Kriminologijos studijos
https://www.journals.vu.lt/kriminologijos-studijos
<p>Founded in 2014 and dedicated to publishing articles in criminology.</p>Vilniaus universiteto leidykla / Vilnius University PressenKriminologijos studijos2538-8754<p>Please read the Copyright Notice in <a href="http://www.zurnalai.vu.lt/kriminologijos-studijos/journalpolicy">Journal Policy</a>. </p>Managing the risk of repeated violence against the intimate partner in probation service: Review of the practice in Lithuania and foreign countries
https://www.journals.vu.lt/kriminologijos-studijos/article/view/33517
<p><span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;">According to official statistical data, each year a large number of the perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV) is under the supervision of Lithuanian probation service (LPS). This article analyses evidence-based measures applied for the management of the risk of repeated IPV, as well as Lithuanian and foreign practice of organising correctional work with the perpetrators of IPV. Analysis of recent practice shows that, compared to foreign countries, correctional work with this group of offenders in Lithuania often does not correspond to the principles of the Risk-Need-Responsivity model and does not address the heterogeneity of this specific group. Taking into account the good practice of foreign countries and the Lithuanian context, several suggestions are made to improve correctional work with this specific group: revising individual assessment procedures, preparing differentiated protocols for service provision, and adapting the means available at LPS for correctional work with IPV perpetrators.</span></p>
Articlesintimate partner violencerepeated violence risk managementprobationLiubovė JarutienėIlona Laurinaitytė
Copyright (c) 2024 Liubovė Jarutienė | Ilona Laurinaitytė
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2024-03-052024-03-0583110.15388/CrimLithuan.2023.11.1Towards a Religion–Victimization Module for the International Self-Report Delinquency Study (ISRD) Context: Learning from Prior Exemplars
https://www.journals.vu.lt/kriminologijos-studijos/article/view/32635
<p><span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;">The concept of postsecular society highlights the increasing relevance of religion in social, cultural, and political affairs. Given this trend, criminology should pay increasing attention to how religion is linked to victimization and offending. Since the religion–crime studies have traditionally focused on offending, the research lacunae are biggest in the study of victimization. The inclusion of religion is particularly relevant in international surveys in religiously heterogeneous communities. In this article, we aim to develop a survey module suggestion for use in the context of the International Self-Report Delinquency Study (ISRD). We first examine the current content of the ISRD-4 sweep. To locate lacunae in it, we move to review how international surveys have tackled the dimension of religion, including the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study, the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD), the European Social Survey (ESS), the World Values Survey (WVS), and the International Crime Victim Survey (ICVS). Building on these state-of-the-art examples, we propose a new ISRD module (Appendix) for studying the religion–victimization link in international crime surveys with limited space. In conclusion, we argue that criminology would benefit from increasing attention to religion and other cultural variables alongside traditional socioeconomic, structural, and individual factors.</span></p>
Articlescriminologyhate crimevictimizationreligioninternational surveysISRDSophie LitvakJanne KivivuoriMarkus Kaakinen
Copyright (c) 2022 Sophie Litvak | Janne Kivivuori | Markus Kaakinen
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2023-12-282023-12-28557910.15388/CrimLithuan.2022.10.6Sexual harassment and abuse in sport: some legal and criminological considerations
https://www.journals.vu.lt/kriminologijos-studijos/article/view/32452
<p>Sexual harassment and sexual abuse are not uncommon in the world of sports. Many athletes, especially female athletes, have been victims of violence, intimidation and abuse. For many years, victims remained silent and hid their experiences for fear of condemnation by society and the media, but recent trends show that the situation is improving. More and more athletes are speaking out against sexual harassment and abuse in the world of sport. From a legal point of view, the main feature of sexual harassment cases is that the burden of proof can be shifted to the accused. In criminal law, this mechanism raises concerns about a possible violation of the presumption of innocence. However, as international sports federations apply a lower standard of proof in disciplinary cases, this procedural feature is viewed favourably. At the same time, it should be noted that a lower standard of proof does not in any way mean that sexual harassment and abuse cases can be investigated with less responsibility or sensitivity. On the contrary, the legal and criminological specificity of this phenomenon implies that the boundaries between sexual abuse, sexual harassment, unprofessional conduct, and mere flirting must be clearly defined. Appropriate delimitation ensures, on the one hand, that perpetrators do not escape responsibility, even if it is relatively minor, and, on the other hand, protects the innocent against unfounded accusations.</p>
Articlessexual harassmentsexual abuselegal responsibilitythe burden of proofSalomėja Zaksaitė
Copyright (c) 2023 Salomėja Zaksaitė
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2023-11-172023-11-179711810.15388/CrimLithuan.2022.10.5The Effect of Suspect Description and Possible Motive on Forming Suspicion During Pre-trial Investigation: A Comparison of Police Officers and Students Groups
https://www.journals.vu.lt/kriminologijos-studijos/article/view/26275
<p>The initial hypothesis can guide the pre-trial investigator’s decision to form a suspicion regarding the crime. This hypothesis can be based not on all available evidence assessment but intuitive decisions. When initial criminal act assessment is based on expectations or experience, confirmation bias can affect individuals’ decisions. This human cognitive tendency can operate by two mechanisms – selective information search and biased interpretation of information. Confirmation bias can contribute to biased suspicion by leading the investigator to seek and interpret evidence that confirms prior conviction about the crime. Police investigator’s decision to express suspicion towards a specific person can be based on evaluating suspect as criminal and, in that way, affixing the criminal label to suspect. The goal of this study was to find out whether the description of the suspect and possible motive can affect the expression of suspicion and evaluation of available information during criminal act assessment. In a two-part experiment, criminal investigators (N = 40), criminology (N = 63), and law (N = 53) students read a condensed case and had to express suspicion, rate to which extent additional evidence indicated that suspect was involved in the crime and choose further investigation lines. The initial hypothesis was manipulated by providing information about the suspect and motive. Overall, stronger suspicion and biased interpretation of evidence indicative of the suspect’s guilt occurred when a motive and description of the suspect were presented. Professional experience and degree had an impact on the expression of suspicion and biased information interpretation. After reading a criminal case, police investigators expressed stronger suspicion and continued to selectively search for evidence confirming their prior suspicion that the main suspect was involved in the crime, also evaluated all available evidence as indicating the suspect‘s guilt. In this study, students‘ assessments of the crime differed – the expressed suspicion and evaluation of evidence as indicating suspect’s guilt made by law students were significantly weaker than by police investigators.</p>
Articlesdecision-making processconfirmation biascriminal act assessmentGintarė CicėnaitėDovilė Barysė
Copyright (c) 2022 Gintarė Cicėnaitė | Dovilė Barysė
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2022-12-302022-12-30729610.15388/CrimLithuan.2022.10.4Peculiarities of consolidation of criminal penalties and the justice of the final sentence in the practice of Lithuanian courts
https://www.journals.vu.lt/kriminologijos-studijos/article/view/33076
<p><span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;">Scholars of criminal law have not considered the issue of consolidation of criminal penalties for some time, and it has been undeservedly forgotten. However, the method of consolidation of criminal penalties and the size of the final punishment are very important for the defendant. In addition, in judicial practice, there are often various problems related to the correct and appropriate summation of sentences. It is sometimes very easy to get lost in the labyrinths of sentence sizes, numbers and calculation of the last sentence. The article begins by presenting a negative example of judicial practice, when the lower court, ignoring the decision of the appeal court, decides to postpone the execution of the prison sentence after the sentence has been combined. Next, the author raises the question of why criminal law provides only the minimum amount of penalties to be added. Still, when putting together several sentences, adding at least the minimum part of the penalties is not mandatory. On the other hand, in the context of this problem, we can reasonably doubt whether, in cases where the offender commits several dozen or several hundred criminal acts, putting together the punishments and adding a minimum part of each punishment, the last punishment is not too severe. Finally, at the end of the article, the difficulties of putting together punishments are shown when punishments have to be shared by simultaneous application of Article 63 of the Criminal Code and Article 64 of the Criminal Code.</span></p>
Articlesfair punishmentconsolidation of penaltiesthe final punishmentproportionalityDarius Pranka
Copyright (c) 2024 Darius Pranka
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2024-03-052024-03-05325010.15388/CrimLithuan.2023.11.2Certain Relevant Issues of Interviewing Minors and Victims in the Practice of Law Enforcement Institutions During Criminal Proceedings
https://www.journals.vu.lt/kriminologijos-studijos/article/view/31455
<p>Over a decade ago, an audit was conducted in Lithuania to assess the protection of children’s rights during criminal proceedings. The audit identified various shortcomings and issues related to child interviews. These problems were addressed in 2017 with the implementation of amendments to the Law on Criminal Procedure of the Republic of Lithuania, which have been in effect for over five years. This article aims to analyze the current practices, particularly in recent years, of law enforcement institutions when conducting interviews with minor witnesses and victims during criminal proceedings. Through analysis and empirical research, it was found that minors are frequently questioned outside of designated child interview rooms for unjustifiable reasons. Furthermore, their rights, particularly the right not to testify against their relatives or family members, are not always adequately explained to them. The legal significance of such procedural violations is discussed. Additionally, it is highlighted that employees of the Child Rights Protection and Adoption Service often lack proper preparation for conducting interviews with children. The article concludes by summarizing other findings from the empirical research.</p>
Articlesminorsurveychild’s interestschild’s rightsDarius Pranka
Copyright (c) 2022 Darius Pranka
2023-06-062023-06-06487110.15388/CrimLithuan.2022.10.3Crime Proceeds Value Threshold in Extended Confiscation in the Light of the Principles of Legality and Proportionality and Rational Penal Policy
https://www.journals.vu.lt/kriminologijos-studijos/article/view/29668
<p>The article discusses the clause provided in the Lithuanian Criminal Code, which limits the court’s extended powers of confiscation in regard of crime proceeds of value less than EUR 12,500. The developing practice of the application of extended powers of confiscation in Lithuania makes this issue not only a matter of principle but also a practical one. The article analyzes to what extent such a precondition is compatible with the principle of legality and in particular the principle that rights do not arise from wrongdoing (<em>Ex iniuria ius non oritur</em>). Further, the author discusses the arguments justifying the discussed limitation to confiscate low-value crime proceeds – rational organisation of law enforcement resources, the principle of proportionality and a requirement of legal systematicity. The article concludes that the latter arguments are not always used accurately. The limitations of law enforcement resources ought to be regarded by providing authorities with discretion, not by limiting confiscation powers. The principle of proportionality and legal systematicity are hardly applicable in the discussion due to the specific legal nature of the confiscation powers. In parallel, the article concludes that the limitation of the minimum value of confiscatable crime proceeds is contrary to the European Union law – Directive 2014/42/EU.</p>
Articlesextended powers of confiscationprinciple of legalityrational penal policyDirective 2014/42/EUproperty value thresholdSkirmantas Bikelis
Copyright (c) 2022 Skirmantas Bikelis
2022-12-302022-12-30304710.15388/CrimLithuan.2022.10.2Detection and Investigation of Counterfeit Medical Products in Slovenia*
https://www.journals.vu.lt/kriminologijos-studijos/article/view/28053
<p>This article provides insights into the detection, investigation and prosecution of counterfeit medical products in Slovenia and abroad. The article summarizes the reports of Interpol and the European Union’s activities in this area. It also uses the opinions and insights of experts in the field provided through interviews. While the scope of the problem surrounding counterfeit medical products has been increasing globally, the issue is not alarming in Slovenia. Counterfeit medical products (CFMP) were never found to enter the legal supply chain in Slovenia. In general, the incidence of counterfeit medical products in the scope of detection, investigation and prosecution is extremely low. The reasons for this may be in the ongoing debates about the definition of CFMPs and the continuing lack of public awareness about counterfeit medical products. If the public does not understand or even know about counterfeit medical products, they will fail to report potential encounters with them, thus making their detection even more difficult. The research study presented in this paper has (partly) confirmed that a sound and socially-oriented healthcare system in which the required medicines are widely available represents a deterrent against counterfeit medical products. Therefore, the legislative framework supporting such a system is most important.</p>
Articlescounterfeit medical productsdetectioninvestigationprosecutionBoštjan SlakDanijela Frangez
Copyright (c) 2022 Boštjan Slak | Danijela Frangez
2023-01-272023-01-2782910.15388/CrimLithuan.2022.10.1Individual Characteristics and Punitive Practice for the Women Accused of Illegal Possesion and Distribution of Drugs or Psychoactive Substances
https://www.journals.vu.lt/kriminologijos-studijos/article/view/27661
<p>According to the official statistical data, in Lithuania, female offenders make up approximately 10% of the convict population and 5% of the prison population (Department of Statistics, 2022). Due to rather small numbers of women drawn into the criminal world, female offenders and their specific needs are often hardly visible to the representatives of the law enforcement and correctional system. Therefore, the punitive practices applied to female offenders as well as the social context of their criminal behavior remain understudied topics in Lithuania. The main purpose of this study is to uncover the individual characteristics and the offending circumstances of the women accused of illegal posession and distribution of drugs. Also, this study includes the analysis of the sentencing trends for female culprits of drug-related crimes. The analysis of court practice and the interviews with the sentenced women has shown that, compared to males, females had no stable source of income and had to take care of the children and other family members more often. In addition, unlike males, females did not distribute drugs in the organized criminal groups, while the additional offences were mostly related to drug abuse rather than any other complicated criminal scheme. Finally, the comparison of sentencing trends has shown that Lithuanian courts tend to be more merciful towards women as they where imposed with shorter prison sentences. This study is one of the few attempts to explore the social context of female criminal behavior which will hopefully encourage to individualize the sentences imposed to female offenders.</p>
Articlesfemale offendingcourt practicedrug distributionLiubovė Jarutienė
Copyright (c) 2022 Liubovė Jarutienė
2022-10-252022-10-2519923110.15388/CrimLithuan.2021.9.8The Construction of Lithuanian Prison Sentence Assumptions in Critical Criminology Perspective: an Analysis of the Goals of Imprisonment
https://www.journals.vu.lt/kriminologijos-studijos/article/view/29630
<p>The declared aims of custodial sentencing worldwide and in Lithuania are to protect society from crime and reduce recidivism; it is agreed that these aims can be achieved only when the duration of imprisonment is devoted to the prisoner’s gradual return to society (UNODC 2015). However, the newest Lithuanian strategic documents note that the sentencing system does not promote the change of prisoners’ criminal habits, offender resocialization is fragmented, and prison staff carries out offender protection and surveillance, not resocialization and social help (LR Vyriausybė 2021b). By building upon the ideas of social constructionism tradition (Berger and Luckmann 1999) and critical criminology (Christie 1999; Hulsman 1997; Quinney 2004; Mathiesen 2006), this paper analyzes the aims of custodial sentencing in the context of Lithuanian penal system’s reform and specifies possible implementational problems of declared aims of imprisonment. Document analysis showed that the raising and naming of imprisonment problems are conditioned by the commitment to international organizations and projects, as well as the cascading aims of the Lithuanian political agenda. In Lithuania, the purposes of custodial sentencing continue to be relatively general and instrumental. They are used to justify current and future means of reform while it is expected of correctional facilities to provide long-term positive influences on a person and fulfill quantitative indicators. We presume that resocialization and social integration ideas, as the main declared aim of custodial sentencing, are “imprisoned” in political discourse, which lacks critical analysis and does not provide much chance for success.</p>
Articlescustodial sentencesocial constructionismcritical criminologyLithuanian penitentiary systemJolanta AleknevičienėIgnė KalinauskaitėLoreta Matačiūtė
Copyright (c) 2022 Authors
2022-10-282022-10-2823225310.15388/CrimLithuan.2021.9.9