Operational parameters in the stolen property system

The operational steps involved in the theft of property are identified and discussed with central attention being given to the criminal receiver of stolen goods—the “fence”. Both the likely and unlikely divisions of labor in the stolen property marketplace are analyzed as are the functional progressions of events in the theft industry. The analysis is based on a field research project.     

Buying stolen goods: the ambiguity in trading consumer-to-consumer

This study investigates the buying of stolen goods in Denmark. The study consists of a self-report survey based on a representative sample of the general Danish population (n = 2311) and six focus group interviews consisting of both informants experienced with buying stolen goods and of those with no experience (n = 37). The survey showed that 4.8% had bought stolen goods, while 15.7% were uncertain whether they had bought stolen goods. Young people, males, and unemployed were more likely to purchase stolen goods. No clear correlation between income and buying stolen goods was found. Focus groups suggest the buyers of stolen goods did not buy stolen goods because they could not afford legitimate products. We recommend targeting consumers not interested in buying stolen goods with information about how to avoid such activity.     

Selling stolen goods on the online markets: an explorative study

Historically, criminologists studied theft from different perspectives, but only a few focused their attention on the reselling of stolen items. The advent of the Internet has boosted stolen good markets by facilitating interactions between vendors (thieves and receivers) and buyers. This study, based on 227 cases reported by news sites in 2015 and 2016, focuses on the markets and methods used to sell stolen goods online. The results suggest that the online selling methods are quite independent from existing offline methods. The findings innovate with respect to the typology provided by Sutton. The online markets for stolen goods are rather a new environment where perpetrators may choose among several methods of disposal. The results reflect a preference for resale through classified ads sites (44.24%), auction sale sites (28.11%) and social media (19.35%). In the light of this study, more research is needed to understand online stolen goods markets and their mechanisms.     

Crime Trends in Western Europe from 1990 to 2000

This paper analyses the evolution of police recorded crime rates for nine offences (intentional homicide, assault, rape, robbery, theft, vehicle theft, burglary, domestic burglary, and drug offences) over the period 1990–2000 in 16 Western European Countries. The analysis shows that there was an increase in drug and violent offences, while property offences reached a peak at the beginning of the 1990s and started decreasing afterwards. The evolution of property offences can be related to the emergence of a large black market for stolen goods in Central and Eastern Europe at the beginning of the time series, while by the end of it that market was saturated and there had also been a reinforcement of police measures in the frontiers and of security measures in Western European households. The increase in drug offences is correlated to the rise of drug use in Europe shown by other indicators, and can be related to an increased availability of drugs in European markets. Finally, the upward trend in violent offences can be explained partially by gang struggles over the control of illegal markets and by the consolidation of problematic neighbourhoods, but seems also due to a large extent of increase in the reporting of violent offences by their victims and the recording of such offences by the police. The analysis shows that opportunity-based theories provide a satisfactory explanation of the trends in recorded crime, and that the crime opportunities are heavily influenced by socio-economical factors.Versions of this paper were presented at the 3rd Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology (Helsinki, August 27–30, 2003) and at the Societies of Criminology 1st Key Issues Conference (Paris, May 13–15, 2004). The paper was written during a stay at the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law (Freiburg imBreisgau, Germany) made possible through the support of Swiss National Science Foundation     

TIME TRENDS AND AGE TRENDS IN ARRESTS AND SELF-REPORTED ILLEGAL BEHAVIOR*

National estimates of time trends and age trends in self-reported illegal behavior in the United States are compared with corresponding figures for arrests. The self-report data are from Monitoring the Future, an annual national survey of high school seniors. The analysis of time trends covers 1975 through 1985 for a sample of over 3,000 respondents per year, studied at a constant age. The analysis of age trends covers ages 17 through 23 for samples of 300 to 1,200 per year. Both self-report and arrest measures reveal substantial declines in illegal behavior throughout this age span, with the exception of arrests for assault. Both methods also indicate that rates of assault increased from 1975 through 1985, a finding that has not previously been reported. Time trends for other offenses were erratic.     

Examining the risk reduction strategies of actors in online criminal markets

Research examining offender risk reduction strategies within illicit markets focus primarily on those operating in the real world for drugs and stolen goods. Few have considered the strategies that may be used by individuals in virtual illicit markets that are hidden from public view. This study addresses this gap through a grounded theory analysis of posts from 10 Russian and three English language web forums selling stolen data to engage in identity theft and fraud. The findings indicate that buyers employ multiple strategies to reduce their risk of loss from unreliable vendors, along with resources provided by forum administrators to manage relationships between participants. The implications of this study for law enforcement and offender decision-making research are also discussed.     

China's stance on the Google/Motorola merger: Implications for competition in intellectual property-intensive sectors

China's merger enforcement agency approved the Google/Motorola merger with conditions. This pattern of approval is not in full accordance with that in other jurisdictions, including the United States and the European Union, which made unconditional approvals. This contradiction attracted ample criticism; some critics believe that China's policy is designed to protect domestic industry. In investigating the Chinese merger agency's decision and the basis for its decision making, this article finds that much of the criticism is groundless and misleading because the critics have failed to incorporate all elements of the global value chain of mobile intelligent terminals into their analyses. The investigation also shows that, although the decision makers are less experienced, their decisions are based on Chinese competition law and market realities. It is important for international firms to be aware of this pattern in merger analysis.     

论医疗机构对患者的安全保障义务

患者在医院走失 (丢失 )、财产被盗、受到第三人侵害的事情时有发生 ,因此而发生的损害赔偿纠纷成为医患诉讼新的焦点。本文对与此相关的理论进行探析 ,旨在探讨法院在评判双方过错时所应适用的标准。笔者认为 ,附随义务是医疗机构对患者及其财产进行安全保障的依据 ,法院在认定医疗机构是否有过错应当以具体情事和诚信原则作为标准。     

The Hand of the Ancestors: Time,Cultural Production,and Intellectual Property Law

In successfully lobbying for the expansion of the copyright protection term, culture industries in the United States have used one of the temporal dimensions of intellectual property law to strengthen their control over the circulation of cultural goods. There is another less obvious way that time factors into the regulation of cultural products, and this has to do with the modes of temporality within which those products are made and their circulation regulated. In Ghana, where certain cultural products are protected as “folklore” under copyright law, cultural goods from one kind of temporality enter a regulatory framework that belongs to another. In this article, I examine these two ways of organizing time and argue that differences in ways of conceptualizing time also factor into the exercise of power over cultural products. I further argue that the Ghanaian case provides resources for radically rethinking intellectual property law.     

Stinging the Detroit criminal: A total system perspective

The success of sting operations (fake-fences) has been reported widely with impressive aggregate statistics on arrests and convictions. In this paper, we present a more detailed view of a successful Detroit sting program. We follow a sting participant's involvement from the time he entered the storefront until final sentencing, the result of the sting. Previously unreported statistics that we present include prior convictions and sentences for those involved in the sting, the number of sales an individual made to the sting and data on final sentences. More importantly we explore relationships between the various statistics. Our most important finding is that a sting operation is an effective way of getting criminals off the streets for extended periods of time. Eighty percent of those convicted for receiving and concealing stolen property were incarcerated, and the average minimum sentence was 19 months. The data also suggest the importance of multiple sales by an individual to the sting. The number of sales was shown to affect both the likelihood of conviction and the type of sentence imposed.     

Truman's revenge: Social control and corporate crime

Many criminologists have found that corporate crime does more harm than street crime, whether measured by property lost, money stolen, or lives taken. Yet, public concern about crime is almost exclusively focused on street crime and “just deserts” for the offender. The authors argue that corporate criminality is more likely than individual criminality to be planned and subjected to cost/benefit analysis than street crime and therefore more likely to be deterred by raising the costs of corporate criminality. The Model Penal Code is used to demonstrate that both individual and corporate crime produce a comparable array of avoidable harms. Public policies that demand just deserts for individual offenders (natural persons) are revealed as highly inconsistent with policies that protect corporations (juristic persons) from accountability for the harms they create. A philosophical and legal foundation for corporate crime control strategies is provided. The authors propose a sanctions regime for corporate criminals comparable to the sanctions regime imposed on natural persons for street crimes. Strategies to avoid risk shifting by corporations are suggested. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

货物调包类财产犯罪案件的教义学分析

针对货车司机将运输中的货物非法占为己有,再用次品或废品补足重量,冒充原货物交付收货方的行为的定性,其前阶段调包行为根据运输中的货物的占有归属,可能构成盗窃罪、侵占罪或职务侵占罪,其后阶段交货行为构成针对财产性利益的诈骗罪,该两阶段行为按照吸收犯处理。在财产损失的认定上,宜采取整体财产说的立场,在满足一些特殊条件的情况下,犯罪数额可以扣减次品价值。如果收购原货物的人与司机有共谋,对调包行为的完成起到一定作用的,收购人与司机成立共同犯罪,即使数名司机彼此之间没有共谋,收购人的涉案数额也应累积计算。验货人员与司机勾结,明知是不合格的次品而予以签收的行为,不构成职务侵占罪的正犯。     

Is a domain name property?

Legal context. Domain names have become increasingly valuableassets, in some respects more valuable than trade marks. A domainname may identify not only the source of the goods, services,business or information, but also the virtual location of thesource, much as an address or telephone number does. However,there is still a significant unresolved issue as to whethera domain name is a form of intangible property or merely a contractualright. Resolution of this issue is important for commercialtransactions affecting domain names and for legal proceedingsand remedies relating to them. Key points. Domain names have been analogized by courts to addresses,patents, trade marks, and even by one writer to cattle. However,in this author's view, the best way to characterize the legalstatus of a domain name is by analogy to a telephone number.Although United States appellate authority suggests that a domainname is a form of intangible intellectual property, it is submittedthat the better, but not judicially clear or consistent, viewis that a domain name is not property. This position reflectsthe practice in Canada where, in registering a .ca domain name,the registrant agrees, as a contractual condition of registration,that it acquires no property right in the domain name. Practical significance. The authorities in this area are stillnot clear. Until this issue is resolved, whether globally oron a country-by-country basis, the prevailing uncertainty willinhibit commercial transactions involving domains, such as theirtransfer and their value for the purposes of securitisation.     

被盗文物跨国流转所有权争议法律适用规则探讨——兼论《涉外民事关系法律适用法》第37条

文物由于具有稀缺性被视为保值增值的上佳投资品,因而其跨国流转日益频繁,不过其中相当一部分是被盗掘或盗窃后进八国际市场交易。不法分子利用各国所有权取得的种种歧异的规定,将非法获取文物的所有权“漂白”后转手给善意购买人,而最后的纠纷往往在原始所有人与善意购买人间发生。在相关国际公约在解决此类纠纷存在不足的情况下,应从国际私法法律适用的角度探讨解决上述问题的现实可行的方法,即：扬弃“物之所在地法”既有原则,引入文物最初来源地法,在平衡各方利益的基础上形成一套更具灵活性和综合性考量的法律适用方法。     

United States v Microsoft: High-tech Antitrust

'United States v Microsoft: High-tech Antitrust'. This article considers some of the substantive issues that have been raised by the case brought against Microsoft and that call into question the application of competition law to high-technology industries. Drawing arguments from both the United States and European Union jurisdictions the article focuses in particular on the relationship between intellectual property and competition law. Consideration is also given to product development and bundling, and to predation through innovation. In conclusion the author suggests that competition laws should continue to be applied to this sector, but that traditional analysis needs to be refined, and that intent should be more carefully considered.     

Policy and disparity: The punishment of infanticide in Britain and America

In the United States, studies of maternal infanticide (and female violent behavior in general) have been rare. Children represent about 35% of female perpetrated homicide victims and there is reason to believe that this number may be significantly higher based on estimates concerning SIDS deaths. Infants face a homicide rate approximately four times higher than that of the general population in much of the industrialized world. Infanticide has historically been relegated to the legal category of homicide in the U.S. This is significantly different than in most industrialized countries. This article argues that the lack of specific public, legal, and medical policy in the United States concerning infanticide results in random inequity of charges, dispositions, sanctions, and treatment of offenders. This situation is unnecessary as demonstrated by British and European legal systems, and is in direct opposition to the policy of minimizing disparity.     

Health care for older persons in England and the United States: a contrast of systems and values

This article extends previous comparisons of access to health care for older persons in England and the United States by comparing rates of avoidable hospital conditions as a proxy for primary care access and by examining the distribution of care within these older populations. Drawing on hospital data from the two countries, we find that older persons in the United States, particularly those over the age of seventy-five, receive far more revascularizations than do older persons in England. Differences in the use of lower-joint replacement are not as great, but we are unable to assess differences in the need for these procedures. Although older persons have greater access to specialty care in the United States, there appears to be much better access to primary care in England. We are unable to draw comparisons on the extent of inequalities in access to health care, although in the United States there is evidence of inequalities in access by race, and in England we confirm earlier studies that find inequalities by level of deprivation. These findings are discussed in the context of the political debates over access to care and rationing in the two countries.     

Structuring modern life running on software. Recognizing (some) computer programs as new “digital persons”

Saudi Arabia grants nationality to an AI robot; the first “clash of robots” took place in Japan; and, Bill Gates suggests that robots start paying taxes. We believe that these developments justify new legal fiction interventions. Software has long now exceeded the intellectual property boundaries. It is no longer merely property; it has assumed life of its own. It does not matter that such life is imaginary today. Legal persons were brought to life through legal fiction intervention that was based on much less motivation – merely the human incentive for profit. Software is certainly connected today with profit, given that the world's most valued corporations are software companies. However, it has moved much further than that, to assume in many ways artificial life of its own. We think that it is time that the dichotomy between natural and legal persons, that has served humanity so well over the past centuries, now be trisected: A new, digital person, ought to be added to it.     

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.     

论赃物的善意取得及其回复请求权

犯罪人将侵占的被害人的财物转让给善意受让人之后，司法机关一般不能通过追赃活动追讨。被害人是否有权向善意受让人请求回复其物，关键在于赃物是否适用善意取得制度。赃物能否适用善意取得，需要根据犯罪人取得赃物时被害人的主观状态和预测、控制危险的能力作类型化分析。如果某些赃物不适用善意取得，被害人便可以行使回复请求权，回复其物。法律需要兼顾善意受让人的利益，对被害人回复请求权作适当限制。