Indian police arrest ex minister over murder

New Delhi, India (AHN) - Indian police have arrested former Gujarat Minister of State for Home Amit Shah in connection of killing a Muslim man, accused of plotting to assassinate state Chief Minister Narendra Modi, in a fake encounter in 2005.


Shah, who submitted his resignation to Modi on Saturday amid accusation of kidnapping and murder had been remanded to 13 days in judicial custody after he surrendered to police on Sunday. He will spend this time in Sabarmati Jail, but can appeal for bail.

Meanwhile, Shah denied any wrongdoing and claimed that the charges against him were fabricated and were politically motivated. He even alleged Congress of misusing the Central Bureau of Investigation for electoral gain in Gujarat. “For the last 20 years, the Congress has not won even a municipal election in Gujarat. The Gujarat electorate has not accepted them, and they have been comprehensively beaten. This is their only recourse,” he added.

It may be noted that Shah and top three policemen are accused of kidnapping and killing Sohrabuddin Sheikh, a Muslim civilian, while he was traveling with his wife by a bus in November 2005. The Modi government later admitted that his wife, Kausar Bai, who went missing, was also killed.

Shah and his aides claimed that Sheikh was a member of banned militant group and alleged that he masterminded a plot to murder Modi five years ago – a claim the state police denied and said that they tried to cover up the killing by saying Sheikh belongs to Muslim group.

Explaining why the agency had not looked for police custody for Shah, which could have allowed investigators to easily interrogate him, CBI’s Joint Director P Kandaswamy said, “We have placed the evidence in the chargesheet to show his complicity in the crime. Therefore, at this point of time, his interrogation is not required.”

The CBI has filed a 30,000-page charge sheet against Shah for killing, extortion, kidnapping and other charges under the Indian Penal Code.




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Murder on the Khyber Pass express

The 92,000 American classified military documents released by WikiLeaks add to the evidence that Pakistan's intelligence service backs the Taliban, to the point of helping the Taliban plan assassinations of American and Afghan officials.

This raises the question: Who covered up a scandalous arrangement known to everyone with a casual acquaintance of the situation? The answer is the same as in Agatha Christie's 1934 mystery about murder on the Orient Express, that is, everybody: former United States president George W Bush and vice president Dick Cheney, current US President Barack Obama and Vice



President Joe Biden, India, China and Iran. They are all terrified of facing a failed state with nuclear weapons, and prefer a functioning but treacherous one.

The released papers - described as one of the biggest leaks in US military history - detail military operations between 2004 and 2009. Some of the documents published on July 25 disclose how North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces have killed scores of civilians in unreported incidents in Afghanistan. The documents claim that 195 civilians have been improperly killed and 174 wounded. Many are motorcylists or drivers shot after being suspected of being suicide bombers.

The White House has condemned the publication, saying it threatened the safety of coalition forces, while Pakistan's ambassador to the United States said his country was committed to fighting insurgents. Husain Haqqani called the release "irresponsible", saying it consisted of "unprocessed" reports from the field.

The "everybody" involved in this case seems to exclude whomever actually leaked the documents, presumably some element of the US military, which has to absorb the effect of Pakistan's double game in the region in the form of body bags for enlisted men and shattered reputations for commanders. Like the Rolling Stone magazine interviews that led to the firing of General Stanley McChrystal, the America commander in Afghanistan, the WikiLeaks documents suggest a degree of disaffection of the American military with civilian leaders deeper than anything in living memory.

To exit the Afghan quagmire in a less than humiliating fashion, the United States requires Pakistani help to persuade the Taliban not to take immediate advantage of the American departure and evoke Vietnam-era scenes of helicopters on the American Embassy roof. The politicians in Washington know they have lost and have conceded to the Taliban a role in a post-American Afghanistan. They can only hope that once the country plunges into chaos, the public will have moved onto other themes, much as it did after the Bill Clinton administration put Kosovo into the hands of a gang of dubious Albanians in 1998.

India does not want America to call Pakistan to account. In the worst case, Pakistan might choose to support the Taliban and other terrorist organizations - including Kashmiri irredentists - openly rather than covertly. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, of whom the Economist on July 25 wrote "the strength of his coalition depends largely on how weak he is as Prime Minister", does not want to confront Pakistan. If Pakistan's support for anti-Indian terrorism became undeniable, India would have to act, and action is the last thing the Congress party-led coalition in New Delhi wants to consider.

China has no interest in destabilization in Pakistan; on the contrary, Beijing lives in fear that radical Islamists in Pakistan might infect its own restive Uyghurs. And Iran, which shares the fractious Balochis with Pakistan on their common border, lives in terror that a destabilized Pakistan would free the Balochis to make trouble.

Balochis comprise little over 2% of Iran's population, but they have demonstrated their talent at bomb-making on several recent occasions, including the bombing this month of a Shi'ite mosque in southeastern Iran in which 28 people were killed and hundreds wounded. Iran has accused Pakistan of sponsoring Balochi terror attacks, but intelligence community sources in Washington insist that the Pakistanis would never be so reckless as to put bombs into Balochi hands.

With 170 million people - more than Russia - and a nuclear arsenal, Pakistan is too big to fail, that is, too big to fail without traumatic consequences for its neighbors. Whether it can be kept from failure is questionable. Half its people live on less than a dollar day, and half are illiterate. It is riven by religious differences - a seventh of Pakistanis are Shi'ite - as well as ethnic ones.

The government's desultory campaign against pro-Taliban elements on the Afghan border comes down to Punjabis killing Pashtuns. To drive the Taliban in earnest out of the Pashto-speaking frontier in the Waziristan tribal areas would risk tearing the country apart. It is also the case that Pakistan wants the Taliban as a bulwark against India. But it is misleading to separate Islamabad's foreign policy objectives from the requirements of domestic cohesion, since irredentist agitation against India is part of the glue that holds together a fractious and fanatical collection of tribes.

Pakistan's claim on the support and forbearance of its neighbors, and its foreign sponsors, the United States and China, is its propensity to fail. American policy still wants to maintain a balance of power between India and Pakistan. That is an act of extreme folly. The longer the regional powers delay a reckoning with Pakistan, the more damaging the outcome. As I wrote in my year-end review last December 29:
There is one great parallel, but also one great difference, between the Balkans on the eve of World War I and the witch's cauldron comprising Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and contiguous territory. The failure of the region's most populous state - in that case the Ottoman Empire, in this case Pakistan - makes shambles out of the power balance, leaving the initiative in the hands of irredentist radicals who threaten to tug their sponsors among the great powers along behind them. But in 1914, both France and Germany thought it more advantageous to fight sooner rather than later. No matter how great the provocation, both India and China want to postpone any major conflict. The problem is that they may promote minor ones. [1]
Given the overwhelming evidence that Pakistan is taking American aid while helping the Taliban kill American soldiers, perhaps by providing its Afghani friends with shoulder-fired, heat-seeking missiles, the Obama administration has done the only thing it can: deny that the 92,000 documents contain any new information, while insisting that its November 2009 "review" of Afghan war strategy is an appropriate response to the problems detailed in the documents. The Obama administration has a story, and it is sticking to it. The White House stated after the documents were published on July 25:

Blackpool hospital murder horror

A Lancashire nurse was stabbed in a horror attack at a hospital and died in the emergency unit where she worked.

Doctors and nursing colleagues battled in vain to save the life of nurse Jane Clough, 26, after she was stabbed in the chest outside Blackpool Victoria Hospital.

Detectives later arrested a 30-year-old man on suspicion of attacking Jane, 26, in the staff car park outside the hospital at 8.30 on Sunday.

Lancashire police said he was held at an address in Barrowford, near Nelson, at around 7.30am today (MON).

It is thought that Jane may have known the suspect, a paramedic, who was until recently based at the hospital until he was transferred to duties elsewhere.

Two police forensic unit crime scene tents were erected at the car park in Whinney Heys Road, one covering two vehicles parked in residents-only spaces and the other nearby.

Marie Thompson, Director of Nursing at Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: "We would like to offer our sincerest condolences to the nurse's family, friends and work colleagues at this difficult time."

A spokesman for Lancashire Constabulary said; "A man, of no fixed address, was arrested by officers approximately at 7.30am in Barrowford, Nelson.

Det Chief Inspector Neil Esseen, who is leading the investigation, added: "We have launched a murder inquiry following this incident and I would appeal for anyone with information to get in touch with us as a matter of urgency."

English footballer jailed for 25 years

Gavin Grant © Action Images

English footballer jailed for 25 years

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26/07/2010, 12:48

Gavin Grant, a former Millwall and Bradford striker, will serve at least 25 years in prison for his role in the gun murder of an old friend.

Grant was given the sentence at the Old Bailey after being convicted of murdering Leon Labastide, 21, outside his parents' home in 2004.

The 26-year-old had previously been cleared of the murder of Jahmall Moore as a series of shootings scarred a north London estate.

But Grant was charged with Labastide's murder when new witnesses came forward.

Gareth Downie, 25, and Damian Williams, 32, were also jailed for life and given minimum terms of 25 years - Downie for murdering Labastide and Williams for conspiracy to murder.

Grant spent the second half of last season with League Two club Bradford, where he made what look likely to be the final 11 appearances of his career.

Judge Peter Beaumont, said Labastide's murder had been in revenge for a series of "tit-for-tat" shootings.

Labastide's mother, Diane Havill, said in a statement: "Leon was a keen footballer who shared his passion for the game with all who knew him. He loved life.

"His senseless killing by so-called friends who grew up with him has left it hard for me to understand the futility of snatching Leon's future whilst, in the same breath, destroying their own." As Grant was being sentenced at the Old Bailey, a woman shouted from the public gallery: "It's all fixed" and "You are coming out".

Stephen Batten QC, prosecuting, said that many of the people involved in the case had been linked to shootings and drug-dealing on the Stonebridge Park Estate in Harlesden, north-west London.

He told the jury: "Attitudes and standards are different. It is more the law of the jungle than the law of civilised England.

"You will hear about and see people whose behaviour will probably disgust you and make you wonder if there is any hope for the human race."

The jury heard that trouble started with a burglary in which three women were terrorised and it was suspected that £20,000 in drug money was taken.

A 16-year-old girl, who had been in the house, gave evidence under an assumed name in the trial.

It was rumoured that Labastide was behind the burglary and Williams arranged for Grant and Downie to shoot him.

Criminal Analysis at IPSG

The Criminal Analysis Sub-directorate (CAS), part of the Specialized Crime and Analysis Directorate provides analytical support to units in the General Secretariat and on request to member countries.

CAS currently has 11 Criminal Intelligence Analysts based at the General Secretariat in Lyon, France, as well as 3 analysts based in Sub Regional Bureaus (currently Buenos Aires, San Salvador and LoBang).

The staff, a mix of both seconded officers and under-contract staff currently comprised of eleven nationalities, allow for the unit to draw on a wide range of experience, contacts and languages.

The unit currently provides three main Analytical services: Operational Analytical support, Strategic Analysis and Risk Assessments as well as Training and Consultancy in Analytical matters.

The unit, working in close co-operation with the other Specialized Crime Units provides analytical support for INTERPOL 5 Priority crime areas working with member countries on specific assessments.

Criminal Intelligence Analysis

Criminal Intelligence Analysis (sometimes called Crime Analysis) has been recognized by law enforcement as a useful support tool for over twenty-five years and is successfully used within the international community. Within the last decade, the role and position of Criminal Intelligence Analysis in the global law enforcement community has fundamentally changed. Whereas previously there were a few key countries acting as forerunners and promoters of the discipline, more and more countries have implemented analytical techniques within their police forces. International organisations, such as INTERPOL, Europol and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), all have Criminal Intelligence Analysts among their personnel. The techniques are also widely used within private sector organizations.

There are many definitions of Criminal Intelligence Analysis in use throughout the world. The one definition agreed in June 1992 by an international group of twelve European INTERPOL member countries and subsequently adopted by other countries is as follows:

'The identification of and provision of insight into the relationship between crime data and other potentially relevant data with a view to police and judicial practice'.

The central task of Analysis is to help officials - law enforcers, policy makers, and decision makers - deal more effectively with uncertainty, to provide timely warning of threats, and to support operational activity by analysing crime.

Criminal Intelligence Analysis is divided into operational (or tactical) and strategic analysis. The basic skills required are similar, and the difference lies in the level of detail and the type of client to whom the products are aimed. Operational Analysis aims to achieve a specific law enforcement outcome. This might be arrests, seizure or forfeiture of assets or money gained from criminal activities, or the disruption of a criminal group. Operational Analysis usually has a more immediate benefit. Strategic Analysis is intended to inform higher level decision making and the benefits are realised over the longer term. It is usually aimed at managers and policy-makers rather than individual investigators. The intention is to provide early warning of threats and to support senior decision-makers in setting priorities to prepare their organizations to be able to deal with emerging criminal issues. This might mean allocating resources to different areas of crime, increased training in a crime fighting technique, or taking steps to close a loophole in a process.

Both disciplines make use of a range of analytical techniques and Analysts need to have a range of skills and attributes.

fight crime

In today`s world there is considerable debate over what the role of police officers should be. Some believe that the main role of the police is to fight crime. Others perceive the role to encompass service to society beyond simply maintaining law and order, to include contributing to efforts dealing with the underlying causes of crime.



Policing in Africa has many challenges which can lead police officers to be skeptical or even cynical about their effectiveness and role. There are a number of factors that contribute to this.



Depressing socio-economic conditions and growing criminality in urban areas demoralize police officers. Many of the situations they experience cause them to lose faith in others and, as a result, develop an “us versus them” outlook. As a consequence, police officers socialize with fewer and fewer people outside law enforcement circles, and in some cases even gradually withdraw from their families and friends. This slow withdrawal from society tends to lead them into states of confusion, alienation, apathy and frustration.



When an ineffective justice system allows criminals to go free, enthusiastic police officers feel betrayed and victimized by what they see as a miscarriage of justice. Police officers become distrustful of the justice system. Naturally they dread such an outcome believing that they could be victimized by the criminals whom they brought into custody.



Despite holding office as a result of the democratic process of holding elections, many African governments lack real acceptance by their people, and hence face a deficit in legitimacy. This results in a widespread public perception of police officers as tools of an authoritarian and even repressive state. Such public attitudes impact on the morale of the police officers, distracting them from pursuing their main objectives. This can also lead to mistrust of the public at large. Instead of developing an attitude of pride in their role as public protectors, police officers lose their self-esteem.



The public expects a 24 hour police service every day and night, year in and year out. The police in Africa, however, are poorly paid. The law enforcement profession is not highly regarded, even in comparison to service in the armed forces, and therefore does not attract the most promising candidates. Furthermore, working conditions leave a great deal to be desired. Rarely considered as a priority by African governments, police budgets are not adequate and facilities are in many cases in very poor condition, and have been for decades. To expect the police to be up to the task under such circumstances is like expecting a miracle. Governments need to invest in the police if they want to see results.



As if all this were not enough, African police services are often badly administered. Occupational stagnation, high levels of nepotism, and the prevalence of corruption are exacerbating the problems faced by the police in many parts of Africa.



Given these circumstances, it is difficult to imagine that what peace and stability that does exist in today`s Africa is a direct result of effective policing. Most societies are simply policing themselves and responding to crime as communities, in some cases giving summary justice on the spot. This is not the direction things should go in modernizing African societies. The growth of cynicism in the police forces is not an encouraging sign. Cynicism robs the profession of the very value needed to accomplish its goal. Each time it creates a negative contact with a citizen or impinges on professionalism and productivity among the ranks, cynicism impacts on police officers in Africa.



What is to be done?



Many of the problems faced by the police forces in African countries reflect a general malaise in the societies of those countries. It is not just the police that are dysfunctional. Institutions across the country are not working properly. Only wide-ranging and penetrating reform in governance and state administration can hope to have a sustainable impact on the effectiveness of law enforcement agencies on the continent. Many hope that the winds of change now blowing across Africa will also transform the way in which African governments interact with their people. If this happens, then that transformation will also positively influence African police services.



But this is not to say that Africans should wait until the big reforms come our way. Forward thinking leaders should surround themselves with change agents and embark on a sustainable initiative to transform the police. Nothing less than a reorientation leading to behavioral change is required. Such a campaign, if successful, would result in a force whose members show meaningful commitment to the ideals of honesty, fairness, justice, courage, integrity, loyalty, and compassion. This must be supported with better recruitment, continuous training, mentoring and peer counseling, positive recognition, empowerment, and community policing to turn the situation around. Civic society groups and professional associations should also play a role in pressing countries to move in the direction of building police forces worthy of the name.

police militarisation versus criminal

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DISCLAIMER
29 November 2007: Police Militarisation Versus Criminal Militarisation


In the last few weeks the media has reported on various cash-in-transit (CIT) robberies where police reaction led to the killing and arrest of a number of criminals. CIT robbers are known to be armed with automatic weapons such as AK47’s, and lately also R4’s and R5’s, normally used by the security forces. They often operate in groups of up to fifteen or more and carry out their attacks with ‘military precision’, which points to a certain element of military training and military expertise. This is probably due to the fact that some of these criminals were in the past members of the police, the military or the military units of liberation movements. In isolated incidents even serving members of the security forces have been linked to CIT robberies. There is also strong evidence of the involvement of foreigners with similar backgrounds in bank and CIT robberies in South Africa.



The recent successes of the police in confrontations with these militarised criminal gangs, have elicited praise from various quarters. It would appear that the ‘winning’ of these kinds of ‘battles’ against criminals who seem to be able to act with impunity, has a reassuring affect on the public. It carries the message that criminals are not in control and enhances confidence in the police. According to the police their recent successes are the result of a targeted strategy to reduce CIT robberies. This involves close cooperation with SABRIC (South African Banking Risk and Information Centre) and the CIT industry, together with good intelligence, including information provided by the public. But no amount of intelligence will help if the police do not have the ability to act on it. As a consequence the police deploy highly trained and specialised units such as the Special Task Force (STF) and the National Intervention Unit (NIU) for this purpose.



The STF and NIU are widely regarded as elite police units and are more ‘militarised’ than the rest of the police. Members of these units have to pass through a stringent selection and training process. Their training is very similar to that of the so-called SWAT (special weapons and tactics) teams in police organisations across the United States and, in some respects, the STF is even more advanced. They are trained and equipped to deal with high risk situations and in their ranks they will have a number of specialists, including snipers and explosives experts. Fully dressed in their operational outfit they may even look more military than some soldiers. Also projecting a more militarised image of the police are the Crime Combating Units (CCU’s), who are responsible, inter alia, for crowd management. In addition, the police have in recent years introduced a ‘street survival’ course for all its members outside the above specialised units, involving more advanced training in the use of firearms and the handling of dangerous situations.



The strengthening of, or growth in militarism in, police organisations is certainly not unique to South Africa. According to the Wall Street Journal (November 2006), police agencies in the United States show a clear shift to officer safety and para-military training. This is insightful considering that a police official in South Africa has an eight times higher probability rate of being killed than his American counterpart: in the US in 2005, 51 police officers out of a total of more than 700 000 were killed compared to 95 out of approximately 120 000 in SA during the same period. According to the Washington Post (February 2006) the militarisation of American police agencies have now developed to the stage that tactics once reserved for rare, volatile situations such as terrorist incidents, hostage takings and bank robberies, are increasingly being used for routine police work. In the 1980’s, for example, SWAT teams were called out on average 3 000 times a year, and by 2006 that number had increased to approximately 40 000 times a year.



The question is whether the presence of an element of militarism in the police is good or bad? There are, of course, strong arguments in favour of such an element of militarism. Like the military, the police are vested with coercive powers, including the power to use deadly force. The police, like the military, are exposed to dangerous working conditions and having a type of organisation and discipline, very similar to that of the military, that enables them to control their coercive powers and to survive in dangerous conditions, seems logical. Arguments against police militarism will obviously focus on the dangers of abuse and the use of unnecessary violence.



In the end the answer seems to be a choice between two evils. The presence of firearms and a widespread readiness to use them, together with the availability of military expertise among criminals, have completely changed the nature of crime in South Africa. Either the police maintain a capability to meet this threat or, at some stage, as was called for during 2006, the military is called in. Using the military in a policing role in a democracy is something that should be avoided. It seems, therefore, that a limited degree of militarisation of the police appears to be the lesser evil in this case.

| THE INSTITUTE

In the previous issue of the SA Crime Quarterly, Antony Altbeker argued that the country’s decision after 1994 to `place the prevention of crime at the centre of the strategic vision for the criminal justice system` undermined the building of an effective criminal justice system and may have led to the country`s high crime levels. In response to Altbeker`s article which is based on his new book `A country at war with itself. South Africa`s crisis of crime` (published by Jonathan Ball), Eric Pelser`s article explains why his arguments leave one both disappointed and despairing. Chandre Gould suggests that a law enforcement approach may not be the most appropriate way to counter the problem of human trafficking in the sex work industry in Cape Town, Lillian Artz and Dee Smythe make sense of the new Sexual Offences Bill that introduces a number of legal reforms intended to improve the handling of sexual offences cases, while Lisa Vetten`s article briefly sets out some of the Bill`s content and then examines whether or not the Bill, in its current form, does indeed meet the high aims set for itself.

Stefanie Roehrs reviews the feasibility of compulsory HIV testing for alleged sexual offenders, arguing the overwhelming burden on the police, who have neither the resources nor the training to provide such services. Finally Nicole Fick examines the new clause in the Sexual Offences Bill that will criminalise the clients of sex workers, with the specific intent to protect women and
children from exploitation, however raising the point that sex workers will be most affected because they will now have to protect the clients who are their only source of income.

: Transforming the Judiciary

Presented by the Crime and Justice Programme, Pretoria

The need for the composition of the South African judiciary to reflect the demographics of South Africa in terms of race and gender has been a topic of lively and even acrimonious debate in South Africa over the past few years. There are those who hold the view that the discussion about transformation of the judiciary masks an intention to undermine judicial independence. Others argue that those who seek to avoid racial and gender transformation are merely protecting their own interests.

In the latest edition of South African Crime Quarterly Professor Steven Friedman contributes an article in which he argues that the key test of judicial transformation is not whether it meets some abstract standard but whether judges and courts enjoy widespread legitimacy in society. He suggests that this approach can partly explain why we need a more racially and gender representative judiciary if our justice system is to operate effectively. He also argues that racial and gender change alone will not secure the public trust in the courts and that a broader reform agenda is needed which understands the intrinsic link between an improved judicial system and winning broad public support for a more representative judiciary

Join us on 29 July for a debate and discussion of these issues and to launch the next edition of the journal SA Crime Quarterly No 32.

Criminal Law: Crime Definition FAQs

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Criminal Law: Crime Definition FAQs
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•Can an event be both a criminal and civil offense?
•Can being present at the scene of a crime make you guilty?
•I was involved in a hit and run accident but left the scene. Do I need an attorney to go to court with me?

•I was the victim of a hit and run. I located the offending vehicle and owner. What should I do to pursue this?
•What constitutes "aiding and abetting?"
•What exactly does the term "eluding a police officer" mean?
•What exactly is the felony murder law?
•What is arson?

•What is burglary?

•What is considered "stalking" by law? Also, what are the possible sentences or punishments should a stalker be found guilty?
•What is the definition of "criminal trespass?"
•What is the difference between criminal and civil law?
•What is the difference between theft and robbery?


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Q: Can an event be both a criminal and civil offense?
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•A: Yes. Depending on the circumstances, a single event may be tried in both courts. For example, a defendant may be tried in criminal court for murder, and later that same defendant may be sued in civil court by the victim's family for wrongful death. This is not considered double jeopardy - the constitutional protection against being tried for the same crime twice.


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Q: Can being present at the scene of a crime make you guilty?
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•A: In most states, juries are instructed that merely being present at the scene of a crime, even with guilty knowledge that a crime is being committed, isn't enough to convict a person of a crime.

But there are principles of criminal liability that apply to people other than the person who actually committed a crime. For example, under federal law there is a crime called "misprision" of a felony, which applies to a person who has actual knowledge of the commission of a felony and doesn't report it to the authorities.

Also, under federal and most state laws, a person can be held criminally liable as an "accessory after the fact" if she has knowledge that a crime was committed and assists the offender to hinder his apprehension, trial or punishment. You can also be guilty of aiding and abetting a crime if you help another person in committing the crime, with knowledge of the criminal nature of the act they're committing.

Additionally, a person who agrees with another person to commit a crime, after which the other person commits a criminal act to further their agreement, may be guilty of conspiracy.

But merely witnessing a crime, without any participation in it and without providing assistance, isn't a crime.



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Q: I was involved in a hit and run accident but left the scene. Do I need an attorney to go to court with me?


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•A: Leaving the scene of an accident ("hit and run") is a serious offense. In many states, it carries enough points to result in a revocation of your driving privileges. It also carries a possible fine and jail sentence.

Even if you settle the issue of damages with the other person involved, you'll still have to answer to the criminal charges. The fact that you accepted financial responsibility will be a factor the judge will consider when it comes to your punishment or sentence, but it won't affect the issue of guilt to the criminal charge.

You should seek legal advice right away. A criminal defense attorney in your town can tell you what action is best to take, and whether you should have an attorney accompany you to court to speak for you and try to get you good result.



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Q: I was the victim of a hit and run. I located the offending vehicle and owner. What should I do to pursue this?
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•A: If you're the victim of a hit and run accident, you should immediately report the accident to the police, and advise them that the driver left the scene without providing you with identification and insurance information. Ask the police to fill out a report. The report will likely be assigned a case number either immediately or within a few days.

You should also call the claims department of your insurance company as soon as possible. The company will start a claim file, and explain to you the procedures for getting your car repaired. In the case of a hit and run, or uninsured motorist, the insurance company should pay for your vehicle repairs.

If you later discover the identity of the hit and run driver, you should provide the information both to the police department (making sure to give them the number of your police report) and to your insurance company. The police department will investigate the matter and relay their findings to the local prosecutor, who'll decide whether to file criminal charges. Your insurance company will likely seek financial reimbursement from the hit and run driver for the money it paid to you.



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Q: What constitutes "aiding and abetting?"
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•A: Aiding and abetting is a theory of criminal liability under federal and most state laws. You can be guilty of a crime either as a principal perpetrator - the "main" actor - or as an aider and abettor.

Aiding and abetting applies to someone who assists or helps one or more other people commit a crime. To be held accountable as an aider and abettor, you must know of the criminal objective and do something to make it succeed. For example, if you drive your friend to a meeting where you know your friend is going to buy drugs, you may be an aider and abettor in the drug transaction.

The key here is knowledge. While the level of participation of the aider and abettor may be relatively minor, the prosecution must show more than presence in a vehicle carrying drugs or association with conspirators known to be involved in a crime.

In other words, mere presence at the scene of a crime, even with guilty knowledge that a crime is being committed, isn't enough to make you liable for the crime itself, unless and until you do something to help the crime succeed.

Under federal law, the punishment for someone who aids and abets a crime is the same as the punishment for the person who principally committed the crime. In some states, the punishment may be less.



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Q: What exactly does the term "eluding a police officer" mean?
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•A: Fleeing or eluding police occurs when a police officer gives you a visual or audible signal to stop, whether by hand, voice, emergency light or siren, and you don't obey.

In most states, it's unlawful for a driver of a vehicle to disobey a police officer's signal to stop if the officer is in uniform and his badge or similar sign of his authority is prominently displayed, or the officer is in a marked police vehicle, regardless of whether he's in uniform.

It's also unlawful for a person who's neither driving or in an vehicle to disobey an officer's order to stop, such as by running away on foot or some other means.



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Q: What exactly is the felony murder law?
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•A: Felony murder means that all persons engaged in a felony are liable for murder if one of them kills a person during the crime.

The precise definition of felony murder varies depending on whether federal or state law applies to the case. Generally, someone is liable for murder if, during the course of committing a serious felony, someone else is killed. A "serious felony" is one like arson, robbery, burglary, kidnapping, or rape.

For example, if A and B rob a bank and as they're escaping B shoots and kills a bank employee, even by accident, both A and B may be charged with murder unfer the felony murder rule.

Most states also apply the felony murder rule to situations where the death occurs during the immediate flight from the crime. It can also be applied if the perpetrators didn't complete the underlying crime and only attempted to commit the crime, if someone dies during the attempt.

In some states, it's a defense to felony murder if the defendant was unarmed and had no reason to believe that any of his co-conspirators was either armed or intended to engage in any conduct dangerous to life.



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Q:
What is arson?


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•A: Under federal law, arson is damaging or destroying by fire or explosive any building, vehicle, or other personal or real property that's owned or leased by the federal government.

State arson laws may differ greatly. In some states, it may be arson if:

◦The building or structure burned is a house or some other dwelling, like a mobile home
◦Someone was actually in the building at the time of the fire
◦The building or structure burned could have had someone inside at the time the fire was set
◦Forest or park land was destroyed, such as by a wild fire

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q:
What is burglary?


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
•A: Each state defines the crime of burglary differently, but generally this crime involves the unlawful entry into a structure or building for the purpose of committing a crime in it, such as theft or arson. In some states, burglary applies only to houses or dwellings, while in other states it applies to any building or structure, including office buildings, tool sheds, and cars.

Burglary may go by another name in your state, like "housebreaking" or "breaking and entering."




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q: What is considered "stalking" by law? Also, what are the possible sentences or punishments should a stalker be found guilty?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
•A: "Stalking" is a crime of harassment. The exact definition of stalking, and the acts that may be held to be stalking, are likely to vary depending on whether federal or state law applies to the case. Generally, a person commits the offense of stalking if he makes a credible threat to another person and, in connection with the threat, repeatedly follows that person or repeatedly makes any form of communication with that person or a member of that person's immediate family, whether or not a conversation occurs.

A "credible threat" is considered to be one that would cause a reasonable person to be in fear for the person's life or safety of his or her immediate family. If the stalking occurs through repeated communications, it isn't necessary that the communications be made at the same time as the threat to be considered "in connection" with the threat. They might occur before, during or after the threat is made, so long as the communication is related to, a part or in furtherance of the credible threat.

Stalking can also occur when a person repeatedly makes obscene comments or gestures to another person with the intent to harass them, either personally or by telephone- and includes acts done in public as well as those directed to someone in the privacy of his or her home.

Stalking statutes have been challenged on the grounds that they're unconstitutionally vague and infringe on protected areas of free speech. However, at least 48 states have enacted some variation of a stalking statute. While the statutory language isn't identical in every case, the majority of these courts have upheld stalking statutes against such attacks.

The definition of stalking, as well as the penalty, differs from state to state. If you or someone close to you is concerned about being charged with such an offense, you should contact a criminal defense attorney in your area who can advise you of the precise conduct the law prohibits in your state, and the penalties.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q: What is the definition of "criminal trespass?"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
•A: While the precise definition can vary from state to state, a person commits the crime of "criminal trespass" when she enters or remains on another's property without the owner's consent. In some states, such as Tennessee, it's assumed that a trespasser knew he didn't have the owner's consent if the owner or someone with the authority to act on behalf of the owner personally communicates this fact to him, or if there's a fence around the property, or if there's a sign or other posting on the property that's likely to be seen by intruders.

There are also federal laws making it illegal to trespass on federal land.

You may have a defense against criminal trespass if the property was open to the public, or your conduct didn't substantially interfere with the owner's use of the property, or you immediately left the premises when requested.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q: What is the difference between criminal and civil law?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
•A: Civil law is concerned with relationships between individuals and is addressed in civil court. Here, the person injured or somehow "wronged" (he's called the "plaintiff") by another person files a lawsuit against that person (he's the "defendant"). Generally, if the plaintiff wins, the defendant has to pay for the plaintiff's damages.

Criminal law, on the other hand, deals with relationships between individuals and the federal, state, or local government. If someone breaks a criminal law (he's called the "defendant"), the government or "prosecutor" files a criminal complaint against the defendant. If the defendant loses (meaning he's "convicted"), he may have to pay a fine or perhaps go to jail.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q:
What is the difference between theft and robbery?


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
•A: The laws of your state will outline the difference, and the definitions usually vary from state to state. However, theft is typically defined as the taking of property or some other thing of value (like services) without permission of the owner and with the intention of keeping or using the thing taken for yourself. Shoplifting or stealing cable TV services is theft. In some states, theft is known as "larceny."

Robbery, on the other hand, usually involves taking something from someone else by use of force or the threat of force. Stealing a victim's purse at gun-point is a good example of robbery.

Mother Confesses to Police

DALLAS (AP) – A suburban Dallas woman accused of killing her two young children told a 911 operator that she first tried to poison them because they were autistic and she wanted “normal kids,” then choked them with a wire until they stopped moving, according to the recorded call.

Irving police on Wednesday released recordings of the 911 call after Saiqa Akhter was charged with capital murder in the death of her 5-year-old son, Zain Akhter. Police said the children were attacked at the family’s apartment Monday night.

Another capital murder charge is pending in the slaying of her 2-year-old daughter, Faryaal Akhter, who died Tuesday night, police spokesman David Tull said.

In the recording released Wednesday, the woman identified herself as Saiqa Akhter and repeatedly told the operator she killed her two children. At one point, the woman hung up and the dispatcher called her back.

This photo provided Tuesday July 20, 2010, by the Irving Police Department shows 30-year-old Saiqa Akhter. Police say the Dallas-area mother suspected of strangling her two children, including her 5-year-old-son who died, will be charged with capital murd

“I killed both of them. I told you,” she told the operator. Later, she explained that both children were lying motionless on the bed in the master bedroom.

“They are not doing anything. They are just blue and they are not taking any breaths and … their heart is not beating,” she said.

She told the operator she initially tried to poison the children with bathroom cleaner but they refused to drink it. When that didn’t work, “I used a wire on their necks,” she said.

When the operator asked the woman why she attacked her children, she said, “They’re both not normal, not normal. They’re autistic. Both are autistic.” Pressed further, she said, “I don’t want my children to be like that. … I want normal kids.”

Later, the dispatcher asked the woman what she was feeling. “Nothing,” she responded.

At one point, water could be heard running in the background and the dispatcher asked what the woman what she was doing. She told the operator she was trying to wash the smell of cleaner off of her hands. The dispatcher then told the woman to go sit on a couch in the living room and wait for police.

At the end of the recording, police can be heard arriving at the home.

Akhter has requested a court-appointed attorney but one hasn’t been assigned to her case yet, an Irving jail official said. If convicted of capital murder, Akhter could face the death penalty, though prosecutors have not said if they will seek that punishment. Otherwise, she could face life in prison without parole.

Saiqa Akhter’s uncle, Wasimul Haque, told The Dallas Morning News his niece had been depressed since moving into a new apartment in Irving. Haque said Zain had autism and a severe speech impediment but had been improving and was in speech therapy.

The children’s father, Rashid Akhter, emigrated from Pakistan in the late 1990s, the newspaper reported. He married Saiqa, who also is from Pakistan, several years later, it said.

Zain was buried Wednesday in Richardson, another Dallas suburb. Faryaal’s funeral is scheduled for Thursday.

Honored New York EMT

– A decorated EMT was charged Wednesday with a series of sick sex crimes – including an attack on an 11-year-old in an elevator he commandeered with his Fire Department key.

Angus Pascall, 33, was nabbed after one victim jotted down the plate number of his getaway car and was linked to five rapes and assaults through DNA and lineups, police said.

Honored at FDNY Medal Day in 2007 for saving a patient’s life, the emergency medical technician stalked the streets off-duty with a gun or knife, ambushing women as they walked home, officials said.

In a July 11 attack, he allegedly used a “fireman’s service key,” which provides access to subway grates and elevators across the city, to corner and sodomize the 11-year-old.

“It was to make sure no one else was using the elevator,” Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. “[He] used it to get to the girl.”

The child had moved into the Kingsborough Houses in Crown Heights only a few months before and isn’t staying there anymore.

“That day I could just hear the family yelling and crying and one of the cousins told me what happened to that poor baby,” neighbor Kim Clark said.

“This man was a sicko and a pervert and I’m so relieved they caught him.”

Pascall struck as recently as Monday, when he abducted a 20-year-old woman at gunpoint, forced her into his car, and raped her, police said.

The victim wrote down the license plate, and cops traced it to a green car that belonged to one of Pascall’s friends, Kelly said.

After the friend had been busted for driving with a suspended license, the car was seized – and it was Pascall who signed for it from an NYPD lot, police said.

He was driving the car when cops busted him near EMS station 39 in East New York.

“As soon as he came out of the building they nabbed him. It was so embarrassing,” a co-worker said. “We didn’t have a clue what was happening.”

Pascall, who had worked for the FDNY for five years, was picked out of a lineup by three victims. His DNA matched samples taken at all five sex crimes, police said.

He was charged with rape, sexual abuse, criminal sex act and child endangerment.

“[He] loved his job and his mom was very proud,” said the suspect’s longtime neighbor Rosalie Clark, 50. “He looked very handsome in his uniform. I’m just in total shock – I still can’t believe it.”

Investigators believe Pascall first struck in June 2001, when he raped a 20-year-old woman.

The next confirmed assault was in October 2009 – and investigators are exploring the mysterious “gap” in between the crimes, police sources said.

From Cell Block to Detroit Police Board

DETROIT – Locked in a segregated prison cell eight years ago, Raphael B. Johnson never thought that someday he’d help run the same police department that arrested him. Then again, maybe he did. Self-confidence is one thing Johnson never lacked.

An unyielding belief in himself sustained him through 12 years of prison — six in solitary confinement — where he did 1,000 pushups a day and steeled his mind by reading more than 1,300 books.

Johnson — if confirmed by the City Council — will become the first ex-offender to serve on the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners. The job includes regulating disciplinary procedures, establishing policies, approving budgets and promotions, reviewing and reducing a backlog of hundreds of citizens’ complaints, and helping the department comply with the federal consent decree.

Widow of Slain Tampa Officer

JULY 21 TAMPA, FL – Sara Kocab was nine months pregnant when her husband, Jeffrey Kocab was murdered on June 29, 2010. Sarah went into labor today and delivered the couple’s first child: a stillborn baby girl named Lilly Nicole.

The Tampa police department released a statement today on behalf of Sara Kocab. It reads as follows, “Sara Kocab and her family would like to thank the countless people who have shown their support and care during these past few weeks.

Sara delivered Lilly Nicole this morning. Sara and her family have known during the pregnancy that Lilly Nicole had a major abnormality that could result in Lilly being stillborn or only able to live a limited time after delivery. There is no medical treatment for this abnormality.

Tragically, Lilly Nicole was delivered stillborn early this morning July 21, 2010.

Sheriff Killed While Deploying Stop Sticks

LUCEDALE, Miss. — Officials say a sheriff in southern Mississippi has died after being struck by a vehicle while trying to make an arrest on a road near the Alabama state line.

District Attorney Tony Lawrence said in a news release that George County Sheriff Garry Welford was pronounced dead at 4:23 p.m. after being airlifted to the University of South Alabama Medical Center in Mobile.

Lawrence said the incident happened as Welford was trying to make an arrest.

Mike Byrd, sheriff of neighboring Jackson County, said Welford was throwing spikes on a road in George County to try to stop a pickup truck when Welford was struck.

Lawrence said suspects were being sought for questioning.

George County is about 150 miles southeast of Jackson.

Latest Police & Law Enforcement News

Widow of Slain Tampa Officer Delivers Stillborn Baby Girl
JULY 21 | TAMPA, FL - Sara Kocab was nine months pregnant when her husband, Jeffrey Kocab was murdered on June 29, 2010. Sarah went into labor today and delivered the couple’s first child: a stillborn baby girl named Lilly Nicole. The Tampa police department released a statement today on behalf of Sara Kocab. It reads as follows, “Sara Kocab and ...
Published about 20 hours ago | Rated -67 +11
Chop Shop Uncovered During Police Shootout
ATLANTA - A state Capitol police officer was released from the hospital Wednesday evening after he was grazed by a bullet during a confrontation with three alleged motorcycle thieves, authorities said. Three suspects, including one who is hospitalized, are in custody after officers investigating the shooting discovered a suspected motorcycle "chop shop." The wounded officer, 28-year-old Mark Edge, arrived at Hilliard ...
Published about 21 hours ago | Rated +11 -23
Mother Confesses to Police How She Killed Her Children
DALLAS (AP) - A suburban Dallas woman accused of killing her two young children told a 911 operator that she first tried to poison them because they were autistic and she wanted "normal kids," then choked them with a wire until they stopped moving, according to the recorded call. Irving police on Wednesday released recordings of the 911 call after Saiqa ...

Routine Case Led to Suspect in Multiple Slayings

WASHINGTON, DC - The big break in the investigation into the high-profile slayings of two sets of mothers and daughters in the Largo area last year came when federal agents who raided the house of a man suspected of stealing guns found additional evidence that eventually made him a suspect in the killings, law enforcement officials said Wednesday. The investigation and ...

Minneapolis man gets six months in jail for boy burnung

In sentencing a Minneapolis man Wednesday for beating and burning a boy who hid in an oven to escape, Hennepin County Judge Robert Small talked about how badly it hurt when he accidentally brushed his arm against a hot grill at home this week, scalding his forearm and hand. "The first thing I thought of was the pain that child felt," Small said to William T. Hurley, 23, of Minneapolis. The judge sentenced Hurley to six months in the workhouse. He will be allowed out during the day to attend school and receive credit for 41 days already serve. Small also placed conditions on Hurley's release that involve parenting and anger management classes as well as therapy. The judge has required Hurley to stay in school or secure work.

No charges over G20 man's death

An officer who was filmed apparently pushing a man to the ground during the G20 protests will not face charges over his death. Ian Tomlinson, 47, died minutes after being caught up in the clashes on 1 April 2009 in the City of London. Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer said the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) concluded that "there was no realistic prospect of conviction". The incident and its aftermath was caught on amateur video.

KSL finds connection between judge and suspect

PROVO -- The man accused of brutally raping a UVU student and leaving her for dead returned to court Wednesday. KSL has uncovered a connection between suspect, Shawn Leonard, and the judge who allowed him work release.

Texting, Social Networking and Other Ways

Then he suggested that officers who spot a person carrying a gun openly “should’ve pulled the AR (assault rifle) out and prone them all out! And if one of them makes a furtive movement … 2 weeks off!!!”

The police department said in a statement Tuesday that an internal investigation was launched after it received numerous phone calls and e-mails about the Facebook comments.

“After reviewing all of the available evidence, the allegations against an officer of the East Palo Alto Police Department have been ‘SUSTAINED,’” the statement said. “A Sustained finding means the investigation revealed sufficient evidence to clearly prove that one or more allegations in the complaint did in fact occur and were in violation of Department policy.”

It will be up to police Chief Ronald Davis to determine what disciplinary and corrective actions to take, according to the statement, which went on to say the department is prohibited by state law from discussing disciplinary matters or releasing additional information about the probe.

The statement did not directly identify Tuason as the police employee under investigation.

Chang of Responsible Citizens of California said he hopes Tuason’s punishment is stiff.

“We believe his remarks constitute a serious breach of public trust,” Chang said. “He should be relieved of his police duties, and if he is not relieved of his duties, he should not be in the capacity to deal with the public directly.”

Police Find Detective's Facebook Postings Irresponsible

PALO ALTO – An East Palo Alto police detective who suggested in a Facebook post that people who openly carry unloaded firearms should be shot engaged in “inappropriate behavior,” the police department announced Tuesday.

The announcement was welcomed by Responsible Citizens of California, which supports the legal “open carry” practice. The group gathered at East Palo Alto City Hall on Tuesday night for a rally intended to pressure police officials to speed up their investigation into Detective Rod Tuason’s comments on the social networking site.

“What a coincidence,” Yih-Chau Chang, a spokesman for Responsible Citizens of California, remarked dryly at the rally after the investigation’s results were released. “It’s a victory for us.”

Detective Tuason made his controversial Facebook comments in February while responding to a friend’s remark about open carry advocates. In one post, he joked that the advocates would get robbed if they tried to carry a gun in plain sight in East Palo Alto.

U.S. Soldier Kills Self in Police Standoff

EL PASO, TX – A U.S. Army soldier has died after shooting himself in the chest during a standoff with local police.

Spc. Robert Nichols shot himself Monday night, El Paso police spokesman Mike Baranyay said. The 24-year-old soldier was taken to William Beaumont Army Medical Center at Fort Bliss where he later died.

Baranyay said police went to Nichols’ northeast El Paso home after getting a call about a suicide in progress. After officers heard several gunshots from inside the home, Nichols came out and later shot himself as police looked on.

A Fort Bliss statement issued Tuesday says he was a Phoenix native assigned to the Battery A, 2nd Terminal High Altitude Area Defense Regiment, 112th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command at Fort Bliss.

Officer Down: Deputy David Lambert

WARREN COUNTY, MS – Deputy David Lambert succumbed to injuries sustained in an automobile accident one month earlier. He was responding to backup another deputy who called for assistance when he swerved to avoid a vehicle at the intersection of U.S. Highway 61 and Oak Ridge Road.

His patrol car overturned, causing him to suffer severe injuries. He was flown to a nearby hospital where he underwent several surgeries before succumbing to his injuries.


Deputy Lambert had served with the Warren County Sheriff’s Department for seven months and had served in law enforcement for a total of 15 years. He had previously served with the University of Mississippi Medical Center Police Department, River Oaks Medical Center Security Division, and Ross Barnett Reservoir Patrol.

Study: US Police Fatalities Increase 43 Percent

WASHINGTON — A nonprofit group in Washington says the number of police officers who have died in the line of duty is up 43 percent so far this year.

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund released preliminary data Wednesday. It shows that 87 officers died in the line of duty between Jan. 1 and June 30. That’s compared with 61 officers during the first six months of last year.

The deaths were spread across 36 states and Puerto Rico — with California, Texas and Florida showing the most fatalities. Other states included Virginia and Maryland, where a state trooper was fatally shot June 11.

Among the causes of death were traffic accidents and shootings. If the trend continues, 2010 could become one of the deadliest years for U.S. police agencies in two decades.

From Cell Block to Detroit Police Board

DETROIT – Locked in a segregated prison cell eight years ago, Raphael B. Johnson never thought that someday he’d help run the same police department that arrested him. Then again, maybe he did. Self-confidence is one thing Johnson never lacked.

An unyielding belief in himself sustained him through 12 years of prison — six in solitary confinement — where he did 1,000 pushups a day and steeled his mind by reading more than 1,300 books.

Coast Guard Training Prompt 911 Calls in Alaska

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - To some 911 callers, it looked like a fiery plane crash just offshore of downtown Anchorage. Others thought it was a boat in trouble. The Coast Guard was practicing shooting emergency flares during a rescue exercise Tuesday morning, but no one informed city authorities who hustled fire crews to the scene after getting as many as half ...

Officer Down: Deputy David Lambert

WARREN COUNTY, MS - Deputy David Lambert succumbed to injuries sustained in an automobile accident one month earlier. He was responding to backup another deputy who called for assistance when he swerved to avoid a vehicle at the intersection of U.S. Highway 61 and Oak Ridge Road. His patrol car overturned, causing him to suffer severe injuries. He was flown to ...

Publishers Sue Va. Prisons for Banning Law Guide

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Virginia prison officials have unconstitutionally banned inmates from receiving a book that teaches them how to file lawsuits concerning mistreatment or poor prison conditions, the book's publishers claim in a lawsuit filed Wednesday. National Lawyers Guild and the Center for Constitutional Rights, both nonprofit civil rights organizations, sued state Department of Corrections Director Gene Johnson, officials at ...

Typologies of Criminal Behavior - Bibliography

Differential Treatment of Delinquents and Interpersonal Maturity Levels Theory: A Critique." Social Service Review 44 (March 1970): 22–33. ——. The Criminological Enterprise. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1979. …

Read more: Typologies of Criminal Behavior - Typologies In Criminology, Crime-centered Versus Person-centered Typologies, Criteria For Criminal Typologies http://law.jrank.org/pages/2217/Typologies-Criminal-Behavior.html#ixzz0uPZ6RtBB

Typologies of Criminal Behavior

Sorting people into types according to distinguishing traits or forms of behavior that are presumed to characterize them is a common social process. For example, high school students often label their classmates as "hoods," "jocks," "Goths," or "brains." These slang terms identify certain students as delinquents, as overly interested in school athletic programs, as disaffected persons who dress in black and affect various deviant styles, or as particularly interested in good grades. Closer to criminology, police officers sometimes speak of "car clouters" (persons who steal packages and other items from cars) or "hubcap thieves." Similarly, prison inmates sometimes single out fellow convicts as "right guys," "outlaws," "wolves," or other types.

Such existential types refer to categories of people or of behavior that arise as persons go about trying to simplify and make sense of people and events they encounter in everyday social interactions. By contrast, constructed types are delineated by sociological theorists. For example, Edwin Lemert drew attention to offenders he labeled as naïve check forgers, but the persons so labeled did not use that label nor did those with whom they associated. Although constructed types are sometimes more precise and explicit than existential types, in many typological classifications the identifying features of specific types are unclear, with the result that researchers have difficulty in assigning persons to them. The following discussion reviews the construction and application of classificatory schemes in criminology.



Read more: Typologies of Criminal Behavior - Typologies In Criminology, Crime-centered Versus Person-centered Typologies, Criteria For Criminal Typologies http://law.jrank.org/pages/2217/Typologies-Criminal-Behavior.html#ixzz0uPYdvk9l

international association for the history of crime and criminal justice

The International Association for the History of Crime and Criminal Justice was established in 1978. The founders intended that it should encourage the study of the history of crime and criminal justice in the widest sense. In particular they hoped that the Association would
organise, and assist in the organisation of, colloquia and conferences which address issues of interest to the members, and which provide opportunities for the exchange of ideas between established scholars and those just beginning an academic career;
publish, and facilitate the publication of, work on the subject of the history of crime and criminal justice.

Contact Brent Horst for the experienced criminal defense you need

A skillful criminal defense lawyer in Miami can make the difference between freedom and incarceration. If you have been charged with a crime, you need an experienced Miami criminal defense lawyer on your side. Contact the Law Firm of Brent Horst online, or call at 305-809-7503

Representing Clients in Miami, Miami Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale & Miami Dade County

•He has over 20 years experience, and brings that experience to defending drug crimes in Miami, state, and federal courts.
•He has a track record and experience in over 200 trials and represents Defendants charged with Miami felonies in jury trials.
•As a former prosecutor and Assistant State Attorney, he has experience with the criminal justice system. He knows how the process works, how to attack the case presented by the state, how to challenge government evidence, and how to negotiate on your behalf.
•He is board certified as a Criminal Trial Specialist by the National Board of Legal Specialty certification and an American Jurisprudence Award winner.
•He cares about you and has your best interest at heart. He handles every case with the dedication needed to achieve the best possible result for your case.

Drug crime lawyers must be fighters in the courtroom

A drug crime lawyer in Miami must have exceptional experience and success handling cases in both state and federal courts. Brent Horst has a reputation as a fighter in court. But, he makes sure you know all available options—when it is in your best interest to negotiate for a plea bargain, he will let you know.

Criminal defense lawyers in Miami protect your rights

Individuals who feel secure in their innocence often waive their right to remain silent, thinking an explanation can secure their speedy release. Unfortunately, it is very easy to help law enforcement build a case against you by making innocent statements in your own defense. With experience in criminal prosecution as well as defense, Brent Horst has a unique perspective to protect your rights during an arrest. He should be at your side to advise you before you make any statements.

Felonies in Miami

Innocent or guilty, anyone charged with a Miami felony crime undergoes a painful criminal process and faces serious penalties if convicted. Miranda law provides certain rights to everyone charged with a felony crime. Often, it takes the expertise of criminal defense lawyers to protect those rights.

Miami Drug Crimes

Whether you are facing charges for a drug crime in Miami such as possession, manufacturing, trafficking, distribution, or any other type of drug offense, Brent Horst is a Miami drug crime lawyer who provides the aggressive, dedicated, and experienced criminal defense you need to ensure the best outcome for your case.

Miami criminal defense lawyer

With over 20 years of legal experience, Miami criminal defense lawyer Brent Horst has tried over 200 jury trials, participated in countless non-jury proceedings and received certification as a criminal trial specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. This has led to the development of Brent as an aggressive, effective and understanding Miami criminal attorney. While located in Miami, Mr. Horst provides services for clients charged with drug and sex crimes throughout Florida including but not limited to Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, Tampa, Miami Dade County, Miami Beach and Orlando.

European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice

Crime, criminal law and criminal justice are more than ever on the political agenda of the European institutions, above all the European Union and the Council of Europe. This is not only because of the increasingly vehement debate on transnational crime problems in the individual Member States, but also as a consequence of the widening of the European Union and the drafting of an European Constitution, and last but not least because of the threat of terrorism.

This journal is meant to be a European forum for the public academic debate on these issues that not only bridges the gap between the European institutions and the Member States, but that is also open for a non-European view on European developments in those fields. Its aim, in other words, is to offer an international and comparative perspective on crime, criminal law and criminal justice in Europe; In the past five years the journal has published contributions on, among many other issues, Global Crime Calls for Global Justice; A European Public Prosecution Service: Comments on the Green Paper; Western Prisons and Chinese Prisons: Focusing on Differences; and Trial within a Trial in Scotland and Israel; Fortress Europe? - Controlling Illegal Immigration.
Papers for consideration should be addressed to Professor Dr. H.J.Albrecht

List by legal scholars

There are countless trials that have been labeled the trial of the century by the press; it is beyond the scope of this article to list them here. However, some legal scholars have labeled a few trials as trials of the century. These cases are useful this context for listing some of the most important trials, which include:

Harry K. Thaw murder trial (1906) [2]
Sacco and Vanzetti murder trial (1920-1927) [3]
Leopold and Loeb murder trial (1924) [1]
Scopes Trial (1925) [4]
Gloria Vanderbilt custody trial (1934) [5]
Lindbergh trial (1935) [6]
Nuremberg trials (1945-1946) [7][8]
Adolf Eichmann trial (1961)[8]
Klaus Barbie trial (1987)[8]
Nicolae Ceauşescu trial (1989)[8]
O. J. Simpson murder trial (1995) [4]
Slobodan Milošević trial (2002-2005)[8]

Trial of the century

Trial of the century is an idiomatic phrase used to describe certain well-known court cases, especially of the twentieth century. It is often used popularly as a rhetorical device to attach importance to a trial and as such is not an objective observation but is the opinion of whoever uses it. As attorney F. Lee Bailey and The Washington Post observed in 1999 on the eve of the closing century:

Calling court cases "the trial of the century" is a traditional bit of American hyperbole, like calling a circus "The Greatest Show on Earth." Nearly every juicy tabloid trial in our history was called the "trial of the century" by somebody. "Every time I turn around, there's a new trial of the century," says defense attorney F. Lee Bailey. "It's a kind of hype," he says. "It's a way of saying, 'This is really fabulous. It's really sensational.' But it doesn't really mean anything."[1]
The first trial to be called the "trial of the century" was in 1907 when Harry K. Thaw was tried for the murder of Stanford White[1]. Irvin S. Cobb, a contemporary reporter, explained why the trial fascinated the country so much:

Crime of the Century

Crime of the Century is an idiomatic phrase used to describe the most sensational criminal cases and the most spectacular robberies.[1] In the United States, it is often though not exclusively used in reference to the Lindbergh kidnapping. However, the phrase was in popular use much earlier in the 19th Century and has been re-used repeatedly ever since.[1][2] The list of notable criminal cases which were also described as the crime of the century includes the Leopold and Loeb case (Leopold and Loeb's stated objective was to commit the perfect crime)[3], the Great Brink's Robbery, the Richard Speck case [4], the Los Angeles Times bombing, the murder of Stanford White and the Jonestown Massacre.

Crime of the century (idiom)

Crime of the Century is an idiomatic phrase used to describe the most sensational criminal cases and the most spectacular robberies.[1] In the United States, it is often though not exclusively used in reference to the Lindbergh kidnapping. However, the phrase was in popular use much earlier in the 19th Century and has been re-used repeatedly ever since.[1][2] The list of notable criminal cases which were also described as the crime of the century includes the Leopold and Loeb case (Leopold and Loeb's stated objective was to commit the perfect crime)[3], the Great Brink's Robbery, the Richard Speck case [4], the Los Angeles Times bombing, the murder of Stanford White and the Jonestown Massacre.