scholarly journals Criminal networks analysis in missing data scenarios through graph distances

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. e0255067
Author(s):  
Annamaria Ficara ◽  
Lucia Cavallaro ◽  
Francesco Curreri ◽  
Giacomo Fiumara ◽  
Pasquale De Meo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Incomplete Data ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Criminal Networks ◽  
Criminal Organizations ◽  
Edge Removal ◽  
Graph Distances ◽  
Intentional Deception ◽  
Node Removal ◽  
The Impact

Data collected in criminal investigations may suffer from issues like: (i) incompleteness, due to the covert nature of criminal organizations; (ii) incorrectness, caused by either unintentional data collection errors or intentional deception by criminals; (iii) inconsistency, when the same information is collected into law enforcement databases multiple times, or in different formats. In this paper we analyze nine real criminal networks of different nature (i.e., Mafia networks, criminal street gangs and terrorist organizations) in order to quantify the impact of incomplete data, and to determine which network type is most affected by it. The networks are firstly pruned using two specific methods: (i) random edge removal, simulating the scenario in which the Law Enforcement Agencies fail to intercept some calls, or to spot sporadic meetings among suspects; (ii) node removal, modeling the situation in which some suspects cannot be intercepted or investigated. Finally we compute spectral distances (i.e., Adjacency, Laplacian and normalized Laplacian Spectral Distances) and matrix distances (i.e., Root Euclidean Distance) between the complete and pruned networks, which we compare using statistical analysis. Our investigation identifies two main features: first, the overall understanding of the criminal networks remains high even with incomplete data on criminal interactions (i.e., when 10% of edges are removed); second, removing even a small fraction of suspects not investigated (i.e., 2% of nodes are removed) may lead to significant misinterpretation of the overall network.

scholarly journals CURRENT REQUIREMENTS AND MODERN REALITIES OF CONDUCTING UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATION FORM (INVESTIGATIVE) ACTION BEFORE JUDGE RESOLUTION

2020 ◽  
pp. 131-134
Author(s):  
Ye. S. Hidenko ◽  
D. V. Vodop’ian
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Criminal Prosecution ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Criminal Proceedings ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Criminal Organizations ◽  
Criminal Intent ◽  
The Law ◽  
National Police ◽  
The Impact

The article explores the issues of conducting undercover investigation form (investigative) action prior to the decision of the investigating judge in the framework of the operative support of criminal proceedings. In fact, after the events of the 2014 Revolution of Dignity, law enforcement agencies underwent a dramatic change, which in turn led to the decline of the law enforcement system, them authority and professionalism. In law enforcement agencies lost the institution of “mentoring”, because this institution was destroyed after reform. These events have led to the consolidation of their positions by gangs and criminal organizations engaged in professional crime, because during the decline of power structures, they were able to get corrupt links, adjust ways and ways of realizing criminal intent. In order to solve this problem, the article considers in detail the issue of enabling operatives units to initiate undercover investigation form (investigative) action prior to the decision of the investigating judge within the framework of operative support of criminal proceedings. And the extension of the rights of employees of the operational units of the National Police of Ukraine during criminal proceedings. Legislative differences that are contrary to current practical requirements have been emphasized and discussed. Also, this article is devoted to the study of legislative restriction of activity of operational units of the National Police of Ukraine during criminal proceedings. The impact professional criminality on the units of the National Police of Ukraine carrying out operational-search activities and criminal prosecution has been investigated. The limitation of the rights of operational units during criminal proceedings was considered in detail and emphasized. Tactical and theoretical inconsistencies of conducting undercover investigation form (investigative) action before the decision of the investigating judge are considered. And possible ways of their decision based on modern practical requirements are considered. Based on the results of the scientific search, relevant conclusions were drawn and suggestions were made to address the issues discussed in the article.

scholarly journals The Protection of the Rights to Life and Health in Emergencies: An Examination of the Handling of Covid-19 Pandemic in Nigeria

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 259-279
Author(s):  
BONTUR LUGARD Sunday
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Video Camera ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Continuous Training ◽  
Moral Duties ◽  
Entire Society ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) is inarguably the most disrupting occurrence in human affairs since the World War II. This virus left governments, communities and systems with the legal, social and moral duties to protect from its impacts. However, some of the approaches adopted towards protecting the victims, potential victims, and the entire society, especially in Nigeria, caused more harm than the disease itself. This work reviews the impact of the curtailment measures adopted by governments in Nigeria and their adverse bearing on human rights, especially the right to life as a sacrosanct and universal right. It further examines how law enforcement agencies’ operations - within the confines of the institutional and international best practices - their non-adherence to the rules of engagement or principles of ethical operations have resulted in the violation of human rights, rather than protecting them. It also analyses the impact of the virus on the right to health and access to medical facilities in times of emergencies in Nigeria and concludes that both rights were either violated or not realized within the context of the ‘war’ against the COVID-19 pandemic. This work advocates for the continuous training on human rights responsibilities of law enforcement agents, a more rigorous recruitment process with a minimum qualification from school certificate to ordinary national diploma, the use of video camera in the course of operations, among others that would help safeguard the rights of citizens in times of emergencies like the COVID-19.

scholarly journals THE PLACE OF ADMINISTRATIVE LAW STANDARDS IN THE LEGAL SYSTEM PRINCIPLES OF INTERACTION OF JUDICIAL EXPERT INSTITUTIONS WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES

2020 ◽  
pp. 258-264
Author(s):  
А. О. Полянський
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Administrative Law ◽  
Legal Basis ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Legal Principles ◽  
Forensic Institutions ◽  
The Impact

The relevance of the article is that the effectiveness and efficiency of interaction between forensic agencies and law enforcement agencies depends on many factors, one of which is a properly "constructed" system of legal acts. At the same time, the special nature of the interaction of these entities, the attraction of its content to the administrative and legal sphere, as well as the specifics of forensic institutions and law enforcement agencies in general necessitates a detailed review of legal principles in this area and determining the place of administrative and legal regulation. The purpose of the article is to establish a system of legal bases for the interaction of forensic institutions with law enforcement agencies, as well as to determine the place of administrative and legal regulation among them. It is established that the legal basis of interaction of forensic institutions with law enforcement agencies is a system of regulations and their provisions governing the legal status of forensic institutions and law enforcement agencies, as well as the content and procedure of interaction of these entities. It is proved that administrative-legal regulation is a type of branch of the general-legal category of legal regulation, which occurs with the help of administrative law and determines the impact of law on public relations of a special nature arising from the activities of public administration. That is, we are talking about the relationship of power and management influence that prevails in the work of public authorities, local governments and so on. This is a purposeful, comprehensive, streamlining impact of law on public relations in the sphere of government, which occurs through the rules of administrative law, which are part of the system of legal principles outlined above. It is emphasized that the legal basis for the interaction of forensic institutions and law enforcement agencies have an administrative and legal basis, which is expressed in a large number of rules of administrative law, enshrined in regulations of various legal force. This situation is due to the fact that the norms of this branch of law determine: the administrative and legal status of forensic institutions and law enforcement agencies; functions, powers and tasks assigned to law enforcement agencies and forensic institutions; mechanisms of interaction of forensic institutions and law enforcement agencies in performing their functions defined by law; organizational and practical goals of this interaction; etc.

Cloudy days ahead: Cross-border evidence collection and its impact on the rights of EU citizens

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 227-250
Author(s):  
Lawrence Siry
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Cloud Storage ◽  
The United States ◽  
Legal Assistance ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
Use Of Data ◽  
Evidence Collection ◽  
The Impact

In recent years, the development of cloud storage and the ease of cross-border communication have rendered the area of evidence collection particularly difficult for law enforcement agencies (LEAs), courts and academics. Evidence related to a criminal act in one jurisdiction might be stored in a different jurisdiction. Often it is not even clear in which jurisdiction the relevant data are, and at times the data may be spread over multiple jurisdictions. The traditional rules related to cross-border evidence collection, the mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT) regimes, have proved to be out-dated, cumbersome and inefficient, as they were suited for a time when the seeking of cross-border evidence was more infrequent. In order to tackle this problem, the United States has enacted the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act, which gives extraterritorial e-evidence collection powers to US courts. Simultaneously, the European Union (EU) has proposed similar sweeping changes which would allow for LEAs in Member States to preserve and collect cloud-based evidence outside of the MLAT system. This article critically evaluates these developments from the perspective of the impact on the rights of EU citizens.

scholarly journals Powers of the prosecutor during pretrial proceedings to protect the rights of victims of crimes

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 89-93
Author(s):  
Lilia R. Komarova ◽  
Mikhail V. Kolesov
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Preliminary Investigation ◽  
Criminal Case ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

The article substantiates the need to change the criminal procedural legislation that regulates the powers of the prosecutor and the status of the victim and gives the prosecutor the right to initiate a criminal case. The proposed changes in the procedural powers of the prosecutor are also considered through the prism of organizing the activities of law enforcement agencies and the impact of statistical reporting indicators on their activities. The experience of prosecutorial and investigative practices and the opinion of distinguished domestic legal scholars are analyzed. The changes proposed by the authors could have a significant positive impact on the work of preliminary investigation bodies and reduce the number of violations committed during preliminary investigation stages. In addition, bringing the status of the prosecutor and the preliminary investigation bodies into a logical procedural position could eliminate unnecessary and inherently harmful corporate competition.

scholarly journals Role of Victim in the Criminal Justice System

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 30-36
Author(s):  
MEERA MATHEW
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Crime Victims ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Victims Of Crime ◽  
The Impact

The victims of crime are those who have formerly endured injury or are possibly suffering as an outcome of crimes having been committed. The direct family or dependants of the direct victims, who are harmfully affected, are also included within the meaning of the term “Victims”. The predicament of the victims does not finish with the crime but it persists. It may even increase, following the crimes; since they have to face the rigors of the actuality, such as deficient support system, dearth of social backing, and sense of anxiety. They also experience the intricacy of police inquiry, magisterial investigation and criminal trial. The impact of victimization on different kinds of victims due to different types of crimes has been varied such as physical, psychological and financial. Through this paper writer has endeavored to check the situation of victims of crime in India and the criminal justice system. It is apparent that the desolation of the victims have not been effectively addressed or even gone out of contemplation. Victims are disregarded, may, forgotten. The paper also stresses the need to provide support to crime victims. The author of the present paper has also recommended some of the imperative steps that are to be implemented by the law enforcement agencies in India to improve the position of victims in the criminal justice system.

Contemporary Scales of the Shadow Economy in Kazakhstan

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 475
Author(s):  
Zhamilya KYDYROVA ◽  
Erlan ONLASYNOV ◽  
Aigul SHADIEVA ◽  
Akmaral ABDRAKHMANOVA ◽  
Altynsary UMBITALIEV ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Market Economy ◽  
Shadow Economy ◽  
Private Property ◽  
The State ◽  
Economic Crime ◽  
Coordination Mechanism ◽  
Economic Science ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
The Impact

The issues of the general reasons for the existence of the shadow economy and the factors that determined its enormous scale in the contemporary realities of the economic system of Kazakhstan are the subject of consideration of many researchers. However, the authors try to evaluate the results of development programs and the activity of bodies contributing to the modernization of economic policy aimed at structural changes in the policy of counteracting the shadow economy, which have been previously considered ambiguously. The main attention of the authors is given to the study of the phenomenon of ‘shadow economy’ as a special segment of a market economy, as well as to the development of practical recommendations for minimizing the disruptive mechanism’s consequences of shadow activity in the post-socialist period. The impact of the shadow economy on the financial and economic development and security of Kazakhstan are comprehensively studied for understanding the scales of the phenomenon. The authors analyze anthropological factors associated with the contradictory nature of man, economic factors inherent in the market economy and distortions in the state tax policy, insufficient saturation of the market with goods and services, imbalance between various spheres and sectors of the national economy, and low purchasing power of the population. The focus is made on legal factors that have arisen due to the imperfection of the legislative framework and coordination mechanism for combating economic crime, the insufficient activity of law enforcement agencies in the sphere of suppression of illegal and criminal economic activity. The main reasons for the permanent strengthening of shadow activity in the modern economy of Kazakhstan are identified in their direct interrelation with the features of the national model of economic reform. These reasons include: the insecurity of small and medium private property rights from the arbitrariness of the state, the illegal nature of privatization, the dominance of monopolies in the economy and the repressive nature of taxation, etc. These factors have generated not only the traditional shadow activity in Kazakhstan, but the other forms have appeared: labor activity without official registration; manipulations with securities issued by ‘quasi-private’ structures; forceful elimination of competition by regulatory and law enforcement agencies in favor of certain companies and the export of capital from the country according to offshore schemes and technologies, etc. The results of the study on the degree of influence of the features of reforming the Kazakhstani economy on the development of shadow activity make a certain contribution to the study of the phenomenon of the shadow economy in Economic Science. The situation with the spread of the pandemic has once again demonstrated the scale of the shadow economy, the level of corruption of power structures and the steady growth of shadow capital in the country.

Six Years Later

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 366-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Décary-Hétu ◽  
Vincent Mousseau ◽  
Sabrina Vidal
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Slow Rate ◽  
Drug Users ◽  
Illicit Drugs ◽  
Technical Skills ◽  
The United States ◽  
Drug Markets ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
The Impact

Cryptomarkets are online illicit marketplaces where drug dealers advertise the sale of illicit drugs. Anonymizing technologies such as the Tor network and virtual currencies are used to hide cryptomarket participants’ identity and to limit the ability of law enforcement agencies to make arrests. In this paper, our aim is to describe how herbal cannabis dealers and buyers in the United States have adapted to the online sale of herbal cannabis through cryptomarkets. To achieve this goal, we evaluate the size and scope of the American herbal cannabis market on cryptomarkets and compare it to other drug markets from other countries, evaluate the impact of cryptomarkets on offline sales of herbal cannabis, and evaluate the ties between the now licit herbal cannabis markets in some States and cryptomarkets. Our results suggest that only a small fraction of herbal cannabis dealers and drug users have transitioned to cryptomarkets. This can be explained by the need for technical skills to buy and sell herbal cannabis online and by the need to have access to computers that are not accessible to all. The slow rate of adoption may also be explained by the higher price of herbal cannabis relative to street prices. If cryptomarkets were to be adopted by a larger portion of the herbal cannabis market actors, our results suggest that wholesale and regional distributors who are not active on cryptomarkets would be the most affected market’s participants.

Officers' perceptions regarding the unexpected effects of body-worn cameras

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 390-402
Author(s):  
Jordan C. Pickering
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
The United States ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThroughout the last decade, a number of empirical studies have assessed the effectiveness of body-worn cameras (BWCs) among law enforcement agencies across the United States. The purpose of this paper is to examine officers' perceptions regarding the impact this technology has had on police-community relations, as well as the working relationship between police and other actors in the criminal justice system (e.g. prosecutors, jurors).Design/methodology/approachThe author conducted focus groups with officers (n = 89) from two local law enforcement agencies in California that had adopted BWCs in recent years. Participating officers discussed advantages and disadvantages they associated with BWCs, as well as how BWCs have impacted their relationship with the public and justice system personnel.FindingsOfficers recognized advantages to using BWCs, including the potential for positive changes in police behavior and the ability to protect officers against false citizen complaints. Officers also identified a number of disadvantages (or consequences) they associate with BWCs, such as the depreciation of credibility behind an officer's word and the impact of video footage on prosecutorial decision-making.Originality/valuePrior studies have gathered officers' perceptions regarding BWCs, but very few have assessed whether and how the use of this technology by law enforcement influences other actors within the criminal justice system. The findings from this study may prompt further empirical consideration regarding BWCs, especially with regard to whether police use of this technology significantly impacts citizens' trust in the police and how their use may impact prosecutorial and juror decision-making.

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