This Brief provides a theoretical and conceptual development of a new Risk Assessment Toolbox (RAT) for the early detection of violent extremists. It is based on a neurocognitive perspective, conceptualized as ‘neuroplasticity-in-action’ arising from brain-based neural patterns expressed in mind-based cognitive pathways likely to form a mind-set of violent extremism. This neurocognitive-based Risk Assessment Toolbox (RAT) is comprised of two distinct components: a cognitive indicators instrument that serves as an early detection checklist for trained practitioners, and a software visualisation program.
The Brief includes: A framework of contemporary approaches to the risk assessment of violence as well as the background context for the current research project on ‘violent extremism’ and its related concepts of ‘terrorism’ and ‘radicalisation,’ out of which the RAT was developed. A detailed overview of RAT and a pilot case study experiment to highlight the practical value and utility of this neurocognitive Risk Assessment Toolbox. Preliminary research findings of a study conducted with a sample of recognized experts (academics and practitioners) in several countries around the world, to fine tune and validate the risk parameters of the two components that constitute RAT (Risk Assessment Toolbox). The current stage of development of RAT as a practitioner-based system for the early detection of potentially violent extremists as well as its strategic intelligence implications for using a neurocognitive risk assessment approach to violent extremism is discussed. Research limitations and plans for future research studies.
This work will be of interest to researchers in Criminology and Criminal Justice interested in studying violent extremism, terrorism and crime prevention and intervention and policing, as well as researchers in related fields of Forensic Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience and Social Work or Social Intervention.
The Brief includes: A framework of contemporary approaches to the risk assessment of violence as well as the background context for the current research project on ‘violent extremism’ and its related concepts of ‘terrorism’ and ‘radicalisation,’ out of which the RAT was developed. A detailed overview of RAT and a pilot case study experiment to highlight the practical value and utility of this neurocognitive Risk Assessment Toolbox. Preliminary research findings of a study conducted with a sample of recognized experts (academics and practitioners) in several countries around the world, to fine tune and validate the risk parameters of the two components that constitute RAT (Risk Assessment Toolbox). The current stage of development of RAT as a practitioner-based system for the early detection of potentially violent extremists as well as its strategic intelligence implications for using a neurocognitive risk assessment approach to violent extremism is discussed. Research limitations and plans for future research studies.
This work will be of interest to researchers in Criminology and Criminal Justice interested in studying violent extremism, terrorism and crime prevention and intervention and policing, as well as researchers in related fields of Forensic Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience and Social Work or Social Intervention.
The contributions to this volume emphasize how technological innovations can advance community-oriented policing goals, such as:
-Strengthening community policing principles through effective and efficient tools, procedures and approaches
- Accelerating communication between citizens and police forces
- Early identification, timely intervention, as well as better crime reporting, identification of risks, unreported and undiscovered crime through the communityContributions to this volume were developed out of the Next Generation Community Policing (NGCP) International Conference was co-organized by nine contributing research and development projects, funded by the Horizon 2020 SECURITY Program of the European Commission. It will be of interest to researchers in criminology and criminal justice, as well as related fields such as sociology, public health, security, IT and public policy. This book is open access under a CC BY license.
At the time the Philadelphia Foot Patrol Experiment was published, popular opinion about foot patrol was that it might improve community perception of police and reduce fear of crime, but it did not have a concrete crime prevention benefit. The Philadelphia Experiment represented a major examination of this concept, involving over 200 officers in 60 locations over a two-year period, in some of the highest violent crime areas of Philadelphia. The results suggested that a targeted hot spots-oriented foot patrol strategy did contribute to violent crime reduction.
Four years later, the lead author of that seminal experiment explores its findings, together with the findings of the Philadelphia Policing Tactics Experiment, and examines their differences. This work also explores officer experiences with foot patrol. This Brief concludes with policy recommendations about foot patrol, when and how to implement it, and the benefits it can add to a police department.
This Brief will be of interest to researchers in Criminology and Criminal Justice, particularly with an interest in Police Studies, and related fields such as sociology and public policy. It will also be of interest to practitioners and policy makers interested in evidence-based policing.
Canada has a new Act governing youth crime, and there are indications that the Act will be revised again to make it "tougher" on youth in conflict with the law, a development reflecting what many scholars are calling the "punitive turn" in youth justice policies in Canada and elsewhere. At the same time, Canadian child poverty rates (which are strongly correlated with criminality) have remained high, despite a commitment, made by governments in 1989 to eradicate the problem by the year 2000. Immigration patterns have changed, and unemployment rates for young Canadians remain almost twice as high as those for adults. In this volume, Youth Criminal Justice Policy in Canada: A Critical Introduction, the author addresses these and other developments in relation to youth crime in Canada from a critical criminological perspective.
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Cohn, Farrington, and Iratzoqui provide an invaluable service in unpacking the criminological enterprise. Using systematic citational analysis, they illuminate the core patterns of scholarly influence that have shaped the field’s development. This volume is an essential resource for all those wishing to understand which scholars and writings have done most—within and across time periods—to affect thinking about crime and justice.
Francis T. Cullen
Distinguished Research Professor
University of Cincinnati
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Citation analyses have become one of the most significant measures of scholarly influence. They are especially useful for revealing major trends over time regarding authors and the topics of interest to the wider field. Cohn, Farrington, and Iratzoqui's Most Cited Scholars in Criminology and Criminal Justice, 1986-2010 provides the most up-to-date, comprehensive, and longitudinal investigation of scholarly influence in criminology/criminal justice. This resource is a most interesting read, one that supplies not a mere counting of citations but clear ideas about where the field has been centered and where it is trending into the future.
Alex R. Piquero
Ashbel Smith Professor of Criminology
University of Texas at Dallas