Crime Trends in Europe from 1990 to 1996: How Europe Illustrates the Limits of the American Experience

In the Council of Europe's European Sourcebook of Crime and Criminal Justice Statistics, crime and other relevant data are assembled for 36 European countries and the years 1990 to 1996. The data show that crime trends differed from those in the United States. Particularly drug and violent offences continued to increase until the end of the period under consideration (1996). Most of the theoretical explanations of crime trends currently in vogue in the United States seem of little help in understanding current European trends. Generally the most valid approaches seem to be routine-activities and situational explanations.     

The Application of Voltammetric Analysis of Δ9‐THC for the Reduction of False Positive Results in the Analysis of Suspected Marijuana Plant Matter

The development of methodologies using inexpensive, fast, and reliable instrumention is desirable in illicit drug analysis. The purpose of this study was based on cyclic voltammetry technique to differentiate the electrochemical behavior of ?⁹‐THC, the psychoactive substance in marijuana, and five different extract plants to yield false positive results after analysis protocol for cannabinoids using thin‐layer chromatography and Fast Blue B salt. After applying a deposition potential of ?0.5 V in a glassy carbon working electrode, the results indicated an anodic peak current at 0.0 V versus Ag/AgCl after addition of ?⁹‐THC solution in the electrochemical cell, and limits of detection and quantification were 1.0 ng mL^?1 and 3.5 ng mL^?1, respectively. Other interfering plants showed distinct amperometric responses. This methodology was useful to detect ?⁹‐THC even in the presence of the Fast Blue B salt, which avoided false positive results for all the studied extract plants.     

Forensic Investigation of Formaldehyde in Illicit Products for Hair Treatment by DAD‐HPLC: A Case Study

The illegal use of formalin (commercial formaldehyde) in cosmetic products harms the health of individuals exposed to this substance. Over the last years, the commercial availability of these products, especially those containing irregular dosage of formaldehyde, has increased in Brazil. This work analyzes some products for hair treatment available in the Brazilian market and verifies their safety. The adopted analytical methodology involved sample derivatization with 2,4‐dinitrophenylhydrazine, followed by high‐performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection (UV–VIS) at λ = 365 nm. The limit of quantification is 2.5 × 10^?3% w/w, and the recovery tests were around 93%. Some of the samples contained high and illegal formaldehyde levels ranging from 9% to 19% (w/w) and others presented suitable concentrations of the analyte. On the basis of the results, this work discusses the efficiency and practicality of this analytical method for forensic purposes.     

Merging legality with illegality in Paraguay: the cluster of order in Pedro Juan Caballero

Paraguay is often described as a territory of drug trafficking, smuggling and commercial piracy. However, the country remains understudied by academics researching criminality and illegal markets. Pedro Juan Caballero, a city located on the northern border with Brazil, is an interesting case study to illustrate how legality and illegality merge in Paraguay to create hybrid social orders. The daily life in the city, one of the best places in the world for cultivating marijuana, unfolds between the higher homicides rates and some of the lowest levels of common criminality in Paraguay. Far from being a matter of state weakness, the expansion and tolerance of illegal activities is framed within a cluster of order that combines both rational legal practices and neo-­patrimonial norms. The presence and roles of state institutions are re-signified, generating alternative hierarchies, practices and values to supply social, political and economic outcomes. Through in-depth interviews with key informants, ethnography visits and analyses of aggregated data, this paper describes the hybrid order of Pedro Juan Caballero by tallying the incentives that encourage social and institutional tolerance of illegality and describes how illegal practices create access to goods, services, protection and expectations not provided by the legal framework.     

Reframing illegalities: crime,cultural values and ideas of success (in Argentina)

The expansion and entrenchment of insecurity, organized crime and violence in Latin America has involved the participation of public officials. Without this participation, it would be impossible to create the necessary niches of impunity to enable the growth of organized crime and violence. Using a hermeneutic-interpretative approach, this essay shows how the norm of legality has lost its moral persuasive power as a categorical imperative while certain illegalities have acquired social and political legitimacy. The purpose of this article is to reflect on the under-examined impact of cultural values on criminality. It also describes how the dominant narratives surrounding illegality and policies designed to reduce criminality are limited by a lack of consideration of the way that broader cultural values are permissive of corrupt and illegal behaviour. This article considers current social norms, interests, values, ideas of success, and the lack of legitimate pathways to achieve prosperity and social recognition to provide a fresh perspective on the discourse surrounding illegality. For the purpose of illustration this essay uses examples, evidence, interviews and discourses drawn from the context of Argentina. Far from being an anomaly, illegality is a fundamental part of both social inter-relations and has become institutionalised as a part of the behaviour of state entities. Illegality has become not only the norm but is seen as an effective and legitimate means to gain social success and prestige.     

Sourcing Brazilian marijuana by applying IRMS analysis to seized samples

The stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic ratios were measured in marijuana samples (Cannabis sativa L.) seized by the law enforcement officers in the three Brazilian production sites: Pernambuco and Bahia (the country's Northeast known as Marijuana Polygon), Pará (North or Amazon region) and Mato Grosso do Sul (Midwest). These regions are regarded as different with respect to climate and water availability, factors which impact upon the isotope fractionations of these elements within plants. It was possible to differentiate samples from the dry regions (Marijuana Polygon) from those from Mato Grosso do Sul and Pará, that present heavier rainfall. The results were in agreement with the climatic conditions of the suspected regions of origin and this demonstrates that seized samples can be used to identify the isotopic signatures of marijuana from the main producing regions in Brazil.