Violent Street Crime Versus Harmful White-Collar Crime: A Comparison of Perceived Seriousness and Punitiveness

Recent studies have challenged traditional wisdom regarding public apathy about white-collar crime by revealing equal or greater perceived seriousness of these offenses among respondents relative to traditional crime. Nevertheless, subjects in those studies were generally asked to contrast white-collar crime scenarios with a non-violent street crime baseline vignette. Perhaps a violent street crime would have invited lower perceived seriousness for the white-collar offenses. Participants in the present study were asked to (1) read vignettes describing violent street crimes and physically harmful white-collar crimes, (2) compare their seriousness, and (3) determine appropriate sanctions. Subjects perceived the violent crime scenarios presented to them to be more serious than the harmful white-collar crime vignettes. Further, they were less punitive toward white-collar offenders compared with street criminals. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

共犯最小从属性说之再提倡——兼论帮助信息网络犯罪活动罪的性质

限制从属性说以正犯行为同时具有构成要件该当性与违法性作为共犯的成立前提,因而面临无法有效应对新型网络共同犯罪的危机.为解决这一危机,该说中有着眼于帮助对象必须是他人的"犯罪",主张帮助信息网络犯罪活动罪只是"帮助犯的量刑规则"的,也有以刑法分则条文的定罪机能为根据,提出"帮助犯正犯化"说的.但是,共犯的违法性不从属于正...     

Juvenile firesetters: Crime scene actions and offender characteristics

Purpose. To investigate whether and to what extent the thematic structure of crime scene actions in arsons identified in Canter and Fritzon (1998) is replicated for juvenile firesetters and to explore whether any associations between the crime scene action themes and offender characteristics would be evident. Methods. The crime scene actions and offender characteristics of 61 male and 5 female juvenile firesetters (aged 6‐17 years) were examined. The data were drawn from a larger database originally collected and content analysed in Fritzon (1998). In total, 43 dichotomous crime scene actions, 17 offender background characteristics and offender criminal record variables had been coded. Smallest space analysis was employed to examine the configuration of crime scene action and offender characteristic variables. The associations between the crime scene actions and offender characteristics, as well as the criminal record variables, were analysed using the correlation. Results. Distinct structural themes for crime scene actions were found in juvenile firesetting, similar to those identified in Canter and Fritzon (1998). Contrary to Canter and Fritzon, only two groups of background characteristics were identified, depressed and delinquent, the latter being more common and related to an instrumental form of firesetting. The expressive form of firesetting was associated with offenders' psychopathology and female gender. The presence of a crime scene action theme was associated with the offender's age. Conclusions. The structural themes of firesetting behaviour appear to transpire early. The background characteristics of juvenile firesetters indicate that juvenile firesetting is often associated with antisocial behaviour and psychopathology, deserving, therefore, disparate prevention, intervention and investigation programmes.     

共同犯罪的认定方法

我国认定共同犯罪的传统方法,存在不区分不法与责任、不区分正犯与狭义的共犯、不分别考察参与人行为与正犯结果之间的因果性等三个特点,这种认定方法导致难以解决诸多复杂案件。认定共同犯罪应当采取相反的方法:其一,共同犯罪的特殊性仅在于不法层面,应当以不法为重心认定共同犯罪;至于其中的责任判断,则与单个人犯罪的责任判断没有区别。其二,正犯是构成要件实现过程中的核心人物,应当以正犯为中心认定共犯;当正犯造成了法益侵害结果 (包括危险)时,只要参与人的行为对该结果做出了贡献,就属于不法层面的共犯。其三,只有当参与人的行为与正犯结果之间具有因果性时,才承担既遂犯的刑事责任,故共同犯罪的认定应当以因果性为核心。完全没有必要提出和回答"共同犯罪犯的是什么罪"之类的问题。在刑法理论与司法实践中,可以淡化"共同犯罪"概念。     

The Accuracy of Public Beliefs about Crime Further Evidence

Criminologists largely agree that public beliefs about crime are inaccurate, and some seem willing to abandon crime reduction as a policy goal in favor of strategies which directly affect public perceptions of crime. Yet direct tests of the accuracy of public beliefs about crime are rare. In a sample survey of Tucson adults, respondents were asked to estimate the percentage of Tucson juveniles who had committed each of fifteen offenses (i.e., the categorical rates of the offenses) and the offender sex ratio for each offense. Responses were compared with self-reported data from students in three Tucson high schools. Among the fifteen offenses there is remarkable agreement between the perceived categorical rates, sex ratios, and the self-reported figures. Taken in conjunction with earlier studies, these findings suggest that strategies designed to reduce the social consequences of crime by altering public beliefs about crime are unlikely to succeed unless they are accompanied by true reductions in the crime rate.     

The judicial response to crime and the criminal: A utilitarian perspective

This paper examines the hypothesis that the sentencing decision of the criminal court is consistent with utilitarian principles and that the judiciary uses the length of incarceration as an instrument for the maximization of societal well-being. A theoretical model is developed, whose principal arguments are offender and offense attributes, resource costs, the availability of alternative sanctions, and the general crime rate. Four questions are considered: (i) How does a utilitarian court respond to a general increase in crime? (ii) How does the availability of alternative sanctions affect the length of incarceration ? (iii) How does a utilitarian court respond to offenders who are more likely to recidivate? (iv) How does the court respond to offenders who commit more serious offenses? The model is empirically evaluated, using cross-sectional data for the state of Georgia for individuals sentenced to prison in 1978 for a UCR index offense. The theoretical model provides few specific behavioral rules for the court to follow. Answers to the foregoing four questions are shown to depend upon both the efficacy of sanctions and the cost of the administration of those sanctions. It is not possible to predict, for example, how a utilitarian court should respond to a rise in crime or how it should respond to offenders who are likely to commit more serious offenses. The empirical analysis shows that, in fact, the sentence length varied inversely with the general offense rate, with the likelihood of imprisonment, and with the length of postprison probation. The evidence also indicates that sentences vary with the individual's original record but not with the offender's age or race. With the exception of possible gender bias, the court's sentencing behavior was consistent with utilitarian principles.     

论继承性共犯

继承性共犯,是指在先行为人已经实施了犯罪的手段行为或者结合犯的前一犯罪之后,以共同的犯罪故意单独或者帮助先行为人实施犯罪的目的行为或者结合犯的后一犯罪的犯罪人。继承性共犯只存在于两种犯罪形态中:一是由手段行为和目的行为结合而成的犯罪,二是结合犯。对继承性共犯应确定与被继承性共犯同样的罪名。     

清代共同犯罪制度辨析

《大清律例》“共犯罪分首从”条是清代处理共同犯罪的总则性律条，它所规定的基本原则有两点：一是“共犯罪分首从”，二是“以造意者为首”。这种将共同犯罪人区分为首犯与从犯的分类方法，既不同于西方法律的“正犯与共犯”之分，也不同于当代中国法律的“主犯与从犯”之分。清代的共同犯罪制度体现了乡土中国独特的法律追求，应当引起当代法学界的重视。     

论短缩的二行为犯

短缩的二行为犯(间接目的犯)是以实施第二行为为目的的犯罪,但只有第一行为是构成要件行为,第二行为不是构成要件行为;间接故意可以成立短缩的二行为犯;短缩的二行为犯的目的实现与否,既不影响犯罪的成立,也不影响犯罪既遂的认定;行为人实施了作为目的的第二行为时,应根据四种不同情形区分罪数;不具有特定目的的人与具有特定目的的人共同实施短缩的二行为犯中的第一行为的,以及后行为人参与实施第二行为的,应当根据刑法规定及部分共同犯罪原理,分别不同情形判断是否成立共犯。     

Making Sense out of Nonsense: The Deconstruction of State-Level Sex Offender Residence Restrictions

Releasing a sex offender from prison or placing the offender on community-based sanctions, only to have the offender commit a new sex crime, is a policy-maker’s worst nightmare. Fueled by misperceptions and public fear, sex offender laws have developed piecemeal and without rigorous empirical insight and testing. While policies and practices are well-intended, they are unlikely to resolve the very real social problem of sexual violence and may inadvertently increase victimization. Such is the possibility with residence restrictions. This type of law is among the newest in an ever-growing barrage of legislation designed specifically for sexual criminals yet what little research that exists suggests there is no correlation between residence and sexual recidivism. This article identifies 30 states with state-level residence restrictions and conducts a content analysis of each state’s legislation. Geographical and other assessments are also conducted.     

The Emergence of Crime Victims as a Target Group in the Swedish Social Services Act

This article examines the political motives behind the introduction of crime victim support provisions in the Swedish Social Services Act. The findings derive from a case study of the preparatory material that prefaced the legal changes that were adopted in 2001. The result shows that the explicit purpose of the provisions was to consider measures to improve the support to crime victims. To some degree the provisions can also be explained by symbolic factors. In fact, most actors in the law-making process indicate that their motives were communicative and symbolic. Support to crime victims was presumably a complicated issue for the social democratic government. Because of the economical crisis in the early 1990s, there was no scope for reforms that implied high increased costs. Yet expanding the crime victim's rights in relation to the offender, such as toughening the penal law and promoting victim impact statements, was not in line with social democratic ideology. By enacting the provisions in the Social Services Act the government demonstrated that support to crime victims was an important area of concern. At the same time, the provisions did not involve any increased costs or strengthen the crime victim's rights in relation to the offender. In this way, the provisions became a mediator that solved a difficult political dilemma for the government.     

The BT Kemi Scandal and the Establishment of the Environmental Crime Concept

This study analyses the significance of the 1977 BT Kemi scandal in Teckomatorp, Sweden for the establishment of the concept of 'environmental crime', first in the public debate and then later in legislation. The BT Kemi scandal is analysed as a 'focusing event' that placed the relationship between environmental pollution, responsibility, legislation and penal sanctions firmly on the political agenda. Several commissions of inquiry were established as a consequence, and in 1981 the Environmental Protection Act was revised and environmental crimes were included in the penal code. This tightening of the legislation had very little effect in practice, however, and this study examines why these legislative changes had so little practical impact. Attention is focused on the historical and societal contexts in which Swedish environmental legislation during the 1960s, as an explanation of why environmental crime has been and remains such a marginalized phenomenon. Shared mentalities in the area of environmental protection, which have evolved over time within public sector agencies and the private sector, coupled with an unequal emerged distribution of power and diffuse legislation, have obstructed the establishment of environmental crime. The BT Kemi scandal was a decisive factor in the coming of age of environmental offending, but it nonetheless takes time before a new form of crime becomes 'self-evident' and accepted as such in the wider society.     

论我国过失共同正犯的规范前提——以《刑法》第25条第2款的规范构造为中心

我国过失共同正犯的理论与实务都是以《刑法》明确否定过失共同正犯的成立为前提的。在此前提下,既不利于实践问题的解决,也不利于过失共同正犯理论自身的发展,因此有重新审视的必要。通过言语行为理论可以发现,《刑法》第25条第2款的规范构造既是行为规范也是制裁规范。作为行为规范,该条所禁止的是引起法益侵害结果的过失共同犯罪行为。而作为制裁规范即是要对违反行为规范的行为作出评价。因此,法官在依照该制裁规范裁判案件时,是以过失共同犯罪行为为评价对象的。在具体定罪量刑之前,需要确定是否成立过失共同犯罪,进而将结果归责于各行为人,这就为过失共同正犯的解释论展开提供了规范前提。     

Sentencing white-collar criminals: when is shaming viable?

When does shaming work as an alternative to incarceration and fines in sentencing white-collar criminals? In the light of recent economic downturn and highly publicised instances of white-collar crime, public opinion has demanded harsher sentences for white-collar criminals. In order to appease this demand, as well as consider the pressing problem of prison overpopulation, alternative sanctions, such as formal shaming, have been increasingly studied. Through examination of the costs and consequences of incarceration and shaming, this article will explain that since the costs of shaming sanctions are largely fixed, shaming sanctions are most viable when used in conjunction with alternative sanctions so that courts can impose sanction bundles of costs commensurate with the level of offense committed by an offender.     

受贿罪的共犯

刑法第 3 82条第 3款不是法律拟制 ,而是注意规定。一般主体与国家工作人员相勾结、伙同受贿的 ,成立受贿罪的共犯 ;国家工作人员使请托人向第三者提供贿赂时 ,故意接受贿赂的第三者与国家工作人员成立受贿罪的共犯 ;以各种形式帮助行贿或者受贿的 ,分别成立行贿罪或受贿罪的共犯 ,而非介绍贿赂罪 ;受贿罪的共犯人应当对所参与的共同受贿数额负责 ,追缴受贿所得时原则上应采取连带追征说。     

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.     

Dissecting White-Collar Crime: Offense Type and Punitiveness

It is commonly asserted that the public is indifferent toward white-collar crime and hence is reluctant to “get tough” with more “respectable” criminals. However, such a contention fails to consider that there are many varieties of upperworld criminality and that the punitiveness of the public may differ markedly according to the type of offense involved. Based on a 1981 survey conducted in Galesburg, Illinois, we have attempted to investigate whether the criminal sanctions prescribed by citizens will vary when the broad category of white-collar crime is “dissected” into its component types. The data suggest that (1) there is considerable variation in punitiveness by type of offense; (2) while street crimes are generally given the harshest sentences, violent forms of white-collar illegality are accorded severe sanctions that exceed those meted out for some F.B.I, crimes; and (3) there is little support for the notion that the public responds leniently to upperworld crime.     

Do perceptions of punishment vary between white-collar and street crimes?

Much has been learned about the relationship between sanction threat perceptions and criminal activity, yet little remains known about the factors that are associated with sanction threat perceptions. Moreover, because most researchers had studied deterrence within the context of street crime, even less is known about the factors that relate to sanction threat perceptions for white-collar crime. This study used data from a national probability sample to examine whether the determinants of perceived sanction certainty and severity for street crime were different from white-collar crime. Using robbery and fraud as two exemplars, the findings indicated that while public perceptions of sanction certainty and severity suggested that street criminals were more likely to be caught and be sentenced to more severe sanctions than white-collar criminals, respondent's perceptions of which type of crime should be more severely punished indicated that both robbery and fraud were equally likely to be perceived ‘on par.’ Additional results indicated that the correlates of certainty and severity were more similar than different, but that the results differed according to whether respondents were asked about the punishment that white-collar offenders were likely to receive as opposed to what they should receive.     

Perceptional foundations of deterrence: The case of prostitution

The authors conducted a survey to determine community perceptions about the certainty, celerity, and severity of punishment with regards to the crime of prostitution. A representative random sample of Mecklenburg County, which includes Charlotte, North Carolina, was taken and 850 individuals responded. The results revealed that (1) citizens perceive sanctions against prostitution violations as being applied only infrequently; (2) most respondents perceive the time from violation to arrest as being relatively short but slower as the offenders proceed through the system, and (3) the severity of punishment is not perceived as being harsh. The authors argue that the low likelihood of apprehension, both actual and perceived, plus the mild sanctions may partially account for prostitution’s continued survival.     

故意传播艾滋病行为的刑法适用

故意传播艾滋病的行为,不构成我国刑法中的传播性病罪,在当代的医疗水平下,可以认为该行为构成故意杀人罪。在审判时,被害人没有死亡的,只能追究行为人故意杀人未遂的刑事责任。经被害人承诺的故意传播艾滋病行为,也构成故意杀人罪。危及公共安全的故意传播艾滋病行为则会构成以危险方法危害公共安全罪。