What works with children and young people involved in crime

This review was commissioned by Audit Scotland in 2002 to examine the evidence on 'what works?' as it applies to children and young people involved in offending in Scotland. The first part of the paper provides a brief overview of research on factors associated with criminal behaviour in children and young people before considering research on effective intervention and change. The second paper provides an annotated summary of recent Scottish research in this field. Research tends to focus on individual change within a youth or criminal justice context. While responses to crime require to be informed by what seems to be effective in reducing criminal activity, they must, equally, be informed by our knowledge of the personal and social factors associated with criminal activity, by the nature of youth crime itself and by those important ingredients which assist young people sustain change over time and desist from offending. Factors associated with positive outcomes for children and young people cannot be considered separately from opportunities for social participation and social inclusion which are more difficult to document and measure

Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) Area Under the Curve (AUC): A Diagnostic Measure for Evaluating the Accuracy of Predictors of Education Outcomes

Early Warning Systems (EWS) and Early Warning Indictors (EWI) have recently emerged as an attractive domain for states and school districts interested in predicting student outcomes using data that schools already collect with the intention to better time and tailor interventions. However, current diagnostic measures used across the domain do not consider the dual issues of sensitivity and specificity of predictors, key components for considering accuracy. We apply signal detection theory using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) Area Under the Curve (AUC) analysis adapted from the engineering and medical domains, and using the pROC package in R. Using nationally generalizable data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002) we provide examples of applying ROC accuracy analysis to a variety of predictors of student outcomes, such as dropping out of high school, college enrollment, and postsecondary STEM degrees and careers. Keywords: ROC, AUC, Early Warning System, Early Warning Indicator, signal detection theory, dropout, college enrollment, Postsecondary STEM Degree, hard STEM career, soft STEM caree

Putting theory into practice - a case study in one U.K. Medical school of the nature and extent of unprofessional behaviour over a 6-year period

Producing a medical profession which is fit for the demands and expectations of society involves ensuring that practitioners learn what it means to behave in a 'professional' way. Codes of professional conduct have been developed for medical students in the UK, but the literature on how medical schools actually apply these is small. More detail is needed to evaluate approaches to assessing professionalism, or to analyse the extent to which students 'fail' this aspect

Increasing Police Accountability and Improving Use of Force Policies in the United States

Communities, and their respective police departments, have significant impacts on the social and legal matters they are involved with, making it crucial for both parties to strive to maintain strong, collaborative relationships. Positive interactions between police and the public are therefore extremely vital and beneficial to all involved. Police officers should be held accountable for their transgressions and subject to transparency for their on-duty actions through legal records. Several issues lie in the policies and procedures which requires more attention in its analysis. Changing policies and procedure in the United States regarding police use of force to remedy inconsistencies calls for a national standard and educational rework. Similar conclusions have been reached by the DOJ and NIJ regarding the problems of policing. The problems urgently require reform in order to create sustainability through an updated, and better managed utilized database on police records during the hiring process. This paper will explore the lack of de-escalation methods used in situations where police unnecessarily used force to take control of situations, instead of reserving their use of force as a last resort. Excessive use of force issues that stem from a lack of police accountability will also be explored

Algorithmic tools for data-oriented law enforcement

The increase in capabilities of information technology of the last decade has led to a large increase in the creation of raw data. Data mining, a form of computer guided, statistical data analysis, attempts to draw knowledge from these sources that is usable, human understandable and was previously unknown. One of the potential application domains is that of law enforcement. This thesis describes a number of efforts in this direction and reports on the results reached on the application of its resulting algorithms on actual police data. The usage of specifically tailored data mining algorithms is shown to have a great potential in this area, which forebodes a future where algorithmic assistance in "combating" crime will be a valuable asset.NWOUBL - phd migration 201

Recidivism among male trial-awaiting youth detained at Dyambu Youth Centre

Bibliography: leaves 108-113.The study investigates the problem of recidivism amongst male trial-awaiting youth detained at Bosasa's Dyambu Youth Centre (DYC), to determine whether their experiences with the variables under investigation have in any way influenced them to consider changes in their attitudes towards criminal behaviour. The research design in this study followed both quantitative and qualitative methodological orientations .An interview schedule was constructed in advance and applied in a standardised manner and was administered by the researcher, face to face with each respondent. Data were analysed and presented both quantitatively and qualitatively. Findings in this study revealed that financial gain, drug addiction and peer pressure were the major driving forces and motivating factors that influenced the respondents to become repeatedly involved in criminal behaviour. Lack of a stable source of income, denial of re-admission at school, rejection by family and friends and lack of stable home and accommodation were some of the major factors that made reintegration into the community difficult for the respondents during the period after their previous release. The findings in this study point to inadequacy of services with regard to prevention of crime and recidivism amongst juvenile offenders. Re-integration and after-care services were identified as an area that is grossly neglected in the field of probation and in social work services generally. Nearly all the respondents reported that they would like to abandon their criminal lifestyle but the situations that they face and various other factors highlighted in the study drive them to crime. The predominant factors identified by the respondents as influential in encouraging abandonment of criminal activities include: a fear of heavy criminal record, disgracing the family, the acquisition of various skills and knowledge from DYC workshops and classes; and their own individual thinking