This exploratory systematic review assessed the quality of primary studies on young people who kill and synthesised the findings regarding the characteristics of these offenders. An electronic search yielded 12,717 hits of papers published between 1989 and 2012. Of these, 8,395 duplicates, 3,787 irrelevant hits, and 527 publications not meeting the inclusion criteria of the review were excluded (15 publications were added after searching the grey literature), leaving 23 good quality studies. From these, a further seven were removed due to their small sample size (i.e., n < 30), leaving a total of 16 studies reviewed in detail. A search update was carried out on 2 February 2014 and no further studies meeting the inclusion criteria were found. The results indicate that juvenile homicide offenders are a heterogeneous group and the risk factors for juvenile homicide are cumulative and evolve through life. The findings are mixed, but ten risk factors are identified which appear to be consistent for offenders across the studies reviewed. The limitations of the current review are highlighted and recommendations for future research are outlined, with particular consideration given to improving the quality of the literature in this field.

School shootings are a concern due to their impact in the local community. This paper aimed to (a) establish frequent characteristics of the offender and offence, (b) explore the differences between offenders who are over the age of 18 years and those who are younger, and (c) consider the underlying themes of the offence characteristics. Data were collected on 28 cases through accessing resources such as West Law and case studies. The majority of the offenders were Caucasian and US citizens and suffered from depression. Their offences were primarily well planned, involved more than three deaths, and resulted in the offender committing suicide. Pearson's chi-square test and Fisher's exact test identified significant differences between the two age groups. Offenders who were 18 years of age or under were more likely to experience depression, be US citizens and be linked to the school.Additionally, offenders who were 18 years of age or under were more likely to have stolen their weapons and made threats prior to the incident. Smallest space analysis revealed four thematic regions in relation to the offence characteristics: making an impact, delivering a message, doing unrestrained activity, and targeting specific individuals. These findings have implications for risk assessment and furthering understanding.

The government's counter-terrorism policy, known as CONTEST, has four components, Pursue, Protect, Prepare and Prevent. The counter terrorism and security act in 2015 led to changes to Prevent by placing a legal duty on frontline staff, such as teachers, to enact Prevent in schools and colleges. Currently, the impact of these changes is not well understood, and the present study explores the attitudes and experiences of college teachers regarding the implementation of the Prevent duty. Fourteen participants, across three London colleges, took part in semi-structured interviews regarding their training experiences, the implementation of the Prevent duty, knowledge about radicalisation and extremism, and teaching British values. Thematic analysis of the interview transcripts revealed five main themes: training experiences; reporting students; confidence; the association of Islam with Prevent; and protecting students. This study discusses possible changes to Prevent's implementation in educational settings and the development of community out-reach programmes. In addition, it suggests future research directions, such as empirical research on the effectiveness of de-radicalisation programmes.

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