ReportWire

Tag: Government/Law

  • Vehicle stop study illuminates importance of officer’s first words

    Vehicle stop study illuminates importance of officer’s first words

    [ad_1]

    BYLINE: Travis Williams

    Eugenia Rho believes in the importance of first impressions, especially during vehicle stops.

    An assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science, Rho is the lead author of a new research paper that illustrates how a law enforcement officer’s first 45 words during a vehicle stop with a Black driver can often indicate how the stop will end.

    “We found that there’s a key difference in how officers talk to Black drivers during the first moments of stops that end in an arrest, handcuffing, or search versus those that don’t end in such outcomes,” said Rho, who leads the Society, AI, and Language (SAIL) research lab at Virginia Tech. “Simply put, the officer starts off with a command rather than a reason in escalated stops.”

    Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, the peer-reviewed research also found that Black men could often predict a stop’s outcome simply by listening to those same 45 words, which generally spanned less than 30 seconds.

    “There’s a clear linguistic signature to escalated vehicle stops. It was discerned by trained coders, computational language models, and perhaps most importantly, by Black male citizens,” Rho said.

    Rho began this research as a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University, working alongside Jennifer Eberdhardt, a professor of organizational behavior and psychology, and Dan Jurafsky, a professor of computer science and linguistics.

    The research team, which also included researchers from the University of Michigan, analyzed audio recordings and transcripts from police-worn body cameras from 577 vehicle stops that occurred over the course of a month in a medium-sized, racially diverse city in the U.S. The data included stops that ended in arrest, handcuffing, or searches and those that did not, but did not include any stops in which force was used.  

    One reason the team decided to focus on Black drivers was they were disproportionately represented in the data, according to Rho.  

    “We limited the study to Black drivers because less than 1 percent of the escalated stops included non-Black drivers in our sample,” Rho said. “We included both male and female drivers, but escalated stops were predominately male drivers.”

    The data was used in two studies included in the paper, one focused on officer language used during a traffic stop’s earliest moments and a second aimed at better understanding the perception of Black men when hearing those same words. A third section of the paper includes a case study that examines the first moment of the traffic stop involving George Floyd in May 2020.

    Dissecting the dialog

    In the first study, researchers used computational linguistics and hand annotation to analyze the transcripts by identifying dialog acts, such as greeting, commands, questions, reasons, and more.

    “Dialog acts are like conversation road maps, Rho said. “They show not only what the speaker is trying to do – like ask a question or give an order – but also how that piece of conversation fits into the larger discussion, helping to guide what might be said next.”

    When analyzing the findings, controls were set in place to account for factors that could impact the language used, such as the reason the driver was pulled over, the area’s crime rate, and more.

    “During vehicle stops, officers might ask for ID, explain why the driver was pulled over, or give a ticket. We were interested in how the balance of these dialog acts might differ between escalated and non-escalated stops,” Rho said.

    Findings

    The study found that the stops ending in escalation were almost three times more likely to begin with the officer issuing a command to the driver and 2 1/2 times less likely to provide a reason for the stop.

    “We found that stops that end escalated, often start escalated,” Rho said.

    Evaluating the experience

    During the second study, researchers played the audio from the traffic stops in the first study to a nationally representative sample of 188 Black male U.S. citizens ranging in age, region, education, and political ideology. Each participant was asked to listen to 10 stops at random – five that ended in escalation and five that did not – from the perspective of the driver and were then surveyed about their feelings and predictions for the stop’s outcome. 

    Findings

    Black male participants appeared to use officer language as a guide to whether they believed the stop would end with the driver being handcuffed, searched, or arrested. They predicted that 84 percent of stops that involved an officer giving orders with no reasons would escalate. In addition, they worried about force being used in more than 80 percent of the stops that involved orders and no reasons as compared to only 47 percent of stops that involved reasons with no orders.

    A present pattern in other stops?

    Having found escalated vehicle stops carry a unique “linguistic signature” – the officer gives an order without stating the reason for the stop – the researchers wanted to see if the same signature was present in stops that involve force. As a case study, the team examined the initial moments between Floyd and the officer who first approached him during the highly publicized encounter on May 25, 2020.

    Findings

    In less than 30 seconds of Floyd’s interaction with the officer, the officer delivered 57 words across nine speech turns, made up only of physical orders. Floyd, in his 11 speech turns, extended apologies, sought reasons for the stop, declared innocence, expressed fear, and pleaded with the officer. Yet every dialog act from Floyd was met with a singular response from the officer: an order.

    Better practices, better relations

    At a time when vehicle stops ending in the use of force often gain national attention, Rho said the team felt it important to better understand police-citizen interactions during more common vehicle stops. 

    “The most common way for the average citizen to encounter law enforcement is through vehicle stops,” Rho said. “So we really wanted to better understand how we can improve communication between officers and citizens during those encounters.”

    While both studies reveal valuable insights, Rho said she hopes the observation is not where the reach of this paper ends.

    “We want this study to really start conversations around how we can inform training around de-escalation practices for law enforcement and potentially a better understanding of how to facilitate relations between Black communities and law enforcement as well,” Rho said.

     

    [ad_2]

    Virginia Tech

    Source link

  • Access To Quality Anesthesia Care Increased for Indiana Dental Patients

    Access To Quality Anesthesia Care Increased for Indiana Dental Patients

    [ad_1]

    Newswise — Rosemont, Ill. (AANA) – Indiana dental patients now have increased access to safe anesthesia care with the enacting of Indiana Senate Bill 273. The American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA) applauds the new law, as it expands the scope of practice for Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs), allowing CRNAs to administer moderate sedation, deep sedation, or general anesthesia to a patient in a dental office, under the direction of and in the immediate presence of a physician.

    Megan Engelman, DNP, CRNA, president of the Indiana Association of Nurse Anesthetists, applauded the legislation citing, “It is an important step in advancing patient safety and providing skilled anesthesia care throughout the state.”

    “As an increasing number of patients of all ages and health comorbidities seek sedation and anesthesia for dental procedures in office-based settings, patient safety is the top priority in the delivery of these services,” said Engelman.

    Sedation for any dental procedure increases the complexity of care and emphasizes the importance of having sedation and anesthesia provided by an anesthesia professional, such as a CRNA, who is focused only on patient safety, monitoring, and vigilance. “Each patient has a unique response to medications utilized for sedation and anesthesia. As anesthesia experts, CRNAs are available to continuously monitor the patient, and can focus on changes in the patient’s condition and intervene as necessary in emergent situations,” said Engelman. “Even for what would be considered routine dental care like cavity fillings, a discussion of the anesthesia delivery plan is important to address any concerns and help the patient and the patient’s caregivers move forward to treat the dental health issues.”

    CRNAs are highly educated, trained, and qualified anesthesia experts. They provide 50 million anesthetics per year in the United States, working in every setting in which anesthesia is delivered. CRNAs are skilled to provide safe, high-quality, and cost-effective care as members of patient-centered dental care teams in all settings, including dental offices, in accordance with state law.

    As trained anesthesiology professionals, CRNAs have the education and experience to react quickly to emergency situations in dental care settings, possess the expertise to administer the anesthesia and focus solely on the patient’s condition, and intervene as necessary if critical events occur during the procedure.  

     

    [ad_2]

    American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology

    Source link

  • Study: New York’s Bail Reform Law Did Not Increase Crime

    Study: New York’s Bail Reform Law Did Not Increase Crime

    [ad_1]

    Newswise — ALBANY, N.Y. (May 26, 2023) — New York’s bail reform law had a negligible effect on crime, a study by a recent PhD recipient and a professor in UAlbany’s School of Criminal Justice (SCJ) found.

    Bail reform has been a hotly debated issue in New York and throughout the United States, with proponents arguing that a cash bail system is unfair to poorer defendants and opponents arguing that setting bail for those arrested deters crime. In 2019 New York lawmakers passed a law eliminating bail for most misdemeanors and some non-violent felony charges, with the accused allowed to go free until a court hearing or released with conditions such as electronic monitoring. An amendment that went into effect in July 2020 rolled back some aspects of the reform, expanding the list of offenses eligible for cash bail.

    The SCJ study, “Does Bail Reform Increase Crime in New York State: Evidence from Interrupted Time-Series and Synthetic Control Methods,” was published earlier this month in Justice Quarterly. Led by Sishi Wu, who received her PhD from SCJ in April, it’s the first study to evaluate the effects of New York’s bail reform law on the entire state and “the first attempt to disentangle the effects of bail reform and national historic events” such as the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Wu and co-author David McDowall, a distinguished teaching professor at SCJ.

    Their study found that murder, larceny and auto theft increased after bail reform, but that bail reform itself did not contribute to that increase.

    “We used data from the New York State index crimes, consisting of monthly crime counts for seven offenses: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft,” Wu said. “Monthly crime data from other states were also collected from the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting program to create a control group to compare with New York.”

    Jail population dropped in the state from 2019 to 2020 — one of the goals of bail reform. During the same period, violent crime rose by 1% in the state and murders increased by nearly 47%, from 570 in 2019 to 836 in 2020. However, this increase could be attributed to the pandemic, which caused disruptions ranging from a lack of work and income to a lack of social services.

    To account for the pandemic, the authors compared New York crime data with a control group constructed of other states similarly affected by the pandemic that did not reform their bail laws. That comparison showed “NYS experienced 0.02 more murder, 6.16 more larcenies, and 1.16 more motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 people per month than its control series after the bail reform” – not a statistically significant increase, the study found.

    “Using findings such as ours, legislators and stakeholders can better address public safety concerns when continuing the implementation of bail reform,” McDowall said.

    Read the Justice Quarterly article here.

    [ad_2]

    University at Albany, State University of New York

    Source link

  • Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions Hosting Panel Discussion On Alcohol Misuse and Gun Violence June 1 at Noon

    Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions Hosting Panel Discussion On Alcohol Misuse and Gun Violence June 1 at Noon

    [ad_1]

    The Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, based at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, is hosting an online panel on Thursday, June 1 at noon EDT, to discuss a new report highlighting the dangerous intersection of alcohol misuse and gun violence. The report, “Alcohol Misuse and Gun Violence: An Evidence Based Approach,” was released earlier this month by the Consortium for Risk-Based Firearm Policy, a group of leading experts that advances evidence-based gun violence prevention policies, and the Center for Gun Violence Solutions. Alcohol misuse is a risk factor for all forms of gun violence, including homicides and suicides. The report includes policy recommendations aimed at reducing this risk. The panelists—experts in gun violence and public health—will discuss the report’s policy recommendations and research cited in the report. The briefing will be moderated by Silvia Villarreal, MPP director of research translation at the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, with opening remarks from Josh Horwitz, JD, co-director of the Center for Gun Violence Solutions.

    ***Register for the Briefing*** 

    Panelists include: 

    • Rose Kagawa, PhD, MPH, University of California, Davis
      • Assistant professor, Department of Emergency Medicine.
      • Faculty member, the Violence Prevention Research Program.
    • Michelle Spencer, MS, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
      • Associate director, the Bloomberg American Health Initiative.
      • Deputy Director of Equity and Community Partnerships, Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions.
      • Associate scientist, Department of Health Policy and Management. 
    • Jeff Swanson, PhD, MA, Duke University
      • Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine.
      • Faculty affiliate, Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law School, the Center for Firearms Law at Duke Law School, and the Center for Child and Family Policy at Duke Sanford School of Public Policy.


    WHEN:     Thursday, June 1, 2023, at 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. EDT


    REGISTER:     Media must register in advance here.

    # # #

    [ad_2]

    Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

    Source link

  • Memorial Day should unite Americans, says expert

    Memorial Day should unite Americans, says expert

    [ad_1]

    Each Memorial Day, James Dubinsky takes some time to reflect.

    A retired U.S. Army veteran and now an associate professor of English at Virginia Tech who works with veteran communities, Dubinsky said each Memorial Day he remembers friends who died while serving, often by reading what other veterans have written. He also reflects on the meaning of Memorial Day.

    The holiday was first commemorated as Decoration Day a few years after the Civil War when veterans used flowers to decorate the graves of Union soldiers who died in combat. Veterans and families from the Confederate states held their own celebrations as well. By the end of the 19th century, Memorial Day ceremonies were held on May 30 throughout the nation. It was not until after World War I that the day was expanded to honor those who have died in all American wars, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

    “Memorial Day has a powerful national meaning in how it has been, on some level, not only a day of remembrance but also a day of reconciliation,” Dubinsky said. “Given the partisan divide in our country, we might do well to give this holiday more visibility. Regardless of one’s political perspective, this holiday could be a topic for study and reflection in all history classes. As a lesson in civics or civic engagement, everyone could learn something of value.”

    In general, veterans often commemorate Memorial Day privately, in reflection and prayer, Dubinsky said. He reads and reflects on poems about war and poems written by veterans to learn about healing from these conflicts. Some of those poems include Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “Decoration Day” and  “In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae, a Canadian soldier and doctor in World War I.

    “While it is a national holiday and many celebrate with picnics and parades, Americans would benefit from taking a few moments to stop and reflect on the meaning of the day – why it exists, when it came into being, what it says about our country, and how it came to honor those who died to preserve it,” Dubinsky said.

    “As a country, we might most effectively honor the many who have died for us by focusing on what all of us, the ‘we’ in ‘We the People,’ can do to preserve the U.S. they died serving. On this day, rather than focusing on what divides us or on elevating differences, Americans might focus on what unites us and on respecting each person’s humanity, particularly those who serve to protect us.”

    About Dubinsky

    James Dubinsky, associate professor of English, is the founding director of the Department of English’s Professional Writing Program and Virginia Tech’s VT-Engage. He helped to shape the first liberal arts PhD at Virginia Tech.  He is the lead faculty member for the Veterans in Society initiative, which supports the scholarly understanding of veterans among citizens.

    [ad_2]

    Virginia Tech

    Source link

  • Canada, US: Braiding Indigenous Rights & Endangered Species Laws

    Canada, US: Braiding Indigenous Rights & Endangered Species Laws

    [ad_1]

    Newswise — Climbing caribou numbers in northeastern British Columbia prove that collaborations between Indigenous and colonial governments can reverse decades-long declines, but focus needs to shift to culturally meaningful recovery targets, a consortium of researchers and community members say in a new paper published this week in Science.

    UBC Okanagan’s Dr. Clayton Lamb and West Moberly First Nation Chief Roland Willson co-lead the paper, Braiding Indigenous Rights and Endangered Species Law, alongside nine others for the influential journal.

    “Abundance matters. There are many cases where endangered species laws have prevented extinction, but the warning signs of decline can appear long before the laws take effect. People who live and work on the land see these changes – we need to listen and act with them to prevent declines,” says Lamb, a biologist and MITACS postdoc in UBCO’s Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science. “There is a large gap between what the laws see as species recovery and what communities need for health, food security, and cultural well-being.”

    The policy paper builds on collaborations between UBCO’s Lamb and Dr. Adam Ford, who have previously published research highlighting recovery efforts of the Klinse-Za caribou herd near the West Moberly and Saulteau First Nations. They also looked at evolving bison and salmon recovery efforts in North America.

    Researchers heard stories from West Moberly Elders about a “sea of caribou” once looking like “bugs on the landscape,” but only 38 animals remained in 2013. Those numbers climbed to 115 a decade later thanks to interventions led by Indigenous groups. While these early signs of recovery are cause for immense celebration, the herd remains much smaller than historic levels.

    “We need to move past a life support mentality for biodiversity,” says Ford, head of UBCO’s Wildlife Restoration Ecology Lab. “We must restore nature and the time-honoured ways people interact with the land.”

    Canada and the United States have endangered species laws that are designed to recover species abundance to levels that will minimize the chance of extinction, but these recovery targets do not take into account culturally meaningful abundance or distributions of plants and animals, the authors say.

    The paper highlights the current caribou count would only provide about three animals, or one meal per person, per year for Saulteau and West Moberly First Nations. The culturally significant count would require a herd of over 3,000 animals, an abundance more reflective of the historic “sea of caribou” level.

    Naomi Owens-Beek, manager of Treaty Rights and Environmental Protection for Saulteau First Nation, contributed to the research and the policy paper.

    She says the collaboration between Canadian and Indigenous leaders is essential to preserving traditional ways of life. Some Elders in the region have never tasted caribou, yet it was a staple of their ancestors and provided vital nutrition, material, spirituality, and a sense of place.

    “We looked out at the land and thought, ‘What do these caribou need to be once again the great herds our Elders spoke about?’ We first reduced predation to make sure the caribou weren’t lost. Now we’re focusing on protecting and restoring habitat,” she says.

    “Caribou habitat has long been mistreated, and now there’s so few caribou. These herds need space to thrive, and that’s why we’re working with the nations, the province of British Columbia and Canada, to heal these lands and increase the population so we can one day go back into the mountains and hunt caribou.”

    The paper also examined efforts to restore salmon and bison habitat in North America. Chief Willson says each species shows modest signs of recovery, but that isn’t nearly the progress needed.

    “Braiding Indigenous rights with laws protecting endangered species can enable nations to respect and safeguard the rights of Indigenous communities, curb the threat of species loss, and ultimately confer broad societal advantages,” he says.

    Lamb, Willson, Ford and Owens-Beek were joined by Allyson Menzies (School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph), Michael Price (Earth to Ocean Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University), Scott McNay (Wildlife Infometrics), Sarah Otto (Department of Zoology & Biodiversity Research Centre at UBC), Mateen Hessami (Wildlife Science Center—Biodiversity Pathways at UBCO), Jesse Popp (School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph) and Mark Hebblewhite (Wildlife Biology Program, University of Montana).

    Permalink: https://news.ok.ubc.ca/2023/05/18/call-for-canada-to-braid-indigenous-rights-with-endangered-species-law/

    [ad_2]

    University of British Columbia’s Okanagan Campus

    Source link

  • Q&A: Update on mifepristone, federal court actions

    Q&A: Update on mifepristone, federal court actions

    [ad_1]

    Newswise — Dr. Sarah Prager, a UW Medicine OB-GYN, offers context to the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, which ordered that mifepristone remain available in the United States while legal challenges work their way through the federal courts. Here is that discussion.

    Q: What is mifepristone and how does it work?

    Prager: Mifepristone works as a progesterone blocker. Without progesterone, the lining of the uterus breaks down and the pregnancy doesn’t continue. The second medicine, misoprostol, makes the uterus contract.

    Q: Can I still get mifepristone in Washington state?

    Prager: Yes, as of right now, there is access to mifepristone for patients in need of this drug for abortion or miscarriage care.  

    Q: Can I get it via telehealth? Or do I have to see a doctor in person?

    Prager: There are some clinical sites locally which are supplying telehealth, such as Planned Parenthood clinics in Washington, as well as the Cedar River Clinics in Renton. UW Medicine does not offer telehealth visits for medication abortions yet, but we hope to provide these services starting in June of this year. But for now, you have to go to a clinic and see a doctor or nurse at UW Medicine sites.

    Q: Can a faculty member or UW clinician dispense an abortion-inducing medication across state lines to a patient in a state that makes abortion illegal? 

    Prager:  No. If a state prohibits abortion by medication, faculty and UW employees must abide by the laws of that state when treating a patient who is physically present in that state.

    Q: Can a faculty member or UW clinician dispense an abortion-inducing medication to a patient located in Washington, or who came to Washington to receive abortion services?

    Prager:  Yes. Washington law allows Washington clinicians to provide abortion services to patients who are located in Washington, regardless of what state they live in. A patient presenting in Washington for services may be treated in Washington, consistent with the laws of Washington. Faculty must dispense abortion inducing medication in Washington and only issue the prescriptions to pharmacies located in Washington.

    Our recommendation to patients is that the drugs should be taken in Washington before returning to their home state. If there is a complication, it is preferable for them to still be in a state where abortion is legal.

    Q: What do we need to know about post-abortion care?

    Prager:  While complications from abortion or miscarriage are rare, conditions such as retained pregnancy tissue in the uterus, bleeding and infection can occur. It is critical for patients seeking post-abortion care services to be treated with care and dignity and to have their medical issues addressed upon presentation.

    Post-abortion care may happen in a clinic or an emergency department setting and includes: managing residual side effects or complications of abortion, emotional support, and providing comprehensive birth control services without discrimination or coercion.

     UW Medicine provides confidential post-abortion care; patient information remains private for post-abortion care services in the same way other services remain private. It is generally not necessary for patients to disclose that they have had an abortion. Moreover, healthcare professionals are unable to determine whether the complications occur from abortion or miscarriage.

    The real take-home for me, is that post-abortion care hasn’t changed. We still need to be providing comprehensive care for miscarriage or an abortion. There is no way for clinicians to know the difference, so let’s treat patients with respect in providing this care.

    Q: How available is the second drug in the regimen, misoprostol, if mifepristone is banned?

    Prager:  Misoprostol is widely available and will likely stay that way. Part of reason why mifepristone is targeted for court challenges and bans is that its only FDA [Food and Drug Administration] approval is for use in medication abortion. Misoprostol was approved by the FDA for treating stomach ulcers, and is used off-label for other medical treatments including abortion. Therefore it’s much more difficult to attack misoprostol in the courts or with the FDA.

    Q: What is the difference between the two-drug regimen and taking only misoprostol? Is the efficacy different? How does the patient experience differ?

    Prager: There are two main differences if you switch from the two-drug regimen to the one-drug regimen using only misoprostol.

    When you use mifepristone prior to using the misoprostol, there are exceptionally good success rates, and it helps to minimize side effects. The success rates with mifepristone/misoprostol regimen are about 95% to 98%, and about 78% with a single dose of misoprostol. With multiple doses of misoprostol, the success rate increases to approximately 95%. 

    When you just use misoprostol, patients have to take more doses of the misoprostol, which increases the side effects such as cramping, gastrointestinal distress, vomiting and diarrhea. Repeated doses of misoprostol mean prolonging the amount of time that somebody is potentially experiencing these side effects.The patient may worry and wonder if they have to go to an emergency department, whether or not they clinically need to do so. It also could potentially increase their need for more pain medications. You might see more patients requesting narcotic medications, and we don’t typically need pain meds for medication abortion. So it really just punishes pregnant people for having a miscarriage or an abortion.  

    A misoprostol-only regimen is eliminating an evidence-based best practice tool for healthcare providers. Mifepristone has been approved by the FDA for 23 years and has been shown in numerous clinical studies to be both safe and effective.

    Q: What advice would you give to pregnant women traveling in the U.S. at this time?

    Prager: For anyone who is pregnant, I would be cautious traveling to states where abortion is illegal. In these states, there are a number of pregnancy complications that may not be managed in an evidence-based way that supports the health of the pregnant person. Most people will not experience pregnancy complications while traveling, however this can be something factored into travel decisions. 

    [ad_2]

    University of Washington School of Medicine and UW Medicine

    Source link

  • NY bail reform law had little impact on crime increase

    NY bail reform law had little impact on crime increase

    [ad_1]

    Newswise — Across the United States, legislators and the public have debated the issue of bail reform, which aims to reduce pretrial jail populations by eliminating cash bail. New York State passed legislation in 2019 to limit the use of money bail and expand pretrial release. In a new study,  researchers evaluated the effect of the law on state crime rates, considering the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although rates of murder, larceny, and motor vehicle theft rose after the bail reform law went into effect, none of the increases were statistically significant when compared with a control group. This suggests that the effect of bail reform on crime rate increases was negligible.

    The study, by researchers at the State University of New York at Albany (SUNY Albany), appears in Justice Quarterly, a publication of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.

    “This study is the first rigorous evaluation of how bail reform in New York State affects crime,” according to Sishi Wu, a Ph.D. candidate in criminal justice at SUNY Albany, who led the study. “The results can inform policymakers and address concerns expressed by the public.”

    New York State’s 2019 bail reform law went into effect on January 1, 2020. The law requires courts to release defendants on their own recognizance or under non-monetary conditions unless the defendants are charged with offenses listed in the legislation. Essentially, the 2019 law adopted a presumption of release and eliminated money bail and pretrial detention for all misdemeanors with two exceptions and for all nonviolent felonies with a limited number of exceptions.

    Following the law’s enactment, pretrial jail populations declined in the state (as expected). Law enforcement officers and other stakeholders were concerned that suspects released as a result of the reform may reoffend; they were also concerned that the reform may have created a sense of lawlessness that would not deter criminals from being caught.

    To determine whether the law affected crime rates in the state, the authors analyzed whether bail reform was significantly associated with increased crime. When a significant association was detected, they examined whether it was causal. The study used data from the New York State index crime, which includes monthly counts for seven crimes (murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft) from January 2017 to September 2021. It also compared New York State’s crime data with data from other states by examining monthly crime counts for 49 states and the District of Columbia from the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting program from January 2017 to December 2020.

    The study found that rates of murder, larceny, and motor vehicle theft rose after the bail reform, but the increase may have been due to the pandemic instead of bail reform. The authors controlled for the impact of the pandemic by constructing a comparison group of other states also affected by the pandemic but without bail reform in the same period. After comparing New York State with the comparison group, the study found that the rate of increase in crimes in New York State was insignificant.

    Among the study’s limitations, the authors note that they did not consider different levels of the pandemic’s impact in different states (New York State was affected early and was an epicenter of the virus’s outbreak in the United States). Also, the study did not consider the effect of an amendment to the bail reform law that increased the number of eligible offenses.

    “Despite multiple statements from the media and stakeholders that individuals released under bail reform are no more likely to reoffend, the public continues to believe that bail reform leads to more crime,” says David McDowall, professor of criminal justice at SUNY Albany, who coauthored the article. “Using findings such as ours, lawmakers and stakeholders can better address concerns about public safety.”

    [ad_2]

    Crime and Justice Research Alliance

    Source link

  • Immigration experts on Title 42, analysis of immigration policies, and other migrant news in the Immigration Channel

    Immigration experts on Title 42, analysis of immigration policies, and other migrant news in the Immigration Channel

    [ad_1]

    Title 42, the United States pandemic rule that had been used to immediately deport hundreds of thousands of migrants who crossed the border illegally over the last three years, has expired. Those migrants will have the opportunity to apply for asylum. President Biden’s new rules to replace Title 42 are facing legal challenges. The US Homeland Security Department announced a rule to make it extremely difficult for anyone who travels through another country, like Mexico, to qualify for asylum. Border crossings have already risen sharply, as many migrants attempted to cross before the measure expired on Thursday night. Some have said they worry about tighter controls and uncertainty ahead. Immigration is once again a major focus of the media as we examine the humanitarian, political, and public health issues migrants must face. 

    Below are some of the latest headlines in the Immigration channel on Newswise.

    Expert Commentary

    Experts Available on Ending of Title 42

    George Washington University Experts on End of Title 42

    ‘No one wins when immigrants cannot readily access healthcare’

    URI professor discusses worsening child labor in the United States

    Biden ‘between a rock and a hard place’ on immigration

    University of Notre Dame Expert Available to Comment on House Bill Regarding Immigration Legislation, Border Safety and Security Act

    American University Experts Available to Discuss President Biden’s Visit to U.S.-Mexico Border

    Title 42 termination ‘overdue’, not ‘effective’ to manage migration

    Research and Features

    Study: Survey Methodology Should Be Calibrated to Account for Negative Attitudes About Immigrants and Asylum-Seekers

    A study analyses racial discrimination in job recruitment in Europe

    DACA has not had a negative impact on the U.S. job market

    ASBMB cautions against drastic immigration fee increases

    Study compares NGO communication around migration

    Collaboration, support structures needed to address ‘polycrisis’ in the Americas

    TTUHSC El Paso Faculty Teach Students While Caring for Migrants

    Immigrants Report Declining Alcohol Use during First Two Years after Arriving in U.S.

    How asylum seeker credibility is assessed by authorities

    Speeding up and simplifying immigration claims urgently needed to help with dire situation for migrants experiencing homelessness

    Training Individuals to Work in their Communities to Reduce Health Disparities

    ‘Regulation by reputation’: Rating program can help combat migrant abuse in the Gulf

    Migration of academics: Economic development does not necessarily lead to brain drain

    How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected immigration?

    Immigrants with Darker Skin Tones Perceive More Discrimination

     

    [ad_2]

    Newswise

    Source link

  • Gun Violence: Can Research Help?

    Gun Violence: Can Research Help?

    [ad_1]

    Newswise — The problem of gun violence in America can at times seem utterly intractable.

    The horrific frequency of mass shootings (almost 300 in the first six months of 2022, according to the Gun Violence Archive), the tragic daily toll of firearm-related deaths (124 per day on average, according to the CDC), and the inability of politicians to implement effective gun control measures have had devastating personal consequences for individuals and families and pose a significant public health challenge for the nation.

    The CDC reports that firearm-related injuries rank among the five leading causes of death for people ages 1 to 44 and are now the leading cause of death for children and adolescents, killing more people ages 1 to 19 than car accidents, drug overdoses, or cancer.

    But for epidemiologist and gun violence expert Charles Branas, PhD, the Gelman Professor of Epidemiology and chair of the Department of Epidemiology in the Mailman School of Public Health, the scope and recalcitrance of the problem only heighten the urgency of answering one basic question: “What do you do about it?”

    Toward that end, in 2020 Dr. Branas helped launch the Columbia Scientific Union for the Reduction of Gun Violence, or SURGE, a coalition of faculty, students, and alumni from across the university dedicated to finding creative scientific solutions to gun violence.

    The need for such interventions is especially pressing given the difficulty of enacting gun control at the state and national levels, despite research by Dr. Branas and others showing that stricter gun control laws do in fact reduce gun violence. (The bipartisan gun safety legislation passed by Congress in June supports some existing evidence-based measures, but in limited fashion.)

    Efforts to find solutions have been hindered by a lack of government funding for scientific research into gun violence. Federal funding dried up in 1996 after Congress passed the Dickey Amendment, which barred the CDC, and later the NIH, from spending money to promote gun control and dissuaded many young scientists from pursuing careers in gun violence research.

    Recently, however, SURGE and other groups persuaded Congress to renew federal funding. And Dr. Branas hopes that fresh grants from the CDC and the NIH, coupled with opportunities for networking and collaboration provided by SURGE, will encourage a new generation of researchers to develop innovative, evidence-based interventions to prevent gun violence. 

    Dr. Branas sees signs that this is already happening.

    Junior faculty, including Ashley Blanchard, MD, a pediatric emergency physician at VP&S, are investigating novel interventions with the support of fellow SURGE members. And the coalition is helping senior faculty like Dr. Branas and Paul Appelbaum, MD, the Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Psychiatry, Medicine and Law, engage with like-minded colleagues from a variety of disciplines. Other SURGE members are from Columbia’s schools of law, nursing, and social work and from Teachers College and Barnard College.

    “I remember walking into the room during our first meeting and just being in awe that there was this larger campus consortium of people interested in doing this type of work,” says Dr. Blanchard, assistant professor of pediatrics (in emergency medicine). “As a junior investigator, I can’t navigate the path to a firearm-related research career without having that mentorship. Having that room, and those groups of people, has really been incredible.”

    DEEP ROOTS

    If SURGE represents a new path to novel solutions to gun violence, it builds on decades of work by VP&S physicians. SURGE member Danielle Laraque-Arena, MD, a pediatrician and professor of clinical epidemiology and pediatrics at the Mailman School and VP&S, helped pioneer place-based gun violence interventions while working at Harlem Hospital from 1986 to 2000, a period that coincided with a national spike in gun violence.

    During that time, Dr. Laraque-Arena and Barbara Barlow, MD, then chief of pediatric surgery at Harlem Hospital, partnered with city agencies and community members to reduce injury rates among children and adolescents in central Harlem.

    Data collected through the Northern Manhattan Injury Surveillance System, a population-based survey developed by the Mailman School to tally severe injuries, indicated that adolescents represented 89% of gun-related deaths. Many of the deaths involved unintentional firearm injuries or individuals caught in crossfire, and the vast majority of fatalities occurred before hospitalization, which suggested that only prevention could significantly reduce firearm fatalities among young people in the area. 

    Dr. Laraque-Arena and her colleagues focused on implementing programs designed to create safe spaces and activities for children and adolescents, including several locations that involved rehabilitating and greening public spaces such as parks and playgrounds. The goal was to reduce the risk of intentional and unintentional injuries alike; an analysis showed that such broad-based, environment-oriented projects did significantly reduce firearm injuries.

    Decades later, Dr. Branas tested the power of place-based interventions through citywide experiments conducted in Philadelphia, Detroit, and New Orleans. Among other things, he and his colleagues showed that rehabilitating abandoned buildings and vacant lots, which function as storage lockers for illegal firearms, can reduce gun violence by as much as 39%.

    Dr. Branas is in talks with the parks department and other city agencies to bring similar programs to New York City. Together with SURGE member Sonali Rajan, PhD, an associate professor of health education at Teachers College, Dr. Branas leads a nationwide case-control study of firearm violence prevention tactics and policies in K-12 schools. The study, which is funded by the NIH, will examine 650 schools, comparing the safety measures (metal detectors, active shooter drills, armed school personnel) in place at schools that have experienced shootings with those that have not.

    RIGOROUS SCIENTIFIC APPROACH

    Dr. Appelbaum, who has for many years explored the relationship among mental health, gun violence, and gun policy, and Dr. Blanchard bring a similarly rigorous scientific approach to understanding—and preventing—gun violence.

    In a series of studies examining the relationships among gun ownership, gun violence, and mental illness, Dr. Appelbaum has debunked the notion, often floated by politicians in the wake of mass shootings, that such events can be prevented by addressing serious mental illness.

    “As human beings, we have a natural inclination when we see an act that is incomprehensible to assume that the person who did it must be, in lay terms, crazy,” Dr. Appelbaum says. The data suggest that most of those who commit these acts are not mentally ill. “They’re angry, they’re isolated, they’re frustrated, but they are not suffering from psychosis or other severe mental disorders.”

    Dr. Appelbaum points out that the situation is different for suicide. Depression, substance use, and other mental disorders are strong risk factors for self-harm. As a result, efforts to identify and treat people suffering from such disorders can indeed prevent suicides if done effectively.

    Nonetheless, he says, the most effective way to prevent gun violence, whether directed at others or at oneself, is to limit access to firearms.

    REDUCING ACCESS

    Measures aimed at keeping guns out of the hands of high-risk groups include red flag laws that allow the authorities to temporarily confiscate firearms from individuals who represent a threat to themselves or others; safe storage options, such as gun safes and trigger locks; and child access prevention laws that penalize adults for failing to store firearms safely and allowing children access to them.

    Such measures have been shown to reduce firearm injuries and deaths and could play a particularly important role in preventing suicides. Studies show that most people who attempt suicide do so on impulse, moving from decision to action in less than an hour.

    “There’s good evidence to show that especially in adolescents, the transition from contemplating suicide to action is very short-lived and transient and therefore utilizes whatever means are easily available,” Dr. Blanchard says. 

    The extraordinary lethality of guns means that someone who decides to commit suicide and has access to a firearm is much more likely to succeed than someone who does not. Research indicates that acts of suicide involving a firearm are fatal 90% of the time, compared with 13.5% for self-poisoning.

    “The gun doesn’t give you a second chance,” says Dr. Laraque-Arena.

    As a result, taking firearms out of the equation immediately reduces the likelihood that a suicide attempt will succeed. In keeping with that logic, Dr. Blanchard is conducting a pilot feasibility study of a tablet-based tool called Lock and Protect intended to increase safe storage or removal of guns and other lethal means by parents whose adolescents are at increased risk of suicide.

    The tool is being studied in the pediatric emergency department at NewYork-Presbyterian’s Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, where Dr. Blanchard and her colleagues often see patients who engage in predictors of suicide such as suicidal ideation and self-harm. The primary goal of the study, which involves experts from the departments of emergency medicine and psychiatry and the Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research’s Implementation Science Initiative, is to determine the feasibility of implementing the tool and expanding a trial for a larger emergency department population.

    Patients and their parents enroll in the study together. The tool evaluates suicide risk using questionnaires such as the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale and guides parents through the process of identifying the lethal means in their homes (guns, medications, ligatures) and understanding how they can best keep their children safe.

    The tool was designed to take into consideration factors such as the cost of safe storage and the values of parents, including those who feel strongly about gun ownership. At tool completion, a safety plan is provided to parents to implement at home. Dr. Blanchard and her team follow up with parents at two weeks and with patients and parents at four weeks, with the long-term objective of understanding if the tool helps change home storage of guns and other lethal means.

    Lock and Protect is precisely the kind of innovative gun violence intervention that Dr. Branas hoped SURGE would produce, and he is certain that more will be developed as the coalition continues to grow.

    “We are two years into this,” he says. “We’ve done quite a bit, but we’re still building.”

    [ad_2]

    Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons

    Source link

  • Research reveals majority of gig economy workers are earning below minimum wage

    Research reveals majority of gig economy workers are earning below minimum wage

    [ad_1]

    Newswise — As the cost of living continues to spiral, a new report shows more than half of gig economy workers in the UK are paid below the minimum wage.

    The first-of-its-kind study, led by the University of Bristol, found 52% of gig workers doing jobs ranging from data entry to food delivery were earning below the minimum wage. On average respondents were earning £8.97 per hour – around 15% below the current UK minimum wage, which rose to £10.42 this month.

    More than three-quarters (76%) of survey respondents also experienced work-related insecurity and anxiety.

    Lead author Dr Alex Wood, Senior Lecturer in Human Resource Management and Future of Work at the University of Bristol Business School, said: “The findings highlight that working in the UK gig economy often entails low pay, anxiety, and stress. As food, fuel and housing costs keep rising, this group of workers are especially vulnerable and need to be more adequately remunerated and better protected.”

    Equally concerning, more than a quarter (28%) felt they were risking their health or safety in doing gig work and a quarter (25%) experienced pain on the job.

    When asked what would improve their situation, basic rights such as minimum wage rates, holiday and sick pay, and protection against unfair dismissal were most wanted.

    Unions and platform councils (similar to works councils that exist in some European countries) to represent their needs and help influence how gig economy platforms operate and affect their working conditions also featured on their wish list. More than three-quarters of respondents believed the introduction of such bodies would bring immediate benefits.

    Dr Wood said: “A major factor contributing to low pay rates is that this work involves spending significant amounts of time waiting or looking for work while logged on to a platform. Not only is the work low paid, but it is also extremely insecure and risky.

    “The self-employed who are dependent on platforms to make a living are urgently in need of labour protections to shield them against the huge power asymmetries that exist in the sector. This clearly warrants the expansion of the current ‘worker’ status to protect them.”

    The study involved 510 UK gig economy workers who were surveyed last year. There was representation from across the sector, with around half being remote freelancers using platforms such as Upwork and Fiverr to pick up jobs ranging from data entry to website design. The other half comprised local drivers providing food delivery and taxi services via platforms including Deliveroo and Uber.

    More than just side hustles to earn extra cash, respondents spent on average 28 hours a week undertaking gig work, comprising 60% of their total earnings.

    Respondents overwhelmingly considered their work to be best described as self-employment and thought an extension of labour rights to include the self-employed would significantly improve their working lives.

    This was the first research to investigate what forms of voice gig workers want. The findings suggest strong support for European style co-determination whereby worker representatives are consulted on and approve changes that impact working conditions and employment. Works councils that exist in countries like Germany could therefore provide a model for platform councils and assemblies in the gig economy to facilitate workers having a say over the decisions which affect their ability to make a living.

    Brendan Burchell, Professor in Social Sciences at the University of Cambridge and co-author of the report, added: “Respondents strongly felt the creation of co-determination mechanisms would allow workers, and their representatives, to influence platform provider decisions which could instantly improve their working lives.

    “These policies include elected bodies of worker representatives approving all major platform changes that impact jobs and working conditions. Our findings emphasise the potential for trade union growth in this sector, with majorities being willing to join and even organise such bodies.”

    [ad_2]

    University of Bristol

    Source link

  • Will clean energy incentives, EV tax credits survive debt ceiling showdown?

    Will clean energy incentives, EV tax credits survive debt ceiling showdown?

    [ad_1]

    As the nation prepares for a showdown between President Biden and House Republican leadership over the impending default date of the federal debt ceiling, a House Republicans’ proposal to avoid the country’s first default could raise the federal debt limit but would undermine President Biden’s climate law— the Inflation Reduction Act.

    Joshua Basseches, a climate change policy and politics expert at Tulane’s School of Liberal Arts, believes a big part of the Republican’s proposed solution is to speed up the permitting process for fossil fuel projects and control the energy supply. 

    “When you step back and look at the big picture, this is an effort to undermine the goals of the Inflation Reduction Act. This is a way to keep the fossil fuel industry afloat. But even if the Republicans were to get this through, which I don’t think they will in its current form, it would not undo all the positives from the Inflation Reduction Act.”

    “The bill also contains the full text of the energy package the GOP passed in March, which would expand domestic energy production by allowing more oil, gas and mineral exploration on public lands and make dramatic changes to the National Environmental Policy Act by speeding up permitting for energy projects.”

    Basseches can speak on the following:

    -The potential effects of the GOPs debt-limit plan on the clean energy transition

    -Permitting reform, its opportunities and pitfalls

    -The Inflation Reduction Act’s impact on electric vehicles, clean electricity and ongoing state-level climate policy efforts

    [ad_2]

    Tulane University

    Source link

  • Uganda’s Anti-Gay Bill Imperils HIV Fight

    Uganda’s Anti-Gay Bill Imperils HIV Fight

    [ad_1]

    Newswise — [KAMPALA] Uganda’s anti-homosexuality bill, if signed into law, could lead to the withdrawal of foreign aid and threaten goals to end HIV/AIDS by 2030, advocates warn.

    Uganda’s parliament passed the revised Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA), which criminalises homosexual conduct, with minimal amendments this week (2 May).

    The legislation was first passed at the end of March but revised in April after President Yoweri Museveni returned it to parliament for amendments.

    “If it becomes law, it will increase stigma and discrimination against LGBTQ people and men who have sex with men, further limiting prevention and treatment services.” – Richard Lusimbo, director-general, Uganda Key Populations Consortium

    The bill includes a punishment of life imprisonment for same-sex sexual conduct and up to ten years behind bars for attempted same-sex sexual acts. It also imposes the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality” and criminalises the “promotion” of homosexuality, which many people fear will encourage homophobia.

    UNAIDS had warned that passing the bill into law would jeopardise progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS and undermine fundamental human rights including the right to health and the right to life. 

    “Uganda’s new Anti-Homosexuality bill is an outrage,” said Winnie Byanyima, executive director of UNAIDS.

    “Access to timely and quality health care is a human right – sexual orientation should not determine one’s rights.”

    Anne Githuku-Shongwe, director of the UNAIDS support team for eastern and southern Africa, said Uganda had made “excellent progress” in tackling the AIDS pandemic. “This new bill, if passed into law, would undercut that progress,” she warned.

    Human rights ‘disaster’

    According to a study published in The Lancet, HIV prevalence is significantly higher among men who have sex with men (MSM) and in African countries with laws that criminalise same sex relationships.

    “If it becomes law, it will increase stigma and discrimination against LGBTQ [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer] people and men who have sex with men, further limiting prevention and treatment services,” said Richard Lusimbo, director-general of Uganda Key Populations Consortium, a human rights organisation.

    Lusimbo explained that the bill, if passed into law, would be a disaster to the human rights of LGBTQ people, to public health and the fight against HIV/AIDS.

    The US government has threatened to withdraw funding for Uganda through its President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) if the law is passed.

    “At this time, we are reviewing the possibility that the AHA, if signed, might prevent us from providing lifesaving prevention, care and treatment services equitably to all Ugandans receiving PEPFAR support,” said a US State Department spokesperson.

    PEPFAR’s annual HIV/AIDS response investment in Uganda is about US$400 million.

    Despite the pressure from the US and other governments, there is speculation that President Museveni will most likely sign the bill into law. However, the power of ascension of a bill does not lay primarily with the president.

    The Ugandan parliament can also pass the bill into law if the president does not assent to or veto a bill after it is passed by parliament within 30 days or if the bill is returned to parliament twice.

    In his speech on April 22, at conference themed ‘Protecting African culture and family values’, President Museveni thanked members of the Ugandan parliament for passing the bill.

    “It is good that you rejected the pressure from the imperialists,” he said, reflecting his support for what has been described by activists and advocates as a draconian law.

    The bill is setting the pace for other African nations as countries like Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana and others indicate readiness to introduce similar bills in solidarity with Uganda.

    Charles Brown, executive director of Preventive Care International (PCI), a Ugandan non-governmental organisation that focuses on HIV, says the bill is harsh and not well thought through. He fears it will further entrench inaccessibility of health services for people in same sex relationships.

    “Already, the landlady of one of my offices in western Uganda called me saying that she was told that our organisation promotes homosexuality and she is scared of being arrested,” Brown told SciDev.Net, fearing eviction.

    “We hope that the president doesn’t sign it into law,” he added.

    This piece was produced by SciDev.Net’s Sub-Saharan Africa English desk.

    [ad_2]

    SciDev.Net

    Source link

  • Single Approach to Wild Horse Management Urged

    Single Approach to Wild Horse Management Urged

    [ad_1]

    Newswise — The U.S. federal government’s management of wild horses is doomed to fail without fundamental changes in policy and the law, according to a new paper led by researchers at the University of Wyoming and Oklahoma State University.

    Because contrasting societal views have created an approach that simultaneously manages horses on the range as wildlife, livestock and pets, current government programs are incapable of succeeding, the researchers argue in the article that appears in the journal BioScience.

    “For the federal government to sustain healthy populations, ecosystem health and fiscal responsibility, lawmakers must properly define how feral equids should be labeled,” the scientists wrote. “Each label (wild, livestock, pet) has validity, and management plans can be implemented to optimize equid populations with other land uses. Furthermore, providing a clear definition of feral equids will determine the legal tools that can be applied for their management.”

    The lead author of the paper is Jacob Hennig, a former UW Ph.D. student who is now a postdoctoral researcher at Oklahoma State. Hennig’s advisers at UW — Professor Jeff Beck and Associate Professor Derek Scasta, both in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management — are co-authors of the paper. So are Oklahoma State Professor Sam Fuhlendorf and Assistant Professor Courtney Duchardt, who is a former UW Ph.D. student; Colorado State University research scientist Saeideh Esmaeili, also a former UW Ph.D. student; and Tolani Francisco, of Native Healing LLC in New Mexico.

    The researchers note that, while the fossil record shows there were horses in North America previously, they went extinct about 10,000 years ago.

    “The equids currently inhabiting North America did not coevolve there; they are descendants of livestock that underwent millennia of domestication and artificial selection,” the paper says. “Most large predators that would help limit their population growth went extinct at the end of the Pleistocene (epoch), and the Anthropocene (current epoch) has led to further predator reductions.”

    Because wild horses have no natural predators, cannot be legally hunted under federal law and are no longer slaughtered as livestock in the United States, their numbers on the range have more than doubled in the last decade, the researchers say. They also note that horses removed from the range by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and held in government facilities and private lands have grown in number by 33 percent during that time, with the BLM spending over $550 million since 2013 supporting the captive animals.

    “The BLM has increased the number of individuals removed from the wild in each of the past four years, leading to decreases in the on-range population,” the paper acknowledges. “However, the total on-range population is still approximately 50,000 individuals above the maximum (appropriate management level), and the recent moderate decrease in on-range individuals is directly correlated with an increase in the off-range population and subsequent expenditures.”

    Removing wild horses from Western rangelands and placing them in long-term holding is not a solution, the researchers say. Doing so “simply exports the issue elsewhere — including the imperiled tallgrass prairie ecosystem — with unknown ecological effects,” they wrote, noting that there are now about 23,500 wild horses on private lands in Oklahoma, five times more than the number on open range in Wyoming.

    Additionally, the paper contends that wild horses have a comparatively large impact on the range, as they consume more forage and water than ruminants such as cattle, per capita.

    The scientists credit the BLM for basing recent management on science, including better population estimates of wild horses and deploying measures to keep them from reproducing. But there are too many animals on the range for this approach to work.

    “Although the BLM has admirably increased fertility control research and application, if they are unable to also remove tens of thousands of equids, this process is doomed to be a Sisyphean task,” the researchers wrote.

    The federal Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 essentially calls for wild horses to freely roam like wild animals, but they are treated differently from wild animals because the act prohibits hunting. At the same time, the BLM’s practice of gathering and removing wild horses from the range “more closely resemble livestock operations than wildlife management, whereas adoption programs, sales restrictions and the abolition of slaughter have resulted in feral equids effectively serving as society’s pets,” the paper says.

    Choosing one of the labels — wild, livestock or pets — offers the best hope for the federal government to succeed in wild horse management, the scientists wrote.

    “As a wild species that lacks sufficient predation to keep most populations in check, a hunting or culling program, like those for other wild ungulates, could slow their population growth,” the paper says. “As livestock, gathers and removals that lead to sale or slaughter would limit growth and give the animals the monetary value they currently lack. As pets, simultaneously conducting large-scale removals and administering fertility control, including permanent sterilization (and potentially euthanasia), could reduce population sizes and slow growth.”

    The researchers’ conclusion?

    “The current state of feral horse and burro management in the United States is unsustainable and will continue to be a painful resource sink without fundamental changes to the law. We recommend that the U.S. federal government should officially declare the status of feral equids as either wild, livestock or pets and should provide the BLM and (U.S. Forest Service) the legal latitude and funding to develop and implement respective management options.”

    [ad_2]

    University of Wyoming

    Source link

  • Legal Counsel at Bail Hearings Reduces Incarceration

    Legal Counsel at Bail Hearings Reduces Incarceration

    [ad_1]

    Newswise — Providing defendants with legal counsel during their initial bail hearing decreases use of monetary bail and pretrial detention, without increasing the likelihood that defendants fail to appear at the subsequent preliminary hearing, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

    Researchers found that having legal counsel at bail hearings increased the probability of being released without monetary bail by 21% and reduced the probability that an individual was in jail three days after their bail hearing by 10%.

    The analysis, based on a field experiment in Pittsburgh where public defenders were assigned to a limited number of initial bail hearings, is one of the few high-quality studies of what happens when legal services are provided to defendants at an initial bail hearing. The findings are published in the journal Science Advances.

    “These results clearly show that public defenders have a substantial impact on defendants receiving a favorable outcome at the initial bail hearing,” said Shamena Anwar, one of the study’s authors and a senior economist at RAND, a nonprofit research organization.

    In the U.S., during the first court appearance after an arrest, a judge makes a decision about the conditions necessary for a defendant to be released from jail until the case is resolved. Most jurisdictions operate a cash bail system in which a judge determines an amount a person must pay to be released from detention.

    Recent studies have provided substantial evidence that pretrial detention leads to worse outcomes for both the defendant and society at large, with longer jail stays and higher chances of conviction in the short term, and worse recidivism and employment outcomes over the long term.

    Prior to this study, an open question was whether providing a lawyer at the bail hearing will have an impact on defendant outcomes. While defendants have a right to an attorney at all critical stages of a criminal prosecution, bail hearings are not considered a critical stage in many jurisdictions, in part because they are short, non-evidentiary hearings (often lasting less than five minutes) that are often conducted in an assembly line fashion without much input from the defendant or prosecution.  

    The RAND study analyzes the results from a unique year-long initiative in the Pittsburgh Municipal Court where public defenders were available to represent newly arrested people at some initial bail hearings. The jurisdiction only had sufficient resources to provide public defenders for half of the shifts that did not already have public defenders.

    The RAND team created a public defender work schedule such that the shifts in which a public defender was working had defendants and judges who were on average nearly identical to those in which a public defender was not working. This meant the study was akin to a randomized control trial, allowing researchers to rigorously measure the impact of providing a public defender at a defendant’s initial bail hearing.

    The study was in the field from April 2019 to March 2020.

    Researchers found that while those who did not have legal representation received some type of non-monetary release 49% of the time, those with public defenders received a non-monetary release 59% of the time — a large increase.

    This reduction in the use of monetary bail in turn led to a decline in the percentage of individuals who were in jail immediately after their bail hearing. In particular, while 45.4% of those without a public defender were in jail following their bail hearing, this percentage was 40.8% among those with a public defender.

    However, the intervention did result in a short-term increase in rearrests on theft charges among those who had public defenders. Based upon prior survey work that asked people how they perceive the costs of incarceration and theft, RAND researchers suggest that a theft incident would have to be at least 8.5 times as costly as a day in detention for most jurisdictions to find this tradeoff undesirable.

    “This study is particularly relevant given that roughly half of the counties in the U.S. do not currently provide defense representation at the bail hearing,” Anwar said. “These results should be helpful for jurisdictions that are considering providing defense representation at bail hearings, although more research in this area is needed to understand the extent to which the results we find here are generalizable to other jurisdictions with different bail hearing procedures.”

    Support for the study was provided by Arnold Ventures. Other authors of the study are Shawn Bushway and John Engberg.

    The RAND Social and Economic Well-Being division seeks to actively improve the health, social, and economic well-being of populations and communities throughout the world.

    [ad_2]

    RAND Corporation

    Source link

  • Gun violence spills into new neighborhoods as gentrification displaces drug crime

    Gun violence spills into new neighborhoods as gentrification displaces drug crime

    [ad_1]

    Newswise — Gentrification doesn’t erase drug crime and gun violence. Instead, research from West Virginia University economist Zachary Porreca shows that when one urban block becomes upwardly mobile, organized criminal activity surges outward to surrounding blocks, escalating the violence in the process.

    Porreca, a WVU doctoral student in the John Chambers College of Business and Economics, analyzed 2011-2020 data on shootings and real estate across various Philadelphia neighborhoods. His paper presenting the findings, published in the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, is one of the first of its kind to study the impact of gentrification on crime displacement.

    “Over the 10-year window of the study, Philadelphia experienced some 5,800 shootings that can be attributed to gentrification,” Porreca said. “That means that of the 27,000 shootings that occurred across the city during that decade, almost a quarter may have been spillover effects of gentrification.

    “Gentrification increases levels of gun violence in neighbor blocks, even more so when the gentrified block itself has a history of drug crime. There’s an average increase of nearly nine shootings in the surrounding neighborhood, or an 18% increase in gun violence on blocks linked to gentrified blocks, as drug crime that existed on a block pre-gentrification is pushed into the surrounding neighborhood by the new development.”

    The gentrification of drug blocks specifically, as opposed to all gentrifying blocks in Philadelphia, accounted for roughly 2,400 additional shootings during the 10 years of his study. This suggests that some 8% of Philadelphia’s gun violence can be attributed to gentrification destabilizing the city’s illicit drug markets.

    “Those numbers are a striking representation of why it’s crucial that urban development occur responsibly and intentionally,” Porreca said. “Forced displacement of priced-out residents has very real effects on the surrounding neighborhoods.”

    Porreca described gentrification as a “destabilizing force that happens when new residents of higher socioeconomic standing move to a traditionally lower-income neighborhood. Gentrified neighborhoods grow wealthier, more educated, exhibit higher rates of home ownership and experience significant racial demographic changes. This process involves replacing many of the original residents, and that makes it more difficult for a criminal organization to operate openly. Gentrification also leads to increased policing and more punitive policing practices, and overall makes a block less suitable for drug competition.”

    Porreca emphasized that a criminal organization displaced in this way won’t want to go far. Those with that organization will look for new territory within the immediate surrounding blocks that have not yet begun gentrifying, because the local area is proven to be capable of sustaining drug activity and “because the organization has the requisite local knowledge, some level of community support and access to a proven clientele.”

    His research uses data related to shootings, income, housing, home sales and building, zoning and renovation permits to examine gentrification’s effect on crime rates on a city’s “frontiers,” blocks that are newly gentrifying. It shows how gentrification and rapid urban development change the urban landscape of a city, as the emergence of new amenities and residents in traditionally neglected neighborhoods causes the shrinking and reshaping of drug markets’ boundaries, escalating competition and violence.

    Gentrification not only constitutes a “shock” to the total viable territory available to rival criminal organizations, bringing them into closer proximity with each other, but it also spurs gun violence by forcing intracity migration — “displacing residents from their long-term homes and forcing them into the remaining viable tracts of affordable housing,” Porreca said. 

    “As an anecdotal example, a friend whose neighborhood became one of Philadelphia’s trendiest areas told me that his family now lives on the same blocks with families from neighborhoods his original neighborhood once feuded with. These sorts of situations, where disaffected low-income residents are forced to live in unfamiliar neighborhoods surrounded by similarly disaffected and displaced neighbors, have the potential to cause excessive tension. That that can give rise to explosions in gun violence isn’t surprising.”

    Porreca suggested that police resources could be utilized in the neighborhoods surrounding newly developed blocks.

    “City policy may benefit from efforts to stave off the violent spillover effect through deployment of officers and social workers in areas experiencing significant population displacements,” Porreca said. “Those displacements give rise to volatility and violence, and if we want to prevent community violence, then resources should be deployed proactively alongside the forces of development.”

    [ad_2]

    West Virginia University

    Source link

  • U.S. Senator Klobuchar and Former U.S. Senator Portman Receive American University’s Prize for Legislative Compromise

    U.S. Senator Klobuchar and Former U.S. Senator Portman Receive American University’s Prize for Legislative Compromise

    [ad_1]

    Newswise — Washington, D.C., (May 2, 2023) – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and former Senator Robert Portman (R-OH) have been awarded the 2023 Madison Prize for Constitutional Excellence, American University School of Public Affairs announced today. The award recognizes lawmakers who strive for legislative compromise in the spirit outlined by James Madison in the Federalist Papers and draws attention to legislators’ efforts to work across the aisle in an era of extreme political polarization. 

    “With a focus on the substantive issues that matter to our country and a dedication to making meaningful progress, Senators Klobuchar and Portman have achieved common ground and common sense solutions for the American people,” said AU President Sylvia Burwell. “We salute their changemaking spirit with the Madison Prize.” 

    The Madison Prize, which was endowed in 2018 by former Rep. David Skaggs (D-Colo.) and his wife Laura Skaggs. It is awarded after each biennial Congress to recognize one Member (U.S. Representative or Senator) from each major political party.  

    Senators Klobuchar and Senator Portman’s service to American people exemplifies how Madison envisioned the responsibility of elected representatives to respect the public interest and seek greater good. They served together from 2011 until Portman’s retirement from the Senate in January 2023. Last August, they traveled together to Ukraine, continuing a record of cross-aisle cooperation that included work on affordable housing, combating the importation of Fentanyl by mail, and the protection of fish and wildlife in the Great Lakes region. 

    The School of Public Affairs manages the Madison Prize and its selection process. Members of the Selection Committee include former Rep. Mickey Edwards (R-OK); former Rep. Connie Morella (R-MD); Ron Elving, executive in residence at AU’s School of Public Affairs; James Thurber, Distinguished Professor Emeritus and founder of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at AU’s School of Public Affairs; Gina Adams, senior vice president of government affairs, FedEx Corporation; Sarah Binder, professor of political science, George Washington University; and SPA Dean Vicky Wilkins (ex officio).  

    “The School of Public Affairs is committed to protecting democratic institutions by promoting and recognizing legislative compromise, bipartisanship, and civil discourse,” said SPA Dean Vicky Wilkins. “Senators Klobuchar and Portman have a long track record of upholding these values in the Senate. We are pleased to recognize their efforts and note that their continued commitment to this cause is necessary and critical.” 

    The Madison Prize was presented to Senators Klobuchar and Portman during a special event that featured a conversation between the awardees and AU President Sylvia Burwell.   

    To learn more about the prize and the nomination process, please visit: www.american.edu/spa/madison

    [ad_2]

    American University

    Source link

  • AANA Presents Excellence in State Government Relations Advocacy Award to New Mexico

    AANA Presents Excellence in State Government Relations Advocacy Award to New Mexico

    [ad_1]

    Newswise — ROSEMONT, Ill.   (AANA)— The American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA) will honor the New Mexico Association of Nurse Anesthetists (NMANA) with the Excellence in State Government Relations Advocacy Award at its Mid-Year Assembly, held in Washington, D.C., April 29 – May 3.

    The Excellence in State Government Relations Advocacy Award, established in 2016, is presented annually to a state association based on the quality of its efforts in the state legislative or regulatory arena for the nurse anesthesiology profession. The recipient is chosen by the AANA Government Relations Committee.

    In connection with legislative efforts to pursue full practice authority, the NMANA determined a need for more outreach to its membership and made great improvements in its ability to communicate with members quickly and frequently. This includes monthly communications from the president regarding legislative efforts, weekly zoom meetings during the legislative session, and increased grassroots involvement. These new communications tactics have resulted in a 40% growth in NMANA membership, from 180 to 250, during the past five years.

    The NMANA leadership includes CRNAs with years of experience, as well as new NMANA board members who are mentored and empowered to work to their full potential. “Utilizing the strengths of CRNAs with diverse backgrounds and thinking has brought strength to the NMANA team and a bright future for New Mexico CRNAs,” NMANA President Shannon Allen, DNAP, CRNA, FAANA, said. “We are honored to be recognized by the AANA for our achievements.”

    To further engage its membership and raise the visibility, awareness and influence of CRNAs in New Mexico, the NMANA board traveled the state, connecting with CRNAs and their legislators, improving CRNA engagement, and educating legislators about the high-quality care that CRNAs provide to patients in the state. Increased member engagement resulted in a record breaking increase in PAC donations.

    “As a result, the relationships NMANA developed with the governor and legislators will benefit CRNAs for years to come,” Allen said. “Thank you to the many New Mexico CRNAs who continue to fight to protect CRNA practice in the state.”

    To support their legislative efforts, the NMANA secured strong backing from a broad coalition, including APRN and nursing associations, and the state hospital association, as well as individual physicians and surgeons, dentists, podiatrists, patients and facility CEOs. NMANA also launched a strong public relations advocacy campaign to educate legislators and the public through social media, billboards, newspapers, radio ads and interviews. The NMANA also worked with the New Mexico State University to get the state’s first CRNA program off the ground and it is on track to begin this fall.

    As advanced practice registered nurses, CRNAs are members of one of the most trusted professions according to Gallup. CRNAs provide anesthesia care across all settings and in all patient populations and are the primary anesthesia providers in rural and underserved areas and on the battlefield in forward surgical teams.

     

    [ad_2]

    American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology

    Source link

  • Fed-Predicted Recession More Likely Severe than Mild

    Fed-Predicted Recession More Likely Severe than Mild

    [ad_1]

    Newswise — As recent survey results from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago reinforce Fed economists predicting a mild recession from the recent banking crisis, finance professor Albert “Pete” Kyle at the University of Maryland agrees a recession looms –- but more likely as severe. 

    The crisis, fueled by SVB’s fast collapse, indicates a costly failure – “likely to show up as a recession which is severe, not mild,” says Kyle, Charles E Smith Chair in Finance and Distinguished University Professor for UMD’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.

    Regulatory Failure

    Kyle says SVB’s failure resulted from bank supervision. “The Dodd-Frank Act focused more on heavy-handed regulation than on higher capital requirements to make banks financially healthy. Bank regulators must have known about the unrealized losses on mortgage and Treasury securities which crippled SVB’s balance sheet. These are transparently obvious from cursory oversight. They apparently did not do enough to force SVB to recapitalize until it was too late. As a result of this regulatory forbearance, the FDIC, which ultimately uses the money of taxpayers to take over failed banks, faces billions of dollars in losses.

    The regulatory failure was not the result of exempting banks like SVB from stress tests. Ordinary bank regulatory oversight, operating independently from stress tests, certainly picked up the problems at SVB well before it collapsed.

    The idea that uninsured depositors will monitor banks adequately is known not to work well. Its mechanism of enforcement is bank runs, which—once started—spread to the entire banking system and rapidly send an economy into a recession. The government knows that steep recessions are an absurdly high price to pay for bank monitoring. The entire purpose of the Dodd-Frank Act was to provide a regulatory system which would prevent bank failures without causing recessions. Therefore, it is surprising that the government even thought about wiping out uninsured depositors of SVB as a mechanism of maintaining financial discipline in the banking sector.

    Commercial Real Estate Disaster

    The commercial real estate sector of the U.S. economy is facing a disaster, Kyle says, as office space lease rates are falling, commercial real estate debt is coming due, and many commercial real estate ventures will likely be insolvent when loans fall due. “This disaster is unfolding slowly because leases and loans typically last five to 10 years,” he explains. “It becomes apparent when leases do not roll over and loans cannot be repaid.”

    Much of the risk has probably found its way into the banking system, especially into the portfolios of medium-sized banks, he says. “Since regulators failed to force SVB to fix obvious problems with SVB’s balance sheet, investors and bankers alike are likely to infer that regulators will also fail to force banks burdened with less obvious bad commercial real estate debt to recapitalize promptly.”

    Perspective from Previous Crises

    As the 2008 financial crisis was largely triggered by bad residential mortgage loans, the bad commercial real estate loans will potentially drive another crisis, Kyle says. “I expect a recession to unfold if and when it becomes apparent that banks are too undercapitalized to function properly. This recession might resemble the recession in the early 90s, which was a delayed response to banking problems within the savings and loan industry.”

    Whether this recession unfolds sooner or later depends on the speed with which the government acts to force banks to recapitalize, he adds. “The Fed’s prediction of a mild recession this year suggests they will do too little, too late. Immediate action might trigger a more severe recession now, which would be a small price to pay for a healthy economy a few years later.”

    Why ‘Sooner Rather Than Later’

    In addition to weakly capitalized banks, the Fed’s commitment to bring the inflation rate down to two percent annually “will exacerbate the debt burden of commercial real estate borrowers because the value of their collateral will fall faster with a lower rate of inflation and high interest rates needed to bring inflation down will make rolling over debt more costly,” Kyle says. However, the Fed’s action is inevitable because (unlike government regulators’ commitments to require banks to be well-capitalized) “if the Fed is unable to rid the economy of inflation, the Fed itself will become obviously insolvent and lose so much credibility that the independence of the Fed will be threatened.”

    Underlying Problem

    Heavy-handed government regulation leading to regulatory capture represents the underlying problem, Kyle says. “The more that is at stake, the more resources regulated entities devote to influencing government policy. The Dodd-Frank Act, rather than creating a healthy banking industry, has created a noncompetitive, undercapitalized banking system, which has captured its regulators and is prone to collapse.” If governments subsidize risk-taking by allowing banks or other companies to function as if things are normal when they are inadequately capitalized, he adds, “the banks or other companies will embrace poor capitalization because they believe they can keep their gains but dump their losses on taxpayers.”

    Warnings from History

    Ultimately, many banks and other companies will fail because their bets did not work out, Kyle says, and these failed companies will be nationalized by the FDIC or other government agencies. “During the past financial crisis, the government quickly sold off nationalized companies like General Motors and AIG. It gave banks generous bailouts to avoid formally nationalizing them. When banks and other firms start failing again, we do not know whether the government will hold the failed firms as nationalized companies or let them go public again.”

    He adds: “In my opinion, the government allowed banks to remain in the private sector last time because bailing out banks (with cheap equity from the TARP program) did not cost taxpayers too much out of pocket: Bank stocks rebounded quickly from their depressed prices. By contrast, in the savings and loan debacle, getting out from under government ownership took more than a decade because the industry did not rebound as a whole. If regulators allow the banking system to become too undercapitalized, the hole to dig out of will become so big that nationalization may not be followed by quick privatization. The road to socialism is paved with debt.”

    Finally, Kyle warns that the collapse of the commercial real estate sector may be accompanied by the collapse of the finances of some big cities. “As the politics of many cities–such as Chicago, San Francisco, and New York–moves to the left, many high-income taxpayers are migrating from these cities to other cities with lower taxes and more business-friendly environments. Some of these cities may face major financial stress in coming years, and this will exacerbate their commercial real estate problems.”

    [ad_2]

    University of Maryland, Robert H. Smith School of Business

    Source link

  • India Schools Erase Darwinism from Textbooks

    India Schools Erase Darwinism from Textbooks

    [ad_1]

    Newswise — Science educators in India are urging the government to restore material on Darwinian evolution which has been removed from science textbooks on the grounds that the study load on schoolchildren needs to be lightened after the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The theory of the 19th century English naturalist Charles Darwin, which centres on the concept that species adapt and evolve over time through a process of natural selection, is fundamental to our understanding of the biological world.

    From this month – the start of the academic year – material on evolution no longer figures in grade nine and ten science textbooks in India, following deletions by the National Council for Education, Research and Training (NCERT).

    The chapter ‘Evolution and Heredity’, taught to grade 11 and 12 students, has been reduced to ‘Heredity’, and a box on Charles Darwin and his work erased.

    An open appeal, signed on by hundreds of leading scientists and science educators and released on 22 April, said the “changes introduced as a temporary measure during the Corona pandemic, are being continued even when schooling has gone back to offline mode”.

    In a pointed reference to the COVID-19 rationale given by NCERT, the statement stressed the relevance of Darwin’s theory today. “The principles of natural selection help us understand how any pandemic progresses or why certain species go extinct, among many other critical issues,” it said.

    T V Venkateshwaran, a scientist at Vigyan Prasar, a Department of Science and Technology body that aims to popularise science, said the deletions were symptomatic of the handling of science education in India.

    “Subjects and topics are added or deleted from textbooks with no reference to evidence from educational psychology or science education,” he told SciDev.Net. “So, when there is a hue and cry that textbooks are heavy, especially after COVID, deletions are made randomly.”

    Venkateshwaran believes science education should be about communicating key concepts about the world through modern science. “Otherwise, we will be living with 14th century perceptions that can generate friction and lead to violence,” he said.

    “The human genome project, for example, has shown that humankind is one — it has pulled the rug on divisive ideas of race and caste. Also, evolution points to the interconnection among all living beings in the world.”

    Objections to the theory of evolution by the ruling pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party were first made known in 2018 when Satya Pal Singh, then minister of state in the education ministry, declared in Parliament that “nobody, including our ancestors, in writing or orally, has said they saw an ape turning into a man”.

    “Darwin’s theory is scientifically wrong. It needs to change in school and college curricula,” he added.

    Singh was then taken on by India’s three main science academies, the Indian Academy of Science, the Indian National Science Academy and the National Academy of Sciences, which issued a joint statement that said: “It would be a retrograde step to remove the teaching of the theory of evolution from school and college curricula or to dilute this by offering non-scientific explanations or myths.

    “The theory of evolution by natural selection as propounded by Charles Darwin and developed and extended subsequently has had a major influence on modern biology and medicine, and indeed all of modern science. It is widely supported across the world.”

    Opposition in India to Darwinism is similar to Christian orthodoxy’s problem with the idea that humans evolved from ape-like bipeds, rather than the Biblical idea that god created man in his own image, says D. Raghunandan, member of the All India Peoples Science Network and the Delhi Science Forum, a public interest group.

    “Historically, there has never been any conflict between Hindu religious orthodoxy and the theory of evolution simply because there has never been an orthodox view of creationism until the votaries of Hindutva, a politicised version of Hinduism, began propagating their own interpretation of Hindu mythology and legends,” said Raghunandan.

    According to Raghunandan, Hindu mythology holds that the deity Vishnu descends to Earth as an “avatar” (form) whenever the cosmic order is disturbed. Vishnu first descended as a fish, then as a tortoise, a boar, a half-man-half-lion, a dwarf, as a warrior-god and finally as Krishna, a preceptor.

    “While Hindu mythology sees avatars as stages of consciousness, Hindutva jingoists interpret it as a theory of evolution that long preceded Darwin,” Raghunandan explained.

    Islamic orthodoxy also frowns on Darwinism and countries that have banned the theory completely include Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Algeria and Morocco. Lebanon has removed evolution from the curriculum while in Jordan the subject is taught within a religious framework.

    This piece was produced by SciDev.Net’s Asia & Pacific desk.

    [ad_2]

    SciDev.Net

    Source link