scholarly journals De betrouwbaarheid van verklaringen van kinderen

Pedagogiek ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-248
Author(s):  
Henry Otgaar ◽  
Corine de Ruiter
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
False Memories ◽  
Pivotal Role ◽  
Legal Decision ◽  
Legal Decision Making ◽  
Current Article

Abstract The reliability of children’s testimoniesChildren’s testimonies about abusive experiences can play a pivotal role in the criminal justice system. This is especially the case when other types of evidence (such as videos, technical traces) are absent. In such cases, it is imperative that children’s testimonies accurately reflect what they have experienced. In the current article, the reliability of children’s statements is discussed. We discuss what children can remember of traumatic incidents and elaborate on how children’s false memories can be relatively easily evoked. Furthermore, we discuss how children can best be interviewed using scientifically supported interview protocols. Children’s testimonies can be decisive in legal decision-making. Hence, it is of the utmost importance that these statements are reliable.

Tempering Expectations: A Qualitative Study of Prosecutorial Reform

2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-73
Author(s):  
Rebecca Richardson ◽  
Besiki Luka Kutateladze
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Path Dependence ◽  
Effective Implementation ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
Communication Challenges

Objectives: We investigate path dependence and barriers to the acceptance and implementation of reform-minded prosecution, which focuses on reducing unnecessary incarceration, promoting fairness, engaging with the community, and improving accountability in the criminal justice system. Method: Using semistructured interviews with 47 prosecutors in two Florida jurisdictions, both with newly elected state attorneys, we explore reform-minded prosecution priorities and barriers to their effective implementation. Results: Findings suggest that though reform-minded priorities are present in the study prosecutor’s offices, existing prosecutorial norms, case-focused decision-making, policy ambiguities, and communication challenges serve as barriers to their effective implementation. Conclusions: The study highlights the role that line agents play in determining the success of reform-minded prosecution. It also identifies key barriers to reform that reform-minded prosecutors must overcome if they are to achieve meaningful changes toward greater effectiveness, transparency, and impartiality in prosecution.

No gesture too small: An investigation into the ability of gestural information to mislead eyewitness accounts by 5-8-year-olds.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsty Johnstone ◽  
Mark Blades ◽  
Chris Martin
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Small Body ◽  
False Memories ◽  
Incorrect Response ◽  
Verbal Communication ◽  
Clinical Implications ◽  
The Uk

The accuracy of eyewitness interviews has legal and clinical implications within the criminal justice system. Leading verbal suggestions have been shown to give rise to false memories and inaccurate testimonies in children, but only a small body of research exists regarding non-verbal communication. The present study examined whether 5-8-year-olds in the UK could be misled about their memory of an event through exposure to leading gestural information, which suggested an incorrect response, using a variety of question and gesture types. Results showed that leading gestures corrupted participants’ memory, with the level of centrality (central details such as what and how, compared to peripheral descriptive detail) and saliency (how visible and expressive a gesture is) significantly affecting the level to which participants were misled, and even subtle gestures demonstrating a strong misleading influence. We discuss the implications of these findings for the guidelines governing eyewitness interviews.

Predictions of Dangerousness: An Argument for Limited Use

1988 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 263-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Miller ◽  
Norval Morris
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Court Decisions ◽  
Preferable Alternative ◽  
Supreme Court Decisions ◽  
Intense Debate

Intense debate has focused on the use of statistical predictions of dangerousness in the criminal justice system. Two conflicting positions maintain wide support: that such predictions are never appropriate in criminal justice decision-making, and that they should be used far more often. Recognizing the fact that implicit and intuitive predictions are made every day in police, prosecutorial, sentencing, and other decisions, and explicit but unscientific predictions are common, this article suggests a theoretical framework justifying limited use of statistical predictions. Statistical predictions may present, in some instances, a morally preferable alternative to biased nonscientific and implicit judgments. Development of a sound jurisprudence of predictions faces major hurdles given the trend toward unscientific predictions in the law and the enormous judicial confusion in dealing with predictions. The concept has contributed to a string of notably poor Supreme Court decisions.

scholarly journals Electronic monitoring and monitoring probation: The case of Ireland

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Moss
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Data Management ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Electronic Monitoring ◽  
Consultation Process ◽  
Current Article

Set against an environment of diverse reforms across the domestic criminal justice system, including new oversight arrangements, the current article considers how probation in Ireland has almost entirely escaped notice. A case for probation oversight is made on the basis of its caseload size but also a decade of unaccounted use of electronic monitoring (EM). Global EM use highlights questions about domestic probation standards, research and planning. Shortcomings within the legislative consultation process around the tool’s role, the lack of any evaluation of EM suppliers and increasing focus on data management to date also bolster a case for oversight of Irish probation. A principal issue within this set of challenges for probation is how EM might adjust traditional agency values. Overall, the contention is made that the assumed exceptionalism of Republic of Ireland’s criminal justice system, that which acts as a buffer to change, may no longer be valid.

Officers' perceptions regarding the unexpected effects of body-worn cameras

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 390-402
Author(s):  
Jordan C. Pickering
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
The United States ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThroughout the last decade, a number of empirical studies have assessed the effectiveness of body-worn cameras (BWCs) among law enforcement agencies across the United States. The purpose of this paper is to examine officers' perceptions regarding the impact this technology has had on police-community relations, as well as the working relationship between police and other actors in the criminal justice system (e.g. prosecutors, jurors).Design/methodology/approachThe author conducted focus groups with officers (n = 89) from two local law enforcement agencies in California that had adopted BWCs in recent years. Participating officers discussed advantages and disadvantages they associated with BWCs, as well as how BWCs have impacted their relationship with the public and justice system personnel.FindingsOfficers recognized advantages to using BWCs, including the potential for positive changes in police behavior and the ability to protect officers against false citizen complaints. Officers also identified a number of disadvantages (or consequences) they associate with BWCs, such as the depreciation of credibility behind an officer's word and the impact of video footage on prosecutorial decision-making.Originality/valuePrior studies have gathered officers' perceptions regarding BWCs, but very few have assessed whether and how the use of this technology by law enforcement influences other actors within the criminal justice system. The findings from this study may prompt further empirical consideration regarding BWCs, especially with regard to whether police use of this technology significantly impacts citizens' trust in the police and how their use may impact prosecutorial and juror decision-making.

Cumulative Racial and Ethnic Inequalities in Potentially Capital Cases

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-249
Author(s):  
Nick Petersen
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Death Penalty ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Ethnic Disparities ◽  
Race Ethnicity ◽  
Racial Ethnic ◽  
Multiple Stages

To understand how racial/ethnic disparities are formed and sustained within death penalty institutions, this study tracks homicide cases through multiple stages of Los Angeles County’s criminal justice system. Drawing upon cumulative disadvantage research, this study focuses on the accumulation of racial/ethnic biases across multiple decision-making points. Logistic regressions seek to answer the following questions: (1) does victim/defendant race/ethnicity influence prosecutorial decision-making? and (2) if so, do these racial/ethnic disparities accumulate across multiple stages of the criminal justice system? Results indicate that cases with minority victims are less likely to involve a death-eligible charge or death notice. Moreover, these racial/ethnic disparities increase as cases advance through the courts, producing a Whiter pool of victims at later stages in the process. Defendant race/ethnicity is not predictive of death penalty charging decisions but does moderate the influence of victim race/ethnicity such that cases with minority defendants and White victims are treated more punitively.

LGBTQ in the Courtroom

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan Blair Woods
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Juror Decision Making ◽  
Criminal Cases ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Sexuality And Gender ◽  
And Gender

This chapter reviews a limited but emerging body of research on biases that arise and affect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) jurors as well as juror decision-making when LGBTQ individuals are involved in criminal cases. The chapter also discusses recent research and legal developments surrounding jury selection and LGBTQ identity and describes debates over best practices to identify and combat anti-LGBTQ juror biases. Finally, the chapter reviews gay and trans “panic” defenses in cases involving the murders of LGBTQ individuals and examines other challenges that LGBTQ defendants and victims face in different criminal contexts. Although there is a need for future studies, the available research illustrates how challenges linked to sexuality and gender identity in the criminal jury system can compromise legitimacy and fairness in the criminal justice system more broadly.

Machine-Learnt Bias? Algorithmic Decision Making and Access to Criminal Justice

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-100
Author(s):  
Malwina Anna Wojcik
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Crime Mapping ◽  
The Us ◽  
Court Proceedings ◽  
The Uk

The pressure on the criminal justice system in England and Wales is mounting. Recent figures reveal that despite a rise in recorded crime, the number of defendants in court proceedings has been the lowest in 50 years. This indicates a crisis of access to criminal justice. Predictive policing and risk assessment programmes based on algorithmic decision making (ADM) offer a prospect of increasing efficiency of law enforcement, eliminating delays and cutting the costs. These technologies are already used in the UK for crime-mapping and facilitating decisions regarding prosecution of arrested individuals. In the US their deployment is much wider, covering also sentencing and parole applications.

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