Offenders

As of today, the UK is criminalising actions such as cyberflashing and — in a world fist — epilepsy-trolling, with offenders potentially facing prison time. The new offences will come into play as part of the Online Safety Act, a recently introduced bill designed to protect people from illegal or “harmful” online content. Cyberflashing is the act of sending unwanted sexual photos. Studies have shown that about half of younger women (aged between 18 and 25) have received unsolicited nude…

Talking about feelings can be a struggle for a teenage boy at the best of times. But when those feelings are taboo – the stirring of a romantic connection between two boys in a French young offenders institution, for example – articulating those emotions becomes an insurmountable challenge.The burgeoning attraction between Joe (Khalil Ben Gharbia), a young Arab boy from a broken home, and the glowering, impulsive William (Julien De Saint Jean) initially plays out in lingering glances drenched in fiercely inarticulate…

Social media is like a double-edged sword, with both positives and negatives. Unfortunately, many people tend to misuse this platform for gaining publicity. We’ve witnessed individuals performing stunts on public roads, causing inconvenience to other road users. Most of these stunts involve vehicles and often result in accidents. People undertake such stunts solely to create videos for social media platforms and gain attention. Recently, an incident occurred in the National Capital where a man hanging out of a moving…

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain New research into children convicted of terrorism offenses in England and Wales has revealed a sharp rise in "homegrown" teenage terrorist activity, with extreme-right ideology fueling the majority of cases. Authors, University of Southampton Criminology Lecturer, Dr. Gina Vale, and ISD (Institute…

This week, Microsoft shared a new grooming detection technique, code name “Project Artemis,” by which online predators attempting to lure children for sexual purposes can be detected, addressed, and reported. Microsoft has been leveraging the technique in programs in its Xbox platform for several years. It's been developed in collaboration with The Meet Group, Roblox, Kik, and Thorn and will be made freely available via Thorn to qualified online service companies that offer a chat function. The development of this new…

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Many crimes are obvious, with those responsible soon apprehended, but with most sexual abuse (including child sexual abuse) remaining unreported or undetected, Griffith University researchers have investigated the characteristics of repeat offenders who evade detection for long periods of time. …

The Kerala Government has decided to install AI cameras on National and State Highways across the state as part of the Safe Kerala Project, with the aim of reducing road accidents and traffic rule violations. The authorities are installing 726 AI cameras across the state as part of the project, with camera installation having been completed. These cameras will begin issuing challans from 20th April 2023. The state has spent over Rs. 232 crore from the funds of Kerala Road Traffic Authority for this project. A video…

Juvenile offenders face stigma once released. Credit: Wikimedia Commons Globally, about one million children are held in police custody annually; 410,000 of them are held in detention and remand centers. On any day, it is estimated, remand homes around the world hold about 160,000 to 250,000 children. Time in prison can have…

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain In criminal justice, public belief in redeemability reduces punitiveness and increases support for policy measures like rehabilitation, expungement, and housing and employment opportunities. In a new study, researchers examined the effects of racial attitudes on redeemability—the belief that offenders can change and go on to lead law-abiding lives. Belief in redeemability was high for…

Credit: The Conversation Racial disparities in state imprisonment rates dropped significantly during the first two decades of the 21st century. That's one of the main findings from a report published by one of us in late 2022, along with Georgia State University colleague William Sabol, for the Council on Criminal Justice,…