Special Edition on Performance Management

This edition of Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice isdevoted to police performance management. Several of the articlesherein trace the origins of this style of police managementand the influences that have brought it about. Others appraiseits effects on matters as diverse as domestic violence, criminalinvestigation and the closure of police stations. They do so,not only from the perspective of the UK, but also from thoseof France, the United States and elsewhere; police performancemanagement is widespread and so are the issues that it raises. In this editorial     

Whistleblowing in ?sterreich - Gefahren, Probleme und L?sungsm?glichkeiten

Der vorliegende Artikel er?rtert die derzeitige Rechtslage betreffend Whistleblowing in ?sterreich und zeigt ua unter Zuhilfenahme ausl?ndischer und internationaler Vorbilder und Rechtsquellen m?gliche L?sungen für bestehende Probleme de lege ferenda auf. Ausgehend von verschiedenen Fallkonstellationen, die das jeweils ver?nderliche Schutzbedürfnis des Whistleblowers einerseits und der von dessen Enthüllungen betroffenen Person andererseits aufzeigen, sowie der Analyse schon derzeit bestehender Pflichten zum Hinweisgeben, wird zun?chst versucht, dem Gesetzgeber einen Definitionsvorschlag zu unterbreiten, um Whistleblower schon begrifflich von nicht schutzwürdigen Personen abzugrenzen. Im Anschluss wird versucht, dem Gesetzgeber eine L?sung aufzuzeigen, die die arbeits-, dienst-, straf-, verwaltungsstraf-, zivil- und standesrechtlichen sowie faktischen Gefahren für Whistleblower beseitigt bzw minimiert. Zudem werden Geldleistungen als m?gliche positive Anreize zum Whistleblowing er?rtert.     

Political Strategies of External Support for Democratization

Political strategies of external support to democratization are contrasted and critically examined in respect of the United States and European Union. The analysis begins by defining its terms of reference and addresses the question of what it means to have a strategy. The account briefly notes the goals lying behind democratization support and their relationship with the wider foreign policy process, before considering what a successful strategy would look like and how that relates to the selection of candidates. The literature's attempts to identify strategy and its recommendations for better strategies are compared and assessed. Overall, the article argues that the question of political strategies of external support for democratization raises several distinct but related issues including the who?, what?, why?, and how? On one level, strategic choices can be expected to echo the comparative advantage of the "supporter." On a different level, the strategies cannot be divorced from the larger foreign policy framework. While it is correct to say that any sound strategy for support should be grounded in a theoretical understanding of democratization, the literature on strategies reveals something even more fundamental: divergent views about the nature of politics itself. The recommendations there certainly pinpoint weaknesses in the actual strategies of the United States and Europe but they have their own limitations too. In particular, in a world of increasing multi-level governance strategies for supporting democratization should go beyond preoccupation with just an "outside-in" approach.     

Project USA: American competitiveness and what must be done to restore it

The United States today faces a loss of influence as a world power, a reduction in American independence as a policymaker, and a decline in the standard of living on which Americans have come to depend. History teaches that nations weaker and less productive than the United States can rise to become economic powerhouses and rapidly increase their standards of living. History also teaches that nations failing to recognize their fundamental problems will inevitably decline. American politicians must face what is abundantly clear: the United States is losing ground and must act quickly to reverse its course. This White Paper outlines what must be done. Information about the nation's current status must be analyzed and communicated. Incentives to improve the level of competence in government must be provided and maintained. The emphasis of government policy must be changed to reflect broad economic and technological interests as opposed to special interests. Savings must be encouraged and increased. Infrastructure must be improved Tax laws must be modified to help bring these changes about. Economic and technological issues must be elevated to the importance they require. American thinking must reflect the new realities: that the age of leadership through military power is over, that the requirements for success in the world of the 1990s and beyond require a sound and growing economy that is internationally competitive. The US can accomplish these goals only through foundation-shaking, comprehensive, fundamental changealong the lines we propose herein.This paper is the executive summary (with minor editing modifications) of a white paper that is available from Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management.     

An alternative method to screen for pepper spray residue

A method was developed to screen for pepper spray residue using instruments and methods other than those techniques commonly employed to analyze chemical residue (i.e.. gas chromatography mass spectrometry-GCMS or liquid chromatography mass spectrometry-LCMS). The method employed gas chromatography (GC), thin layer chromatography (TLC), and diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) to screen for dried pepper spray stains. Pepper sprays from nine different manufacturers were investigated. Capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin were identified and unique IR reflectance spectra are presented. An additional five compounds were presumptively found. Results showed that a particular stain could be characterized as a pepper-based stain.     

Schadenersatzreform – Gefährdungshaftung und Unternehmerhaftung

Der Entwurf eines neuen ?sterreichischen Schadenersatzrechts sieht Regelungen der Gef?hrdungshaftung sowie der Unternehmerhaftung vor. Der Beitrag untersucht die jeweilige Ausgangslage, das Reformanliegen und die Konsequenzen einer Reform.