Police officers who commit suicide by cop: a clinical study with analysis

Suicide by cop has become a familiar topic among members of law enforcement, mental health professionals, and the general public. This paper presents two cases where police officers chose to commit suicide by getting other police officers to kill them. The two police officers studied, by examination of closed case files, were found to be similar to civilians who committed suicide by cop on several demographic (gender, age, history of mental illness, and suicide attempts), and situational (stress factors, trigger) variables. The cases help us to understand possible motives and management for individuals who choose to end their life in this manner.     

Examining the impact of mixing child molesters and rapists in group-based cognitive-behavioral treatment for sexual offenders

This study examines the relationship between recidivism rates, therapeutic climate, and composition of offenders in group-based cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) for sexual offenders. The Group Environment Scale (GES) is employed to measure social climate. The GES is administered to 73 male sexual offenders in groups of those who only victimized adults or children (five groups) or men who both victimized adults and those who victimized children (five groups). Group environment is not found to differ significantly as a function of group composition. Group member's ratings on the GES are in the medium to high range, indicating a generally positive group environment. Although the group environment overall does not differ between groups, groups do differ significantly in terms of expressiveness. There are no differences in recidivism rates between groups as a function of group composition. The results are discussed in the light of mixing child molesters and rapists in group-based CBT.     

On the efficiency of the common law: an application to the recovery of rewards

Richard Posner’s influence on the field of law and economics cannot be overstated. Among his many contributions, Posner offered an early conjecture that remains fascinating and controversial to this day: the idea that common law rules are more likely than legislative codes to be concerned with efficiency. In this paper, I compare the efficiency of a common law rule of contracting to the efficiency of a civil law rule. In common law jurisdictions, claimants must have knowledge of a reward in order to recover. In civil law jurisdictions, however, no such knowledge is required. I analyze the efficiency of each rule by examining the incentives created by each rule. In a finding that agrees with Posner’s hypothesis, I argue that the common law rule is more efficient. The model has a number of applications beyond contract default laws. I use the model to discuss three legal questions previously analyzed by Richard Posner: (1) incentivizing innovation; (2) the finders-keepers rule in property law; and (3) salvage rights in maritime law.     

Navigating the space between politics and administration: The informal practices of Ontario school board trustees

Through interviews with 25 school board trustees in Ontario, this article contributes to the growing literature that explores the politics-administration dichotomy at the local government level in Canada. While existing literature is oriented from the perspective of the local government administrator, we examine the relations between local government politicians and administrators from the orientation of the former to determine how they navigate the dichotomy, particularly in a context where it is arguably more contested. We identify six informal practices trustees adopt in representing constituents and confronting tensions inherent in their role, namely: navigating, influencing, listening, translating, informing, and uploading.