Sex determination from the talus of Koreans by discriminant function analysis

The aims of this study were to investigate the sex discriminating potential of the talus in Koreans and compare this with other analyses in different populations. Statistical analyses were performed using data from nine measurements acquired from 140 tali (70 men, 70 women). The talus of Koreans is dimorphic between sexes in all measurements (p < 0.01). Discriminant function equations were generated by univariate, multivariate, and stepwise methods with a range of accuracy from 67.1 to 87.1%. Stepwise equations of other populations did not discriminate the sex of the Korean sample as accurately as each equation's own accuracies. The variables with high accuracy in this study are useful for sex determination of Koreans on the basis of confirmation of population specificity.     

Low Self‐Control and Contact with the Criminal Justice System in a Nationally Representative Sample of Males

Prior research on law enforcement and court system actions suggests that offender demeanor influences practitioner decision making. However, few studies have examined a key implication of this body of work—namely, criminogenic factors associated not only with offending but also with demeanor may result in a greater likelihood of contact with and formal processing by law enforcement and the courts. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we test the hypothesis that low self‐control, which is associated with a range of characteristics that might influence practitioner perceptions of individual offenders’ demeanors, will predict greater contact and formal processing. Briefly, we found that low self‐control was consistently related to criminal justice system involvement as measured by police contacts, arrests, age at first police contact, and arrest onset. The implications of the findings for theory and research are discussed.     

The Influence of Parole Officers’ Attitudes on Supervision Practices

The supervision of offenders conditionally released into communities is one of the primary functions of parole officers. Scholars have hypothesized that officers’ attitudes towards supervision may influence their job performance. Yet there are few studies which have examined the influence of parole officers’ attitudes on their actual supervision practices, and studies of the attitude–behavior relationship among other justice system actors have revealed mixed findings. This study involved an examination of the relationship between officers’ attitudes towards supervision and their supervisory responses to offender behavior. Findings revealed that officers’ attitudes influence their intended behaviors. However, results of the analyses of the potential relationship between officers’ attitudes and their actual behaviors were mixed. Officers’ attitudes had no effect on their rate of issuing community-based sanctions, but officers who held more authoritative attitudes were more likely to pursue revocation hearings for offender noncompliance.     

Sexual Dimorphism in Finger Ridge Breadth Measurements: A Tool for Sex Estimation from Fingerprints

Previous research has demonstrated significant sexual dimorphism in friction ridge skin characteristics. This study uses a novel method for measuring sexual dimorphism in finger ridge breadths to evaluate its utility as a sex estimation method from an unknown fingerprint. Beginning and ending in a valley, the width of ten parallel ridges with no obstructions or minutia was measured in a sample of 250 males and females (N = 500). The results demonstrate statistically significant differences in ridge breadth between males and females (p < 0.001), with classification accuracy for each digit varying from 83.2% to 89.3%. Classification accuracy for the pooled finger samples was 83.9% for the right hand and 86.2% for the left hand, which is applicable for cases where the digit number cannot be determined. Weight, stature, and to a lesser degree body mass index also significantly correlate with ridge breadth and account for the degree of overlap between males and females.     

论英美刑法中胁迫的理论基础——兼论对我国胁从犯规定的借鉴意义

胁迫是英美法系刑法中的一个概念,具体是指行为人在受到他人死亡或者严重的身体伤害威胁的情况下被迫实施一定的犯罪行为。胁迫作为一种公认的普通法辩护事由,有其科学合理之处。分析了英美刑法中胁迫的成立条件及其存在的理论根基,并分析了其对我国刑法中胁从犯规定的借鉴意义。     

美国性犯罪者登记制度的实证研究及反思

对性犯罪者进行登记是美国等西方国家普遍采用的用于遏制性犯罪的做法。但不少研究表明,性犯罪立法在控制性犯罪和减少再逮捕率方面并没有起明显作用,相反,性犯罪者登记制度给相当一部分性犯罪分子带来了诸多负面影响。关于性犯罪者登记制度需要进一步的研究,研究内容包括性犯罪者登记法是否能够减少性犯罪行为,谁来对登记程序进行监管,该制度对性犯罪者及其家庭的影响,以及实施登记法律的成本。     

Effectiveness of modified therapeutic community treatment within a medium-secure service for personality-disordered offenders

There is debate as to whether secure hospital treatment for offenders with personality disorder can be effective relative to criminal justice interventions. This study examines the evidence for long-term treatment of such offenders in hospital within in a modified therapeutic community model including accredited offending behaviour programmes. A panel sample of 47 patients were followed up on measures of violence risk (HCR-20, VRS) and symptom severity (SCL90-R). Intention-to-treat analysis with reliability thresholds showed significant positive change between assessment and discharge in both violence risk (VRS) and symptoms (SCL90-R) indicating a positive treatment effect. Threshold effects for treatment effectiveness seemed to occur at 1?year of treatment for risk and 3?years for symptom reduction.     

Characteristics of children with problem sexual behaviour and adolescent perpetrators of sexual abuse: a systematic review

ABSTRACT

People who commit sexual offences are a heterogeneous group, with research suggesting that children and young people commit a large proportion of all sex offences, especially those committed against other children. This systematic review provides a synthesis of literature concerning the characteristics of children and adolescents who exhibit harmful sexual behaviour. There is a particular focus in this review on studies that examine the characteristics of children and young people exhibiting these behaviours within institutional and organisational settings or which take a situational and/or developmental approach to understanding sexually abusive behaviour. Using a developmental and life-course criminology lens, this review explores implications from the literature for the prevention and response to child sexual abuse, with a particular focus on institutional contexts where the perpetrators are children and adolescents.     

Evaluation of Mastoid Process as Sex Indicator in Modern White Americans using Geometric Morphometrics

Conventional methods for evaluating the mastoid as a sex indicator cannot determine whether mastoid shape is an independent and reliable sex indicator. Here, shape differences between the mastoids of 100 male and 100 female modern white Americans were statistically analyzed and visualized using the geometric morphometric method. Discriminant analysis was performed on mastoid size and shape. The relation between size and shape was analyzed to examine the effect of size on shape. In the results, mastoid size and shape were statistically significant sex indicators, while size factor explained 87.3% of the total variance of the shape variables. Nevertheless, females had relatively broader and shorter mastoid shape than males regardless of size, reflecting 12.7% of the total variance of the shape variables. In conclusion, mastoid size and shape were statistically significant sex indicators, while size may matter more in the mastoid than in other cranial parts in terms of sexual dimorphism.