A randomized clinical trial of tailored interventions for health promotion and recidivism reduction among homeless parolees: outcomes and cost analysis

Objectives

This study conducted a randomized controlled trial with 600 recently released homeless men exiting California jails and prisons.

Methods

The purpose of this study was to primarily ascertain how different levels of intensity in peer coaching and nurse-partnered intervention programs may impact reentry outcomes; specifically: (a) an intensive peer coach and nurse case managed (PC-NCM) program; (b) an intermediate peer coaching (PC) program with brief nurse counseling; and (c) the usual care (UC) program involving limited peer coaching and brief nurse counseling. Secondary outcomes evaluated the operational cost of each program.

Results

When compared to baseline, all three groups made progress on key health-related outcomes during the 12-month intervention period; further, 84.5 % of all participants eligible for hepatitis A/B vaccination completed their vaccine series. The results of the detailed operational cost analysis suggest the least costly approach (i.e., UC), which accounted for only 2.11 % of the total project expenditure, was as effective in achieving comparable outcomes for this parolee population as the PC-NCM and PC approaches, which accounted for 53.98 % and 43.91 %, respectively, of the project budget.

Conclusions

In this study, all three intervention strategies were found to be comparable in achieving a high rate of vaccine completion, which over time will likely produce tremendous savings to the public health system.

     

Testing the impact of group offending on behavioural similarity in serial robbery

Behavioural case linkage assumes that offenders behave in a similar way across their crimes. However, group offending could impact on behavioural similarity. This study uses robbery data from two police forces to test this by comparing the behavioural similarity of pairs of lone offences (LL), pairs of group offences (GG) and pairs of offences where one crime was committed alone and the other in a group (GL). Behavioural similarity was measured using Jaccard's coefficients. Kruskal–Wallis tests were used to examine differences between the three categories within the linked samples. No statistically significant differences were found for linked GG compared to linked LL pairs. However, differences emerged between GL and the other categories for some behaviours (especially control) suggesting caution should be applied when linking group and lone offences committed by the same perpetrator. Differences between linked and unlinked pairs were assessed using receiver operating characteristic. The results suggest it is possible to distinguish between linked and unlinked pairs based on behaviour especially within the GG and LL categories. There were, however, fewer significant findings for the GL sample, suggesting there may be issues linking crimes where the offender commits one crime as part of a group and the other alone.     

Can the RUVIS Reflected UV Imaging System Visualize Fingerprint Corrosion on Brass Cartridge Casings Postfiring?

Comparisons are made between the visualization of fingerprint corrosion ridge detail on fired brass cartridge casings, where fingerprint sweat was deposited prefiring, using both ultraviolet (UV) and visible (natural daylight) light sources. A reflected ultraviolet imaging system (RUVIS), normally used for visualizing latent fingerprint sweat deposits, is compared with optical interference and digital color mapping of visible light, the latter using apparatus constructed to easily enable selection of the optimum viewing angle. Results show that reflected UV, with a monochromatic UV source of 254 nm, was unable to visualize fingerprint ridge detail on any of 12 casings analyzed, whereas optical interference and digital color mapping using natural daylight yielded ridge detail on three casings. Reasons for the lack of success with RUVIS are discussed in terms of the variation in thickness of the thin film of metal oxide corrosion and absorption wavelengths for the corrosion products of brass.     

Using Paint to Investigate Fires: An ATR‐IR Study of the Degradation of Paint Samples Upon Heating

Fire investigation is a challenging area for the forensic investigator. The aim of this work was to use spectral changes to paint samples to estimate the temperatures to which a paint has been heated. Five paint samples (one clay paint, two car paints, one metallic paint, and one matt emulsion) have been fully characterized by a combination of attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR‐IR), Raman, X‐ray fluorescence spectroscopy and powder X‐ray diffraction. The thermal decomposition of these paints has been investigated by means of ATR‐IR and thermal gravimetric analysis. Clear temperature markers are observed in the ATR‐IR spectra namely: loss of ν(C = O) band, >300°C; appearance of water bands on cooling, >500°C; alterations to ν(Si–O) bands due to dehydration of silicate clays, >700°C; diminution of ν(CO₃) and δ(CO₃) modes of CaCO₃, >950°C. We suggest the possible use of portable ATR‐IR for nondestructive, in situ analysis of paints.     

Enhancement of Aged and Denatured Fingerprints Using the Cyanoacrylate Fuming Technique Following Dusting with Amino Acid‐Containing Powders

We have carried out experiments to investigate the aging of latent fingerprints deposited on black PVC over a period of 4–15 weeks. A thumbprint was used in each case and before deposition of the print the donor rubbed their thumb around their nose to add sebaceous deposits. We have studied the effect of heat, light, and moisture and we find that moisture is the most significant factor in the degradation of the latent print. We have attempted to enhance these latent prints by dusting with valine powder or powders composed of valine mixed with gold or red fluorescent commercial fingerprint powders. To make a direct comparison between “treated” and “untreated” prints, the prints were cut in half with one‐half being “treated” and one‐half not. Our studies show the best results being obtained when powders of valine and red fluorescent powders are applied prior to cyanoacrylate fuming.     

Lead Theft—A Study of the “Uniqueness” of Lead from Church Roofs

In the United Kingdom, theft of lead is common, particularly from churches and other public buildings with lead roofs. To assess the potential to distinguish lead from different sources, 41 samples of lead from 24 church roofs in Northamptonshire, U.K, have been analyzed for relative abundance of trace elements and isotopes of lead using X‐ray fluorescence (XRF) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, respectively. XRF revealed the overall presence of 12 trace elements with the four most abundant, calcium, phosphorus, silicon, and sulfur, showing a large weight percentage standard error of the mean of all samples suggesting variation in the weight percentage of these elements between different church roofs. Multiple samples from the same roofs, but different lead sheets, showed much lower weight percentage standard errors of the mean suggesting similar trace element concentrations. Lead isotope ratios were similar for all samples. Factors likely to affect the occurrence of these trace elements are discussed.     

Gender,Indigeneity, and the Criminal Courts: A Narrative Exploration of Women's Sentencing in Western Australia

Ethel Rosenberg's prison letters illustrate women's prison writing at a transitional point. Preceding her work are prison writings that focus on self-justification and autobiography; afterward come texts that assert the writer's pride and challenge the penal system and society. Rosenberg's correspondence includes elements of both traditional and contemporary women's prison literature. Along traditional lines, her letters focus on family matters and her own mental state as she attempts to adapt to imprisonment. In their outright assertions of pride in self and anger at perceived injustice, Rosenberg's letters point ahead to the writing of women inmates today.