Overview of Criminology in Europe

The editors of the European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research wanted to include an article with an overview of European criminology in this special issue on European criminology. But in order to discover whether there is such a thing as European criminology, one should first look at the state of affairs of criminology in the individual countries of Europe. This article is an attempt to do so. It is based on a short questionnaire posted to individuals in 34 European countries, a report by Walgrave and Goris, entitled An Overview of University Institutions of Criminology (1996), an Internet search on selected keywords, and some background material available in the WODC library. It gives an overview of criminological research and research institutes; European co-operation, comparative research and European networks; criminological training; national societies of criminology and criminological periodicals.     

An Overview of Budgeting Formats

Budgeting is more than collecting revenue and expenditure estimates. It is a fiscal process by which law enforcement officials select objectives and design ways to achieve those objectives. A budget, in other words, is a systematic plan which indicates where the money will come from, how much will be spent, and what it will be spent for. A budget is a fiscal plan for a given period of time.

Although a variety of budgeting formats exist, this article discusses the four which are the most widely used today—line-item budgeting, program budgeting, performance budgeting, and zero-based budgeting. Understanding the various types of budgeting formats enables law enforcement officials to improve resource allocation and operation effectiveness and to develop short- and long-term plans for future operations. As long as resources continue to be scarce and retrenchment management is operative, law enforcement officials need to understand the budgeting formats discussed in this article.     

Project Overview and Emerging Themes

The law has traditionally been, and will remain, a fundamental tool for addressing health care reform in the United States. With this premise in mind, the "Legal Solutions in Health Reform" project was initiated. The project overview provides a broad understanding of the purpose and layout of the project; the formulation and definition of key legal issues; a brief review of each of the topics covered in the project; a survey of current health statistics in the United States; a discussion of the role of the federal versus state roles in health reform; a review of agencies and committees with jurisdiction over health reform issues; and a survey of means of enforcing health reform efforts.