Critical incident preparedness and response on post-secondary campuses

Campus-based critical incidents received renewed focus in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University shootings. Legislative bodies, task forces, and professional associations sought to provide campus public safety departments with a range of recommended strategies to prevent and mitigate accidental and intentional critical events. Using data from a national sample of colleges and universities, this study examined the status of critical incident preparedness and response in the spring of 2008. Results indicated a solid base of prevention and response capacity; at the same time, respondents highlighted areas lagging behind recommended practices and barriers limiting achieved changes.     

Differential Effects of Adult Court Transfer on Juvenile Offender Recidivism

Prior research indicates that adolescent offenders transferred to adult court are more likely to recidivate than those retained in the juvenile system. The studies supporting this conclusion, however, are limited in addressing the issue of heterogeneity among transferred adolescents. This study estimates the effect of transfer on later crime using a sample of 654 serious juvenile offenders, 29% of whom were transferred. We use propensity score matching to reduce potential selection bias, and we partition the sample on legal characteristics to examine subgroup effects. We find an overall null effect of transfer on re-arrest, but evidence of differential effects of transfer for adolescents with different offending histories. These results suggest that evaluating the effects of transfer for all transferred adolescents together may lead to misguided policy conclusions.     

Interest-based mediation of medical malpractice lawsuits: a route to improved patient safety?

Mediation of medical malpractice lawsuits provides savings for the parties by shortening the litigation process. In theory, information that aids emotional healing and improves patient care can also surface through mediation. The study discussed in this article used structured interviews of participants and mediators in thirty-one mediated malpractice lawsuits involving eleven nonprofit hospitals. The study measured perceptions of the process and mediation's effects on settlement, expenses, apology, satisfaction, and information exchange. Defense lawyers were less likely than plaintiff attorneys to mediate. Both plaintiff and defense attorneys were satisfied with the process, as were plaintiffs, hospital representatives, and insurers. Changes in hospitals' practices or policies to improve patient safety were identified. This study demonstrates that major challenges stand in the way of achieving mediation's full benefits. Absence of physician participation minimizes the chances that mediated discussion of adverse events and medical errors can lead to improved quality of care. Change will require medical leaders, hospital administrators, and malpractice insurers to temper their suspicion of the tort system sufficiently to approach medical errors and adverse events as learning opportunities, and to retain lawyers who embrace mediation as an opportunity to solve problems, show compassion, and improve care.     

Skeletal Indicators of Shark Feeding on Human Remains: Evidence from Florida Forensic Anthropology Cases

This research examines a series of six Florida forensic anthropology cases that exhibit taphonomic evidence of marine deposition and shark‐feeding activities. In each case, we analyzed patterns of trauma/damage on the skeletal remains (e.g., sharp‐force bone gouges and punctures) and possible mechanisms by which they were inflicted during shark predation/scavenging. In some cases, shark teeth were embedded in the remains; in the absence of this evidence, we measured interdental distance from defects in the bone to estimate shark body length, as well as to draw inferences about the potential species responsible. We discuss similarities and differences among the cases and make comparisons to literature documenting diagnostic shark‐inflicted damage to human remains from nearby regions. We find that the majority of cases potentially involve bull or tiger sharks scavenging the remains of previously deceased, adult male individuals. This scavenging results in a distinctive taphonomic signature including incised gouges in cortical bone.     

Using Carbon,Oxygen, Strontium,and Lead Isotopes in Modern Human Teeth for Forensic Investigations: A Critical Overview Based on Data from Bulgaria

Isotopic data obtained from human remains can provide information about an individual's origin, migration, and diet. We evaluate the usefulness of carbon, oxygen, strontium, and lead isotopes for forensic investigations by comparing data from Bulgarian teeth with data from other regions. Geo‐referencing based on oxygen or strontium isotopes can be misleading due to overlap with other countries in Europe and other continents. Carbon and lead isotopes, in combination with oxygen and strontium isotopes, provide the most useful information for identification of local vs foreigner status. In particular, high‐precision Pb isotopes show a distinct “Bulgarian” range; however, it is possible that individuals from other countries in Eastern Europe and/or central to western Asia could have overlapping isotopic values. Additional high‐precision multi‐isotope data from modern humans from different regions in the world are required to transition from speculative to more quantitative estimation of a geographical place of origin for unidentified human remains.     

An analysis of single and multi-copy methods for DNA quantitation by real-time polymerase chain reaction

The goal of this paper was to examine and compare two different commercially available approaches to the determination of the relative quantities of autosomal and Y chromosomal DNA using real-time PCR. One, Quantifiler^® Duo, utilizes a TaqMan^® assay with single copy probes for both autosomal human and Y quantification. The other method, Plexor HY^® utilizes a primer quenching assay with multi-copy probes for its quantification of autosomal human and Y chromosomal DNA. To test these approaches we have utilized the NIST Human DNA Quantitation Standard Reference Material 2372, a set of three different NIST human DNA quantification standards, to examine the precision, accuracy and sensitivity of the real-time PCR assays. We also examined data from both systems utilizing casework samples. The results show that both systems produced linear estimates for DNA quantity over a broad range of input DNA. However we did observe some apparent copy number effects when comparing the three different NIST standards which we attributed to issues with sequence variations in the different standards. Overall, the single copy approach provided better accuracy while the multi-copy approach produced better sensitivity. Thus the choice of which system to use should depend upon the goals of the user.     

Assessing the Direct and Indirect Effects of Legitimacy on Public Empowerment of Police: A Study of Public Support for Police Militarization in America

The process‐based model dominates contemporary American research on police‐community relations and perceptions of police. A sizable literature has examined the linkages between procedural justice, legitimacy, compliance with the law, and cooperation with police. Less examined is the relationship between legitimacy and public empowerment of police. This study examines this relationship, focusing on police militarization. We first examine the direct effect of legitimacy on public willingness to allow police to become more militarized. Drawing from cognitive psychology and rational choice theories, we then consider indirect paths between legitimacy and empowerment, concentrating on two anticipated consequences of militarization—an increase in police effectiveness and possible harm to civil liberties. Using a national sample of over 700 American adults, and structural equation modeling, results indicate legitimacy has both direct and indirect effects on police empowerment, in part by shaping assessments of the possible consequences of empowerment. Implications for theory and policy are discussed.     

Fate and Behavior of Gunshot Residue: Recreational Shooter Vehicle Distribution

The susceptibility for recreational shooters to transfer gunshot residue (GSR) to both the interior and exterior of a vehicle is investigated. A comprehensive sampling protocol was used to assess the most likely areas of GSR transfer from recreational shooter contact, such as the steering wheel and the area, the firearms were stored (the trunk). Up to 315 characteristic GSR, particles were found in several locations throughout the interior of a vehicle. As many as 876 characteristic particles were found throughout a single vehicle. The data indicate that vehicles frequently occupied by firearms users are a potential source for inadvertent transfer of GSR to persons unrelated to firearm activity. In criminal cases where vehicles have been used, such transfer processes for GSR need to be considered within the context of any case interpretation. The implications for subsequent contamination and transfer processes from such vehicles require further investigation.