Criminal Files Research Articles

The Data Protection Gap : From Private Databases to Criminal Files

The Data Protection Gap : From Private Databases to Criminal Files

The relationship between psychopathy and crime-related amnesia

The objective of this study was to investigate whether levels of psychopathy predicted claims of crime-related amnesia. Different characteristics of psychopathy were based on the factor structure of the self-report questionnaire Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI). Crime-related amnesia claims were scored from inmates (N=31) criminal file records. Results demonstrated that claims of crime-related amnesia were more frequently reported by individuals scoring high on impulsive antisocial psychopathy traits. Furthermore, offenders who claimed crime-related amnesia reported lower levels of instrumental/proactive aggression. There was no relationship between fearless–callous psychopathy traits or the use of reactive violence, and claims of crime-related amnesia. Within offenders who claimed amnesia for their crime, the majority demonstrated elevated levels of deception, suggesting that claims of amnesia might serve a strategic purpose. In addition, they more often reported having had a previous experience with memory loss, which may have formed the basis of simulation.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon: Decision on the Disclosure of Materials from the Criminal File of Mr El Sayed

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Jedwabne before the Court

On 10 July 1941, Jewish inhabitants of the little town of Jedwabne were burnt alive in a barn by their Polish neighbors. This was probably the worst act of violence inflicted on Jews by the Poles during World War II. By examining postwar legal proceedings related to the Jedwabne massacre, this article looks at the attitude of Polish authorities towards crimes committed by the Poles on Jews during the war as well as the reaction of the local community to its own dark past. Although a group of perpetrators were put on trial in 1949 and 1953, criminal court files reveal the indolence and ineffectiveness of Communist Poland’s justice in such cases. The documents also expose a conspiracy of silence among residents of Jedwabne and their solidarity with the defendants. On the other hand, a scrutiny of civil court proceedings discloses mechanisms of appropriation of the victims’ property by the perpetrators. An analysis of a subsequent investigation into the Jedwabne case carried out in the 1960s and 1970s proves that it predominantly aimed at erasing the truth about Polish involvement in the crime, and as its result German gendarmes were officially pointed out as the sole culprits. Only after the restitution of democracy in 1989 was Poland able to openly confront black pages of its history including the Jedwabne massacre.

Hot money, hot stones and hot air: crime‐money threat, real estate and real concern

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to generally express concern about the threat of crime‐money to the real estate sector and the lack of evidence coming forward from research and law enforcement.Design/methodology/approachIn addition to a review of the literature, this research project analysed the confiscation database of the Dutch prosecution office. From this base, the real estate confiscations from 2000 onwards were selected and analysed. The database management of the prosecution office proved to be extremely negligent.FindingsThe results could not substantiate the general concern that the crime‐money from the “underworld” was a real threat to the real estate market. Criminals did spend money on buying houses, sometimes big villas and a few of them had more property which was let. But this small financial criminal elite was widely spread over time and space.Research limitations/implicationsThis research has to be continued on a cross‐country comparative basis, for which the first steps have been taken. In addition, the database analysis has to be complemented with an in‐depth criminal file analysis. This has started as a follow‐up study too.Practical implicationsThe first practical outcome is that more must happen to lift “evidence based policy making” from its state of empty rhetoric: with the present database management there is no such a thing as “evidence base policy making”. The second practical implication is that crime‐money and laundering as a cross‐border phenomenon remains hardly understood as long data comparison are impossible due to the lack of common databases, which in addition are internationally polluted.Originality/valueThe paper is really new as there are no precedents thus far. This is regrettable, as research needs a stimulating surrounding. However, few scholars step forward while the law enforcement agencies are most reluctant to share data, even if anonymised.

Élaboration d’un test d’analyse comportementale des crimes sexuels extrafamiliaux : principes médicopsychologiques et criminologiques généraux

After developing a standard protocol for the behavioral analysis of homicides and other violent crimes, the authors present the general medicopsychological and criminological principles of a new test that is specific to sexual aggression committed outside the family circle, such as pedophilia, rape and sexual homicide. Four analytic grids are proposed: modus operandi (technicity), modus operandi (spatiotemporal), relational component (verbal and behavioral), and circumstantial component. This new method of analyzing the crime scene and information from the criminal file may be used to improve criminal profiling, the quality of the legal inquiry, the quality of psychiatric assessments and scientific research into sex offenders.

Portraying the Nature of Corruption Using an Explorative Case Study Design

What is the nature of corruption in Western democracies? To answer this research question, the authors study 10 Dutch corruption cases in depth, looking at confidential criminal files. The cases allow them to sketch a general profile of a corruption case. The authors offer nine propositions to portray the nature of corruption. They conclude that corruption usually takes place within enduring relationships, that the process of becoming corrupt can be characterized as a slippery slope, and that important motives for corruption, aside from material gain, include friendship or love, status, and the desire to impress others. The explorative multiple case study methodology helps to expand our understanding of the way in which officials become corrupt.

Scrapbooking the criminal defence file

This article moves away from a common understanding of a criminal defence file as a container for relevant documentation and addresses it as a cultural object which organizes and performs various written documents towards making a case. In my examination I employ rhetorical ethnography of communication. Suggested by Thomas Farrell and Tamar Katriel, the method was originally applied to the analysis of the scrapbooks presented as the cultural text of identity. Drawing on the analogy between the legal file and the scrapbook I show how specific activities (saving; organizing; sharing) expose the criminal defence file to be a culturally choreographed way of law-making, whose performative identity is defined by forensic, deliberative, and testimonial discourses.

Antitrust environment and innovation

This paper examines the relationship between the antitrust environment and innovation in the US economy, where innovation is measured by patent activity. The hypothesis to be tested is whether antitrust enforcement activity, as measured by the number of civil filings of the US Department of Justice, has had a significant impact on the level of innovation in the US economy, after adjusting for other factors that have an impact on innovation, such as research and development expenditures and real economic growth. Impacts of civil antitrust case filings, criminal antitrust case filings and total US Department of Justice antitrust case filings on patent activity in the USA are estimated for the period 1953-2000. The empirical results show that civil case filings have a statistically significant impact on innovation.

Preparing the Eichmann Trial: Who Really Did the Job?

The Eichmann trial has been one of the most important formative events in the short history of the State of Israel. The echoes of its impact on how Israelis as individuals and as a public perceive themselves reverberate even today in the most profound and existential of ways. In the public consciousness the trial was, and still is, fundamentally identified with its prosecutor then Attorney General Gideon Hausner. However the trial was not a one-man show as the public tended to perceive it. Behind the scenes were numerous people working and preparing for the trial and influencing the prosecution's case against Eichmann: the investigators in the special police unit Bureau 06 established to conduct the investigation and prepare the criminal file; the Holocaust survivor organizations and institutions; and all echelons of the political sphere. This paper will trace some of the stages in the preparation of the prosecution of Eichmann and the people involved, as well as the matter of the scope of the bill of indictment and of the historical narrative tolls at the trial and the fact that it emerged to he one of the most important trials in the history of the twentieth century.

Appropriate Documentation, Billing and Coding in Interventional Pain Practice

Appropriate documentation, billing and coding in interventional pain practice is a crucial issue with a wide arena of regulatory reforms. There have been reports of billions of dollars in losses in health care fraud. Office of Inspector General reports a massive war on health fraud. Substantial savings from prepayment audits for Part B in 1999, and continued criminal filings by the Department of Justice indicate persistence of Health Care Financing Administration to combat fraud. In addition President Clinton's initiatives to fight Medicare waste, fraud, and abuse have created increased fear of investigation or prosecution among physicians, leading to changes in their practice patterns. Documentation of medical necessity with coding that correlates with multiple components of the patient's medical record, operative report, and billing statement is important. This review describes the regulatory issues, steps in documentation of medical necessity, appropriate billing and coding, and examples of codes describing CPT 1999 and 2000 for a multitude of procedures. These illustrations and the information provide practical considerations for the use of interventional techniques in the management of chronic pain based on the current state of the art and science of interventional pain management, rules and regulations. However, this article and its descriptions do not constitute legal advice.

Entering the System: Ethnic Differences in Closing Juvenile Criminal Files in Israel

Ethnic differences in the juvenile justice system have received much attention in the sociological literature. Using Israeli data, this article explores the differences between Arabs and Jews with regard to the decision to close juvenile criminal files rather than to prosecute. Three hypotheses are tested. The first argues that differential outcomes are the result of group differences in social background characteristics. The second argues that differential outcomes are the result of group differences in crime seriousness and the degree of previous involvement in crime. The third hypothesis examines whether different criteria are applied to different ethnic groups in the decision-making process of file termination. The fundings of the study provide evidence that different criteria are applied in the decision to close a file. The findings, however, are limited to less serious crimes (property offenses), probably because with these offenses law enforcement officers have more discretion than with serious crimes.

Predicting recidivism in juvenile delinquents: the role of mental health diagnoses and the qualification of conclusions by race

Seventy-five male youths were evaluated while incarcerated in a juvenile facility in the state of Georgia. Twenty-one to 32 months following discharge, criminal files were examined for records of reincarceration. The recidivism rate was approximately one-third of the initial sample. Crime-related and mental health variables were entered into discriminant function analyses to determine models for predicting recidivism. For the total sample, earlier age at first arrest and higher severity of crime significantly discriminated recidivists from nonrecidivists. Presence of a substance abuse disorder appeared to be a positive prognostic indicator for nonrecidivism. Subsequently, separate sets of analyses were conducted by race, showing clearly that the results were qualified by race, and that differential processes may be operating for African-American vs Caucasian youth when considering recidivism.

Predictors of legal intervention in child maltreatment cases

Using information extracted from child protective services and criminal court records, this research examines the extent and nature of dependency and criminal filings in 833 substantiated intrafamilial child abuse and neglect cases reported in Denver (CO), Los Angeles (CA), and Newcastle (DE) Counties in 1985–1986. Techniques of chi-square and discriminant analyses were used to identify factors associated with dependency and criminal filings. Results indicate that legal intervention is rare: Dependency filings and prosecutions occur in just 21% and 4% of the sample, respectively, although treatment plan development and out-of-home placement of the child occur in approximately 75% and 50% of the sample, respectively. Eighty percent of cases with criminal filings proceed to trial or plea bargaining, with 92% resulting in conviction. Bivariate analyses indicate cases involving abandonment, sexual abuse, frequent maltreatment, and severe maltreatment are most likely to result in an initial dependency filing, while cases involving sexual abuse, severe maltreatment, a nonparent perpetrator, an ethnic minority perpetrator, a female victim, and a victim aged 7–12 years are most likely to result in a criminal filing. The multivariate analyses show the primary predictor of both dependency and criminal filings is whether the case involved sexual abuse. This finding reflects the widespread public and professional attention child sexual abuse has received in recent years.

Signs and Portents: No Parking in the Courtroom

f Criminal File 676694-3, parking violation, decided in the Supreme Court of the State of Israel, before Justices Israel, Levi, and Cohen, in the matter of Mr. ---Rodef Zedek, Appellant versus the Israel Police, Respondent. 4s The Appellant alleged thata parking ticket issued by the Israel Police was ^ ; .invalid. The Beer Sheva District Court rejected his plea of not guilty. Zedek . ^,,n / appealed to the Israel Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the case because iSt / of the far-reaching implications for the issue of public disobedience, the incidence of which has increased in frequency recently.

United States v. Landry, Criminal File No. 3-88-90(2) (D. Minn. March 31, 1989) (1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3362)

United States v. Landry, Criminal File No. 3-88-90(2) (D. Minn. March 31, 1989) (1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3362)

Death In The Cellblocks: A Study Of Inmate Mortality In Jail And Lockup Custody

This descriptive study analyzes 20 years of inmate mortality in municipal and county detention and corrections facilities. It is based primarily on documental research which examines 1) the content of official death records, 2) historical or comparative data on local jails and lockups, and 3) extant government statistics on inmate mortality and morbidity. Additional data were obtained from criminal justice agency files and from records of a community-based agency responsible for providing substance abuse and mental health treatment services for inmates. Although no single variable emerges a reliable predictor of in-custody deaths, certain sociolegal and demographic characteristics appear closely associated with such fatal occurrences. Findings suggest that the high mortality rate which occurs in local facilities could be reduced by improved inmate health care, proper training of custodial staff, and development of sensible operating policies.

Appellate and trial court caseload growth: A pooled time-series-cross-section analysis

This is an econometric study of factors behind filing growth since 1970 in state trial courts and, especially, appellate courts. The model posits two categories of variables: those affecting the supply of disputes and those affecting the costbenefit considerations of potential litigants. The study uses a pooled time-seriescross-section design and a fixed-effects regression procedure. The overall conclusion is that factors determining the supply of disputes overwhelm other factors entered in the model. At the trial level, economic conditions 2 years earlier strongly affect civil filings, and crime rates for the current and prior year have moderate impacts on criminal filings. The output capacity of trial courts, measured by the number of judges, has a strong impact on appeals. Economic conditions and trial court filings influence civil appeals in later years, and prison commitments influence criminal appeals. The great majority of cost-benefit factors, such as simplification of appellate procedure and interest-rate differentials, showed little or no impact on appeals.

Raising the Age of Criminal Responsibility in Israel

On June 28, 1978, the Israeli Knesset passed a Law which changed the age of criminal responsibility of juveniles, raising the threshold from 9 years of age to 13 years of age. This Law, known as the Penal Law (Amendment no. 3) 1978, is popularly called the “Yitzhaki Law”, after MK Yitzhak Yitzhaki (Likud) who initiated the Law.From a practical point of view, the Amendment means that police interrogators may not interrogate minors under the age of 13, nor may they open criminal files on such minors or prosecute them. When and if the police are confronted with juveniles suspected of delinquent behaviour the police may take their testimony, and may refer them to the welfare officers, who, operating by virtue of the Youth (Care and Supervision) Law, 1960, are authorized to decide whether the minor requires care, and if so, the kind of care he is to receive.

Criminal Files (Greece) Case.

Belligerent Occupation — Judicial Powers of Occupant — Judgments given by Tribunals of Occupant — Validity of — Termination of Validity — Subsequent to Termination of Occupation.