Linking ammonium nitrate-aluminum (AN-AL) post-blast residues to pre-blast explosive materials using isotope ratio and trace elemental analysis for source attribution

Forensic science practitioners are often called upon to attribute crimes using trace evidence, such as explosive remnants, with the ultimate goal of associating a crime with a suspect or suspects in order to prevent further attacks. The explosive charge is an attractive component for attribution in crimes involving explosives as there are limited pathways for acquisition. However, there is currently no capability to link an explosive charge to its source via post-blast trace residues using isotope ratios or trace elements. Here, we sought to determine if pre-blast attribution signatures are preserved after detonation and can be subsequently recovered and detected. A field study was conducted to recover samples of post-blast explosives from controlled detonations of ammonium nitrate-aluminum (AN-Al), which were then analyzed via isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for quantitation and profiling of isotopes ratio and trace element signatures, respectively. Oxygen and nitrogen isotope ratios from AN-Al yielded some of the most promising results with considerable overlap within one standard deviation of the reference between the spreads of pre- and post-blast data. Trace element results from AN-Al support the findings in the isotope ratio data, with 26 elements detected in both pre- and post-blast samples, and several elements including B, Cd, Cr, Ni, Sn, V, and Zn showing considerable overlap. These preliminary results provide a proof-of-concept for the development of forensic examinations that can attribute signatures from post-blast debris to signatures in pre-blast explosive materials for use in future investigations.     

Decoding hidden darknet networks: What we learned about the illicit fentanyl trade on AlphaBay

The opioid epidemic, impacted from the proliferation of fentanyl, has added impetus to the need to detect fentanyl, sources of fentanyl, and places where fentanyl and drugs adulterated with fentanyl are available. Many darknet marketplaces (DNMs) have rules that ban fentanyl. However, it is unclear how these affect the fentanyl market. Using the AlphaBay DNM as a case study, we conducted mixed methods qualitative research. We scraped and analyzed data from the AlphaBay I2P website using, among other methods, content and social network analysis, to uncover hidden fentanyl networks. Our research highlights the next evolution of darknet marketplaces – the migration of DNMs from Tor to I2P and the methods that can be used identify fentanyl networks, irrespective of where sites are: I2P, Tor, or multihomed on I2P and Tor. Despite its ban in the Global AlphaBay Rules, our research revealed the sale of fentanyl on the AlphaBay DNM. Unlike previous studies, our findings predominantly revealed the covert sale of fentanyl on AlphaBay and predatory vendors selling illicit drugs, which unbeknownst to buyers, contained fentanyl. To a lesser extent, our findings identified the overt sale of fentanyl patches on AlphaBay. Although we examined only one DNM, the prevalence of the covert sale of fentanyl and the presence of predatory vendors underscores the importance of research that decodes the language of vendors who surreptitiously sell fentanyl or drugs adulterated with fentanyl or other illicit substances. The results of our research can inform strategies aimed at disrupting and dismantling DNM fentanyl networks.     

Understanding State Rulemaking Processes: Developing Fracking Rules in Colorado,New York,and Ohio

Rulemaking is an integral component of environmental policy at both the federal and state level; however, rulemaking at the state level is understudied. With this research, we begin to fill that gap by focusing on rulemaking regarding the issue of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in three states: Colorado, New York, and Ohio. This policy issue is well suited to begin exploring state‐level rulemaking processes because the federal government has left fracking regulation to the states. Through semistructured interviews with a range of actors in the rulemaking process across these states, we establish a foundation from which future research in this area may build. This exploratory research yields some valuable insights into the roles different stakeholders are playing in regulating fracking in these three states, and our findings may be useful for explaining state‐level rulemaking more generally.     

Weak Power Bargaining with China: Mongolia and North Korea in comparative perspective

This article examines Mongolia's and North Korea's bargaining with the People's Republic of China to provide insight into Northeast Asian regional dynamics and weak state bargaining behavior. The article demonstrates how both Mongolia and North Korea (which it demonstrates are weak states) employ a variety of tactics within the categories of capitulation, neutrality and confrontation when managing their respective relations with China. The article also argues the applica`bility of the two case studies to a better understanding of the diplomatic challenges China faces as it continues its development and to China's relations with the various weak states on its periphery.     

Informal Social Controls,Procedural Justice and Perceived Police Legitimacy: Do Social Bonds Influence Evaluations of Police Legitimacy?

Although procedural justice has been a key predictor of police legitimacy, recent findings illustrate that other factors influence this outcome (i.e., low self-control and ethnic identity). However, no research to date has evaluated whether individual-level informal social controls impact police legitimacy evaluations. Survey data are used to examine the influence of parental attachment, school commitment and procedural justice on perceived police legitimacy. While procedural justice significantly predicted legitimacy evaluations, no significant relationships were observed between parental attachment, school commitment and police legitimacy. The effects of procedural justice on legitimacy assessments, however, were modestly significantly moderated by parental attachment and school commitment. To maintain legitimacy, police officers should interact with citizens in procedurally fair manners. These results should also be of value concerning how parents and schools legally socialize adolescents.     

Evaluating the impact of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative on violence and gun crime in Tampa: does it work and does it last?

Journal of Experimental Criminology - Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is an increasingly popular violence and gun crime prevention program which aims to identify prolific violent offenders, and...     

Modeling the effects of changing issue salience in two-party competition

For a given distribution of voter ideal points, candidates may compete, not only by changing their policy platforms, but also by seeking to persuade voters to place more weight on one of the given dimensions. We do not examine persuasion mechanisms, per se, but, rather, investigate how change of the salience weights can lead to alternation of majorities for the candidates, even though candidate positions remain fixed. Thus, competition over the salience of issue dimensions can, under certain circumstances, be crucial for determining election outcomes. We illustrate potential non-monotonicities in priming effects in terms of the Fourier series decomposition of the distribution of voter preferences, showing that the existence of higher-level harmonics leads to greater uncertainty about election outcomes and about best heresthetic strategies. We then demonstrate the empirical relevance of our results with data on two issue dimensions of political competition in the 2000 U.S. presidential election.     

Informing the Electorate? How Party Cues and Policy Information Affect Public Opinion about Initiatives

Citizens in representative democracies receive party endorsements and policy information when choosing candidates or making policy decisions via the initiative process. What effects do these sources of information have on public opinion? We address this important question by conducting survey experiments where citizens express opinions about initiatives in a real‐world electoral context. We manipulate whether they receive party cues, policy information, both, or neither type of information. We find that citizens do not simply ignore policy information when they are also exposed to party cues. Rather, citizens respond by shifting their opinions away from their party's positions when policy information provides a compelling reason for doing so. These results challenge the prominent claim in public opinion research that citizens blindly follow their party when also exposed to policy information. They also suggest that efforts to inform the electorate can influence opinions, provided that citizens actually receive the information being disseminated.