The power few: experimental criminology and the reduction of harm

The promise of experimental criminology is finding ways to reduce harm from crime and injustice. The problem of experimental criminology is that so few experiments produce evidence of big effects from the interventions they test. One solution to this problem may be concentrating scarce resources for experiments on the “power few:” the small percentage of places, victims, offenders, police officers or other units in any distribution of crime or injustice which produces the greatest amount of harm. By increasing the homogeneity and base rates of the samples enrolled in each experiment, the power few hypothesis predicts increased statistical power to detect program effects. With greater investment of resources, and possibly less variant responses to greater dosages of intervention—especially interventions of support, as distinct from punishment—we may also increase our chances of finding politically acceptable interventions that will work.

Environmental policy implications of investor-state arbitration under NAFTA Chapter 11

Chapter 11 of the North American Free Trade Agreement requires governments to treat foreign investors the same as domestic investors, to afford them international standards of due process of law, and to compensate investors for any actions that expropriate their investments or are “tantamount” to expropriation. It allows foreign investors to submit compensation claims to international arbitration. To the alarm of the environmental community, four of the early Chapter 11 claims involved challenges to government measures that were, or appeared to be, environmental protection measures. The first three of the four claimants ultimately received compensation; the fourth claim was denied as being outside the scope of Chapter 11. This paper takes an in-depth look at the circumstances of these four claims to determine whether the claimants had thwarted or avoided bona fide environmental protection measures and to try to assess whether these claims have “chilled” government imposition of new environmental measures. The facts of the cases and developments subsequently indicate that the government actions in the first three cases were not truly environmental protection measures, but were motivated by local political and economic considerations. The fourth claim, which involved a bona fide environmental protection, was rightly rejected. Meanwhile the number of “environmental” claims under Chapter 11 has dwindled. The paper concludes that environmentalists have little ground for alarm, and much reason to be encouraged, about how Chapter 11 has influenced environmental protection.

《网络犯罪公约》与打击网络犯罪的国际合作——兼评我国相关立法的规定

随着社会信息化程度的快速提高,计算机网络犯罪问题在世界范围内日益备受关注.《网络犯罪公约》为各国打击网络犯罪提供了一个法律模式.我国有关计算机犯罪的刑事实体和程序方面的立法与上述公约的规定存在差异.为了打击计算机网络犯罪,我国应借鉴公约的规定完善相关立法,并加强与其他国家之间打击计算机网络犯罪的合作.     

Space, time and function: intersecting principles of responsibility across the terrain of criminal justice

This paper considers the interpretive significance of the intersecting relationships between different conceptions of responsibility as they shift over space and time. The paper falls into two main sections. The first gives an account of several conceptions of responsibility: two conceptions founded in ideas of capacity; two founded in ideas of character, and one founded in the relationship between an agent and the outcome which she causes. The second main section uses this differentiated conceptual account to analyse and interpret certain aspects of the contemporary criminal law of England and Wales. In conclusion, the paper considers a number of hypotheses about what the evidence of certain shifts in the relationship between the three families of responsibility-conception can tell us about the current state and significance of criminal law among other systems of social governance.

Violent crime and substance abuse: a medico-legal comparison between deceased users of anabolic androgenic steroids and abusers of illicit drugs

Several case reports and survey studies have indicated that abuse of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) often leads to increased aggressiveness and feelings of hostility that may occasionally trigger violent behaviour. Other observations indicate that many users of AAS also abuse alcohol and/or various illegal substances. Since substance abuse is a well-known risk factor for violent behaviour, it could be that violence committed by AAS users might, at least in many cases, actually be caused by abuse of other drugs. In order to examine this possibility further here, the criminal histories (in terms of incidences of convictions) of deceased users of AAS with (AASpos-subst.pos) and without (AASpos-subst.neg) signs of abuse of other illegal substances were compared to the corresponding histories of deceased users of illicit substances testing negatively for AAS (subst.pos-AASneg) at the time of autopsy. The risk of being convicted for a crime against property was significantly higher in the subst.pos-AASneg group than in either the AASpos-subst.neg or AASpos-subst.pos groups (RR=0.048 versus 0.408). At the same time, the risk of being convicted for a crime of violence was at least as high for the two AAS-positive groups as for the AAS-negative group. Furthermore, when compared with the first 3 years after the first criminal conviction, a pronounced increase in the proportion of incidence of violent crimes and a marked reduction in the proportion of incidence of crime against property was observed during the 3-year period immediately preceding death only among the AASpos-subst.neg subjects. In conclusion, the incidence of violent crime among users of AAS without signs of other drug abuse was comparable to the corresponding incidences for drug addicts without AAS use. This observation suggests that the violent criminality observed among AAS users is not confounded in any systematic fashion by abuse of other drugs. The findings also indicate that use of AAS in certain predisposed individuals might cause a high rate of violent crimes, especially if the use of AAS is combined with the use of other illegal substances.     

刑事案件另案处理的检视与完善

另案处理作为我国司法实践中办理不能或不宜并案处理的案件时采用的一种办案方式,具有一定的合理存在空间。当前我国的另案处理概念纷乱、适用类型宽泛、地区差异大,这主要是法律缺位和规范滞后、适用标准不明确、权力制约和监督不足等所引起的。有必要从统一概念、明晰适用标准、建立权力制约机制以及增强被告人质证权和辩护权的保障等方面入手,构建完善的一元化刑事另案处理制度。     

未来五年中国国家安全面临的机遇与挑战及战略思考

未来五年中国国家安全机遇与挑战交织并存，面临世界和平、发展、合作、进步的趋势不断增强的历史性机遇，世界力量对比与国际体系变化深刻复杂，中国的战略安全环境不确定性与敏感性上升。有效维护新时期中国的国家安全，务必在观念更新、能力建设、战略谋划、体制创新等方面下大工夫，为和平发展与全面小康提供更坚实的安全保障。     

中国文艺与中华民族精神

中国文艺与中华民族精神相互作用。中华民族精神不断催生出本民族的优秀文艺,并使本民族文艺在外来文化的挑战中表现出高度的自觉性。优秀的文艺作品会提高和净化人的精神境界,庸俗的文艺作品则可能对人的精神素质产生负面的影响。繁荣当代中国文艺会对中华民族时代精神产生深远的影响。     

重新犯罪控制问题的再思考

转型社会存在重新犯罪与转型社会之间深层矛盾的关系:有计划的产业结构调整与无序、无保障的人员迁徙;迁徙、变动、初偶犯急增与单纯的"严打"方针;短刑犯、在押犯的构成与传统以重刑犯为重点的行刑体制……因此,实行营造和谐的社会政策,以治本、创新、以人为本的罪犯改造技术,以治恶、完善配套法律是实现重新犯罪有效控制的重要手段。