Effect of Cutting with an Abrasive Saw on Swarf Composition

Crime scene investigators are often asked to examine swarf from break‐in sites and compare it with swarf found on a suspect. Occasionally, elemental composition of swarf from these two sources does not match. It is generally assumed that cutting metal does not induce changes in chemical composition. However, this study shows that, if a matrix contains iron, chromium, and nickel, composition of swarf produced from cutting the matrix with an abrasive saw may indeed alter. In this study, we cut a stainless steel sheet using a standard cutoff saw. Swarf was sorted and chemically analyzed by EDS/SEM, and the following relationships between chip morphology and modified composition were discovered: elongated chips remained unchanged; changes in the irregular chips appeared to be random, possibly because they are formed in a number of different ways; composition of spherical chips changed with size.     

Fifty Years After the 1967 Crime Commission Report

In the 50 years since the U.S. President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice under President Johnson issued its report, feminist activism and both feminist and mainstream research have resulted in defining domestic violence (DV) as a social problem. This awareness of the seriousness and expansiveness of DV has spurred the development of unprecedented programs and policies. Although DV policing changes have been significant, so too have been the development of and changes in safehouses, no‐drop court policies, domestic violence courts, community‐coordinated responses, and batterer intervention programs. In this article, we review the nonpolice responses to DV cases and outcomes and provide recommendations. First, research and policies need to more regularly be aimed at addressing victims’ safety and their diverse needs and experiences. Second, assessments should include addressing the processing of these cases through the impact of responses by individual community and criminal legal system actors (e.g., victim advocates, police, prosecutors, and judges) to victims and offenders.     

Munchausen by Proxy: A Qualitative Investigation into Online Perceptions of Medical Child Abuse

In Munchausen by proxy (MBP) maltreatment, increasingly termed “medical child abuse” (MCA), a caregiver fabricates or induces illness in another. The perpetrator's goal for the behavior is to meet personal emotional needs by forcing unnecessary or misguided medical or psychological treatment. Generally, a mother is the perpetrator and her child is the victim. There is a serious lack of research into most aspects of MCA, and this study is the first to utilize the anonymity of an Internet forum to investigate victims' first‐hand experiences of, and the public's opinions about, suspected and confirmed MCA. Three‐hundred and fifty‐six posts by 348 members were explored and coded using formal qualitative content analysis. By accessing an open‐thought online forum, this paper acquired information regarding social perceptions about the nonperpetrating partners who are unaware of the maltreatment; the disturbing and counterintuitive phenomenon of MCA itself; and the resistance often faced by those who attempt to report it.     

Age Differences in Lineup Identification Accuracy: People Are Better with Their Own Age

Previous research has reported that young adults are better at eyewitness face recognition than are older adults. However, these studies have used young adults as culprits and fillers. We explore how the relative ages of the witness and the culprit influence eyewitness accuracy in 2 experiments. In the first experiment, young (18–25 years old) and older (35–55 years old) adults each saw 4 crime videos. In 2 the culprit was a young adult and in 2 the culprit was an older adult. Participants were more accurate at identifying the culprit when viewing culprit present lineups comprising people of their own age: an own age bias analogous to the own race bias. In the 2nd experiment, using a similar procedure, young (18–33 years old) and older (40–55 years old) adults viewed both culprit present and culprit absent lineups. The results of the first experiment were replicated for the culprit present lineups. However, no own age bias was found for the culprit absent lineups. Implications for police procedures dealing with cross-generation identifications are discussed.     

Gender Differences in Rates of Depressive Symptoms Among Low-Income,Urban, African American Youth: A Test of Two Mediational Hypotheses

The present study tested for gender differences in depressive symptoms in a sample of 622 low-income, urban, African American adolescents. Results indicate that adolescent girls in this sample were significantly more likely to endorse depressive symptoms than were boys. To examine possible explanations for this gender difference, 2 variables were tested as mediators of the relation between gender and depressive symptoms: (1) interpersonal stressors and (2) ruminative coping. Results indicate that ruminative coping, but not interpersonal stressors, mediated the relation between gender and depressive symptoms in this sample. Possible explanations for these findings, in light of the common and unique experiences of low-income, urban youth of color, are explored.     

Methods for estimating medical expenditures attributable to intimate partner violence

This article compares three methods for estimating the medical cost burden of intimate partner violence against U.S. adult women (18 years and older), 1 year postvictimization. To compute the estimates, prevalence data from the National Violence Against Women Survey are combined with cost data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, the Medicare 5% sample, and published studies and with relative risk estimates from published studies. Results are compared and reasons for difference are explored, including the advantages and disadvantages of each approach. Estimates of the medical cost burden of intimate partner violence within the first 12 months after victimization range from USD 2.3 billion to USD 7.0 billion, depending on the method used. Although limited to women victimized in the last year, each method reveals that intimate partner violence imposes a substantial burden on the health care system. Among the approaches, there is no clear gold standard nor any evidence of bias.     

Trends in Substance Use by Gender Among Participants in a Jail-Based Substance Use Disorder Treatment Program: 1998–2016

Understanding trends in substance use by gender among jail-based treatment program participants can inform policies and programs tailored to this population. Preprogram assessment data from 3509 individuals entering a jail-based substance use disorder treatment program in Missouri between 1998 and 2016 were analyzed. Primary outcome was program participants’ strongly preferred substances. Demographic covariates and drug preferences were compared between males and females. Average yearly trends in preferred substances were calculated. While 25.8% of the sample preferred heroin, it was more strongly preferred by women (36.4%) than men (22.0%, p < 0.0001). Alcohol and marijuana were preferred more by males. Overall, preferences for heroin and methamphetamine increased over time while alcohol, marijuana, and other stimulants decreased. Women being more likely to prefer heroin and the increasing preference for heroin over time are consistent with national trends. Offering evidence-based treatment like pharmacotherapy and gender-sensitive approaches can help address the needs of this vulnerable population.     

Photographic Image Comparison of Vegetation

Images and videos are common types of evidence in crime scene investigations and laboratory analysis. Images may be taken by the suspect and/or by crime scene investigators and may serve as crucial elements in forensic laboratory analysis. Forensic photographic image comparison is the process of comparing one or more objects or persons in photographs/images when at least one image is known to be related to a crime. The forensic examiner usually compares the images in order to determine whether or not an association between the exhibits in the images can be made. This paper proposes an extension to the currently prevalent photographic image examination method. The extension introduces comparison of landscape and vegetation over time. It is revealed that similarities between images may still be found between the period of time the suspect photograph was taken and the period the crime scene investigator took the photograph from the same area. In this case report, two suspects to be involved in growing a marijuana field were arrested by the police. The forensic experts were asked to examine images taken by the crime scene investigators and to compare them to the images found in the suspects’ phones. They then tried to determine whether the suspects could be linked to the specific locations. While applying techniques derived from morphological comparison methodologies, the plants at the scene provided significant additional information. A tree trunk, branches, and twigs on a hedge in the photographs revealed specific individual characteristics that led the examiner to reach a conclusive decision.     

Does the Millennium Challenge Corporation reinforce capitalist power structures or empower citizens?

In development practice, how does ‘mutual benefit’ accrue, and to whom? China criticises America for perpetuating capitalist power relations and claims it can seek a new geopolitical order based on South–South cooperation. Meanwhile, there has been an extraordinary shift of emphasis towards the private sector as a driver of development, but this shift is attracting increasing criticism. The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) – the only development agency to grow in influence under the Trump administration – is evaluated in the light of these two key themes. Neither China nor the private sector is successful in achieving ‘mutual benefit’ for ordinary citizens – both replicate existing power inequalities. As with the rise of both China and the private sector, the MCC also enmeshes developing countries further into the existing neoliberal capitalist structures. However, the advantages of the agency should not be dismissed outright, as its Ruling Justly and Investing in People indicators can enhance the capacity of citizens to challenge these power structures themselves.