Development of an Audit Tool to Evaluate the Documentation of Partner Abuse Assessments within a Provincial Emergency Department: An Exploratory Study

The aim of this study was to develop a clinically valid and reliable audit tool that evaluates the assessment documentation of females presenting to the emergency department following an assault secondary to partner abuse. A 5-step process informed by a quality improvement approach was used to develop the tool and good inter-rater reliability was achieved. The tool developed has wide utility in services implementing family violence intervention in which nurses have a key role.     

A case of extreme agitation and death after the use of mephedrone in The Netherlands

A 36-year old man, having injured himself severely by smashing windows in a rage of fury, was arrested by the police. He died despite resuscitation attempts. The forensic autopsy showed many superficial skin lacerations, bruises and minor brain swelling, but there was no definitive cause of death. Toxicological analysis showed a high concentration of mephedrone in femoral blood (5.1mg/L) and traces of cocaine, MDMA and oxazepam. The remaining dose of mephedrone in the stomach contents was estimated at 113 mg. Tablets that were found in the house of the deceased also contained mephedrone. We attribute this man's death to a fatal oral intake of mephedrone, which probably led to a state of excited delirium. This was aggravated by blood loss from multiple wounds.     

Staff experiences of working in a Sexual Assault Referral Centre: the impacts and emotional tolls of working with traumatised people

This study considers the impacts on staff of supporting people who have reported sexual violence and attend a Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC). This paper focuses on the staff’s perspectives of the stresses and emotional tolls they experience including the coping mechanisms they utilise. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 staff, and a focus group was held with a further four staff of a SARC. The data were examined using thematic analysis. Findings indicated that staff experienced positive emotions connected to the meaningfulness of the work and team spirit as well as a range of unpleasant emotions. Staff also reported emotional numbing, in connection to the specificity, volume and sometimes unpredictable nature of the work. Coping mechanisms used by staff focused on the supportive connection to family, nature, and other team members; the value of clinical supervision; and the avoidance of topics related to work.     

Same Question,Different Answers: Theorizing Victim and Third Party Decisions to Report Crime to the Police

The current study attempts to address a key, but underdeveloped, area in crime reporting literature: the decisions of non-victims to report crime. Drawing on a theory of criminal justice decision-making, we argue that the decision to report a crime reflects a rational process, where the individual considers his or her goals, potential actions, and the relative ability of those actions to achieve the specified goals. Differences in each of these areas result in different decision-making processes for victims and third parties. We offer a preliminary test of our arguments using data from the National Crime Victimization Survey. In general, we find support for our expectations, with third party reporting decisions more heavily influenced by crime seriousness and less so by the offender’s relationship with the victim than are victim reporting decisions. In concluding, we argue that third party reporters should be focal points of future reporting analyses.     

Divided Government and the Fragmentation of American Law

We investigate institutional explanations for Congress's choice to fragment statutory frameworks for policy implementation. We argue that divided party government, which fuels legislative‐executive conflict over control of the bureaucracy, motivates Congress to fragment implementation power as a strategy to enhance its control over implementation. We develop a novel measure of fragmentation in policy implementation, collect data on it over the period 1947–2008, and test hypotheses linking separation‐of‐powers structures to legislative design of fragmented implementation power. We find that divided party government is powerfully associated with fragmentation in policy implementation, and that this association contributed to the long‐run growth of fragmentation in the postwar United States. We further find that legislative coalitions are more likely to fragment implementation power in the face of greater uncertainty about remaining in the majority.     

Assessing the validity of white-collar crime definitions using experimental survey data

Journal of Experimental Criminology - We examine the extent to which the characteristics of offenders, the circumstance of offending, and offense characteristics affect public willingness to label...     

The impact of disrupted caregiving for juvenile sexual offenders

ABSTRACT

Research that attempts to understand why young people commit sex crimes points to an array of family factors that may uniquely contribute to sexual offending over general juvenile delinquency. This study examines the potentially moderating role of disrupted caregiving in the relationship between offending and caregiver-child relationship quality. Two distinct moderators were tested: gender of caregiver and biological relationship between caregiver and child. Results indicate that juvenile sexual offenders have particularly poor relationships with their primary caregivers compared to incarcerated non-sexual offenders and community controls. Furthermore, sexual offenders with male caregivers were found to have lower relationship quality scores than sexual offenders with female caregivers. In contrast, sexual offenders raised by non-biological caregivers reported better relationship quality than did offenders raised by their biological parents. These findings suggest opportunities for early intervention, before caregiving is disrupted.     

Was the Dujail Trial Fair?

The Dujail trial against eight persons accused of crimes againsthumanity was intended as the first of fourteen trials; it wasseen as a quick and simple case that would enable the Tribunalto develop its skills outside the limelight. The trial was infact a missed opportunity in the search for Iraqi justice. Itfell short in three notable ways: (i) it was severely compromisedby political interference: lack of judicial independence, linkedto the absence of a culture of respect for the fairness andimpartiality of the judicial process, was the greatest failingof the trial; (ii) there were breaches in fair trial standardsat the trial and appellate level; (iii) due to evidentiary andanalytical gaps, the trial did not expose the full extent ofcrimes committed by the deposed regime; much of the judgmenthinged on inference and stretched notions of liability. TheDujail trial was better than previous (and current) Iraqi trials.But that was not enough to meet minimum fair trial guarantees.