Roderic Broadhurst

Developments in the global law enforcement of cyber‐crime

The rapid expansion of computer connectivity has provided opportunities for criminals to exploit security vulnerabilities in the on-line environment. Most detrimental are malicious and exploit codes that interrupt computer operations on a global scale and along with other cyber-crimes threaten e-commerce. Cyber-crime is often traditional crime (e.g. fraud, identify theft, child pornography) albeit executed swiftly and to vast numbers of potential victims, as well as unauthorised access, damage and interference to computer systems. The cross-national nature of most computer related crimes have rendered many time-honoured methods of policing both domestically and in cross-border situations ineffective even in advanced nations, while the ‘digital divide’ provides ‘safe havens’ for cyber-criminals. In response to the threat of cyber-crime there is an urgent need to reform methods of mutual legal assistance and to develop trans-national policing capability. The international response is briefly outlined in the context of the United Nations Transnational Organised Crime Convention (in force from September 2003) and the Council of Europe’s innovative Cybercrime Convention (in force from July 2004). In addition the role of the United Nations, Interpol, other institutions and bi-lateral, regional and other efforts aimed a creating a seamless web of enforcement against cyber-criminals are described. The potential for potent global enforcement mechanisms are discussed.

Homicide-suicide in Hong Kong, 1989-1998

This study provides the first systematic research of homicide-suicide (HS) in a Chinese society. Data were drawn from the HK Homicide Monitoring Data-base computer file derived from investigation and death reports held by the HK Police Force and the Coroners Court. During the 10-year study period, 56 events involving 133 deaths were identified. The majority of offenders were males (75%) and most victims were female (64%). The mean age of offenders and victims were 41.9 and 32.3 years, respectively. Spouses and lovers comprised the majority of victims (46.4%) followed by child victims (36%). Most HS events were motivated by separation or termination of marital or sexual relations (39%), economic reasons (25%) and other domestic disputes (20%). The most frequent modes of killing were strangulation/suffocation (26%), stabbing/chopping (24%), followed by gassing/poisoning (14%) and falling from height (14%). The commonest of suicide was falling from height (48%). It was followed by gassing/poisoning (22%) and strangulation/suffocation (13%). Depression (18.3%) was found to be the commonest mental disorder. Most offenders were from low-socio-economic background. Two-third were unemployed and 76.6% had 9 or less years of education. HS in HK were distinguished from those reported in the western literature in respect to the high relevance of economic factors, the absence of mercy killing between old couples, a higher percentage of pedicide-suicides and the infrequent use of firearms.

Crime seriousness ratings: The relationship of information accuracy and general attitudes in Western Australia†:

A sample 278 Western Australians completed questions asking them to suggest penalties for 27 “crime vignettes” based on a cross cultural study by Scott and Althakeb (1977). A moral indignation score (average number of days in gaol) was then calculated and compared to other factors such as information about Criminal Justice, general punitive or non-punitive attitude and demographic factors such as location, sex, age, marital status, education, political status, etc. Overall results showed considerable variance in response even with crimes defined as violent or very serious. The sample produced scores (averaged for all crimes) higher than for other comparable data. Non punitive and punitive groups were highly correlated with moral indignation. Information while statistically significant was not a useful predictor of moral indignation score. Assumed penalties also were not a useful predictor of attitude or moral indignation. On average, assumed penalties were approximately half the suggested penalty, and was independent of suggested sentences. The survey concludes noting the high degree of variance observed, except in those crimes defined victimless (eg suicide, prostitution, homosexuality, abortion) where suggested penalty was predominantly no penalty and emphasizing the role the media played in the development and formation of attitudes to crime. The study of criminology depends directly on the labelling and definition of certain behaviour as crime. This identification process is often assumed to reflect community attitudes to these behaviours and is the goal of moral indignation studies, Scott and Althakeb (1977); Wilson and Brown (1973); and crime seriousness rating studies, Sheley (1980); Sebba (1980); Walker (1978). Sheley (p 123) suggests that this field has become “a fairly important concern in the field of criminology” and that “as research into the deterrence of crime Erickson (et al (1977)): Silberman (1976): and moral commitment to societal norms (Hirschi (1969) increases, the use of crime seriousness ratings will also increase”. Also as Sebba writes “since the publication of Sellin and Wolfgangs ”The Measurement of Delinquency“ (1964) much scholarship has been devoted to the topic of seriousness scales”. Some of the studies have emphasized the validity and reliability of the scales while others have raised doubts about their methodology and usefulness, Walker (1971).

Building Little Safe and Civilized Communities Community Crime Prevention With Chinese Characteristics

This article describes a community crime prevention program in China, set against a background of rapid economic development, large internal population migration, and increasing crime rates. Traditional social control in China has been transformed to adapt to the new reform era, yet some mechanisms remain intact. Crime prevention measures and strategies resemble those adopted in the West; however, the differences, constituting the so-called Chinese characteristics with community crime prevention are significant.

Lethal Violence, Crime and State Formation in Cambodia

Abstract This paper estimates homicide rates and describes the nature of violence and crime for Cambodia. Limited data allows only a partial picture of the trends and nature of lethal violence. Post-war economic adversity combined with a weak state and underdeveloped “legal culture” contributed to an elevated rate of homicide. Frequent acts of murder-robbery, mayhem, political violence and banditry present a major threat to social and economic development. A murder incident rate of approximately 5.7 per 100,000 but a homicide rate of 9.3 per 100,000 was estimated for 1996, higher than most countries in the region except the Philippines. Political and economic adversity drove the homicide rate to 11.6 per 100,000 in 1998 similar to levels reached during 1993, the year of the first national elections. Usually homicides were between males and commonly arose from robbery, disputes and quarrels, with most deaths resulting from gunfire. Extra-judicial death arising from police or “mob” actions accounted for high rates of suspect/offender death and contributed significantly to the homicide rate. Rates of violent crime were higher in rural areas but Phnom Penh experienced higher levels of property crime than the provinces. The homicide rate is compared with neighbouring countries and the roles of modernisation, policing and crime are discussed.

Human Trafficking and Moral Panic in Cambodia

This article examines the backgrounds of traffickers in Cambodia: why they became involved in trafficking, how they operate, their earnings, and the criminal justice system’s response to their activities. Our research draws from interviews with justice officials, NGOs, and detained alleged traffickers; and from a review of police and prison records. The results challenge alarmist claims about the high prevalence, profitability, or role of organized crime in human trafficking. In Cambodia, 80 percent of incarcerated traffickers are poor uneducated women who lack legitimate opportunities and whose unsophisticated illicit activities earn very little. We argue that the Cambodian government, in return for foreign aid, adopted a repressive law that defines human trafficking ineptly; in the hands of a dysfunctional justice system, the law has turned into an instrument of corruption and injustice against powerless individuals.

After the Bo Xilai Trial: Does Corruption Threaten China's Future?

Curbing corruption is vital for Chinas future. But the exposure of corruption cases can only damage public confidence in the CCP and the state more generally.

Violence Against Women in Hong Kong Results of the International Violence Against Women Survey

In Hong Kong, nearly 1,300 women participated by telephone in the International Violence Against Women Survey in 2006. One in five respondents had experienced violence since age 16. Sexual violence (13.4%) was more frequent than physical violence (11.7%). Women were more likely to be abused by men they knew (13.5%) than by strangers (8%). Compared with other surveyed countries, Hong Kong recorded among the lowest rates of violence by both intimate partners and non-partners. These results suggest that cultural influences linked to the interaction of modernization and some protective factors found in the adherence to traditional Chinese values are relevant.

Youth sex offending, recidivism and restorative justice: Comparing court and conference cases

Our aim was to determine the overall rates of general and sexual re-offending of youth (i.e. aged under 18 at the time of offence) charged with sexual offences, ranging from indecent exposure to rape, over 6.5 years in South Australia and whose cases were finalised in court, by conference and by formal caution (N = 365). Controlling for previous offending, we examined if re-offending varied by site of finalisation or by referral to Mary Street, a specialist treatment program. Follow-up times ranged from six to 84 months. We applied a parametric form of survival analysis by fitting the Weibull ‘mixture model’ to the Kaplan-Meier cumulative distribution of failure times (time to re-offend). Covariates, such as prior offending or referral to Mary Street, were introduced to test for differences in survival rates, immune proportions or both between groups. By the cut-off date, 54% of youth had been charged with new non-sexual offences but only 9% with new sexual offences. Court youth had a higher rate of re-offending than conference youth, but these differences were largely explained by prior offending. For the subgroup with no previous offending, however, a significantly slower rate of re-offending was observed for conference youth and for those who were referred to Mary Street. We were able to control for the main effect of prior offending, but complex interactions between co-variates such as offence types, early admissions to offending and legal and therapeutic responses could not be disentangled in our small sample, and we could not explore factors linked specifically to sexual re-offending. Future research should examine the enmeshment of key factors that set youth on differing legal pathways; this phenomenon affects studies comparing conference and court outcomes, whether in naturalistic settings or in randomised field experiments.

The Phantom of Deterrence: The Crime (Serious and Repeat Offenders) Sentencing Act

Throughout 1991 a car theft “crime wave” and a series of deaths arising from high-speed police pursuits had engendered an atmosphere of crisis in “law and order” in Western Australia. Prompted by these events, controversial legislation (the Crime (Serious and Repeat Offenders) Sentencing Act 1992) aimed at “high risk” juvenile offenders and increasing penalties was rushed through the Parliament of Western Australia in early 1992. A critique of the legislation illustrates that it both breached human rights and failed to address the difficulties of implementing selective incapacitation policies. Following the introduction of the new law the government claimed that downward trends in car theft, police high-speed pursuits and other offences were due to the deterrent effects of the increased penalties provided. The data, however, indicate that the decline in official records of car theft and juvenile convictions had begun prior to the introduction of the legislation. Significant correlations between reports of stolen vehicles and arrests for car theft (especially Aboriginal juvenile arrests) were found but not for police high-speed pursuits or arrests of persistent offenders and reports of stolen vehicles. This suggests that targeting “hard core” juvenile offenders had, at best, modest and temporary effects on vehicle theft. While a sharp decline in the relevant statistics was observed around the time of the passage of the law, this proved short-lived and other factors, such as changes in policing (the introduction of cautioning, the formation of a special motor vehicle task force, and stricter guidelines on pursuits) are more compelling explanations than the deterrent aims of the legislation.