Context Of Crime Research Articles

Theoretical problems of understanding the essence of administrative prejudice in criminal law

Subject of research: the article considers the issue of the essence of administrative prejudice in the criminal law of Russia and Belarus. Purpose of research: to determine the meaning of administrative prejudice in criminal law and its place in the structure of the corpus delicti of a crime, as well as to correlate administrative prejudice and other institutes of criminal law. Methods and objects of research: in conducting the research the traditional methods of socio-legal and formal-dogmatic analysis were used: documentary, historical-legal, analytical, systematic, logical. Main results of research: the author considers administrative prejudice in the general context of crime and its substantive features, determines the place of administrative prejudice in the structure of the corpus delicti. Separately the question of criteria of criminalization of acts in criminal law, understanding of criminal law in a broad sense, differentiation of crime and offense is revealed. The legal nature of administrative prejudice, its connection with public danger and insignificance of a deed is shown, the main features of acts, which are characterized by signs of administrative prejudice, are disclosed. Special attention in the work is paid to the analysis of subjective signs of administrative prejudice, the establishment of recommendations on the application of the norms of criminal law in this part and qualification of unlawful acts. The basic provisions of the science of criminal law are given and specific measures to improve the current criminal legislation are proposed.

Crimes Omissions: A Psycho-Sociological Perspective

This research was based on understanding and managing crimes of omission is a key strategy for reducing their harmful effects. The research aim was to analyze the personal and social characteristics of individuals responsible for crimes committed by inaction in Georgia. The study employed a mixed-methods approach to explore the psycho-sociological foundations of inaction and was conducted in two stages. The first stage discussed the theoretical framework surrounding inaction, while the second stage analyzed cases of inaction in Georgia. During the research process, significant gaps in public data were identified, highlighting the challenges of recording and accessing information about these crimes. Despite these challenges, a strong theoretical and empirical connection was identified between crimes of omission and the broader context of cultural and social passivity in developing post-Soviet Georgian society. This connection underscores the significant impact of the post-Soviet legacy in understanding the legal and psychosocial context of crimes of omission. As a result, to reduce crimes of omission and increase public involvement, the study suggests improving the judicial system, promoting legal knowledge, and encouraging civic activism and initiative within society.

Prevalence of Counterfeit Fashion Goods in a West African Country: Crime in Perspective

ABSTRACT This study explores the prevalence of counterfeit fashion goods in a West African country within the context of crime, focusing on the perspectives of producers, distributors, and consumers. Drawing on rational choice theory, the research aims to understand the awareness, motivations and decision-making processes behind the production, distribution, and consumption of counterfeit fashion items in Ghana. A qualitative research approach was adopted, utilizing snowball sampling to gather data from eight producers, eight distributors, and 25 consumers of counterfeit fashion goods. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore participants’ awareness, perceptions, rational decisions and behaviors regarding counterfeit fashion goods. The findings underscore the need for stronger regulatory frameworks and public education initiatives to combat the proliferation of counterfeit fashion goods in Ghana, West Africa. Recommendations include implementing stricter laws and enforcement mechanisms, enhancing consumer awareness about the risks associated with counterfeit products, and fostering collaboration among stakeholders to address this complex issue effectively.

Development of human remains investigations at fatal fire scenes: Bridging anthropology and fire sciences in the United States

AbstractAnthropological assessment of a scene for fatal fire victims can prove crucial in the search, recovery and identification of human remains from fire‐related death investigations. On scene contributions of the anthropologist include, but are not limited to, searching for remains in burnt structures, vehicles, roadside dumps, campfire accidents, and other fire investigations, as well as the proper documentation and collection of remains. While patterning and sequencing for all fire events is not standardized, thermal alteration can be classified and consistent terminology can be used to reflect commonalities and evaluation of thermally altered remains. Further, the anthropologist has the ability to evaluate damage to the remains in terms of possible associated trauma (e.g., antemortem, postmortem). However, scene investigators do not regularly call upon anthropologists to assist at the scene and often do not know the contributions and benefits of having an anthropologist on scene. This perspective article focuses on the development of fatal fire investigations within the United States, key terminology, and core concepts within anthropological sciences and provides recommendations for how fire investigators and anthropologists can collaborate–bridging the gap between the two fields. Uniting literature from fire science, anthropology, and fire investigations, this overview underscores the importance of anthropology and fire investigator collaboration.This article is categorized under: Forensic Anthropology > Taphonomic Changes and the Environment Forensic Anthropology > Trauma Analysis Forensic Anthropology > Anthropology in Mass Disaster & War Crime Contexts

Comparing the criminal careers of organized crime offenders in Italy and the Netherlands

The concept of organized crime has dynamically evolved, with researchers contending that it is a social construct or an umbrella concept encompassing different empirical manifestations. Scholars have often suggested classifying organized crime groups into those involved in “racketeering” or “governing” and those engaged in “transit crime” or “trading.” However, these propositions were never assessed at the level of individual criminal careers. We address two primary objectives: first, we test differences in the criminal careers of organized crime offenders between organized crime contexts that are historically different—comparing Italy, which is primarily known for racketeering organized crime, to the Netherlands, which is characterized more by transit crime. Second, we explore differences between criminal careers of organized crime offenders born in different decades; doing so allows us to measure differences in offending patterns in shifting organized crime contexts due to broader social changes while considering more country-specific changes in law enforcement and organized crime policies. The study relies on the criminal careers of 4480 organized crime offenders in Italy ( n = 3360) and the Netherlands ( n = 1120). We analyze the distributions of criminal career parameters, crime categories, age-crime curves, and offending trajectories. Offenders in Italy exhibit higher offending, earlier violence, earlier onset, and decline; offenders in the Netherlands display later onset, slower decline, and a greater involvement in drug and property offenses. Also, both samples show generalist offending patterns, long-lasting careers, and involvement in organized crime in adulthood. We also find substantial variation across decades of birth, with younger offenders in both countries reporting higher frequencies. We attribute this to the interplay of increased offending among younger individuals, the implicit selection bias in the sampling, and greater law enforcement pressure due to stricter anti-organized crime policies since the 1980s and 1990s.

How to get away with (sexual) murder? Unraveling cold cases in sexual homicide using a hybrid modeling probabilistic approach.

This study examines Sexual Homicide (SH) cases, analyzing the transition to cold cases through a non-discretionary lens. Utilizing the SH International Database, it explores the interplay between offender behavior, victim characteristics, and crime context. Advanced methodologies, including sequential logistic regression and Artificial Neural Networks, identify key predictors of case resolution. Results highlight the critical influence of victim intoxication, high-risk activities, and the location of the victim's body on case solvability. The study also reveals the significant role of offender forensic awareness and the complexity of crime scenes in hindering case resolution. These findings underline the multifaceted nature of SH cases, emphasizing the importance of understanding the nuanced interplay between victim, offender, and contextual factors in solving these challenging cases.

Արցախահայերի մշակութային ժառանգության ոչնչացումն ու բռնի տեղահանումը՝ մարդկության դեմ ծանր հանցագործությունների համատեքստում

The article analyzes the actions of occupation of the territory of the Republic of Artsakh by Azerbaijan following the 44-day war and the ongoing destruction of cultural heritage within the context of grave crimes against humanity (genocide, ethnic cleansing, torture, aggression, war crimes). It examines them under the clauses of the Rome Statute and other international regulations regarding the protection of cultural heritage in times of war and in occupied territories. Additionally, it identifies the grounds according to which the destruction of the cultural heritage of the people of Artsakh can serve as a basis and evidence of the "violent" aspect of the displacement of Artsakh Armenians. The article presents the processes of destruction of Artsakh's tangible and intangible heritage or suspension of cultural practices as examples of violations of the fundamental right to culture of Artsakh Armenians and serious crimes against humanity. The paper attempts to link the policy processes of destroying the cultural heritage of Artsakh, implemented at the state level by Azerbaijani authorities, with the actions of forced displacement, considering them as mechanisms for the implementation of a unified anti-Armenian policy within the framework of the broad concept of cultural heritage. As a result of the study conducted, having analyzed the clauses of the Rome Statute and a number of international treaties regarding displacement and destruction of heritage, as well as the ongoing destruction of cultural heritage of Artsakh by Azerbaijan, we can claim that systematic destruction of the values of both tangible and intangible heritage of Artsakh and the elements of identity related thereto, as well as the processes of forced displacement of a part of Artsakh Armenians following the 44-day war, creating an atmosphere of threat and total distrust, are grave crimes against humanity (including genocide, ethnic cleansing, torture, acts of aggression, war crimes, and actions humiliating human dignity) and factors contributing to the total depopulation of Artsakh Armenians. The overarching goal of the policy of systematic destruction of Artsakh's cultural heritage by Azerbaijan was not only the conquest of the territory but also the change of the ethnic composition of the territory and the expulsion of the people of Artsakh from their homeland. Moreover, we can claim that under the Rome Statute and other international regulations, the destruction of the cultural heritage of the people of Artsakh can serve as a basis and evidence of the "violent" aspect of displacement of Artsakh Armenians. The right to culture of Artsakh Armenians, including the right to communicate, enjoy, and pass on the heritage to the generations, was undermined by the forced displacement and destruction of the cultural heritage. Taking into consideration the significance of cultural heritage in terms of collectivity as well, the great role it played in ensuring the identity and social unity of Artsakh Armenians and their loss as a result of displacement, we can affirm that as a result of the processes mentioned, Artsakh Armenians were deprived of their natural right to recreate and ensure the continuity of their identity.

Disclosure to unknowing victims in criminal justice investigations: Questions of vulnerability, ethics and practice

This article explores the situation in which a victim who has been identified during a criminal justice investigation is unaware of the crime committed against them. We argue that unknowing victims possess a unique vulnerability because discovering their victim status is highly likely to have harmful effects. Where law enforcement officers (LEOs) remain unaware of the victim's knowledge of the crime, this should be perceived as a clue to potential vulnerability. Any subsequent disclosure of the crime to an unknowing victim is an external intervention that exposes them to the risk of harm, thereby raising significant ethical questions. Yet the ethical ramifications of disclosure are not considered in the policing literature and there is no specific professional guidance in England and Wales (and beyond) on this situation. Focusing on two of the primary crime contexts in which a victim can be unknowing (sexual offences and fraud), we scrutinise the ethical issues surrounding LEOs disclosing to an unknowing victim, aligning our analysis with the College of Policing's Code of Ethics and vulnerability-related risks guidelines, and a therapeutic jurisprudence approach to policing.

Closing cases with open-source: Facilitating the use of user-generated open-source evidence in international criminal investigations through the creation of a standing investigative mechanism

Abstract Digital open-source evidence has become ubiquitous in the context of modern conflicts, leading to an evolution in investigative practices within the context of mass atrocity crimes and international criminal law. Despite its extensive promulgation, international criminal tribunals have had few opportunities to address the admissibility of user-generated open-source evidence. Through semi-structured interviews with experts and analyses of primary and secondary sources, this article examines the current standards and practices governing the use of user-generated open-source evidence. Current practices illuminate a number of gaps in the realm of digital open-source evidence in international criminal law. This article posits the establishment of a standing international, investigative mechanism as a solution to a need for increased standardization and co-ordination within the realm of user-generated open-source evidence. By standardizing the collection and use of such evidence, investigative bodies will be prepared to more effectively serve the international justice community.

Looking Back on Corruption: Representations of Corruption and Anti-corruption in Czech Party Manifestos between 1990–2017

This study follows the constructivist tradition of corruption research. Specifically, we analyze representations of corruption and anti-corruption in the electoral manifestos of Czech political parties and movements between 1990 and 2017. In these documents, corruption is primarily construed as a security issue and is framed within the context of economic and organized crime. The causes of corruption, the main actors behind it, and the proposed countermeasures draw on three dominant discourses: neoliberal, centrist, and populist. Neoliberal discourse attributes corruption to the overextended nature of the state, with public officials as the primary perpetrators of corruption. Countermeasures are based on streamlined public administration and personal accountability of government employees in this discourse. Centrist discourse sees the interweaving of economic and political power as the cause of corruption perpetrated by the mafia or lobbyists. Countermeasures are rooted in legal regulation and cooperation with anti-corruption forces in this discourse. Populist discourse provides an updated interpretation of the former two discourses. It borrows the metaphoric labeling of perpetrators from the centrist repertoire and the logic behind the proposed countermeasures from neoliberal discourse. In the conclusion, we compare our findings with the political constructions of corruption in other cultural contexts. We also shed light on some of the circumstances that may have contributed to framing corruption as a security issue in Czechia.

Exploring the impact of childhood maltreatment and BPD on impulsivity in crimes of passion.

Crimes of passion, characterized as unpremeditated impulsive aggression, have garnered increasing attention in recent years. Impulsivity, a major factor in crimes of passion, is also a common feature of various health conditions, including Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Childhood maltreatment is considered a significant precursor to BPD and is closely related to impulsivity. Although prior research has affirmed the relationship between impulsivity, childhood maltreatment, BPD, and criminal behavior, few studies have examined these variables' interconnections within the context of crimes of passion. This study seeks to explore the relationship between childhood maltreatment, BPD, and impulsivity in crimes of passion, assessing the former's impact on the latter. Our research examined 133 crimes of passion offenders and 149 other offenders from the Shenzhen male prison in China. All 282 participants completed The Abbreviated Version of The Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (ABIS), The UPPS Impulsivity Scale (Urgency, Premeditation, Perseverance, Sensation Seeking), The McLean Screening Instrument for Borderline Personality Disorder (MSI-BPD), and The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Our findings indicated that (1) crimes of passion offenders scored significantly higher in emotional neglect, physical neglect, and overall childhood maltreatment than did other offenders, and childhood maltreatment scores were notably higher in the high BPD trait group. (2) Crimes of passion offenders demonstrated significantly elevated impulsivity in attention and nonplanning scales compared to other offenders. Impulsivity scores across all scales were also significantly higher in the high BPD trait group. (3) Emotional neglect was found to significantly influence the urgency scale in crimes of passion offenders. An interaction effect was noted between physical abuse and high BPD traits, leading to increased impulsivity in crimes of passion offenders. This study underscores the predictive roles of childhood maltreatment and BPD in determining impulsivity within the context of crimes of passion.

Promoting Honesty in Children, or Fostering Pathological Behaviour?

Promoting Honesty in Children, or Fostering Pathological Behaviour?

On the effectiveness of restorative justice in the ecocide crime

This paper will review some concepts elaborated upon by restorative justice and reflect on how some of them can be put in with the context of the ecocide crime. It can be said that this crime, as the fifth most serious crime against global peace, is a new threat for a human’s life. The crime of ecocide, especially its governmental and corporate types, severely damages and destroys the environment, and in addition to the threat it poses to environmental security, ecocide undermines the foundations of economic and social security. The author used a descriptive-analytical approach and library resources to study the process of invention of the concept of ecocide as well as its essence in restorative justice thought. The present study tries to show that restorative justice applied to ecocide crime is a justice that provides environmental revitalisation-reparation. This novel vision will attempt to provide judicial actors insights regarding the role played by restorative policies to restore or sustain ecological functioning in the promotion of human rights, survival of environment, and the diminishment of social suffering.

Katyń before the “népbíróságok”: How the Hungarian people’s courts suppressed the truth on the massacre of Polish officers

As the judicial practice of the Hungarian people’s courts (népbíróságok) in matters related to Katyń remains relatively unknown, this article’s objective is to address this area of historical (as well as legal) research. It focuses on demonstrating general outlines of the problem by a detailed analysis of some of the most notable cases against Hungarian major war criminals. It seeks to explain the role these proceedings played within the the policy of obliterating the memory of Katyń and why the members of pre-war ruling elite were charged on the grounds of their activities concerning the Katyń massacre. Furthermore, this article attempts to demonstrate in what way these accusations were important in proceedings against major Hungarian war criminals. What was the legal basis invoked whenever the defendants were accused of Katyń-related issues? How did the People’s Courts handle these charges? And finally, what (if any) was the eventual role of the Soviets in the proceedings? As the matter under examination lies at the crossroads of history and law (as legal judgments that mentioned Katyń in their content are the center of the analysis), the methodology used compiles the process traditionally used in historical research with standard legal interpretation tools. Combining both methods while analyzing the object through the lens of the judiciary perspective, this article places the outcomes of the examined legal proceedings in a broader historical context that allows noticing the legacies produced by People’s Courts sealing the Soviet lies in mid 1940s. This article posits that during proceedings and in judgments, Katyń was only discussed at the margins of primary considerations. Besides, at the current stage of scientific development, there’s a lack of evidence that the Soviets exerted any pressures on the Hungarian judiciary, at least in the aspects concerning matters related to Katyń. Neither were they interested in using Hungarian judiciary channels to pursue their own specific Katyń-related goals, still less to use them as a tribune to minimize their failure in attributing the responsibility for this crime to the Nazis in Nuremberg. It seems, therefore, that Katyń-related cases before the népbíróságok were solely intra-domestically oriented, and their goals never went beyond one of the instruments of obliterating the memory of Katyń within Hungarian society. Still, they produced some concrete social effects nonetheless. Firstly, as the criminal prosecutions were just only one of the plethora of instruments set in motion to eradicate the memory about Katyń in Hungary, their deterrent or dissuasive effect (especially during the Stalinist era) should not be underestimated. Secondly, by placing Katyń within the context of the antisemitic crimes for which some of the defendants were sentenced to death, the legacy left by the People’s Courts dramatically complicated the decoupling process of the Soviet murder of Polish officers from the rest of Nazi/Arrow Cross propaganda. This confusion makes the Katyń tragedy a hostage of the discussion on the People’s Court’s role as such. Finally, as the analysis below is limited to some most notable cases of Hungarian major war criminals, this article plays only an indicatory role. Therefore, setting aside these conclusions, one should not forget that many additional questions (e.g. the total number of people sentenced or otherwise punished for “Katyń propaganda,” comparative approaches with similar processes in other East-Central European states) still beg further research.

A spatio-temporal multinomial model of firearm death in Ecuador

This paper presents a statistical model based on a multinomial distribution with fixed and random effects, the latter effects being structured and non-structured in space and time. Inference is performed through a Bayesian framework. We are interested in analyzing violent deaths at the level of parroquia in Ecuador. Noting that most of the deaths are linked to firearms, and much less with knifes, we build a multinomial model to predict the probability of three different types of deaths as a close proxy to a violent death having had occurred. We provide a practical and realistic interpretation of the model putting this in the real crime context and scenario in Ecuador.

Computer-dependent or computer-assisted? The social context of online crime in Lithuanian court judgements

This paper addresses the relative lack of studies concerning characterisation of online crime in court judgements. The goal was to outline the social context of computer-dependent online offences in Lithuania as enacted in court practice. It is an internationally relevant example of the applied outcomes of local legislation enacting the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime. We focused on four key themes to explore how computer-dependent online crime was defined in court practice: offences, offenders, victims, and sentences, bound by the concept of selectivity in criminal justice. A mixed-methods approach was utilised to analyse 265 court judgements in online offence cases in Lithuania from the years 2017–2021. The results revealed that the majority of the offences were computer-enabled rather than computer-dependent, carried out by persons with previous experience in the criminal justice system seeking financial gain.

Criminaloid Dynamics of Financial Crime in Indonesia

White-collar crime has an aspect of criminaloid in the form of moral and ethical, trust, and occupational violence. The intersecting white-collar crime context with moral and ethical violence leads to action disharmony based on the cultural ethic principles of certain sub-cultured groups. On the other hand, the correlation with trust violence includes job-legitimation abuse. For professional violence, the realization includes job legitimation. The results are observable in the criminal statistics data of Indonesia. The trend shows significant fluctuations, such as the crime statistics in Indonesia from 2011 to 2019. The lowest rate was observable in 2018, with 17.813 cases. On the other hand, in the previous years, the rate tended to be stable, with 20.470 cases in 2011. The cases decreased to 20.033 cases in 2012 and increased to 21.345 in 2013. Then, the rate increased again in 2014 to 21.404. In 2015, the rate increased to 21.646. In 2016, the rate decreased to 20.459. This research identified the criminaloid aspect of financial crime in Indonesia. The applied method was a qualitative grounded theory with case illustration. The researchers focused the cases illustration on 5 cases based on criminal statistic classification. The researchers interviewed the informants comprehensively on these five cases based on the pre-determined criteria. Keywords: [Criminaloid, financial crime, Indonesia]

The crime of aggression and the case of Ukraine

Crime of aggression, international crisis, protection of human rights and international criminal justice are some of the notions that in last years the international community seek to find a commonly accepted basis to examine and analyze them. Particularly, the crime of aggression in recent years has changed its “face” and an attempt has been made to find application in the more stringent context of international crimes. The Ukrainian case is one of the latest examples and certainly not the last where international crimes, and the International Criminal Court must find the way to punish this atrocity as punishable crimes and as a purpose not only for the evolution of international crime law but also for the international peace and the world criminal justice. The present work tries to concretely analyze the crime of aggression in the occurrence of Ukrainian crisis and the work begun with the repression of international crimes and especially that of aggression.

Eliminating lacunae in the timber illegal trafficking and felling investigation (on the practice of the courts of the Zabaikalsky Krai)

The present article explores the relevance of the normative context of crimes related to environmental offences of illegal harvesting. The article reviews the practice of the Zabaikalsky Krai Chita District Court in handling criminal cases of this category, and the report emphasises the need for more effective work of law enforcement agencies in investigating criminal acts in the sphere of illegal harvesting and trafficking of criminally extracted timber. The study aims to involve professional organisations and improve cooperation with relevant stakeholders to address the problem of combating illegal harvesting. Methods: comparative-legal; empirical methods of description interpretation; theoretical methods of formal and dialectical logic; private-scientific methods: legal-dogmatic and method of interpretation of legal norms. Results: Information on illegal timber turnover, illegal felling and harvesting of forest plantations, and methods of combating the trafficking of forest resources are relevant. This article deals with such vitalissues as illegal timber trafficking, illegal forest felling, and forest plantations. Conclusion: analysing the judicial practice of the courts of the Zabaikalsky Krai in general, having a common border with the People's Republic of China, the article also emphasises the increased social danger associated with these criminal acts and their criminalistic characteristics.

جريمة الإبادة البيئية (دراسة تحليلية مقارنة في ضوء القانون الدولي الجنائي)

Humanity is at a crossroads concerning the protection of the ecosystem. The Scientific evidences refers to that the emission of greenhouse gases and the destruction of ecosystems will have catastrophic consequences for our common environment, despite the progress made in the field of international environmental law, But it has not reached the recognition and criminalization of this threat in international criminal law. Destruction and damage to the ecosystem can therefore be attributed to the anthropological nature of international criminal law. International efforts have emerged to criminalize environmental destruction, such as the policy paper submitted by the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court for 2016, and doctrinal efforts to promote the addition of the crime of environmental genocide as a fifth crime within the context of crimes of which the International Criminal Court.