"Kronika naše Kalvarije pod Italijo". Gradivo Komisije za ugotavljanje zločinov okupatorjev in njihovih pomagačev o obdobju 1918-1941

Author(s): Damijan Guštin / Language(s): Slovenian / Issue: 1/2000

The Committee Investigating The Crimes Committed By Occupiers And Their Accomplices was set up by the Slovenian National Liberation Movement in 1944 and continued working as a government body after the Second World War. Its task was not only to investigate the war crimes committed in Primorska, the Slovenian ethnic territory annexed to the Italian monarchy in 1918, but also to gather information on the specific, institutionalized violence exercised by the Italian state (through denationalization) and, in particular, the fascist forces between 1918 and 1941. In the paper, the author presents the scheme for ascertaining the various forms of pressure to which the population was subjected in the implementation of the denationalization policy, as well as the findings and their quantification.

#10 Smuggling in Southeast Europe. The Yugoslav Wars and the Development of Regional Criminal Networks in the Balkans

Author(s): Marko Hajdinjak / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2002

Smuggling in Southeast Europe analyzes and reviews the connection between the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia and the growth of the trans-border crime in the region, and also looks at the related issue of corruption. The paper highlights the decisive impact the Yugoslav wars had on the development of the regional criminal networks, which were often set up and maintained not only with the knowledge, but even with active participation of the highest state officials. The research also represents a contribution to the study of conflicts in the Western Balkans. The majority of existing interpretations of causes, course and consequences of the Yugoslav wars try to provide the answers through ethno-political explanations. They unjustly ignore the importance that interweaving of interests of political elites, the organized crime groups, which appeared in this period, and the "mediating class" of corrupt state officials had in this process. The paper is divided in three parts: • An analysis of the causes and course of emergence of Balkan smuggling channels in the context of Yugoslav wars and international sanctions; • A review of the recent developments in trans-border crime in Southeast Europe; • An overview of prevention efforts, undertaken both by the regional governments and the international community’ The first part analyzes the emergence of officially sanctioned "state-building" smuggling in those parts of the former Yugoslavia, which were involved in the war. The intermediary role of Albania, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Romania is also discussed. In these four countries, smuggling networks were not developed under open patronage of the governments, but the role of high-positioned politicians was nevertheless extremely important. The second part traces the evolution of the initial semi-official smuggling channels and their transformation into "classical" criminal networks. The so-called "suitcase trade," cigarette smuggling, smuggling of narcotics, and the trafficking in human beings are discussed in more detail.

#11 Corruption, Trafficking and Institutional Reform

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2002

The present report summarizes researches and discussions conducted by members of the expert group within the framework of the Bulgarian anti-corruption initiative Coalition 2000 established in 1997. The report is dedicated to one of the most serious problems of the Bulgarian transition towards market economy, stable democratic institutions and legal state. The exploding growth of trans-border crime during the last 12 years has led to the emergence of criminal infrastructure, developed and maintained by criminal groups and semi-legal "power groups," which have appeared in the mentioned period. The trans-border crime in Bulgaria is a part of the new network of international organized crime, which was established after the end of the Cold War and which is closely connected to the regional channels of smuggling and trafficking. Smuggling (including drug smuggling) and trafficking are in particular the main sources of income for organized crime in the country.

#12 The Drug Market in Bulgaria

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2003

The Center for the Study of Democracy has undertaken a special inquiry into the topic of drug abuse - which was fueled by the drug epidemic of the late 1990s and has grown to become a real social threat - and the problem of drug dealing, which is a major mechanism for the generation of organized crime in Bulgaria. This report addresses drug supply and demand in Bulgaria with the ambition of mapping a vast information void and identifying the basic mechanisms and stakeholders of the drug market. However, the peculiarities of drug diffusion and consumption do not allow the use of the standard suite of economic research tools and vehicles throughout the study. This analysis has been divided into three sections. The first addresses the genesis of drug distribution, while the second describes its structure and functioning. The findings about supply presented in the first two parts are based on a series of in-depth interviews with dealers of different groups of drugs, long-term drug users, with police and security officers (experienced in combating drug traffic, drug production, and drug dealing), doctors, and civil organizations engaged in treatment services to drug addicts. Section 3 highlights drug demand, and brings into play the findings of the First National Population Survey on Drug Consumption in Bulgaria conducted by Vitosha Research. For the purpose of this study, CSD and Vitosha Research used the research tools of the European Monitoring Center on Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA). While paying attention to a variety of views, the team of authors has tried to find common ground upon which to evaluate the actual number of drug users in the country. Even if population-based surveys are often unreliable due to stigmatized and hidden patterns of drug use, they are the type of surveys that provide a comprehensive representation of the situation in the country, as well as reference material for later in-depth studies.In addition, a series of indirect variables, tailored to Bulgarian circumstances, were drawn up to register psychoactive substance use. Two more surveys, of the qualitative type, were conducted: one among heroin addicts and frequent users of soft drugs, and another among experts and treatment agencies. This report was developed by the CSD as part of project evaluating the patterns of drug supply and demand in Bulgaria.

#13 Partners in Crime: The Risk of Symbiosis between the Security Sector and Organized Crime in Southeast Europe

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2004

The penetration of the organized crime into the security sectors of the countries in transition is one of the darkest aspects of the post-communist transformations of states. During the past 15 years the growing impact and influence of organized criminal groups was felt not only in the countries in transition but also in the European Union. This process was facilitated by the increasingly free movement of people, goods and finances around Europe. The report is a necessary contribution to heightening public awareness of the considerable risks arising from criminal partnership within the security sector in Bulgaria and the Western Balkans and the need for measures to counteract and prevent it.

#15 Transportation, Smuggling and Organized Crime

Author(s): Tihomir Bezlov,Philip Gounev,Emil Tzenkov,Petkan Iliev / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2004

The report analyses the participation of transportation companies in smuggling practices, more specifically: • it examines and describes a range of companies and individuals involved in organized crime groups whose main business is the trafficking of consumer goods. • it also gives and overview of the criminal and semi-legal networks involved in smuggling Chinese and Turkish goods. • it presents new data on oil and oil products smuggling. • it examines the role of duty-free shops and their involvement in illicit cigarettes imports.

#16 Corruption and Tax Compliance. Policy and Administration Challenges

Author(s): Konstantin Pashev / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2006

National and international corruption indices suggest that the Bulgarian tax administration has an important role to play in fighting corruption. While the general public and the business community are inclined to think better of the tax administration, in terms of the levels and spread of corruption, by comparison with other institutions, such as customs, the police or the judiciary, corruption in the tax administration is still admittedly rather high. Business largely believes that most, if not all, tax officers are involved in corruption. Over the last five years, one out of five businesses on average has come under corruption pressure at the hands of tax officers. While they would not go as far as to accept the taxpayers’ perception of the situation, members of the tax administration do not deny the problem. They see the administration’s functional areas for Tax Audit and Operational Control as worst affected in terms of, respectively, the amounts of money changing hands and the frequency of such transactions. International surveys are inconclusive about the level of corruption in the Bulgarian tax administration on a comparison basis. The World Economic Forum rates it as relatively low within the enlarged European Union. By contrast, the World Bank has found it to be higher than corruption levels in most of the Balkans and the former Soviet republics. The purpose of this study is not primarily to add another estimate of the level and scale of tax corruption in Bulgaria but rather, to contribute to an in-depth diagnosis of the phenomenon in terms of its drivers at work in individual and institutional behaviour.National and international corruption indices suggest that the Bulgarian tax administration has an important role to play in fighting corruption. While the general public and the business community are inclined to think better of the tax administration, in terms of the levels and spread of corruption, by comparison with other institutions, such as customs, the police or the judiciary, corruption in the tax administration is still admittedly rather high. Business largely believes that most, if not all, tax officers are involved in corruption. Over the last five years, one out of five businesses on average has come under corruption pressure at the hands of tax officers. While they would not go as far as to accept the taxpayers’ perception of the situation, members of the tax administration do not deny the problem. They see the administration’s functional areas for Tax Audit and Operational Control as worst affected in terms of, respectively, the amounts of money changing hands and the frequency of such transactions. International surveys are inconclusive about the level of corruption in the Bulgarian tax administration on a comparison basis. The World Economic Forum rates it as relatively low within the enlarged European Union. By contrast, the World Bank has found it to be higher than corruption levels in most of the Balkans and the former Soviet republics. The purpose of this study is not primarily to add another estimate of the level and scale of tax corruption in Bulgaria but rather, to contribute to an in-depth diagnosis of the phenomenon in terms of its drivers at work in individual and institutional behaviour.

#19 Corruption in the Healthcare Sector in Bulgaria

Author(s): Konstantin Pashev / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2007

At a time of heightened social sensitivity to persisting problems in the Bulgarian healthcare system, the report examines the causes and consequences of corruption in the Bulgarian healthcare. In the context of slow institutional reforms the analysis reveals the incentives of medical personnel for corruption, as well as the size and scope of corruption in the Bulgarian healthcare sector.

#26 Countering Organised Crime in Bulgaria: Study on the Legal Framework

Author(s): Maria Yordanova,Dimitar Markov / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2012

The publication analyses and assesses the legal framework on countering organised crime and examines the problems, which arise in its practical application. On this basis, recommendations are made to improve the legislation and bring it into conformity with international standards and the existing good practices, as well as to overcome the weaknesses in the application of law which impede the detection and punishment of organised criminal activity or infringe fundamental principles of criminal procedure and the rights of the participants in it.

#33 Extortion racketeering in the EU: vulnerability factors

Author(s): Atanas Rusev,Lorella Garofalo,Elena Sciandra,Andrea Gimenez-Salinas,Carmen Jorda,Manuel de Juan Espinosa,Tihomir Bezlov,Margarita Gasparinatou,Irene Stamouli,Sofia Vidali,Marina Marchiaro,Valentina Giampietri,Radu Nicolae / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2016

Extortion racketeering has been long pointed out as the defining activity of organised crime. Although in recent years this crime has not been among the top listed organised crime threats in the strategic EU policy documents, it still remains ever present in European countries. The seriousness of the phenomenon has been recognised at the EU level and the crime has been listed in a number of EU legal acts in the field of police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters. The report Extortion racketeering in the EU: vulnerability factors analyses extortion racketeering forms and practices in six EU member states. The analysis disentangles the risk and the vulnerability factors for enterprises in two business sectors – agriculture and hospitality – as well as in the Chinese communities. Drawing on the results of the analysis, the report suggests new policies for tackling extortion racketeering in the EU. This report has been produced with the joint efforts of the Center for the Study of Democracy, Instituto de Ciencias Forenses y de la Seguridad – Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Transcrime – Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore di Milano and Vitosha Research and with the support of Guardia Civil in Spain.

#61 The Criminalisation of Migration in Europe. A State-of-the-Art of the Academic Literature and Research

Author(s): Joanna Parkin / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2013

In the last 30 years, a clear trend has come to define modern immigration law and policy. A set of seemingly disparate developments concerning the constant reinforcement of border controls, tightening of conditions of entry, expanding capacities for detention and deportation and the proliferation of criminal sanctions for migration offences, accompanied by an anxiety on the part of the press, public and political establishment regarding migrant criminality can now be seen to form a definitive shift in the European Union towards the so-called ‘criminalisation of migration’. This paper aims to provide an overview of the ‘state-of-the-art’ in the academic literature and EU research on criminalisation of migration in Europe. It analyses three key manifestations of the so called ‘crimmigration’ trend: discursive criminalisation; the use of criminal law for migration management; and immigrant detention, focusing both on developments in domestic legislation of EU member states but also the increasing conflation of mobility, crime and security which has accompanied EU integration.

#90 The Cost of Non-Europe in the Area of Organised Crime

Author(s): Sergio Carrera,Elspeth Guild,Lina Vosyliūtė,Amandine Scherrer,Valsamis Mitsilegas,Mirja Gutheil,Quentin Liger,Gareth Harper / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2016

This Research Paper examines the costs of non-Europe in the field of organised crime. It provides an interdisciplinary analysis of the main legal/ethical, socio-political and economic costs and benefits of the EU in policies on organised crime. It offers an in-depth examination of the transformative contribution that the EU has made, in terms of investigation, prosecution and efficiency, to trans-border operational activities and the protection of its citizens’ rights. Finally, it seeks to answer the questions of what are the costs and benefits of European cooperation and what forms of cooperation would bring more European added value.

(Nie)wykorzystywanie mediacji w sprawach nieletnich

Author(s): Magdalena Staniaszek / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 1/2018

Obecnie można zaobserwować zjawisko nadmiernego formalizowania reakcji kontroli społecznej wobec dzieci i młodzieży z przejawami demoralizacji – zwłaszcza dopiero zagrożonych procesem wykolejenia oraz nadto arbitralną rolę sędziego w sprawach z udziałem nieletnich. Mimo możliwości prawnej, sądy rodzinne niezbyt często kierują sprawy do postępowania mediacyjnego. W latach 2004 – 2016 najwięcej skierowano spraw do mediacji w 2006 roku - 366, a najmniej w 2014 roku – 198. W 2016 roku – 285 spraw, w tym łódzkie sądy – 13.Celem artykułu jest prezentacja badań dotycząca analizy spraw nieletnich skierowanych przez łódzkie sądy do postępowania mediacyjnego w latach 2011-2016.Przedmiot badań stanowi treść akt spraw oraz treść sprawozdania z postępowania mediacyjnego dotycząca wyniku zakończenia mediacji i warunków ugody, jeżeli taka została zawarta.Na podstawie analizy badań można wnioskować, że sędziowie kierują do postępowania mediacyjnego jedynie te sprawy, gdzie poszkodowanym i sprawcą są osoby małoletnie, a czyny karalne dotyczyły m.in. wymuszenia, naruszenia nietykalności, nękania. Z liczby spraw skierowanych do mediacji wynika, że sędziowie nadal nie są przekonani co do słuszności rozstrzygania spraw z wykorzystaniem sprawiedliwości naprawczej.

A ‘back to basics’ approach to offender supervision: Does working alliance contribute towards success of probation?

Author(s): Jennifer Hart,Kimberly Collins / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2014

Working alliance (WA) considers the bond between two people, and their ability to work collaboratively to set goals and tasks. In the present study, WA was applied to probation to assess the relationship between a probation officer and offender. Questionnaires were administered to offenders to examine the impact of offender risk and offence type upon the development of WA, and how WA predicted perceived success of probation. WA did not differ as a result of risk or offence type but was highly predictive of success of probation. Results were discussed in terms of task, bond and goals and how these are a cost-effective method of improving success of probation.

A comparison of two structured professional judgment tools for violent extremism and their relevance in the French context

Author(s): Martine Herzog-Evans / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2018

France has repeatedly been hit by terrorist attacks making the use of a structured professional judgement tool essential. Two such tools currently are used in Europe: VERA (Canada) and ERG 22+ (England and Wales). We compare these tools to assess which one would better suit the French context. We find that they have a lot in common in terms of their general content and intrinsic value. However, VERA’s main understanding of terrorism is ideology, whereas ERG’s perceives it as being essentially about identity. ERG was the first tool to introduce a measure for psychopathology; only VERA contains a list of protective factors. The two instruments were developed in similar ways with, for ERG, more emphasis on extremist offenders’ casework. Crucially, ERG 22+ has been developed on the basis of UK cases that are closer to the French extremist populations, with a legal threshold for what constitutes a terrorist or an assimilated terrorist offence, which is similarly low. Lastly, ERG’s structure is simpler and contains less items requiring access to classified data, a crucial factor in a jurisdiction with little interagency information sharing. Although the two tools are intrinsically comparable, ERG seems overall better suited to the French context. This exploratory conclusion ought to be confirmed with field comparisons.

A Framework for a Restorative Society? Restorative Justice in Northern Ireland

Author(s): Vicky Conway,Brian Payne / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2011

Presenting findings of an unparalleled study, mapping the extent of restorative practices in Northern Ireland, this article argues that while some examples of the use of restorative justice in Northern Ireland have been researched in detail, it is in fact being employed in a much wider range of contexts, including schools and children’s care homes. This diversity in restorative justice deployment is used to frame arguments for restorative justice to be given stronger footing by government citing the great potential for Northern Ireland to become a ‘restorative society’. Key findings from the mapping research are presented as an explanation for previous growth in restorative practices to date and as a facilitator for further growth both in Northern Ireland and in other jurisdictions. These include recognition that the definition and application of restorative justice must be determined by situation and context, and that the continued expansion of restorative practices is dependent on the cross-fertilisation of ideas both from abroad, but also between organisations within a jurisdiction.

A Half-Century of Experiences with the Polygraph

Author(s): Jan Widacki / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2020

A home is more than a roof over your head: Post-prison reintegration challenges in Austria

Author(s): Doris Schartmueller / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2020

Life after prison can pose challenges for the formerly incarcerated, their families, and wider communities. This research studies Austria where probation services are either mandated by the court or sought voluntarily after prison. Through semi-structured interviews with formerly incarcerated individuals, reintegration experiences from their perspectives are examined. The narratives emphasized social factors that either assuage or complicate life after prison. The main factors addressed were stable housing, the maintaining and (re)building of relationships, and employment. Overall, a lack of stable housing appeared to complicate life after prison the most and also negatively affected relationships and employment. For some, life after prison was further exacerbated by immigration status and a perceived stigma related to the nature of one’s convictions. This study shows the importance of working towards a better understanding of the social context individuals are released into after prison to better meet their individual needs and to counteract recidivism.

A human rights-based approach to community justice: Adding value to desistance focused practice

Author(s): David Cross / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2017

The article explores what is meant by a human rights-based approach to supervision and how such an approach can converge with desistance focused practice in order to impact on its effectiveness. Placing the discussion in the wider context of human rights developments in social services and of desistance focused approaches to effective supervision in the community, I explore the extent to which a human rights approach can add legitimacy to a desistance approach, identifying common themes between the approaches that would support this case. My findings support the contention that a human rights-based approach to supervision can add value to practice that supports desistance from crime.

A Hundred Years of Polygraphy: Some Primary Changes and Related Issues

Author(s): Frank Horvath / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2020