Recent studies suggest an increased prevalence of primary psychotic disorders among sentenced prisoners in Finland. Exploring the extent and correlates of lifetime primary psychoses through high-quality data is crucial for early identification and effective interventions within correctional settings.
To establish the current lifetime prevalence and comorbidities of primary psychotic disorders among sentenced prisoners in Finland and to explore associations between these and sex, solitary confinement, forensic mental health examination, index offence and total days imprisoned.
Data were derived from a subsample (n = 295) of the Health and Wellbeing of Prisoners 2023 (Wattu IV) study (n = 529). Assessments included Structured Clinical Interview for the US Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-IV; SCID I and II). Details of offending to date and imprisonment history from official records and self-reported solitary confinement were included in the database. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine associations between lifetime primary psychotic disorders and variables significantly related in binary analyses.
Twenty-four (8%) participants had a lifetime primary psychotic disorder, according to SCID-based data. A further 100 (34%) had a lifetime substance-induced psychotic disorder. The odds of primary psychotic disorder were over five times (OR 5.22) higher among women than men. For more detailed analyses, prisoners with a drug-related psychosis could not be separated from prisoners without psychosis. The odds of disciplinary solitary confinement were over three times (OR 3.36) higher among those with lifetime primary psychosis than among all other sentenced prisoners and over four and a half times (OR 4.61) higher among those requesting it. Neither index offence nor total lifetime days imprisoned had any relationship with primary psychosis.
This study updates the understanding of lifetime primary psychotic disorders and their correlates in Finnish prisons, descriptively suggesting a likely rise in their prevalence from 6% in 2017 to 8% in 2023, a 33% increase. The finding that twice as many female as male prisoners have primary psychosis aligns with previous research. The higher use of solitary confinement among sentenced prisoners with lifetime primary psychosis than among other sentenced prisoners, including those with substance-related psychosis, is new and troubling. As only one third of these prisoners with primary psychosis had had a court-ordered forensic mental health examination to determine the need for psychiatric treatment and, specifically, compulsory treatment instead of a prison sentence, our findings suggest an urgent case for re-examining pathways into healthcare for prisoners both during pretrial detention and after sentencing.
]]>Darkness has long been associated with changes in criminal activity. However, evidence on its underlying mechanisms and distributional effects remains limited. This research uses data from 11 densely populated US cities and leverages the discontinuous shift in ambient light caused by daylight saving time to address this knowledge gap. First, it evaluates whether changes in crime reflect deterrence or incapacitation by examining variation in the probability of apprehension. Second, it analyzes the role of routine activity by incorporating ridership and foot traffic data. Third, it studies whether ambient light affects sleep, potentially impairing decision-making and increasing impulsive behavior. The results show that an extra hour of daylight decreases sunset robberies by 28.8%, but increases aggravated assaults by 21.4%. Clearance rates remain stable, suggesting that deterrence rather than incapacitation drives the observed effects. Crimes outside sunset hours and indoor offenses were not affected either, reinforcing the role of natural light exposure. Overall, ambient light operates through multiple, simultaneous mechanisms, causing differential impacts across crime types and neighborhoods. For instrumental crimes, deterrence and enhanced guardianship appear complementary, while alterations in routine activity and cognitive functioning may amplify aggression. Importantly, targeted investments in street lighting, particularly in disadvantaged communities with disproportionate exposure to darkness and situational risks, can help mitigate crime.
]]>This article examines capital punishment in civil court cases in Mandatory Palestine (1920–1948), focusing on the British High Commissioner's role in confirming or commuting death sentences. Drawing on a newly constructed dataset from archival records and newspaper reports, it provides the first systematic analysis of executive clemency in non-political capital cases during the Mandate. Although death sentences were formally mandatory upon conviction, their implementation depended on executive confirmation, making clemency a central arena of discretionary political decision-making. I show that outcomes varied systematically by motive. Crimes perceived as threatening state authority were more likely to result in execution, whereas killings embedded in ‘family honour’ or blood-feud contexts were often commuted. Rather than reflecting humanitarian restraint, these patterns reveal a political calculus in which officials assessed the social and political costs of execution. Capital punishment thus functioned as a flexible instrument of colonial governance rather than as a fixed legal sanction.
]]>Research on racial disparities in the criminal legal system generally examines isolated sentencing decisions, rather than the “package” of punishment that defendants experience. Using Minnesota court administrative data from 2004 to 2017, we specify multivariate and instrumental variables models to simultaneously estimate the outcomes of three elements of racialized punishment: incarceration, probation, and monetary sanctions. We instrument incarceration using jail capacity, which accounts for confounding and the simultaneity of incarceration and other punishment forms. Our results show racial patterning in the “mix” of punishment for similarly situated defendants. Before accounting for this mix, Black, Hispanic, and Native American defendants appear to receive less probation and lower monetary sanctions, but longer incarceration than White defendants. After accounting for instrumented incarceration, monetary sanctions and probation are racialized beyond incarceration in complex ways: Black, Hispanic, and Native American defendants receive lower monetary sanctions as compared to White defendants, and probation for Black and Native American defendants is higher after adjustment. The contours of this racialized package depend critically upon whether the state guidelines recommend a prison sentence. These results show that punishment can be modeled as experienced—as a constitutive package of costs, surveillance, and confinement constrained by structural features of state sentencing guidelines.
]]>Contemporary criminal justice discourse frequently highlights rising caseloads as a crisis for prosecutors across the United States. Yet, empirical assessments of how caseloads impact prosecutorial decision making are scarce. This study exploits data on office caseloads and cases disposed between 2021 and 2024 in 19 prosecutors’ offices across Colorado to investigate the impact of office caseload pressure on plea and charge reduction rates. We use a two-level modeling strategy in which weekly activity is nested within prosecutors’ offices, and caseload pressure is measured using weekly open case counts. While nearly as much variation in outcomes occurs across prosecutors’ offices as across weeks, we find that prosecutors’ offices resolve fewer cases via guilty plea in weeks when caseload pressure is higher. Effects are slightly stronger on dispositions for misdemeanor offenses than felonies. Little relationship between caseload pressure and charge reductions is observed.
This study provides useful insight into prosecutorial responses to caseload pressures. Although pleas are traditionally conceptualized as a tool to increase efficiency in case processing, we find little evidence that prosecutors’ offices increase their use of pleas or charge bargaining when caseload pressures are higher. Current rising caseload pressures may incentivize dismissals rather than plea bargains, potentially impacting case outcomes, public safety concerns, and disparities in case processing burdens across sociodemographic groups. The results highlight how staffing in high-pressure offices, early case reviews, and policies prioritizing cases may ensure caseloads remain manageable or may limit the impact of caseload pressures on case outcomes.
]]>Court custody is an overlooked but significant site of incarceration that holds tens of thousands of individuals each year in England and Wales. Providing one of the first scholarly investigations of court custody, we find that insurmountable bureaucratic barriers make it impossible to conduct interview-based empirical research within court custody in England and Wales. We motivate a critical discussion about the gatekeeping role that state processes play in determining criminal justice research topics. We present a thematic analysis of 16 interviews and 26 reports by regulators. We identify three inter-related groups of problematic experiences in court custody—poor cell conditions, the pains of waiting and the pains of judgement—that begin to characterise the dynamics of court custody. We argue that court custody is a distinct form of imprisonment and critical site of criminal justice transitions that significantly impacts other sites of incarceration and has escaped scholarly attention for too long.
]]>In-prison treatment of persons who committed sexual offences often showed nonsignificant, small or sometimes even negative effects, particularly in sexual recidivism. Various reasons for this situation seem to be relatively short and standardised group-based programmes, isolated implementations and insufficient attention to context factors and needs for replication.
This study contains a controlled evaluation of males who had committed serious sexual offences and received treatment in German social-therapeutic prison units (STUs) versus a control group from regular prisons without treatment. STUs offer a broad range of treatment (including CBT) and rehabilitation measures during about 2 years of incarceration.
Valid recidivism data were available for 1245 individuals, of which 710 were treated (TG) and 535 were not treated (CG). In addition to the individuals from STUs, there was also a subsample that received individual or group treatment in normal prisons. The mean follow-up period after release was 9.3 years. As there were expectable differences between treated and untreated persons, a comprehensive propensity score matching (PSM) of relevant variables was applied that led to balanced equivalence of TGs and CGs. In addition to various criteria of recidivism (e.g., general, sexual, violent), we developed a harm index of seriousness. Offender characteristics were assessed by the regular documentation form of the Criminological Service in Bavaria that also contained the Static-99 risk measure. For the assessment of therapeutic context factors, prisoners and staff filled in the EssenCES on the institutional climate in the STUs.
There were significant treatment effects on general recidivism (TG = 35.9% vs. CG = 41.4%) and nonsignificant tendencies on sexual recidivism (6.0% vs. 8.0%) and other outcomes. In contrast to general recidivism, sexual recidivism did not occur later after release. There were more promising results in a more recent cohort than in a previous cohort, and the sexual harm of treated persons decreased post-treatment (as compared to pretreatment). Men who had committed rape of adult victims showed more violent and less sexual recidivism than individuals who had victimised children. The seven STUs differed substantially in recidivism and dropout rates. These differences were related to the risk level of the inmates, but prison climate was also associated with outcome differences. On average, there were both similarities and differences in the climate ratings by inmates and staff. Most individuals from the STUs got a legal order for relapse prevention in community treatment centres after release. However, this did not lead to a booster effect, whereas persons who were not treated in custody benefitted from therapeutic aftercare.
The results of a comprehensive social-therapeutic treatment of prison inmates who had been sentenced for sexual offences showed multifaceted patterns of results. Offender variables played an important role in the outcomes. Individuals who had victimised children were particularly assigned to STUs, and persons with a not generally assessed paraphilic disorder may be relevant for less promising results in sexual recidivism. There were also hints that the intensive treatment in STUs may not be superior to therapeutic interventions in regular prisons. Based on our findings, differentiated selections of groups, treatment contexts and outcome measures are suggested for further development of successful treatment strategies in custody.
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