Relation of Antisocial and Psychopathic Traits to Suicide-related Behavior Among Offenders

Offenders with antisocial traits are relatively likely to attempt suicide, largely because they are more likely to have high negative emotionality and low constraint. Among 682 male offenders, we tested whether negative emotionality, low constraint, and also substance use problems mediated any relationship between antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) and psychopathy on the one hand, and suicide-related behavior (SRB) and ideation on the other. ASPD and the impulsivity/lifestyle features of psychopathy weakly predicted SRB. High negative emotionality and low constraint (but not substance use) mediated the relation between ASPD and SRB. Impulsivity/lifestyle features of psychopathy retained an independent predictive effect. Self-report psychopathy measures added unique predictive variance to the Psychopathy Checklist—Revised. We discuss implications for suicide risk assessment and prevention.

The "untreatability" of psychopathy and hospital commitment in the USA

One argument in support of a public policy of not subjecting persons with psychopathic disorders to civil or criminal commitment is that these disorders do not improve with treatment. This article examines the relationship between the assumption of untreatability of psychopathic disorders and outpatient civil commitment, inpatient civil commitment, and insanity acquittee commitment. Research on the treatability of psychopathy is reviewed and the treatment of conditions co-morbid with psychopathy is considered. Research evidence is insufficient to support the conclusion that psychopathy is improved, worsened or not affected by treatment. Evidence does support effective treatments for conditions that can be co-morbid with psychopathic disorders including impulsive aggression which can be interpreted as a manifestation of psychopathic disorder.The absence of evidence based treatment efficacy for psychopathic disorders is a logical reason for not subjecting individuals with only a psychopathic disorder to involuntary hospitalization. This assumption should not becloud the possibility of treatable co-morbid conditions which may or may not qualify for involuntary hospitalization. Where the primary mental disorder, for which an individual is involuntarily hospitalized, results in behavioral improvement, the continued presence of a psychopathic disorder itself, should not be sufficient reason to continue coerced confinement. Even so, where the primary disorder is incompletely treated, psychopathy can be considered a risk factor when deciding upon the appropriate time for discharge and when formulating a safe and effective after care plan.     

The implementation of case formulation by probation officers: service user and carer views

Background: The recent UK Government strategy on high-risk offenders with personality disorders (PD) proposes improved identification of this group, assessment of their treatment needs through case formulation (CF) and the subsequent provision of treatment pathways. Little is known about service user and carer views on this strategy. Aims/Hypotheses: This study sought to identify the views of personality-disordered (PD) offenders and carers on the proposed role of Probation staff in CF. Methods: Three focus groups were carried out, two with service users and one with carers, with a total of 10 participants overall. Results: Five themes emerged: ‘power’, ‘conflicting roles’, ‘trust’, ‘building a relationship through consistency of care’ and ‘hope and possibility’. Conclusions/Practical implications: Offenders and carers were sceptical regarding the proposed role of Offender Manager (OMs) in CF and this could pose a potential barrier to the successful implementation of the strategy.     

Linking self- and social control with deviance: Illuminating the structure underlying a general theory of crime and its relation to deviant activity

The present paper operationalizes and empirically tests the most recent theoretical speculations of Hirschi and Gottfredson regarding an individual level characteristic of self-control and its relation to earlier specifications of control theory as well as the literature on personality. Linkages are drawn between their broad delineation of self-control and personal disorders of hyperactivity, impulsivity, attention deficits, and minor conduct problems. Psychologists disagree about whether such disorders represent single or multiple traits and whether both behavioral and cognitive measures can appropriately depict personality characteristics. Employing structural equation techniques, support for several propositions derived from Gottfredson and Hirschi's thesis is found: Self-control subsumes several personality disorders and is significantly comprised by early behavioral indicators of aggression and fighting, is inversely related to other elements of the social bond, is moderately stable over a short period of time, and significantly predicts criminal convictions. However, questions remain regarding the ubiquity of self-control, the magnitude and meaning of stability, and the power of this perspective to explain all forms of self-reported delinquency.     

法律人格的伦理变革——来自罗马法又回到罗马法

法律人格与伦理的关系状态反映了法律对人的态度。人格属性历经古代罗马法、近代欧陆民法以及现代社会化民法的发展过程,分别表现为"反伦理化、泛伦理化、去伦理化"倾向。人格概念的伦理价值判断功能应该让位于它的法律技术功能。通过承继并改造罗马法人格制度建立现代民事主体制度。     

中国法治：从静态到动态，从抽象到具体

法治，在中国已不再抽象、静态，更多地走向了动态、具体。法治已经成为中国现代化不可或缺的条件。其中，有效限制公权力滥用是建设法治中国之要务，而加强私权利保障将是构建法治中国之要旨。当代中国，法治建设正在渐进地向纵深行进。     

法律实证主义的功利主义自由观:从边沁到哈特

法律实证主义的一个重要维度是功利主义自由观,这功利主义与自由主义具有紧密的内在关联,实证主义法学其实就是一种自由主义法。     

Listening to voices: The use of phenomenology to differentiate malingered from genuine auditory verbal hallucinations

The experience of hearing a voice in the absence of an appropriate external stimulus, formally termed an auditory verbal hallucination (AVH), may be malingered for reasons such as personal financial gain, or, in criminal cases, to attempt a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. An accurate knowledge of the phenomenology of AVHs is central to assessing the veracity of claims to such experiences. We begin by demonstrating that some contemporary criminal cases still employ inaccurate conceptions of the phenomenology of AVHs to assess defendants' claims. The phenomenology of genuine, malingered, and atypical AVHs is then examined. We argue that, due to the heterogeneity of AVHs, the use of typical properties of AVHs as a yardstick against which to evaluate the veracity of a defendant's claims is likely to be less effective than the accumulation of instances of defendants endorsing statements of atypical features of AVHs. We identify steps towards the development of a formal tool for this purpose, and examine other conceptual issues pertinent to criminal cases arising from the phenomenology of AVHs.     

创新社会治理机制：从单方强制到多元协作

创新社会治理机制是社会主义和谐社会建设的重要内容。我国计划经济时期的社会治理机制具有单方性、强制性和索取性的特点。新时期,创新社会治理机制应该实现三个方面的转变:在治理理念上实现从"索取"到"服务"的转变,在社会治理主体上实现从单方到多元的转变,在社会治理方式上实现从强制到协作的转变。     

电子商务中网络安全的法律监管：从自治到规范——基于C2C模式的分析

电子商务中网络安全需要物理性的技术监管,更需要法律的监管.目前我国电子商务的法律环境已经不能满足电子商务网络安全的迫切需求.借助网络平台的电子商务的自由化、全球化、虚拟化和高效化使得电子商务网络安全的法律监管从自治到规范成为可能.法律发展理论和行业自治规则的实践,尤其是电子商务领域已经存在的由自治到规范的实践为电子商务中网络安全法律监菅从自治到规范提供了样本.     

青少年犯罪预防理论的研究视角：从犯罪原因到犯罪断念的转向

断念是行为主体(特别是青少年越轨者或犯罪人)在一段稳定的时期内对犯罪偏好明显与确定的拒绝。现阶段犯罪预防措施通过控制青少年犯罪原因遏制青少年犯罪增长趋势,绩效前景颇为黯淡。从聚焦于犯罪原因分析到致力于犯罪断念研究的战略性转向将成为当代社会犯罪预防的重要突破。作为人生状态与行为过程的犯罪断念,在静态结构与动态运行的结合中发挥青少年犯罪预防的积极效果。     

The Scharff technique: training military intelligence officers to elicit information from small cells of sources

ABSTRACT

Studies have demonstrated the efficacy of the Scharff technique for gathering human intelligence, but little is known about how this efficacy might vary among different samples of practitioners. In this training study we examined a sample of military officers (n?=?37). Half was trained in the Scharff technique and compared against officers receiving no Scharff training. All officers received the same case file describing two sources holding information about a terrorist attack. University students (n?=?74) took the role of the semi-cooperative sources. Scharff-trained officers adhered to the training as they (1) aimed to establish the ‘knowing-it-all’ illusion, (2) posed claims as a means of eliciting information, and (3) asked fewer explicit questions. The ‘untrained’ officers asked many explicit questions, questioned the reliability of the provided information, pressured the source, and displayed disappointment with the source's contribution. Scharff-trained officers were perceived as less eager to gather information and left their sources with the impression of having provided comparatively less new information, but collected a similar amount of new information as their untrained colleagues. The present paper both replicates and advances previous work in the field, and marks the Scharff technique as a promising technique for gathering human intelligence.     

法理学“指导”型知识生产机制及其困难——从法理学教材出发

从知识生产机制的整体视角来看,中国法理学教材还没有走出苏式法理学的框架。苏式法理学教材的"指导"型知识生产机制基于法理学与部门法学具有不同的研究对象这一基本原理,认为法理学是部门法学的指导性学科,并由此决定了"指导"型知识生产机制的运行机制;运行机制包含正面向度和反面向度两个方面,正面向度指的是法理学针对部门法学生产"指导"型知识,反面向度指的是部门法学帮助法理学生产"指导"型知识,法律关系理论和法律行为理论分别典型地对应着这两个方面。然而,对上述理论的检讨表明,"指导"型知识生产机制在运行机制层面是无效的;进一步地,该机制在基本原理层面及其理论基础层面也是错误的,因而应当被抛弃。     

公共危机处置：从战略决策的切入到战术模式的运转

公共危机管理与处置既是现代政府的核心职能之一,也是法治社会研究的时代课题。起源于20世纪80年代中期的西方的“新公共管理”改革运动,其实践模式就是公共部门管理特别是政府管理中出现的一次重大突破或一次深刻的变化,体现了公共管理方式的根本性、方向性的调整。正处于社会转型过程的我国公共危机管理与处置的现状,应当从战略决策的切入到战术模式的现实需要,通过公共危机处置的变革来拓展战术模式的范围,确定公共危机处置原则,建构技术与战术有机结合的公共危机处置模式,重塑公共危机处置程序,完善公共危机管理与处置配套制度,以实现公共危机管理与处置内在和外在关系的平衡,并推动其公法体系和理论体系从以强制性行政管理为主旨的传统模式向以战略决策的切入到战术模式为核心的现代模式的积极转变。     

The Promised Land: A Study of Trafficking in Women from Central and Eastern Europe to the Netherlands

This study on trafficking in women from Central and Eastern Europe explores the contextual factors, the characteristics, and the motivation of victims as well as the methods of traffickers. A combination of rational choice theory, strain theory and social control theory forms the theoretical framework of our research. Based on information from experts in the field, interviews with victims, questionnaires, a study of dossiers and a search of the literature, we developed a typology of victims, which may be helpful for prevention and law enforcement.     

侦查到案制度:从现实到理想——一个实证角度的研究

传唤、拘传、口头传唤、留置、抓捕构成了实践中的侦查到案措施体系。对三个典型地区公安机关的调研表明,法定到案措施与非法定到案措施的适用明显错位。根据研究资料分析:审批程序耗时与到案期限紧张这两个因素造成了法定到案措施适用率低下;相比而言,非法定到案措施具有适用条件灵活、适用机制简便、适用手段具有不同程度的强制性以及适用期限弹性较大等特点,由于这些特点,侦查人员较愿选择非法定到案措施。实践中到案措施体系的犯罪控制功能显而易见,从程序正当角度评价,这一体系的运行既有权力控制的倾向,也有权力滥用、不当限制权利的倾向。侦查到案制度的改革应坚持犯罪控制与人权保障相平衡的理念,汲取实践中的理性做法,适当参考国外同类制度,建立一个逻辑严密、协调一致,能够充分应对各类案件特点和证据条件的到案措施体系。     

立法的被“俘获”与“逃逸”——从“安全带法”看社会科学知识对立法的影响

安全带法(驾车时强制要求系安全带的规定)已经是一种全球性的法律,其广泛存在在很大程度上源于对安全带能大幅度降低机动车乘坐人的伤亡率的确信。但风险补偿理论论证了安全带法并不能使道路交通更安全,大量的实证研究也证实了这一点。尽管有安全带更安全的神话已经破灭,但各国的立法者对此却无动于衷,或许这可归因于法学的保守性、制度的路径依赖、社会选择的影响以及法学一定程度的不自足性。由此生发开去,立法活动与社会科学知识的关系更加值得人们深思。