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291. More COPS

Author:
John J. Donohue III and Jens Ludwig
Publication Date:
03-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
It would be unrealistic to expect crime to continue dropping sharply as it did in the 1990s, but that is no reason to undermine the progress brought by successful policies. With recent FBI data showing crime on the rise, it is time to reconsider the massive de-funding of one of the most successful federal anti-crime measures of the 1990s: the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Community Policing Services (COPS) program. The program, authorized by the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, provides grants to state and local police to hire additional officers and adopt aspects of "community policing."
Topic:
Civil Society, Crime, Development, and Government
Political Geography:
United States

292. Transnational Organized Crime: Multilateral Responses to a Rising Threat

Author:
James Cockayne
Publication Date:
04-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
In most people's view, it is violent crime—not terror, war, disease or famine—that represents the single greatest threat to their personal security. That threat is increasingly global: the globalization of transportation, communications and finance has benefited not only licit business, but also professional criminals, allowing them to organize transnationally. As a result, crime is transforming from a threat to personal security into a strategic threat to national and international security. But even as crime is transnationalized, crime control remains largely corralled behind national borders.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, Crime, Globalization, War on Drugs, and International Security

293. A Beginner's Guide to Security Sector Reform (SSR)

Publication Date:
12-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform
Abstract:
This guide serves as an introduction to SSR and suggests some key sources for further reading. It is available as a downloadable document from www.ssrnetwork.net along with a database of key UK and international actors in SSR and a comprehensive SSR acronyms list, which form useful complementary reading to this guide.
Topic:
Security and Crime
Political Geography:
United Kingdom, Europe, and United Nations

294. Haiti: Justice Reform and the Security Crisis

Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
Violent and organised crime threatens to overwhelm Haiti. The justice system is weak and dysfunctional, no match for the rising wave of kidnappings, drug and human trafficking, assaults and rapes. If the efforts of the last three years to establish the rule of law and a stable democracy are to bear fruit urgent action is needed. Above all the Haitian government must demonstrate genuine political will to master the problem. But the international community also has a major support role. The immediate need is to establish, staff and equip two special courts, one a domestic criminal chamber to handle major crimes, the other a hybrid Haitian/international tribunal to deal with cases of transnational, organised crime that the country cannot tackle on its own.
Topic:
International Relations, Crime, and Democratization
Political Geography:
Haiti

295. Troubling Trafficking: why I am worried about motherhood and apple pie but don't endorse slavery

Author:
Bridget Anderson
Publication Date:
05-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Trafficking in persons is currently viewed as a serious problem by a wide range of different agencies, organisations and lobby groups. And yet different groups identify trafficking as a problem for very different reasons and often have very different political agendas with regard to the issue. I examine three types of "stakeholders" with a view to identifying the key challenge for each in using the language of trafficking. These stakeholders are feminist "abolitionist" NGOs and their supporters; migrants'/ workers/human rights organisations; and states.
Topic:
Civil Society, Crime, Economics, and Non-Governmental Organization
Political Geography:
United States

296. Exploding Crime? Topic Management in Central American Newspapers

Author:
Anika Oettler, Peetz. Peter, and Sebastien Huhn
Publication Date:
11-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
It has become common to state that criminal violence has superseded political violence in Central America. This paper presents the first results of a research project which analyses the social construction of violent realities in Costa Rica, El Salvador and Nicaragua. The authors describe the print media landscape in Central America and examine both the quality of leading newspapers and the main clusters of topics constituting the news discourse on violence. The analysis of the macro-structure of topic management in Central American newspapers allows to differentiate the “talk of crime”: it is more heterogeneous than often thought. There are signs that the problem of juvenile delinquency is emerging as the center of a cross-country discourse on “ordinary violence”. On the other hand, the talk of crime is centered around few topic clusters, with sexual violence and border-related discourse on violence being of key importance. Finally, the paper points to a heterogeneous array of discourse events that is connected to political developments and power-relations.
Topic:
Security, Civil Society, and Crime
Political Geography:
Central America, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and El Salvador

297. SEMINAR REVIEW: Report on the Conference "Transnationalisation, Politics and Policing" of James SHEPTYCKI

Author:
Julien Jeandesboz
Publication Date:
06-2006
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Cultures & Conflits
Institution:
Cultures & Conflits
Abstract:
La conférence de James Sheptycki sur « Transnationalisation, politics and policing » offre l'occasion d'une réflexion sur les évolutions d'un champ d'études, moins par un état des lieux de la littérature existante, que par la rencontre avec un chercheur1. A ce titre, la rencontre avec James Sheptycki, du fait de son parcours et des orientations de sa recherche, apporte une mise en perspective des plus instructives sur deux trajectoires générales : celles de l'univers social des professionnels de la sécurité que sont les policiers, et celles du secteur du champ universitaire qui se préoccupe des pratiques de contrôle social, regroupées sous le terme de « policing ».
Topic:
Crime and Political Economy

298. The Right to Religious Conversion: Between Apostasy and Proselytization

Author:
A. Rashied Omar
Publication Date:
08-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame
Abstract:
In the Spring of 2006 an Afghan citizen, Abdul Rahman, who had converted from Islam to Christianity was arrested under local shari`ah law which mandates the death penalty for apostasy. As a result of international pressure Abdul Rahman was released and given asylum in Italy. This widely publicized incident highlighted the urgent need for Muslims to seriously reexamine the restrictive shari`ah laws on apostasy. It is unfortunate, however, that this case took place in the war ravaged context of Afghanistan, where relief aid for the victims of war is dispensed by Christian agencies some with a primarily evangelistic agenda. A similar program of aid evangelism has been undertaken in wartorn Iraq. The activities of such groups have reinvigorated the debate over whether it is ethical for philanthropical activities and humanitarian service to be undertaken with the primary intent to proselytize. The legitimacy of religious conversion and the ethics of mission are challenging issues. But they are also pertinent issues that should form part of an honest dialogical encounter between Christians and Muslims, since they have important implications for conflict transformation and interreligious peacebuilding.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Crime, and Religion
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and Iraq

299. Crime, Justice, and Growth in South Africa: Toward a Plausible Contribution from Criminal Justice to Economic Growth

Author:
Christopher Stone
Publication Date:
09-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:
Crime in South Africa is high and widely believed to restrain investment. Nevertheless, both the mechanisms through which crime constrains growth and the actions that might be taken to loosen its grip are poorly understood. In light of the limited knowledge in the field and the limited capacity of criminal justice institutions, this paper proposes focusing on two issues: (1) the costs of crime to business, especially household-based enterprises in low-income settlements, and (2) the perception of violent crime. In both cases, the paper proposes a cyclical process of iterative innovation in which government seeks to solve narrowly circumscribed crime problems, and then leverages each success to generate wider hope and confidence in the criminal justice system.
Topic:
International Relations, Crime, and Development
Political Geography:
Africa

300. SALW Survey of Moldova

Publication Date:
07-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
South Eastern Europe Clearinghouse for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons
Abstract:
The London based Arms Control NGO Saferworld has been conducting a comprehensive survey of the SALW situation in the Republic of Moldova over the last six months. The survey was based on the SALW Survey Protocols, and was researched jointly with the Chisinau based Institute for Public Policy (IPP).
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, Crime, and Government
Political Geography:
Europe, Moldova, and London