Even criminals take a holiday: Instrumental and expressive crimes on major and minor holidays

Based on routine activity (RA) theory, the authors hypothesized that crime rates would vary with both the type of crime and the type of holiday, with violent crimes occurring more frequently and property crimes occurring less frequently on major holidays that brought families together in the home. It was also hypothesized that minor holidays would have little or no impact on crime rates. These hypotheses were tested by subjecting data on calls for service in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1985, 1987, and 1988 to time series analyses. After controlling for time of day, day of week, month, four weather variables, the first day of the month, linear trend, and autocorrelation, regression analyses indicated that both violent and property crimes were significantly related to major (or legal) holidays, whereas neither type of crime was more likely to occur on minor holidays. Crimes of expressive violence were significantly more prevalent on major holidays, whereas property crimes were less frequent on those days.     

Urban crime trends and patterns in Ghana: The case of Accra

The study examined the broad crime trends and patterns, and the conditions under which crimes flourish, the crime incidence rates per 1,000 of population, and crime among the four police divisions of Accra, Ghana. Where crimes clustered the most and the times some crimes were committed were examined using the official police data. The study suggests that crime in Accra has been accentuated by rigid centralization of government bureaucracy, the nature of Ghana's economy, routine activities, lifestyles, and opportunities fostered by social change. Overall, the Accra Central Police Division recorded the highest volume of crimes, followed by the Nima, Kaneshie, and Kpeshie Divisions. The highest property offenses were recorded within twelve miles of the city center—the area most congested and heavily concentrated with socio-economic and routine activities. Calls for the adoption of situational crime prevention methods and strategies to reduce the incidence of crime in Accra have been made.     

The socioeconomic and demographic determinants of crime in Iran (a regional panel study)

The raising trend both in violent and property crime are of major concern in Iran. Using a panel data modeling (province wide), the paper provides an econometrics assessment of the relationship between crime against properties and violent crimes as functions of deterrent, social, economic and demographic factors in Iran, in the framework of Becker-Ehrlich crime supply theory. The findings indicate that, although deterrence hypothesis is not confirmed for burglary and assault, it explains the variations of murders and threats. Economic factors play key role in burglary and threat explanation, but they do not affect willful murders, however, Literacy explains both murders and threats. Average of families’ income is explored as a deterrent factor for crime against properties.     

Social context of crime control: a time-series analysis of the Korean case, 1973–2002

Regardless of recent attempts to explain crime control in relation to its social structural conditions, few studies have assessed the economic, organizational, and political context of crime control simultaneously. This study integrated these three contexts into a single project to test the relevance of social structural explanations on major crime control practices over the past three decades in South Korea. By using a variety of official statistics, time-series regressions were used. The level of crime consistently explained most variation in the arrest rates for all four categories of crimes. Prosecutions also seemed to be closely responsive to the level of crime. However, the link between crime and incarceration rates was not found for all categories of crimes. This finding indicates that levels of incarceration could be determined by external factors such as the economic conditions, organizational capacity, and political climates. In addition, economic conditions, which were measured by the unemployment rate, appeared to have a strong relationship to all crime control practices; it was positively and statistically significant for arrest, prosecution and incarceration rates. Political repression was inversely related to all three practices. However, organizational capacity only seemed to affect incarceration rates. Failure or inconsistencies of some of the social contexts in explaining crime control practice in South Korea can be assessed in both methodological and substantive grounds. This underscores the need to develop more solid theoretical arguments and empirical measures for their roles in crime control.     

中国与东盟经济自由贸易区跨国经济犯罪及其控制策略研究

在中国与东盟经济自由贸易区的合作与发展不断深化和加强的进程中,制度的差异、发展的不平衡、特殊的地理环境等因素让竞争中出现了不法手段乃至犯罪手段,跨国经济犯罪即是其表现之一。跨国经济犯罪是跨国犯罪中最为常见且最为严峻的犯罪,是经济全球化最明显的负面影响。通过对跨国经济犯罪、中国与东盟成员国间跨国经济犯罪现状与原因的分析,进而探求中国与东盟成员国间控制跨国经济犯罪的有效策略。     

A contextual analysis of crime rates: The Korean case<Superscript>⋆</Superscript>

During recent attempts to understand crime in relation to its environments, studies have focused on a single aspect of either economic or organizational context. Furthermore, scant attention has been given to the independent role of the political influence on response to criminal activity. This study examines the relative roles of economic conditions, organizational constraints of police, and political climate in explaining changes in crime rates by incorporating these three contexts into a single study. By using a variety of official statistics, we conducted time-series analyses to examine the social context of crime over the past three decades in South Korea. Findings indicate, first, that the unemployment rate is the best predictor of changes in crime rates; it consistently increased the level of both property and violent crimes. Second, organizational capacity, as indicated by police per capita, is found not to have any consistent effect on crime rates. Third, the impact of political repression, measured by the presence of extraordinary laws and the number of political prisoners, also shows inconsistent effects on crime. However, crime rates were somewhat lower during the past three military regimes, which support the argument that authoritarian governments exercised more punitive sanctions to deter crimes. Implications are discussed and suggestions are offered for future research on this topic.This work was supported by Korean Research Foundation Grant (KRF-2004-003-BO0142). An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 2004 mettings of the American Society of Criminology. We would like to thank Ivan Sun for his insightful comments and helpful suggestions.     

U.S. SOCIAL STRUCTURE, CRIME, AND IMPRISONMENT

This research develops a structural model of crime and imprisonment in the United States from data on 49 states which was evaluated through a series of path and regression analyses. The major findings revealed that crime rates were effectively predicted by social structural characteristics, primarily urban population characteristics, and in turn that prison admissions were predicted by crime rates. Prison releases were not as strongly influenced by structural characteristics as crime rates and prison admissions; however, prison admissions were found to significantly affect releases. Variations in social structural determinants of violent and property crimes were also observed. The implication of these results ore discussed and suggestions for future research are presented.     

有效益的交易:合同诈骗罪规范目的证成——以骗逃部分铁路运费案为分析重点

合同诈骗罪“兜底条款”如何理解与解释,存在的争议焦点之一是怎样看待合同诈骗罪“列明”行为的价值以及其是否具有构成要件的意义。骗逃部分铁路运费的行为,能否以合同诈骗罪的“兜底条款”定罪处刑,目的解释是可否入罪判断需要坚持的最为重要的解释原则,目的论限缩是填补刑法隐蔽性漏洞的有效方法。符合规范保护目的的行为,应当通过目的论限缩将其出罪化。合同诈骗罪所涉的市场秩序与公私财产损失,是指没有交易目的或者基础、欠缺交易效益与效率前提下的市场秩序与财产损失。有效益或者有效率的、合乎交易目的的合同欺诈行为,不属于合同诈骗罪的规制范围。源于罪刑法定原则的要求,目的解释只应当用于出罪化。经济犯罪的刑法教义学研究与规范目的的理解,离不开社科法学智识的浸润、滋养与支撑。否则,经济犯罪的刑法解释与司法适用,就有可能违反基本的经济规律与经济法则而走向谬误。骗逃部分铁路运费的行为,不应当按照合同诈骗罪的“兜底条款”定罪处刑。     

收入差距、经济增长与中国的财产犯罪——1978-2005年的实证研究

通过对中国1978-2005年间收入差距、经济增长等宏观经济因素对财产犯罪的影响所进行的实证研究发现,全国、城镇内部、农村内部以及城乡之间的收入差距对财产犯罪产生了显著的影响,经济增长与财产犯罪呈显著的负相关关系,同时中国的财产犯罪还表现出明显的惯性特征。而诸如人均GDP、城市化、福利开支等虽然对财产犯罪产生了影响,但都不显著。     

论我国著作权犯罪的定罪和处罚及其刑法完善

诱于著作权所蕴含的丰富经济价值并随着文化市场的发展和繁荣,著作权侵权和犯罪逐渐增多,而我国刑法规定的不足和司法实践中的困惑影响了对这类犯罪的有效惩治.有鉴于此,对我国刑法规定的两种侵犯著作权犯罪的构成要件和认定及其处罚进行分析和论述,并剖析我国著作权刑事立法尤其司法实践中存在的主要问题及原因,进而提出完善建议.     

The economy,crime and time: An analysis of recorded property crime in England & Wales 1961–2006

We seek to determine whether one of the unanticipated side-effects of social and economic changes associated with the adoption of neoliberal and monetarist economics during the 1970s/1980s was rising crime rates. Undertaking time series analysis of social and economic determinants of property crime (using official statistics on recorded crime for England and Wales from 1961 to 2006) we develop a model of the effect of changes in socio-economic variables (unemployment, inequality, welfare spending and incarceration) on property crime rates. We find that while three of these had significant effects on change in the property crime rate, income inequality did not. We conclude with a discussion of the extent to which neoliberal economic and welfare (and later criminal justice) policies can be held to have influenced the property crime rate since the early 1980s and what this tells us about the social and economic determinants of crime at the macro-level.     

Welfare and property crime

In 1996 the U.S. federal government enacted a welfare reform bill aimed at reducing public assistance to the poor. This legislation may have implications for future levels of property crime. In this study we examine whether differences in levels of AFDC assistance and rates of welfare participation among 406 large metropolitan counties affected variation in burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft. Regression analyses controlled for the potential effects of family structure, divorce, unemployment, and a number of other variables. The results confirmed links between welfare and property crime suggested by strain, social support, and a version of social disorganization theory. Both monetary assistance levels and participation rates were associated negatively with all property crimes.     

商业贿赂犯罪长效控制机制思考

商业贿赂是中国社会转型时期经济腐败现象最为重要的形式之一。我国为治理商业贿赂而全面启动的专项斗争产生了积极的效果。然而，构建于传统的、以“二元论”企业角色观为基础。以作为受贿主体的国家工作人员为规制重点的商业贿赂犯罪控制模式。并未切中商业贿赂犯罪“上游犯罪”之根本。具有一定的局限性。以“一元论”企业角色观为基础，以企业社会责任为视角，以作为行贿主体的企业及其工作人员为规制重点，提出商业贿赂治理新思路，并以此构建中国反商业贿赂长效机制，可以弥补传统治理商业贿赂思路的局限性。     

金融犯罪案件的特点及其侦防对策

金融犯罪作为一类危害非常严重的犯罪,是经济案件的一种特殊类型,具有不同于普通经济案件的特点,也有特殊的侦查与防范措施。本文从侦查的角度分析了这些案件的特点并提出了一些侦查与防范对策,希望对实践有所帮助。     

中国毒品犯罪死刑的概况及其控制

解放初期我国大规模的禁毒运动成效显著,长期是“无毒国”,无需对毒品犯罪规定死刑。改革开放后,鉴于毒品泛滥、社会危害加剧的新形势,1982年《全国人民代表大会常务委员会关于严惩严重破坏经济的罪犯的决定》对毒品犯罪始规定死刑。随着我国经济社会发展,并受国际社会废除死刑潮流的影响,我国对毒品犯罪适用死刑的立场演变为既保留死刑又限制其适用。从毒品犯罪市场化、准组织化的现实来看,刑罚轻重应与毒品犯罪的利益、风险相适应。还应通过医疗技术、替代药物、帮助吸毒者回归正当的社会生活、加强国际合作等举措,更好地发挥社会措施对刑罚的替代作用,尽可能切断毒品犯罪的经济根源,从而限制和减少毒品犯罪死刑的适用。     

经济刑法中危险犯的立法问题研究

危险犯的采用及其在立法上的扩展是立法对风险社会的回应,也是经济犯罪立法的重要特征。通过对近年我国经济犯罪的刑事立法的分析,可以发现《刑法》在大量增设经济犯罪罪名的同时,经济犯罪的危险犯的成立范围也大大扩展。同时,出于法益保护的早期化,预防社会风险等方面的现实需要,在经济刑法中设立抽象危险犯颇有其必要性和合理性。基于维护经济秩序安全的需要,可以考虑在经济刑法中谨慎地规定过失危险犯。     

经济犯罪原因剖析与预防对策研究

经济犯罪已经成为我国市场经济环境下频发的一种犯罪类型。任何犯罪都不是一个犯罪原因简单造成的,而经济犯罪更应从社会、人的本性以及经济运行机制等方面去分析;同时,对经济犯罪的预防也应该从整体、根本上着手,在预防手段的现代化、转变立法思想、建立诚信社会等方面打防并举。     

三十年来中国犯罪现象发展态势

改革开放近30年来,中国进入了新的历史发展时期,政治、经济、文化等各方面都发生了巨大的变化。随着市场经济的逐步确立与发展,影响犯罪的各种因素也不断突变,犯罪现象的发展变化亦出现了前所未有的新特点。犯罪率的急剧上升与高位徘徊并存,犯罪的地域重心逐渐发生偏移,犯罪主体日益多元化,新的犯罪类型不断涌现。本文即封改革开放以来中国犯罪案件的诸多特点进行考察,以期对犯罪预防政策的制定提供参考。     

当前浙江经济发展主要问题和经济犯罪态势

浙江地处我国东南沿海地区，市场经济先发，民营经济发达，经济对外依存度很高，国际金融危机不仅严重影响浙江经济和民生，而且诱发诸多经济犯罪问题。浙江经济犯罪活动一直处于发案数量增多、涉案金额攀高、作案手段升级、危害后果加重的状态，呈现出原生性、示范性、区域性等特征。受国际金融危机的冲击和影响，浙江经济领域中的利益冲突、矛盾碰撞明显加剧，诱发各类经济犯罪的因素不断增多，预计当前和今后一个时期，浙江经济犯罪尤其是经济大要案仍将继续呈现多发、高发的态势。     

FUNDING COMMUNITY POLICING TO REDUCE CRIME: HAVE COPS GRANTS MADE A DIFFERENCE?*

Research Summary: This research examines how funding from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), has affected violent and property crime rates in the United States from 1995 to 1999. Drawing on six years of panel data, we examine the effects of three types of awards made by COPS to 6,100 law enforcement agencies serving more than 145 million citizens. We estimate their impact on crime reduction over time in jurisdictions receiving funding and controlling for baseline levels of crime, socioeconomic characteristics, city size, and population diversity and mobility. Our analyses suggest that COPS hiring and innovative grant programs have resulted in significant reductions in local crime rates in cities with populations greater than 10,000 for both violent and nonviolent offenses. Multivariate analysis shows that in cities with populations greater than 10,000, an increase in one dollar of hiring grant funding per resident contributed to a corresponding decline of 5.26 violent crimes and 21.63 property crimes per 100,000 residents. Similarly, an increase in one dollar of innovative grant funding per resident has contributed to a decline of 12.93 violent crimes and 45.53 property crimes per 100,000 persons. In addition, the findings suggest that COPS grants have had no significant negative effect on violent and property crime rates in cities with less than 10,000 population. Policy Implications: The findings of this study imply that COPS program funding to medium‐ and large‐size cities has been an effective force in reducing both violent and property crime. Federal government grants made directly to law enforcement agencies to hire additional officers and promote innovations may be an effective way to reduce crime on a national scale.