The impact of after‐school programs on the routine activities of middle‐school students: Results from a randomized,controlled trial*

Research Summary Unsupervised after‐school time for adolescents is a concern for parents and policymakers alike. Evidence linking unsupervised adolescent socializing to problem behavior outcomes heightens this concern among criminologists. Routine activities theory suggests that, when youth peer groups congregate away from adult authority, both opportunity for and motivation to engage in deviant acts increase. After‐school programs are a possible solution to unsupervised teen socializing during afternoon hours and are much in demand. However, empirical research has yet to test the relationship between the availability of after‐school programs and youth routine activities. This study presents evidence from a multisite, randomized, controlled trial of an after‐school program for middle‐school students in an urban school district. Policy Implications Youth in the treatment group engaged in less unsupervised socializing after school than youth in the control group but not as much less as would be expected if the after‐school program was providing consistent supervision to youth who would otherwise be unsupervised. Additional analyses examined why the influence of the after‐school program was not more pronounced. We found that, although program attendance was related to decreases in unsupervised socializing, the program did not attract many delinquency‐prone youths who were unsupervised, which suggests that the students most in need of the program did not benefit. Furthermore, data obtained from a mid‐year activity survey revealed that youth in the study were highly engaged in a variety of after‐school activities. The addition of the after‐school program into the mixture of available activities had little effect on the frequency with which students participated in organized activities after school.     

以社会主义法治理念推进法治城市建设

今年是全面贯彻实施中共中央、国务院批转的“五五”规划和全国人大常委会《关于加强法制宣传教育的决议》的头一年,同时,也是政法队伍广泛开展社会主义法治理念教育活动的一年。辽宁省依法治省领导小组办公室决定,在制定好“五五”法制宣传教育规划工作的基础上,以社会主义法治理念来指导和规范各地的法治城市建设活动,并以此作为全省“五五”法制宣传教育启动工作的突破点。一、建设社会主义法治城市理念的提出在“二五”普法初期,辽宁省委、省政府、省人大在总结了全省各行各业“学法用法”工作经验之后,作出了依法治省的决定。随之而来,…     

Perceptions of fairness: industry action on the use of material non-public information

Key points

• Fair dealing is critical to trading relationshipsin the financial markets, and the perception of fairness isjust as important as any legal restrictions on the use of materialnon-public information, perhaps more so.
• Major participantsin the global credit markets and the associations that representthem have, in recent years, published a set of principles regardingthe use of material non-public information and the safeguardsthat an active market participant should have in place to protectagainst misuse.
• Ensuring this perception of fairness promotesconfidence in markets and enhances their liquidity and transparency.

  In their article, (see pp 245–259 of this issue of CMLJ)Dr Sharon Brown-Hruska and Robert Zwirb present a persuasiveargument for distinguishing between securities and derivatives,particularly when it comes to the issue of     

National Judges,Community Judges: Invitation to a Journey through the Looking‐glass—On the Need for Jurisdictions to Rethink the Inter‐systemic Relations beyond the Hierarchical Principle

The historical conflict between the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and the national constitutional courts regarding primacy is a misunderstanding. In going through the looking‐glass, we can understand that, on the contrary, the ECJ and the national constitutional courts adopt comparable solutions in their treatment of legal pluralism, and that they see the negation of pluralism as essential for the survival of their own legal orders. Therefore, these judges must be offered a new theoretical context to help them reconcile their role as supreme guardian with the taking into account of the pluralist context. Finally, practical proposals must be made to give judges the instruments and techniques that are capable of reflecting this plural structure.     

Concealed information under stress: A test of the orienting theory in real‐life police interrogations

Purpose. The concealed information test (CIT) is a polygraph test that assesses recognition of critical (e.g., crime) information. Laboratory studies showing stronger heart rate deceleration to concealed compared to control information indicate that the orienting response (OR) accounts for responding in the CIT. An important restriction to these findings is that laboratory circumstances impose little or no stress on the examinees, and that under real‐life stress defensive responding may occur. Method. To examine the validity of the CIT under realistic stress, we analysed the data from 65 card tests conducted during real‐life police polygraph interrogations. Results. Baseline heart rate was higher than that observed in the laboratory, confirming that the situation was stress inducing. As in the laboratory, the concealed cards elicited greater heart rate deceleration compared to the control cards. Conclusions. The data support the OR theory of the CIT under real‐life stress.     

Helping to sort the liars from the truth‐tellers: The gradual revelation of information during investigative interviews

Research examining detection of verbal deception reveals that lay observers generally perform at chance. Yet, in the criminal justice system, laypersons that have not undergone specialist investigative training are frequently called upon to make veracity judgements (e.g., solicitors; magistrates; juries). We sought to improve performance by manipulating the timing of information revelation during investigative interviews. A total of 151 participants played an interactive computer game as either a truth‐teller or a deceiver, and were interviewed afterwards. Game information known to the interviewer was revealed either early, at the end of the interview, or gradually throughout. Subsequently, 30 laypersons individually viewed a random selection of interviews (five deceivers and five truth‐tellers from each condition), and made veracity and confidence judgements. Veracity judgements were most accurate in the gradual condition, p < .001, η² = .97 (above chance), and observers were more confident in those judgements, p < .001, η² = .99. Deceptive interviewees reported the gradual interviews to be the most cognitively demanding, p < .001; η² = .24. Our findings suggest that the detection of verbal deception by non‐expert observers can be enhanced by employing interview techniques that maximize deceivers' cognitive load, while allowing truth‐tellers the opportunity to respond to evidence incrementally.     

用“三调联动”化解矛盾推进和谐社会建设

近年来,我们针对社会呈现出的人民内部矛盾凸显、刑事犯罪高发等新特点,充分发挥人民调解在维护社会稳定、构建“和谐湖南”中的职能作用,积极探索以人民调解为基础和依托,人民调解、司法调解、行政调解衔接联动(以下简称“三调联动”)的工作机制,走出了一条“党委政府统一领导、司法行政主办实施、相关部门协作联动”的调解工作新路子,把社会矛盾纠纷特别是大量的跨地区、跨行业、跨单位、多主体的矛盾纠纷化解在基层,有效地促进了社会和谐,受到了各级党委、政府的充分肯定。一、统一思想,加强领导,强力推进“三调联动”对于建立以司法行政…     

Rights as a Divide‐and‐Rule Mechanism: Lessons from the Case of Palestinians in Israeli Custody

Critics have highlighted the complicity of human rights law in mass disempowerment and domination—a criticism equally applicable to child law. This article investigates this issue, as evidenced by three recent developments that Israel has justified by invoking these legal frameworks: an increased separation of Palestinian adults and children in Israeli custody; the Israeli legal system's growing preoccupation with “rehabilitating” the now‐segregated Palestinian children; and the Israeli authorities' ever‐diminishing interest in such rehabilitation for adult Palestinian prisoners. By canvassing the legal architecture, judicial rationalizations, adverse effects, and sociopolitical context of these developments, this article foregrounds their divide‐and‐rule logic and structure of driving a generational wedge between Palestinians and potentially weakening their political ties, solidarity, and resistance.     

Consequences of Tit‐for‐Tat Enforcement: Toward a Hippocratic Principle of Regulatory Implementation

The article discusses when tit‐for‐tat enforcement, an important strategy in responsive regulation theory, may generate intended reactions in communities of regulatees. Combining insights from compliance motivation theory, responsive regulation theory, and ethnographic studies of compliance, I hypothesize that tit‐for‐tat enforcement's probability of success depends on regulators’ institutionalized capacity to promote law–morality correspondence. Building such institutionalized capacity—so‐called “embeddedness”—simultaneously increases requirements for inspectorates’ competence. This article addresses three forms of law–morality correspondence: moral support for the law's content, the legislator's authority, and harmony between legal and moral guilt criteria.     

Cattle‐Caused Fatalities in a Province of Western Turkey: 1996–2010 Autopsy Results

Cattle‐caused injuries and deaths are much more than predicted. The aim of this research is to determine the prevalence of cattle‐caused fatalities and the factors affecting it in a province of western Turkey. The court files on cattle‐caused fatalities during a 15‐year period between 1996 and 2010 were explored. The proportion of forensic‐qualified deaths from the total of 3753 was 0.9% (35/3753). Most of the cases were between the ages of 18 and 65 (60%). Most deaths occurred in the spring and summer months compared with autumn and winter months (9 and 22 vs. 3 and 1, respectively). The mortality rate was much higher in men compared with women (94.3% and 5.7%, respectively). The majority of deaths were caused by injuries on the chest (71.4%). The reason for most deaths was due to hemopneumothorax and lung injury (71.4%). Predicting the behavior of cattle may not always be possible, as such, it is advisable that one wears protective equipment when dealing with cattle.     

The case against the use of polygraph examinations to monitor post‐conviction sex offenders

In this article I caution against the use of polygraph testing in convicted sex‐offenders programs. First, I explain that the prevalent method of polygraph testing, the CQT, suffers from several major flaws and has no scientific basis. These flaws, which characterize all usages of the CQT, including its use with sex offenders, create a considerable risk for false positive as well as false‐negative errors. Second, no methodologically sound research examining the validity of the CQT, neither in its forensic application, nor in its use with sex offenders has been conducted. Finally, I explain why the use of CQT polygraphy with sex offenders is even more problematic than its common use as an aid in criminal investigations. Clearly, rehabilitation programs of convicted sex offenders are highly important, but the use of polygraph testing in this context is misguided and instead of reducing recidivism in sex offenders is likely to achieve just the opposite.     

A Pilot Assessment of a School‐Based Youth Court in a Resource‐Poor African‐American Urban School District: Lessons Learned From Youth Court Volunteers

This study assesses the benefits of youth court participation for volunteers (N = 14) serving as jurors in an urban school‐based youth court. Focus group and questionnaire data indicate that volunteers are capable of providing more effective sanctioning decisions than adults. Volunteers reported developing citizenship skills including learning about the law and decision‐making skills. The youth court leaders developed self‐confidence and maturity while learning the conflict resolution skills necessary for rendering dispositions and conducting trials. We interpret our findings within the context of the youth court literature, the issue of the school‐to‐prison pipeline, and Elijah Anderson's analysis of the Code of the Street.     

Assisting the Courts in Understanding and Connecting with Experiences of Disconnection: Addressing Trauma-Related Dissociation as a Forensic Psychologist,Part I

Although trauma-related dissociation (TRD) is a common reaction to trauma often associated with significant impairment and prognoses that necessitate extended treatment, few assessors are knowledgeable about dissociation, its assessment, and methods for presenting information about it to courts in a way that is evidence-based yet understandable. This paper is the first part of a two-part series that aims to expand forensic assessors’ knowledge about TRD and enhance their ability to assess and present information about dissociation. This article provides overviews of research about dissociation and offers suggestions on how expert witnesses can assist counsel and courts in understanding dissociative reactions and their importance in personal injury cases. Specifically, we define dissociation; discuss the links between trauma, dissociation, and posttraumatic stress disorder; briefly review neurobiological findings related to dissociation; describe dissociative-related impairment and treatment; review challenges that can interfere with accepting and understanding dissociative symptoms; and suggest methods for helping counsel and courts accurately understand and consider TRD in assessing cases and deciding their outcomes.