Preventing youth suicide: issues for law enforcement personnel

Suicide is a leading cause of death for adolescents. A number of problem behaviors associated with youth suicide fall into the purview of law enforcement personnel, and they are therefore in a position to detect risk and prevent suicidal behaviors. Eight hundred one youth identified as having school difficulty, a group at increased risk for both suicide and legal problems, participated in a paper and pencil survey followed by an interview focusing on suicide risk and protective factors. Linear regression was used to examine the ability of factors within each risk and protective factor dimension to predict current suicide risk. The study goal was to determine the most relevant factors influencing suicide risk in each domain examined. Findings are discussed in terms of implications for assessment and policy for law enforcement personnel.     

The couple relationship when the female partner has an acquired physical disability

ABSTRACT

‘Whereas the couple relationship is described to be the relationship which is typically the most impacted by disability, spousal support is presented to be the most important form of support following such. To date little is known about the exchange of support and the impact of an acquired physical disability on the couple relationship, especially when considering the perspectives of both partners. Taking a feminist, a resilience and a systemic perspective, this paper seeks to address these gaps by presenting the stories told by three heterosexual couples in whom the females sustained an acquired locomotor disability in the course of the relationship. Individual and joint semi-structured interviews were held with each participating couple. The aim was to systemically understand how the beliefs, ideas and attitudes of each partner mutually contributed to the resilience and maintenance of the couple unit over time, taking also into consideration the contextual factors which helped or hindered the couples in this process.Thematic narrative analysis of the stories told showed how coping post-disability was brought about by mutual and reciprocal circular patterns of interaction initiated and maintained within the couple relationship and influenced by the socio-cultural context. Whereas it was difficult to decipher which party had started off these processes, their occurrence over time limited the burden experienced by both parties because of the disability. The females in this study were empathic and endowed with a sense of gratitude whilst the males were caring and supportive. Both parties were determined to help each other in times of need and to survive the disability ordeal as a couple even if this entailed self-sacrifice and adjustment. Such research presents novel insights about couples impacted by an acquired locomotor disability and the practices and interventions which practitioners, clinicians and policy makers can adopt in supporting couples following such’.     

US Women Federal Court Judges Appointed by President Carter

There is considerable disagreement as to whether any gender differences on the bench are symbolic, substantive, or both. This paper, based on never-before published surveys and personal interviews conducted in the early 1980s, contributes to that discussion by describing what women appointed to the federal bench by President Carter between 1976 and 1980 had to say about gender differences in their first years in office. I conclude that these early experiences and comments by women on the bench are still relevant today and presage much of the research on judicial gender which has followed.

“Here,It’s Like You Don’t Have to Leave the Classroom to Solve a Problem”: How Restorative Justice in Schools Contributes to Students’ Individual and Collective Sense of Coherence

Social Justice Research - Students face innumerable stressors, in and outside of schools. Some schools are better able to support students to thrive, individually and collectively, in the midst of...     

Precursor Crimes to Terrorism and the Local Prosecutor's Role in Disruption

Much of the discussion of terrorism prosecution focuses on the federal judicial system or the use of military tribunals. The passage of state anti‐terrorism legislation in response to September 11, 2001, raises the issue of what role local prosecutors might play in responding to terrorism. Of particular interest is the role that local prosecutors have in identifying offenders who have committed crimes that may be precursors to terrorism and how they gather and share information. Using data from a survey of the 112 largest prosecutors’ offices in the country and information gained from case studies, this study explores the local prosecutor's role in responding to terrorism, how they are involved in the identification and prosecution of precursor crimes, and the overlap between federal and state prosecution.     

Remanding Women in Custody: Concerns for Human Rights

Concern about the increasing population of women in prison has tended to focus on the sentencing of female offenders. It is often overlooked that about one in five women held in custody is there on remand, awaiting trial or sentence, and that most of them will not receive a prison sentence at the end of the process. This article examines the legal grounds for a custodial remand and explores the extent to which individual rights guaranteed under the European Convention are adequately protected. It is argued that women are particularly disadvantaged by the laws governing bail and by their practical application in the criminal justice system; and that the pre-trial detention of so many women routinely violates the spirit of the Convention by allowing questionable claims to social utility to prevail over the right to liberty and to a fair trial.     

A study in social change

Taiwan has dramatically improved its response to domestic violence within the last fifteen years, becoming the first East Asian country to pass major legislation criminalizing domestic violence. Ethnographic research on the origins, development, and operations of the domestic violence prevention movement shows how individuals from diverse backgrounds acted collectively to achieve this social reversal. Activists have profited from feminist social networks, the growing economic and political power of women, domestic violence models from other countries, a unified vision of creating new legislation, and an atmosphere open to change. Their efforts were catalyzed by three widely publicized cases regarding violence against women and culminated in the passage of the Domestic Violence Prevention and Treatment Act in 1998. The domestic violence prevention movement in Taiwan provides a valuable case study of social change and a model for other East Asian countries interested in passing similar legislation.