Lawyers and Police: An Uneasy Marriage in the National Crime Authority's Fight against Organised Crime

1992 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 231-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Corns
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Criminal Activity ◽  
Organised Crime ◽  
Cultural Dimensions ◽  
Central Feature ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Modus Operandi ◽  
Criminological Research ◽  
Research And Policy

A central feature of new law enforcement agencies, established specifically to combat organised crime in Australia, is their use of internal multi-disciplinary investigation teams. This strategy can be seen as mirroring the structure and modus operandi of the targeted criminal activity. One of the first law enforcement agencies in Australia to 'collectivise' legal and policing skills has been the National Crime Authority. However, aspects of the legal and police 'sub-cultures' are structurally and ideologically inconsistent creating the potential for significant intra-organisational conflict. This article explores the nature and significance of 'cultural clashes' between lawyers and police within the National Crime Authority, and describes a number of unique legal problems arising from the cross-jurisdictional deployment of police officers on secondment to the National Crime Authority. The article argues that in the context of organised crime, sub-cultural dimensions of law enforcement has been a neglected area within criminological research and policy making. The article argues that organisational sub-cultures have limited the capacity of law enforcement agencies to fulfil their junctions and suggests a number of reforms.

scholarly journals Translated Transcripts From Covert Recordings Used for Evidence in Court: Issues of Reliability

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Gilbert ◽  
Georgina Heydon
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
National Security ◽  
Criminal Activity ◽  
Organised Crime ◽  
Complex Environment ◽  
Criminal Cases ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Nation States ◽  
Australian State ◽  
Using Data

Nation states increasingly apply electronic surveillance techniques to combat serious and organised crime after broadening and deepening their national security agendas. Covertly obtained recordings from telephone interception and listening devices of conversations related to suspected criminal activity in Languages Other Than English (LOTE) frequently contain jargon and/or code words. Community translators and interpreters are routinely called upon to transcribe intercepted conversations into English for evidentiary purposes. This paper examines the language capabilities of community translators and interpreters undertaking this work for law enforcement agencies in the Australian state of Victoria. Using data collected during the observation of public court trials, this paper presents a detailed analysis of Vietnamese-to-English translated transcripts submitted as evidence by the Prosecution in drug-related criminal cases. The data analysis reveals that translated transcripts presented for use as evidence in drug-related trials contain frequent and significant errors. However, these discrepancies are difficult to detect in the complex environment of a court trial without the expert skills of an independent discourse analyst fluent in both languages involved. As a result, trials tend to proceed without the reliability of the translated transcript being adequately tested.

scholarly journals ‘Every Move You Make … Every Word You Say’: Regulating Police Body Worn Cameras

2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robyn Blewer ◽  
Ron Behlau
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Police Officer ◽  
Strong Evidence ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Police Discretion ◽  
Substantial Cost ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Systemic Racism ◽  
Criminological Research ◽  
The World

The death of Minneapolis man, George Floyd, at the hands (or, knee) of a police officer in May 2020 appears to have set a nation, indeed the world, alight with outrage at ongoing, systemic racism and brutality by police officers. Body worn camera (‘BWC’) footage from officers attending this incident provides strong evidence of the circumstances of Mr Floyd’s death. In this article, we draw on criminological research and analyses of legislation in Australia and a number of international jurisdictions, to argue there is a need for improved regulation of BWCs. Despite incurring the substantial cost of deploying this technology, governments are relinquishing control of it to law enforcement agencies who, in turn, draft policies that maximise police discretion and protection while minimising the consequences of non-compliance. For governments to realise their objectives for BWCs, we argue there is a need for greater regulation to ensure BWCs are utilised effectively.

scholarly journals Criminal Community Detection Based on Isomorphic Subgraph Analytics

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 164-174
Author(s):  
Theyvaa Sangkaran ◽  
Azween Abdullah ◽  
NZ Jhanjhi
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Community Detection ◽  
Traditional Method ◽  
Detection Methods ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Modus Operandi ◽  
Research Gap ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Key Participants ◽  
Investigative Process

AbstractAll highly centralised enterprises run by criminals do share similar traits, which, if recognised, can help in the criminal investigative process. While conducting a complex confederacy investigation, law enforcement agents should not only identify the key participants but also be able to grasp the nature of the inter-connections between the criminals to understand and determine the modus operandi of an illicit operation. We studied community detection in criminal networks using the graph theory and formally introduced an algorithm that opens a new perspective of community detection compared to the traditional methods used to model the relations between objects. Community structure, generally described as densely connected nodes and similar patterns of links is an important property of complex networks. Our method differs from the traditional method by allowing law enforcement agencies to be able to compare the detected communities and thereby be able to assume a different viewpoint of the criminal network, as presented in the paper we have compared our algorithm to the well-known Girvan-Newman. We consider this method as an alternative or an addition to the traditional community detection methods mentioned earlier, as the proposed algorithm allows, and will assists in, the detection of different patterns and structures of the same community for enforcement agencies and researches. This methodology on community detection has not been extensively researched. Hence, we have identified it as a research gap in this domain and decided to develop a new method of criminal community detection.

College Students Training Law Enforcement Officers: The Officer Charlie Get Fit Project

2021 ◽  
Vol 78 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence Judge ◽  
Tonya Skalon ◽  
Makenzie Schoeff ◽  
Shannon Powers ◽  
James Johnson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Learning Style ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Community Partner ◽  
Fat Percentage ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Data Collection And Analysis ◽  
Project Officer

While most law enforcement agencies recognize the importance of physical fitness for their officers and encourage them to maintain an adequate level of fitness, many find it difficult to implement a fitness program successfully. Prior studies and literature support the implementation of community-centered fitness initiatives. The purpose of this study was to (1) describe participant outcomes from the service- learning project Officer Charlie Get Fit Project and (2) delineate Kolb’s experiential learning model implemented by undergraduate kinesiology majors when applied in an exercise setting. Students were charged with working directly with police officers over an 8-week program with the goal of lowering health-risk factors for the participants. Additionally, the project provided an opportunity for students to assess their own learning style and infuse it in a real-world professional application. Participants included 16 police officers (M = 44.6, SD = 10.7 years of age) and one elected city administrative official. Paired sample t tests revealed nonsignificant differences between the pretest and posttest scores on the 10 fitness measures. Descriptive statistics revealed improvements in categories of body weight, BMI, waist circumference, hip circumference, resting heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, sum of skinfolds, and overall body fat percentage. Participant exit interviews indicated positive qualitative results. The student reflection piece indicated that the frequent writing helped with (1) the myriad of planning and preparation issues, (2) selecting a community partner and recruiting participants, and (3) data collection and analysis. This study was an important assessment of immersive learning opportunities provided through classroom lecture and development of community partnerships.

Inter-Agency Relations: Some Hidden Obstacles to Combating Organised Crime?

1992 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Corns
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Organised Crime ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies

This article critiques the argument that poor relationships between law enforcement agencies inAustralia has actedas a majorbarrier to combating organised crime. Thesignificance oflegislativesecrecy provisions restricting the communication of information between agencies is examined aswellas the role oforganisational ‘subculture’.

scholarly journals Юридизация области дисциплинарных отношений в рядах российской милиции (1917-1919 гг.)

2021 ◽  
Vol 70 (6) ◽  
pp. 90-93
Author(s):  
С.Ю. Чимаров ◽  
В.С. Бялт
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies

The article presents an analysis of the legal regulation of the disciplinary responsibility of Russian militia employees during the period of the change in government models from the tsarist era to the era of democratic transformations and the transition to the Soviet-style government regime. Focusing on the desire of the new government to strictly systematize the issues of disciplinary responsibility of domestic police officers in the specified period of time, the authors substantiate the need to strengthen the police ranks on the basis of disciplining the personnel of the updated law enforcement agencies.

scholarly journals TOPICAL ISSUES OF PROFESSIONAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SUITABILY IN THE SYSTEM OF THE MIA OF THE REPUBLIC OF TAJIKISTAN

2021 ◽  
pp. 211-218
Author(s):  
Somon Latifzoda
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Decisive Role ◽  
Psychological Characteristics ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Internal Affairs ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Psychological Diagnostics

This article discusses the main problems and issues of professional and psychological suitability in the system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan. The analysis of the existing scientific literature was carried out, and also the author's recommendations were formulated to improve the professional training and professional suitability of the employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Along with the professional training of police officers, their psychological qualities also play a decisive role in ensuring efficiency in operational-search activities. The quality and effectiveness of the implementation of operational-search activities, then its level directly depends on the psychological characteristics of the operative and his professional training. It should be noted that scientifically grounded conclusions about the professional and psychological suitability of employees can only be achieved with the help of high-quality and correct psychological diagnostics, that is, using psychometric methods. The basis for the survey of professional and psychological suitability, the procedure, procedure, conditions and terms of the survey, cases of re-examination are determined by regulatory legal acts. Consequently, the research and scientifically grounded measures to determine professional suitability in the internal affairs bodies of the Republic of Tajikistan are relevant, and the scientifically grounded results obtained as a result of our research can be used to further improve the professional and psychological selection to the law enforcement agencies of the country.

Veto Power

2021 ◽  
pp. 131-194
Author(s):  
Noah Tsika
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Motion Pictures ◽  
The United States ◽  
Veto Power ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Deep Roots ◽  
Black Residents ◽  
White Supremacists

Throughout the first half of the twentieth century, police censorship of motion pictures was a significant and always controversial index of the expansion of law enforcement agencies to include activities that many Americans deemed unbecoming of cops. As such, it offers considerable insight into contemporary debates over the scope of police power in the United States. Today’s arguments have deep roots, including in a practice that was far more prevalent—and far more contentious—than conventional histories allow. When it came to vetting motion pictures, the methods of municipal police departments varied widely. But they often illuminated broader problems: Detroit police officers who voted to ban anti-Nazi films were themselves outspoken white supremacists; Chicago cops who balked at cinema’s suggestions of eroticism were also, outside of departmental screening rooms, aggressively targeting sex workers; and Southern lawmen who sought to eliminate intimations of racial equality were known for their brutal treatment of Black residents. Police censorship of motion pictures took place not in a vacuum but within the ever-widening ambit of law enforcement, and it merits scrutiny as a measure of the authority, influence, and cultural identities of municipal cops.

Motivations for Police Support of Domestic Violence Response Team Implementation With Advocates

2020 ◽  
pp. 107780122093082
Author(s):  
Laura Johnson ◽  
Elisheva Davidoff ◽  
Abigail R. DeSilva
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Perceived Benefits ◽  
Police Departments ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Serious Crime ◽  
Response Team ◽  
Domestic Violence Organizations

In New Jersey, collaboration between police departments and advocates from domestic violence organizations is mandated by state policy, which requires law enforcement agencies to participate in domestic violence response teams (DVRTs). The purpose of this study is to examine factors that motivate police officers to implement DVRT. Twenty-four semi-structured interviews were conducted with DVRT coordinators and domestic violence liaison police officers. Findings suggest that police motivation for implementing the intervention is often influenced by perceived benefits to police response and investigation, perceived benefits to victims, the need to comply with mandates, and recognition of domestic violence as a serious crime.

On-the-Road Detection of Driving While Intoxicated

1979 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 263-266
Author(s):  
Douglas H. Harris
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Frequency Of Occurrence ◽  
Road Detection ◽  
Patrol Officers ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Driving While Intoxicated ◽  
The Road ◽  
On The Road

Visual cues were identified and procedures were developed to enhance on-the-road detection of driving while intoxicated (DWI) by police patrol officers. Related research was reviewed; police officers with demonstrated effectiveness in DWI detection were interviewed; DWI arrest reports were analyzed; and a study was conducted to determine the frequency of occurrence and relative discriminability of potential visual cues. Based on the results, a DWI detection Guide was developed; the Guide is currently being verified and evaluated in a field-study involving a sample of 10 law enforcement agencies.

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