Effects of Experiencing the Eyewitness Identification Procedure on Juror Decisions

Mistaken eyewitness identifications are believed to contribute to a preponderance of wrongful convictions, underscoring the need to identify methods to help decrease the likelihood of false convictions based on eyewitness testimony. The present study tested the hypothesis that providing jurors with first-hand experience with eyewitness identification procedures could help further sensitize them to the limitations of eyewitness testimony. Eighty college students watched a videotaped mock trial in which the prosecution’s sole evidence was eyewitness testimony. In a 2 × 2 randomized factorial design, we manipulated whether participants heard expert psychological testimony (henceforth referred to as expert testimony) on the limitations of eyewitness identification and whether they experienced an eyewitness identification procedure. As predicted, experiencing the eyewitness identification procedure had a significant impact on juror decisions, suggesting that this procedure could further help reduce the likelihood of wrongful convictions.     

Temporal variation of oxygen isotope ratios (δ18O) in drinking water: implications for specifying location of origin with human scalp hair

Previous work suggests that δ(18)O values of human hair can be used to constrain the region-of-origin of unknown individuals, but robust assessments of uncertainties in this method are lacking. Here we assess one source of uncertainty - temporal variation in the δ(18)O value of drinking water - using a monthly tap water survey of δ(18)O to develop geospatial models (i.e., maps) of the intra-annual variation (seasonality) in tap water δ(18)O for the contiguous USA. Temporal variation in tap water δ(18)O was correlated with water-supply type, and was related to geographic patterns of precipitation δ(18)O seasonality and water residence time. The maps were applied in a Bayesian framework to identify the geographic origin of an unidentified woman found in Utah, based on measured δ(18)O of scalp hair. The results are robust in specifying parts of the western USA as the most likely region-of-origin. Incorporation of tap water δ(18)O seasonality in the analysis reduces the precision of geographic assignments, but other sources of uncertainty (e.g., spatial interpolation uncertainty) have an equal or larger effect.     

Police-monitored CCTV cameras in Newark, NJ: A quasi-experimental test of crime deterrence

We present a test of the crime-deterrent effect of police-monitored street-viewing CCTV cameras using viewsheds of areas that were visible by cameras via direct line-of-sight and that were digitized using easily replicable methods, Google Maps, and standard GIS tools. A quasi-experimental research design, using camera installation sites and randomly selected control sites, assessed the impact of CCTV on the crimes of shootings, auto thefts, and thefts from autos in Newark, NJ, for 13 months before and after camera installation dates. Strategically-placed cameras were not any different from randomly-placed cameras at deterring crime within their viewsheds; there were statistically significant reductions in auto thefts within viewsheds after camera installations; there were significant improvements to location quotient values for shootings and auto thefts after camera installations. There was no significant displacement and there was a small diffusion of benefits, which was greater for auto thefts than shootings. The system of cameras in Newark is not as efficient as it could be at deterring certain street crimes; some camera locations are significantly more effective than others. Results of a system-wide evaluation of CCTV cameras should not be the only basis for endorsing or contesting the use of CCTV cameras for crime control or prevention within a city. Future research should test whether the effectiveness of CCTV cameras are dependent upon the micro-level attributes of environments within which they are installed.     

Sticky Dollars: Inertia in the Evolution of Federal Allocations for HIV Care through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program

While substantial research examines the dynamics prompting policy adoption, few studies have assessed whether enacted policies are modified to meet distributional equity concerns. Past research suggests that important forces limit such adaptation, termed here "policy inertia." We examine whether block grant allocations to states from the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program have evolved in response to major technological and political changes. We assess the impact of initial allocations on later funding patterns, compared to five counterfactual distributional equity standards. Initial allocations strongly predict future allocations; in comparison, the standards are weak predictors, suggesting the importance of policy inertia. Our methodology of employing multiple measures of equity as a counterfactual to policy inertia can be used to evaluate the adaptability of federalist programs in other domains.     

Forensic dental training in the dental school curriculum

This article reviews the literature regarding forensic education in the dental school curriculum and describes an exercise in forensic identification of victims of a mass casualty. Radiographs were made of dentate human cadavers in the gross anatomy laboratory at the Southern Illinois School of Dental Medicine. The jaws were then removed to provide "wet specimens" for the exercise. Several restorations were performed on the cadaver teeth, after which radiographs of the dissected jaws were made. One author wrote up mock dental records for each of the victims. These records included the first set or "premortem" radiographs. Students participating in the exercise were provided with a plane crash scenario, the dental records of the passengers on the manifest, the dissected jaws, and the second set or "postmortem" radiographs. Students were expected to form three teams. The first two teams evaluated the ante-mortem and postmortem dental records. The third team compared the ante-mortem and postmortem records to arrive at identification. The purpose of the exercise was twofold. It introduced dental students to forensic dentistry and emphasized the need for complete and accurate record keeping in the dental office. Several factors lessened the realism of the exercise and made it difficult to reproduce in the future. These included the uniformity of the dental records and the destruction of cadaver material following the exercise.     

Mitigation of armed criminality through an African indigenous approach

Insecurity with the use of small arms has become a disturbing theme in Kenya increasing over the past two decades. Rural areas have seen escalating levels of armed inter-communal resource conflict, with rustling of large numbers of cattle and loss of lives. Official security forces may be weak in such areas, or may be corrupt, demanding bribes to provide their services. In such circumstances communities may resort to providing their own solutions, which have their merits and demerits. One such homegrown solution has come out of Kuria. The Sungusungu are indigenous police, attached to a traditional Iritongo or court owned and funded by the community, and later hesitantly supported by the modern public administration. Their efforts at managing armed criminality in the late 1990s were unexpectedly successful, bringing law and order and leading to a transformation in the district. This article considers their successes and also notes real and potential problems with this concept of indigenous policing, with regard to its wider application.     

Asia Pacific news

This column provides a country-by-country analysis of the latest legal developments, cases and issues relevant to the IT, media and telecommunications' industries in key jurisdictions across the Asia Pacific region. The articles appearing in this column are intended to serve as ‘alerts’ and are not submitted as detailed analyses of cases or legal developments.     

The legal geographies of transnational cyber-prosecutions: extradition,human rights and forum shifting

This article describes legal and human rights issues in three cases of transnational online offending involving extradition requests by the United States (US). These cases were selected as all suspects claimed the negative impacts of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) were sufficient to deny extradition on human rights grounds. We demonstrate how recent developments in UK and Irish extradition law raise human rights and prosecutorial challenges specific to online offending that are not met by established protections under domestic and internationally sanctioned approaches to extradition or human rights law. In these cases, although the allegedly unlawful conduct occurred exclusively online and concurrent jurisdiction enables prosecution at both the source and location of harm, we demonstrate why national courts hearing extradition challenges are extremely reluctant to shift the trial forum. We conclude by discussing the implications of the new geographies of online offending for future criminological research and transnational criminal justice.     

Asia Pacific news

This column provides a country-by-country analysis of the latest legal developments, cases and issues relevant to the IT, media and telecommunications’ industries in key jurisdictions across the Asia Pacific region. The articles appearing in this column are intended to serve as ‘alerts’ and are not submitted as detailed analyses of cases or legal developments.