National Law Enforcement Agencies Research Articles

Systematic Review to Propose a Blockchain-based Digital Forensic Ready Internet Voting System

The ballot paper-based voting system has a high risk of data manipulation and vote tampering due to a lack of immutability, transparency and privacy. This systematic review is conducted with the intention of proposing a digital forensic-ready internet voting process to mitigate issues of vote rigging and vote fraud. The review focused on current and up-to-date literature. Publications that are out of this date range were ignored and considered stale or irrelevant. We extracted and reviewed publications with either or all the following keywords: “digital forensic”, “internet voting”, “e-voting” and “blockchain”. A total of thirteen databases were consulted. These include ACM, IEEE, Web of Science, Science Direct, Academic Search Complete, Access Science, ProQuest, Oxford Academy, Ingenta, Cambridge Core and Clarivate. From the inclusion list of one hundred and five (105) studies that were looked at in detail, twenty of them (i.e.,19%) covered blockchain technology. Two percent (2%) of them were focused on digital forensics in internet voting. The results herein were synthesised and presented in a qualitative methodology. The review shows that a secure and reliable digital forensic system could effectively mitigate vote rigging and fraud. Therefore, we proposed a blockchain-based digital forensic-ready internet voting system. The proposed system is beneficial to the electorate, election observers, electoral candidates, electoral administration bodies as well as the national law enforcement agencies.

Impact of the war in Ukraine on the law enforcement system in general and the National police of Ukraine in particular

The article is devoted to defining the essence and peculiarities of the law enforcement system of Ukraine and the National Police of Ukraine, as well as the impact of the war on the development of the activities of these bodies. Attention was drawn to the mechanism of law enforcement agencies, namely the ways and methods of ensuring their activities. The principles on which the activity of the National Police of Ukraine is based are also analyzed, taking into account all the changes that were introduced due to the war. Studying changes in the National Police of Ukraine in the context of the full-scale Russian invasion is crucial for several reasons.
 Firstly, it provides insights into the adaptability and resilience of law enforcement agencies in the face of unprecedented challenges. Understanding how the police force responds to such a crisis can offer valuable lessons for other nations dealing with similar threats.
 Secondly, research in this area sheds light on the effectiveness of reforms and training programs implemented to enhance the capabilities of the National Police. Analyzing the changes in strategies, tactics, and overall performance can help identify areas of improvement and refine future initiatives.
 Furthermore, studying the National Police's response to the Russian invasion contributes to a broader understanding of the role of law enforcement in conflict zones. It allows for an evaluation of the challenges faced by the police force, such as maintaining public order, ensuring civilian safety, and combating organized crime in a volatile environment. In a geopolitical context, this research becomes a part of the global conversation on security and stability. It highlights the importance of international support and cooperation in strengthening the capacities of national law enforcement agencies during times of conflict.
 Ultimately, examining the shifts in the National Police of Ukraine amid the Russian invasion not only provides valuable insights for the country itself but also contributes to the global discourse on security, resilience, and the role of law enforcement in times of crisis.

Both Sides Now: Writing the Edges of the American West by Sheila McManus

Reviewed by: Both Sides Now: Writing the Edges of the American West by Sheila McManus David C. Beyreis Both Sides Now: Writing the Edges of the American West. By Sheila McManus. (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2022. Pp. 204. Illustrations, notes, bibliography, index.) Borderlands are complicated. Rather than places where a country's power to regulate commerce and dictate national loyalties are ascendant, these territories are often sites of political contestation, economic integration, and grass-roots identity formation. Sheila McManus calls on historians to develop a more nuanced comparative framework for borderlands studies. Part of this task involves rectifying an imbalance in historiography prioritizing the U.S.–Mexico borderlands. Another element of the author's call to action is to search for patterns and dissimilarities in the processes of borderlands formation—what is true for the southern border is not necessarily true for the northern border and vice versa. In laying out a clear set of themes for investigation, pointing out analytical shortcomings, and providing commentary on underdeveloped topics, the author has produced an extraordinarily useful primer for students of borderlands history. To bring clarity to this complex topic, McManus identifies five themes that unite borderlands literature. First, she addresses borderlands as Indigenous spaces, particularly as sites of Native political dominance, trade, and diplomacy. McManus stresses the role of women as laborers and kinfolk and calls for increased attention to their roles as diplomats and peacemakers. Second, borderlands are places where nation-states attempt to create static identities for their citizens. Although governments often view borders as places where national identities are clear and unchanging, the reality is far more complex. The author points out that borderlanders themselves often make choices about loyalty and identity at a grassroots level, in decisions that challenge national, exclusivist binaries. Third, borderlands are often violent places where national law enforcement agencies and military forces attempt to "secure" the region by restricting and regulating the movement of people and goods. Fourth, the author contends that borderlands are capitalist landscapes whose function is often at odds with the nation-states' attempts to make borders hard dividing lines. [End Page 584] Mining, ranching, manufacturing, and farming have traditionally relied on the easy cross-border movement of capital and labor. In this sense, capitalism works at cross purposes with the forces seeking to stabilize borderland regions. Finally, borderlands are places where people engage in grassroots processes of identify formation, like blending, choosing, and becoming, that often challenge state directives and aspirations. McManus also points out notable gaps and disparities in borderlands literature. The author laments a historiographical imbalance between the massive list of works on the U.S.–Mexico borderlands and the much smaller body of literature on the U.S.–Canada borderlands. The robust literature of the Texas–Mexico borderlands contributes to this disparity. That said, works on Texas by historians like Juliana Barr, George T. Díaz, Monica Perales, Raúl A. Ramos, and Andrés Reséndez provide model studies of the region. Another gap McManus identifies is a relative paucity of gender history. Women are often overlooked and under analyzed. Curiously, the author largely overlooks environmental history as another avenue of comparative analysis. Sheila McManus has done a marvelous job pulling together, analyzing, and comparing a vast range of secondary borderlands material. Her clarity in identifying historiographical themes brings order from chaos. Her call to action, for more work on gender and the U.S.–Canada borderlands, could stimulate work in these fields and bring more regional parity. Both Sides Now should be required reading in graduate seminars and will undoubtedly become a standard reference work in North American borderlands studies. This book is a superb introduction to an endlessly fascinating, complex, and important topic. David C. Beyreis Saint Mary's School (Raleigh, North Carolina) Copyright © 2022 The Texas State Historical Association

Observance of individual rights in criminal proceedings during martial law

The objective of the research was to identify threats to individual rights in criminal proceedings during martial law. The research involved system methods, descriptive analysis, systematic sampling, doctrinal approach and forecasting. Martial law introduced as a result of armed conflict carries important implications for criminal justice. Ensuring the observance of individual rights in criminal proceedings during this period applies to several crimes, the common feature of which is the time of their commission. The classification of subjects of prevention of infringement of such rights is presented. The prospects for improving the protection of individual rights in criminal proceedings require international assistance in the detection of crimes related to the armed conflict. It is concluded that ensuring the observance of individual rights in criminal proceedings during martial law requires combining the efforts of national and international specialists. Prospects for improving this process envisage international assistance with increased use of its results as evidence in national and international courts. It is appropriate to develop international recommendations for national law enforcement agencies and judicial bodies.

International legal standards as a methodological basis for the creation and improvement of national law enforcement systems

Having declared a firm and irreversible course for European integration, Ukraine continues to increase the pace of bringing its national law enforcement system to modern world and European standards, which is, in turn, a positive and very important indicator of the state's development in a democratic direction. The main guidelines in this process, in addition to national, historical and legal traditions, should be international legal standards that allow building Ukrainian statehood and its legal system openly and transparently in interaction with foreign and international law, by borrowing and using modern progressive foreign legal concepts , doctrines, ideas, generally recognized international principles, norms, standards.
 The implementation of international legal standards into the Ukrainian national law enforcement system began immediately after the declaration of Ukraine's independence and continued for thirty years, but it is now necessary to accelerate this process by means of a constant and scrupulous search in international legal sources, which become more and more every year more and more, new democratic directions of the functioning of judicial and law enforcement bodies, the latest forms and means of guaranteeing and protecting human rights, freedoms and legitimate interests.
 In addition to the analysis of the sources of international law, it is necessary to follow the scientific work of well-known foreign and domestic specialists, who in their works can offer modern and effective methods and techniques of borrowing international legal standards in the activities of national law enforcement agencies. This is also a significant way and method of solving the main issue of bringing the Ukrainian law enforcement system up to modern world and European standards. However, there cannot be an ill-conceived and simple mechanical transfer of an international standard or foreign experience of their implementation into national law enforcement systems, since our state is an original country with its own history, culture, mentality, its own way of developing law and legal system, which combine general civilizational and specific , trends peculiar only to Ukraine.
 In this regard, there is an urgent need to analyze the existing domestic and foreign developments regarding the borrowing of international legal standards as a methodological basis for the creation and improvement of the national law enforcement system, the development of acceptable for Ukraine procedures and mechanisms for the implementation of positive elements of the organization and activity of law enforcement agencies, which determines the need to conduct relevant scientific research.

ПРОЦЕССУАЛЬНОЕ ПОЛОЖЕНИЕ ИНФОРМАТОРА ВСЕМИРНОГО АНТИДОПИНГОВОГО АГЕНТСТВА (ВАДА)

The well-known anti-doping investigations of the last decade led to the disqualification from participation in the Olympics not only of individual athletes who were convicted of taking illegal drugs, but entire sports federations, the national anti-doping agencies were deprived of their accreditation. Bringing to justice a wide range of individuals not directly related to the use of doping requires a new approach to evidence as such and to the way it is presented. The purpose of this study is to study the status and procedural situation of WADA whistleblowers – the persons on whose testimony most of the investigations were based. The authors analyze the distinctive procedural features of informants and a set of requirements for information provided by informants. The article discusses the issue of mixing the statuses of a witness and an accomplice in the formation of approaches to determining the informant, with the legal consequences arising from these statuses. The authors note that WADA, as an international organization, does not have the functionality to ensure the protection of a whistle-blower from domestic persecution, for this reason, national law enforcement agencies play the main role in protecting whistleblowers. The extent and form of protection also depends on the status of anti-doping investigations and the assessment of doping as an offense punishable by criminal proceedings, civil or administrative.

The institutional framework of the European Union area of internal security

The area of internal security is umbrella definition, which combine two European Union policies in the field of police cooperation and judicial cooperation in criminal matters. This article is aimed at solving a scientific problem related to the determination of the essential characteristics and legal nature of EU bodies and agencies that realize the EU policy on combating crime. The article studies the institutional framework of the EU area of internal security, analyzes specialized agencies designed to assist in the implementation of the EU competence in the field of police cooperation and judicial cooperation in criminal matters. The main purpose of the EU bodies and agencies within the area of internal security is to implement the Union’s competence in combating crime, this function is realized mainly through coordination of the activities of national law enforcement agencies. The creation of union bodies does not mean a decrease in the competence of the law enforcement agencies of the Member States. The authors conclude that EU bodies and agencies have a number of common features and essential characteristics that allow them to be distinguished as a relatively independent system. At the same time, the authors admit the possibility of qualifying these bodies as specific integration law enforcement agencies that have limited competence covering certain aspects of the fight against crime. According to the authors, the process of further development of the system of integration law enforcement bodies of the EU is currently underway, one of the features of this development is the strengthening of the supranational component. The study allows us to consider Europol, Eurojust, Cepol and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office not as separate bodies aimed on particular purposes, but as the elements of the special system and which develop according to the common rules.

ОРГАНІЗАЦІЙНІ ТА ПРАВОВІ МЕТОДИ ПРОТИДІЇ МАНІПУЛЮВАННЮ СВІДОМІСТЮ ГРОМАДЯН... У СОЦІАЛЬНИХ МЕРЕЖАХ

The article states that in the XXI century the Internet and social networks are increasingly used to the detriment of national interests. Due to the total computerization and digitalization of humanity, cyberspace is becoming an environment for cybercrime. At the same time, the threat of excessive distribution of destructive content to manipulate the minds of citizens is urgent. In view of the above, the purpose of the article is to develop effective organizational and legal methods to combat this negative phenomenon. It is noted that the current legislation establishes an exclusive list of grounds for processing (and as its component – collection) of personal data. Among them, one of the key, in the context of the collection of personal data on the Internet, except in some cases, is the consent of the personal data subject. However, it was concluded that, currently, not all Internet resources or mobile applications warn about the processing of personal information. Preferably, you can find out by analyzing the appropriate settings or permissions (sometimes by default). Also, according to the privacy policy of social networks, mobile applications, access to the processing of personal data is a prerequisite for the use of services. That is, there is no alternative, and the consent itself by its legal nature is conditionally voluntary. It is alleged that the issue of processing information (personal data) about third parties is problematic. After all, in the case when a user provides access to his own page on a social network or a phone book – he automatically provides access to data about third parties without any of their personal consent. That is, in practice there is a situation in which the right to protection of this category of persons is systematically violated. The legal experience of the European Union countries in the field of ensuring the security of personal data of citizens is analyzed. The final part of the study emphasizes that the users of the Internet and social networks are representatives of public authorities, local governments, servicemen, employees of national law enforcement agencies and special services, and other secret agents. Accordingly, further scientific development requires strengthening of legal support and purposeful application of organizational measures, first of all, in the specified environment which can be used by foreign special services, in particular by the Russian Federation, in the interests.

The Uberization of the United Nations’ regime to prevent the online financing of terrorism: tackling the problem of obfuscation in virtual currencies

ABSTRACTThis article examines an Uberization model of governance that can enable the existing United Nations (UN) regime for preventing the financing of terrorism to overcome the problems caused by the obfuscation techniques employed by virtual currencies (VCs). This new global governance model envisions a multi-sided platform where public and private actors are interconnected by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The central argument of this article is that the UNSC can build a powerful and transparent platform of cooperation and set binding rules of cooperation for all countries and members of the VC ecosystem. This governance platform will offer an entrepreneurial opportunity for private actors of the VC ecosystem to allocate their idle investigation capacity towards cooperation with national law enforcement agencies who lack investigation resources to tackle the problem of obfuscation in VCs. It will also enable national law enforcement agencies to collaborate with the most competent private cyber forensic experts in a cost-efficient way.

Understanding the French Criminal Justice System as a Tool for Reforming International Legal Cooperation and Cross-Border Data Requests

In an increasingly interconnected world, where communications can happen anywhere and at any time, law enforcement agencies may need access to evidence stored overseas. To help national law enforcement agencies work together more effectively, a large number of Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (“MLATs”) have been signed from 1970 onwards. MLATs have become an area of international dispute, with states becoming increasingly frustrated with the length and complication of the process for requesting electronic evidence. Indeed, access to evidence is a time-sensitive issue for not only the solving and prevention of crimes but also as part of the individual’s right to a fair trial. As part of a larger project on reforming international legal cooperation, a large number of works and projects have emerged, including the Georgia Tech Cross-Border Data Requests Project of which this paper is a part. This paper begins with a description of the current French criminal process, as an example of a mature EU legal system. Then, it explains the steps required for French investigating authorities to access evidence located in the U.S. under the current MLAT rules. Finally, it illustrates that each legal system maintains different checks and balances that have to be carefully considered in reforming any multilateral legal cooperation.

Intelligence-led policing and forces of organisational change in the USA

The intent of this study is to explore organisational factors that, both conceptually and operationally, facilitate or inhibit a police agency from adopting intelligence-led policing (ILP). Research to date is yet to explore organisational factors related to ILP among American law enforcement agencies. Drawing from original survey data of national law enforcement agencies as part of a 2009 US Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice-funded project, the present study incorporates force field analysis to explore factors of ILP adoption in the USA. Findings suggest state and local agencies' familiarity with the intelligence-led concept and utilisation of open source and received information appear to be driving adoption. Conversely, formal policies, lack of sufficient personnel, training and a lack of intelligence-led decision-making appear to be inhibiting change towards the ILP paradigm. It appears agency size has minimal influence on an agency's shift towards ILP. Access to necessary resources and training appear to pose a significant challenge to law enforcement. Limited resources to develop an intelligence-led approach may result in the capability going underdeveloped or taking the form of other policing practices related to available resources – such as homeland security preparedness. This research is one of the first empirical explorations of ILP adoption, especially with a national sample of state and local agencies. Further conceptual clarity of the ILP paradigm is provided and organisational factors are discussed.

Prosecuting Persons Doing Business with Armed Groups in Conflict Areas: The Strategy of the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court

This article sets out the strategy of the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) with respect to investigations and prosecutions of persons who illegally finance armed groups in conflict areas or provide them with weapons or ammunition. In accordance with this strategy, the OTP is considering prosecuting such person(s) before the ICC. The OTP has further decided to actively support national proceedings related to the work of the ICC, including proceedings against persons supporting armed groups in conflict areas. To that end, the OTP has recently initiated a network with national law enforcement agencies and other specialized institutions and organizations to coordinate and strengthen the efforts of multiple national and international actors by exchanging evidence, mutually supporting investigations and by sharing expertise.

Understanding post 9/11 drug control policy and politics in Central Asia

This paper exposes contemporary drug policy challenges in Central Asia by focusing on a single point in the history of drug control, in a single region of the global war against drugs and terrorism, and on one agency whose mission is to help make the world safer from crime, drugs and terrorism. By looking closely at the post 9/11 security-oriented donor priorities, I conclude that, in Central Asia, the rhetoric of the taking a more ‘balanced approach’ to drug policy is bankrupt. When enacted by the national law enforcement agencies in the Central Asian republics, the ‘Drug Free’ aspirational goal is driving the HIV epidemic among IDUs. The face-saving ‘containment’ thesis does not reflect the drug situation in this region but rather the failure to adopt an evidence-based approach. The harm reduction agenda continues to face many challenges including resistance to substitution treatment, the harm from drug treatment, from poorly designed drug prevention programmes and from repressive counter-narcotics policies and practices.

Smoking Guns: European Cigarette Smuggling in the 1990’s

This article concerns European cigarette smuggling over the past decade and examines the actors, structures and relationships which facilitated the illicit trade. It discusses the central role played by actors not traditionally associated with organised crime, such as multi-national tobacco companies, Swiss banks and the state security agencies of various Balkan states. It demonstrates how domestic legislation in Switzerland and instability in the Balkans prevented national law enforcement agencies from effectively dealing with this international network at an earlier stage. The article also focuses on the history of local and national law enforcement investigations as well as the integrated multi-national investigation project later initiated by the EU and member states. The article's conclusions suggest that while smuggling actors have successfully adapted to the process of globalisation – financial and state deregulation – law enforcement agencies remain at a disadvantage as they are hampered by the domestic legislation in nation states such as Switzerland and the United States. While cigarette smuggling was and is a major illicit industry, it has not been the subject of much academic scrutiny. This article, based on field research in the Balkans and EU member states aims to contribute to a broader understanding of a problem involving a multiplicity of criminal actors, states and law enforcement agencies.

THE PRACTICAL VALUE OF LEGISLATION IN COMBATING ORGANISED CRIME

Criminals have expanded their networks beyond national boundaries in order to maximise the returns on their illegal activities. This expansion has made it very difficult for weak national law enforcement agencies to control or investigate the resulting crimes. Legislation as a deterrent is only effective if it is regionally accepted and if it is actively enforced. The absence of such legislation has detrimental social, political and economic consequences. States affected by corruption become targets for drug traffickers, money launderers and organisations that encourage lawlessness. In the process, the rule of law and the democratic process are undermined. The recently adopted SADC Protocol Against Corruption is an indication that the political will to fight corruption is growing. The next step is for national parliaments to incorporate the protocol into national laws.

REGIONAL TRAFFICK

That West African criminal networks have contributed to the growth of organised crime in Southern Africa is clear. Though often remarked upon, these networks are seldom understood. This essay assesses the information available on how these groups, mainly Nigerian, have penetrated and operated in the region. Technology, mobile phone and the internet, for instance, as well as a reliance on close-knit ethnic groups enable networks to expand their illicit activities very rapidly and at the expense of national law enforcement agencies. Affected by economic decline in Nigeria and blaming that decline on the West, some Nigerian networks view their crimes as justifiable and legitimate business. South Africa, since the end of apartheid is the main focus but Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia are important points in the chain. Drug trafficking, advance fee fraud, kidnapping, cheque and credit card fraud, stolen goods and trafficking in humans are all part of the repertoire.