Justice Officials Research Articles

STAFFING SITUATION IN THE JUSTICE SYSTEM OF THE KOLA NORTH IN THE 1920S.

Little is known about the members of the justice system, who bore the heavy burden of building the justice system in the Kola North. Local historians who study the formation and development of state structures under the new Soviet regime know only about some of the figures who played a significant role in the development of the Kola region. The absence of scientific works devoted to the process of formation of the personnel of the justice system of the young state testifies to the relevance of studying this issue. The analysis of the materials contained in the State Archive of the Murmansk region, undertaken in the article, allows to describe the composition, professional qualities, level of education of justice officials who worked in the most difficult moment of the Kola North justice system - at the stage of its formation. In the conditions of acute staff shortage, persons without special education and experience in justice institutions were hired. The situation was able to stabilize by the mid-1920s due to the personal qualities of the employees and changes in Soviet legislation.

Police officers’ assessments of factors that contribute to police corruption in Ghana

PurposePolice corruption – the use or misuse of entrusted power for personal, institutional or third-party advantage – is widespread in emerging economies. Encounters with justice officials in developing nations often involve the payment of bribes, which undermines justice delivery and impedes socioeconomic development. Efforts to tackle or address corruption are usually complex due to the secretive nature of corruption, its perceived benefit to both victims and perpetrators and a lack of consensus on the causes. This article investigates the causes of police corruption from the viewpoint of Ghanaian police officers.Design/methodology/approachThe study draws on data from a survey of police officers across three regions in Ghana. Descriptive, correlational and linear regression analyses are used to address the issues.FindingsThe results show that factors contributing to police corruption are classified into financial, cultural, institutional and oversight/guidance. We found that police officers’ consideration of a factor as a cause of police corruption is influenced by their perceptions of other factors as causes of corruption.Practical implicationsThe results show that corruption causes should not be tackled in isolation as they depend on each other. This suggests that a holistic approach needs to be taken when developing strategies to address the causes of police corruption.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the debate on the causes of police corruption from an African perspective, where there is little quantitative research exploring the causes of police corruption. Control variables do not impact officers’ perceptions of causes of corruption, which contradicts previous studies and contributes to the debate, literature and theory development.

The Connection of Place, Routine Activity, and Financial Exploitation of Older Adults in a Large Retirement Community

ABSTRACT Financial exploitation of older adults is a rapidly growing social problem, and research in this area has largely focused on individual-level risk factors with the role of the community not considered. Given the rapid expansion of retirement communities across the United States, these areas may be emerging as hotspots for financial exploitation. This study presented officially reported administrative trend data on reported cases of financial exploitation and analyzed focus group and interview data collected from 80 residents of a large retirement community to assess the self-reported role of the community on older adults’ financial exploitation experiences and perceptions of risk. Study participants overwhelmingly expressed that they were targeted for financial exploitation immediately and repeatedly after moving into the retirement community and much more frequently than they had experienced before moving. Participants believed they were seen as vulnerable targets and adequate protection measures were not implemented by the retirement community’s management. Retirement community managers and local criminal justice officials should recognize that residents of retirement communities may be at risk for financial exploitation and implement prevention and response strategies.

Advancing urban climate adaptation through knowledge exchange: A case study of New York City

Cities are experiencing increasingly extreme and longer-lasting hazards due to climate change. In response, urban decision-makers use climate assessments to inform their adaptation programs. To effectively inform planning, climate assessments must be responsive to community priorities and align with information needs. However, there are few empirical studies evaluating the co-production and exchange of climate information within climate assessment processes. To address this gap, we evaluated the Climate Knowledge Exchange (CKE) piloted in 2020 by the Mayor's Office of Climate and Environmental Justice (then the Mayor's Office of Resiliency) in New York City. The CKE is an ongoing engagement process that asked: What are the research gaps and barriers to adaptation in New York City and how can we design inclusive approaches to knowledge exchange that advance equitable adaptation? To answer this question, we facilitated group discussions, distributed surveys, and reviewed adaptation plans to assess the state of climate knowledge. The findings indicate a need for contextually and culturally sensitive approaches to the co-development of actionable knowledge. Additionally, there is a need to reduce barriers to equitable adaptation and to advance the practice of climate-informed decision-making. Our findings advance understanding of the potential role of climate knowledge exchange in adaptation planning.

MANUMISSION OF HOUSE SERFS: LEGISLATIVE NORMS AND EVERYDAY PRACTICES IN THE 18th CENTURY RUSSIA URBAN ENVIRONMENT

From the late 15th century until Peter the Great’s tax reform, there were kabala bondmen (kholopy), who had lost their freedom by debt and service bondages (kabalas), along with the “full” bondmen that existed from ancient times. The latter were inherited, while the former had to be set free aft er the death of their owner, having formalized a manumission record in the Kholopiy prikaz. The 1649 Sobornoe Ulozhenie clearly distinguished between these two categories of bondmen. From the beginning of the Great Northern War, Peter I ordered to enroll in the army house serfs (dvorovye) fit for military service and set free aft er the death of their owners. Lord’s men could also enroll in military service at will. After the extension of the per capita tax to the “boyar men” it was forbidden to enroll them in service, and the manumission of house serfs with manumission letters was resumed. Unlike legislative norms, the practical side of this widespread social phenomenon has not been adequately studied. The manumission records of house serfs in 1717–1780, preserved in the fonds of the Office of Justice in the Russian State Archive of Ancient Documents, as well as their petitions and the minutes of the Office of Justice allow us to elucidate the circumstances and procedure of manumission of house serfs, collisions that arose in this process, as well as the prospects of their further life. Manumission letters written at home were signed and sealed with the owner’s personal seal and certified by witnesses. In this case, they had to be registered in the serfdom institutions and then submitted to a Hofgericht (nadvorny court) or provincial chancellery to decide on the fate of the manumitted serf. Peter the Great’s tax reform contributed to the erasure of the distinction between old and kabala bondmen. The term kholop (bondman) was soon replaced by the term dvorovyi (house serf), and any house serf could be manumitted. Most of those manumitted again voluntarily signed up “forever” to the old or new master. The Manifesto of 17 March 1775 oriented the manumitted serfs to enter the petty bourgeoisie or merchant state and reflected the actual need to get rid of archaic forms of personal dependence.

“Granting” Justice, Debating Delinquency: The Juvenile Delinquency and Youth Offenses Control Act and the UNC Training Center on Delinquency and Youth Crime, 1961–1967

AbstractThis article argues that 1961 to 1967 was a critical period when federal, state, and academic institutions looked with hope toward emerging methods in behavioral and social psychology to train juvenile justice officials and to treat delinquent children. Reflecting liberal optimism regarding the possibility of reforming individual behavior without structural change, the Juvenile Delinquency and Youth Offenses Control Act of 1961 provided project funding to cities, nonprofits, and universities. Using the University of North Carolina’s Training Center on Delinquency and Youth Crime as a case study, this article examines how federal funding was used for “experiments” with group therapy, youth incarceration, and cocreation of juvenile justice. Though largely inconclusive, these experiments demonstrated the existence of alternatives to the hyperinstitutionalization of juvenile offenders that accelerated after the Supreme Court’s 1967 decision of In re Gault.

Comparative Criminology of Modern View

An overview of the recently revived discipline of comparative criminology is the aim of this chapter. It starts by going over the background and context of comparative criminology then moves on to describe the modern comparative viewpoint. The chapter outlines the typical methods for doing comparative criminological research after outlining several frequently advanced goals for the field, such as theory development and testing and policy review and critique. The primary theoretical traditions of comparative criminology are first reviewed, with a focus on structural theories rooted in culture, social bonds, and the distribution of economic resources, as well as metanarratives like modernization, civilization, opportunity, and world system theories. Next, the chapter addresses methodological issues by summarizing some of the more popular dependent variables that comparative criminologists have studied and noting how these variables have been operationalized in the literature. It then examines the three methodological approaches metalevel, parallel, and case studies that are most frequently used in the field. Data regarding crime and justice worldwide are now more available than ever because of the expansion of international "transparency" and the World Wide Web's information-dissemination capabilities. The three most prevalent forms of data on international crime and justice officials, victimization, and self-report data are covered in this chapter along with the risks to each type's validity and dependability. Interested readers are directed to current sources of information pertinent to commonly used explanatory concepts. The chapter concludes by noting that although globalization and worries about transnational crime have contributed to the growth of comparative criminology as a field of study, the discipline is still in its infancy because systematic comparative work in criminology was largely neglected during the 20th century. Renaissance, in theory, is needed to support growth in this promising field of study so that theory drives research rather than just additional data.

The relationship between the media and corruption: perspectives of Ghanaian justice and anti-corruption officials

PurposeThe media is described as a fourth estate of the realm due to its ability to frame and shape discussions on governance and provide a stimulus for fighting corruption. But is the media really an effective tool for fighting corruption? This question arises due to the possibility of the media being used for propaganda, biased reporting and media owners’ and journalists’ engagement in corruption. The current study addresses the question by exploring the relationship between the media and corruption from the perspectives of Ghanaian justice and anti-corruption officials.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopts a qualitative approach by interviewing justice and anti-corruption officials across three administrative regions in Ghana.FindingsThe results show that while justice officials describe the media as a medium for accusing officials unjustifiably and exaggerating the scale of corruption, anti-corruption officials believe the media helps to fight corruption. In addition to uncovering and exposing public officials’ corruption, the media is also a double-edged sword characterised by intra-vigilance: the media hold “their own” (i.e. journalists fighting corruption) accountable through criticism and exposure of wrongdoings.Practical implicationsThe double-edged nature of the media can strengthen and enhance the fight against corruption because anti-corruption actors and journalists will be cautious as misjudgements or errors committed will not be overlooked or concealed by the media. Therefore, anti-corruption agencies in Ghana can collaborate with the media to uncover and expose corruption committed by public officials and even journalists or media owners.Originality/valueThis study is the first in Ghana to explore the relationship between the media and corruption from the perspectives of justice and anti-corruption officials. The approach, frameworks and methodology adopted in this study can be applied in similar studies in other countries on the African continent and beyond.

Assessing Korean children’s comprehension of legal terms and roles across age groups

This study investigates the comprehension of legal terminology among children aged 6–12, focusing on terms frequently encountered in court proceedings. By presenting 13 legal terms to 26 participants, the research aimed to assess their familiarity and understanding. Findings indicate a general awareness of terms such as “police,” “judge,” and “prison,” whereas “evidence” and “prosecution” were less understood, highlighting a gap in children’s legal vocabulary. Misconceptions regarding the roles of legal professionals, notably lawyers and statement assistants, were also observed, with comprehension varying across different age groups. These results underscore the necessity for criminal justice officials to adapt their questioning methods to accommodate the developmental stages of children, ensuring more effective communication during legal processes. Although the study’s scope was limited to children without direct legal system experiences, its insights contribute valuable knowledge to the body of research on children’s legal understanding, advocating for informed approaches in legal interactions with minors.

Criminalistic support of combating iatrogenic criminal offenses: Information system prospects

The research relevance is stipulated by the negative dynamics of the increase in the number of iatrogenic offences in Ukraine and the need to update the criminalistic support tools to effectively counteract these types of acts. Given this, the study aims to explore the prospects for developing an information system for recording cases of defects in the provision of medical care in Ukraine to promptly detect and investigate criminal offences in the field of medical practice. Various research methods were used, including analysis, synthesis, comparison, structural and functional, statistical, formal, and legal, and deduction. The study identifies the factors that necessitate the development of an information system for registering and studying cases of inadequate medical care to patients. In addition, the author examines the experience of Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, France, and other European countries in ensuring the operation of mechanisms for recording and reporting on adverse effects caused by defects in the provision of medical care. The advantages of information systems in the context of combating iatrogenic criminal offences are also revealed and proposals for the implementation of such mechanisms in Ukraine are developed. The study pays special attention to establishing the essence of iatrogenic criminal offences and identifying their specific features which create difficulties for the investigation of criminal offences in the field of medical activity since they are latent. The results obtained in the course of the study should be used to improve the competence of criminal justice officials whose activities are aimed at conducting pre-trial investigations of iatrogenic criminal offences through the use of innovative criminalistic tools

Following the Money: Understanding Forum Shopping and the ‘Justice Marketplace’ in Sierra Leone

Monetary expenses are said to prohibit poor rural litigants from accessing official justice institutions, which are often concentrated in urban centres, thus pushing these litigants towards customary forums. At the same time, the alternative customary courts have been shown to cost more than formal justice institutions such as official magistrates courts. This article examines the economics informing litigants’ choices of judicial forums to contribute to a new analysis beyond state-centred legal pluralism. It argues that how money features in cases at barrays – the unofficial, unrecognised, customary courts in the capital city of Sierra Leone – not only explains why ordinary people engage with (extra)legal processes, but also demonstrates how justice is understood and (re)produced in practice.

Memory and justice after famines: an introduction

Famines in the Global South have claimed staggering numbers of lives, but are rarely the focus of scholarship on, or practices of, memorialisation and justice. The articles in this collection investigate how past famines have been dealt with – or silenced – in Cabo Verde, China, Brazil, East Timor/Timor-Leste, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Nigeria and Rwanda. This introductory essay first discusses why famines and hunger should be conceptualised as violence and mass atrocities, caused by human action. Thereafter, we outline some of the main insights that have emerged from the collection of articles. We show how and why mass starvation is often written out of official accounts of history, famine victims are rarely publicly commemorated and those responsible are not brought to justice. Yet the contributions also highlight that efforts to represent and commemorate famines, and to seek justice, take place in many – sometimes unexpected – spaces. The silence around historical famines may be broken in official justice processes or statements by powerholders, or through initiatives and practices ‘from below’, including in social media, songs and artistic work.

Factors Affecting the Office of Justice of Peace in Punjab, Pakistan: A Critical Study

Justice of the peace is a public officer introduced by British colonists during their expedition to colonize, in various regions. This research carried out a study about the inevitable role of justice of the peace and the challenges faced by public while attaining the benefits of the law duly prescribed in Pakistan. A mixed research approach was deployed having questionnaires, observations and interviews. These tools were applied on a number of institutions like aggrieved person, police personnel, advocates, public prosecutors and justices of the peace. Some questionnaires were also prepared separately for all the above mentioned entities and some observations also made to put the truthfulness of those answers in check. Interviews were also conducted in the same vein which helped in drawing a clearer diagram in this regard. According to the obtained analysis, 95% of the people believe in the fact that police system needs a serious overhaul. On the contrary, 90% to 95% police officials themselves consider the role of justice of the peace a burden on them. 90% of advocates feel the power of justice of the peace as justifiable. 82% justices of the peace were found satisfied with their system. However, 90% to 95% Justices of the Peace shows their desire of feeling the need to improve the system. A shocking 97% of people were actually found aggrieved. On the analysis structured and unstructured interviews, 94.5% people were found as actual victims.

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IN COMBATING CRIMINAL OFFENCES IN THE FIELD OF INFORMATIZATION AND COMMUNICATIONS

Cybercrimes can be committed by criminals anywhere in the world where there is an Internet connection. The negative consequences of cybercrime can be felt outside the country where the criminal lives. The transnational nature of this crime challenges traditional notions of jurisdiction and requires cooperation between criminal justice officials worldwide. The necessity and validity of collaboration within the framework of international organizations are due to the global spread of this type of crime. International cooperation in cybersecurity should be systematic, holistic and consistent. Despite these and other successful joint efforts of the countries, there are currently obstacles standing in the way of international cooperation in the fight against cybercrime. This article discusses the concepts of sovereignty and jurisdiction concerning cybercrime, mechanisms of international cooperation, and problems related to the implementation of international collaboration.

A Decade of Decision Making: Prosecutorial Decision Making in Sexual Assault Cases

In the United States, it is estimated that fewer than 30% of sexual assaults are reported to law enforcement, less than 5% will result in an arrest, and approximately 3% will result in a felony conviction. The present study examines a census of sexual assault reports from 2012 to 2020 in a large police department in the Midwest region of the United States, considering only those cases presented to the district attorney’s office for consideration (n = 700). Victim characteristics, suspect characteristics, and incident characteristics were examined as relating to a prosecutor accepting a case for charges. Further, a series of “ideal victim” characteristics were identified and used to create an additive scale based on prior research. The most significant predictors of prosecutor acceptance in the full sample were a lack of “date rape” drugs, continued cooperation from the victim, the suspect having a prior arrest for sexual assault, and the assault being reported within 24 h of occurring. A separate model was conducted for only those cases with continued cooperation from the victim. The researchers discuss the implications of these significant factors and suggest training to change false perceptions of victims among criminal justice officials and to increase victim reporting/cooperation in cases of sexual assault.

Sentencing Members of Minority Groups: Problems and Prospects for Improvement in Four Countries

Members of racial, ethnic, and Indigenous minorities have long accounted for disproportionate percentages of prison admissions in Western nations and of prison populations. The minorities affected vary between countries. Discriminatory or differential treatment by criminal justice officials from policing through to parole is part of the problem. Much media and professional attention focuses on sentencing, where the decision-making is most public. An emerging body of research identifies sentencing as a cause—or, at the very least, an amplifier—of minority overincarceration. Solutions aiming to reduce it have been implemented, with varying but modest degrees of success, in the United States, England and Wales, Canada, and Aotearoa New Zealand. Progress toward reducing minority overincarceration has been slow. Most US sentencing commissions have failed to determine the extent to which their guidelines contribute to the problem. The Sentencing Council of England and Wales has taken the limited step of warning judges about racial disparities, without suggesting remedial steps to be taken. Courts in Canada and Aotearoa New Zealand have taken more activist approaches, mitigating sentences when offenders adduce evidence of discrimination or abuse by criminal justice officials.

Indigenous Peoples and Criminal Justice

Abstract In this article, I draw on the specific case studies of the Xakriabá people and the Judicial District of Manga, and the Maxakali people and the Judicial District of Águas Formosas, both located in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. I examine how criminal justice officials apply dominant concepts of indigeneity in these regional contexts, showing how they arbitrarily construct and deploy the category of Indigenous person based on essentialist assumptions of indigeneity that ignore Indigenous peoples’ self-identification as such. This adds to scholarship on how indigeneity is institutionally conceived and applied within the justice system in ways that contrast with Indigenous notions of it and aim to deny Indigenous persons recognition in legal processes. By providing specific accounts of how Indigenous defendants are treated in the justice system and experience loss of rights, I consider the professional practices of state officials within the broader framework of Brazilian indigenist policies.

Criminal justice officials’ attitudes towards addressing computer crimes in Thailand: Difficulties and recommendations

Criminal justice officials’ attitudes towards addressing computer crimes in Thailand: Difficulties and recommendations

Tryb dojścia do urzędu sędziego pokoju w prezydenckim projekcie ustawy o sądach pokoju a zasada niezawisłości sędziowskiej

On November 4, 2021, the Marshal of the Sejm received draft laws presented by the President of the Republic of Poland: the draft law on the courts of the peace and the draft law – provisions introducing the law on the courts of the peace. The changes proposed in the drafts assume the creation of justices of the peace. The courts of the peace are going to have the status of common courts. Pursuant to the draft, justices of the peace are to be elected in general elections and then appointed by the President at the request of the National Council of the Judiciary. The author of the study tries to answer the question about the status of justices of the peace, primarily in the aspect of the planned access to the office of justice of the peace, with particular emphasis on the conditions and procedure of selection.

Specijalizacija nosilaca pravosudnih funkcija i svest građana kao instrumenti suprotstavljanja ekološkim kaznenim delima

Specialization, contentfull training, and continuous professional growth of prosecutors and judges in the domain of ecological crimes, joint education programs for criminal justice organs, police officers and inspectors, the increase in material and human resources, especially in the domain of inspections, are all necessary requirements for the improvement in the detection, investigation, evidence collection, and prevention of ecological crimes. In this paper, the author first analyzes the significance of the specialization of public office holders, prosecutors and judges, when it comes to ecological crimes. One of the current priorities of the EU is the struggle against ecological crime, especially certain types of ecological crime. The specialization of criminal justice office holders, especially prosecutors, is the norm in certain countries. Insufficient public awareness about the consequences of ecological crimes and the damage they cause, their victims, their "profitability", and their scope is a significant obstacle for the prevention, detection, and reduction of ecological crime. Numerous international legal documents emphasize the imperative of improving public awareness about ecological crimes. The author relates the improvement in public awareness with the right of "members of the public" to access criminal justice and the role of the "concerned public" in a criminal procedure, above all as persons filing criminal complaints, often in the form of citizen groups/associations or in relation to the participation in criminal procedures for these crimes.