Soilwater Conductivity Analysis to Date and Locate Clandestine Graves of Homicide Victims

In homicide investigations, it is critically important that postmortem interval and postburial interval (PBI) of buried victims are determined accurately. However, clandestine graves can be difficult to locate; and the detection rates for a variety of search methods (ranging from simple ground probing through to remote imaging and near‐surface geophysics) can be very low. In this study, simulated graves of homicide victims were emplaced in three sites with contrasting soil types, bedrock, and depositional environments. The long‐term monthly in situ monitoring of grave soil water revealed rapid increases in conductivity up to 2 years after burial, with the longest study evidencing declining values to background levels after 4.25 years. Results were corrected for site temperatures and rainfall to produce generic models of fluid conductivity as a function of time. The research suggests soilwater conductivity can give reliable PBI estimates for clandestine burials and therefore be used as a grave detection method.     

LANGUAGE AND CULTURE IN CHILD LAW

In 1989, England and Wales adopted the Children Act, a revolutionary and pioneering statute changing the language of the law in regards to the needs of children. Judge Nigel Fricker, the family court judge in York, formerly in Sheffield, describes this change and some of its effects on the practice of judging, the law, and the behavioral sciences regarding children.     

FAMILY LAW IS DIFFERENT

Family law and adjudication are conceptually different from most other areas of law. This difference, and the sensitive needs of members of all families in dispute, including children and people from differing ethnic cultures, demand particular awareness and skills from family lawyers and judges. These special features of family law and disputes imply that mediation is more benign than lawyer-controlled dispute resolution.     

Crisis leadership styles—Bligh versus Gillard: a content analysis of Twitter posts on the Queensland floods

This paper presents a quantitative and qualitative content analysis of Twitter posts mentioning Queensland Premier Anna Bligh and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard during the 2011 Queensland flood crisis. The contrast in the perceived styles of the two leaders is analysed using the theory of transformational leadership as a framework. The implications for effective leadership communication in a crisis are discussed, notably, strategies for instilling pride and gaining respect and trust. The study also highlights the emerging role of Twitter in setting the media agenda at times of fast‐breaking news. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Geophysical Monitoring of Simulated Clandestine Graves Using Electrical and Ground‐Penetrating Radar Methods: 0–3 Years After Burial*,†

Abstract: This study provides forensic search teams with systematic geophysical monitoring data over simulated clandestine graves for comparison to active cases. Simulated “wrapped” and “naked” burials were created. Multigeophysical surveys were collected over a 3‐year monitoring period. Bulk ground resistivity, electrical resistivity imaging, multifrequency ground‐penetrating radar (GPR), and grave and background “soil‐water” conductivity data were collected. Resistivity surveys revealed the naked burial had consistently low‐resistivity anomalies, whereas the wrapped burial had small, varying high‐resistivity anomalies. GPR 110‐ to 900‐MHz frequency surveys showed the wrapped burial could be detected throughout, with the “naked” burial mostly resolved. Two hundred and twenty‐five megahertz frequency GPR data were optimal. “Soil‐water” analyses showed rapidly increasing (year 1), slowly increasing (year 2), and decreasing (year 3) conductivity values. Results suggest resistivity and GPR surveys should be collected if target “wrapping” is unknown, with winter to spring surveys optimal. Resistivity surveys should be collected in clay‐rich soils.     

Normativity and Norms

Book reviewed in this article:
Stanley L. Paulson and Bonnie Litschewski Paulson, Normativity and Norms     

Green Criminology Before ‘Green Criminology’: Amnesia and Absences

Although the first published use of the term ‘green criminology’ seems to have been made by Lynch (Green criminology. Aldershot, Hampshire, 1990/2006), elements of the analysis and critique represented by the term were established well before this date. There is much criminological engagement with, and analysis of, environmental crime and harm that occurred prior to 1990 that deserves acknowledgement. In this article, we try to illuminate some of the antecedents of green criminology. Proceeding in this way allows us to learn from ‘absences’, i.e. knowledge that existed but has been forgotten. We conclude by referring to green criminology not as an exclusionary label or barrier but as a symbol that guides and inspires the direction of research.