No. 179 December 1997
MEGAN'S LAW: STATE LEVEL In 1994, Congress passed Megan's Law (Public Law 104-145) amending the Jacob Wetterling Act (Public Law 103-322, Title XVII, Subtitle A). Megan's Law is a one-page text that requires every State to notify local residents and communities that they have released a sex offender from prison and that the offender will be living among them. The Jacob Wetterling Act requires States to create registries of offenders convicted of sexually violent crimes or crimes against children, and sexually violent predators. As of September 1997, forty-seven states (but not Kentucky, Nebraska, and New Mexico) had enacted community notification statutes. Scott Matson and Roxanne Lieb wrote Megan's Law: A Review of State and Federal Legislation. These sixty-nine pages of explanation and analysis of the States Megan Laws are very well done and include information about similar notification programs in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. This Washington State Institute Policy (WSIPP) Report, Document No. 97-10-1101 was published in October 1997 and is free from WSIPP at <http://www.wa.gov/wsipp>. The WSIPP web site allows your electronic request or on-line download of this document, and your opportunity to get onto their mailing list. You will find a summary of the Jacob Wettering sex offender registration laws (APrinciple Features of the Sex Offender Laws) on page 2 of "Sex Offender Community Notification, February 1997 "(J 28.15/2-2:SE 9). This 20-page National Institute of Justice publication and the WSIPP report are brief but informative sources of current information on the current State laws about released sex offender's location (in the community) and State registration.
OPINIONS ON CRIME AND JUSTICE?? Do you have an opinion about crime, the criminal justice system, and the role and effectiveness of the police? If you stop and think, then you will know your opinion(s) and view(s). Yet . . . what about everyone else? "What are Americans' Views on Crime and Law Enforcement?" is not an easy question to answer. It is an article by Jean Johnson on pages 9-14 of the September 1997 issue of National Institute of Justice Journal issued by the National Institute of Justice (J 1.14/2-2:233). This summary of a 1994 national survey not only tells us what Americans think; the author also analyzes why people think as they do about many crime and law enforcement problems and issues. Most important are historical incidents such as the Rodney King beating and the O.J. Simpson trial that affect and shape people's perceptions of the issues, problems, and possible solutions. Interestingly, blacks and whites are in substantial agreement about what is appropriate police behavior,...yet; their judgements differ widely about what actually happens in most communities regarding police behavior. Citing the sources and background information about this survey, this article is well worth your time if you need this type of information.
MEASURING THE BIG AND THE SMALL The Hubble Telescope is something that has been in the news for a long time as with Albert Einstein and mathematical calculations to find the stars and other celestial bodies. They measure all these bodies to know how big or small, or close or far, or how fast each is moving. What is not as well known is the small. We found out about the M3 (the Molecular Measuring Machine) A.K.A. the Nanometer in the June 1997 Newsletter (No. 173). How do you measure the surface of a mirror to check for high or low spots that are no larger than a few atoms? This would not be your bathroom mirror, but the Hubble Telescope and other astronomical optical devices need perfect mirror surfaces to work effectively. The new Absolute Interferometer represents a 100-fold improvement in accuracy of optical instruments designed to measure celestial bodies. This new interferometer also advances the process of Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography involved in the testing of the circuit patterns of new smaller microchips. Smaller chips and smaller circuits have smaller tolerances that must be measured and it seems the new Absolute Interferometer does this job. Since further discussion could lead to big confusion, read "New Interferometer Measures to Atomic Dimensions" in Science & Technology Review, October 1997, pages 6-7, (E 1.53:997/10). Maybe this article by Katie Walter will be clearer than I. Actually, Gary Sommargren (gesommargren@llnl.gov) and the inventors of this gadget who are at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory where the research was done will be more help. This article is at <http://www.llnl.gov/str>. The picture of what I assume to be our new measuring device looks like it is about four feet tall. It seems the micro world needs macro measurement tools.
RICH AND FAMOUS Many famous people, such as movie stars, are rich, but many rich people are not famous. Though rich who are not famous are few, the poor who are many are also not famous but their poverty makes them well known. Learning about the poor and poverty is not hard, but if the rich are rich, what makes them rich? Did you know "the wealthiest 3 percent of U.S. households own about one-third of total household net worth (i.e., wealth), while the top 1 percent of the income distribution receives about 10 percent of total income? At the other end, a few percent of households have a negative worth, and the poorest 20 percent have no net worth as a whole?" In short, there are a very-few very-rich people (in very-rich households), and there are many very-poor people (in very-poor households). What is the definition of wealth (net worth)? Who are the rich? Who are the poor? What are the assets held by the rich which make them rich? What constitutes the assets and liabilities of the rich? And the poor? What are the demographic and economic characteristics of the richest and poorest households? All the interesting answers in John C. Weicher's "The Rich and the Poor: Demographics of the U.S. Wealth Distribution" in Review, v. 79, no. 4, July/August 1997 pages 25-37 issued by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis <http://www.stls.frb.org/research/review97mj.html#JUL>. This 1983, 1989, and 1992 data and information taken from the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances and the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey databases is very enlightening about what makes the rich (household) rich, and what make the poor (household) poor. Or, what the rich have and the poor do not (have). Weicher also provides a good bibliography.
WHAT DID YOU LEARN AT SCHOOL TODAY? Do you remember your parents asking you (as a child) that question when you came home from school? Have you possibly asked your child that question? The frequent response is "nothing" (or an equally negative reply). I do not think that question was one included in the National College Risk Behavior Survey--United States, 1995. This national college-based survey of the prevalence of health-risk behaviors among college students nationwide did gather a unique database of information about how much the college students learn from their experiences with intentional and unintentional injuries, tobacco use, alcohol and other drug use, sexual behaviors, unhealthy dietary behaviors, and physical inactivity. These students have revealed to their mothers, fathers, and everyone else what they learned about from January through June 1995. "Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance: National College Health Risk Behavior Survey--United States, 1995" MMWR, CDC Surveillance Summaries, MMWR, v. 46, no. SS-6, November 14, 1997. You can preview this report at <http://www.cdc.gov/epo/mmwr/preview/ss4606.html> or you can download the full text at <http://www.cdc.gov/epo/mmwr/mmwr_ss.html>. There were a few other researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health who surveyed about 17,600 students at 140 four-year colleges and universities about binge drinking. Of these the people who had been binge drinkers in high school were more likely to be binge drinkers in college. Nevertheless, it seems all the self-admitted binge drinkers also admitted what they experienced and learned from their binge drinking. The came to college and paid to learn about binge drinking. "Binge Drinking on Campus: Results of A National Study" by Henry Weschler, et al., is an 8-page report issued as a Bulletin by the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention, 55 Chapel St., Newton, MASS. 02158 (800) 676-1730, http://www.edc.org/hec/pubs.htm. Binge drinkers cause problems not only for themselves, but also for others. "Secondary Effects of Binge Drinking on College Campuses" was completed by Henry Weschler, et al., in February 1996 (ED 1.2:B51 and <http://www.edc.org/hec/pubs.htm>) and also issued by the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention. The title of this 7-page report speaks for itself.
KIDS CRIME AND COMPUTERS From 1980 to 1995 kids aged 12 and younger became more involved with computers, but also during this time their involvement with crime has also increased. While Violent Crime Index arrests involving older juveniles (15 and up) increased 47% between 1980 and 1995, arrests of juveniles ages 13 and 14 grew 92%, and arrests of juveniles age 12 or younger grew 102%. All the tables of information and discussion of the data in this 12-page publication are quite informative. Are there younger juveniles offenders today than there were 10 or 15 years ago? There is a one-column "Postscript" on page 11 that puts states that we should view this study and data in the perspective of five factors. Factors that include growth in the number of violent juvenile crimes, the increased attention to the problems of young offenders, the nature of delinquency cases involving juveniles aged 12 or younger, the doubling of delinquency caseloads since 1970, the justice professionals accumulate memories of exceptional cases, and the news media have increased their reporting of crime, especially violent crimes by the very young. "The Youngest Delinquents: Offenders Under Age 15" was issued in September 1997 by the Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (J 32.10:D 37) . This report that cites the many information sources used in its preparation is a very good introduction to the problem of kids and crime.
AIRBAG ON-OFF SWITCHES As of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), issued a final rule in the Federal Register, V. 62, no. 225 November 21, 1997 pages 62406-62455 that allows for the installation of an airbag on-off switch in vehicles for the passenger, the driver, or both. This regulation is effective as of December 18, 1997 but these installations cannot begin until January 19, 1998 if the vehicle owner qualifies for an on-off switch. A vehicle owner must fill-out a "Request for Air Bag On-Off Switch" form, and send it to the NHTSA. The NHTSA will review the form and decide if the applicant meets the risk group criteria. If so, the NHTSA will send the applicant a letter authorizing the installation of one or more of these switches. The (above) pages in the Federal Register will answer most questions and provide sample copies of the (on-off switch) INFORMATION BROCHURE, the (vehicle owner's) RQUEST FORM, and the (NHTSA's) INSTALLATION OF AN AIR BAG ON-OFF SWITCHES form to be found in NHTSA's letter authorizing the owner's installation of the switch(es) in that person's vehicle. You will also find this and other information at < http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/airbags/>. You can also call the NHTSA Hotline at 1-800-424-9393, or in the Washington D.C. area, call 202-366-0123.
February 3, 1998
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