Recent legal developments European law

EMPLOYMENT LAW HANDBOOK: AN ADVISOR'S HANDBOOK By TAMARA LEWIS [Legal Action Group, 2005, 6th ed., 739 pp., £28.00 (paperback)]

EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNAL CLAIMS: TACTICS AND PRECEDENTS By NAOMI CUNNINGHAM [Legal Action Group, 2005, 396 pp., £25.00 (paperback)]

DISCRIMINATION LAW: TEXT, CASES AND MATERIALS By AILEEN MCCOLGAN [Hart Publishing, 2005. 2nd edn., 757 pp., £25 (paperback)]

FAMILY LAW AND FAMILY VALUES Edited By MAVIS MACLEAN [Hart Publishing, 2005, 342 pp., £22.00 (paperback)]

TRUSTS AND EQUITY By NIGEL STOCKWELL and RICHARD EDWARDS [Pearson Longman, 2005, 7th edn., 556 pp., £29.99 (paperback)]

HAYTON AND MARSHALL: CASES AND COMMENTARY ON THE LAW OF TRUSTS AND EQUITABLE REMEDIES By DAVID HAYTON and CHARLES MITCHELL [Sweet &; Maxwell, 2005, 12th edn., 985 pp., £32.95 (paperback)]

MODERN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW By CATHERINE COLSTON and KIRSTY MIDDLETON [Cavendish Publishing Ltd., 2005, 2nd ed., 808 pp., £35.95 (paperback)]

INSURANCE LAW: DOCTRINE AND PRINCIPLES By JOHN DOWRY and PHILIP RAWLINGS [Hart Publishing, 2005, 2nd edn, 447 pp., £25.00 (paperback)]

MASON &; MCCALL SMITH'S LAW AND MEDICAL ETHICS Edited By KENYON MASON and GRAEME LAURIE [Oxford University Press, 2005, 7th ed., 774 pp., £21.99 (paperback)]

LEGAL CONUNDRUMS IN OUR BRAVE NEW WORLD By BARONESS HELENA KENNEDY QC [Sweet and Maxwell, 2004, 57 pp., £17.95 (paperback)]

CRIMINAL LAW By CATHERINE ELLIOTT and FRANCES QUINN [Pearson Education, 2006, 6th ed. xxvi + 420 pp., £22.99 (paperback)]

DRUGS, ADDICTION AND THE LAW By LEONARD JASON‐LLOYD [ELM Publications, 10th ed., 232 pp., £29.95 (loose‐leaf with updating service)]

THE VIOLENT WORKPLACE By P. A. J. WADDINGTON, DOUG BADGER and RAY BULL [Willan Publishing, 2006, xii + 204 pp., £25.00 (hardback)]

ENVIRONMENTAL LAW By J. THORNTON and S. BECKWITH [Sweet and Maxwell, 2004, 2nd ed., 447 pp., £24.95 (paperback)]     

Are US Crime Rates Really Unit Root Processes?

Existing research has uncovered little evidence against the hypothesis of US crime rates being unit root processes, despite the uncomfortable implications of this assumption. In light of this, the present paper draws upon noted changes in the temporal patterns of US crime rates since 1960 to undertake an informed approach to testing of the unit root hypothesis which incorporates two potential points of structural change. The results obtained show the unit root hypothesis to be rejected for all classifications of criminal activity examined over the period 1960 to 2007. In addition, the dates of the detected breakpoints are supported by a variety of arguments available in the existing criminology literature concerning alternative determinants of crime and their movements. Interestingly, a difference is observed in the nature of the breaks detected for violent and property crimes. However, potential explanations for this are again found in theoretical arguments available in the criminology literature. Finally, the implications of the current findings for the properties of crime, its subsequent statistical analysis and past and future research are discussed.     

The Anglo-American “Special Relationship”: The Lazarus of International Relations

Scholars have variously queried the existence of the Anglo-American “special relationship,” consigned it to history as “special no more,” or demanded that Britain choose between its European and American relationships. These critiques have become increasingly prevalent since the Cold War. Yet the current British government, like many before it, continues to portray a choice between America and Europe as a “false choice,” and the “special relationship” has arguably deepened in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks. This article contends that international diplomatic history can contribute much to understanding the “Lazarus-like” quality of the “special relationship.” Specifically it argues that a number of critical continuities in post-World War II British foreign policy survived the end of the Cold War and have since contributed heavily to the determination of the British foreign policymaking elite to maintain the “special relationship” at the same time that Britain pursues a leadership role within Europe.     

Determining the correlates of police victimization: An analysis of organizational level factors on injurious assaults

The current study attempted to expand the understanding victimization of police by examining the impact of a variety of factors related to community and aggressive policing styles on injurious assaults rates across 267 large municipal police departments. Regression analyses indicated that policing styles related to community meetings are associated with low levels of assault rates. Second, policing styles related to aggressive enforcement of drug laws has an aggravating effect on police victimization. Finally, departments that had high police-to-citizen population ratios also had lesser rates of injurious assaults.