Missing persons-missing data: the need to collect antemortem dental records of missing persons

The subject of missing persons is of great concern to the community with numerous associated emotional, financial, and health costs. This paper examines the forensic medical issues raised by the delayed identification of individuals classified as "missing" and highlights the importance of including dental data in the investigation of missing persons. Focusing on Australia, the current approaches employed in missing persons investigations are outlined. Of particular significance is the fact that each of the eight Australian states and territories has its own Missing Persons Unit that operates within distinct state and territory legislation. Consequently, there is a lack of uniformity within Australia about the legal and procedural framework within which investigations of missing persons are conducted, and the interaction of that framework with coronial law procedures. One of the main investigative problems in missing persons investigations is the lack of forensic medical, particularly, odontological input. Forensic odontology has been employed in numerous cases in Australia where identity is unknown or uncertain because of remains being skeletonized, incinerated, or partly burnt. The routine employment of the forensic odontologist to assist in missing person inquiries, has however, been ignored. The failure to routinely employ forensic odontology in missing persons inquiries has resulted in numerous delays in identification. Three Australian cases are presented where the investigation of individuals whose identity was uncertain or unknown was prolonged due to the failure to utilize the appropriate (and available) dental resources. In light of the outcomes of these cases, we suggest that a national missing persons dental records database be established for future missing persons investigations. Such a database could be easily managed between a coronial system and a forensic medical institute. In Australia, a national missing persons dental records database could be incorporated into the National Coroners Information System (NCIS) managed, on behalf of Australia's Coroners, by the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine. The existence of the NCIS would ensure operational collaboration in the implementation of the system and cost savings to Australian policing agencies involved in missing person inquiries. The implementation of such a database would facilitate timely and efficient reconciliation of clinical and postmortem dental records and have subsequent social and financial benefits.     

Exemplary Damages in Equity: A Law and Economics Perspective

In Harris v Digital Pulse Pty Ltd (2003) 56 NSWLR 298, the NewSouth Wales Court of Appeal held that exemplary (or punitive)damages are not available for breach of fiduciary duty or otherequitable obligation. The decision runs counter to authoritiesin Canada, New Zealand and some U.S. states. Punitive (exemplary)damages is a hotly debated topic in the United States and ithas attracted considerable interest among law and economicsscholars, particularly in the tort litigation context. Thisarticle analyzes the Digital Pulse case from a law and economicsperspective. Polinsky and Shavell (among others) argue thatthe function of punitive damages is to achieve optimal deterrencein cases where the probability that the plaintiff will discoverand successfully litigate the defendant’s wrongdoing isless than 1. Given the high costs of monitoring fiduciary behaviour,it might be tempting to conclude that exemplary damages shouldbe routinely awarded for breach of fiduciary obligation. Thearticle explains why this view is wrong. On the other hand,given the availability of gains-based remedies (the accountof profits and the like) for breach of fiduciary obligation,it might be tempting to conclude that exemplary damages arenever justified in fiduciary cases. The article explains whythis view is wrong too. The main conclusions are that: (1) exemplarydamages should be available for breach of fiduciary duty andthe like, but not as a matter of course; and (2) exemplary damageswere probably not warranted in Digital Pulse itself.     

Bloodstain pattern analysis in a case of suicide with a compound bow and arrow

The incidence of human fatalities due to arrow injuries in the medical literature is rare. We report an incident involving a 46-year-old man who was found in his secured apartment with a fatal arrow wound of his chest and abdomen. The initial scene investigation suggested that the victim impaled himself with an arrow attached to a razor-sharp, 4-bladed broad-head hunting tip before collapsing on the floor. However, analysis of the bloodstain patterns suggested that the victim used the compound bow to propel the arrow.When investigating deaths due to bows and arrows, thorough scene investigation along with bloodstain pattern analysis is essential in determining the mechanism of injury and manner of death.     

Linking crime guns: the impact of ballistics imaging technology on the productivity of the Boston Police Department's Ballistics Unit

Ballistics imaging technology has received national attention as a potent tool for moving the law enforcement response to violent gun criminals forward by linking multiple crime scenes to one firearm. This study examines the impact of ballistics imaging technology on the productivity of the Boston Police Department's Ballistics Unit. Using negative binomial regression models to analyze times series data on ballistics matches, we find that ballistics imaging technology was associated with a more than sixfold increase in the monthly number of ballistics matches made by the Boston Police Department's Ballistics Unit. Cost-effectiveness estimates and qualitative evidence also suggest that ballistics imaging technology allows law enforcement agencies to make hits that would not have been possible using traditional ballistics methods.     

The characteristics of a geographical sample of convicted rapists: sexual victimization and compliance in comparison to child molesters

The limited research literature that relates specifically to sexual offenders against adults (rapists) would suggest that they are more likely to demonstrate a greater criminogenic profile but to have experienced fewer childhood and adult psychological difficulties than child molesters. The aim of this study is to describe the characteristics of an urban sample of convicted rapists (n =80), comparing them to a sample of child molesters (n = 230) on background and offense-related variables. Although there were a number of similarities between the two groups, rapists were less likely to have been sexually victimized as a child. The sexual recidivism rate was low (5%) for rapists after an average time at risk of 3 years despite a trend toward them being less compliant in the community. This article comments on the treatment needs of those with a range of psychological difficulties and indicates future directions for research.     

Access to justice: Widows and the institutions regulating succession to property in Uganda

The 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda in terms of article 31 (2) thereof, establishes rights under which widows and widowers can inherit property from their spouses and enjoy parental rights over their children. A duty is placed on the government to make appropriate laws to this end. More important though, the state has a duty to facilitate the administration of estates in general by making, through decentralization, the institutional and legal framework on succession more accessible to ordinary people. An issue that deserves fresh consideration is whether this obligation to make the legal and institutional framework on succession accessible to ordinary people and especially widows, the years fater the Constitution was promulgated has been realized, and if so, whether it has advanced the property rights of these surviving female spouses in the estates of their deceased spouses.     

Evaluation of a national prison-based treatment program for sexual offenders in England and Wales

Treatment efficacy is described for a sample of sexual offenders who had undertaken treatment in United Kingdom prisons (N = 647) and for a retrospectively selected comparison group (N = 1,910). The outcomes under observation in this study were sexual, sexual and/or violent, and general reconviction. Treatment impact was also examined in relation to offenders' risk of reconviction. The treatment group had slightly lower 2-year sexual reconviction rates than the comparison group, but these differences were not statistically significant. Significant differences were found between the treatment and comparison group for sexual and/or violent reconviction. Further analysis suggested that treatment produced a reduction in the probability of sexual and/or violent reconviction (p <.05) when other relevant variables were controlled for. General reconviction rates were consistently lower in the treatment group, but these differences were not significant.