Sustaining families, dissuading crime: The effectiveness of a family preservation program with male delinquents

Purpose

Family factors have long been considered an important contributor to the criminogenic process. Family Preservation (FP) programs attempt to improve family functioning and, thereby, dissuade future delinquency. Despite years of delivery, the limited research concerning the influence of FP programs on juvenile delinquency remains inconclusive.

Methods

This study examined the effectiveness of an FP program implemented in a metropolitan county of a large Southern state. Subjects were adjudicated male juveniles referred to the program by the courts. Recidivism outcomes for FP participants were compared against those of a simple random sample of non-participants.

Results

Findings suggest that FP does not impact recidivism among study participants. Issues with treatment fidelity may be responsible for the lack of results for this program.

Conclusion

These findings fail to lend support to the FP program. However, they do demonstrate the importance of treatment fidelity in juvenile justice programming.     

Optimizing risk mitigation in management of sexual offenders: a structural model

Sexual violence is an insidious and pervasive problem that insinuates itself into all aspects of contemporary society. It can neither be mitigated nor adequately controlled through current socio-legal practices. A more promising approach must embrace four integrated elements: (1) public policy, (2) primary prevention, (3) statutory management, and (3) secondary intervention. In the present paper we tackle the 3rd and 4th elements by proposing an integrated model for reducing and managing sexual violence among known sex offenders. Relying on the highly effective Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) model as the core of our Sex Offender Risk Mitigation and Management Model (SORM³), we draw together evidence based practices from clinical interventions and risk assessment strategies. Developed by Andrews & Bonta (2006), RNR has a strong empirical track record of efficacy when applied to diverse samples of offenders, including sex offenders (Hanson, Bourgon, Helmus, & Hodgson, 2009). We offer a detailed structural model that seeks to provide a more seamless integration of risk assessment with management and discretionary decisions, including a primary focus on RNR-based post-release aftercare. We end with the mantra that sex offender treatment alone will never effectively mitigate sexual violence in society, since the problem is not confined to the handful of offenders who spend time in prison and are offered some limited exposure to treatment. Any truly effective model must go well beyond the management of those known to be violent and embrace a comprehensive and integrated approach that begins by recognizing the seeds of sexual violence sown by society. Such a public health paradigm places victims - not offenders - at the center, forcing society to come to address the full gamut of hazards that fuel sexual violence.     

The Independent Medicare Advisory Committee: death panel or smart governing?

This comment explores whether health care reform legislation establishes an administrative body effectively charged with the rationing of health care resources; insofar as it establishes a presidentially appointed Independent Medicare Advisory Committee (IMAC). IMAC would be charged with "making two annual reports dictating updated rates for Medicare providers including physicians, hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home health, and durable medical equipment." IMAC's recommendations would be implemented nationally, subject to a Congressional vote. Congress would be granted a thirty-day window to achieve a simple majority for or against the IMAC recommendations. Part I is an introduction. Part II of this article covers the history of American health care. It lays out the federal government's evolving role in the arena of public health and health care, starting in the mid-nineteenth century and continues up to the present day. Part III examines the existing process by which Medicare spending is controlled. This part focuses on the administrative procedures that control Medicare reimbursements. Part IV examines IMAC. This part discusses IMAC's statutory provisions and the administrative transparency laws IMAC would be bound to follow. The close of this part, draws on three analogies as a gauge for how IMAC will operate: Senator Tom Daschle's Federal Health Board (FHB) proposal; the administrative oversight of the Federal Reserve; and the United Kingdom's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). Part V creates a snapshot of the U.S. health care system as it operates today. This part emphasizes cost, quality, and accessibility of health care, with comparisons to international and state-run health care systems. Throughout this article there are a number of words, phrases, and agencies that have been given acronyms. For convenience, an index of these acronyms is provided in an appendix following the article.     

Validation of thin layer chromatography with AccuTOF-DART™ detection for forensic drug analysis

Abstract: Thin layer chromatography (TLC) is a technique that is commonly employed in the forensic drug analysis of pharmaceutical preparations. Detection is typically accomplished using various visualization spray reagents. Conventional gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC‐MS) analysis is typically performed to confirm the TLC results. Depending on the drugs tested and the instrument conditions required, this confirmation can take up to an hour to complete. Direct analysis in real time (DART?) is an ionization source, coupled to an accurate‐mass time‐of‐flight mass spectrometer that has the capability to ionize materials under ambient conditions. To streamline analysis, the combination of TLC with DART? detection is proposed to screen and subsequently identify drug compounds, all from the same TLC plate. DART? confirmations of TLC analyses take <10 min to complete and compare favorably to GC‐MS in sensitivity and selectivity. This study validates the use of TLC‐DART in the forensic identification of the components of several pharmaceutical preparations.     

Mitochondrial DNA sequencing of cat hair: an informative forensic tool

Approximately 81.7 million cats are in 37.5 million U.S. households. Shed fur can be criminal evidence because of transfer to victims, suspects, and/or their belongings. To improve cat hairs as forensic evidence, the mtDNA control region from single hairs, with and without root tags, was sequenced. A dataset of a 402-bp control region segment from 174 random-bred cats representing four U.S. geographic areas was generated to determine the informativeness of the mtDNA region. Thirty-two mtDNA mitotypes were observed ranging in frequencies from 0.6-27%. Four common types occurred in all populations. Low heteroplasmy, 1.7%, was determined. Unique mitotypes were found in 18 individuals, 10.3% of the population studied. The calculated discrimination power implied that 8.3 of 10 randomly selected individuals can be excluded by this region. The genetic characteristics of the region and the generated dataset support the use of this cat mtDNA region in forensic applications.     

A Statistical Validation of the Individuality and Repeatability of Striated Tool Marks: Screwdrivers and Tongue and Groove Pliers*

Abstract: Tool mark identification relies on the premise that microscopic imperfections on a tool’s working surface are sufficiently unique and faithfully transferred to enable a one‐to‐one association between a tool and the tool marks it creates. This paper presents a study undertaken to assess the validity of this premise. As part of this study sets of striated tool marks were created under different conditions and on different media. The topography of these tool marks was acquired and the degree of similarity between them was quantified using well‐defined metrics. An analysis of the resulting matching and nonmatching similarity distributions shows nearly error‐free identification under most conditions. These results provide substantial support for the validity of the premise of tool mark identification. Because the approach taken in this study relies on a quantifiable similarity metric, the results have greater repeatability and objectivity than those obtained using less precise measures of similarity.