Today was not a good day: offender accounts of the incidents that led to their admission to drug court

One method that has been touted to help end mass incarceration is using intermediate sanctions. While intermediate sanctions often present as attractive options, there is evidence that as practiced, these sanctions often result in net widening. One of the most common forms of intermediate sanctions are drug courts, which are often viewed as progressive alternatives to locking up people with substance abuse problems. However, along with the dangers of net widening, scholars have shown that many people admitted to drug courts do not seem to have substance abuse problems and could benefit from lesser criminal justice interventions. In the current study, we analyzed intake data from a drug court to determine: (1) what charge(s) drug participants had and (2) how they became involved with the criminal justice system. Among important findings were that a large number of drug court participants were arrested for the possession of one drug only (often marijuana) and that more than half of participants came to the attention of the criminal justice system through a traffic stop rather than through repeated encounters with the criminal justice system.     

Armed,but too dangerous? Factors associated with citizen support for the militarization of the police

Images of police officers riding in armored vehicles and carrying military-grade weapons have become part of the public consciousness following the events in Ferguson, Missouri and several other high-profile police–citizen encounters. Although a great deal of research has investigated how and why US citizens perceive the police in various ways, almost no empirical work has asked how citizens perceive the militarization of the police. The current study analyzes data from a survey of 1005 US citizens to identify characteristics that are related to support for the use of military weapons and vehicles by local police departments. The results indicate that several demographic factors and perceptions of crime and the police are significantly related with citizen support for the militarization of the police. The implications of this research are discussed.     

What is the prevalence of abuse in the deaf/hard of hearing population?

It is thought that deaf or hard of hearing individuals are at greater risk of abuse than the hearing population. The purpose of this paper is to systematically examine and integrate existing literature to determine the prevalence rates of neglect, emotional, physical and sexual abuse and intimate partner violence (IPV). A set of inclusion and exclusion criteria was determined. Following this a comprehensive search of numerous databases was conducted. Fourteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Eight studies reviewed the prevalence of sexual abuse, seven reviewed physical abuse, five reviewed emotional abuse, four reviewed neglect and six examined IPV. This exceeds 14 as numerous studies examined multiple types of abuse. Quality assessment indicated 12 studies were of ‘moderate’ quality and the remaining two were rated ‘good’ quality. Issues with similar samples, a tendency towards young, educated women within the IPV data, and small samples suggest caution is to be used when interpreting their results. The reliance on written measures and the absence of an interpreter or translation of materials in some studies further complicates the results. All types of abuse were found to be more prevalent within the deaf and hard of hearing population compared to the hearing population.     

The EU law “core” module: surviving the perfect storm of Brexit and the SQE

This article seeks to examine the potential impact of the vote to leave the European Union (EU) in the UK referendum in June 2016, together with changes to professional training, notably the imposition of a new Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) from 2019/20, on the teaching of EU law in law degrees in England and Wales. The history of the qualifying law degree (QLD) and the place of the EU law core module within it are explained. The likely continuing effect of EU law in the English Legal System is summarised, and the reduction in EU law content in the requirements for professional training as compared with that customary on a QLD is noted. In the light of these apparent threats to the EU law module, possibilities are explored for rethinking approaches to teaching law which would reinvigorate the significance of EU law in law degrees which may well undergo redesign in the light of the changes considered here.     

AFGHANISTAN: CROSSROADS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD (EXHIBITION ARTICLE)

A curtain-raiser by the curator of the Exhibition of Antiquities from Afghanistan, which opens at the British Museum on 3 March 2011. The exhibits come from the National Museum in Kabul and show the richness and extent of trade in ancient times through and with Afghanistan. They are from excavations at a number of sites, including Begram, Tilla Tepe and Ai Khanum.     

ANC foreign policy making during the Mbeki period: More democratic or less?

The African National Congress, as an entity distinct from government, served during the 1994–2008 period as an independent forum for debate about South Africa's foreign policy, particularly in the National Executive Committee's Subcommittee on International Relations. This debate retained the oligarchic character of the movement in exile, with few voices – Thabo Mbeki's most prominent among them – dominating the discussion, inputs from subnational party structures almost non-existent, and dissenters expected to keep quiet publicly. That said, participants in these discussions largely dismissed characterisations of Mbeki as a dictator in the foreign policy debate, noting that the predominance of his views stemmed mostly from his strong argumentation and knowledge rather than bullying. Senior ANC leaders also claimed that limited interest in foreign policy, outside of national party structures, hindered efforts to broaden participation in foreign policy formulation.     

Third world prize 1982

Mozambique: who calls the shots. by Joseph Hanlon, London: James Currey. 1991. 301pp. £11.95pb

Renamo: terrorism in Mozambique. by Alex Vines, London: James Currey. 1991. 176pp. £7.95pb

Behind the Intifada: labor and women's movements in the occupied territories. by Joost R Hiltermann, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. 265pp

Original Sins: Reflections on the History of Zionism and Israel. by Benjamin Beit‐Hallahmi, London and Concord: Pluto Press 1992, 218pp

Living Together Separately: Arabs and Jews in Contemporary Jerusalem. by Michael Romann and Alex Weingrod, Princeton: Princeton University Press. 1991. 258pp

Veiled Half‐Truths: Western Travellers’ Perceptions of Middle Eastern Women. by Judy Mabro, London: IB Tauris. 1991

Ethnicity and Nationalism: theory and comparison. by Paul R Brass, New Delhi/Newbury Park/London: Sage Publications. 1991. 358pp

Policy Options for the Singapore Economy. by Lim, Chong‐Yah and Associates, London and Singapore: McGraw‐Hill. 1988. 499pp $US42.50 hb

Management of Success: The Moulding of Modern Singapore. edited by K S Sandhu and Paul Wheatley, Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. 1989. 1134 pp $US89. hb and $US59.90 sb.

Ethiopia: Transition and Development in the Horn of Africa. by Mulatu Wubneh and Yohannis Abate, Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1988. 224pp. £32

Storm Signals: Structural Adjustment and Development Alternatives in the Caribbean. by Kathy McAfee, London: Zed Books. 1991.

The Significance of the Commonwealth 1965–90. by W David McIntyre London: Macmillan (Cambridge Commonwealth Series). 1991. 305pp

Multiple‐Shift Schooling: Design and Operation for Cost‐Effectiveness. by Mark Bray London: Commonwealth Secretariat. 1989. 155pp. £4.00pb     

US foreign policy,intersectional totality and the structure of empire

Debates about US empire have subsided somewhat in the aftermath of the George W Bush presidency but the issues underlying such debates have not gone away. In arguing that the history of the United States is an imperial one, this article proposes that US empire is the expression of an intersectional totality, one shaped by various vectors of power but reducible to none. To make this case, the article presents a sketch of US imperial history in order to show how this intersectional totality has evolved over time. Such an exercise can give useful context to the foreign policy initiatives of the Barack Obama administration, one that differs from that of its immediate predecessor but is not outside the structure of imperial history’s longer duration.