Investing in the Market of Violence: Toward a Micro-Theory of Terrorist Financing

Terrorist financing is the dedicated pursuit of adequate capitalization within a market of violence, wherein terrorist organizations seek to extract resources and funding from the social, political, and economic environment in which they operate. At the same time, the effectiveness of a terrorist group in this pursuit is highly dependent on their organizational type and design, its leadership capabilities, and its capacity for organizational learning—factors that shape the ability of terrorist groups to identify and exploit a limited set of investment and rent-seeking opportunities.     

The impact of questioning style on the content of investigative interviews with suspected child sexual abuse victims

Abstract

This study explored the influence of question type and interviewer style on the quantity and quality of responses offered by children in interviews for suspected sexual abuse. The analysis covered 36 investigative interviews conducted by polia officers under the Memorandum of Good Practice with children aged 4–7, 8–11 and 12–14 years. The dependent measures were the temporel length of children's answers and the number of criteria derived from Criteria Based Cornent Analysis (CBCA) they contained. Only 2% of all questions were open-ended, but just 3% were judged leading. Open questions were most effective with 12–14 year olds but not with younger children who provided nose information in response to specific yet not leading or closed questions. Longer answers containing move CBCA criteria were associated with interviews containing many affirmative utterances and verbal affirmations and a brief rapport. The implications of these findings for interview theory and practice are briefly discussed.     

The effects of beliefs and information about hypnosis on the legal defence of automatism through hypnosis

Abstract

The aims of this study were to assess the impact of public conceptions about the nature and coercive powers of hypnosis, and information regarding different approaches to hypnosis, on the plea of automatism through hypnosis in a criminal trial. Subjects were assigned to three groups. Two were presented with criminal cases in which automatism through hypnosis was implicated, as well as duress; one of these groups received information about different approaches to hypnosis. The third received the same cases, but with duress alone. Results showed that, when automatism through hypnosis was implicated as well as duress, the defendant offering the plea was judged less responsible, however, he was not judged less guilty than when duress alone was the defence. Also, subjects presented with the plea of automatism tended to be more sceptical about the idea than those not presented with this plea. The provision of information on different approaches to hypnosis was largely ineffective in altering beliefs and judgments. Judgments of guilt and responsibility were, however, strongly influenced by beliefs about automatism through hypnosis.     

Incapacitation and imprisonment: prisoners' involvement in community-based crime

Abstract

The impact of incapacitation on prisoners' offending behaviour is a neglected area of research. The aim of this study was to examine the extent and nature of prisoners' involvement in community-based crime in the UK. Participants were selected from nine prisons in the UK and consisted of 360 prisoners, 81 females and 279 males. Offenders were interviewed to assess levels and forms of involvement in community-based crime and perceptions of other prisoners' involvement. Levels of prisonization and institutional and demographic characteristics were used to identify vulnerability to involvement in community-based crime. Twenty-five per cent of the sample admitted personal involvement and 63% reported other prisoners' involvement in a diverse range of crimes. Analyses revealed prisoners involved in community-based crime are likely to be young, male recidivists who hold prisonized attitudes. Prisoners who are white, prisonized and recidivist reported highest levels of other prisoners' involvement in community-based crime. No age or gender differences delineated prisoners' reports of others' involvement. The results show that incarcerating offenders may not prevent their involvement in community-based offending. Discussion centres on the characteristics of involved prisoners and considers the implications of the results for rehabilitation and penal policy.     

Values ethics and legal ethics: the QLD and LETR Recommendations 6, 7, 10, and 11

The Legal Education and Training Review (LETR) Report recommended increased attention to ethics and values and to critical thinking. These aims could be achieved jointly through teaching ethical thinking: not as theory but as part of developing the capacity for ethical conduct. Such a pedagogy has the potential to become a qualifying law degree (QLD) signature pedagogy supporting “life-narratives” of students. The LETR Report recommends a review of the QLD emphasising legal values and ethics. Concern with values and ethics is linked to concern with professional conduct. Maintaining the law degree as a general or liberal qualification is also strongly desired. These potentially conflicting drivers generate ambivalence towards legal ethics as a subject for study, especially if legal ethics are perceived as teaching the professional codes.

Resolution of this tension is achievable through recognising the potential role of ethical teaching as part of an identity apprenticeship. Developing ethical character is as much a liberal as a professional aim. Ethics teaching can play an integrative role in the QLD. Formation of student identity is a central part of higher education taking colouration from being situated in legal education. In this context teaching legal ethics becomes the use of a salient example for carrying out the broader project of developing ethical capacity.     

Tackling consumer vulnerability in energy and banking: towards a new approach

This article examines the new approach to vulnerability developed by Ofgem and the Financial Conduct Authority to see whether it has been implemented at company level and had an impact on the ombudsman. It sets out the context within which this approach has been developed and then looks at its implementation through two case studies. The main lesson from these case studies is that establishing a broad concept of vulnerability, as has been argued for in the academic literature, is just a first step. Operationalising the concept presents major challenges especially in the context of systems dealing with large numbers of consumers.