Criminal Specialization Revisited: A Simultaneous Quantile Regression Approach

Whether criminals are specialized or versatile in their offending is a long-standing research area that has been recently revitalized by a paradigm that recognizes that both specialization and versatility characterize offending careers. Based on data from an enriched sample of 500 adult habitual criminals, the current study introduces a measure of relative specialization—the offense specialization coefficient—and a novel analytical technique called simultaneous quantile regression to further the study of specialization. Although offenders committed a mix of offenses, there was considerable and at times pronounced evidence of specialization. Age, sex, and arrest onset had differential predictive validity of specialization for eight crimes at the 75th and 95th quantiles. Implications and suggestions for future research are offered.     

HUNTER‐GATHERER COLLABORATIVE PRACTICE

This article describes the development of a practice group based on a hunter‐gatherer model, with the mission of providing high quality collaborative divorce services, with an emphasis on protecting children and divorcing partners, and expanding access to middle‐ and lower‐income families. The practice group professional disciplines include law, mental health divorce coaching, co‐parent coaching, financial analysis, and case administration. These professionals have collectively associated their individual practices to address challenges facing their collaborative practices. With common purpose, the practice group builds skills, generates client base, nurtures trust, and lays a common knowledge base. Collaborative divorce teams formed from its members serve divorcing families with efficient, cost‐conscious, interest‐based negotiation processes that protect children and help parties productively move on with their lives.     

Developmental validation of the SPERM HY-LITER™ kit for the identification of human spermatozoa in forensic samples

Abstract: With sexual assault evidence, the visualization of spermatozoa confirms that ejaculation has occurred. However, microscopic examination of spermatozoa is a laborious process and can sometimes result in sperm cells being overlooked. Here, we present the developmental validation of the SPERM HY‐LITER? kit, which contains a human sperm–specific mouse monoclonal antibody coupled to a fluorescent Alexa 488 dye. The kit was tested using samples of human semen, saliva, blood, and urine, various animal semen extracts, sexual lubricants, and a commercially available spermicidal film. Postcoital vaginal swabs, degraded semen samples, and samples prepared with sample fixation techniques that deviated from the kit‐provided protocol were also tested. In each case, the SPERM HY‐LITER? kit was demonstrated to bind only to human sperm cell heads. Limitations to this fluorescent staining procedure include nonspecific staining and increased background fluorescence with extreme heat fixation in some samples.     

Examining the Role of Interrogative Suggestibility in Miranda Rights Comprehension in Adolescents

This study aimed to further clarify the association between interrogative suggestibility and Miranda rights comprehension in adolescents; in particular, we examined whether intellectual ability (IQ) serves as a mediator of this relationship. Participants completed Grisso’s Miranda Instruments, the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence, and the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale. Many youth demonstrated poor comprehension of their rights, particularly younger and less intellectually capable adolescents. Both yield and shift components of interrogative suggestibility were inversely related to rights comprehension; however, IQ fully mediated these relationships. Neither demographic variables (gender, ethnicity, socio-economic status after controlling for IQ, and English as a second language (ESL) status) nor previous police experience were significantly associated with rights comprehension in the present sample. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

The Effects of Genetics,the Environment,and Low Self-Control on Perceived Maternal and Paternal Socialization: Results from a Longitudinal Sample of Twins

The association between parental socialization and antisocial behavior is central to much criminological theory and research. For the most part, criminologists view parental socialization as reflecting a purely social process, one that is not influenced by genetic factors. A growing body of behavioral genetic research, however, has cast doubt on this claim by revealing that environments are partially shaped by genetic factors. The current study used these findings as a springboard to examine the genetic and environmental underpinnings to various measures of perceived paternal and maternal parenting. Analysis of twin pairs drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health revealed that between 16 and 31% of the variance in perceptions of maternal attachment, maternal involvement, maternal disengagement, and maternal negativity was the result of genetic factors. Additionally, between 46 and 63% of the variance in perceptions of paternal attachment, paternal involvement, and paternal negativity was accounted for by genetic factors. The implications that these results have for criminologists are explored.     

Violence against teachers: prevalence and consequences

Data collected from 731 teachers were used to examine the consequences of violence directed toward teachers while in the workplace. Analyses showed that the majority of respondents (n = 585, 80.0%) had experienced school-related violence—broadly defined—at one point in their careers. Serious violence (actual, attempted, or threatened physical violence) was less common, but still common enough to be of concern (n = 202, 27.6%). Violence predicted physical and emotional effects, as well as teaching-related functioning. In addition, a model with fear as a potential mediator revealed that both fear and violence were independently predictive of these negative outcomes. Finally, analyses showed that, in general, women reported higher levels of physical symptoms compared to men. We discuss the implications of violence against teachers in terms of personal consequences and the implications for mental health professionals working in an educational setting.     

STR primer concordance study.

Over 1500 population database samples comprising African Americans, Caucasians, Hispanics, Native Americans, Chamorros and Filipinos were typed using the PowerPlex 16 and the Profiler Plus/COfiler kits. Except for the D8S1179 locus in Chamorros and Filipinos from Guam, there were eight examples in which a typing difference due to allele dropout was observed. At the D8S1179 locus in the population samples from Guam, there were 13 examples of allele dropout observed when using the Profiler Plus kit. The data support that the primers used in the PowerPlex 16, Profiler Plus, and COfiler kits are reliable for typing reference samples that are for use in CODIS. In addition, allele frequency databases have been established for the STR loci Penta D and Penta E. Both loci are highly polymorphic.     

Recommendations for consistent treatment of length variants in the human mitochondrial DNA control region

Human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis is a valuable forensic tool, useful in cases where the amount of extracted DNA is low or highly degraded. Population databases are used to determine the relative rarity of a particular profile obtained in a forensic case. Rather than full DNA sequence information, sequence profiles are compared to a reference sequence, and the differences from the reference are recorded in forensic databases. A standard method is proposed for characterizing length variants, and examples are described using actual human control region mtDNA profiles. Consistency in alignment and nomenclature avoids inadvertently describing two sequences as different when in fact they are the same.     

Descending Eagle: The 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review & the Decline of U.S. Power

This article reviews power transition theory and emerging threats to U.S. national security. It then analyzes how the 2014 QDR will ensure U.S. relative power decline and how the strategy fails to effectively counter the rise of China and Russia as challenger states in the international system. Finally, several policy options are proposed to address the deficiencies of the QDR and to counter an increasingly aggressive China and revisionist Russia.     

The Use of an Alternate Light Source for Detecting Bones Underwater

When searching underwater crime scenes or disaster scenes for fragmentary human remains, it may be advantageous for forensic divers to be able to detect the presence of bones and teeth among other marine materials (such as shells and rocks). In terrestrial environments, this can typically be accomplished by visual and instrumental methods, but underwater conditions make it difficult to employ detection and sorting techniques in these environments. This study investigates fluorescence of bones and teeth and other marine materials using a submersible alternate light source (ALS) and concludes that an ALS can be a useful tool for detecting bones and teeth in underwater searches as well in terrestrial searches and laboratory environments. The results could impact the methods and equipment used by forensic divers and forensic anthropologists when searching for skeletal remains, potentially increasing the quantity and efficiency of forensic evidence recovered.