CRIMINAL LAW 1. Ahmed T. Ghandour.

CRIME TODAY.

WHAT IS A COMPARATIVE CRIMINOLOGY ?

A DEFINITION.  Comparative criminology is the cross-cultural or cross- national study of crime and crime control, applying the comparative method in the science of criminology.  Today, in the "global village," circumstances have changed, and comparative criminologists have become a necessity. While many aspects of the global village are beneficial, others have brought great problems.  Along with economic commerce and trade, crime has also become international in scope. It is little wonder then that criminologists must look across borders to study crime and crime-control efforts, and to search for internationally acceptable solutions to common problems.

 Before the 1970s, there was little literature on comparative research in criminology. Since then, however, it has been growing rapidly, largely because of:  (1) a realisation that more can be learned about crime if theories are tested under diverse cultural conditions and,  (2) renewed interest in trying to discover what we can learn from the experience of other nations. Comparative criminology has both theoretical and practical goals.  Transnational criminality has led to a greater emphasis on international law and the establishment of a permanent international criminal court. In May 2002, a long-standing dream of establishing such a body became a reality, after more than 60 nations agreed to a Permanent International Court.

HOW DO WE USE A COMPARATIVE CRIMINOLOGY.  First when looking at crime as social behavior, criminologists develop and test theories about crime’s etiology ( علم أسباب الآمراض ) that is, its causes, origins, and distribution.  Traditionally, those theories have been used to understand domestic crime in a particular country.  When theories about crime are developed and tested in or across two or more countries, criminology is more accurately called comparative criminology.

WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM COMPARATIVE CRIMINOLOGY.  When comparative criminologists study crime as a social phenomenon, they try to identify commonalities and differences in crime patterns among divergent cultures.  So the result of all of this is that crime statistics probably tell us as much about a country’s justice organisation as about its crime rate.

TRANSNATIONAL CRIMES.

DEFINITION.

 Transnational crimes are crimes that have actual or potential effect across national borders and crimes that are intra-state but insult fundamental values of the international community.  The term is commonly used in the law enforcement and academic communities.  Transnational organised crime (TOC) refers specifically to transnational crime carried out by crime organisations.  The word transnational describes crimes that are not only international (that is, crimes that cross borders between countries), but crimes that by their nature involve cross-border transmission as an essential part of the criminal activity.

 Transnational crimes also include crimes that take place in one country, but their consequences significantly affect another country and transit countries may also be involved. Examples of transnational crimes include: human trafficking, people smuggling, smuggling/trafficking of goods (such as arms trafficking and drug trafficking and illegal animal and plant products and other goods prohibited on environmental grounds (e.g. banned ozone depleting substances), sex slavery, terrorism offences, torture and apartheid.  Transnational crimes may also be crimes of customary international law or international crimes when committed in certain circumstances. For example, they may in certain situations constitute crimes against humanity.

TYPES OF CRIMES.

TYPES OF TRANSNATIONAL CRIMES.

DRUG TRAFFICKING.  Drug trafficking refers to illegal drugs being sold and distributed. This happens in all the countries. The main concern with transnational drug trafficking is illegal drugs being transported in from other countries and sold.  Not only do these illegal drugs cause crime in the States, the sale of them also draws large amounts of money into other countries. Because illegal drugs, such as marijuana, methamphetamines and cocaine, are in demand in the United States, trafficking in drugs is a very common and profitable transnational crime. This causes drug trafficking to be extremely hard to combat and stop. With drug trafficking comes other types of crime, such as money laundering, illegal procession of arms or even murder.

MONEY LAUNDERING.  Money laundering refers to the process of criminals hiding the illegal origins of their money. Money laundering occurs all over the world. Criminals who get their money from illegal actions, such as prostitution, smuggling or computer fraud typically launder their money in order not to attract the attention of authorities.  By not attracting attention from authorities, criminals are able to fly under the radar and continue their criminal activities, making even more money without getting in trouble. Money laundering is done in three main ways: hiding the source of the money -- such as disguising a prostitution ring as a massage salon, changing the form -- such as changing cash into a money order, or moving the funds -- such as taking money from one large bank account and putting it in several smaller accounts under different names.

ARMS TRAFFICKING.  Arms trafficking refers to the smuggling of guns, ammunition and other weapons. When weapons are smuggled into a country and sold illegally, buyers don't have to have any type of license or waiting period in order to buy one. This makes it easier for criminals who can't purchase a weapon legally to obtain one. Smuggled weapons typically end up in the hands of criminals or people with criminal intentions. This causes more crime to occur that could potentially be reduced if illegal arms trafficking is reduced or eliminated. Stopping arms trafficking is difficult because weapons have military, law enforcement and sport uses. This makes it harder to determine if a weapon is in the country and possessed legally.

HUMAN TRAFFICKING.  Human trafficking is a crime against humanity. It involves the sale, transportation, receipt and harboring of human beings through the use of force, threats or coercion with the intent to exploit the individuals. Human trafficking often includes payment or money transfer from a trafficker to a person in control of the victim. Common reasons that humans are trafficked include for prostitution, sexual abuse or forced slavery. Human trafficking happens across state lines as well as across international borders.

COMPUTER CRIME.  Any law violation in which a computer is the target or means of criminal activity.  One of the fastest growing crimes in many countries.  Hacking ­ unauthorized computer imposition.  Identity theft ­ stealing of someone else’s identification to obtain credit