Criminal Statistics Research Articles

Legal regulation of official and labor relations of civil servants of the State Criminal and Executive Service of Ukraine

Legal regulation of official and labor relations of civil servants of the State Criminal and Executive Service of Ukraine

Peculiarities of criminal radicalism determination among prisoners sentenced to imprisonment

The article is devoted to the study of the criminal radicalism determination among convicts. It has been established and substantiated that this criminal phenomenon is linked to groups of cultural, psychological, organizational and managerial factors. It has been described and explained the content and role of elements of criminal subculture in the reproduction of criminal radicalism among convicts. Attention has been focused on the imperative of a negative attitude towards voluntary cooperation with representatives of the administration of penal institutions. The corresponding communication ban is based on the attitude of opposition to the state in general and law enforcement agencies in particular, on the internal consolidation of the criminal environment and direct or indirect opposition and personal opposition to law enforcement practices, including resocialization in penitentiary institutions.
 It has been proved that the stratification and normative elements of criminal and prison subculture determine both the system of social and status hierarchy in the criminal environment in general and among convicts in particular, and the mechanisms of forced identification and inclusion in this system. Both variants (inclusive-adaptive and inclusive-disadaptive) of prisonization provide for mandatory stratification infiltration of the convicted person into social structures of a criminal-subcultural type. In the case of conflict-free inclusion, if the convict has a predicate prison experience, personal perception and external recognition of the relevant status, the radicalization of a person occurs according to the analytical scheme of an inclusive radical. Criminal opposition is carried out either against rival criminal groups or against the administration and staff of the penitentiary institution. Otherwise, criminal radicalism is directed at the environment of convicts.
 It has been characterized the influence of reification factors, depersonalization of convicts' personalities, professional deformation of penitentiary staff, low quality of social and psychological work with convicts, shortcomings in the personnel policy of the State Criminal Executive Service of Ukraine, insufficient efficiency of management in the field of accommodation of convicts, formalism and low quality of diagnosis and distribution of convicts upon their admission to correctional colonies, and errors in the formation of groups of convicts.

Spatial Nature and Geographical Characteristics of Drug Crime in Hungary

Relatively few people in Hungary deal with the investigation of the spatial nature of crime. In connection with drug crime, we rarely find research dealing with this topic. The study shows why it is difficult to examine the spatiality of various drug-related crimes. It describes the main spatial trends of crime and the presence of criminal organizations in the field of drug trafficking by analyzing the criminal statistics data of the past decades. Political and drug policy changes, as well as the activities of criminal organizations at the international level, are usually hidden behind the spatial changes. In all cases, these also have a significant impact on the spatial distribution of drug use. The present research is primarily looking to answer whether there is a connection between the main focal points of organized crime and the centers of drug crime.

ПРАКТИКА ВИКОРИСТАННЯ ОЦІНКИ РИЗИКІВ ВЧИНЕННЯ ПОВТОРНОГО КРИМІНАЛЬНОГО ПРАВОПОРУШЕННЯ ЗАСУДЖЕНИМИ ДО ПОЗБАВЛЕННЯ ВОЛІ

Assessing the risks of committing a repeated criminal offense is the process and result of analyzing the impact of risk factors on the probability of the criminal behavior of the convict, its possible consequences, determination of criminogenic needs and measures in order to minimize them. During 2021, according to the information of the State Criminal and Executive Service of Ukraine, 53750 assessments of the risk of committing a repeated criminal offense by those sentenced to imprisonment were entered into the “CASANDRA” subsystem: the first – 34681, the intermediate – 15527, and the final – 3543. During the period from 2021 till 2022, 340 heads of social and psychological service departments of social, educational and psychological service departments of penal institutions and pretrial detention centers were trained in the Territorially Separated Department “Bila Tserkva Branch of the Academy of the State Penitentiary Service”. The results of the survey during the training of heads of departments on the practical application of risk assessment in penal institutions and the comparative analysis of the tool allow us to single out certain aspects of the application of risk assessment and identify gaps in the legislation. The experience of practical use of the new tool is at an initial stage, so there are many questions and points about filling out the risk assessment. This article defines the specifics of the use and application of the risk assessment of repeated criminal offenses by those sentenced to imprisonment (hereinafter referred to as risk assessment) by employees of the departments of social, educational and psychological work with convicts in penal institutions. The legislation regulating the issue of risk assessment has been studied. Key words: assessment of the risk of committing repeated criminal offenses, criminogenic needs, static risk factors, dynamic risk factors.

Czech Republic and Slovakia : Criminal statistics during the coronavirus situation

Czech Republic and <i>Slovakia</i> : Criminal statistics during the coronavirus situation

Виктимизация населения современной России. Девиантологический взгляд

Abstract: In modern Russia many people become victims of crimes every day. Insufficient adaptation of Russians to ensure personal security is caused by their personal criminal vulnerability (victimization). The victimological situation in the country, without exaggeration, can be assessed as extremely tense, revealing the need to create a system of measures to ensure the proper security of citizens and legal entities. The solution of this problem is impossible without a deep study of the real state of victimization of the population. On the basis of official criminal statistics, the authors present the dynamics, state, structure of the negative consequences of crime. The assessment of material damage from crimes committed in the country is given. The specificity of arrays of victims of crimes in transport is shown in comparison with the general array of victims of crimes. The geography of criminal victimization is reflected. The nature of latent victimization is investigated. The ratio of criminal victims among legal entities and individuals is considered. The results of the proposed analysis of criminal victimization of the population will make it possible to make management decisions aimed at effective fighting crime.

Victimological Factors in Corruption Offences and Anti-Corruption Victimological Security

The paper investigates victimological factors producing corruption victimization. The research methodology includes a dialectical method of scientific cognition, a systematic approach, analysis and synthesis as general scientific methods for understanding criminological and victimological concepts, private scientific methods: criminal statistical, sociological (survey of convicted respondents — officials), analysis of documents, etc. The empirical base is made up of the results of a criminological study conducted by the author in 2018–2020 as part of an interregional research team (Vladimir, Volgograd, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Syktyvkar), as well as criminal statistics data, materials of judicial practice. To solve the terminological problem, definitions of the concepts «corrupt crime», «corrupt behavior», «corrupt delinquency» are proposed. The author substantiates the application of a systematic methodology for the study of victimological factors as a structural element of corruption offences, their properties, conditions and relationships with other elements. The paper presents the results of a survey involving convicted respondents-officials, and a comparative analysis of judicial statistics data. The author gives a definition of victimological factors of a corruption crime, substantiates their unity with corruption-causing factors, which is manifested in victim-corruption and criminal-corruption behavior, the commission of a corruption crime. It is shown that the corruption crime is based on a corrupt transaction, its concept, characteristics, main elements, content, types are presented. The author shows that any of its subjects can become victims of a corrupt transaction: an official, his counterparty and an intermediary, while victimological factors, levels of victimization and types of victims are presented. It is concluded that anti-corruption victimological security should become a priority area of victimological prevention based on scientific (criminological) support. The expediency of creating (reviving) criminological laboratories on the basis of modern national research universities is argued.

АКТУАЛЬНІ ВЕКТОРИ ПРОФЕСІЙНОЇ ПІДГОТОВКИ ОСІБ РЯДОВОГО ТА НАЧАЛЬНИЦЬКОГО СКЛАДУ ДЕРЖАВНОЇ КРИМІНАЛЬНО-ВИКОНАВЧОЇ СЛУЖБИ УКРАЇНИ В УМОВАХ ВОЄННОГО СТАНУ

The article gives an analysis of the content of the professional training of the rank and command staff of the penitentiary system of Ukraine, in particular, the effectiveness of the educational process in the conditions of martial law and unforeseen situations due to combined learning and the use of distance form of learning. The purpose of the research is to highlight the features of the professional training of rank and command staff of the State Criminal and Executive Service of Ukraine in the conditions of martial law and the ways of its improvement in view of the current legislation regarding education. Research results. Particular attention is paid to the peculiarities of the educational process of professional training of the rank and command staff of the State Criminal and Executive Service of Ukraine, in particular on the basis of the Academy of the State Penitentiary Service, which belongs to the sphere of administration of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine. A number of relevant vectors for professional training improving were identified and individual cases of monitoring the quality of the educational process were considered the article, which made it possible to verify its effectiveness and the high level of satisfaction of its participants. Emphasis is placed on the peculiarities of professional training, in particular, those that arise in connection with the need to conduct classes in tactical and special training and fire training, which is quite difficult to implement in the conditions of martial law under the conditions of distance learning. Conclusions. Current vectors of professional training of rank and command staff of the State Criminal and Executive Service of Ukraine today are the creation of a single educational institution with appropriate branches, the involvement of all educational levels of higher education and professional development in its sphere of activity; flexible and effective involvement of the distance learning format, smooth symbiosis of distance learning and high-quality face-to-face practical training in martial law conditions; application of innovative technologies, special services and programs to implement the specifics of the educational process. Prospects for further searches are indicated. Key words: professional training, distance learning, martial law, rank and command staff, State Criminal and Executive Service, professional training of penitentiaries.

A Qualitative Systematic Review of Access to Substance Use Disorder Care in the United States Criminal Justice System.

Background: The majority of patients with a substance use disorder (SUD) in the United States do not receive evidence-based treatment. Research has also demonstrated challenges to accessing SUD care in the US criminal justice system. We conducted a systematic review of access to SUD care in the US criminal justice system. Methods: We searched for comprehensive qualitative studies in multiple databases through April 2021, and two researchers reviewed 6858 studies using pre-selected inclusion criteria. Once eligibility was determined, themes were extracted from the data. This review provides a thematic overview of the US qualitative studies to inform future research-based interventions. This review was conducted in compliance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Results: There were 6858 unique abstract results identified for review, and seven qualitative studies met the inclusion criteria. Two themes were identified from these results: (1) managing withdrawal from medication-assisted treatment, and (2) facilitators and barriers to treatment programs in the criminal justice system. Conclusions: Qualitative research evaluating access to SUD care in the US criminal justice system varied, with some interventions reported not rooted in evidence-based medicine. An opportunity may exist to develop best practices to ensure evidence-based treatment for SUDs is delivered to patients who need it in the US criminal justice system.

ФОРМУВАННЯ КОНФЛІКТОЛОГІЧНОЇ КОМПЕТЕНТНОСТІ ПЕРСОНАЛУ ДКВС УКРАЇНИ В РОБОТІ ІЗ ЗАСУДЖЕНИМИ

This article examines the issue of the role of conflicts in determining the criminal behavior of convicts and persons taken into custody and the conflict-related formation competence of the personnel of the penitentiary institutions and detention centers. The purpose of the article is the “conflictological competence” skills by using training technologies and exercises which will allow to form the necessary skills of the penitentiary institutions personnel for the execution of punishments. Conclusions. Because it is not always possible to detect conflicts in time in penitentiary institutions, which is explained by their hidden nature. In addition, there are conflicts in the penitentiary institutions, which are caused by personal characteristics and leadership style of the correctional facilities personnel. The style of management of penitentiary institutions is connected with personal characteristics, temperament, lack of experience and professional personality deformation. Indicative program for training conflict-related competence of the penitentiary institutions personnel in four sessions, the purpose of which is to create the atmosphere of openness; trust and support of group cohesion of group participants; mastering the methods of conflict analysis and searching for regularities of adaptive behavior in difficult communication situations; building professional skills of active listening, understanding of another person in complex communication situations, learning effective methods of self-regulation of behavior and decrease emotional states in the conflict. Key words: conflict, conflict competence, the personnel of the State Criminal and Executive Service of Ukraine, prevention of conflicts, training of conflict-related competence.

Social Health of Russian Society Today: Trends in Demographic and Criminal Statistics

Social Health of Russian Society Today: Trends in Demographic and Criminal Statistics

Law enforcement functions in the activities of the personnel of the State Criminal and Executive Service of Ukraine

The article is dedicated to the theoretical and legal analysis and doctrinal substantiation of law enforcement functions in the activities of the personnel of the State Criminal and Executive Service (SCES) of Ukraine.&#x0D; It is noted that the effectiveness of the personnel’s activities depends on its social and legal guarantees, which make it possible: firstly, to maintain the prestige of one or another profession (service), its social weight (role and significance); secondly, to provide personnel and their family members with the constitutional right to a sufficient standard of living for themselves and their families, which includes adequate food, clothing, and housing (Art. 48 of the Basic Law of Ukraine); thirdly, to guarantee the safety of workers and their close relatives.&#x0D; The conducted analysis showed that in the conditions of executing by the SCES of Ukraine the task of implementation of the state policy in the field of execution of criminal punishments (during which one of the key criminal and executive principles is ensured – the safety of convicts and personnel), it is quite appropriate for the SCES of Ukraine to belong to the law enforcement sphere, with the exception of educational institutions, which follows from Art. 11 of the Criminal and Executive Code of Ukraine and Art. 6 of the Law of Ukraine «On the State Criminal and Executive Service of Ukraine».&#x0D; It was emphasized that the recognition of some institutions of the SCES of Ukraine as law enforcement agencies and the special types of operational and service activities of their employees require increased legal and social protection of the personnel of the SCES of Ukraine, which are guaranteed by the laws of Ukraine «On State Protection of Employees of Courts and Law Enforcement Agencies» and «On the State Criminal and Executive Service of Ukraine».&#x0D; It was concluded that the fact of recognition of bodies and institutions for the execution of punishments, remand prisons as law enforcement agencies of Ukraine does not contradict Art. 71 of the European Penitentiary Rules, since this international norm binds the penitentiary department not to law enforcement activities, but to some departments, which, according to the international public opinion, are not compatible with penitentiary practice.&#x0D; A caveat has been made that in case of exclusion a law enforcement status from the sphere of activities of the SCES of Ukraine, its personnel will lose the currently existing social and legal protection, which will put them in an increased degree of danger from the specifics of criminal and executive legal relations related to direct contact with convicts and remand prisoners.

Legal and Social Protection of the Personnel of the State Criminal and Executive Service of Ukraine as the Main Element of Ensuring Dynamic Security at Penitentiary Institutions

Legal and Social Protection of the Personnel of the State Criminal and Executive Service of Ukraine as the Main Element of Ensuring Dynamic Security at Penitentiary Institutions

Current Status and Trends of Corruption in the Republic of Kazakhstan

The article is devoted to the analysis of the state of the spread of corruption in Kazakhstan. The relevance of the study is due to the need to provide analytical support to the national anti-corruption policy. The purpose of the article is to identify the main trends in the spread of corruption and assess the current situation based on the analysis of criminal statistics on acts of corruption, as well as international indices for assessing the corruption potential and the results of sociological studies of corruption in Kazakhstan. The article uses a systematic approach to the analysis of the prevalence of corruption, based on the use of quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis. The analysis was carried out by regions and by levels of government, by specific government institutions and individual areas of social activity. The results of the study present an assessment of the current state of corruption in Kazakhstan with the definition of corruption trends in the sectoral and regional context and may be of interest to a wide range of people interested in this topic.

Territorial analysis of crime in rural areas and its short-term forecast for 2022

Objective: to analyze the criminological situation in the Russian Federation and the territorial differences in crime in rural areas, as well as to make a short-term forecast of this type of crime in the Russian Federation.Methods: dynamic, statistical, historical, systemic-structural and comparative-legal methods, as well as a specific sociological methodology of estimating rural crime.Results: the main trend of rural crime from January 1, 2019 to October 1, 2021 can be considered a uniform straightline decrease: a constant monthly decrease by 1.1 thousand crimes. This trend characterizes a situation when the effect of criminogenic factors is neutralized by the impact of anti-criminogenic ones. If we take the above-mentioned data as a basis and generalize them for the next year, we can assume that in 2022 from 331.2 thousand to 388.8 thousand crimes will be registered in rural areas of the Russian Federation. Meanwhile, it should be noted that official data on the state of crime in rural areas, as well as the criminal statistics in the Russian Federation as a whole, cause well-founded doubts. The landslide reduction in crimes in rural areas does not follow from the ongoing social changes in rural areas and gives reason to believe that such a reduction is due to a violation of accounting and registration discipline on the part of staff of the law-enforcement bodies.Scientific novelty: for the first time, a comparative legal analysis of the dynamics of registered crimes in rural and urban areas was carried out, as a result of which the features of crime in rural areas were identified and the author’s short-term forecast for 2022 was proposed. Despite the tendency to reduce the number of crimes registered in rural areas in 2009-2021, the criminal situation in rural areas remains complicated. Statistical indicators do not reflect the real state of this type of crime, since this trend is due to artificial regulation of the number of crimes reflected in statistical reporting towards understatement.Practical significance: as a result of the conducted criminological research, a high degree of public danger of crime in rural areas has been revealed, and its forecasting makes it possible to pay closer attention to the need to develop effective measures to combat and prevent this type of crime.

ПРАВОВА КУЛЬТУРА ПЕНІТЕНЦІАРНОГО ПЕРСОНАЛУ: СУЧАСНИЙ СТАН ТА ПРОБЛЕМИ

The article is devoted to the current state of penitentiary personnel’s legal culture and consideration of the problems that need to be solved. It is noted that penitentiary personnel’s efficiency largely depends on the legal culture and is a necessary condition for the proper implementation of tasks related to the criminal penalties execution. The author’s vision is formulated in relation to the components that affect the current state of penitentiary personnel’s legal culture. Some normative and legal acts that cardinally influence the system by forming elements of legal culture are analyzed. Emphasis is placed on the fact that among the means of legal regulation used in order to neutralize the negative impact on the quality of their professional activities are both a system of incentives and sanctions. The main tasks that are implemented during penitentiary personnel’s initial training and retraining in direction of forming their legal culture are revealed in the article. Namely they are the following: focusing personnel’s legal consciousness on loyalty to the state’s interests; formation of an individual position in the assessment of criminal and executive activity; awareness of the importance of processes related to the implementation of international penitentiary standards in criminal enforcement processes; learning the ability to work competently, politely and reasonably with citizens’ appeals. It is noted that the current system of training of penitentiary personnel allows not only to form the understanding of the value of criminal and executive as well as international penitentiary legislation, but also allows to master the mechanism of their practical application. There are following problems: the need to improve the quality of legal information of the personnel using modern technologies, especially at the level of institutions and establishments; the need to create offices of legal knowledge at institutions and establishments with the involvement of the employees having positive experience in the practical application of criminal law; introduction of a system of advising personnel on issues related to their official activities. Key words: State Criminal and Executive Service, legal culture, penitentiary personnel, staff, formation of legal culture, penal bodies and institutions.

УМОВИ РЕЗУЛЬТАТИВНОГО ВИКОРИСТАННЯ КІНОЛОГІЧНИХ КОМАНД

The conditions for the effective use of Junior Canine Inspectors with service dogs of remand centers and penal institutions of the State Criminal and Executive Service of Ukraine while performing their assigned tasks are clarified in the article. The essence and content of the proposed principles of using dog commands are revealed. The basic principles of application of canine commands while performing their tasks on purpose are offered the following: – the use of service dogs, taking into account their physiological characteristics and physical capabilities; – high efficiency of dog training; – activity and timeliness of actions of canine teams during the performance of purpose tasks; – the use of dog commands in combination with technical means; – continuous improvement of training methods and tactics of cynologists’ actions with service dogs. The responsibilities of the junior canine inspector to create favorable conditions for the effective use of service dogs is clarified. Namely, they are obliged to: – to improve their knowledge, study according to an individual program and systematically train a service dog assigned to them constantly; – to be able to use a service dog in accordance with the requirements of the law; – to show determination, agility and physical endurance while performing official tasks; – to keep a diary of education (training) of a service dog; – to qualitatively fulfill the requirements for storage, keeping and feeding of service dogs; – to clean and protect the fixed dog from diseases and various injuries; – to know the most common diseases and signs of dogs, as well as ways to provide them with the first aid; – to clean the premises for a service dog, keep in proper condition and constant readiness of equipment and care items; – to report to the Senior Canine Inspector of the remand center (penal institution) about the dog's disease immediately; – to follow the rules of personal hygiene when working with a service dog. The factors that ensure the smooth operation of canine teams are proposed and the factors that affect the performance of a service dog are specified, taking into account the specifics of service activities of remand prisons and penal institutions, among which the following should be noted: – general condition of the body of a service dog; – degree of preparedness (training) of a service dog; – dog trainer’s knowledge, skills, abilities and experience to manage the behavior of a service dog during its use in specific circumstances; – odorous situation in the area (place) of a service dog use; – peculiarities of the odor trail (antiquity, wind, precipitation, atmospheric pressure); – time of the year, time of the day; – terrain (relief, vegetation, etc.); – distracting environmental stimuli. Key words: Junior Canine Inspectors, service dogs, effective use, principles, factors.

“Spice”-related deaths in and around Munich, Germany: A retrospective look at the role of synthetic cannabinoids in our postmortem cases over a seven-year period (2014–2020)

The synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs, “Spice”) are a diverse group of recreational drugs, with their structural and pharmacological differences still evolving. Due to limited data on their pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in humans, the assessment of their role in fatal cases remains challenging. Forensic toxicologists thus often rely on previous reports of intoxication cases. This work provides detailed information on forensic cases for which SCRAs could be detected in postmortem specimens. All cases included underwent an autopsy at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Munich between 2014 and 2020, followed by routine toxicological analyses, including analysis for alcohol. Pharmaceutical substances and classical drugs of abuse were detected and quantified in postmortem femoral venous blood (or liver where not available) by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) at the Forensic Toxicological Centre Munich. Based on circumstantial data and case histories, additional targeted analyses for the detection of SCRAs and other new psychoactive substances were performed on those cases for which a prior consumption was indicated or suspected. Synthetic cannabinoids were detected and quantified in femoral venous blood (81 cases), cardiac blood (12 cases), liver tissue (2 cases), antemortem blood (2 cases) and urine (1 case) by LC-MS/MS at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Freiburg, Germany. The cause of death and the roles of the SCRAs in the individual fatalities were assessed based on the concentrations detected, the presence and concentrations of other drugs, pathological findings at autopsy and case histories. Furthermore, the total number of SCRAs detected and how these substances were scattered over the investigated period (i.e. how often a particular substance was detected each year) were determined. The latter was correlated with the number of SCRAs detected in police seizures analysed at the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office (BLKA), as well as the change in their legal status in Germany. The concentration range for each SCRA detected in femoral venous blood was defined and correlated with the estimated interval between death and sample collection. We were able to identify 98 “Spice”-related fatalities among our autopsy cases from 2014 to 2020. Most of the deceased were male (91.8%), with a median age of 36 years. SCRAs played a causative role in 51%, a contributory role in 26% and no significant role in 23% of cases. The most common cause of death was polydrug intoxications that include synthetic cannabinoids. Altogether 41 different synthetic cannabinoids could be detected during the investigated period. 5F-ADB was the most prevalent SCRA among our cases ( n = 25), at median and maximum concentrations in femoral venous blood of 0.22 μg/L and 14 μg/L, respectively, followed by 5F-MDMB-PICA (0.64 μg/L; 7.2 μg/L) and AB-CHMINACA (3.95 μg/L; 28 μg/L). Cumyl-CBMICA and 5F-MDMB-P7AICA were two of the least frequently detected synthetic cannabinoids. These results correlate with the number of SCRAs detected in local police seizures. No direct correlation between synthetic cannabinoid concentrations and postmortem interval was evident from our results. Our awareness of the importance of SCRAs in fatal intoxication cases has clearly increased since 2014, as is evident from our numbers in toxicological analyses for their postmortem detection. Nonetheless, the number of identified “Spice”-related fatalities has significantly decreased in our cohort of cases after the New Psychoactive Substances Act was implemented in Germany. Furthermore, the causative role of SCRAs in these fatalities has since also diminished in significance. Considering the continuing evolvement of SCRAs and the limited knowledge about their pharmacology, postmortem distribution and stability in humans, forensic toxicologists will undoubtedly benefit from more detailed postmortem case studies to assess their role in fatal intoxication cases.

Shifting From Warriors to Guardians: Officer Reflections on Law Enforcement Training in Washington State

Contemporary law enforcement methods are largely defined by crime control and militarization in the “warrior” policing model. In 2013, the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission (WSCJTC) adopted an alternative “guardian” training model for the Basic Law Enforcement Academy (BLEA) focused on procedural justice, community partnerships, de-escalation, and crisis intervention. The current study investigates BLEA graduates’ perceptions of guardian policing and training elements. Researchers interviewed new officers who completed BLEA training with the guardian curriculum ( n = 17) and officers trained in a warrior-based curriculum ( n = 11). Themes are analyzed from interview data, including officer perceptions of BLEA guardian training and related programs. The paper concludes with discussion of limitations, themes, and policy implications of the research.

Impunity as a sanctuary

Impunity as a sanctuary refers to a situation wherein structures are constituted to prevent the legal system from reacting to criminal conduct. Focusing on the state criminality, this study examines the concept of impunity as a form of interference with the legal process. It also analyzes the continuities between the structures of power prompting criminal conduct and the lack of legal sanction. In this sense, the metaphor “sanctuary” shifts the main understanding of impunity as a problem that is exclusive to the internal operation of the criminal system to a wider constraint that supposes studying possible asymmetries of power from the legal system vis-à-vis other powerful actors. With this purpose, this paper considers a number of cases shedding light to structures of denial and obfuscation that allow to understand the particularities of understanding impunity as a sanctuary.