Review of employee privacy issues: Implications for law enforcement and other public and private sector agencies

It has been predicted that the number of lawsuits filed for workplace privacy violations will increase over the next few years primarily because of advances in technological innovations and a change in how workplace privacy is defined. This could have implications for law enforcement agencies as well as other public and private sector agencies. This article examines current interpretations of workplace privacy both in the public and private sectors and how courts have traditionally ruled on various types of privacy issues.     

Criminal solicitation,entrapment, and the enforcement of law

This paper examines the optimal use of criminal solicitation as a law enforcement strategy. The benefits are greater deterrence of crime (due to the greater likelihood of apprehension), and the savings in social harm as some offenders are diverted away from committing actual crimes through solicitation. The costs are the expense of hiring undercover cops and the greater likelihood of punishment. The optimal use of solicitation balances these factors. The paper also examines the justification for the entrapment defense, which exonerates those caught in a criminal solicitation but who otherwise had no predisposition to commit a crime.     

论反垄断法执法主体的设置——从执法权分配角度分析

市场经济的核心在于维护一个公平有效的竞争机制。而反垄断法因其在保护、促进竞争和维护市场秩序方面起着基础和统领作用．被誉为“经济宪法”。徒法不足以自行，光有一部精良先进的法律条文是不够的，还得通过法的实施．方能实现法的效果。在法律实施机构之间划分执法权．是法律实施体制中其他制度运行的前提，对于法律的有效实施有着重要的意义。本文主要从执法权划分角度探讨反垄断法实施体制中执法主体的设置，以及执法机构与行业监管机构在反垄断监管领域内的关系，通过比较国外的法律规定及实践，并对我国实施不久的《反垄断法》进行评述．综合分析中国现有反垄断执法主体执法权分配中存在的问题，进而提出完善我国现有反垄断执法主体体制的建议一     

Joining anthropology and law enforcement

The role of anthropology in law enforcement involves three aspects of law enforcement activity; forensic anthropology, police-community relations research, and legal ethnographic research on the law enforcement agencies themselves. The first of these contributions to law enforcement by physical anthropologists faces competition from other closely related fields. Police-community relations research is a potential growth area for the application of anthropological efforts, as is legal ethnographic analysis of police organizationa. These latter two areas are within the realm of social anthropology, while the former is a specialty of physical anthropology. This article reviews the contributions of anthropologists and the applications of anthropological methods to law enforcement. It contends that criminal justice educators and police practitioners alike can benefit from knowing more about how these anthropological specialties have contributed and can continue to contribute to law enforcement.     

Perceived effects of concealed handgun ownership by private citizens among law enforcement officers in Texas

On January 1, 1996, a new law took effect in Texas granting certain state citizens the privilege to carry a concealed handgun on their person for the first time since 1871. As a result of this dramatic shift in state law, Texas is now among the growing number of states across the nation who have adopted similar statutory provisions in one form or another. While at least one empiricals study of citizen’s attitudes toward concealed handgun ownership was conducted prior to the law’s effective date, no similar efforts were undertakens to assess the beliefs, perceptions and attitudes of the state’s law enforcement officers about this important social policy. The present study was therefore undertaken in response to the lack of serious attention which the issue of concealed handgun ownership among private citizens has received as it directly relates to the law enforcement profession. Subjects for this study (N=327) were drawn from four Texas law enforcement agencies representing various organizational sizes and missions. While the responses of officers who participated in the study indicate optimism about the law’s potential to deter various types of crime, they also reflect a certain degree of concerns about concealed handgun ownership among private citizens especially as this policy directly relates to perceive inadequacies in statemandated requirements and issues affecting officer safety.     

Preferences,prisoners and private information: was socrates rational at his trial?

Using concepts from game theory, political economy, law and economics and the economics of asymmetric information, we describe the economics of one of the most famous trials in history—that of the Athenian philosopher Socrates. We discuss the question of whether Socrates’ actions during his trial were rational, using two different models. Our analysis sheds some light on institutional efficiency in trials that followed the classical Athenian pattern.     

The treatment of prisoners: International standards and case law

Objective. In some countries questions are asked about the extent to which human rights should be applied to those who have been detained in prison, particularly if they have been convicted of a criminal offence. However, the international human rights treaties and instruments are quite clear that detained persons are entitled to all human rights that are not expressly removed by the fact of their detention. Method. This article describes in detail what these standards are and how they apply to imprisonment. It also considers how these issues have been interpreted judicially by the European Court of Human Rights and the lessons to be learned from its increasing body of case law. Conclusion. All those who are involved in the management of prisons or who deal in any way with prisoners must always bear in mind ‘the inherent dignity of the human person’. This obligation applies particularly to psychologists and others who develop programmes and other activities aimed at influencing the future behaviour of prisoners.     

Fundamental rights and private enforcement in the digital age

This article addresses the shift inthe paradigm of fundamental rights protection on the Internet. More and morethe enforcement of such rights is being delegated to private Internet operators, and the urgent question is how the task of balancing conflicting rights affects the status of Internet Service Providers (ISPs). The article examines the increasing privatisation of fundamental rights enforcementon the Internet, highlighting the impact of this trend. Following the analysisof recent developments, it argues that the pillars governing ISP liability should not be altered. In particular, the early determination that ISPs should not be presumptively saddled with content monitoring tasks should not be called into question. Therefore, the regulatory pressure on ISPs shouldbe lowered, as the spectre of liability, combined with ISPs' increasing role indeciding the proper balance between conflicting rights, unduly burdens the activity of ISPs and generates incentives to delete even lawful content.     

执法人性化争议

执法人性化在我国的刑事执法领域和行政执法领域是比较时髦的话题,但实践中依然存在一些错误倾向,本文主要探讨执法人性化的必然性和如何实现执法人性化的问题。     

Further notes on information,corruption, and optimal law enforcement

We consider two important notes on optimal law enforcement with corruption. First, we analyze the role of asymmetric information on the emergence of collusion between criminals and enforcers. Second, our paper proposes that the optimal criminal sanction for the underlying offense is not necessarily maximal. We achieve this result by coupling the criminal sanction for the underlying offense with a criminal sanction for corruption, both imposed on offenders. A higher criminal sanction for the underlying offense implies that the government must spend more resources to detect and punish corruption (since the likelihood of collusion increases). Thus, the government could reduce this sanction, save on detection, and increase the criminal sanction for corruption (in order to offset the negative effect on deterrence). We are grateful to Mitch Polinsky and two anonymous referees for helpful suggestions. The usual disclaimers apply.