Role of voice in the legal process*

As communities face unrest and protest because of perceived racial bias and decreased trust and confidence in the criminal justice system, it is critical to explore mechanisms that foster institutional legitimacy. Voice is a central element in the procedural justice framework because it is anticipated to promote process control as well as a shared understanding between institutions and communities. As a concept, however, voice is undertheorized. Measures of voice used in legitimacy research may result in oversimplification of the concept, not fully capturing the struggles disadvantaged people face in trying to exercise influence in the court system. Through the use of rich data from qualitative interviews with youth and families involved in the juvenile justice system and in‐depth observations of juvenile court events, we explore what voice is, the mechanisms through which people try to assert voice, and how voice matters in the legal process. Respondents sought voice for many reasons, including to validate their experiences, to affirm their membership in a community, and to assert concerns about perceived police misconduct. Contrary to traditional conceptualizations of voice as a static event (e.g., having voice or not having voice), voice was a process of negotiating dialogue between court officials and court participants throughout the legal process.     

The Emotionally Intelligent Officer? Exploring Decision-Making Style and Emotional Intelligence in Hostage and Crisis Negotiators and Non-Negotiator-Trained Police Officers

The research described in this article explores decision-making styles and levels of emotional intelligence displayed by police hostage and crisis negotiators in the UK. One hundred and seventeen negotiators from 21 police forces took part in the research, and their data were compared with 118 non-negotiator-trained police officers and 203 university students. Participants completed the General Decision-Making Style Questionnaire (Scott and Bruce Educ Psychol Meas 55(5):818-831, 1995) and the Emotional Intelligence Inventory (Gignac 2008), with data analysed using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) and t tests. When controlling for the effects of age and social desirability, significant differences were found between both police samples and the student sample. All police officers displayed significantly lower levels of avoidant decision-making and significantly higher levels of overall emotional intelligence than students and these findings were also reflected within certain facets of emotional intelligence, specifically. These findings provide support for the existence of a unique ‘police officer profile’, but fail to support the premise of a distinct ‘hostage and crisis negotiator profile’ within the UK police population. The findings are discussed with relevance to the practice of hostage and crisis negotiation and future research directions.     

Gating Alleys to Reduce Crime: A Meta-Analysis and Realist Synthesis

Alley gates are designed to limit access to alleys and the crime opportunities they afford. Informed by the acronym EMMIE we sought to: (1) systematically review the evidence on whether alley gates are Effective at reducing crime, (2) identify the causal Mechanisms through which alley gates are expected to work and the conditions that Moderate effectiveness, and (3) collate information on the Implementation and Economic costs of alley gating. The results of our meta-analysis suggest that alley gating is associated with modest but significant reductions in burglary, with little evidence of spatial displacement. We also identified six mechanisms through which alley gates might plausibly reduce crime, and the conditions in which such mechanisms are most likely to be activated.     

Prospects For Monitored Retrievable Storage Of High-Level Nuclear Waste

The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 authorized the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to evaluate monitored retrievable storage (MRS) as an option to manage spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste. In 1987, the DOE sought Congressional approval for construction of an MRS at a site identified in Tennessee, despite adamant opposition from the State. An amendment in late 1987 nullified DOE's proposal, and established the MRS Commission and the High-Level Nuclear Waste Negotiator, institutions created as a result of the DOE/Tennessee dispute. This article analyzes DOE's siting attempt in Tennessee, the actions of the Commission and Negotiator, and examines the prospects for implementation of nuclear waste policy.     

Characterization and validation studies of powerPlex 2.1, a nine-locus short tandem repeat (STR) multiplex system and penta D monoplex

In order to increase the power of discrimination for human identification purposes, a nine-locus short tandem repeat (STR) multiplex, the GenePrint PowerPlex 2.1 system (PowerPlex 2.1) developed by Promega Corporation and a separate pentanucleotide-repeat locus, Penta D, were tested. This megaplex system includes the highly polymorphic loci FGA, TPOX, D8S1179, vWA, Penta E, D18S51, D21S11, TH01, and D3S1358 and may be used in combination with the eight-locus STR multiplex, the GenePrint PowerPlex 1.1 system (PowerPlex 1.1) that has been previously developed. Three of the loci, TPOX, TH01 and vWA, have been included in both systems for quality control purposes. As with PowerPlex 1.1, PowerPlex 2.1 is also based on a two-color detection of fluorescent-labeled DNA products amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and provides a valuable tool for accurate and rapid allele determination. The primer sequences used in the PowerPlex 2.1/Penta D system are also presented in this report. To meet the "Quality Assurance Standards for Forensic DNA Testing Laboratories" (FBI), we tested the efficiency and reproducibility of the PowerPlex 2.1/PentaD system by several validation studies that were conducted as a joint project among seven laboratories. Validation tests included concordance studies, sensitivity, and species specificity determination, as well as performance in forensic and environmentally impacted samples. The results produced from these tests demonstrated the consistency and reliability of the PowerPlex 2.1/Penta D system.     

Pulmonary siderophages and unexpected infant death

It has been proposed that the presence of siderophages in the lungs of infants who die unexpectedly should be considered a marker of a previous hypoxic event, which may preclude a diagnosis of sudden infant death syndrome. The authors retrospectively reviewed all infant deaths (<1 year old) going to autopsy at the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner from January 1999 to January 2001. Lung sections were stained with Prussian blue, and siderophages were counted in 20 high-power fields per lobe sampled. Cell counts were performed by two independent pathologists who were blinded to history and cause of death, with good reproducibility. Iron stain results were then categorized by average number of siderophages per 20 high-power field (category 1 = <5, category 2 = 5-100, category 3A = 100-500, category 3B = >100 in a single lobe, category 4 = >500). The results were subsequently correlated to case history, autopsy findings, and cause/manner of death. Forty-three cases were reviewed. The causes of death included sudden infant death syndrome (16), asphyxia (5), undetermined (6), and other (16). Those deaths were categorized by the above criteria as follows: category 1. (32), category 2. (6), category 3. (4), and category 4. (1). All sudden infant death syndrome deaths were in category 1. Categories 1 and 2 also included deaths in which hypoxia might have been present before death because of such factors as pneumonia and congenital heart disease. Categories 3 and 4 included a known homicidal asphyxia in which repeated episodes of intentional smothering were documented, 2 probable asphyxias, 1 nonaccidental trauma, and 1 undetermined. All 5 cases had questionable circumstances surrounding the death of the infant. Pulmonary siderophages were described in only 1 of the 43 autopsy reports. It was concluded that pulmonary siderophages can be markedly increased in cases of repeated asphyxia. Siderophages may also be increased in cases where hypoxia may have been present for another reason, but not to the same degree. Siderophages are not increased in sudden infant death syndrome. Because iron-laden macrophages often are not recognized on routine examination with hematoxylin and eosin staining, iron stains may be helpful in the evaluation of infant deaths. If siderophages are present in increased amounts without an obvious explanation, further investigation is warranted.