scholarly journals Not ‘Very English’ - on the Use of the Polygraph by the Penal System in England and Wales

2020 ◽  
pp. 002201832097628
Author(s):  
Kyriakos N Kotsoglou ◽  
Marion Oswald
Keyword(s):  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Legal Order ◽  
Penal System ◽  
Test Results ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Counter Terrorism ◽  
Police Investigations ◽  
Policies And Procedures ◽  
Scientific Institutions ◽  
Polygraph Testing

One of the most striking developments in the penal system in England and Wales is the increasing use of the polygraph by probation services. Despite severe criticism from scientific institutions and academic discourse, the legal order increasingly deploys the long-discredited polygraph in order to extract adverse statements from released offenders. Our article is structured as follows: First, we summarise the statutory and regulatory framework for the current use of the polygraph in the monitoring of sex offenders released on licence, and the proposed expansion of the polygraph testing regime as set out in the Domestic Abuse Bill and the Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Bill respectively. We then review our findings in respect of governing policies and procedures uncovered by our FOI-based research, highlighting the concerning lack of consistency in respect of both practice and procedure. In the subsequent sections we set out the main arguments deployed by polygraph proponents, and posit our view that none of these arguments can withstand scrutiny. We conclude by proposing a moratorium on any further use of the polygraph by the State, in order to thoroughly evaluate its effect on the integrity of the legal order, human rights and, more generally, the Rationalist aspirations of the penal system. In addition, and given already existing law, we propose a process of independent oversight and scrutiny of the use of the polygraph in licence recall decisions and other situations impacting individual rights, especially police investigations triggered by polygraph test results.

Newborn Screening Fact Sheets

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 98 (3) ◽  
pp. 473-501 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Newborn Screening ◽  
The United States ◽  
Screening Tests ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Screening Programs ◽  
American Academy Of Pediatrics ◽  
Policies And Procedures ◽  
Children And Parents ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Current Screening

These newborn screening fact sheets were developed by the Committee on Genetics of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) with considerable assistance and consultation from many individuals. It is hoped that the information contained in these fact sheets will assist the pediatrician in understanding the individual tests, their characteristics, and their strengths and weaknesses. Newborn screening is an individual function of each state; therefore, screening programs are not uniform throughout the United States (Table). Because the test results can affect children and parents in a variety of ways, there are special concerns about how states make decisions to adopt new tests and how they evaluate their current screening panels. Currently, many states are examining their practices. The informatiion in the fact sheets was not designed to advocate specific newborn screening tests but to assist pediatricians in evaluating policies and procedures and in developing appropriate positions based on the needs of their patients and their geographic regions.

A survey of forensic psychologists’ work with sex offenders in England and Wales

1994 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
JULIA C. HOUSTON ◽  
PAULINE THOMSON ◽  
JILLIAN WRAGG
Keyword(s):  
Sex Offenders ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Forensic Psychologists

Risk, discretion, accountability and control: Police perceptions of sex offender risk management policy in England and Wales

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 433-450
Author(s):  
James Hoggett ◽  
Kieran McCartan ◽  
Jack O’Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Sex Offender ◽  
Current System ◽  
Management Policy ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Mixed Methods Approach ◽  
And Control

This article argues that understanding current approaches to sex offender risk management and its operationalization must account for front line situational decision-making practices and the culture from which they develop and operate. The research utilizes a mixed-methods approach, combining an online questionnaire survey ( N = 227) with a series of semi-structured interviews ( N = 27) with members of the police service of England and Wales. Analysis identifies ambivalence about the effectiveness of the current system of categorizing sex offenders and suggests concerns about accountability and a lack of resources results in discretion being used to engage with but also negotiate policy in practice. The article suggests that the task for sex offender risk management is to create classification tools that work with this discretion rather than against it.

scholarly journals Protecting vulnerable suspects in police investigations in Europe: Lessons learned from England and Wales and Belgium

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 313-334
Author(s):  
Lore Mergaerts ◽  
Roxanna Dehaghani
Keyword(s):  
Lessons Learned ◽  
European Level ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Police Investigations ◽  
Ideal Approach ◽  
Domestic Level

This article provides an analysis of the provisions relating to vulnerable suspects, with a focus on adults, in England and Wales and in Belgium. In doing so, the various problems and lessons learned from each jurisdiction are examined. Situated within the context of how these provisions have been developed, both at a domestic level and at a European level, we argue that neither system offers an ideal approach to the vulnerability of suspects, but we also posit that the two jurisdictions can learn from one another in their approach. Herein, we suggest that both jurisdictions must do more to protect adult vulnerable suspects and offer potential avenues for improvement.

Restorative youth detention: The way forward?

2020 ◽  
pp. 174889582097325
Author(s):  
Katherine Doolin
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Restorative Justice ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Penal System ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Complex Needs ◽  
The Way

This article explores a range of normative, conceptual and practical issues that arise from utilising restorative justice with young people in custody in England and Wales, and considers the appropriateness of doing so within the coercive and oppressive space that prison occupies. It is suggested that, while there are some clear benefits for victims and offenders, there is a need to proceed with caution. This is because children who are incarcerated are particularly vulnerable in addition to simply their age owing to the resilience required to survive a penal system that can be isolating and dangerous, as well as their often complex needs, and difficult life histories. This is also because there is a need to ensure that the process adheres to the ethos of restorative justice, and does not divert attention from the current problems within the youth secure estate or the pressing need to continue reducing child imprisonment.

scholarly journals Poliomyelitis surveillance in England and Wales, 1969–1975

1978 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. W. G. Smith ◽  
P. J. Wherry
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Capacity ◽  
Paralytic Poliomyelitis ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Marker Test ◽  
Type 3 ◽  
Temperature Test

SUMMARYPoliomyelitis continued to be a rare disease in England and Wales in the period 1969–75. Only 31 paralytic and 44 cases of possible non-paralytic poliomyelitis were recorded during the 7 years.Of the 31 paralytic cases approximately one third were vaccine-associated; 3 were patients who had recently received oral poliovaccine and 7 had been in contact with a vaccinated person. Five of these 7 patients were parents of recently vaccinated children. The rate of vaccine-associated poliomyelitis was estimated in recipients to be 0·2 and in contacts 0·4 per million doses of vaccine given.Marker test results were reported on 555 strains of poliomyelitis virus isolated during 1969–75, using the reproductive capacity temperature test. Forty-eight (8·6%) resembled wild virus in this property, 15 strains being type 1, 8 type 2 and 25 type 3. Most of these isolations of apparently wild virus were from excreters with no symptoms of poliomyelitis, although 3 of the 15 type 1 strains were from patients with paralytic poliomyelitis and 3 from possible cases of non-paralytic poliomyelitis. None of the 8 apparently wild type 2 viruses was from a case of paralytic illness and only 1 of the 39 type 3 strains.Eleven of the 31 paralytic cases were in patients in whom the infection was likely to have been acquired abroad.

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