The dual nature of anti-corruption agencies in China

As the pace of modern life quickens considerably and changes come fast and furious in public affairs, the qualifications based on which public servants are recruited, the skills they are required to master in order to deal with the new situation, the challenges they are faced with, and the administrative behavior they demonstrate are all no longer the same. Bureaucrats in anti-corruption agencies are no exception. This article will review the latest development in China’s public administration, as unethical bureaucratic behavior in anti-corruption agencies has been among the increasingly vexing pathologies the authorities have to cope with.

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Awareness and use of social science research among executive and administrative staff members of state correctional agencies

Officials and staff members of public agencies must become aware of social science research information if they are to make use of it in their work. Contemporary research has largely ignored the issue of awareness, however, concentrating instead on later stages of the research utilization process. In this study of executive officials and administrative staff members of state correctional agencies, respondents consider awareness of social science research to be important, but most believe that they make less use of it than they should. Persons working in both research and nonresearch areas perceive the utility of social science research as relatively low, and turn to nonscholarly sources of information before using scholarly sources. Researchers, however, tend to view social science as basic knowledge, whereas many nonresearchers view social science simply as one of several types of knowledge that may be applied to clearly defined problems. Research results must be disseminated more widely to the sources of information that correctional agency personnel encounter routinely, despite traditional academic publishing norms.     

Dismantling intelligence agencies

Intelligence agencies from a remarkable institutional constant in most societies. They are frequently reformed but almost never dismantled, since their capabilities, personnel, and knowledge are simultaneously too vital and too threatening to successor regimes. Several case studies are reviewed which demonstrate the tenacity of personnel, bureaucratic structures, and institutional culture. The problem of dismantling intelligence agencies will confront both successor regimes to failed states and the West, and it left unaddressed will almost certainly undermine efforts at democratization. The problems are especially acute when considering totalitarian regimes such as Iraq. Carefully planning, debate over ethical and legal questions, and changes in institutional and public culture are all necessary.     

论法律援助机构的职责及作用^①

国务院《法律援助条例》(以下称《条例》)已于今年9月1 日正式实施。充分发挥法律援助机构的职能作用,对于保征法律援助制度健康有效地运行至关重要。本文仅从法律援助机构职能定位及可能发挥的作用两个方面,来探讨法律援助机构在整个法律援助制度体系运行中的地位和价值。     

The AFSP Standard - a lesson for law enforcement agencies

Compliance with the AFSP (Association of Forensic Science Providers) Standard [1] which concerns the formulation of an evaluative opinion requires consideration of the defence case. This can be problematic for forensic scientists working with or for law enforcement agencies. Among the aims of law enforcement agencies is to secure a conviction while in many jurisdictions the forensic scientist owes an overriding duty to the Court. This casework report demonstrates that early consideration of the defence case by a forensic scientist complying with the AFSP Standard may help rather than hinder the prosecution. The dichotomy as to a conflict of interest for the scientist between supporting the police/prosecutors and being scientifically objective is shown to be a false dichotomy. Compliance with the Standard ensures that science is a better servant of justice.     

The rhetoric of personal loyalty to superiors in criminal justice agencies

Nowhere in public law is the idea of personal loyalty to superiors mentioned, yet criminal justice practitioners suffer from a “personal loyalty syndrome.” This syndrome holds them responsible to an altogether different set of loyalty expectations. They are often compelled to offer personal loyalty to unworthy superiors and, as a result, violate constitutional provisions, legal requirements, or the public good. While no organizational rules require any such loyalty, criminal justice practitioners are invariably taught that issues of loyalty at the workplace are so important that one cannot survive without personal loyalty to superiors. They are also reminded that violating such a “commandment” is a cardinal sin that can destroy one's career. This article discusses the arguments for and against personal loyalty to superiors and the dangers inherent in such relationships. It explains the grammar of loyalty at the workplace, explores the paradoxes of personal loyalty to superiors, and suggests a duty-based model as an alternative to the current model.     

Unanalyzed evidence in law-enforcement agencies

Research Summary This study investigated forensic evidence processing in a nationally representative sample of state and local law-enforcement agencies (n = 3,153). For a 5-year period, agencies reported that 14% of all unsolved homicides (an estimated 3,975 cases) and 18% of all unsolved rapes (an estimated 27,595 cases) contained forensic evidence that had not been submitted to a forensic crime laboratory for analysis. Approximately 40% of these unanalyzed homicide and rape cases were reported to have contained DNA evidence. The lack of a suspect in the case was the most frequently cited reason for not submitting forensic evidence for analysis. Policy Implications Despite an increased diffusion of knowledge regarding the value of forensic evidence in the prosecution and defense of criminal cases, the investigative capabilities of forensic science are not being realized by law enforcement. Additional training for law enforcement on the use of forensic science to develop investigative leads is critical, as is the creation of departmental policies that prioritize and streamline the analysis of forensic evidence for homicide and rape cases—even in “no-suspect” cases. Ensuring adequate resources and information sharing for forensic processing especially of violent crimes, is also critical.     

证人作证的成本论析

证人作证,既包括一般意义上的证人作证,即做出证言即可为完成证人作证义务;也当然包括了证人在法庭庭审中出庭就所知的案件事实作言辞陈述的诉讼行为。当前证人作证中广泛存在着证人不作证、不出庭现象,这些构成刑事诉讼审判改革以及相关制度的瓶颈,证人作证既是作为证人社会人的社会行为,也是证人作为诉讼参与人的诉讼行为,它要耗费一定的经济上的、伦理上的、社会安全成本、法律安全成本等,在证人作证的特殊形态中:误证、伪证、拒征、污点证人作证行为中,还得耗费特定的成本。我国目前的证人作证成本分配中体现出一种不理性:公共成本负担个体化、个体责任成本虚无化、公共成本和个体成本的同趋化。这种不理性是由立法的、司法的、法制理念上的因素综合形成的。建议通过一系列的方式改良作证成本分配体系:弥补征人因作证造成的经济成本、安全成本付出,减轻证人的伦理成本支出,加重证人责任成本份量。     

Money laundering laws as a political instrument: the social cost of arbitrary money laundering enforcement

The paper explains the reasons for modern money laundring legislation, namely to reduce the incidence of certain primary offences. Whereas enactment and effectuation of this legislation is costly, its postive effects typically materialize in other jurisdictions (positive external effects). The paper shows that international covenants seek to give direct incentives to overcome the possible underprovision in anti-money laundering legislation and enforcement. The paper also shows how, in such an international context, anti-money laundering legislation can be easily misused as a political weapon in the cross-border fight against "unwanted individuals" and gives concrete examples for such an arbitrary enforcement.