Search

The paper presents the results of a research related to the existence of stereotypes in connection with sexual violence among the general population of Serbia, as well as among the students of the University of Criminal Investigation and Police Studies in Belgrade (UCIPS). Bearing in mind that comparative studies testify to a high level the presence of stereotypes related to sexual violence, the researchers have attempted to establish whether there are any differences in understanding this issue among the above-mentioned categories of respondents, as some of them are prospective police officers, who will likely be in contact with the victims of sexual violence given the nature of their job. The focus was also on the differences in the manner of obtaining information about this phenomenon. The study encompassed a total of 310 respondents, out of whom 62 were the students of the UCIPS and 61 the students of other universities, whereas all others were above the student age. The data were collected by filling in a questionnaire and analysing responses by the use of descriptive statistics and correlation. The results suggest that the information from the Internet is a principal source of obtaining information about sexual violence except among the UCIPS students, who primarily learn about such phenomena from professional literature. The initial thesis on the absence of significant differences related to rape stereotypes among the UCIPS students and the students of other universities, irrespective of their previous professional education, has been confirmed, which indicates the need for narrowly targeted expert education of prospective police officers in respect of issues of sexual violence.

Bearing in mind the fact that criminal behaviour is conditioned by the action of both cognitive and conative factors, the basic assumption we have started from in the research was that in the individual series the rapists had shown a clear individual variability in certain sequences of the crime. In this sense, the paper presents the analysis of three individual series of rapes, which has included two components or manifestations of behaviour: “modus operandi” and criminal “signature”. The data from the Department for the prevention of homicide and sexual offences of the Criminal Police, the Police Directorate for the City of Belgrade, have been used in the paper. These data have included pieces of information for three multiple perpetrators of the crime of rape, aged 30, 21 and 25 respectively at the time they committed crime. The results of the analysis have shown that in the individual series the rapists repeated certain patterns of behaviour during the approach phase, the phase of attack and sexual conduct. However, in terms of operational significance, we are of the opinion that only the information related to sexual behaviour of the rapist to the victim can be considered the characteristic pattern of behaviour, from at least a couple of reasons. Firstly, the relationship between treatment and sexual fantasy is two-way. The sexual activity of a rapist comes from his fantasy, since it determines his behaviour. Secondly, sexual fantasy is vitalized only through the way in which the rapist treats the victim. Finally, the sexual behaviour is symbolic rather than functional, and is therefore unique.

It is obvious that drug addiction and drug crime are the phenomena of the past, the present and the future. Any serious intentions to fight these phenomena assume serious research in order to observe the possible directions for future action of a wide range of entities involved in the fight against these social evils. In this sense, this paper presents the data from surveys completed in early 2015, on a sample of 413 respondents, related to the perception of threat of drug addiction and drug-crime to the society in Serbia. The authors of the research dealt with the respondents' views regarding the causes of drug abuse, the factors that may affect its reduction, as well as the causes of drug trafficking, the current trends and important factors for its control, with special reference to the police as an active participant in this process. The studied sample included, among others, 82 students of the Academy of Criminalistics and Police Studies based in Belgrade, in order to compare possible differences in attitudes within the general population and those who have been chosen to become police officers in the future. They used descriptive statistics and method of correlation. The research results showed that the students of the ACPS can be allocated as a separate entity, given that their views differ from the views of others respondents in the general sample, as well as the other respondents of the younger population. Specifically, the students of the ACPS have a more positive attitude when it comes to the perception of threat of drug addiction and the drug trafficking to the Serbian society, with more expressed critical attitude towards the educational system and the media, and followed by higher expectations from family in general in order to combat this social evils. Also, they are characterized by slightly favoring the role of police in fighting drug trafficking, with more accented perceptions of drug trafficking growth in the previous period of time compared to other respondents.