Towards a common framework for assessing the activity and associations of groups who sexually abuse children

Abstract

Extensive social psychological research emphasises the importance of groups in shaping individuals' thoughts and actions. Within the child sexual abuse (CSA) literature criminal organisation has been largely overlooked, with some key exceptions. This research was a novel collaboration between academia and the UK's Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP). Starting from the premise that the group is, in itself, a form of social situation affecting abuse, it offers the first systematic situational analysis of CSA groups. In-depth behavioural data from a small sample of convicted CSA group-offenders (n =3) were analysed qualitatively to identify factors and processes underpinning CSA groups' activities and associations: group formation, evolution, identity and resources. The results emphasise CSA groups' variability, fluidity and dynamism. The foundations of a general framework are proposed for researching and assessing CSA groups and designing effective interventions. It is hoped that this work will stimulate discussion and development in this long-neglected area of CSA, helping to build a coherent knowledge-base.     

The effective design,implementation and enforcement of socio-economic equality duties: lessons from the pupil premium

Abstract

The UK has extremely high levels of socio-economic inequality, which are predicted to rise over the next five years. Traditionally, equality law was seen as inappropriate to address socio-economic inequality but in the last decade, a growing number of equality duties have been introduced to address this persistent form of inequality. There is, however, little research on the principles that underpin these duties. This article seeks to address this gap through the use of data from interviews conducted with primary school personnel implementing the pupil premium. The article explores understandings of socio-economic inequality by individuals in schools; policy conflicts; the wider context of action to address socio-economic inequality; different decision-making processes; and accountability mechanisms. On the basis of the findings of this study, broad principles are outlined to inform the design, implementation and enforcement of socio-economic equality duties in the future.     

What caused fertility variations by settlement in Transylvania at the time of industrialization?

There is an ongoing debate in the literature regarding the causes behind fertility transition. Especially, the relative importance of economic modernization versus cultural adaptation is hotly debated. The paper takes Transylvania, the eastern part of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy as an example. The period of 1880–1910 was a time of fast modernization and industrialization in Transylvania, and it created large territorial differences in economic development. The ethnic and religious composition of the area is versatile; mainly Orthodox Romanians, Catholic Hungarians, and Protestant Germans populated the area.

Data

A cross-sectional database has been created by matching census and vital statistics records for 4112 settlements, for the 1900–1910 period.

Method

OLS regression is used to model crude birth rates by settlement. The factors affecting fertility are modeled using the Easterlin–Crimmins framework.

Results

An explanation placing economic factors (demand and supply) in first place, but accepting the secondary role of innovation factors as barriers to implement fertility regulation, fits the data about Transylvania well.

Discussion

Previous research results regarding Hungary could not show the effect of some socio-economic variables on fertility, due to the high level of aggregation. They favoured cultural explanations, and shown Hungary as an exception to the rules of demographic transition. In contrast, this paper shows that the classic explanatory factors like infant mortality, migration, literacy, and secularization do explain fertility differentials in Transylvania at the turn of the 20th century.     

Blacks,self-esteem,and delinquency: It's time for a new approach

For decades, sociology and social psychology has debated the nature of self-esteem and its role in determining behavior. More recently, race has been added to the mixture, as social scientists have sought to explain black self-esteem and the involvement of black youth in delinquency. The article reviews a number of studies to explore the relative importance of race as an explanatory factory. Questions of the validity of prior measures of self-esteem are raised, especially where racial comparisons of self-esteem and delinquency were made. This article identifies various conceptual and methodological problems inherent to studies of race, self-esteem, and delinquency. In doing so, distinctions are made among personal and group identity measures of self-esteem in an effort to further the cause of research in this area.     

What caused fertility variations by settlement in Transylvania at the time of industrialization?

There is an ongoing debate in the literature regarding the causes behind fertility transition. Especially, the relative importance of economic modernization versus cultural adaptation is hotly debated. The paper takes Transylvania, the eastern part of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy as an example. The period of 1880–1910 was a time of fast modernization and industrialization in Transylvania, and it created large territorial differences in economic development. The ethnic and religious composition of the area is versatile; mainly Orthodox Romanians, Catholic Hungarians, and Protestant Germans populated the area.DataA cross-sectional database has been created by matching census and vital statistics records for 4112 settlements, for the 1900–1910 period.MethodOLS regression is used to model crude birth rates by settlement. The factors affecting fertility are modeled using the Easterlin–Crimmins framework.ResultsAn explanation placing economic factors (demand and supply) in first place, but accepting the secondary role of innovation factors as barriers to implement fertility regulation, fits the data about Transylvania well.DiscussionPrevious research results regarding Hungary could not show the effect of some socio-economic variables on fertility, due to the high level of aggregation. They favoured cultural explanations, and shown Hungary as an exception to the rules of demographic transition. In contrast, this paper shows that the classic explanatory factors like infant mortality, migration, literacy, and secularization do explain fertility differentials in Transylvania at the turn of the 20th century.     

Keeping children safe in nurseries: A focus on culture and context

Abstract

There have been few reported incidents of sexual abuse within nurseries until recently, when abuse has come to light as a result of investigations into online sexual offending. This paper uses information from serious case reviews to compare two of these incidents with a view to understanding the factors that might contribute to abuse taking place within nurseries. Information from the reviews points to the context and culture of the nursery environment being of key importance, particularly the degree to which relationships and the emotional health of the setting allow the offender to assume a position of power within the group. This has implications for the way in which nurseries are managed and regulated.     

Building institutional capacity: knowledge production for transnational security governance in Mexico

ABSTRACT

This article engages with institutionalist knowledge production in US-Mexican security relations, demonstrating how anti-crime governance in the Americas has shifted from a heavy-handed military rationale to a good governance and civil society–centred approach. This shift has been facilitated by the newly emerging resilience discourse which advocates turning local communities from passive beneficiaries of government-sponsored law enforcement into pro-active security partners. It will be argued that the rise of good governance and society-centred policy thinking has enhanced the epistemic authority of a heterogeneous, but ideologically aligned set of human rights advocacy groups, think tanks, policy-oriented academics and for-profit development NGOs – both in Mexico and the United States. This transnational expert community has been instrumental in inserting the issue of drug-related violent crime in Mexico into a globally dominant statebuilding framework. In consequence, security governance in Mexico has taken on a more transnational character and become the object of a highly intrusive international monitoring regime.     

An investigation of the relationship between anger and offence-related shame and guilt

Abstract

A number of accounts of shame and guilt emphasise an association between shame and anger difficulties, and it has been suggested that shame and rage may promote one another. The shame–anger relationship may be particularly relevant to the study of forensic populations, as the fact of having committed a criminal offence has the potential to be a highly shame-provoking experience. The current study investigates the prediction that shame and guilt reactions to an offence are differentially related to the propensity to experience and ability to control anger. A measure of offence-related shame and guilt and a measure of anger experience and control was completed by 60 men detained in forensic psychiatric units. The results supported the prediction that offence-related shame is associated with elevated levels of anger difficulties, whilst offence-related guilt is associated with ability to control anger. The findings of the current study are consistent with those of previous investigations of shame, guilt and anger. Specific implications for the understanding and prevention of violent offending are discussed.     

The legal profession of China in a globalized world: innovations and new challenges

ABSTRACT

The legal profession is undergoing fundamental changes; and this is the case not just in established legal markets. Based on a state-of-the-art sketch, this paper identifies and analyzes the latest innovation initiatives and alternative business models in China’s legal profession. It finds that, propelled by market demands and benefiting from technological advancements, the provision of legal services has become highly versatile today, giving rise to various alternative service providers, especially the rapidly rising online legal service portals. Because they are technically not law firms, the exclusivity requirements on lawyer ownership and legal service provision are not applicable to them. In the meantime, the competition for large corporate clients and lucrative business transactions is fierce and will continue to be so, not only within the club of big Chinese corporate law firms, but also between Chinese law firms and international law firms globally. In this course, some leading big corporate law firms in China are observed to have creatively incorporated key corporate features in running their business and compensating their partners, effectively deviating from the partnership?+?pure legal services regulation. Such market realities question the necessity and effect of the regulatory restrictions on law firm legal form and ownership structure, and call for an agenda for related research in the future.     

Protecting Battered Women

Abstract

Summary. Domestic violence is a major societal problem that affects millions of people. The American legal system is attempting to assist victims of domestic violence by designing laws that offer various types of protection. The civil laws have been expanded to provide protection to more people, such as dating partners, same-sex couples, and people who offer help to victims. In addition, a victim of domestic violence can seek a particularized form of relief, designed for their specific situation. The laws will vary between jurisdictions, but the movement is towards more complete and effective laws that assist people who are in violent situations.     

Multiple choice examining in law

This article will review the place of assessment in Higher Education. In investigating alleged over‐assessment in higher education, it is argued that an excess of one form of assessment over another limits student learning. How this imbalance has a detrimental effect on learning is identified, before solutions for the individual lecturer and institutions are considered. The author draws on existing literature, but also contributes his own experience and his research in the UK and USA.     

The effectiveness of affirmative action: The case of women in policing

Although the legal bases of affirmative action plans have been debated widely, empirical examination of their effectiveness has been limited. This paper examines the impact of affirmative action on the hiring and promotion of women in policing. A survey of municipal departments serving populations of more than 50,000 found that women still constitute less than 10 percent of all police officers. Nevertheless, multivariate analyses show that both court-ordered and voluntary affirmative action policies have had a statistically significant impact on the hiring but not the promotion of female officers. In addition, case study data from five agencies show that affirmative action policies have widened women's opportunities to receive specialized assignments. These findings suggest the importance of continuing affirmative action policies despite recent legal setbacks.     

General strain theory,exposure to violence,and suicide ideation among police officers: A gendered approach

PurposeA wide body of research has demonstrated that police officers are profoundly affected by their exposure to violence and the traumatic events viewed commonly as part of their job duties. Faced with stress, officers learn to adapt by incorporating coping techniques.MethodsThe current study utilizes Agnew's general strain theory to explain occurrences of the most dangerous maladaptive coping technique: suicide ideation. Male and female police officers from three large cities in Texas were surveyed (n = 1,410).ResultsThe present study utilizes logistic regression techniques, finding that strain has a positive and direct effect on male officers suicide ideation risk, but not for female police. Moreover, depression has a mediating effect on strain and suicide ideation for both genders.ConclusionsSome critical differences in suicide ideation outcomes between male and female police officers are reported. Policy implications concerning retention and recruiting are also discussed.     

The positioning of the Prosecution Service in the Netherlands and England and Wales: Lessons from one extreme to another

It has been widely acknowledged that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), has since it came into existence, had an unsteady start. Part of the problem relates to its relation and communication with its criminal justice partners, by which we mean courts, police and local and central government. A key issue in this respect appears to be striking a balance between independence and autonomy on the one hand, and close contact and the establishment of `partnership' on the other hand. This paper examine show this balance is struck in the Netherlands, where the Prosecution service (Openbaar Ministerie) is strikingly different in nature, but faces very similar problems. It will be argued that a slightly more relaxed attitude on the CPS's independence might open the door to more fruitful relationship with the criminal justice partners in the field. Several examples concerning this in the Netherlands will be presented and discussed. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Interrogation techniques and memory distrust

Abstract

Guideline judgements in English sentencing have been subjected to little scrutiny by non-lawyers. In this paper, the writers examine one guideline judgement, R v. Oliver and Others, which concerns the sentencing of offences involving indecent photographs and pseudo-photographs of children. Ten post-Oliver cases where a sentence was appealed are analysed and the results reported. The writers find the guideline's internal logic wanting, with shortcomings reflected in the patchy and non-obvious inferences made in appellate judgements of cases of the kind covered in Oliver. The writers propose flowcharting as a heuristic device in the development of guideline judgements, and possibly as a form of representation of judgements parallel to text-based formulations.     

The death penalty for juveniles: Bridging the gap between an evolving standard of decency and legislative policy

In Stanford v. Kentucky (1989), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the practice of executing juveniles who were age 16 or 17 at the time of their crime(s) did not violate the “evolving standards of decency” (ESD) of American society. This ESD determination was based on legislative authorization of this punishment. Although this interpretation of what constitutes an ESD has been controlling in death penalty cases since Gregg v. Georgia (1976), the high court's original conception of an ESD stressed the importance of other factors in its determination (e.g., historical review and empirical knowledge about executions). Because the ESD is a Court-created measure, legislatures are under no constitutional obligation to acknowledge the scope of concerns embodied in the historical genesis of this concept. Nevertheless, in this paper we oppose a juvenile death penalty and argue that legislatures should consider the importance of historical and research utilization components of the ESD concept when debating the validity of a policy regarding the death penalty for juveniles.     

Expert systems and the law

ABSTRACT

The project discussed here involved an online debating activity between intellectual property (IP) law students in Egypt and the UK, using a closed group on Facebook. The aim was to harness freely available online social media technology to create a space in which valuable discussions and learning could take place. We showed that Facebook can be a powerful educational tool to encourage active learning and usefully connect learners across continents. In enabling the exchange of views between students in different jurisdictions, Facebook provides exposure to different cultures and different perspectives as well as different legal cultures and different legal systems, while also, importantly, enabling participants to identify commonalities. This debate focused on IP law, which is of increasing international importance, and specifically on the topic of access to medicines, which is highly contentious. Through the activity, students learned that they need not only to learn the law, but also to appreciate the socio-cultural and political complexity underlying policy issues in different jurisdictions. On reflection, the Facebook debate definitely enhanced the study of IP law through an interesting and enjoyable international, intercultural activity, led by staff and students, which successfully extended the classroom experience.     

Linchpin or bag carrier? A study of the importance of the role of the parliamentary private secretary to the prime minister

This study examines the pivotal role of the parliamentary private secretary to the prime minister. The PPS is a vital two‐way conduit between the Commons and Number Ten. As deference among MPs has declined and rebelliousness increased, the PPS who is not up to the job risks jeopardising the prime minister's leadership. The PPSs can be broadly categorised according to their age, experience, potential and designated role, but there has been no pattern of appointments. Every PPS is chosen for his individual qualities, reinterprets the role and fulfils a slightly different function. An examination of the ‘work’ of the prime minister's PPS shows the informal and personal nature of the role. The PPS enjoys unique access to the premier and occupies a position at the centre of government. The job has clearly grown in importance and become more demanding. The performance of Thatcher's five PPSs and Major's first PPS are evaluated using the findings of a questionnaire. The performance of each successive PPS to Thatcher was judged by MPs to be worse than the one before, culminating in the disastrous tenure of Morrison. Gow is shown to be a model PPS because he was respected, trusted and liked in the Commons and at Number Ten.     

Certainty of punishment and sentence mitigation in plea behavior

Mitigation of sentence severity has been cited as a primary factor underlying defendant decisions to plead guilty. It has been studied extensively and it has been assumed, but rarely examined, that few defendants plead guilty in the absence of significant benefits. This paper examines the relationship between sentence benefits and plea behavior. A crime-specific analysis reveals that some defendants frequently plead guilty in the relative absence of significant benefits; conversely, others plead not guilty even though significant benefits are available for guilty pleaders. Applying several decision theory constructs to justice system processing, the defendant's desire to reduce uncertainty is discussed and offered as a tentative explanation for the phenomenon of pleading guilty in the relative absence of significant benefits.     

A ‘class of no political weight’? Interracial Marriage,Mixed Race Children and Land Rights in Southern New Zealand, 1840s-1880s

ABSTRACT

Interracial marriage was a defining feature of interaction between local Ngāi Tahu and newcomers in southern New Zealand from the early nineteenth century. Scholarship has explored the importance of such relationships to development of New Zealand’s early resource-based economies and to colonial assimilation policies. However, the experiences of cross-cultural households and families in colonial New Zealand are less well documented.

Using a body of writing produced by fathers and their mixed-race children in response to land claims investigations in the mid-nineteenth century, this article explores the political, economic and social world of interracial families in southern New Zealand. The correspondence over land rights reveals the ongoing importance of kinship ties through generations as colonial expansion impinged on these communities. Through petitioning and letter writing, fathers and children contested what marriage and family meant and strategically asserted their individual and collective identity in the face of increasing land dispossession and economic hardship.