Cyber victimization within the Routine Activity Theory Framework in the Digital Age

This quantitative-based research determined whether the routine activity theory influences cyber victimization. To measure the dimensions of the theory, defined as exposure to a motivated offender, suitable online target, and absence of a capable guardian, a valid and reliable questionnaire was used. The cyber victimization questionnaire developed by Álvarez-García, Dobarro, and Núñez was applied to 1,285 students selected at random from schools in Colombia. Findings: 46% are identified as exposed to a motivated offender, 37.5% are suitable online targets, and 29.8% have no capable guardians. The interdependence of these three elements revealed that 3.9% of students are at risk due to their routine activities, which had a significant influence on cyber victimization. It is proposed that these findings should be considered in the design of communicative and educational policies aimed at a responsible use of technologies.

Contribution of Lifestyle Related Shaming in Drug Relapse Management in Indonesia

In the statistical calculation of the National Narcotics Board of the Republic of Indonesia or so called BNN, there were 70% of drug offenders with the status of drug relapse in 2019 reached (BNN: 2019). Such condition illustrates that the social rehabilitation mechanism for drug offenders in Indonesia still has the opportunity to present shameless people. Therefore, this study is intended to observe the significance of Lifestyle Related Shaming as an effort to reduce the number of drug relapses in Indonesia. Lifestyle Related Shaming is supported by 3 (three) macro theories, namely reintegrative shaming theory proposed by John Braithwaite, desistance theory proposed by Farral and routine activity theory proposed by Hiddlenlang The literature review method was applied here through the utilization and effort to develop an existing theory (grounded theory) by presenting certain concepts (variables) in accordance with the affordability of study data. In addition to qualitative approach, this research also performed a quantitative approach through survey method among respondents who experienced drugs relapse in Indonesia as well as in-depth interviews with drug relapse residents with various backgrounds and educational levels at the Center for Drug Rehabilitation of the Republic of Indonesia at Lido Bogor. It is expected that this study may provide a broad understanding to the government to prepare the best program for solving the drug relapse phenomenon, especially drug abuse in Indonesia. For the science, this study is expected to be a basis for the implementation of shaming in Indonesia. Furthermore, this study is also expected to be able to provide input in the process of drug relapse management in Indonesia, especially in an effort to prevent residents from falling into a shameless condition.

Identifying food fraud vulnerability factors in food fraud incidents – a review of global incidents 2000–2018

PurposeGlobal food fraud incidents are regularly reported and are on the rise due to the ineffectiveness of traditional food safety intervention strategies. The increase in food fraud opportunity is prevalent in the state of the COVID-19 pandemic as well. Food fraud vulnerability assessment (FFVA) is acknowledged as a critical requirement by the Global Food Safety Initiatives (GFSIs) and the World Health Organisation for an effective food fraud mitigation plan. However, there is no clear direction or ways to identify and analyse food fraud vulnerability factors based on real-data.Design/methodology/approachCombining the barrier analysis technique and the routine activity theory to review the 580 cases of food fraud recorded in the Decernis database, this paper identified new food fraud vulnerability dimensions and insights pinpointed to three categories of opportunity, motivation and countermeasures.FindingsNew dimensions of food fraud vulnerability factors are identified in this paper over the period 2000–2018. Where possible, new insights related to each food fraud vulnerability factor and dimension were identified, and literature evidence was used to confirm their contribution.Originality/valueThere is a gap observed in the first step of FFVA in the literature. This paper is the first study to undertake a FFVA based on evidence recorded in a global food fraud database. This paper offers critical insights into global food fraud regulations by exploring the new emerging root causes of food fraud and analysing them, supporting developing effective food fraud prevention plans (FFPPs).

Piracy and Maritime Security in the North-Western Indian Ocean: From the Gulf of Oman to the Waters off the Somali Coast

There are a daunting number of maritime security threats and challenges in the north-western Indian Ocean region, both extant and potential. Indeed, the mere fact that the Indian Ocean constitutes the world’s largest swath of maritime space that is prone to the major menace of piracy (in the Gulf of Oman, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden and in the waters off the north-east African coastline), as well as the sporadic threat of terrorism (by Islamic militias of Al-Shabaab in Somalia and Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen), signifies that the region will arguably remain the maritime area with the greatest array of security challenges. However, while anti-piracy measures ought to have shaped regional policymaking, and the resources that a large and diverse group of states has devoted to addressing these maritime challenges have never been adequate to the task, largely successful coalition-building exercises and joint naval task-force operations have been encouraging. The transformation of Somali piracy from a haphazard activity into a highly organised, professionalised criminal enterprise is briefly elucidated by greed-grievance theory and supplemented by the theory of crime, also known as routine-activity theory.

The Spatiotemporal Pattern and Driving Factors of Cyber Fraud Crime in China

As a typical cybercrime, cyber fraud poses severe threats to civilians’ property safety and social stability. Traditional criminological theories such as routine activity theory focus mainly on the effects of individual characteristics on cybercrime victimization and ignore the impacts of macro-level environmental factors. This study aims at exploring the spatiotemporal pattern of cyber fraud crime in China and investigating the relationships between cyber fraud and environmental factors. The results showed that cyber fraud crimes were initially distributed in southeastern China and gradually spread towards the middle and northern regions; spatial autocorrelation analysis revealed that the spatial concentration trend of cyber fraud became more and more strong, and a strong distinction in cyber fraud clustering between the north and the south was identified. To further explain the formative causes of these spatial patterns, a generalized additive model (GAM) was constructed by incorporating natural and social environmental factors. The results suggested that the distribution of cyber fraud was notably affected by the regional economy and population structure. Also, the high incidence of cyber fraud crime was closely associated with a large nonagricultural population, a high proportion of tertiary industry in GDP, a large number of general college students, a longer cable length, and a large numbers of internet users.

Cybercrime Victimization and Problematic Social Media Use: Findings from a Nationally Representative Panel Study

According to criminological research, online environments create new possibilities for criminal activity and deviant behavior. Problematic social media use (PSMU) is a habitual pattern of excessive use of social media platforms. Past research has suggested that PSMU predicts risky online behavior and negative life outcomes, but the relationship between PSMU and cybercrime victimization is not properly understood. In this study, we use the framework of routine activity theory (RAT) and lifestyle-exposure theory (LET) to examine the relationship between PSMU and cybercrime victimization. We analyze how PSMU is linked to cybercrime victimization experiences. We explore how PSMU predicts cybercrime victimization, especially under those risky circumstances that generally increase the probability of victimization. Our data come from nationally representative surveys, collected in Finland in 2017 and 2019. The results of the between-subjects tests show that problematic PSMU correlates relatively strongly with cybercrime victimization. Within-subjects analysis shows that increased PSMU increases the risk of victimization. Overall, the findings indicate that, along with various confounding factors, PSMU has a notable cumulative effect on victimization. The article concludes with a short summary and discussion of the possible avenues for future research on PSMU and cybercrime victimization.

Contribution of Lifestyle Related Shaming in Drug Relapse Management in Indonesia

In the statistical calculation of the National Narcotics Board of the Republic of Indonesia or so called BNN, there were 70% of drug offenders with the status of drug relapse in 2019 reached (BNN: 2019). Such condition illustrates that the social rehabilitation mechanism for drug offenders in Indonesia still has the opportunity to present shameless people. Therefore, this study is intended to observe the significance of Lifestyle Related Shaming as an effort to reduce the number of drug relapses in Indonesia. Lifestyle Related Shaming is supported by 3 (three) macro theories, namely reintegrative shaming theory proposed by John Braithwaite, desistance theory proposed by Farral and routine activity theory proposed by Hiddlenlang The literature review method was applied here through the utilization and effort to develop an existing theory (grounded theory) by presenting certain concepts (variables) in accordance with the affordability of study data. In addition to qualitative approach, this research also performed a quantitative approach through survey method among respondents who experienced drugs relapse in Indonesia as well as in-depth interviews with drug relapse residents with various backgrounds and educational levels at the Center for Drug Rehabilitation of the Republic of Indonesia at Lido Bogor. It is expected that this study may provide a broad understanding to the government to prepare the best program for solving the drug relapse phenomenon, especially drug abuse in Indonesia. For the science, this study is expected to be a basis for the implementation of shaming in Indonesia. Furthermore, this study is also expected to be able to provide input in the process of drug relapse management in Indonesia, especially in an effort to prevent residents from falling into a shameless condition.

Temporal Variability of Theft Types in the Historic Centre of Porto

Criminology theories imply that time is a relevant variable, especially for the prevention and intervention of criminal occurrences. Thus, the study of criminal temporal patterns has been described as being of great relevance. The present study focuses on describing and exploring the influence of temporal and seasonal variables on the occurrence of different types of theft in the Historic Centre of Porto through the analysis of official records of the Public Security Police. Significant differences were found regarding the time of day and season of occurrence, even though it is not observed for all the types of theft analysed. Overall, theft was more prevalent at night and less frequent during winter, which is congruent with previous literature and the routine activity theory. Being the first case study in Porto city, Portugal, this research may be of extreme importance for both designing prevention and intervention policies in the area, and for inspiring future research on a criminal time analysis.

Routine Activity Theory and Farm Equipment Theft: A Macro-Level Approach

Though a handful of studies have explored the relationship between farm characteristics and theft of farm equipment, all have been focused at the micro level. Put differently, they have sought to determine whether a relationship exists between likelihood of theft victimization and the characteristics (e.g., size, location) of individual farming operations. The current study builds upon this work by seeking to determine whether county-level factors (in line with the routine activity theory framework) serve to influence the incidence of farm equipment theft within counties. Data are derived from the National Incident-Based Reporting System, the Census of Agriculture and the United States Census of the Population. Results are on the whole supportive of the theory's application to the problem and suggest that macro-level investigations constitute a worthwhile approach to better understanding agricultural victimization.

A Routine Activities Approach to Evidence-Based Risk Assessment: Findings From Two Simulated Phishing Attacks

To assess the efficacy of routine activity theory (RAT) for explaining phishing victimization and guide evidence-based policy, we launched two phishing attacks via a university Listserv ( N = 25,875). The first email offered access to a pdf file; the second offered free concert tickets. Several interesting findings emerged demonstrating phishing victimization results from network users’ routine behaviors. Students were significantly less likely to open the phishing email sharing a pdf but more likely to open the email offering free concert tickets. Moreover, students were mor e likely to click the malicious link embedded within the phishing email in both studies, often using mobile devices. Conversely, employees were more likely to click the link while connected to the university network, thus exposing the network to greater levels of risk. Finally, the email offering concert tickets was opened at a frequency more than double the email containing the pdf. Theoretical and policy implications are discussed.