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Date: November 25, 2024 Mon
Time: 8:20 pm
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Results for criminal violence
19 results foundAuthor: Briscoe, Ivan Title: A Criminal Bargain: The State and Security in Guatemala Summary: This report seeks to dissect the multiple manifestations of the security crisis in Guatemala, and the ways in which the financial, political and criminal aspects of state fragility combine and reinforce one another. Based on numerous interviews and field research, it argues that the withering of public authority can be understood as the effect of a proliferation and fragmentation of business transactions between non-state groups, factions within the state and political leaders. Details: Madrid: FRIDE, 2009. 24p. Source: Working Paper 88 Year: 2009 Country: Guatemala URL: Shelf Number: 116503 Keywords: Criminal ViolenceParamilitaries |
Author: Finlay, Brian Title: WMD, Drugs, and Criminal Gangs in Central America: Leveraging Nonproliferation Assistance to Address Security/Development Needs With UN Security Council Resolution 1540 Summary: Few regions of the world better illustrate the intimate nexus between human development and security than does Central America. A region of inherent economic and social promise, its fortunes have been frustrated by a plethora of overwhelming security challenges related to small arms, drugs, and criminal gangs. Although a long and innovative roster of instruments has been developed to counter these scourges, a lack of technical and financial support has often prevented their full realization. Moreover, institutional vulnerabilities at the local and state levels have further complicated the implementation of national and regional strategies designed to break this cycle of violence and underdevelopment. The global economic downturn now threatens to reverse progress made to date and again place countries of the region squarely on a downward economic and security trajectory. According to a recent report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), no issue has had a greater impact on the stability and development in Central America than crime. The Central American region has emerged as the most violent in the world, with the average number of homicides in Central America in 2008 rising to 33 per 100,000 people—three times the global average. While these statistics are rooted in a complex array of social, political, and economic circumstances that have depressed economic opportunity and inflated levels of violence, Central American scholars and regional government officials generally agree that their security and development challenges are rooted in the culture of illegality embodied most graphically by the triple threat of small arms proliferation, drug trafficking, and criminal and youth gangs. Details: Washington, DC: Stimson Center; Muscatine, IA: Stanley Foundation, 2010. 26p. Source: Internet Resource Year: 2010 Country: Central America URL: Shelf Number: 119459 Keywords: Criminal ViolenceGangsGun ViolenceWeapons |
Author: Lauria, Carlos Title: Silence of Death in Mexico's Press: Crime, Violence, and Corruption Are Destroying the Country's Journalism Summary: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) research has identified Mexico as one of the deadliest countries in the world for the press and one of the worst nations in solving crimes against journalists. CPJ researchers have traveled the breadth of the country over the course of four years, interviewing dozens of journalists about the dangers of their work and the devastating self-censorship that has resulted from anti-press violence. CPJ delegations have met with high-ranking Mexican officials, including President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, to discuss the grave problem of impunity in attacks on the press. This report examines the murders of 22 journalists and three media support workers, along with the disappearances of seven journalists, during the Calderón presidency, which began in December 2006. The report identifies systemic law enforcement failures and offers potential solutions. Details: New York: Committee to Protect Journalists, 2010. 43p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 6, 2010 at: http://cpj.org/reports/cpj_mexico_english.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Mexico URL: http://cpj.org/reports/cpj_mexico_english.pdf Shelf Number: 119874 Keywords: CorruptionCriminal ViolenceHomicideJournalistsMurders |
Author: Briscoe, Ivan Title: A State of Siege: Elites, Criminal Networks and Institutional Reform in Guatemala Summary: The scale and severity of the challenges facing the Guatemala state have been underlined by events over the past year. Humanitarian crises and a continuing wave of violent crime, exacerbated by the penetration in Guatemalan territory of Mexican cartels, have multiplied the demands on public authorities. The government of President Alvara Colom, a self-declared social democrat, has vowed to fight poverty and clean up the security and judicial systems. To a significant extent, the country is still locked into the terms of the informal political and economic settlement that lay beneath the formal peace process ending the country's civil war in 1996. Whereas the peace accords promised rural development, a stronger and wealthier public sector, and a dismantling of the structures of counter-insurgency, the post-conflict reality fell under a different paradigm. Criminal groups, involving former military officers, acting state officials, criminal entrepreneurs and gang members, extended their influence. This paper, which forms part of the broader Clingendael research programme into post-conflict and fragile states, aims to unpick these constrains on governance in Guatemala, and also points to the emerging trends that are now altering the country's internal balance of power. In particular, the election of Colom in 2007 and the creation in the same year of the UN Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) are landmark events that appear to have undermined the post-conflict settlement. However, recent setbacks, including the paralysis of key policy initiatives - such as tax reform - and repeated acts of corruption in the security forces and the judicial system have raised questions over whether reform of the state is possible, and how it is to be carried out. Details: The Hague: Netherlands Institute of International Relations 'Clingendael', 2010. 64p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 6, 2010 at: http://www.clingendael.nl/publications/2010/20100913_cru_publication_ibriscoe.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Guatemala URL: http://www.clingendael.nl/publications/2010/20100913_cru_publication_ibriscoe.pdf Shelf Number: 119873 Keywords: CorruptionCriminal NetworksCriminal ViolenceGangsOrganized Crime |
Author: Special Task Force on Crime (Jamaica) Title: Road Map to a Safe and Secure Jamaica Summary: Jamaica is faced with a deep crisis of public safety and an equally deep crisis of public confidence in the willingness and capability of the criminal justice administration to effectively respond to the challenges. This crisis of public safety is manifested in the extraordinarily high murder rate and the high rate of violent crimes. More importantly, driving the figures are troubling social processes that have culminated in what has been officially described as a culture of violence. In 2005, the country returned a murder rate of 63 incidents per 100,000 citizens. This places us at the top of the ranking as the most murderous country in the world.2 In the five-year period 2001-2005, there were 6304 reported murders, some 6919 shootings, approximately 4324 rapes and 1078 cases of carnal abuse. This high level of violent crime has persisted for some 30 years. Violence has now become a familiar part of everyday life in urban Jamaica. In these regions of the country, there are few persons that remain completely untouched by this violent criminality – regardless of class, colour or creed. Details: Kingston, Jamaica: Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica, 2006. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 12, 2010 at: http://www.psoj.org/files/Roadmap%20To%20A%20Safe%20And%20Secure%20Jamaica.pdf Year: 2006 Country: Jamaica URL: http://www.psoj.org/files/Roadmap%20To%20A%20Safe%20And%20Secure%20Jamaica.pdf Shelf Number: 119930 Keywords: Criminal ViolenceViolent Crime (Jamaica) |
Author: Title: Colombia: President Santos's Conflict Resolution Opportunity Summary: President Juan Manuel Santos, in office since 7 August 2010, has an opportunity to end Colombia’s generations of armed conflict by building on but adjusting and substantially broadening the strategy followed for eight years by his predecessor. Alvaro Uribe’s predominantly military approach – the “democratic security policy” – did produce important security gains, but Colombia remains plagued by new illegal armed groups (NIAGs) and other criminal actors. By concentrating mainly on fighting the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN), it neglected other sources of violence and, most importantly, failed to address underlying causes of the conflict. Santos, who was elected with the largest majority in history, should use his political capital to implement a more integrated conflict resolution strategy that advances institutional and structural reforms needed to address illegality and impunity, expand access to services and tackle issues of land and victims’ rights. Details: Brussels: International Crisis Group, 2010. 30p. Source: Internet Resource; Latin America Report No. 34; Accessed October 15, 2010 at: http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/latin-america/colombia/34%20Colombia%20-%20President%20Santoss%20Conflict%20Resolution%20Opportunity.ashx Year: 2010 Country: Colombia URL: http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/latin-america/colombia/34%20Colombia%20-%20President%20Santoss%20Conflict%20Resolution%20Opportunity.ashx Shelf Number: 119980 Keywords: Criminal ViolenceDrug TraffickingMilitant GroupsOrganized Crime |
Author: Meyer, Maureen Title: Abused and Afraid in Ciudad Juarez: An Analysis of Human Rights Violations by the Military in Mexico Summary: Washington, DC: Washington Office on Latin America: Mexico: Miguel Agustin Pro Juarez Human Rights Center (Center Prodh), 2010. 15p. Details: This report focuses on human rights violations that occurred in Ciudad Juarez in the context of Joint Operation Chihuahua, which began in March 2008, and reviews the drug policies adopted by the Mexican government, with support from the U.S. government, to address the security crisis in Mexico. The report aims to give voice to some of the victims of the war against organized crime in Mexico: in particular, individuals who have been abused by the very security forces who are supposed to protect them. It does not seek to minimize the countless atrocities committed by drug trafficking organizations and other criminal groups in Mexico, which have been widely reported in the press. Rather, the report focuses on human rights violations — including forced disappearances, torture and arbitrary detentions — that have been committed by the Mexican government’s security forces, mainly the Mexican military, in the context of the counter-drug efforts in the country. The failure to hold soldiers responsible for the violations they commit leads to more abuses, weakens citizen trust, and undermines the population’s willingness to collaborate in the struggle against any type of crime. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 15, 2010 at: http://www.wola.org/images/stories/Mexico/wola%20prodh%20juarez%20report%20color.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.wola.org/images/stories/Mexico/wola%20prodh%20juarez%20report%20color.pdf Shelf Number: 119981 Keywords: Criminal ViolenceDrug TraffickingForced DisappearancesHuman RightsMilitary PersonnelOrganized CrimeTorture |
Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Regional Office Brazil Title: Country Profile Summary: The Federal Government Multi-year Plan (PPA), 2004-2007, entitled - A Brazil for All - laid out the country's vision for a more equitable, sustainable, and competitive Brazil. Equity is undermined by high crime rates, which affect the poor more deeply. Crime and violence in slum areas remain high and solutions remain elusive. The Government recognizes that crime and violence causes serious economic and social problems that need to be addressed along four broad lines of actions. First, over the long term, social progress at the macro level, with more and better income opportunities would help reduce crime. Second, in the near term, community-based approaches involving the local population and local governments have shown results. Third, urban upgrading programmes in slum areas can also be an entry point for community and cultural activities, micro-credit, and other opportunities. Fourth, improving performance of the police and judiciary will also help lower impunity and crime rates. In opinion polls and consultations, crime and violence are mentioned as one of the most pressing concerns facing Brazilians today. Crime prevention at the local level, combining elements of traditional responses with the targeting of risk factors - such as: easy access to firearms, drugs, and alcohol; high levels of school dropout and unemployment, family violence; and the media portraying violence - represent the emerging international consensus on combating crime and violence. The primary responsibility lies not only with the police, but also with municipalities, state governments and communities. Partnership at all levels needs to be actively engaged. It is important to point out that the average homicide rate of 23.8 per 100,000 inhabitants in Brazil does not provide a complete picture of the situation. This average does not reflect the inequalities that exist between areas in the cities where the middle to upper class population live and the tourists visit - where rates of 5 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants is prevalent while in slums, rates of 100 homicides and above are registered per 100,000 inhabitants. If we consider that, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), for every homicide at least 20 people get injured, the magnitude of the crime and violence in small and big cities acquires a serious dimension. From a gender perspective 82 per cent of the homicides are related to males, and the most affected age group is between 15-29 years old with high incidence in the Afro-Brazilian ethnic group. Unequal distribution of wealth among youth of the upper-middle- class (with the millions of young people living in slums) is a reflection of an unequal society. In this society, 1 per cent of the rich population receives 10 per cent of total national income and 50% of the poor population receives 10% of the national income. Crime prevention experts in Brazil agree that inequality and social exclusion, more than poverty, are the main causes of the involvement of youths in criminal activities. Sustainable development is undermined when crime goes unpunished, since it increases the - Custo Brazil, - (broadly defined as impediments and obstacles to Brazilian competitiveness). Crime depletes resources that could be used for education, health, public safety, generation of employment, etc. Criminal groups are now active in moneylaundering, theft of art and cultural objects, theft of intellectual property, illicit arms trafficking, insurance fraud, computer crime, environmental crime, trafficking in persons, illicit drug trafficking, fraudulent bankruptcy, infiltration of legal businesses, corruption and bribery of public or party officials, etc. These crimes, of a national and transnational nature, provide the criminal groups with most of their illicit money. The national dimension of the economic and social cost of crime has never been assessed. However, based on the sparse data available, it could represent 10 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product. Some of these crimes are white-collar crimes involving mostly middle to upper class, well educated professionals, who count on impunity and low risk of being sentenced for their crimes against the public treasury, financial institutions, etc. Over the last two years, the Brazilian Government has given priority to fighting white-collar crimes with some degree of success. Much remains to be done to recover stolen assets in Brazil and abroad as a measure to show that crime does not pay. Promotion of public ethics is also a work in progress. The success story of Brazil continues to be the control of HIV/AIDS. The mortality from AIDS is now limited to 6 cases in every 100,000 inhabitants. HIV among injecting drugs users has been reduced by half in the last 10 years. A similar national effort is required to control and reduce by half the homicide rate by the year 2015. Details: Brasilia, Brazil: UNODC Regional Office Brazil, 2005. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 4, 2010 at: http://www.unodc.org/pdf/brazil/COUNTRY%20PROFILE%20Eng.pdf Year: 2005 Country: Brazil URL: http://www.unodc.org/pdf/brazil/COUNTRY%20PROFILE%20Eng.pdf Shelf Number: 120180 Keywords: Crime (Brazil)Criminal ViolenceHomicidesOrganized CrimeViolent Crime |
Author: Siddique, Qandeel Title: Tehrik-E-Taliban Pakistan: An Attempt to Deconstruct the Umbrella Organization and the Reasons For Its Growth in Pakistan's North-West Summary: The present report aims to describe the concept of the militant umbrella organization Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) by looking at the organisational structure, background and ideology of the group. Tactics and recruitment strategies are also discussed, along with the various financial sources that have helped sustain the TTP. Finally, the reasons for the spread and rise of the TTP are analysed. Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan’s presence and influence appear to be spreading across the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and parts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (KPP). Pockets within the Punjab and Sind provinces have also been affected by the TTP. However, in light of recent political and military manoeuvres along Pakistan’s North Western Pashtun belt, the dynamics of ‘Talibanization’ – i.e. jihadist activity and the enforcement of a parallel administrative system and social code – are expected to alter. A number of the new breed of TTP leaders are in their thirties, with little or no formal education, and come from relatively poor socio-economic backgrounds. The exact number of TTP militants is uncertain but likely to be upwards of 10,000. Fault lines and nuances exist within the TTP umbrella organization, distinguishing one Taliban faction from the other. Bombings, including suicide strikes, appear to be the group’s preferred modus operandi, these being targeted especially at the Pakistani security forces and symbols of the state. Illegal FM radio channels and the circulation of DVD, CDs and pro-TTP newspapers and websites serve to promote the organization’s propaganda campaign. Child recruitment appears common; certain Pakistani Taliban commanders bear a specific responsibility for training suicide bombers, and a significant amount of propaganda material is directed at young people. The role of Internally Displaced Persons as a possible recruitment pool for the TTP needs to be studied further. A myriad of financial sources swell TTP coffers, including criminal activity, ‘protection money’ and donations from sympathisers inside and outside of Pakistan. TTP ideology reinforces the points laid out in the initial moves announced by the organization upon its formation in December 2007, namely: 1. Enforce sharia. 2. Unite against coalition forces in Afghanistan. 3. Perform defensive jihad against the Pakistani Army. In addition, a marked sectarian tinge has coloured the TTP ideology, this most likely being due to the injection of leaders and cadres from sectarian backgrounds into the TTP. Although previously affiliated with religious political parties, TTP leaders now appear to have adopted a rigid anti-democracy stance. There has also been a growing reference to a ‘global jihad’ – either in relation to rescuing fellow Muslims from ‘occupation,’ spreading sharia, or avenging the growing US presence and drone attacks in Pakistan. Difference may arise with regard to how any particular TTP faction prioritize the above points, depending on the individual background of a particular group leader, the political history of his territory, predominant social dynamics, and the extent and nature of its relations with other groups, such as the Afghan Taliban and al-Qaida. Such nuances distinguish, for example, the Muqami Tehrik-e-Taliban and the Haqqani group, who remain focused on Afghanistan, from the Baitullah Mehsud group and Fidayeen Islam, who claim the fight against the Pakistani security forces to be the ‘real jihad.’ It is also important to separate rhetoric from reality: alliances are often formed for the purpose of political posturing, rather than reflecting an actual alignment of agendas or ideologies. The frequent formation of tribal militias to confront the Taliban points to a lack of local support for the TTP. Factors accounting for cases where the TTP is known to have received local backing include threats and coercion by the rebels, local power structures supplanted by TTP governance, an effective propaganda campaign and feeding off the socio-economic frustrations of the local population. The last point in particular deserves further attention, as evidence from FATA and KPP suggests that long-standing socio-economic grievances among the local population, coupled with ongoing feelings of victimization at the hands of the Pakistani state and army, may drive them to support extremist ideology and the parallel forms of governance and ‘justice’ it offers. Details: Copenhagen: Danish Institute for International Studies, DIIS, 2010. 74p. Source: Internet Resource: DISS Report 2010:12: Accessed December 17, 2010 at: http://www.diis.dk/graphics/Publications/Reports2010/RP2010-12-Tehrik-e-Taliban_web.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Pakistan URL: http://www.diis.dk/graphics/Publications/Reports2010/RP2010-12-Tehrik-e-Taliban_web.pdf Shelf Number: 120536 Keywords: Criminal ViolenceTerrorism (Pakistan)Terrorists |
Author: Amnesty International Title: The Time for Justice is Now: New Strategy Needed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Summary: The people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been beset by violence and human rights abuses for two decades. Crimes under international law – including mass rape, torture and murder – have been committed in almost every corner of the country and are still being committed with alarming frequency. Impunity remains pervasive: while millions of men, women and children have suffered as a result of the violence, only a handful of perpetrators have ever been brought to justice. After decades of neglect, mismanagement and poor governance, the Congolese justice system is largely unable to deliver accountability, address impunity and secure reparation. Its credibility is low because of political and military interference, endemic corruption, lack of personnel, training and resources and its failure to protect victims and witnesses, provide legal aid, enforce its own rulings or even keep convicted prisoners behind bars. Despite some efforts at reform, the government has not shown the clear political and financial commitment necessary to respond to the Congolese population’s need for justice. This report identifies fundamental flaws within the criminal justice system that are more often than not overlooked by current policy and programmes. It examines the complementary role that some proposed transitional justice mechanisms could play. Amnesty International calls for the development of a comprehensive justice strategy that can deliver long-term and sustainable reform of the Congolese justice system in order to overcome impunity. Details: London: Amnesty International, 2011. 88p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 11, 2011 at: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AFR62/006/2011/en/6cd862df-be60-418e-b70d-7d2d53a0a2d4/afr620062011en.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Congo, Democratic Republic URL: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AFR62/006/2011/en/6cd862df-be60-418e-b70d-7d2d53a0a2d4/afr620062011en.pdf Shelf Number: 122373 Keywords: Criminal Justice ReformCriminal Justice SystemsCriminal Justice, Administration of (Democratic ReCriminal ViolenceHomicidesRape |
Author: Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) Title: Investing in Security: A Global Assessment of Armed Violence Reduction Initiatives Summary: Conservative estimates indicate that at least 740 000 men, women, youth and children die each year as a result of armed violence, most of them in low- and medium-income settings (Krause, Muggah, Wenmann 2008). The majority of these deaths occur in situations other than war, though armed conflicts continue to generate a high incidence of casualties. Approaches to preventing and reducing these deaths and related suffering are becoming increasingly important on the international agenda. The United Nations (UN) Secretary General (2009) and UN General Assembly (2008) highlighted the relationships between armed violence and under-development and various high-level diplomatic processes are drawing more attention to promising solutions. In spite of the global preoccupation with the costs and consequences of armed violence, comparatively little evidence exists about how to stem its risks and effects. Virtually no information is available on armed violence reduction and prevention (AVRP) interventions, much less their effectiveness. This report aims to fill this gap. It seeks to generate more understanding of what works and what does not when it comes to armed violence reduction and prevention (AVRP), to stimulate further evaluation and to contribute to more effective and efficient policies and programmes. The report is based on a large-scale mapping of AVRP activities around the world, focusing primarily on programming trends in six countries – Brazil, Burundi, Colombia, Liberia, South Africa and Timor-Leste. These countries represent the very different programming contexts – from high rates of urban criminal violence to protracted post-conflict insecurity – in which development practitioners are currently engaged. While offering new data and analysis, this assessment builds directly on the report Armed Violence Reduction – Enabling Development produced by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s International Network on Conflict and Fragility (OECD, 2009a). An important evolution of AVRP programming in all six countries over the past decade was detected. Approximately two-thirds of all armed violence prevention and reduction activities reviewed in Brazil occurred between 2005 and 2010. Likewise, in Burundi, Colombia, Liberia, and Timor-Leste, nearly all initiatives began after 2005. Not only does the report highlight the importance of internationally-mediated peace processes and security promotion efforts as important entry points for preventing and reducing violence, it highlights the significant investments made by national governments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in more developmental approaches to AVRP over the past decade. This report draws attention to the experimentation and innovation of AVRP initiatives. It finds that many actors are already actively engaged in “direct” and “indirect” AVRP activities, even if they label their initiatives by a different name. Many different practical approaches are used in AVRP activities to achieve the common objective of improving safety and security. Not only are the defence, police and justice sectors involved, but also specialists involved in urban planning, population health, tertiary and secondary education and youth programming. What many have in common is the experience of pursuing common comprehensive interventions to improve safety and security. Implementing agencies are similarly varied, ranging from multilateral and bilateral agencies to governments, NGOs and private organisations engaged in relief, development and social entrepreneurship. The most promising AVRP activities are forged on the basis of inter-sectoral partnerships and evidencebased approaches, and operate simultaneously at the local and national levels. Details: Paris: OECD, 2011. 82p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 14, 2012 at: http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/10/0/48927716.pdf Year: 2011 Country: International URL: http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/10/0/48927716.pdf Shelf Number: 124128 Keywords: Armed ViolenceCriminal ViolenceHomicidesUrban AreasViolent Crime |
Author: Hervieu, Benoit Title: Organized Crime Muscling in on the Media Summary: A total of 141 journalists and media workers were killed during the decade of the 2000s in attacks and reprisals blamed on criminal groups. Mafias and cartels today pose the biggest threat to media freedom worldwide. A transnational phenomenon, organized crime is more than the occasional bloody shoot-out or colourful crime story in the local paper. It is a powerful parallel economy with enormous influence over the legal economy, one the media have a great deal of difficulty in covering. Its elusiveness and inaccessibility to the media make it an even greater threat, both to the safety of journalists and to the fourth estate’s investigative ability. "Organized crime” is the generic label that the post-Cold War world has given to these new predators of journalism. Mafias, cartels, warlords recycled as traffickers, paramilitaries running rackets, separatist groups that traffic and extort to fund themselves – they have replaced the world’s remaining dictatorial regimes as the biggest source of physical danger to journalists. From newspapers to TV news, from crime reports to yellow press, the media seem to be reduced to counting the number of dead, including the dead within their own ranks. While organized crime often overlaps with a violent criminality consisting of rackets, kidnapping and murder, it is the expression of an economic and geopolitical reality that the media usually do not reflect, a reality that does not admit analysis of the types of criminal organizations involved, the way they operate and their ramifications. This dimension of organized crime, which is completely beyond the scope of the 24-hour news cycle, also includes its impact on the “legal world” and its various components, including the media. Far from wanting to overthrow the political, economic and media bases of societies, organized crime has every interest in participating in them and using them. This fundamental fact suggests that the media are vulnerable not just as victims but also as actors or cogs of a parallel system for which they can serve as information and public relations outlets. Details: Paris: Reporters Without Borders, Undated. 10p. Source: Inquiry Report: Internet Resource: Accessed May 8, 2012 at http://fr.rsf.org/IMG/pdf/organized_crime.pdf Year: 0 Country: International URL: http://fr.rsf.org/IMG/pdf/organized_crime.pdf Shelf Number: 125209 Keywords: CorruptionCriminal ViolenceJournalistsOrganized CrimeVictims of Violence |
Author: Perito, Robert M. Title: Empowering the Pakistan Police Summary: Summary •In Pakistan’s struggle against violent extremism, Pakistani police officers have sacrificed their lives to save others. Yet these acts of heroism have done little to alter the fact that most Pakistanis fear the police and seek their assistance as a last resort. •The origins of abusive police behavior are found in Pakistan’s colonial past. The basic police law and the organization of the police date from the period of British rule, as do the attitudes of police toward the public. •Pakistan’s initial response to violent extremism has been to create heavily armed antiterrorist units. The relationship between public support for the police and improved police effectiveness against terrorism has received less attention than it deserves. •Fortunately, the Police Service of Pakistan includes a group of talented senior officers who recognize that improving police-public relations is essential to halting extremist violence. These officers took innovative steps in their districts that brought increased public support. Unfortunately, these initiatives ended when the officers were transferred. •Institutionalizing successful innovations offers a means of improving police effectiveness against terrorism and criminal violence within existing legal authority and available resources. Such an effort would be an appropriate focus for international donor support. Details: Washington, DC: United State Institute of Peace, 2013. 12p. Source: Internet Resource: Special Report 332: Accessed June 1, 2013 at: Year: 2013 Country: Pakistan URL: Shelf Number: 128896 Keywords: Criminal ViolencePolicing (Pakistan)TerrorismViolent Extremism |
Author: Foley, Conor Title: Pelo telefone: Rumors, truths and myths in the 'pacification' of the favelas of Rio de Janeiro Summary: The phenomenon of humanitarian engagement with situations of urban violence has attracted growing interest from academics, and practitioners in recent years. Yet the subject remains shrouded with myths and misconceptions. Much violence in the world today takes place outside formal conflict zones, in what are sometimes referred to as 'fragile settings'. The purpose of the paper is to provide a detailed, factual assessment of one such operation, the so-called 'pacification' of the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, written from a humanitarian and human rights perspective. Since the terrorist attacks in the United States on 11th September 2001 and the subsequent US-led interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq, some have argued that fragile states represent a threat to international peace and security. This has triggered a range of responses by both national governments and the UN Security Council, which are increasingly referred to under the common rubric of stabilization. The UN missions to Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo both feature 'stabilization' as a central goal and there is a growing literature describing the interrelationship between 'stabilization', counter-terrorism, counter-insurgency, peacebuilding, state-building, early recovery and development. In some cases these operations have been led by international armed forces, often mandated by the Security Council under its Chapter VII powers, while in others they have been carried out by national governments themselves. In both cases there has sometimes been doubt about the legal framework governing such operations, particularly where they have involved soldiers as well as the police. Rhetoric about a global 'war on terror', which was preceded by the so-called 'war on drugs', has been used by some to argue that international human rights law could be suspended, or displaced by the more permissive laws of armed conflict, which, by turning criminals into combatants, gives the security forces a license to kill. At the same time, the supposed benefits of bringing to bear military planning, strategy and coordination has excited policy-makers frustrated by the failures of traditional policing in some settings. Operations such as the one described in this paper have attracted international attention because they appear to offer lessons both to those involved in formal counter-insurgency situations and to those struggling to uphold law and order in the face of extreme crime and violence. For humanitarians, accustomed to working in complex emergencies, this places the old dilemmas of host-state consent and civil-military cooperation in a new, and sometimes unsettling context when delivering social services or stimulating economic activity in territories that have been 'pacified' or otherwise brought under state control. This paper does not seek to deny or diminish the achievements of the 'pacification' process. By driving organized armed gangs out of a significant number of Rio de Janeiro's favelas, the police have brought a relative degree of stability to places for the first time in a generation. At the same time, it will be argued, that the 'pacification' has not been the 'silver bullet' that is sometimes portrayed. The real lesson is that there is no short-cut from long-term reform of policing and the criminal justice system as well as tackling the corruption, poverty, inequality and social exclusion that give rise to states of fragility to begin with. Humanitarian action can also only ever be a palliative and agencies would be advised to continue with a gradual and incremental approach towards such engagement. Details: Rio de Janeiro: Humanitarian Actions in Situations other than War, 2014. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Discussion Paper 8: Accessed February 26, 2015 at: http://www.hasow.org/uploads/trabalhos/117/doc/1760478317.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Brazil URL: http://www.hasow.org/uploads/trabalhos/117/doc/1760478317.pdf Shelf Number: 134709 Keywords: Criminal ViolenceFavelas (Brazil)Gang-Related ViolenceGangsUrban AreasViolent CrimeWar on Drugs |
Author: Tabib, Rafaa Title: Stealing the revolution: violence and predation in Libya Summary: The success of Libya's 2011 revolution has given way to political disarray, an institutional vacuum, and an extraordinary proliferation of non-state and quasi-state armed groups operating across the country. However, rather than pursuing political or ideological objectives, these groups increasingly focus on resource predation. Through an empirical study of various axes of violence in contemporary Libya, this report highlights the critical role played by criminal accumulation, land grabs, and protection rackets in the actions of tribal militias and jihadist groups, and in the fighting that has blighted one major urban hub. Whereas conventional representations of Libya's post-revolutionary period dwell on the political battle between Islamists and secular forces, the report suggests that the cause of the countrys increasing levels of armed violence can be found in the absence of a functional state and the fragmentation of local, tribal, ethnic and ideological forces, which together make the violent acquisition of material resources essential to group survival. Details: Oslo: Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Center, 2014. 10p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 3, 2015 at: http://www.clingendael.nl/sites/default/files/Tabib_Clingendael_NOREF_Stealing%20the%20revoulution_Violence%20and%20predation%20in%20Libya_October%202014.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Libya URL: http://www.clingendael.nl/sites/default/files/Tabib_Clingendael_NOREF_Stealing%20the%20revoulution_Violence%20and%20predation%20in%20Libya_October%202014.pdf Shelf Number: 135869 Keywords: CrimeCriminal ViolenceNatural ResourceOffenses Against the EnvironmentRadical Groups |
Author: Porteux, Jonson Nathaniel Title: Police, Paramilitaries, Nationalists and Gangsters: The Processes of State Building in Korea Summary: This dissertation seeks to understand why developed democracies with high state capacity tolerate, and in some cases cooperate with criminal organizations such as paramilitaries, mafia organizations, and vigilantes. The symbiotic relationship between these groups is surprisingly common, but it blurs the lines between legitimate and illegitimate use of violence and allows political actors to circumvent democratic checks on state authority. While previous research has linked illicit violence to weak or failing states, my study is unique in its empirical and theoretical focus on both economically and politically developed governments. It is argued that state monopoly over the use of violence purposefully varies. Political actors must continually exercise their authority in the face of both resource and politically driven constraints in the complex processes of state building, and state maintaining. In the face of resource constraints, political actors sub-contract violence in order to extend their reach and expand their forces. Sub-contracting as a result of principally politically driven constraints however, serves two goals beyond an expansion of forces. First, it allows political actors to distance themselves from police actions deemed illiberal-and hence unpopular-by society. Second, because criminal groups are extra-legal organizations, subcontracting allows the state to avoid transparency and accountability constraints. The choice to subcontract is thus conditioned not only by the end goal, but also by social pressures regarding appropriate means to bring about preferred outcomes. Importantly, the political payoffs from subcontracting are high in states with high levels of operational capacity, as they can best manage the potential risk that criminal groups metastasize and challenge state authority directly. Unbiased, quantifiable data on the linkage between state actors and illicit organizations are-largely by design-impossible to obtain. My primary analysis is based on a year of fieldwork in South Korea, utilizing evidence gleaned from interviews with the police, prosecutors, journalists, mafia members, and victims. Details: Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 2013. 218p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed April 6, 2016 at: https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/102333/jporteux_1.pdf?sequence=1 Year: 2013 Country: Korea, South URL: https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/102333/jporteux_1.pdf?sequence=1 Shelf Number: 138588 Keywords: Criminal Justice SystemsCriminal ViolenceOrganized CrimeParamilitary Groups |
Author: Nunez, Hector Title: Is Crime in Mexico a Disamenity? Evidence from hedonic valuation approach Summary: Since Roback (1982)'s seminal work, the literature has evaluated the role of the amenities to equilibrate the regional differentials of nominal wages and prices. While these studies generally find evidence for traditional amenities and disamenities in developed countries, it still exists a scarce exploration on how those characteristics assessed, like violence, affect the equilibrium in less developed countries. In this paper, we explore violence as amenity or disamenity for the case of Mexico as a particular and unique natural experiment. We use the hedonic wage and rent theory proposed by Roback using data from the Mexican Household Income and Expenditure Survey, along with other information at municipal and state level. For our particular hypothesis, we find evidence to support that inhabitants in traditional drug trafficking states could consider drug-related crime as an amenity. Details: Documentos de Trabajo en Economia y Ciencia Regional from Universidad Catolica del Norte, Chile, Department of Economics , 2015. 31p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 25, 2016 at: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=dWNuLmNsfHdwZWNvbm9taWF8Z3g6NDVlZTdlZWE3N2NlZDUzMQ Year: 2015 Country: Mexico URL: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=dWNuLmNsfHdwZWNvbm9taWF8Z3g6NDVlZTdlZWE3N2NlZDUzMQ Shelf Number: 139822 Keywords: Criminal ViolenceDrug TraffickingEconomics and CrimeViolent Crime |
Author: Garay-Salamanca, Luis Jorge Title: Illicit Networks Reconfiguring States: Social Network Analysis of Colombian and Mexican Cases Summary: People have often thought that as a rule, criminal gangs confront the State. We have this preconceived notion of the State as a homogeneous entity acting as a block to guarantee law enforcement, and of organized crime, such as drug trafficking, seeking ways to get away with breaking the law. In achieving these two objectives, violence ensues: the State resorts to coercion, and organized crime resorts to bribery, kidnapping, murder, or terrorism. However, research carried out during recent years shows that the history of the relationship between the State and organized crime is not always one of confrontation. Indeed, in some cases the latter has been able to infiltrate and to co-opt some State institutions in order to achieve its unlawful objectives. On the other hand, government officials and politicians, in many cases, get along well with organized crime, taking advantage of its criminal power in order to obtain egoistic, exclusive and morally unlawful benefits to the detriment of public interests. It has been reported around the world that policemen infiltrate gangs, criminal gangs bribe government officials to obtain privileged information, and government officials reach secret agreements with gangs of outlaws. However, the social situations analyzed in this book go beyond the classic stories of bribed policemen, infiltrated gangs, or egoistic government officials. This book analyzes cases in which the State has been infiltrated and manipulated, sometimes resulting from alliances between the organized crime and lawful officials and organizations. These alliances can be observed even at high decision-making levels, affecting the structure and operation of institutions. In previous books, the concept of Co-opted State Reconfiguration (CStR) has been introduced to describe situations in which unlawful groups reach agreements with authorities in order to infiltrate State institutions. This concept was also useful to describe situations in which lawful organizations, such as political movements, groups of individuals as landowners, government officials and politicians, establish alliances with unlawful groups to take advantage of their criminal and violent potential. In both cases, the objective is to manipulate and use legitimate institutions in order to obtain unlawful benefits, or obtain lawful benefits that are socially questionable. In both cases the result goes beyond the economic framework, encompassing objectives of political, criminal, judicial and cultural manipulation, and to gain social legitimacy. The CStR has been defined as a more developed and complex process of State Capture (StC), since in the traditional StC lawful economic groups manipulate law making in order to attain exclusive economic benefits. Against this backdrop, the objective of this book is to go deeper into the conceptual, methodological, and empirical issues of the State Capture (StC) and Co-opted State Reconfiguration (CStR). To fulfill this objective, a conceptual and empirical analysis of specific cases of organized crime in Colombia and Mexico will be made. A methodology identifying when a social situation may be defined as either traditional or systemic corruption, StC or CStR, will be presented, developed, and applied. This methodology will also be used to infer the institutional scope, or the degree of damage that a criminal organization may impinge on informal and formal State institutions. Therefore, the StC and CStR will be the guiding concepts throughout the book. The empirical issues will be developed through the social network analysis (SNA), in which alliances such as the above mentioned are found. The first network analyzed is a Mexican cartel, well known for its extreme violent actions throughout the past decade. The second network analyzed is related to an unlawful paramilitary group operating in a Colombian province called Casanare. This province has been favored for more than two decades with huge amounts of public resources coming from oil royalties. However, most of the province’s budget has been misspent, stolen, or appropriated by lawful agents and outlawed organizations, and diverted for purposes other than providing for the social needs of a poor and backward population. The third network is related to five Colombian provinces in the Atlantic Coast of Colombia: Sucre, Córdoba, Cesar, Atlántico, and Magdalena. In these provinces, the United Self–Defense Forces of Colombia [Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, AUC], the most powerful unlawful paramilitary group that has ever existed in the recent Colombian history, consolidated its unified command at the end of the nineties. This group, with its increase of de facto power, combined violent actions, drug trafficking, and corruption in order to grab large portions of public budget, manipulate elections, and ultimately, get elected to the Colombian Congress. These actions were carried out with the purpose of promoting law making that favors its interests and achieving social legitimacy at the same time. Details: Bogota, Colombia: Metodo Foundation, 2010. 140p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 23, 2017 at: http://media.wix.com/ugd/f53019_f5aa311ed5854d24b2d823f0176e593c.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Colombia URL: http://media.wix.com/ugd/f53019_f5aa311ed5854d24b2d823f0176e593c.pdf Shelf Number: 141201 Keywords: CartelsCriminal NetworksCriminal ViolenceGang-Related ViolenceOrganized CrimeSocial Network Analysis |
Author: Harriott, Anthony Title: Crime and Violence in Jamaica Summary: This report is part of an IDB technical note series on crime and violence in the Caribbean. The overall aim is to establish a baseline of the crime prevention arena against which progress can be assessed. The report compiles the available data from multiple sources in order to provide a diagnosis of the size, characteristics, and changing nature of the crime problem in Jamaica over the last 10 years. In addition, the report provides a survey of the various crime prevention and suppression policies, programmes, and projects adopted by government, private organizations, and non-governmental organizations in recent years. In performing the above-mentioned tasks, the report offers an assessment of the data collection, analysis, and crime response capabilities in Jamaica, and makes suggestions regarding the most effective way forward. Details: Washington, DC: Inter-American Development Bank, 2016. 166p. Source: Internet Resource: IDB Series on Crime and Violence in the Caribbean; (IDB Technical Note ; 1060): Accessed April 27, 2017 at: https://publications.iadb.org/bitstream/handle/11319/7773/Crime-and-Violence-in-Jamaica-IDB-Series-on-Crime-and-Violence-in-the-Caribbean.pdf?sequence=4 Year: 2016 Country: Jamaica URL: https://publications.iadb.org/bitstream/handle/11319/7773/Crime-and-Violence-in-Jamaica-IDB-Series-on-Crime-and-Violence-in-the-Caribbean.pdf?sequence=4 Shelf Number: 145170 Keywords: Crime Prevention Crime Rates Crime Statistics Criminal Statistics Criminal ViolenceViolent Crime |