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Date: November 22, 2024 Fri
Time: 11:52 am
Time: 11:52 am
Results for businesses and crime
8 results foundAuthor: Cook, Philip J. Title: Public Safety Through Private Action: An Economic Assessment of BIDs, Locks, and Citizen Cooperation Summary: Given the central role of private individuals and firms in determining the effectiveness of the criminal justice system, and the quality and availability of criminal opportunities, private actions arguably deserve a central role in the analysis of crime and crime prevention policy. But the leading scholarly commentaries on the crime drop during the 1990s have largely ignored the role of the private sector, as have policymakers. Among the potentially relevant trends: growing reporting rates; the growing sophistication and use of alarms, monitoring equipment and locks; the considerable increase in the employment of private security guards; and the decline in the use of cash. Private actions of this sort have the potential to both reduce crime rates and reduce arrests and imprisonment. Well-designed regulations and programs can encourage effective private action. One creative method to harness private action to cost-effective crime control is the creation of business improvement districts (BIDs). This quasi-experimental analysis of Los Angeles BIDs demonstrates that the social benefits of BID expenditures on security are a large multiple (about 20) of the private expenditures. Creation and operation of effective BIDs requires a legal infrastructure that helps neighborhoods solve the collective action problem. Details: Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2010. 51p. Source: NBER Working Paper Series; Working Paper 15877; Internet Resource Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 118718 Keywords: Business Improvement Districts (Los Angeles)Businesses and CrimeCrime PreventionPrivate Security |
Author: Weston, Nicola Title: Business Policing Model: Business Policing Team Summary: This document reports key findings from research undertaken to inform the development of an evidence-based approach to the policing of business communities. Whilst the police have for a long time acknowledged that some businesses are the perpetrators and victims of crime, there has been an increasing recognition that, to date, the reality of the delivery of policing services to businesses has been rather one-dimensional. That is, the approach adopted has been largely focused upon economic crime issues and has failed to grasp the heterogeneity of the make-up of business communities and their needs. The lack of nuance and texture to the policing of business communities has been bought into particularly sharp relief when set against the developments that have occurred over recent years in relation to the policing of residential communities. Through the auspices of the national roll-out of the Neighbourhood Policing programme, there have been significant improvements in the quality of service provided to residential communities and the ability of policing agencies to understand and respond to the genuine needs of these communities. The aim of the wider action research programme of which this research study is a part is to leverage a similar step-change in the way that the policing of business communities is undertaken. The ultimate goal being to design and test a model of Business Policing that can be introduced into different situations and contexts. In the current economic climate the kinds of improvements that the Business Policing Model programme is seeking to design and test are potentially very significant. The jobs and services that businesses provide, is part of the social infrastructure that contributes to the overall vitality and well-being of communities. In preventing and responding to the crimes and disorders that businesses encounter and experience, police have a key role in shaping the environment in which businesses can develop and prosper, with the associated secondary benefits that flow from such a situation. The philosophy guiding both the empirical research and the wider programme of interventions is that the starting point for the effective policing of business communities is to understand the needs and expectations of businesses in all their varied forms. It is this sense of understanding that this report seeks to facilitate. Based upon a combination of qualitative and quantitative data collected via interviews and questionnaires with businesses of different types and sizes, ranging from large multi-national corporations through to small-medium enterprises, the analysis set out herein seeks to cover the following issues: • Current experiences of crime, disorder and policing from the perspectives of businesses of different types; • Recognising that businesses and workers may have markedly different needs and expectations; • Outline potential responses to these issues that collectively would constitute the key components of a Business Policing Model. Details: Cardiff: Police Science Institute, Cardiff University, 2008(?). 62p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 26, 2010 at: http://www.upsi.org.uk/resources/BPM%20Research%20Phase%201.pdf Year: 2008 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.upsi.org.uk/resources/BPM%20Research%20Phase%201.pdf Shelf Number: 120109 Keywords: Business CommunityBusinesses and CrimeCrime PreventionEconomic CrimesPolicing |
Author: Travers, Harry, ed. Title: Serious Economic Crime: A boardroom guide to prevention and compliance Summary: In many ways this publication, with its contributions from both the public and private sector, and from a wide variety of expert sources, is emblematic of this new approach. Part I features chapters from a number of regulators and key bodies. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) describes the role it plays in prosecuting market abuse and insider dealing, while the chapter by the City of London Police highlights what can be achieved by domestic prosecution agencies working in partnership with equivalent agencies on a global scale. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) expands on the benefits of international co-operation, following closely the pioneering Oslo conference that brought governments, non-governmental organisations and business together in the fight against financial crime, while the World Bank outlines the historic 2010 agreement between multilateral development banks to adopt common definitions of fraud and due process and, crucially, to recognise and enforce debarment decisions of the other signatories. The chapter by Transparency International brings global perspectives on counter-corruption measures, and in a separate chapter the World Bank outlines its anti-corruption agenda. We hear also from the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) on the European Union approach to combating money laundering, while the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics introduces non-regulatory compliance solutions. Details: London: White Page Ltd, 2011. 312p. Source: White Paper: Internet Resource: Accessed on January 27, 2012 at http://www.seriouseconomiccrime.com/ebooks/Serious-Economic-Crime.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.seriouseconomiccrime.com/ebooks/Serious-Economic-Crime.pdf Shelf Number: 123833 Keywords: Business CommunityBusinesses and CrimeCorporate CrimeCriminal InvestigationsEconomic CrimeProsecution |
Author: Broadhurst, Roderic Title: Business and the Risk of Crime in China Summary: The book analyses the results of a large scale victimisation survey that was conducted in 2005-06 with businesses in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Xi’an. It also provides comprehensive background materials on crime and the criminal justice system in China. The survey, which measured common and non-conventional crime such as fraud, IP theft and corruption, is important because few crime victim surveys have been conducted with Chinese populations and it provides an understanding of some dimensions of crime in non-western societies. In addition, China is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world and it attracts a great amount of foreign investment; however, corruption and economic crimes are perceived by some investors as significant obstacles to good business practices. Key policy implications of the survey are discussed. Details: Canberra, Australia: The Australian National University E Press, 2011. 314p. Source: Asian Studies Series Monograph 3: Internet Resource: Accessed February 10, 2012 at http://epress.anu.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/whole.pdf Year: 2011 Country: China URL: http://epress.anu.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/whole.pdf Shelf Number: 124079 Keywords: Businesses and CrimeCrime SurveyCrimes Against Businesses (China)Victimization (Businesses)Victimization Surveys (China) |
Author: Hunter, Philip Title: Human Trafficking and Business: Good Practices to Prevent and Combat Human Trafficking Summary: This brochure presents an overview and introduction to human trafficking and the role that business can play in addressing it. It explains in practical terms what human trafficking is, why it is an issue for business and what companies large and small can do to take action against it. Divided into two parts, this brochure (1) presents a section that gives an overview of the key issues linking human trafficking and business; and (2) a series of case studies that highlight the practical actions companies are taking to fight this abuse. Details: Geneva: UN.GIFT, 2010. 68p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 11, 2012 at http://publications.iom.int/bookstore/free/UN.GIFT%20Private%20Sector.pdf Year: 2010 Country: International URL: http://publications.iom.int/bookstore/free/UN.GIFT%20Private%20Sector.pdf Shelf Number: 124450 Keywords: Businesses and CrimeCrime PreventionHuman Trafficking |
Author: Qian, Yi Title: Brand Management and Strategies Against Counterfeits Summary: In this paper, I provide a theory for the brand-protection strategies to counterfeiting under weak intellectual property rights. My theoretical framework has general implications for endogenous sunk cost investments as a means of deterring counterfeiters. My model incorporates two layers of asymmetric information that counterfeits can incur: counterfeiters fooling consumers, and buyers of counterfeits fooling other consumers. Brands have a number of different tools at their disposal to maintain a separating equilibrium in the face of counterfeits. One of the theoretical predictions of this study is that counterfeit entry would induce incumbent brand to introduce new products. This helps to explain the innovation strategies that authentic firms employ in response to entry by their counterfeiters in the real world. Authentic prices rise if and only if the counterfeit quality is lower than a threshold level. In addition, the model demonstrates how authentic producers could invest in self-enforcement to increase counterfeiters' incentives to separate themselves. Better channel management through company stores and other costly devices are forms of non-price signals and complement a company's own enforcements against counterfeits. These predictions are validated using a unique panel data collected from Chinese shoe companies covering the years 1993-2004. Data further reveal that companies with worse relationships with the government invest more in various self-enforcement strategies, which are effective in reducing counterfeit sales, and that the set of strategies are complements rather than substitutes. Details: Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2012. 43p. Source: NBER Working Paper Series 17849: Internet Resource: Accessed March 14, 2012 at http://www.nber.org/papers/w17849.pdf?new_window=1 Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w17849.pdf?new_window=1 Shelf Number: 124552 Keywords: Businesses and CrimeCounterfeitingRetail Crime |
Author: Gabor, Thomas Title: Economic Sectors Vulnerable to Organized Crime: Commercial Construction Summary: The economic and regulatory environment in which the Canadian commercial construction sector operates is at moderate to high risk of corruption and organized criminal activity. This report is based on a literature review, interviews and a descriptive analysis of economic data from the commercial construction sector in British Columbia and Quebec. The authors state the lack of prosecutions in the Canadian court system demonstrating direct involvement of organized crime in the Canadian commercial construction sector makes it difficult to assess their prevalence in the sector. While the presence of organized criminal groups in the sector remains unknown, however, based upon an analysis of the broader political, economic and regulatory environment, the authors conclude that the commercial construction sector is at a moderate to high risk of corruption and organized criminal activity. The study asserts that the vulnerability of the commercial construction sector is based upon a number of factors. For example, tighter competition in the sector since the 2008 recession could potentially increase the opportunities for activities such as collusive bidding or other illegal practices. The fragmented state of regulation, which is split between different levels of governmental authority, also creates risks of organized criminal activity. More broadly, the nature of large-scale commercial construction projects, and their exposure to numerous risks such as poor weather, labour market fluctuations, and supply chain risks, contributes to vulnerabilities from both unscrupulous industry insiders and external criminal organizations. The Canadian construction sector plays a key role in the overall economy. In May 2010, the sector's contribution to Canada's gross domestic product was approximately C$ 71 billion (5.7 per cent). The influx of the federal government's C$ 40 billion infrastructure stimulus fund assisted with construction sector activities during the economic downturn. Additional stimulus is being provided from infrastructure investments by provincial and municipal governments. In 2010, more than 480,250 people were employed in non-residential construction trades. Industry Canada estimated that, in 2009, about 99.6 per cent of construction companies had fewer than 100 employees. The majority of firms (59.8 per cent) qualified as micro-businesses with fewer than five employees, small firms with 5 to 99 employees accounted for 39.2 per cent of construction sector businesses, and just one per cent of firms had more than 100 employees. The majority of businesses (54.2 per cent) hire contract workers rather than employees. The small size of many firms, and the competitiveness of the market overall, may also create opportunities for organized criminal activity where small firms are vulnerable to any disruptions which may negatively affect their operations or work schedules. Although the Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes, established by the National Research Council of Canada, is responsible for the development of national model codes for Canada, responsibility for construction regulations in Canada resides with the provinces and territories. The provinces establish regulations – building, fire, plumbing, and electrical codes – while their enforcement is the responsibility of the local authorities. In addition to building codes, the provinces regulate the health and safety regulations, wages and labour practices, benefits, conditions of work, licensing and employment of workers, and the roles of tradespeople and professionals of the sector. Generally speaking, there are no limitations on companies that can become involved in the commercial construction sector. While in some provinces, and for some trades, individuals must hold a professional or trade certification or designation, or be registered as an apprentice to work, this is not always the case. While this lowers the barriers to entry for new firms, lack of regulation of market participants can also create opportunities for infiltration by organized crime. For example, it is possible that a new firm may enter the market, either as a general or sub-contractor, for the primary purposes of laundering capital gained through illicit activities. High initial start-up costs, such as for heavy equipment, may offer opportunities for money laundering. It is important to note, however, that the commercial construction sector is not alone in being susceptible to these vulnerabilities. The authors identify a number of factors contributing to the vulnerability of the construction sector to organized criminal groups, with complexity being the common thread linking these factors. Large commercial construction projects are complex in almost every aspect. Multiple phases of large projects, for example, require the control and coordination of very large and diversified workforces, as well as the maintenance of supply chains from multiple suppliers. Each phase is thus exposed to numerous risks, which may come from a disruption to the supply of needed materials, labour problems, or other factors. This can make such projects vulnerable to those who can gain control over these processes by criminal means such as extortion. The complexity of projects also makes the understanding of cost overruns more difficult. As each major project in commercial construction is frequently a ‘one-off', gauging the accuracy of the estimated costs of any project becomes very difficult, and opens up the possibility of fraudulent activity. This is compounded by a current low level of expertise within the public sector in the area of acquisitions in the real estate and construction sectors. The authors also contend that, due to this lack of expertise combined with the unique nature of many commercial construction projects, the procurement phase of such projects can be particularly vulnerable to organized criminal influence. This influence may be exercised on those in positions to award contracts through such means as bribery, intimidation or extortion, but may also take the form of cartel-like collusive bidding among firms without the knowledge of public authorities. While the authors found numerous examples of potential vulnerabilities in the commercial construction sector in the two jurisdictions examined (Montreal and Vancouver), there was no indication that these vulnerabilities have been exploited by criminal organizations. The authors attribute this finding to both the limitations in available data, as well as the lack of prosecutions of members of criminal organizations in this sector of the economy. Details: Ottawa: Organized Crime Division, Law Enforcement and Policing Branch, Public Safety Canada, 2011. 57p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 17, 2012 at: http://lailayuile.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/corruptioninconstructionreport.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Canada URL: http://lailayuile.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/corruptioninconstructionreport.pdf Shelf Number: 125655 Keywords: Businesses and CrimeCommercial ConstructionEconomics and Crime (Canada)Organized Crime |
Author: Ferchen, Matthew Glen Title: Regulating Market Order in China: Economic Ideas, Marginal Markets and the State Summary: Both inside and outside of China, debates rage about the capacity of the state to effectively govern the economy. In the West, those who claim that the Chinese state is rapidly improving its ability to effectively regulate the expanding market economy face off against those who insist that economic liberalization has ushered in a period of deteriorating state capacity to control those very market forces the state itself has unleashed. Within China, a similarly contentious debate over how the state should best govern the economy pits neoliberal champions of naturally orderly market forces against New Left critics who call for strong central state authority to rein in unregulated markets. I argue that any understanding of Chinese state capacity remains incomplete unless the crucial role of ?market order? as a concept of governance is taken into account. Market order refers to the balance between markets as the primary engine of economic growth and the maintenance of economic, social, and political stability. Any measure of state capacity must be judged relative to the goals the state itself promotes. I argue that the state's capacity to maintain market order, especially over certain markets within the so-called ?informal economy,? involves unexpected combinations of strength and weakness. Furthermore, because maintaining market order is promoted as one of the state's key goals, it is key to state legitimation efforts. The very ambiguity of market order makes it a powerful tool of governance at different levels of politics and the economy. However, that same ambiguity played a part in one of the state?s own regulatory institutions becoming a threat to these larger legitimation efforts. This dissertation also presents detailed empirical evidence of Chinese state-economy relations based on the relationship between street vendors and the local City Appearance Administration in the city of Nanjing. The findings presented in the dissertation are based on three years of field research in China, including over 250 formal and informal interviews with government officials from central ?Leading Groups? all the way down to local ?street offices,? with academics and leading intellectuals, and with street vendors and small business owners. Details: Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, 2008. 354p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed January 20, 2015 at: http://ecommons.library.cornell.edu/bitstream/1813/9418/1/January%203rd%20Final%20PDF%20of%20Dissertation.pdf Year: 2008 Country: China URL: http://ecommons.library.cornell.edu/bitstream/1813/9418/1/January%203rd%20Final%20PDF%20of%20Dissertation.pdf Shelf Number: 134418 Keywords: Businesses and CrimeEconomics and Crime Informal Economy (China) |