Criminal justice interventions for preventing radicalisation, violent extremism and terrorism: An evidence and gap map.

Background: Criminal justice agencies are well positioned to help prevent the radicalisation of individuals and groups, stop those radicalised from engaging in violence, and reduce the likelihood of terrorist attacks. This Evidence and Gap Map (EGM) presents the existing evidence and gaps in the evaluation research. Objectives: To identify the existing evidence that considers the effectiveness of criminal justice interventions in preventing radicalisation, violent extremism and terrorism. Search Methods: We conducted a comprehensive search of the academic and grey literature to locate relevant studies for the EGM. Our search locations included the Global Policing Database (GPD), eight electronic platforms encompassing over 20 academic databases, five trial registries and over 30 government and non-government websites. The systematic search was carried out between 8 June 2022 and 1 August 2022. Selection Criteria: We captured criminal justice interventions published between January 2002 and December 2021 that aimed to prevent radicalisation, violent extremism, and/or terrorism. Criminal justice agencies were broadly defined to include police, courts, and corrections (both custodial and community). Eligible populations included criminal justice practitioners, places, communities or family members, victims, or individuals/groups who are radicalised or at risk of becoming radicalised. Our map includes systematic reviews, randomised controlled trials, and strong quasi-experimental studies. We placed no limits on study outcomes, language, or geographic location. Data Collection and Analysis: Our screening approach differed slightly for the different sources, but all documents were assessed in the systematic review software program DistillerSR on the same final eligibility criteria. Once included, we extracted information from studies using a standardised form that allowed us to collect key data for our EGM. Eligible systematic reviews were assessed for risk of bias using the AMSTAR 2 critical appraisal tool. Main Results: The systematic search identified 63,763 unique records. After screening, there were 70 studies eligible for the EGM (from 71 documents), of which two were systematic reviews (assessed as moderate quality), 16 were randomised controlled trials, and 52 were strong quasi-experimental studies. The majority of studies (n = 58) reported on policing interventions. Limited evidence was found related to courts or corrections interventions. The impact of these interventions was measured by a wide variety of outcomes (n = 50). These measures were thematically grouped under nine broad categories including (1) terrorism, (2) extremism or radicalisation, (3) non-terror related crime and recidivism, (4) citizen perceptions/intentions toward the criminal justice system and government, (5) psychosocial, (6) criminal justice practitioner behaviours/attitudes/beliefs, (7) racially targeted criminal justice practices, (8) investigation efficacy, and (9) organisational factors. The most commonly assessed outcomes included measures of terrorism, investigation efficacy, and organisational factors. Very limited research assessed intervention effectiveness against measures of extremism and/or radicalisation. Authors' Conclusions: Conducting high-quality evaluation research on rare and hidden problems presents a challenge for criminal justice research. The map reveals a number of significant gaps in studies evaluating criminal justice responses to terrorism and radicalisation. We conclude that future research should focus attention on studies that consolidate sound measurement of terrorism-related outcomes to better capture the potential benefits and harms of counter-terrorism programs, policies and practices which involve criminal justice agencies.

Police stops to reduce crime: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Police-initiated pedestrian stops have been one of the most widely used crime prevention tactics in modern policing. Proponents have long considered police stops to be an indispensable component of crime prevention efforts, with many holding them responsible for the significant reductions in violent crime observed across major US cities in recent decades. Critics, however, have taken issue with the overuse of pedestrian stops, linking them to worsening mental and physical health, attitudes toward the police, and elevated delinquent behavior for individuals directly subject to them. To date, there has been no systematic review or meta-analysis on the effects of these interventions on crime and individual-level outcomes. Objectives: To synthesize the existing evaluation research regarding the impact of police-initiated pedestrian stops on crime and disorder, mental and physical health, individual attitudes toward the police, self-reported crime/delinquency, violence in police-citizen encounters, and police misbehavior. Search Methods: We used the Global Policing Database, a repository of all experimental and quasi-experimental evaluations of policing interventions conducted since 1950, to search for published and unpublished evaluations of pedestrian stop interventions through December of 2019. This overarching search was supplemented by additional searches of academic databases, gray literature sources, and correspondence with subject-matter experts to capture eligible studies through December 2021. Selection Criteria: Eligibility was limited to studies that included a treatment group of people or places experiencing pedestrian stops and a control group of people or places not experiencing pedestrian stops (or experiencing a lower dosage of pedestrian stops). Studies were required to use an experimental or quasi-experimental design and evaluate the intervention using an outcome of area-level crime and disorder, mental or physical health, individual or community-level attitudes toward the police, or self-reported crime/delinquency. Data Collection and Analysis: We adopted standard methodological procedures expected by the Campbell Collaboration. Eligible studies were grouped by conceptually similar outcomes and then analyzed separately using random effects models with restricted maximum likelihood estimation. Treatment effects were represented using relative incident rate ratios, odds ratios, and Hedges' g effect sizes, depending on the unit of analysis and outcome measure. We also conducted sensitivity analyses for several outcome measures using robust variance estimation, with standard errors clustered by each unique study/sample. Risk of bias was assessed using items adapted from the Cochrane randomized and non-randomized risk of bias tools. Results: Our systematic search strategies identified 40 eligible studies corresponding to 58 effect sizes across six outcome groupings, representing 90,904 people and 20,876 places. Police-initiated pedestrian stop interventions were associated with a statistically significant 13% (95% confidence interval [CI]: -16%, -9%, p < 0.001) reduction in crime for treatment areas relative to control areas. These interventions also led to a diffusion of crime control benefits, with a statistically significant 7% (95% CI: -9%, -4%, p < 0.001) reduction in crime for treatment displacement areas relative to control areas. However, pedestrian stops were also associated with a broad range of negative individual-level effects. Individuals experiencing police stops were associated with a statistically significant 46% (95% CI: 24%, 72%, p < 0.001) increase in the odds of a mental health issue and a 36% (95% CI: 14%, 62%, p < 0.001) increase in the odds of a physical health issue, relative to control. Individuals experiencing police stops also reported significantly more negative attitudes toward the police (g = -0.38, 95% CI: -0.59, -0.17, p < 0.001) and significantly higher levels of self-reported crime/delinquency (g = 0.30, 95% CI: 0.12, 0.48, p < 0.001), equating to changes of 18.6% and 15%, respectively. No eligible studies were identified measuring violence in police-citizen encounters or officer misbehavior. While eligible studies were often considered to be at moderate to high risk of bias toward control groups, no significant differences based on methodological rigor were observed. Moderator analyses also indicated that the negative individual-level effects of pedestrian stops may be more pronounced for youth, and that significant differences in effect sizes may exist between US and European studies. However, these moderator analyses were limited by a small number of studies in each comparison, and we were unable to compare the effects of police stops across racial groupings. Authors' Conclusions: While our findings point to favorable effects of pedestrian stop interventions on place-based crime and displacement outcomes, evidence of negative individual-level effects makes it difficult to recommend the use of these tactics over alternative policing interventions. Recent systematic reviews of hot spots policing and problem-oriented policing approaches indicate a more robust evidence-base and generally larger crime reduction effects than those presented here, often without the associated backfire effects on individual health, attitudes, and behavior. Future research should examine whether police agencies can mitigate the negative effects of pedestrian stops through a focus on officer behavior during these encounters.

PROTOCOL: Criminal justice interventions for preventing terrorism and radicalisation: An evidence and gap map.

This is the protocol for a Campbell systematic review. The objectives are as follows: to identify the existing evidence that considers the effectiveness of criminal justice interventions in preventing terrorism and radicalisation and to identify existing gaps in the evidence where new primary research could be undertaken and where future synthesis could be conducted.

A global analysis of the impact of COVID-19 stay-at-home restrictions on crime.

The stay-at-home restrictions to control the spread of COVID-19 led to unparalleled sudden change in daily life, but it is unclear how they affected urban crime globally. We collected data on daily counts of crime in 27 cities across 23 countries in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. We conducted interrupted time series analyses to assess the impact of stay-at-home restrictions on different types of crime in each city. Our findings show that the stay-at-home policies were associated with a considerable drop in urban crime, but with substantial variation across cities and types of crime. Meta-regression results showed that more stringent restrictions over movement in public space were predictive of larger declines in crime.

Multiagency programs with police as a partner for reducing radicalisation to violence.

Background: Multiagency responses to reduce radicalisation often involve collaborations between police, government, nongovernment, business and/or community organisations. The complexities of radicalisation suggest it is impossible for any single agency to address the problem alone. Police-involved multiagency partnerships may disrupt pathways from radicalisation to violence by addressing multiple risk factors in a coordinated manner. Objectives: 1.Synthesise evidence on the effectiveness of police-involved multiagency interventions on radicalisation or multiagency collaboration 2.Qualitatively synthesise information about how the intervention works (mechanisms), intervention context (moderators), implementation factors and economic considerations. Search Methods: Terrorism-related terms were used to search the Global Policing Database, terrorism/counterterrorism websites and repositories, and relevant journals for published and unpublished evaluations conducted 2002-2018. The search was conducted November 2019. Expert consultation, reference harvesting and forward citation searching was conducted November 2020. Selection Criteria: Eligible studies needed to report an intervention where police partnered with at least one other agency and explicitly aimed to address terrorism, violent extremism or radicalisation. Objective 1 eligible outcomes included violent extremism, radicalisation and/or terrorism, and multiagency collaboration. Only impact evaluations using experimental or robust quasi-experimental designs were eligible. Objective 2 placed no limits on outcomes. Studies needed to report an empirical assessment of an eligible intervention and provide data on mechanisms, moderators, implementation or economic considerations. Data Collection and Analysis: The search identified 7384 records. Systematic screening identified 181 studies, of which five were eligible for Objective 1 and 26 for Objective 2. Effectiveness studies could not be meta-analysed, so were summarised and effect size data reported. Studies for Objective 2 were narratively synthesised by mechanisms, moderators, implementation, and economic considerations. Risk of bias was assessed using ROBINS-I, EPHPP, EMMIE and CASP checklists. Results: One study examined the impact on vulnerability to radicalisation, using a quasi-experimental matched comparison group design and surveys of volunteers (n = 191). Effects were small to medium and, aside from one item, favoured the intervention. Four studies examined the impact on the nature and quality of multiagency collaboration, using regression models and surveys of practitioners. Interventions included: alignment with national counterterrorism guidelines (n = 272); number of counterterrorism partnerships (n = 294); influence of, or receipt of, homeland security grants (n = 350, n = 208). Study findings were mixed. Of the 181 studies that examined mechanisms, moderators, implementation, and economic considerations, only 26 studies rigorously examined mechanisms (k = 1), moderators (k = 1), implementation factors (k = 21) or economic factors (k = 4).All included studies contained high risk of bias and/or methodological issues, substantially reducing confidence in the findings. Authors' Conclusions: A limited number of effectiveness studies were identified, and none evaluated the impact on at-risk or radicalised individuals. More investment needs to be made in robust evaluation across a broader range of interventions.Qualitative synthesis suggests that collaboration may be enhanced when partners take time to build trust and shared goals, staff are not overburdened with administration, there are strong privacy provisions for intelligence sharing, and there is ongoing support and training.

Police programmes that seek to increase community connectedness for reducing violent extremism behaviour, attitudes and beliefs.

Background: Police can play a role in tackling violent extremism through disrupting terrorist plots and by working with communities to identify individuals at risk of radicalisation. Police programmes to tackle violent extremism can involve a range of approaches and partnerships. One approach includes efforts to improve community connectedness by working to address social isolation, belonging, economic opportunities and norms and values that may lead people to endorse or support violent extremist causes and groups. The assumption is that the risk of an individual being radicalised in the community can be reduced when police work in pothe international legal ordersitive ways with community members and groups to mobilise and support activities that help generate a sense of belonging and trust. Police programmes that build a sense of belonging and trust may help ensure individuals are not influenced by activities that violent extremists use to attract support for their cause. Objectives: The review aimed to systematically examine whether or not police programmes that seek to promote community connectedness are effective in reducing violent extremist behaviours, attitudes and beliefs. The review also sought to identify whether effectiveness varied by the intervention type and location. Search Methods: Using terrorism-related terms, we searched the Global Policing Database to identify eligible published and unpublished evaluations between January 2002 and December 2018. We supplemented this with comprehensive searches of relevant terrorism and counter-terrorism websites and research repositories, reference harvesting of eligible and topic-relevant studies, forward citation searches of eligible studies, hand-searches of leading journals and consultations with experts. Selection Criteria: Eligible studies needed to include an initiative that involved the police, either through police initiation, development, leadership or where the police were receivers of the programme (such as a training programme) or where the police delivered or implemented the intervention. The initiative also needed to be some kind of a strategy, technique, approach, activity, campaign, training, programme, directive or funding/organisational change that involved police in some way to promote community connectedness. Community connectedness was defined as being community consultation, partnership or collaboration with citizens and/or organisational entities. Eligible outcomes included violent extremism, along with radicalisation and disengagement which are considered to be attitudinal and belief-based components of violent extremism. These outcomes could be measured via self-report instruments, interviews, observations and/or official data. To be included, studies could utilise individuals, micro- or macroplaces as the participants. Finally, studies needed to provide a quantitative impact evaluation that utilised a randomised or quasi-experimental design with a comparison group that either did not receive the intervention, or that received "business-as-usual" policing, no intervention or an alternative intervention. Data Collection and Analysis: The systematic search identified 2,273 records (after duplicate removal). After systematic screening across two stages (title/abstract and full-text), just one study (reported in two documents) met the review eligibility criteria. Standardised mean differences (SMD) were used to estimate intervention effects for this single study and risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias in Non-Randomised Studies-Interventions tool (ROBINS-I). Results: The single eligible study (n = 191) was a quasi-experimental evaluation of the Muslim-led intervention-World Organisation for Resource Development Education (WORDE)-conducted in the United States in 2015. The intervention comprised three components: community education, enhancing agency networks and multicultural volunteerism activities. Self-report data were collected from youth and adults who were civically engaged, sensitised to issues of violent extremism and who had existing cooperative relationships with law enforcement and social services. The comparison group comprised matched participants who had not engaged with the WORDE programme. The outcomes most closely aligned with conceptual definitions of deradicalization, specifically levels of acceptance and/or engagement with cultural and religious differences or pluralistic views and modification of group or personal identity. Based on single survey items, the SMD ranged from small to medium in favour of the treatment group aside from one item which favoured the comparison group ("I make friends with people from other races", SMD = -0.51, 95% CI: -0.82, -0.19). However, of the nine SMDs calculated, six had confidence intervals including zero. These effects should be interpreted with caution due to the study's overall serious risk of bias. It is important to note that it is not explicitly clear whether the evaluation participants in the treatment group were all directly exposed to the two intervention components that involved police. Hence, these evaluation outcomes may not be direct measures of how effect police were at countering violent extremism by promoting community connectiveness. Conclusions: The aim of this systematic review was to examine whether or not police programmes that seek to promote community connectedness are effective in reducing violent extremist behaviours, attitudes and beliefs. There is insufficient evidence available to ascertain whether such interventions achieve these outcomes. This finding is the result of the fact that interventions that have been evaluated tend to be characterised by evaluation designs that do not adopt experimental or quasi-experimental approaches or use outcomes that are outside of scope for this review. While the volume of studies identified provide support for the assertion that police can play a role in tackling violent extremism by participating in, and implementing, programmes that promote community connectedness, it is unclear at this time if such approaches work in reducing violent extremism. Whilst we conclude that investment needs to be made in more robust methods of evaluation to test for programme effectiveness, we acknowledge that conducting evaluation and research in the area of counter-terrorism/violent extremism is challenging.

PROTOCOL: Police programs that seek to increase community connectedness for reducing violent extremism behaviour, attitudes and beliefs.

Community engagement and connectedness are identified as potential mitigating factors for those at risk of engaging in violent extremism. Police have a critical role in promoting social inclusion and social connectedness and thereby preventing violent extremism. Thus, it is essential to understand the effectiveness of policing programs aimed at promoting community connectedness and their impact on reducing violent extremism. To date, there has been no systematic synthesis of the evaluation evidence for these policing approaches and their impact on violent extremism. This is the protocol for a review that will include any policing intervention that aims to promote community connectedness. The present proposed review is necessary to ascertain whether policing interventions that seek to promote community connectedness are effective for reducing violent extremism behaviour, attitudes and beliefs.

Developmental transitions during adulthood and neighborliness: A multilevel cluster analysis.

Neighborliness plays a critical role in promoting social integration, and is known to positively influence health and psychosocial adjustment. We examined variation in neighborliness based on developmental transitions as well as on the neighborhood context. We examined the direct and moderating role of neighborhood factors, to determine whether the neighborhood context modified the influence of developmental transitions on neighborliness. We analyzed data from a longitudinal study of Australian communities, in addition to census data. First, we analyzed developmental transition clusters. Next, we employed multilevel modeling to assess the impact of clusters and other key factors on neighborliness. We tested interactions to determine whether the influence of cluster membership on neighborliness was modified by the neighborhood. We found evidence for direct effects of cluster membership and structural factors on neighborliness. In addition, the neighborhood context modified the influence of cluster membership on neighborliness. Our findings underscore the importance of promoting neighborhood social engagement throughout the life course.

Controlling Gun Violence: Assessing the Impact of Australia's Gun Buyback Program Using a Synthetic Control Group Experiment.

Gun Buyback programs have been implemented in various forms in countries such as the UK, USA, Brazil, Australia, and Argentina. Whether or not these programs are an effective approach for reducing national violent crime and homicides, however, remains unclear. Much of the uncertainty is due to the different ways in which Gun Buyback programs have been implemented. The Australian Gun Buyback program is distinguished from Gun Buyback programs in other countries by its abrupt implementation, its narrow focus on a particular class of firearms, and its broad application across the entire population. We assess the impact of Australia's 1996 Gun Buyback program on national homicide rates using a synthetic control group quasi-experimental design, comparing the results to suicide and motor vehicle fatality trends to test for plausible alternative hypotheses. Results suggest that the Gun Buyback program significantly reduced Australia's homicide rate in the decade following the intervention (1997-2007).

Boozy Nights and Violent Fights: Perceptions of Environmental Cues to Violence and Crime in Licensed Venues.

This article examines perceptions of environmental cues to crime, violence, and injuries in barroom settings, and how they differ between bar fight participants and non-participants. Bouncer friendliness, patron sex composition, and room temperature were chosen as experimental variables based on three criteria: (a) emerged as a theme in bar user focus groups, (b) unclear effects in the literature, and (c) policy relevant and easy to modify. These experimental variables were manipulated in written vignettes set in a bar. A three-part online questionnaire recorded 681 male university students' responses to questions on demographics, the experiment, drinking and clubbing habits, and the Snell Masculinity Scale. A 2 × 2 × 2 randomized independent groups factorial design with covariates was embedded in the questionnaire, measuring the effects of the experimental variables on bar users' perceived fear of victimization, likelihood and frequency of crime, venue preference, and perceived severity of injuries after accounting for prior bar fight participation and masculinity. Participants generally rated perceived fear of victimization, likelihood and frequency of crime, and severity of injuries to be highest when the bouncer was unfriendly, the temperature was hot, and patrons were majority male. Only main effects were significant ( p < .01). Masculinity scale responses were not related to participant perceptions. While fight participants (9.8% of the sample) and non-participants had similar perceptions of the risk associated with certain environmental cues, fight participants were significantly (a) less fearful of victimization in settings they perceived as dangerous and (b) more willing to drink in any hypothetical venue.

Factors associated with youth gang membership in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review.

This Campbell systematic review examines the predictors of youth gang membership in low- and middle-income countries. The review summarises findings from eight reports from five countries and the Caribbean region. The lack of available evidence limits the extent to which clear conclusions can be drawn about the factors associated with youth gang membership. The review is based on a very small number of studies, and has significant limitations in coverage. The limited evidence of the correlates of youth gang membership suggests factors that may drive gang membership and suggests areas where interventions may prove promising in the family, school, and community domains, as well as provide a starting point for future studies. Plain language summary: Evidence shows which factors predict gang membership in low- and middle-income countries, but more studies needed: Youth gang membership is associated with delinquency, violent crime and trafficking. A range of individual, peer, family, school and community factors can predict the likelihood of youths getting involved with gangs. Knowledge of these factors can be helpful for reducing gang membership.What is this review about?: Youth gang membership is associated with delinquency, violent crime and trafficking - and gang members are themselves frequently the victims of these offences. Yet youth gangs can also provide a form of social capital, a sense of belonging and purpose to disenfranchised youth.This review identifies the factors associated with young people joining gangs, and the differences between gang-involved and non-gang-involved youth. Understanding these associations is essential to reduce the levels of gang membership and the incidence of related violence.What studies are included?: Studies of youth gangs in in low- and middle-income countries were included, with participants aged 10-29 years. The studies had to assess an individual predictor or correlate of youth gang membership, where the predictor or correlate is a single characteristic, not a conglomeration of multiple constructs. Included studies had designs including data on both gang-involved and non-gang-involved youth, recruited with strategies that were eligible.Nine studies met the eligibility criteria and were included in the review. One of these studies did not report all the required data and so was not included in the analyses. The studies were conducted in Turkey, Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean, El Salvador, China and Brazil. Factors associated with gang membership [Table: see text] What are the main results in this review?: The eight studies analysed in the review address the associations between life events and circumstances, and the likelihood of being a youth gang member across five domains: individual, peers, family, school and community. Significant associations were found with factors in each domain.What do the findings of this review mean?: The lack of available evidence limits the extent to which clear conclusions can be drawn about the factors associated with youth gang membership. The review is based on a very small number of studies, and has significant limitations in coverage. The limited evidence of the correlates of youth gang membership suggests factors that may drive gang membership and suggests areas where interventions may prove promising in the family, school, and community domains, as well as provide a starting point for future studies.How up-to-date is this review?: The review authors searched for studies published up to September 2013. This Campbell systematic review was published in December 2018. Summary: Background: Youth gang membership is well documented throughout low- and middle-income countries, and youth gang members are increasingly associated with delinquency, violent crime and trafficking. They are also frequently the victims of these offences, often in disproportionate numbers compared to non-gang youth. Yet youth gangs can also provide a form of social capital, a sense of belonging and purpose to disenfranchised youth.Extensive research, primarily from high-income countries, has categorized five domains of risk and protective factors for youth gang involvement, drawn from the realm of developmental psychology. These domains are: Individual, Peer, Family, School, and Community. Youth gang membership is seen as the culmination of interrelated structural and process factors, which in combination with negative life events may increase the attractiveness of gang membership.This review aimed to identify the factors associated with young people joining gangs, and to identify and quantify the differences between gang-involved and non-gang-involved youth. Understanding these associations is essential to reduce the levels of gang membership and the incidence of related violence.Objectives: This review addresses two key objectives: (1) to synthesize the published and unpublished empirical evidence on the factors associated with membership of youth gangs in low- and middle-income countries;(2) to assess the relative strength of the different factors across the domains of individual, family, school, peer group and community.Search methods: The search was conducted in English, French, Chinese, Arabic, Russian, Spanish and Portuguese. We searched 55 locations including academic databases, journals, and grey literature locations, and located over 54,000 documents to screen.Selection criteria: We included studies meeting the following criteria: Reports on youth gangsAll participants aged 10-29 yearsLocated in low- or middle-income countryAssesses an individual predictor or correlate of youth gang membershipPredictor or correlate is a single characteristicPredictor or correlate is not a conglomeration of multiple constructsEligible recruitment strategy for respondentsStudy design included data on both gang involved and non-gang involved youth. Data collection and analysis: We conducted a broad abstract screening of over 54,000 titles and abstracts, followed by a close abstract screening of 1509 abstracts. We screened the full-text of 98 documents. Nine studies met the eligibility criteria and were included in the review. One of these studies did not report sufficient data to allow the calculation of a standardized effect size, and so was not included in the analyses. A total of 85 independent effect sizes were extracted from the eight studies with sufficient data to create a standardized effect size. We calculated Cohen's d from continuous data and the Log Odds Ratio from dichotomous data. All effects were categorized into the five predictor domains, and further classified into conceptually similar group and risk or protective factors. We synthesized the data using multiple random effects meta-analyses with inverse variance weighting.Results: The eight studies analysed in the review address the associations between life events and circumstances, and the likelihood of being a youth gang member. All studies were based on cross-sectional survey data, using different statistical methods to identify correlations between youth characteristics and the likelihood of being a member of a youth gang. No longitudinal, prospective or retrospective studies were located. The studies were conducted in Turkey, Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean, El Salvador, China and Brazil. We organized the analyses according to five domains of factors that may be associated with youth gang involvement and summarize the main findings below: Individual factors Delinquency, alcohol and soft drug use, male gender, risky sexual behaviours, employment, psychological risk factors (low self-control, impulsivity), and victimisation were each associated with significantly higher odds of youth gang membership.Psychological protective factors (empathy, future orientation, belief in moral order) were associated with lower odds.No association between youth gang membership and age, minority ethnicity, or protective behaviours surrounding sexual behaviour or alcohol and soft drug use. Peer factors There is a small amount of evidence that socialising with delinquent peers is associated with increased odds of youth gang membership, but there is no significant relationship demonstrated between socialising with pro-social peers and youth gang membership. Family factors Negative family environments are associated with more youth gang membership, while both a positive family environment and parental monitoring were associated with lower odds.One study showed that youth from middle-income families had greater odds of reporting youth gang membership than those from either high or low-income families.No significant relationship was seen between youth gang membership and parental education or parental attitudes to antisocial behaviour. School factors Low school attachment, exposure to violence at school, educational difficulties and opportunities for prosocial involvement all show significant association with more youth gang membership.No significant relationship was seen between youth gang membership and level of education, school type, or school performance. Community factors There were significantly higher odds of youth gang membership amongst those who reported that they were exposed to violence in their neighbourhood.No demonstrated association between youth gang membership and neighbourhood environment risk or protective factors, or geography. Gang membership is typically viewed as a culmination of interrelated structural and process factors. Understanding the factors associated with youth gang membership can help inform prevention strategies to reduce the levels of youth gang membership and the incidence of youth gang violence. Unfortunately the small number of studies contributing to any analysis limits the conclusions that can be drawn from this study. Moreover, many of the individual and peer associations identified in this review (such as delinquency, drug use, and sexual risk factors) maybe as a result of gang membership rather than its cause. However, our results suggest certain family, school, and community level factors associated with gang membership that could be addressed through targeted preventive interventions, particularly family environment, parental monitoring, school attachment, educational difficulties, and exposure to violence in the home, at school, or in the community.Authors' conclusions: The lack of available evidence limits the extent to which we can draw any clear conclusions about the factors associated with youth gang membership. This current review is based on a very small number of studies, and has significant limitations in coverage; however it provides some limited evidence of the correlates of youth gang membership. Specifically, this review suggests factors that may drive gang membership and suggests areas where interventions may prove promising in the family, school, and community domains, as well as provide a starting point for future studies.

Reducing Truancy and Fostering a Willingness to Attend School: Results from a Randomized Trial of a Police-School Partnership Program.

Truancy is a major social issue that is linked to a range of poor outcomes across the life course, including poor educational outcomes, drug and alcohol abuse, and antisocial behavior. Interventions that seek to reduce truancy problems range from school-based police officers to programs that reward good attendance to community-based interventions. This study reports primary outcome results of a randomized trial of a collaborative, police-school partnership that sought to reduce truancy and increase students' willingness to attend school. Using school attendance and students' self-report survey data, we find that the police-school partnership intervention shows promise for reducing truancy and improving students' willingness to attend school. We conclude that police-school partnerships that foster the willingness of young people to attend school should be examined in future evaluation research and be considered in the development of truancy prevention programs.

Pharmaceutical sales of pseudoephedrine: the impact of electronic tracking systems on methamphetamine crime incidents.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Electronic tracking systems (ETS) are used extensively in pharmacies across the United States and Australia to control suspicious sales of pseudoephedrine. This study measures the impact of one ETS-Project STOP-on the capacity of police to reduce production, supply and possession of methamphetamine. DESIGN: Using official police data of incidents of production, supply and possession from January 1996 to December 2011 (n = 192 data points/months over 16 years), we used a quasi-experimental, time-series approach. SETTING: The State of Queensland, Australia. PARTICIPANTS: No individual participants are included in the study. The unit of analysis is reported police incidents. MEASUREMENTS: The study examines the impact of the ETS on production (n = 5938 incidents), drug supply and trafficking (n = 20 094 incidents) and drug possession or use (n = 118 926) of methamphetamine. FINDINGS: Introduction of the ETS in November 2005 was associated with an insignificant decrease (P = 0.15) in the production of methamphetamine. The intervention was associated with a statistically significant increase in supply incidents (P = 0.0001). There was no statistically significant effect on the incidence of possession (P = 0.59). CONCLUSIONS: Electronic tracking systems can reduce the capacity of people to produce methamphetamine domestically, but seem unlikely to affect other aspects of the methamphetamine problem such as possession, distribution and importation.

Reporting of problematic drinkers and the harm they cause: Assessing the role of alcohol use, sex, and age of those affected by a problematic drinker.

This study explores survey respondents' reports of alcohol-related harm created by another person's drinking and whether the experience of harm was influenced by the respondent's own risky drinking behavior and other relevant personal demographics (age and sex). Drawing from a cross-sectional survey of Australian adults, the study analyzes the likelihood that frequent risky drinkers, infrequent risky drinkers, nonrisky drinkers, and nondrinkers would report a problematic drinker and the different harms experienced as a result of the problematic drinker. The study also examines the type of harms experienced and the number of different harms experienced. Both unadjusted and adjusted models (accounting for age and sex) are reported. Results showed that respondents' own drinking behavior influenced their reporting of a problematic drinker and the breadth of harms reported. More frequent risky drinkers reported a problematic drinker than did nonrisky drinkers, but the difference in odds was not significant between nondrinkers and nonrisky drinkers, nor between infrequent risky drinkers and frequent risky drinkers. The reported average number of harms for infrequent and frequent risky drinking categories was less than that for nondrinkers but was not significant. There was a nonlinear negative relationship between the age of the respondent and the probability of reporting a problematic drinker, and, after accounting for age, compared to men, women were significantly more likely to report a problematic drinker. The study highlights some evidence for the effect that individuals who drink at riskier levels may experience more harms due to their heavier drinking social networks but downplay these experiences that others cause.