Intimate partner violence against women is a global and persistent public health issue. An extreme manifestation of this problem is intimate partner femicide (IPF), the killing of a woman by a male ...partner. While declining trends of homicide rates have been observed over decades, rates of femicide and IPF have remained stable. Yet, IPF as a phenomenon has until recently been fairly invisible in Europe, why research from the European countries on rates and characteristics of IPF has been relatively scarce. One area of research, particularly in need of further scrutiny, is to what degree perpetrators of IPF suffer from mental health conditions, and what the clinical features are. The objective of present study was to add to the existing literature by investigating prevalence and types of mental disorders in perpetrators of IPF, and to compare with male-to-male homicide (MMH) perpetrators. Our aim was also to examine life-time contact with psychiatric services, and, with missed opportunities in mind, contacts shortly preceding the homicide. With a retrospective design, this population-based study includes all solved cases of male-perpetrated homicides against intimate female partners (IPF) and other males (MMH) committed in Sweden between January 2007 and December 2009. Primary and secondary psychiatric diagnoses based on ICD, version 8, 9 or 10 from psychiatric inpatient as well as outpatient care have been retrieved. In order to identify mental disorders in perpetrators during commission of the homicidal offense, we also retrieved diagnoses from forensic psychiatric evaluations. Our results demonstrate that approximately one-third of the perpetrators, irrespective of homicide type, had been diagnosed with a mental disorder (excluding substance related disorders) at some point in life. Diagnosis of substance related disorders from psychiatric care was significantly more common in MMH perpetrators (37%) compared to IPF perpetrators (15%). Similarly low rates of major mental disorder were found in both groups (11%) when aggregating life-time diagnoses and diagnoses during commission of the crime. However, homicide-suicide in connection to the offense was relatively common in IPF perpetrators (20%). Thus, our study supports the notion that previous suicide attempts and suicide ideation are important indicators for predicting and possibly preventing IPF.
Hand grenade attacks have increasingly been reported in Sweden. However, to date no research on the topic exists. The present study aims to describe the illegal use of hand grenades and to test its ...spatio-temporal relationship with gun violence to explore whether the two forms of violence are connected. Data were collected for the years 2011 to 2016 from the Swedish police and from open sources about hand grenade detonations, which were considered alongside shootings as two types of violence commonly attributed to criminal groups. Descriptive data and trends are presented and spatio-temporal analysis of near-repeat patterns was performed using a near-repeat calculator. All in all, there were 77 incidents of detonated hand grenades in Sweden during the six-year observation period, in which nine individuals were injured and one killed. The number of incidents increased, with about half of the them occurring during the last year. A near-repeat analysis was performed on shootings (N = 1048) and hand grenades (N = 55) in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö. The shootings exhibit a strong component of near-repeat patterns, but adding hand grenades to the analysis did not strengthen the patterns, suggesting that the two types of violence only partially share spatio-temporal patterns. The study confirms an increase in the use of hand grenades in Sweden, although the reason for the increase is unknown. The increase does fit with the overall changing pattern in violence in urban areas in Sweden, which broadly tends to be attributed to criminal groups in disadvantaged neighbourhoods.
Abstract
In this exploratory study, individuals’ processes of engagement in violent extremist groups are analysed by drawing from criminological life-course theory and narrative-based understandings ...of crime. Based on interviews with individuals who have participated in violent extremism, it is suggested that the process of engagement consists of three steps: (1) a weakening of informal social controls, followed by (2) an interaction with individuals in proximity to the group and (3) a stage of meaning-making in relation to the group and one’s identity, resulting in an individual’s willingness and capacity to engaging in the group’s activities, including violence. In future theorizing about processes of engagement in violent extremism, the meanings of age, and the life-course stages of late adolescence and emerging adulthood in particular, should be given analytic attention.
This study analyzes the demographics, criminality, and network relations of forty-one deceased Swedish foreign fighters. Our results show that most of the deceased Swedish foreign fighters were on ...average just under 26 years old when they died. Concerning network relations, nineteen out of the forty-one foreign fighters had at least one relationship (next-of-kin or friend) with another deceased foreign fighter. Two thirds were previously suspected of at least one crime. Based on our results, we argue that more attention needs to be given to tertiary and secondary prevention directed toward foreign fighter hubs.
'The Static-99R is one of the most commonly used risk assessment instruments for individuals convicted of sexual offenses. It has been validated for use on many populations, but few studies ...specifically target and describe individuals with mental disorders. Additionally, research on the discriminative properties (how well the instrument separates recidivists from non-recidivists) of the instrument over longer follow-up periods is scarce. This article evaluated the validity of the Static-99R using a cohort of individuals with mental disorders convicted of sexual offenses in Sweden (
= 146) with fixed 5-year (
= 100), 10-year (
= 91), 15-year (
= 79), and 20-year (
= 36) follow-up periods. A Static-99R cut score of 6 demonstrated the highest Youden index, maximizing sensitivity (72.7%) and specificity (74.2%), with 25.8% of recidivists correctly assumed to reoffend sexually and 95.7% of non-recidivists correctly assumed not to. The Static-99R instrument demonstrated adequate discrimination (AUC = 0.79, CI 95% = 0.70-0.87, and OR = 1.45, CI 95% = 1.14-1.84,
< 0.001, 5-year fixed follow-up), with only marginal differences for 10-, 15-, and 20-year fixed follow-up (AUC = 0.73, 0.74, and 0.74 and OR = 1.31, 1.36, and 1.40, respectively). Calibration (quantifying risk and correspondence with the instrument's norms) was acceptable (Brier = 0.088, P/E = 0.70, E/O = 1.43), with the routine sample norms displaying a decisively better fit to the study cohort compared to the high-risk/high-need sample norms. The results affirm the recommendation that, when in doubt and where there is no recent local norm group large enough available, the Static-99R routine sample found in the evaluators' workbook should be used.
The concept of near-repeat patterns illustrates how crimes are clustered in space and time, with a crime event often shortly followed by another crime nearby. This study aims first to describe the ...frequency in shootings; second, to analyse the patterns of near-repeat shootings; and third, to validate a near-repeat calculator in the three largest cities in Sweden. Data were geocoded from three registries on shootings administered by the police departments in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö from 2011 to 2015, and were analysed using a free near-repeat calculator. There were 948 shootings, 378 of which involved at least one injury or death (40%). The relative risk of firearm-perpetrated homicides was almost 2.5 times higher in Malmö compared to Stockholm, but almost half of the shootings occurred in Stockholm. Near-repeat patterns were found with a significantly increased risk of a new shooting in all three cities, but were weaker in Gothenburg.
To date, systematic studies of sexual homicides from Europe are scarce, in which none have been conducted in Sweden. This study aims to describe male-on-female sexual homicides in Sweden and ...differentiate from corresponding nonsexual homicides. Unsolved and solved sexual homicide (n = 33) cases were identified in a database containing all homicides in Sweden between 1990 and 2013 (N = 2,126), and subsequently data from forensic psychiatric evaluations were collected for convicted offenders. Male-on-female sexual homicides constituted 1.6% of all homicides and the clearance rate was 82%, which is comparable with the 83% overall clearance rate but took longer time to solve. Three factors differentiated sexual from nonsexual homicides: strangulation, younger age of the victim, and the absence of eyewitnesses. In solved cases, distance from the offender’s home to the crime scene was strongly correlated with time to clearance. A majority of the offenders suffered from personality disorders, while other diagnoses were uncommon.
Multiple and serial homicides constitute around 1.6% of all homicides but have unusually tragic outcomes. The aims of this study were to report the prevalence serial‐homicide offences and the ...characteristics of serial‐homicide offenders in a non‐North American context. The study included all convicted serial‐homicide offenders in Sweden from 1973 to 2012 (n = 25), as well as a population‐based control sample of single‐homicide offenders collected during 2007 and 2009 (n = 201). Similar to U.S. findings, approximately 1.6% of homicides could be attributed to serial‐homicide offenders. Serial offenders were more often diagnosed with personality disorders and autism‐spectrum disorders compared with single offenders; and serial offences more often involved victims who were female and unacquainted with the offender, as well as planning, sexual motives, and asphyxia as method of violence. One third of serial offences involved actions aimed at disguising the manner of death; such actions were considerably less common in single‐homicide offences. Few offenders displayed the traditional profile of a serial‐homicide offender; however, one third displayed sexual motives, a rate roughly 10 times higher than that in the single‐homicide group. The study concludes that serial‐homicide offenders should be subjected to forensic‐psychiatric examinations and that research involving cross‐contextual differences and similarities in serial‐homicide offenders is needed.
•No associations between injury severity and victim-offender relationship was found.•Specifically, facial injuries were not more severe in intimate relationships.•The study does not support the use ...of injury severity scores in offender profiling.
There are previous studies that have found associations between specific injury patterns and different victim-offender relationships (VORs) in homicides. We have used quantitative injury severity scores to further investigate this issue. The amount and severity of injuries were assessed in 178 Swedish homicide victims, retrospectively included from the years 2007–2009. We analyzed whether different injury measures could be used to predict the VOR. In addition to a deeper understanding of violent behavior, such associations may be of help to homicide investigators for offender profiling. The victims’ injuries were assessed with eleven different methods. The cases with known VORs were divided into four categories: partner, relative, acquaintance, and stranger. The injury severities were then compared between these categories. No relevant differences were found. Thus, the current study does not support the claim that the VOR can be predicted from the injury severity in a general homicide population. These findings are in contrast to the results of some previous studies but confirm those of others.
Child homicide investigations are intricate, and the forensic examinations are of paramount importance in such cases. Despite this, the forensic profile of child homicides remains unexplored.
Our ...objective was to provide an overview of the forensic aspects and investigational challenges in Swedish child homicide cases spanning from 1998 to 2017, with a specific focus on enhancing investigative methods.
70 cases with 82 victims (41 girls, 41 boys) aged between 0 and 14 were included.
Police, crime scene and autopsy reports of solved Swedish child homicides were retrospectively reviewed.
On average, 3.5 cases (4.1 victims) occurred annually, primarily within families (79 %). Notably, the number of cases increased by 10 % during the latter half of the study period (2008–2017) compared to the initial decade (1998–2007). In nearly 29 % of instances, the perpetrators followed the homicides with their own suicides. A majority of child deaths (89 %) resulted from concentrated acts of violence, most frequently involving blunt or sharp force. Furthermore, 66 % of the homicides took place within the parental home. Adequate crime scene processing, including documentation and evidence collection, occurred in 74 % of cases. The investigation unveiled several complicating factors: 22 % of victims and 47 % of crime scenes displayed no obvious signs of violence. Moreover, offenders often made physical (27 %) and verbal (26 %) attempts to mislead investigators.
In conclusion, most child homicides are familial in nature and associated with investigational complexities that can lead to misdirection. This research may inform procedural recommendations for child homicide investigations, but further exploration is needed to better understand the forensic characteristics of suspicious child deaths.
•Challenges associated with child homicide investigations may cause underreporting.•Suspicious child deaths require forensic investigation of the scene and the body.•Investigations are often hindered by offender's efforts to mislead investigators.•Many child homicides do not display evidence of prior abuse or neglect.
PDF
