This article examines culture, an ambiguous yet prevalent concept in comparisons of crime and justice. It investigates the extent to which culture’s application and meaning across research reflects Western-centric bias in criminological knowledge-production despite it being a concept meant to advance understanding on different groups and places beyond the “Western” worldview. The article extends the discussion on Western-centric bias but also on culture in criminology by tracing the use of this concept on East Asian populations and by identifying patterns of application and meaning in international and comparative research through a scoping review of 230 journal publications. The findings address patterns of culture’s appearance in criminology journals in the past two decades and its meaning. Similar to previous scholarship on Western-centrism in criminology, the article finds that this bias does, too, exist in uses of culture but also shows how culture’s conceptual ambiguity is conducive to this bias, in that some groups and places are given one meaning of culture while others receive another.

This empirical study examines the potential and the obstacles of transitional justice in addressing the denial of the Rohingya genocide in Myanmar (also known as Burma). It utilizes a qualitative research approach, drawing on relevant scholarship of truth-seeking as a transitional justice mechanism, criminology and international law. Empirical data were collected through in-depth interviews with victims of the Rohingya community and key informants in two separate stages between 2022 and 2023. This study presents an interdisciplinary approach to assess the role of a truth commission – a truth-seeking tool – in confronting Myanmar’s denial of this crime. It suggests that examining amnesties, as well as disarmament, reintegration and rehabilitation programmes for the individual perpetrators within the framework of a truth commission can provide a more nuanced discourse of addressing the decades-long denial of the Rohingya genocide in Myanmar.

We use data on street segments in Tel Aviv-Yafo to examine whether general or specific crime factors are key to understanding crime rates on street segments. We pose two questions. (1) What causal factors explain the property and violent crimes at the same locations? (2) What are the differences and similarities between the risk factors of the two crime types? Our study capitalizes on data drawn from the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) to identify social and opportunity data at the street segment level. The dependent variable is the average counts of violent and property crimes in Tel Aviv-Yafo between 2010 and 2014. Zero-inflated negative binomial (ZINB) regression explains violent and property crime variations. While many of the significant factors that explain crime are similar between the two crime types, there are also distinct criminogenic factors predicting violent and property crime. Overall, our results support the position of common or general crime causes at places, but at the same time, they suggest the importance of understanding specific causes for specific crime types.

Corruption is a pervasive issue in Ukraine, deeply ingrained in the government and the economy, eroding public trust and hindering social and economic development. The government has taken steps to combat corruption, but challenges persist. Therefore, this study delves into the relevance and importance of addressing corruption in the defense sector due to its potential to jeopardize national security, deplete resources, erode public confidence, and disrupt military discipline, ultimately undermining military effectiveness and international cooperation. Preventing corruption in the defense sector necessitates a multifaceted approach. Beyond punitive measures, it requires systemic reforms and efficient mechanisms to ensure compliance in this critical area. The authors underscore that combating corruption during martial law depends on political will and robust legislative support, encompassing comprehensive legal frameworks to regulate anti-corruption mechanisms and establish accountability. This article’s primary objective is to examine corruption liability in the defense sector, emphasizing violent offenses and weapon utilization as significant risk factors. It scrutinizes legislative backing and the effectiveness of anti-corruption measures in the defense sector, particularly institutional strategies. Moreover, the article underscores the imperative of refining the legal framework to curb corruption and prevent the misuse of weapons and violence for personal gain.

One of the areas in terrorism research that has not been adequately examined is the geographic concentration of pyro-terrorism (PT) attacks. The literature related to the geographical distribution of terror generally focuses on macro-places (continents, countries and regions) and micro-places – “hot spots”. However, to our knowledge, the geographical distribution of terror in forests has yet to be studied. The findings of “hot spots” studies have great relevance for law enforcement practitioners. This study examines the spatial characteristics of forest PT and whether there is a concentration of PT attacks in a limited number of “hot forests” that are stable over time. This study examined the entire population of suspected forest PT in Israel between 2008 and 2022 (excluding 2016), totalling 2,297 attacks. The research revealed high spatial clustering of forest PT attacks concentrated in specific “hot forests” and that they were stable over time. In conclusion, the concentration of PT attacks calls for a specialized counterterrorism response, equivalent to “hot spots policing”, based on the characteristics of potential terrorist hot forests.

A change is more often than not faced with resistance from thinking minds before it is welcomed. This paper emphasizes the urgent need to scrutinize the proposed changes to the age-old Indian Penal Code to be brought about by the enactment of the new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS). It critically evaluates every such new change to resolve all doubts and apprehensions, in delving particularly into the inspection of the BNS, in a theoretical study comparing with the Indian Penal Code. The paper discusses the “legislative intent and colonial continuities”, “anti-democratic tendencies” and “general critiques” addressing the debates over “patriarchal biases, problems laden within a false promise to marriage in the BNS, linguistic imperialist connotations, and the ambiguities over punishments”. This paper aims to evaluate the premise for an overhaul of the existing penal code and to identify and correspond substantial changes suggested in the new act in light of a promised wave of decolonization.

In the twenty-first century, one of the crucial roles of the Criminal Code is to protect the rights and interests of crime victims. Criminal law is a complex field that must balance established principles with evolving societal dynamics. This involves various stakeholders, including the state, perpetrators, victims and civil society, each with differing views and implications on criminal law. The modern era, marked by post-truth narratives and a reputational society, further complicates matters. Casuistry now prevails over systematic approaches, leading to a disconnect between criminal law’s foundational principles and intended societal outcomes. Contemporary criminal law operates on multiple dimensions, addressing individual, societal and institutional levels while aiming to balance the interests of these entities. The transition from the “age of information” to the “age of reputation” underscores the importance of information subjected to external evaluation. In the context of a state of victimization and the need to harmonize Ukrainian criminal legislation with European Union and Council of Europe standards, it is vital to protect human rights. This aligns with the recommendation of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers that crime should be recognized as a wrong against society and a violation of individual rights, emphasizing the importance of safeguarding victim rights. Approaching criminal law from a victimological perspective offers unique insights into victim participation in criminal liability, crime qualification and offender culpability. This perspective encourages assessing the efficacy of Ukrainian criminal law prohibitions and promoting victim engagement in crime control on national and international levels.

Antisocial behaviour arises from a complex interplay of innate and environmental factors, with the brain’s adaptability to shifting environmental demands playing a pivotal role. An important but scantly studied environmental factor – micro-geographic hot spots of crime – covers a broad array of problems that produce frequent triggers for antisocial behaviour. Despite the established influence of neural substrates and various environmental factors on antisocial behaviour, the impact of residing in high-risk, violent crime hot spots in Israel, as well as other global locales, remains understudied. This paper aims to elucidate the intricate interplay between neurobiological mechanisms and crime hot spots in the context of antisocial behaviour. Its objectives are twofold: first, to acquaint researchers with the existing literature on the subject; and second, to catalyse further research and robust discourse in this domain. The article commences by reviewing the behavioural manifestations of antisocial tendencies within the framework of crime hot spots. Subsequently, it delves into the influence of crime hot spots on neurocognitive substrates, particularly emphasizing their impact on developmental trajectories associated with antisocial tendencies and the expression of antisocial behaviours. In closing, the paper offers implications and conclusions pertinent to crime hot spots in Israel.

In the quest for effective prisoner rehabilitation, while there is existing literature that predominantly emphasizes recidivism rates, it is important to recognize that this singular focus may sometimes overshadow the broader dimensions crucial for successful societal reintegration. This study, therefore, investigates the multifaceted outcomes of an employment training programme offered by the Israel Prison Service. Employing propensity score matching, we compared outcomes between programme participants and non-participants. Our analysis encompassed recidivism rates, employment stability, income levels, tax-paying behaviour and welfare service engagement. While recidivism rates remained largely unaffected, our findings unveiled promising results in other domains. Programme participants exhibited enhanced employment stability, realized higher incomes, demonstrated increased engagement in tax-paying and accessed welfare services more frequently. This study underscores the need for a comprehensive approach to assessing rehabilitation effectiveness, extending beyond the singular metric of recidivism. While acknowledging certain limitations, our research highlights that employment training programmes may not have a direct impact on recidivism but can significantly contribute to labour market reintegration and promote more productive and socially responsible behaviours. It advocates further exploring diverse outcome measures to develop holistic rehabilitation strategies.

The last decade has seen the establishment of eight community courts (CCs) in Israel, representing a significant shift from the mainstream criminal justice approach. Inspired by the Red Hook Community Justice Center in Brooklyn, New York, the Israeli CCs reflect an understanding of the links between local communities, crime and rehabilitation. The authors have evaluated the CCs since their inauguration, first in a formative study and then in an evaluation study. The present article focuses on three research modules that were utilized in these studies: the process characterization, which was based on structured observations of court hearings during the formative study; the subjective experiences of court participants, which were collected via in-depth interviews with programme participants; and the recidivism module, which compared the repeat offending patterns of programme participants with those of mainstream court defendants. Rather than detailing the findings of these modules, the paper uses them as examples, offering an open discussion about the process of conducting such studies: the selection of research questions that go beyond the traditional question of repeat offending and their possible theoretical contribution; the methodological, logistical and ethical choices that are made and their underlying considerations; and the obstacles that researchers face en route.

A sense of obligation to obey the police is an important predictor of public cooperation and compliance with the law. Minorities tend to feel less obligated to obey the police than the majority. Previous work based on the social resistance framework shows that the experiences that shape the lives and attitudes of minorities may encourage them to actively engage in a variety of everyday resistance acts against the majority group, which may include high-risk and delinquent behaviours. The present study tests this framework for the first time concerning the self-perceived obligation to obey the police while also considering different minority groups who experience varying levels of marginalization. We use a representative sample of about 1,100 Israelis from four minority groups – Muslims, immigrants from the former Soviet Union, ultra-Orthodox Jews and Jews of Ethiopian origin – along with the Jewish majority group. The results show that Muslims feel the least obligation to obey the police, followed by Jews of Ethiopian origin. Social resistance was negatively related to the self-perceived obligation to obey the police among Muslims and ultra-Orthodox Jews while controlling for demographic characteristics and previous theoretical explanations, namely procedural justice, self-help and anger.

Emergencies, such as natural disasters, wars and terrorist attacks, are known to have important effects on police–community relations and, specifically, on public attitudes toward the police. At the same time, little is known about what happens to public sentiments over time in prolonged emergencies. Similarly, it is unclear if different types of attitudes follow a similar trajectory or if they “behave” differently. The present study examines general and pandemic-specific attitudes toward the police over the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel, using data from a community panel survey (n = 535) carried out in its first three peaks. We found a statistically significant deterioration in all types of attitudes in the first six months of the study, followed by stabilization in general attitudes. Interestingly, some emergency-specific attitudes followed a different path and demonstrated consistent deterioration throughout the study period. These findings contribute to our theoretical understanding of police–community relations in emergencies and bear practical implications for policing emergencies.

Global views of the police (often termed “legitimacy”, “trust”, “satisfaction” or “support”) are frequently regarded as the product of micro-level, police-related consideration: beliefs about what the police are doing and how they are doing it. Studies taking a sociological or political perspective have revealed that views unrelated to policing, such as satisfaction with the government, may also be important predictors of global views of the police. However, police-related and non-police-related considerations are frequently not considered together as antecedents of macro-level views of the police. This study aims to illuminate the respective roles of police-related versus non-police-related considerations in shaping citizens’ diffused support for the police while utilizing the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from a panel survey carried out during the first and third peaks of the pandemic in Israel reveal that the only factor which had a direct effect on the drop in diffused support for the police was the public’s assessment of the government’s (not the police’s) performance in handling the pandemic. We conclude by calling for more sophisticated measurement and interpretation of public approval of the police and its antecedents.

Forensic science is undergoing an unprecedented period of reform. Wrongful convictions and errors of impunity have been attributed largely to forensic evidence, and concerns over the scientific foundations of many forensic disciplines have been raised in key official reports. In these turbulent times, it becomes particularly interesting to understand how forensic evidence is understood by the general public. Is it idealized? Are its inherent limitations recognized? The present study seeks to contribute to this growing body of work by addressing two main questions: (1) How does the general public perceive forensic science?; (2) How correct are individuals in their evaluations of specific types of forensic evidence? A survey of the Israeli public reveals considerable trust in the ability of forensics to reliably identify the perpetrator of a crime, although less trust is expressed when questions lead respondents to consider specific stages in the forensic process. Furthermore, respondents were often incorrect in their evaluations of the reliability of specific types of forensic evidence. The implications of these findings for police legitimacy, the practice of the criminal justice system, and the future study of attitudes toward forensic evidence, are discussed.

Previous studies have identified diverse risk and protective factors of youth involvement in delinquency. However, less is known about the causes of this phenomenon in the context of political conflict. Drawing from theoretical frameworks emphasizing the notion of social resistance, in the current study we examine the risk and protective factors of juvenile delinquency in the context of majority–minority political conflict. Applying multilevel analysis to survey data provided by a representative sample of 814 Arab youth from East Jerusalem, we find that, although this behaviour shares similar lines with juvenile delinquency in regular contexts, in the context of political conflict it bears a unique core of resistance to the social order. Specifically, we find that a strong predictor of juvenile delinquency is attitudes towards political violence, whereas, surprisingly, attitudes towards general violence do not have a significant effect. Our findings suggest that juvenile delinquency in the context of social conflict stems, at least partially, from a unique mechanism of resistance towards political order.

In recent years, the issue of Jewish settler violence in Israel and its territories has garnered increasing attention. The claimed motivations for such violence are that it is a response to Palestinian-Arab violence and perceived government inaction, as well as perceived selectivity in the formal response toward violence perpetrated by these two populations. These claims point to Jewish settler violence as being a crime as a form of social reaction, self-help and social control. We test this hypothesis by combining and analysing data from the Israel Security Agency, the Palestinian Authority, the United Nations and open sources for the period of 2009–2022 (n = 168 months) using a series of generalized negative-binomial models and Newey–West ordinary least squares models. We find that Jewish settler violence increases as serious Arab violence increases and decreases when formal responses toward Arab violence are higher. We also find iatrogenic effects for harsh measures targeting Jewish violence, namely administrative detention orders. The results imply that to reduce collective violence, it is necessary to take a more consistent and balanced approach in formal responses against opposing groups.