Police Impersonation: Pretenses and Predators

Empirical research on police impersonation is rare. This research employs quantitative and qualitative methodologies on 2002?C2010 police case files describing impersonation incidents from three police agencies to provide an understanding of the individual and situational constructs associated with police impersonation. Research objectives included: exploring incident characteristics, comparing incidents to national violent crime statistics; and identifying common themes. Results show that police impersonation incidents, offenders, and victims are unique, particularly when compared to national data. Qualitative analysis identified three major themes related to tactics, motivations, and typology. The research offers a framework for establishing policy recommendations.     

Decision-Making About Volitional Impairment in Sexually Violent Predators

The Kansas v. Hendricks (1997) decision, in which the Supreme Court authorized post-sentence civil commitment for certain sex offenders, appeared to be constitutionally legitimized by limiting the class of offenders eligible for this special form of civil commitment to those who are "unable to control" their dangerousness. Nowhere in the available record, however, did the Court elucidate what they meant by this notion of volitional impairment. This study sought to examine factors that legal professionals (n=43), psychologists (n=40), and mock jurors (n=76) deem most relevant to a determination of sex offender volitional impairment. Participants, who were randomly assigned to a sexual predator commitment or an insanity hearing context, read a series of 16 vignettes that described a pedophilic offender and included combinations of variables hypothesized to be related to judgments of volitional impairment. Results suggested that participants, who as a group made remarkably high estimates of likelihood of future sexual violence, considered verbalization of control, history of sexual violence, and the context of the hearing as highly relevant to determinations of volitional impairment. Implications for policy and practice are explored.     

Predators and the Public Interest — the 'Big Four' and Multi–Disciplinary Practices

This article explores the growing body of professional and academic support for Multi–disciplinary Practices (MDPs) which combine the provision of legal, accounting, financial, and other 'professional' services. In doing so, it traces the development of MDPs in the UK and assesses the leading claims which have been advanced in favour of these 'one stop' providers. It is suggested that support for MDPs is located within the emergence of a new professional paradigm which places a high premium on quality of service and the resolution of complex problems and is based on a narrow conception of the public interest which is closely if not solely associated with promoting consumer welfare. This, itself, is rooted in a deregulatory vision of the world – that is, the view that the breaking down of barriers (professional, legal, and cultural), which restrict competition and impede consumer choice, is in the 'public interest'. The article challenges these views, arguing that many of the alleged consumer benefits which are said to flow from the formation of MDPs are at best speculative and that, in any case, a proper conception of the public interest is one which extends beyond a narrow concern for consumer interests.