Many research papers have been presented by academics regarding their problematic experiences of working with the police. However, no comprehensive study has been conducted which explores the perceptions of the police towards the academic community. This study intends to fill this gap by exploring this alternative perspective. It is a qualitative study conducted between 2012 and 2014 wherein members from each rank from Commissioner to Constable in the Metropolitan Police Service were interviewed. In addition, interviews with academics in the current or past employ of the police and a focus group of middle managers were held. The resultant data provided strong thematic patterns. The study found that although some excellent partnership work between police and academia has been conducted, their respective operational and organisational cultures remained a barrier. Within the police service, a difference in working practices, a changing demography, low educational standards and a preference for tacit knowledge present as tangible barriers. The police perceived the academic community to be internally focused, taking too long to produce unintelligible research, which often lacked utility in regards to operational solutions, accompanied by an unhelpful desire to publish their findings. The meta-themes of power, social identity and managerialism were identified as being key influential factors in the reluctance of the police to fully embrace the benefits of academic research. This study concludes with implications for practice involving formative training and ongoing development in academic research, the need for a bespoke research methodology which reflects the dynamic environment in which the police operate, a new formal relationship wherein trust is engendered by a shared pragmatism and the pivotal role of the College of Policing in supporting the concept of evidence based policing.

Fraud, which has been defined as, “any crime which uses deception as its main modus operandi” (Wells, 2011, p.2), has a significant effect on society. Its effect may be second only to drug trafficking in the economic harm that it causes to the United Kingdom (UK). It is estimated to cost the UK economy more than £50 billion annually, of which £20 billion is attributable to the public sector (Attorney General's Office, 2006, p.9; National Fraud Authority, 2013, p.2). The UK government has announced its intention to decrease the losses due to fraud. The UK government’s declared ‘zero tolerance’ strategy for the UK public sector encompasses the following: a collaborative approach supported by improved information flows; fraud awareness and prevention; and the need for more effective enforcement activity where fraud is suspected. Diminishing police resources allocated to fraud mean that this approach will need to be delivered by both law enforcement and civilian counter fraud teams (Attorney General's Office, 2006, pp.128-129; Cabinet Office & National Fraud Authority, 2011a, 2011b). This research project sought to establish whether UK central government organisations have the legal powers, skills and regulation needed to tackle fraud effectively. It was concluded from the literature review that an effective legal framework, supported by a wide range of skills, is essential to the delivery of the UK government’s zero tolerance approach, and that both professional standards, and the civil rights of those subject to investigation, should be protected through some form of regulation. Empirical data, collected via a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview programme, suggested that the effectiveness of central government civilian counter fraud teams is hampered by a fragmented legal landscape and a lack of skills, and that further professionalisation and regulation is needed to protect professional standards and individual legal rights.

For the year ending March 2014 the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated there were 573,000 domestic burglaries in England and Wales. Using the Home Office Integrated Offender Management Value for Money Toolkit valuation (2011) the cost to society of this is £1.9 billion. The financial and resulting emotional cost is a heavy burden for the UK. Better understanding crime prevention approaches and their impact on reducing residential burglary is of obvious relevance to policing, government and society as a whole. This study examined the wider impact of traceable liquid property marking strategies on reducing residential burglary and other acquisitive crime. It monitored levels of crime in trial areas. It observed if crime displacement or diffusion of benefits effects occurred to a distance of 750m, in 250m intervals, surrounding the trial areas. By doing so it added to the body of knowledge that surrounds situational crime prevention. It also surveyed households, which were participants of the trial, some 6 months following the deployment to measure any impact on their confidence in policing and on their fear of crime. To do this, 10 x London trial sites, comprising of 500 households areas were purposively selected that had both a persistent and a long-term chronic residential burglary offence rate. Two such sites were selected on each of five London Boroughs. The residential homes within these areas were then visited by a police officer or a PCSO and occupants had their property marked using a unique traceable liquid property marking solution. This strategy was supported by stickers saying their property had been marked being placed on external display on front and back doors and windows, signs being put up on street furniture in the surrounding area telling people they were entering a property marked area and the use of press and media releases to wider market the approach to offenders. Trap cars and houses were utilised and arrests advertised to ‘prove’ the approach to offenders. Finally control areas of similar characteristics to the trial areas were identified and observed on each of the 5 x borough sites. Once the marking had been implemented to the point of 85% saturation (where able), key data was observed over a 12-month period and compared against the previous year. These included: o Residential burglary crime levels within the target area. o Residential burglary crime levels in displacement zones of 250m, 500m, and 750m, surrounding the targeted area. o Robbery, theft of motor vehicle (M/V), theft from motor vehicle and total notifiable offences (TNO’s) offence levels within the target and displacement areas to measure displacement effects. o An online survey of the trial households of police satisfaction and fear of crime levels. o Interviews with key staff that implemented the trial. The study deduces that the following effects occurred within the trial areas: o A 45% reduction in residential burglaries, a 21% reduction in robberies, no significant change in M/V crime and 22% less TNO’s. Once offset against the control area performance the results indicated: o Overall average residential burglary was reduced by 21% with the best BOCU achieving an 88% reduction. o Personal robbery offences reduced by 16% and overall TNO’s by 20%. o There was no statistically significant change in M/V crime offence levels. o There was no significant crime or offence displacement within the target areas and indeed clear diffusion of benefits effects occurred. When the trial areas were widened to include the 250m, 500m and 750m displacement zones the following results were found to 750m: o A 23% reduction in residential burglaries, a 15% reduction in robberies, a 3% reduction in theft of M/V, 1% reduction in theft from M/V and a 9% less TNO’s. Once offset against the control area performance the results indicated: o Residential burglary reduced by 12% in the 250m-displacement zones, increased by 7% in the 500m zones, decreased by 19% in the 750m zones and cumulatively resulted in a 17% reduction. o Robbery increased by 8% in the 250m-displacement zones, decreased by 7% in the 500m zones, increased by 13% in the 750m zones and cumulatively resulted in a 5% increase. o Theft of M/V increased by 27% in the 250m-displacement zones, increased by 4% in the 500m zones, increased by 5% in the 750m zones and cumulatively resulted in a 10% increase. o Theft from M/V increased by 24% in the 250m-displacement zones, increased by 16% in the 500m zones, increased by 11% in the 750m zones and cumulatively resulted in a 15% increase. o TNO’s increased by 3% in the 250m displacement zones, decreased by 4% in the 500m zones, increased by 5% in the 750m zones and cumulatively resulted in a 1% increase. The results of the on-line survey found the following: o 51% of householders felt safer in their area. o 52% of householders felt safer in their home. o 33% had an improved opinion of the police. The study concludes that traceable liquid property marking is highly effective at reducing residential burglary. It found that when deployed with high levels of saturation to an area, diffusion of benefits effects for this crime type are likely to occur out to at least 750m from that area. This strategy led to a reduction in the fear of crime and if distributed by the police family, leads to an increase in public confidence for at least 6 months after the distribution period. However in achieving these positive impacts there will be offence displacement outside the targeted area, where offenders will move from residential burglary to other offences types. The most likely change is into theft of and from M/V crime. These crimes are arguably less harmful and impactive on crime victims and occurred at a lower rate than the residential burglary offences prevented.

The nature of crises has changed radically in recent years, so that rather than being merely ‘major incidents’ or ‘routine emergencies’, they are now characterised by their hypercomplexity and the catastrophic impact of their cascading consequences. The centralised command systems that have traditionally been considered the bedrock of crisis response programmes are repeatedly failing to stand up to the challenges posed by this new class of crisis, and it has become clear, following incidents such as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, that new forms of non-hierarchical, decentralised decision-making and strategy-setting frameworks need to be developed. This thesis makes the case that the organisational vulnerabilities that led to many of the high-profile crisis management failures that have become the major case studies for such incidents are both well known and highly predictable. It examines the nature of current hierarchical command-centered crisis management systems, and questions as to why these are still accepted as the default framework for such programmes. It then looks at some of the critical capabilities that are necessary for multi-agency operations operating in high-pressure crisis environments, and how they can be incorporated into current crisis management practices. It then goes on to offer two alternative paradigms to the traditional understanding of ‘efficient’ crisis management, based on the concepts associated with organizational resilience, that would allow multi-agency operations to main their functionality in high-volatile crisis environments, and the lessons that can be learned from high reliability organisations in terms of recognising the importance of reliability over efficiency. It concludes by demonstrating that the fundamental weaknesses that are the root causes of repeated failures are not so much technical or operational, but rather are reflective of the culture of crisis management organizations themselves, and makes the point that the acceptance by all levels of the crisis management community of their responsibility to create and maintain ‘organizations that work’ could lead to a rapid improvement in the rates of success.

<p> Trade-based money laundering has become one of the primary methods of funds transfer for criminal organizations and sponsors of terrorism. Stronger banking regulations have made this method more attractive as the funds can be hidden within seemingly legitimate trade activity. The TBML/FT typology can be extremely complex, however, and it can easily appear as legitimate trade activity to those unfamiliar with its intricacies. This paper reviews traditional and emerging methods of TBML/FT as well as common compliance program processes to determine the actions financial institutions can take to combat this activity. Trade-based money laundering techniques vary widely. Therefore, financial institutions cannot rely solely on compliance investigators to recognize them. Instead compliance programs must take a multifaceted approach and use all the resources available to them. The recommendations given are intended to enable financial institutions to identify TBML activity through industry-specific training, data analysis, and communication with other entities engaged in the fight against this method of value transfer. </p><p>

The candidate’s interest in the field of addiction and criminal justice interventions stems from his experience as a practitioner and senior manager in substance misuse services over a 15 year period from 1989 until 2003. During this time he was involved in providing, managing and developing services for people with enduring and complex needs, of which involvement with the criminal justice system was a key feature. The candidate during this period was also involved in training professionals to work with addition and multiple complex needs, was an accredited practice teacher for social work and probation students, and involved in higher education teaching for the Schools of Social Work and the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Southampton. On having taken up a full time academic career in 2003 the publications which form the body of this submission both outline and analyse the candidates scholarship and research in conceptualising, research and teaching the evidence, ethics and outcomes of interventions to address addition within a context of complex and multiple needs. Central to this work has been the development of an applied social science perspective concerning the relevance and complexity theory to understanding addition as a complex adaptive system and the necessity of the whole systems approaches to providing a framework for policy formation, the management of service delivery and the practice of interventions. It will be argued that in the delivery of interventions to address addition, complexity theory challenges our ontological, epistemological and methodological assumptions of casual and linear relationships in the delivery, practice and outcomes from those interventions. It will also be argued that application of complexity theory represents a new heuristics for overcoming what we have been hitherto unabridged fault lines in social science methodologies.

<p> This study analyzes the psychosocial aspects of narcoterrorism reflected by two of the most notorious drug lords in recent Columbian and Mexican history: Pablo Escobar and Joaquin &ldquo;El Chapo&rdquo; Guzman. It questions whether the psychological factors which influenced and shaped their criminal identities are, in fact, based entirely on psychoanalytic theory (narcissism, borderline personality, etc.) or if they are also products of cultural ideology. This research examines the social and political concept of &ldquo;narcoculture&rdquo; as the main premise to view the context in which criminal psychopathy may be fostered and developed. As part of a historical analysis of the narcoculture phenomenon, Escobar and &ldquo;El Chapo" will be analyzed, diagnosed and compared in order to clarify the psychological and cultural parallels that reflect a distinct psychological profile. By referencing psychological, social, political, and cultural studies, the aim of this project is to reveal specific psychological characteristics as correlates of extreme and violent criminal behavior.</p><p>

<p> This thesis examines pretrial judicial decision-making, specifically the decisions to grant pretrial release and to impose bail. At bail hearings, judges must decide whether defendants should be detained, released on their own recognizance, or granted bail. In California, judges make this decision largely by relying on County Bail Schedules, which are similar to sentencing guidelines and prioritize the seriousness of the charged offense when determining bail. Pretrial detention, whether it is because the defendant is denied bail or because the defendant cannot afford the bail that was set, has negative implications, including the fact that defendants who are denied bail are more likely to plead guilty, and upon conviction are more likely to be sentenced to incarceration (Sacks &amp; Ackerman, 2012). They also face longer sentences than defendants who are released pending trial (Free, 2004; Tartaro &amp; Sedelmeier, 2009; Oleson, Lowenkamp, Cadigan, VonNostrand, &amp; Wooldredge, 2014). Despite the significant impact of decisions pertaining to pretrial release, there is limited research on these decisions, including on the factors judges consider in making the bail decision. This thesis presents findings from a predominantly qualitative study of bail hearings in two California counties. Relying on court observations and interviews, the study examines the factors that influence the imposition of bail. The data indicate that the bail decision is rarely contested, and that bail is usually set in accordance with the County Bail Schedule and without regard to the ability of the defendant to pay.</p><p>

A probation order is a sentence of the court built around rehabilitation. However, over the last decade the philosophy of the probation service has changed from 'advise, assist and befriend', to one based around the principles of enforcement and control. Changes which have brought with them a conflict for officers between care and control, between welfare and law enforcement. Such changes have had an impact on how an order is enforced, the supervision of the order and the control of the offender. Whilst the philosophy of the probation service may have changed those whom they deal with has not. It is a central argument of this study that rehabilitation would be better served by addressing the reasons for offending behaviour (criminogenic factors) rather than by strict enforcement. Within this thesis it was found that National Standards could be at odds with 'effective practice' and that one could detract from the other. Throughout this study it was found that officers failed to achieve 'effective practice' and as a consequence failed not only the offender, but the community at large. The argument is that only by addressing offending behaviour centred around criminogenic factors within the principles of 'what works' and motivated involvement through the 'sensible' use of national standards, would a probation order achieve its aim of rehabilitation.

No description available.