Hot spots policing in a high-crime environment: an experimental evaluation in Medellín

Journal of Experimental Criminology - Test direct, spillover, and aggregate effects of hot spots policing on crime in a high-crime environment. We identified 967 hot spot street segments and...     

Book reviews and notes

Europe’s woes mark a new chapter in the longstanding theory/history nexus in European studies. The euro crisis has brought integration theory back onto the scholarly agenda and highlighted the value of neo-functionalism – and more precisely its key ‘spillover’ mechanism – as a framework for interpreting current politico-institutional dynamics in the European Union. We are, however, at a particular point of the neo-functionalist narration, in which the transition from low to high political integration has opened a phase of political fluidity that makes ideas and political leadership crucial in determining the future course of integration. In this phase, the positive scheme of neo-functionalism and the normative one of federalism come together, bringing the intellectual trajectory begun after WWII to full circle. Whether this new encounter will result in further integration depends primarily on the content of new federalist ideas, the emergence of an effective European leadership, and the presence of a favourable international environment. For all three factors, the record so far has been mixed at best.     

Ambient accountability: intelligence services in Europe and the decline of state secrecy

Abstract

In the 1990s, judgments in the European Court of Human Rights concerning state surveillance forced many West European countries to introduce new parliamentary bodies and formal systems for accountability. Promising both greater transparency and lawful intelligence, these frameworks were then energetically rolled out to Central and Eastern Europe. Although officials boasted about their effectiveness, these formal accountability mechanisms have failed to identify serious abuses over the last decade. Moreover, the security regime in much of Central Europe still remains largely unreconstructed. The article argues that a robust culture of accountability cannot be conjured into existence merely by introducing new laws and regulations, or indeed by the increasing tide of media revelations about intelligence. However, it suggests that we are now seeing the rise of a more complex pattern of ‘ambient accountability’ which is at last challenging the secret state across Europe.     

“Without Flinching”: Facing up to Race in Liberal Italy

This article examines the development of racial discourses in Italy during the process of unification and in the following years with respect to some of the fundamental issues experienced by and facing the new nation. Anthropologists and criminologists proselytised the new “science” purporting to have discovered a novel hermeneutic for how Italy should be imagined, moulded and propelled into the future. In this article, the test case provided for how race was engaged within the Italy emerging out of the process of unification is that of the “Assabesi”, six black inhabitants of the small tract of land Italy had acquired in Africa in 1869, who were brought to Italy and displayed at the 1884 National Exhibition held in Turin. As Italy embarked on a period of extended colonial expansion, the questions of race, otherness, citizenship and boundaries became ever more pressing. Through an examination of the vicissitudes and debates surrounding the Assabesi's sojourn in Italy, the article seeks to demonstrate that while racism was one option in how Italy's new black subjects could be categorised and eventually ruled, it always had to contend with powerful and sustained counter‐arguments.     

Suicide and Psychiatrist's Liability in Italian Law Cases

The aim of the study is to analyze the factors that are most frequently associated with a verdict of guilty delivered to the psychiatrist in cases of a patient's suicide in Italian law. Twenty‐six sentences (1975–2009) were analyzed according to the claim of malpractice, patient characteristics, circumstances of the suicide, and reasons for the court's judgment. The court held the psychiatrist guilty in 12 cases, considering that the act of suicide was predictable and could have been avoided. Predictability was mainly related to errors in surveillance (7 cases), therapy (1 case), or both (2 cases). An error in diagnosis was considered to be related to the patient's death in two cases. Analysis of medical behavior considered to be erroneous and associated with a verdict of guilty provides an opportunity to discuss the topics relevant not only to practicing psychiatrists but also to experts assessing medical liability in cases of patient suicide.     

In-Group Love Versus Out-Group Hate: Which Is More Important to Partisans and When?

Political Behavior - Recent evidence indicates that partisans discriminate against those from the opposing party. However, it is still unclear whether partisan out-group prejudice reveals a desire...     

The death of Adolf Hitler--forensic aspects

The death of Adolf Hitler is one of the unsolved mysteries of the twentieth century. Numerous historians and journalists have attempted to piece together the details, but despite the interest in the forensic literature regarding the identification of the body, there has not been much scientific debate about the alleged cause of death--cyanide poisoning, gunshot injury, or both. The available literature concerning Hitler's cause of death is incomplete because the toxicological analysis has not been performed and because the skull bone fragment with a gunshot wound possibly from Hitler's corpse has not been properly examined. This has given basis for various theories, which are reviewed. We believe that mtDNA analysis of the skull fragments and of Hitler's jaw, now filed in Moscow, and samples from maternal relatives of Hitler are crucial linking the skull fragment with the gunshot wound to Hitler.