Urban homicide: Some recent developments

We examine homicide data from fifty of the largest U.S. cities for the years 1976–1977 and, in particular, compare them to similar data for 1971–1972. The results reinforce earlier predictions that one in seventy urban residents born this decade will ultimately be murdered. However, the dispersion of murder risk as a function of race, sex, and city has apparently dropped considerably in the last few years.     

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.     

Human trafficking in the Netherlands: trends and recent developments

Notwithstanding the lift on the ban of brothels in the Netherlands during 2000, the introduction of the integral approach and other efforts to fight human trafficking; this trade still continues to exist within the licensed sector. Simultaneously, prostitution increasingly moved to Dutch cities with less strict regulations or control, and also to more invisible realms (escort services, internet). ICT facilitate this backstage informal sex work by offering a fluid, flexible, dynamic podium that is difficult to control. The internet is increasingly used by traffickers in order to recruit potential victims, to blackmail victims with images or by exploiting victims through webcam exposure. In 2005, human trafficking was extended in law towards exploitation in all labor sectors and, in 2011, illegal stay was criminalized in the Netherlands. This criminalization could hinder the fight against human traffickers.     

National origin harassment in the work place: recent guideline developments from the EEOC

In December 1980 the EEOC published its revised "Guidelines on Discrimination Because of National Origin." The revised guidelines expand the definition of national origin harassment and declare it a violation of Title Vii. According to the EEOC, the guidelines reaffirm the position the Commission has taken in earlier decisions. In the following article, the authors examine the EEOC's position on national origin harassment. Using the guidelines as a frame of reference, they look at both EEOC decisions issued prior to the guidelines and court decisions that may offer employers guidance regarding impermissible conduct and liability in this area.     

Males,medical mutilation and the law: some recent developments

Two recent decisions of the English Court of Appeal--Re J (Specific Issue Orders: Child's Religious Upbringing and Circumcision) [2000] 1 FLR 571 and Re A (Male Sterilisation) [2000] 1 FLR 549--raise serious issues relating to controversial matters involving law and medicine and deserve wider consideration than in their jurisdiction of origin. This article discusses the practical and policy implications of these cases and places them in the appropriate context.     

HIV/AIDS in prisons: recent developments

In a report released on 20 November 2002, entitled Action on HIV/AIDS in Prisons: Too Little, Too Late--A Report Card, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network concluded that despite repeated studies and nearly ten years of recommendations for urgent and pragmatic action, the response of Canadian governments to HIV/AIDS, HCV, and injection drug use in prisons remains inadequate. Only a few weeks later, the House of Commons Special Committee on Non-Medical Use of Drugs released its report, which contained a number of recommendations to the Correctional Service of Canada. Although the Committee avoided talking about needle exchange programs in prisons, it did recommend them! Meanwhile, in Ireland, not even condoms or bleach are provided.     

HALT: early prevention and repression; recent developments and research

In this article an account is given of the Halt working method in the Netherlands, which is used by 63 Halt Bureaus and is directed at combating and preventing juvenile delinquency. This working method has been successful. Recent developments and experiments directed at further extending the effects of the Halt approach and executing an even earlier reaction to criminal behaviour are considered, and the results of recent research are discussed. Finally, the pros and cons of this method of early reaction are revealed, the conclusion being that the advantages and positive effects are great, and any possible disadvantages can be further offset.     

Eu merger control and the compatibility test:a review of recent developments

The compatibility test contained in Article 2 of the Merger Control Regulation (MCR) is at the very heart of EU merger control, for it determines whether a concentration with a community dimension is deemed compatible or incompatible with the common market. Incompatibility can lead to prohibition of a concentration, although this is rare. The paper reviews the recent developments to the conditions of the test itself as well as the analytical methods employed to determine compatibility. Concerning the former, the new foreseeable dominance interpretation, put forward by the European Commission and made law by the Court of First Instance (CFI), is explored. This new variant of the dominance condition is important on its own right but it is also of major interest because of the explicit legal requirement placed on the Commission to assess the future likelihood of abusive behaviour by the merging parties in its prospective analysis. This is not the case with the original dominance compatibility condition. The unexpected but important clarification by the CFI of the notion of substantial part of the common market, as contained in the express wording of the compatibility test, is also commented upon. Concerning the determination of compatibility, the Commission's controversial employment in certain conglomerate concentrations of the range effects of competitive harm theory is examined, as is the need to take cognisance of merger specific efficiencies when determining if a merger increases societal welfare. The EU is making progress toward such an efficiencies assessment as part of the compatibility determination. EU merger control – and hence the compatibility test – do not exist in a vacuum. The EU has played a major role in shaping the new multilateral architecture and its goal of increasing international convergence in competition matters. This in turn has led the EU to rethink the nature of the compatibility test. For example, it has sought to evaluate the dominance condition of the compatibility test with the substantial lessening of competition (SLC) approach used by some other regulators, like the US. The paper concludes by looking at a fundamental issue that has arisen from recent CFI judgements and the GE/Honeywell merger: the competence of the Commission, or more accurately the Merger Task Force (MTF), to carry out the compatibility determination. Proposals are outlined so as to ensure that the Commission's prospective analysis in a concentration case meets the requisite legal standard. It is essential for this standard to be met if EU merger control is to remain credible. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.