Exploring the Complexities Associated to Victimization

The following chapter addresses both the presence and complexities that are associated to the reports of victimization within the media in direct correlation to the element of how racial disparities sensationalize certain incidents of crime. The terminology pertaining to news coverage is also identified and described in regards to the modality of planning in the report of the news; in addition, the perspectives of racial conflict is expounded upon to include the sociological influences, ecological effects, and the criminological theories that best describe the cyclical reactions of race-related bias in the media. The discussion explores previous literature centered upon racial bias in media coverage and the areas that appear to be sensationalized more so than not. The goal of news broadcasting and narrowcasting are delineated upon as well as correlating measures associated to the perception of unequal treatment and fear of crime.

Authority and Legitimacy

Today, the majority of research has focused on legitimacy, while much less attention has been given to the sources of trust in the police (Nix et al., 2014). Limited attention has been also paid to the examination of legitimacy of the police services as viewed by those they serve (Bottoms & Tankebe, 2013), especially by the young people. Hence, the current study aims to add to this body of research in three ways. First, it examines the factors that influence peoples' beliefs about the police and their intentions to cooperate or exhibit confidence. Second, this study constitutes one of the first empirical analyses that highlight the importance of examining the relationship between police authority and legitimacy in Brazil. Aiming to understand the dynamics among those notions in relation to trust and obedience, the empirical part of the present study is conducted in the district of Jardim Ângela (Sao Paolo); once considered as the most violent urban region in the world. The final contribution lies in its focus on early adolescence as the particular age forms a crucial period in peoples' legal socialization (Dirikx & Van den Bulck, 2014). The statistical analysis shows significant relationships between the frequency of obedience in laws and trust in the police, and dimensions of perceived legitimacy.

The Spiral Effect of Incarceration

The discussions surrounding imprisonment in response to crime in society has traditionally been on deterrent. A latent function of incarceration is the impact that a prison sentence has on the family of prisoners. Not much attention has been given to the spiral effect on families during incarceration. For example, in the United States, with increasingly harsh sentences being served in prisons in remote locations, severe hardships fall upon inmates and their families. The present study explores the ways in which Finland has sought to reduce the negative impact of a prison sentence on both inmate and family members. The study is based on one year of participant observation in an “open prison” in Finland, and interviews and observations with inmates and their families (numbers of inmates and families observed). Two questions that guide this research are: 1) What problems arise due to the incarceration of a family member? 2) What strategies are employed to respond to these problems? For example, having served times in prison reduces ex-prisoners' marriages as marriages does prevent recidivism. In other words, wives often instilled discipline in their partners in such a way to avoiding deviant behaviour. The open prison in Finland does reduces ill-mannered treatment of inmate partners by prison staffs during visits, reduces expensive collect calls, and the long waiting times for visitations, etc.

The Mass Incarceration of Undocumented Latinos/as in the Prison-Immigration Industrial Complex

In this chapter, the authors discuss the current mass incarceration of Latinos/as in the United States. While Latinos/as have always been overrepresented in the criminal justice system, especially in relation to their population size, the number of Latinos/as, especially those who are undocumented, is now increasing at epidemic proportions in prison. Paralleling the Black experience about mass incarceration, which has its historical roots in slavery, the authors discuss impact of mass incarceration on the Latino/a community, and how mass incarceration places the Latino/a population at-risk for destruction of its community, most notably the family. The authors, who are primarily mental health professionals, share their concerns about how mass incarceration is tearing at the foundation of this community as it has in the African American community and is likely to have negative long-term, and perhaps permanent, effects that are yet to be known. While it is beyond of the scope of the chapter to discuss the specific assessment and treatment of Latino/a persons affected by mass incarceration, the authors do focus on problems that are arising in this community as a result of persons, especially parents, being incarceration because of undocumented status in the United States.

Defining and Understanding the Development of Juvenile Delinquency from an Environmental, Sociological, and Theoretical Perspective

This chapter purports that there are sociological environments, interactions and theoretical reasons as to why some juveniles, as they develop and mature in life, transform from being law abiding juveniles into law breaking juvenile delinquents. Information is presented in this chapter regarding the various environments juveniles live through and what they experience from the people functioning within these environments. There is an examination of how the people, who are models working and living in these environments, influence and shape the behavior of the juveniles. Various theories are presented and discussed as well as the relevance of their value in explaining how observation, processing of information, learning of observed behavior and then replication of behavior with positive reinforcement all contribute to the transformation of a juvenile into a juvenile delinquent.

Crime Witnesses' Non-Cooperation in Police Investigations

The importance of crime witnesses in policing and crime control cannot be overemphasized. In Nigeria, a constant impediment in the effective operation of the criminal justice system machineries is the non-cooperation of crime witnesses with personnel of the Nigeria Police Force. Against this background, this paper examines the causes and consequences of crime witnesses' non-cooperation in police investigations in Nigeria. Rational choice theory was employed for its theoretical anchorage. A wide range of socio-cultural factors were identified as sustaining the traditional communication gap between the Police and crime witnesses that possess vital information which can aid their crime investigation. The Nigeria Police Force is urged to develop a holistic road-map through which the level of public confidence in its operation can be boosted.

Police Legitimacy Conflicting Centres

The chapter examines police legitimacy in the context of peacetime transition states, South Africa and Zimbabwe in particular, and argue that the complexity of legitimacy cannot be axially viewed as ‘acceptance of the moral authority of a police force and its right to enforce laws and issue commands' (Weitzer, 1995, p. 83) or ‘a belief that induces people to feel personally obligated to defer to authorities' (Tyler, 2006, p. 376). There are unconsidered complexities to police legitimacy that compel attention. The chapter makes three observations: 1) police legitimacy is conferred, often by opposing congress of three factors - the people, state and the international community; 2) the police are always trying to balance opposing factors, or play off one against the other(s); and 3) police service has no total or permanent legitimacy. Based on these assumptions, a compelling question could be whether or not police in transition societies have legroom to exercise discretional powers as they mediate between state and civilian populations.

Migrants and Effective Legal Representation in Criminal Cases via Legal Aid Systems

The European countries are obliged to fulfill the provisions of the European Convention on human rights regarding the protection of the accused rights' and ensuring the principle of fair trial. Nowadays, because of the economic crisis more people are affected by poverty and many immigrants enter Europe. Poor and immigrants who break the law cannot afford to pay for the services of a lawyer and for the most of them the states provide legal aid assistance. This chapter indicates that in order to safeguard the accused rights' it is mandatory for the legal aid lawyer to defend the accused effectively, otherwise the protection is just formal and does not fulfill the substantive conventional obligation of the State for fair trial. It is proposed for the States to establish qualitative criteria for the legal aid lawyers. The voluntary character of the legal aid scheme imposes an imperative duty for the lawyers to ensure fair trial for the poor.

Minorities in the Criminal Courts Adjudication

The following chapter addresses disparities shared by minority racial populations in the United States regarding how the public's perception of minority groups directly impact the outcome of the adjudication process in American criminal courts. Also addressed are key points in American history that have granted aid to the segregation, discrimination, and overall mistreatment of minorities; in addition, racial disparities caused by various media outlets and their portrayal of minorities in this country will be identified in order to explain the effect on officials in the justice system in relation to sentencing outcomes. Included will be quantitative and qualitative research and the resulting data on arrests and prison populations as it directly correlates with sentencing in both state and federal criminal courts. The goals of sentencing and sentencing guidelines of both state and federal criminal courts will be expounded upon in order to differentiate between the resulting objectives.

Absence of Crime in African Migrants' Gambling and Policing in Finland

Gambling is popular among African migrants in Finland. The Finnish lottery, for example, is highly patronised by many active African migrant gamblers and those who have gambled before. Many of these migrants also know that some types of gambling like poker and online games have been linked with criminality or organised crime, prostitution, and internet fraud. African migrants in Finland are generally suspicious of the police, but concerning gambling they do not see the need for any police involvement. There seems to be an absence of crime and policing in African migrants' gambling, which is a relevant finding in this study. But then, are the unemployed who engage in gambling committing a crime or would they be prone to criminal acts? This is an area worth researching deeper into. This chapter explores African migrant gamblers' ideas about their gambling and policing in Finland. The chapter is based on data from qualitative studies conducted in 2009 and in 2011-12 using interviews, conversations and questionnaires.