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Project Hakea: criminal use of tracking and other surveillance devices in NSW

By The New South Wales Crime Commission

Tracking devices are a growing enabler of serious and organized crime in NSW. Accessible, inexpensive, and easily concealed – they are used by organized crime networks to monitor, locate, and ultimately attack their rivals. An initial review of joint operations between the Commission and partner agencies identified frequent and increasing use of tracking devices to facilitate murders, public place shootings, kidnappings, violent drug thefts, and drug trafficking, and tracking devices are extensively being used by high-risk domestic and family violence offenders. 

By matching sales data against criminal histories and intelligence records, Project Hakea identified that:

  • 37% of customers who had purchased tracking devices were adversely known to police

  • 25% of customers had a history of domestic and family violence

  • 15% had a history of serious and organized crime

  •  9% of customers had a history of both domestic and family violence and serious and organized crime.

In addition to the extensive use of tracking devices by organized criminals, their widespread use by domestic and family violence offenders creates an urgent need to address the issue. 

Dating hot spot to fraud hot spot: Targeting the social characteristics of fraud victims in England and Wales

By Richard SinclairMatthew BlandBradley Savage

We found that romance fraud was rising year-on-year across every region in England and Wales, increasing 55% during the 3 years between October 2018 and October 2021. Fifty percent of all the romance fraud victims in the period resided in 17% of the places where romance fraud had occurred. A total of 439 locations (outward postcode areas) were identified as the “power few” in the first year of the data set. Of these 439 locations, 162 of them recurred in both of the following years, becoming chronic “hot spot” locations containing more than one in six of all reported romance fraud victims. The demography of victims in repeat locations differed considerably, but hot spots were more frequently predominantly populated by less affluent populations. We conclude that the current national one-size-fits-all fraud prevention approach may not be the most efficient or effective way to reach those victims who most require crime prevention advice. The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, based in the City of London Police, could adopt a tailored approach to providing preventative information to local police forces based on the year-to-year patterns in crime and the associated intelligence provided by sociodemographic data sources such as Acorn.

Criminology & Public Policy Volume 22, Issue 4: Cybercrime and Cybersecurity Nov 2023 Pages 585-894

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My Life as a Spy: Investigations in a Secret Police File

By Katherine Verdery

Surveillance and Identity: The author, Katherine Verdery, explores how being under surveillance by Romania's secret police during the Cold War affected her sense of identity and her work as an anthropologist.

Ethnography and Spying: The book delves into the similarities and differences between ethnographic research and spying, questioning the ethical implications of both practices.

Impact of Surveillance: Verdery reflects on the emotional and psychological impact of discovering her secret police file, which contained extensive surveillance records and accusations of espionage.

Historical Context: The narrative provides a detailed account of life în Romania under Nicolae Ceausescu's regime, highlighting the pervasive nature of state surveillance and its effects on individuals and society.

Duke University Press, 2018, 323 pages

Gangs of Russia: From the Streets to the Corruptors of Power

By Svetlana Stephenson

Historical Context: The book explores the evolution of gangs in Russia, particularly during the 1990s when radical market reforms led to the rise of street gangs that evolved into sophisticated organized crime networks.

Gang Structure: Russian gangs are described as male-dominated, violent alliances that are deeply embedded in society, often overlapping with legitimate structures and mainstream institutions.

Economic Influence: Gangs transitioned from street-level extortion to more complex economic activities, including protection operations for large companies and involvement in the shadow economy.

Social Integration: Despite their criminal activities, gang members often maintain legitimate jobs and social ties, reflecting a unique"double helix" model of social incorporation in Russia.

Cornell University Press, 2015, 277 pages

Banditry in Islam: Case Studies from Morocco, Algeria and the Pakistan North West Frontier

By David M. Hart

Hobsbawm Thesis: Eric Hobsbawm's analysis of banditry as a form of political protest is applied to the Islamic world by David Hart, examining cases from Morocco, Algeria, and Pakistan.

Case Studies: The document includes detailed case studies of banditry in North Western Morocco, the Moroccan Central High Atlas, Colonial Algeria, and the North West Frontier of Pakistan.

Bandit Behavior: The analysis reveals that while elements of political protest were present, bandit behavior was influenced by various other factors, making the Hobsbawm thesis not always applicable.

Historical Context: The document provides historical context and examples of banditry, highlighting the complex interplay between bandits and political power in different regions.

Middle East & North African Studies Press, 1987, 86 pages

Industry of Anonymity: Inside the Business of Cybercrime

By Jonathan Lusthaus

Human Element in Cybercrime: The book emphasizes the human aspect of cybercrime, using the story of Roman Seleznev to illustrate how cyber criminals operate within specific social settings.

Industrialization of Cybercrime: Cybercrime has evolved from individual hackers to a sophisticated, profit-driven industry with specialized roles and professionalization.

Trust and Cooperation: Despite the anonymity and inherent distrust among cybercriminals, they have developed ways to cooperate and build trust, often through online forums and referrals.

Research and Methodology: The book is based on extensive field research over seven years, including 238 interviews, to provide a detailed overview of the cybercrime industry.

Harvard University Press, 2018, 289 pages

Domestic Violence Reports and the Mental Health and Well-Being of Victims and Their Children

By Manudeep Bhuller,  Gordon B. Dahl,  Katrine V. Løken,  Magne Mogstad 

We study the costs associated with domestic violence (DV) in Norway by comparing outcomes before and after a DV report, using those who will be victimized in the future as controls. A DV report is associated with increased mental health diagnoses for both victims and their children and reduced financial resources. Victims experience marital dissolution, more doctor visits, lower employment, reduced earnings, and higher use of disability insurance. Their children are more likely to receive child protective services and commit a crime. Using a complementary regression discontinuity (RD) design, we find declines in children’s test scores and grade completion.   

Journal of Human Resources, April 2024, 59 (S) S152-S186

"I knew it was a scam": Understanding the triggers for recognizing romance fraud

By: Cassandra Cross

This article investigates the contributing factors (or triggers) to the realization of romance fraud victimization, based on 1015 reports lodged with Scamwatch (Australian online reporting portal for fraud) between July 2018 and July 2019 (inclusive). The article examines the free text narrative of each report to propose five discernible trigger categories: further requests for money; characteristics of communications; verification checks; an offender's action(s); and being told by a third party. Based on a comprehensive understanding of these five categories, the article advocates for broader messaging approaches to encompass financial literacy and well-being, cyberliteracy and critical thinking skills, cybersecurity practices, and respectful and healthy relationships. Leveraging the use of these wider education and awareness campaigns could improve recognition of romance fraud. Importantly, it is suggested that banks and other financial institutions are in a strong position to focus their efforts on some of these broader messages to effect positive change.

Criminology & Public PolicyVolume 22, Issue 4: Cybercrime and Cybersecurity Nov 2023 Pages 585-894

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Shattered Lives: Sexual Violence during the Rwandan Genocide and its Aftermath

By Human Rights Watch

During the 1994 Rwandan genocide, sexual violence was rampant, with thousands of women being raped, mutilated, or forced into sexual slavery by militia, soldiers, and civilians[. The violence was primarily directed at Tutsi women due to their ethnicity and gender, often following the torture and killing of their relatives. Survivors face severe social stigma, health issues, and poverty. Many women are now heads of households, dealing with the aftermath of the genocide. International Response Efforts include support for judicial training, victim protection, and financial aid, but challenges remain in effectively addressing gender-based crimes and supporting survivors.

Human Rights Watch New York· Washington· London· Brussels. 1996. 109p.

National Drug Control Strategy [May 2024]

UNITED STATES. OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY

From the document: "America is facing the deadliest drug threat in our history. Over the last 25 years, drug overdose deaths in the United States from synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, have risen to more than 100 times their 1999 levels. The rate of fatal overdoses from other drugs, including cocaine and methamphetamine, has also surged. The overdose crisis calls for bold action. The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) has outlined vital steps for attacking two drivers of this crisis. [...] ONDCP's 2024 '[National Drug Control] Strategy' looks to the future this Nation needs. That future is one with greater access to prevention, treatment, harm reduction and recovery support services; with a focus on equity and equal justice; with support for incarcerated individuals, as well as post-incarceration reentry assistance; with a SUD [substance use disorder] and health care workforce that meets our Nation's needs; with a payment system that sufficiently funds care; and with a concerted transnational effort to hold drug traffickers, their enablers, and facilitators accountable. [...] The 2024 'Strategy' is aimed at addressing the overdose crisis from multiple angles. This includes preventing youth substance use, expanding access to life-saving medications like naloxone, expanding access to evidence-based treatment, building a recovery-ready Nation, and ramping up efforts to disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking."

UNITED STATES. WHITE HOUSE OFFICE; UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT; . MAY, 2024. 124p.

Foreign Lobbying in the U.S.

FREEMAN, BEN; CLEVELAND-STOUT, NICK

From the document: "This brief takes a deep dive into a newly available tranche of data tracking foreign influence in the U.S. political process. The new data was released in early 2024 following reforms to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), which made access to all foreign registrants' political activities and campaign contributions publicly available. The brief unearths a complex web of foreign influence in the United States -- with countries like Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Azerbaijan reaping the benefits of massive political influence campaigns."

QUINCY INSTITUTE FOR RESPONSIBLE STATECRAFT. Quincy Brief No. 59. 2024.

Germany's cannabis act: a catalyst for European drug policy reform?

By Jakob Manthey, Jürgen Rehm,and Uwe Vertheina

With the enforcement of the Cannabis Act on 1 April 2024, Germany has adopted one of the most liberal legal approaches to cannabis on the continent. The German model prioritises a non-profit approach and precludes legal market mechanisms. We believe these are the main drivers for increasing cannabis use and related health problems, based on observations following cannabis legalisation in Canada and many states in the U.S. Although legalising cannabis possession and cultivation may not immediately eliminate the illegal market, it is expected to serve public health goals. Despite the overall positive evaluation of the Cannabis Act in Germany, there are three potential areas of concern: the potential for misuse of the medical system, the normalization of cannabis use, and the influence of the cannabis industry. The German model may herald the beginning of a new generation of European cannabis policies, but concerted efforts will be required to ensure that these policy reforms serve rather than undermine public health goals.

The LANCET Regional Health - Europe, Vol 42 July, 2024

‘Run Silent, Run Deep’: Examining Right-Wing Extremism in the Military

By Amarnath Amarasingam,* Michèle St-Amant, David A. Jones 

  The threat posed by current or former members of the military joining right-wing extremist groups is an issue of growing concern – evidenced by arrests and disrupted terrorist plots across Western Europe and North America. Using interviews with individuals who are both former extremists and have military experience, this article provides a basis for understanding the ways in which military service intersects and interacts with far-right extremism. By focusing on what we term the operational dimensions of the overlap between right-wing extremism and the military service, this article advances a novel framework for understanding how right-wing extremists navigate military institutions, such as recruitment during and after service, and using both covert and overt measures to reveal or conceal their beliefs, as well as recruit others. This study also illustrates how the timing of military service can impact susceptibility or resilience to radicalisation based on specific unit dynamics and planned or unplanned exits from service. Finally, this article discusses how these findings can produce practical recommendations for military institutions, while highlighting the need for more research on the topic.  

Perspectives on Terrorism,  Volume XVIII, Issue 2 June 2024  

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Is Cape Town’s Drop In Business Robbery A Cause For Concern?

By Vanya Gastrow



A fall in business robberies over the past decade could indicate rising levels of extortion and organised crime.

 

South Africa is a country plagued by violent crime. Media headlines of murders, kidnappings and sexual violence are backed up by the country’s crime data. The Institute for Security Studies’ (ISS) recent call for policing reforms describes how the South African Police Service’s (SAPS) track record has measurably declined since 2012, with crimes such as murder increasing and public perceptions of safety falling.

 

But in Cape Town, one form of violent crime is bucking this trend and showing a consistent and significant decline. Business robberies, which initially rose in the early 2000s, have been falling markedly over the past decade, as reflected by ISS Crime Hub data.

 

Business robberies differ from crimes such as burglary because they entail violence or the threat thereof. In Cape Town, business robberies started increasing in 2006 when reported cases surged from 99 to 1 656 cases in 2014/15. This crime wave comprised an increase of well over 1 000% in a decade.

 

In this article, Vanya Gastrow explores the decline in business robberies in Cape Town over the past decade, suggesting that this trend may indicate a rise in extortion and organised crime rather than an actual decrease in violent crime.


Pretoria: Institute for Security Studies, 2024. 5p.

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From Research to Action to Successful Outcomes. Transforming Local Approaches to Probation with the Reducing Revocations Challenge

By Emily West, Victoria Lawson, Pavithra Nagarajan  Daphne Moraga

Probation is by far the largest form of correctional control in the United States, and a leading cause of incarceration. Despite the widespread use of probation as a method of correctional control, historically little has been known about the drivers of probation violations and how to meaningfully improve outcomes for those under supervision while maintaining community safety. It was against this backdrop that CUNY ISLG launched the Reducing Revocations Challenge (RRC) in 2019, with support from Arnold Ventures.

The RRC aimed to fill the void of information on drivers of revocation through in-depth, mixed-method research, which was conducted in 10 counties during Phase I; in Phase II the findings were put into action with innovative strategies to improve probation outcomes and equity in a subset of those sites: Monroe County, IN; Pima County, AZ; Ramsey County, MN; and Santa Cruz County, CA.

This report documents Phase II and the lessons learned from the RRC for cities and counties seeking to implement similar reforms, and the accompanying policy brief describes the action research model employed in the initiative.

New York: CUNY Institute for State & Local Governance, 20242024. 39p.

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Lowering Jail Populations Safely Before, During, and After COVID. Updated Findings on Jail Reform, Violent Crime, and the COVID-19 Pandemic

By Sana Khan,, Emily West and Stephanie Rosof



   In recent years, cities and counties across the country have made great strides to strategically reduce jail incarceration without jeopardizing community safety. To keep this momentum going, it is critical to examine the safety implications of these jail population reform efforts. This is especially true against the backdrop of COVID-19 era increases in violent crime, with unsubstantiated hypotheses suggesting that increases in violent crime were a result of efforts to reduce jail populations and not of the major socio economic impacts of lockdowns. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Safety and Justice Challenge (SJC) presents a unique opportunity to explore the relationships between criminal legal reform, the COVID-19 pandemic, and violent crime. Since 2015, jurisdictions participating in the SJC have planned and implemented data-driven reform strategies to both safely reduce unnecessary jail incarceration and advance equity across the criminal legal system. These jurisdictions serve as models for pursuing data-driven criminal legal system reform. The SJC allows for comparisons of jail populations and crime pre- and post-reforms; SJC timelines also provide a look at how reforms were associated with violent crime before, during, and after the pandemic. As the lead data and analytic partner for the initiative, the Institute for State and Local Governance at the City University of New York (CUNY ISLG) has been studying the community safety implications of the SJC over time. This has resulted in a series of reports exploring trends in crime, incarceration, and returns to jail custody in 16 participating cities and counties. The first two reports were issued in 2021 and 2023, covering individuals in jail through 2020. This brief presents the most up-to-date data— through April 2023—on the outcomes of individuals released from jails after SJC reforms were passed. Additionally, this brief expands on previous work by distinguishing returns to jail that involve a new alleged criminal offense and those that involve administrative reasons only, such as failing to appear in court or violating a condition of release. Findings include: • Two years out from COVID-19’s peak, there continues to be no apparent correlation between changes in incarceration and violent crime. Most individuals released from jail on pretrial status did not return to jail custody, and local violent crime rates varied regardless of changes to the jail population—suggesting that jail reduction reforms can be implemented safely. • About 80 percent of people who were released on pretrial status were either not rebooked into jail at all (75 percent) or were returned to jail for administra tive reasons (7 percent)—therefore, not a threat to public safety. • The pandemic-era increase in violent crime was not caused by jail reduction reforms; people released pretrial were very unlikely to return to jail charged with a violent crime, about 2% of indi viduals released pretrial returned with a new violent crime charge. This rate has remained consistent for almost a decade, predating reform efforts.    


New York: CUNY Institute for State & Local Governance, 2024. 23p.

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Recalibrating Coastal West Africa’s Response to Violent Extremism

By Daniel Eizenga and Amandine Gnanguênon


HIGHLIGHTS • Extremist violence in the Sahel is spilling over into coastal West African countries. • Governments in coastal West African countries play the leading role in responding to this threat by proactively strengthening ties with local communities in vulnerable regions. • Regional security cooperation can bolster national defenses through intelligence sharing, coordinating border patrols, and training focused on community protection. • Forging a multitiered strategy—linking support to communities with regional and international bodies—would help contextualize local responses while sustaining regional cooperation to address the mplex threat posed by violent extremist groups 

   .

Africa Security Brief no. 43


 Washington, DC: Africa Center for Strategic Studies, 2024. 12p.

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The Impact of Intimate Partner Violence on Homelessness and Returns to Housing: A Qualitative Analysis From the California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness

By Anita S. Hargrave, Kelly R. Knight, Zena K. Dhatt, Grace Taylor, Dez Martinez and Margot Kushel


Homelessness is a public health concern in California and throughout the United States. Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a risk factor for experiencing homelessness. Few studies have examined the interplay between IPV, homelessness, and housing. Qualitative methods can provide a greater understanding of the lived experience of IPV and homelessness to identify potential solutions. We purposefully sampled 104 adults who reported experiencing IPV in the California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness (CASPEH), a representative, mixed-methods study. We administered semi-structured interviews focusing on IPV and six other topic areas pertaining to homelessness from October 2021 to May 2022. We created and applied a codebook with a multidisciplinary team using a hybrid of deductive and inductive logic. Our analysis included all participants who discussed IPV and homelessness across the seven studies. We conducted a thematic analysis using an interpretivist approach and informed by grounded theory. We found that violence within a partnership was multidimensional (physical, sexual, emotional, and financial) and bidirectional. We identified six themes: (1) IPV precipitated and prolonged homelessness; (2) Need for housing, financial stability, and material resources influenced staying in abusive relationships; (3) Alcohol and illicit substance use exacerbated violence between partners; (4) Participants struggled to find resources in domestic violence (DV) shelters; (5) The healthcare system did not provide substantial support; and (6) discrimination and stigma influenced equitable access to housing and DV resources. Experiencing IPV contributed to homelessness and impeded returns to housing. Limitations in current IPV resources impede care. We propose equitable expansion of survivor-centered services that improve access to long-term subsidized housing, prevent IPV and homelessness with flexible funding options, and facilitate rapid exits from homelessness through trauma-informed, non-congregate shelter that transitions to permanent housing.


Journal of Interpersonal Violence 0 0:0 2024. Online before print.

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“Like Patchwork” : Ecuador’s Slow Progress Tackling and Preventing School-Related Sexual Violence

By Human Rights WatchNew

In Ecuador, sexual violence is endemic in schools, and survivors face an uphill battle to finding support and accessing justice. In 2020, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled against Ecuador in Paola Guzmán Albarracín v Ecuador, the court’s first ever case on school-related sexual violence. The Court ordered Ecuador to improve prevention of and response to sexual violence in schools, and to ensure access to justice and comprehensive reparations. “Like Patchwork”: Ecuador’s Slow Progress Tackling and Preventing School-Related Sexual Violence examines the progress the Ecuadorian government has made toward tackling sexual violence in schools, including the measures the government has adopted to comply with the Inter-American court’s ruling. Based on 68 interviews between 2022 and 2024, the report finds that despite commitments by government institutions, sexual violence remains endemic in Ecuador’s schools. Ecuador reports thousands of cases of school-related sexual violence perpetrated by teachers, directors, other school staff, janitors, bus drivers, and often students. Many schools still fail to report abuses, contravening their obligations. Survivors also face obstacles in the judicial system. Barriers to carrying out robust investigations and effective prosecutions of cases of school-based sexual violence obstruct survivors’ ability to find justice, contribute to their re-traumatization, and lead to impunity for perpetrators. Human Rights Watch calls on the Ecuadorian government to effectively tackle and prevHunt sexual violence against students. It should also ensure effective investigations and prosecutions of all cases of school-related sexual violence, so survivors can find justice and reparations for the abuses they have suffered. 

New York:  Human Rights WAtch, 2024. 65p.

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How the Firearms Industry and NRA Market Guns to Communities of Color

By Violence Policy Center

   Since the mid-1960s, self-defense has been the foundational argument used by the gun industry to sell firearms, primarily handguns, in the United States. In this effort, gunmakers have been aided by the gun lobby, most notably the National Rifle Association of America (NRA). This is despite the fact that evidence consistently shows that guns are rarely used to kill criminals or stop crimes. Instead of protecting its owner, family, and friends, the presence of a gun in the home actually increases the risk of suicide, homicide, and unintentional death. Historically, the primary demographic targeted by the gun industry has been white males. This is now changing as the result of the fact that this traditional customer base is aging and dying off and gunmakers, to paraphrase a tobacco industry term, have failed to recruit a sufficient number of ‘replacement shooters’ to fill their thinning ranks. As a result, household and individual gun ownership over the past few decades in the United States have declined significantly and remain relatively stagnant. While children and women have been the default targets of the industry in the wake of stagnation of the white male market, there has also been a growing focus on marketing guns, primarily for self-defense, to Latinos, Blacks, and other minority groups in America. And there is no reason to believe that the real-world impact of gun ownership on newly minted Black and Brown gun owners will be any different than their white predecessors — increased risk of death and injury in suicides, homicides, and fatal unintentional injuries. What is different is that these communities are already disproportionately impacted by lethal firearms violence and that increased gun ownership can only increase death and injury among them. Historically, Blacks and Latinos in the United States have relatively low rates of gun ownership. Yet, the majority of both Blacks and Latinos, like most Americans, falsely believe “that a gun in the home is much more likely to be used to protect, rather than harm, members of the household.” One survey found that 75  percent of Blacks and 73 percent of Latinos felt that it was more likely that a gun would be “used to protect members of the home.” Only 18 percent of Blacks and 22 percent of Latinos felt that it would be more likely that the gun would be “used to harm someone in the home, either accidentally or on purpose.” This is despite the fact that guns, in any hands, are rarely used to kill criminals or stop crimes and that both the Black and Brown communities are disproportionately impacted by lethal gun violence. This combination — low gun ownership coupled with a mistaken belief in the efficacy of the self-defense handgun — is the sweet spot for the gun industry and its financial partners in the NRA. And just as important as future sales are the potential political benefits outreach to minority communities may represent. Compared to whites, Blacks and Latinos show stronger support for gun violence prevention measures.6 And recognizing the continuing growth of the U.S. Latino population, the potential political benefits of increased gun ownership among this group are clear. The brazenness of this marketing shift is striking, recognizing that for decades members of the gun lobby and firearms industry have played on fear of crime and community disorder in their marketing efforts. And while rarely stated outright, often implicit is that those to be feared come from communities of color.

Washington, DC: Violence Policiy Center, 2021. 43p.  

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