Enhance Law Enforcement Research Articles

Accountability Dysfunction in Campaign Finance Regulations: A Case Study of the 2018 Jambi Simultaneous General Elections

The regulations of campaign finance have highly problematic for local electios (Pilkada) in Indonesia. However, the campaign finance system changed gradually over the following years, many alleged campaign violations committed by candidates during local elections. In this study, the researcher wants to assess campaign finance regulations based on the accountability concept. The measurement of accountability in the campaign finance regulations has been divided into two perspectives, which are legal and finance. The study used a qualitative method with a case study approach in Jambi's three regions, which held local elections (Pilkada) in 2018. This study argues that the current regulations have not solved the whole problem of campaign funds. The level of corruption by candidates remains stubbornly high due to less authority and weak sanctions. At the same time, most campaign finance regulations have never been enforced. As a result, revising Acts on the election, enhancing law enforcement, and raising public awareness need to promote for ensuring the quality of local democracy.

An overview of risk investment in the transnational illegal wildlife trade from stakeholder perspectives

AbstractThe illegal wildlife trade (IWT) is a lucrative, clandestine trade that endangers animal welfare, damages native biodiversity and undermines the rule of law. Despite enhanced law enforcement focus and increased litigation, the illicit trade of wildlife and wildlife products has continued to flourish. The increase in the IWT can be attributed to a lack of identifiable relationships, risk functions and reward systems specific to each stakeholder in this illicit market. The increase in the IWT indicates that domestic and international regulations are not effective in their intent of preventing the illegal trade of various wildlife species. Without a clear understanding of stakeholder relationships, resources will continue to be wasted on ineffective prevention and detection methods with regards to the IWT. Law enforcement strategies rely on identifying key stakeholders in the IWT as well as their perceived motivations, risks, and relationships. These definitions may provide further insight into the motivations driving these individuals participating in this illicit market and may contribute to more successful interventions. Stakeholders and their associated roles within the IWT have been defined to serve as a tool to understand the various risk/reward utility functions in global markets. This study provides a framework support for policy makers by establishing baseline risk/reward systems for each stakeholder which can be built upon as intelligence surrounding these stakeholders increases.This article is categorized under: Jurisprudence and Regulatory Oversight > Communication Across Science and Law Jurisprudence and Regulatory Oversight > Interdisciplinary Collaboration

Trends and patterns of imports of legal and illegal live corals into the United States

Coral reefs are the fundamental building blocks of tropical marine ecosystems. They are also one of the most endangered ecosystems on the planet suffering from a large number of environmental, fishing, and trade threats. However, little research has been done to better understand the trends in illegal imports of live corals into the United States, especially as they relate to legal imports. This research examines the major patterns in the legal and illegal imports of live corals into the United States by analyzing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Law Enforcement Management Information Systems database, along with the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species legal trade database, for the 2003–2012 period. The import patterns of illegally harvested live corals into the United States indicated that: (a) three genera (Euphyllia, Acropora, and Favites) accounted for 26% of all seizures; (b) imports from four countries accounted for slightly over 91% of all seizures; and (c) over 90% of the seizures occurred in five ports of entry. The import patterns of illegally harvested live corals closely mirror those of legal imports when genera and countries of export are examined. Additionally, 10 times more corals were seized in 2012 than in 2003, and legal imports doubled from 2003 to 2009, while both trends leveled in the later few years examined. The study findings suggest that interventions should focus on enhancing law enforcement efforts through capacity building and by establishing reliable channels of communication between the US and the core exporting countries. It is also recommended that US customs focus their inspection efforts on high-risk species, especially at ports that receive these imports from Indonesia, Tonga, Australia, and Fiji. Meanwhile, public education campaigns to raise awareness, as well as the development of regulated coral aquaculture, may lift the pressure and need for illegally harvesting corals from the wild.

The Impact of “Strike Hard” on Repeat and Near-Repeat Residential Burglary in Beijing

“Strike Hard” is an enhanced law-enforcement strategy in China that aims to suppress crime, but measurement of the crime-reducing effect and potential changes in the spatiotemporal concentration of crime associated with “Strike Hard” remain unknown. This paper seeks to examine the impact, if any, of “Strike Hard” on the spatiotemporal clustering of burglary incidents. Two and half years of residential burglary incidents from Chaoyang, Beijing are used to examine repeat and near-repeat burglary incidents before, during, and after the “Strike Hard” intervention and a new technique that enables the comparison of repeat and near repeat patterns across different temporal periods is introduced to achieve this. The results demonstrate the intervention disrupted the repeat pattern during the “Strike Hard” period reducing the observed ratio of single-day repeat burglaries by 155%; however, these same single-day repeat burglary events increased by 41% after the cessation of the intervention. Findings with respect to near repeats are less remarkable with nominal evidence to support that the intervention produced a significant decrease, but coupled with other results, suggest that spatiotemporal displacement may have been an undesired by-product of “Strike Hard”. This study from a non-Western setting provides further evidence of the generalizability of findings related to repeat and near repeat patterns of burglary and further highlights the limited preventative effect that the “Strike Hard” enhanced law enforcement campaign had on burglary.

Helmet use among motorcycle accident victims in the north-east region of Jamaica

Currently in Jamaica, motorcyclists account for the largest group of fatalities among all road users. Between 2016 and 2018, a cross sectional study was conducted at the Saint Ann's Bay Regional Hospital involving 155 participants. There were 98.7% males, ages ranged from 14-64 years and more than two thirds of the motorcyclists were under 40 years. Only 29.4% wore helmets, and of those motorcyclists, 52.8% indicated they were only riding for a short distance. Increasing age correlated with increased helmet compliance. Persons with motorcycles greater than 150 cubic centimetres were also more likely to wear a helmet. Interventions to promote increased helmet compliance should take these factors into account in conjunction with enhancing law enforcement.

Reforming China’s Securities Civil Actions: Lessons From U.S. PSLRA Reform and Taiwan’s Government-Sanctioned Non-Profit

Reforming China’s Securities Civil Actions: Lessons From U.S. PSLRA Reform and Taiwan’s Government-Sanctioned Non-Profit

STUDY ON WEEE COLLECTION AND RECYCLING SCHEME IN TYPICAL ASIA-PACIFIC COUNTRIES

The environmental and economic impacts posed by waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) make an effective collection and recycling scheme necessary for developing countries. Currently, developing countries in the Asia-Pacific regions are highly variable in terms of their present state of WEEE management, due to different economic conditions and levels of management. In this paper, we surveyed existing WEEE collection and recycling system in three Asia-Pacific developing countries China, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan, using SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) Analysis, analyzed key factors for an effective formal collection and recycling system, and identified priority fields that can be targeted by governments. Key factors that were considered include: government involvement, legislation, functional mechanisms, the presence/absence of advanced technology and facilities. Priorities for China were identified, including: expansion of WEEE scope that would be covered by the formal collection and recycling scheme, continued WEEE flow to the formal WEEE recycling sector, and enhancing law enforcement. For Sri Lanka, putting into place specific WEEE legislation and policies, establishing effective facilities for collection and recycling of a greater range of WEEE types, and the enhancement of pollution control are priorities. In Pakistan, commencement of government involvement and policy interventions on WEEE are considered to be of priority. General policy recommendations were also proposed for reference.

Justice Dept. Threatens Action Against Planned Safe Injection Sites

Justice Dept. Threatens Action Against Planned Safe Injection Sites

Evaluating Wrong-Way Driving Characteristics, Countermeasures, and Alert Dissemination Methods through Driver and Law Enforcement Surveys

Wrong-way driving (WWD) on limited-access highways is a serious driver error that could be fatal for both the wrong-way driver and right-way drivers. Agencies and law enforcement officers (LEOs) can spend valuable time and resources responding to WWD events. A survey of 247 LEOs found that despite being dispatched multiple times per year in response to WWD, most issue fewer than one WWD citation per year. In the survey, LEOs also gave their perspectives on the characteristics of WWD events and the influences behind WWD. Agencies typically use dynamic message signs (DMS) for notifying right-way drivers of WWD events, but little research has considered solutions that are less costly and potentially farther-reaching. A survey of 900 Florida toll-road drivers found that drivers rely on navigation devices, apps, or both, significantly more than DMS for traveler information. Drivers were receptive to receiving WWD alerts through navigation services and indicated that they would react to WWD events in a way that is beneficial to highway safety. Crowdsourcing technologies were considered to generate WWD information and quickly disseminate alerts to drivers and officers. Additional survey questions answered by a combined group of 2,052 drivers, LEOs, and agency officials determined that among advanced WWD countermeasures, most preferred two sets of “Wrong Way” signs equipped with rectangular flashing beacons over one set of signs with light emitting diodes. Combining advanced countermeasures with innovative right-way driver notification methods could enhance law enforcement efficiency, reduce WWD crashes, and provide safer conditions for both drivers and officers.

2304 - Move Utah - Planning for Active, Healthy, and Connected Communities

The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) has developed the Move Utah program to better work with communities to improve active transportation throughout the state. The Move Utah program is dedicated to providing local governments and municipalities across Utah with technical support and guidance as they pursue their active transportation planning efforts. Our team, along with our partners from the Utah Department of Health (UDOH), the Utah Department of Public Safety, Bike Utah, and the Utah Highway Patrol provides technical expertise, resources and funding opportunities to help communities advance through our Move Utah Community designation process, and to help them develop activities and events that build a solid foundation of community support for active transportation. To provide a better overview of the Move Utah Program, the mission, initiatives, and goals are outlined below: MOVE UTAH MISSION Engaging Utah communities to improve active transportation planning and implementation. MOVE UTAH INITIATIVES Emphasize integrated transportation planning Identify benefits of health and activity Improve quality of life for communities Enhance law enforcement through education Encourage respect between roadway users MOVE UTAH GOALS Help communities identify their benefits of active transportation Guide communities to develop an Active Transportation Plan Encourage partner development and coordination Plan for and/or join community outreach events Assist in building personalized education and safety initiatives The team is currently working with communities throughout the state to achieve a designation status that creates more active, healthy, and connected communities. Move Utah community designation levels (Activate, Ascend and Peak) outlined through the program encourage communities to create walking and biking initiatives that are context-sensitive solutions to a community's needs and desires when it comes to active transportation. Each level has general requirements to meet in order to become a Move Utah Community. The requirements are meant to be flexible enough to fit the context and meet the needs of each individual community. The UDOH is supporting the program through the Utah Comprehensive Cancer Program by providing funding to help communities reach a designation status. The UDOH and UDOT aim to reach multiple communities with diverse contexts and ensure a statewide effort is in place. The creative and interactive presentation will focus on the experiences of working with partners, identifying the champions and outlining the efforts to reach the diverse communities. The obstacles as well as the successes will be delivered to learn from this broad outreach program.

Surveillance of traffic incident management–related occupational fatalities in Kentucky, 2005–2016

ABSTRACTObjective: Traffic incidents occurring on roadways require the coordinated effort of multiple responder and recovery entities, including communications, law enforcement, fire and rescue, emergency medical services, hazardous materials, transportation agencies, and towing and recovery. The objectives of this study were to (1) identify and characterize transportation incident management (TIM)-related occupational fatalities; (2) assess concordance of surveillance data sources in identifying TIM occupations, driver vs. pedestrian status, and occupational fatality incident location; and (3) determine and compare U.S. occupational fatality rates for TIM industries.Methods: The Kentucky Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) program analyzed 2005–2016 TIM occupational fatality data using multiple data sources: death certificate data, Collision Report Analysis for Safer Highways (CRASH) data, and media reports, among others. Literal text analysis was performed on FACE data, and a multiple linear regression model and SAS proc sgpanel were used to estimate and visualize the U.S. TIM occupational mortality trend lines and confidence bounds.Results: There were 29 TIM fatalities from 2005 to 2015 in Kentucky; 41% of decedents were in the police protection occupation, and 21% each were in the fire protection and motor vehicle towing industries. Over one half of the TIM decedents were performing work activities as pedestrians when they died. Media reports identified the majority of the occupational fatalities as TIM related (28 of 29 TIM-related deaths); the use of death certificates as the sole surveillance data source only identified 17 of the 29 deaths as TIM related, and the use of CRASH data only identified 4 of the 29 deaths as TIM related. Injury scenario text analysis showed that law enforcement vehicle pursuit, towing and recovery vehicle loading, and disabled vehicle response were particular high-risk activities that led to TIM deaths. Using U.S. data, the motor vehicle towing industry had a significantly higher risk for occupational mortality compared to the fire protection and police protection industries.Conclusions: Multiple data sources are needed to comprehensively identify TIM fatalities and to examine the circumstances surrounding TIM fatalities, because no one data source in itself was adequate and undercounted the total number of TIM fatalities. The motor vehicle towing industry, in particular, is at elevated risk for occupational mortality, and targeted mandatory TIM training for the motor vehicle towing industry should be considered. In addition, enhanced law enforcement roadside safety training during vehicle pursuit and apprehension of suspects is recommended.

Airborne PCDD/Fs in two e-waste recycling regions after stricter environmental regulations

Since the 2010s, the authorities of Guangdong province and local governments have enhanced law enforcement and environmental regulations to abolish open burning, acid washing, and other uncontrolled e-waste recycling activities. In this study, ambient air and indoor dust near different kinds of e-waste recycling processes were collected in Guiyu and Qingyuan to investigate the pollution status of particles and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans (PCDD/Fs) after stricter environmental regulations. PM2.5 and PCDD/Fs both showed significantly reduced levels in the two regions compared with the documented data. The congener distribution and principal component analysis results also confirmed the significant differences between the current PCDD/Fs pollution characterizations and the historical ones. The estimated total intake doses via air inhalation and dust ingestion of children in the recycling region of Guiyu ranged from 10 to 32pgTEQ/(kg•day), which far exceeded the tolerable daily intake (TDI) limit (1–4pgTEQ/(kg•day). Although the measurements showed a significant reduction of the release of PCDD/Fs, the pollution status was still considered severe in Guiyu town after stricter regulations were implemented.

Temporal-spatial variations and driving factors analysis of coastal reclamation in China

Coastal reclamation is the gain of land from the sea or coastal wetlands for agricultural purposes, industrial use or port expansions. Large-scale coastal land reclamation can have adverse effects on the coastal environment, including loss of marine habitats and deterioration of coastal water quality. In recent decades, coastal land reclamation has occurred extensively to meet the increasing needs of rapid economic development and urbanization in China. The overall objective of this study is to understand the coastal reclamation status of China from 1979 to 2014 and analyzed its driving factors for mitigating negative ecological effects. The data of coastal reclamation were done with the ERDAS Imagine V9.2 platform and ArcGIS software based on remote images including Landsat, SPOT, ZY-2 and ZY-3. Potential driving factors for sea reclamation were selected based on statistics bulletins and the knowledge of experts in coastal management. In order to understand the relationships among possible impact factors and coastal reclamation, the Partial Least-Squares Regression models was constructed. The analysis results indicated that the total area of reclamation was 11162.89 km2 based on remote sensing images between 1979 and 2014. Shandong Province is the largest reclamation area, reaching 2736.54 km2, and the reclamation is mainly concentrated in Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Liaoning, where the reclamation areas were all more than 1000 km2. According to the remote sensing images, there are three coastal reclamation hotspot regions including Bohai bay (in which is located Liaoning, Tianjin and Hebei), Jiangsu province coastal area and Hangzhou bay (in Zhejiang province). A large scale land reclamation plan of more than 5880 km2 has been made by local government and 2469 km2 has approved by the State Council. From the analyzed results, there is a significant collinearity between these indicators, and no significant correlation between the area of reclamation and selected indicators. Economic development and employees in marine industries have weak positive correlation and correspondingly, the area of cultivated land (ACL) had a negative correlation. Because of the weak correlation, there is an assumption that economic development, outcome of coastal reclamation and population growth were not only was the direct driving factor, but also the outcome of coastal reclamation and population growth was not the direct driving indicator. Construction land quota and huge economic returns to local government may be the direct driving factors according to our field investigation. To resolve the contradiction between the need for land and coastal wetland conservation, it is recommended that China should establish a special management agency and coordination mechanisms, reconsidered the implementation of the reclamation plans and projects that have been approved, enhance law enforcement and increase penalties and strengthen public participation in reclamation management.

Graduate Medical Education in Tactical Medicine and the Impact of ACGME Accreditation of EMS Fellowships.

Physician interest in tactical medicine as an area of professional practice has grown significantly over the past decade. The prevalence of physician involvement in terms of medical oversight and operational support of civilian tactical medicine has experienced tremendous growth during this timeframe. Factors contributing to this trend are multifactorial and include enhanced law enforcement agency understanding of the role of the tactical physician, support for the engagement of qualified medical oversight, increasing numbers of physicians formally trained in tactical medicine, and the ongoing escalation of intentional mass-casualty incidents worldwide. Continued vigilance for the sustenance of adequate and appropriate graduate medical education resources for physicians seeking training in the comprehensive aspects of tactical medicine is essential to ensure continued advancement of the quality of casualty care in the civilian high-threat environment.

Effect of a community-based pedestrian injury prevention program on driver yielding behavior at marked crosswalks

BackgroundFew studies have comprehensively evaluated the effectiveness of multi-faceted interventions intended to improve pedestrian safety. “Watch for Me NC” is a multi-faceted, community-based pedestrian safety program that includes widespread media and public engagement in combination with enhanced law enforcement activities (i.e., police outreach and targeted pedestrian safety operations conducted at marked crosswalks) and low-cost engineering improvements at selected crossings. The purpose of this study was to estimate the effect of the law enforcement and engineering improvement components of the program on motor vehicle driver behavior, specifically in terms of increased driver yielding to pedestrians in marked crosswalks. MethodsThe study used a pre-post design with a control group, comparing crossing locations receiving enforcement and low-cost engineering treatments (enhanced locations) with locations that did not (standard locations) to examine changes in driver yielding over a 6-month period from 2013 to 2014. A total of 24,941 drivers were observed in 11,817 attempted crossing events at 16 crosswalks in five municipalities that were participating in the program. Observations of real pedestrians attempting to use the crosswalks (“naturalistic” crossing) were supplemented by observations of trained research staff attempting the same crossings following an established protocol (“staged” crossings). Generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used to model driver yielding rates, accounting for repeated observations at the crossing locations and controlling other factors that affect driver behavior in yielding to pedestrians in marked crosswalks. ResultsAt crossings that did not receive enhancements (targeted police operations or low-cost engineering improvements), driver yielding rates did not change from before to after the Watch for Me NC program. However, yielding rates improved significantly (between 4 and 7 percentage points on average) at the enhanced locations. This was true for both naturalistic and staged crossings. ConclusionsThis study provides evidence that enhanced enforcement and low-cost engineering improvements, as a part of a broader program involving community-based outreach, can increase driver yielding to pedestrians in marked crosswalks. These data are important for the staff and decision-makers involved in pedestrian safety programs to gain a better understanding of the different engineering and behavioral mechanisms that could be used to improve driver yielding rates.

The SHIELD (Safety & Health Improvement: Enhancing Law Enforcement Departments) Study: Mixed Methods Longitudinal Findings.

The SHIELD (Safety & Health Improvement: Enhancing Law Enforcement Departments) Study is a worksite wellness team-based intervention among police and sheriff departments assessing the program's effectiveness to reduce occupational risks and unhealthy lifestyle behaviors. The SHIELD program focused on improving diet, physical activity, body weight and sleep, and reducing the effects of unhealthy stress and behaviors, such as tobacco and substance abuse. The SHIELD team-based health promotion program was found to be feasible and effective at 6 months in improving diet, sleep, stress, and overall quality of life of law enforcement department personnel. Both intervention and control groups were followed for 24 months, and we report those durability findings, along with qualitative group interview results that provide insight into the changes of the long-term outcomes. Long-term effects were observed for consumption of fruits and vegetables, and there was some evidence for effects on tobacco and alcohol use. Assessment of dietary habits, physical activity behaviors, weight loss maintenance, and substance use is rare more than 1 year following an intervention, and in general, initial positive changes do not persist in prior research. The SHIELD program was feasible, effective, and durable for improving dietary changes.

A Robust Single Hop Tree Structured Time Synchronization Protocol for Wireless Ad-Hoc Sensor Networks

Wireless ad-hoc sensor networks are deployed in order to observe some real world phenomenon with the intent to improve the daily life of common man, boost industrial processes, facilitate environment protection and enhance law enforcement. Time synchronization is critical for these networks so that the nodes in the network can accurately report event timestamps and fine-tune their coordinated distributed activities. Time synchronization algorithms proposed in the past have considered various critical issues related to nodes such as computing, resources involved in storage and communication, energy efficiency of the algorithm etc. Changing network dynamics still remains a challenge to be addressed by time synchronization algorithms as the nodes are deployed randomly either at the time of network establishment or at a later stage when the network is established and may die or disconnect in the same fashion. In this paper an energy efficient and robust protocol to support network dynamics in time synchronization protocol is presented. The protocol incorporates a mechanism which ensures that synchronization of the nodes in the network remains unaffected even if any of the nodes involved in synchronization process gets disconnected. The number of messages involved in the synchronization process in the suggested protocol is also reduced as compared to earlier protocols that makes the suggested one more energy efficient.

Balancing Privacy and Surveillance in the Cloud

As technology integrates into every aspect of people's daily lives, it's easy to lose sight of the vast amounts of data generated by the devices and services that they've come to rely on. When productively harnessed through cloud-based technologies, this data has the ability to empower the individual. However, it also brings significant privacy challenges, particularly when states seek to leverage this same data to enhance law enforcement and intelligence capabilities. The authors suggest that the private sector has a pivotal role in establishing norms in this area and that doing so in a manner respectful of the individual is ultimately in everyone's best interests.

Securitizing REDD+? Problematizing the emerging illegal timber trade and forest carbon interface in East Africa

A rapidly growing literature interrogates the social and economic impacts of various Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) schemes in Sub-Saharan Africa. Less often, however, have scholars examined the necessary corollary of such initiatives; that is, both new and enhanced law enforcement initiatives to combat the global trade in illegal forest products and secure property rights to conserved forests. Drawing upon recent consultative experiences for relevant multinational agencies in East Africa, we critically analyze the emergent features of this additional ‘dark side’ of REDD+, highlighting in particular both its potential for ‘leakage’ effects on adjacent jurisdictions and deleterious implications for forest-dependent communities. Specifically, we highlight the ways in which such activities threaten to conflate illegal with informal trade in forest products; the ways in which they are potentially ill-suited for addressing the trade in charcoal as opposed to the trade in timber; and the incentives that they may provide for states to further marginalize indigenous forest-dwelling populations in the region. In doing so, we argue that this nascent synthesis of REDD+ and transnational law enforcement threatens to contribute significantly and regressively to the broader securitization of conservation in Sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere.

Lost in Debate: The Safety of Domestic Unmanned Aircraft Systems

The United States is poised to integrate commercial unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into the national airspace and enable government entities to use UAS in a more expedient manner. This policy change, mandated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, offers new economic, social and scientific opportunities as well as enhanced law enforcement capacity. However, such benefits will be accompanied by concerns over misuse and abuse of the new technologies by criminals and terrorists. Privacy has been the focus of public debate over the more widespread use of UAS. This paper examines a variety of issues related to allowing broad UAS operations in domestic airspace, and puts forth that safety should be the top priority of policy makers in their effort to integrate UAS into the national airspace system. This article is available in Journal of Strategic Security: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/jss/vol7/iss4/5