A Hero’s Welcome? Exploring the Prevalence and Problems of Military Veterans in the Arrestee Population

The potential for veterans to end up in the criminal justice system as a result of physical and psychological problems that may be combat‐related has generated much interest, illustrated most recently by the development of specialized veterans’ courts. However, little is known about how often veterans are arrested and incarcerated, the nature of their problems, or the extent to which their military service has contributed to their criminality. Using interview data from 2,102 arrestees booked in Maricopa County (AZ) during 2009, this paper examines the problems and prior experiences of arrested military veterans and compares veteran and non‐veteran arrestees along a range of measures. Results indicate that veterans comprise 6.3% of the arrestee population, and that more than 50% of veterans report suffering from at least one combat‐related problem including physical injury, post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), other mental health problems, and substance abuse. Multivariate analysis indicates that veteran arrestees differ from non‐veterans on a number of key measures, most notably more frequent arrests for violent offenses and greater use of crack cocaine and opiates. The paper concludes with a discussion of implications for the potential link between military service and criminality as well as for criminal justice policy and practice.     

Prevalence and Characteristics of Co‐Offending Recruiters

Previous examinations of co‐offending have identified a subset of high‐rate offenders who commit crimes with a large number of co‐offenders, most of whom are younger and less criminally experienced. These so‐called “recruiters” are of particular interest to researchers and practitioners, because of their potential role in facilitating offending onset and recidivism among their co‐offenders. In this paper, data on 61,646 individuals detected by a large UK police force are used to identify offenders who fitted the recruiter profile, and to compare their individual and offending characteristics with those of non‐recruiters. In total, 86 recruiters were identified. In multivariate analyses, recruiters were found to be older than non‐recruiters and were typically involved in property crimes. In addition, they tended to offend in criminal groups that were more heterogeneous and stable than non‐recruiters. These findings suggest that a small but identifiable group of recruiters can be detected using official data and that these individuals may be important targets for police attention and court treatment.     

Community In‐Reach Through Jail Reentry: Findings from a Quasi‐Experimental Design

Offenders face a number of significant challenges upon reentry into the community, including securing employment, locating housing, and accessing adequate substance abuse and mental health treatment. These and related issues, if neglected, only bolster rising recidivism rates which have prompted renewed interest in rehabilitation initiatives such as inmate reentry. Many jurisdictions have implemented programs designed to improve offenders' success after prison, but jail reentry programs are far less common. This study examined the effectiveness of one such program, the Auglaize County (OH) Transition (ACT) Program. Using a quasiexperimental design, recidivism was measured a year after release to determine if participation in the ACT Program was predictive of successful reentry. Findings suggest that program participation is strongly related to outcome success as was criminal history. Implications for correctional policy and suggestions for additional jail reentry research are considered.     

An Assessment of the Quality of Homicide Data in the Supplementary Homicide Reports: A Research Note

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)’s Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR) is a national-level incident-based data clearinghouse for homicide events in the USA used in countless research studies to track homicide trends, test theory, and analyze policy. Despite its wide use, the SHR has well-known limitations. This research note examines the accuracy of the information in the SHR by comparing homicide cases in Newark, New Jersey with their respective data to determine the level of disagreement between the data sources, which variables exhibit the greatest disagreement, and the case-related variables related to the disagreement. Uniquely, we do this for cases where offenders are known in the SHR. Our findings suggest that variables such as victim-offender relationship and circumstance have high disagreement even when the SHR reports an offender, and that the most important covariate of this is time to close the homicide investigation with an arrest. Research implications of the results are discussed.     

自救还是他救：受害人的权利救济问题研究

受害人是指所有认为自己的权利受到侵害的人,受害人的权利源于自然状态中人的生存需要和人作为人的道德资格,应当首先承认每个人都有认定自己权利受到侵害的主观权利,赋予每个人确认受害人的资格和自由。在这个前提下,区分"命不好的人"、"受苦的人"和"特殊的不幸的人"才具有现实基础,也为甄别不同形式的救济理论确立了立论的基础和方向。现代权利救济理论承认受害人作为权利主体和救济主体的双重身份,它的使命在于贯彻自我救济的权利这一核心观念,从而与道德范式下的怜悯论和神学意义上的救赎学拉开了距离,以此张扬人的价值和自我救赎的世俗意义,为与一种合乎正义的社会结构相契合的善政或权利的道德提供驱动力。     

The suitability of using domestic pigs (Sus spp.) as human proxies in the geophysical detection of clandestine graves

Research in many forensic science fields commonly uses domestic pigs (Sus spp.) as proxies for human remains, due to their physiological and anatomical similarities, as well as being more readily available. Unfortunately, previous research, especially that which compares the decompositional process, has shown that pigs are not appropriate proxies for humans. To date, there has not been any published research that specifically addresses whether domestic pigs are adequate human proxies for the geophysical detection of clandestine graves. As such, the aim of this paper was to compare the geophysical responses of pig cadavers and human donor graves, in order to determine if pigs can indeed be used as adequate human proxies. To accomplish this, ground penetrating radar (GPR) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) responses on single and multiple pig cadaver graves were compared to single and multiple human donor graves, all of which are in known locations within the same geological environment. The results showed that under field conditions, both GPR and ERT were successful at observing human and pig burials, with no obvious differences between the detected geophysical responses. The results also showed that there were no differences in the geophysical responses of those who were clothed and unclothed. The similarity of the responses may reflect that the geophysical techniques can detect graves despite what their contents are. The study implications suggest that experimental studies in other soil and climate conditions can be easily replicated, benefiting law enforcement with missing persons cases.     

Application of Micro‐Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy to Ink Examination in Signatures Written with Ballpoint Pen on Questioned Documents

Questioned documents examined in a forensic laboratory sometimes contain signatures written with ballpoint pen inks; these signatures were examined to assess the feasibility of micro‐attenuated total reflectance (ATR) Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy as a forensic tool. Micro‐ATR FTIR spectra for signatures written with 63 ballpoint pens available commercially in Korea were obtained and used to construct an FTIR spectral database. A library‐searching program was utilized to identify the manufacturer, blend, and model of each black ballpoint pen ink based upon their FTIR peak intensities, positions, and patterns in the spectral database. This FTIR technique was also successfully used in determining the sequence of homogeneous line intersections from the crossing lines of two ballpoint pen signatures. We have demonstrated with a set of sample documents that micro‐ATR FTIR is a viable nondestructive analytical method that can be used to identify the origin of the ballpoint pen ink used to mark signatures.     

Trigemino‐Cardiac Reflex as Lethal Mechanism in a Suicidal Fire Death Case

In the vast majority of immediate fire deaths, the mechanism of death is inhalation of toxic gases (especially carbon monoxide), direct thermal injury, or neurogenic shock due to the redistribution of the body's blood volume produced by surface heat on the skin. We present a suicidal case that is unusual because the mechanism of immediate fire death could arguably be explained in terms of a primitive autonomic reflex/the trigemino‐cardiac reflex. Although this reflex is well known to surgeons and anesthetists, with possible lethal consequences in the course of invasive surgical procedures on the head and neck region, it is much less familiar to forensic pathologists.     

Frequency and Clinical Features of Patients who Attempted Suicide by Hara‐Kiri in Japan

Hara‐kiri is a unique Japanese custom, primarily stemming from the manners and customs that a samurai held. The aim of the present study was to investigate the clinical features of individuals who attempted suicide by hara‐kiri. We enrolled 647 patients who had attempted suicide. Clinical features were compared between those who had employed hara‐kiri and those who had used other methods. 25 of the 647 subjects had attempted suicide by hara‐kiri. The ratio of men to women and the proportion of patients with mood disorders were significantly higher in the hara‐kiri group than in the other methods group. The average length of stay in either the hospital or in the intensive care unit was also longer in the hara‐kiri group than in the other methods group. Hara‐kiri is an original Japanese method of attempting suicide, and suicide attempts by hara‐kiri may be aimed at maintaining a reputation or taking responsibility.