Merit by Any Other Name—Refraining the Civil Service First Principle

Merit has traditionally served as the foundation of public human resources management (HRM) policy and practice. Today, the concept is more closely associated with compensation (merit pay) than with values that drive behavior in federal HRM. As the Departments of Homeland Security and Defense struggle to create new HRM systems that promote results‐oriented government, the question arises, how does merit inform practice in these new systems? In this article, I identify the values that are influencing federal HRM decision making now and develop a model for merit‐based HRM systems in a less regulated environment through a view from three lenses: the historical evolution of the merit concept in American government, how merit is treated in the law, and how merit has been applied in Title‐5 exempt organizations. This discussion will help to create HRM policies and practices that are grounded in values that managers and employees can embrace and that translate into behaviors that promote both good relationships and results‐oriented performance.     

HIPAA privacy: "individual rights" and the "minimum necessary" requirements

This Article focuses on two key aspects of the proposed regulations related to health information privacy published by the Department of Health and Human Services ("DHHS") pursuant to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ("HIPAA"). These two aspects, the provisions regarding individual rights and the provisions requiring use of the minimum amount of information necessary to accomplish a given purpose, will be particularly burdensome for the healthcare industry. Furthermore, they are likely to generate a significant number of complaints to the DHHS Secretary relating to alleged violations of the regulations. This Article analyzes the proposed regulations governing these two issues and offers practical advice regarding steps that entities should take in anticipation of the final regulations.     

Using National Incident-Based Reporting System Data for Strategic Crime Analysis

The utility of the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) forstrategic crime analysis has yet to be explored. The NIBRS represents anadvancement over existing reporting systems and possesses considerableutility to frontline law enforcement with respect to strategic crimeanalysis. This paper discusses the utility of the NIBRS for identifyinglocal and regional trends in narcotics related offenses. As an example, weselected four localities from the 1997 Virginia NIBRS data to examine trendsin the sale/distribution and possession of narcotics. Our analysis showsthat the NIBRS provides significantly more incident-related detail than hasheretofore been available for strategic crime analysis at the regional orstate level. Moreover, the NIBRS provides neighboring communities theopportunity to compare information on emerging crime patterns and criminalenterprises which extend beyond local boundaries. Finally, enhancing localreporting compliance by highlighting the strategic utility of the data tolocal law enforcement will ultimately ensure the quality of the data set,which can then be employed by larger entities as well as criminal justiceresearchers for policy development and planning.     

When lawyers question children

This study assessed the impact of some complex question forms frequently used by attorneys who examine and cross-examine witnesses in the courtroom. Fifteen males and 15 females from each of four student populations (kindergarten, fourth grade, ninth grade, and college) viewed a videotaped incident and then responded to questions about the incident. Half the questions were asked in “law-yerese” (i.e., using complex question forms); the remaining half asked for the same information using simply phrased question forms of the same length. Lawyerese confused children, adolescents, and young adults alike. Questions that included multiple parts with mutually exclusive responses were the most difficult to answer; those that included negatives, double negatives or difficult vocabulary also posed significant problems. Results suggest that complex question forms impede truth-seeking and should be prohibited in court.     

A Case of Contested Cremains Analyzed Through Metric and Chemical Comparison

Since the 1980s, cremation has become the fastest growing area of the U.S. funeral industry. At the same time, the number of litigations against funeral homes and cremation facilities has increased. Forensic anthropologists are often asked to determine whether the contents of an urn are actually cremated bone, and to address questions regarding the identity of the remains. This study uses both metric and chemical analyses for resolving a case of contested cremains. A cremains weight of 2021.8 g was predicted based on the decedent's reported stature and weight. However, the urn contents weighed 4173.5 g. The urn contents also contained material inconsistent with cremains (e.g., moist sediment, stones, ferrous metal). Analysis using XRD and SEM demonstrated that the urn contained thermally altered bone as well as inorganic material consistent with glass fiber cement. Although forensically challenging, cremains cases such as this one can be resolved using a multidisciplinary approach.     

Underreporting of Bestiality Among Juvenile Sex Offenders: Polygraph Versus Self‐Report

Juvenile sex offenders (JSO) are a specific subset of delinquent adolescents that are receiving more attention because of the crimes they commit and the issues surrounding how to successfully treat their deviant behaviors. Given JSO are such predominant treatment concerns in society, it is essential to identify and target key risk factors. One sexual behavior, bestiality, may be of particular importance to address in treatment. In a meta‐analysis conducted by Seto and Lalumiere, a 14% rate of bestiality among JSO was reported. This current study examined the differences in JSO (n = 32) who admitted bestiality based upon a self‐report measure, the Multiphasic Sexual Inventory‐II (MSI‐II), compared to information elicited by polygraphs. The results indicated extensive underreporting of bestiality behaviors between these two sources of information (MSI‐II = 37.5%; polygraph = 81.25%). These findings are important given the reliance treatment programs place on information elicited from self‐report tools.     

New laws but few cases: understanding the challenges to the investigation and prosecution of human trafficking cases

All fifty states and the federal government have passed laws to combat human trafficking, but we know little about their effectiveness. Using data from investigative case records and court files for 140 human trafficking cases in 12 U.S. counties and qualitative interviews with law enforcement, prosecutors, and victim service providers, we examined the characteristics of and challenges to investigation and prosecution of human trafficking cases under new state and federal laws. We found that few human trafficking cases are identified by local law enforcement, most cases forwarded to state prosecution are sex trafficking cases involving U.S. citizens, and state prosecutors overwhelmingly charge human trafficking offenders with other, lesser crimes. The legal, institutional, and attitudinal challenges that constrain prosecution of human trafficking are similar across study sites despite varying types of state antitrafficking legislation. Study results suggest prosecution of human trafficking cases is challenging. If new laws are to be effective, then local law enforcement and prosecutors should work collaboratively and adopt proactive human trafficking investigative strategies to identify both labor and sex trafficking cases. There is social benefit to holding traffickers accountable, but more emphasis should be placed on policies that identify and serve victims.