3-Methoxytyramine in the putamen as a gauge of the postmortem interval

The armamentarium of the forensic thanatologist includes the examiner's subjective assessment of bodily changes together with comprehensive evaluation of environmental and associated factors to estimate the postmortem interval (PMI). Of the various objective means, postmortem accumulation of potassium in vitreous humor is a widely used gauge. In view of the considerable variability inherent in these techniques, an additional marker with greater accuracy would be a welcome supplement to these indices. We have developed a method of estimating PMI from the level of 3-methoxytyramine (3-MT) in the dorsal putamen of the brain. The supernatant of a sample of putamen, sonicated in 6 volumes (weight/volume) of 0.1 M perchloric acid and centrifuged at 51 000 times gravity for 10 min, was analyzed for 3-MT using high-pressure liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. The change of 3-MT in the putamen is linearly related to the PMI (range: 5.5 to 60 h), irrespective of patient age (1 to 84 years). This observation is attributable to several factors, including high substrate (dopamine) concentration, preservation of catechol-O-methyl transferase activity, and an inactivation of monoamine oxidase activity, as a result of a decrease in tissue pO2.     

A consultant's survey of the patients in a maximum security hospital

The patients at a state maximum security forensic facility were interviewed by a psychiatrist and their files reviewed. Only 43 of the 203 patients were judged to be suitable for the facility. Nearly 60% of the pretrial defendants were judged to be capable of proceeding to trial. Of the patients, 18% were judged to be malingering or avoiding trial or prison. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Use of the MMPI-2 to predict the employment continuation and performance ratings of recently hired police officers

The MMPI-2 is one of the most frequently employed instruments for the selection of police officers. Serafino and Serafino (1997) collected data which involved information about employment continuation and ratings by supervisors of 32 police officers who had recently been hired and who had been given the MMPI-2 during the hiring process. In this study, the Paranoia Obvious (Pa) and Paranoia Subtle (Ps) scales proved to be the significant. Pa Subtle correlated with removal whereas Pa Obvious correlated with rating. Higher scores on Pa Subtle correlated significantly with being removed from the job, whereas low scores on the Pa Obvious correlated with higher ratings of performance by supervisors. Discussion of the results involved the fact that Subtle Pa scores would suggest paranoid tendencies not easily detected during the interview. Since most high Pa Obvious individuals would have been eliminated in the hiring process, expression of this tendency was at a low level after being hired but if present resulted in low ratings. Significant predictors were noted to be very much a function of the type of criterion variable employed in the study.     

Police grantsmanship: A case study

Police leadership is increasingly dependent on community oriented policing (COPS) federal grants because of diminishing financial resources. This paper demonstrates the importance of excellent police grantsmanship skills while simultaneously providing theoretical and concrete steps for achieving a successful grant package. Furthermore, a case study example is presented where COPS grants and federal funding assisted in the acquisition of community-oriented and problem-solving strategic objectives.     

The prison in economics: private and public incarceration in Ancient Greece

Recent histories of Ancient Greece describe a transition from customary law to public criminal justice between 800 and 400 B.C. This narrative contains three pieces of evidence against the presumption that prisons are a public good and government must provide incarcerations. First, before the rise of a formal government, Ancient Greece had a functioning system of criminal law enforcement. Second, the timeline surrounding the rise of government institutions in Ancient Greece originated with Solon’s penal reforms. Lastly, the rise of a government system was more the result of private rather than public interest.