Measures Tending to Combat Recidivism Among Women Offenders

[Editor's Note] Traditionally crime has been the domain of males for a number of reasons, chief of which is the fact that they have had more responsibility in both domestic and occupational areas. In the administration of justice differential treatment has been practiced in accordance with age, sex, social status, race, ethnicity, wealth, education, prestige, and other idiosyncrasies of individuals. Females have a distinct advantage over males in the following areas: 1) the public's report to the police; 2) police arrest; 3) the court's sentence; 4) incarceration. There is evidence to show that because of this males not only risk becoming offenders more than females, but also risk becoming victims of that offense.

To cite some examples, in 1972 male arrests outnumbered female by almost six to one in the United States, and only 18 percent of the arrests for Crime Index offenses were women. According to an F.B.I. report approximately 20 per cent of total property crime arrests in 1972 were female. Yet it should be noted that some crimes are committed more by females than by males, such as offenses against chastity and common decency, prostitution, embezzlement and fraud, forgery and counterfeiting, larceny and theft. Recently the F.B.I. reported a rise in female offenses, particularly among those under the age of 18. According to this report, well over half the runaways apprehended are young women.

As a result of a higher educational level among women, more women remaining single due to professional and occupational interests, and the Contemporary Women's Liberation movement, a gradual increase in criminality among women is anticipated, although this is disputed by the French correspondent in the following article who argues for a reverse trend. Yet with more women competing with men in the future and becoming more active politically to achieve equality, crime as a predominantly male pattern of behavior may change.

Crime among women has yet to be thoroughly studied. Some criminologists maintain that female criminality is “masked” or “suggestive” behavior because to a great extent female criminals are hidden or unreported, or in some instances men commit crime on behalf of women. Any meaningful assessment of female criminality must take into account complex physiological, psychological and socio-cultural factors.

The meeting of the International Council of Women in conjunction with the Third United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders in 1965 marked only a small beginning in the understanding of this segment of criminal behavior. This article deals only with recidivism among women offenders, and readers are advised to discover how other societies treat female criminals. Although several recommendations are made as to how women offenders can best be served, much more research into female criminality must be done before reaching any definite conclusions. Some causal factors paralleled the male counterpart, but before this segment of criminality can be treated effectively, causal elements of a more general nature must first be established. [Source: “Measures Tending to Combat Recidivism Among Women Offenders,” article submitted by the International Council of Women, Standing Committee for Social Welfare to the 3rd United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, Stockholm, A/CONF. 26/NGO/2, 4 May 1965.]     

“It’s Going to Make the Whole Tower Crooked”: Victimization Trajectories in IPV

Interest in the mechanisms by which childhood maltreatment can lead to adult intimate partner victimization (IPV) is growing, though limited research has examined these mechanisms from the direct perspective of the victims. Using qualitative methods to examine childhood histories in a sample of 23 IPV survivors, we identified two trajectories, childhood emotional trauma and childhood physical trauma, which lead to revictimization in adulthood in the form of IPV. The emotional trauma trajectory was associated with a desire for intimacy and deficits in navigating interpersonal relationships. Problematic interpersonal schemas and a fear of loneliness swayed many of these women to stay with an abusive partner. The physical trauma trajectory was associated with desensitization and normalization of violence. Problematic interpersonal schemas, and the belief that the experience of violence is normal, promoted tolerance of IPV. Implications for research and intervention are discussed.     

Sexual violence perpetrated against women in India: the role of forensic evidence

ABSTRACT

In response to the upsurge in acts of sexual violence against women in India, Parliament passed the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act of 2013, amending existing statutes and rules of evidence relating to crimes of sexual violence and the practices of forensic professionals in the country. While a step in the right direction, this law paid little attention to forensic evidence in sexual violence cases, which can provide a more objective, scientific account of events, aid in the reconstruction of crimes, and help strengthen cases against perpetrators. The objectives of this article are twofold: to raise awareness for the need for a more prominent role of forensic evidence in sexual violence cases and to recommend ways to establish uniform and comprehensive policies and procedures on the collection and preservation of forensic evidence in order to ensure that cases of sexual violence against women are heard in Indian courts.     

Selecting "saviour siblings": reconsidering the regulation in Australia of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis in conjunction with tissue typing

In recent years, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) has been developed to enable the selection of a tissue type matched "saviour sibling" for a sick child. This article examines the current regulatory framework governing PGD in Australia. The availability of PGD in Australia to create a saviour sibling depends on the regulation of ART services by each State and Territory. The limitations on the use of PGD vary throughout Australia, according to the level of regulation of ART in each jurisdiction. This article considers the limitations on the use of PGD for tissue typing in Australia and argues that some of these should be removed for a more consistent national approach. In particular, the focus in ART legislation on the "paramount interests" of the child to be born is inappropriate for the application of tissue typing, which necessarily involves the interests of other family members.     

Comparative Toxicology of Intentional and Accidental Heroin Overdose*

Abstract: The demographic and toxicological characteristics of deliberate (SUI, n = 50) and accidental (ACC, n = 927) fatal heroin overdose cases were examined. SUI cases were more likely to be female, had lower body mass indices, were more likely to be enrolled in treatment and less likely to have hepatic pathology. The median blood morphine concentration of SUI cases was significantly higher than that of ACC cases (0.70 vs. 0.40 mg/L, p < 0.001). Blood morphine concentrations of >1 mg/L were seen among 38.0% of SUI cases compared to 13.9% of ACC cases. Being a member of the SUI group remained a significant independent predictor of higher morphine concentrations after controlling for the effects of potential confounders (p < 0.001), other significant predictors being the absence of alcohol (p < 0.001), the presence of methadone (p < 0.05), and the presence of cocaine (p < 0.05). The current data are consistent with the view that suicide forms a small, but distinct, category of heroin overdose cases, rather than overdose being a parasuicidal phenomenon per se.     

Exposure to Interparental Violence and Childhood Physical and Emotional Abuse as Related to Physical Aggression in Undergraduate Dating Relationships

The present study examined whether witnessing interparental violence and experiencing childhood physical or emotional abuse were associated with college students’ perpetration of physical aggression and self-reports of victimization by their dating partners. Participants (183 males, 475 females) completed the Adult-Recall Version of the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2-CA; Straus 2000), the Exposure to Abusive and Supportive Environments Parenting Inventory (EASE-PI; Nicholas and Bieber 1997), and the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2; Straus et al. 1996). Results of zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) regressions demonstrated that being female and having experienced higher levels of childhood physical abuse were associated with having perpetrated physical aggression at least once. Among women, exposure to mother-to-father violence and childhood physical abuse were related to the extent of dating aggression. Among men, witnessing father-to-mother violence and childhood emotional abuse were associated with the extent of dating aggression. Witnessing interparental violence and experiencing childhood physical abuse increased the likelihood that women would report victimization, whereas childhood emotional abuse decreased the likelihood that respondents reported dating victimization. Viewing father-to-mother violence and experiencing childhood emotional abuse increased the extent that men reported being victimized by their dating partners, whereas witnessing mother-to-father violence and experiencing physical abuse decreased the extent that men reported being victimized by their dating partners. Results suggest the importance of parent and respondent gender on dating aggression.     

Bankruptcy: Past Puzzles, Recent Reforms, and the Mortgage Crisis

This paper discusses four bankruptcy-related policy issues.First, what is the economic rationale for having a bankruptcyprocedure at all and what defines an economically efficientbankruptcy procedure? Second, why did the number of U.S. bankruptcyfilings increase so dramatically between 1980 and 2005? Third,a major bankruptcy reform went into effect in the United Statesin 2005—what did it do and how did it affect credit andmortgage markets? Finally, the paper discusses the mortgagecrisis, the high social cost of foreclosures, and the difficultyof avoiding foreclosure by voluntarily renegotiation of mortgagecontracts, even when such renegotiations are in the joint interestof debtors and creditors. I also discuss the pros and cons ofgovernment programs to refinance mortgages and the argumentfor giving bankruptcy judges new power to change the terms ofresidential mortgage contracts in bankruptcy.     

Adaptation and evaluation of the PrepFiler™ DNA extraction technology in an automated forensic DNA analysis process with emphasis on DNA yield, inhibitor removal and contamination security

Within the initial step of the forensic DNA analysis process, the DNA extraction efficiency and especially the removal of potential PCR inhibitors is crucial for subsequent steps, e.g. quantification by real-time PCR and amplification of short tandem repeats (STRs). The protocol of the PrepFiler™ Forensic DNA Extraction Kit was optimized for the application on a Tecan liquid handling workstation Freedom EVO^® 150. This modified application of the PrepFiler™ technology was compared with respect to DNA yield, sensitivity and the ability to remove potential PCR inhibitors to an established routine method working on the same liquid handling workstation based on ChargeSwitch^® Technology (CST) from Invitrogen.