tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/crime-277/articlesCrime – The Conversation2024-03-26T00:44:34Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2256552024-03-26T00:44:34Z2024-03-26T00:44:34ZMost states now have affirmative sexual consent laws, but not enough people know what they mean<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583937/original/file-20240325-25-244jlr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4000%2C2670&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/couple-smiling-hugging-while-spending-time-2106323468">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Earlier this month, Queensland became the latest state to pass affirmative consent laws. This means consent is understood as ongoing communication for the purposes of rape and sexual assault offences.</p>
<p>Under <a href="https://theconversation.com/nsw-adopts-affirmative-consent-in-sexual-assault-laws-what-does-this-mean-161497">affirmative consent</a>, agreement to each sexual act must be actively communicated. That is, each person must say or do something to indicate consent and check the other is willing to proceed.</p>
<p>It’s common for victims of sexual assault to <a href="https://researchblog.duke.edu/2023/07/06/neuroscience-shows-why-sex-assault-victims-freeze-its-not-consent/">freeze</a> or try to avoid further injury, rather than fighting back. The new laws make it clear these reactions are not consent. </p>
<p>But it’s not just Queensland that has such laws. Where else are they in place, and how are they working in practice?</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/nsw-adopts-affirmative-consent-in-sexual-assault-laws-what-does-this-mean-161497">NSW adopts affirmative consent in sexual assault laws. What does this mean?</a>
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<h2>What do Queensland’s laws do?</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/html/bill.first/bill-2023-007">new Queensland laws</a> define consent as “free and voluntary agreement”. They clarify that a person does not consent where they do not “say or do anything to communicate consent”.</p>
<p>The laws also limit the <a href="https://theconversation.com/queensland-rape-law-loophole-could-remain-after-review-ignores-concerns-about-rape-myths-and-consent-141772">mistake of fact excuse</a> for rape and sexual assault. This excuse allows defendants to argue they honestly and reasonably — but mistakenly — believed the other person consented to sex.</p>
<p>The excuse has been <a href="https://journal.law.uq.edu.au/index.php/uqlj/article/view/2993">heavily</a> <a href="https://www.able.uwa.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/3687926/7.-AFFIRMATIVE-CONSENT-AND-THE-MISTAKE-OF-FACT-EXCUSE-IN-WESTERN-AUSTRALIAN-RAPE-LAW_.pdf">criticised</a> for allowing defendants to rely on irrelevant factors, such as the other person’s clothing or failure to fight back, as the basis for alleged mistakes about consent.</p>
<p>However, the new laws say a belief in sexual consent is not reasonable unless the person took active steps to check their partner was consenting. This is <a href="https://www.able.uwa.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/3687926/7.-AFFIRMATIVE-CONSENT-AND-THE-MISTAKE-OF-FACT-EXCUSE-IN-WESTERN-AUSTRALIAN-RAPE-LAW_.pdf">consistent with</a> an affirmative consent model.</p>
<h2>Where else has similar laws?</h2>
<p>Four out of the six Australian states and one of the two territories have now enacted affirmative consent laws. <a href="https://www.legislation.tas.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/act-1924-069#JS1@GS14A@EN">Tasmania</a> was the first state to adopt an affirmative consent model in 2004. </p>
<p>The Queensland laws follow on the heels of recent legal changes in NSW, the ACT and Victoria. NSW and the ACT legislated affirmative consent in 2021, while Victoria did the same in 2022. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.wa.gov.au/government/announcements/discussion-paper-project-113-sexual-offences">Western Australia</a> and <a href="https://www.agd.sa.gov.au/law-and-justice/legislation/review-of-sexual-consent-laws-in-south-australia">South Australia</a>, meanwhile, are currently reviewing sexual consent laws and may well follow suit. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-time-we-aligned-sexual-consent-laws-across-australia-but-this-faces-formidable-challenges-196115">It's time we aligned sexual consent laws across Australia – but this faces formidable challenges</a>
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<p>The national trend is clearly towards an affirmative consent standard. Some scholars have argued this could pave the way to <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-time-we-aligned-sexual-consent-laws-across-australia-but-this-faces-formidable-challenges-196115">aligning sexual consent laws across the nation</a> — although significant challenges remain. </p>
<p>Critics of affirmative consent laws have suggested they could criminalise “<a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/consent-laws-criminalise-spontaneous-marital-sex-says-queensland-law-society/news-story/2d60ee2d97000f5779383c83dcd40663">spontaneous marital sex</a>”. However, this ignores the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jan/08/consent-is-not-a-romance-killer-the-mistake-of-fact-defence-for-needs-to-go">social and legal context</a> within which the laws operate.</p>
<p>There is no evidence of the laws being applied in this way. </p>
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<h2>Vital for debunking rape myths</h2>
<p>Affirmative consent laws can only be effective and fair if people understand what they mean in practice. </p>
<p>However, public attitudes are not always consistent with an affirmative consent model. A <a href="https://lsj.com.au/articles/a-question-of-consent/">NSW government study</a> found 14% of young men “didn’t agree that you must seek consent every time you engage in sexual activity”.</p>
<p>Societal attitudes are clouded by persistent myths about <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/aug/10/nsw-study-rape-sexual-assault-harassment-trials-myths-victims-stereotypes">consent</a> and <a href="https://www.aic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-11/ti611_misconceptions_of_sexual_crimes_against_adult_victims.pdf">sexual violence</a>. For example, people may think that someone who was drunk or did not fight back cannot be a victim of rape.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/not-as-simple-as-no-means-no-what-young-people-need-to-know-about-consent-155736">Not as simple as 'no means no': what young people need to know about consent</a>
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<p>Rape myths are not limited to the general public. They influence judges, lawyers, police and jurors as well. Recent research has found rape myths in <a href="https://law.adelaide.edu.au/ua/media/2808/alr_44-2_09_schaffer.pdf">supreme court judgments</a> and <a href="https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:c06d8d6">jurors’ perceptions of evidence</a> in rape trials.</p>
<p>It is easy to assume that once affirmative consent laws are passed, they will be fully effective in the courts. However, years after affirmative consent was adopted in Tasmania, courts were still <a href="https://figshare.utas.edu.au/articles/thesis/The_impact_of_introducing_an_affirmative_model_of_consent_and_changes_to_the_defence_of_mistake_in_Tasmanian_rape_trials/23207285">applying outdated legal principles</a>.</p>
<h2>Raising public awareness</h2>
<p>For affirmative consent laws to serve their purpose, everyone — including judges, lawyers, jurors, police and the public — needs a clear understanding of what affirmative consent means.</p>
<p>Public awareness campaigns can help to clarify that consent is an active, ongoing process that cannot be inferred from silence or lack of resistance. </p>
<p>NSW’s <a href="https://www.nsw.gov.au/family-and-relationships/make-no-doubt">Make No Doubt</a> campaign was launched the week prior to its new consent laws taking effect, but a similar campaign has yet to be announced in Queensland. </p>
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<p>The Queensland <a href="https://www.womenstaskforce.qld.gov.au/about-us/news/news-items/reform-needed-to-systems-stacked-against-female-victim-survivors">Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce</a> heard from victim-survivors, support services, lawyers, police and the broader community about the need for improved public education on consent. </p>
<p>Understanding consent in isolation is not enough. <a href="https://theconversation.com/mandatory-consent-education-is-a-huge-win-for-australia-but-consent-is-just-one-small-part-of-navigating-relationships-177456">Comprehensive education</a> on respectful relationships is vital to fostering a culture where affirmative consent becomes the norm. </p>
<p>The effectiveness of affirmative consent laws also depends on how they are applied by police, lawyers and judges. If police don’t give effect to the laws, then most sexual assaults <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-28/how-police-are-failing-survivors-of-sexual-assault/11871364">will never reach prosecutors</a> — let alone the courtroom.</p>
<p><a href="https://dcj.nsw.gov.au/news-and-media/media-releases-archive/2022/affirmative-consent-becomes-law-in-nsw.html">Comprehensive training</a> for these professionals is essential to ensure affirmative consent is implemented across the criminal justice system.</p>
<p>Since Australia’s affirmative consent laws are so new, there is limited evidence (beyond Tasmania) of exactly how they will work in practice. It will be important to build this evidence base to ensure the laws are functioning as intended.</p>
<h2>Government action is essential</h2>
<p>Online resources, such as Rape and Sexual Assault Research and Advocacy’s <a href="https://rasaraorganisation.squarespace.com/consent-toolkit-home">sexual consent toolkit</a>, can help people learn about affirmative consent. However, these resources only reach a small part of the community. </p>
<p>To raise wider awareness of affirmative consent and to overcome persistent rape myths, large-scale efforts are needed.</p>
<p>Governments across Australia should invest in the success of affirmative consent laws through further public awareness campaigns, as well as training and education for criminal justice professionals and the public.</p>
<p>Otherwise, affirmative consent laws could turn out to be just words on paper.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225655/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Crowe is Director of Research at Rape and Sexual Assault Research and Advocacy.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gianni Ribeiro receives funding from the Australian Institute of Criminology. </span></em></p>Australian jurisdictions are making strides to ensure consent means an active ‘yes’ rather than the absence of a ‘no’. But without better knowledge of these laws, they risk being just words on paper.Jonathan Crowe, Head of School and Dean, School of Law and Justice, University of Southern QueenslandGianni Ribeiro, Lecturer of criminology, University of Southern QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2203342024-03-25T19:06:03Z2024-03-25T19:06:03Z‘Everyone was groomed’: Anne Manne’s story of Newcastle’s paedophile priest network centres on a ‘kidnapped’ childhood<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583928/original/file-20240324-28-b7dee7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=299%2C0%2C3694%2C1994&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Church abuse survivor Steven Smith as a boy.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Conversation/Josh Eckstein, Unsplash/Black Inc.</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 2017, the <a href="https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/sites/default/files/case_study_42_-_findings_report_-_the_responses_of_the_anglican_diocese_of_newcastle_to_instances_and_allegations_of_child_sexual_abuse.pdf">Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse</a> found that within the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle, priests had perpetuated crimes of abuse for at least 30 years. Serious allegations were mismanaged, misplaced or ignored. Crimes were minimised. “Abusive and predatory” behaviour was wrongly portrayed as “consensual”. </p>
<p>In her new book, <a href="https://www.blackincbooks.com.au/books/crimes-cross">Crimes of the Cross</a>, journalist Anne Manne provides an intricate and compelling account of how multiple diocesan clergy and leaders covered up allegations, protected priests who were known perpetrators and failed to care for survivors. </p>
<p>Manne builds on the groundbreaking work of Newcastle Herald journalist Joanne McCarthy, whose investigations, starting in 2006, <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/dogged-journalist-would-not-walk-away-from-abuse-victims-20140825-1082mu.html">led to the establishment of the 2012 royal commission</a>. Manne’s writing is informed by a variety of source materials, including interviews with McCarthy and various survivors, and evidence from the royal commission.</p>
<p>On the first page, Manne warns us this story is about a “sinister paedophile ring of priests demonic in their cruelty”, supported by “a ‘grey network’ of protectors”. These protectors – clergy and lay people – staffed helplines, were on professional standards committees, mismanaged or ignored complaints, and never reported criminal activity to police.</p>
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<p><em>Review: Crimes of the Cross – Anne Manne (Black Inc.)</em></p>
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<p>At least six priests associated with the diocese and one lay reader <a href="https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/sites/default/files/file-list/unredacted-case-study-no-42.pdf">have been convicted</a> of child sex offending. Other priests were identified as “prolific” abusers, but not convicted in their lifetime.</p>
<p>Crimes of the Cross centres the stories of survivors. Their testimonies are retold with sensitivity, although explicit and distressing detail is provided at times (including in the opening pages). </p>
<p>Manne’s work concentrates primarily on one survivor – Steven Smith – who, from the age of ten, was repeatedly abused by a priest, Father George Parker. This happened over five years, from 1971 to 1975 – the year Parker was transferred to nearby Gateshead, where the abuse (initially) continued. </p>
<p>The 1971 arrival of Parker, then aged 30, is presented as a disruption to Smith’s happy and carefree childhood. Smith told Manne his childhood summers were spent in Bush Creek, “fishing and swimming”.</p>
<p>Despite this, Smith told Manne his parents’ marital problems made his family vulnerable. Their life revolved around the church community. At first, Smith felt proud of Parker’s attention to him. </p>
<p>However, when he became an altar boy, “everything changed” and the abuse started. Assaults happened at church, in the car with Parker, driving between churches, when his mother sent him to visit the rectory, and when Parker would pull him out of school, no questions asked. Smith said he was abused “fortnightly”; he was raped “hundreds of times”. His abuse, he said, was a “kind of kidnapping”.</p>
<p>Manne writes:</p>
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<p>a psychologist’s report years later stated that Steve had gone through one of the most extreme cases of sexual abuse that she had ever encountered.</p>
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<span class="caption">Steven Smith.</span>
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<p>Through Smith’s and other stories, Manne explores how criminals such as Parker hid behind a “mask” of priesthood, and perpetrated crimes that significantly harmed the lives of those they targeted. She shows the human cost of bad policy and delayed justice.</p>
<p>Smith’s personal story of surviving abuse and campaigning for justice is at the centre of the book, which is divided into five chronological parts. </p>
<p>Shame and fear of social isolation can prevent a survivor from disclosing abuse. “Steve was a bright spark of a kid who saw with sharp clarity the social world around him,” Manne writes. </p>
<p>“He knew the consequences for his mother and family should the situation be made public – shame, expulsion from the church, ostracism from the community.” </p>
<p>While Steve did tell his mother about the abuse in 1975 (on the way home from Gateshead), he would not report it to police until February 2000.</p>
<p>In the 1990s, Smith disclosed to an Anglican helpline – where he spoke to a priest, Graeme Lawrence, who would later be <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6735734/former-anglican-dean-graeme-lawrence-and-the-vortex-of-clerical-child-sexual-abuse/">convicted of sexually assaulting</a> a 15-year-old boy in 1991.</p>
<p>In 2000, Smith reported Parker to the police. A trial against Parker was held in 2001, but when the defence team presented an alibi for him, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-13/priest-dies-weeks-after-child-abuse-charges-reinstated/8178476">the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions withdrew the charges</a>. In late 2016, the charges were reinstated. The trial was delayed as Smith gave evidence at the royal commission. Parker died in January 2017, before facing court.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/royal-commission-report-makes-preventing-institutional-sexual-abuse-a-national-responsibility-88564">Royal commission report makes preventing institutional sexual abuse a national responsibility</a>
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<h2>Seeking justice</h2>
<p>The second section, Team Church, describes a missed opportunity for justice. After Smith made the police report, Parker was charged and a trial was set for August 2001. </p>
<p>Manne recounts how diocesan staff made efforts to withhold information. For instance, staff, including Lawrence, had “exact records” of when and where clergy had been employed, as it was contained in parish yearbooks. </p>
<p>However, Manne notes when the detective working on the case asked for information about when Parker had been at Gateshead church, “no one in the Anglican Church told him of the existence of these records”. As as result, the detective “was preparing to frame the charges for 1974 – the wrong year”.</p>
<p>The case was no-billed and would not be reopened until after the royal commission.</p>
<p>Manne also shows how the diocese failed to provide pastoral care. Sadly, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14443058.2018.1458329">this is not uncommon</a> in cases of abuse in church communities. </p>
<p>In fact, Manne suggests the well-documented failings of Catholic leaders may have worked to obscure what was happening in the Anglican diocese. </p>
<p>Newcastle journalist Joanne McCarthy – who was <a href="https://www.crikey.com.au/2013/03/28/accidental-crusader-how-a-regional-reporter-prompted-a-royal-commission/">instrumental</a> in reporting instances of abuse within Catholicism – told Manne she didn’t initially understand “how bad child sexual abuse was in the Anglican church”. </p>
<p>In 2016, Manne herself had been trying to get at the “inner workings of the secret, mysterious Catholic committees” who were “responsible for cover ups” when she heard about the public hearings investigating the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle. </p>
<p>Within the diocese, staff appeared more interested in protecting the institution than responding to survivors. Some refused to hand parish records to police. Legal representatives used aspects of Steve’s history – not disclosing to his own father, being diagnosed with mental illnesses – against him. Manne astutely notes:</p>
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<p>It is common for survivors of child sexual abuse to suffer anxiety, depression and PTSD. Steve’s admission to a psychiatric hospital could have been interpreted as evidence he had been sexually abused. Instead, it was used to undermine his credibility. He was “mad”, it was implied, his testimony unreliable and not to be believed.</p>
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<p>Manne suggests while Steve was “denigrated in court”, there was “a reservoir of trust and goodwill towards the church”. But this reservoir was not limitless. </p>
<p>Towards the end of this section, Manne’s attention shifts to the mishandling of allegations in the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-03/peter-hollingworth-apologises-child-sex-abuse-royal-commission/7135446">Anglican Diocese of Brisbane</a>. This points to the reality that both abuse and inadequate institutional responses have been widespread. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/who-cares-for-men-like-brian-houston-the-hillsong-leaders-rise-and-fall-is-a-gripping-story-but-how-was-it-allowed-to-happen-222810">'Who cares for men like Brian Houston?' The Hillsong leader's rise and fall is a gripping story, but how was it allowed to happen?</a>
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<h2>Denying what ‘ostensibly good men’ do</h2>
<p>While Steve’s experiences propel the book, Manne’s lens is wider. She considers how successive diocesan leaders and staff continued to mismanage complaints and to direct sympathy towards the abusing priests and the institution, rather than the many victim-survivors. </p>
<p>This allows Manne to clearly show the abuse perpetrated by priests was not isolated, nor random events committed by one “bad” man (or even a few bad men). Rather, there was a network of abusers and enablers, as well as systemic failures that allowed the church to become a “cover” for criminal activity. At the centre of the story, Manne states, there is “the denial of what ‘ostensibly good men’ do”.</p>
<p>A pivotal chapter, titled “The Wolf Hiding in Plain Sight”, uncovers the criminal activities of one of these “ostensibly good” men. </p>
<p>In late 2009, Manne tells us, Lawrence – by now the dean of the cathedral – was reported for sexual misconduct with an underage boy (in the early 1980s) to Michael Elliot, an ex-policeman who had been hired by the diocese to deal with sexual abuse complaints. </p>
<p>Lawrence, a powerful, controlling figure, had shaped diocesan culture and “groomed a whole city” for decades. Manne explains:</p>
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<p>By grooming, a paedophile creates compliant, trusting people who simply won’t believe accusations of sexual misconduct. Presenting oneself as a very caring priest establishes the “halo effect”, a reservoir of admiration and goodwill, whereby people see the abuser as beyond reproach, enabling them to hide in plain sight. Grooming creates a network of defenders who can be mobilised when needed.</p>
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<p>In Lawrence’s case, this mobilisation resulted in pushback against Brian Farran – the then Bishop of Newcastle – after Lawrence was defrocked in 2012 due to the sexual abuse allegations against him. </p>
<p>Lawrence’s supporters saw the professional standards unit, which Elliot headed, as troublemakers. Smith and Elliot received death threats, Elliot’s car and home were “repeatedly vandalised”, and his dog went missing.</p>
<p>Manne writes:</p>
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<p>If you thought you were dealing with a Christian community, the death threats and intimidation, the vandalism of cars and homes, seems completely shocking. But if you reframed and realised that hidden within the church was a paedophile ring – then it became unsurprising.</p>
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<p>Throughout, Manne demonstrates that abuse of power was a key element in the decades of criminal activity within the diocese. At the same time, recognition of survivors was slow. “For many in the church, it was easier to preserve good memories and dismiss survivors as liars.” </p>
<h2>Why weren’t survivors believed?</h2>
<p>The final section of the book asks important questions. Why was the abuse covered up? Why weren’t children believed? Manne’s analysis is both insightful and chilling. She reflects:</p>
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<p>The desires of the paedophiles were heinous but simple. The cover-ups by the church hierarchy were dreadful, but you could see the logic: the protection of reputation, avoidance of scandal, fear of losing their income, houses and careers should they turn whistleblower. But the laity – what did [they] get out of it?</p>
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<p>Why were everyday churchgoers invested in protecting the institution?</p>
<p>Stepping into Newcastle Cathedral, Manne finds an answer. She imagines “the tall figure of Dean Graeme Lawrence sweeping along in his white lace and gold brocade robes, and how, amid this grandeur, a congregation might feel close to God”. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583923/original/file-20240324-24-roymtx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583923/original/file-20240324-24-roymtx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583923/original/file-20240324-24-roymtx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=918&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583923/original/file-20240324-24-roymtx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=918&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583923/original/file-20240324-24-roymtx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=918&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583923/original/file-20240324-24-roymtx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1154&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583923/original/file-20240324-24-roymtx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1154&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583923/original/file-20240324-24-roymtx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1154&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>So much of this story, she writes, is about “status and the pursuit of social significance”. People were invested in their image of Lawrence, she concludes. Supporting powerful figures within the church gave regular parishioners a place and purpose. </p>
<p>And that, she presumes, was what Lawrence wanted: “There was no better way to groom a child, their family, and community than by using the altruistic mask of a priest.”</p>
<p>To point out the hypocrisy and systemic failings nested within the diocese, Manne turns to the Christian parable of the Good Samaritan, <a href="https://www.commongrace.org.au/parables_the_good_samaritan">which tells</a> “the story of a person who was attacked, robbed and left half dead on the side of the road”. </p>
<p>In the story, two religious leaders ignore the man, while a social outsider (a Samaritan) stops, sees the injured man and provides care. Manne compares abuse survivors to the person lying beaten on the side of the road, and accuses many clergy and lay people of having “averted their eyes”, just as the leaders in the parable did. </p>
<p>Some, she writes:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>were so focused on gaining social significance, on clawing their way up the church hierarchy, that they forgot the radical egalitarianism at the heart of the teaching of Jesus. They forgot especially what Jesus told the disciples about children.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Manne’s reading of the situation breaks my heart, but perhaps that’s the point.</p>
<p>As she draws her book together, she writes:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>For some in the church there was a complete failure of moral imagination – an inability or refusal to acknowledge the soul murder of abuse victims. Why this blindness? The answer is terrible. <em>Because the victims were children</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>In the balance of power, everything was in the favour of powerful men like Lawrence and Parker. Children, who had nothing, were silenced, ignored and shamed. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/dassi-erlich-and-her-sisters-were-easy-pickings-for-predators-with-their-abuser-malka-leifers-conviction-and-a-new-book-they-take-control-220325">Dassi Erlich and her sisters were 'easy pickings for predators'. With their abuser Malka Leifer's conviction – and a new book – they take control</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Go on fighting</h2>
<p>Manne closes her book with a somewhat positive take: “Steve never stopped being a fighter.” She gives Smith the final words: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>If something is wrong, it’s wrong. You have just got to go on fighting. Don’t ever give up.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As I reached the final pages, I was drained. I cannot begin to fathom the energy survivors such as Smith had to summon to go on fighting – in some cases for 20, 30, 40 years. Over lifetimes.</p>
<p>Manne’s book is certainly an emotionally difficult read, but it is also incredibly important. She highlights the lasting personal and social consequences of abuse, as well as woefully insufficient responses and victim-blaming cultures. She bears witness to the experience of survivors and to their fight for justice. </p>
<p>Yes, every churchgoer, every youth worker, everyone employed by a church – indeed everybody – should read this book. But read it with care (and perhaps with a friend) and pace yourselves: the story it tells is devastating.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.</em></p>
<p><em>The National Sexual Assault, Family and Domestic Violence Counselling Line – 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for any Australian who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220334/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rosie Clare Shorter does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Crimes of the Cross tells how clergy and leaders in the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle covered up allegations, protected abusive priests and failed to care for survivors.Rosie Clare Shorter, Research fellow, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2261202024-03-20T04:45:08Z2024-03-20T04:45:08ZThe government is fighting a new High Court case on immigration detainees. What’s it about and what’s at stake?<p>The government will be on tenterhooks again next month when the High Court of Australia hears another case that could lead to the release of a further cohort of people currently in immigration detention. </p>
<p>Given the ongoing political fallout of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/high-court-reasons-on-immigration-ruling-pave-way-for-further-legislation-218699">previous controversial</a> High Court case, the outcome of this one will be closely watched.</p>
<p>So why is this new case so significant, and how does it differ from the last one?</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-governments-preventative-detention-bill-heres-how-the-laws-will-work-and-what-they-mean-for-australias-detention-system-219226">What is the government's preventative detention bill? Here's how the laws will work and what they mean for Australia's detention system</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What is the case about?</h2>
<p>The case is called <em>ASF17 v Commonwealth</em>. It concerns an <a href="https://www.hcourt.gov.au/assets/cases/07-Perth/p7-2024/ASF17-Cth-App.pdf">Iranian citizen</a> who has been held in immigration detention for ten years. He failed in his application for a protection visa and is therefore subject to an obligation that he be deported as soon as reasonably practicable. </p>
<p>However, he has hindered his deportation (or “frustrated” it, in legal terms) by refusing to meet with Iranian officials to secure the travel documents needed for his return to Iran. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oIAuaKhQMXU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<p>He says he has good reason not to want to be returned to Iran because he is bisexual, has converted to Christianity, is Kurdish and has opposed the mistreatment of women by the Iranian government. </p>
<p>He says he fears for his life if he is removed to Iran, but he is prepared to cooperate in his removal to any country other than Iran.</p>
<p>The Commonwealth has accepted there is no prospect of his removal to any country other than Iran. It has also accepted that he cannot be removed to Iran without his cooperation, as Iran does not accept involuntary removals. </p>
<p>So does this mean he’ll be released in accordance with the High Court’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-laws-to-deal-with-immigration-detainees-were-rushed-leading-to-legal-risks-219384">previous <em>NZYQ</em> case</a>? </p>
<h2>How is this different from the previous case?</h2>
<p>You might remember the <em>NZYQ</em> case from late last year. In it, the court found a stateless Rohingya refugee, who couldn’t secure a visa because of previous criminal convictions, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-10/asylum-seekers-indefinite-detention-to-be-released/103088762">couldn’t be held</a> in indefinite detention. This was because there was “no real prospect of his removal from Australia becoming practicable in the reasonably foreseeable future”. </p>
<p>The decision overturned a 2004 precedent and triggered the release of at least <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-12/half-released-immigration-detainees-convicted-violent-offending/103455458">149 other detainees</a> in similar situations.</p>
<p>The Commonwealth has argued ASF17’s case falls into a different category, because whether there is a practical prospect of removal must be assessed on the basis that the detainee is cooperating. </p>
<p>When the case was first heard in the Federal Court, the Commonwealth argued that when assessing whether there is a practical prospect of deporting a detainee, delays caused by the detainee not cooperating shouldn’t be taken into account. This is regardless of whatever may be the reasons for his or her non-cooperation. </p>
<p>Justice Colvin, in the Federal Court, <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/cth/FCA/2024/7.html">accepted</a> the Commonwealth’s argument. He pointed out that the reasons for refusal to cooperate, including fear of persecution on return to Iran, were matters separately dealt with during his application for a protection visa. </p>
<p>Once the detainee had reached the end of his appeals on this point, he was being held solely for the purpose of removal from Australia, so the reasons for his concerns could not be revisited. </p>
<p>Justice Colvin concluded that the assessment of whether there was a real prospect of his removal becoming practicable in the reasonably foreseeable future then had to be made on the basis of the detainee’s cooperation in taking relevant steps towards deportation. This was the case even if the detainee refused to act. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-laws-to-deal-with-immigration-detainees-were-rushed-leading-to-legal-risks-219384">New laws to deal with immigration detainees were rushed, leading to legal risks</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The appeal to the High Court</h2>
<p>ASF17 then appealed to the Full Federal Court, and the Commonwealth government successfully sought the removal of this case directly into the High Court. This is because the lower courts have not been acting consistently on this point. </p>
<p>For example, in <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/cth/FCA/2023/1497.html"><em>AZC20 v Secretary, Department of Home Affairs (No 2)</em></a>, an Iranian detainee who had never been convicted of a crime and had been held in detention for ten years was ordered to be released, despite the fact he was refusing to cooperate with his removal to Iran (although he was prepared to cooperate with his removal to any other country). The Commonwealth therefore wants the High Court to resolve the uncertainty and give a clear decision.</p>
<p>Previously, in its <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/cth/HCA/2023/37.html"><em>NZYQ</em> judgment</a>, the High Court distinguished that case from cases in which the detainee seeks to frustrate attempts to deport them. </p>
<p>This justifies the Commonwealth’s approach of treating detainees who have frustrated their deportation as being in a different category. It still, however, leaves it open to the High Court to decide whether they should be released or remain in detention. </p>
<p>In the <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/cth/HCA/2019/17.html">past</a>, the High Court has not been sympathetic to those who have sought to thwart their deportation by telling falsehoods about their identity, noting that the courts are disinclined to allow a party to take advantage of his or her own wrongful conduct. </p>
<p>But whether honest non-cooperation, as opposed to falsehoods, would be treated the same way remains to be seen.</p>
<h2>How many detainees will be affected?</h2>
<p>The decision in this case is likely to affect a wider cohort of people in immigration detention who cannot be deported because they have refused to cooperate. <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/the-unwanted-high-court-to-determine-the-fate-of-another-127-in-limbo-20240318-p5fdah.html">Some countries</a>, such as Iran, do not accept the involuntary return of their citizens, which means detainees can prevent their deportation to these countries by refusing to cooperate. </p>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/mar/20/australia-asf17-immigration-detainees-high-court-challenge-more-than-170-could-be-freed">The Guardian</a>, a leaked government document estimated that about 170 people currently in detention could be affected, although the minister has refused to discuss numbers or the details of the case while it is before the courts.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/high-court-reasons-on-immigration-ruling-pave-way-for-further-legislation-218699">High Court reasons on immigration ruling pave way for further legislation</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>If the High Court were to decide that a person could prevent their deportation by refusing to cooperate and could use this to cause their release into the community, it would give detainees a great incentive to refuse cooperation in deportation matters. </p>
<p>The Commonwealth has strong arguments on its side, but as always it is a matter for the High Court ultimately to decide.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226120/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anne Twomey has received grants from the ARC and occasionally does consultancy work for governments, Parliaments and inter-governmental bodies. She is also a consultant with Gilbert + Tobin Lawyers, which does pro bono work for refugee claimants.</span></em></p>The government will head back to the High Court next month for another immigration case. If it loses, there could be wide-ranging consequences.Anne Twomey, Professor emerita, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2249412024-03-12T12:31:12Z2024-03-12T12:31:12ZPennsylvania overhauled its sentencing guidelines to be more fair and consistent − but racial disparities may not disappear so soon<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581063/original/file-20240311-28-gp310p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">According to the state's new guidelines, juvenile convictions that are 10 years or older should no longer be considered when determining a person's sentence.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/close-up-of-human-hand-with-handcuffs-royalty-free-image/1254827260">Seksan Mongkhonkhamsao via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Pennsylvania’s new <a href="https://pcs.la.psu.edu/guidelines-statutes/sentencing">sentencing guidelines</a> went into effect on Jan. 1, 2024. They mark the eighth iteration since the state first introduced such guidelines in 1982 and are perhaps the most comprehensive revision to date.</em></p>
<p><em>Since Philadelphia has by far the <a href="https://www.prisonpolicy.org/origin/pa/2020/county.html">largest share of incarcerated people</a> in the state, the new sentencing guidelines affect many Philadelphia residents.</em> </p>
<p><em>C. Clare Strange, an <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=AbnZo6YAAAAJ&hl=en">assistant research professor</a> in the Department of Criminology and Justice Studies at Drexel University, is the <a href="https://nij.ojp.gov/funding/awards/15pnij-23-gg-01365-nijb">principal investigator in a study</a> that will evaluate the impacts of the new guidelines on racial and ethnic disparities in sentencing outcomes over the next five years. She spoke with The Conversation U.S. about how the guidelines have changed and what people with a criminal history in Philadelphia need to know about them.</em></p>
<h2>How do judges determine a person’s sentence?</h2>
<p>Pennsylvania uses what are known as <a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/reports/2008/07/01/state-sentencing-guidelines-profiles-and-continuum">advisory sentencing guidelines</a>. This means that judges are required to consider what the state guidelines suggest a criminal sentence should be, but they are not required to comply with the guidelines. That’s different from other states <a href="https://robinainstitute.umn.edu/publications/sentencing-commissions-and-guidelines-numbers-cross-jurisdictional-comparisons-made">such as Minnesota and Oregon</a> that have mandatory sentencing guidelines. Meanwhile, a majority of U.S. states have <a href="https://www.uscourts.gov/federal-probation-journal/2017/09/state-sentencing-guidelines-garden-full-variety">no sentencing guidelines</a> at all. </p>
<p>In Pennsylvania, judges primarily consider what crime the person is charged with along with their prior record or criminal history. </p>
<p><a href="https://pcs.la.psu.edu/guidelines-statutes/sentencing/">A matrix</a> tells judges what the standard recommended sentencing range would be. Typically, judges sentence a defendant to a minimum term and then, after that minimum term, a parole board decides when it’s appropriate for the person to be released.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580258/original/file-20240306-26-859ax4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Pennsylvania's sentencing guidelines based on offense severity and criminal history." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580258/original/file-20240306-26-859ax4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580258/original/file-20240306-26-859ax4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580258/original/file-20240306-26-859ax4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580258/original/file-20240306-26-859ax4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580258/original/file-20240306-26-859ax4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=976&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580258/original/file-20240306-26-859ax4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=976&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580258/original/file-20240306-26-859ax4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=976&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Pennsylvania’s 2024 sentencing guidelines matrix.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">PA Commission on Sentencing</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What’s new in the 2024 sentencing guidelines?</h2>
<p>A lot has changed. Probably the most significant change is re-weighting the two categories in the matrix — offense severity and criminal history. These categories are officially known as the Offense Gravity Score and the Prior Record Score. There are now fewer categories of criminal history and far more categories of offense severity. </p>
<p>The revised guidelines have more than double the number of categories for Offense Gravity Score, which aim to ensure that sentences better align with crime severity. This is important because there is less opportunity for disparities to come through when a sentencing recommendation is more specific and more consistent between similar types of crimes. </p>
<p>Changes to Prior Record Score calculations and categories aim to address racial disparities and refocus sentence recommendations on the current offense. Lapsing policies, for example, have been expanded to reduce the impact of criminal history on sentencing for less serious offenders. These can involve the removal of specific prior offenses from inclusion in the Prior Record Score calculation after a certain amount of time has passed or after the person has had an extended crime-free period. </p>
<h2>What’s the goal of the new guidelines?</h2>
<p>Pennsylvania’s sentencing guideline system was <a href="https://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/CT/HTM/42/00.021.054.000..HTM">mandated by the state legislature</a>. The guidelines themselves were created by the <a href="https://pcs.la.psu.edu/">Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing</a> with the the goal of promoting fair and uniform decisions on the severity of people’s punishment. </p>
<p>The commission was not explicitly formed to reduce punishment. That said, it has taken explicit efforts to reduce disparities in punishment that are linked to race and ethnicity. </p>
<p>The commission has <a href="https://pcs.la.psu.edu/policy-administration/about-the-commission/members/">11 members</a> who are appointed by the state Legislature. The members are typically judges, legislators and other criminal justice professionals. These commission members provide direction and oversight and are unique from <a href="https://pcs.la.psu.edu/policy-administration/about-the-commission/staff/">commission staff</a>, who collect, analyze and monitor the sentencing data for the state.</p>
<h2>What’s been the reaction so far?</h2>
<p>Anytime there’s talk about reducing the impact of criminal history on punishment, people express a whole spectrum of beliefs. Not everybody has the same primary concern of reducing disparities. For example, some people prefer more tough-on-crime policies. As a legislative body, the commission answers to many different constituencies.</p>
<p>The new guidelines mirror the <a href="https://www.ussc.gov/guidelines">federal sentencing guidelines</a> in that there are many offense gravity categories. One critique I’ve heard is that the Offense Gravity Score now has too many categories and adjustments, and that this might complicate things such as plea negotiations. </p>
<p><a href="https://bja.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh186/files/media/document/pleabargainingresearchsummary.pdf">About 95% of criminal cases</a> are settled in plea negotiation and never go to trial. Plea negotiations are a hidden interaction where the prosecution negotiates charges and punishments with defense attorneys and their clients in exchange for a plea of guilty or no contest. Having more Offense Gravity Score categories could lead to more complicated and slower plea negotiations.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581033/original/file-20240311-26-4fpfju.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Philadelphia law enforcement officers stand together in front of church in downtown Philadelphia" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581033/original/file-20240311-26-4fpfju.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581033/original/file-20240311-26-4fpfju.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581033/original/file-20240311-26-4fpfju.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581033/original/file-20240311-26-4fpfju.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581033/original/file-20240311-26-4fpfju.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581033/original/file-20240311-26-4fpfju.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581033/original/file-20240311-26-4fpfju.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Racial disparities exist throughout the criminal justice process, from arrests and charges to sentencing and parole.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/PhiladelphiaOfficersShot/807f48dd90604210854a1a15d5e393e7">Joe Lamberti/AP</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Will the guidelines reduce racial disparities in Pa.’s criminal justice system?</h2>
<p>National statistics show that, on average, a Black person is more likely than a white person to be <a href="http://www.doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-0858-1">stopped by police</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1098611117708791">to experience police use of force</a> when stopped, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854815628026">to be charged</a> when arrested, <a href="https://nij.ojp.gov/library/publications/opening-pandoras-box-how-does-defendant-race-influence-plea-bargaining">to receive more charges</a> when charged, <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/23367476">to receive a harsher sentence</a>, <a href="https://nij.ojp.gov/library/publications/opening-pandoras-box-how-does-defendant-race-influence-plea-bargaining">to be sentenced to confinement</a> and so on. It’s a cumulative disadvantage across the justice process. </p>
<p>These disparities occur within Pennsylvania, too. For example, a <a href="https://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP70332.html">December 2023 analysis</a> by the <a href="https://www.rand.org/">Rand Corporation</a>, a nonprofit global policy think tank, looked at racial disparities within the criminal justice system in Allegheny County, which includes Pittsburgh and is Pennsylvania’s second-most populated county after Philadelphia. It found that significant racial disparities exist at each of the key stages of people’s encounter with the criminal justice system, from having charges filed against them to having their parole revoked.</p>
<p>Courts to some degree inherit disparities from police and prosecutor decision making, though the new guidelines may help to reduce them at later stages, such as sentencing.</p>
<p>Racial and ethnic disparities in sentencing are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264079.013.241">widespread in the U.S.</a> and are almost never entirely explained by legally relevant factors such as type of crime committed or criminal history. So researchers like me explain this leftover variation as the “<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/23367476">race effect</a>,” or “race and ethnicity effect.” </p>
<p>Part of the commission’s charge is to collect and monitor data, which can be used by the state and other criminal justice researchers. Some states may lack the infrastructure to collect or monitor data to the degree that Pennsylvania does. </p>
<p>That’s where my project comes in. It is designed to use commission data so that at the end of the five years we can determine whether these changes to the guidelines had the intended impact on disparities – and if they didn’t, why not.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224941/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>C. Clare Strange receives funding from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). </span></em></p>The new guidelines are not intended to reduce punishment but aim to reduce disparities in punishment that are linked to race and ethnicity.C. Clare Strange, Assistant Research Professor of Criminology and Justice Studies, Drexel UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2250942024-03-07T18:23:33Z2024-03-07T18:23:33ZWe’re working out how to solve crimes in space – the final frontier of forensic science<p>Nasa’s Artemis program is scheduled to <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/">return astronauts to the Moon</a> and establish a permanent orbiting laboratory by the end of the decade. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, private companies are making significant steps in taking paying customers further into space. As humanity’s footprint expands beyond the familiar terrains of Earth to the Moon and possibly beyond, an intriguing new field emerges from the final frontier: astroforensics. </p>
<p>This discipline, still in its infancy, is propelled by the inevitability of human nature. Space presents a unique and harsh environment for forensic investigations. Settings that present altered gravity, cosmic radiation, extremes in temperature, and the need for oxygen-providing climate systems provide a few examples of the unearthly variables that are faced by future explorers. </p>
<p>Unlike Earth, where gravity, a constant force, shapes many aspects of our reality, the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/glenn/what-is-microgravity/">significant reduction of gravity in space</a> introduces novel challenges in understanding how evidence behaves. This shift is crucial for forensic sciences like bloodstain pattern analysis, which relies heavily on gravitational effects to determine the circumstances under which blood stains are formed.</p>
<p>The thought of gravity in space immediately conjures images of astronauts hauntingly suspended in the void of space or floating gymnastics in the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/">International Space Station (ISS)</a>. </p>
<p>However, true zero gravity exists far away from any celestial bodies. When close to a body such as a Moon or a planet, there will be a gravitational influence, including when in orbit around a planet like Earth. </p>
<p>Therefore, most environments in space have low or microgravity rather than zero gravity. Given that gravity is ubiquitous and largely constant, we pay very little attention to it, usually automatically factoring it in to calculations as a constant without a second thought. </p>
<h2>Altered gravity</h2>
<p>But for a forensic science discipline like bloodstain pattern analysis, gravity
plays a critical role in how airborne liquid blood interacts with a surface and creates stain patterns. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloodstain_pattern_analysis">Bloodstain pattern analysis</a> is the use of fluid dynamics, physics, and mathematics to understand the flight and origin of blood and interpret how it was deposited on a surface in criminal investigations.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665910724000070">In a recently published study</a>, we and our colleagues sought to understand the beginning principles of how the altered gravity environment of space will affect future forensic science disciplines. </p>
<p>For this study, published in Forensic Science International: Reports, we used a <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission/parabolic-flight/">parabolic flight research plane</a> that induces short periods of microgravity because of its up-and-down flight path. This type of flight has colloquially been referred to as the “vomit comet”. </p>
<p>During this period of freefalling microgravity, a number of blood drops would be projected onto a piece of paper, and the resulting bloodstain was then analysed using routine earthbound protocols. While the concept sounds simple, there was a challenge in creating a safe and controllable area to conduct experiments in a plane that was basically falling to Earth for 20 seconds. </p>
<p>Therefore, the experimental environment had to be attached to the cabin of the
research plane, and all bloodstain generation and documentation made easily controllable. Experiments were conducted inside a repurposed paediatric incubation chamber, referred to as a glove box. This chamber is used in space medicine research for studying haemorrhage control. </p>
<p>A synthetic analogue of blood was used instead of real blood due to biohazard concerns in the cabin of the plane. This analogue substitute mimicked the physical properties of blood’s viscosity and surface tension. To initiate the experiment, the analogue blood was loaded into a syringe, and once microgravity was induced in free-fall, the syringe was manually depressed to project the blood across 20cm onto a sheet of white paper. </p>
<p>While this bears little resemblance to true criminal scenarios, it is the interaction between the blood and the surface that is of interest to the forensic investigator –- rather than the actual mechanism of projection. The blood-stained papers were then photographed and analysed as per normal procedures.</p>
<p>We found that microgravity does indeed change the behaviour of the blood
drops and the stains they create. On Earth, blood tends to fall in a parabolic manner, with gravity pulling down on it until it strikes a surface. But in this case, the blood continued to travel in a straight line until it hit the surface.</p>
<p>This straight-line flight path is a fluid example of inertia in action. However, with a distance of only 20cm, this had minimal effect on the subsequent pattern. </p>
<p>This difference would become more apparent over larger distances, but the operational limitation of the parabolic research aircraft means it would be difficult to recreate effectively. The second key observation was the spreading action of the blood upon striking the surface. </p>
<p>In the typical gravity environment of Earth, liquid blood drops will undergo a series of stages in the stain creation process. This entails the droplet’s collapse, the formation of a small wave, and the spread into a final stain shape. </p>
<p>However, when gravity is eliminated from this action, the spreading action is inhibited by the dominating force of surface tension and cohesion, resulting in a stain shape and size that is smaller than its terrestrial twin.</p>
<p>We are at the beginning of a new research era, exploring the impact of the extra-
terrestrial environment upon the behaviour of forensic evidence. Still, the impact of this research is not only limited to forensic sciences but more traditional natural sciences as well, such as <a href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19890015838">fluid dynamics in spacecraft design</a> and analysing faults in space forensic engineering following a spacecraft malfunction. </p>
<p>In order to expand research in this new forensic discipline, larger microgravity environments will be required and the authors would be more than happy to operate the galaxy’s first extraterrestrial forensic science laboratory.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225094/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Zack Kowalske received funding from the International Association of Bloodstain Pattern Analysts' Dan Rahn Research Grant. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Graham Williams does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If we need to use forensic techniques in space, we’ll need to understand how things behave differently in microgravity.Graham Williams, Professor of Forensic Science, University of HullZack Kowalske, PhD Researcher, Staffordshire UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2248422024-03-04T19:48:49Z2024-03-04T19:48:49ZPierre Poilievre’s proposed mandatory minimum penalties will not reduce crime<p>In recent months, federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has repeatedly voiced support for discredited “tough on crime” policies that will ultimately fail. In February alone, Poilievre vowed to introduce <a href="https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/jr/mmp-pmo/p1.html">mandatory minimum penalties (MMPs)</a> for <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/10284840/poilievre-extortion-mandatory-minimum/#:%7E:text=Poilievre%20said%20the%20Conservatives%20would,of%20gangs%20or%20organized%20crime.%E2%80%9D">extortion</a> and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/poilievre-bail-auto-theft-crime-1.7105046">auto theft</a> offences.</p>
<p>Generally, criminal offences have a range of sentencing options (e.g. release with conditions, community service, fines, restitution orders, parole, “house arrest” or imprisonment) with a maximum penalty set by the law. Judges then determine a fit sentence that reflects the degree of responsibility of the offender and gravity of what they actually did. </p>
<p>Instead, with MMPs, Parliament removes judicial discretion for any sentencing option other than imprisonment and imposes a minimum term of incarceration, regardless of the facts of the case. </p>
<p>As a criminal law professor and advocate for victims of crime, including a time advising former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, I used to be a proponent of MMPs. But as I’ve learned more about the unintended consequences of MMPs and harshness of imprisonment in my research, including interviews with people who were incarcerated, I’ve become convinced that MMPs are a grave policy failure and cheap politics.</p>
<p>The evidence shows that MMPs are ineffective at reducing crime, may actually increase recidivism, are highly vulnerable to being struck down by the courts as unconstitutional, can increase delays in an overburdened system, and perpetuate systemic racism.</p>
<p>Criminological research has consistently found that harsher sentences have “<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1147698">no effect on the level of crime in society</a>.” Alarmingly, MMPs have also contributed to <a href="https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/jr/jf-pf/2017/oct02.html">higher rates of incarceration</a> of Indigenous people and Black Canadians, exacerbating already troubling trends.</p>
<p>In addition, research by <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/85-002-x/2017001/article/54844-eng.pdf?st=nRM6SFsI">Statistics Canada</a> found “no evidence that MMPs have deterred crime; rather, some studies suggest that MMPs can result in overly harsh penalties and disparities, that they increase costs to the criminal justice system as a result of higher levels of incarceration, and that lengthier sentencing may actually increase recidivism.” </p>
<p>In other words, Poilievre’s idea may actually backfire, leading to more crime in the long term.</p>
<h2>Supreme Court strikes down MMPs</h2>
<p>Poilievre’s MMPs are not a new idea. They’re an old, tired idea, exposing a lack of understanding of <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-from-tough-on-crime-to-a-new-transformative-vision-for-canadas-justice/">evidence-based policies</a> that will actually make us all safer.</p>
<p>In 1987, there were just nine MMPs on the books in Canada. Since 1996, they have proliferated, with the number of MMPs escalating significantly under the Harper government. With the adoption of the Safe Streets and Communities Act in 2012, the number of MMPs in the Criminal Code <a href="https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1235&context=sclr">approached 100</a>. </p>
<p>The Supreme Court of Canada continues to strike down numerous Harper-era MMPs and related tough-on-crime measures for violating the <a href="https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/rfc-dlc/ccrf-ccdl/">Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms</a>, including:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>In the 2015 case, <a href="https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/15272/index.do"><em>R. v. Nur</em></a>, which concerned mandatory minimum sentences for possessing a prohibited or restricted firearm, the court described MMPs as “a blunt instrument.”</p></li>
<li><p>In the 2016 case, <a href="https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/15859/index.do"><em>R. v. Lloyd</em></a>, then Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin made this damning observation: “The reality is that mandatory minimum sentences for offences that can be committed in many ways and under many different circumstances by a wide range of people are constitutionally vulnerable because they will almost inevitably catch situations where the prescribed mandatory minimum would require an unconstitutional sentence.”</p></li>
<li><p>In <a href="https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/19538/index.do"><em>R. v. Ndhlovu</em></a>, a 2022 case concerning mandatory lifetime registration in the national sex offender registry, the court stated that “mandatory registration of those offenders who are not at an increased risk of reoffending does not assist police.”</p></li>
<li><p>In the 2023 case, <a href="https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/19638/index.do?q=youth"><em>R. v. Hills</em></a>, a four-year mandatory MMP for discharging a firearm into or at a home was repealed after the appeal was heard, but the Court nevertheless ruled, finding it unconstitutional. The court’s majority opinion stated: “it would shock the conscience of Canadians to learn that an offender can receive four years of imprisonment for firing a paintball gun at a home.” </p></li>
</ul>
<p>However, in a companion case in <a href="https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/19639/index.do"><em>R. v. Hilbach</em></a>, the Court upheld mandatory minimum sentences for robbery since they were found to be “narrowly defined and limited in scope.” This case is an exception to the clear trend over the last decade of MMPs being struck down as unconstitutional.</p>
<p>Other Harper-era tough-on-crime measures have also been struck down in cases such as <a href="https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/17416/index.do"><em>R. v. Boudreault</em></a> and <a href="https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/19405/index.do?site_preference=normal"><em>R. v. Bissonnette</em></a>.</p>
<h2>MMPs increase delays in justice system</h2>
<p>Despite this raft of MMP losses, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/poilievre-bail-auto-theft-crime-1.7105046#:%7E:text=%22My%20legislation%20is%20Charter%2Dproof,It's%20Justin%20Trudeau.%22&text=Former%20prime%20minister%20Stephen%20Harper,been%20overturned%20by%20the%20courts.">Poilievre insists</a> his “legislation is Charter-proof and constitutionally sound.” He’s made <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/polievre-jail-bail-constitutional-experts-1.6847941#:%7E:text=Conservative%20Party%20Leader%20Pierre%20Poilievre,it%20would%20likely%20be%20unconstitutional">similar claims before</a> about other constitutionally suspect proposals. </p>
<p>If history is any judge, Poilievre’s MMPs may not be worth the paper they’re printed on. What’s worse, even if they do pass constitutional muster, they will only exacerbate the existential challenges facing the criminal justice system.</p>
<p>Former Justice Canada lawyer David Daubney <a href="https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1235&context=sclr">cautioned in 2012</a> about the expansion of MMPs at the time. His words ring true today:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“The proliferation of mandatory minimum sentencing will lead to fewer guilty pleas, significant processing delays, big increases in the number of accused persons awaiting trial in already overcrowded provincial remand facilities and just plain injustice as discretion is moved from judges to prosecutors. There will be many more Charter challenges and acquittals. Canadians will be less safe.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>While MMPs are widely believed to be popular with more conservative voters, there may be cracks among voters on this issue. <a href="https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/jr/rg-rco/2018/mar02.html">A 2018 Justice Canada study</a> revealed 90 per cent of Canadians believed that judges should have the flexibility to impose a sentence that is less than the mandatory minimum. Participants described jail as an “inappropriate measure that would likely ‘do more harm than good’ and result in ‘better criminals’, rather than successfully integrating members of society.” </p>
<p>Politicians peddling flawed criminal justice policies like mandatory minimum penalties need to have their ideas publicly called out and confronted.</p>
<p><em>Prof. Benjamin Perrin is the author of Indictment: The Criminal Justice System on Trial (UTP, 2023)</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224842/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Benjamin Perrin receives funding from the Law Foundation of British Columbia.</span></em></p>Pierre Poilievre’s “tough-on-crime” rhetoric relies on discredited ideas that can lead to overly harsh penalties and actually increase crime.Benjamin Perrin, Professor of Law, University of British ColumbiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2179892024-02-22T13:43:49Z2024-02-22T13:43:49ZPhilly mayor might consider these lessons from NYC before expanding stop-and-frisk<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572924/original/file-20240201-27-r8f6fh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">New York City's use of stop-and-frisk was found to be unconstitutional in 2013.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/people-walk-past-a-police-car-in-the-in-the-brownsville-news-photo/1188492384">Spencer Platt/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/crime/alexander-spencer-philadelphia-police-shooting-fairhill-20240128.html">police killing of 28-year-old Alexander Spencer</a> in a North Philadelphia corner store in January 2024 reignited debate about whether expanding stop-and-frisk in Philly can reduce violence in the city.</p>
<p>As part of her promise to reduce crime, Philadelphia’s newly elected mayor, Cherelle Parker, has <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/stop-and-frisk-philly-mayors-race-2023-20230419.html">indicated her support</a> for the expansion of <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-road-map-for-the-lawful-use-of-stop-and-frisk-in-philadelphia-and-elsewhere-217878">stop-and-frisk policies</a>.</p>
<p>Parker’s approach is not surprising. Historically, when crime increases, American society assumes that lax or lenient crime-control strategies <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Cycle_of_Juvenile_Justice.html?id=8IE8DwAAQBAJ">are to blame</a>. </p>
<p>Yet, since the mid-1990s, data repeatedly shows that tough-on-crime approaches – such as <a href="https://umbc.edu/stories/just-what-are-zero-tolerance-policies-and-are-they-still-common-in-americas-schools">zero-tolerance policies</a>, <a href="https://famm.org/wp-content/uploads/FS-MMs-in-a-Nutshell.pdf">mandatory sentencing</a> and <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/history-mass-incarceration">mass incarceration</a> – cost taxpayers large sums of money, are inefficient and can even <a href="https://www.iirp.edu/news/stop-and-frisk-policies-increase-youth-crime-study-shows">make crime worse</a>, specifically among youth.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=yQqgnOUAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">professor of sociology, criminology and public policy</a>, I believe that Mayor Parker and the Philadelphia Police Department should heed the lessons learned from other jurisdictions regarding the dangers of stop-and-frisk – most notably New York City. </p>
<p>The greater use of stop-and-frisk in Philadelphia could lead to a myriad of unwanted consequences, such as lawsuits against the city, greater racial disparities in the criminal justice system, citizen unrest and distrust of the police. Meanwhile, there is little evidence that an expanded stop-and-frisk policy will actually reduce crime. </p>
<h2>What is stop-and-frisk?</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/constitutional-amendments-amendment-4-right-privacy">Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution</a> ensures an individual’s right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. But who determines what is reasonable? </p>
<p>A 1968 U.S. Supreme Court decision took up that question. In <a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/392/1/">Terry v. Ohio</a>, the court ruled that a police officer can stop, question and frisk a person as long as the officer has a reasonable suspicion that the person has committed, is committing or is about to commit a crime. Frisking was allowed to protect the police officers only if the individual was suspected to be armed or if during questioning the level of suspicion rose to probable cause. Probable cause, most simply, is a higher standard of evidence that an individual may have committed a crime and is required for a judge to issue a warrant for an arrest or a search.</p>
<p>However, in the decades following Terry v. Ohio, police departments across the country have used stop-and-frisk in ways that stretch the limits of the decision and potentially violate Fourth Amendment rights.</p>
<p>New York City is perhaps the most notorious example.</p>
<h2>A tough-on-crime policy</h2>
<p>In 1993, Rudy Giuliani famously ran his New York City mayoral campaign on a tough-on-crime platform. Upon election, he hired Bill Bratton as police commissioner. Bratton had previously served as Boston’s police commissioner and also as the chief of the NYC Transit Police.</p>
<p>Under this new administration, police began aggressively pursuing minor offenses such as marijuana possession, alcohol use, motor vehicle violations and vagrancy. In addition, officers were encouraged to stop and frisk individuals <a href="https://nyupress.org/9781479835881/stop-and-frisk/">who merely looked suspicious</a> based on location, dress, demeanor or other characteristics of the individual.</p>
<p>When Michael Bloomberg replaced Giuliani as mayor in 2002, he expanded on these practices with “<a href="https://www.nyc.gov/html/unccp/gprb/downloads/pdf/NYC_Safety%20and%20Security_Operation%20Impact.pdf">Operation Impact</a>.” </p>
<p>Operation Impact flooded officers into areas that were designated as “impact zones” because of high levels of existing crime. Unsurprisingly, most of these neighborhoods had high poverty rates, high rates of renters compared with homeowners and were communities of color – the three factors that <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/2151797">suggest a community will have high levels of crime</a>.</p>
<p>With police officers disproportionately placed in such communities, and encouraged to stop and frisk with low levels of suspicion, it is not surprising that research finds high levels of racial disparity in the decisions to stop and frisk. Minorities were over <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep27210.4">3.5 times more likely</a> than whites to be subject to these policies. Law professor Jeffrey Bellin detailed how the minor impact that stop-and-frisk may have had on illegal gun carrying in New York was <a href="https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/facpubs/1706">tied to its unconstitutionality</a>.</p>
<h2>Lessons from NYC</h2>
<p>New York City’s experience with stop-and-frisk policies provides, I believe, important lessons for Philadelphia’s mayor to consider. </p>
<p>First and foremost, <a href="https://casetext.com/case/floyd-v-city-of-ny-2">multiple</a> <a href="https://casetext.com/case/davis-v-city-of-new-york-5">lawsuits</a> <a href="https://casetext.com/case/ligon-v-city-of-ny-8">related to stop-and-frisk</a> were filed against the NYPD and the city government during Bloomberg’s third term as mayor. In each of these cases, the city was found liable for unconstitutional practices.</p>
<p>The NYPD and the city itself were rebuked by the courts for the discriminatory nature of stop-and-frisk searches. Perhaps not surprisingly, stop-and-frisk became a central issue in NYC’s <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/28/nyregion/bill-de-blasio-kicks-off-campaign-for-mayor.html">2013 mayoral race</a>. In 2013, a federal district court judge found that stop-and-frisk, as implemented in New York City, was <a href="https://casetext.com/case/floyd-v-city-of-ny-2">unconstitutional because of its reliance on racial profiling</a>, and the practice was eventually curtailed.</p>
<p>While some touted stop-and-frisk policies as the cause for the reduction in crime in the city during the early 2000s, the same decreases were happening across the U.S. and Canada – in many areas that did not invoke these policies. This suggests that the drop in crime was part of a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-4469.2010.01192.x">broader trend</a>.</p>
<p>In addition, much research has indicated that the vast majority of incidents of stop-and-frisk, <a href="https://www.aila.org/files/o-files/view-file/89318407-E4E7-42CD-80F6-A9DDB3E34C33">particularly with individuals of color</a>, do not result in officers finding drugs or guns, or making an arrest. Thus, they waste valuable police time and money. In addition, a report from New York’s state attorney general found that only <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/14/stop-and-frisk-new-york-conviction-rate#:%7E:text=New%20York%27s%20controversial%20stop%2Dand,attorney%20general%20released%20on%20Thursday">about 3% of stop-and-frisks</a> in New York City from 2009 to 2012 led to a conviction.</p>
<p>Even when it does not lead to a formal conviction, stop-and-frisk can be <a href="https://beforetheblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Walking-While-Black.pdf">humiliating and traumatic</a> for the individual. They can also lead to further <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1098611117708791">police brutality</a> and <a href="https://www.vera.org/downloads/publications/stop-and-frisk-summary-report-v2.pdf">greater mistrust of the police</a>.</p>
<p>Finally, I would like to point out that as stop-and-frisk policies drew to a close in 2014, the murder rate within the city fell while the number of stops declined. In fact, the biggest drop occurred precisely when the number of stops also <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/fact-sheet-stop-and-frisks-effect-crime-new-york-city">fell dramatically</a>, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.</p>
<h2>Community policing and other alternatives</h2>
<p>Given stop-and-frisk’s controversial nature and questionable results, Parker may want to prioritize other policing policies that have more evidence of success and foster better relationships with communities. These include <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0011128793039004009">community policing</a>, “hot spot” policing where officers also receive <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2118780119">intensive training in procedural justice</a>, and expanded use of specialty courts such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2013.06.005">drug courts</a>, veterans courts and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16619410/">mental health courts</a>. </p>
<p>This is far from a complete list of alternatives. Many crime-reduction strategies are less controversial than stop-and-frisk, put the city at lower risk of lawsuits, lead to better police-citizen interactions and save taxpayer dollars that can be spent on crime prevention and other programs that improve the quality of life of Philadelphians.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217989/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Megan Kurlychek does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Evidence from NYC shows that stop-and-frisk policing leads to greater mistrust of police and more racial disparities in the criminal justice system.Megan Kurlychek, Professor of Sociology, Criminology, and Public Policy, Penn StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2235982024-02-16T13:19:53Z2024-02-16T13:19:53ZMexico is suing US gun-makers for arming its gangs − and a US court could award billions in damages<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575682/original/file-20240214-30-2tfucu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=45%2C13%2C4315%2C2857&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A sign in Laredo, Texas, reminds motorists not to smuggle guns into Mexico.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/sign-warns-motorists-not-to-smuggle-weapons-or-ammunitions-news-photo/91474155">Gilles Mingasson/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The government of Mexico is <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2024/01/23/us-appeals-court-allows-mexicos-10-billion-lawsuit-against-us-gunmakers-to-proceed/?sh=7f16abcb3071">suing U.S. gun-makers</a> for their role in facilitating cross-border gun trafficking that has <a href="https://stopusarmstomexico.org/invisible-weapons-indelible-pain/">supercharged violent crime</a> in Mexico.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/mexico-smith-wesson-complaint.pdf">The lawsuit seeks US$10 billion</a> in damages and a court order to force the companies named in the lawsuit – including Smith & Wesson, Colt, Glock, Beretta and Ruger – to change the way they do business. In January, a federal appeals court in Boston <a href="https://tlblog.org/first-circuit-allows-some-of-mexicos-claims-against-gun-manufacturer-to-move-forward/">decided</a> that the industry’s immunity shield, which so far has protected gun-makers from civil liability, does not apply to Mexico’s lawsuit.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=yQUI6yEAAAAJ&hl=en">a legal scholar</a> who has <a href="https://press.umich.edu/Books/S/Suing-the-Gun-Industry2">analyzed lawsuits</a> against the gun industry for more than 25 years, I believe this decision to allow Mexico’s lawsuit to proceed could be a game changer. To understand why, let’s begin with some background about the federal law that protects the gun industry from civil lawsuits.</p>
<h2>Gun industry immunity</h2>
<p>In 2005, Congress passed the <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/chapter-105">Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act</a>, which prohibits lawsuits against firearm manufacturers and sellers for injuries arising from criminal misuse of a gun.</p>
<p>Importantly, <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4357413">there are limits</a> to this immunity shield. For example, it <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/7903">doesn’t protect</a> a manufacturer or seller who “knowingly violated a State or Federal statute <a href="https://theconversation.com/sandy-hook-lawsuit-court-victory-opens-crack-in-gun-maker-immunity-shield-113636">applicable to the sale or marketing</a>” of a firearm. <a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/mexico-smith-wesson-complaint.pdf">Mexico’s lawsuit</a> alleges that U.S. gun-makers aided and abetted illegal weapons sales to gun traffickers in violation of federal law.</p>
<h2>Mexico’s allegations</h2>
<p>Mexico claims that U.S. gun-makers engaged in “<a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/mexico-smith-wesson-complaint">deliberate efforts to create and maintain an illegal market for their weapons in Mexico</a>.”</p>
<p>According to the lawsuit, the manufacturers intentionally design their weapons to be attractive to criminal organizations in Mexico by including features such as easy conversion to fully automatic fire, compatibility with high-capacity magazines and removable serial numbers.</p>
<p>Mexico also points to industry marketing that promises buyers a tactical military experience for civilians. And Mexico alleges that manufacturers distribute their products to dealers whom they know serve as transit points for illegal gunrunning through illegal <a href="https://www.nssf.org/articles/beware-the-straw-purchase/">straw sales</a>, unlicensed sales at gun shows and online, and off-book sales disguised as inventory theft.</p>
<p>In short, Mexico claims that illegal gun trafficking isn’t just an unwanted byproduct of the industry’s design choices, marketing campaigns and distribution practices. Instead, according to the lawsuit, feeding demand for illegal weapons is central to the industry’s business model.</p>
<p>In response, <a href="https://perma.cc/RRT6-PVDZ">the gun-makers insist</a> that Mexico’s attempt to hold them legally responsible for the criminal activity of others is precisely the type of lawsuit that the federal immunity shield was designed to block. They argue that merely selling a product that someone later uses in a crime does not amount to a violation of federal law that would deprive a manufacturer of immunity. Additionally, the gun-makers assert that, even if Mexico’s lawsuit were not barred by the immunity law, they have no legal duty to prevent criminal violence that occurs outside the U.S. </p>
<h2>The next legal steps</h2>
<p>In January 2024, a federal appeals court in Massachusetts decided that Mexico’s allegations, if true, would deprive the gun-makers of immunity, and it <a href="https://tlblog.org/first-circuit-allows-some-of-mexicos-claims-against-gun-manufacturer-to-move-forward/">sent the case back to trial court</a>. Mexico now needs to produce evidence to prove its allegations that the industry is not only aware of but actively facilitates illegal gun trafficking. </p>
<p>Additionally, to win, Mexico will need to convince a Boston jury that the manufacturers’ design choices, marketing campaigns and distribution practices are closely enough connected to street crime in Mexico to consider the companies responsible for the problem. This is known as “<a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/proximate_cause">proximate cause</a>” in the law.</p>
<p>For their part, the gun-makers have asked the trial judge to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/gun-makers-ask-us-supreme-court-bar-mexicos-lawsuit-2024-02-09">put the case on hold</a> while they pursue an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. However, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/12/us/politics/supreme-court-sandy-hook-remington.html">the Supreme Court has been reluctant</a> to weigh in on gun industry cases until they have reached their conclusion in the lower courts, where most of them <a href="https://casetext.com/case/ileto-v-glock-inc-2">are dismissed</a> and a few <a href="https://apnews.com/article/sandy-hook-school-shooting-remington-settlement-e53b95d398ee9b838afc06275a4df403">have settled</a>. </p>
<h2>High stakes for the industry</h2>
<p>If Mexico does win at trial, its demand for $10 billion in damages could drive several of the nation’s largest firearm manufacturers into <a href="https://www.epiqglobal.com/en-us/resource-center/articles/when-mass-tort-meets-bankruptcy">bankruptcy</a>. Even if the case were to settle for much less, a victory by Mexico would provide a template for a wave of future lawsuits that could change the way the gun industry operates.</p>
<p>Similar theories about dangerous product designs, irresponsible marketing and reckless distribution practices in opioid litigation have transformed the pharmaceutical industry. Civil lawsuits have forced the drugmakers to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/08/business/mckinsey-opioids-oxycontin.html">take public responsibility</a> for a nationwide health crisis, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-021-06799-1">overhaul the way they do business</a> and <a href="https://www.opioidsettlementtracker.com/globalsettlementtracker">pay billions of dollars</a> in judgments and settlements.</p>
<p>Mexico’s lawsuit holds out the prospect that the gun industry could be next.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223598/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Timothy D. Lytton has provided expert consulting services to law firms representing gun violence victims.</span></em></p>Mexico claims that US firearm manufacturers are fueling illegal cross-border gun trafficking and violent crime abroad.Timothy D. Lytton, Regents' Professor & Professor of Law, Georgia State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2230882024-02-16T01:15:24Z2024-02-16T01:15:24ZTruman Capote was ruined when he published his society friends’ secrets. Was Answered Prayers worth it?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575868/original/file-20240215-16-p01yfv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=221%2C0%2C1293%2C790&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Naomi Watts as Babe Paley and Tom Hollander as Truman Capote in Feud: Capote vs the Swans.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Binge</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In November 1975, Truman Capote, the proudly gay author of <a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/breakfast-at-tiffanys-9780241951453">Breakfast at Tiffany’s</a> and <a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/in-cold-blood-9780241956830">In Cold Blood</a>, unveiled the hotly anticipated second instalment of his unpublished novel, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2288.Answered_Prayers">Answered Prayers</a>. It was published in Esquire magazine.</p>
<p>To say it caused a scandal would be a gross understatement. Reputations were trashed and real harm caused. Capote ended his days a social pariah in his former New York society circles, incapacitated by a lifetime of prodigious substance abuse.</p>
<p>The unprecedented moral and social uproar that stemmed from the scandal has captured the attention of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36203384-swan-song">many</a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/25279165">writers</a>, and is now the subject of the new anthology television series, <a href="https://binge.com.au/shows/show-feud-capote-vs-the-swans!25258">Feud: Capote vs. The Swans</a>.</p>
<p>The story to blame, <a href="https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/a40376194/truman-capote-la-cote-basque/">La Côte Basque, 1965</a>, takes its title from its setting: an achingly fashionable French restaurant in Manhattan. Industrial quantities of expensive champagne are consumed over lunch. All of a sudden, everyone in the room starts to stare and whisper:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Mrs. Kennedy and her sister had elicited not a murmur, nor had the entrances of Lauren Bacall and Katharine Cornell and Clare Booth Luce. However, Mrs. Hopkins was <em>une autre chose</em>: a sensation to unsettle the suavest <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_C%C3%B4te_Basque">Côte Basque</a> client.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As her all-black attire suggests (“black hat with a veil trim, a black <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mainbocher">Mainbocher</a> suit, black crocodile purse, crocodile shoes”), Mrs. Hopkins is in mourning. This doesn’t go unnoticed:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Only,” said Lady Ina, “Ann Hopkins would think of that. To advertise your search for spiritual ‘advice’ in the most public possible manner. Once a tramp, always a tramp.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>What, the reader wonders, has Ann Hopkins done to deserve such an admonishment? Lady Ina Coolbirth leaves us in no doubt whatsoever. Ann Hopkins is simply not to be trusted. If Ina is to be believed, we are dealing with someone who once quite literally got away with murder:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>But it <em>could</em> have been an accident. If one goes by the papers. As I remember, they’d just come home from a dinner party in Watch Hill and gone to bed in separate rooms. Weren’t there supposed to have been a recent series of burglaries thereabouts? – and she kept a shotgun by her bed, and suddenly in the dark her bedroom door opened and she grabbed the shotgun and shot at what she thought was a prowler. Only it was her husband. David Hopkins. With a hole through his head.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is a true story. The only difference? Capote changed the names.</p>
<h2>The real-life ‘Mrs. Bang-Bang’</h2>
<p>Ann Hopkins is a fictional cutout for the socialite <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Woodward">Ann Woodward</a>, born Angeline Lucille Crowell on a farm in Kansas in 1915. In 1943, she married one of America’s richest men, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Woodward">William Woodward Jr</a>.</p>
<p>On 30 October 1955, the Woodwards, whose marriage was violent and fractious, were guests at a dinner party held in the honour of <a href="https://theconversation.com/media-deference-to-the-royals-must-have-a-limit-just-look-at-how-edward-viii-and-wallis-simpson-were-treated-191101">Wallis Simpson</a>, the Duchess of Windsor, in Oyster Bay, New York. There was talk of the spate of burglaries that had recently occurred in the area. Ann, who suffered from insecurity and social anxiety, drank more than usual. </p>
<p>Returning home with her husband, she washed down some sleeping pills and went to bed, not long after midnight. At two in the morning, Ann was woken by the sound of her dog growling. Thinking there an intruder in the house, Ann grabbed the shotgun she kept by her bedside. She moved out into the hallway, where she saw the silhouette of a man. She opened fire without issuing a warning. The body crashed to the floor.</p>
<p>Or rather, as the researcher <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/60321411">Roseanne Montillo</a> notes, “that is the story she would tell the police, her mother-in-law, and all who asked during the rest of her life. Many would doubt her, including Truman Capote.”</p>
<p>Capote crossed paths with Ann Woodward in the Alpine town of Saint Moritz in the autumn of 1956. Ann did not take kindly to having her meal interrupted. She dismissed Capote with a homophobic slur. </p>
<p>He returned fire, calling her “Mrs. Bang Bang”. The sobriquet stuck to Ann for the remainder of her life. Montillo adds that Capote “would repeat the story of how he had met the notorious Ann Woodward whenever the opportunity presented itself, embellishing his tale and relishing each detail”.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-clearings-investigation-of-the-family-invites-us-to-ask-whats-the-appeal-and-risk-of-crime-stories-based-on-real-events-206514">The Clearing's investigation of The Family invites us to ask: what's the appeal – and risk – of crime stories based on real events?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>‘What I’m writing is true’</h2>
<p>While they would have been loath to admit it, Truman Capote and Ann Woodward were similar in certain ways. </p>
<p>Both overcame childhood hardship and adversity. And much like Ann, the precocious Capote, who was born Truman Streckfus Persons in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1924, craved success, stardom and access to the trappings of elite society from a very early age. </p>
<p>Regardless of whether he truly appreciated this, it seems fair to say Capote’s encounter with Ann Woodward made quite the impression on him.</p>
<p>Capote’s authorised biographer, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/99170.Capote">Gerald Clarke</a>, reveals Ann Woodward was on the author’s mind when he came up with the initial idea for Answered Prayers in 1958. Clarke describes how Capote originally “planned to make Ann his central character; in a list of eight names he jotted down in his journal, hers was the only one he had underlined”. </p>
<p>Capote’s conception of Answered Prayers, which he struggled with and talked about for decades, developed over time. Marcel Proust loomed large in Capote’s imagination. In his monumental novel-cycle <a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/remembrance-of-things-past-9780241610527">Remembrance of Things Past</a>, Proust scrutinised the social machinations of the Parisian upper classes at the turn of the 20th century.</p>
<p>Capote conceived of his project – which took shape as a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_%C3%A0_clef">roman à clef</a> – in equivalent terms. Clarke quotes Capote as saying: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I am not Proust. I am not as intelligent or as educated as he was. I am not as sensitive in various ways. But my eye is every bit as good as his. Every bit! I see everything! I don’t miss nothin’! What I’m writing is true, it’s real and it’s done in the very best prose style that I think any American writer could possibly achieve. […] If Proust were an American living now in New York, this is what he would be doing. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Capote clearly wasn’t lacking confidence. Answered Prayers was going to depict “American society in the second half of the twentieth century. This book is about is about you, it’s about me, it’s about them, it’s about everyone.” </p>
<p>Capote was to tell the story of American society via thinly fictionalised versions of some of the wealthiest and most fashionable women in the world. As journalist <a href="https://www.hachette.com.au/laurence-leamer/capotes-women-watch-tvs-feud-capote-vs-the-swans">Laurence Leamer</a> tells it, </p>
<blockquote>
<p>everyone knew these characters were based on his closest friends, the coterie of gorgeous, witty, and fabulously rich women he called his “swans”.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Capote coined the term in an essay written for <a href="https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a12474/truman-capote-essay-1115/">Harper’s Bazaar</a> in October 1959. He claimed that</p>
<blockquote>
<p>as is generally conceded, a beautiful girl of twelve or twenty, while she may merit attention, does not deserve admiration. Reserve that laurel for decades hence when, if she has kept buoyant the weight of her gifts, been faithful to the vows a swan must, she will have earned an audience all-kneeling; for her achievement represents discipline, has required the patience of a hippopotamus, the objectivity of a physician combined with the involvement of an artist, one whose sole creation is her perishable self.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There is a lot to unpack in this passage. Capote is essentially suggesting there is more to beauty than youth and looks alone. He considered style and self-presentation to be infinitely more important when it came to determining whether a beautiful women might be elevated to the position of a swan.</p>
<p>Leamer holds that there were probably only “a dozen women who Truman could have deemed true swans. They were all on the International Best-Dressed Lists, they were each celebrated in the fashion press and beyond, and they all knew one another.”</p>
<p><a href="https://harpersbazaar.com.au/who-was-babe-paley/">Babe Paley</a> (wife of CBS chairman William S. Paley). <a href="https://wwd.com/shop/shop-fashion/slim-keith-feud-truman-capote-vs-the-swans-1236162583/">Slim Keith</a>, ex-wife of director Howard Hawks and producer Leland Hayward (and the model for Lady Coolbirth). <a href="https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a46320559/who-was-cz-guest-true-story/">C.Z. Guest</a>, a renowned beauty painted by Diego Rivera and Salvador Dalí. And Lee Radziwill, deemed, in La Côte Basque, 1965, so superior to her sister Jackie Kennedy, she was “not on the same planet” (the sisters are also described as “a pair of Western geisha girls”). </p>
<p>This is a <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/feud-capote-vs-swans-gloria-guinness-pamela-harriman-marella-agnelli">partial list</a> of the world-famous women who counted Capote as their close friend throughout the 1960s and 70s. He dined with them, holidayed with them, and spent countless hours talking with them. </p>
<p>Having earned their trust, the swans told Capote everything. This gave the writer, an outsider and perceived social inferior, unrivalled access to the upper echelons of American aristocracy.</p>
<p>Capote spent years getting to know and understand these women. In Leamer’s retelling, Capote </p>
<blockquote>
<p>appreciated the challenges of their star-crossed lives, what they faced, and how they survived. He had everything he needed to write about them with depth and nuance, exploring both the good and the bad, the light and the darkness. Answered Prayers would be his masterpiece, he knew – the book that would give him a place in the literary pantheon alongside the greatest writers of all time.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Capote seems to have genuinely believed this. But things did not go according to plan.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575885/original/file-20240215-26-ibrjd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575885/original/file-20240215-26-ibrjd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575885/original/file-20240215-26-ibrjd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575885/original/file-20240215-26-ibrjd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575885/original/file-20240215-26-ibrjd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575885/original/file-20240215-26-ibrjd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575885/original/file-20240215-26-ibrjd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575885/original/file-20240215-26-ibrjd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Diane Lane as Slim Keith, one of the ‘swans’ exposed in Answered Prayers, in Feud: Capote vs the Swans.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Binge</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Masturbation, misogyny, murder</h2>
<p>In retrospect, it is clear that the odds were stacked against Capote from the very beginning. </p>
<p>At the start of January 1966, Capote signed a contract with Random House for a novel titled Answered Prayers. The advance was an eye-watering US$25,000 (equivalent to approximately US$240,000 today).</p>
<p>However, by the time he actually sat down to write the book, he was already under a great deal of pressure. Part of the problem had to do with his “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2007/nov/12/comment.film">real-life novel</a>” In Cold Blood, which appeared in print just two weeks after he signed the paperwork for Answered Prayers. </p>
<p>In Cold Blood is a creative recounting of the brutal <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clutter_family_murders">Clutter family murders</a> of 15 November 1959, which took place in the small farming community of Holcomb, Kansas. It was a massive hit with American readers, selling over 300,000 copies in 1966 alone.</p>
<p>The book made Capote the most famous writer in America. Everyone now wanted a piece of him. He was interviewed in countless magazines and appeared on numerous television talk shows. An indefatigable self-promoter, he talked up Answered Prayers whenever he possibly could. </p>
<p>In Cold Blood, which took six years to research and write, left Capote physically, mentally and creatively exhausted. He struggled to maintain focus and missed multiple deadlines. Answered Prayers kept getting pushed back. People started to wonder if it would ever see the light of day. </p>
<p>Things came to a head in 1975. Under pressure to deliver the goods, Capote, who had until this point been incredibly secretive about the contents of his book, agreed, against the advice of his <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/30/nyregion/joseph-m-fox-a-senior-editor-at-random-house-dies-at-69.html">editor</a>, to publish four chapters of Answered Prayers in Esquire.</p>
<p>The first excerpt – <a href="https://classic.esquire.com/article/1975/6/1/mojave-truman-capote">Mojave</a> – appeared in June, but garnered little attention from readers and critics. In contrast, the October publication of the scabrous, sexually explicit La Cote Basque, 1965 shocked the literati and set the tongues of socialites wagging.</p>
<p>Capote had spent years tantalising friends and readers with the promise of an epoch-defining, Proustian masterpiece, only to deliver something else entirely. </p>
<p>Masturbation, menstruation, misogyny, murder. Adultery, gossip and gallons of alcohol. Readers who thought they were getting a finely wrought piece of social critique were left scratching their heads in bemusement. What on earth could have possessed Capote? What was he hoping to achieve by besmirching the reputations of those closest to him? </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/in-killers-of-the-flower-moon-true-crime-reveals-the-paradoxes-of-the-past-210283">In Killers of the Flower Moon, true crime reveals the paradoxes of the past</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Was the book any good?</h2>
<p>With the benefit of hindsight, I think the overwhelming majority missed the memo when it came to Answered Prayers.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575887/original/file-20240215-30-ob6ko4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575887/original/file-20240215-30-ob6ko4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575887/original/file-20240215-30-ob6ko4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=920&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575887/original/file-20240215-30-ob6ko4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=920&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575887/original/file-20240215-30-ob6ko4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=920&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575887/original/file-20240215-30-ob6ko4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1156&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575887/original/file-20240215-30-ob6ko4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1156&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575887/original/file-20240215-30-ob6ko4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1156&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>To be sure, the work is infinitely more explicit and graphic (in terms of tone and subject matter) than many, if not all of Capote’s earlier literary ventures. By the same token, it is clear Answered Prayers responds to (and even builds on) advances made in his earlier work. </p>
<p>Take, for instance, In Cold Blood: Capote’s conceptual breakthrough came when he realised “objective” forms of journalistic inquiry could be brought into productive dialogue with practices more closely associated with creative writing.</p>
<p>My hunch is he thought he could pull off an equivalent trick with Answered Prayers. Only this time, he uses gossip.</p>
<p>As the art historian <a href="https://www.dukeupress.edu/Between-You-and-Me/">Gavin Butt</a> reminds us, gossiping is a serious business. Gossip can serve a positive, even joyous function: it is a “social activity which produces and maintains the filiations” of community. </p>
<p>To put this another way: if used in a strategic and appropriate fashion, gossip can bring people together. It can help to build and sustain social groupings predicated on the basis of shared knowledge (of sexual matters).</p>
<p>But when it came to Answered Prayers, Capote took things a step too far. Pretty much all we get is a constant stream of gossip. Characterisation, for one thing, goes entirely out of the window. So does plot. We see this, of course, in La Cote Basque, 1965. But the same is true of the other available sections of the novel.</p>
<p>Consider <a href="https://classic.esquire.com/article/1976/5/1/unspoiled-monsters">Unspoiled Monsters</a>, the first chapter in the posthumously published book. Our narrator, P.B. Jones, is an aspiring writer and bisexual gigolo. (His clients include an acclaimed American playwright who is a thinly veiled Tennessee Williams: “a chunky, paunchy boose-puffed runt with a play mustache glued above laconic lips”.)</p>
<p>This is how Capote introduces his narrator to the reader (note, here, the emphasis on journalistic reportage):</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“My name is P. B. Jones, and I’m of two minds whether to tell you something about myself right now, or wait and weave the information into the text of the tale. I could just as well tell you nothing, or very little, for I consider myself a reporter in this matter, not a participant, at least not an important one. But maybe it’s easier to start with me.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Having offered his greetings, Jones, whose hardscrabble biography reads very much like his creator’s, starts gossiping and name-dropping indiscriminately. He never lets up. Certain of the swans crop up from time to time, as does Capote’s literary touchstone:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Think of Proust. Would Remembrance have the ring that it does if he had made it historically literal, if he hadn’t transposed sexes, altered events and identities? If he had been absolutely factual, it would have been less believable but […] it might have been better.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>To which the reader of Answered Prayers might simply reply: touché.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575890/original/file-20240215-24-owlyx0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575890/original/file-20240215-24-owlyx0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575890/original/file-20240215-24-owlyx0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575890/original/file-20240215-24-owlyx0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575890/original/file-20240215-24-owlyx0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575890/original/file-20240215-24-owlyx0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575890/original/file-20240215-24-owlyx0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575890/original/file-20240215-24-owlyx0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Capote’s swans as portrayed in Feud: Capote vs the Swans. Second from left: Chloe Sevigny as C.Z. Guest. Far right: Diane Lane as Slim Keith and Naomi Watts as Babe Paley.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Binge</span></span>
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<h2>Settling scores</h2>
<p>Be that as it may, Gerald Clarke is surely right to suggest Capote had "more than literature on his mind” when he agreed to publish parts of Answered Prayers. In part, he was looking to settle scores. Answered Prayers represented an opportunity “to get back at some of his rich friends who, for one reason or another, had offended him over the years.”</p>
<p>The psychologist <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11626800-tiny-terror">William Todd Schultz</a> concurs. He reasons that with La Côte Basque, 1965 in particular, Capote “bit down hard on the smooth, socialite hands that fed him.” </p>
<p>Capote’s decision to do so came with some unintended, yet disastrous consequences. Having gotten hold of an advance copy of La Cote Basque, 1965, Ann Woodward, who had a long history of depression, overdosed on barbiturates and passed away. She was a few months shy of her 60th birthday.</p>
<p>Schultz makes the point that Ann Woodward’s reaction to Capote’s story “was the first, by far the saddest and most anguished, but hardly the last”. Capote’s swans, having recognised their fictional selves, recoiled in horror and disgust. They immediately cut Capote out of their lives.</p>
<p>Try as he might, Capote, who claimed his intentions had been misunderstood, couldn’t win the swans back over. Many of them never spoke to him again.</p>
<p>Capote never recovered. And he never came close to finishing Answered Prayers. Dulled by a poisonous cocktail of drink and drugs, his literary skills deserted him long before he died on 25 August 1984. </p>
<p>As chance, or maybe fate would have it, he died at exactly the same age as Ann Woodward. From start to tragic finish, it really does seem as if the lives of these two ambitious social outsiders ran along parallel lines. Given how much they despised each other, I can’t help but wonder what Capote and Woodward would have made of such dismal symmetries.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223088/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexander Howard does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The new TV series, Feud: Capote vs the Swans tells the story behind Answered Prayers, the never-finished gossip novel that made its author a social pariah. But what was in the book – and was it any good?Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2236272024-02-14T23:35:14Z2024-02-14T23:35:14ZEnding legal aid for cultural reports at sentencing may only make court hearings longer and costlier<p>The government’s move to remove legal aid funding for what are commonly known as <a href="https://www.culturalreports.nz/for-defendants">cultural reports</a> at sentencing has been <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/prime-minister-christopher-luxon-fronts-media-as-clock-ticks-on-100-day-plan/TPUOCXQ73ZH7FKX3FDLTLN5T4U/">wrapped up in rhetoric</a> about restoring “personal responsibility”, reducing “discounts” or “reductions” on sentences, and <a href="https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/government-law-and-order-crackdown-begins">saving money</a>.</p>
<p>This may be popular, even populist, but it carries the risk of not achieving any of those purported goals. In fact, court hearings may become longer and more expensive.</p>
<p>To understand why, we need to look at the entire process of sentencing. It is governed by the <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2002/0009/latest/DLM135342.html">Sentencing Act 2002</a>, which requires judges to take into account many factors when considering a sentence.</p>
<p>Based on the facts of a case, judges must decide on the purpose of sentencing. For example, should it be for punishment, deterrence or rehabilitation? </p>
<p>Judges must also take into account various principles, including the seriousness of the offence, the defendant’s level of culpability, and any circumstances that make a sentence particularly severe.</p>
<p>There are also various aggravating and mitigating factors, such as the motive for the offence, the level of planning, and whether the defendant has any intellectual restrictions.</p>
<h2>What judges must take into account</h2>
<p>Take a simple offence such as shoplifting. There is a difference between someone who shoplifts expensive items to sell them, and so is in the business of shoplifting, and someone who steals food for their family. </p>
<p>Even within the former group, there is a difference between someone who has been persuaded to be involved because they are suggestible, and someone who has no such impairment.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-rule-of-law-is-fundamental-to-a-free-society-so-why-dont-nz-courts-always-uphold-it-217556">The rule of law is fundamental to a free society – so why don’t NZ courts always uphold it?</a>
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<p>Judges also need to be aware of the likely effect of a sentence. Will a person be particularly vulnerable in prison, for instance? Will prison lead to a cycle of re-offending, maybe from gang recruitment? Is there any other action more likely to prevent re-offending? </p>
<p>In short, judges need a lot of information to help reach a proper sentence. This may have to come from experts, including reports from psychiatrists or psychologists when there is a mental health or impairment issue, as is often the case. </p>
<p>Similarly, reports about alcohol or drug use that cause a disproportionate amount of offending can be introduced from relevant specialists.</p>
<h2>Reasons for offending</h2>
<p>Probation officers are one source of information under <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2002/0009/latest/DLM135581.html">section 26</a> of the Sentencing Act. They may provide material relating to the cultural and social circumstances of an offender and make recommendations. </p>
<p>But probation officers have limits: they may not have much time and may not have the necessary expertise. This is where <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2002/0009/latest/DLM135583.html">section 27</a> of the Sentencing Act comes in. It provides for an additional source of this information, which has been available for almost 40 years. </p>
<p>When parliament passed the <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1985/0120/latest/whole.html">Criminal Justice Act 1985</a>, section 16 allowed a request for the court to hear from someone about a person’s “ethnic or cultural background”, how that might be relevant to the reason for offending, and how it might help avoid further offending. Any offender could use this provision. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/nzs-new-government-is-getting-tough-on-gangs-but-all-the-necessary-laws-already-exist-217557">NZ's new government is getting tough on gangs – but all the necessary laws already exist</a>
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<p>When the Sentencing Act 2002 was introduced, this provision was continued and expanded. The offender may now ask for someone to address their “personal, family, whanau, community, and cultural background”. </p>
<p>More particularly, they can address how that might have been part of the offending, how it might be relevant to any sentence, and how support might help prevent further offending. Again, any offender can use this provision. </p>
<p>Its significance is underlined by the provision that the court can only refuse to hear the information if “special reasons” make it “unnecessary or inappropriate”. And if no request is made, the judge may suggest it.</p>
<h2>The right to a fair trial</h2>
<p>To be clear, there is no proposal to remove this long-standing right to use section 27 reports. The only proposal is that legal aid will not fund them. </p>
<p>It is true that the cost to legal aid has risen significantly in recent years. But this is partly because it has been clarified that legal aid was the correct funding mechanism for cultural reports. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-zealands-legal-aid-crisis-is-eroding-the-right-to-justice-thats-unacceptable-in-a-fair-society-171663">New Zealand's legal aid crisis is eroding the right to justice – that's unacceptable in a fair society</a>
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<p>The Ministry of Justice used to pay for them because they were considered a court report. But this was stopped and the reports became a <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/106498201/ministry-stops-funding-court-reports-that-examine-cultural-context-of-crimes">disbursement for legal aid</a>. </p>
<p>Also, senior judges have been clear these reports can contain useful information, meaning other judges have become more willing to consider them. The fundamental right to a fair trial includes a fair sentencing hearing, with the judge having all information that is useful. </p>
<h2>Shifting costs elsewhere</h2>
<p>Without legal aid funding for section 27 reports, then, what will happen? Obviously, those rich enough not to rely on legal aid will be able to use them. </p>
<p>On one level, therefore, there will be an additional barrier to equal justice for those who are poorer. Since Māori make up over 50% of the prison population, this inequity will also have an ethnic component.</p>
<p>But this obvious unfairness is something judges and lawyers will try to avoid. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/10-is-too-young-to-be-in-court-nz-should-raise-the-minimum-age-of-criminal-responsibility-188969">10 is too young to be in court – NZ should raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility</a>
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<p>Defence lawyers have a professional responsibility to make sure all relevant information is put before the court. If this cannot come in the form of a report prepared by someone with the relevant expertise, the lawyer will have to look elsewhere.</p>
<p>So, we can expect lawyers to ask other experts, including drug counsellors or psychiatrists, to collate and include relevant information. </p>
<p>Lawyers may also request information from child welfare agency Oranga Tamariki, or from medical notes, to collate and put before a judge. Expect more oral evidence to be called – from social workers who might have had a role in the offender’s background, for example. </p>
<p>In short, expect longer court hearings and more time put in by lawyers. This will potentially cost a lot more than any savings to legal aid from not funding section 27 reports.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223627/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kris Gledhill is currently working on a project relating to the Sentencing Act 2002 the expenses for which are funded by the Borrin Foundation. He is also a co-opted member of the Criminal Bar Association's Executive Committee. The views expressed in this article are his own. </span></em></p>The right to a fair trial means cutting the funding of cultural reports will simply shift the burden. Lawyers will find other ways to put the same information before a judge.Kris Gledhill, Professor of Law, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2229592024-02-13T13:21:38Z2024-02-13T13:21:38ZIn the face of severe challenges, democracy is under stress – but still supported – across Latin America and the Caribbean<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575051/original/file-20240212-22-f6zizy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C179%2C5700%2C3615&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Protesters in El Salvador declare 'Yes to democracy. No to authoritarianism' during a demonstration on Jan. 14, 2024.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/women-walk-holding-up-a-sign-with-the-legend-yes-to-news-photo/1925903965?adppopup=true">PHOTOGRAFIA/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Threats to economic and physical security have become persistent and pervasive across Latin America and the Caribbean – and that is affecting the way people view the state of democracy in the region.</p>
<p>Those are among the findings of the latest <a href="https://www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/about-americasbarometer.php">AmericasBarometer</a>, a study of the experiences and attitudes of people across the Western Hemisphere that we conduct every two years along with other members of Vanderbilt University’s <a href="https://www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/">LAPOP Lab</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/ab2023/AB2023-Pulse-of-Democracy-final-20231205.pdf">2023 round of AmericasBarometer</a>, which includes nationally representative surveys of 39,074 individuals across 24 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, reveals widespread pessimism and adversity, decreased satisfaction with the status quo, and yet also resilience in popular support for democracy.</p>
<h2>Elevated economic and physical insecurity</h2>
<p>Across the region, just shy of two-thirds of adults (64%) think the national economic situation in their country has worsened. Remarkably, 32% report that they have run out of food in the last three months, an indicator of food insecurity that tracks with <a href="https://www.paho.org/en/news/9-11-2023-new-report-432-million-people-suffer-hunger-latin-america-and-caribbean-and-region">estimates reported by the Pan-American Health Organization</a>.</p>
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<p>Two in five people feel unsafe in their neighborhoods, and nearly one-quarter – 22% – report having been the victim of a crime in the past 12 months. Homicide rates in the region <a href="https://www.americasquarterly.org/article/behind-a-rise-in-latin-americas-violent-crime-a-deadly-flow-of-illegal-guns/">have also been rising</a>.</p>
<p>In brief, despite variation among different countries, the average resident of the region has been facing elevated economic and physical security challenges for over a decade, our surveys have found.</p>
<p>The factors generating and sustaining this reality are complex.</p>
<p>In the mid-2010s, a global economic <a href="https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/pres15_e/pr752_e.htm">commodity boom ended</a>, and the region’s economic recovery has been thwarted by <a href="https://www.gisreportsonline.com/r/latin-america-economic-growth/">structural issues</a>, including <a href="https://www.undp.org/latin-america/publications/trapped-inequality-and-economic-growth-latin-america-and-caribbean">low productivity and high income inequality</a>. Economic recovery has been further hampered by <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/the-corruption-scandal-started-in-brazil-now-its-wreaking-havoc-in-peru/2018/01/23/0f9bc4ca-fad2-11e7-9b5d-bbf0da31214d_story.html">major corruption scandals</a>, <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/REO/WH/Issues/2023/10/13/regional-economic-outlook-western-hemisphere-october-2023">crime and violence</a>, and <a href="https://www.csis.org/analysis/effects-covid-19-latin-americas-economy">the COVID-19 pandemic</a>.</p>
<p>The implications of a sustained economic slump are stark. In nearly every Latin American and Caribbean country, <a href="https://www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/ab2023/AB2023-Pulse-of-Democracy-final-20231205.pdf">food insecurity has increased in the past decade</a>.</p>
<p>The uptick in crime and insecurity is similarly driven by a range of factors, including <a href="https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/crime/GIVAS_Final_Report.pdf">economic crises</a> and the growth of <a href="https://www.americasquarterly.org/article/behind-a-rise-in-latin-americas-violent-crime-a-deadly-flow-of-illegal-guns/">well-armed transnational criminal syndicates</a>. In Ecuador, as one extreme example shows, a shocking <a href="https://www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/ab2023/AB2023-Pulse-of-Democracy-final-20231205.pdf">36% of adults report having been the victim</a> of at least one crime in the past year, an 11-percentage-point increase from just two years ago.</p>
<h2>Disillusionment is a challenge to democracy</h2>
<p>These problems could spell trouble for democracy in the region.</p>
<p>Some <a href="https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/how-can-latin-america-halt-its-democratic-backsliding-and-how-can-the-us-help/">experts have predicted</a> that financial stress and food insecurity could contribute to political unrest in the region in the coming years. The threat of organized crime and gang violence may also <a href="https://www.cfr.org/blog/organized-crime-threat-latin-american-democracies">fuel a desire for authoritarian leadership</a>. </p>
<p>Globally, <a href="https://www.v-dem.net/documents/29/V-dem_democracyreport2023_lowres.pdf">democracy appears to be on the defensive</a>. Within the Latin America and the Caribbean, countries such as Brazil, El Salvador, Haiti and Nicaragua have registered <a href="https://www.v-dem.net/documents/29/V-dem_democracyreport2023_lowres.pdf">recent turns toward authoritarianism</a>.</p>
<p>Our results show that disillusionment with the democratic status quo is strikingly high in the region, <a href="https://www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/ab2023/AB2023-Pulse-of-Democracy-final-20231205.pdf">with only 40% thinking democracy is working</a>. This low level of satisfaction has appeared in our surveys for the past 10 years.</p>
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<p>Although the root causes are debated, disillusionment with the status quo <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/13/opinion/international-world/democracy-latin-america.html">fuels support for populist leaders</a> with autocratic tendencies. El Salvador stands as an example of how disillusionment can undermine democracy. President Nayib Bukele was reelected on Feb. 4, 2024, with what appears to be over <a href="https://apnews.com/article/el-salvador-nayib-bukele-president-reelection-ef04e20d901908099f4f787b841aca89">80% of the vote</a> while overtly flaunting democratic norms.</p>
<p>During his first term, Bukele tackled high levels of gang violence with policies that <a href="https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/latin-america-erupts-millennial-authoritarianism-in-el-salvador/">undermined checks and balances and civil liberties</a>. He cheekily <a href="https://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/latinoamerica/presidente-bukele-dice-que-es-el-dictador-mas-cool-del-mundo-619795">referred to himself on social media as a “dictator”</a>, while his running mate spoke of their <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/02/world/americas/el-salvador-bukele-election.html">program to eliminate democracy</a>.</p>
<p>There is no denying that Bukele’s strongman approach has delivered results: Our survey finds that 84% of Salvadorans feel secure in their neighborhood, <a href="https://www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/raw-data.php">compared with just 54% in 2018</a>, the year before Bukele was elected. Food insecurity remains a challenge, <a href="https://www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/ab2023/AB2023-Pulse-of-Democracy-final-20231205.pdf">with 28%</a> reporting they have experienced running out of food; yet that statistic is slightly lower in 2023 than it was in 2012, in contrast to the upward trend in nearly all other countries.</p>
<h2>Democracy retains popular support</h2>
<p>Despite general gloom about how well democracy is performing, there is reason for optimism: Support for democratic governance has largely held steady over the last decade of our survey.</p>
<p>Across the region, on average, <a href="https://www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/ab2023/AB2023-Pulse-of-Democracy-final-20231205.pdf">58% say that they believe democracy is the best form of government</a>. This is approximately the same percentage we have recorded since 2016. In all but three countries – Guatemala, Honduras and Suriname – majorities say they prefer democracy.</p>
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<p>Although the <a href="https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/how-can-latin-america-halt-its-democratic-backsliding-and-how-can-the-us-help/">possibility of democratic backsliding looms</a>, most countries in the region have yet to undergo significant overhauls to their political or economic systems. And as former U.S. ambassador to Peru, Colombia and Brazil <a href="https://www.csis.org/analysis/inflection-point-challenges-facing-latin-america-and-us-policy-region">P. Michael McKinley noted</a> in a recent article, a slate of radical proposals by new leaders in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico proved unpopular and were rejected by voters, courts and legislatures. In these cases, democratic institutions are doing their job.</p>
<p>Democratic governance also delivers something that strongman populist governments do not: widespread freedom of speech.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/ab2021/2021_LAPOP_AmericasBarometer_2021_Pulse_of_Democracy.pdf">2021 AmericasBarometer regional report</a> highlighted <a href="https://theconversation.com/support-for-democracy-is-waning-across-the-americas-174992">the value the public places on freedom of speech</a>. Vast majorities say they would not trade away freedom of speech for material well-being.</p>
<p>In 2023, we see that in countries with strongman populist leaders, those who disapprove of the president report strikingly high levels of concern about freedom of speech. In El Salvador, <a href="https://www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/ab2023/AB2023-Pulse-of-Democracy-final-20231205.pdf">89% of government critics say they have too little freedom</a> to express their political views without fear, up from 70% in 2016.</p>
<p>In the face of significant challenges, Latin America and the Caribbean is at a crossroads between the allure of strongman populist leadership and a commitment to democratic institutions and processes. For now, at least, an enduring belief in democracy may facilitate <a href="https://apnews.com/article/el-salvador-nayib-bukele-president-reelection-ef04e20d901908099f4f787b841aca89">efforts by leaders in</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/06/us/politics/biden-democracy-threat.html">outside the region</a> to champion and strengthen democratic governance.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222959/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Noam Lupu co-directs the AmericasBarometer, which has been supported by grants from USAID, the US National Science Foundation, and the Inter-American Development Bank. The contents of this article are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or any other funding agency.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth J. Zechmeister co-directs the AmericasBarometer, which has been supported by grants from USAID, the US National Science Foundation, and the Inter-American Development Bank. The contents of this article are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or any other funding agency.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Luke Plutowski is a staff member at LAPOP Lab, the lab responsible for the AmericasBarometer, which has been supported by grants from USAID, the US National Science Foundation, and the Inter-American Development Bank. The contents of this article are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or any other funding agency.</span></em></p>A survey of people across 24 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean found widespread concern over the economy and crime.Noam Lupu, Associate Professor of Political Science and Associate Director of LAPOP Lab, Vanderbilt UniversityElizabeth J. Zechmeister, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Political Science and Director of LAPOP, Vanderbilt UniversityLuke Plutowski, Senior Statistician and Research Lead, Vanderbilt UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2216892024-01-22T17:13:25Z2024-01-22T17:13:25ZShould a health professional be disciplined for reporting an illegal abortion?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570679/original/file-20240122-22-wbx4er.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=19%2C9%2C6395%2C4260&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/infertility-concept-depressed-unrecognizable-lady-showing-2396733297">Prostock-studio/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There have been <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/10/the-women-being-prosecuted-in-great-britain-for-abortions-her-confidentiality-was-completely-destroyed">several high-profile cases</a> in the last year of women in the UK being prosecuted for allegedly obtaining abortions illegally. In 2022, there were 29 cases of suspected unlawful abortions that were reported to police – almost a twofold rise on the number reported four years earlier.</p>
<p>In response to this, the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecologists (RCOG) has <a href="https://www.rcog.org.uk/news/rcog-issues-guidance-for-healthcare-professionals-on-involving-the-police-following-abortion-and-pregnancy-loss/">issued guidance</a> that seeks to clarify the legal obligations of healthcare professionals. The full guideline has not yet been released, but the RCOG insists that professionals “are under no legal obligation to contact the police following an abortion, pregnancy loss or unattended delivery”.</p>
<p>There are different ethical questions that we might ask concerning abortion and the law in the UK. For example, we might ask what the law should be. That is, at what stage of pregnancy and in which circumstances abortion should be legally permitted?</p>
<p>A more radical question would be whether abortion is properly a question for the law. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.rcog.org.uk/about-us/campaigning-and-opinions/position-statements/reforming-abortion-law/">RCOG</a> and the <a href="https://www.bma.org.uk/media/1142/bma-paper-on-the-decriminalisation-of-abortion-february-2017.pdf">British Medical Association</a> (the trade union for UK doctors) have long called for reform and decriminalisation of abortion, arguing that – where it is provided by a health professional with the woman’s consent – it should be managed and regulated as other forms of healthcare.</p>
<p>But a different question relates to how health professionals should respond in a situation where abortion is sometimes unlawful and they become aware that a woman has sought an abortion outside the current legal framework. Must they report to the police? May they report to the police (for example, if they have a personal view that abortion is seriously wrong)? Or, if they do report to the police, might the health professional be the one who ends up in trouble?</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A police car with blue lights flashing." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570690/original/file-20240122-25-h2bmgy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570690/original/file-20240122-25-h2bmgy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570690/original/file-20240122-25-h2bmgy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570690/original/file-20240122-25-h2bmgy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570690/original/file-20240122-25-h2bmgy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570690/original/file-20240122-25-h2bmgy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570690/original/file-20240122-25-h2bmgy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Is it really a question for the police?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/burnopfield-england-uk-september-10-2021-2044855232">Duncan Andison/Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>A question of confidentiality</h2>
<p>The central ethical issue at stake here is not, in fact, the morality of abortion. Rather, the key issue is about medical confidentiality and when health professionals are justified in violating their strong obligations to safeguard the patient’s medical details.</p>
<p>Confidentiality has been thought to be vital to the doctor-patient relationship <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2280818/pdf/canfamphys00158-0229.pdf">for centuries</a>. For doctors to be able to help patients, they need the patient to provide full details of their symptoms and how they have arisen. That will sometimes include very private details – say, of sexual relationships and function – which the patient will only divulge if they can be assured the doctor will keep them strictly secret. </p>
<p>In more recent decades, confidentiality has also been justified in terms of a more fundamental right of the patient to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2280818/pdf/canfamphys00158-0229.pdf">privacy and autonomy</a>. That right seems particularly vital when it comes to reproductive healthcare.</p>
<p>Because it is so important, modern <a href="https://www.gmc-uk.org/professional-standards/professional-standards-for-doctors/confidentiality/disclosures-for-the-protection-of-patients-and-others">codes of practice</a> for health professionals allow confidentiality to be breached only in truly exceptional circumstances. That could include notification of a serious infectious disease or prevention of terrorism. But it does not, in most circumstances, include reporting that a patient has committed a crime. </p>
<p>For example, imagine a doctor who discovers that their patient suffered an injury while burgling a house, has suffered an overdose from taking class A drugs, or has acquired a sexually transmitted disease while engaging in street prostitution. General Medical Council (GMC) guidance suggests that in such circumstances it would not be appropriate (unless the patient consents) for the doctor to report that information to the police. </p>
<p>The GMC – the body responsible for medical licensing – indicates that breaching confidentiality would only be <a href="https://www.gmc-uk.org/professional-standards/professional-standards-for-doctors/confidentiality/disclosures-for-the-protection-of-patients-and-others">justified</a> for a “serious crime”, and that it would only be in the public interest to disclose if “failure to do so may expose others to a risk of death or serious harm”.</p>
<p>Of course, one key ambiguity in the GMC guidance is what counts as a “serious crime”. The guidance notes this and mentions <a href="https://www.gmc-uk.org/professional-standards/professional-standards-for-doctors/confidentiality/disclosures-for-the-protection-of-patients-and-others">examples of</a> “murder, manslaughter, rape and child abuse”. However, some members of the community – including potentially some health professionals – regard abortion as a serious crime, just as bad as those listed. That may lead them to feel a responsibility to report.</p>
<p>The latest RCOG guideline seeks to address that ambiguity, indicating a <a href="https://www.rcog.org.uk/news/rcog-issues-guidance-for-healthcare-professionals-on-involving-the-police-following-abortion-and-pregnancy-loss/">view</a> that “it is never in the public interest to investigate and prosecute women who have sought to end their own pregnancy”. </p>
<h2>Reassuringly strong statements</h2>
<p>It indicates that health professionals must not provide information to the police without a woman’s consent unless “concerned for her safety or the safety of others”. Such strong statements will hopefully reassure health professionals of the scope of their legal duty to report and reduce the number of women who are reported to the police.</p>
<p>But we might wonder what would happen if, despite this guidance, a doctor were to report to the police. The <a href="https://www.rcog.org.uk/news/rcog-issues-guidance-for-healthcare-professionals-on-involving-the-police-following-abortion-and-pregnancy-loss/">college guideline</a> refers, elliptically, to “potential consequences of breaching patient confidentiality”. </p>
<p>That might be intended to remind professionals of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/10/the-women-being-prosecuted-in-great-britain-for-abortions-her-confidentiality-was-completely-destroyed">profound, distressing negative consequences</a> for patients if they were to report to the police. But it should also prompt professionals to consider whether they might find themselves having to answer awkward questions in front of their regulatory body. </p>
<p>Providing information, without her permission, about a woman’s pregnancy and reproductive choices is a grave threat to patient trust and risks serious harm to vulnerable patients. The GMC has suspended doctors for <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/380/bmj.p707">much less</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221689/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dominic Wilkinson receives funding from the Wellcome Trust and the Arts and Humanities Council. He is a member of the British Medical Association Medical Ethics Committee. This article is written in a personal capacity and not on behalf of the British Medical Association. </span></em></p>New guidance indicates health professionals must not provide information to the police without a woman’s consent unless “concerned for her safety or the safety of others”.Dominic Wilkinson, Consultant Neonatologist and Professor of Ethics, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2183732023-12-27T09:11:25Z2023-12-27T09:11:25ZWhat’s the truth behind the ‘shoplifting epidemic’? Six key questions answered<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564897/original/file-20231211-23-ybkbik.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=82%2C52%2C4928%2C3351&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Is it really true that shoplifting is out of control? </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Lightspring</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>According to media reports, in 2023 the UK experienced an unprecedented <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-64057660">wave</a> of <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce5rkgpyy2ro">shoplifting</a>. The theory goes that the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66049150">cost of living crisis</a> and poor police responses are driving a crime wave.</p>
<p>Is that really true? Here, we assess six of the most popular assertions made about shoplifting in 2023. Are they myth or reality?</p>
<h2>1. Is there really a shoplifting epidemic?</h2>
<p>Shoplifting has increased – but much of this reflects the fact that it declined <a href="https://crimesciencejournal.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s40163-021-00142-z.pdf">60% in the pandemic</a>. So reports of year-on-year changes are misleading. </p>
<p>Many crime types remain below pre-pandemic levels because we now work from home more than we used to. But by 2023 we were out shopping as much as before. That provided camouflage for shoplifting, so it returned to, and now exceeds, <a href="https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/200708/1/COVIDCrimeStatsBulletin_18_Crime_Trends_to_Apr23.pdf">pre-pandemic levels</a>.</p>
<p>In the first six months of 2023, shoplifting reported to police averaged <a href="https://www.crimrxiv.com/pub/bqkby11t/release/1">7% above</a> the pre-pandemic expected level. It then increased to 20% above the expected level in the summer months. While most shoplifting is not reported to police, the available data suggests that the increase is not as dramatic as some accounts suggest. </p>
<p><strong>Myth or reality?</strong> Half-myth. To some extent it remains to be determined with better data – but there is a problem. </p>
<h2>2. Has the cost-of-living crisis driven people to theft?</h2>
<p>It has become common to blame the <a href="https://theweek.com/news/crime/961034/cost-of-living-is-shoplifting-on-the-rise">cost-of-living</a> crisis for rises in shoplifting. However, several facts do not fit with this theory. Shoplifting by dependent drug users, for example, is not due to the cost-of-living crisis. </p>
<p>Likewise, when department stores like <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66784250">John Lewis</a> decry theft of their high-end products, this is not a cost-of-living issue – it implies organised gangs are operating for profit. That explanation, put forward by the retailers themselves, contradicts the idea that increased shoplifting is due to cost-of-living issues. </p>
<p><strong>Myth or reality?</strong> Myth and half-truth. </p>
<h2>3. Are organised gangs to blame?</h2>
<p>Another version of events is more plausible – that <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-66112002">organised</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/shop-theft-has-been-building-for-years-heres-how-to-tackle-retail-crime-and-keep-workers-safe-213624">gangs</a> are the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/sep/15/its-organised-looting-uk-in-grip-of-a-shoplifting-epidemic-say-store-owners">problem</a>.</p>
<p>The pandemic boosted <a href="https://hostingdata.co.uk/online-shopping-statistics-uk/">online shopping</a> which made made e-fencing of stolen goods easier, which in turn drives shoplifting. E-fencing via online marketplaces is more efficient and less risky than face-to-face in the street or pub. </p>
<p>The result is that some gangs now <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/oct/24/organised-gangs-are-shoplifting-to-order-in-uk-john-lewis-boss-says">steal to order</a>. A recent estimate suggests stolen and counterfeit goods account for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/selling-buying-shoplifted-stolen-products-online-efencing-facebook-ebay-2023-1?r=US&IR=T">10% of online marketplaces</a>.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, as the retail sector expanded, tempting new products are becoming readily available in large and anonymous self-service shops. Increases in <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25762466">mini-supermarkets</a> means valuable items are closer to the door with fewer staff between the thief and the exit.</p>
<p>In the long term, then, it is change in the retail sector that inadvertently encourages shoplifting. We need more evidence, but organised crime offers a plausible explanation for increased post-pandemic shoplifting. </p>
<p><strong>Myth or reality?</strong> Likely reality. </p>
<h2>4. Have the police stopped caring?</h2>
<p>The truth is, police have not been required to attend low-value shoplifting offences for many years. This reflects a long history of <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/247953176_The_Prevention_of_Shop_Theft_An_Approach_Through_Crime_Analysis">problem shops</a> draining police resources with repeat calls without taking responsibility for preventing thefts. </p>
<p>After all, is it fair to expect taxpayers, who pay for police, to foot the bill? Or should retailers take responsibility for shoplifting just as other businesses are increasingly required to take responsibility for carbon emissions? </p>
<p>Like emitting pollution, creating shoplifting opportunities is <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fandd/issues/Series/Back-to-Basics/Externalities">effectively optional</a>. Pointing the finger at the police deflects some of the blame but it doesn’t address the real problem. </p>
<p><strong>Myth or reality?</strong> Myth. </p>
<h2>5. Are shops starting to lock up products because of theft increases?</h2>
<p>In 2023 it was claimed that more items such as <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65764513">cheese, meat and coffee</a> are being locked away or tagged. The truth is that these have been among the most stolen products for <a href="https://www.retailresearch.org/shoplifters.html">many years</a> and tagging has been <a href="https://crimesciencejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40163-017-0068-y">around for ages</a>. </p>
<p>It is part of a decades-long process of incremental improvements to retail security. By 2010, <a href="https://test.routledgehandbooks.com/pdf/doi/10.4324/9781843929680-5">research</a> identified 30 measures used to help shops prevent theft, including locking cabinets and adding <a href="https://blogs.bu.edu/llisa/everything-you-need-to-know-about-rfid-tags/">radio frequency tagging</a> to goods, tethering items or using dummy goods such as packaging with nothing in it. </p>
<p>It takes time, but security measures can evolve to be <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1477370820932107">elegant and unobstrusive</a>. Examples already exist – think of wide aisles with clear sight-lines and clever packaging designs that make items difficult to conceal. </p>
<p>When someone meets you and greets you at the door, it’s not just to make shopping pleasant. It shows somebody cares and is watching. The development cycle of security means it sometimes begins as clunky and awkward before becoming something better.</p>
<p>Improved vehicle and household security reduced car crime and burglary by three-quarters since 1992, largely via non-punitive and unobtrusive measures. A suite of invisible car security is now triggered by a key fob, for example, and the best household security is built in as integrated locks on good quality doors.</p>
<p>These measures explain why there are <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41300-019-00067-5">fewer young people</a> entering the <a href="https://youthendowmentfund.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/YEF-Statistics-update-February-2022-FINAL.pdf#:%7E:text=The%20number%20of%20first-time%20entrants%20to%20the%20youth,weapons%20were%20also%20down%20910%2C%20a%2021%25%20fall.">criminal</a> justice system. What’s more, shoppers are generally respectful of measures to reduce crime and promote safety even when they incur a minor inconvenience, such as tag removal at checkout. Overall, the history of security suggests we should be optimistic. </p>
<p><strong>Myth or reality?</strong> Myth. </p>
<h2>6. Are social media provocateurs to blame?</h2>
<p>Social media videos that glorify shoplifting and show <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/pkddq8/tiktok-an">how to do it</a> may be part of the picture. Word of mouth took years to spread information that now spreads globally in seconds. </p>
<p>A spate of thefts of Kia’s and Hyundai cars in the US is attributed to a <a href="https://www.economist.com/cities-are-suing-car-manufacturers-over-auto-theft-they-have-a-case">viral TikTok explainer video</a> and was stemmed only when the vehicle manufacturers issued a <a href="https://www.motortrend.com/news/hyundai-fixing-kia-boys-theft-security-vulnerability-free/">software update</a>. Flash mobs have been coordinated on social media, as when hundreds of youths met to <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/oxford-circus-jd-robbery-rampage-tiktok-b2391303.html">rob London’s Oxford Street</a> stores. </p>
<p>Social media platforms are best placed and have the technical know-how to develop measures to stop videos from spreading and to make them less attractive to make and watch. It is not easy but the evidence suggests that <a href="https://popcenter.asu.edu/sites/default/files/tools/pdfs/displacement.pdf">“offenders”</a> will not just circumvent bans on illegal videos. </p>
<p><strong>Myth or reality?</strong> Reality but we need information about its impact.</p>
<h2>What is to be done?</h2>
<p>We need better information about the shoplifting problem. But we know that, with concerted effort, it is possible to <a href="https://popcenter.asu.edu/sites/default/files/shoplifting_2nd_ed.pdf">prevent shoplifting</a>. Crime is always concentrated, so prevention efforts should be focused on the small proportion of shops that disproportionately experience shoplifting and the small number of <a href="https://popcenter.asu.edu/sites/default/files/tools/PDFs/Understanding_Theft_Hot_Products.pdf">hot products</a> that are popular among thieves.</p>
<p>Online eCommerce platforms are best placed to prevent e-fencing, and social media platforms best placed to disrupt provocateurs. The appropriate role for government is to <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0002716218775045">encourage these private sector agents</a> into action through incentives (such as tax breaks for security) and disincentives (such as threat of regulation and fines).</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218373/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Is the cost of living really driving regular people to crime? And are those security tags on your steak the result of their misdemeanours?Graham Farrell, Professor of Crime Science, University of LeedsRachel Armitage, Professor of Criminology, University of HuddersfieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2182942023-12-08T16:14:45Z2023-12-08T16:14:45ZHow to protect yourself from cyber-scammers over the festive period<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562490/original/file-20231129-26-z85wnz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6134%2C3228&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">As online shopping increases over the festive period, so does the risk of cyber-scams. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/merry-xmas-eve-online-shopping-store-2089436578">Chay Tee/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The festive season is a time for joy, family and festive cheer. However, it’s also a prime target for cybercriminals. As online shopping ramps up, so does the risk of falling prey to cyber-attacks. That’s why it’s crucial to be extra vigilant about your <a href="https://blog.tctg.co.uk/12-cyber-security-tips-of-christmas">cybersecurity</a> during this time. </p>
<p>Here are some essential tips to safeguard yourself and your data during the festive period:</p>
<h2>Phishing</h2>
<p>Phishing is when criminals use scam emails, text messages or phone calls to trick their victims. Their <a href="https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/phishing-scams">goal</a> is often to make you visit a certain website, which may download a virus on to your computer, or steal bank details or other personal data. </p>
<p>This type of scam tends to <a href="https://www.egress.com/blog/phishing/holiday-phishing-scam-guide">increase</a> at this time due to the amount of people having bought or received new gadgets and technology. </p>
<p>Look out for there being no direct reference to your name in any communications, with wording such as “Dear Sir/Madam” or other terms such as “valued customer” being used instead. Grammar and spelling mistakes are also often present. </p>
<p>Be wary of any suspicious links or attachments within emails too, and don’t click them. It’s better to contact the company directly to check if the message is genuine. You can also <a href="https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/phishing-scams">report</a> suspicious messages and phishing scams to the government’s National Cyber Security Centre. </p>
<h2>Shopping safely online</h2>
<p>The convenience of online shopping is undeniable, especially during the festive season. However, it’s crucial to prioritise your security when buying online. </p>
<p>Before entering your personal and financial information on any website, ensure it’s legitimate and secure. Look for the “https” in the address bar and a <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-vast-majority-of-us-have-no-idea-what-the-padlock-icon-on-our-internet-browser-is-and-its-putting-us-at-risk-216581">padlock</a> icon, which indicates a secure and encrypted connection. </p>
<p>When creating passwords for online shopping accounts, use strong, unique combinations of letters, numbers and symbols. Avoid using the same password for multiple accounts, as a breach on one site could compromise all your others.</p>
<p>As with shopping in the real world, be cautious when encountering offers that are significantly below usual prices or which make extravagant promises. Always conduct thorough research on the seller and product before making a purchase. If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is. </p>
<p>And if you are out shopping in towns or city centres, there will often be a large number of public wifi options available to you. However, criminals can intercept the data that is transferred across such open and unsecured wifi. So, avoid using public wifi where possible, especially when conducting any financial transactions. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A person sits at a laptop with a coffee surrounded by festive packages." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562672/original/file-20231130-21-u6r9en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562672/original/file-20231130-21-u6r9en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562672/original/file-20231130-21-u6r9en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562672/original/file-20231130-21-u6r9en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562672/original/file-20231130-21-u6r9en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562672/original/file-20231130-21-u6r9en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562672/original/file-20231130-21-u6r9en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Stay vigilant, exercise caution and don’t let your excitement for gifts and deliveries compromise your cybersecurity.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/christmas-online-shopping-top-view-female-520279837">Prostock-studio/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Social media</h2>
<p>While social media platforms provide people with a means to keep in touch with family and friends over the festive period, they are often a goldmine for <a href="https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/how-to-spot-a-social-media-scam-aMtwF3u1XKGt">scams</a> and malware (software designed to disrupt, damage or gain unauthorised access to a computer). In the spirit of the festive season, people often share an abundance of personal information on social media, often without considering the potential consequences. </p>
<p>This trove of data can make people vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Scammers can exploit this information to gain unauthorised access to social media accounts, steal personal information, or even commit identity theft. To protect yourself, be mindful of what you share. </p>
<p>Be wary when interacting with posts and direct messages, especially if they contain suspicious links or attachments. Before clicking on anything, hover over the link to verify its destination. If it shows a website you don’t recognise or seems unrelated to the message, do not click on it. If you receive a message from someone you know but the content seems strange or out of character, contact them directly through a trusted channel to verify its authenticity. </p>
<p>Likewise, be wary of messages containing urgent requests for money or personal information from businesses. Genuine organisations will never solicit sensitive details through social media.</p>
<p>There are many buy and sell platforms available on social media. But while such platforms can be a great place to find a unique gift, it is also important to remember that not all sellers may be legitimate. So, it’s vital that you don’t share your bank details. If the seller sends a link to purchase the item, do not use it. When meeting to collect an item, it’s generally safer to use cash rather than transferring funds electronically.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aO858HyFbKI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Advice for staying safe online.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Package delivery scams</h2>
<p>As well as being a time for giving and receiving gifts, the festive season is also ripe for cybercriminals to exploit the excitement surrounding <a href="https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/about-us1/media/press-releases/scams-linked-to-parcel-deliveries-come-top-in-2023/">package deliveries</a>. </p>
<p>Scammers often pose as legitimate delivery companies, sending emails or text messages claiming that a delivery attempt was unsuccessful or requiring additional fees for processing, or even customs clearance. Typically, these messages contain links or phone numbers that, when clicked or called, lead to fake websites or automated phone systems designed to collect personal information or payments.</p>
<p>To protect yourself, always verify the legitimacy of any delivery notifications you receive. Check the sender’s email address or phone number against the official contact information for the delivery company. If the information doesn’t match or seems suspicious, don’t click any links or provide personal details. </p>
<p>Legitimate delivery companies will never ask for upfront payment or sensitive information through unsolicited messages or calls. </p>
<p>Remember, cybercriminals are skilled at manipulating the festive spirit to their advantage. Stay vigilant, exercise caution, and don’t let your excitement for gifts and deliveries compromise your cybersecurity.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218294/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachael Medhurst does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Cyber-scams tend to ramp up at this time of year, with criminals and scammers eager to exploit people’s generosity and excitement.Rachael Medhurst, Course Leader and Senior Lecturer in Cyber Security NCSA, University of South WalesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2192262023-12-06T11:20:55Z2023-12-06T11:20:55ZWhat is the government’s preventative detention bill? Here’s how the laws will work and what they mean for Australia’s detention system<p>After a week of non-stop headlines, the government’s preventative detention legislation <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-06/preventative-detention-legislation-has-passed/103197024">passed</a> the lower house, just in time for the end of the sitting year.</p>
<p>The new laws will allow former immigration detainees to be re-detained if they are judged to pose a high risk of committing serious violent or sexual crime.</p>
<p>The legislation comes after a 20-year legal precedent was overturned in November, when the <a href="https://theconversation.com/high-court-reasons-on-immigration-ruling-pave-way-for-further-legislation-218699">High Court found</a> the government could not detain people indefinitely – regardless of whether they had a criminal history. </p>
<p>The High Court’s decision was celebrated by <a href="https://humanrights.gov.au/about/news/media-releases/commission-commends-high-court-ruling-indefinite-immigration-detention">human rights organisations</a> and some <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/nov/09/australia-mandatory-indefinite-immigration-detention-regime-high-court-decision">legal scholars</a>. It was seen as a rare opportunity to reshape Australia’s immigration detention policies in line with international law, the constitutional separation of powers, and principles of procedural justice and proportionality. </p>
<p>Yet the opportunity for much-needed reform has been frustrated by political point-scoring. The opposition and tabloid media have stirred up moral panic about the release of “<a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/dutton-demands-apology-for-o-neil-s-claims-he-voted-to-protect-paedophiles-20231130-p5eo3l.html">hardened criminals</a>”. Anxious to avoid accusations of being “soft”, the government has adopted the same discourse. </p>
<p>Both the government and opposition agree it is necessary to put “dangerous” people back behind bars to protect the community. In a clear break from parliamentary process, the vote on the legislation was scheduled for a <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/teal-mps-slam-perversion-of-democracy-on-immigration-laws-20231206-p5epeg.html">non-sitting day</a>, giving parliamentarians little opportunity to scrutinise or debate the legislation. </p>
<p>So what do these laws actually do, what do they mean for those most affected by them, and what is being lost in the current debate?</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-governments-announcement-tsunami-overshadowed-by-crisis-over-ex-detainees-219215">View from The Hill: government's announcement tsunami overshadowed by crisis over ex-detainees</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What are preventative detention laws?</h2>
<p>The new laws will allow the immigration minister (currently Andrew Giles) to apply to a court to re-detain people who have been released from immigration detention. </p>
<p>For an application to be successful, <a href="https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-governments-announcement-tsunami-overshadowed-by-crisis-over-ex-detainees-219215">two conditions must be met</a>. </p>
<p>First, the person must have been convicted of a crime (either in Australia or overseas) that carries a sentence of at least seven years’ imprisonment. </p>
<p>Second, the court must agree the individual poses “an unacceptable risk of committing a serious violent or sexual offence”, and that there is “no less restrictive measure available” to keep the community safe. </p>
<p>The involvement of the courts in making these decisions is a welcome safeguard in the context of a detention system in which people are routinely incarcerated for years or even decades without court oversight. The minister’s previous “<a href="https://www.nswccl.org.au/time_to_review_immigration_minister_god_like_powers">god-like powers</a>” in this area have been widely criticised. </p>
<p>Yet the human rights implications of detaining people who have already served their time are <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/former-security-watchdog-labels-preventative-detention-laws-a-disgrace-20231201-p5eof6.html">significant</a>. Re-detention is likely to be experienced as a secondary punishment, which is contrary to principles of proportionality and procedural fairness. </p>
<p>It is also notable that these laws only apply to people who are not Australian citizens. </p>
<p>Australians with the same criminal histories and risk profiles will not be subject to preventative detention under this legislation. This raises concerns about the laws’ validity, with some suggesting the targeted nature of the legislation may leave it vulnerable to a <a href="https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-governments-announcement-tsunami-overshadowed-by-crisis-over-ex-detainees-219215">High Court challenge</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/high-court-reasons-on-immigration-ruling-pave-way-for-further-legislation-218699">High Court reasons on immigration ruling pave way for further legislation</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Why were these laws brought in?</h2>
<p>On November 8, the High Court of Australia <a href="https://eresources.hcourt.gov.au/showCase/2023/HCA/37">ruled unanimously</a> that if there is no real prospect of a person being deported in the forseeable future, it is unlawful for the government to detain them indefinitely.</p>
<p>The case was brought by a Rohingya man, known as NZYQ, who was no longer eligible for an Australian visa after being convicted of a sexual crime. As he’s a member of a <a href="https://www.hrw.org/tag/rohingya">persecuted minority</a>, he could not be deported back to Myanmar.</p>
<p>With no visa and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/nov/07/nzyq-immigrant-australia-resettle-attempt-high-court">no country</a> willing to accept him, he had been moved into indefinite immigration detention after completing his prison sentence in 2018.</p>
<p>The court’s decision triggered the release of more than <a href="https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/number-of-freed-detainees-reaches-141-20231126-p5emtv">140 people</a>, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-06/fourth-person-arrested-after-detainee-released/103197184?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=other">four of whom</a> have since been arrested for various alleged crimes. </p>
<p>People with no criminal history – including a man who had spent <a href="https://www.hrlc.org.au/news/2023/11/30/ned-kelly-emeralds-free#:%7E:text=Ned%20Kelly%20Emeralds%2C%20an%20Iranian,that%20indefinite%20detention%20was%20unlawful">more than a decade</a> in detention after coming to Australia in search of asylum – were also among those released. </p>
<p>The government has already imposed <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/nov/18/draconian-conditions-come-into-effect-for-93-foreigners-released-after-being-illegally-detained-by-australia">strict conditions</a> on the freed individuals, including ankle bracelets and curfews.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-high-court-has-decided-indefinite-detention-is-unlawful-what-happens-now-217438">The High Court has decided indefinite detention is unlawful. What happens now?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What is being missed in the current debate?</h2>
<p>Prior to the High Court’s decision, refugees, people seeking asylum, stateless people and other non-citizens without a valid visa were regularly subject to indefinite mandatory detention. <a href="https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/research-and-stats/files/immigration-detention-statistics-31-august-2023.pdf">As of August 2023</a>, Australia held 1,056 people in immigration detention; the average duration of detention was 708 days. </p>
<p>Unlike prisons, immigration detention centres are officially administrative and not for punishment. That is, people are not held in these facilities as part of a criminal sentence, but to facilitate health, security and identity checks, and to enable visa processing or removal from the country.</p>
<p>In the almost 30 years since Australia introduced indefinite mandatory detention, tens of thousands of people have been subject to this policy. Among those detained have been <a href="https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/asylum-seekers-and-refugees/national-inquiry-children-immigration-detention-2014">thousands of children</a>, whose detention continues to be permitted under Australian law. </p>
<p><a href="https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/visiting-immigration-detention">Conditions in detention</a> are often punitive, and have been subject to regular <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/limitless-detention-of-refugees-is-inhumane-and-must-end-says-un-torture-watchdog-20230414-p5d0et.html">international criticism</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/futile-and-cruel-plan-to-charge-fees-for-immigration-detention-has-no-redeeming-features-183035">'Futile and cruel': plan to charge fees for immigration detention has no redeeming features</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The current debate about immigration detention glosses over these realities. It obscures the profound humanitarian implications of the High Court’s ruling. </p>
<p>It also ignores the urgent need for further reform to ensure innocent people (including children) are not unduly punished. And it rationalises ongoing incarceration - beyond the terms of a criminal sentence - as a valid response to non-citizens who have already served their time. </p>
<p><em>Update</em>: <em>The legislation passed the House of Representatives late on Wednesday night.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219226/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Peterie receives funding from the Australian Research Council. She also undertakes research in partnership with the Australian Human Rights Commission. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amy Nethery does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The release of more than 140 ex-detainees from immigration detention has prompted a panicked government response. So, what does the legislation say, and what happens now?Michelle Peterie, Research Fellow, University of SydneyAmy Nethery, Senior Lecturer in Politics and Policy Studies, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2145122023-11-29T12:50:52Z2023-11-29T12:50:52ZReports of ‘honour-based’ abuse increased following lockdowns and change to police recording rules<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561845/original/file-20231127-17-ax6vg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C0%2C5168%2C3445&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/silhouette-young-woman-problems-horizontal-isolated-1442655077">Alexey_M/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Cases of so-called <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-32379-9_7">honour-based abuse</a> (HBA) are on the rise in England and Wales. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/so-called-honour-based-abuse-offences-2022-to-2023/statistics-on-so-called-honour-based-abuse-offences-england-and-wales-2022-to-2023">Home Office figures</a> show 2,905 HBA offences in 2022-23 – an increase of 1% in the year ending March 2023 from the year before. This is a rise of 10% since 2020-21. </p>
<p>It has been mandatory for police in England and Wales <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/so-called-honour-based-abuse-offences-2022-to-2023/statistics-on-so-called-honour-based-abuse-offences-england-and-wales-2022-to-2023#:%7E:text=1.-,Introduction,mandatory%20basis%20since%20April%202019.">to record</a> crimes often referred to as “honour-based” since 2019. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/oct/31/honour-based-offences-soared-by-81-in-last-five-years">Between 2016 and 2020</a>, the number recorded rose by 81%. </p>
<p>This mandatory reporting may be behind some of the increase in offences. But the pandemic lockdowns also provided abusers with <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JACPR-07-2022-0734/full/pdf">greater opportunity</a> to offend. What’s more, there may be many cases of HBA that go unreported.</p>
<p>There are a variety of <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-05640-6_21">harmful practices</a> categorised as HBA. These include forced marriages, sexual, psychological and economic abuse, female genital mutilation, and honour killings. These crimes are committed by people seeking to defend or restore the honour of a person or social group, such as a family, clan, caste, kin group or community. </p>
<h2>A global issue</h2>
<p>It is a global issue happening across different cultures and communities, although some areas are considered more affected, such as the Middle East and south Asia. </p>
<p>While such crimes can affect anyone, women and girls are more likely to be targeted. In the UK, it is particularly prevalent among young girls. In 2022, the Forced Marriage Unit <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/forced-marriage-unit-statistics-2022/forced-marriage-unit-statistics-2022#forced-marriage-unit-statistics">handled 302 cases</a>: 78% of the victims were female, while 22% were male. Over half of the victims were 21 or younger. </p>
<p><a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-32379-9_7">My research</a> with communities in the UK and abroad indicates that the ideology that triggers this harmful behaviour towards family members is that women and girls are considered carriers of family honour, and a precious social resource. </p>
<p>Given the social, cultural and economic value of family honour that lies with women and girls, social groups have rules and practices to protect the value they have placed in honour. </p>
<p>For example, if a young woman marries without her family or parents’ consent, this act would be <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-55985-4_17">considered dishonourable for the family</a>. This young woman’s behaviour can trigger gossip about her family’s reputation, showing that the family is exposed to dishonour and shame in its concerned social group. As a result, the family, particularly the male members, will attempt to restore the family honour. </p>
<p>The actions and behaviour taken to protect or restore family honour in this way are context-specific. The action could range from a harsh warning to murder, and any harmful behaviour in between, such as threatening, stalking, harassing or forcing her to leave her husband. </p>
<h2>Impact of lockdown</h2>
<p>However, this type of crime is often not reported to authorities because victims hesitate to come forward. HBA thrives in secrecy and fear. The COVID-19 lockdowns and associated restrictions created an environment which made it easier for perpetrators to commit offences and more difficult for survivors to seek help. </p>
<p>The national helpline for HBA saw a <a href="https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/beacons-of-excellence/rights-lab/resources/reports-and-briefings/2021/april/impact-of-covid-19-on-calls-to-national-forced-marriage-helplines.pdf">significant decline in calls</a> about forced marriage following the government’s order to stay home on March 23 2020. The helpline saw a peak in contacts in May 2020, following the easing of some restrictions – and another rise when schools reopened in September 2020.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1712785069377560864"}"></div></p>
<p>The number of reported cases has also increased because of the implementation of official recording methods, which has slightly improved its visibility. The <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6733653.stm">murder of Banaz Mahmod</a> in 2006 drew attention to honour crimes in the UK, and there has been a gradual increase in the awareness of these offences. </p>
<p>But political cultural sensitivities may be getting in the way of tackling HBA. For example, it has been alleged that the <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/11/07/cps-afraid-to-tackle-honour-crimes/">Crown Prosecution Service</a> may have avoided tackling such crimes for fear of creating “unrest” in communities.</p>
<p>Similarly, <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1124037/police-respond-risk-honour-based-abuse-tvip-super-complaint.pdf">police</a> may have been nervous about investigating sexual abuse in ethnic minority communities for fear of being labelled racist. </p>
<p>The UK parliament’s Women and Equalities Committee recently <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmwomeq/831/summary.html">carried out an inquiry</a> into so-called honour-based abuse, reviewing evidence submitted by several witnesses and experts, including <a href="https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/114470/html/">myself</a>. The committee called for the creation of a legal definition of HBA. </p>
<p>A shared, statutory definition would increase awareness and also reduce the hypersensitivity attached to HBA that frames it as a cultural problem of certain communities, which often prevents state agencies from acting and prosecuting such violent crimes. </p>
<p>Additionally, a legal definition for HBA would contribute to social and professional understanding, help to improve data collection and ultimately assist in bringing more perpetrators to justice.</p>
<p>The government <a href="https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/328/women-and-equalities-committee/news/197412/government-rejects-mps-calls-to-legally-define-honourbased-abuse/">has rejected</a> the committee’s recommendation for a statutory definition of HBA, however. This is a missed opportunity to take a decisive step forward in the fight against this kind of crime.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214512/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sadiq Bhanbhro does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>So-called honour-based abuse thrives in secrecy and fear.Sadiq Bhanbhro, Senior Research Fellow on Public Health and Gender-Based Violence, Sheffield Hallam UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2173652023-11-15T19:04:18Z2023-11-15T19:04:18ZScrublands: not a whodunit but a ‘howcatchem’, a new suspenseful Aussie inversion of the genre<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559176/original/file-20231113-27-df7kn2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=26%2C17%2C5937%2C3970&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sarah Enticknap/Stan</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 2020, Stan announced its endeavour to produce <a href="https://www.afr.com/companies/media-and-marketing/stan-to-grow-original-production-schedule-to-30-a-year-20200821-p55o07">30 original series</a> filmed in Australia over the next five years. </p>
<p>A particular focus of the network is crime productions. Scrublands is just the latest, joining <a href="https://theconversation.com/black-snow-a-new-pacy-murder-mystery-addresses-the-complicated-legacy-of-slavery-in-australia-194347">Black Snow</a> (2023) and The Tourist (2023), in addition to remaking the popular Australian feature films Wolf Creek (2016) and <a href="https://theconversation.com/romper-stomper-reboot-is-a-compelling-investigation-into-australias-extremist-politics-89227">Romper Stomper</a> (2018).</p>
<p>Scrublands is also on familiar ground, joining several other adaptations of small town Australian crime novels like Peter Temple’s Broken Shore (written in 2005 and adapted in 2013) and Jane Harper’s The Dry (written in 2016 and adapted in 2020). </p>
<p>In his original novel, Chris Hammer masterfully presents an epic tale of a dying town. He meticulously details its struggles where the op-shop opens only twice a week, the hotel shuts down and the Black Dog Motel is the sole accommodation, with a strict “no animals allowed” policy.</p>
<p>With a backdrop rooted in the author’s non-fiction work on the Murray-Darling Basin – The River (2010), The Coast (2012) – Hammer weaves a crime novel that peels back the layers of fictitious Riversend, a New South Wales town grappling with economic decline, drought and the trauma of a devastating massacre just 12 months earlier. </p>
<p>As with the novel, this horrific and inexplicable traumatic act is where Greg Mclean’s gripping series begins. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/black-snow-a-new-pacy-murder-mystery-addresses-the-complicated-legacy-of-slavery-in-australia-194347">Black Snow, a new pacy murder mystery, addresses the complicated legacy of slavery in Australia</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Secrets and suspicion</h2>
<p>In the town’s country church, Father Byron Swift (Jay Ryan), donned in white and purple robes, unexpectedly emerges with a rifle in hand. He commits a shocking act by opening fire on parishioners, resulting in the deaths of five men.</p>
<p>The clergyman is subsequently shot in self-defence by the local police officer, Robbie Haus-Jones (Adam Zwar), setting the stage for the unfolding saga of Scrublands.</p>
<p>It is a town full of secrets and suspicion of outsiders. The series follows burnt-out journalist Martin Scarsden (Luke Arnold) arriving 12 months later with a seemingly simple mission: to craft a human interest narrative on the aftermath of the mass shooting. His Sydney-based editor (Nicholas Bell) urges him to investigate how Riversend is faring one year after the horrific act.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559189/original/file-20231113-21-lnxe19.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man and a woman talk." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559189/original/file-20231113-21-lnxe19.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559189/original/file-20231113-21-lnxe19.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559189/original/file-20231113-21-lnxe19.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559189/original/file-20231113-21-lnxe19.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559189/original/file-20231113-21-lnxe19.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559189/original/file-20231113-21-lnxe19.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559189/original/file-20231113-21-lnxe19.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Martin Scarsden is tasked with crafting a human interest narrative on the aftermath of the mass shooting.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sarah Enticknap/Stan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The suspenseful narrative unfolds gradually across each episode, exposing the town’s hidden truths and pulling Scarsden deeper into the web of lies and secrets that have come to define this drought-stricken town.</p>
<p>All of the performances are strong, but Bella Heathcote who plays the grieving Mandy Bond is the standout.</p>
<p>As the audience is literally shown whodunit in this opening scene – replayed from different perspectives across the series – it is not a whodunit as much as a “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_detective_story">howcatchem</a>”. </p>
<p>A howcatchem is a crime narrative where the commission of the crime is shown or described at the beginning, usually including the identity of the perpetrator. The case then follows as the detective begins a hunt to restore the moral world by bringing justice to the community.</p>
<p>Scrublands offers a variation to this howcatchem sub-genre. The perpetrator is not at large but dead. The why of his violence, however, remains unsatisfactorily unanswered – and Scarsden intends to find out. </p>
<h2>An immersive story</h2>
<p>Further variations to the expected crime narrative continue with the victims being grown men rather than young women. Was the priest killing at random? Were his victims a calculated selection? </p>
<p>As Scarsden navigates the intricacies of Riversend, director McLean offers an expansive portrayal of the town. This gives viewers time to immerse themselves in the environment and multifaceted characters. </p>
<p>The story unfolds with a deliberate steady pace, allowing McLean to continue his interest in rural landscape stories (Wolf Creek, Rogue) where he has more recently branched beyond just Australia through international co-productions including Jungle (2017), set in the Amazon rainforest, and The Darkness (2016) about a family that visits the Grand Canyon. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559190/original/file-20231113-19-xy4zlm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman with a baby, a man pushes a pram." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559190/original/file-20231113-19-xy4zlm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559190/original/file-20231113-19-xy4zlm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559190/original/file-20231113-19-xy4zlm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559190/original/file-20231113-19-xy4zlm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559190/original/file-20231113-19-xy4zlm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559190/original/file-20231113-19-xy4zlm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559190/original/file-20231113-19-xy4zlm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">There is a wave of Australian crime drama exploring lives in small towns.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sarah Enticknap/Stan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The show is most successful through its links to rural crime noir with the emphasis on pulling apart the vulnerability and deception of this small town. All of these somewhat innocent characters are complicit in the criminality that was allowed to corrupt the town. </p>
<p>Scrublands is produced by Easy Tiger, the company behind adapting the Peter Temple Jack Irish novels for the ABC. Similarly, this is a detective story about a non-law-enforcement protagonist who has to rely on his own instincts rather than police intel. </p>
<p>Besides, the police here are just as suspicious as the crims being pursued. </p>
<p>The series builds at a nice tempo before the truth is finally revealed. Secrets are exposed, but nobody is less traumatised by the conclusion – including journalist Scarsden, whose own haunted past is equally exposed. </p>
<p>Hammer’s second novel, featuring the same protagonist, was the more impressive Silver (2019). There is another ready-made source work if Scrublands is renewed for a second series. </p>
<p><em>Scrublands is on Stan from today.</em></p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/roald-dahl-time-bending-crime-and-queer-pirate-comedy-the-best-of-streaming-this-november-215525">Roald Dahl, time-bending crime, and queer pirate comedy: the best of streaming this November</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217365/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Gaunson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The new series on Stan is most successful through its links to rural crime noir, pulling apart the vulnerability and deception of this small town.Stephen Gaunson, Senior Lecturer in Cinema Studies, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2166712023-11-09T14:08:42Z2023-11-09T14:08:42ZGhanaians don’t trust the police. A criminologist on what needs to be done about it<p><em>The relationship between Ghanaian citizens and officers of its police service is a tenuous one. Recent <a href="https://www.afrobarometer.org/survey-resource/ghana-round-9-data-2023/">reports</a> by the research network Afrobarometer show a decline in trust between citizens and officers amid complaints of harassment and bribery. There have also been <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/9/22/ghana-police-arrest-49-as-high-cost-of-living-triggers-street-protests">accusations</a> of the police being used by the political hierarchy to stifle dissent by force during protests. The Conversation’s Godfred Akoto Boafo speaks to criminologist <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/justice-tankebe-579992">Justice Tankebe</a> about the reasons behind the breakdown in trust and ways to improve it.</em></p>
<h2>Do Ghana’s police serve the interests of citizens?</h2>
<p>We can think of these interests in terms of people’s expectations of policing. My <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2012.00291.x?casa_token=INNkhWFO_ZcAAAAA:2fK2oO-IL0kjTq80ptljt3OkL6FHzWX107uJKb5n36mWULN5Qv1oZeLZ-rpssekYoWmQPT76YeabH-g">research</a> has identified four dimensions of these interests. </p>
<p>First is the effective use of police authority to protect citizens from violence and threats to their constitutional rights. Fear of crime is a reasonable indication of police effectiveness. Data from <a href="https://www.afrobarometer.org/countries/ghana/">Afrobarometer</a> shows that, in <a href="https://www.afrobarometer.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/AfropaperNo34.pdf">2002</a>, 16.8% of Ghanaians feared becoming victims of crime at their homes. This declined to 9.2% in 2012 but has now <a href="https://www.afrobarometer.org/survey-resource/ghana-round-9-data-2023/">risen</a> to 24.6%. </p>
<p>The second dimension is lawful police conduct. Police officers do not serve this interest when they engage in illegal practices such as robbery, unlawful killing of civilians or bribery. A recent <a href="https://www.unodc.org/documents/corruption/Publications/2022/GHANA_-_Corruption_survey_report_-_20.07.2022.pdf">survey</a> funded by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime showed that 53.2% of Ghanaians who interacted with police officers paid them a bribe. </p>
<p>Thirdly, policing serves the interests of Ghanaians when it treats people equally. Simply put, people’s social class, ethnicity, religious beliefs, or political affiliation should not influence the decisions of police officers. </p>
<p>Finally, policing must listen to citizens, explain decisions to them, treat them with respect and care for their wellbeing. Fair treatment communicates symbolic messages about a person’s social standing and inclusion; hence it matters greatly to citizens. A <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10439463.2019.1636795?casa_token=lLDS6YkQKysAAAAA%3AXkzh0nvzEzSoWaqE7EbUwgVceZH8ko9DjBZmrUw2j8DR5-WzOG9T3YNFE0K2vM7jhax0bria8B2e">survey</a> of Ghanaians shows a little over half of them think the police treat them fairly. </p>
<h2>Why are the police struggling to serve Ghanaians?</h2>
<p>The first reason is the colonial roots of the Ghanaian police, which continue to show in three ways:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>police officers expect people to accept decisions without question </p></li>
<li><p>officers are subservient to elites, who have undue influence on police work</p></li>
<li><p>the police are not sufficiently accountable to local communities. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Some officers try to curry favour with politicians in the hope of future advantages such as promotions. This is exemplified in the leaked audio of an <a href="https://citinewsroom.com/2023/10/leaked-tape-ill-be-vindicated-after-parliamentary-committee-probe-cop-mensah/">alleged plot</a> to replace Ghana’s police chief, which is now the subject of a parliamentary investigation. </p>
<p>Beyond the colonial legacy, <a href="https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/I-have-sent-over-1-000-people-from-my-constituency-to-security-agencies-govt-companies-Kennedy-Agyapong-1086103">political interference</a> means there’s a risk of unsuitable people being recruited to the police. They may lack the appropriate motivation and ethical inclination. The adequacy of training and the quality of supervision are also doubtful. The absence of credible accountability structures also limits scrutiny of how officers behave. </p>
<p>Finally, the behaviours that supervisors model to frontline officers can affect how they interact with citizens. For example, a <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1748895812469380?casa_token=hJs2udKv6gUAAAAA%3Aq5AyvRoxyV6LETdlVElSm3QorxqtSKpB1-_p5C1-xfiLdr6e_oZZvhRNrjD4ZPwg34ruqxO-bNTE&journalCode=crjb">survey</a> found that officers who felt their superiors treated them with disrespect and partiality were less committed to fair treatment of the public. </p>
<h2>What are the consequences for democracy?</h2>
<p>Police scholar David Bayley has <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3054129">argued</a> that the quality of policing is an important measure of democratic governance. A country cannot claim to be democratic if the police arbitrarily arrest people, humiliate them, suppress political dissent, and exceed their legal mandate.</p>
<p>When citizens lose faith in democracy, they become tolerant of military interventions. So efforts at democratic consolidation must pay attention to the state of the police. Indeed, some scholars argue that this may help <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=sInqr5ILPE8C&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&ots=_GhR888aCk&sig=K1cbO5_d9JgjsBbg_Cve6QBhw1Q&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=internal%20security&f=false">save democracy</a> from the threat of the military taking control. </p>
<p>This matters greatly in a sub-region of increasing political instability and terrorism threat. </p>
<h2>What reforms are required?</h2>
<p>First, there is a need for ideological re-orientation. The Ghana police <a href="https://police.gov.gh/en/index.php/mandate/">say</a> their mandate is to “prevent and detect crime, to apprehend offenders and to maintain public order and safety of persons and properties”. This is indistinguishable from their colonial mandate. Unsurprisingly, police tactics are militaristic and prioritise order over the democratic rights of citizens. </p>
<p>A democratically oriented police service would view its mandate as creating conditions for citizens to enjoy their constitutional rights. It would ask: “how can we facilitate protests and protect protesters?” rather than “what reasons can we find to prevent a protest?”.</p>
<p>The second area for reform is police accountability. Ghanaians have limited information about the internal accountability mechanisms, such as what happens to complaints filed against police officers. <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/criminology-as-a-moral-science-9781509965342/">Research evidence</a> shows the lack of appropriate signals from the Ghana Police Service deters officers from reporting unethical colleagues.</p>
<p>As I have previously <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-drives-police-violence-in-ghana-and-what-can-be-done-about-it-105813">argued</a>, the Ghana Police Service needs independent democratic oversight. </p>
<p>Thirdly, reforms are required to insulate the police from political capture. Ghana’s constitution grants the president the right to appoint the police chief. The president also effectively controls the promotion of senior officers through the police council. The same processes as those used in recruitment into civil service should be considered. Yet this is unlikely to make a difference unless police officers are fully committed to their democratic mandate. They must maintain ethical relationships with politicians and other elites who seek to capture the state for their personal interests. </p>
<p>Finally, there is a need to develop a culture of <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/670819">evidence-based policing</a>. This requires a closer relationship between the police and academics who have the methodological tools to support the police in evaluating the effects of their interventions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216671/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Justice Tankebe does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The very low public trust in the Ghanaian police suggests a crisis of legitimacy.Justice Tankebe, Associate Professor of Criminology, University of CambridgeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2126052023-10-30T12:29:58Z2023-10-30T12:29:58ZThis course uses big data to examine how American newspapers covered lynchings<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556441/original/file-20231029-19-izwm8n.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=99%2C9%2C5897%2C2966&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">More than 5,000 Black people have been lynched in the US.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/hangmans-noose-on-black-background-royalty-free-image/132062934?adppopup=true">Peter Dazeley/The Image Bank via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Text saying: Uncommon Courses, from The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption"></span>
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<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/uncommon-courses-130908">Uncommon Courses</a> is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching.</em> </p>
<h2>Title of course:</h2>
<p>Lynching and the Press</p>
<h2>What prompted the idea for the course?</h2>
<p>One of my students was reviewing a spreadsheet that listed total lynchings by state. She exhaled, and then, with a bit of weariness, said, “Mississippi, goddamn.”</p>
<p>She was trying to comprehend the enormity of violence against the Black population of Mississippi: 823 lynchings from 1865 to 2011, <a href="https://sites.uw.edu/lynching/#/home">according to the Tolnay-Beck and Seguin lynching inventories</a>, two of the main academic resources in this field. She is one of 13 University of Maryland journalism students digging through <a href="https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn95073194/1901-08-28/ed-1/seq-2/#date1=08%2F28%2F1901&index=0&date2=08%2F28%2F1901&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&lccn=sn95073194&words=CRIME&proxdistance=5&state=Nebraska&rows=20&ortext=crime&proxtext=&phrasetext=&andtext=&dateFilterType=range&page=1">historic newspaper articles</a> and data tables this semester to learn about how U.S. newspapers covered lynching. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555440/original/file-20231023-21-ger90y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=3%2C4%2C1019%2C823&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A black and white photograph of a large crowd of white people looking up, many of them grinning, at tree branches where two men have been hanged, their bodies dangling from the branches." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555440/original/file-20231023-21-ger90y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=3%2C4%2C1019%2C823&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555440/original/file-20231023-21-ger90y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555440/original/file-20231023-21-ger90y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555440/original/file-20231023-21-ger90y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555440/original/file-20231023-21-ger90y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=610&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555440/original/file-20231023-21-ger90y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=610&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555440/original/file-20231023-21-ger90y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=610&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith, both of whom were African American, were lynched by a mob in Marion, Ind., in 1930.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/the-lynching-of-african-americans-thomas-shipp-and-abram-news-photo/871633440?adppopup=true">Photo 12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>The class is an extension of an <a href="https://www.ire.org/announcing-the-2021-ire-award-winners/">award-winning 2021 student journalism project</a> called “<a href="https://lynching.cnsmaryland.org/">Printing Hate</a>,” published by the <a href="https://merrill.umd.edu/howard-center-for-investigative-journalism">Howard Center for Investigative Journalism</a> at the University of Maryland, which examined various case studies of lynching coverage.</p>
<p>My class is taking a much longer view of this kind of journalism, using big data tools to examine newspaper coverage of lynchings from 1789 through 1963. In the process, students will gain important insights about our country’s history. They are learning about the societal context that allowed more than <a href="https://sites.uw.edu/lynching/">5,000 mob-driven murders</a> of Black citizens to happen and how some mainstream news coverage reinforced the violent white supremacy of these events. Newspapers, for example, frequently used dehumanizing language to describe the lynching victims as “<a href="https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86063034/1890-10-19/ed-1/seq-2/#date1=10%2F19%2F1890&index=0&date2=10%2F19%2F1890&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&lccn=sn86063034&words=Fiend&proxdistance=5&rows=20&ortext=Fiend&proxtext=&phrasetext=&andtext=&dateFilterType=range&page=1">fiends</a>” or “<a href="https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82015137/1881-08-23/ed-1/seq-1/#date1=08%2F23%2F1881&index=0&date2=08%2F23%2F1881&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&lccn=sn82015137&words=Brute&proxdistance=5&rows=20&ortext=&proxtext=brute&phrasetext=&andtext=&dateFilterType=range&page=1">black brutes</a>.”</p>
<h2>What does the course explore?</h2>
<p>The core of the class involves analyzing data from 60,000 news pages captured from the <a href="https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/">Library of Congress’ Chronicling America</a> database of historic newspapers. This project began as an academic study with my colleague <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=koSIcJ0AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Sean Mussenden</a>, the data editor at the Howard Center and senior lecturer at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism. A prominent journalism historian, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=TwNX-ucAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Kathy Roberts Forde</a>, at the University of Massachusetts Amherst later joined our team. </p>
<p>After working with this large dataset, I decided to offer a class so students could learn research skills, such as data and content analysis, while also learning more about history and the history of U.S. journalism.</p>
<h2>What materials does the course feature?</h2>
<p>• “<a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/1099574431">Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases</a>,” by journalist <a href="https://theconversation.com/ida-b-wells-how-grassroots-support-and-social-media-made-a-monumental-difference-in-honoring-her-legacy-100866">Ida B. Wells</a>.</p>
<p>• “<a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/1252735793">Journalism and Jim Crow: White Supremacy and the Black Struggle for a New America</a>,” by Kathy Roberts Forde and Sid Bedingfield.</p>
<p>• “<a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/they-left-great-marks-on-me-african-american-testimonies-of-racial-violence-from-emancipation-to-world-war-i/oclc/778459402">They Left Great Marks On Me: African American Testimonies of Racial Violence from Emancipation to World War I</a>,” by Kidada Williams. </p>
<h2>What’s a critical lesson from the course?</h2>
<p>Working with a sample of this data from newspaper lynching articles, students compared the lynching location with the location of the newspaper. It took about three weeks for the class to classify some 3,000 news articles on a Google form and sheet that I had prepared. Students’ preliminary research is exploring why some Southern newspapers would cover lynching outside the state but not in their own backyards. Students are wondering if this was a form of erasure of local history.</p>
<p>Later this semester, my students will research the tone of newspaper narratives about lynching, such as how the news coverage portrayed the mob. The one graduate student in the class, who is pursuing her Ph.D. in history, is examining lynching in the antebellum era, a period for which there is very little research on this topic available.</p>
<h2>Why is this course relevant now?</h2>
<p>My students write weekly reflections about the readings and coursework. This course has opened their eyes to how the news media’s negative portrayals of African Americans can support systems of white supremacy. <a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/778459402">Few mainstream newspaper articles reflected Black voices</a>, except, of course, the Black press.</p>
<h2>What will the course prepare students to do?</h2>
<p>These students will leave this class with in-depth data and content analysis skills. They will acquire a keen sensitivity to portrayals of Black Americans and other people of color in news coverage. Ultimately, we hope the course will lead to better journalism.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212605/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rob Wells receives funding from the Social Data Science Center Seed Grant program for this research into media coverage of lynching.</span></em></p>Student journalists are using spreadsheets and databases to examine one of the darkest chapters in American history.Rob Wells, Associate Professor, University of MarylandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2148442023-10-16T01:07:55Z2023-10-16T01:07:55ZHow mistaken identity can lead to wrongful convictions<p>In March 1976, American Leonard Mack was convicted of sexual assault and holding two female victims at gunpoint. In September 2023, Mack’s wrongful conviction was finally overturned by a New York judge on his 72nd birthday with the help of the <a href="https://innocenceproject.org/news/hit-in-dna-database-proves-leonard-macks-innocence-after-47-years-of-wrongful-conviction/">Innocence Project</a>, an organisation that uses DNA evidence to prove factual innocence. </p>
<p>Mack’s conviction took 47 years to overturn. He served seven-and-a-half of these years in a New York prison. His case is the <a href="https://innocenceproject.org/news/8-moving-moments-from-leonard-macks-historic-exoneration-after-47-years/">longest</a> in United States history to be overturned using DNA evidence. </p>
<p>In June 2023, a similar historic moment occurred in Australia. Kathleen Folbigg was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jun/05/kathleen-folbigg-pardoned-after-20-years-in-jail-over-deaths-of-her-four-children">pardoned and released</a> after 20 years in prison for the murder and manslaughter of her four young children. </p>
<p>Considered one of the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/folbigg-release-would-make-chamberlain-case-pale-into-insignificance-20230307-p5cpya.html">worst miscarriages of justice</a> in Australian history, Folbigg’s release has sparked discussion over whether Australia needs a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jun/12/not-a-rare-case-kathleen-folbigg-pardon-sparks-calls-for-new-body-to-review-possible-wrongful-convictions">formalised body</a> to deal with post-conviction appeals. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/serial-podcasts-adnan-syed-has-murder-conviction-vacated-how-common-are-wrongful-convictions-190968">'Serial' podcast's Adnan Syed has murder conviction vacated. How common are wrongful convictions?</a>
</strong>
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</p>
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<p>Mack and Folbigg are only two individuals on different sides of the world who have spent decades fighting to prove their innocence. </p>
<p>Many others are still fighting. The prevalence of wrongful convictions is hard to determine. The <a href="https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/about.aspx">National Registry of Exonerations</a> in the United States has recorded 3,396 exonerations nation-wide since 1989. </p>
<p>But data on official exonerations fail to capture the many individuals whose convictions are yet to be overturned. </p>
<p>Estimates of the prevalence of wrongful convictions in the United States range from <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/08874034221106747?casa_token=DL_gPkxNcI8AAAAA:uI-en9junmLXXScDGthXAuC9JcLsxp5OF1J4QB1WdA2L2cZRcwRuwtxVmIMiKYbYaSDj_ji4EdPSLA">0.5 to 5%</a>. The exact prevalence in Australia is less clear but we do know <a href="https://search.informit.org/doi/pdf/10.3316/informit.801706351305383?casa_token=cpZBfZmh944AAAAA%3Ax_zYUlnogLjuDWl81jc38vmeOovzw44M171rP7G3ibNnU35rvWS0yeIO_Ad0eBa54nE54KxaKzIb3w4">71 cases of wrongful convictions</a> have been identified in Australia between 1922 to 2015.</p>
<p>Some have argued there could be <a href="https://search.informit.org/doi/pdf/10.3316/informit.308199161216493">350 convictions per year</a> of individuals who are factually innocent in Australia. </p>
<p>A witness mistakenly identifying an innocent suspect is common in many wrongful conviction cases.</p>
<p>Eyewitness misidentification is the leading contributing factor in wrongful convictions overturned by the <a href="https://innocenceproject.org/exonerations-data/">Innocence Project</a>, present in 64% of their successful cases. </p>
<p>In Australia, <a href="https://search.informit.org/doi/pdf/10.3316/informit.801706351305383?casa_token=cpZBfZmh944AAAAA%3Ax_zYUlnogLjuDWl81jc38vmeOovzw44M171rP7G3ibNnU35rvWS0yeIO_Ad0eBa54nE54KxaKzIb3w4">6%</a> of recorded wrongful convictions involved an eyewitness error. </p>
<p>This may be an underestimate given many applications to innocence initiatives in Australia alleging wrongful conviction, such as the <a href="https://bohii.net/">Bridge of Hope Innocence Initiative</a>, report <a href="https://bohii.net/blog/positiononestablishingccrcas">eyewitness evidence</a> as a potential contributing factor.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/kathleen-folbigg-pardon-shows-australia-needs-a-dedicated-body-to-investigate-wrongful-convictions-205645">Kathleen Folbigg pardon shows Australia needs a dedicated body to investigate wrongful convictions</a>
</strong>
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<p>In Mack’s case, two victims misidentified him as the perpetrator. These identifications proved to be instrumental in his wrongful conviction. How did the two victims get it wrong? </p>
<h2>How problematic procedures influence eyewitnesses</h2>
<p>Eyewitness identification evidence relies on witnesses to accurately remember criminal perpetrators. Several factors affect eyewitness memory accuracy. Features of the crime can impact memory, such as whether it was light or dark, or whether the perpetrator wore a disguise. </p>
<p>Memory can also be affected by characteristics of the witness at the time of the crime, such as their stress or intoxication levels. </p>
<p>These factors are present at the time of the crime and cannot be changed. What is perhaps more crucial is that eyewitness memory can also be affected by the procedures law enforcement use to collect identification evidence.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://innocenceproject.org/news/hit-in-dna-database-proves-leonard-macks-innocence-after-47-years-of-wrongful-conviction/">Mack’s case</a>, there were serious problems with the procedures used to get the identifications from the victims. One of the victims made three separate identifications of Mack. Witnesses should only complete one identification procedure for each suspect, because the first identification will bias future identification attempts. </p>
<p>For two of the identifications the victim made, she was only shown Mack by himself surrounded by police. Showing a lone suspect without any other lineup members may <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-29406-3_2">increase mistaken identifications</a>, particularly when the context in which they are shown is highly suggestive. </p>
<p>Seeing Mack in handcuffs and in the presence of police may have led the victim to identify him. Mack was the only person shown to the witness in these identification attempts, so the police officers organising the process knew he was the suspect. </p>
<p>“Single-blind” administration of identification procedures – where the police officers organising the lineup know who the suspect is – increase the likelihood of <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-49224-002">mistaken identifications</a>.</p>
<p>For the other identification this victim made, she picked Mack out of a photo lineup containing seven images. Mack’s photo was the only photo in the lineup that contained visible clothing and the year (1975) in the background. All members of a lineup must be matched and no one lineup member <a href="https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/lhb-lhb0000359.pdf">should stand out</a>, but Mack’s photo was distinct. </p>
<p>With all these problematic practices combined, we can see how Mack was misidentified and convicted.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/kathleen-folbigg-is-free-but-people-pardoned-and-exonerated-of-crimes-face-unique-challenges-when-released-from-prison-207017">Kathleen Folbigg is free. But people pardoned and exonerated of crimes face unique challenges when released from prison</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In 2020, a team of eyewitness experts published <a href="https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/lhb-lhb0000359.pdf">nine evidence-based recommendations </a>for conducting identification procedures. </p>
<p>These recommendations serve to reduce mistaken identifications and enhance accurate ones. </p>
<p>The recommendations address the problematic practices in Mack’s case, but also include things like making sure there is sufficient evidence to place a suspect in a lineup, and giving appropriate instructions to witnesses during the procedure. </p>
<p>Identification procedures should also be video recorded to identify any poor practices. </p>
<p>While these recommendations will go a long way to reducing wrongful convictions resulting from faulty eyewitness identifications, they will only be effective if followed by police. </p>
<p>The next step is ensuring these recommendations are embedded into everyday policing practice.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214844/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hayley Cullen previously worked on a voluntary basis for Not Guilty: The Sydney Exoneration Project, an organisation that reviews cases of potential wrongful conviction. She was not involved in any of the cases discussed in this article.</span></em></p>Leonard Mack spent years in a US jail for a crime he didn’t commit. Here’s how identification procedures can, and have, led to wrongful convictions, and what can be done to prevent it.Hayley Cullen, Lecturer, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2142362023-10-09T13:31:59Z2023-10-09T13:31:59ZWitchcraft in Ghana: help should come before accusations begin<p>Witchcraft is generally understood to refer to a supernatural power possessed by an individual. In Ghana, particularly in the northern parts of the country, the subject continues to <a href="https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/Should-witch-camps-in-Ghana-be-closed-down-1023430">spark fierce debates</a>.</p>
<p>In regions such as Northern, Savanna and North East, people accused of witchcraft are banished from their communities. In response, other communities have provided refuge for displaced people. These places of refuge have themselves <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/witch-camps-elderly-women-die-ghana-1754907">sparked controversy</a>. Critics contend that they have become centres of “abuse” and have called for their closure. </p>
<p>I am a <a href="https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/821110-matthew-mabefam">lecturer</a> in anthropology and development studies. I set out to understand the controversy around what are often called “witch camps” and whether they should be abolished. I conducted a year long ethnographic study in the Gnani-Tindang community in northern Ghana. Gnani-Tindang provides refuge for people accused of witchcraft who have been banished from their communities.</p>
<p>I conclude from my <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21681392.2023.2232052">findings</a>
that government and NGOs aren’t proving capable of managing the problem, because they are starting at the wrong place. The focus is on witchcraft accusations, by which time people have already been stripped of their “social citizenship” and been forced to relocate. </p>
<p>Engaging with the experiences of people accused of witchcraft and their communities shows that intervening at an earlier point matters more.</p>
<h2>The background</h2>
<p>Victims of witchcraft accusations face alienation or exclusion from their communities. Exclusions can be social, physical, economic or psychological.</p>
<p>Some villages in northern Ghana have become known as places that provide refuge to people banished from their communities. These villages were not created for this purpose. Rather, they are already existing communities that have chosen to provide such refuge. </p>
<p>Banishment happens when someone accused of witchcraft is no longer welcomed in their community. They are asked to leave and never return. Not heeding such advice comes with consequences including violence, abuse, social exclusion and murder. </p>
<p>Sometimes people relocate to a village that’s offering them safety after they’ve been forced to leave their homes following direct threats. In some instances people move when they hear rumours that they risk being accused of witchcraft. </p>
<h2>What people who had been banished told me</h2>
<p>The purpose of my research inquiry was to gain insights into how individuals accused of witchcraft speak about themselves and their circumstances.</p>
<p>The experiences of those accused varied. As one told me:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>They finally threatened that they were going to do their juju, and if I had any knowledge about the child’s sickness, I was going to die within four days. I told them they should go ahead; I was willing to die if I were the one responsible for the child’s sickness. After the ritual, I didn’t die. However, they said I could no longer stay with them in the community.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Another gave this account: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>After the death of my husband, the relatives accused me of witchcraft. My in-laws said I killed my husband, but I don’t know anything about it. He fell sick and died afterwards. How can I kill my husband? I was lucky I wasn’t killed. There were lots of chaos, and some of the people suggested that I should be killed. Others disagreed and suggested that I should be brought to Gnani-Tindang … It’s my husband’s people who brought me here.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>We also observed that elderly people with little strength to fend for themselves were often targeted. One person, who was 80 years old, said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Look at me; I’m old and weak now. I can’t do much for myself. But I must fetch water, firewood and beg for food to eat. It is lonely here. </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>What next</h2>
<p>Ghana’s parliament has recently <a href="https://www.songtaba.org/wp-content/uploads/Press-Release_antiWitchcraftBill-28072023.pdf">passed</a> an anti-witchcraft bill. It seeks to criminalise the practice of declaring, accusing, naming, or labelling people as witches. Making such an accusation would lead to a prison sentence.</p>
<p>But, in my view, the bill alone isn’t the solution. This is because declaring certain behaviour illegal – and therefore punishable in a court of law – doesn’t address the issue of prejudice and discrimination which often relates to people’s age, gender and economic status. In other words, the law won’t deal with the tensions that emerge when culture intersects with the reality of people who become victims of witchcraft accusations.</p>
<p>Additional steps need to be taken. </p>
<p>Firstly, attention needs to be given to the underlying social issues driving accusations of witchcraft. For example, extreme inequalities among men and women, old and young, rich and poor. Creating avenues that provide a balance in society will have an effect on witchcraft accusation and banishment. </p>
<p>Early gender-tailored education needs to be introduced by the government and development actors on the value of both boys and girls. This is particularly important in the patriarchal societies of northern Ghana. This could help address gender inequalities that lead to witchcraft accusations. Witchcraft accusation is gendered: more women than men are accused, confronted and banished. </p>
<p>There is a need to engage widely with the Ghanaian society about the dangers of witchcraft accusation and to put in mechanisms to protect those who are abused and violated as a result of such accusations. </p>
<p>Finally, there is a need to listen to the voices and experiences of those who are victims of witchcraft accusations. This will ensure that interventions aren’t detached from their reality.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214236/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Mabefam does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Victims of witchcraft accusations face alienation or exclusion from their communities.Matthew Mabefam, Lecturer, Development Studies, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2134932023-10-08T08:11:01Z2023-10-08T08:11:01ZEcowas rules to protect pastoralists discourage investments in modern livestock farming<p>A common sight around west Africa is to see cattle grazing freely, even in <a href="http://sunnewsonline.com/cows-everywhere-herdsmen-defied-security-invaded-national-assembly/">major cities</a>, on <a href="https://punchng.com/the-dark-side-of-nomadic-pastoralism-in-nigeria-today/">highways</a> and in <a href="https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/259039-cows-stray-into-nigeria-airport-runway-delay-aircrafts-landing.html">airports</a>. </p>
<p>Every year, about <a href="https://acting-for-life.org/app/uploads/AFL-10-Findings-March2018.pdf">300 million</a> head of livestock (mostly cattle) move across west Africa. Based on seasonal factors, they leave their usual grazing areas in search of water and pasture.</p>
<p>These practices, called pastoralism, or transhumance, go back millennia. They helped maximise land use in dry regions. </p>
<p>In a bid to support these practices, the <a href="https://ecowas.int/">Economic Community of West African State (Ecowas)</a> drew up <a href="https://ecpf.ecowas.int/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Decision-1998-English.pdf">regulations in 1998</a> and <a href="https://ecpf.ecowas.int/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Regulation-2003-English.pdf">2003</a>. All Ecowas member states were to apply the regulations.</p>
<p>As an <a href="https://openair.africa/person/jane-ezirigwe/">expert</a> in food and agricultural law, natural resources development and international trade, I <a href="https://www.jutajournals.co.za/from-subsistence-to-commercialisation-legal-implications-of-ecowas-regulations-on-transhumance-on-livestock-investment-options/">examined</a> the regulations to see what effects they might be having on investments in the livestock sector.</p>
<p>My findings show that livestock productivity has not <a href="https://www.au-ibar.org/sites/default/files/2020-11/doc_20160524_livestock_policy_lanscape_africa_en.pdf">improved</a> in the region since the introduction of the new rules. Cattle productivity has fallen and milk production has improved very minimally. Clashes between farmers and herders have <a href="https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/west-africa/nigeria/252-herders-against-farmers-nigerias-expanding-deadly-conflict">increased</a>, along with insecurity. Elites take advantage of the regulations to exploit poor herders.</p>
<p>I conclude that the regulations may be discouraging meaningful large-scale investments such as ranching that could increase productivity, create jobs and ensure peace in the region.</p>
<h2>Movement of livestock across west Africa</h2>
<p>Ecowas is the only regional economic community in Africa with specific regulations <a href="https://publications.iom.int/books/regional-policies-and-response-manage-pastoral-movements-within-ecowas-region">governing transhumance</a>. The regional body is made up of 15 states.</p>
<p>Its regulations aim to improve livestock productivity and food security, enhance the environment and reduce poverty. </p>
<p>The regulations allow free movement of livestock across the borders of member states under certain conditions. For example, herders must possess the Ecowas International Transhumance Certificate, and a minimum of two herders must accompany the herds. The herders must be at least 18 years old. </p>
<p>Member states are obligated to apply the regulations. But they’re not doing so uniformly. Some coastal states don’t allow the herders into their countries. For instance, Benin Republic recently <a href="https://sojagnon-benin.org/2020/02/20/prohibition-of-cross-border-transhumance-benin-grant-a-two-months-moratorium-to-niger/#:%7E:text=Benin%20government%20deplore%20the%20numerous,Ministers%20prohibited%20cross%2Dborder%20transhumance">banned</a> the entry of foreign herders into its territory. Togo and Côte d’Ivoire <a href="https://publications.iom.int/books/regional-policies-and-response-manage-pastoral-movements-within-ecowas-region">control</a> the number of herders that enter their territories annually. </p>
<p>For its part, Nigeria is moving towards more <a href="https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/west-africa/nigeria/302-ending-nigerias-herder-farmer-crisis-livestock-reform-plan">sedentary cattle farming</a>. Several states in Nigeria, such as Benue and <a href="https://punchng.com/oyo-assembly-passes-anti-open-grazing-bill/">Oyo</a>, have also banned pastoralism.</p>
<p>These countries have restricted the movement of herds because of negative experiences such as <a href="https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/west-africa/nigeria/252-herders-against-farmers-nigerias-expanding-deadly-conflict">farmer-herder clashes</a>, <a href="https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/cattle-rustling-instability-nigeria/#:%7E:text=In%20Nigeria's%20North%2DWest%20and,stealing%20large%20herds%20of%20cattle.">cattle rustling</a> and other forms of criminality. </p>
<h2>Impact of Ecowas transhumance regulations</h2>
<p>In my paper, I argue that Ecowas regulation allows transhumance to exist in a form that is inimical to other business investment options – like ranching – for livestock production in the region. </p>
<p>Investors want profit, safe environments and certainty in rules. Pastoralism, on the other hand, encourages cheap labour and other practices that put large-scale investment in livestock at risk. </p>
<p><strong>Bad business environment</strong></p>
<p>Transhumance has been commercialised – and criminalised – in ways that produce a negative environment for the livestock business.</p>
<p>Movement of herds has contributed to <a href="https://peacekeeping.un.org/sites/default/files/transhumance_and_un_pkos_final_web.pdf">conflicts</a> between farmers and pastoralists, <a href="https://www.ajol.info/index.php/jsdlp/article/view/204801">gender-based violence</a>, insecurity and <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/rising-insecurity-in-northwest-nigeria-terrorism-thinly-disguised-as-banditry/">other forms of criminality</a>. </p>
<p>Traffickers, smugglers, bandits and drug peddlers <a href="https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajosi/article/view/244730/231480">capitalise</a> on livestock movement to commit crimes. </p>
<p>Proliferation of arms, terrorism, kidnapping and drug use have also increased in the guise of transhumance. </p>
<p>In Nigeria, for instance, it has been alleged that <a href="https://dailypost.ng/2018/05/09/amaechi-reveals-behind-herdsmen-killings-speaks-plans-islamise-nigeria/">Boko Haram insurgents disguise</a> themselves as pastoralists to convey improvised explosive devices to attack communities.</p>
<p><strong>Limits modern methods</strong></p>
<p>I also argue that the Ecowas regulations, by allowing herds to move around the region, discourage investment in modern methods of livestock production. This is because the cost of production in transhumance is low. Land and fodder are free. Labour is cheap and exploitative. All this makes other business models, such as ranching, relatively unattractive by comparison. It affects their profits and investment risks. </p>
<p>Some countries which practise pastoralism, such as Mongolia and Tibet, restrict it to arid regions.</p>
<h2>What should be done</h2>
<p>In my view, the practice of transhumance in west Africa should be gradually phased out. By this I mean a gradual – and then finally a total – ban on herder movements across borders.</p>
<p>This is because it is not an efficient use of land. About <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/i4337e/i4337e.pdf">a third</a> of west Africa’s land area is used for agriculture. Two-thirds of this serves as rangeland and pastures while one-third is used for crop production. Designated rangelands should be established in semi-arid areas of the region. Pastoralism should be restricted to these rangelands. </p>
<p>In my view conflict will be reduced if transhumance is restricted to arid and semi-arid regions. This in turn will make ranching more attractive, making room for large-scale investments that could create jobs and improve food security. </p>
<p>In the immediate future focus should be given to:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>the strict implementation of the <a href="https://www.un-ilibrary.org/content/books/9789210041539c008">International Transhumance Certificate</a>. The certificate usually contains particulars on the composition of the herd, the vaccinations given, the itinerary of the herds, and the destination of the pastoralist. The responsibility of issuing the certificate rests on the country of origin. This should reduce incidences of criminal elements disguised as herders. </p></li>
<li><p>limiting the number of cattle that people can have in a moving herd. This will help avoid herds straying, and resultant conflicts. </p></li>
<li><p>introducing new rules requiring the use of ear-tags. This would help with traceability when cattle are stolen or when they destroy farmlands.</p></li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213493/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jane Ezirigwe does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Ecowas regulations on pastoralism discourage big investment in livestock and need to be reformed in line with present day realities.Jane Ezirigwe, Postdoctoral Fellow, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of OttawaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2136242023-10-03T11:25:51Z2023-10-03T11:25:51ZShop theft has been building for years – here’s how to tackle retail crime and keep workers safe<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551427/original/file-20231002-19-4x99ij.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=43%2C21%2C4800%2C3147&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Retailers want police to respond more to shop theft reports.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/british-police-officers-helmets-policing-london-366445766">Brian A Jackson/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Retail giants like Boots, Tesco and Primark are <a href="https://brc.org.uk/news/corporate-affairs/retail-leaders-call-on-home-secretary-to-take-urgent-action-on-retail-crime/">pushing for Home Office action</a> after violent incidents and abuse against shop staff almost doubled since the COVID pandemic. Retail crime cost UK shops £1.76 billion in the year to April 2023, according to the British Retail Consortium.</p>
<p>The increase in theft from UK grocery and convenience shops is often blamed on the cost of living crisis. But this situation has been building for many years because overburdened policing and criminal justice systems can’t cope with a rise in organised crime and drug-fuelled stealing.</p>
<p>I interviewed a shop manager who had been threatened by a customer for <a href="https://assets.ctfassets.net/5ywmq66472jr/22QfMejeWYbimJ9ykX9W9h/0e99f15c0ed24c16ab74d38b42d5129a/It_s_not_part_of_the_job_report.pdf">a 2019 report</a>. He said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Unless he comes back and does what he said he was going to do (slit my throat) then the police wouldn’t bat an eyelid so I didn’t report it. The police force in our area, well, it’s pointless even having a police force if I’m honest. All the time we report things and they don’t respond. They say they are so stretched that there is nothing they can do.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Retail crime is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZezBMgRCS8">woefully under-reported</a>, which makes challenging it even more difficult. In the year to March 2023, the police recorded just <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/crimeinenglandandwales/yearendingmarch2023#:%7E:text=However%2C%20levels%20of%20theft%20have,other%20theft%20offences%20(19%25).">339,206 cases of shoplifting</a> across England and Wales. But other sources including the <a href="https://brc.org.uk/media/682083/crime-survey-report-2023_final_lowres.pdf">British Retail Consortium (BRC)</a> and <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/crime-against-businesses-findings-from-the-2022-commercial-victimisation-survey/crime-against-businesses-findings-from-the-2022-commercial-victimisation-survey">the Home Office</a> estimates it’s closer to 8 million incidents per year. UK supermarket Co-op saw <a href="https://www.co-operative.coop/media/news-releases/co-op-extends-use-of-anti-theft-dummy-display-packaging-to-deter-prolific">almost 1,000 crime-related incidents each day</a> in the six months to June 2023. </p>
<p>Incidents reported to the police halved last year “largely due to lack of confidence in any police reponse”, according to the BRC’s <a href="https://brc.org.uk/media/682083/crime-survey-report-2023_final_lowres.pdf">latest crime report</a>. But the resulting lack of police data also makes it difficult to identify who exactly is committing theft and where. </p>
<p>The term “shoplifting” prompts images of someone sneaking a chocolate bar into their pocket – it seems relatively trivial and victimless. But industry reports indicate that what is occurring in city centres is far from trivial, it’s organised and systematic looting. </p>
<p>Entire shelves of stock are being loaded into <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/sep/15/its-organised-looting-uk-in-grip-of-a-shoplifting-epidemic-say-store-owners">suitcases and wheelie bins</a>. Violence, threats and verbal abuse are also <a href="https://brc.org.uk/news/operations/brc-crime-survey-2023/#:%7E:text=Amongst%20our%20analysis%20we%20found,assaulted%20and%20threatened%20with%20weapons">becoming more common</a>. Encountering a thief is <a href="https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/23666/1/It_s_not_part_of_the_job_report.pdf">the number one trigger for violence in a store</a>. There are now around <a href="https://brc.org.uk/news/operations/brc-crime-survey-2023/#:%7E:text=Amongst%20our%20analysis%20we%20found,assaulted%20and%20threatened%20with%20weapons">850 violent or abusive incidents a day</a> against shop workers. Weapons such as knives, broken glass bottles and hypodermic needles are often threatened or used against workers. </p>
<p>Relatively high-value items that can be quickly resold for profit are the obvious choice for shop theft. This can include <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66784250">fresh meat, baby formula</a> and <a href="https://www.bigissue.com/news/social-justice/taking-on-hygiene-poverty-in-the-time-of-covid-19/">hygiene products</a>. Many shops now tag these items, lock them in protective cases or replace them with <a href="https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/convenience/co-op-rolls-out-dummy-display-packaging-to-prevent-shoplifting/682311.article">dummy packaging</a> to defend their stock. </p>
<h2>Is the cost of living crisis to blame?</h2>
<p>There are several motivations for regular stealing. Research shows <a href="https://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/library/desperate-for-a-fix-using-shop-theft-and-a-second-chance-programme-to-get-tough-on-the-causes-of-prolific-drug-addicted-offending">70% of shop theft</a> is committed by frequent users of class A drugs. Those using shop theft to support a drug addiction report they typically generate around <a href="https://www.westmidlands-pcc.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Aptus-report-1.pdf?x59042">one third to a half of retail price</a> when they sell stolen goods. So they may need to steal double or triple the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/882953/Review_of_Drugs_Evidence_Pack.pdf">approximately £19,000</a> reported annual spend of someone using both heroin and crack – that’s a possible £38,000-£57,000 of stolen goods per year. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.co-operative.coop/media/news-releases/criminal-gangs-with-a-freedom-to-loot-drive-spiralling-store-crime-out-of">Organised criminals</a> stealing in bulk to sell on for profit are also driving up retail crime. These enterprises consist of those who steal and their “fences” – people who will sell goods using the anonymity of online marketplaces. Retailers Against Crime estimate there could be <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-66868905">40 organised crime groups</a> targeting retailers across Scotland alone. Some offenders describe “stealing to order” from <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12435899/UKs-shoplift-order-epidemic-county-lines-style-gangs-hit-stores.html">shopping lists</a>. </p>
<p>Where the cost of living crisis might be contributing to the uplift in theft is in people’s willingness to buy stolen goods, particularly through online marketplaces, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/sep/15/its-organised-looting-uk-in-grip-of-a-shoplifting-epidemic-say-store-owners">or at car boot sales, pubs, clubs</a> and even in other shops. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman in a apron holding a device, taking stock, supermarket." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551426/original/file-20231002-29-2z3ksb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551426/original/file-20231002-29-2z3ksb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551426/original/file-20231002-29-2z3ksb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551426/original/file-20231002-29-2z3ksb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551426/original/file-20231002-29-2z3ksb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551426/original/file-20231002-29-2z3ksb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551426/original/file-20231002-29-2z3ksb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Supermarkets want to protect staff from threats or violence at work.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-shop-owner-using-digital-tablet-2168160369">Jacob Lund/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Systems in crisis</h2>
<p>Under-funding of both <a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2018-03-28/debates/4FBF4BF4-9AE0-4699-A873-F31E16B3EE15/PoliceFunding">the police</a> and the <a href="https://www.barcouncil.org.uk/uploads/assets/c84a796e-ad5b-4398-bbe4b5a04063bee2/Small-Change-for-Justice-report-2020.pdf">criminal justice system</a> in recent years has only fuelled the UK’s shoplifting problem. </p>
<p>Co-op found police <a href="https://www.co-operative.coop/media/news-releases/criminal-gangs-with-a-freedom-to-loot-drive-spiralling-store-crime-out-of">failed to respond</a> to 71% of serious retail crimes reported. For offenders that are caught, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/foi-releases-for-november-2020#:%7E:text=FOI%20201020025%20shoplifting%20%2D%20cautions%2C%20convictions%20and%20sentencing%20data%20tables">the average custodial sentence</a> for a shop theft is two months (<a href="https://www.gov.uk/leaving-prison">automatic release</a> means half of this is served in prison). Adults released from custodial sentences of less than or equal to 6 months have a proven <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/proven-reoffending-statistics-october-to-december-2020/proven-reoffending-statistics-october-to-september-2020">reoffending rate of 56.5%</a>.</p>
<p>Although the causes of prolific and persistent offending are complex and far reaching, there are some simple solutions. <a href="https://brc.org.uk/news/corporate-affairs/retail-leaders-call-on-home-secretary-to-take-urgent-action-on-retail-crime/">Retailers are calling for</a> new offences and for police to prioritise retail crime more.</p>
<p>But demand and ready markets for stolen goods should also be tackled. Businesses known to be in receipt of stolen goods need to be investigated and online marketplaces better regulated. In the USA, the recent <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2023/06/inform-consumers-act-takes-effect-june-27th-your-business-ready">Inform Consumers Act</a> <a href="https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/account/regulatory/understanding-regulations-when-selling-on-eBay?id=5393">requires online marketplaces</a> to gather information about high-volume, US-based sellers in an attempt to combat online sales of stolen goods.</p>
<p>Shops and retailers can also <a href="https://www.ecrloss.com/research/fortress-stores-keeping-the-most-at-risk-grocery-stores-trading">take action</a>:</p>
<ul>
<li>collect data on trends or new and emerging theft-related issues that can be shared with other retailers and police</li>
<li>invest in training and equipment like wireless headphones so staff can alert each other to suspicious situations</li>
<li>technology like CCTV can help detect repeat offenders, but data analysis tools can also track sales to spot where and when theft is most common</li>
<li>security guards can help but a community outreach worker could also assist with incidents involving people with social issues</li>
<li>partnering with nearby shops, law enforcement and the wider community could also help.</li>
</ul>
<p>Retailers must make sure awareness of the risk of shop theft is company-wide. But they should also accept that approaches might have to differ at store level, depending on location. Regardless, taking action to protect staff and products should be their top concern.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213624/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emmeline Taylor has published research funded by the Co-op and her podcast, Retail Crime Uncovered is support by Sekura Global. She is the Chair of the Business Crime Reduction Partnerships (BCRP) National Standards Board, a member of the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG), and Academic Lead on the Strategic Oversight Board for Business Crime (SOBBC) chaired by the NPCC Lead for Business Crime. </span></em></p>Shoplifting in the UK has become brazen, threatening to shop staff, and seemingly without consequence.Emmeline Taylor, Professor of Criminology, City, University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2116222023-09-06T13:17:55Z2023-09-06T13:17:55ZCharms and rituals are used by criminals in Nigeria – should police deploy spiritual security too?<p>Crime is among the major <a href="https://www.statista.com/topics/7491/crime-in-nigeria/#topicOverview">challenges</a> confronting Nigeria as a nation. The <a href="https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/NGA/nigeria/crime-rate-statistics">pervasiveness</a> of crime has repeatedly <a href="https://jpd.gipa.ge/index.php/jpd/article/view/6904">called</a> into <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1350/pojo.2014.87.1.651">question</a> the effectiveness and efficiency of the Nigeria Police Force. This is despite their exclusive reliance on modern policing strategies and techniques. </p>
<p>Traditionally, crime-related matters have been handled through what’s known as “spiritual security”. This is a knowledge system that involves the use of amulets, charms, rituals and talismans for protection, power and clairvoyance. </p>
<p>As sociologists <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=dWhu1Y8AAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate">specialising</a> in <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=39bhsloAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate">criminology</a>, we were interested in what the Nigerian police personnel had to say about these mechanisms of protection. </p>
<p>We conducted a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14725843.2021.2024068">study</a> of their perceptions and attitudes. Many told us that they believed criminals used spiritual security for power and protection. Some officers confirmed that they themselves used charms and the like to help in their jobs. </p>
<p>Nigerians use spiritual security mechanisms in other areas of social life such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09709274.2015.11906872">healthcare delivery</a>, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336591851_Charms_and_Amulets">conflict resolution</a> and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09735070.2011.11886392">household crime</a> control. But they’ve been overlooked in formal policing. </p>
<p>We conclude that this indigenous approach to crime fighting could prove useful to the police, particularly in intelligence gathering, crime investigation and crime control. Traditional belief systems could complement the country’s colonially based law enforcement and social control systems and improve their efficiency.</p>
<h2>Traditional belief systems</h2>
<p>Spiritual security is a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336591851_Charms_and_Amulets">traditional knowledge system</a> that dates from precolonial times. It was a way that Nigerian people dealt with social issues. Not only for security, but also to settle disputes and for social control, conflict resolution, justice administration, peace engineering and social harmony. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1353/ecu.2019.0042">knowledge system</a> of most African societies is generally predicated on a belief system that’s divided into the physical (visible and seen) and the spiritual (mysterious and unobservable). History <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14725843.2021.2024068">tells us</a> that African people gave high credence to this system of knowledge. </p>
<p>Although mystical, preternatural and esoteric powers are virtually inexplicable, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09735070.2011.11886392">many</a> Nigerians <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-13-8215-4_17">believe</a> that they know when they are being manipulated by those who have access to such powers. </p>
<h2>The study</h2>
<p>Our research was carried out among police officials serving at the Oyo State Police Command. We interviewed 35 police officers belonging to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department and the <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2020/10/22/sars-a-brief-history-of-a-rogue-unit">Special Anti-Robbery Squad</a>. </p>
<p>We wanted to know to what extent the police were aware of criminals using spiritual security mechanisms. And we asked for their views on the police using them too. Should they be integrated into police operations?</p>
<p>Most police officers acknowledged that the system of spiritual security mechanisms was part of a cultural heritage which many Africans employed. They explained that people did so to protect themselves from their enemies’ spiritual attacks and to neutralise the impact of deadly weapons such as guns, machetes and knives. </p>
<p>Participants said that their professional experiences in the field showed that criminals routinely used spiritual security mechanisms. They did so to strengthen and protect themselves when perpetrating crime such as armed robbery, kidnapping, rape and homicide. </p>
<p>There was no clear consensus about whether the mechanisms were effective or not. But many officers said they believed that the criminals’ use of spiritual security was capable of compromising police operations. One police officer <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14725843.2021.2024068">said</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Criminals, especially armed robbers, usually rely on it. Some time around 2003 … we arrested four armed robbers and handcuffed them. Can you believe that two of them who were handcuffed together disappeared? … What happened that day was like a miracle. It was only after making consultation from the people who are knowledgeable that we were told that one of them deployed egbe (a spiritual device for disappearance).</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Our research also established that some police officers were secretly consulting custodians of the traditional knowledge system to enhance their performance and safety on the job.</p>
<p>Our respondents, however, expressed differing opinions about whether spiritual security mechanisms should be integrated into modern police work. Those who supported the idea believed it could improve crime fighting and help keep officers safe.</p>
<p>Others dismissed the idea. They stressed the value of modern policing strategies and technology. Some said their religion (both Christian and Muslim) expressly forbade them from associating with traditional charms. Some felt it went against police culture and codes.</p>
<h2>Physical security and spiritual security</h2>
<p>The work experiences of police officers, however, generally demonstrated the importance of a knowledge system that recognises a connection between physical security and spiritual security. </p>
<p>Modern policing strategies are not adequately dealing with Nigeria’s crime and insecurity crisis. Notorious criminals are combining the use of sophisticated weapons with spiritual charms. </p>
<p>We recommend that Nigeria’s police force should explore any potential advantages that the system of spiritual security mechanisms might offer. If well applied, this hybridisation could boost intelligence gathering capacity and crime control efforts.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211622/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Usman A. Ojedokun does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Indigenous knowledge of spiritual protection could help fight crime.Usman A. Ojedokun, Sociologist/Criminologist, University of IbadanLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2121052023-08-31T03:28:02Z2023-08-31T03:28:02ZAccess and attention: why serial killers like Lucy Letby often work in healthcare<p>British nurse Lucy Letby was last week sentenced to life in prison for <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-21/british-nurse-lucy-letby-sentenced-prison-murder-seven-babies/102757606">murdering</a> seven infants in her care, and attempting to murder a further six.</p>
<p>As a forensic criminologist, many people have asked me why a medical professional would murder their patients. </p>
<p>While they’re very rare, serial killer healthcare workers often share common traits, and they target a specific, and very vulnerable, victim pool. </p>
<p>While limited research has been conducted on serial killer medicos, there are some trends among serial killers that can help us understand the role of the profession in the act of serial murder.</p>
<h2>‘Custodial’ killers</h2>
<p>A serial killer is usually defined as someone who kills at least three people in a series, but not in a single event – there needs to be a cooling-off period between the killings. Although the public is generally fascinated by these predators, serial killings are a rare event, comprising <a href="https://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/serial-murder">fewer than 1% of all murders in any given year</a> in the United States.</p>
<p>Serial killers come from many walks of life, and not all are dysfunctional loners – many are married or in a stable relationship.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1359178913001183">2014 research paper</a> found serial killers can be understood via several subtypes, including: those who kill for sexually sadistic pleasure; professional killers who are motivated by money and the power they derive from the kill; and, as relevant to Letby, “custodial killers”.</p>
<p>Custodial killers are often healthcare workers who murder helpless or dependent people in their care.</p>
<p>The paper’s author writes of custodial killers: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The most common examples include “angel of death” cases involving nurses in hospitals or nursing homes who surreptitiously murder ill or elderly patients, usually by asphyxiation or medication overdose. This group is likely to contain the highest number of female serial killers.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It’s likely the method of murder is linked to their profession. Healthcare workers have access to medications not available to others, as well as the knowledge to hide their crimes more effectively.</p>
<p>One research group studied 64 female serial killers in the US between 1821 and 2008, and found <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14789949.2015.1007516?journalCode=rjfp20">nearly 40%</a> of them worked in healthcare. </p>
<p>But the question remains, why do they kill? If we look at women specifically, the 2014 research paper suggests that, unlike men who murder as a result of predatory lust and/or compulsive rage, women serial killers are typically driven by <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1359178913001183">histrionic attention-seeking or financial gain</a>. </p>
<h2>Letby and healthcare killers</h2>
<p>Another research paper specifically studied the characteristics of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jip.1434">16 convicted healthcare serial killers</a>, which the authors defined as “nurses who have been convicted of at least two murders, which they have carried out within a hospital setting”.</p>
<p>While a small sample size, they found 56% were female, and the average age of those being charged was 36 years.</p>
<p>About 44% killed between five and nine victims before being caught, and 75% killed in only one location. Insulin was the most common method of murder, followed by muscle relaxant.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/women-can-be-psychopaths-too-in-ways-more-subtle-but-just-as-dangerous-84200">Women can be psychopaths too, in ways more subtle but just as dangerous</a>
</strong>
</em>
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<p>Letby fits several of these characteristics. She’s a woman, 33 years old, and murdered seven infants. She killed, as far as we currently know, in only one location, and she used insulin to murder some of her victims.</p>
<p>A 2007 book, Inside the Minds of Healthcare Serial Killers: Why They Kill, provides a checklist of 22 “red flags” for this group of killers, including:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>secretive/difficult personal relationships</p></li>
<li><p>history of depression or mental instability</p></li>
<li><p>higher incidents of death when they are on shift</p></li>
<li><p>making colleagues anxious or suspicious</p></li>
<li><p>craving attention.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Letby certainly made her colleagues <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/news/lucy-letby-baby-murder-colleague-b2395533.html">suspicious</a>, and they <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/aug/19/doctors-were-forced-to-apologise-for-raising-alarm-over-lucy-letby-and-baby-deaths#:%7E:text=Lucy%20Letby's%20colleagues%20were%20ordered,deaths%2C%20the%20Guardian%20has%20learned.">reported her</a> in the years preceding her arrest. There were more <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11301405/Doctors-Lucy-Letbys-hospital-noticed-shift-patterns-matched-rise-babies-falling-ill.html">child deaths on her shifts</a> than on those of any other staff member, which is how she was caught.</p>
<p>One criminal psychologist suggested part of the rationale behind the killings may have been to gain the attention of a male colleague, whom prosecutors <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jun/07/lucy-letby-texted-about-doctor-crush-hours-before-attempt-on-boys-life-court-told">claimed</a> she had a “crush” on. This would fit with research suggesting attention-seeking is a motive for female serial killers more generally.</p>
<h2>Other infamous healthcare killers</h2>
<p>Harold Shipman was an English general practitioner who is considered one of the most <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Harold-Shipman">prolific serial killers</a> in modern history.</p>
<p>He was convicted of murdering 15 of his patients in 2000, but is suspected in the deaths of <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20100413134928/http://www.the-shipman-inquiry.org.uk/6r_page.asp?ID=3401">up to 250 people</a>.</p>
<p>Most of his victims were older women in good health. He killed many by injecting them with lethal doses of diamorphine (medical-grade heroin), after which he falsified their death certificates to indicate they had died of poor health. </p>
<p>Suspicions were raised as the number of his patients dying was very high, as were the number of cremation orders his colleagues were being asked to countersign. </p>
<p>Given the patients he killed were largely in good health, misguided “altruism” cannot explain his crimes.</p>
<p>Niels Högel, a German nurse, is another example. In 2019, Högel was found guilty of using lethal injections to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/06/06/730281642/german-serial-murderer-nurse-is-found-guilty-of-killing-85-patients">murder 85 of his patients</a>, some of whom he attempted to resuscitate to show off to his colleagues.</p>
<h2>Medics who murder are rare</h2>
<p>The reason the Letby case (like Shipman’s before it) is causing such significant public interest and horror is because we see medics as trusted professionals.</p>
<p>We put our lives in their hands, and cases such as these cause significant fear when one is found to have breached that trust so fundamentally.</p>
<p>But it’s important to acknowledge they also cause such interest precisely because they are so rare.</p>
<p>While medics who turn serial killer are incredibly prolific, we should not fear unnecessarily for ourselves or our loved ones. </p>
<p>If you are concerned about a medical professional, you should report them to the appropriate authority. High-profile cases such as Letby’s have shown these individuals can be caught and their patterns of behaviour can be identified, and in that way we can protect the most vulnerable among us.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212105/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Xanthe Mallett does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>These ‘custodial killers’ are often healthcare workers who murder helpless or dependent people in their care.Xanthe Mallett, Forensic Criminologist, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.