Criminal Justice Practice Research Articles

Selective navigation: risk prediction cultures in criminal justice practices

In his article ‘Selective incapacitation revisited’, Thomas Mathiesen (1998) addresses the dominance of a technical and scientific language associated with the risk prediction culture that originated from a criminological research community where risk is considered as objective and measurable. In this article I discuss how practitioners perceive these aspects of risk prediction. For policymakers, targeting means using thresholds to target groups of offenders, but for frontline officers, it means targeting an individual. The officer must set an individualised assessment against the aggregated assessments from risk predictions. I will analyse how this has manifested in three Norwegian risk assessment projects: the offender assessment system, risk assessment of violent extremism, and early intervention to prevent youth crime. This article contributes to the understanding of how the political aspects of risk impact practitioners, and how the concept of risk as an artifact is understood by practitioners. I will first present the context of selective incapacitation and the history of research in this field. I will then contextualise the different understandings of risk within policy and practice. The main section is an analysis of the three cases. I end by discussing how acknowledgement of the political aspects of risk can promote sensitivity around the use of risk assessment tools.

ADDRESSING HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM OF KAZAKHSTAN: THE ROLE OF THE PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE AND A CALL FOR LEGISLATIVE REFORMS

Background: Human rights violations within the criminal justice system represent a pervasive problem. International human rights agreements and national laws clearly assert the absolute protection of human rights. However, despite these strong legal principles, human rights violations frequently occur within the criminal justice system. This article examines the problem of human rights violations in the criminal justice system of Kazakhstan and the role of the prosecutor's office in protecting human rights. Methods: This study utilised documentary analysis and secondary data analysis methodologies to conduct a detailed examination of legal acts, international agreements, and policy documents It specifically reviewed documents including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the Constitutional Law “On the Prosecutor's Office”, the Concept of Legal Policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan up to 2030, and human rights reports from international bodies such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Freedom House. The study also analysed reports from the Ministry of Justice and the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Results and conclusions: By analysing international human rights treaties, national legislation, and reports from leading human rights organisations, the study exposes significant discrepancies between legal mandates and actual practices. Despite Kazakhstan's formal commitment to international human rights standards, it reveals systemic issues, including instances of human rights abuses in criminal justice. The study highlights the critical role of the prosecutor's office in human rights protection while also pointing out the challenges in effectively fulfilling these responsibilities. The findings stress the importance of legislative reforms for enhancing the protection of human rights in criminal justice. The study is particularly relevant for policymakers, human rights advocates, and scholars interested in the intersection of law enforcement and human rights protections, offering insights that could guide future improvements in criminal justice practices.

Case Study: Strength of Child Witness Testimony in Cases of Sexual Abuse in Decision No. IX: 135/Pid.Sus/2023/DPK

In current criminal justice practice, there have been developments regarding the use of children's testimonies, with some judges in Indonesia admitting children's statements as evidence in cases involving minors, even though we know that children are not sworn in before giving testimony. Therefore, the aim of this study is to analyze the legal strength of children's testimonies as evidence in the criminal justice system, focusing on the case with the District Court Decision Number 135/Pid.Sus/2023/PN. Dpk. This research employs a normative legal research method with a legislative approach, conducted to explore legal issues. The primary data source supporting this research includes the District Court Decision from Depok Number: 282/Pid.Sus/2023/DPK, while secondary data consists of Law Number 35 Year 2014 concerning Amendments to Law Number 23 Year 2002 concerning Child Protection, Law Number 11 Year 2012 concerning Juvenile Justice System, and Law Number 8 Year 1981 concerning Criminal Procedure Code. The findings of this research indicate that the evidentiary strength of children's testimonies as witnesses in the Indonesian criminal justice system depends on the validity of the testimony presented in court. However, the truthfulness and probative value of such testimonies are subject to the judge's subjective assessment, and because the evaluation of witness evidence is generally non-binding, this also applies to child witnesses.

Deconstructing a form of hybrid investment fraud: Examining ‘pig butchering’ in the United States

Cyber-enabled fraud has transformed, becoming more complex and making it harder for targets and law enforcement to detect its occurrence. This study aims to recontextualize a major manifestation of this transformation, a crime called hybrid investment fraud, colloquially known as pig butchering. Hybrid investment fraud describes a cyber-enabled fraud whereby criminals gain the trust of victims by forming connections and relationships, and then exploit this trust by using a series of confidence building and coercive measures designed to encourage victims to continuously invest in securities or commodities until they become unable or unwilling to continue to make payments or the offenders become unreachable. This study further aims to address the existing knowledge gap by focusing on understudied elements of this fraud, such victim and offender characteristics and the ways hybrid investment fraud is perpetrated. To achieve this, we conducted an in-depth analysis of more than 1,300 news articles and court documents between January 1, 2018, and November 1, 2023, to identify 59 cases of hybrid investment fraud targeting victims in the United States. This article both situates hybrid investment fraud within the broader fraud literature and conducts a comprehensive of analysis of hybrid investment fraud cases to identify the types of hybrid investment fraud committed, their impact, victim and offender demographics, and offenders’ tactics, tools, and methods of operation. The findings from this study can inform criminal justice practices and future research of this fraud.

Creating a minority threat: Assessing the spillover effect of local immigrant detention on Hispanic arrests

AbstractAmid punitive shifts in crime and immigration control during the 1980s and 1990s, Hispanic individuals comprised a growing share of the population confined in U.S. prisons and jails. Although it is widely acknowledged that the nation's wars on crime and drugs contributed to higher rates of minority arrest, limited empirical research has examined whether the merging of immigration control with criminal justice practice during this period intensified these disparities. This article uses county‐level arrest data from California between 1980 and 2004 to investigate whether intergovernmental service agreements (IGSAs) leasing jail space for immigrant detention increased rates of Hispanic arrest. Employing a quasi‐experimental design that leverages the staggered adoption of IGSAs across counties, this study finds that these agreements increased rates of Hispanic arrest but had no discernible impact on arrest rates for White or Black residents. Supplemental analyses reveal that these increases were driven by misdemeanor arrests and were particularly pronounced in counties where the Hispanic population comprised between 11 and 22 percent. These findings suggest that IGSAs may trigger minority threat concerns that increase arrests, shedding additional light on Hispanic representation in the criminal justice system.

Juridical Analysis of Constitutional Court Decision Number 20/PUU-XXI/2023 Concerning Judicial Review by the Prosecutor's Office in Criminal Cases in Indonesia

In the practice of criminal justice in Indonesia, judicial review efforts are an interesting problem to study because, in the development phase, there is a tug-of-war of interests between the defendant or his heirs and the public prosecutor. The presence of Constitutional Court Decision Number 20/PUU-XXI/2023 ends the debate and legal uncertainty for justice seekers. In this research, the author used a normative juridical approach. The approaches used were the Law approach, Case Approach, and Conceptual Approach. There are several problem formulations in this research: 1) what is the rationale for the decision of the Constitutional Court Number 20/PUU-XXI/2023?; 2) What are the arrangements for judicial review after the Constitutional Court decision Number 20/PUU-XXI/2023. Research Results of problem formulation number 1). According to the Court's consideration, requests for judicial review in criminal cases are the right of the defendant and his heirs, and the addition of the authority of the prosecutor to carry out judicial review efforts does not provide legal certainty and justice. Previously, the court in 2016 decided on a case regarding judicial review efforts, in which the court considered that the essence of a judicial review is the rights of the defendant and his heirs. 2) After the Constitutional Court Decision Number 20/PUU-XXI/2023, the public prosecutor cannot submit a judicial review effort in a criminal case; legally, when the prosecutor makes a judicial review effort in a criminal case, it is invalid/abash. With the decision of the Constitutional Court number 20/PUU-XXI/2023, it is reaffirmed that only the defendant and his heirs can submit a judicial review effort.

Toward a Cognitive Criminological Future

Criminology and Criminal Justice are bifurcated on multiple dimensions: education, publication patterns, and epistemological orientation. These asynchronous efforts might plausibly be remedied through a three-pronged pursuit of improved science, adherence to trial and error in justice practice, and evidence-based practice. Unfortunately, these potential solutions face a triple threat of criminal justice being built on a monopolistic (single producer) and monopsonistic (single purchaser) foundation, limits on rationality (including biases in theory and practice), and fundamental limitations of tacit knowledge. Although these are likely to always be present, one option may be the development of an area with new possibilities for criminological research and criminal justice practices. In revisiting a scholarly exchange over agency, we consider how moving toward cognitive criminology could foster a more enriched understanding of human action. This may offer opportunities for both fields, including unifying the basic science of Criminology with the application of Criminal Justice.

Bridging the gap between criminology and computer vision: A multidisciplinary approach to curb gun violence

AbstractGun violence significantly threatens tens of thousands of people annually in the United States. This paper proposes a multidisciplinary approach to address this issue. Specifically, we bridge the gap between criminology and computer vision by exploring the applicability of firearm object detection algorithms to the criminal justice system. By situating firearm object detection algorithms in situational crime prevention, we outline how they could enhance the current use of closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems to mitigate gun violence. We elucidate our approach to training a firearm object detection algorithm and describe why its results are meaningful to scholars beyond the realm of computer vision. Lastly, we discuss limitations associated with object detection algorithms and why they are valuable to criminal justice practices.

A Comprehensive Study of the Classical School of Criminology

The eighteenth century saw the development of the classical school of criminology. This theory of criminology was primarily influenced by Cesare de Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham. They are regarded as the most significant intellectuals of the Enlightenment. Are regarded as the founders of the classical school of criminology and are leaders in the field of "classical" thought. Because he was a utilitarian and concerned with the happiness and well-being of the populace, Bentham's contribution to "classical" philosophy is predicated on his conviction that punishment, in the form of causing pain, should always be justified in terms of a larger benefit. Bentham's writings revolved around the notion of the pleasure-pain principle, which holds that human behavior is intended to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. Beccaria thought that in order to make punishments fair and commensurate with the offence, laws had to be implemented. According to him, there are three key concepts that determine how effective crime prevention is: the likelihood of a crime occurring, its certainty, and the timing of the crime, the speed at which it is punished, the seriousness of the offence, and the extent of the suffering caused. According to Beccaria, the harshness of the punishments meted out should be commensurate with the offence committed and should not exceed what is required to dissuade the perpetrator and others from committing similar crimes in the future. Because there would be no deterrent, classical philosophers like Jeremy Bentham and Beccaria believed that the death penalty was meaningless. But in the case of manslaughter, as Bentham also holds, the death penalty should unquestionably be applied if the severity of the penalty significantly outweighs the offence. Seeing another criminal eliminated as a result of their acts doesn't seem to be a more powerful deterrence to future criminals considering engaging in the same criminal behavior. Though possibly not as much on criminal justice practice, classical philosophy has had a major influence on criminological thought generally. Since the advent of classical criminology and classical thought, the use of torture, corporal punishment, and the death penalty has decreased.

Revisiting packer’s models: Examining Nigeria's criminal justice system in the COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 era

This review study examines the administration of criminal justice process during and after COVID-19 era in Nigeria against the backdrop of two competing criminal justice process models: Crime control and Due Process. The outbreak of COVID-19 has pushed many countries, including Nigeria, to either reinforced or altered their criminal justice practices to reflect the reality of COVID-19. Arrest, detention and prosecution of offenders became clearly predicated only on the degree of seriousness and the overall interest of the society as against the previous practice that was predicated on ‘trump up charges’ and at the will and caprices of the operators of criminal justice system. The main question we ask here is: to what extent has COVID-19 mediated and impacted on the administration of criminal justice in Nigeria during and after the pandemic? Qualitative descriptive-narrative approach was adopted to synthesise the various data and sources (review of literature, reports from the media, reflective data and eye witness accounts) to account for what happened both during COVID-19 and post COVID-19 in the practice of criminal justice in Nigeria. Two dominant traditional ideologies/models (Crime Control and Due Process), and the less favoured one (punitive and nonpunitive victims' right models), interfaced at one point or the other and thus defined the character of criminal justice system in Nigeria 19 with crime control model however showing greater effects than others. The implication of our analysis is that during crisis, state and official's response to one of her crucial mandate oscillates and takes a paradigm shift form either mild to critical or severe as the case may be. The three models manifested in pre and COVID-19 criminal justice process eras though, crime control model remains a continuum and the dominant ideology which guides the operation of criminal justice system and process. Further implication is the imperative to improve the system by taking steps towards the direction of the non-punitive model of victims' rights which stresses crime prevention and restorative justice as the future value (ideology) for Nigerian criminal justice system.

Analysis of the Application of Unlawful Act Elements in Corruption Crime Cases against North Sulawesi Bank Debtors (Review of Decision Number 11/Pid.Sus-TPK/2021/PN Gto)

This research was conducted to determine the extent to which material criminal law was applied in the panel of judges' consideration of elements of unlawful acts in cases of criminal acts of corruption where the defendant was a debtor who had defaulted (bad credit) on his loan installments. Knowing the extent to which judges provide legal considerations using the lex specialist derogate generaly principle approach, as well as the existence of contradictions between Constitutional Court Decision Number 003/PUU-IV/2006 in the criminal justice practice order. The results of this research show that judges still apply unlawfulness in a positive function first without conducting an in-depth study and truly exploring whether the act is indeed an act that is considered evil and reprehensible to the wider community. Judges, in looking at the unlawful nature of material law, must consider the unlawful nature of the law in its negative function, not only in its positive function, so that actions carried out, even though they meet the formulation of an offense but do not violate negative material law, can be used as a justification that does not harm the state, does not benefit themselves, other people and corporations and the perpetrator's legal obligations are not subject to punishment.

Artificial intelligence at sentencing: when do algorithms perform well enough to replace humans?

AbstractArtificial intelligence is currently supplanting the work of humans in many societal contexts. The purpose of this article is to consider the question of when algorithmic tools should be regarded as performing sufficiently well to replace human judgements and decision-making at sentencing. More precisely, the question as to which are the ethically plausible criteria for the comparative performance assessments of algorithms and humans is considered with regard to both risk assessment algorithms that are designed to provide predictions of recidivism and sentencing algorithms designed to determine sentences in individual criminal cases. It is argued, first, that the prima facie most obvious assessment criteria do not stand up to ethical scrutiny. Second, that ethically plausible criteria presuppose ethical theory on penal distribution which currently has not been sufficiently developed. And third, that the current lack of assessment criteria has comprehensive implications regarding when algorithmic tools should be implemented in criminal justice practice.

The conceptual limits of risk governance in terrorism prevention: Towards a theory of threat thinking

Risk theories have dominated research on policing and punishment for the past 30 years, including a growing interest in crime prevention. Drawing on excerpts from court documents of 351 counterterrorism stings, an empirical exemplar in contemporary crime prevention, I demonstrate that these cases both defy the logics of actuarial risk governance and exceed the logics of precautionary risk governance in three ways: (1) who they target; (2) how they assess these targets; and (3) what they target as a sign of dangerousness. Engaging core biopolitical ideas, including the notion of the criminal “other”, I build a theory of threat thinking, speaking to shared cultural beliefs that exceed formal governance. Threat thinking offers fresh insights into criminal justice practices in contemporary terrorism prevention and beyond, while also explaining why both adherence to risk management and rejection of it result in such similar outcomes: future-oriented strategies that disproportionately target minoritized groups.

The Criminal Justice Practice and Experience of Corporate Compliance in China

In the 21st century, because ZTE Corporation was subject to US sanctions and penalties in the first half of 2018, which caused widespread concern in the international community and heated discussion in the domestic legal community, the Enterprise Compliance Plan was highly concerned and warmly responded in Chinese Mainland.[5] Looking at the response and implementation of corporate compliance in China, it has gone through a process of introduction and standardization by central and state-owned enterprises, and acceptance and institutionalization by private enterprises. In the process of handling criminal cases, the Supreme People's Procuratorate actively promotes the implementation and development of corporate compliance in China through the procuratorial work mechanism, accumulating rich judicial experience, and transforming the "imported" corporate compliance mechanism into an important part of China's economic development and legal implementation. Currently, the Supreme People's Court is also gradually considering the positive significance of corporate compliance in specific cases in its judicial work, and making reasonable considerations in specific judgments accordingly. Against this backdrop, it is obviously of positive significance to summarize the practical experience of criminal justice in the implementation of corporate compliance, analyze and look forward to the future legal mechanism for implementing corporate compliance plans, and promote the implementation of corporate compliance in China from the perspective of socialist rule of law concept and system, so that it can serve China's economy and enterprise development.

Criminal justice interventions for preventing radicalisation, violent extremism and terrorism: An evidence and gap map.

Criminal justice agencies are well positioned to help prevent the radicalisation of individuals and groups, stop those radicalised from engaging in violence, and reduce the likelihood of terrorist attacks. This Evidence and Gap Map (EGM) presents the existing evidence and gaps in the evaluation research. To identify the existing evidence that considers the effectiveness of criminal justice interventions in preventing radicalisation, violent extremism and terrorism. We conducted a comprehensive search of the academic and grey literature to locate relevant studies for the EGM. Our search locations included the Global Policing Database (GPD), eight electronic platforms encompassing over 20 academic databases, five trial registries and over 30 government and non-government websites. The systematic search was carried out between 8 June 2022 and 1 August 2022. We captured criminal justice interventions published between January 2002 and December 2021 that aimed to prevent radicalisation, violent extremism, and/or terrorism. Criminal justice agencies were broadly defined to include police, courts, and corrections (both custodial and community). Eligible populations included criminal justice practitioners, places, communities or family members, victims, or individuals/groups who are radicalised or at risk of becoming radicalised. Our map includes systematic reviews, randomised controlled trials, and strong quasi-experimental studies. We placed no limits on study outcomes, language, or geographic location. Our screening approach differed slightly for the different sources, but all documents were assessed in the systematic review software program DistillerSR on the same final eligibility criteria. Once included, we extracted information from studies using a standardised form that allowed us to collect key data for our EGM. Eligible systematic reviews were assessed for risk of bias using the AMSTAR 2 critical appraisal tool. The systematic search identified 63,763 unique records. After screening, there were 70 studies eligible for the EGM (from 71 documents), of which two were systematic reviews (assessed as moderate quality), 16 were randomised controlled trials, and 52 were strong quasi-experimental studies. The majority of studies (n = 58) reported on policing interventions. Limited evidence was found related to courts or corrections interventions. The impact of these interventions was measured by a wide variety of outcomes (n = 50). These measures were thematically grouped under nine broad categories including (1) terrorism, (2) extremism or radicalisation, (3) non-terror related crime and recidivism, (4) citizen perceptions/intentions toward the criminal justice system and government, (5) psychosocial, (6) criminal justice practitioner behaviours/attitudes/beliefs, (7) racially targeted criminal justice practices, (8) investigation efficacy, and (9) organisational factors. The most commonly assessed outcomes included measures of terrorism, investigation efficacy, and organisational factors. Very limited research assessed intervention effectiveness against measures of extremism and/or radicalisation. Conducting high-quality evaluation research on rare and hidden problems presents a challenge for criminal justice research. The map reveals a number of significant gaps in studies evaluating criminal justice responses to terrorism and radicalisation. We conclude that future research should focus attention on studies that consolidate sound measurement of terrorism-related outcomes to better capture the potential benefits and harms of counter-terrorism programs, policies and practices which involve criminal justice agencies.

Advocacy Plan for Social Change

In the United States today, society is looking to reform criminal justice practices to bring positive social change to the community. Social work has one primary objective: to create a better society, community, nation, and world, specifically the work of the probation officer. Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky stated, “A society should be judged not by how it treats its outstanding citizens but by how it treats its criminals.” Based on that standard, the United States is not a good society. This paper advocates for policy change in how the government deals with offenders while on probation, which must be conducted to allow more significant opportunities for offenders to become productive community members. Probation is a second chance to become a productive member of society, and as social workers, we need to facilitate that opportunity.

Challenges and Prospects for Evidence-Informed Policy in Criminology

The relevance of criminology to matters of public policy has been hotly debated throughout the history of the discipline. Yet time and again, we have borne witness to the consequences of harmful criminal justice practices that do little to reduce crime or improve the lives of our most vulnerable populations. Given the urgent need for evidence-informed responses to the problems that face our society, we argue here that criminologists can and should have a voice in the process. Accordingly, this review describes challenges and prospects for evidence-informed policymaking on matters of crime and justice. In terms of challenges, we review discourse on what constitutes evidence, issues with providing guidance under conditions of causal uncertainty, and practical constraints on evidence-informed policymaking. For prospects, we consider the important roles of institutional support, graduate training, and multiple translational strategies for the evidence-informed movement. Finally, we end with several considerations for advancing translational criminology through expanded promotion and tenure criteria, curricula revision, and prioritizing the organization of knowledge. More broadly, our goals are to stimulate disciplinary thinking regarding the ways in which criminology may play a more meaningful role in effectively confronting the ongoing challenges of crime in society.

Analysis of the Application of Plea Bergaining In Settlement of Curruption Cases in Indonesia

Objective: The application of Plea Bergaining in the Settlement of Corruption Cases in Indonesia is carried out for the welfare of the people. The law on the eradication of criminal acts of corruption actually regulates several provisions that use the perspective of recovering state financial losses. Theoretical Framework: The framework of setting up a national legal system as the character of the Indonesian nation. Legal issues in Indonesia are right now exceptionally overpowering. Method: However, in practice, law enforcers are still oriented towards corporal punishment (prison). Therefore, a breakthrough in the field of law in dealing with corruption is urgently needed. A new method or concept of handling corruption problems should be put forward with more emphasis on efforts to recover state losses. Results and conclusions: The settlement of corruption cases within the Joined Together States is settled utilizing supplication bartering, this can be due to the solid proof of the open prosecutor and the accused/defendant voluntarily admitting blame. Research Implications: Attention is the concept of Plea Bargaining which is commonly used in criminal justice practices used in common law countries, especially in the United States, which has been adopted in the Draft Law on Criminal Procedure Law under the name of the particular way concept. Originality/value: An update and breakthrough is basically required inside the criminal value system in Indonesia, which in this case is certainly based on a foothold that an overhaul in texture and formal criminal law has finished up a ask.

The Welsh criminal justice system: On the jagged edge By R.Jones, R.W.Jones, Cardiff: University of Wales Press. 2022. pp. 292. £24.99 (pbk); £24.99 (ebk). ISBN: 9781786839435; 9781786839442

The Welsh criminal justice system: On the jagged edge By R.Jones, R.W.Jones, Cardiff: University of Wales Press. 2022. pp. 292. £24.99 (pbk); £24.99 (ebk). ISBN: 9781786839435; 9781786839442

'Policing Rural Communities in North America': An International Society for the Study of Rural Crime Roundtable

Rural crime and criminal justice practices and responses face different challenges from those experienced in urban contexts. A practitioner-focused roundtable, convened by The International Society for the Study of Rural Crime (www.issrc.net), investigated challenges and innovations in international contexts on issues surrounding rural policing with a specific focus on rural policing in Canada and the United States. The roundtable was held online on 15 September 2021 and was moderated by Dr. Jessica Peterson, formerly of the University of Nebraska at Kearney (now an Assistant Professor at Southern Oregon University). Panellists were asked to respond to three key questions: What is the key element to successful community policing in your community? What is one initiative in which you have successfully engaged the community in crime-reduction efforts? What is the most significant challenge to successfully reducing crime in your community? The following are transcripts of the four presentations from the panelists on this Roundtable.