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The Amsterdam approach to potentially dangerous psychiatric patients: The person-oriented approach 'Psychiatric Patients, Potential Danger' targets a small population of adults in Amsterdam with a psychiatric disorder who are not adequately in care and pose a threat to themselves and their surroundings. The public health service, with organizations from the care, social and safety sector, tries to restore adequate care/treatment provision in absence of possibilities to deploy criminal law interventions and/or forced care. Its main aim is to reduce the chance of violent incidents with a major impact on society. This paper describes the development and methods of this approach and the main characteristics of the target population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Victims' rights in practice – the perception of professionals. An exploratory study into compliance with victims' rights: Though the position of victims of crime in criminal proceedings has improved on paper, it is claimed within both the academic as the legal community that realization of victims' rights is inadequate. In this exploratory research, a broad group of (legal) professionals was systematically questioned on this matter. They were asked whether and where compliance with victims' rights is lacking, and how this comes about in their view. Although much has improved, it appears that compliance by the authorities is not yet self-evident and fundamental mechanisms in the criminal justice system appear to hinder the realization of rights for victims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Detention and autonomy – About the psychological basis of voluntary action and self-reliance: Life in prison goes hand in hand with far-reaching restrictions in the personal autonomy of offenders. Lack of personal autonomy and the coercion to perform certain actions disrupt the 'normal' intrinsic experiences of voluntary action (i.e. sense of agency). Disturbances in the neurocognitive basis of voluntary action have a number of clear effects on human functioning, including self-reliance. This paper provides a first analysis of the relationship between personal autonomy and the intrinsic experience of voluntary action, and how this may be the key to understanding how freedom restrictions in detention can reduce self-reliance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluation pilot integrated approach to domestic violence – Lessons to be learned?: In the Netherlands, domestic violence cases are often heard in criminal court by a single judge. In these cases usually the family is usually confronted with multiple problems related to divorce or separation, child protection issues, financial problems, psychological problems or addiction and aggression problems that can lead to various legal proceedings with different judges. The District Court of Rotterdam has started a pilot 'integrated approach to domestic violence'. In this paper results of the pilot evaluation are presented in relation to recent developments of the judiciary to focus on effective problem solving courts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In absence of a citizens' crime report: what will the police do? In previous observational studies among operational police officers, some officers stated that if a victim is not willing to (officially) report a crime to the police, they are not able to police these cases. This rather cynical and fatalistic statement raises several questions. What do police officers mean when they say this? What do they actually do in those cases and why? In this paper we try to answer these questions based on explorative qualitative interviews with several police officers in two police teams in the Netherlands. The results show that even though police officers recognize these statements among their colleagues, they do not agree with them and in practice police officers show a lot of effort and involvement in these cases. In fact, police officers have several possible strategies available to deal with these cases. Which strategy they opt for depends on various pragmatic, organisational and moral considerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This report describes the discovery and detailed description of a new morph of Ocellated lizard from the Northern slopes of the Sierra de Gredos (Castilla y Leon, Spain). Morphological and molecular analysis showed that this new morph is different from the common species of ocellated lizard (Timon lepidus) on the Iberian peninsula in body size, sexual size dimorphism and cytochrome b haplotype. DNA sequencing revealed a unique and highly divergent cytochrome B haplotype indicating a long-term separation from other species of ocellated lizards. In view of its remarkable small stature I have chosen minor ("minor" meaning smaller) as an appropriate name for this new morph. Evolutionary mechanisms that may have contributed to the formation of T. lepidus "minor" are discussed. The results presented in this paper suggest that this new morph is likely to be recognized as a full species in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Quality of Prison Life in Dutch prisons: the Life In Custody study The Life In Custody-study is a large scale, prospective panel study, aimed to examine the quality of prison life in The Netherlands. This paper describes the LIC-study by giving a detailed overview of the data collection procedure, and strategies to optimize response, and presents the first nationwide results on prison climate in The Netherlands. Results show that the data collection procedures utilized were successful in obtaining a high response rate (which was an exceptional 81%) and reaching a representative group of prisoners. Furthermore, results show that the perceptions of prison climate vary across prison regimes, and to a lesser extent across age groups and time spent in detention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Like many other lizards the Leopard gecko, Eublepharis macularius, can drop off its tail when frightened via tail autotomy, and regenerate a new tail. Anatomically the tail consists of skin with fat and muscle tissue underneath, which envelopes the vertebrae with blood vessels and nerves in the centre. On selected places in the tail a “fracture plate" of connective tissue exists, which is visible on the outside as constrictive rings. This fracture plate is a predilected place for the tail to rupture; here the vertebra consists of demineralized zones and cartilage to ensure a smooth rupture without fractures, special connective tissue plates in the muscle and fat tissue ensure a smooth rupture and the blood vessels have sphincters to minimize blood loss. When the tail is dropped due to autotomy it will always be ruptured on a fracture plate, when the tail is ripped off, it can also rupture on a different location. As soon as the tail is autotomized a thrombus forms to minimize blood loss and to cover the exposed spinal cord. The tail regeneration starts immediately, this process can be divided in seven phases and takes up to 25 days. During the regeneration, new skin tissue that covers the wound is developed first, followed by the growth of new blood vessels. As the development of new nerve cells is impossible, axons from the nerve cells in the existing part of the tail are further extended into the regenerative tissue. This new spinal cord is then enveloped by cartilage and muscle tissue and the outer skin layer starts to keratinize and pigmentate. When the tail is fully regenerated it has the same diameter and colour as the original tail, but without constrictive rings as there are no new fracture plates formed. The regenerated tail has a smaller mobility range, and this impairs the movements of the gecko, which is visible as a change in locomotion and different tail movement. A Leopard gecko that has lost its tail needs special care, as it has lost its primary fat reserves. The animal needs to be put in a quarantine box with paper towel bedding, and has to be fed more often, preferable every other day, to prevent further weight loss. Feed the gecko by hand until it declines the offered insects, no live crickets should be left in the box, as they can harm the regenerating tail. Place a dish with calcium + vitamin D3 in the box and use UVB lighting as the animal needs to replenish the lost calcium from the tail vertebrae loss. Remove faeces daily to prevent wound infection. When the tail is fully regenerated the gecko can be returned to its original terrarium. However, if it has an aggressive cage mate it should be housed solitary from now on. Young animals may develop a growth retardation and their weight needs to be monitored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nobody wants dead Chinese in a locked container Human smuggling investigations and the so-called ban on passage of people: According to Dutch law, investigating officers have to comply with a so-called ban on passage of people, in cases of concrete 'knowledge' about human smuggling, making intervention obligatory (in order to protect smuggled migrants). Nevertheless, a formal exception procedure is possible if non-intervention would be in the interest of the investigation. This exception procedure, however, is not used in practice. Based on interviews with investigating officers, this paper concludes that protection of smuggled migrants is a very important aim as such, that 'knowledge' is a complex concept as it is not always very concrete, that making this 'knowledge' more concrete depends on actual investigative efforts, and that – if this information is concrete – there are various ways in which interventions can take place that do not jeopardize the aims of the investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In spite of the success of child and adolescent (and, in expansion, adult) (cognitive) behavior therapy, one can wonder whether its focus on behavior and maladaptive cognitive schemas ignores maladaptive relational eperiences that underly developmental psychopathology. This special issue of TvG aims to illustrate how the attachment-related development of (lack of) trust in caregivers' availability to provide support is a fundamental theme to understand the development and treatment of behavioral and emotional problems. This paper introduces attachment theory and its relevance for existing (cognitive) behavior therapies for children, adolescents, and adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meta-analyses show that insecure attachment makes children and adolescents more vulnerable to the development of psychopathology. There has been a lack of research investigating the mechanisms that explain the link between insecure attachment and internalizing as well as externalizing problems. However, a thorough understanding of these mechanisms is necessary to improve the knowledge about and treatment of these problems. Therefore, the current paper offers a review of the recent growth in attachment-related developmental psychopathology research. Studies demonstrate that more insecurely attached individuals are more vulnerable to the development of psychopathology through different maladaptive behavioral, emotional and cognitive regulation mechanisms (support-seeking behavior, emotion regulation strategies, effortful control, and cognitive attachment-related processes). The finding that the quality of the attachment relationship is linked to a variety of well-defined regulation mechanisms not only explains why insecure attachment is a transdiagnostic risk factor, but also offers starting points to further deepen and strengthen the current practice of behavioral therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]