In the assessment world, risk determines “who” to treat and needs determine “what” (Bonta &am... more In the assessment world, risk determines “who” to treat and needs determine “what” (Bonta & Andrews, 2016). Yet, for youth, greater emphasis is placed on needs that target recidivism reduction interventions. Unlike risk, needs represent dynamic domains, or latent constructs, requiring testing to assure adequate measurement. We conducted a multi-level, multi-group analysis of the Modified Positive Achievement Change Tool (MPACT) with a 10-state sample of youth ( N = 258,464). Findings confirm the validity and reliability of needs domains, and the development of a novel “Global Needs Factor,” a composite summary of needs. Created without criminal history/static measures, needs scales demonstrate predictive accuracy. Further, measurement invariance and aspects of gender and race/ethnicity prediction parity are observed.
would like to thank the following individuals for their involvement and support in this project: ... more would like to thank the following individuals for their involvement and support in this project: The Washington State Department of Corrections (WADOC) for providing both content and needed data for the project. Specifically we would like to thank the following individuals: Bernie
In the wake of the mass incarceration movement, many states must now manage the rebound of decarc... more In the wake of the mass incarceration movement, many states must now manage the rebound of decarceration. Thermodynamic forces of the justice system, however, have pushed former fiscal pressures of institutions onto that of community corrections. Encouraged by the positive findings of recently piloted innovations, several jurisdictions have taken great interest in the implementation of deterrence-based sanctioning models when dealing with supervision violations. Among the first to implement a statewide turn to this style of sanctioning, Washington State's swift-and-certain (SAC) policy was implemented in June 2012.
Supplemental material, Supplemental for Optimizing Youth Risk Assessment Performance: Development... more Supplemental material, Supplemental for Optimizing Youth Risk Assessment Performance: Development of the Modified Positive Achievement Change Tool in Washington State by Zachary Hamilton, Melissa A. Kowalski, Alex Kigerl and Douglas Routh in Criminal Justice and Behavior
Since their seminal work, Andrews and Bonta outlined the Central Eight assessment domains. As the... more Since their seminal work, Andrews and Bonta outlined the Central Eight assessment domains. As the landscape and utility of criminal justice assessments extended, tool developers expanded upon their initial development principles searching to further risk prediction gains. However, often overlooked in recent advancements is the foundation and usage of associated needs assessments. As a critical component of contemporary tools, particularly for youth, results of needs assessments identify and prioritize program placement. These additional tools comprise domain subscales that represent common predictors of need. Due to their latent nature, need assessment requires careful development and assessments of construct validity. While important, examinations of construct validity are seldom completed for contemporary tools, and their results rarely used for meaningful tool improvements. The current study describes the needs assessment development of the Modified Positive Achievement Change To...
Email spam is one of the primary means to facilitate the perpetration of internet fraud and the d... more Email spam is one of the primary means to facilitate the perpetration of internet fraud and the distribution of malware. The present research sought to examine the impact of routine activity theory at the national level on three forms of cybercrime perpetrated through email spam. A sample of 871,146 spam email messages sent in 2012 were divided into three categories: fraudulent emails, emails spreading malware, and non-serious spam emails. The measures were then aggregated by country and five measures of routine activity theory at the national level were tested for their impact on cybercrime among 120 nations. Concurrent with prior research, the results indicated that internet users per capita positively predicted all three forms of cybercrime. Unlike previous research, GDP presented a different relationship amongst all three outcomes: positive for spam, negative for fraud, and nonsignificant for malware. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Cybercriminals operate in obscurity to avoid detection of their illegal deeds. This fact makes st... more Cybercriminals operate in obscurity to avoid detection of their illegal deeds. This fact makes studying them more difficult. Many cybercriminals meet in illicit online market places such as carding forums. The forums are often visible, but the actual transactions are carried out in private messages beyond view. However, there is no honor among thieves, and sometimes a carding forum server database will be hacked and leaked to the public. Existing research has been conducted on such leaked databases, but much of it is quantitative, rather than offering any qualitative interpretation into the nature of the forum user base. This research sought to analyze two such leaked carding forum databases by applying hierarchical clustering of 10,714 registered user accounts, grouping users based on 19 variables consisting of comment history style, site engagement activity, and explicit status markers. The results yielded 16 categories of users from four different domains composed of general cons...
As U.S. correctional systems continue to rollout evidence-based programs, the utility of “complim... more As U.S. correctional systems continue to rollout evidence-based programs, the utility of “complimentary” programs that do not address recidivism reduction remains in question. Many U.S. prisons have a variety of prison-based animal programs, yet the outcomes are largely unexplored. This research addresses a literature gap by evaluating the intermediate outcomes associated with a statewide prison-based dog handler program. Using propensity score matching, we compared 1,001 inmates in a pretest, postentry design, aimed at measuring change across four outcomes. Results indicate that dog handler program inmates experienced significant improvement in three of four areas. Implications and further research needs are explored.
Spam is the sending of bulk, commercial, unsolicited electronic marketing messages. Today email s... more Spam is the sending of bulk, commercial, unsolicited electronic marketing messages. Today email spam makes up the majority of all email sent worldwide. The CAN SPAM Act is U.S. federal legislation that was passed in response to the growing spam problem. However, cybercrime such as email spam does not respect national borders, and spam can be sent from anywhere in the world, so it is questioned whether the CAN SPAM Act simply shifted spam beyond United States jurisdiction. The present research sought to address this question by analyzing the impact that prosecutions of spammers has had on a sample of 5,490,905 spam emails sent between 1998 and 2013. Two measures of spam nation of origin, U.S. IP address and U.S. domain name among spam emails, were created to assess the possible impact that the CAN SPAM Act might have had on the nation of origin associated with spam email messages. Results suggest a possible impact, with more ongoing CAN SPAM Act trials and media attention predicting less spam associated with the United States. CAN SPAM activity appeared to have the largest impact on US domain name registrations. Implications of the findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 2016
There is a growing need in Washington to triage patients being considered for inpatient treatment... more There is a growing need in Washington to triage patients being considered for inpatient treatment. There has previously been no risk assessment normed to persons with mental illness in the State of Washington. The Static Risk Assessment (SRA) is used in Washington to assess risk among offenders under State Department of Corrections supervision. The present study sought to create and validate a new risk assessment, the SRA for Mental Health Patients (SRA-MHP), for two mental health populations in Washington. A sample of 16,289 patients involuntarily committed due to being deemed dangerous or gravely disabled, as well as a sample of 8,713 forensic patients undergoing a competency evaluation to stand trial after being charged with a crime, was gathered to assess the utility in applying the SRA-MHP to persons with mental illness. Results indicate that the SRA-MHP has high predictive performance for these samples.
In the assessment world, risk determines “who” to treat and needs determine “what” (Bonta &am... more In the assessment world, risk determines “who” to treat and needs determine “what” (Bonta & Andrews, 2016). Yet, for youth, greater emphasis is placed on needs that target recidivism reduction interventions. Unlike risk, needs represent dynamic domains, or latent constructs, requiring testing to assure adequate measurement. We conducted a multi-level, multi-group analysis of the Modified Positive Achievement Change Tool (MPACT) with a 10-state sample of youth ( N = 258,464). Findings confirm the validity and reliability of needs domains, and the development of a novel “Global Needs Factor,” a composite summary of needs. Created without criminal history/static measures, needs scales demonstrate predictive accuracy. Further, measurement invariance and aspects of gender and race/ethnicity prediction parity are observed.
would like to thank the following individuals for their involvement and support in this project: ... more would like to thank the following individuals for their involvement and support in this project: The Washington State Department of Corrections (WADOC) for providing both content and needed data for the project. Specifically we would like to thank the following individuals: Bernie
In the wake of the mass incarceration movement, many states must now manage the rebound of decarc... more In the wake of the mass incarceration movement, many states must now manage the rebound of decarceration. Thermodynamic forces of the justice system, however, have pushed former fiscal pressures of institutions onto that of community corrections. Encouraged by the positive findings of recently piloted innovations, several jurisdictions have taken great interest in the implementation of deterrence-based sanctioning models when dealing with supervision violations. Among the first to implement a statewide turn to this style of sanctioning, Washington State's swift-and-certain (SAC) policy was implemented in June 2012.
Supplemental material, Supplemental for Optimizing Youth Risk Assessment Performance: Development... more Supplemental material, Supplemental for Optimizing Youth Risk Assessment Performance: Development of the Modified Positive Achievement Change Tool in Washington State by Zachary Hamilton, Melissa A. Kowalski, Alex Kigerl and Douglas Routh in Criminal Justice and Behavior
Since their seminal work, Andrews and Bonta outlined the Central Eight assessment domains. As the... more Since their seminal work, Andrews and Bonta outlined the Central Eight assessment domains. As the landscape and utility of criminal justice assessments extended, tool developers expanded upon their initial development principles searching to further risk prediction gains. However, often overlooked in recent advancements is the foundation and usage of associated needs assessments. As a critical component of contemporary tools, particularly for youth, results of needs assessments identify and prioritize program placement. These additional tools comprise domain subscales that represent common predictors of need. Due to their latent nature, need assessment requires careful development and assessments of construct validity. While important, examinations of construct validity are seldom completed for contemporary tools, and their results rarely used for meaningful tool improvements. The current study describes the needs assessment development of the Modified Positive Achievement Change To...
Email spam is one of the primary means to facilitate the perpetration of internet fraud and the d... more Email spam is one of the primary means to facilitate the perpetration of internet fraud and the distribution of malware. The present research sought to examine the impact of routine activity theory at the national level on three forms of cybercrime perpetrated through email spam. A sample of 871,146 spam email messages sent in 2012 were divided into three categories: fraudulent emails, emails spreading malware, and non-serious spam emails. The measures were then aggregated by country and five measures of routine activity theory at the national level were tested for their impact on cybercrime among 120 nations. Concurrent with prior research, the results indicated that internet users per capita positively predicted all three forms of cybercrime. Unlike previous research, GDP presented a different relationship amongst all three outcomes: positive for spam, negative for fraud, and nonsignificant for malware. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Cybercriminals operate in obscurity to avoid detection of their illegal deeds. This fact makes st... more Cybercriminals operate in obscurity to avoid detection of their illegal deeds. This fact makes studying them more difficult. Many cybercriminals meet in illicit online market places such as carding forums. The forums are often visible, but the actual transactions are carried out in private messages beyond view. However, there is no honor among thieves, and sometimes a carding forum server database will be hacked and leaked to the public. Existing research has been conducted on such leaked databases, but much of it is quantitative, rather than offering any qualitative interpretation into the nature of the forum user base. This research sought to analyze two such leaked carding forum databases by applying hierarchical clustering of 10,714 registered user accounts, grouping users based on 19 variables consisting of comment history style, site engagement activity, and explicit status markers. The results yielded 16 categories of users from four different domains composed of general cons...
As U.S. correctional systems continue to rollout evidence-based programs, the utility of “complim... more As U.S. correctional systems continue to rollout evidence-based programs, the utility of “complimentary” programs that do not address recidivism reduction remains in question. Many U.S. prisons have a variety of prison-based animal programs, yet the outcomes are largely unexplored. This research addresses a literature gap by evaluating the intermediate outcomes associated with a statewide prison-based dog handler program. Using propensity score matching, we compared 1,001 inmates in a pretest, postentry design, aimed at measuring change across four outcomes. Results indicate that dog handler program inmates experienced significant improvement in three of four areas. Implications and further research needs are explored.
Spam is the sending of bulk, commercial, unsolicited electronic marketing messages. Today email s... more Spam is the sending of bulk, commercial, unsolicited electronic marketing messages. Today email spam makes up the majority of all email sent worldwide. The CAN SPAM Act is U.S. federal legislation that was passed in response to the growing spam problem. However, cybercrime such as email spam does not respect national borders, and spam can be sent from anywhere in the world, so it is questioned whether the CAN SPAM Act simply shifted spam beyond United States jurisdiction. The present research sought to address this question by analyzing the impact that prosecutions of spammers has had on a sample of 5,490,905 spam emails sent between 1998 and 2013. Two measures of spam nation of origin, U.S. IP address and U.S. domain name among spam emails, were created to assess the possible impact that the CAN SPAM Act might have had on the nation of origin associated with spam email messages. Results suggest a possible impact, with more ongoing CAN SPAM Act trials and media attention predicting less spam associated with the United States. CAN SPAM activity appeared to have the largest impact on US domain name registrations. Implications of the findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 2016
There is a growing need in Washington to triage patients being considered for inpatient treatment... more There is a growing need in Washington to triage patients being considered for inpatient treatment. There has previously been no risk assessment normed to persons with mental illness in the State of Washington. The Static Risk Assessment (SRA) is used in Washington to assess risk among offenders under State Department of Corrections supervision. The present study sought to create and validate a new risk assessment, the SRA for Mental Health Patients (SRA-MHP), for two mental health populations in Washington. A sample of 16,289 patients involuntarily committed due to being deemed dangerous or gravely disabled, as well as a sample of 8,713 forensic patients undergoing a competency evaluation to stand trial after being charged with a crime, was gathered to assess the utility in applying the SRA-MHP to persons with mental illness. Results indicate that the SRA-MHP has high predictive performance for these samples.
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