As a restut of British colonization and their attempts to govern a variety of different cultures many nations now share a common bond in their criminal justice systems. This research focuses on the impact of some of those common bonds on the South African and United States criminal justice systems. Along with many national historical similarities there appears to be similarities in the approaches these two governments have taken to remedy criminal justice issues that arise. Political interference, lack of cooperation, poor communication skills, interagency discord and a lack of unified direction seem to plague both criminal justice systems. As a resulc both criminal justice systems appear: to be fragmented and in a constant state of flux. One solution that attempts to remedy the mistrust developed by individual citizens and their communities as a result of the fragmentation of their criminal justice system is community policing. Both nations are embarking on a concept that was proposed by Sir Robert Peel in 1829 when he espoused the ideal of Police, at all times, should maintain a relasionship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police. The fragmentation which causes many of the dilemmas faced by the criminal justice system appears to be a necessary element of any system that wishes to be able to grow and change with time. As we embark on the 21st century, globalization w1ll become a factor in every surviving national goverernment. South Africa and the United States appear co be positioning themselves to be active patcipants in this process / Criminology and Security Studies / D.Litt. et Phil. (Criminology)

This research utilizes the case study method to examine the effectiveness of truancy statutes recently implemented in Florida's Fourth Judicial Circuit prior to the 1999-2000 school year. The statutes were implemented state wide, but this study concentrates on the Fourth Judicial Circuit. The Fourth Judicial Circuit in Northeast Florida consists of Duval, Clay, and Nassau Counties. The legislation examined requires individual schools to conduct an initial truancy intervention when a student has accumulated 5 unexcused absences in a calendar month or 10 unexcused absences in any 90-day period. An exploratory case study was conducted that consisted of interviews with school attendance social workers, data collection from the Truancy Arbitration Program run from the State Attorney's Office in each county, and state wide attendance data. An additional Program in the Duval County State Attorney's Office was also studied. Data for three school years, one before the new statutes and two after, were analyzed to see if the implementation of these statutes was successful. The study concludes that the implementation of these new statutes by the schools in the Fourth Judicial Circuit has been a failure. This research demonstrates that the schools are conducting a fraction of the required interventions to students in need and therefore other intervention programs have had a reduction in referrals since the initial intervention in not taking place. Finally, the research also discovered that there seems to be a bias in the handling of truant females, already well documented in other jurisdictions.

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If there is any fixed star in our constitutional and criminal procedure constellation, it is that torture is illegal and torture-introduced evidence is inadmissible. The purposes of this research are to (1) assess the exclusionary rule in the United Kingdom and United States; (2) explore the theoretical constitutional foundation of the rule; and (3) establish the Chinese exclusionary rule. Currently, there is no exclusionary rule explicitly in the Chinese Code of Criminal Procedure. If the wrongful conviction of the innocent is a pressing issue in China today, police torture is the flashpoint. Police torture in China is the prevalent evil not the isolated anecdote. This thesis combines diagnosis and prescription – the problem of police torture in China and the solution of the exclusionary rule. The ultimate goal of the research is to find a suitable exclusionary rule for China to solve the serious problem of police torture and wrongdoing. At the level of theory, my exclusionary rule framework is grounded in the separation of powers. Previous research about the separation of powers doctrine has focused almost entirely on constitutional law and political theory. They completely ignored the special role that the doctrine plays in the criminal justice system, a role consisting of the exercise of a reviewing function to ensure executive compliance with the criminal law. Separation of powers is a core component of the constitution’s system of checks and balances, a system in which each branch of the government is endowed with a constitutional control over the others. Without any judicial supervision or due process, the potential for arbitrary enforcement is high. The alternatives to the exclusionary rule are mainly illusory and of no practical avail. Past history also demonstrates that the very idea of protecting the defendant’s right is completely empty unless it is linked to an efficient mechanism. China grants the police too much power and has too little judicial supervision over police investigations. It creates imbalance in the existing Chinese criminal justice system. It is such an imbalance and the lack of separation of powers in the criminal justice system that poses a significant and growing threat for the protection of defendants’ rights.

This thesis seeks to understand and theorise the process of penal transformation, using changes in penal policy within post-devolution Scotland as a case study. It is based on an in-depth analysis of the evolution, passage and implementation of the Management of Offenders etc. (Scotland) Act 2005, including interviews with key players at each stage of the process (politicians, civil servants, practitioner groups) and documentary analysis. The thesis draws on Kingdon’s multiple streams framework to explain how rapid changes in policy can occur. Kingdon argued that the greatest changes occur when a policy window is opened which allows three independent streams which run through policy at any one time, politics, problems and policies, to become joined (1995). However the thesis argues that to account fully for transformation, this framework needs to be developed to incorporate analysis of institutional structures which provide the most compelling explanation for the factors which lead to, escalate and impede change. Although structures are central in this analysis however, this thesis shows how both structure and agency are important in penal change: institutional structure forms the parameters in which political choice is made. Pre-devolution policy-making was carried out in partnership between civil servants and agencies and the rate of change was incremental. Post-devolution criminal justice policy-making has been thrust into a volatile and politicised environment, although this has varied under the different administrations thus far. The primary reason for the accelerated rate of change that occurred following devolution was because of the creation of new democratic structures which provided the means and the incentives to create rapid change but it also involved explicitly political choices by key members of the Scottish Executive. Somewhat paradoxically, once change was instigated, the structure of post-devolution political institutions became critical in mitigating the pace and rate of change. The existence of PR electoral arrangements together with the relative decentralisation of power (in relation to the ownership of criminal justice services) meant that change had to be achieved through negotiation and compromise. Institutional structure is also important in the extent of the Parliament’s ability to form any meaningful veto point on executive power. Overall it was new democratic structures combined with a political capacitybuilding project and the availability of a politicised approach to law and order from England and Wales which could be easily translated to Scotland, which together, explain the period of rapid change in Scotland during this time.

International human rights law has witnessed considerable developments in the last decades both in normative terms and standard setting as well as in monitoring of state observance and compliance. The ECtHR and the former Commission have taken a leading role in the development of human rights due to the extensive case law the Strasbourg institutions have produced. Human rights of the accused in the criminal proceedings had its share of such a development. The court in its assessment of various national systems in their adherence to the rights enshrined in the convention has interpreted the rights progressively and the result is a vast case law regarding the right of the accused to fair trial, to liberty and the right to private life. The central theme of this work is to examine the Libyan criminal justice system in its attempt to protect the rights of those accused of a criminal offence in the light of the developments pioneered by inter-state organs especially the ECtHR. The thesis focuses on the most pressing issues where the Libyan system does appear to be at odd with the international standards of fair trial. Therefore the scope of this work has been limited to examine the protection of the right to liberty and the right to fair hearing. In doing so, it starts with a chapter introducing the reader to the Libyan system and outlining the main features and principles governing the criminal justice system. The thesis also examines the human rights situation in general and how the political and constitutional arrangements have affected the human rights situation in the country. The protection of the right to liberty and pre-trial detention is examined in chronological order starting from the initial arrest by the police till the accused is referred to the court for trial. To evaluate the extent to which the Libyan system does protect the right to liberty, the study first, examines the procedural guarantees available in the criminal process and second to ascertain whether these domestic procedures as compared to the standards developed by the ECtHR and the Human Rights Committee are of acceptable international standards. The principle of equality of arms and the principle of adversarial proceedings as developed by the European court are an integral part of the right to fair trial and these principles are the focus of this thesis. The special position the public prosecution authority occupies, the wide power it has under the Libyan system, the heavy reliance on the pretrial evidence “the dossier evidence” and the marginal role of the defence lawyer have been diagnosed to be the major problems of the system which pose serious challenges to whether the system can uphold fairness and adhere to the requirement of adversarial proceedings. The study suggests that in the light of the examination of the Libyan system, it is apparent that it suffers from major weaknesses and shortcomings and is in need of reform. In order to ensure a better protection of the rights of accused persons, certain measures need to be introduced. However, the study also acknowledges the Libyan system has a number of strong points and these should be taken into account in any future reform. Instead of arguing for a radical change, the study suggests that any proposed reform should build upon the system’s traditions and experience. Reform should on one hand, lay the ground for a more participatory role for the defence lawyer from the early stages of the proceedings, backed by more judicial supervision of the conduct of police and prosecution in the pre-trial stage. On the other hand, the study argues the system’s belief in the positive role of the trial judge is a valuable guarantee of justice which should be retained. The study’s focus on the implications of the Strasbourg case law for the Libya system has not deterred it from seeking lessons and insights from the development of international justice and Islamic law jurisprudence.

Juvenile delinquency is a social issue which has been shown to have a significant cost to society in a variety of ways which include community safety, the cost of arrest, charges, and court processes, as well as the damage done in families and to the youth through the label of juvenile delinquent or Person in Need of Supervision (PINs). One important area in treatment and discharge planning for youth designated as either juvenile delinquent or Persons in Need of Supervision is the inclusion of supports to help youth change the trajectory from these behaviors into more socially acceptable activities and actions. The research problem addressed in this study is that the supports utilized at this time are insufficient and ineffective, as evidenced by rates of recidivism. The purpose of this study was to explore whether the use of non-custodial grandparents in treatment and discharge planning as a support system is of value to the youth and their parents. Using a grounded theory methodology, professional staff from Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care (MTFC) programs, now known as Treatment Foster Care Oregon (TFCO), which work with these youths and their families and was developed based on social learning theory, participated in interviews to obtain data regarding the use of non-custodial grandparents and whether they were found to be of value. The results of the study support the use of grandparents under specific conditions, such as when they have positive relationships with parents and when they are positive role models themselves. NVivo 11 software was used to assist in the process of analyzing the data collected from these professionals. The implications for social change remain that the process of assisting youth to make these changes could create safer communities with lower crime rates, and decreases in the costs associated with the legal process, and these savings can then be passed on to communities and to the taxpayer.

The present paper is a literature study of stressors and the responses in police officers to occupational stressors. It endeavors to identify and assess common stressors in policing. It further aims to provide an answer to the question of whether police administrative tasks and situations, or the dangerous and traumatic events and situations inherent in policing, are perceived as equally or more stressful by surveyed police officers. The question is relevant as there seems to be disagreement among researchers on police stress about which elements (administrative or dangerous and/or traumatic) of the police occupation is more stressful. Much attention has been given to the treatment of post-traumatic stress in police officers while efforts to prevent administrative or organizational stressors have been largerly ignored. If administrative stressors in policing are equally important as dangerous and traumatic situations and events, more attention should be given to the prevention of such largerly preventable stressful events. The theoretical framework used in the study is that of the transactional concept of stress. In trying to assess what parts of policing are more stressful, a number of empirical studies were examined and compared. Most studies applied a "checklist" approach to identify and rank the heaviest stressors in police work. The methodological quality of available studies was varied, influencing their comparability and generalizability. In spite of these inequalities, the results from the assessment indicates that dangerous and traumatic situations are somewhat more often perceived as the largest stressors than administrative stressors in police work.