The Development of a Thurstone Scale for Identifying Desirable Police Officer Traits

Screening applicants for the position of peace officer is a very uncertain process. Concomitantly, trying to select applicants who will be successful throughout their careers adds another, important dimension. Unfortunately, the selection process has primarily been one of screening-out those who are for one reason or another unfit. This article used the Thurstone Scale as the methodological basis to identify those traits that experts agreed are the ones that are meaningful in predicting police officer career success.     

A Review of: “Hillel Schenker and Ziad Abu-Zayyad. Islamophobia and Anti–Semitism,”

Although foreign fighting is hardly new, scholarly research on the phenomenon is only a decade old. Since 2005, there has also been a dramatic rise in the number of transnational insurgents fighting in the Middle East, and they appear to have become the face of the jihad movement. However, of the dozens of foreign fighter contingents around the world in recent decades, only about half have been Islamists. In this article, I contend that the difference between the other contemporary and historical foreign fighter groups and the jihadis is not one of mobilization or effectiveness, but of persistence. Most other foreign fighters demobilized at the end of their conflicts and reintegrated. I argue that the primary factor that accounts for the persistence of the jihadis was the policies of their home and host states that prevented reintegration and created cohorts of stateless, and now professionalized, actors who perpetuate in weakly-governed conflict zones. In presenting this argument, I first attempt to establish a common working definition of foreign fighter based on the first decade of discourse in this emerging field of study, and present a comparative examination of the largest recorded foreign fighter mobilizations.     

The Development of Local Discretionary Authority in New York

Central control of cities was established policy during thecolonial period. The policy was continued after independence.By 1839, all cities were allowed to elect their mayors, anda movement commenced to limit the powers of the legislatureover local governments. An 1874 constitutional amendment forbadethe legislature to enact a special or local bill in seven areas,and the 1894 constitution allowed a city to veto a special cityact, subject to repassage by the legislature. Although constitutionalamendments in 1923, 1935, 1938, and 1963 broadened local powers,the Court of Appeals in the 1920s and 1930s tended to restrictthe powers of local governments. The most important changesin the powers of local governments have occurred since 1980as the result of advisory opinions, issued by the attorney generaland state comptroller, broadening the powers of local governments.Nevertheless, the legislature retains the authority to enactgeneral laws imposing mandates and restraints upon local governments.Such mandates and restraints are responsible for New York beingranked thirty-fifth in terms of discretionary authority grantedto local governments.     

The Recovery of Latent Fingermarks from Evidence Exposed to Ionizing Radiation*

Abstract: Continual reports of illicit trafficking incidents involving radioactive materials have prompted authorities to consider the likelihood of forensic evidence being exposed to radiation. In this study, we investigated the ability to recover latent fingermark evidence from a variety of substrates that were exposed to ionizing radiation. Fingermarks deposited on common surfaces, including aluminum, glass, office paper, and plastic, were exposed to doses ranging from 1 to 1000 kGy, in an effort to simulate realistic situations where evidence is exposed to significant doses of radiation from sources used in a criminal act. The fingermarks were processed using routine fingermark detection techniques. With the exception of glass and aluminum substrates, radiolysis had a considerable effect on the quality of the developed fingermarks. The damage to ridge characteristics can, in part, be attributed to chemical interactions between the substrate and the components of the fingermark secretions that react with the detection reagents.     

The Development and Evaluation of Radiological Decontamination Procedures for Documents,Document Inks,and Latent Fingermarks on Porous Surfaces*†

Abstract: Criminal acts such as an attack utilizing a radiological dispersal device (RDD or dirty bomb), the manufacture of such a device, or the illicit trafficking of radioactive materials would warrant a criminal investigation. This could involve the collection, transportation, and analysis of radiologically contaminated trace evidence. But are law enforcement agencies and forensic scientists capable of dealing with this? This research investigates the decontamination efficacy of two decontamination techniques (chemical and physical) designed for the removal of radiological material from documents of forensic importance. The impact that these procedures have on the development of latent fingermarks and the forensic analysis of the inks on these documents is also studied. It was found that slight changes in the color and chemical composition of a variety of document inks and a destruction of fingermark ridges occurred after chemical decontamination. Physical decontamination had no impact on these parameters.     

Regulating Atomic Energy in the American Federal System

Congress totally preempted the regulation of ionizing radiationin 1946. In 1954 it authorized the private development and useof atomic energy. In 1959, Congress authorized the Atomic EnergyCommission to enter into agreements with states under whicha state can assume certain regulatory responsibilities. As of1987, twenty-nine states had signed agreements. Congress hasenacted several statutes structuring national-state relationsin the field of atomic energy since the Atomic Energy Act of1959. The Low Level Radioactive Policy Act of 1980 makes statesresponsible for disposing of low-level radioactive wastes generatedwithin their respective borders. The Nuclear Waste Policy Actof 1982 established a procedure for locating a site for a high-levelwaste facility. The Secretary of Energy can select a site subjectto a veto by a governor or state legislature and an overrideof the veto by Congress. Two major regulatory developments occurredin 1987. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission amended its rulesand regulations to allow the licensing of new nuclear powerplants in the absence of state and local government participationin emergency evacuation plans for residents living near suchplants. In addition, Congress disregarded its 1982 procedurefor selecting a high-level radioactive waste site by choosingNevada as the site.     

PC_Eyewitness and the Sequential Superiority Effect: Computer-Based Lineup Administration

Computer technology has become an increasingly important tool for conducting eyewitness identifications. In the area of lineup identifications, computerized administration offers several advantages for researchers and law enforcement. PC_Eyewitness is designed specifically to administer lineups. To assess this new lineup technology, two studies were conducted in order to replicate the results of previous studies comparing simultaneous and sequential lineups. One hundred twenty university students participated in each experiment. Experiment 1 used traditional paper-and-pencil lineup administration methods to compare simultaneous to sequential lineups. Experiment 2 used PC_Eyewitness to administer simultaneous and sequential lineups. The results of these studies were compared to the meta-analytic results reported by N. Steblay, J. Dysart, S. Fulero, and R. C. L. Lindsay (2001). No differences were found between paper-and-pencil and PC_Eyewitness lineup administration methods. The core findings of the N. Steblay et al. (2001) meta-analysis were replicated by both administration procedures. These results show that computerized lineup administration using PC_Eyewitness is an effective means for gathering eyewitness identification data.     

FORMATION OF NEW ORGANIZATIONS TO MANAGE RISK1

Differences in statutory mandates, traditions, and attitudes toward risk cause agencies to develop different standards for the same substances. As a response to this fragmentation and uncertainty, common to environment decisions, new organizations emerge to try to coordinate the agencies but usually are created to perform a specific task rather than to coordinate agencies. For these new organizational forms to succeed, they must be in place before the crisis occurs and they must be able to facilitate, not impede, normal adaptive mechanisms of organizations.