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This paper identifies longitudinal predictors of weapon-carrying in a sample of 10–25 year olds in England and Wales. It conceptualises weapon-carrying as anticipation of an adverse event and proposes hypotheses about the origins of weapon-carrying derived from the field of risk analysis. Specifically, it tests if worry about victimisation and experience of violence predict later weapon-carrying and assesses the moderating influence of trust in the police. The results indicate that worry about victimisation does not predict weapon-carrying, but experience of violence does. Distrust of police and peer criminality were also identified as important precursors to weapon-carrying. The study provides further evidence that, at least over longer periods, weapon-carrying is a product of experience of violence and criminogenic factors rather than a response to concern about victimisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior research has revealed sexual minority youth are more likely to carry weapons both outside of and within school. However, to date, no study has examined the degree to which bullying and harassment is associated with weapon carrying among sexual minority youth. We utilized the Youth Risk Behavior Survey to examine the prevalence and likelihood of carrying weapons by sexual identity, adjusting for adverse experiences. From the Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2009-2015, we examined self-report of adverse experiences (e.g., being bullied, skipping school due to fear for personal safety) and performed Logistic regressions to estimate the odds of carrying a weapon and were adjusted to include demographics and adverse experiences. When surveyed by sexual identity, 14.0% of heterosexual, 21.8% of gay/lesbian, 18.5% of bisexual, and 17.4% of "not sure" students reported carrying a weapon in the past 30 days. Odds of carrying a weapon were significantly increased for youth who skipped school due to feeling unsafe at school, had ever been threatened with a weapon in the past year, and had ever been in a physical fight. Compared to heterosexual female peers, sexual minority women had increased odds of carrying a weapon. Pediatricians should recognize that experiencing bullying and feeling unsafe are associated with weapon carrying, particularly among sexual minorities. Pediatricians and professionals who work with youth should recognize that reported experiences of bullying may not be the most salient indicator of risk for weapon carrying among all youth, and that other fears of or experiences with bullying are crucial to screen for among sexual minorities in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Weapons are implicitly associated with Black Americans. We examined the extent to which this implicit stereotype fluctuates as a function of the ethnic diversity of contexts. Across 351 U.S. metropolitan areas, we tested whether three distinct indicators of ethnic diversity predicted implicit associations between the concept of "weapons" (vs. "harmless objects") and Black Americans vs. White Americans. As predicted, implicit Black–weapon stereotypes were weaker in areas characterized by the presence of multiple ethnic groups (variety) and greater dispersion of ethnic groups at the neighborhood level (integration). Additionally, the negative association between integration and implicit stereotypes was strongest when minority representation was low compared to high. Considering multiple dimensions of ethnic diversity proved useful to document reliable relations between implicit associations and characteristics of local contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sentencing of those convicted of murder has been an area of contention since the abolition of the death penalty (Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965, s 1). Lord Bingham CJ sought to achieve some consistency of approach in murder cases but not to bind trial judges. Lord Bingham CJ recommended to judges that a minimum term of 14 years was to be served for the "average", "normal" or "unexceptional" murder and a minimum term of 30 years in very rare cases. Lord Bingham CJ's approach was confirmed by his successor Lord Woolf CJ (see I Practice Statement (Juveniles: Murder Tariff) i [2000] 1 WLR 1655, 1656). [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses the 2019 England and Wales Court of Appeals case R v. Harper which deals with a stabbing-related death and the appellant's conviction as an accessory to murder, and it mentions the court's determination that the use of a knife by the appellant's friend did not amount to an overwhelmingly supervening event. The British Accessories and Abettors Act 1861 is examined, along with the use of deadly weapons within an agreed plan.

This article examines the methods through which the formal and emotional components, embedded in the photo sharing and social networking application Instagram, are utilized as a propaganda tool to cultivate solidarity with promoted agendas. The test case is Instagram photos posted on the official Web site of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The article juxtaposes two conceptual systems, the one shared by the members of Instagram and a system based on presuppositions regarding the ideologies, values, and emotional attitudes shared by Israeli Instagram users toward the IDF. This juxtaposition is made possible, thanks to the resemblance found between the aesthetic and emotional aspects of Instagram and the ideological and emotional aspects emphasized by IDF. Three main interrelated motifs demonstrate the article’s argument: soldiers as civilians/photographers in momentary disguise, army and nature, and admiration for appearances of weapons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors consider six models of underlying process in the weapon identification task: The first two are response-time extensions of signal detection models; the last four, of the process dissociation model. Predictions for accuracy data, correct response latencies, and false response latencies are used to discriminate between models. In the present study, racial bias in responses and correct response latency was replicated. New findings were that the direction of bias was reversed in error latency and that errors were faster than correct responses. These findings rule out four models, in particular, the idea that race biases early perception and interpretation of targets. Implications for reducing errors in the weapon identification task and possibilities of discriminating between the remaining two models are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examining the role of maltreatment in weapon carrying among 12-year-old youth (N = 797) interviewed as part of the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN), an ongoing study of the antecedents and consequences of child maltreatment. Participants reported their physical and sexual abuse history and provided responses to items assessing perceived need for a weapon and weapon carrying. There were no gender difference in rates of self-reported physical or sexual abuse. Males were more likely than females to report weapon carrying and perceived need for a weapon. A mediation analysis was conducted to examine the mediating effect of perceived need for a weapon on the association between abuse and weapon carrying. Results indicated that perceived need for a weapon fully mediated the effect of physical abase and partially, mediated the effect of sexual abase. Results are discussed in the context of self-protection theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Race stereotypes can lead people to claim to see a weapon where there is none. Split-second decisions magnify the bias by limiting people's ability to control responses. Such a bias could have important consequences for decision making by police officers and other authorities interacting with racial minorities. The bias requires no intentional racial animus, occurring even for those who are actively trying to avoid it. This research thus raises difficult questions about intent and responsibility for racially biased errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A police firearms training survey collected data on U.S. state and larger municipal and country police departments (N = 51) regarding in-service deadly force program staffing models and instructor development, training frameworks, requalification, and access to in formation from officer-involved shootings. Findings reveal a wide range of policies and practices among departments, although there were no statistically significant correlations between particular program variables or factors and violent crime levels or numbers of self-reported officer-involved shootings. There are important implications for deadly force training among the many findings, and this article concludes with recommendations designed to improve the empirical foundation of contemporary police deadly force programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article summarizes recent research on juvenile access to firearms, juvenile weapon carrying, variables associated with juvenile weapon carrying, and the unlawful use of weapons by juveniles. Although weapon-associated juvenile violence has declined since the mid-1990s, research indicates that juveniles have easy access to firearms and that delinquent juveniles are more likely than nondelinquent juveniles to own and carry guns and other weapons. However, there are no empirical data that indicate that the majority of juvenile gun owners or weapon carriers are delinquents. Thus, for purposes of policy and program development, a distinction should be drawn between (a) juveniles who own and carry firearms and other weapons for legitimate reasons and (b) juveniles who own and carry firearms and other weapons for crime-related reasons. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The last decade has seen the development of military lasers designed to blind. Medical professionals dedicated to the prevention and treatment of visual disability, and particularly ophthalmologists under the terms of their newly acquired Royal Charter, have a responsibility to: document this new technology; explain its medical effects; and influence the threshold at which these weapons might be used. Proposals to prohibit anti-eye laser warfare at The United Nations Convention Conference in September 1995 present a unique opportunity to stigmatize blinding as a method of warfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]