The United States has a long record of racial inequality that has been perpetuated over time. It is well established that this has had a significant influence on the way in which the American...Show moreThe United States has a long record of racial inequality that has been perpetuated over time. It is well established that this has had a significant influence on the way in which the American justice system operates, resulting in the diverging treatment of different races. This thesis will be looking at the treatment of one such racial group and aims to determine how black men are disproportionately targeted by the American Prison Industrial Complex (PIC). To ascertain in what specific ways the PIC has disparaged black men, this thesis first supplies an overview of the already existing academic literature surrounding the PIC and America’s history concerning racism. Finally, this thesis conducts a comparison of the treatment of two Capitol rioters; a black man called Emanuel Jackson and a white man called Eric Gavelek Munchel. The results indicate that America has much work that remains to be done in order to constitute a justice system based on impartiality and equality.Show less
When discussing predictive policing, the focus usually lies on the method’s potential effect on policing outcomes. In contrast, this paper aims to add to the literature by providing an analysis of...Show moreWhen discussing predictive policing, the focus usually lies on the method’s potential effect on policing outcomes. In contrast, this paper aims to add to the literature by providing an analysis of the potential effect of predictive software on the process of policing. At the centre is the question: “How does predictive policing influence citizen perceptions of procedural justice during police encounters?”. For this purpose, citizen perceptions of procedural justice are operationalised as complaints and allegations against officers of the New York City Police Department (NYPD). In addition to a paired t-test, a random-effects model is used, to test for the overall effect of predictive policing and the influence of a person’s race. The seven years before and after the introduction of predictive policing in 2013 thereby serve as the main independent variable. The results of the analysis do not reveal a clear negative correlation between predictive policing and citizen perceptions of procedural justice. Overall, encounters perceived as negative were less likely during the second period. However, an increase in the severity of individual complaints indicates partial support for the hypotheses derived from the literature. In addition, regarding the effect of race, the likelihood to perceive abuses of power increased disproportionately for Black and Hispanic citizens.Show less
Master thesis | Crisis and Security Management (MSc)
open access
De AIVD en MIVD nemen uit hoofde van hun taak in het belang van de nationale veiligheid regelmatig strafbaar gedrag waar, maar maken daarvan niet altijd melding bij de opsporingsautoriteiten. Ze...Show moreDe AIVD en MIVD nemen uit hoofde van hun taak in het belang van de nationale veiligheid regelmatig strafbaar gedrag waar, maar maken daarvan niet altijd melding bij de opsporingsautoriteiten. Ze zijn weliswaar verplicht om hun bronnen, methoden en kennisniveau af te schermen, maar dat verklaart niet waarom zij hun discretionaire bevoegdheid om het te melden, in de woorden van een AIVD-hoofd, ‘soms wel en soms niet’ gebruiken. Met deze studie is geprobeerd om in kaart te brengen wat zo’n inlichtingen- en/of veiligheidsdienst (verder: dienst) tot verstrekking van inlichtingen aan justitie drijft, en wat hem daarvan weerhoudt. Derhalve is de hypothese - dat diensten slechts verstrekken met het oogmerk om de aan hen gestelde taak en behoeftes te bevorderen - getoetst, en is geprobeerd andere drijfveren af te leiden. Hiertoe zijn getuigenverklaringen van oud-diensthoofden en ruim 500 ambtsberichten geanalyseerd, en zijn vraaggesprekken met betrokken ambtenaren gevoerd. Ter contextualisering is aan de hand van haar wetsgeschiedenis de institutionele verhouding tussen inlichtingen en opsporing in Nederland geschetst. Uit het onderzoek volgt dat de AIVD noch de MIVD een eenduidig verstrekkingsbeleid heeft of beleeft, en dat de hypothese te rigide is: Hoewel er ter bevordering van de nationale veiligheid verstrekt wordt, kan ook of slechts zijn beoogd om een ander belang te dienen. Zo kan zij door politieke of technocratische prikkels gedreven worden. De afdelingsculturen en het geweten van individuele medewerkers bepalen of verstrekking van inlichtingen wegens niets dan hun strafvorderlijke relevantie überhaupt overwogen wordt. Ingeval deze conclusie als problematisch zou worden gezien, wat omwille van het voorzienbaarheidsbeginsel voorstelbaar is, wordt aangeraden om niet tot verstrekking te verplichten, maar hooguit voor te schrijven in welke gevallen verstrekking overwogen dient te worden. / The Netherlands’ intelligence and security services AIVD and MIVD regularly witness, by virtue of their task in the interest of national security, crimes; crimes they do not always report to the criminal justice authorities. Although they are obliged to shield their sources, methods and knowledge level, this does not explain why they, in the words of a former AIVD-chief, ‘sometimes do and sometimes do not’ use their discretionary competence to report. This study tried to map by which variables an intelligence and/or security service (further: service) is driven towards reporting such intelligence, and which restrain him from it. Therefore, the hypothesis - that services disseminate only for the purpose of advancing their set task and requirements - was tested and was tried to deduce other drivers. Hereto, witness testimonies of former intelligence chiefs and some 500 intelligence products were analysed. Moreover, involved civil servants were interviewed. For contextualisation, the institutional relation between intelligence and law enforcement in the Netherlands was drawn by assessing its parliamentary history. This research shows that neither the AIVD nor the MIVD maintains a clear dissemination policy, and that the hypothesis is too rigid: Although intelligence is indeed disseminated for the purpose of fostering national security, it is done also or sorely for the sake of other interests. Thus, dissemination could be driven by political or technocratic incentives. The organisational cultures and the conscience of individual officers determine whether reporting of intelligence for no reason but its prosecutorial relevance is considered at all. In case this conclusion is viewed as problematic, which is understandable in light of the principle of foreseeability, it is recommended to - at most - prescribe the conditions in which reporting should be considered, instead of obliging dissemination.Show less
South Korea still differentiates itself from many democracies in that it retains the death penalty. Thus, the research question guiding this thesis is the following: Why has South Korea still not...Show moreSouth Korea still differentiates itself from many democracies in that it retains the death penalty. Thus, the research question guiding this thesis is the following: Why has South Korea still not abolished capital punishment? Using discourse analysis, I examine the current state of the capital punishment issue and the factors prolonging retention in recent context. I suggest that political elites’ passive attitude and reliance on common retentionist arguments—public opinion, deterrence and retribution—can be regarded as the primary reason for the failure to abolish in recent years.Show less
