The use of thoracolumbar and hip joint dysmorphism in identification

A case of roentgenographic identification of a deceased person is presented. Comparison of antemortem and postmortem radiographs of the vertebral column and hip joint, for the purpose of identification, was based on the deceased medical history, and the fact the deceased was endentulous, and fingerprint comparison was not feasible. Evaluation of anatomical variants, due to the effects of degenerative disease, provided positive identification in a visually unidentifiable deceased person.     

Predicting Institutional Adjustment and Recidivism with the Psychopathy Checklist Factor Scores: A Meta-Analysis

This study explored the validity of the PCL/PCL-R factor scores in predicting institutional adjustment and recidivism in forensic clients and prison inmates. Forty-two studies in which institutional adjustment, release outcome (recidivism), or both were assessed prospectively with the PCL/PCL-R yielded 50 effect size estimates between the PCL/PCL-R factor scores and measures of institutional adjustment/recidivism. A meta-analysis of these findings disclosed that Factor 2 (Antisocial/Unstable Lifestyle) correlated moderately well with institutional adjustment and recidivism, whereas Factor 1 (Affective/Interpersonal Traits) was less robustly associated with these outcomes. Direct comparisons of the mean effect sizes attained by Factors 1 and 2 revealed that Factor 2 was significantly more predictive of total outcomes, general recidivism, violent recidivism, and outcomes from the 12 most methodological sound studies than Factor 1. There was less differentiation between Factors 1 and 2 on measures of institutional adjustment.     

Political efficacy and trust: A report on the NES pilot study items

Political efficacy and trust—among the most frequently used survey measures of general political attitudes—are often maligned for their lack of reliability and validity. This paper reports results from the National Election Studies 1987 pilot study, which included more than thirty-five efficacy and trust items. Five attitudinal dimensions were hypothesized; four emerged clearly. One scale, internal efficacy, is especially robust; a four- to six-item scale represents a considerable improvement on existing NES measures. External efficacy is distinguished from political trust, at least when the former is measured in terms of the fairness of political procedures and outcomes rather than in terms of elite responsiveness to popular demands. Though less decisive, there also is support for dividing trust into incumbent- and regime-based components. The failure to find a similar incumbent- and regime-based distinction for external efficacy is in accord with theoretical perspectives.Revised version of a paper presented at the 1988 Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association.     

Assessing criminal thought content: preliminary validation of the criminal thought content inventory (CTCI)

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a measure of criminal thought content entitled the Criminal Thought Content Inventory (CTCI). The 30-item CTCI generates a total score and scores for three individual dimensions or scales: Negative Attitudes toward Authority (NAA), Positive Attitudes toward Deviance (PAD), and Criminal Identity (CID). Students from two universities (N?=?335 and 456) completed the CTCI, along with measures of criminal thought process and delinquent behavior. According to the results of several analyses, the CTCI possesses adequate internal consistency, good test-retest reliability, and adequate concurrent validity. Confirmatory factor analyses performed on both samples offered support for the three-dimensional structure of the CTCI and an item response theory analysis indicated that over 80% of the items loaded at least moderately on a single latent trait. These results suggest that the CTCI possesses the requisite psychometric properties to warrant inclusion in studies investigating criminal thought content.     

A Novel Method for the Photographic Recovery of Fingermark Impressions from Ammunition Cases Using Digital Imaging

The photographic preservation of fingermark impression evidence found on ammunition cases remains problematic due to the cylindrical shape of the deposition substrate preventing complete capture of the impression in a single image. A novel method was developed for the photographic recovery of fingermarks from curved surfaces using digital imaging. The process involves the digital construction of a complete impression image made from several different images captured from multiple camera perspectives. Fingermark impressions deposited onto 9‐mm and 0.22‐caliber brass cartridge cases and a plastic 12‐gauge shotgun shell were tested using various image parameters, including digital stitching method, number of images per 360° rotation of shell, image cropping, and overlap. The results suggest that this method may be successfully used to recover fingermark impression evidence from the surfaces of ammunition cases or other similar cylindrical surfaces.     

In and out of prison: Do importation factors predict all forms of misconduct or just the more serious ones?

Purpose

This study was designed to investigate whether importation factors predict all forms of prison misconduct and recidivism or just the more serious forms.

Methods

Six importation factors were examined: age, marital status, street gang affiliation, criminal thinking, prior drug abuse, and criminal history. Count data for two high severity infractions (assault, escape), two high-moderate severity infractions (fighting, possession of intoxicants), two moderate severity infractions (refusing programs, stealing), two high severity crimes (assault, robbery), and two moderate severity crimes (DUI, failure to appear) were regressed onto these six importation variables in samples of 2488 (prison infractions) and 1101 (recidivism) male inmates.

Results

The importation variables successfully predicted the four infractions that were rated high and high-moderate in severity and the two crimes that were rated high severity but not the two infractions or two crimes that were rated as moderate in severity.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that importation factors are differentially predictive of more serious forms of infraction and recidivism and that the importation model may have as much to offer the study of community adjustment and recidivism as it does the study of institutional adjustment and disciplinary infractions as part of the more general theoretical construct of criminal propensity.