Are we Playing It Safe? A Scoping Review of Forced Criminality

• In Event: Social Networks I

Abstract

The term forced criminality refers to those who, through “force, fraud, or coercion, are compelled by others to engage in illegal activities” and was first mentioned by the U.S. Department of State (USDOS) in 2014. Researchers have identified common types as benefit fraud – being forced or coerced to apply for benefits, such as welfare, but never being allowed access to the money they had been paid (in 2012, benefit fraud comprised 58% of known forced criminality cases) – (Brotherton et al., 2014) and drug offenses, such as cultivating, transporting, or distributing drugs (Heys et al., 2022; Metropolitan Police, 2022). According to the USDOS (2022), 10.5% of reported global human trafficking cases are forced criminality. The extent of this type of human trafficking is unknown due to the dark figure of crime and a lack of awareness of this phenomenon by law enforcement and governments, which indicate the rates may be much higher. This scoping review aims to synthesize the literature regarding forced criminality to determine the extent to which forced criminality has been researched, the geographic regions represented, and the methodologies used. In addition, we explore whether they are sufficient in describing risk factors, prevalence, and outcomes associated with forced criminality.

Authors

• Michelle Poirier, University of Massachusetts Lowell

• Amber Horning Ruf, University of Massachusetts Lowell

• Wilson Palacios, University of Massachusetts Lowell

• Joselyne Chenane Nkogo, University of Massachusetts Lowell

• Rita Augustyn, Keene State College