The focus of this article is on the role that football agents play in the world of professional football. Their role has also been associated with criminal activities such as money laundering, tax evasion, corruption and the exploitation of under-age players. The article pays attention to recent developments in the world of football and the shady business practices in relation to the transfer of football players. Moreover, the article addresses the self-image of football agents and raises the question whether they should take more responsibility themselves in containing fraud and money laundering in the world of football.

Why and how mediated contact between victims and offenders (and members from their networks) leads to positive outcomes, remains a difficult question to answer. Not surprisingly therefore, this topic has been the focus of attention of multiple articles in the past twenty years of this journal. In this contribution, the inspiring article of Borbala Fellegi (2008), titled ‘Explaining the impact of restorative justice. The “4-way interaction” of morality, neutralisation, shame and bonds’ is celebrated. Fellegi presents a theoretical framework in which the added value of restorative, mediated victim-offender meetings for the re-integration of offenders is outlined compared to other judicial responses to crime. Central to her argument is that the mediation process affects in particular the four criminogenic factors mentioned in the title. In this contribution two innovative, working mechanisms of the mediation process that she proposes, are highlighted. First, the preparation phase in which the neutral mediator initiates and facilitates discussion of the crime and its consequences for the victim(s) with the offender. Fellegi proposes that this mechanism can (start to) lift the criminogenic factor moral reasoning of the offender. Second, the restorative focus of the encounter itself between the victim and offender, in which both parties can express how they were affected, express their emotions (such as shame feelings of the offender) and discuss jointly how restoration and reparation might be achieved. This should reduce the criminogenic factor neutralisation, increase moral reasoning, and might contribute to integrative social bonds between the parties and their networks. Thus, Fellegi’s work has made innovative suggestions about the working mechanisms of victim-offender mediation – these suggestions offer useful hypotheses that can be tested empirically.

In criminology, it is generally assumed that the high social status of white-collar offenders prevents them of being targeted by criminal law enforcement. But when they do, they suffer greater social and economic damage because of this high social status. Empirical research on the consequences of criminal law enforcement and conviction for white-collar offenders is scarce, and limited to the US and the UK. This paper used biographies of convicted former executives in business and public office in the Netherlands, to analyse these consequences and the process of the ‘fall from grace’ of white-collar offenders. The consequences are described in four life-domains: health, the private sphere, the occupational sphere and the social sphere. The results show that Dutch executives, in line with findings for the Anglo-American white-collar offenders, experience status degradation and suffer much collateral damage of criminal law enforcement. After the initial horror of imprisonment, they endure prison life fairly well. Individual competences and remaining social and economic capital enable them to return to normal life, although they cannot return to pre-conviction levels of social status.

Women are less likely to commit criminal acts than men. This gender gap appears to be particularly pronounced in white-collar crime. This systematic literature review examines existing theories, such as the situational hypothesis and the ‘gendered theory of focal concerns’ and evaluates to what extent they find support in empiricism. The results seem to offer the most support to the ‘gendered theory of focal concerns’. This nourishes the hypothesis that with an increase of women at positions in the upper tiers of the company ladder a decrease in the prevalence of white-collar crime can be expected. However, it is also possible that the explanation of corporate crime does not lie in a lack of femininity, but in a lack of gender diversity. Furthermore, limited access to informal criminal networks, the ‘old boys networks’, seems to play an important role in the gender gap of white-collar crime.

Illegal (IUU) fishing is a relatively understudied area within criminology. In this article the authors briefly describe what IUU fishing entails, what is known about the consequences of such fishing, and will list law enforcement issues. They illustrate how illegal fishing can be organized in different ways, and will give some examples of fish fraud. The authors also discuss the (massive) measurement issues. The ecological impact of IUU fishing constitutes an important reason for more research into this phenomenon.

The Netherlands are considered as an important hub for the illicit trade in species of endangered birds protected by the CITES convention. In this article the authors analyze five substantial criminal cases from three different perspectives. First, from a criminal business perspective, the cases illustrate that logistics vary from relatively simple to highly complex, but always require in-depth knowledge of the animals as well as regulations, to be able to keep the birds alive to make a profit, and to smuggle them to the Netherlands, respectively. Second, from a network perspective, it is clear that those who are involved in the illicit trade – suppliers, traders and customers – are part of a closed and often long-lasting group of people who know the trade. Finally, from a green criminological perspective, the authors conclude that harms of the illicit trade in protected birds are mentioned only to a limited extent in court rulings, contrary to what one might expect based on social construction theories of criminalization and sentencing.

The Halt-intervention is an extra-judicial intervention for young people who have committed a minor offense. This article zooms in on the results of a literature review concerning the efficacy of offering an apology, one of the core elements of the Halt-intervention. Offering an apology leads to more insight into the consequences of their behavior and it increases the sense of moral norms. Shame and guilt play a crucial role in this process. The effect of the excuse can be increased by good mediation between perpetrator and victim, good preparation of the conversation, and the drafting of a contract. These instructions can also be applied when offering an apology in other interventions.

This study contains a qualitative framing analysis of outlaw motor clubs in Dutch newspaper articles. These clubs appear in the news as a source for positive framing to counterbalance the prevailing organized crime frame. The study shows with what rhetorical means club members are framed and how news media balance a criminal and a non-criminal image. In news articles club members refer to ethical norms and group values, and appear to employ mitigation strategies which take the hard edges off the frame and simultaneously increase their credibility.

Over the last twenty years, research on desistance from crime and on restorative justice has grown rapidly and both have emerged as exciting, vibrant, and dynamic areas of contemporary criminological interest. While the implementation of restorative justice practices in Europe has been essentially victim-oriented, there has always also been an emphasis on including the moral and social rehabilitation of the offender. This more offender-centred approach to restorative justice and its practices is not limited to the evaluation of its ability to reduce crime, but is to be seen within the connection between reparation, resettlement (reintegration into the community after sentence), and desistance from crime. This article examines, from a broad perspective, but including some data from research on victim-offender mediation in prison, the capacity of restorative justice interventions to impact positively on offenders’ likelihood of stopping committing criminal offences.

IS propaganda is assumed to contribute to radicalization of Western Muslims. How IS propaganda reaches the hearts and minds of Western Muslims and consequently fuels radicalization is nonetheless an understudied topic. Through content analysis of all fifteen issues of IS-glossy Dabiq this article demonstrates how IS propaganda works in Dabiq. First, IS attunes in Dabiq to factors that foster radicalization according to the literature. IS does so by its discussion in Dabiq of injustice done to Muslims worldwide, the image of the Western enemy, and its positive presentation of the individual and group identity of IS fighters. Second, in Dabiq IS paves the way for embracing violent means, such as terrorist attacks on Western civilians through a discourse of ‘denial’.

In the introductory article of this special issue on the language of denial, some relevant concepts in relation to denial, speech act and discourse theory are explored. Stanley Cohen’s distinction between literal, interpretative and implicatory denial is illuminated, as well as the contribution of various scholars on the performative function of language. At the end of the article the relevance of these concepts for (cultural) criminology is explained.

This paper tries to answer the question why defendants use violence against police officers and whether, and if so how, they construct justifications for their own behavior. The study consists of an analysis of the situational aspects of violence against police officers and the characteristics of suspects. In addition, some suspects were interviewed about the incident in which they were involved. They were asked what their perception of the situation was, and what the background of the violence was. They were also asked for their opinion on the image of the police in general, and for their knowledge and perception of the relevant laws and regulations. The conclusion is that the motives for violence against a police officer lie in their belief that all men, police officer or not, are equal and should be treated with respect. Suspects feel treated unfairly and disrespectfully by police officers. Suspects feel that in such cases they are entitled to use force. Suspects are not aware of the differences between their own rights and responsibilities in such a situation and the authority that police officers legally have to use of force in order to perform their legal tasks.

Based on a literature research and program evaluation of the practice of Victim in Focus (Slachtoffer in Beeld) in 2013, two issues are addressed: What are the possible effects of victim offender mediation? Which active mechanisms will cause or contribute to these effects? The authors describe the current context and developments in The Netherlands concerning restorative justice and then describe the effects and possible active mechanisms such as satisfaction, diminishing fear, anger and shame, information and consent, procedural justice, reduction of recidivism, compliance. In a synthesis of active mechanisms they present four domains or mediating factors: from incomprehension to comprehension (cognitive restoration); from unease to ease (emotional restoration); from injustice to justice (moral restoration); from powerless to powerful feelings (restoration of control). The victim offender mediation as a ritual has an impact or is supposed to have an impact on these four domains for both victims and offenders. Within the four domains four activities or interactions within victim offender mediation are presented: creating understanding through inter-subjectivity; expression of fear, trauma and shame; doing justice by excuses/apologies and restorative actions; regaining self control. Further research is needed to validate the model and to get more insight in essential or primary and secondary aspects in the explanation of the impacts of victim offender mediation.

The Western world seems to be a secular one. Although secularization has long roots, from the sixties onwards the role of religion in public life has diminished. How did that affect the crime and security issue? Criminological literature learns that there is a two-sided relationship: (1) in a religious context there is an inhibiting effect of being religious; and (2) religion can also legitimize or neutralize criminal or violent behavior – for example in the case of Islam-related terrorist acts. Secularization did indeed contribute to the rise of crime; in nowadays secular context religion can – the other way around – legitimize criminal behavior. The author argues that secularization also has facilitated the growth of the security issue as such. Fear of crime was the driving force behind a process in which secularization resulted in securitization of Western society.

In contrast to the societal debate, the topic of religion and crime is only scarcely present in contemporary criminological research. A special issue on this theme hence seemed very relevant. Even though the editors launched an open call, the submitted proposals were almost always related to Islam. In this introduction we therefore reflect on questions and themes that, in our opinion, should be included in this special issue on religion and crime. First, we give a short overview of Belgian, Dutch and American research on the missing theme of sexual abuse in the church. Second, we discuss the complex concept of ‘religion’. Third, we assess the complex relationship between religion and crime and reflect on the question of whether and when religion leads to more or, on the contrary, less crime. We end this introduction with a brief overview of the selected contributions for this special issue.

What do we know about the criminological aspects of international crimes? What do they entail and what are facilitating factors which can help us understand their causes and how should we respond to these crimes? Are international crimes merely a more extreme form of ordinary crimes or are they a different kind of criminality? In the past few years a growing number of scholars both at a national and at an international level have devoted their scholarly attention to this important and urgent research theme. In this special issue we aim to present a number of articles in which different perspectives on this topic are presented. By doing so we hope to enhance our knowledge of this phenomenon and to provide an impulse to further criminological research within this area in both the Netherlands and Belgium. This introductory article gives an overview of the state of the art of international crime criminology in the Netherlands and Belgium, and the rest of the world.

During the 1990s the Serbian government entered into a symbiotic relationship with criminals and paramilitary units which led to a normalization of crime and violence. While society usually inhibits people from criminal behavior, in Serbia this process was reversed. Propaganda contained the neutralization techniques that allowed people to condone and even approve of violent and criminal behavior. The reversal of the moral order became part of Serbia’s popular culture in which criminals who had committed many atrocities during the war, like Arkan, were honored. In this way, Arkan served not only a military and strategic purpose but also a political one, by generating support for the war.