Why revolution ain’t easy: violating norms,re‐socializing society

Society is not only structured by major hierarchical institutions, but also by the unwritten rules, called norms, that govern the practice of daily life within those institutions. Peoples’ unreflective observance of these norms helps to perpetuate inequality and domination in society. Norms are transmitted through a process of socialization, by which every member of society is subtly trained to appreciate and follow these norms. While disobeying norms, or deviance, is possible, it is also fraught with problems and challenges. Ultimately, many things prevent the creation of new, anarchistic norms. Still, even with formidable obstacles in their path, anarchists have attempted to re‐socialize themselves and others in order to adhere to more egalitarian, horizontal, and cooperative norms.     

Colonial origins of land acquisition law in New South Wales and Queensland

F.W. Maitland. G.R. Elton. London. 1985. Weidenfeld and Nicolson. vii &; 118 pp. (incl. Index). £12.95.

Victorian Prison Lives: English Prison Biography (1830–1914). Philip Priest‐ley. London and New York. 1985. Methuen. xiii &; 311 pp. (incl. index). £25.00.

Christopher St German on Chancery and Statute. J.A. Guy. London. 1985. Selden Society Supplementary series vol. 6. x &; 149 pp. (incl. index). £15.

Imprisonment in England and Wales: A Concise History, Christopher Harding, Bill Hines, Richard Ireland and Philip Rawlings, Beck‐enham. Croom Helm. 1985. xiii &; 308 pp. £25.00.

The Evolution of Law. Alan Watson. Oxford. 1985. Basil Blackwell. xi &; 156 pp. (incl. index). £17.50.

Unequal Access: Women Lawyers in a Changing America. Ronald Chester. Massachusetts. 1985. Bergin &; Garvey Publishers, Inc. viii &; 135 pp.(incl. index). £24.95.

Unequal Laws unto a Savage Race: European Legal Traditions in Arkansas, 1686–1836. Morris S. Arnold. Fayetteville. 1985. University of Arkansas Press, xviii &; 234 pp.

Returns of Strangers in the Metropolis 1593, 1627, 1635, 1639: A Study of an Active Minority. Ed. Irene Scouloudi. London. 1985. The Huguenot Society.

’Without the Law’: Administrative Justice and Legal Pluralism in Nineteenth Century England. H.W. Arthurs. Toronto. 1985. University of Toronto Press, xvi + 312 pp. (incl. index). £20.00.     

Police GPS Surveillance on Vehicles and the Warrant Requirement: “For a While I’ve Been Watching You Steady”

The global positioning system (GPS) has become ubiquitous to modern American life. The system supplies direction for travel through navigation systems as well as employee monitoring capabilities (Rosenberg Washington Journal of Law, Technology, and Arts 6:143–154, 2010). Law Enforcement has also found GPS to be a valuable tool. The technology provides a relatively cheap and highly effective way to monitor a suspect’s movement. Depending on the device, travel data can be reported in real time or be retrieved from the implanted device at intervals (Shah Journal of Law, Technology, and Policy 2009:281–294, 2009). This paper will first explore the core foundational Fourth Amendment cases that shape the use of GPS devices by law enforcement. Next, the federal circuits and state supreme courts’ decisions that have addressed the use of GPS will be reviewed. Third, the case of U.S. v. Jones (2012), which was recently decided by the United States Supreme Court, will be examined. Last, the policy implications of the current legal landscape regarding the use of GPS by police will be discussed.     

How do psychiatric patients on prison healthcare centres differ from inpatients in secure psychiatric inpatient units?

Abstract

Mentally ill prisoners have consistently been highlighted as a group with complex needs. However, it is not clear what these needs are, how effective prison health services are in meeting the needs of this vulnerable group, and whether there would be any benefit to transferring them to psychiatric facilities. This study compared the characteristics and needs of mentally ill patients in prison healthcare centres (HCC prisoners) with patients in forensic medium secure psychiatric units (MSU inpatients) in the UK. HCC prisoners and MSU inpatients were in fact very similar. Where they did differ, though, was that MSU inpatients were significantly more likely to be of non-white ethnicity, diagnosed with psychotic or substance use disorders, and have recorded histories of drug misuse. HCC prisoners and MSU inpatients reported the same number of needs overall, according to the CANFOR-S (Camberwell Assessment of Need Forensic Short Version), but HCC prisoners reported significantly higher levels of unmet need. The need for transfer to alternative services was common in both groups, with bottlenecks evident at all levels. The high level of unmet need reported in the HCC prison sample is of particular clinical concern and highlights the need for improved assessment and treatment services in this setting.     

The relationship between antisocial stereotypes and public CCTV systems: exploring fear of crime in the modern surveillance society

Abstract

Situational crime deterrence measures like CCTV are not always associated with reductions in fear of crime. This study explores this unexpected finding by investigating the interaction between target type and the presence of a CCTV camera, in order to test the effect this has on impressions of the target and corresponding fear of the location the target was shown in. Participants (n=120) were shown either a picture of a male ‘skinhead’, a ‘studious’ female, or no one within an urban setting in which an obvious CCTV camera was either present or absent. Participants then rated the scene using scales estimating crime frequency, worry and target activity. Estimates of location safety fell for the male ‘skinhead’ target and activity impressions were more negative, but only when a CCTV camera was also present. Ironically, in some circumstances, public crime deterrence measures may prime pre-existing negative stereotypes about others and so foster suspicion, undermine trust in others, and increase fear of crime.     

Incapacitation and imprisonment: prisoners' involvement in community-based crime

Abstract

The impact of incapacitation on prisoners' offending behaviour is a neglected area of research. The aim of this study was to examine the extent and nature of prisoners' involvement in community-based crime in the UK. Participants were selected from nine prisons in the UK and consisted of 360 prisoners, 81 females and 279 males. Offenders were interviewed to assess levels and forms of involvement in community-based crime and perceptions of other prisoners' involvement. Levels of prisonization and institutional and demographic characteristics were used to identify vulnerability to involvement in community-based crime. Twenty-five per cent of the sample admitted personal involvement and 63% reported other prisoners' involvement in a diverse range of crimes. Analyses revealed prisoners involved in community-based crime are likely to be young, male recidivists who hold prisonized attitudes. Prisoners who are white, prisonized and recidivist reported highest levels of other prisoners' involvement in community-based crime. No age or gender differences delineated prisoners' reports of others' involvement. The results show that incarcerating offenders may not prevent their involvement in community-based offending. Discussion centres on the characteristics of involved prisoners and considers the implications of the results for rehabilitation and penal policy.     

Feeding finance: a critical account of the shifting relationships between finance,food and farming

Abstract

Whether in the form of commodity index funds, farmland investment funds or commodities trading by agri-food companies, there is evidence of an increasingly close relationship between finance, food and agriculture. While these developments have received some critical attention of late, existing accounts of the ‘financialization of food’ are limited to the extent that they view finance as an external force with emphasis placed on the unnaturalness of its relationship with agriculture and its distortive effects on agricultural markets. Recognizing that finance and agriculture have a long history, this paper offers a more nuanced account of the place of financialization in the agricultural sector. Specifically, it examines how agriculture's emergence as an investment opportunity has reconfigured the terrain of agricultural interests and logics while creating new knowledge demands and agricultural visibilities. These dynamics are explored through a case study of the role of finance and processes of financialization in the recent demise of the Canadian Wheat Board as a state marketing agency. Through this discussion, the paper offers valuable insights into not only the reworking of agriculture as a particular type of financial space, but also the nature and limits of financialization itself as a way of engaging with the world beyond urban financial centres.