Civilian Forensic Technician and Sworn Police Officer Job-Related Stress

Forensic Technicians provide crime scene investigation services and are exposed to stressful violent crimes, motor vehicle accidents, biological or chemical hazards, and other appalling imagery. Forensic Technicians would likely experience physical and psychological stress after exposure to trauma, and security vulnerabilities similar to Sworn Police Officers. The perceived availability of mental health resources, job-related physical, psychological stress, and traumatic experiences of both Forensic Technicians and Sworn Police Officers from California law enforcement agencies were investigated using a self-reported survey. Responses were evaluated for any significant differences in the perceived stress, job-related physical stress, and resulting psychological impact affecting the participants. The survey contained a mix of True/False, Circle/Check the Appropriate Box, or Likert Scale (1–5) responses. The results were evaluated statistically and discussed. Results indicated Sworn Police Officers and Forensic Technicians have different on-duty stress levels, but similar off-duty stress levels. Nearly two-thirds of 54 job-related stressors were not significantly different between the two occupations. However, Forensic Technicians reported more adverse effects in 17 physical and psychological job-related activities compared with Sworn Police Officers. Forensic Technicians reported lower awareness levels and availability of agency mental health support services than were reported by Sworn Police Officers. This study reports for the first time an unexpected outcome that perceived and job-related psychological stress is greater for Forensic Technicians than Sworn Police Officers. Possible reasons for this disparity will be discussed as well as stress management tools that should be implemented to reduce health risk factors for both career professionals as well as increase public safety.     

Silence of the Innocents: Undocumented Immigrants’ Underreporting of Crime and their Victimization

Do undocumented migrants underreport crimes to the police in order to avoid being deported? And do criminals exploit such vulnerability? We address these questions using victimization surveys and administrative data around the 1986 U.S. immigration amnesty. The amnesty allows us to solve two major identification issues that have plagued this literature: migrants’ legal status is endogenous and unobserved. The results show that the reporting rate of undocumented immigrants is 17 percent, which limits the immigrants’ ability to protect some of their fundamental human rights. However, right after the 1986 amnesty, which disproportionately legalized individuals of Hispanic origin, crime victims of Hispanic origin show enormous improvements in reporting behavior. The implied increase in the reporting rate by amnesty applicants is close to 20 percentage points.     

Improved Area of Origin Estimation for Bloodstain Pattern Analysis Using 3D Scanning

An important component of crime scene reconstruction is bloodstain pattern analysis (BPA). Where BPA concerns impact patterns, estimating the area of origin is critical information for scene reconstruction. Traditionally, this is achieved by measuring individual bloodstains and performing trigonometric calculations; however, 3D scanning has been proposed as a viable alternative for overcoming logistical and practical concerns with the manual method. Therefore, this project aimed to establish whether the FARO Focus 3D scanner and FARO Zone 3D software can improve the accuracy of area of origin estimates relative to the manual method. We created a series of eight bloodstain impact patterns and performed paired analysis using the two methods to estimate areas of origin for each pattern. Our data suggested that FARO-derived estimates were generally more accurate than using the manual method. FARO-estimated heights of origin areas were generally closer to the true distance. Both methods underestimated the distance from the wall for most patterns originating 150mm or greater from the wall, but overestimated distances for patterns originating closer to the wall. The degree to which distances were underestimated increased significantly the further the blood source was from the wall and was greater for FARO-derived estimates. The results of this research contribute to the validation of these instruments for operational implementation for BPA and should be considered alongside the practical benefits of 3D scanning relative to manual methods. Further, 3D scanning can provide reliable BPA reconstruction documentation for technical review and court presentation.     

涉案财产处置程序的完善——以审前程序为视角的分析

近年来,中国司法同时步入扫黑除恶和企业产权保护的元年,针对审前程序中涉案财物处置乱象问题,有必要厘清与规范涉案财物处置相关的制度与程序,强化民营企业产权司法保护。应当正确界定涉案财产的概念与范围,合理把握涉案财物的处置方式和处置标准,在区分程序性处置和实体性处置的基础上,从职能、权力和程序三个方面强化审前涉案财产处置的控制体系。为了应对实践中存在的处置任意化、程序偏行政化、移送和保管混乱等问题,应以取证规范化为基础强化涉案财物的审查认定,丰富涉案财物的保全措施体系,对审前处置程序进行正当化改造,建立和完善涉案财产集中管理制度。     

民法典编纂对财产犯罪法益保护的影响

在民法之外,重新构建一个仅适用于刑法中财产犯罪法益保护的判断标准,既无必要也不现实。财产犯罪法益保护扩张的主要目的是为了入罪,不论是“利益的法益化”还是“管理的占有化”,都是以保护法益之名行扩张犯罪圈之实。犯罪圈的不当扩张,不仅会有损整体法秩序,还会弱化乃至消解法益甄别法与不法的机能。部门法之间的紧张关系在任何法律体系下都是无可避免的,民法典编纂为解决“刑民倒挂”问题以及增加法秩序统一性原理在刑民之间的衔接度提供了重要契机。为此,应重新梳理刑民之间围绕财产、占有、管理等方面的争议问题,将民法所确定的财产法益内容作为财产犯罪法益保护的基本依据,并允许刑法根据财产犯罪的特点对法益保护范围作出适当调整。这样做的目的不是通过民法给刑法套上枷锁,而是在遵循法秩序统一性原理的基础上达成应有的刑民共识。     

Stage model for female criminals: business school students’ perceptions of white-collar offenders

We know that half of the population in Norway is female, and we know that females represent 6% of the white-collar crime prison population. In the stage model overview, we derive percentages from the literature into the gender model to explain stepwise reduction from 50% to 6%. In our empirical research, we asked two groups of business school students to come up with their own estimates for the stages in the model for female criminals. While estimates from executive students resulted in 3% women in prison, bachelor students’ estimates resulted in 10% women in prison. The most obvious discrepancy between the research literature and our two survey groups is related to relative convictions. Based on the literature, we suggested that female defendants receive more serious convictions because they may perceive and feel more guilt for a crime, for example in terms of regret, shame and depression. Thus women may have a tendency to confess more easily. Both executive students and bachelor students disagree with this estimate of 140%, as they suggest 62% and 69% respectively. One reason for their suggestion of less serious convictions for female white-collar criminals – sometimes labelled pink-collar criminals – might be that family situation and other elements are taken into account before a verdict is passed on a woman. Another substantial discrepancy is related to detection risk. The literature suggests a low detection risk for women, but may be not as low as we estimated at 30%. Both executive and bachelor students believe that the gender difference in detection likelihood is not that formidable, as they suggest 75% and 65% respectively.     

东盟地区公共产品供给模式与困境分析

近年来,随着地区合作与一体化进程的发展以及相应的地区政治研究的兴起,地区公共产品理论已在地区主义发展的实践领域产生了越来越强的解释力。一般而言,水平较低、进展缓慢的地区合作进程,很大程度上就是由于该地区的公共产品供给不足而引起,东盟即是如此。作为一个由中小国家组成的地区组织和一个处于发展与建构中的一体化进程,在其几十年的发展中始终存在地区公共产品供给不足的困境,并明显地制约了其地区合作进程的发展。东盟要想实现《东盟宪章》提出的目标,在共同体建设中加强合作,推进地区认同和制度化建设,从而增加地区公共产品的供给,缓解供给不足的困境是东盟的必然选择。     

构建和谐社会与环境犯罪之预防

构建社会主义和谐社会是我国社会主义建设理论的又一重大突破,也是我们急需研究的重要课题。社会主义和谐社会的建成,是我国实现富强、民主、文明的社会主义强国的目标,也是社会主义发展的主要标志。自然生态环境是人类生息劳作的地球家园,是构建和谐社会的重要因素,分析环境犯罪的概念状况和新特点,提出预防环境犯罪的对策,对构建和谐社会具有理论和现实意义。     

生产、销售有毒、有害食品罪的成立与中止

生产、销售有毒、有害食品罪属于抽象危险犯,我国《刑法》144条规定：在生产、销售的食品中掺入有毒、有害的非食品原料足以严重危害人体健康的,才能认定抽象危险的产生,才成立犯罪。这种抽象危险产生后,也只意味着作为未遂的危险的发生,并不意味着既遂。故在抽象危险产生后,实害发生之前,只要行为人及时采取有效措施避免实害发生的,仍能成立犯罪中止。本罪与投放危险物质罪之间存在想象竞合关系,在两罪同时成立的情况下,应从一重处断。     

浅析计算机犯罪取证与反取证

计算机犯罪取证主要围绕证据的获取和证据的分析。主要过程包括保护和勘查现场、获取物理数据、分析数据、追踪源头、提交结果等。计算机反取证就是删除或者隐藏入侵证据,使取证工作无效。反取证技术主要有数据擦除、数据隐藏等,数据擦除是最有效的反取证方法。从取证与反取证两方面分析计算机犯罪的特征,研究反取证技术的根源,可有效地保护国家信息网络安全,打击犯罪。