NCJ Number
219360
Editor(s)
Kauko Aromaa,
Terhi Viljanen
Date Published
2006
Length
173 pages
Annotation
These 10 papers, compiled in celebration of the 25 years of work of the European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control (HEUNI), discuss key issues in crime prevention and criminal justice in Europe.
Abstract
The first paper presents findings from a Council of Europe expert group regarding European countries' best practices in countering organized crime. The second paper examines the role of the European Convention on Human Rights and Individual Freedoms (ECHR) in shaping the European model of the criminal process. This is followed by a paper that assesses the effectiveness of the activities of European anticorruption bodies. They are critiqued with respect to their efforts in law enforcement, prevention, education, and multipurpose operations. The evolution of cooperation in criminal matters among member countries of the European Union is traced in another paper. The fifth paper suggests the possibility that European countries' model for controlling organized crime might become a global paradigm. It includes both innovative criminal justice efforts and nontraditional approaches that involve community efforts and the private sector. The sixth paper notes the advantages and potential costs of structured law enforcement cooperation across national borders in Europe. This is followed by a paper that presents crime data worldwide, regionally, and by country, based on the International Crime Victims Survey and other international instruments for measuring crime. An integrated index of "lawfulness" is proposed as a comprehensive measure of a country's public safety status. The eighth paper addresses international standards for crime victims, as it outlines norms that have emerged from the United Nations regarding rights and services for crime victims, reviews progress in achieving those norms, and proposes next steps. The remaining two papers present data on European prison population levels from 1995 to 2005 and a description of judicial cooperation in a borderless Nordic area.