Crime Trends in the EU

The paper’s aim is to show to EU policy makers, academics, journalists and the general public what the available information tells us about crime levels, trends in crime and public opinion about crime among Member States. The paper centres on an analysis of current trends on crime levels and trends based on the data available both from victimisation surveys and police statistics. The victimisation survey source is the published data collected in the International Crime Victimisation Survey. A separate analysis based on the Eurobarometer was also carried out. Data on police statistics present two separate sources i.e. the Council of Europe Sourcebook and the crime data published annually by the UK Home Office. These two sources both add considerable value to the raw police statistics by their choice of data, their commentary and their technical explanations and definitions. The paper compares data on three crime types (robbery, domestic burglary and theft of a motor vehicle) across the 15 Member States of the European Union (as in 2003). These three types were selected in line with the priorities of the EU Commission and as types of crime that are a major concern for EU-citizens. The paper has been modified from a report produced by the European Crime prevention network for the EU Directorate of Justice and Home Affairs with the permission of the EU. The members of the network are listed in the appendix.     

Automobile theft: Estimating the size of the criminal population

Animal abundance estimation procedures including a new method of Zelterman are applied in the criminological context of auto theft in the Australian Capital Territory. Using goodness-of-fit statistics and comparing the estimates with known clearance rates, it is estimated that during 1987 about 39% of offenders were charged with at least one count of auto theft. The results also indicate the extent of overrepresentation of juveniles in court statistics compared with their relative participation rate in auto theft.     

An investigation into the differentiating characteristics between car key burglars and regular burglars

Car key burglary has recently become the focus of empirical investigation as offenders, no longer able to steal vehicles without first obtaining their keys, resort to "burgling" target properties. Research surrounding the modus operandi of these offenses is beginning to emerge; however, little attention has been paid to investigating the characteristics of car key burglary offenders. Challenging the assumption that car key burglary offenses are perpetrated by regular burglars, this study aims to differentiate between offenders. Logistic regression analysis of 110 car key and 110 regular burglary offenders revealed that car key burglars are more likely to have previous vehicle theft convictions and are also more likely to be detected on information supplied to the police than regular burglars. Regular burglars are more likely to have previous shoplifting convictions. It was concluded that car key burglars are a distinct sample of offenders and the implications of these findings are discussed.     

国外数字政府研究二十年:热点聚类、演进脉络和发展趋势——基于Cite Space的可视化分析

本文以Web of Science核心文集库2001-2021年发表的353篇关于数字政府研究的文章为样本,运用Cite Space知识可视化软件,通过关键词共现图谱、关键词聚类图谱、演化路径知识图谱和关键词分析,总结了国外数字政府研究概况、国外数字政府研究热点聚类及其发展脉络。研究发现,从2001年起,国外数字政府经历了技术规制、智慧赋能和价值塑造三个阶段,包括十个重要研究聚类,可被分为知识促进、科技支撑、价值培养和合作体系四大主要研究内容。随着数字时代的新要求,数字科技革新和建设路径优化、公共数字伦理和数字素养提升、国家数字主权和公民数字保护预计将成为数字政府研究的热点问题。     

Planning for the succession of digital assets

Estate planners’ current strategies for the disposition of digital assets are quickly becoming out-dated. This is largely the result of ambiguities concerning proprietary rights of digital assets after death. When advising clients on how to plan for the succession of digital assets, it is important for estate planners to understand the nature of digital assets today and to recognize how these assets may evolve. In failing to take into account the evolving nature of digital assets, estate planners are liable to craft short-sighted and thus ineffective succession plans. As the popularity of digital executor businesses increases, estate planners ought to caution clients on their shortcomings. Additionally, legislatures must create statutes which outline the rights of individuals vis-à-vis online service providers.     

铁路物资盗窃案件的侦查对策

铁路物资盗窃案件,又称货盗,是指作案人以货运列车为目标,通过非常手段盗窃铁路运输货物的案件.铁路货盗案件是铁路上的多发案件,破坏了正常的铁路运输秩序和治安环境.无论从案件构成的规律特点、形成原因及侦查对策来看,铁路货盗案件都有其自身的特殊性.如何有效地侦破铁路货物盗窃案件是侦查实践的一个重大课题.     

DETECHIP®: A Sensor for Drugs of Abuse*

Abstract: The design and preliminary characterization of a novel sensor for drugs of abuse, DETECHIP^®, is described in this proof‐of‐concept note. Combining both colorimetric and fluorimetric assays, DETECHIP^® is suitable for lab and field use. More than a conventional spot test which provides a single “yes or no” answer, DETECHIP^® provides twenty responses for a more complete characterization of suspect material. This is accomplished by visually noting colorimetric and fluorescent changes of carefully selected dyes upon the addition of test analytes, including drugs of abuse, with respect to controls. Color and fluorescence changes are recorded numerically so that a 20 digit identification code can be constructed for comparison of test analytes and known compounds. DETECHIP^® is applicable to a variety of drugs, both plant‐derived and synthetic, addressing the need to use several different spot tests simultaneously for a single sample.     

食品安全地方立法的重大疑难问题解析——以起草《重庆市食品安全条例》为视角

《中华人民共和国食品安全法》以及《中华人民共和国食品安全法实施条例》的颁布实施,为完善我国食品安全监管体制,改善我国食品安全现状,充分保障公众身体健康和生命安全翻开了新的篇章。笔者于2008年8月受托主持起草并参研重庆市人民政府法制办公室委托起草项目《重庆市食品安全条例》,课题组历时1年,通过深入考察调研、广泛征求意见、经过8次修改,终于完成该《条例》起草工作。该项目已于2009年9月通过立法评审并结题。根据在《条例》起草过程中遇到的重大疑难问题,在食品安全监管模式方面,建议在坚持现有的多部门分段监管的基础上,建立并完善食品安全监管部门之间的协调机制、加大机构之间的协调力度;在食品安全监管部门的职责划分方面,建议对食品安全监管部门的职责划分作出明确、清晰的细化规定;对食品安全风险监测作出了突出监管重点的制度设计,规定风险评估的情形及安全隐患的处理机制;此外应明确各监管部门对"五小"食品的监管职责,构建食品检验结果信息共享机制。     

以作案过程为主线的勘查方法

刑事案件的现场勘查工作,是刑事侦查工作的第一步,它直接影响以后的侦破工作。应当把是否弄清作案过程作为衡量现场勘查质量的一个标准,勘查中必须以作案过程为主线,一切勘查活动均在这个主线指导下进行,一切勘查活动均为完成对这条主线的认识而展开。     

Perceived Sanction Threats and Projective Risk Sensitivity: Auto Theft,Carjacking, and the Channeling Effect

Although sanction threats promote fear, among committed offenders, that fear can become a resource with which to sculpt emerging crime preferences. In such cases, criminality is not deterred but channeled. We explore the channeling process here as it relates to auto theft and carjacking. Our qualitative findings reveal that auto thieves are reluctant to embrace the violence of carjacking due to concerns over sanction threat severity they attributed to carjacking—both formal (higher sentences) and informal (victim resistance and retaliation). Meanwhile, the carjackers are reticent to enact auto theft because of the more uncertain and putatively greater risk of being surprised by victims, a fear that appears to overcome the enhanced long-term formal penalty of taking a vehicle by force. We examine the implications of offenders’ decision-making for the analytic intersection of rational choice and deterrence, offering the notion of projective risk sensitivity to encapsulate the process.