Believing is seeing? Investigating the perceived accuracy of criminal psychological profiles

This study investigated whether perceptions of criminal psychological profiles are influenced by the identity of the profile's author. Police officers were given a profile they were told was written by either a professional profiler or by an unspecified author. When judged in relation to the actual perpetrator of the crime, police officers tended to perceive greater accuracy in a profile when it was labeled as authored by a professional profiler independent of the actual content of the profile. But officers' judgments of the usefulness of the profile were not affected by knowledge of who wrote the profile. Explanations for this result focus on the ambiguous nature of criminal profiles and how this ambiguity enhances the likelihood that beliefs about the validity of profiling can color perceptions of the content of the profile.     

Mitochondrial DNA and STR analyses of maggot crop contents: effect of specimen preservation technique

DNA analysis of maggot crop contents can be used to identify a missing body or aid entomologists with interpreting evidence used for PMI estimations. Entomological evidence is often collected and preserved to keep identifiable external features intact. The preservation methods currently in use may not be suitable for preserving DNA in the maggot crop for later analysis. In this study, carrion maggots raised on human tissue were preserved under the following 8 preservation conditions: no fluid at -70 degrees C, no fluid at 4 degrees C, no fluid at 24 degrees C, 70% ethanol at 4 degrees C, 70% ethanol at 24 degrees C, 95% ethanol at 24 degrees C, Kahle's solution at 24 degrees C and formaldehyde at 24 degrees C. Maggots were dissected following 2 weeks, 8 weeks and 6 months of preservation. The maggot crops were extracted, human DNA was quantitated, and an attempt was made at amplifying mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and short tandem repeat (STR) loci. Both mtDNA and STRs were successfully amplified from maggots stored in ethanol or without any preservation fluid. Formalin-containing preservation solutions reduced the recovery of DNA. The best results were observed from maggots stored without any preservation fluid at -70 degrees C.     

Preventing suicide in prisons, part I. Recommendations from the International Association for Suicide Prevention Task Force on Suicide in Prisons

In 2000 the Department of Mental Health of the World Health Organization (WHO) published a guide named Preventing Suicide. A Resource for Prison Officers as part of the WHO worldwide initiative for the prevention of suicide. In 2007 there are new epidemiological data on prison suicide, a more detailed discussion of risk factors accounting for the generally higher rate of suicide in correctional settings in comparison to the general population, and several strategies for developing screening instruments. As a first step, this paper presents an update of the WHO guide by the Task Force on Suicide in Prisons, created by the International Association for Suicide Prevention. A second paper, by the same Task Force, will present some international comparisons of suicide prevention services in correctional facilities.     

Providing Foster Care for Adolescents: Barriers and Opportunities

This study used quantitative and qualitative data from a larger research project regarding foster parent experiences to examine the characteristics that predict a parent’s willingness to foster an adolescent. Data collected from closed- and open-ended items related to reasons for not fostering a teen were also analyzed. Findings suggest parents who are older and were a foster child themselves, increased the likelihood they would foster a teen. When discussing reasons for not fostering an adolescent, parents identified fears of problem behaviors and concerns about negative impact on other children; findings that were corroborated in responses to the open-ended comments.     

The Dangers of Relying on a Legal List: A Case Study of the West Virginia Consolidated Investment Fund

Since the mid 1970s, many local governments have begun using state-run local government investment pools for their cash management needs. Some pools operate under statutory limitations on investment instruments known as "legal lists," other pools operate either under a "Prudent Person Rule" standard, while others use a combination of the two. This article examines the potential dangers of an investment pool relying too heavily upon a legal list fiduciary standard, by examining the West Virginia Consolidated Investment Fund, which lost nearly 25 percent of its principal in a financial scandal during the 1980s.     

Investigations into factors affecting the cascade developer used in ESDA--a review

The Electrostatic Detection Apparatus (ESDA) is a technique most commonly used for the visualisation of indented impressions on questioned documents. This work investigates some of the variables which are known to affect the results of ESDA and some variables which have, as yet, not been addressed. The investigation of variables included: examining the effects of different levels of indentation on different qualities of paper, chronological aging of cascade developer and the effects of repeated use of cascade developer on both the quality of results and the glass beads themselves, the effects of storage of cascade developer in a humidified environment and finally the effects of variation on the image development time. Results indicate that chronological aging of cascade developer does not have a negative effect on the quality of results and a 200 g portion of cascade developer will give good quality results for up to 30 traces before the quality will begin to deteriorate. Humidification of the cascade developer appears to have no advantages over storage in a normal environment and, in fact, the toner is lost sooner with humidification. The surface of the glass beads are affected through repeated use of cascade developer and appear to become visually smoother which may lead to a loss of attraction between them and the toner particles.