When is a bologna sandwich better than sex? A defense of small-n case study evaluations

This paper discusses the value of quasi-experiments with small numbers of cases - small-n case studies. It argues that these evaluations of crime prevention have value. The first part of the paper shows that small-n evaluations are practical methods for producing information and that discarding this information reduces our ability to learn what works in crime prevention. The solution is to examine small-n evaluations in systematic reviews. In the second part this paper shows that more rigorous evaluations can sacrifice generalizability to gain internal validity and that this, too, reduces our ability to learn. The solution is to create a mixed portfolio of intrusive, less-intrusive, and non-intrusive evaluations. In the third part this paper shows why inference processes that make use of theory should replace naïve inductionism. One implication of this is that ignoring theory also discards evidence. Another implication is that taking theory into account when we review program effectiveness allows us to better use small-n evaluations when we generalize. In the final part, this paper gives three recommendations for making use of small-n evaluations: adopt case study procedures developed in political science, improve the value of process evaluations, and improve crime theories.     

国际禁毒合作中的控制下交付手段研究

控制下交付是国际社会打击毒品犯罪的重要手段,在国际禁毒合作中占有重要地位。针对跨国贩毒活动,在具体实施控制下交付之前需要考虑多种因素。在决定实施控制下交付之后,可以通过有关的国际禁毒合作途径,与其他国家的侦查机关迅速取得联系,共同采取措施。在具体实施过程中还要注意做好相关工作,在确保毒品安全的情况下,尽可能地将跨国贩毒集团一网打尽。     

Defendants encountering victims in the courtroom: challenges and opportunities of allocution in capital trials for doing restorative justice

ABSTRACT

Allocution is when offenders plead for mercy and offer explanations in order to mitigate punishment. This paper explores the opportunities and challenges inherent in an attempt to do restorative justice through offender allocution in the sentencing phase of capital trials. The essential principles in theories of restorative justice are presented. Then the contexts of allocution in a courtroom and the statements an offender might make in a typical restorative encounter are clearly differentiated. Contributions from the relatively new field of interpersonal neurobiology illuminate the state of mind in which the audience for allocution in a courtroom may be at the time allocution is offered with implications for how allocution might be used, and prepared for. Finally, suggestions are offered for how the opportunity for allocution might be taken up restoratively during capital trials.     

未决羁押者的劳动权保护:一个宪政维度的分析

在我国刑事诉讼实践中,未决羁押者被强迫劳动、超强度超时间劳动以及克扣劳动报酬等现象较为普遍,有些地方还相当严重.从宪政维度分析,劳动是未决羁押者的权利而非强制性义务;未决羁押者的劳动权是宪法意义上的劳动权而非劳动法意义上的劳动权利;未决羁押者的劳动权既不同于普通社会劳动者,也有别于已被定罪的囚犯,具有相当的特殊性.应当采取有效措施,完善未决羁押者的劳动权保护制度,以提升其整体的权利保障水平.     

日本恢复刑事陪审团制度的动因及其合理性

近来,日本政府宣布将恢复和修改陪审法,建立陪审团制度,实现接近市民的司法.人们希望重新采用陪审团制度,以避免或尽量减少法官的错误裁判,并提升公众的司法信赖感.在陪审制度的类型选择上,日本政府面临英美陪审团制度和欧洲大陆混合法庭制度两种选择.在文化上,日本社会的等级制性质,对权威人物的高度信赖,日本人的团体意识及维持和谐的愿望,有利于陪审团制度的有效运行.在社会方面,日本社会的大多数人属于受过良好教育的、同质性的中产阶级,这有助于陪审团制度的功能与目标的实现.在法律上也没有阻止日本重新引进陪审团制度的障碍.因此,日本将会促成更可能是一种以英美模式为基础的陪审团制度.     

Taphonomic Marks on Pig Tissue Due to Cadaveric Coleoptera Activity Under Controlled Conditions

The aim of this work was to study taphonomic marks that cadaveric coleopteran can produce under controlled conditions. To evaluate this, pig trotters were initially exposed to adults of Dermestes maculatus De Geer at 21 ± 5°C and a 12:12‐h day/night cycle. Observations were made and photographs taken every 4–5 days for 9 months. When feeding and reproducing, D. maculatus produced, in both adult and larvae stages, different types of marks such as holes, striations, scratches, and pits in several kinds of tissue such as integumental, connective, and muscular, in both their fresh and dried stages. Bite marks were also evident. The results in this study provide not only taphonomic but also biological and forensic information. This is the first time that this kind of experiment has been performed.     

管制刀具治安管理探讨

近年来，虽然管制刀具的治安管理取得了很大的成绩，但是由于管制刀具本身异常锋利，在社会面上分散广泛．又具有“五个易’’的特点，治安管理形势依然严峻。对管制刀具进行科学有效的治安管理，首先要明确概念、范围和认定标准，系统梳理其管理法律法规，其次应针对当前存在的主要问题，提出相应的对策和建议。     

Occurrence of contamination by controlled substances in Euro banknotes from the Spanish archipelago of the Canary Islands

The social problems of drug abuse are a matter of increasing global problem. Nowadays, international agencies need fresh methods to monitor trends of the use of illicit drugs. In this sense, small amounts of drugs are transferred to banknotes and they could be detected and quantified. An analytical procedure based upon extraction with organic solvent, liquid chromatography separation, and mass spectrometric detection allowed the identification of 21 drugs and metabolites in 120 used Euro banknotes collected in the Canary Islands (Spain). Most of the banknotes analyzed showed detectable drug residues (92.5%). Cocaine was the most frequently detected drug, present in approximately 90% of the samples. In addition, 75%, 35%, and 15% of the banknotes showed residues of amphetamine derivatives, opiates, and benzodiazepines, respectively. An average of three drug residues per banknote was detected. In summary, the presence of drug residues in banknotes could be useful as tracer for drugs prevalence.     

How Much Time Should the Police Spend at Crime Hot Spots? Answers from a Police Agency Directed Randomized Field Trial in Sacramento,California

Hot spots policing has been shown to be an effective strategy for reducing crime across a number of rigorous evaluations, but despite this strong body of research, there still exist gaps in our knowledge of how officers can best respond to hot spots. We report on a randomized experiment in Sacramento, California that begins to address these gaps by testing the recommendation from prior research that police officers randomly rotate between hot spots, spending about 15?min patrolling in each. Our results suggest significant overall declines in both calls for service and crime incidents in the treatment hot spots relative to the controls. Additionally, the study was carried out primarily by the Sacramento Police Department without any outside funding. In an era of limited economic resources for policing, this experiment suggests a model by which police agencies can take ownership of science and oversee the implementation and evaluation of evidence-based interventions.