Developing a Crime Harm Index for Western Australia: the WACHI

RESEARCH QUESTION Can a reliable measure of precise harm levels for the 100 most harmful and frequently occurring offences be developed in Western Australia (WA) based on analysis of actual court penalties for first-time offenders? DATA Criminal and traffic court sentences in 2.2 million records over 6.5 years were analysed to extract the number of days of imprisonment actually imposed in sentencing decisions for approximately 52,000 first-time offenders (see House 2017). METHODS Sentences for all first offenders in a sample of the 102 most common offence categories were analysed to compute for the median number of days of imprisonment to which each first offender was sentenced in each of the categories. Monetary penalties and conditional community sentences were converted to equivalent ‘prison days’ and added to the computation of the median of days of imprisonment per offence category. The number of reported offences in WA in the study period for each of the 102 categories was then multiplied by the median prison days sentenced per category. The sum of the products of median prison days times offence count was then tallied across all offence categories to form a weighted index of crime harm, which we define as the Western Australian Crime Harm Index (WACHI). Applying a minimum requirement of at least five separate court cases for each crime category, a total of 88 offence categories survived the reliability threshold for inclusion in the index. FINDINGS The 88 offence categories in the WACHI contain both high-harm and highvolume offences, permitting 95% of all offences reported for over 5 years to be assessed for WACHI scores. The counts for these offences moved in different directions from the WACHI total in two of the four year-to-year comparisons. Changes in WACHI were shown to have been highly sensitive to increased reporting of historical sex crimes, isolated in one district each of both Metropolitan Perth and one Regional centre. CONCLUSIONS Carefully implemented use of the West Australian CHI could improve both public safety and policing by adding precision to resource allocation decisions, assessments of priorities and evaluations of policing initiatives. The WACHI would be even more reflective of the changing level of harm to victims if all crime trends were to be based on crimes that occurred in the year under analysis, with separate reporting of crimes that happened many years ago. With that key adjustment, police professionals, department of justice officials, citizens and local governments can use a WACHI to make better decisions about how to prioritise policing in a wide range of contexts

Are There Critical Fatigue Thresholds? Aggregated vs. Individual Data

The mechanisms underlying task failure from fatiguing physical efforts have been the focus of many studies without reaching consensus. An attractive but debated model explains effort termination with a critical peripheral fatigue threshold. Upon reaching this threshold, feedback from sensory afferents would trigger task disengagement from open-ended tasks or a reduction of exercise intensity of closed-ended tasks. Alternatively, the extant literature also appears compatible with a more global critical threshold of loss of maximal voluntary contraction force. Indeed, maximal voluntary contraction force loss from fatiguing exercise realized at a given intensity appears rather consistent between different studies. However, when looking at individual data, the similar maximal force losses observed between different tasks performed at similar intensities might just be an "artifact" of data aggregation. It would then seem possible that such a difference observed between individual and aggregated data also applies to other models previously proposed to explain task failure from fatiguing physical efforts. We therefore suggest that one should be cautious when trying to infer models that try to explain individual behavior from aggregated data

Muscle Fatigue Affects the Interpolated Twitch Technique When Assessed Using Electrically-Induced Contractions in Human and Rat Muscles

The interpolated twitch technique (ITT) is the gold standard to assess voluntary activation and central fatigue. Yet, its validity has been questioned. Here we studied how peripheral fatigue can affect the ITT. Repeated contractions at submaximal frequencies were produced by supramaximal electrical stimulations of the human adductor pollicis muscle in vivo and of isolated rat soleus fiber bundles; an extra stimulation pulse was given during contractions to induce a superimposed twitch. Human muscles fatigued by repeated 30-Hz stimulation trains (3 s on-1 s off) showed an ~80% reduction in the superimposed twitch force accompanied by a severely reduced EMG response (M-wave amplitude), which implies action potential failure. Subsequent experiments combined a less intense stimulation protocol (1.5 s on-3 s off) with ischemia to cause muscle fatigue, but which preserved M-wave amplitude. However, the superimposed twitch force still decreased markedly more than the potentiated twitch force; with ITT this would reflect increased "voluntary activation." In contrast, the superimposed twitch force was relatively spared when a similar protocol was performed in rat soleus bundles. Force relaxation was slowed by >150% in fatigued human muscles, whereas it was unchanged in rat soleus bundles. Accordingly, results similar to those in the human muscle were obtained when relaxation was slowed by cooling the rat soleus muscles. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that muscle fatigue can confound the quantification of central fatigue using the ITT

Graduate police officers: releasing the potential for pre-employment university programmes for aspiring officers

The introduction of IPLDP (Initial Police Learning and Development Programme) provided Chief Constables with the opportunity to deliver initial police training through established police training approaches or involve other organisations. Since the 1970s there have been attempts by universities in the UK to engage with police services in the design and delivery of educational programmes for police officers. A variety of curriculums and new partnerships have evolved but there is little evidence of the contribution of these developments or whether these ‘new’ approaches differ significantly from traditional training regimes. There remains resistance from some quarters towards involving universities in the learning and development of police officers manifested by the Government's lead that situates the essential learning requirements of a police officer below higher education level. This article suggests that policing is at a crossroads and needs to decide now if it wants to be seen as a profession

Cherenkov Telescope Array Data Management

Very High Energy gamma-ray astronomy with the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is evolving towards the model of a public observatory. Handling, processing and archiving the large amount of data generated by the CTA instruments and delivering scientific products are some of the challenges in designing the CTA Data Management. The participation of scientists from within CTA Consortium and from the greater worldwide scientific community necessitates a sophisticated scientific analysis system capable of providing unified and efficient user access to data, software and computing resources. Data Management is designed to respond to three main issues: (i) the treatment and flow of data from remote telescopes; (ii) "big-data" archiving and processing; (iii) and open data access. In this communication the overall technical design of the CTA Data Management, current major developments and prototypes are presented.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, In Proceedings of the 34th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC2015), The Hague, The Netherlands. All CTA contributions at arXiv:1508.0589

Gender and police leadership: time for a paradigm shift?

Despite a number of initiatives aimed at improving the representation and progression of women in the police service in England and Wales, the number of women in leadership ranks remains low. At the same time, concern over the quality of police leadership has been at the forefront of much public debate in recent years. This article focuses on recent proposals to reform the way in which senior officers are recruited through a discussion of the appointment of non-sworn/'outsider' officers through the adoption of direct and multiple entry models of recruitment as outlined by the Winsor Review (2012, Independent review of police officer and staff remuneration and conditions. Part 2. http://review.police.uk/part-two-report/). Hailed as an opportunity to secure an alternative face to police leadership, we reflect on the growing disquiet over police leaders and leadership and consider the possibilities of such a reform agenda for the representation and progression of women in policing. We propose that although a multipoint system of entry for specialisation or leadership roles may offer a number of opportunities to a service in crisis, such a reform agenda may ultimately serve to threaten and further undermine women's participation and status in policing as 'outsiders'

Researching the use of force: The background to the international project

This article provides the background to an international project on use of force by the police that was carried out in eight countries. Force is often considered to be the defining characteristic of policing and much research has been conducted on the determinants, prevalence and control of the use of force, particularly in the United States. However, little work has looked at police officers’ own views on the use of force, in particular the way in which they justify it. Using a hypothetical encounter developed for this project, researchers in each country conducted focus groups with police officers in which they were encouraged to talk about the use of force. The results show interesting similarities and differences across countries and demonstrate the value of using this kind of research focus and methodology

Editorial: Fifty Campbell systematic reviews relevant to the policy response to COVID-19

This is the final version. Available on open access from Wiley via the DOI in this recordNational Institute for Health Research (NIHR

The development of policing in Britain in the next five years.

The British police service is currently going through a radical transformation phase. The present Tory-led coalition government has set out an agenda to bring about drastic changes in policing. These proposed changes are unprecedented in the history of policing since 1829. The police service is governed by a tripartite arrangement of checks and balances laid down under the Police Act 1964. By this I mean that there are three key players in relation to police governance in Britain: the Home Secretary, the local police authority and the chief constable. The future of policing in the next five years is set out clearly by the Home Secretary, Theresa May MP, under the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill, which is currently being reviewed in the House of Lords. The recent phone hacking scandal has made it imperative for the British public to have a closer look at the police service in relation to proper accountability. There have been references to police corruption as far back as the era of 'parish constables', dating back to 1800, when it was alleged that police officers took bribes, got drunk whilst on duty and lacked moral credibility to protect and serve us (Critchley, 1978). In the seventies and eighties the British public was informed of another scandal involving members of Scotland Yard and criminal gangs in the East End of London. In this article, I shall argue that the issue of police corruption is not a new phenomenon. It is has been an ongoing issue that has haunted the police for over a century. This article is divided into three parts. In the first part of the article I present the following issues: the Metropolitan Police policing plan 2011-2014; the merits and demerits of the policing plan; tripartite police accountability and its shortcomings; democratic accountability and localisation of policing; the professionalisation of policing and the creation of the Police Body; review of police pay and benefits; and the impact of this on police officers' morale. In the second part of my article I present some of the criticisms levelled against the ongoing police reforms. I will look at the criticisms from both internal and external perspectives. By internal criticism, I mean police officers' opposition to the reforms. By external criticism, I mean criticisms from criminologists and members of the British public. In the third part of my article I made my position clear on where I stand in relation to the ongoing police reforms. I shall argue that the current ongoing job cuts in the police service are a disaster waiting to happen, and that our safety has been compromised by politicians. We are now living at the mercy of criminals and law breakers due to manpower shortage. We are all living witnesses to the ongoing public disturbances in Tottenham, Enfield, Brixton, Peckham, Walthamstow and Croydon, in London. The speed of the spread of these riots to other cities like Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool occurred on an unimaginable scale. We all watched how difficult it was for the police to restore order and normality. Rioters looted and plundered goods and burnt down buildings as if no laws existed in our country. A complete breakdown of law and order put the lives of citizens at risk. My article makes a passionate appeal to the present coalition government to rethink the issue of reducing the numbers of police officers protecting us. I shall argue that we need more police officers in Britain not fewer. The level of anger and social discontent is higher than the government ever anticipated, partly because of economic hardship. My argument is that economic hardship is not an excuse to commit burglary, theft, arson, murder and criminal damage with intent to endanger life. Rioters are shameless opportunists, a bunch of hoodlums, criminals who have no place in any civilised society, who should be made to face the due process of law