American crime drops: Investigating the breaks,dips and drops in temporal homicide

ObjectivesWhile a great deal of attention has been given to the 1990s crime drop, less is known about the more recent decline in homicide rates that occurred in several large U.S. cities. This paper aims to explore whether these represent two distinct drops via statistical evidence of structural breaks in longitudinal homicide trends and explore potentially differing explanations for the two declines. Methods: Using homicide data on a large sample of U.S. cities from 1990 to 2011, we test for structural breaks in temporal homicide rates. Combining census data and a time series approach, we also examine the role structural features, demographic shifts, and crime control strategies played in the changes in homicide rates over time. Results: Statistical evidence demonstrates two structural breaks in homicide trends, with one trend reflecting the 1990s crime drop (1994–2002) and another trend capturing a second decline (2007–2011). Time series analysis confirms previous research findings about the contributions of structural conditions (e.g., disadvantage) and crime control strategies (e.g., police force size) to the crime drop of the 1990s, but these factors cannot account for the more recent drop with the exception of police presence. Conclusions: Although both structural conditions and crime control strategies are critical to the longitudinal trends in homicide rates over the entire span from 1990 to 2011, different factors account for these two distinct temporal trends.     

日本更生保护制度及其对中国的启示

21世纪以来,《更生保护事业法等部分法律修正案》和"更生保护犯罪被害人施策"制度的施行,使日本更生保护制度进一步完善。为进一步推进中国出狱人保护事业的发展,应当通过借鉴日本更生保护制度,从以下四个方面完善中国的出狱人保护制度:一是制定《出狱人保护法》;二是建立专门的出狱人保护机构;三是采取多样保护措施使出狱人保护的内容具体化;四要兼顾被害人的合法权益。     

辩护人妨害作证罪之证明

辩护人妨害作证罪的认定多是依靠作为＂受害人＂的控方收集的言词性证据。辩护人妨害作证罪的证明需要保护被告人的质证权,控方证人需要出庭作证,警察需要出庭作证。辩护律师的真实义务标准相对较低,对证据的认识不同于司法机关。辩护人妨害作证的判断应该以律师执业标准为准绳,律师向被告人披露相关证据不构成妨害作证。     

青少年犯罪社区矫正刍议

青少年犯罪社区矫正体现了刑罚的人道主义思想,是一种更人性化的监管方式,是通过关注青少年的犯罪人群,改善其处境,使其重新融入社会的一种措施。目前我国的青少年犯罪社区矫正发展比较缓慢,存在着一些问题,通过论述青少年犯罪社区矫正的意义,分析青少年犯罪社区矫正所存在的不足,提出了相应的对策思考。     

The Relationship of Problem Gambling to Criminal Behavior in a Sample of Canadian Male Federal Offenders

This article examines the prevalence of moderate and severe problem gambling in a sample of 254 incarcerated Canadian male federal offenders (completion rate of 39.0%). The prevalence of disordered gambling was measured using the PGSI, DSM-IV-TR, and SOGS that yielded estimates of 9.4%, 6.3%, and 13.0%, respectively. Severe problem gamblers were significantly more likely to have committed income producing offences, but were neither more nor less likely than other offenders to have committed violent offences. The majority of severe problem gamblers (65.2%) and a fifth of the moderate problem gamblers (20.0%) reported that their criminal activity was a result of their gambling (e.g., to pay off debts). Based on these findings there appears to be a need to offer problem gambling treatment services to offenders in order to help them break the cycle of gambling, debt and crime.     

论罪刑法定视野下的“轻重”刑事政策

"轻重"刑事政策是是基于对特定法益保护的要求而对符合一定条件的重罪减轻或免除处罚的政策,是宽严相济刑事政策的贯彻和体现,实行这一政策也有助于起到特殊预防的目的,能更好的保护法益.基于罪刑法定原则的考虑,轻重刑事政策应该实现法定化,在刑法分则条文中明确规定下来.就绑架罪而言,应该一方面降低绑架罪的起刑点,以求取得罪与罪之间的平衡;另一方面从保护被绑架人的生命安全出发,设定对主动或者应要求释放人质的行为减轻或者免予处罚条款,以更为有效地实现刑法保护法益的目的.     

Youth co-offending networks: An investigation of social and spatial effects

This research tests the relative contribution of social distance and spatial distance to the presence of ties between neighborhoods based on youth co-offending. Using official court data from a large U.S. metropolitan area, a set of dyad independence and exponential random graph models are estimated in order to investigate the characteristics of neighborhoods that foster co-offending. Results reveal significant effects of both social and spatial distance. Social distance contributes to network structure net of spatial proximity, though spatial factors better explain the overall network structure. These results have methodological implications for the analysis of spatial effects and criminal behavior.     

论刑法修正案的修正主体

中国刑事法的修正事实上进入全国人民代表大会常务委员会的立法时代。从目前刑法修正案的内容看,主要涉及刑事政策的重大调整,包括犯罪圈的扩张、刑罚的轻重走向,甚至涉及基本的刑罚制度。刑法修正案由全国人民代表大会通过更具有正当性,否则有违反罪刑法定原则之嫌,本质上也不符合宪法的规定。法治建设包括刑事法治建设应当从点滴的尊重宪法、敬畏宪法的小事开始。     

行为对象理论述评及其实践意义

刑法中的行为对象理论来自并脱离于传统的犯罪对象.对于行为对象的概念内涵,目前学界主要有六种观点,经过梳理归纳,本文在对当前观点的评价和分析的基础上,进行了综合的比较研究,并且对行为对象的理论价值和司法适用实例做出了分析,希望对于该理论的发展以及司法实践中更广泛的适用提供更多的理论参考.     

论网络犯罪

随着互联网的发展,网络已经开始并将继续深入地渗透到人们的生活之中,网络犯罪亦相伴而生,在互联网上不仅可以实施以计算机系统为犯罪对象的新型犯罪,还大大便利了传统犯罪的实施,并赋予传统犯罪新的特征。将网络犯罪作为一类罪研究的目的在于,针对在网络空间内实施的传统犯罪中的部分犯罪构成要件的异化,调整刑事立法中不适应的部分,针对网络犯罪独具的高智能性、强隐蔽性所导致的对侦查、起诉的困扰,培养兼备法律与计算机专业知识的复合型人才,并尝试在网络犯罪领域探索诉讼成本承担主体的转移;针对因网络犯罪无国界的特性而导致的各国司法管辖权的冲突,呼吁多国、多地区之间签署与加入相关相关国际公约,以寻求对网络犯罪的有效抗制对策。