Trends in the management of registered sexual offenders across England and Wales: a geographical approach to the study of sexual offending

Abstract

Social scientists, and geographers in particular, have long been interested in examining spatial patterns of offending in order to generate a “geography” of crime and criminality. This paper examines what value, if any, a geographical approach to the study of sexual offending might offer. Utilising published official data from England and Wales it presents for the first time geographical analyses of the registration, risk assessment and management of Registered Sexual Offenders (RSOs) across 42 Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangement (MAPPA) areas. In doing so it considers and evaluates the methodological issues pertaining to the use of such data and such a geographical approach. We conclude that geographical interpretations of both the incidence of RSOs and the rates of risk allocations between MAPPA areas provide valuable insights and raise new questions about the way in which RSOs are managed nationally and are thus worthy of further exploration.     

China’s Response to the Ebola Virus Disease in West Africa

This article examines the Chinese response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, first surveying Chinese interests in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Many Chinese workers have been evacuated and projects postponed. For the first time, China has extended humanitarian aid to countries facing a public health emergency. China is under pressure to ‘do something’ but faces its own developmental challenges as well as problems of logistics. Chinese knowledge of Africa is still relatively weak and uninformed. Although China’s assistance dwarves that from the other BRICS, the Ebola crisis has revealed problems in Sino-African relations, not least the gap between rhetoric and reality.     

侵害人视角下的正当防卫论

为扭转我国正当防卫审判实践中长期存在的唯结果论倾向,有必要从侵害人的视角出发,对正当防卫的教义学研究重新加以审视。正当防卫的本质除了法益保护,还在于侵害人因违反不得侵害他人法益的义务,主动使自己陷入法益冲突的险境,从而使自身法益的值得保护性下降。侵害人法益值得保护性的下降程度影响着防卫权边界的划定,从而与防卫限度的判断密切相关。如果站在实施防卫行为时,综合考量侵害行为给有效防卫造成的困难、侵害人给防卫人的安全带来的危险程度,能够认定防卫行为是为有效、安全地制止不法侵害所需的最低限度反击手段,则侵害人法益的值得保护性归于消灭,除非被损害的法益与被保护的法益在价值上存在极端悬殊的差别。     

Fatal Intoxication with Methoxetamine

Methoxetamine (MXE) is a new synthetic drug of abuse structurally related to ketamine and phencyclidine. A case of a 29-year-old male with acute toxicity related to the analytically confirmed use of MXE is reported. The man was found dead at his residence. Biological material was analyzed using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. The concentration of MXE in urine of the deceased was 85 μg/mL. Despite the vial containing the blood sample being destroyed during transportation and the blood leaking out into the cardboard packaging, the blood level of MXE was estimated. After determination of the cardboard grammage (approx. 400 g/m³) and the mean mass of the blood obtained after drying (0.1785 ± 0.0173 g per 1 mL), the estimated blood concentration of MXE was found to be 5.8 μg/mL. The high concentration of MXE in blood and urine and the circumstances of the case indicate an unintentional, fatal intoxication with this substance.     

The Impact of Daubert on the Admissibility of Forensic Anthropology Expert Testimony

Forensic anthropologists anticipated a significant impact from the 1993 Supreme Court Daubert decision, which addressed the standard of admissibility for expert testimony. In response, many forensic articles cited Daubert in the search for objective techniques or a critique of established subjective methods. This study examines challenges to forensic anthropological expert testimony to evaluate whether Daubert has actually affected the admissibility of such testimony. Thirty cases were identified that addressed the admissibility of the testimony, including 14 cases prior to Daubert and 16 after Daubert. Examination of these cases indicates that post‐Daubert cases do not result in more exclusions. Yet, this lack of exclusions may instead be viewed as a manifestation of the field's overall surge toward more objective and quantifiable techniques in a self‐regulating response to Daubert.     

区域法治还是区域法制?——兼与公丕祥教授讨论

区域法治发展的概念忽略了法治与主权的关系,在逻辑上不能自洽,区域的范围也难以准确划定,而且概念内涵也无法与地方法治进行有效区分。目前区域法治的研究带有强烈的问题导向,但无论是发展意义上的区域法治,还是协调意义上的区域法治,抑或是地方法治意义上的区域法治,都没有能够在法学视角下把握区域问题的本质。区域问题集中在区域合作、区域竞争和跨域公共事务治理等三个领域,它表明以地方政府为主体的区域关系事实上已经处于紊乱状态。因此,需要从中央立法、地方联合立法、区域行政和区域纠纷解决等四个方面加快区域法制建设。     

马来西亚《举报人保护法案（2010）》评析

举报人对遏制贪污腐败犯罪和其他不法行为的重要作用已被广泛认同。越来越多的国家开始注重和加强举报人保护法制的研究。马来西亚《举报人保护法案（2010）》是该国在反腐败法制建设方面的最新成果,是英、美等发达国家关于保护举报人的实践经验和先进理念同马来西亚国内实际的结合而成。该法案成功经验与失败教训值得我们深入探讨,以助于进一步夯实我国举报人保护法制建设的基础研究。     

Congressional Activism in the Foreign Policy Arena: A Case Study of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide

This article analyzes congressional activism during an international crisis. Using the 1994 Rwandan genocide as a case, this study explores executive–congressional relations during a time when immediate policy responses are needed. A content analysis of policy statements made during committees, on the House floor, and on the Senate floor is used to investigate the specific policy ideas proposed by members of Congress. The models presented pay particular attention to the actions of Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) members, in relation to other more common predictors of congressional activism. In addition to the results for CBC members, other conclusions indicate that foreign policy leaders in Congress are international affairs policy experts without serious concerns of being defeated in their next election.     

“万能制造机”背后的冷思考--3D打印技术安全风险及法律规制研究

3D打印作为一种快速成型技术,近年来发展迅速,有着良好的发展前景与应用空间。然而技术革新的背后潜在隐藏着知识产权、刑事犯罪以及人类伦理等多方面的安全风险,利用法律、政策规制3D打印技术迅猛发展可能带来的安全风险,既是保障社会治安管理秩序的关键,更是3D打印技术进一步发展与革新的前提与基础。     

警察介入家庭暴力法律制度之完善

家庭暴力法律规制,不仅涉及公权和私权的平衡、法律规制的方式方法,而且还关涉介入主体的安排和权限等。我国反家庭暴力在法制上存在明显的缺失与不足。通过对当前法律体系的反思,提出了一系列完善我国警察介入家庭暴力的法律制度构想。