Sampling People or People in Places? The BES as an Election Study

Electoral surveys conducted as part of the regular series of British Election Studies have used a stratified, clustered sampling design. This is constructed to ensure a nationally representative sample of voters (after weighting) but does not necessarily ensure a representative sample of the different social areas within the country. Much recent work has indicated the important role of local social and electoral milieux in the structuring of electoral behaviour but these are not reflected in the sampling design. An analysis of the geography of the face-to-face pre-election component of the 2005 BES shows not only that it was unrepresentative of certain types of area (defined using bespoke neighbourhood data) but also that it was less representative of such areas than the two (larger) internet samples (pre- and post-election) also undertaken as part of the 2005 BES. This suggests the need to reconsider the nature of the sample designs (even the entire survey methodology) to be deployed at future election studies in Great Britain.     

Injuries of the Head from Backface Deformation of Ballistic Protective Helmets Under Ballistic Impact

Modern ballistic helmets defeat penetrating bullets by energy transfer from the projectile to the helmet, producing helmet deformation. This deformation may cause severe injuries without completely perforating the helmet, termed “behind armor blunt trauma” (BABT). As helmets become lighter, the likelihood of larger helmet backface deformation under ballistic impact increases. To characterize the potential for BABT, seven postmortem human head/neck specimens wearing a ballistic protective helmet were exposed to nonperforating impact, using a 9 mm, full metal jacket, 124 grain bullet with velocities of 400–460 m/s. An increasing trend of injury severity was observed, ranging from simple linear fractures to combinations of linear and depressed fractures. Overall, the ability to identify skull fractures resulting from BABT can be used in forensic investigations. Our results demonstrate a high risk of skull fracture due to BABT and necessitate the prevention of BABT as a design factor in future generations of protective gear.     

Assessing effective participation in vulnerable juvenile defendants

Effective participation in trial is outlined under article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights and refers to the ability to understand and engage in trial. Juvenile defendants are often referred to psychologists or psychiatrists by their solicitors to establish ‘effective participation’ capacity. In the USA, key components to participate effectively are defined and standardised assessments available. In the UK, no formal measures exist. A consecutive series of 20 adolescents aged 12–20 years, referred by their solicitors to our service, were assessed using a standardised battery and a semi-structured interview designed to assess effective participation. Fifty-five per cent had at least one neurodevelopmental disorder. Low IQ was common and 50% had age-equivalent language scores below 10 years. Rates of depression, anxiety and PTSD were high. Knowledge about trial was poor. These findings have implications for Criminal Justice System professionals and to ensure fair trials for young defendants.     

Predatory fines and fees: Revenue,fiscal contrition,and policy change

Fiscal contrition refers to the phenomenon of policy-makers becoming aware of the social costs of fines and fees, recognizing a need to reduce those costs, and taking action to do so. In order to reveal the occurrence of fiscal contrition, this analysis examines detailed budget data from three U.S. counties. Findings indicate a dominance of predatory over punitive monetary sanctions in county budgets. That is, fines and fees that extract revenue from a justice-involved population are more common than those with social control objectives. The analysis also reveals patterns and nuances in fine and fee usage and the revenue they produce, which illuminates pathways for reducing reliance on fine and fee revenue. This approach provides useful context for the burgeoning scholarship focused on the role of monetary sanctions in fueling social inequities.