Beccaria Portal: Your directory and knowledge network in crime prevention and criminology in Europe and worldwide.
Daily PressTodays crime related press reports collected by Prof. Thomas Görgen, German Police University
Melodika.net (press release, 01.12.2012
High Numbers Of Trafficking Victims Found In San Diego County According To New Research
The Atlantic, 01.12.2012
Stupid and Unjust: The Highway Robbery of Prison Phone Rates
Rebecca J. Rosen
The Economist, 01.12.2012
The dronefather
Abe Karem created the robotic plane that transformed the way modern warfare is waged—and continues to pioneer other airborne innovations
The State Journal-Register, 02.12.2012
Book looks into motives of serial killers
Steve Giannangelo, special agent supervisor at the state Department of Revenue’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation, also is an adjunct professor in the criminal justice department at the University of Illinois Springfield.
New York Times, 02.12.2012
Sunday Dialogue: How We Punish Crime
Readers offer ideas for prison reform and alternatives.
EurekAlert! ], 03.12.2012
Research from King's College London reveals why some teenagers more prone to binge drinking
University of Granada, 03.12.2012
Researchers Confirm the “Pinocchio Effect”: When you Lie, your Nose Temperature Raises
The University of Granada researchers are pioneers in the application of thermography to the field Psychology. Thermography is a technique based on determining body temperature.
EurekAlert!, 03.12.2012
Why older adults become fraud victims more often
Brain shows diminished response to untrustworthiness, UCLA scientists report
The British Psychological Society, 03.12.2012
Partner violence in two-income homes
Intimate partner violence may be more likely to occur in relationships where both individuals are in employment. This is the suggestion of new research to be published in the journal Violence Against Women, which found the odds of victimisation are more than two times higher when both partners are working compared to one-income households.
Telegraph.co.uk, 03.12.2012
Tackling the rise of female gang members
Girls are often seen as the victims of gang crime but a new play performed by Birmingham teenagers aims to explore a hidden truth; that girls can be offenders too, writes Louisa Peacock.
EurekAlert!, 03.12.2012
Gender and race: How overlapping stereotypes affect our personal and professional decisions
BBC News, 03.12.2012
Tougher prison sentences for violent crime in force
There will be a new criminal office for people who wield knives in a public place or school Continue reading the main story
Huffington Post UK (blog), 03.12.2012
Plain Packaging Will Create a Fertile Ground for Tobacco Smuggling
Peter Sheridan
Prevention Action, 03.12.2012
Time to end the neglect of child neglect
Neglect is among the most pervasive forms of child abuse with the power to blight children lives in the short and long term. It damages their physical, educational and emotional development, as well as their friendships and behavior.
The Globe and Mail, 03.12.2012
The Smartest Girls In The Room
How an obscure Australian judge and hard-charging lawyer exposed the world’s best known ratings agency for misleading and deceiving investors.
Bernard Lagan
North Carolina State University, 04.12.2012
Study: Parents Key to Preventing Alcohol, Marijuana Use by Kids
CNN (blog)-, 04.12.2012
Fighting terror takes more than drones
EDITOR'S NOTE: Stevan Weine is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Illinois at Chicago and author of Testimony after Catastrophe: Narrating the Traumas of Political Violence.
Stevan Weine
Medical Xpress, 04.12.2012
Youth violence declining in UK
Physical violence among young people is on the decline overall in nearly thirty countries including the UK, according to a new international study involving researchers from the University of Hertfordshire
The Globe and Mail Published, 04.12.2012
Rise in homicides is of ‘no real consequence,’ criminologist says
PATRICK WHITE
EurekAlert! ], 05.12.2012
Cycling safer than driving for young people
Researchers from UCL have found that cycling is safer than driving for young males, with 17 to 20 year old drivers facing almost five times greater risk per hour than cyclists of the same age.
NEWS.com.au, 05.12.2012
Police have 'lost the battle' with internet scams, says Internet Fraud Watchdog
Sarah Michael
HealthCanal., 05.12.2012
New study finds unique ‘anonymous delivery’ law effective in decreasing rates of neonaticide in Austria
The Oracle-, 06.12.2012
Beyond the numbers
Survivors of rape seek justice for an underreported crime
Divya Kumar
Chicago Reader, 06.12.2012
Another price of segregation: not just homicide, but countless walking wounded
Steve Bogira
TechCentral, 06.12.2012
How police fight crime with DNA
The use of DNA analysis in crime investigation is not only valuable for convicting the guilty, but also for exonerating the innocent and preventing future crimes from taking place.
Craig Wilson
Newswise, 07.12.2012
Professor Explains Lack of Help for Man Thrown on Subway Tracks
Craig Anderson, Distinguished Professor of psychology at Iowa State University, explains why a freelance photographer and other bystanders did not help to a man thrown onto the tracks of the New York City subway.
EurekAlert!, 07.12.2012
Abuse during childhood linked to adult-onset asthma in African-American women
New York Times, 07.12.2012
Finding Sobriety After Grief and Crime
Roughly 90 days into her eight-month prison term, said Edwuana Raven Eley, 46, she looked in the mirror and glimpsed someone unexpected, but long awaited. It was not the woman who had been arrested by the police, but the woman she had been before her life was consumed by alcoholism and petty crimes.
JOHN OTIS
Infection Control Today, 07.12.2012
Ground-Breaking Workplace Safety Benefit Designed to Protect Nurses from Needlesticks, Violence
The Economist, 08.12.2012
There will be less blood
In two of America’s biggest cities, fewer people are being killed
Wall Street Journal online, 08.12.2012
In Medical Triumph, Homicides Fall Despite Soaring Gun Violence
GARY FIELDS and CAMERON MCWHIRTER
The Independent, 09.12.2012
Pensioner prisoners: Old lags just got older
The number of over-60s behind bars has jumped 20 per cent in four years: one jail has a specially equipped wing with a stairlift. Paul Bignell investigates
Paul Bignell
Salon, 09.12.2012
Legal marijuana is good for kids
Pot prohibition is supposed to protect America's youth. In fact, it does just the opposite
Amanda Reiman
guardian.co.uk, 10.12.2012
Drugs reform: no harm in taking a look at the evidence (again)
We have nothing to fear from examining the issue but the onus should be on those advocating reform to justify their case
EurekAlert!, 10.12.2012
Binge eating, overeating may be associated with initiating use of marijuana, other drugs
WebProNews, 10.12.2012
Officer To Be Executed After 9 Murders
A former police officer who was found guilty of nine murders in the late ’80s is scheduled to be executed tomorrow night despite a plea from his lawyer for a stay.
Amanda Crum
EurekAlert!, 10.12.2012
Oxytocin produces more engaged fathers and more responsive infants
Reports new study in Biological Psychiatry
EurekAlert! -, 10.12.2012
Alcohol pricing policies save lives and increase profits, experts say
Canadian approach has an international impact
Wayne State University, 10.12.2012
Environment-genetics combination appears linked to children’s early antisocial behavior, Wayne State University researcher finds
Forbes, 10.12.2012
Study: More Violent Video Game Play Results in More Aggression
In the first study to test the effects of playing violent video games over time, researchers found that cumulative play results in increased hostility and aggression.
guardian.co.uk, 10.12.2012
The war on drugs and alcohol is a war against human nature
Humankind's thirst for intoxicants is unquenchable, but to criminalise it reinforces the clinging to addiction
Vancouver Sun, 10.12.2012
Naughty offenders get police greeting cards urging them to reform
The Canadian Press
The Vancouver Sun, 10.12.2012
‘Neurolaw’ changes the landscape of criminal responsibility — or does it? (Part 1 of 3)
Advances in science could have profound consequences for law, morality
Peter McKnight, Vancouver Sun
The Vancouver Sun, 10.12.2012
The ethical minefield of using neuroscience to prevent crime (Part 2 of 3)
Is it moral to make changes to a person’s brain if it benefits both the offender and society?
By Peter McKnight, Vancouver Sun December 10, 2012
Second of a three-part series.
Prevention Action, 10.12.2012
What if it’s not ALL about parenting practices?
Research has been focused on finding out how to improve parenting practices in order to foster better children outcomes. But sometimes parenting programs may benefit kids via a different route – by doing more for mom and dad’s stress than for their skills, a new study suggests.
Sydney Morning Herald, 11.12.2012
SKorea's porn fight 'like shovelling snow in a blizzard'
Hyung-Jin Kim
The Independent, 11.12.2012
Our good friend the former convict
Criminologist Kathy Curran wanted to practise what she preaches – so she invited a repeat offender into her home. They say it's led to a unique and lasting bond
Lorenza Bacino
Daily Mail, 11.12.2012
Walk-on-by-Britain: 64% of people wouldn't tackle a gang of teen troublemakers
Bend Bulletin, 11.12.2012
A Matter of Conviction
WILMINGTON, N.C. - They are old men now, the doctor and the lawyer, ancient adversaries confronting each other one last time.
Gene Weingarten
The Vancouver Sun, 11.12.2012
Neuroscience offers a glimpse into the mind - and our future
Brain scans show intriguing activity among some people in persistent vegetative states
Peter McKnight, Vancouver Sun
Newswise, 11.12.2012
Virtue and Vice
Wake Forest awards nearly $1M to theologians, philosophers to study character
Techworld.com |, 11.12.2012
New police-themed Reveton ransomware tricks victims into paying rogue fines
New Trojan variant uses localised voice messages to trick victims into paying rogue fines
Lucian Constantin
Prevention Action, 11.12.2012
The habits of highly effective program adapters
As evidence-based programs go global, program adapters are looking for guidance on how to make imported programs work.
Huffington Post Canada, 12.12.2012
Police 'Ignorance' Shown In Mock Christmas Cards
An Ottawa-based criminologist has some harsh words for the unorthodox Christmas card mail-out undertaken this year by the police department in Abbotsford, B.C.
EurekAlert!, 12.12.2012
Will climate change cause water conflict?
The CLICO Project shares its conclusions with the public
EurekAlert!, 12.12.2012
Home visiting program for first-time moms may be struggling to reduce serious injuries to children
State program is using research from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's PolicyLab to inform changes
Huffington Post (blog)-, 12.12.2012
Yoga Can Disrupt the School-to-Prison Pipeline
Rob Schware, Executive Director, Give Back Yoga Foundation, President, Yoga Service Council
guardian.co.uk,, 12.12.2012
Critics refuse to let Cameron draw line under Pat Finucane scandal
Presence of MI5 headquarters in Co Down compounds cynicism that key agency has prospered in years since 1989 murder
Henry McDonald, Ireland correspondent
Prevention Action, 12.12.2012
Picking out the active ingredients
The two keys to school-based substance misuse prevention programs are problem solving skills training and social skills training, a recent Spanish study finds. And the best outcomes happen when the two “active ingredients” are used together
Huffington Post (blog)-, 13.12.2012
'Thou Shalt Not Kill': A New Street Code for New Orleans
Rev. Kevin Wm. Wildes, S.J., Ph.D.
Christian Science Monitor, 13.12.2012
Jacob Roberts: a perplexing path from big dreamer to mall shooter (+video)
What prompted Jacob Roberts, outwardly a young man with a happy personality and big dreams, to go on a shooting rampage at a mall in suburban Portland, Ore.? As police investigate, many who knew him scratch their heads.
Patrik Jonsson
EurekAlert!, 13.12.2012
Data on financial crime is not credible
The Government and police efforts to tackle financial crime – from business fraud to tax evasion – are hampered by a lack of accurate data about the nature and extent of offending, according to new research.
Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, 13.12.2012
Time Restrictions on TV Advertisements Ineffective in Reducing Youth Exposure to Alcohol Ads
Teenage Exposure to Alcohol Advertising Actually Increased Following Implementation of Daytime and Evening Ban in the Netherlands
EurekAlert!, 13.12.2012
More signs of the benefits of marriage?
Study finds less partner abuse, substance abuse and post-partum depression among married women
Rudaw, 13.12.2012
A Letter to Langley
David Romano has been a Rudaw columnist since August 2010. He is the Thomas G. Strong Professor of Middle East Politics at Missouri State University and author of The Kurdish Nationalist Movement (2006, Cambridge University Press).
DAVID ROMANO
Atlanta Journal Constitution, 13.12.2012
State turns attention to juvenile justice reforms
Bill Rankin and Carrie Teegardin
ParamusPost.com, 13.12.2012
Report Shows Stop and Frisk Rights Violations Continue - Nearly 100,000 Stops Appear Unconstitutional
Mel Fabrikant
Ottawa Citizen, 13.12.2012
Police seek public input on racial profiling study
$400,000 project mandated by Ontario Human Rights Commission
Mohammed Adam
The New Republic, 14.12.2012
In Praise of Empty Souls—Can We Learn From Psychopaths?
The Wisdom of Psychopaths: What Saints, Spies, and Serial Killers Can Teach Us About Success
by Kevin Dutton
The New Republic, 14.12.2012
The Second Most Powerful Gun Lobby Is in Newtown, Connecticut
Lydia DePillis
The New Republic, 14.12.2012
Mass Shootings Are on the Rise--And 2012 Has Been Deadlier Than Ever Before
Amy Sullivan
SPIN-, 14.12.2012
Down By Law: The Year Downloading Took a Dive
How streaming music services are beginning to win the battle for the hearts and minds (not to mention wallets) of music fans.
David Peisner
The New Republic (USA), 14.12.2012
The Politics of Gun Control Have Changed, But Will Democrats Notice?
Nate Cohn
Prevention Action, 14.12.2012
When bullying happens, why do some kids intervene while others stand by?
How do children respond when they see bullying? Neither group dynamics nor individual children’s characteristics fully explain it. But combine the two and you have a powerful picture, new research argues.
SPIEGEL ONLINE, 14.12.2012
Perilous Pitches
Violence Against Referees Spikes in Germany
Lukas Eberle and Conny Neumann
EurekAlert!, 16.12.2012
Penn Study shows resistance to cocaine addiction may be passed down from father to son
Animal model reveals paternal cocaine use confers protection against rewarding effects of cocaine in male but not female offspring
The New Yorker, 17.12.2012
Operation Delirium
Decades after a risky Cold War experiment, a scientist lives with secrets.
Raffi Khatchadourian
New Statesman, 17.12.2012
Stop sharing 30 year old stats. Use these instead
"West Germany" really should be a clue.
guardian.co.uk,, 17.12.2012
Newtown shootings: why education is key to preventing mass killings
To stop marginalised individuals like Adam Lanza and Thomas Hamilton in Dunblane becoming killers we must start at school
Peter Aylward
guardian.co.uk, 17.12.2012
The misguided race to diagnose Newtown
Journalists and psychologists alike risk flouting professional standards in the misguided race to diagnose the man behind a mass killing
Martin Robbins
EurekAlert!, 17.12.2012
New research predicts rising trend in India's Violent Land Conflicts; 130 districts struggle
Statesman Journal, 18.12.2012
A criminologist speaks: Keep Connecticut tragedy in context
James Alan Fox
US Department of State (press release)-, 18.12.2012
Global Counterterrorism: A Progress Report
Daniel Benjamin
Newswise, 18.12.2012
UNH Receives $350,000 Grant To Partner with Yale and New Haven Police To Create First-Ever ‘Command College’ for Police Supervisors
Oxford University Press, 18.12.2012
Reflections on the shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School
The mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut is a tragic event that is particularly painful as it comes at a time when people across the world are trying to focus on the upcoming holidays as the season of peace bringing good tidings of great joy.
Kathleen M. Heide, Ph.D.
New York Times, 18.12.2012
Punishment Fails. Rehabilitation Works.
James Gilligan, a clinical professor of psychiatry and an adjunct professor of law at New York University, is the author of, among other books, "Preventing Violence" and "Why Some Politicians Are More Dangerous Than Others."
guardian.co.uk, 18.12.2012
Lie detectors - a solution for doping and integrity in sport?
Lance Armstrong's lawyer said he is in favour of polygraph testing but do not expect lie detectors in sport any time soon
Ian Lynam and Hannah Haynes
New York Times, 18.12.2012
Supervised, Not Institutionalized
Mark A.R. Kleiman, a professor of public policy at U.C.L.A., is a visiting professor at the University of Virginia and a visiting fellow at the National Institute of Justice.
Mark A. R. Kleiman
New York Times, 18.12.2012
Norway Is Doing Something Right
Gerhard Ploeg, a criminologist, is a senior adviser in the Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the vice president of CEP, the European Organization for Probation.
Newswise, 19.12.2012
Global Collaborative Efforts Help Delineate Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury Causes, Characteristics and Trends in China
Science Daily (press release), 19.12.2012
Our Hands Evolved for Punching, Not Just Dexterity
Men whacked punching bags for a University of Utah study that suggests human hands evolved not only for the manual dexterity needed to use tools, play a violin or paint a work of art, but so men could make fists and fight.
Science Daily (press release)-, 19.12.2012
Community Togetherness Plays Vital Role in Coping With Tragedies
New York Times, 19.12.2012
Deaf Officers Step in Where Police Work Counts on Eyes More Than Ears
OAXACA, Mexico — When the police officer spotted the man acting suspiciously, pacing erratically with an odd look on his face, he immediately called for backup. That is, he spun around in his chair at the police command center here and rapidly motioned to a colleague in sign language.
RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD
TIME-Dec, 19.12.2012
Guilt By Association:Troubling Legacy of Sandy Hook May Be Backlash Against Children with Autism
Bonnie Rochman
New York Times, 19.12.2012
School Officials Look Again at Security Measures Once Dismissed
MOTOKO RICH
EurekAlert! Public release date:, 20.12.2012
Young offenders who work, don't attend school may be more antisocial
EurekAlert!, 20.12.2012
Brain imaging insight into cannabis as a pain killer
The pain relief offered by cannabis varies greatly between individuals, a brain imaging study carried out at the University of Oxford suggests.
Calgary Herald, 20.12.2012
Calgary police warn of rising problem of vehicle ‘identity theft’
Identity theft is no longer a problem befalling only people.
Clara Ho, Calgary Herald
The Atlantic, 20.12.2012
The Myth of Self-Correcting Science
Recent academic scandals highlight a history of data falsification and questionable research in social psychology, and serve as calls to action.
Sarah Estes
Los Angeles Times, 20.12.2012
More or fewer guns? The experts are divided
There is no scientific consensus on the results of gun restrictions, and the effect of more armed citizens is unclear.
The Economist, 22.12.2012
The king of con-men
The biggest fraud in history is a warning to professional and amateur investors alike
The Economist, 22.12.2012
Newtown’s horror
Only drastic gun control could make a big difference. Small measures can help a bit
New York Times, 22.12.2012
Man, 52, Is Convicted as a Juvenile in a 1976 Murder, Creating a Legal Tangle
KATE ZERNIKE
Los Angeles Times, 23.12.2012
Plotters of school killings tend to tip off someone in advance
Teen plotters of school killings often tip their hand, researchers find – but word doesn't always get to the right people
Alan Zarembo
Press-Enterprise (blog)-, 23.12.2012
SCHOOL VIOLENCE: Are cops on campus cost-effective?
This month’s school massacre in Connecticut continues to generate a tidal wave of debate over possible solutions, including increasing the number of police specifically assigned to public schools.
Globe and Mail, 23.12.2012
Major study says spousal violence costs society billions of dollars per year
DEAN BEEBY
Cincinnati.com, 23.12.2012
The culture of violence
Guns, violent media, vulnerable kids create a volatile mix
TechCrunch-, 25.12.2012
In Mexico, Tech Is Used To Help Combat Narco Violence, Insecurity
Sara Inés Calderón
New York Times (Blogs) People & Neighborhoods, 25.12.2012
Still Working the Streets, but Now to Combat a Plague of Gun Violence
Rudy Suggs, 48, who was once a drug dealer in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, now works in the neighborhood trying to prevent violence.Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times Rudy Suggs, 48, who was once a drug dealer in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, now works in the neighborhood trying to prevent violence.
VIVIAN YEE
New York Times, 26.12.2012
Immigration and Policing
The Obama administration on Friday announced a policy change that — if it works — should lead to smarter enforcement of the immigration laws, with greater effort spent on deporting dangerous felons and less on minor offenders who pose no threat.
EurekAlert!, 26.12.2012
People with mental disorders more likely to have experienced domestic violence
EurekAlert!, 26.12.2012
For pre-teens, kindness may be key to popularity
Kids who are kind are happier and gain greater peer acceptance, study finds
New York Times, 26.12.2012
Legal Curbs Said to Hamper A.T.F. in Gun Inquiries
ERICA GOODE and SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
EurekAlert!, 27.12.2012
Broader background checks and denial criteria could help prevent mass shooting catastrophes
The Star-Ledger, 27.12.2012
Study tracks 30 years of Newark murders as 'infectious disease'
David Giambusso and James Queally and /The Star-Ledger
Huffington Post, 27.12.2012
Preventing Mass Shootings: How Partisans Get "What Works" Wrong
Paul Heroux
SPIEGEL ONLINE, 28.12.2012
Ineffective and Unsustainable
Failure Threatens Afghan Police Training Mission
Andreas Ulrich
New York Times (blog), 30.12.2012
Disruptions: The Real Hazards of E-Devices on Planes
Over the last year, flying with phones and other devices has become increasingly dangerous.
NICK BILTON
Huddersfield Examiner, 30.12.2012
Chemical to combat thieves targeting cables in M62 works
THIEVES have been risking their lives to steal cable from road works on the M62.
Bangor Daily News, 31.12.2012
Why we need civilian patrols and scientific policing
The recent tragedy in Newtown, Conn., has understandably led to calls for greater gun control. And, predictably, the National Rifle Association has fired back, saying there’s no stopping a psychotic.
Jonathan David Farley, Special to the BDN
EurekAlert!, 31.12.2012
Economic environment during infancy linked with substance use, delinquent behavior in adolescence
CHICAGO – The larger economic environment during infancy may be associated with subsequent substance use and delinquent behavior during adolescence, according to a report published Online First by Archives of General Psychiatry, a JAMA Network publication.
SPIEGEL ONLINE, 31.12.2012
The West Should 'Change Its Approach to Failing States'
Ahmed Rashid, one of the world's foremost experts on Afghanistan, once welcomed US intervention in the failed state. But in a SPIEGEL interview, the Pakistani journalist says the West's model for development is fundamentally flawed and must be changed.
CIOL, 31.12.2012
Delhi gang-rape: How technology can prevent such cases
Unlike in India, other countries have adopted advanced technologies to prevent crimes in public places
by Pragyan Acharya
