Recruiting incarcerated individuals as firefighters to slow the spread of wildfires is a controversial practice. We argue that, provided certain important conditions are met, this practice can be made ethically permissible. While these conditions have not yet been satisfied, we contend that achievable and promptly operable reforms—short of more comprehensive reforms to the criminal-legal system—could fulfill them. In this paper, we address three main arguments against this contentious practice: (1) firefighting is too risky for incarcerated individuals; (2) incarcerated firefighters are both unduly induced into participation and exploited in their work; and (3) the future employment prospects for incarcerated firefighters are unsatisfactory. In response to these concerns, we propose actions including more comprehensive and frequent health screening, ensuring adequate safety training and equipment, and improving pathways to future firefighting employment. While the first two actions only reduce the chances of exploitation, we show how improving future firefighting employment can simultaneously reduce the chances of both exploitation and undue inducement.

Persons with intellectual disabilities are more exposed to violence than other citizens. When they seek help or report to the police, their disability may, however, pass unidentified, which means that their needs cannot be met. Methods for identifying these persons are therefore required. This study aimed to understand whether the Intellectual Disability Screening Questionnaire (IDSQ), developed in the UK, is useful in Sweden. Workshops were conducted with professionals representing the Police authority, health care units, social service units, persons with intellectual disabilities, and relatives. The results showed that participants perceived the identification of intellectual disabilities among victims of violence and crime as important, and they found IDSQ useful. The participants appreciated that IDSQ can be used in flexible ways, and that contextual factors can be acknowledged, which enhance the possibilities to support victims of crime throughout legal processes, and provide care. They sensed that structured methods, such as IDSQ, must be accompanied by a person-centered perspective, and clients must be approached with ethical awareness. However, the participants found the manual complicated and stressed the importance of adapting IDSQ to professionals’ routines. More work is needed if IDSQ is to be implemented in Sweden.

U.K. policing practice is topical and the subject of considerable political debate. Especially in relation to vulnerable individuals, it is variously described as problematic, “heavy handed” or even unjust. In this article, the way that individuals who have autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) are treated by the police will be explored. Research undertaken across England and Wales confirms that not only are individuals with ASD some of the most vulnerable people in society, but also, they are often subjected to negative treatment by the police. Despite the enactment of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act in 1984, findings suggest that due process protections are not being appropriately applied, and that legislative rhetoric does not reflect reality, having worrying consequences for those with ASD. The lived experiences of research participants feature prominently in this article, revealing weaknesses in statutory safeguards. These weaknesses are not insignificant, potentially harming those with ASD and undermining confidence in the justice system. Reflecting on research findings, this article concludes that there is an urgent need for a strengthening of protections by the U.K. Parliament for ASD-affected people, including more effective training and a transformation of attitudes to realize both due process and justice.

As police departments have come to rely on algorithmic patrol management systems to assign patrols, community groups and academics have raised concerns about demographic bias in the data used to train these systems. This paper introduces a technique for eliminating demographically correlated features from a place-based algorithmic patrol management system. We apply our technique to the real-world algorithmic patrol management system ResourceRouter, developed by SoundThinking. After applying the technique, we test the system's accuracy against historical crime incident data in four cities across several crime categories. Results suggest that demographically correlated features can be removed from the system without reducing accuracy.

A bunch of people imprisons or execute an innocent man. Ordinarily, when caught, they are punished for this transgression. But not if they are government jailors, executioners, juries, judges. Why the difference? Why is it that when this occurs, and given human fallibility, it occurs to a greater degree than we would like, these people get off scot-free without paying any penalty at all, without being considered, even in the slightest, as criminals? This is a challenge all governments face. I contend that the anarcho-system can better deal with this challenge, even though, of course, similar mistakes will undoubtedly be made under that system too.

The older adult population in the U.S. will increase dramatically over the next several decades, especially within the criminal justice system. This demographic requires a new and different public discourse regarding government policy and services addressing the needs and desires of both the general population and the correction-based population, particularly following the 2011 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Plata (563 U.S. 493). Capable workforces trained with geriatric-centered knowledge and skill sets are required to meet needs with justice-involved aging populations. While faculty of schools of social work are preparing gerontological social workers, faculty of departments of criminal justice are also beginning to address this shift in the correctional population demographics in their courses, although findings show this may be to a lesser extent. To meet these growing needs and demands, social work and criminal justice faculty can collaborate on building this workforce as both professionally and ethically responsible. Based on an exploratory, qualitative study, this article presents the perceived skills and training needed to serve this target population. Perceptions of criminal justice faculty pertaining to the changing views toward aging and geriatrics in the criminal justice field were explored. Themes emerged implying that interprofessional, geriatric education is necessary for interdisciplinary practice, research, and educational collaboration. Implications for public policy discussions and changes concerning institutional-based and community-based services, and compassionate care were addressed.

This mixed-methods study aims to assess public awareness, perception, and understanding of technological advancements in the Indian legal system. It examines public recognition and comprehension of available digital solutions; assesses perceived benefits and challenges such as access and security; measures the impact of technology on accessibility, transparency, and efficiency; identifies areas where technology could enhance access for marginalized communities; and analyzes how public trust influences satisfaction with digital legal platforms and services. Indian legal system has historically been shackled with colonial procedures restricting its accessibility and efficiency. Recent technological advances (electronic filing, virtual hearings, and digital case management) are expected to simplify the processes and gain public confidence in greater access and efficiency framework at the judicial level. The study uses stratified random sampling for quantitative analysis, supplemented by 20 in-depth interviews. The mean ratings on factors such as public awareness, perceived accessibility, transparency, efficiency, and security were found to be quite high, and all of them were statistically significant in the satisfaction of the public. Thematic analysis from interviews still indicates public themes of convenience, challenges, and trust about the role of technology in legal modernization.

This paper explores the relevance of psychiatric diagnoses to responsibility assessments, with a focus on criminal law. There is wide agreement that certain mental disorders and developmental conditions may impact one's capacity for responsible agency, but whether a diagnosis itself is relevant—and if so, how—remains unclear and controversial. A psychiatric diagnosis carries information about the mental differences or symptoms a person with that diagnosis might experience. Because of this, we argue that diagnoses are relevant to responsibility when they pick out symptoms or differences that are likely to undermine the specific capacities that matter for responsibility. We claim that where there is enough empirical evidence about the impact of a diagnosis on legal agency, a criminal court must investigate whether a defendant ought to be fully or partially excused. Intellectual disability is this sort of diagnosis. Evidence that a person has intellectual disability at the time of their wrongful act does not automatically settle the question of their responsibility, but this diagnosis requires that the court investigate the nature and degree of responsibility-relevant differences and symptoms experienced by that person at the time of the act in question.

In Australia, police management of a criminal defense lawyer who was recruited as a police informer against her own clients has been scrutinized by a Royal Commission public inquiry. The Royal Commission found that both the lawyer and the police violated their professional and legal obligations. The High Court of Australia has held that the behavior of both informer and police debased fundamental premises of the criminal justice system. This paper evaluates the ‘justifications’ asserted by the informer and the police, within the framework of a normative account of policing. This episode tests and reinforces the principle that individual and collective public interest in the proper functioning of the criminal justice system and its actors is the appropriate moral interest reference point for police and lawyers. Police reliance on informers should be subordinate to preserving the integrity of the criminal justice system.