Adriaan Denkers

Crime Victims' Well-Being and Fear in a Prospective and Longitudinal Study

A study is presented on the influence of criminal victimization on well-being and fear within a nationwide sample of the Dutch population. The study focused on differences between victims and non-victims, and on the causality between crime and psychological upheaval. The design of the study was prospective, it included victims of several crime-types, and a matched sample of non-victims. The reactions of victims were measured before, and within two weeks, one month and two months after the crime. Results indicated that victims of crime systematically report lower levels of well-being, and, to some extent, higher levels of fear. Next, some indications were found supporting the notion that victims of violent crimes suffer more psychological distress than victims of property crimes. And finally, the data imply that, after the incident victims were ‘unhappier’ than non-victims, but, at least partly, already were so before the crime took place.

Crime Victims and their Social Network: A Field Study on the Cognitive Effects of Victimisation, Attributional Responses and the Victim-Blaming Model:

A field study is reported focusing on the cognitive effects of criminal victimisation, on the types of responses victims encounter in their social network, and on the validity of the ‘victim blaming model’. Data reveal that victimisations have a negative impact on the perceived benevolence of the world. Perceptions of self control and control over outcomes are reduced, and victims consider themselves less as persons having luck in life. These cognitive effects appear to stretch out beyond those directly involved. Results generally do not support the theoretically dominant position in the victimological literature on ‘blaming the victim’. Empathical responses and external attributions from the social network are much more common than internal responses to victimisation. Moreover, internal attributions from the social network appear to work more positively on the wellbeing of victims than external attributions. These outcomes - which are in line with the Janoff-Bulman model - are clearly in contrast to the ‘victim blaming model’. Some implications for future studies are discussed.

Criminal Trajectories of White-collar Offenders

Objectives: This article analyzes the criminal development and sociodemographic and criminal profile of a sample of prosecuted white-collar offenders. It identifies trajectory groups and describes their profiles based on crime, sociodemographic, and selection offence characteristics. Methods: The criminal development of 644 prosecuted white-collar offenders in the Netherlands was examined using all registered offences from age 12 onward. In addition, sociodemographic background information was gathered from the Netherlands Internal Revenue Service and Municipal Personal Records Office. Trajectory analysis was conducted to approximate the underlying continuous distribution in criminal development by a discrete number of groups. Results: The criminal career characteristics and sociodemographic profile show a heterogeneous sample of white-collar offenders. Trajectory analysis distinguished four trajectory groups. Two low-frequency offender groups, totaling 78 percent, are characterized by their adult onset. The two high-frequency offender groups, totaling 22 percent, are characterized by their adolescent onset. Distinct and internally consistent offender profiles emerged for the four trajectory groups on the basis of crime, sociodemographic, and selection offence characteristics. Conclusions: The diversity in offence patterns and offender profiles points to different (developmental) causes for white-collar crime and underlines the importance of further longitudinal research on white-collar offending from an integrated white-collar and life-course perspective.

Social Bonds Under Supervision Associating Social Bonds of Probationers With Supervision Failure

Little is known about the role of social bonds and criminal bonds in relation to probation supervision failure. This study examined probation supervision failure in a sample of 13,091 discharged adult probationers in the Netherlands. We examined the relationship between supervision failure and probationers’ demographic and criminal history factors, social bonds, and criminal bonds. As was hypothesized, probationers with weak conventional social bonds were more likely to fail their probation supervision program than probationers with strong social bonds. Probationers with strong criminal bonds or weak criminal bonds did not differ significantly with respect to their supervision outcome. However, probationers with weak involvement in conventional ties (e.g., work, school) and with strong criminal ties were particularly at risk of failing their supervision. These findings advance current knowledge on factors associated with probation supervision failure and may have important implications for probation practice.

Reconviction Rates After Suspended Sentences Comparison of the Effects of Different Types of Suspended Sentences on Reconviction in the Netherlands

Previous research has focused mainly on determining the effectiveness of suspended sentences compared with other sentences, and seldom on understanding to what extent the different types of suspended sentences reduce recidivism rates. This study examined reconviction rates of offenders (N = 1,258) who received fully or partly suspended prison sentences, with or without special conditions, in 2006 in two of the largest court districts in the Netherlands. Cox proportional hazard models revealed no difference in reconviction rates between fully and partly suspended prison sentences, with and without special conditions. However, suspended sentences without special conditions had significantly lower reconviction rates compared with special conditions that were solely control-orientated. Although there are indications that certain types of suspended sentences reduced reconviction rates more than other types, more rigorous research is still required.

Rule-violating behaviour in white-collar offenders: A control group comparison:

This study aims at enhancing our understanding of criminogenic individual-level factors in white-collar crime, that is, fraudulent acts carried out in an occupational capacity or setting. We do so by examining consistency of rule-violating behaviour across different settings outside the occupational context in a sample of white-collar offenders (n = 637) and comparing it with a matched control group (n = 1809), controlling for socio-demographic, crime and organizational characteristics. Results show that white-collar offenders, including those holding high-trust organizational positions, engaged in regulatory income tax violations and regulatory traffic violations at significantly higher levels than did controls. This study concludes that individual characteristics are likely to underlie the identified cross-contextual consistency in rule-violating behaviour and debates the relevance of the findings for white-collar crime in organizations.

Social Bonds and White-Collar Crime: A Two-Study Assessment of Informal Social Controls in White-Collar Offenders

ABSTRACT In two studies, this paper examines age-graded informal social controls (bonds) in white-collar offenders. Using register data, Study 1 compares bonds in a sample of white-collar offenders to a matched control sample, while Study 2 uses probation data to examine bonds within a subsample of white-collar offenders of Study 1. The results show that white-collar offenders, including those who occupy executive positions and those with an adult-crime onset, were characterized by weakened bonds and that early-onset offenders had weaker bonds than adult-onset offenders. Along with the implications of these findings for theory, limitations and directions for future research are presented.