Evaluating Firearm Violence After New Jersey's Cash Bail Reform.

Importance: Reducing the pretrial detention population has been a cornerstone of movements to end mass incarceration. Across many US cities, there are ongoing public debates on policies that would end pretrial detention due to the inability to afford bail, with some raising concerns that doing so would increase community violence. Objective: To evaluate changes in firearm violence after New Jersey's 2017 bail reform policy that eliminated financial barriers to avoiding pretrial detention. Design, Setting, and Participants: This case-control study used synthetic control methods to examine changes in firearm mortality and combined fatal and nonfatal shootings in New Jersey (2014-2019). New Jersey was chosen because it was one of the first states to systematically implement cash bail reform. Outcomes in New Jersey were compared with a weighted combination of 36 states that did not implement any kind of reform to pretrial detention during the study period. Data were analyzed from April 2023 to March 2024. Exposure: Implementation of New Jersey's cash bail reform law in 2017. Main Outcomes and Measures: Quarterly rates of fatal and nonfatal firearm assault injuries and firearm self-harm injuries per 100 000 people. Results: Although New Jersey's pretrial detention population dramatically decreased under bail reform, the study did not find evidence of increases in overall firearm mortality (average treatment effect on the treated, -0.26 deaths per 100 000) or gun violence (average treatment effect on the treated, -0.24 deaths per 100 000), or within racialized groups during the postpolicy period. Conclusions and Relevance: Incarceration and gun violence are major public health problems impacting racially and economically marginalized groups. Cash bail reform may be an important tool for reducing pretrial detention and advancing health equity without exacerbating community violence.

Firearm Homicide Demographics Before and After the COVID-19 Pandemic.

This cross-sectional study evaluates changes in firearm homicide demographics before and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

3D scanning a crime scene to enhance juror understanding of Bloodstain Pattern Analysis evidence.

There are numerous crime scene investigation applications of 3D scanning that have been previously documented. This paper documents the application of a 3D point cloud in the presentation of Bloodstain Pattern Analysis evidence to mock jurors. 150 mock jurors viewed a presentation of Bloodstain Pattern Analysis evidence from a murder trial in the UK. After viewing the evidence, the participants were tested on their knowledge of the evidence and repeated the test again 2 weeks later; to simulate criminal trial conditions; whereby there is a time lapse between the initial viewing of evidential material and deliberation. This paper found that the mock jurors who additionally viewed a 3D flythrough of a point cloud of the crime scene, better retained knowledge of the evidence over time, reported a greater ability to visualise the crime scene and had higher levels of interest in the evidence. Crucially, the 3D flythrough group did not report different levels of confidence in the accuracy of their memories of the evidence, nor different levels of emotional arousal to the group that viewed the evidence without the 3D presentation. Together, these findings suggest that 3D scanning of crime scenes, and the resultant point cloud's presentation to jurors, could add further value to the justice system when spatial information, such as Bloodstain Pattern Analysis evidence, is presented.

States' Abortion Laws Associated With Intimate Partner Violence-Related Homicide Of Women And Girls In The US, 2014-20.

Women who are pregnant or recently gave birth are significantly more likely to be killed by an intimate partner than nonpregnant, nonpostpartum women of reproductive age, implicating the risk of fatal violence conferred by pregnancy itself. The rapidly increasing passage of state legislation has restricted or banned access to abortion care across the US. We used the most recent and only source of population-based data to examine the association between state laws that restrict access to abortion and trends in intimate partner violence-related homicide among women and girls ages 10-44 during the period 2014-20. Using robust difference-in-differences ecologic modeling, we found that enforcement of each additional Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP) law was associated with a 3.4 percent increase in the rate of intimate partner violence-related homicide in this population. We estimated that 24.3 intimate partner violence-related homicides of women and girls ages 10-44 were associated with TRAP laws implemented in the states and years included in this analysis. Assessment of policies that restrict access to abortion should consider their potential harm to reproductive-age women through the risk for violent death.

"There's room to do more": a mixed-methods study of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) diversion program and intimate partner violence in Georgia.

Introduction: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a risk factor for homicides and suicides. As poverty is both a predictor and a consequence of IPV, interventions that alleviate poverty-related stressors could mitigate IPV-related harms. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), a monthly cash assistance program, is one such potential intervention. In the state of Georgia, the TANF diversion program, which provides a non-recurrent lump-sum payment to deter individuals from monthly TANF benefits, is an understudied component of TANF that may influence the effectiveness of state TANF programs in supporting IPV survivors. Aim: This study quantifies and qualifies the role of Georgia's TANF diversion program in shaping IPV-related mortality. Methods: This study relies on a mixed-methods sequential explanatory design. Using data from the Georgia Violent Death Reporting System (GA-VDRS), an interrupted time series analysis was conducted to estimate the effect of TANF diversion on IPV-related homicides and suicides. Semi-structured interviews were then administered with TANF policy experts and advocates, welfare caseworkers, and benefit recipients (n = 20) to contextualize the quantitative findings. Results: The interrupted time series analysis revealed three fewer IPV-related deaths per month after implementing TANF diversion, compared to pre-diversion forecasts (coefficient = -3.003, 95%CI [-5.474, -0.532]). However, the qualitative interviews illustrated three themes regarding TANF diversion: (1) it is a "band-aid" solution to the access barriers associated with TANF, (2) it provides short-term relief to recipients making hard choices, and (3) its limitations reveal avenues for policy change. Discussion: While diversion has the potential to reduce deaths from IPV, it may be an insufficient means of mitigating the poverty-related contributors to IPV harms. Its limitations unveil the need for improved programs to better support IPV survivors.

In Vitro Fertilization, State Wrongful Death Statutes and State Fetal Homicide Statutes: The Reaction to LePage v. Center for Reproductive Medicine.

The Alabama Supreme Court recently held, in LePage v. Center for Reproductive Medicine, that the parents of human embryos that were negligently destroyed at a fertility clinic could bring an action for damages under the State's wrongful death statute. Although the Alabama legislature promptly enacted a law essentially overturning the state supreme court's decision, concerns have been raised that the court's decision might influence courts in other States to interpret their wrongful death statutes, or possibly even their fetal homicide statutes, to apply in similar circumstances, thereby threatening the availability of in vitro fertilization (IVF) technology. This article addresses those concerns.With respect to wrongful death statutes, only fourteen States (excluding Alabama) have interpreted their statutes to apply to unborn children without regard to their stage of gestation or development. The majority of States impose a gestational requirement (typically, viability) which would preclude their application to the destruction of human embryos. Even with respect to the minority of States that impose no limitation on the cause of action, those statutes, either by their express language or by fair interpretation, would not apply to unimplanted human embryos.With respect to the fetal homicide statutes in thirty-one States that do not have any gestational or developmental limitation, the statutes in twenty-six of those States apply only to acts causing the death of an unborn child in utero. As to the statutes in the other five States, the structure of the statute, considered in light of the applicable case law, strongly suggests that there would be no liability for causing the death of an unborn child before implantation. In sum, the Alabama Supreme Court's decision in LePage is not likely to be followed as a precedent in interpreting either the wrongful death statutes or the fetal homicide statutes of any other State.

To investigate the pattern of neck injuries and the role of toxicology in cases of hanging and manual/homicidal ligature strangulation in Ireland between 2016 - 2020: A retrospective review and analysis.

The pattern of neck injuries sustained in fatal cases of external compression to the neck is recorded during Post Mortem Examinations (PME), to assist in the interpretation of the circumstances that led to death. In this study, the PMEs performed for 298 cases of hanging and strangulation occurring between 2016 and 2020 in Ireland were retrospectively reviewed for the purpose of recording and collating the external and internal neck injuries observed during each PME, as well as the toxicology results for each decedent. Statistical analysis was performed to investigate potential novel associations between anthropometric variables pertaining to the decedents and the PME findings in cases of hanging and strangulation, serving to add further data to the existing body of research in this area and to assist in the resolution of future cases of hanging or strangulation where there are conflicting findings. In completing statistical analysis, it was found that there was no discernible association between the occurrences of cartilaginous neck fractures (CNFs) with increasing ligature width. Positive associations between increasing weight and BMI of the decedents were identified, and a significantly positive association between the increasing height of the decedent and the incidence of CNFs were identified. Analysis of the toxicology demonstrated that antipsychotics were implicated most frequently in cases of incomplete and complete hanging associated with CNFs and that opioids were implicated most frequently in cases of manual and ligature strangulation associated with CNFs. OBJECTIVE: To record the pattern of neck injuries sustained in retrospective cases of hanging and manual/ligature strangulation and to collate these findings so as to provide scientific evidence to support the interpretation of the findings in future cases of suicidal hanging and homicidal manual/ligature strangulation for the purpose of medicolegal investigation. To analyse the associations between the occurrence of neck fractures and anthropometric variables pertaining to the victims in cases of complete hanging. STUDY DESIGN: The reports of 298 Post Mortem Examinations (PMEs) performed for cases of hanging and manual/homicidal ligature strangulation between 2016 and 2020 in Ireland were retrospectively reviewed. Pseudoanonymised data sets were recorded for each report, which included the following parameters: neck injuries (soft tissue and cartilaginous), weight, height, BMI and ligature width, toxicology, noose position, ligature material, tongue protrusion, sex and age. Permission for the use of this data was sought from the pathologists and coroners involved in these cases. The data was analysed according to descriptive statistical methods and logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Logistic regression analysis was undertaken to examine the associations between unit increases in ligature width and increases in a set of physical characteristics of the decedents (weight, BMI and height) with the occurrence of CNFs. Increasing ligature width was not found to increase the likelihood of a CNF occurring, where the Odds Ratio (OR) for this event occurring was 0.9596. Unit increases in body weight and BMI were found to increase the likelihood of the occurrence of a CNF with ORs of 1.0166 and 1.0607 respectively. Increasing height of the decedent yielded an OR = 4.64, demonstrating that CNFs are significantly more likely to occur with increasing height (CI 95 %: 0.2915, 73.9559). CONCLUSIONS: According to the statistical analysis performed for this study, increasing weight, height and BMI are parameters of the decedents which increase the likelihood of the occurrence of CNFs in cases of complete hanging.

Violência doméstica: a pandemia de covid-19 provocou subnotificação de casos e/ou aumento de sua ocorrência? / Violencia doméstica: ¿la pandemia covid-19 ha causado un subreporte de casos y/o un aumento en su ocurrencia? / Domestic violence: has the covid-19 pandemic caused under-reporting of cases and/or an increase in their occurrence?

Introdução: O cenário pandêmico trouxe à tona e de forma potencializada alguns indicadores preocupantes acerca da violência domésticacontra a mulher.Dessa maneira, questiona-se: a pandemia de COVID-19 provocou diferença no número de ocorrências de casos de Violência Doméstica?Objetivo:Comparar a ocorrência de casos de violência doméstica contra mulheres em um estado brasileiro nos períodos de 2015 a 2018 e 2019a 2021 segundo dados da Polícia Civil do estado.Metodologia:Trata-se de um estudo documental e descritivo, realizado com dados secundários. As informações foram colhidas através da ouvidoria da Polícia Civil em 11 de março de 2021,a partir dos registros de boletins de ocorrências policiais sobre violência doméstica contra a mulher dos anos de 2015 a 2021.Resultados:Durante os anos de 2015 a 2021 foram registrados um total de 26.671 boletins de ocorrência por violência contra a mulher. De 2015 a 2018,a média mensal foi de 360,1ocorrênciase durante a pandemia, de 2019 a 2021, a média mensal foi de 360,9ocorrências. Notou-se um discreto aumento na quantidade de boletins de ocorrência feito durante a pandemia deCOVID-19, com destaque para 2020, que apresentou média mensal de 387,4ocorrências, período mais recrudescido da pandemia. A principal violência perpetrada foi a lesão corporal dolosa principalmente contra mulheres de 18 a 24 anos, que trabalhavam em casa ou estavam desempregadas.Conclusão:Apesar da falta de diferenças expressivas entre os anos pré e pós-pandemia, a análise reforça a urgência de discutir os fatores subjacentes à violência contra a mulher, especialmente a violência doméstica. Destaca-se a importância de medidas preventivas e de apoio às vítimas para enfrentar esse problema social. É essencial promover políticas visando uma sociedade mais segura e igualitária para todas as mulheres (AU).

Introduction:The pandemic scenario has brought to light, and in a intesified manner, some concerning indicators regarding domestic violence against women. Thus, the question arises: did the COVID-19 pandemic make a difference in the number of domestic violence cases? Objective: To compare the occurrence of domestic violence cases against Brazilian women in the periods from 2015 to 2018 and 2019 to 2021 according to data from the state's Civil Police. Methodology: This is a documentary and descriptive study, conducted with secondary data. The information was collected through the Civil Police ombudsman on March 11, 2021, based on police reports of domestic violence against women from 2015 to 2021. Results: During the year of 2015 to 2021, a total of 26,671 police reports of violence against women were registered. From 2015 to 2018, the monthly average was 360.1 occurrences, and during the pandemic, from 2019 to 2021, the monthly average was 360.9 occurrences. There was a slight increase in the number of police reports during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a peak in 2020, which had a monthly average of 387.4 occurrences, the most intense period of the pandemic. The main violence perpetrated was intentional bodily harm, mainly against women aged 18 to 24, who were either working from home or unemployed. Conclusion: Despite the lack of significant differences between pre and post-pandemic years, the analysis reinforces the urgency of discussing the underlying factors of violence against women, especially domestic violence. The importance of preventive measures and support for victims to address this social problem is emphasized. It is essential to promote policies aimed at a more equal and safer society for all women (AU).

Introducción: El escenario pandémico ha sacado a la luz algunos indicadores preocupantes sobre la violencia doméstica contra las mujeres. Entonces, surge la pregunta: ¿la pandemia de COVID-19 ha provocado una diferencia en el número de ocurrencias de casos de Violencia Doméstica?Objetivo:Comparar la ocurrencia de casos de violencia doméstica contra las mujeres en un estado brasileño en los períodos de 2015 a2018 y de 2019 a 2021 según datos de la Policía Civil del estado. Metodología:Se trata de un estudio documental y descriptivo, realizado con datos secundarios. La información fue recabada a través de la Defensoría del Pueblo de la Policía Civil el 11 de marzo de 2021,a partir de los registros de las denuncias policiales sobre violencia intrafamiliar contra las mujeres de 2015 a 2021.Resultados:De 2015 a 2021 se presentaron un total de 26.671 denuncias policiales por violencia contra las mujeres. De 2015 a 2018, el promedio mensual fue de 360,1 ocurrencias y durante la pandemia, de 2019 a 2021, el promedio mensual fue de 360,9 ocurrencias. Hubo un ligero aumento en el número de denuncias policiales realizadas durante la pandemia de COVID-19, especialmente en 2020, que tuvo un promedio mensual de 387,4 ocurrencias, el período más severo de la pandemia. La principal violencia perpetrada fueron lesiones corporales intencionales, principalmente contra mujeres de 18 a 24 años, que trabajaban en el hogar o estaban desempleadas.Conclusión:A pesar de la falta de diferencias significativas entre los años pre y post pandemia, el análisis refuerza la urgencia de discutir los factores que subyacen a la violencia contra las mujeres, especialmente la violencia doméstica. Se destaca la importancia de las medidas preventivas y de apoyo a las víctimas para hacer frente a esta problemática social. Es esencial promover políticas encaminadas a lograr una sociedad más segura e igualitaria para todas las mujeres (AU).

Race, disadvantage, and violence: A spatial exploration of macrolevel covariates of police-involved homicides within and between US counties.

Efforts to explore the macrolevel determinants of police-involved homicides have expanded in recent years due in part to increased scrutiny and media attention to such events, and increased data availability of these events through crowdsourced databases. However, little empirical research has examined the spatial determinants of such events. The present study extends the extant macrolevel research on police-involved homicides by employing an underutilized spatial econometric model, the spatial Durbin model (SDM), to assess the direct and indirect county effects of racial threat, economic threat, social disorganization, and community violence on police killings within and between US counties from 2013 through 2020. Results indicate a direct inverse relationship between racial threat and police-involved homicides, no support for economic threat, and a direct positive association with two measures of social disorganization. Additionally, we find firearm availability exhibits significant direct and indirect spatial dependence on focal county police-involved homicides, reflecting spatial spillover processes. In essence, as firearm availability in neighboring counties increases, police-involved homicides within a focal county increase. The implications of these findings for racial threat, economic threat, social disorganization, and community violence are discussed.

Homicide or Happiness: Did Folate Fortification and Public Health Campaigns Influence Homicide Rates and the Great American Crime Decline?

The last several years have witnessed a remarkable growth in research directed at nutrition and behavior, with increased interest in the field of nutritional criminology. It is becoming clear that dietary patterns and specific nutrients play an important role in cognition and behavior, including those related to aggression, violence, and antisocial activity. Included in this expanding knowledge base is the recognition that folate, through multiple pathways, including enzymatic reactions and gut microbiome ecology, plays a critical role in central nervous system functioning. These mechanistic advances allow for a retrospective analysis of a topic that remains unexplained-the sudden and unpredicted drop in homicide and other violent crime rates in the United States and other nations in the 1990s. Here, we revisit this marked reduction in homicide rates through the lens of the coincident public health campaign (and subsequent mandatory fortification) to increase folic acid intake. Based on objectively measured blood folate levels through the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, there is little doubt that tissue folate witnessed a dramatic rise at the national level from 1988 through 2000. Drawing from accumulated and emerging research on the neurobehavioral aspects of folate, it is our contention that this relatively sudden and massive increase in tissue folate levels may have contributed to reductions in violent crime in the United States.

Who is killing South African men? A retrospective descriptive study of forensic and police investigations into male homicide.

Not much is known about the perpetrators of male homicide in South Africa, which has rates seven times the global average. For the country's first ever male homicide study we describe the epidemiology of perpetrators, their relationship with victims and victim profiles of men killed by male versus female perpetrators. We conducted a retrospective descriptive study of routine data collected through forensic and police investigations, calculating victim and perpetrator homicide rates by age, sex, race, external cause, employment status and setting, stratified by victim-perpetrator relationships. For perpetrators, we reported suspected drug and alcohol use, prior convictions, gang-involvement and homicide by multiple perpetrators. Perpetrators were acquaintances in 63% of 5594 cases in which a main perpetrator was identified. Sharp objects followed by guns were the main external causes of death. The highest rates were recorded in urban informal areas among unemployed men across all victim-perpetrator relationship types. Recreational settings including bars featured prominently. Homicides clustered around festive periods and weekends, both of which are associated with heavy episodic drinking. Perpetrator alcohol use was reported in 41% of homicides by family members and 50% by acquaintances. Other drug use was less common (9% overall). Of 379 men killed by female perpetrators, 60% were killed by intimate partners. Perpetrator alcohol use was reported in approximately half of female-on-male murders. Female firearm use was exclusively against intimate partners. No men were killed by male intimate partners. Violence prevention, which in South Africa has mainly focused on women and children, needs to be integrated into an inclusive approach. Profiling victims and perpetrators of male homicide is an important and necessary first step to challenge prevailing masculine social constructs that men are neither vulnerable to, nor the victims of, trauma and to identify groups at risk of victimisation that could benefit from specific interventions and policies.

Homicide numbers, rates, and victims' characteristics in the Tri-City metropolitan area, Poland, between 2010 and 2019. / Liczby i wskazniki zabójstw oraz charakterystyka ofiar na terenie aglomeracji Trójmiasta w latach 2010-2019.

Despite a clear global downward trend, homicides still account for a relatively high proportion of all violent deaths, making them a serious problem both in Poland and worldwide. The discrepancy in available data prompted the authors of the study to analyse the numbers and rates of homicides and the characteristics of the homicide victims in the Tri-City area of northern Poland. The study was based on data from autopsy reports, supplemented by information from prosecutor's files on all homicides in the Tri-City area between 2010 and 2019. A total of 107 homicides were statistically analysed for age, sex, blood alcohol concentration at the time of death, time and place of death. The annual homicide rate was 1.24 per 100,000 inhabitants, with a clear downward trend over the period analysed. The average age of victims was about 48 years, and the majority of victims were male (70.1%). 92.5% of homicides were committed in the Tri-City, with a clear predominance of Gdansk (49.5%) over other, mostly rural, areas of the analysed agglomeration. The majority of victims (57.8%) whose blood alcohol concentration was measured were intoxicated, with a clear predominance of males in this group (70.9%). Victim characteristics and the homicide rates obtained from the analysed material were similar to other countries in Central and Eastern Europe, which may be related to historical, cultural, and demographic similarities. The study highlights the significant impact of alcohol abuse on the risk of homicide.

Trends in workplace homicides in the U.S., 1994-2021: An end to years of decline.

Workplace and non-workplace homicides in the United States (U.S.) have declined for over 30 years until recently. This study was conducted to address the change in trends for both workplace and non-workplace homicides and to evaluate the homogeneity of the change in workplace homicides by specified categories. Joinpoint and autoregressive models were used to assess trends of U.S. workplace and non-workplace homicides utilizing surveillance data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 1994 through 2021. Both workplace and non-workplace homicides decreased significantly from 1994 through 2014. Workplace homicides showed no significant trend from 2014 through 2021 (p = 0.79), while non-workplace homicides showed a significant average annual increase of 4.1% from 2014 through 2020 (p = 0.0013). The large decreases in the trend of workplace homicides occurring during a criminal act, such as robbery, leveled off and started to increase by the end of the study period (p < 0.0001). Declines in workplace homicides due to shootings also leveled off and started to increase by the end of the study period (p < 0.0001). U.S. workplace and non-workplace homicide rates declined from the 1990s until around 2014. Trends in workplace homicides varied by the types of the homicide committed and by the type of employee that was the victim. Criminal-intent-related events, such as robbery, appear to be the largest contributor to changes in workplace homicides. Researchers and industry leaders could develop and evaluate interventions that further address criminal-intent-related workplace homicides.

Factors associated with homicides of women in Brazil, by race or colour, 2016-2020. / Fatores associados ao homicídio de mulheres no Brasil, segundo raça/cor, 2016-2020.

This ecological, time-trend study examined rates of homicide against women residing in Brazil, by state and race/colour, from 2016 to 2020, by performing. Multiple analysis by regression model on longitudinal data. During the study period, 20,405 homicides of women were recorded in Brazil. Standardised homicides rates were higher among black women (6.1/100,000) than among white women (3.4/100,000). From 2016 to 2020, rates decreased 25.2%, from 4.7 deaths per 100,000 women in 2016 to 3.5 in 2020, with a statistically significant downward trend among both black and white women. Statistically significant inverse relationships were found between female homicide rates and HDI, illiteracy rate and proportion of ill-defined causes. The average homicide rate decreased in 2019 and 2020, as compared with 2016. Despite the decreasing time trend in homicide rates for both black and white women, they differed substantially by race, with worse outcomes for black women.

O objetivo deste estudo é avaliar as taxas de homicídios contra mulheres residentes no Brasil, segundo unidades da federação e raça/cor, no período de 2016 a 2020. Trata-se de um estudo ecológico de tendência temporal. Foi realizada análise múltipla adotando-se modelo de regressão para dados longitudinais. No período, ocorreram no Brasil 20.405 homicídios de mulheres e as taxas padronizadas mostraram que as mulheres negras (6,1/100.000) apresentaram as maiores taxas, em comparação às brancas (3,4/100.000). O Brasil apresentou queda de 25,2% de 2016 a 2020. A taxa de homicídio variou de 4,7 mortes por 100 mil mulheres em 2016 para 3,5 em 2020, mas a tendência decrescente e estatisticamente significante foi observada nas taxas de mulheres negras e brancas. As variáveis IDH, taxa de analfabetismo e proporção de causas mal definidas apresentaram uma relação inversa e estatisticamente significante com as taxas de homicídio de mulheres. Nos anos de 2019 e 2020 houve uma diminuição da taxa média de homicídio em relação ao ano de 2016. Apesar do decrescimento na evolução temporal das taxas para negras e brancas, houve diferenças raciais importantes nos homicídios de mulheres, com piores resultados para as mulheres negras.

Protocol for creating a dataset of U.S. state alcohol-related firearm laws 2000-2022.

Firearms are a major source of preventable morbidity and mortality in the United States, contributing to over 48,000 deaths in 2022 and generating societal costs in excess of $500 billion. A body of work has examined the relationship between US state level firearm laws and health outcomes, generally finding that some firearm regulations are associated with lower firearm-related mortality. Alcohol has been identified as an additional risk factor for both homicides and suicide and stronger state alcohol laws have been associated with lower rates of suicide. To date, there are no empirical studies that have investigated the impact of laws over a long period of time that target the intersection of alcohol and firearm. One reason for this may be because there is no existing dataset that includes the range of these state laws over time. This study describes the protocol for collecting, coding and operationalizing these legal data.

Research, practice, and data informed investigations of child and youth suicide: A science to service and service to science approach.

BACKGROUND: Suicide rates for children and adolescents have been increasing over the past 2 decades. In April 2023, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) convened a two-day workshop to address child and youth suicide. PURPOSE: The workshop focus was to discuss the state of the science and stimulate a collaborative response between researchers, death investigators, and data collection teams to build a science to service and service to science approach toward understanding - and ultimately preventing - this growing problem of child and youth suicide. HIGHLIGHTS: Topics that meeting participants highlighted as worthy of further consideration for research and practice were: increasing awareness among death investigators, medical examiners, and coroners that child suicide deaths under age 10 years do occur and should be investigated and documented accordingly; emphasizing the value of science based protocols for child and youth death investigations to enhance consistency of approaches; and articulating needs for postvention services to suicide loss survivors. OUTCOMES: The importance of collecting an accurate and complete cause and manner of death (i.e., unintentional, suicide, homicide, undetermined) among all child decedents, and demographic information such as race, ethnicity, and sexual/gender minority status was underscored as critical for enhanced surveillance. For prevention efforts, approaches to assessing and understanding suicidal thoughts and behaviors among diverse groups of children, and the variability in proximal and distal risk factors are needed to inform opportunities for preventive interventions for diverse communities. The need for consistent measures and processes to improve death investigations, fatality review committees, and coordination between data collection systems and agencies was also raised. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Collaborations among researchers, death investigators, and data collection teams can help to fully describe the child and youth suicide crisis and provide actionable information for new research, and prevention and response efforts.

Patients' Suits Against Psychiatrists for Not Preventing the Patients' Criminal Acts.

Patients who allege negligent treatment by their psychiatrists can sue to be compensated for the harms they experience. But what if the harms result from a criminal act committed by the patient that the patient claims the psychiatrist should have prevented? A long-standing common law rule bars plaintiffs from being compensated for harms caused by their own wrongdoing. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania recently considered the scope of this rule in the case of a psychiatric patient convicted of murder. Even when the rule is upheld, various exceptions may exist, and there is pressure to do away with an absolute bar on recovery of damages.

Fracture variation in survivable versus fatal blunt force trauma associated with intimate partner violence.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global human rights issue that affects approximately 25% of women and 10% of men and is the leading cause of homicides of women worldwide. Multiple interventional studies have been conducted to screen for IPV; however, fractures associated with intimate partner homicide (IPH) have not been studied from a forensic anthropological perspective. Therefore, this study uses computed tomography scans of IPH victims (n=33) obtained from the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator to 1) classify and quantify perimortem craniofacial blunt force fractures, and 2) compare the IPH-related fractures to those associated with non-lethal IPV using previously published studies. The results indicate that IPH cases presented similarly to non-lethal IPV cases in that they were concentrated on the middle and lower face, but fractures were more frequent in the upper face and cranial vault in IPH cases. While IPH cases showed more fractures, they were not necessarily associated with extensive fracturing, as 75.8% of IPH victims had five or fewer fractures-the most common being comminuted and linear fractures, comprising 93.8% of IPH-related fractures. As IPV is significantly underreported, understanding the nuances of fracture patterns associated with IPH can help to aid holistic forensic investigations.

A controlled method for the identification of forensic traces from clandestine grave fill.

Deceased human remains are often buried as a forensic countermeasure or method of disposal by homicide perpetrators. Owing to this, the excavation of clandestine grave sites is a task that forensic crime scene teams may only encounter a few times a year. Not all crime scene units have specialised teams for this task, and even those that do, may not have specific protocols for the optimal recovery of forensic traces retained within grave fill as procedures such as sieving require optimisation for the specific soil conditions of the jurisdiction. This study aimed to define the optimal sieving conditions for a sandy environment when searching for minute traces of paint, glass, hair and fibres. Furthermore, this study justifies the practice of retaining grave fill and examining it under controlled laboratory conditions, rather than in-situ adjacent to the grave site. The results demonstrate that using sieve mesh sizes as fine as 0.1 mm can recover up to 82% of the deposited traces and almost all paint, hair and glass traces. The processing of grave fill in the laboratory lead to increased yield of forensic evidence, which on a case-basis may warrant the increased time needed. These findings merit consideration for clandestine grave crime scenes where evidence is scarce or the case is likely to become cold.