerants, developing Freon-12, the first chlorofluorocarbon. This substance degraded the ozone layer, resulting in another 6 million estimated deaths, also accelerating climate change. The 153 million who died from tetraethyl and Freon-12 were victims of crime: negligent homicide, manslaughter, or, it is argued, murder. Therefore, Midgley, a serial killer and mad scientist, is the most dangerous criminal who has ever lived. However, because he is an apex criminal, an offender whose crimes are so immense that they cease to be recognised as criminal, his name remains unknown to most criminologists.

Keywords: Thomas Midgley Jr., George Trepal, lead, Freon, mad scientist, serial killer, climate change.

In the African context, where cultural norms, legal frameworks, and economic ramifications are intricately interconnected, paternity fraud presents a complex legal and socio-economic challenge. This article examines the potential application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to mitigate paternity fraud, enhance legal integrity, and bolster economic stability across African nations. The paper examines the applications of AI in DNA verification, identity management, and legal case resolution, emphasising accuracy, ethical considerations, and social acceptance through a scoping examination of relevant literature. Deductive theme analysis highlights how AI can revolutionise family law by providing objective and efficient solutions that reduce false claims, streamline legal processes, and address inheritance and child support disputes. The findings indicate that AI-enhanced DNA testing enhances precision, reduces human error, and accelerates legal resolutions, hence alleviating financial burdens on affected families. Despite these advantages, the research highlights significant concerns, including ethical dilemmas around data privacy, informed consent, and the potential for algorithmic bias, particularly within the culturally diverse African context. Societal norms and scepticism towards artificial intelligence impede technological uptake, hence complicating the integration of artificial intelligence into judicial systems. The successful implementation of AI in family law hinges on the necessity of reconciling technological advancement with ethical safeguards and public awareness. The cultivation of confidence and acceptance relies on robust legal frameworks, ethical use of artificial intelligence, and enhanced public awareness. This study offers a comprehensive analysis for legal professionals, policymakers, and engineers aiming to leverage artificial intelligence to enhance family law, provide justice, and sustain economic stability in African nations.

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Paternity Fraud, Legal Integrity, Family Law, Economic Stability, Africa.

Police brutality and human rights violations by law enforcement remain pervasive concerns in Lagos State, undermining public trust in the police and eroding the rule of law. Despite constitutional mandates that police maintain public order and protect citizens’ rights, evidence from surveys, eyewitness accounts, and independent reports highlights recurrent abuses, including institutional and structural weaknesses such as poor accountability mechanisms, operational pressures and Reactionary force, training Gaps, and socio-cultural factors such as political and corruption-related issues. This study synthesises qualitative data to explore the lived experiences of police officers and victims in Lagos. The paper examines investigative practices in handling allegations of police misconduct and analyses structural failures that enable rights violations using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Drawing on human rights literature, policing theory, and field encounters, the paper underscores the urgent need for evidence-based reforms and professional training to align law enforcement practice with human rights standards.

Keywords: Police Brutality, Rights Violations, Lagos, Investigative Techniques, Policing.

The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine police officers’ perceptions of body-worn cameras through in-depth interviews with officers from a U.S.–Mexico border community. Emergent themes from officers’ narratives were later interpreted using Routine Activities Theory to contextualise police–civilian encounters involving BWCs. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 11 police officers from a U.S.–Mexico border community, the study explores how BWCs shape police–civilian encounters through the interaction of motivated behaviour, suitable targets, and capable guardianship. Officers generally viewed BWCs as an essential tool that enhances accountability and professionalism, functioning as a form of situational guardianship during police–civilian encounters. Officers reported that the presence of BWCs often influenced civilian behaviour, increasing compliance and discouraging misconduct, consistent with shifts in motivated behaviour under heightened surveillance. Narratives also revealed that officers perceived themselves as suitable targets for complaints or allegations in the absence of functional BWCs, particularly when technological malfunctions occurred. These malfunctions were described as disrupting guardianship and altering the dynamics of police–civilian encounters by increasing uncertainty and perceived vulnerability. Overall, the findings demonstrate how BWCs operate as embedded technological actors within routine policing activities and highlight their role in stabilising police–civilian interactions within contemporary law enforcement.

Keywords: Body-Worn Cameras, Police Officer Perceptions, Police–Civilian Encounters,Routine Activities Theory.