Race/Ethnic-Specific Homicide Rates in New York City: Evaluating the Impact of Broken Windows Policing and Crack Cocaine Markets

The current study evaluated a range of social influences including misdemeanor arrests, drug arrests, cocaine consumption, alcohol consumption, firearm availability, and incarceration that may be associated with changes in gun-related homicides by racial/ethnic group in New York City (NYC) from 1990 to 1999. Using police precincts as the unit of analysis, we used cross-sectional, time series data to examine changes in Black, White, and Hispanic homicides, separately. Bayesian hierarchical models with a spatial error term indicated that an increase in cocaine consumption was associated with an increase in Black homicides. An increase in firearm availability was associated with an increase in Hispanic homicides. Last, there were no significant predictors for White homicides. Support was found for the crack cocaine hypotheses but not for the broken windows hypothesis. Examining racially/ethnically disaggregated data can shed light on group-sensitive mechanisms that may explain changes in homicide over time.     

行政伦理学应关注的四个重大问题

本文认为行政伦理学的发展必须倡导对该领域内重大问题的关注以及学者们在此类研究中的合作努力,作者提出四个值得关注的重要问题公共行政伦理学研究的规范性基础、全球化、组织设计、平等问题。     

Determining the sex of human remains through cranial morphology

Sex determination is the keystone of a biological profile, yet few qualitative methods of cranial sex determination have been tested. This analysis examines the accuracy and precision of 17 morphological features of the skull commonly used to determine the sex of unknown skeletal remains. The sample consists of 46 identified skulls from the 19th century St. Thomas' Anglican Church Cemetery in Belleville, Canada. Nasal aperature, zygomatic extension, malar size/rugosity, and supraorbital ridge proved the most useful; of secondary value are chin form and nuchal crest; mastoid size is of tertiary consideration; nasal size and mandibular symphysis/ramus size rank fourth; forehead shape ranks fifth; and palate size/shape are sixth. Skull size/architecture provides an internal standard to assess the relative sizes of other traits. This research is a necessary step in establishing the credibility of morphological sex determination with respect to the Daubert and Mohan criteria for admissibility in a court of law.     

Recognition of cemetery remains in a forensic context

The purpose of this paper is to provide guidelines for the recognition of human remains from modem and historic cemeteries found in a forensic context. Three avenues of evidence may be pursued to confirm the origin of cemetery remains: context, condition of the body, and associated artifacts. This article outlines types of North American cemeteries, demonstrating how land use over time has resulted in many being closed, moved, or forgotten, leaving only the context to indicate their presence. The condition of human cemetery remains varies considerably depending on cultural practices and burial environment, but many exhibit combinations of the following traits: dried or embalmed tissue; erosion of bony pressure points; cortical bone flaking; and bone damage due to autopsy or embalming. Examples of artifact types useful in recognizing cemetery remains are also provided. Two cases from British Columbia, Canada are presented to demonstrate the diagnostic features of a disturbed cemetery burial.     

Validation of the Cozart microplate EIA for analysis of opiates in oral fluid

The purpose of this study was to determine the performance characteristics of the Cozart microplate EIA for detecting opiates in oral fluid from patients in a drug misuse treatment program. Oral fluid samples were collected using the Cozart RapiScan Collection System from 216 donors who were receiving treatment for their addiction and were monitored for drug abuse. A further 40 oral fluid samples were collected from volunteer donors who were not drug users. The samples were analyzed in the laboratory by using the Cozart microplate EIA for opiates and confirmed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The samples were stored frozen until analysis by GC-MS. The intra-assay precision for the Cozart microplate oral fluid EIA for opiates over 40 assays was 0.43% to 9.13% CV (within assay) and 2.9% to 9.1% CV (within day). A total of 109 samples were positive for various opiates. The Cozart microplate EIA for opiates in oral fluid, using a cut-off of 30 ng/ml morphine equivalents in neat oral fluid, had a sensitivity of 99.1 +/- 2.1% and a specificity of 94.4 +/- 2.2% versus GC-MS. A series of potential adulterants of oral fluid were evaluated and shown not to alter the outcome of the test result.     

Evaluation of the Cozart RapiScan drug test system for opiates and cocaine in oral fluid

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of the Cozart RapiScan (CRS) drug test system for detecting opiates and cocaine in oral fluid. Oral fluid samples were collected using the Cozart RapiScan collection system from 358 donors who were receiving treatment for their addiction and were monitored for drug misuse. A further 103 oral fluid samples were collected from volunteer donors who were not drug users. The samples were analyzed in the laboratory using the two-panel Cozart RapiScan cartridge for opiates and cocaine and confirmed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The samples were stored frozen at -20 degrees C until analysis by GC-MS. The overall accuracy of the CRS for both opiates and cocaine was 100%. Samples spiked at 50% above and below the cut-off consistently gave negative and positive results respectively. A total of 88 samples were positive for various opiates and 111 samples were positive for cocaine and/or its metabolites. The CRS for opiates and cocaine in oral fluid, using a cut-off of 30 ng/mL morphine or benzoylecgonine equivalents in neat oral fluid, had overall efficiencies of 98% and 99%, respectively, versus GC-MS. A series of potential adulterants of oral fluid were evaluated and shown not to alter the outcome of the test result.     

Crime scene ethics: souvenirs, teaching material, and artifacts

Police and forensic specialists are ethically obliged to preserve the integrity of their investigations and their agencies' reputations. The American Academy of Forensic Sciences and the Canadian Society of Forensic Science provide no guidelines for crime scene ethics, or the retention of items from former crime scenes. Guidelines are necessary to define acceptable behavior relating to removing, keeping, or selling artifacts, souvenirs, or teaching specimens from former crime scenes, where such activities are not illegal, to prevent potential conflicts of interest and the appearance of impropriety. Proposed guidelines permit the retention of objects with educational value, provided they are not of significance to the case, they are not removed until the scene is released, permission has been obtained from the property owner and police investigator, and the item has no significant monetary value. Permission is necessary even if objects appear discarded, or are not typically regarded as property, e.g., animal bones.     

Histological correlates of post mortem mitochondrial DNA damage in degraded hair

We have assessed the histological preservation of naturally degraded human hair shafts, and then assayed each for levels of amplifiable mitochondrial DNA and damage-associated DNA miscoding lesions. The results indicate that as sample histology is altered (i.e. as hairs degrade) levels of amplifiable mitochondrial DNA decrease, but no correlation is seen between histology and absolute levels of mitochondrial DNA miscoding lesions. Nevertheless, amplifiable mitochondrial DNA could be recovered across the complete range of the histological preservation spectrum. However, when template copy number is taken into consideration, a correlation of miscoding lesions with histology is again apparent. These relationships indicate that a potential route for the generation of misleading mitochondrial sequence data exists in samples of poor histology. Therefore, we argue that in the absence of molecular cloning, the histological screening of hair may be necessary in order to confirm the reliability of mitochondrial DNA sequences amplified from hair, and thus represents a useful tool in forensic mitochondrial DNA analyses.