Remanding Women in Custody: Concerns for Human Rights

Concern about the increasing population of women in prison has tended to focus on the sentencing of female offenders. It is often overlooked that about one in five women held in custody is there on remand, awaiting trial or sentence, and that most of them will not receive a prison sentence at the end of the process. This article examines the legal grounds for a custodial remand and explores the extent to which individual rights guaranteed under the European Convention are adequately protected. It is argued that women are particularly disadvantaged by the laws governing bail and by their practical application in the criminal justice system; and that the pre-trial detention of so many women routinely violates the spirit of the Convention by allowing questionable claims to social utility to prevail over the right to liberty and to a fair trial.     

Utilisation of maternal health services in Ethiopia: a key informant research project

This article explores the application of key informant research to examine barriers and facilitators to maternal health services in rural and pastoralist Ethiopia. The key informants were health extension workers (HEWs) who assist women with birth preparedness and facilitate timely referral to health centres for birth. While women encounter many barriers to giving birth in health facilities, where HEWs are supported by their communities and health centre staff, they can effectively encourage women to travel to health centres to give birth with skilled birth attendants rather than at home with unskilled relatives or traditional birth attendants.     

SMPIL Comments on the Long Island Nitrogen Action Plan

In early 2016, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, in conjunction with the Long Island Regional Planning Council, released the Conceptual Draft Scope for the Long Island Nitrogen Action Plan (LINAP).¹1 N.Y. State Department of Environmental Conservation, Long Island Nitrogen Action Plan, http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/103654.html (accessed February 23, 2016).View all notes Pursuant to standard administrative procedures, the planners sought public comment in response to the Draft Scope Plan. SMPIL Consulting assessed and identified numerous areas for improvement and, therefore, submitted comments to the LINAP planners. These comments incorporated scientific and legal suggestions on a myriad of topics including upland land use, modeling, climate change, and adaptive management. The following article details these comments and notes the responses of the Department of Environmental Conservation as published on their Web site.     

Policing Schools: Examining the Impact of Place Management Activities on School Violence

The present study examines whether the presence of school resource officers (SROs) and their level of involvement in place management activities are associated with higher or lower rates of school-based serious violence. This study uses data from the 2010 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS) conducted by National Center for Educational Statistics. Propensity score matching is used to create a quasi-experimental design and isolate the influence of SROs and their level of involvement in place management activities on school-based serious violence. The analysis reveals that schools with a school resource officer are associated with higher rates of reported serious violence and those schools with SROs that participate in more place manager duties are also associated with higher rates of reported serious violence. These findings do not support the notion that SROs are acting as effective place managers and through this place management, reducing reported serious violence. Rather, it appears that the presences of a SRO and their execution of place manager duties is associated with an increase in the reporting of serious violence. Policy implications and limitations of the current research are also discussed.     

Direct Analyte‐Probed Nanoextraction Coupled to Nanospray Ionization–Mass Spectrometry of Drug Residues from Latent Fingerprints

Here, we present a method of extracting drug residues from fingerprints via Direct Analyte‐Probed Nanoextraction coupled to nanospray ionization–mass spectrometry (DAPNe‐NSI‐MS). This instrumental technique provides higher selectivity and lower detection limits over current methods, greatly reducing sample preparation, and does not compromise the integrity of latent fingerprints. This coupled to Raman microscopy is an advantageous supplement for location and identification of trace particles. DAPNe uses a nanomanipulator for extraction and differing microscopies for localization of chemicals of interest. A capillary tip with solvent of choice is placed in a nanopositioner. The surface to be analyzed is placed under a microscope, and a particle of interest is located. Using a pressure injector, the solvent is injected onto the surface where it dissolves the analyte, and then extracted back into the capillary tip. The solution is then directly analyzed via NSI‐MS. Analyses of caffeine, cocaine, crystal methamphetamine, and ecstasy have been performed successfully.     

A study in social change

Taiwan has dramatically improved its response to domestic violence within the last fifteen years, becoming the first East Asian country to pass major legislation criminalizing domestic violence. Ethnographic research on the origins, development, and operations of the domestic violence prevention movement shows how individuals from diverse backgrounds acted collectively to achieve this social reversal. Activists have profited from feminist social networks, the growing economic and political power of women, domestic violence models from other countries, a unified vision of creating new legislation, and an atmosphere open to change. Their efforts were catalyzed by three widely publicized cases regarding violence against women and culminated in the passage of the Domestic Violence Prevention and Treatment Act in 1998. The domestic violence prevention movement in Taiwan provides a valuable case study of social change and a model for other East Asian countries interested in passing similar legislation.     

Juvenile recidivism and length of stay

Official data maintained by the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice of 16,779 juveniles released from commitment programs to the community or aftercare between July 1, 1998 and June 30, 2000 were examined in this study. No consistent relationship between length of confinement and recidivism was found. The effects of length of stay were mediated based on the risk level of the commitment facility and gender. The length of confinement was only significant for juveniles released from high-risk facilities and male offenders. More research must be conducted to further examine the positive and negative impact of confinement on juvenile re-offending. Future research must include in its analysis the effect of program quality and treatment. Both factors may significantly mediate the relationship between confinement and recidivism.