A False Sense of Security: Moral Panic Driven Sex Offender Legislation

Data collected from correctional files of sex offenders managed by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation were analyzed to explore the degree to which sex offender behavior meets the assumptions of the legislation intended to regulate their behavior. The study asked where offenders commit their sex crimes and the likelihood of choosing a known vs. a stranger victim. The concept of moral panic is used as a framework to discuss possible motivations for current sex offender legislation.     

Insanity, methamphetamine and psychiatric expertise in New Zealand courtrooms

The use of methamphetamine in New Zealand has increased significantly over the last decade. Due to the potential of methamphetamine to induce, exacerbate and precipitate psychotic symptoms, this drug has also taken centre stage in several criminal trials considering the sanity of defendants. Highly publicised and often involving contested expert evidence, these criminal trials have illustrated the limits of using psychiatric expertise to answer legal questions. This article considers the implications of such cases in light of material from a qualitative study that aimed to generate insights into the difficulties forensic psychiatrists and their instructing lawyers face when providing expert evidence on the relationship between methamphetamine, psychosis and insanity. It reports material from 31 in-depth interviews with lawyers and forensic psychiatrists and observation of one criminal trial that considered the relationship between methamphetamine and legal insanity. The findings are correlated with the clinical and medico-legal literature on the topic and subjected to scrutiny through the lens of "sanism". The article concludes that the continued use of forensic psychiatry to meet the legal objectives of insanity, where methamphetamine is involved, has the potential to reinforce sanist attitudes and practices.     

Investigation of a typology of alcohol‐related violence defined by ultimate goals

Purpose. Alcohol‐related violence is a serious problem and treatments for high‐risk individuals need to be developed. Classification helps to route people into appropriate treatments. Drawing on animal research, we define alcohol‐related violence in relation to ultimate goals. We propose three types of violence: (1) violence in the pursuit of material goals, (2) violence in pursuit of social dominance goals, and (3) violence as defence in response to threat. The aim is to explore factors that we expect to relate to this tripartite typology, with the aim of providing a preliminary validation. Method. Participants were 149 young male prisoners who had committed an offence of violence that was alcohol related. Semi‐structured interviews elicited information about the offence that enabled classification into one of the three types. Differences between groups were examined at the event level – level of violence during the offence and alcohol consumption before the offence – and at group level – trait aggression, trait anxiety, anger control, and alcohol–aggression outcome expectancies. Results. No differences were found in levels of violence or alcohol consumption. Those whose violence was in the pursuit of material goals were high on trait aggression, trait anger, trait anxiety, and anger suppression. Those who used violence in the pursuit of social dominance showed high trait aggression and trait anger. Those whose violence was a defence in response to threat showed lower trait aggression and trait anger. Conclusion. The findings are discussed in relation to differential group profiles and treatment needs.     

Anxiety,alcohol intoxication,and aggression

Purpose. Research into alcohol‐related aggression has typically focused on perpetrators’ externalizing characteristics. The purpose of this exploratory review is to examine the contribution of anxiety to alcohol‐related aggression. Arguments. Anxiety disorders are associated with externalizing disorders in childhood, but anxiety appears to protect against extreme antisocial behaviours. In contrast, in adolescence and early adulthood, anxiety appears to be associated with increased risk of antisocial behaviour. One possible explanation for this disjunction may be alcohol use, which typically starts in adolescence. Alcohol is an anxiolytic drug, which may appeal to certain young people who are socially anxious but not socially avoidant. Alcohol myopia, the cognitive mechanism whereby alcohol exerts an anxiolytic effect, is also a mechanism by which alcohol serves to increase aggression. Therefore, in anxious antisocial people, drinking to cope with anxiety is likely to increase aggression. Conclusions. Interventions that flow from the research on anxiety, alcohol, and aggression are suggested.     

Use of the global positioning system in the field recovery of scattered human remains

This study examines the Global Positioning System (GPS) as a tool for field mapping of scattered human remains or other materials in forensic investigations. Two aspects of the GPS are considered: (1) the level of accuracy that can be obtained using a mid-priced GPS unit, and (2) the effectiveness of using the GPS to map scattered materials. The positional accuracy of the GPS receiver was tested using a National Geodetic Survey (NGS) point located in Baton Rouge, LA. The utility of the GPS for mapping was investigated by setting up a mock field recovery and mapping the remains using both the GPS and traditional archeological methods. The results indicate that the positional error for a single location using GPS was less than one-half meter. However, when multiple positions were considered, the data produced on different days were not consistent. Further, the GPS receiver used in this study could not distinguish items in close association. Factors such as tree cover density, the proximity of the materials to structures or trees, and satellite positioning contributed to the erratic data. These results indicate that traditional techniques and photographs are still indispensable for mapping scattered remains or artifacts.     

Cyber-trespass and 'Unauthorized Access' as Legal Mechanisms of Access Control: Lessons from the US Experience

The common law doctrine of trespass to chattels has recentlybeen revived and applied by courts in the United States (US)to cover intrusions (in the form of electronic signals) to computersystems connected to the Internet. These cases represent judicialrecognition of the need to protect certain unwanted intrusionsin cyberspace, though the principles developed therewith areremarkably expansive. As such, they overlap with the conceptof ‘unauthorized access’ under computer misuse legislationin the US and elsewhere. This overlap has yet to be judiciallyacknowledged. Since the US, the United Kingdom and other commonlaw countries not only share a common law ancestry but also‘unauthorized access’ principles as the primarytrigger for computer misuse, this paper seeks to examine theconsequences of developing a broad cyber-trespass doctrine beyondthe US, and its corresponding implications for judicial interpretationsof ‘unauthorized access’ in the common law world.     

Depressive symptoms among working women in rural North Carolina: a comparison of women in poultry processing and other low-wage jobs

We report on the prevalence of self-reported depressive symptoms and associated factors among women employed in a poultry processing plant and a community comparison group of other employed women in northeastern North Carolina in the southern United States. The rural area is poor and sparsely populated with an African American majority. The largest employer of women in the area is a poultry processing plant. The goals of the analyses were 1) to evaluate whether women employed in poultry processing had a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms than other working women from the same geographic area, and 2) to evaluate factors which might be associated with depression among all of these working women, including specific characteristics of their work environment. Recruitment of participants (n=590) and data collection were by community-based staff who were also African American women. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Work organization factors were measured with the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ). Log-binomial regression was used to calculate crude and adjusted prevalence ratios. The prevalence of depressive symptoms, based on a CES-D measure of sixteen or more, was 47.8% among the poultry workers and 19.7% among the other working women (prevalence ratio=2.3). After adjusting for socioeconomic variables, health-related quality of life and coping style, the prevalence of depressive symptoms remained 80% higher among the poultry workers. The prevalence of symptoms was also higher among those who perceived low social support at work, hazardous work conditions, job insecurity, and high levels of isometric load. These factors were all more common among the women employed in the poultry plant. The concentration of this low-wage industry in economically depressed rural areas illuminates how class exploitation and racial discrimination may influence disparities in health among working women.     

Female recidivists speak about their experience in drug court while engaging in appreciative inquiry

Eleven female drug-court participants looked at current and past experiences to assess their program and envision future program innovations. From these women's perspective, the strongest component of drug court was being surrounded by staff dedicated to their progress and recovery. Graduated supervision and accurate drug testing were appreciated rather than resented when the participants were not humiliated and were treated with respect. Wraparound services, resources, and referral; treatment facilities that accepted children; and individualized treatment plans and therapy with offenders who are ex-addicts, and preferably females, allowed for greater involvement and active participation in recovery. Progressing through three phases, acquiring skills, a job, and visitation rights to see their children or regaining custody, increased these women's sense of self-efficacy perception and confidence in their ability to lead a drug-free, meaningful life. Findings show the importance of qualitative criteria in evaluating drug-court participants' progress and the process of recovery.