A Ten‐year Study of Suicides from a Rural/Suburban County

This study will discuss trends in suicide data compiled over 10 years in Dutchess County, NY, from 2004 to 2013. These data were based on reporting and examination standards recommended by the National Association of Medical Examiners and Department of Justice death investigation standards. Almost 300 cases were analyzed in terms of the deceased's gender, age, race, method of suicide, and weapon used. Results from this study agree with other reports showing significant differences for method of death both in terms of age and gender, with men more likely to choose firearms and women more likely to choose overdose. Furthermore, older persons were more likely to commit suicide by firearms, and the younger persons were more likely to commit suicide by overdose. However, other areas, such as method of suicide, differ from national statistics.     

Hierarchical,Three‐Dimensional Measurement System for Crime Scene Scanning

We present a new generation of three‐dimensional (3D) measuring systems, developed for the process of crime scene documentation. This measuring system facilitates the preparation of more insightful, complete, and objective documentation for crime scenes. Our system reflects the actual requirements for hierarchical documentation, and it consists of three independent 3D scanners: a laser scanner for overall measurements, a situational structured light scanner for more minute measurements, and a detailed structured light scanner for the most detailed parts of tscene. Each scanner has its own spatial resolution, of 2.0, 0.3, and 0.05 mm, respectively. The results of interviews we have conducted with technicians indicate that our developed 3D measuring system has significant potential to become a useful tool for forensic technicians. To ensure the maximum compatibility of our measuring system with the standards that regulate the documentation process, we have also performed a metrological validation and designated the maximum permissible length measurement error E_MPE for each structured light scanner. In this study, we present additional results regarding documentation processes conducted during crime scene inspections and a training session.     

iCLIC Data Mining and Data Sharing workshop: The present and future of data mining and data sharing in the EU

Held at Southampton University's Highfield campus and hosted by iCLIC, an interdisciplinary core on Law, the Internet and Culture, the Data Mining and Data Sharing workshop brought together attendees and speakers from industry, government, academia and a range of disciplines alike. The workshop comprised two sessions, each with a keynote and an associated panel. The first session was chaired by Eleonora Rosati and dealt with copyright and database rights, data mining and data sharing. The second session, chaired by Sophie Stalla-Bourdillon, focussed on data protection, data mining and data sharing. The following report covers both sessions, associated panel discussions and the subsequent question and answer sessions.     

Detecting the True Nature of Allegations of Rape

A study was conducted to test whether it is possible to build a model to distinguish true and false allegations of rape based on the theory of fabricated rape. The theory is based on the principle that a false complainant of rape has not been raped and has to fabricate a story while the story of a true victim is based on recollections of the event. Consequently, false complainants will behave as liars do, construct their story based on their own sexual experiences and on mental representations, beliefs of how such a crime would happen (De Zutter et al. in Eur J Psychol Appl Leg Context. doi: 10.1016/j.ejpal.2016.02.002, 2016). To test the theory and to build a model to discriminate between true and false allegations of rape, a police sample of true and false allegations was studied. A total of 129, 72 true and 57 false, allegations of rape fulfilled the stringent criteria of the current study, among others on ground truth. Fifty-four allegations of rape, 27 true and 27 false, were used to build a prediction model based on the theory of bounded rationality by Gigerenzer (2002). The remaining 75 cases, 45 true and 30 false, were blindly categorised as either true or false based on the model. The model was able to predict the true nature of the majority of allegations with an accuracy rate of 91 %. Thus, it seems possible to discriminate to a considerable extend between true and false allegations of rape.     

“A different world” exploring and understanding the climate of a recently re-rolled sexual offender prison

Understanding how sexual offenders experience prison and its environment is important because such experiences can impact on rehabilitation outcomes. The purpose of this research investigation was to explore the rehabilitative and therapeutic climate of a recently re-rolled sexual offender prison. The research took a mixed methods approach and consisted of quantitative and qualitative phases. There were differences between prisoners and staff on their perception of the prison climate and for prisoner and staff relationships. The qualitative results helped to explain the quantitative findings and added a more nuanced understanding of the experience of the prison, the nature of prisoner and staff relationships and the opportunities for personal growth within the prison. The study has important implications for prisons that co-locate sexual offenders and want to provide an environment conducive to rehabilitation.     

Democratic Governance,Self-Fulfillment and Disability: Web Accessibility Under the Americans With Disabilities Act and the First Amendment

The Americans with Disabilities Act celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary in 2015. Enacted by Congress and signed into law by President George H.W. Bush, the ADA was designed to ensure that people with disabilities are given “independence, freedom of choice, control of their lives, the opportunity to blend fully and equally into the rich mosaic of the American mainstream.” The ADA defines the kinds of public and private spaces that must provide access and accommodations to the disabled. Missing from that list, because of the ADA's timing, is the Internet, effectively shutting the disabled out of the rich marketplace of ideas online. This article examines both the case law surrounding this omission and delays by the executive and legislative branches in extending the ADA to the Internet. It argues that making the Internet a “place of public accommodation” under the ADA is supported by First Amendment principles of democratic governance and self-fulfillment.     

Mapping current issues in administrative justice: austerity and the ‘more bureaucratic rationality’ approach

This article critically reviews recent developments in the administrative justice system; in particular, it considers three key themes: improving initial decisions; administrative review; and the future of tribunals. In each of these areas, some aspects of administrative justice work well, but austerity has presented acute challenges in ensuring the fair and just treatment of people through restrictions upon legal aid; the withdrawal of some appeal rights; and the expansion of administrative review. Consequently, the system is moving away from a ‘legal’ model of administrative justice to the ‘bureaucratic rationality’ model, which focuses upon accurate and efficient implementation. However, the reality does not correspond with the goals of the model. Rather than accurate and efficient implementation of policy, what we find is poor decision-making made by junior officials with insufficient quality controls. Digitising tribunals may have potential benefits in terms of increased accessibility. Nonetheless, the prospects for administrative justice are weak.     

The Effect of Variation in Intact Family Forms on Deviant and Antisocial Behavior

Family form sets the stage for a host of adolescent behavioral outcomes. We draw on research, theory, and methodology from within Criminology, Demography, and Family Sociology to examines the effect of variation in intact family form on antisocial and deviant behavior. We find higher antisocial and deviant behavior among youth residing in households where one of the parents has a child from a previous relationship and the parents are currently married but were cohabiting at the time of the birth of their eldest child.