Some reflections on Undercover: recent developments and enduring issues

She [jury member] was extremely liberal. She was a sociologist, and I don't like sociologists. They try to reason things out too much. (Florida Prosecutor [after losing case involving the undercover purchase of a 2 Live Crew album])I have no sympathy for those who are crybabies about the fact that police officers are selling to those who want to buy drugs. We use every legal means that we can. We want everybody to know that the next drug buy may be from a police officer. (Mayor Marion Barry, News Conference 1988)This paper expands on remarks delivered at the American Society of Criminology meetings, Reno, 1989. Some of these ideas were initially presented in 1988 to the qualitative methods discussion group at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, with the support of NSF grant no. BNS 8700864. I am particularly indebted to Elliot Eisner and Barry Schwartz for their critical comments and friendship.     

Studying Illegal Online Trades in Plants: Market Characteristics,Organisational and Behavioural Aspects,and Policing Challenges

European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research - Illegal commerce in plants and their derivatives threatens and destroys numerous species and important natural resources, and may cause...     

The resources of corruption: Some reflections from the Italian Case

This article focuses on the resources used in corrupt exchanges and the complex network of actors involved. The empirical analysis is drawn from research into the Italian case, and is based on judicial investigations, a newspaper-based data bank, and interviews. Defining corruption as a market for political rent, the analysis focuses on the “commodities” which flow from the public to the private sectors (in particular, influence over political decisions and information) and those which flow in the opposite direction (such as bribes, influence on the mass media etc.). Resources which corrupt agents use to reduce the costs of “producing” corrupt services are also explored as well as the risks involved in hidden exchange. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Policing in the People's Republic of China: a review of recent literature

Recent literature on policing in the People's Republic of China, though very limited, has encompassed a wide range of topics including police organizations, roles and functions, subculture, policing strategies (such as community policing, campaign style policing, and the comprehensive management approach), and a number of issues and problems (such as abuse of power, accountability, and police citizen relations). These studies serve to establish a foundation for a better understanding of the complex social control in China. The present study summarizes the findings of recent research, identifies its limitations, and discusses the directions and challenges in future research.

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Diversity in Policing

Abstract

Police and minority relations have received much interest among public and academic audiences, yet little is known about policing in Latino communities. As Latinos emerge as the largest minority group in the United States, researchers and police agencies are increasingly concerned with the experience of Latinos in the criminal justice system. One strategy for improving police and community relations is to enhance the diversity of law enforcement agencies. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the ethnic composition of law enforcement agencies in major U.S. metropolitan areas between 1990 and 2000. Using data from the U.S. Census and the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) survey, it appears that the growth in the U.S. Latino population has been met with an increase in the percentage of Latinos as sworn full-time police officers. Further, the degree of enhanced diversity varies by the ethnic composition of the community served. Implications of findings for improving relations between police and the Latino community are discussed.     

Some reflections on the legitimacy of international trial justice

This paper addresses a number of interrelated conceptual difficulties that impact adversely on the ability of international criminal trials to deliver outcomes perceived as legitimate by victims and communities in post-conflict states. It begins by exploring the extent to which those moral justifications for punishment espoused by international courts are instrumental in marginalizing the aspirations for justice of victims and victim communities, and suggests how a greater appreciation of the sociological context of punishing international crimes can contribute towards an improved understanding of normative practice. The paper then examines the relationship between perceptions of international crime and punishment, and the broader issue of whether international criminal law provides an appropriate normative structure for giving effect to those universal humanitarian values concerned with punishment in an increasingly pluralistic world. Finally, the paper considers how the theory and practice of punishing international crimes can more effectively satisfy both local and global aspirations for post-conflict justice through enhancing the transformative capacity of international criminal trials.     

Some reflections on the economics of prosecutors: Mandatory vs. selective prosecution

Mandatory prosecution is inefficient according to legal economists. We argue that when prosecutors are fairly insulated from their performance or are highly risk-averse mandatory prosecution is better than selective prosecution. This result has important implications for comparative law. We use our findings to provide a positive explanation for the stylized fact that mandatory prosecution generally prevails in civil law jurisdictions whereas selective prosecution is typical of common law jurisdictions.     

Moral authority in law and criminal justice: Some reflections on Wilson's The Moral Sense

William H. Simon, The Practice of Justice: A Theory of Lawyers’ Ethics Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1998, viii + 253 pp.