Parents’ Perspectives on Family‐centered Care in Juvenile Justice Institutions

Family‐centered care during adolescent detention aims to increase parental participation in an attempt to optimize treatment outcomes. However, little is known about parents’ needs in family‐centered care. To fill this gap, we interviewed 19 purposefully selected parents of detained adolescents using a semi‐structured topic list. Although needs differed between parents, they were generally interested in activities that included spending time with their child. It is important for parents to receive timely information about their child's condition and treatment, detention procedures, and activities in the facility. The outcomes demonstrated that parents expected a two‐way communication based on respect and reliability.     

Protecting victims of intimate partner violence: Swedish prosecutors’ experiences of decision-making regarding restraining orders

Restraining orders can be used as a risk management strategy to reduce the likelihood of intimate partner violence (IPV) re-victimisation. The aim of this study was to examine how prosecutors work with cases of IPV, with a focus on their collaboration with police, use of violence risk assessment and implementation of restraining orders. A qualitative analysis was conducted based on semi-structured interviews with five prosecutors operating in two northern police districts in Sweden in 2016. Data were analysed using latent content analysis. Three overarching themes arose: The case, Organization of resources and Interpretation of the law. Each theme was discussed in the context of the prosecutors’ work with IPV. Prosecutors pointed to several inadequacies in the legislation and offered potential solutions that would ameliorate their work. Results also showed that prosecutors seldom used violence risk assessments conducted by police as a basis for issuing restraining orders. The primary reason for this was a lack of clear routines governing cooperation between police and prosecutors in the application process. The results from this study can be used when training criminal justice personnel in order to obtain a better understanding of the difficulties that prosecutors face when trying to protect victims of IPV.     

Gender in the Context of Same‐Sex Divorce and Relationship Dissolution

This article identifies ways that judges, lawyers, researchers, and policy makers may attend to the role of gender and gender dynamics facing same‐sex couples upon divorce or other relationship dissolution. When same‐sex couples marry, the legal system and society at large may project conceptions of gender onto same‐sex couples, often in a manner that conflicts with couples' intentions and practices. Gender and gender dynamics may affect the bases for dissolution, the financial aspects of dissolution, and the determination of child custody. The article also suggests directions for future research on the impact of gender on the dissolution of same‐sex relationships.     

Custody and Visitation in Families With Three (or More) Parents

New technological and legal developments have enabled the formation of three‐parent families. Now that these families have arrived, families—and family law—must adapt to allocate responsibilities among the responsible adults.     

Fatal Overdose of Gamma‐hydroxybutyrate Acid After Ingestion of 1,4‐Butanediol

We report a case of fatal intoxication from 1,4‐butanediol (1,4‐BD), which was ingested by a young and “naïve” gamma‐hydroxybutyrate (GHB) consumer during a party with the co‐ingestion of alcohol, cannabis, and methylene‐dioxy‐methamphetamine. The following drug concentrations were found using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry on autopsy samples and on a cup and a glass found at the scene: 20,350 mg/L (bottle) for 1,4‐BD; 1020 mg/L (femoral blood), 3380 mg/L (cardiac blood), 47,280 mg/L (gastric content), and 570 mg/L (vitreous humor) for GHB. The concentration of GHB is difficult to interpret in forensic cases due to the possibility of an endogenous production of GHB. The variable tolerance of the user may also modify the peri‐ and postmortem GHB concentrations. This case underscores the need to have many different sources of toxicology samples analyzed to avoid the hypothesis of endogenous production of GHB.     

BODY‐WORN CAMERAS AS A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF DEPOLICING: TESTING FOR CAMERA‐INDUCED PASSIVITY

Contentious debate is currently taking place regarding the extent to which public scrutiny of the police post‐Ferguson has led to depolicing or to a decrease in proactive police work. Advocates of the “Ferguson effect” claim the decline in proactive policing increased violent crime and assaults on the police. Although police body‐worn cameras (BWCs) are touted as a police reform that can generate numerous benefits, they also represent a form of internal and public surveillance on the police. The surveillance aspect of BWCs suggests that BWCs may generate depolicing through camera‐induced passivity. We test this question with data from a randomized controlled trial of BWCs in Spokane (WA) by assessing the impact of BWCs on four measures: officer‐initiated calls, arrests, response time, and time on scene. We employ hierarchical linear and cross‐classified models to test for between‐ and within‐group differences in outcomes before and after the randomized BWC rollout. Our results demonstrate no evidence of statistically significant camera‐induced passivity across any of the four outcomes. In fact, self‐initiated calls increased for officers assigned to treatment during the RCT. We discuss the theoretical and policy implications of the findings for the ongoing dialogue in policing.     

Study on the Method Used to Display Self‐fading Lines and Erasable Lines

Two new kinds of writing tools are popular in China's market. One is a self‐fading pen, and another is an erasable pen. The ink of the two kinds of writing tools has a remarkable characteristic that it can gradually fade or disappear under heat or be rubbed off. How to reveal the disappeared written lines is a very important question for document examiners. In this article, three series of ink line samples were made with five types of self‐fading pens, 18 types of erasable pens, and three types of papers. Temperature, humidity, and lighting are known as influential factors of the process, and the effect of fading was examined. Luminescence, ultraviolet (UV), sidelight, electrostatic indentation development,low temperature, and solution revealing methods are found to be effective methods used to reveal the disappeared written lines. The best operating conditions for each method were obtained from the conducted experiments.     

Lone Actor Terrorist Attack Planning and Preparation: A Data‐Driven Analysis,

This article provides an in‐depth assessment of lone actor terrorists’ attack planning and preparation. A codebook of 198 variables related to different aspects of pre‐attack behavior is applied to a sample of 55 lone actor terrorists. Data were drawn from open‐source materials and complemented where possible with primary sources. Most lone actors are not highly lethal or surreptitious attackers. They are generally poor at maintaining operational security, leak their motivations and capabilities in numerous ways, and generally do so months and even years before an attack. Moreover, the “loneness” thought to define this type of terrorism is generally absent; most lone actors uphold social ties that are crucial to their adoption and maintenance of the motivation and capability to commit terrorist violence. The results offer concrete input for those working to detect and prevent this form of terrorism and argue for a re‐evaluation of the “lone actor” concept.     

Sudden Death Secondary to an Undiagnosed B‐Cell Lymphoma of the Hypopharynx and Infiltration of the Inferior Constrictor Muscle

The aim of this presentation was to share an uncommon form of sudden death, suffered by a 64‐year‐old woman, due to a mechanical obstruction of hypopharynx by an undiagnosed B‐cell lymphoma, infiltrating the inferior pharyngeal constrictor muscle. A forensic approach by means of scene investigation, circumstantial data collection, autopsy, and histological and toxicological investigations led to conclude that the cause of death was asphyxia, correlated with B‐cell lymphoma of the hypopharynx. The autopsy examination highlighted the presence of a wall thickening, infiltrating, and projecting into the hypopharynx lumen. The histological analysis showed the essential finding of a B‐cell lymphoma of the hypopharynx, diffusely infiltrating the inferior pharyngeal constrictor muscle. To conclude, this case demonstrates once more that in the absence of specific data, a thorough forensic investigation including autopsy, histological examination, and circumstantial data collection is mandatory to reach a correct cause of death.     

Myocardial Bridging: A Meta‐Analysis of Prevalence

The main objective of this article was to analyze prevalence data about myocardial bridging (MB) in published studies. To this purpose, we performed a meta‐analysis of studies published in English literature that contained data about the prevalence of MB and its anatomical characteristics. The overall prevalence was 19% (CI: 17–21%); autopsy studies revealed an overall prevalence of 42% (CI: 30–55%), CT studies 22% (CI: 18–25%), and coronary angiography 6% (CI: 5–8%). Most bridges were located on the left anterior descending artery (82% overall, 63% on autopsy studies), had a mean thickness of 2.47 mm and a mean length of 19.3 mm. In conclusion, autopsy studies should be the gold standard in evaluating the actual prevalence of myocardial bridges, while in vivo high‐resolution CT scanning should be preferred to coronary angiography studies.