Area characteristics and regional variates as determinants of area property crime levels

This article seeks to examine the area characteristics that act as determinants of area property crime levels, namely, incidence and prevalence. The crime figures are extracted from the 1984 British Crime Survey. Area characteristics are taken from the 1981 UK census. Initial exploratory analysis considers the non-Gaussian nature of the crime data, the statistical implications of this, and the transformations used to overcome these problems. In addition, possible regional and inner-city/non-inner-city variations are considered. The later stages move from simple individual correlations to multiple regression models. Three regression models are considered and the reasons for refining these are explored, with the results indicating that both area characteristics and regional influences play a role as determinants of the area crime level. In particular, population density and the area population age profile have significant roles to play. The conclusions support the recent revival of the application of ecological concepts in the analysis of crime levels.     

What sort of future for critical criminology?

This article argues for a criticalcriminology that is more mindful of the growing number ofcritiques of its general epistemologicaldirection. Specifically, such criticismtakes issue with the continued emphasis incritical criminology on crime and penalty,often to the detriment of a moreencompassing focus on issues associatedwith ``social harm'. In an attempt tohighlight the current weaknesses ofcritical criminology attention is drawn toa small although revealing conference thattook place at the University of WesternSydney in February 2001. In contrast to thenarrow concerns demonstrated at thisconference the article calls for a moreexpansive approach to the study of crimeand penalty that falls under thezemiological umbrella of social harm andwhich takes account of social movements andother disciplines that have givenrecognition to the question of humanrights. Such a call derives from StanCohen's evocation of the ``voracious Gods'that must be sated if a progressive andrelevant critical criminology is to bedeveloped in an era of rapid socio-economicand political transformation.     

Chronicles of an information company

The birth and growth of a US West Coast information company is chronicled from its beginning as a part-time partnership to its status five years later as a small but profitable corporation providing information services to Government agencies as well as graduate students. Documentation Associates provides a search and retrieval service that includes brokering on-line data-base searches, and the investment required to set up and maintain this kind of operation is described. Some information-broker policies are discussed, e.g. service types, pricing methods, and the reasons for the wide disparity in data-base search prices are examined. The policies of Documentation Associates in the operation of its broker service are presented.     

An interlaboratory study to evaluate the utility of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-infrared spectroscopy spectral libraries in the forensic analysis of fentanyl-related substances

Synthetic opioids such as fentanyl account for over 71,000 of the approximately 107,000 overdose deaths reported in the United States in 2021. Fentanyl remains the fourth most identified drug by state and local forensic laboratories, and the second most identified drug by federal laboratories. The unambiguous identification of fentanyl-related substances (FRS) is challenging due to the absence or low abundance of a molecular ion in a typical gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis and due to a low number of fragment ions that are similar among the many potential isomers of FRS. This study describes the utility of a previously reported gas chromatography-infrared (GC-IR) library for the identification of FRS within a blind, interlaboratory study (ILS) involving seven forensic laboratories. Twenty FRS reference materials, including those with isomer pairs in the library, were selected based on either their presence in the NIST library and/or some similarity of the mass spectra information produced. The ILS participants were requested to use the Florida International University (FIU) GC-MS and GC-IR libraries supplied by FIU to search for matches to their unknown spectra generated from in-house GC-MS and GC-IR analysis. The laboratories reported improvement in the positive identification of unknown FRS from ~75% using GC-MS alone to 100% correct identification using GC-IR analysis. One laboratory participant used solid phase IR analysis, which produced spectra incompatible with the vapor phase GC-IR library to generate a good comparison spectrum. However, this improved when searched against a solid phase IR library.     

Parliamentary Question Times: How Legislative Accountability Mechanisms Affect Mass Political Engagement

Over time, people have been losing interest in politics. Some believe this to be one of the largest challenges facing democracy today. What causes some citizens to be more engaged than others? This paper argues that national-level political institutions are important in shaping the tone of political debate between election campaigns. Some countries have regular, accessible debates between political leaders; in others the debate is rarer and harder to follow. Parliamentary question time (QT) is a prominent forum for regular elite-level debate, and QTs featuring open, accessible debate should help induce citizens to engage with politics by providing them with an information-laden political spectacle. The data show that these open QTs are associated with higher levels of political knowledge, partisanship, and turnout.     

Objective Evaluation of Subclass Characteristics on Breech Face Marks

Subclass characteristics can be found on the breech face marks left on spent cartridge cases. Even if they are assumed to be rare and their reported number is small, they can potentially lead to false associations. Subclass characteristics have been studied empirically allowing examiners to recognize them and to understand in which conditions they are produced. Until now, however, their influence on the identification process has not been studied from a probabilistic point of view. In this study, we aim at measuring the effect of these features on the strength of association derived from examinations involving subclass characteristics. The study takes advantage of a 3D automatic comparison system allowing the calculation of likelihood ratios (LRs). The similarities between cartridge case specimens fired by thirteen S&W .40S&W Sigma pistols are quantified, and their respective LRs are computed. The results show that the influence of subclass characteristics on the LRs is limited, even when these features are prevalent among the potential sources considered in a case. We show that the proportion of firearms sharing subclass characteristics should be larger than 40% of the pool of potential firearms for the effect to be significant.     

Driving racial profiling research forward: Learning lessons from sentencing research

Discretion is an integral component of the criminal justice system and is exercised by both police and the judiciary. Based on the extant research, evidence of racial/ethnic disparities within the context of traffic stops and sentencing decisions has been documented. Due to its long history of inquiry, sentencing research has developed a more thorough understanding of disparity and its correlates. This article contends that racial profiling research could expedite its development by learning from the history of sentencing research. Specifically, the extant research on sentencing decisions has demonstrated the value and utility of theory and methods as pillars of knowledge development. Therefore, progress in racial profiling research is most likely accomplished by employing similar theoretical frameworks and appropriate quantitative and qualitative approaches.