Malawi and the transition and adherence to multi-party democracy

In July 1993 the author served as a chairman and rapporteur of the Round Table, which facilitated the transition of Malawi to a multi-party democracy. It helped to end the life presidency of the inaugural president, Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda. In February 1994 the author served as co-chair of the National Constitutional Conference that cleared the way on remaining differences and led to the first free elections that resulted in the election of President Bakali Maluzi. Despite occasional difficulties, Malawi has adhered to constitutionalism and repeatedly witnessed peaceful transitions of presidential power. The importance of neutral international facilitation of the transition is emphasised and described.     

Examining the demographic profile and attitudes of citizens,in areas where organized crime groups proliferate

Whilst studies refer to the community impact of Organized Crime (OC), no survey currently exists to examine the views of those citizens who reside in areas where Organized Crime Groups (OCGs) proliferate. 431 questionnaires from households co-existing in high density OCGs areas were analysed in relation to: a) demographic information; b) views on the community and the police; and c) how they expected other residents to react to illegal incidents. Overall respondents thought the average citizen would refuse to intervene in 10% - 48% of illegal incidents, with the specific case influencing whether and how they would respond. The analysis then compared three communities who lived in high density OCG areas with a control community (n?=?343). The ‘OCG’ communities were more likely to report low collective efficacy and were generally least likely to expect their neighbours to confront a crime in action. Conversely, whilst the control group showed higher levels of collective efficacy and expected the average resident to be more likely in confronting illegal behaviour, this trend did not extend to street drug dealing and serious crime associated with OC. The study discusses the unreported intimidation associated with OCGs and the challenges of policing hostile environments.     

Reducing the offending of a UK organized crime group using an opportunity-reducing framework—a three year case study

The proliferation and capability of organised crime groups (OCGs), threaten to overwhelm the finite resources of police agencies. Although proactive ‘intelligence led’ approaches are more adept in identifying the most problematic offenders, responses predominantly rely on enforcement tactics, often delivering limited outcomes at significant cost. This paper outlines a case study involving a northern English police force, working alongside community safety partners and the public, in a bid to reduce the offending opportunities of an OCG. The multi-agency disruption tactics were categorised using the five themes highlighted by Cornish and Clarke (Criminology 25:933–949, 1986) in their Rational Choice Theory framework. The impact of the operation was evaluated by comparing criminal conviction data and police intelligence immediately prior to the police operation with similar data 2 years later. This was supplemented by semi-structured interviews with police officers (including patrol, detective, middle and senior ranking officers), partner agencies and the community. The operation was effective in reducing the threat posed by the OCG and was popular with those involved in its implementation. As it was delivered with no increased resources it provides a viable and cost effective method of reducing the threat of OCGs although further research is required to test its impact in different police agencies and against different OCGs.     

A social and political profile of Canadian legislators, 1996

This research note provides an overview and an update on the social and political backgrounds of all elected Canadian legislators at the federal and provincial/territorial levels of government in 1996. For provincial/territorial legislators data are presented by electoral jurisdiction, and for all legislators by level of government and political party. Relatively few differences in social characteristics were found between the two levels although there were some variations by province, territory and party. Business, education and law are the three most prevalent occupations, although the latter has declined among legislators over time. There is little movement of members from the provincial to the federal level. The most common political experience of both groups lies in municipal governance. Over time women have increased their share of seats at both levels. Even in a polity such as Canada with high rates of legislative turnover at both federal and provincial/territorial levels and with new parties emerging, most changes in social and political experience backgrounds proceed incrementally.