Policing prostitution in an era of human trafficking enforcement

Prostitution and commercialized vice have been variously prioritized as urban crime problems across U.S. history. In response, lawmakers have historically been guided by a prohibititionst view where people selling, buying or facilitating the sale of sex are considered to be immoral and criminal. In recent years, public concern about the trafficking of persons for sex has reframed prostitution and the expectations of government response. The U.S. federal government and all fifty states have passed legislation that is guided by an abolitionist view of prostitution where people who are forced or coerced to sell sex are redefined as victims. State, county and municipal police officers are now receiving training on how to identify human trafficking cases and investigators are being trained to investigate and prepare cases for prosecution. Despite these efforts under the new legal regime, confusion exists about how sex trafficking differs from prostitution and correspondingly necessitates different types of law enforcement responses. Adding to this complication is the fact that in many major cities the responsibility for identifying and eradicating human trafficking has fallen to the same group of investigators who are responsible for enforcing vice and prostitution laws. As a result, prostitution enforcement is expected to change as police increasingly focus on identifying sex trafficking victims. Using data on police arrests for prostitution from 1980 to 2012, we examine the impact of federal and state anti-trafficking legislation on the local enforcement of prostitution. Our findings inform debate about legal reform as a response to urban crime problems and illustrate the complexities of policy implementation and interpretation.     

Assessing the Impact of State Human Trafficking Legislation on Criminal Justice System Outcomes

Since 2003, state legislatures in the United States have been active in passing legislation aimed at combating human trafficking. To date, all states have passed laws that criminalize acts of human trafficking, though with significant variation in the penalty structure and associated legal provisions. This article examines what aspects of state human trafficking laws are most impactful at increasing the arrest and prosecution of human trafficking suspects. Using panel data on state laws and associated enforcement actions from 2003 to 2012, this study confirms that more comprehensive state laws that invest in antitrafficking resources are most strongly associated with human trafficking arrests and prosecutions. States that make legislative provisions for victim assistance, law enforcement training, statutory task forces, and mandatory reporting have higher antitrafficking criminal enforcement. The political environment in which state human trafficking laws are enacted also influences their enforcement.     

Public/private information sharing in healthcare fraud investigations

Private insurers have good reason, both in their private interest and in the public interest, for pursuing and rooting out fraud in the healthcare system; moreover, they often have sophisticated data systems, substantial investigative information, and management expertise that can be useful to prosecutors. It makes sense, as a public policy matter, to undertake steps to encourage insurers to be aggressive in pursuing legitimate fraud cases, and to provide a framework for effective cooperation and information sharing with law enforcement. At the same time, prosecutors are responsible for enforcing equal justice under the law; thus, any such relationship must be handled in an appropriate manner, with safeguards to protect privacy and the reputation of investigative subjects. While the courts have not yet explored many of the relevant legal and factual issues in this area, the author surveys existing guidance under governing laws and policies applicable to state and federal prosecutors, and suggests techniques to prevent inappropriate communication or use of such information.     

Neonaticide: A Comprehensive Review of Investigative and Pathologic Aspects of 55 Cases

Analysis of neonaticide cases from a law enforcement perspective is virtually non-existent in the research literature. Nonetheless, law enforcement and prosecutors face unique challenges when investigating and prosecuting neonaticide; and a specialized, informed approach is necessary. By highlighting the crime scene characteristics and autopsy findings of 55 neonaticide victims, the authors hope to assist the law enforcement and legal communities in their neonaticide investigations. Specifically, this article clarifies how neonaticide occurs by chronologically examining the pregnancy, the birth and death of the infant, the subsequent crime scene (or scenes) and the pathological findings. The article also highlights the potential challenges that may arise during investigation and prosecution of these cases in addition to providing the forensic community with recommended investigative techniques.     

A higher bar: Institutional impediments to hate crime prosecution

Why are hate crime cases so rarely prosecuted? Most states and the federal government have hate crime laws on their books, yet available data indicate few prosecutions in most jurisdictions. Drawing on case files and interviews with police and prosecutors in one jurisdiction, three institutional impediments to hate crime prosecution are identified: evidentiary inflation, by which law enforcement uses a higher burden of proof than what is required by statute; loose coupling between police departments and prosecutors' offices; and cultural distance between law enforcement and victims. Findings also reveal that advocacy groups and media can successfully increase the visibility of cases and draw the attention of prosecutors. The findings align with aspects of legal endogeneity theory and enhance our understanding of the role of organizations in constructing the meaning of law. The results also help explain why some laws are rarely enforced, even when they have support from key personnel in an organization.     

Explaining the under-performance of the anti-human-trafficking campaign: experience from the United States and Europe

The American and the global campaigns against the trafficking of humans for labor and for sexual exploitation have had more than a decade of time and millions of dollars of support in an effort to suppress trafficking and protect its victims. Four of the six articles in this issue explore the reasons why the campaign in the United States has not had more instrumental success with respect to its prosecution goals. The number of cases brought and convictions obtained are fewer than what might be expected. Most of the cases brought involve sex trafficking. The less than impressive record of enforcement against human trafficking appears to be another example of how even very popular law reforms and crusades can be cooled out by the social realities of the criminal justice system. Sex trafficking cases are difficult to make because the victims are difficult to work with, juries are unsympathetic, and the police, prosecutors, judges have their own priorities. The article on the attempt to eliminate sex trafficking by switching to a policy of regulating prostitution rather than treating it as a crime indicates that policy change did not succeed. An attempt to create an index for assessing the implementation of anti-trafficking programs was successful.     

Civil Asset Forfeiture Laws and Equitable Sharing Activity by the Police

Research Summary

For several decades, critics have argued that civil forfeiture laws create incentives for law enforcement to increase departmental revenue by “policing for profit.” By using data on federal equitable sharing payments to nearly 600 local law enforcement agencies between 2000 and 2012, we examine the relationship between the characteristics of state forfeiture laws and equitable sharing payments to local agencies. Our results indicate that agencies in states with state laws that are more restrictive or less rewarding to police collect more in federal equitable sharing. This finding supports the critics’ argument that police behavior in regard to forfeiture activities is influenced by the financial rewards and burdens involved.

Policy Implications

Our results reveal that the findings of investigative journalism and case study research, that is, that police forfeiture activities are influenced by financial rewards, may be more generalizable to law enforcement than previously thought. Despite recent state‐level reforms, federal equitable sharing and most state forfeiture laws provide limited due process protections and have minimal accountability or reporting requirements. Concerns about the impact of civil forfeiture practices on perceptions of procedural justice and police legitimacy are discussed, and possible policy reforms are reviewed.     

Sound and Fury: Pretextual Prosecution and Department of Justice Antiterrorism Efforts

Using Justice Department antiterrorism efforts as a case study, this article expands upon existing theories of pretextual prosecution by distinguishing a law enforcement system that employs a pretextual strategy from one that employs what I term technical or disingenuous prosecutions. Contrary to Justice Department claims, the data suggest that since September 2001, federal investigators continually have referred a large number of specious antiterrorism matters to federal prosecutors. The data further suggest that federal prosecutors are more likely to be engaging in technical or disingenuous prosecutions than pretextual prosecutions.     

Precursor Crimes to Terrorism and the Local Prosecutor's Role in Disruption

Much of the discussion of terrorism prosecution focuses on the federal judicial system or the use of military tribunals. The passage of state anti‐terrorism legislation in response to September 11, 2001, raises the issue of what role local prosecutors might play in responding to terrorism. Of particular interest is the role that local prosecutors have in identifying offenders who have committed crimes that may be precursors to terrorism and how they gather and share information. Using data from a survey of the 112 largest prosecutors’ offices in the country and information gained from case studies, this study explores the local prosecutor's role in responding to terrorism, how they are involved in the identification and prosecution of precursor crimes, and the overlap between federal and state prosecution.     

The Double Entendre of Juvenile Prostitution: Victim versus Delinquent and the Necessity of State Uniformity

Under the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), minors performing commercial sex acts are deemed victims of human trafficking; however, prosecutors and judges continue to charge and adjudicate minors as prostitution offenders rather than as sexually exploited youth. To stop the perpetuation and victimization of sexually exploited children, states must join the movement in reform to match the standards of the TVPA. The federal law presumes that minors charged with prostitution are victims rather than criminals and are in need of specialized social services. To protect victims of sex trafficking, states should pass legislation in line with the TVPA, creating a presumption of immunity for all prostituted minors.     

The Federal/State Criminal Prosecution Nexus: A Case Study in Cooperation and Discretion

Contemporary studies of prosecutorial decision making at the state level are infrequent, and even fewer studies examine the discretionary decisions of federal prosecutors. In addition, virtually no scholarly literature examines the growing overlap between federal and state criminal jurisdiction. This paper advances both theoretical and empirical understandings of the organizational and political contexts in which prosecutorial discretion takes place by exploring the nexus between federal and state criminal jurisdictions. Drawing on interview research in a large urban area with several active federal/state cooperative prosecution programs, we suggest that these cooperative relations open new avenues of discretion for local and federal prosecutors; limit the authority of other court actors, including state judges; and erode the distinctions between federal and local criminal jurisdiction.     

The Legal Context of School Violence: The Effectiveness of Federal, State, and Local Law Enforcement Efforts to Reduce Gun Violence in Schools

In the wake of recent school shootings, communities and legislatures are searching for law enforcement solutions to the perceived epidemic of school violence. A variety of legal measures have been debated and proposed. These include: the enactment of tougher gun control laws and more vigorous federal and local enforcement of existing gun control laws; the enactment of laws imposing civil or criminal liability on parents for their children's violent behavior; the establishment of specialized courts and prosecution strategies for handling juveniles who are charged with weapons offenses; stricter enforcement of school disciplinary codes; reform of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to make it easier to expel students for weapons violations; and greater use of alternative schools as placements for students who are charged with weapons violations.
  This article provides a legal and empirical analysis of proposed legislation in these areas as informed by social science research on the patterns of school violence, gun acquisition by juveniles, and the effectiveness of various laws and law enforcement measures. It proposes and discusses recommendations for legal reform. While efforts to reduce school violence will be most effective at the state and local levels, the United States federal government has an important role to play, particularly in federal‐state partnerships aimed at disrupting illegal gun markets, and through the formulation of national standards and guidelines. These standards and guidelines are for the enforcement of existing laws; inter‐agency law enforcement cooperation and information‐sharing (particularly using computer‐based analysis); effective school discipline and alternative educational settings for disruptive youth; and psycho‐educational interventions designed to detect and prevent school violence in the first place.     

Human trafficking and police governance

Abstract

Human trafficking in its various forms continues to offer significant challenges for law enforcement agencies. There is a growing body of research that addresses some of the police governance and management issues associated with the prevention and control of human trafficking and the protection of victims of this type of crime. This article reviews the literature on the implementation of effective detection, investigation, prosecution, and victim protection strategies; the need for more effective international cooperation; and, the struggle to keep up with the illusive criminal organizations and networks that often defy law enforcement tactics. It also considers some of the specific challenges that result from the frequent conflation of human trafficking enforcement with immigration control strategies. It offers a few suggestions on how these issues may be addressed from a police governance standpoint and concludes with a call for better data on human trafficking and the relative effectiveness of different law enforcement strategies.     

Felony and misdemeanor defendants filed in the u.s. district courts during fiscal years 1990–95: An analysis of the filings of each offense level

The number of criminal defendants in cases filed in the federal courts increased by fewer than 1,000 from 1990 to 1995. Separate analyses of filings of felony and misdemeanor defendants revealed that there are different factors that influence the magnitude of the caseload of each offense level. The number of federal felony filings is strongly linked to staffing levels within the ninety-four U.S. attorneys’ offices, while the types of filings are a reflection of prosecution priorities. As a result, the magnitude of the felony caseload in the federal courts does not mirror either local or national crime rates. Misdemeanor filings, on the other hand, are dependent on enforcement practices of local authorities at military bases and/or national parks, and are concentrated within a few federal courts. The number of misdemeanor filings and traffic violations, in particular, are susceptible to dramatic changes when these local authorities modify their enforcement procedures.     

Community prosecution tenets and practices: The relative mix of “community” and “prosecution”

Community prosecution encourage prosecutors to collaborate with constituents to mutually determine solutions to community problems. However, the potential exists for prosecutors to continue seeking their traditional goals of maximizing convictions while nominally working within a community-prosecution framework. A random survey of 261 Georgia prosecutors helps to determine whether community-based prosecutors spend more time in community outreach and law enforcement coordination activities. The results show that attorney caseload measures correlate with time spent on community outreach and law enforcement. Being assigned to community prosecution or a specialized crime unit is not consistently related either of these activities. In short, consistent differences do not emerge between community-based and traditional prosecutors.     

Good cop, bad cop: federal prosecution of state-legalized medical marijuana use after United States v. Lopez

The Supreme Court's recent decisions in United States v. Lopez and United States v. Morrison articulate a vision of federalism under which Congress's regulatory authority under the Commerce Clause is severely limited in favor of returning traditional areas of state concern, particularly criminal law enforcement, to local or state control. The Court's decisions in these cases coincide with ballot initiatives legalizing the medical use of marijuana garnering a majority of the vote in California, Arizona, Alaska, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Maine, and Washington D.C. Those who use marijuana for medical purposes under sanction of state law, however, still face the threat of federal prosecution under the Controlled Substances Act. Medical marijuana proponents have traditionally, and unsuccessfully, contested federal prosecution using individual rights arguments under theories of equal protection or substantive due process. This Comment argues that after Lopez and Morrison, the federal government's authority to regulate intrastate use of marijuana for medicinal purposes is not the foregone conclusion it once was. The author suggests that proponents of medical marijuana use should invoke the federalism arguments of Lopez and Morrison and argue for state legislative independence from the federal government on this issue.     

Human trafficking and criminal investigation strategies in the Amsterdam Red Light District

The subject of human trafficking has recently received a lot of attention from society and the world of politics. The criminal-law approach to human trafficking has also been placed high on the agenda of law enforcers. Human trafficking is, however, a complex crime with several specific characteristics. For example, there is often a complex relationship between victims and perpetrators of human trafficking and victims are often too afraid to file a report. How do the police and the judicial authorities work in the investigation of human trafficking in view of the specific characteristics of human trafficking? What choices are made in practice and what different police investigative strategies can be distinguished? What opportunities and risks are inherent in the choices made? In this article we answer these questions on the basis of four large scale police investigations into human trafficking that we studied closely. The four criminal cases all focused on violent groups of human traffickers that operated in the Amsterdam window prostitution. All criminal cases have since been concluded (in first instance). It turned out that in each of the four investigations the relevant police team applied a different investigative strategy: one investigation focused primarily on the victim statements, one investigation focused on public nuisance, one investigation focused on the evidence against the criminal organisation and one investigation focused on the offences (evidence concerning the exploitation of prostitutes). In this article we compare the four strategies applied and consider the consequences of each strategy for the course of the investigation and the criminal prosecution and what dilemma’s are faced in each strategy. Although the various investigations cannot be easily compared and a uniform ‘best’ strategy cannot be designated, the comparison does show that some choices or decisions entail great opportunities or great risks as regards the successful investigation and prosecution of human trafficking. It concerns, for example, the choice of involving local investigative services (district police) or the choice for short-term or, as the case may be, longer-running investigations.     

以检察室为载体延伸检察机关法律监督职能问题的思考

检察机关是国家的法律监督机关,对基层司法执法活动进行监督是其法定职责。然而,当前检察机关缺少更多的在基层的机构设置,直接影响了检察机关法律监督职能的蔓有效发挥。在当前推进三项重点工作的背景下,检察机关应当以推进检察室建设为载体延伸法律监督职能,服务基层基础建设,维护人民群众权益。法律应当明确检察室的设置、赋予检察室独立的编制以健全基层司法体系,同时检察机关应明确检察室的职责地位,加强对检察室的物质人员保障,对其执法活动进行监督制约,促进其工作规范开展。     

Civil asset forfeiture, equitable sharing, and policing for profit in the United States

Purpose

Critics of asset forfeiture claim that forfeiture laws create financial incentives that inappropriately influence police behavior. The present study examines the relationship between measures of the financial incentive and legal burdens for civil asset forfeiture on federal equitable sharing payments to local law enforcement to determine whether police behavior is affected by different statutory incentives for forfeiture activity.

Methods

Using LEMAS and DOJ forfeiture data, this study addresses some of the limitations of previous research by using a multi-year average for forfeiture activity, an improved measure of financial incentives for law enforcement, and multiple measures of statutory burdens to law enforcement to determine the impact of forfeiture laws on forfeiture activity.

Results

Consistent with anecdotal reports and limited prior research, findings indicate that agencies in jurisdictions with more restrictive state forfeiture laws receive more proceeds through federal equitable sharing.

Conclusions

Results suggest that state and local law enforcement agencies use federal equitable sharing to circumvent their own state forfeiture laws when state laws are more burdensome or less financially rewarding to these agencies, providing additional evidence that police operations are influenced by financial incentives.     

What do prosecutors maximize? An analysis of the federalization of drug crimes

Recent legislation has expanded the jurisdiction of the federalgovernment over crimes that were traditionally prohibited onlyby state law. We model the decision-making process of stateand federal prosecutors, and the determinants of prosecutors'decisions to allocate drug cases to the state versus the federalsystems. Using 1991 surveys of state and federal inmates incarceratedfor drug crimes, we find that individuals who hire private attorneysand who are high-human-capital and successful in the legitimatesector are more likely to end up in the federal system. Thisis consistent with the model in which prosecutors maximize boththe payoffs from eliminating crime and their private human capital.