The influence of vehicle model and colour on assessments of speed and culpability: the case for (and against) Computer Generated Exhibits (CGE)

Computer Generated Exhibits (CGE) are frequently deployed in legal contexts under the rubric of demonstrative evidence, i.e. to facilitate juror comprehension. However, a number of legal and academic commentators have suggested that the nature of the computerised moving image could exert undue prejudice on decision makers, e.g. judge and/or jury. The current study aimed to assess the manipulation of vehicle characteristics (make and colour) when a road traffic accident was presented in the format of a computer generated animation (CGA). In experiment 1, two groups of subjects watched two different makes of car, a Range Rover Sport and a Volkswagen Touran in a black-and-white format; no significant differences emerged over vehicle model with regards to vehicle speed or overall responsibility for the accident. Experiment 2 presented the same vehicles to four groups of participants in full colour, with the cars in contrasting red or beige; significant differences emerged with regards to culpability for vehicle make only. The findings could have implications for the format and style of CGE used in legal settings.     

The social ecology of sexual victimization against transgender women who are incarcerated: A call for (more) research on modalities of housing and prison violence

President Biden has called for reform of the criminal justice system to ensure fair treatment of people who are transgender who come into contact with the criminal justice system. He has done so in a context in which criminologists, public health researchers, and others, including journalists and advocates, have produced a growing body of research that documents the over criminalization and differential incarceration of people who are transgender as well as the high rates of victimization of transgender women who are incarcerated. Accordingly, this article describes a growing literature on the sexual victimization experienced by transgender women who are incarcerated; focuses analytic attention on the housing contexts in which this kind of discriminatory gendered violence emerges and takes shape; points to some emergent policy responses related to these concerns; and calls for original research that, if conducted, could advance the criminological literature in meaningful ways and set the stage for evidence‐based prison policy and practice related to what is now predictably high rates of violence against transgender women who are incarcerated.     

The effects of specialized probation and recovery management checkups (RMCs) on treatment participation,substance use,HIV risk behaviors,and recidivism among female offenders: main findings of a 3-year experiment using subject by intervention interaction analysis

Objectives

To examine the effects of specialized probation and recovery management checkups (RMCs) on participation in substance use treatment, substance use, HIV risk behaviors, and recidivism.

Methods

Women (n?=?480) released from the Cook County Jail’s Department of Women’s Justice Services were randomly assigned to either an RMC or control condition and interviewed quarterly for 3 years (greater than 90% completion per wave). At the beginning of each quarter, women were classified as currently on probation (n?=?1984) or not (n?=?2516). Current probation (subject) and experimental condition (intervention nested within probation status) at the beginning of the quarter were used to predict outcomes in the next quarter. Data included self-reports, urinalysis findings, and county and state arrest records.

Results

In the quarter after being on probation (or not), women offenders reported higher rates of participation in substance use treatment and recovery support services, as well as lower rates of substance use and HIV risk behaviors. Nevertheless, they were more likely to commit crimes and be rearrested or reincarcerated. During quarters when the women were not on probation, RMCs were associated with significant increases in participation in substance use treatment and significant reductions in substance use and HIV risk behaviors. However, RMCs had no additional quarterly benefits when women were on probation. Higher levels of substance use treatment, self-help engagement, and reduced substance use predicted reduced recidivism.

Conclusions

This study demonstrates the effects of specialized probation and RMCs (when not on probation) on favorable outcomes for criminally involved women with substance use disorders.