How to Develop More Effective Policies Against Crime: Some Reflections on Drugs and Crime Research in an International Context

This paper offers some reflections on how to develop more effective policies against crime, drawing on more than 10 years of research experience on the international drug problem. The paper begins by trying to illustrate the so-called justice gap in the world, and explain why an institution such as the United Nations has a comparative advantage in closing that gap. It then details four lessons that the author has learnt from his own personal experience as head of research in the United Nations International Drug Control Programme, now called the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime: (i) measure, count, and keep counting; (ii) publish or perish, either in inter-governmental default, or in public hysteria; (iii) limit the dangers of committing the euphemistic fallacy; and (iv) divorce research and policy, because research is policy-dependent; make research policy-relevant, and re-marry it to policy. Finally, the paper tries to show how these lessons can be applied in related areas and used as good practice in research on crime.     

成就与问题:毒品犯罪研究学术史述评

新中国毒品犯罪的学术研究,始自20世纪80年代中期,成果丰硕。毒品犯罪研究具有明显的应世性、阶段性、地域性特征。主要研究范式为毒品犯罪的注释性研究、犯罪学研究、诉讼法学研究、刑事一体化研究等。多种研究范式、多学科视角的运用推进了毒品犯罪研究领域的广度与深度。但这些研究范式也存在着僵化、简单化、不协调、不均衡等问题,而且毒品犯罪的刑事政策、社会政策研究的空白亟待填补。     

Low Crime Rates in Bahrain: Islamic Social Control-Testing the Theory of Synnomie

This pioneer work builds upon the systems of social control (synnomie) developed by Freda Adler (1983). Its intent is to assess the low crime profile of Bahrain and in so doing to offer explanations for this country's low crime rates. While there is crime in Bahrain, this country appears to be the exception to the rule that rapid industrialization breeds high crime. The unique situation in Bahrain will be analyzed by: giving an overview of the country of Bahrain, examining recent crime statistics reported by official agencies in Bahrain, the United States, and in addition, the state of Vermont. The official sources of these data are not considered to be the most reliable indicators of crime, but they are the most comparable. Vermont is used for the comparison of numbers since it has an approximate population to Bahrain.

Low statistics of the amount of crime are reported for Bahrain which form the foundation for this paper. This paper offers possible explanations of low crime by using as its base the theory of synnomie (the consistency of norm and values sharing); and summarizes the main points in this paper and draws conclusions which point in the direction for the future of Bahrain, its citizens, and incidences of reported crime as Bahrain continues with its mission of modernization.     

犯罪本质论——一种重新解说的社会危害性理论

近年来 ,我国有学者主张用法益侵害说取代社会危害性说。这种观点是值得商榷的。在德国和日本的刑法理论中 ,法益侵害并不是一个明确统一的概念 ,而是一个争议颇多的概念。法益侵害说只是在名称上取代了权利侵害说 ,但并没有解决权利侵害说所面临的问题。这种取代并不成功。在我国刑法学界 ,用法益侵害说取代社会危害性说的作法是在重复法益侵害说取代权利侵害说的老路。我国传统的主观与客观相统一的社会危害性说的基本方向是正确的 ,但没有解决如何把主观和客观统一起来的问题。其实 ,主观与客观相统一应该统一于行为的客观方面 ,只有表现为客观危害行为的主观心态才能给社会造成危害。这种客观危害既包括犯罪行为给被害人造成的直接危害 ,也包括给社会带来的犯罪预防成本和处置犯罪的诉讼成本。因此 ,在本质上 ,犯罪是以一定方式或样态给被害人造成直接损害的、给社会带来犯罪预防成本的并需要动用刑罚资源加以处置的行为。     

包庇毒品犯罪分子罪研究

包庇毒品犯罪分子罪是走私、贩卖、运输、制造毒品罪的下游犯罪,此类犯罪的存在客观上彰显了司法机关打击毒品犯罪的决心。自《关于禁毒的决定》始,国家就明确将此类行为从窝藏、包庇罪中划分出来,作为独立的罪名。虽然包庇毒品犯罪分子罪已经存在了近二十年,但其研究却不够系统,本丈详细介绍了包庇毒品犯罪分子罪的构成要件以外,并将之与其他类似罪名进行了比较。     

Ethnic Minorities, Social Integration and Crime

This article first discusses various dimensions of the social integration of minorities into society. The Netherlands is taken as an example, although research from other countries (such as the US and Sweden) is also taken into consideration. Useful concepts in this regard include the level to which these groups have social, informative and cultural capital that can help them to integrate into the dominant society. The second part considers the theoretical links between integration and criminal behaviour. The author assumes that the fundamental causal processes that lead to the development of criminality and other negative behaviour are independent of country of origin, ethnic group or the country of residence. In other words – that these processes, as they emerge in social control theory, have a universal character. In the second place, she assumes that differences in crime between ethnic groups are linked to group differences in socio-economic integration in the host country and in culture-related variables. Furthermore, there are also differences in the criminality of allochtonous youth within ethnic groups. These are similarly assumed to be linked to differences in commitment to social institutions such as family and school and to differences in accepting specific Western norms and values.     

Vicky,Cristina and Social Exclusion in Barcelona: A Tale of Two Cities

International Journal for the Semiotics of Law - Revue internationale de Sémiotique juridique - Barcelona has become one of the most touristic cities in the world, with more than 18 million...     

International Humanitarian Law: Theory,Practice, Context

Netherlands International Law Review -     

Crime Victims and the Social Services: Social Workers' Viewpoint

The aim of this article is to analyse how social workers in the social services describe crime victims and their role in supporting these victims. Based on focus groups with social workers in the social services, it is established that social workers discriminate between a categorical understanding of crime victims and an assessment of individuals in need. The categorical understanding of crime victims is connected to weakness and innocence, and the discussions are constructed with a focus on women and children. However, when the social workers move beyond this idea and describe individual victims of crime they have met, they attribute a more complicated picture and acknowledge the complexity of crime and victimization. The social workers give themselves a vague role regarding support to victims of crime. They consider themselves as able to connect individuals in need with helping resources, but they do not regard themselves as resources in this area. According to the social workers, an individual should not receive support from the social services just because he or she is categorized by them as a victim of crime. One conclusion is that the category ‘crime victims’ has not gained acceptance among the social workers.     

社会排斥的内涵:缘起、演进与新路径

政治、经济、文化、社会和学术研究的需求与发展推动着社会排斥内涵的产生与演进。从最初狭义的指代贫困到广义的多维排斥,由状态到过程,由单向排斥到循环累积,社会排斥在排斥者与被排斥者的互动中产生。通过对文献的梳理发现,社会排斥的内涵更关注其是一种社会现象,而忽略了社会排斥也是被排斥者心理层面的主观建构。研究在社会排斥是动态过程化内涵的基础上,使用压力反应从刺激源经中介系统到临床相的研究范式,构建新的发生路径。从初始的排斥状态,到施动者施加社会排斥,被感知的社会排斥经过被排斥者的自身能力、社会支持和认知等中介系统的调节,进行增益或消减,与未被感知的社会排斥共同累积作用于排斥的最初状态,如此不断循环发生的过程。     

Living Conditions,Social Exclusion and Recidivism Among Prison Inmates

Swedish drug policy has according to official declarations been successful. The picture has recently been challenged through rising drug use and rising drug related mortality. This development has taken place in spite of the restrictive Swedish policy with further penalization of drug consumption, increasing number of police officers working with drug crime and rising number of persons sentenced to prison for drug offences. The question to be explored here is then what strategies the Swedish Government has chosen in the light of the development and how these strategies should be explained. The analysis is based on central Government documents as well as statements from Government ministers, public authorities and voluntary organizations. The picture that emerges is a denial of the failure of the old Swedish model but at the same time an alarmist stand with demands for increases of resources for information, treatment and control. The strategies chosen can be derived from two central themes in Swedish drug debate: ‘a drug‐free society’ and ‘total rehabilitation’. The two in turn seem to be aspects of an underlying vision—the vision of the good and integrative welfare society.