Exploring and improving the accuracy of juvenile general violence profiling in Kuwait juvenile protection

  • Abdullah Althuwaikh

Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis

Abstract

This thesis embarks on a series of empirical studies that delve into the complex dynamics of juvenile offending through an in-depth analysis of a sample of N = 656 violent juvenile offenders, as documented in police data from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Kuwait between 2017 and 2020. A key innovation of this study is the development of the Juvenile Violent Offender Checklist (JVOC), which comprises 185 variables derived from Kuwaiti police data, allowing for a detailed profiling and understanding of juvenile offenders. Applying a standard framework to assess twelve predictors, including age, cultural background, family influence, neglect, child abuse, mental disorder, school influence, peer influence, delinquency, substance use, impulsivity, and violence to reveal severity and prevention of violent juvenile offenders.
The first empirical study identifies significant predictors of offending patterns, such as cultural background, violence, neglect, mental disorders, delinquency, and substance use, and how these factors influence different juvenile offender styles including solo, co-offenders, mixed-style offenders, and gang affiliations.
Additionally, this study found that a juvenile's age is a critical factor in differentiating between current, prior, and never gang affiliations.
The second empirical study focuses on physical and sexual offenses, revealing that older juveniles are more prone to commit physical crimes, while violence, peer influence, and child abuse are strong predictors of sexual offenses. This study also examined the precrime behaviours and modus operandi of sexual crimes, emphasising the role of specific actions and crime scene dynamics.
The third empirical study delves into financial crimes, uncovering that delinquency, substance use, mental disorders, and family influence are key predictors of such offenses. Multidimensional scaling (MDS) is utilised to illustrate the complex interactions and clustering of behavioural and situational factors, revealing two distinct offender profiles based on the nature of their acquisitive crimes. This nuanced analysis highlights the specific circumstances and methods associated with each type, providing deep insights into patterns of juvenile financial offending.
The fourth empirical study employs structural equation modelling to trace developmental trajectories from childhood to adolescence, illustrating how early life experiences such as family issues, neglect, and abuse interlink with adolescent behaviours like delinquency and violence, ultimately shaping sexual and physical violent offending patterns.
Overall, the research underscores the complex interplay of individual, familial, and social factors influencing juvenile violence offending in Kuwait. The findings enrich forensic psychology literature and provide empirical evidence to inform targeted intervention strategies, policy development and improving criminal profiling within the police data.
Date of Award10 Sept 2024
Original languageEnglish
Awarding Institution
  • University of Roehampton
SponsorsKuwait Cultural Office – Embassy of Kuwait in London
SupervisorMarco Sandrini (Director of Studies), Ewa Stefanska (Co-Supervisor) & Nicholas Longpre (Co-Supervisor)

Keywords

  • Modus operandi
  • Juvenile offending
  • Criminal profiling
  • Juvenile offenders style
  • Police data
  • Early crime phase
  • Gang affiliation
  • Mixed style juvenile offending
  • Criminogenic risk factors
  • Financial juvenile offenders
  • Physical juvenile offenders – sexual juvenile offenders
  • Juvenile violence – Kuwait Juvenile Protection

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