Most individuals with radical ideologies will not evolve into violent extremists, let alone terrorists. Understanding the dynamics and various pathways into a radical ideology is nonetheless... Show moreMost individuals with radical ideologies will not evolve into violent extremists, let alone terrorists. Understanding the dynamics and various pathways into a radical ideology is nonetheless important. However, empirical research on pathways into left-wing radicalization is scarce. In this chapter, we define the concept of left-wing radicalization in relation to extremism and provide an overview of existing research on left-wing radicalization. Drawing on case studies and our own empirical research, we discuss both individual motives for participation in radical left groups and macro-level factors in the political and societal context that impact the growth or demise of radical left groups. Show less
Detailed, comparative research on firearm violence in Europe is rare. Using data from the European Homicide Monitor, this paper presents the prevalence and characteristics of firearm homicides in... Show moreDetailed, comparative research on firearm violence in Europe is rare. Using data from the European Homicide Monitor, this paper presents the prevalence and characteristics of firearm homicides in Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland between 2001 and 2016. Furthermore, we compare firearm to non-firearm homicides to assess the degree of uniqueness of firearms as modus operandi. We find that the firearm homicide rate varies across our sample of countries. We also identify two country profiles: in Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden, most firearm homicides take place in public and urban areas, involving male victims and perpetrators. In these countries, the use of firearms in homicides is largely concentrated in the criminal milieu. In Finland and Switzerland, firearms are mostly used in domestic homicides, with a higher share of female victims. We explore these findings in relation to firearm availability in each country. Show less
Despite the fact that the issue of illegal hand grenades in the Netherlands received ample public attention, a number of questionssurrounding this phenomenon remain: For what kind of crimes are... Show moreDespite the fact that the issue of illegal hand grenades in the Netherlands received ample public attention, a number of questionssurrounding this phenomenon remain: For what kind of crimes are hand grenades used as weapons? What do we know about the victims and perpetrators of these incidents? Where do the hand grenades come from? Whilst anecdotal reports by the media have addressed some of these questions, there is still a vast scientific lacuna regarding this phenomenon. Therefore, in 2019, we launched the Dutch Hand Grenade Monitor, a database to track all incidents of illegal use of hand grenades in the Netherlands. Combining information from news articles, public trial documents and data fromthe Dutch National Police, we gathered information on the characteristics of these incidents, victims, perpetrators and possible connections to other crimes. In this report, we present the most relevant findings on the illegal use of hand grenades in the Netherlands from January 2008 to August 2021 Show less
Homicide is generally considered the most serious of all crimes and according to this line of reasoning, constitutes the “tip of the iceberg” of underlying crime. As such, homicide is frequently... Show moreHomicide is generally considered the most serious of all crimes and according to this line of reasoning, constitutes the “tip of the iceberg” of underlying crime. As such, homicide is frequently used as an indicator of the level of violence in cross-national and historical studies. The same could be said for drug-related homicide, specifically. Many drug-related violent incidents remain unreported – including torture, physical assault, threats and so on. In the absence of a full picture of the level of drug-related violence, it can be necessary to use other related indicators for which data is more readily available such as drug-related homicide (DRH). From this perspective, DRH would form a lethal tip of the iceberg of underlying drug-related criminal violence, which in turn could be an indicator of underlying drug market activity. If we indeed consider drug-related homicide as a tip of the iceberg of underlying criminal violence, then we would expect such homicides to cluster together in time and space with other types of criminal violence – in particular firearm-related homicides and other, non-lethal firearm incidents.In this working paper we seek to assess to what extent DRH cluster together with firearm- related violence and whether these forms of violence could be used as indicators of underling drug crime. Show less
Wieringen, L. van; Krüsselmann, K.; Weggemans, D.J.; Liem, M.C.A. 2021
