Current issues in state mental health forensic programs

The major current issues facing state and local forensic mental health programs are presented in this paper. Debates over forensic patients' rights and the insanity defense are discussed, together with many administrative problems such as the pros and cons of correctional versus mental health system program control and payment incentives for treatment. The authors cite the differing goals of correctional and mental health systems, i.e., security and treatment, as reasons for difficulties in developing needed collaboration. Guidelines are suggested to address such important issues as mixing civil with criminal patients, developing units for special populations, defining patients who can respond to treatment, and follow-up after discharge.     

THE PROBABILITY OF PLACEMENT BY THE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT SERVICE

In a typical year, the United States Employment Service places over 4 million persons from among 16 million applicants. This investigation of which applicants are most likely to be placed shows that placement occurs in two labor market segments, corresponding roughly to the primary and secondary labor markets described in the economic literature. The equity and efficiency implications o f devoting a substantial percentage o f Employment Service resources t o secondary labor market placements are considered. Several states currently use Employment Service data as a source of local labor market information. An argument is made that these states are misusing this data and suggestions for improvements are offered.     

Reconstruction of a suicide by a homemade firearm

A 34 years old man shot himself by a selfmade muzzle-loader. He pluged one end of a waterpipe, used a cylindrical lead shot (Cal. 1.2 cm, length 2.15 cm, mass 22.7 g), special black powder (about 4 g, from fire-crackers; powder with an admixture of aluminium) and kindled the weapon in front of his chest by a slowmatch. He died immediately by retained missile of chest. The weapon flew away like a rocket. Unused projectils and powder (found in the flat) and the uninjured pipe allowed to copy the event. Velocity and energy of shot and weapon were determined, also the recoil of the pipe and the highest force of a hand to hold it fast. Experimental investigations and calculations correspondet well to the findings af the case.     

Public Sector Politics, Modernization, and Federalism: The Canadian and American Experiences

The focus of this analysis is an attempt to compare Canadianand American federalism in terms of Samuel Beer's modernizationtheory. In Canada, it is argued that modernization had led tothe enhancement of provincial power rather than the centralizationof the federal system. The Westminster model of parliamentarygovernment contributed to these developments, although the wayin which power is organized in government has been even moreimportant in determining the directions taken by Canadian federalism.