Trends and Sources of Crime Guns in California: 2010-2021.

Firearm-related interpersonal violence is a leading cause of death and injury in cities across the United States, and understanding the movement of firearms from on-the-books sales to criminal end-user is critical to the formulation of gun violence prevention policy. In this study, we assemble a unique dataset that combines records for over 380,000 crime guns recovered by law enforcement in California (2010-2021), and more than 126,000 guns reported stolen, linked to in-state legal handgun transactions (1996-2021), to describe local and statewide crime gun trends and investigate several potentially important sources of guns to criminals, including privately manufactured firearms (PMFs), theft, and "dirty" dealers. We document a dramatic increase over the decade in firearms recovered shortly after purchase (7% were recovered within a year in 2010, up to 33% in 2021). This corresponds with a substantial rise in handgun purchasing over the decade, suggesting some fraction of newly and legally acquired firearms are likely diverted from the legal market for criminal use. We document the rapid growth of PMFs over the past 2-3 years and find theft plays some, though possibly diminishing, role as a crime gun source. Finally, we find evidence that some retailers contribute disproportionately to the supply of crime guns, though there appear to be fewer problematic dealers now than there were a decade ago. Overall, our study points to temporal shifts in the dynamics of criminal firearms commerce as well as significant city variation in the channels by which criminals acquire crime guns.

Analyzing the relationship between air pollution and various types of crime.

Air pollution has a severe impact on human physical and mental health. When the air quality is poor enough to cause respiratory irritation, people tend to stay home and avoid any outdoor activities. In addition, air pollution may cause mental health problems (depression and anxiety) which were associated with high crime risk. Therefore, in this study, it is hypothesized that increasing air pollution level is associated with higher indoor crime rates, but negatively associated with outdoor crime rates because it restricts people's daily outdoor activities. Three types of crimes were used for this analysis: robbery (outdoor crime), domestic violence (indoor crime), and fraud (cybercrime). The results revealed that the geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) model performed best with lower AIC values. In general, in the higher population areas with more severe air pollution, local authorities should allocate more resources, extra police officers, or more training programs to help them prevent domestic violence, rather than focusing on robbery.

Impact of a crime prevention ordinance for small retail establishments.

BACKGROUND: Ordinances requiring the implementation of robbery prevention measures have been enacted at the city level in many jurisdictions. We evaluated the impact of an ordinance requiring crime prevention measures on subsequent crime rates. METHODS: Crime reports for robbery and aggravated assault from January 2006 through December 2015 were linked to randomly-selected convenience stores and small retail grocers in Houston (n = 293). Store characteristics and compliance with a list of safety measures were collected by surveyors in 2011. Generalized linear mixed models were used to compare rates of crime before and after the implementation of the ordinance. RESULTS: Robberies decreased significantly after the ordinance went into effect (rate ratio = 0.38; 95% confidence interval 0.29-0.51). No individual safety measure was associated with decreased robbery rates. No similar decrease was observed for aggravated assault. CONCLUSIONS: City ordinances mandating crime prevention measures can be effective. We could not parse out the effectiveness of individual elements, suggesting a comprehensive approach may be more effective.

Advance hybrid medical watermarking algorithm using speeded up robust features and discrete cosine transform.

In the continuous development of computer network technology, multimedia technology and information technology, digitization has become the main means of displaying information, thus facilitating the storage, copying and dissemination of digital multimedia information. In this context, there are no restrictions on arbitrary editing, copying, modification, and dissemination of digital images, music, etc., which leads to various social problems such as information security, copyright disputes, and piracy. With the advancement of networks and multimedia, digital watermarking technology has received worldwide attention as an effective method of copyright protection. Improving the anti-geometric attack ability of digital watermarking algorithms using image feature-based algorithms have received extensive attention. This paper proposes a novel robust watermarking algorithm based on SURF-DCT perceptual hashing (Speeded Up Robust Features and Discrete Cosine Transform), namely blind watermarking. The algorithm firstly uses the affine transformation with a feature matrix and chaotic encryption technology to preprocess the watermark image, enhance the confidentiality of the watermark, and perform block and DCT coefficients extraction on the carrier image, and then uses the positive and negative quantization rules to modify the DCT coefficients. The embedding of the watermark is completed, and the blind extraction of the watermark realized. Experiments show that the algorithm has good invisibility and strong robustness against conventional and geometric attacks and can effectively protect the security of images with NC value more than 90%.

To Catch a Thief: Protecting Proprietary Information Including Trade Secrets From Corporate Espionage.

Corporate espionage is a multifaceted problem causing hundreds of billions of dollars in losses to businesses each year. Health care managers have a wide variety of options available to prevent theft of their organizations' trade secrets and other proprietary information. Organizations should protect their confidential and trade secret information by taking various security measures to limit access to protected material and by using appropriate types of restrictive covenants such as nondisclosure, noncompetition, and nonsolicitation agreements. This article provides helpful guidance for managers to maximize protection against theft of proprietary information.

Diversion of Controlled Drugs in Hospitals: A Scoping Review of Contributors and Safeguards.

Drug losses and theft from the healthcare system are accelerating; hospitals are pressured to implement safeguards to prevent drug diversion. Thus far, no reviews summarize all known risks and potential safeguards for hospital diversion. Past incidents of hospital drug diversion have impacted patient and staff safety, increased hospital costs, and resulted in infectious disease outbreaks. We searched MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Scopus, and Web of Science databases and the gray literature for articles published between January 2005 and June 2018. Articles were included if they focused on hospital settings and discussed either: (1) drug security or accounting practices (any drug) or (2) medication errors, healthcare worker substance use disorder, or incident reports (only with reference to controlled drugs). We included 312 articles and extracted four categories of data: (1) article characteristics (eg, author location), (2) article focus (eg, clinical areas discussed), (3) contributors to diversion (eg, factors enabling drug theft), and (4) diversion safeguards. Literature reveals a large number of contributors to drug diversion in all stages of the medication-use process. All health professions and clinical units are at risk. This review provides insights into known methods of diversion and the safeguards hospitals must consider to prevent them. Careful configuration of healthcare technologies and processes in the hospital environment can reduce the opportunity for diversion. These system-based strategies broaden the response to diversion beyond that of individual accountability. Further evidence is urgently needed to address the vulnerabilities outlined in this review and prevent harm.

Decreasing Food Stealing of Child with Prader-Willi Syndrome Through Function-Based Differential Reinforcement.

Challenging behaviors involving food are common for individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) and often lead to obesity and other chronic health conditions. Efforts to decrease these behaviors, such as isolation during meals and strict monitoring of food consumption, can be stigmatizing. To decrease the food stealing of a 7 year-old girl with PWS, therapists conducted a latency-based functional analysis in a clinic setting before implementing a function-based intervention to facilitate her inclusion at the family dinner table. Intervention components entailed differential reinforcement procedures which incorporated a token board and schedule thinning. The intervention successfully generalized to the home setting and across food preferences and implementers.

Differences in Robbery Prevention Strategies Across Retail Business Types.

OBJECTIVE: To compare implementation of robbery prevention strategies between gas station/convenience stores with liquor stores/grocery stores/pharmacies, restaurants/bars, and other retail businesses. METHODS: One hundred forty-nine retail businesses were evaluated by police personnel across four police departments for adherence to robbery prevention strategies. Assessment of these strategies occurred between November 2012 and October 2014. Implementation of these strategies were compared across business types using logistic regression. RESULTS: Liquor/grocery stores/pharmacies and restaurants/bars were less likely to have a high site assessment score for robbery prevention elements when compared with gas station/convenience stores. CONCLUSIONS: Non-gas station/convenience stores require stronger consideration when developing robbery prevention programs and policies to assure appropriate implementation of robbery prevention strategies.

What To Do When Employees Steal: Medical Practices Are a Ripe Target for Embezzlement.

Medical practices are a ripe target for embezzlement.

Deterring delinquents with information. Evidence from a randomized poster campaign in Bogotá.

In this article, we test whether an isolated information campaign can deter criminals by appealing to their apprehension risk perception. A randomized trial was conducted around 154 high crime housing blocks in Bogotá. With support of the Colombian Police, half of the blocks were exposed to a three month poster campaign reporting the number of "arrests around this street block" and half to a no-treatment control condition. The main outcome measure (total registered crime) and secondary outcome measures (calls to the emergency line for thefts and attacks, and minor wrongdoings) were provided by the Police. Additionally, trust in police, security perception, and police performance perception were measured among residents and workers in the treatment and control areas (N = 616) using a post-treatment survey. Measures were analyzed with linear regression analysis and two-sample t-tests. Over the course of the treatment period, premeditated crime was reduced, while spontaneous crime remained unchanged. Overall levels of crime were not significantly altered. Also, a moderate crime reduction is detectable during the first month of the treatment period. The posters were highly visible (93% of respondents in the treated areas recalled them) and positively received (67% "liked" them). Perceptions of security and police among locals improved, though not significantly. Inherent among residents of Bogotá is a pervasive feeling of impunity and low trust in authorities, making the city a hard test case for an offender-targeted advertising campaign. Initial reductions of crime and overall reductions of premeditated crime are thus noteworthy. These results align with key principles of apprehension risk updating theory.

Gun Theft and Crime.

Some law enforcement officials and other observers have asserted that theft is the primary source of guns to crime. In fact, the role of theft in supplying the guns used in robbery, assault, and murder is unknown, and current evidence provides little guidance about whether an effective program to reduce gun theft would reduce gun violence. The current article analyzes publicly available national data on gun theft together with a unique data set for Chicago. The results tend to support a conclusion that stolen guns play only a minor role in crime. First, publicly available data are used to calculate that thefts are only about 1% of all gun transactions nationwide. Second, an analysis of original data from Chicago demonstrates that less than 3% of crime guns recovered by the police have been reported stolen to the Chicago Police Department (CPD). If a gun is reported stolen, there is a 20% chance that it will be recovered, usually in conjunction with an arrest for illegal carrying. Less than half of those picked up with a stolen gun have a criminal record that includes violent offenses. Third, results from surveys of convicted criminals, both nationally and in Chicago, suggest that it is rare for respondents to have stolen the gun used in their most recent crime. The data on which these results are based have various shortcomings. A research agenda is proposed that would provide more certainty about the role of theft.