Automation of the Differential Digestion Process of Sexual Assault Evidence,

Sexual assault evidence samples require the use of a specific process known as a differential digestion to separate sperm from nonsperm cells prior to DNA extraction. An automated differential digestion process was developed using a selective degradation technique, which uses DNase I to digest the remaining nonsperm DNA in the sperm fraction. The use of DNase on pristine samples, as well as aged and degraded samples, was assessed to ensure that the quantity and quality of the sperm DNA were not compromised or adversely affected. Samples processed using the selective degradation technique yielded comparable DNA yield and DNA typing data to the conventional differential digestion process. The automated process utilized 96‐well plates for high throughput and incorporated microscope slide preparations for confirmation of sperm. It reduced processing time by about sixfold and was paramount in the elimination of the Oakland Police Department Criminalistics Laboratory's sexual assault kit backlog.     

Does providing inmates with education improve postrelease outcomes? A meta-analysis of correctional education programs in the United States

Objectives

Our study addresses the question: Does providing inmates with education while incarcerated reduce their chances of recidivism and improve their postrelease employment prospects?

Methods

We aggregated 37 years of research (1980–2017) on correctional education and applied meta-analytic techniques. As the basis for our meta-analysis, we identified a total of 57 studies that used recidivism as an outcome and 21 studies that used employment as an outcome. We then applied random-effects regression across the effect sizes abstracted from each of these studies.

Findings

When focusing on studies with the highest caliber research designs, we found that inmates participating in correctional education programs were 28% less likely to recidivate when compared with inmates who did not participate in correctional education programs. However, we found that inmates receiving correctional education were as likely to obtain postrelease employment as inmates not receiving correctional education.

Conclusion

Our meta-analysis demonstrates the value in providing inmates with educational opportunities while they serve their sentences if the goal of the program is to reduce recidivism.

     

The Rwandan diaspora in Canada and the United States: reconciliation and justice

Following the 1994 Rwandan genocide, many Rwandans fled and a modest diaspora was established throughout Canada and the United States. Diaspora are subject to many of the same concerns regarding justice and reconciliation as those who remain in Rwanda. This research focused primarily on how this diaspora attempted to achieve justice and reconciliation, if institutional mechanisms (gacaca) in Rwanda had a residual effect, and if they created any specific mechanism to facilitate justice and reconciliation among themselves. In-person and telephone interviews were conducted with eight members of the diaspora in the United States and Canada between May 2015 and March 2016.

Interviews suggested that justice among the diaspora is inherently connected with justice in Rwanda, and participants felt that justice has not been achieved in either location. Reconciliation among the diaspora, while tied to reconciliation in Rwanda, may be its own construct. Interviews demarcated ‘thin’ reconciliation and ‘thick’ reconciliation, suggesting that ‘thin’ reconciliation exists among the diaspora, but that ‘thick’ reconciliation is rare. Discussion of gacaca was limited, as participants stated it did not address justice and reconciliation in Rwanda. Participants did not report any diaspora specific mechanism regarding attempts at justice and reconciliation.     

Specialised domestic violence courts in Canada and the United States: Key factors in prioritising safety for women and children

ABSTRACT

This paper reviews the response of specialised domestic violence courts in Canada and the United States to contact disputes where there are allegations of domestic violence. It begins with a discussion of legal reforms responding to domestic violence in Canada and the United States, including the different types of DV courts and their rationales, key features, merits and drawbacks. Evaluations of Integrated DV courts in the United States and Canada are then reviewed. The research shows that although IDV courts hold more promise to deal with contact disputes given their inclusion of family law matters, there are few studies analysing the impact of IDV courts on these disputes, and some suggest these courts may actually increase contact and hence the potential for safety issues to arise. The final section discusses the strengths and weaknesses of IDV courts in relation to contact disputes, identifying the factors that make these specialised courts more or less successful in prioritising safety and minimising harm for women and children.     

Co-constituting narrative: the role of researcher identity bids in qualitative interviews with women ex-offenders

Narrative criminology draws upon the stories of the research participants to better understand crime. These narratives are shaped not only by a range of structural, institutional and individual factors, but by dynamics within the interview itself. As both participant and interviewer deploy narrative techniques, they co-constitute identity meanings during the interview process. This study examines interviews with 30 women recently released from incarceration to identify ways that the researcher constructed and “bid” for identity meanings through narrative during the interview process. Specifically analyzed are the researcher’s “small stories” put forth in response to participants during the interview exchange. Ultimately, the co-constitutive nature of interview dynamics suggest that the researcher’s identity bids via small stories have implications for how participants assert their own identity meanings, account for their experiences, and ultimately orient or conceptualize their futures.     

Do Work-Family Conflict and Resiliency Mediate Police Stress and Burnout: a Study of State Police Officers

Occupational stress and burnout have long been recognized as common hazards among police officers. The present study examines whether demographic characteristics and assignment affect police officers’ work-family conflict (WFC), resiliency, stress and burnout, and whether WFC and resiliency mediate the stress and burnout of police officers. The data were collected from a Mid-Atlantic state police agency in the United States of America through a web-based survey. Regression results revealed that minority officers tended to have lower levels of WFC and burnout and better educated officers reported lower degrees of WFC and stress. WFC was positively related to stress and burnout, while resilience was inversely linked to stress and burnout. The effects of race and education disappeared when WFC and resiliency entered the regression, suggesting that their impact was largely mediated by WFC and resiliency. Lastly, stress was found to be positively associated with burnout. Implications for research and policy are discussed.     

Detecting children's false allegations and recantations of a crime

This study examined adults’ abilities to detect the veracity of children's (ages 6–11) initial disclosures and their later recantations about a crime. Children (N?=?32) were asked to make a false denial or a false accusation of an alleged theft, while some were asked to tell the truth. Afterwards, children recanted their initial statements in a second interview; thus, children who initially denied the theft accused a researcher of the transgression in the second interview, and vice-versa. Adult raters (ages 18–25; N?=?108) watched both interviews and completed a questionnaire that required them to determine the veracity (i.e. whether the report was true or false) and credibility of the disclosure. Adults accurately detected the veracity of children's reports 53% of the time (55% of original reports, 50% of recantations). Raters were more accurate when detecting false denials than false accusations in the children's original and recanted reports. Despite being more difficult to detect, children's recanted denials that became accusations were rated as the least credible. Furthermore, self-reported level of experience with children and ratings confidence were not significant predictors of truth/lie detection accuracy.     

The Impact of School Policing on Student Behaviors in Ohio Public Schools

The present study examined variations in incidents of student insubordination and violence using an individual change model, which allowed for repeated observations of student behaviors in 148 Ohio schools at the initial status (2010) and over time (2010 and 2014). Findings were significant only at the initial status. As school size and total number of school policing measures increased, so did student incidents of insubordination in 2010. School policing and the percentage of economic disadvantage did not predict violence. Findings considered the number of behavior incidents with respect to policing in all school locales, revealing the impact of school policing on student behaviors may transcend race and geographic location.