Korps Landelijke Politiediensten

To examine sex- and age-related differences in patterns of post-concussive symptoms (PCS), across cognitive, somatic, emotional, and behavioral domains, and their recovery within the first 6 months after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), and their relation to participation. Data were collected from patients visiting the emergency departments of 14 hospitals in the Netherlands. Two hundred 8 to 17-year-old children with mTBI and their caregivers, and 186 adults with mTBI. Data were collected in 2 prospective cohort studies, with assessments at 2 weeks and 6 months post-injury. Data were analyzed using Multivariate Latent Class Growth Analysis to detect latent PCS patterns (classes), multivariate logistic regressions to assess age and sex differences between classes, and Kruskal-Wallis tests to investigate class differences in participation. PCS were assessed with the Health and Behavior Inventory (children) and the Rivermead Post-Concussion Symptoms Questionnaire (adults). Participation (being involved in daily life situations) was assessed with the Child and Adolescent Scale of Participation (children) and the Utrecht Scale for Evaluation and Rehabilitation-Participation (adults). Three distinct classes with unique PCS recovery trajectories were found across samples (children/caregiver, adults). In child-reported PCS, sex differences were found, driven by higher levels of somatic and emotional PCS in females. No sex differences were found in caregiver reports or in adult reports. Age differences were found in the caregiver report for the child sample, with higher ages found in the class showing decreasing somatic symptoms over time, and in the adult sample, where younger individuals were more often in the class with recovered PCS. Classes differed in their levels of participation in all samples. Findings highlight the heterogeneity of PCS across the lifespan as well as the variation of discrepancies in sex- and age-related findings. Taking age and sex differences into account increases our understanding of recovery patterns after mTBI and allow identification of at-risk individuals and better-tailored interventions.

Technological advancements in ultrasound systems, particularly the development of high- and ultra-high-frequency transducers, now allow for the detailed evaluation of sub-millimetric sensory nerves in the upper limb, extending to their distal branches. This provides invaluable insights in patients with suspected neuropathies. This review aims to outline the scanning techniques and normal ultrasound appearance of cutaneous nerves of the upper limbs, including the medial cutaneous nerve of the arm, medial cutaneous nerve of the forearm, lateral cutaneous nerve of the forearm, and posterior cutaneous nerve of the forearm. Furthermore, several cases of nerve pathologies where ultrasound has played a crucial role in accurate diagnosis and therapeutic management are presented.

Novel psychoactive substances pose a significant analytical challenge for forensic laboratories. Gas Chromatography with Infrared Spectroscopy (GC-IR) is typically presented as producing visually distinct spectra. However, this is not the case for all compounds. In this study, we showcase three synthetic cathinone analogs (methylone, N-ethylpentylone, and pentylone) which produce extremely visually similar solid state IR spectra.A primary dataset of these analogs was generated at the Amsterdam Police Laboratory. Libraries were created using two different sample preparation methods. The same compounds were also analyzed at the Virginia Department of Forensic Science (DFS). It was observed that changes in either instrument or sample preparation were enough to pose challenges to both the visual assessment and a library matching algorithm. Additionally, week-to-week variation was observed within the primary dataset. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) in combination with mahalanobis distances for objective comparison was assessed. A leave-one-sample-out cross validation accurately identified 100% of the samples in the primary dataset.This study shows how the application of chemometrics to spectral GC-IR data can substantiate the instrument’s differentiation capabilities and provide valuable objective support for a compound identification. In addition, limitations in the consistency of GC-IR spectra over time and across instruments and sample preparation methods were observed which could affect how the forensic community utilizes these techniques. Specifically, this study shows that shared GC-IR libraries might pose selectivity limitations. Therefore, laboratories must exercise caution if shared/generic GC-IR libraries are utilized for casework, and it is recommended that instrument and solvent specific libraries are generated.

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying societal measures have impacted children and their families all over the world. Little is known about the factors associated with mental health outcomes in young children (i.e., 1 to 6 years old) during the pandemic. The current study aimed to examine associations with potential risk and protective factors, i.e., direct COVID-19 exposure factors as well as within-family characteristics.MethodsCaregivers of children aged 1–6 years old were recruited in the Netherlands to participate in an ongoing longitudinal research project. In the current study, baseline data—collected during the 1st year of the pandemic—are reported. The final sample consisted of 2762 caregivers who answered questionnaires assessing negative and positive dimensions of their children’s mental health (i.e., anxiety, depressive symptoms, anger, sleep problems, positive affect, and self-regulation). Furthermore, caregivers provided information regarding: (1) Direct COVID-19 related factors, i.e., parental infection and death of a family member or close friend due to COVID-19, (2) Family related COVID-19 factors, i.e., parental perceived impact of the pandemic and COVID-19 related parent–child emotion regulation strategies (i.e., active, avoidant and information-focused strategies), (3) General caregiver’s distress, i.e., parental mental health, parental feelings of rejection towards their child. Regression analyses were used to examine associations with children’s mental health.ResultsDirect COVID-19 related factors were not associated with more mental health problems in the children, though parental COVID-19 infections were related with less anger in children. Family related COVID-19 factors and caregiver’s distress were related with children’s mental health. Higher parental perceived negative impact of the pandemic, lower parental perceived positive impact of the pandemic, more avoidant as well as more active and information-focused parent–child emotion regulation strategies, more caregiver’s mental health problems and more parental feelings of rejection towards their child were related with more mental health problems in the child.ConclusionDirect exposure to COVID-19 was not related with more mental health problems in the child. Family related COVID-19 factors and caregiver’s distress appear to play a more important role for young children’s mental health. Findings may inform prevention and intervention programs for potential future global crises as well as other stressful events.

The long-term sediment demand of the Dutch coast is integral to the current Dutch Coastal Flood and Erosion Risk Management policy. The Coastal Genesis 2 research programme was initiated to address the sustainability of this policy under sea level rise by focusing on key uncertainties in the conceptual model of the sediment demand of the Dutch coast. The substantive scientific contributions of the Coastal Genesis 2 research programme are analysed in this paper by applying an output-outcome-impact framework. The direct outputs of the programme are categorised in terms of the knowledge types of a 5-element framework, namely measurement data, simulation models, system understanding, conceptual models, and policy and practice. The research outcomes arise from the interactions of these knowledge types. Our analysis of these outcomes highlights that synthesising new scientific insights into shared conceptual models is critical to achieving impact in policy and practice. In the Dutch situation, a new shared conceptual model of the long-term sediment demand enabled the development of four potential nourishment strategies aiming to meet the strategic goals of the Coastal Flood and Erosion Risk Management policy on a timescale up to 20 years. In 2021, the Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management officially articulated her intention to adopt the advised nourishment strategy from 2024 onwards. This represents a lasting impact of the Coastal Genesis 2 research programme in policy and practice. Further, the insight regarding the pivotal role of shared conceptual models as intermediary between science, policy and practice may prove useful in the design of future research programmes aiming to influence policy.

Understanding lone actor grievance-fueled violence remains a challenge. We believe that the concept of grievance provides an opportunity to add an engaged, first-person perspective to the assessment of lone actor extreme violence. We propose an enactivist philosophical approach that can help to understand the why and how of the pathway from grievance to violent extremism. Enactivism sees grievance as a dynamic, interpersonal, and context-sensitive construct that indicates how (potential) offenders make sense of the world they live in and how under certain circumstances it fuels violent behavior. Hence, grievance should not be understood as a given thing, but as an unfolding experience that involves sense-making through (regulation of one’s) interaction with the (social) environment. This (self-)relational and ecological understanding requires another approach than looking at demographic factors or life histories, only from an outsider’s perspective. Enactivism invites us to look at such risk factors as external indices of an ongoing process of active self-regulation and sense-making, and in some cases spiraling toward extreme violence. To understand the mindset of the offender we need to look more in depth at the processes that shape this mindset: why does this person, with this history, in this context, and at this point in time, proceed to use violence? The enactivist approach to the mind offers a complementary framework that may help us to understand the dynamics of grievance as a possible precursor to violent extremism. It also helps to appreciate why the relative unpredictability of the pathway toward lone actor extreme violence is not necessarily a sign of empirical weakness but a matter of principle due to the non-linearity of the processes involved. We end by summarizing how enactivism could contribute to the prevention of extremist violence and research and how it can help to avoid reinforcing stigmas and re-establishing a confirmation bias.

Procedurele rechtvaardigheid bij de politierechter: Empirisch-juridisch inzicht in het belang van een als eerlijk ervaren behandeling Dit artikel geeft een overzicht van enkele recent uitgevoerde kwalitatieve en kwantitatieve empirische studies waarin het belang van ervaren procedurele rechtvaardigheid op een kritische manier wordt getoetst. Dit gebeurt onder meer door na te gaan of ervaren procedurele rechtvaardigheid ertoe doet bij politierechterzittingen, waarin voor verdachten veel op het spel kan staan. Daartoe zijn drie empirisch-juridische deelstudies uitgevoerd: (1) kwalitatieve interviews met 100 verdachten in politierechterzaken, (2) een vragenlijstonderzoek onder 198 verdachten in politierechterzaken en (3) een experiment onder 239 burgers die zich inleefden in de positie van de verdachte tijdens een politierechterzitting.In dit artikel gaan we nader in op de achtergronden van deze studies, beschrijven we de manier waarop de studies zijn opgezet en uitgevoerd, en bespreken we de bevindingen op hoofdlijnen. Door de verschillende deelstudies met elk hun eigen methode in onderlinge samenhang te bespreken, en door te reflecteren op de vraag hoe de empirische onderzoeksbevindingen zich verhouden tot het normatieve domein van het recht, beoogt dit artikel een bijdrage te leveren aan de ontwikkeling en maatschappelijke impact van empirisch-juridisch onderzoek in zowel de Nederlandse strafrechtcontext als daarbuiten.

This paper addresses the importance of building knowledge on the impact of cybercrime victimization. Because the topic is understudied, it is unclear whether the impact of cybercrime differs from that of traditional crime. Our understanding of potential impact differences needs to be improved, considering that society and criminality are digitizing and, consequently, more people are likely to become victims of cybercrime. From a practical perspective, knowledge about the impact of different crimes is important to develop victim policies within law enforcement and other relevant agencies, and to treat victims appropriately. In this paper, a literature review is provided, as well as future research directions to address the current knowledge gap. The future research directions are divided in three topics: (1) distinguishing between cybercrime and traditional crime, (2) classifying cybercrime and traditional crime, and (3) measuring the victimization impact of cybercrime and traditional crime.