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Leading causes of certification for blindness and partial sight in England & Wales

Prevention of visual impairment is an international priority agreed at the World Health Assembly of 2002--yet many countries lack contemporary data about incidence and causes from which priorities for prevention, treatment and management can be identified

British Trade with Spanish America Under the Asiento 1713-1740.

In 1713 England acquired the asiento contract to supply Spain's American colonies with 4,800 slaves annually and assigned the privilege to the South Sea Company. In compensation for expected losses in the slave trade, the Company was permitted to carry on an extensive trade in merchandise which competed with the traditional outlets for British trade to America. This need to rely on foreign contractors to supply slaves to the American colonies offered a threat to Spain's trading monopoly it was further eroded by the presence of British merchants residing at strategic ports throughout America trading in large quantities of contraband slaves and merchandise in addition to Company trade. Although the Spanish government took numerous steps to impede the Company's trade including the seizure of all Company property during the wars of 1718, 1727 and 1739 they were never able to convince the Company to relinquish the asiento for an agreed compensation. When the Company finally ceased trading at the beginning of the War of Jenkins' Ear, it was mainly because of dwindling returns and a new political environment in England. Although the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle which ended the war, provided for the Company to continue trading for another four years, it was in no position to resume the trade. Company agents had all returned to England at the beginning of the war and after a severe financial loss the directors concentrated on obtaining compensation. In 1750 the asiento contract was terminated and the South Sea Company paid £100,000 to cover their losses in the trade

Preventing crime: a holistic approach

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Ethnicity, gender and community sentences

Objectives This paper presents findings from administrative data analysis examining differences between ethnic groups and men and women in the number and type of requirements that make up community sentences as well as the effectiveness of different requirements in terms of successful completion of the sentence. Methods The paper presents findings from analysis of the Data First probation and criminal justice linked datasets. The analysis will focus on whether: • there are differences between ethnic groups and men and women in the number and type of requirements that make up community-based orders (rehabilitation, unpaid work, curfew and accredited programmes) • some requirements are more effective in terms of successful completion of the order. The paper presents findings from regression analysis used to examine the above relationships while controlling for other relevant variables such as age, number of previous convictions and offence type. Findings Graphs will be used to set out differences between broad ethnic groups and men and women in the total number of requirements which make up community-based orders and the proportion of offenders from each group which receive each of the main types of requirement namely: rehabilitation; unpaid work; curfew; and accredited programmes. Graphs will also be used to set out differences between the different order requirements in terms of successful completion. The paper will also present findings from regression analysis which will identify differences after taking account of other factors. The findings will of necessity be based on broad ethnic groups as it is unlikely that there will be sufficient numbers of people within more narrow ethnic groups to meet statistical disclosure criteria. Conclusion There is a lack of information on relationships between ethnicity, gender and community sentences. Better understanding of these relationships has been identified as crucial by HM Inspectorate of Probation. This paper provides more information on these relationships enabling policy decisions to be better targeted to provide equality of outcomes

The British superintendency of Mosquito Shore: 1749-1787

After an informal relationship between the Indians of the Mosquito Shore and the governor and merchants of Jamaica that had lasted for nearly a hundred years, Robert Hodgson was sent to the Shore in 1740 to organise the scattered English settlers and Indians for military campaigns on the Spanish Main during the War of Jenkins' Ear. When the war ended, the Board of Trade established a superintendency on the Shore naming Hodgson as superintendent. His government (1749-1759) was punctuated by disputes between the Mosquitos, Shoremen and Spanish which nearly erupted into a new war. The second superintendent, Richard Jones, was replaced at the outbreak of Anglo-Spanish hostilities in 1762 by Captain Joseph Otway, when it was felt that a field officer was needed on the Shore. However, the war soon ended and the Mosquito Shore during Otway's superintendency (1762-1767) experienced peace, growth and prosperity. At Otway's death in 1767, Robert Hodgson, son of the first superintendent, was named to the office. His superintendency soon deteriorated into a series of bitter feuds with the settlers and the governors of Jamaica. In 1775 Hodgson's enemies persuaded Lord George Germain to replace him with his worst adversary, James Lawrie. Lawrie was superintendent until the evacuation of the Shore in 1787, avoiding all attempts by Hodgson to force his removal from office. During Lawrie's superintendency (1776-1787) the Shore was used as a base for military operations in the Anglo-Spanish conflict of 1779-1783, and then as a refuge for American loyalists. Succumbing to constant pressure by the Spanish, England abandoned the Mosquito Shore in 1786 at the signing of the Mosquito Convention. The evacuation of British settlers was terminated in June 1787, and Spanish settlements were formed on the Shore immediately thereafter

“Treat them as a human being” : dignity in police detention and its implications for ‘good’ police custody

Here, we examine the factors influencing whether those detained by the police feel treated with dignity. We develop a human rights-oriented conception of dignity rooted in the equal worth of human beings, encapsulated in detainees’ desire to be “treated like a human being”. The predictors of this are examined using multilevel modelling of survey data collected from 371 detainees in 27 custody facilities in 13 police forces in England and Wales in an ESRC-funded study of ‘good’ police custody. We found that perceptions of the material conditions predicted feelings of dignity, as did detainees’ reactions to being detained, their perceptions of the culture of police custody and the mechanisms used to hold the police to account. Feelings of dignity were also less likely for younger adults and for BAME detainees, with these experiences being mediated by less trust in accountability mechanisms. This paper concludes by examining the implications for ‘good’ police custody

Suicide & Supervision: Issues for Probation Practice

Suicides by offenders in the community have been relatively under-researched in comparison with prison suicides. This study examined in-depth the events and experiences of 28 service users under probation supervision, based on continuous records from the start of their sentence to their death by suicide. The study presents novel findings through mapping suicidal behaviour on to the probation supervision process, and demonstrates the complex pathways leading to suicide in this population.Key issues identified include missed appointments, the impact of legal proceedings,changes in supervision, and the importance of recording risk