EARLY INTERVENTION IN NEW ZEALAND FAMILY COURT CASES

In April 2010 the New Zealand Family Court introduced the National Early Intervention Process (NEIP) to diversify its previous unitary dispute resolution pathway into two tracks (standard and urgent). A “triage” model is now in use to assess and assign cases appropriately. This article outlines the key milestones in the Family Court's 30‐year history which have led to this new initiative to reduce delays and help avoid the escalation of family conflicts over the care of children into bitter and intractable disputes. NEIP represents the most overarching reform of the Family Court since the Court's inception in 1981.     

Allele frequencies for nine STR loci (D3S1358, vWA, FGA, D8S1179, D21S11, D18S51, D5S818, D13S317, D7S820) in the Italian population

Genotype and allele frequencies for STR loci D3S1358, vWA, FGA, D8S1179, D21S11, D18S51, D5S818, D13S317, D7S820 were investigated in 289 unrelated Italian Caucasian individuals from the North and South regions. After co-amplification by polymerase chain reaction, automatic DNA profiling of these nine STR loci was performed by ABI PRISM((R)) 310 DNA Genetic Analyzer. For each locus, statistical parameters for forensic and paternity purposes were then calculated; the combined power of discrimination and the combined power of exclusion of all nine loci were 0.9999999999917 and 0.99992 for the Northern population and 0.9999999999921 and 0.99991 for the Southern population.     

The prevalence of mixed DNA profiles on fingernail swabs

There is a general acceptance that cellular material will transfer from one person to another person's fingernails through everyday contact. However, the level or degree of contact required to transfer sufficient cellular material in order to obtain a DNA profile is not known. This study examined swabs from the fingernails of 40 volunteers and compared the DNA profiles obtained to the daily activities of that individual. The majority (78%) of high level profiles obtained were associated with recent intimate contact. However, high level profiles were also obtained from the fingernails of individuals who shared accommodation with their partner, flatmates and/or children. Low level profiles and single profiles were associated with all levels of contact.     

Exploitation of the Ultraviolet Properties and Machine Cut Edges of Paper to Associate and Sequence Sheets in a Ream

Previously unreported line patterns visible under ultraviolet light were observed on a proportion of plain white A4 printer/copier paper from different manufacturers. These Ultraviolet Line Patterns (UVLPs) usually appear as stripes down the vertical length of the paper. Typically, the UVLPs were found to “repeat” through the ream in a predictable way, while also changing. It is postulated that the repeating nature of the UVLPs is a result of the way that paper is manufactured. This leads to the ability to sequence the sheets compared to their original source paper. Even in the absence of UVLPs, it is possible to use our observation of the manufacturing process to anticipate the order of several sheets of paper and conclusively associate them, in some cases, by physically fitting their machine cut edges and crossing paper fibers. Such a novel approach to examining questioned documents would be highly useful in forensic casework.     

Policing image-based sexual abuse: stakeholder perspectives

ABSTRACT

Image-based sexual abuse (IBSA) refers to the non-consensual recording, distribution, or threat of distribution, of nude or sexual images. Over the past five years, numerous jurisdictions have amended their criminal laws to respond more effectively to this growing phenomenon, yet increased criminalization has not automatically translated into increased prosecutions. Drawing on stakeholder interviews with 52 Australian legal and policy experts, domestic and sexual violence advocates, industry representatives, police, and academics, this article examines law enforcement responses to IBSA in Australia. We argue that although there is evidence to suggest IBSA is being treated more seriously by police, there are five primary barriers to responding to IBSA, including: inconsistent laws; a lack of resources; evidentiary limitations; jurisdictional boundaries; and victim-blaming or harm minimization attitudes. Suggestions are made for how to respond to these challenges to facilitate more effective policing of IBSA.     

Beyond de-nuclearization: debating deterrence and North Korea in Asia’s new nuclear age

ABSTRACT

Review of : Jeffrey Lewis, The 2020 Commission report on the North Korean Nuclear Attacks against the United States: a speculative novel (Mariner: New York, 2018); Van Jackson, On the Brink, Trump, Kim and the Threat of Nuclear War (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018); Sung Chull Kim and Michael D. Cohen, eds., Entering the new era of deterrence, North Korea and nuclear weapons (Washington DC: Georgetown University Press, 2017); and Victor D. Cha, and David C. Kang, Nuclear North Korea, a debate on engagement strategies, second edition (New York: Columbia University Press, 2018).     

Small State Discourses in the International Political Economy

Abstract

This article supports growing calls to ‘take small states seriously’ in the international political economy but questions prevailing interpretations that ‘smallness’ entails inherent qualities that create unique constraints on, and opportunities for, small states. Instead, we argue that discourses surrounding the ‘inherent vulnerability’ of small states, especially developing and less-developed states, may produce the very outcomes that are attributed to state size itself. By presenting small states as a problem to be solved, vulnerability discourses divert attention away from the existence of unequal power structures that, far from being the natural result of smallness, are in fact contingent and politically contested. The article then explores these themes empirically through discussion of small developing and less-developed states in the Commonwealth and the World Trade Organization (WTO), considering in particular how smallness has variously been articulated in terms of what small states either cannot or will not do.     

How the detection of insurance fraud succeeds and fails

Abstract

Insurance fraud is a serious and growing problem, and there is widespread recognition that traditional approaches to tackling fraud are inadequate. Studies of insurance fraud have typically focused upon identifying characteristics of fraudulent claims and claimants, and this focus is apparent in the current wave of forensic and data-mining technologies for fraud detection. An alternative approach is to understand and then optimize existing practices in the detection of fraud. We report an ethnographic study that explored the nature of motor insurance fraud-detection practices in two leading insurance companies. The results of the study suggest that an occupational focus on the practices of fraud detection can complement and enhance forensic and data-mining approaches to the detection of potentially fraudulent claims.