困境与出路:领域法理论下的警察法学发展

警察法学属于我国法律体系中不可或缺的板块,也是提升社会安全法治能力的理论抓手。遗憾的是,当前我国警察法学的发展深陷概念模糊化、体系碎片化、研究边缘化、教学粗浅化的困境,若不及时矫正,势必将警察法学的研究、教学和实践引入歧途。领域法是近年来新兴的法学理念,强调问题导向与解决策略,能有效融合法教义学与社科法学的思维特点。在领域法学的指引下,研究者需明确警察法学的领域概念,厘清警察法学的法律体系,夯实警察法学的理论体系,增加警察法学的实践色彩,强调在完善警察法学理论体系的同时,提升警察法学的实践与教学效用。     

From clean spaces to crime scenes: Exploring trace DNA recovery from titania-coated self-cleaning substrates

Titanium dioxide (titania, TiO₂) is frequently used as a coating for a variety of self-cleaning products, such as antifogging vehicle mirrors, ceramic tiles, and glass windows because of its distinct physiochemical features. When exposed to light TiO₂ causes photocatalytic decomposition of organic contaminants, potentially compromising DNA integrity. The impact of TiO₂-coated commercial glasses, Bioclean® and SaniTise™, on trace DNA persistence, recovery, and profiling was investigated. DNA in saliva and touch samples deposited on self-cleaning glass slides exposed to indoor fluorescent light for up to seven days was more degraded than control samples indicating some degree of fluorescent light-induced photocatalytic activity of the self-cleaning surfaces. When exposed to sunlight, DNA yields from saliva and touch samples deposited on the titania-coated substrates decreased rapidly, with a corresponding increase in DNA degradation. After three days no DNA samples applied to self-cleaning glass and exposed to natural sunlight yielded STR profiles. These results suggest that the photocatalytic activation of TiO₂ is the likely mechanism of action underlying the extreme DNA degradation on the Bioclean® and SaniTise™ glasses. Consequently, rapid sample collection and use may be warranted in casework scenarios involving TiO₂-coated materials.     

Convenient and Inconvenient Truths in Family Law: Preventing Scholar‐Advocacy Bias in the Use of Social Science Research for Public Policy

This is the second of two articles on the risks of advocacy bias in the reporting of research findings when boundaries are blurred between social science research and advocacy in the pursuit of public policy. In the first article we identify common ways in which social science researchers and reviewers of research—wittingly or unwittingly—can become advocates for ideological positions and social policies at the expense of being balanced reporters of research evidence. The first article discusses the difference between truth in social science and truth in law and identifies a range of scholar‐advocacy strategies that bias research evidence, illustrated by recent debates about overnight parenting of infants and toddlers. In this second article we show how biased research evidence by scholar advocates results in increased confusion and controversy that diminishes the credibility of all parties and stalemates progress in the field, using a case illustration of intimate partner violence in family court. We also show how adherence to scientific methods prevents the misuse of research and suggest a number of collaborative, integrative measures that can help transcend the adversarial stalemate. In a look to the future we consider some unbiased, standardized ways of assessing the strength and generalizability of research evidence.     

侦查学研究现状初探

侦查学自创立以来有愈百年的历史了,然而侦查学的研究现状仍然不尽人意。简单地概括起来,侦查学研究现状中有如下比较突出的问题,一是研究轨道有所偏离,二是比较缺乏来自实践部门的研究主体,三是与重要自然科学联系不够紧密。应着重从侦查学学科性质和学科地位、刑事诉讼法学家对侦查学的影响、侦查理论研究的现实困难三个方面来分析侦查学研究现状的原因,针对存在的问题提出几点思考。     

论和谐进程中社会创造活力的科学激发

社会主义和谐社会是团结和睦的社会,更是充满创造活力的社会。社会和谐与社会充满创造活力二者是内在统一的。但随着构建社会主义和谐社会实践的不断推进,社会创造活力相对不足的问题日益显现。这有其现实的困境,更有其历史文化的成因。为此,我们要采取科学的战略举措,激发全社会的创造活力,以推动科学发展、促进社会和谐。     

Science and Technology and the President's Crime Commission

The U.S. President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice added a Task Force on Science and Technology as somewhat of an afterthought because there had then been very little interaction between science and technology and the criminal justice system (CJS). The task force focused on the CJS as a whole and interactions among its parts, with an important emphasis on analysis of the operating systems and on the important potential role of information systems as the technology advanced. The potential applications of contemporary information and electronic technologies is considerable, especially for assessing risk and needs of identified offenders and for providing relevant information wherever needed. There is urgent need for scientific evaluation of many of the positive and negative aspects of the operation of the CJS and of the potential for new technologies.     

Qualification and Disqualification in Rape Cases

Between 1946 and 1950, the police in Stockholm interrogated almost 150 men about their involvement in alleged rapes and attempted rapes. The results of these investigations eventually led to seventeen prosecutions and eleven convictions. It was not easy to convict someone of rape. However, a consequence of the way the court operated was also that only certain men could be convicted, only certain women regarded as reliable witness, and only certain kinds of attack regarded as plausible. The question of whether the alleged crime was considered possible to prove was dependent upon who reported whom for what. For the complainants it was a matter of qualifying for inclusion within the protection of the law. But what appeared as a rejection of someone's credibility, was in actual fact a result of a prior rejection of the individual's person and character. From the point of view of the legal system, some individuals were more fitted than others for the role of credible victim or likely offender. The sexually immoral woman and the man at the mercy of his sexuality were both in danger of having their credibility questioned: the former a poor victim and the latter all too suitable an offender.