The Effect of Lowering the Legal Drink‐Drive Limit on the Toxicological Findings in Driver Fatalities: A Comparison of Two Jurisdictions,

In December 2014, the legal blood alcohol limit for drivers in both Scotland and New Zealand was reduced from 80 to 50 mg/100 mL. This paper reports a retrospective study comparing changes in the toxicological findings in deceased drivers and motorcyclists before and after the limit change in both jurisdictions. A year of fatal motor vehicle crashes prior to and following the limit change is examined for both countries. In Scotland, there was an increase in drug prevalence among fatally injured drivers and motorcyclists, with the use of all drug groups increasing after the limit change, with the exception of cannabinoids. In New Zealand, there was a reduction in cases involving drugs only, but increases in the numbers of deceased drivers and motorcyclists positive for alcohol only and co‐using alcohol and drugs.     

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.     

The Cybercrime Convention Committee's 2017 Guidance Note on Production Orders: Unilateralist transborder access to electronic evidence promoted via soft law

This article provides a critical analysis of the Council of Europe Cybercrime Convention Committee's Guidance Note of Production Orders, published on 1 March 2017. The article looks at the legal controversies surrounding production orders with a cross-border element. It explains the Guidance Note's background and origins, the basic provisions in the Cybercrime Convention allowing the law enforcement authorities to order and obtain certain information and discusses the requirements that follow from the relevant provisions of the Convention. This analysis is complemented by four critical remarks on the way the Guidance Note pushes the boundaries of acceptable treaty interpretation on the necessity of the Guidance Note, its position in regard to extraterritorial enforcement jurisdiction and sovereignty, its reticence towards fundamental rights and its refusal to define or clarify the important notion of “subscriber information”. The article argues that unilateralism is not a solution. Instead of soft law plumbing, what is needed is an agreement between sovereign states checked by their constituencies.     

Background survey of polyethylene in the Australian Capital Territory – A demonstration of variability in isotopic abundance values and their application to forensic casework

Plastics including adhesive tapes, cable ties, and packaging are common evidence types encountered in forensic investigations and casework. Traditional examination techniques such as Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy lack specificity and are unable to discern differences within the same polymer structures leaving the analyst with a generic identification. High quality manufacturing methods further amplify the limitations in detecting variability between samples. Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (IRMS) has been shown to be a valuable technique in further discriminating plastics. Discrimination is achieved by analysing the relative abundances of stable isotopes within a sample, with differences detected in isotope ratios possibly attributed to the source of raw materials and fractionation during the manufacturing process. A survey of cling wraps and re-sealable zipper storage bags collected in the Australian Capital Territory was undertaken to assess the variability in carbon and hydrogen isotope ratios of different brands and samples. The results of this research are discussed, particularly with respect to within and between brand trends, and a case study is presented as an example of the value of including IRMS in a casework context.     

South Africa and Myanmar: Beware the politics of perfidy

The article examines the repressive actions of the government of Myanmar, focusing on its continuing incarceration of a Nobel Peace Prize Winner, and questions the diplomatic route South Africa has chosen in terms of its relations with the country.     

Gang activity in English prisons: The prisoners’ perspective

Abstract

Gang activity in American prisons has resulted in serious problems for prisoners and staff. This study assessed prisoners’ perceptions of gang-event frequency in the UK. Interviews with 360 prisoners from nine prisons in England and Wales indicated gang-related events were perceived as more frequent in all male categories of prison than they were in female institutions. Prisoners reported drug possession and prisoner groups being formed along regional origins as the most frequent gang-related activities. Recidivists perceived higher levels of gang-related activity than did first-time prisoners. Gang-related variables also predicted prisoners’ perceptions that groups of prisoners have more control over events in the prison than do staff and that order in the prison may not be maintained. The merits of interviewing prisoners and the implications of the results for maintaining order in prison are discussed.     

When Law and Order Returned to Denmark

The international trend toward increased use of punishment has been visible in Denmark since the early 1990s and has accelerated in the first years of the new millennium. As in other countries the trend cannot be explained by changes in crime or a political turn to the right. The increased use of punishment in (post) modern societies undoubtedly has a very complex background. The primary explanation put forth in this article is that it is based on a radical change in the human conditions and in the way people relate to their world. It is an existential revolution and, as such, it has emerged ‘from the bottom’ of society. This suggestion is not offered as an alternative to existing explanations that have been mainly dealing with factors and matters ‘from the top’ of society, such as changes in and of the political system (e.g. populism), the mass media (e.g. alarmism), the social organization of society (e.g. bureaucratization and/or industrialization), and globalization (e.g. imitation and/or internationalization of penal law). Rather, the hypothesis should be viewed as an important supplement to these existing theories and explanations.     

The Fate of the State Revisited

The State, which during the three and a half centuries since the Treaty of Westphalia (1648) has been the most important and the most characteristic of all modern institutions, appears to be declining or dying. In many places, existing states are either combining into larger communities or falling apart; in many places, organizations that are not states are challenging them by means fair or foul. On the international level, we seem to be moving away form a system of separate, sovereign, legally equal, states towards less distinct, more hierarchical, and in many ways more complex political structures. Inside their borders, it seems that many states will soon no longer be able to protect the political, military, economic, social and cultural life of their citizens. These developments are likely to lead to upheavals as profound as those that took humanity out of the middle ages and into the modern world. Whether the direction of change is desirable, as some hope, or undesirable, as others fear, remains to be seen.     

寻衅滋事之罪与罚

寻衅滋事罪是严重扰乱社会秩序的犯罪,该罪与故意伤害、强迫交易、敲诈勒索、故意毁坏财物等犯罪有共同之处,都存在伤害他人身体、毁坏或非法占有他人财物的客观行为,但构成此罪或是彼罪,争议较大。文章通过分析寻衅滋事罪的犯罪动机、主观故意、客观行为、侵犯客体以及刑罚适用,与其他相关犯罪作了比较区分。     

Sentence disparity in the federal courts and the adoption of sentencing guidelines

Pressure in the 1970's to reform the sentencing process can be attributed to a change in perceived public sentiment regarding the utility of treatment and to the belief that sentencing disparity was a severe problem in the sentencing process. Primary reform occurred in the federal judicial system with the development and implementation of rigorous sentencing guidelines. An evaluation of sentencing patterns for one federal judicial district indicates that sentencing disparity was not severe. Most federal offenders are relatively mild and consistently receive relatively mild sentences.