A randomized experimental study of sharing crime data with citizens: Do maps produce more fear?

The larger roles of the community in crime prevention and improvements in technology have increased police–citizen communication and the distribution of information from police departments to private citizens. Combined, these changes have led to the current movement among law enforcement agencies toward sharing both summary reports and maps of crime with community groups. Although the dissemination of crime information is intended to benefit community members, there is a lack of empirical evidence demonstrating the effects of crime mapping on citizen perceptions and fear of crime. This experiment compared three formats for disseminating crime data; two popular types of crime maps (i.e., graduated symbol and density) and the traditional tabular format of crime statistics. A randomized experimental design was used to measure residents fear of crime and their perception of the safety of different areas of Redlands, CA. Overall, residents who viewed either type of map reported less fear than those who viewed tabular statistics. Respondents who viewed graduated symbol maps consistently reported less fear than either density maps or tabular statistics. However, there were differences depending on the type of map. While graduated symbol maps were associated with the lowest levels of fear of robbery, theft or assault; density maps produced different reactions depending on the area of the city. Finally, the maps did not stigmatize high crime areas of Redlands. Where statistically significant differences existed, respondents who were given maps were more likely to recommend someone move into an area than those who were given tabular statistics.     

"If it hurts you, then it is not a joke": adolescents' ideas about girls' and boys' use and experience of abusive behavior in dating relationships

This study examined adolescents' ideas about girls' and boys' use and experience of physical and psychological abuse in heterosexual dating relationships. Canadian high school students who were enrolled in Grades 9 and 11 took part in single-gender focus groups. Eight themes emerged from the analysis. The themes highlight the importance teenagers place on context for defining specific behaviors as abusive. They also underscore gender differences in the criteria adolescents use to make these judgments, in the forms of abusive behavior teenagers typically use in a dating relationship, and in the reasons for youths' declining use of physical abuse and increasing use of psychological abuse. These views have important implications for future research and for programs targeting adolescent dating violence.     

Carrion fly (Diptera: Calliphoridae) larval colonization of sunlit and shaded pig carcasses in West Virginia, USA

Two pig (Sus scrofta L.) carcasses were placed in sunlit and shaded plots in September 2003, and again in May 2004. Mean ambient temperatures between sunlit and shaded plots were not significantly different in either September or May, but mean ambient temperatures at sunlit and shaded plots in 2004 were significantly higher than corresponding means for sunlit and shaded plots in 2003. Mean maggot mass temperatures were significantly higher than ambient plot temperatures for all four experimental plots (i.e., sunlit and shaded carcasses in both 2003 and 2004). In addition, maggot mass temperatures on sunlit carcasses were positively, and significantly, correlated with ambient temperatures, whereas there was no significant correlation between maggot mass and ambient temperatures at shaded plots. Carcass decomposition proceeded more rapidly in 2004 in the presence of higher ambient temperatures, and sunlit carcasses decomposed faster than shaded ones in both 2003 and 2004 experiments. Phaenecia coeruleiviridis (Macquart) and Phormia regina (Meigen) third instars dominated collections on all four carcasses, but there was little temporal overlap between these species with third instars of the former dominating collections in the early portion (approximately 40%) of each experimental period (with the exception of the shaded carcass in 2004 where both species were co-dominant), and the latter assuming dominance in the latter portion (approximately 60%). Lower accumulated degree hour values were calculated for instar development on 2004 carcasses subjected to higher ambient temperatures.     

The Queensland Native Police and Strategies of Recruitment on the Queensland Frontier, 1849–1901

Although historians have provided substantial insights into the structure, development and activities of the Queensland Native Mounted Police, they have rarely focused on the complex and sensitive issue of Aboriginal recruitment. A careful reading of historical records, however, identifies several methods, including coercion, intimidation, kidnapping and inducement, as well as “voluntary” enlistment. It is difficult to identify Aboriginal agency in recruitment processes as the records are entirely one-sided—the voices of the troopers themselves are absent from the archival sources. In this article, we examine the cultural and historical contexts of Aboriginal recruitment—for example, the dire social situations of Aboriginal survivors of the frontier war and the absence of future survival options for the potential recruits. We explore, through the framework of historical trauma, the impacts on vulnerable victims of violence and other devastating effects of colonisation. We conclude that the recruitment of Aboriginal troopers was far from a homogeneous or transparent process and that the concept of agency with regard to those who can be considered war victims themselves is extremely complex. Unravelling the diverse, conflicting and often controversial meanings of this particular colonial activity remains a challenge to the historical process.     

The Discourse of Sibling Violence

The present study sought to identify the discourses that exist with regard to physical violence among siblings. The sample consisted of 200 college students (60.5% female, 39.5% male) who completed a revised version of the Conflict Tactics Scales and a self-labeling measure of sibling violence. Findings indicated that while the vast majority of the sample had experienced sibling violence, they utilized terminology in a manner that failed to recognize their experiences as a form of violence. When the data were classified according to gender and level of violence within the sibling relationship, quantitative analysis indicated a difference in terminology. In an attempt to interpret these results from the theoretical perspective of discourse as an aspect of social constructivism it was postulated that the study identified both a dominant discourse that renders physical violence among siblings invisible and several subordinate discourses by which individuals reflect their varying characteristics. It was suggested that future research utilize qualitative analysis to clarify and expand upon this interpretation. This article is based on a master’s thesis conducted by Heather Hensman Kettrey. An erratum to this article can be found at     

The importance of scientific evaluation of biological evidence — Data from eight years of case review

In 2009, the National Research Council published a report stating that the addition of more science and technology into the field of forensic science in the United States would be of great benefit to the judicial system. As a starting point to address this NRC report, one needs to make an assessment of the system. One factor that is continuously requested is an estimate of an error rate. In any given scientific area of forensics that is difficult to quantitate except by external review and audits. After eight years of requested defense review of cases with biological and DNA evidence, most cases appear to be scientifically sound in test methods and procedures. However, there were some cases where errors in the forensic science process did occur. This article takes information compiled from those eight years of defense review and summarizes the cases where errors have been discovered and discusses the scientific implications of these errors. The scope of this article is limited to crime scene collection and forensic science laboratory testing of biological materials for body fluid identification and DNA individualization to a source. The greatest value of defense review comes from (a) providing effective balance and independent oversight to the judicial process and (b) collecting data into a format that can be useful as a guide in training programs.     

Translating police research into policy: some implications of the National Academies report on proactive policing for policymakers and researchers

ABSTRACT

In February 2018, the U.S. Committee on Proactive Policing published its report on the evidence regarding the effects of different forms of proactive policing, particularly on crime and disorder. In this essay, we explore three obstacles to evidence-based policymaking in policing, some of which were raised by the Committee, but we take occasion to develop here: (1) the mistrust of science; (2) the paucity of cost-efficiency analyses; and (3) the challenge of managing competing values. For each of these we describe the nature of the problem before identifying some possibilities for mitigating or overcoming it. Our goals are two-fold: (1) to provide some considerations that police leaders might take into account when making decisions about proactive policing; and (2) to illuminate avenues for future research.     

Involvement in extreme violence and violence‐related trauma: A review with relevance to young people in custody

Purpose. This review is concerned with the points of contact between two diverse literatures: first, the association between childhood abuse and the development of violent conduct; second, the effects of involvement in the perpetration of acts of violence. Method. The empirical literature in the two areas of concern is considered along with complementary explanations for the extant evidence. Results. There is a weight of evidence indicating that childhood abuse is associated with later violence alongside a literature that considers this association in terms of the traumatic effects of abuse. The perpetration of violent acts can have debilitating effects on the individual offender: these effects have also been considered in terms of trauma. Conclusion. It is suggested that there are potential advantages to adopting a trauma‐based framework to inform practice with violent young people. This suggestion raises several areas for research to inform the development of evidence‐based practice that are presented in outline form.