Fraud targeting the elderly has in recent years received more and more attention, although fraudulent behavior against the elderly only constitute a small part of all reported fraud offences the fact that perpetrators intentionally and systematically utilizing their vulnerability should be taken seriously. It is therefore considered important to expand the knowledge regarding elderly exposure to fraud, but not because of the volume of crime rather because of the particular vulnerability the elderly possesses. The present study intends to examine how perpetrators of fraud find the elderly victims and whether or not the principle of public access to information affects elderly exposure to this type of crime. The study has been conducted through semi-structured interviews with individuals from the Swedish police authorities, all with connections to fraud and crime against elderly in different ways. Trough the thematic analysis, it emerged that perpetrators find their intended victims with the help of websites that mass-publish personal information and that this mainly takes place within the framework of organized crime. The principle of public access to information therefore tends to be an important phenomenon to consider in the work of making elderly less suitable targets of fraud.

Thesis (MPA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2017 / The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the measures in the prevention and control of organised crime by government agencies based in Limpopo Province. The research was qualitative in nature and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 law enforcement officers from the DPCI, DSSL, SAPS, Home Affairs, SARS Customs and Excess, AFU, and the NPA PCLU. Data was analysed though thematic analysis. The results revealed that the government strategies in Limpopo still require concerted efforts in the prevention and control of organised crime. The government has identified measures to fight organised crime and has adopted the criminal justice response/ institutional and the legislative response to the crime. The measures taken by various units are found to be ineffective in dealing with organised crime since organised criminal networks are often flexible, dynamic, innovative and resilient. Furthermore, corrupt activities and collusions by law enforcement officers hinder the effective implementation of the strategies to control organised crime. The findings of the study show that there is coordination and communication among the law enforcement agencies such as the DPCI, SARS, Home Affairs, and the NPA PCLU, among others. This coordination is envisaged through intelligence, information sharing and interoperability. The study highlighted poor implementation of the multi-agency approach as one institution is expected to facilitate and lead the prevention of organised crime (which is the DPCI). The findings further highlight, for example, that the smuggling of illegal cigarettes is currently a challenge for the provincial government as a highly committed organised crime. The study recommends for the development, by the government, of an Organised Crime Threat Assessment in order to effectively recognise the need for responses, which should be based on a sound understanding of the nature and characteristics of the organised crime environment. In addition, it recommends for the development of an Organised Crime Response Plan to align efforts to identified critical organised crime threats. The study further recommends for the adoption, by the government, of relevant multi-agency approaches in addressing organise crime – both operational and policy or regulatory – which will underpin a whole-of-provincial government approach to organised crime. KEY WORDS: Organised Crime, Criminal, Crime Prevention, Crime Control, Effectiveness, Coordination.

Real-time coherent Grazing-Incidence Small-Angle X-ray Scattering was used to investigate the average kinetics and the fluctuation dynamics during self-organized ion beam nano-patterning of two semiconductor surfaces: silicon at room temperature and germanium heated above its recrystallation temperature. For silicon nano-patterning, initially flat samples at room temperature were bombarded by a broad collimated beam of 1keV Ar+ and Kr+ ions at 65° polar angle, leading to the amorphization of the ion-irradiated surfaces and the spontaneous formation of nanoscale ripples. The temporal evolution of the average X-ray scattering intensity shows the evolution of average kinetics, while the fluctuation dynamics can be investigated by correlation of X-ray speckles. The surface behavior at early times can be explained within a linear theory framework. The transition away from the linear theory behavior is observed in the dynamics since the intensity correlation function quickly evolves into a compressed exponential decay on length scales corresponding to the peak wavelength and a stretched exponential decay on shorter length scales. The correlation times for silicon nano-patterning are maximum at the ripple wavelengths while they are smaller at other wavelengths. This has notable similarities and differences with the phenomenon of de Gennes narrowing. Overall, this dynamics behavior is found to be consistent with the simulations of a nonlinear growth model by Harrison et al. Following the formation of self-organized nano-ripples, they move across the surface. Homodyne X-ray alone cannot detect the motion, but because of the gradient of ion flux across the sample, we were able to measure in-situ the corresponding ripple velocity gradient by cross-correlating speckles and tracking their movements. For germanium nano-patterning at an elevated temperature, flat germanium samples kept at 300°C were bombarded by 1keV Ar+ ions at normal incidence. Unlike the case when surfaces are amorphizated during room temperature bombardment, the crystalline nano-pattern formation occurs mainly due to a surface instability caused by the Ehrlich-Schwoebel barrier. By using a linear theory analysis on the X-ray scattering intensities in the early times, we measured the contribution of the Ehrlich-Schwoebel barrier to the crystalline nano-patterning kinetics.

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The influence of the strain rate and heat treatment on the occurrence of plastic instabilities in extruded AlSi1MgMn (6082) and cold rolled AlMg4.5Mn0.4 (5182) alloys was studied. The samples were uniaxially loaded at various strain rates and at room temperature (RT). The results are discussed using concurrent acoustic emission (AE) monitoring during mechanical testing and the AE parameters are correlated to the microstructure and to the stress-time curves. All samples exhibited the Portevin-Le Châtelier (PLC) effect of different types, dependently on the heat treatment and the applied strain rate. The occurrence of the PLC effect is manifested by burst AE signals with high amplitudes. Statistical analysis of the AE signals has shown the power-law probability distribution.

The thesis examines the results of the international commission against impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), founded in 2006 by an agreement between the government of Guatemala and the UN. It represents a unique tool of UN, connecting in its mandate national and international elements, whose singular goal is a fight against contemporary national crimes, in contrast to a more classical model of UN, which focuses predominantly on international or past crimes. The thesis tries to answer whether the level of corruption and presence of organized crime in the state institutions was lowered during the mandate of CICIG, whether the level of impunity was lowered at the national courts and how big of a role could be attributed to CICIG. The analysis is diveded into two parts. In the first one, based on a few key indicators, the institutional situation in crime prosecution in Guatemala is evaluated before and after the mandate of CICIG. In the second one, with the use of a process-tracing method, the role of CICIG in 3 key cases is analysed, especially concerning the power of its influence in Guatemala. A short discussion about the good and bad characteristics of the CICIG model concludes the thesis.

Temporary postponement of criminal prosecution Abstract The diploma thesis deals with the procedural institute of temporary postponement of criminal prosecution, while providing a complete analysis of situations in which individual forms of this institute can be used. Furthermore, the diploma thesis offers a basic digression into the issue of corruption and organized crime, with a special focus on legal instruments which are able to make the fight against these adverse criminal phenomena more efficient. The diploma thesis analyses in detail the process of application of temporary postponement of criminal prosecution, highlights the pros and cons of this procedure, while the work does not omit the process of enshrining this institute in Czech law or its legal predecessor. The thesis tries to answer the question of whether the temporary postponement of criminal prosecution is the most helpful and effective tool, and therefore, last but not least, it also deals with other options that can be considered as suitable alternatives to this institute. Key words opportunity, corruption, organized crime, procedural instruments

Cooperating defendant Abstract The cooperating defendant represents a relatively new instrument of Czech criminal law, it was introduced into the Czech legal system with effect from 1 January 2010. The main purpose of this legal instrument is to fight organized crime, which is characterized by its high social danger and is extremely difficult to combat for law enforcement agencies due to the considerable sophistication of the internal hierarchy of organized criminal groups. The legal instrument consists of the cooperation of the defendant with a public prosecutor, who designates them as a cooperating defendant in the indictment in exchange for information capable of making a significant contribution to the uncovering of organized criminal groups. The cooperating defendant is rewarded for their cooperation with a mitigation of their sentence and the sentence may even be dropped altogether. The first chapter of this thesis analyzes the terms of cooperating defendant and crown witness, describes the process of introducing the legal instrument of cooperating defendant into the Czech legal system and also mentions some similar legal instruments. The second chapter deals with the current legislation, some of its shortcomings and their possible solutions. The third chapter lists some of the most important benefits...

Cooperating defendant Abstract This thesis on Cooperating defendant is focused on the development of this institute, its connection to organized crime and relevant international and Czech legislation. The thesis consists of the introduction, five chapters, that each presents individual topics in detail, and the conclusion. The first chapter analyses historical development of the institute of crown witness and its connection to the institute of cooperating defendant, the context of adoption of this institute into the Czech legislation and the subsequent amendment of the relevant provisions. At the same time, it summarizes the planned changes concerning the institute of cooperating defendant within the framework of recodification of criminal procedure. The second chapter analyses organized crime in connection to the institute of cooperating defendant. It focuses on the occurrence of organized crime in the Czech Republic, its specific features and legislation, the purpose of which is to fight organized crime. The third chapter is focused on the international legislation of the institute of cooperating defendant, which is mainly defined by international organizations, such as the UN, the European Union and the Council of Europe. The current legal regulation of the institute of cooperating defendant is analysed...

Recent decades have seen a shift in the focus of civil rights historiography. Building upon the exhaustive studies of national figures and events, and in search of new perspectives, many historians have concentrated on local movements often ignored or forgotten. Other than the work of a few local scholars, the civil rights movement as it occurred in St. Petersburg, Florida, has received little attention. Furthermore, the limited scholarship lacks the cohesion necessary to compare and contrast the movement with similar events throughout the state and across the nation. The story of St. Petersburg's active and significant struggle for social equality, placed within its proper context, adds another piece to a larger picture and continues to reveal the complex nature of the American Civil Rights Movement.