Forensic science and the law

Forensic Science today makes an important contribution to the operation of the Criminal Justice System providing evidence which could help decide the guilt of a suspect. Forensic Science is able to do so because it has developed to operate within the reality determined by the Criminal Justice System. Changes that are occurring today seem to upset the relationship between Forensic Sciences and the Criminal Justice System by the creation of communication problems. Examples of these problems exist in the changes occurring in the concept of death made necessary by organ transplants. These changes have shifted the focus from the quantity of life to the quality of life and make it impossible for the Forensic Scientist to answer honestly the questions that might be put him. The need for reforms in the law in view of social changes has been recognized and in many countries attempts at such changes are afoot. With these changes a new reality is being defined. Forensic Science, being a discipline that comes first in contact with a multitude of emergent problems, has a part to play in the definition of this reality.     

Computers in criminal justice — Realising the potential

Computers have been used in most parts of the Criminal Justice System for many years and for a wide range of applications. Despite this, it remains the case that whereas computerization has brought about some improvements in administrative or clerical efficiency, the overall impact on the Criminal Justice System has been small. This paper summarises the current extent of computerisation in criminal justice, outlines the direction in which current developments are moving, and tries to forecast how computers might be used to greater effect to improve the criminal justice process.The paper is based on experience gained both from research and development work by the author in this country, and from research carried out in the United States.     

Plea bargaining in the Nigerian criminal justice system: A procedural tool for loot recovery or justice administration?

Crime, Law and Social Change - Plea bargaining is one of the procedural tools introduced into the Nigerian Criminal Justice System to ensure quick dispensation of justice, save time and resources...     

Investigating the awareness of virtual and augmented realities as a criminal justice response to the plight of awaiting-trial inmates in Ebonyi State,Nigeria

Crime, Law and Social Change - Despite the reforms in the Nigerian Criminal Justice System (NCJS), the treatment of inmates still falls below standard, with the vast majority of them on awaiting...     

The national criminal justice reference service

The function and services of the National Criminal Justice Reference Service of the National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice (Department of Justice, Law Enforcement Assistance Administration) are delineated. Instructions for use of the reference system are included.     

Health and social care services for women offenders: current provision and a future model of care

Secure provision for women in both the Criminal Justice System and the Health Service has evolved in the last decade, in line with emerging gender-specific policy. Notable gains have been the approach to self-harm in prison and a reduction in the inappropriately high levels of secure hospital care. Although treatment pilots in UK settings are in progress, much practice remains poorly described and insufficiently evaluated. Recent strategic initiatives by both the Ministry of Justice and the Department of Health, as well as the commissioning changes that have followed the Health and Social Care Act 2012, provide a basis for reconsideration and a further paradigm shift. Suggestions for a reinvigorated model of gender-sensitive provision are made, relying on principles of resilience and autonomy.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Books review in this article: Handworterbuch Der Kriminologie . Edited by Rudolf Sieverts Criminal Homicides In Baltimore 1960–1964 . Published by the Criminal Justice Commission     

‘Our normal is different’: autistic adults’ experiences of the family courts

ABSTRACT

This article reports the findings of a small-scale qualitative study exploring the experiences of autistic adults who have had experience of the family justice system. While participants related some positive elements to their experiences, in particular with regard to the willingness of professionals to try to learn more about their clients’ needs, the overall picture showed significant concerns. The reports given showed significant misunderstandings about autism, and a system which struggled to make appropriate adjustments which would allow autistic court users to have access to justice on an equivalent basis to non-autistic litigants. This situation stands in contrast to the position regarding other disabilities in the Family Justice System, but also to the relatively greater level of provision for autistic people within the Criminal Justice System. Based on participants’ experiences and existing good practice in other areas, we make recommendations that could be adopted by the Family Court and practitioners.     

Trends in the Reaction on Crime in Criminal Justice Systems in Europe in 1990–2007: A Comparison of Four European Regions

Recorded crime and prison populations seem to be increasing in Europe. Some explanations for this situation can be related to changes in the reaction on crime by the Criminal Justice Systems. The information collected in the European Sourcebook of Crime and Criminal Justice Statistics (ESB) provides a good opportunity to look in more detail at the changes in the various stages of the Criminal Justice Systems in more than 40 European countries over the period 1990 to 2007. In this study we look mainly at the changes over time of recorded crimes, the offender ratio, the conviction ratio and punitivity in Europe where the countries are clustered into four regions: North/West, South, Central and East Europe. It was found that the increase in the number of recorded drug crimes and a possible higher priority for violent crimes could help explain the increase in recorded crimes during the last two decades. The Criminal Justice Systems in Europe, with some differences between regions within Europe and despite not having more police resources, succeed in finding more offenders. The conviction ratio appeared to be increasing as well, mainly in Central Europe. While punitivity for Europe as a whole is stable, there are vast differences in the levels and trends between the regions.     

REVIEWS

Brian McKnight, Law and Order in Sung China Ross Cranston and Roy Goode (eds), Commercial and Consumer Law: National and International Dimensions Roger W. Shuy, Language Crimes: The Use and Abuse of Language Evidence in the Courtroom Richard Nobles, Pensions, Employment and the Law Andrew Rutherford, Criminal Justice and the Pursuit of Decency Eric Stockdale and Sylvia Casale (eds), Criminal Justice Under Stress Geoffrey M. Stephenson, The Psychology of Criminal Justice     

Criminal justice faculty and criminal justice students: A case for the missing data

This article reviews the most current criminal justice education research. It examines the interrelationship between the work of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, the Joint Commission on Criminology and Criminal Justice Education and Standards, and the National Advisory Commission on Higher Education for Police, and describes and compares some of their more important findings. Discussed are types of criminal justice programs; characteristics of criminal justice faculty, particularly in terms of earned academic degrees; agency work experience; commitment to research and teaching; types of criminal justice curricula, as typified by certain educational philosophies; and criminal justice students. Although this article notes several areas with which future research might become fruitfully involved, the area in need of most immediate attention, and the area that current research has all but ignored, is the criminal justice student.     

Exploring relations between crime and disadvantage on merseyside

The research discussed in this article is supported by Economic and Social Research Council grant number L210252014 as part of the Crime and Social Order Research Programme. This analysis utilized the Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Crime software developed by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority. The authors also wish to thank Merseyside Police and the Merseyside Information Service for supplying data sets used in the research.     

Making a Difference - or Not: an Evaluation of the Effects of Failing to Evaluate

American Journal of Criminal Justice -     

Letter from the Editor

American Journal of Criminal Justice -     

Letter From the Editor

American Journal of Criminal Justice -     

Letter from the Editor

American Journal of Criminal Justice -     

Book reviews

American Journal of Criminal Justice -     

Call for papers

American Journal of Criminal Justice -     

Pop culture portrayals of capital punishment: A review ofDead Man Walking andAmong the Lowest of the Dead

American Journal of Criminal Justice -     

REVIEWS

A Theory of Justice . By John Rawls Legal Problems and the Citizen . By Brian Abel -Smith , Michael Zander and Rosalind Brooke . Social Needs and Legal Action . By Pauline Morris , Richard White and Philip Lewis Justice in South Africa . By Albie Sachs . Sweet & Maxwell's European Community Treaties . Edited by Sweet & Maxwell's Legal Editorial Staff . A Source-book on French Law . System —Method —Outlines of Contract . By Otto Kahn -Freund , Claudine Lévy , Bernard Rudden . Droit Civil . By B. Starck . Human Rights and Europe : A Study of the Machinery of Human Rights Protection of the Council of Europe. By Ralph Beddard . Labour Law in Australia . By E. I. Sykes and H. J. Glasbeek The Australian Criminal Justice System . By Duncan Chappell and Paul Wilson . The Nigerian Penal System . By Alan Milner . The Legal System of Lesotho . By Vernon V. Palmer and Sebastian M. Poulter . Internationale Zuständigkeit . Entwurf eines Systems von Zuständigkeitsinteressen um zwischenstaatlichen Privatverfahrensrecht aufgrund rechtshistorischer, rechtsvergleichender und rechtspolitischer Betrachtungen. By Jochen Schröder League of Nations Committee of Experts for the Progressive Codification of International Law , 1925–1928. Edited by Shabtai Rosenne . The Effectiveness of International Decisions . Edited by Stephen M. Schwebel . The Vietnam War and International Law . (Sponsored by the American Society of International Law.) Volume 3. Edited by Richard A. Falk . Population and Law . Edited by Luke T. Lee and Arthur Larson . International Migration Law . By Richard Plender . Legal Aspects of Family Planning in Indonesia . The Status of Refugees in International Law . By Atle Grahl -Madsen .