网络传销犯罪的司法认定逻辑及其修正

基于传销犯罪的诈骗本质以及网络传销所衍生的诸多形式,原有的组织、领导传销活动罪的界定已经无法适应惩治网络传销犯罪的需要,应当基于体系与实践的双重考量,对网络传销犯罪的立法和司法作出相应的调适。组织、领导传销活动罪与集资诈骗罪系交叉竞合关系,两者在量刑上应保持平衡。网络传销犯罪在法益侵害程度方面未必高于传统传销犯罪。司法解释性文件对于网络传销犯罪的认定不应囿于组织内部参与传销活动人员30人三级的标准。网络团队计酬不应当构成犯罪。对于混合型传销,则应当结合"骗取财物"的要件予以全面判断。对为网络传销犯罪提供网络服务的行为,应区分情况适用共同犯罪、非法利用信息网络罪与帮助信息网络犯罪活动罪。对网络传销犯罪作证据综合认定时,应优先客观性证据,确立互联网电子数据的中枢证明作用,修正逐一收集参与传销活动人员的言词证据规则。     

疫情防控中妨害公务罪的法教义学解析

为了个人自由而抗拒防疫管控,是对国家公务活动正常秩序的公然侵犯,具有法益侵害性。对于妨害公务罪之"暴力、威胁",应结合其侵害法益、实务经验予以合理界定。参与疫情管控的基层工作人员能否作为妨害公务罪之对象,需根据司法解释的规定,紧扣从事疫情防控职权之公务性质深入分析。以暴力、威胁方法抗拒不当防疫措施的,因防疫执法之合法性丧失,不构成妨害公务罪。行为人对防疫执法行为合法性的认识错误,属于对构成要件的事实认识错误,阻却犯罪故意的成立。     

环保督察与空气质量改善:立足城市情境的效应异质性分析

作为生态环境保护领域的一项重大制度创新,中央环保督察已经成为党和政府推动生态文明建设的重要政策工具。然而,对于中央环保督察能否改善空气质量,尤其是其效果的可持续性,尚存在诸多争议。立足于匹配后的地级市数据评估中央环保督察对空气质量改善的平均效应,结果表明中央环保督察尽管在短期内显著改善了空气质量,其长期效应并不显著。然而,借助基于模型的递归分解法和随机森林法进一步发现:中央环保督察的长期效应存在显著的情境差异性:中央环保督察对于空气污染较重的城市具有长期改善效应,且东部城市尤为明显;一个城市的经济发展水平越高,中央环保督察效应越具有长效性;政府规模和财政自主性对中央环保督察效应起到截然相反的调节作用:前者的扩张会削弱长期效应,而后者的提升则会强化长期效应。揭示城市情境对督察效应的调节作用,有助于深化学界对中央环保督察长效性的条件认识,也为进一步完善该制度、提升其效能提供了重要的思路。     

Harming America: Corporate Crime in a Context of Deregulation

ABSTRACT

Like many Republican presidential candidates before him, Donald J. Trump campaigned on a pro-business, anti-regulation platform, and since his election in November 2016, he has directed his administration to move forward with deregulation in many arenas, including consumer financial protections, environmental controls, and workplace safety among others. Past efforts to roll back regulations governing certain industries, such as the savings and loan and the mortgage industries, have had harmful consequences for the general public or for specific interest groups. In this study, we review what the Trump administration has accomplished with regard to deregulation to date. Then, based on past deregulatory fiascos, we theorize the harmful collateral consequences that may result from this most recent swing of the regulatory-deregulatory pendulum.     

Civilian Forensic Technician and Sworn Police Officer Job-Related Stress

Forensic Technicians provide crime scene investigation services and are exposed to stressful violent crimes, motor vehicle accidents, biological or chemical hazards, and other appalling imagery. Forensic Technicians would likely experience physical and psychological stress after exposure to trauma, and security vulnerabilities similar to Sworn Police Officers. The perceived availability of mental health resources, job-related physical, psychological stress, and traumatic experiences of both Forensic Technicians and Sworn Police Officers from California law enforcement agencies were investigated using a self-reported survey. Responses were evaluated for any significant differences in the perceived stress, job-related physical stress, and resulting psychological impact affecting the participants. The survey contained a mix of True/False, Circle/Check the Appropriate Box, or Likert Scale (1–5) responses. The results were evaluated statistically and discussed. Results indicated Sworn Police Officers and Forensic Technicians have different on-duty stress levels, but similar off-duty stress levels. Nearly two-thirds of 54 job-related stressors were not significantly different between the two occupations. However, Forensic Technicians reported more adverse effects in 17 physical and psychological job-related activities compared with Sworn Police Officers. Forensic Technicians reported lower awareness levels and availability of agency mental health support services than were reported by Sworn Police Officers. This study reports for the first time an unexpected outcome that perceived and job-related psychological stress is greater for Forensic Technicians than Sworn Police Officers. Possible reasons for this disparity will be discussed as well as stress management tools that should be implemented to reduce health risk factors for both career professionals as well as increase public safety.     

An Examination of the Relationship Between Media Exposure and Fear of Victimization: Implications of the Superpredator Narrative on Juvenile Justice Policies

The media allow crime to infiltrate the public’s consciousness in every conceivable way, thereby playing a major role in shaping the public’s opinion and attitude toward crime and crime issues (Barak, 1995; Fields & Jerin, 1996; Kappeler & Potter, 2005). Reporters constantly talk about crime, and crime related stories dominate the headlines of local and national newspaper outlets (Dowler, 2003; Pizarro et al, 2007). Some of the most highly rated television programs are based on crime plots and people across social, political, and racial demographics are constantly engaged in crime dialogue generated from local or national news stories. When the focus of these mediums is on youth they become even more profound and contentious. The images portrayed conjure up stereotypes that lead to fear and inflammatory remarks that become entrenched into the national lexicon. The current study uses data from the National Opinion Survey of Crime and Justice to test the relationship between crime-related media viewership and fear of victimization within a nationally representative adult sample. Approximately 42.67% of respondents reported regularly watching crime shows and about the same proportion (42.83%) believed their local media paid too much attention to violent crime. In addition to regular crime-show viewership, confidence in the police, gender, and recent contact with the police were associated with fear of victimization. This article adds to an existing body of research through a largely unexplored area in the administration of justice. It does so within the context of the U.S. juvenile justice system.     

Stage model for female criminals: business school students’ perceptions of white-collar offenders

We know that half of the population in Norway is female, and we know that females represent 6% of the white-collar crime prison population. In the stage model overview, we derive percentages from the literature into the gender model to explain stepwise reduction from 50% to 6%. In our empirical research, we asked two groups of business school students to come up with their own estimates for the stages in the model for female criminals. While estimates from executive students resulted in 3% women in prison, bachelor students’ estimates resulted in 10% women in prison. The most obvious discrepancy between the research literature and our two survey groups is related to relative convictions. Based on the literature, we suggested that female defendants receive more serious convictions because they may perceive and feel more guilt for a crime, for example in terms of regret, shame and depression. Thus women may have a tendency to confess more easily. Both executive students and bachelor students disagree with this estimate of 140%, as they suggest 62% and 69% respectively. One reason for their suggestion of less serious convictions for female white-collar criminals – sometimes labelled pink-collar criminals – might be that family situation and other elements are taken into account before a verdict is passed on a woman. Another substantial discrepancy is related to detection risk. The literature suggests a low detection risk for women, but may be not as low as we estimated at 30%. Both executive and bachelor students believe that the gender difference in detection likelihood is not that formidable, as they suggest 75% and 65% respectively.     

Applying Stone in a Western Landscape: Ranchers,Conservationists, and Causal Stories in the “American Serengeti”

As the emergence of nongovernmental conservation efforts generates conflict among various stakeholders, the causal story that each party articulates regarding conservation and the causes of land degradation reflects their unique interests. This study uses existing literature to evaluate causal stories surrounding a contemporary conservation effort: Montana's American Prairie Reserve. Through qualitative review of web‐based documents and newspaper articles, it generates a preliminary account of key stakeholders' causal stories. The case study suggests that parties who might be disadvantaged by ascribing responsibility for environmental harms in an adversarial fashion may instead elect to articulate causal stories that are more neutral than existing approaches might forecast. The study concludes by suggesting that further development of causal story literature may enable it to better address contemporary conservation efforts.     

网络信息安全犯罪的定量评价困境和突围路径——大数据背景下网络信息量化标准的反思和重构

刑法对网络安全的保护立场，正由网络运行安全转向网络信息安全。刑事立法更新不断增设网络信息安全专属罪名的同时，刑事司法的定量评价体系却未能一体构建，成为网络安全刑法保护的薄弱环节。当前网络信息安全犯罪的定量评价体系缺乏明确的逻辑主线，同时适用错位的“传统法益侵害程度”量化标准和模糊的“数据规模”新型量化标准，无法满足网络信息安全专属罪名司法适用的准确性和统一性需求，导致了司法适用的困境。消弭规范和技术之间的差异，以“信息规模”为定量评价核心的基础上，建构信息价值的分层评价模型，并将“组信息”作为基础的数据规模计量单位，是大数据时代背景下，突破网络信息安全犯罪司法定量评价困境的合理路径。     

A Call for Help?: How Public School Principals’ Subjective Report of Institutional Weakness Relates to Disciplinary Incidents

ABSTRACT

Disciplinary incidents at U.S. public middle- and high-schools are a public policy concern. Although businesses popularly give credence to leaders’ subjective intelligence, principals’ reports of their schools’ strengths and weaknesses are questioned. To determine whether principals’ reports carry legitimacy as indicators of student offenses, the current study utilized a nationally representative survey of principals who reported on their sense of the institution and the number of disciplinary incidents in the past year (N = 1,872; replication cohort, N = 1,833). Findings showed that the more institutional shortcomings a principal endorsed, the higher total number of incidents occurred, even after controlling for institutional strength and several indicators of school crime. These findings have policy and intervention implications for improving student outcomes, and so would be of interest to funding agencies, school administrators, teachers, and parents.