Safety in Stockholm’s Underground Stations: An Agenda for Action

The objective of this article is to propose an agenda for interventions to prevent or reduce crime and disorder at underground stations in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. The article first reports the nature, the levels, and the patterns of crime and disorder across time and space. Different types of crime are analyzed and specific conclusions are drawn for each type of crime which relate to the suggested interventions presented in this article. Findings lend weight to principles of situational crime prevention to improve security in transport nodes, with overlaps with routine activity and social disorganization theories. Intervention measures comprehend suggestions on both environmental design related changes and more complex social aspects regarding the reduction of crime at transport nodes. Suggestions for interventions at Stockholm’s underground stations, as presented here, constitute an illustration of what can be achieved with situational crime prevention principles; however, they may not be regarded as a “one-size-fits-all” solution to the demands and challenges of safety in transport nodes elsewhere.     

Coordinated European Governance: Self‐Organizing or Centrally Steered?

Now that it is widely accepted that the European Union (EU) constitutes a system of governance, analysts need actively to explore precisely how it may affect the continuing struggle better to coordinate national and European administrations. In its 2001 White Paper on governance, the European Commission interpreted governance to mean less central control and more network-led steering. Its interpretation of such networks is that they are self-organizing. Drawing upon an empirical study of environmental policy integration (EPI) in the EU, this article shows that this vision may not adequately fit the multi-actor, multi-level coordination challenges associated with some EU problems. By studying the administrative capacities that the European Commission and three member states have created to achieve better environmental coordination, this article shows significant administrative weaknesses. It concludes that the coordination challenges now troubling the EU require a more thoughtful discussion of network management than the White Paper suggests.     

To What Extent are Cost Savings Passed on to Consumers? An Oligopoly Approach

Competition policy often asks whether a “fair share” of the benefits from cost savings obtained through mergers or agreements is passed on to the consumers. We assess the factorsthat determine cost pass-on in some partial-equilibrium oligopoly models, and show that, although the strength of the pass-on varies from one situation to another, there are some rules of thumb that give a first approximation of the pass-on rate. We also show that, contrary to common belief and to what is written about the subject in the European Commission's guidelines on the application of Article 81(3), in most circumstances cost pass-on does not depend on the price elasticity of demand nor on the market share of the cost saver, and that with competition the pass-on of firm-specific cost savings is weaker than without. JEL Classification: C72 (non-cooperative games), D43 (oligopoly), L40 (antitrust policy)     

Rapid GC–MS confirmation of amphetamines in urine by extractive acylation

Amphetamine and related derivatives are widely abused central- and psychostimulants. Detection of certain derivatives, such as methcathinone, by commonly available immunoassay screening techniques is insufficient. Multi-analyte confirmations for amphetamine type stimulants are therefore required, but traditional gas chromatography–mass spectrometry methods necessitate lengthy analytical procedures with prolonged sample turn-around times. A validated rapid GC–MS assay for urinary confirmation of amphetamine, methamphetamine, methcathinone, ephedrine, norephedrine, methylenedioxyamphetamine, methylenedioxymethamphetamine, methylenedioxyethylamphetamine and N-methyl-1-(3,4 methylenedioxyphenyl)-2-butanamine is reported. The method entailed in situ derivatization of urine specimens by extractive acylation with pentafluoropropionic anhydride, followed by rapid chromatography on a microbore capillary column. Analytes were separated in less than 3 min and quantified simultaneously by selected-ion monitoring using stable isotope substituted internal standards. The total instrument cycle-time was 6 min per sample. The limits of detection were between 1.5 ng/mL and 6.25 ng/mL for the various analytes. Intermediate precision and accuracy were in the range of 6.3–13.8% and 90.5–107.3% for the respective analytes at the lower limit of quantitation, and between 5.8–12.6% and 95.4–103.1% for the high control. Long-term storage of methcathinone positive specimens at ?20 °C proved insufficient stability of this analyte. The proposed assay is precise and accurate for confirmation of amphetamine and derivatives in urine. The complementary approach of extractive-derivatization and fast GC–MS analysis is especially applicable in routine clinical settings where reduced sample turn-around times are required. Further investigation of cathinone as a possible metabolite of methcathinone is warranted, based on results from analyzed authentic urine samples.     

How online insourcing might improve EU policy development—the view from inside the European Commission

Perhaps policy‐makers are not the most progressive of actors when it comes to incorporating online technologies in their everyday workflow, but they are certainly not dismissive of the Internet and its potential for policy‐making (e.g. European Commission, 2011 , 2012 ). Could online insourcing, for example, be a way to improve the quality of new legislation? This article presents the current view from the European Commission (‘EC’). We have found that many of its Directorates‐General (‘DG’) are actively investigating into the possibilities of insourcing more and better policy contributors at the pre‐legislative stage, by means of online technology. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Utilization of X‐ray Computed Tomography for the Exclusion of a Specific Caliber and Bullet Type in a Living Shooting Victim

A bystander claimed to have been shot by a police officer, and CT scans were used to match qualitative and quantitative aspects of the unremoved bullet with police issued 9 mm Luger ammunition. CT scan methodology proved a valid approach for the measurement of bullets based on calculated measurement capability and correlation with “gold standard” physical measurement by vernier caliper. Measurements regarding length and base diameter, as well as length/diameter ratio, were insufficient to unambiguously identify a specific caliber, or a bullet of specific mass within a caliber class. It was, however, possible to exclude a bullet of specific design and mass with well‐characterized precision and accuracy values under selected CT scan conditions. A 9 mm Luger bullet (115 gr FMJ RN) was excluded from involvement in a shooting based on qualitative bullet shape combined with length, base, and ratio measurements of the bullet in‐situ for the victim.