‘Do you know where I can buy ivory?’: The illegal sale of worked ivory products in Hong Kong

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 204-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca WY Wong
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Crime Prevention ◽  
Situational Crime Prevention ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Preventive Strategies ◽  
Retail Sale ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The World ◽  
The City ◽  
Prevention Theory

Set against the theoretical framework of situational crime prevention theory, this paper analyses the illegal sale of worked ivory products in Hong Kong, which is the city with the highest number of worked ivory products for retail sale in the world. Based on qualitative interviews and open sources, this paper shows that legalising the sale of products made from mammoth tusk and pre-1989 ivory, the low risk of detection, high rewards, justifications made by offenders, and unique situational conditions have collectively (and indirectly) created opportunities for traders to sell worked ivory items illegally in Hong Kong. This paper concludes by offering a discussion on why the illegal sale of ivory products cannot be prevented with situational crime prevention preventive strategies in the long run.

scholarly journals Why internet users’ perceptions of viewing child exploitation material matter for prevention policies

2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 174-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Hunn ◽  
Caroline Spiranovic ◽  
Jeremy Prichard ◽  
Karen Gelb
Keyword(s):  
Crime Prevention ◽  
Situational Crime Prevention ◽  
Social Attitudes ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Material Matter ◽  
Internet Users ◽  
Child Exploitation ◽  
First Time ◽  
Sizeable Minority ◽  
Prevention Theory

There are claims that the societal appetite for ‘child exploitation material’ is increasing. Yet, Australia’s policy response does not include initiatives to dissuade potential offenders from deliberately viewing child exploitation material for the first time (onset). To critically examine this issue, this paper draws on Situational Crime Prevention theory. It argues that (a) many first-time child exploitation material viewers fit the Situational Crime Prevention construct of the Opportunistic Offender and (b) suggests that current policy overlooks the kinds of non-instrumental factors that increase the risk of onset for this group, including doubts about the criminality and harmfulness of viewing child exploitation material. The paper then empirically examines social attitudes to child exploitation material viewing by presenting the findings of a survey of 504 Australian internet users. Results indicate that a sizeable minority of the participants were: unaware that it is a crime to view certain types of child exploitation material in Australia; and held doubts about the harmfulness of viewing child exploitation material. These findings are used to reflect on how the presence of these non-instrumental factors among ordinary internet users may affect the offending readiness of the Opportunistic Offender. Policy implications are then briefly discussed.

scholarly journals From Cyberpunk to Cramped Dweller: The Peculiar History of Hong Kong ‘Heterotopias’

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel McCoy
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Living Arrangements ◽  
Grey Zone ◽  
Urban Centers ◽  
Self Sufficiency ◽  
Spatial Management ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Planning Department ◽  
The City

75.6% of land comprising Hong Kong remains undeveloped according to the special administrative region’s planning department. In turn, Hong Kong’s constricted real estate, now estimated to be the world’s costliest, has created eye-popping living arrangements historically and contemporarily. Denizens’ colorful reputation and imagination for flouting city ordinances, zoning laws, and spatial management stand emblematic of tenacious self-sufficiency and a free-spirited brand of runaway capitalist initiative. Why is this conspicuous trademark of Hong Kong’s societal fabric very much alive in the 21st Century? Why does this matter in a rapidly urbanizing world witnessing the ascension of mega-urban centers alongside ever-widening socioeconomic chasms? This paper intends to illuminate the peculiar origins and longevity of the Kowloon Walled City, an urban monolith of notoriety and autonomy that blossomed in a semi-legal grey zone unencumbered under British protectorate rule for nearly a century. Parallels will connect the linear trajectory between Kowloon’s hardnosed living to today’s comparable Chungking Mansions and the hundreds of thousands of cage homes appearing in all corners of the city. This paper aims to answer why these residential paradoxes continue to function with efficiency and relevancy, posing solutions for indigent housing while exacerbating the stigma of social and economic ostracism.

scholarly journals CCTV placement in Gaborone City, Botswana

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 144-163
Author(s):  
Samuel P.S. Molepo ◽  
Gabriel Faimau ◽  
Kebonyengwana T.O. Mashaka
Keyword(s):  
Crime Prevention ◽  
Situational Crime Prevention ◽  
Population Movements ◽  
Public Surveillance ◽  
Investigative Tool ◽  
Area Of Interest ◽  
Surveillance Technology ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Surrounding Areas ◽  
The City

Public surveillance technology through the installation of Closed-Circuit Television cameras (CCTV) has been widely acknowledged as a tool for monitoring population movements and preventing crime. Based on this technological value, the installation of CCTV cameras has become a growing trend in many cities globally. The year 2018 will be remembered as the year when CCTV cameras were first installed in the city of Gaborone, Botswana, and its surrounding villages for purposes of detecting criminal activities and preventing crime. The value of CCTV cameras in preventing crime and as an investigative tool has been an area of interest among researchers. Among scholarly studies on this field, the focus has been on the effectiveness of CCTV cameras in preventing crime and their value as an investigative tool. Since CCTV cameras have just been installed in the city of Gaborone, it may be too early to evaluate the extent to which they effectively prevent crime in this city. The purpose of this study is to document the use of public surveillance cameras in Gaborone and its surrounding areas and assess their geographic placement in light of the principles of Situational Crime Prevention (SCP) theory. Using data collected through site observation and key informant interviews, we argue for a rigorous review and assessment of the current installation and placement of CCTV cameras in Gaborone city and further scholarly study to measure and evaluate the effectiveness of CCTV camera use for crime prevention in this city.

scholarly journals The Currency of Historicity in Hong Kong: Deconstructing Nostalgia through Soy Milk

2015 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 145-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine S. Chan
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Second World War ◽  
World War ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
Asian Tigers ◽  
Tv Commercials ◽  
The City ◽  
Second World ◽  
General Criticism

In the 1980s, as the end of the millennium approached, the production of nostalgia exploded all around the world. For Hong Kong, nostalgia became a reminder of the golden age that had transformed the city into one of the “Four Asian Tigers” in the decades following the end of the Second World War. While yearning for the better days of the past, Hong Kong coincidentally experienced destabilisation. As the rest of the world, especially the “baby boomers,” mourned the end of a productive era, Hong Kong locals were disturbed by the affirmation of the handover to China in 1997. In the context of these events, a creative rush to nostalgia in cultural manufacturing swept across the city. In the hope of highlighting the uniqueness of nostalgic production in Hong Kong, this study analyses two sets of TV commercials produced by local beverage company Vitasoy. Through the deconstruction of selected historical events, Vitasoy successfully reinvented its brand and, in contrast to general criticism of the concept, generated a positive connotation for nostalgia on the path towards Hong Kong's search for an identity.

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