Handbook of Transnational Crime and Justice - (Chapter 2 Comparing Crime and Justice)

CHAPTER 2
Comparing Crime and Justice

Harry R. Dammer
Philip Reichel
Ni He
I
n May 2012, the U.N. Security Council accomplish justice in society. In this chapter, we
approved a statement reporting that interna- explain why comparing issues of crime and jus-
tional peace and security are being threatened tice cross-nationally is important, describe how
by illicit transnational criminal activity such as comparative criminologists and comparative
piracy, terrorism, and the trafficking in drugs, criminal justice scholars go about their work, and
humans, and weapons. The council stated that identify some issues we believe will confront both
threats are being perpetuated by organized crime disciplines in the future. We begin with a review
groups and networks that use sophisticated com- of the growth and importance of comparative
munication technologies that allow them to studies in criminology and criminal justice.
become mobile and diversified in their illicit
activities. If we find this U.N. statement credible,
we must accept that crime has moved from being The Growth and Importance
primarily a domestic social problem to one that of Comparative Crime and
Copyright © 2013. SAGE Publications. All rights reserved.
is more global in nature. Two academic disci- Justice Study

plines with particular interest in these issues are
criminology and criminal justice. These fields of The origins of the comparative method in areas
study have much in common but are clearly dis- other than criminal justice can be traced back to
tinguished. Criminologists are interested in ancient times. However, comparative criminal
crime as a social phenomenon (e.g., the spread justice is a relatively new field of inquiry that
and distribution of crime) and as social behavior applies the comparative methodologies used in
(e.g., why people engage in criminal acts). law and political science to the social sciences of
Criminal justice scholars are interested in the sociology, criminology, and criminal justice. Its
people and procedures established by a govern- origins can be traced back to the 1700s and to a
ment in its attempt to maintain social order and man who is considered by some to be the first
23
Handbook of Transnational Crime and Justice, edited by Philip L. Reichel, and Jay S. Albanese, SAGE Publications, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central,
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24——PART I: The Problem of Transnational Crime
criminologist—Cesare Beccaria (1738–1794). In The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is the

1764, Beccaria’s essay on crime and punishment research, development, and evaluation agency of
called for changes in Western European criminal the U.S. Department of Justice. Recognizing the
justice, including the abolition of the death pen- need to better identify and describe crime and
alty, torture, and secret trials (Hagan, 2008; support those who fight crime, NIJ decided to
Sherman, 2003). Soon thereafter, others such as develop an International Center in 1998. The
Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832), Adolph Quetelet International Center’s mission is to stimulate and
(1796–1874), Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859), facilitate research and evaluation on transna-
and Emile Durkheim (1858–1917) conducted tional crime and justice issues and to disseminate
cross-national studies of crime. the knowledge gained throughout the national
During the mid-1800s, criminal justice pro- and international criminal justice communities.
fessionals began the search to learn more about Since its inception, the International Center has
cross-national crime. In 1853, the General worked with the United Nations and its various
Statistical Congress was held in Brussels; in 1872, institutes to mount a variety of studies on topics
the International Congress on the Prevention such as transnational organized crime, corrup-
and Repression of Crime was held in London; tion, and human trafficking (Albanese, 2008;
and in 1914, the First International Police Finckenauer, 2000).
Congress was held in Monaco. These meetings In recent decades, academics have had con-
were the first large-scale attempts to collect data siderable interest in comparative crime and jus-
on international crime and to deal with issues tice. In the United States, prominent American
related to crime and justice on an international scholars have called for the “globalizing” of
scale. Because of the larger world problems in the criminal justice curricula (Adler, 1996) and for
first half of the 20th century, including two world “internationalizing” criminology and criminal
wars, there was little interest in comparative justice study (Friday, 1996). An important devel-
crime, and justice research was limited to indi- opment in recent years has been the call from
vidual countries looking inward to their specific scholars to transform the cross-cultural study of
crime problems. That changed in the late 1960s, crime and justice from a “comparative” or “inter-
when the United Nations developed the first national” approach to what is increasingly called
Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Branch the “transnational” or “global” approach (Larsen
under the direction of Gerhard O. W. Mueller. & Smandych, 2008; Nelken, 2011a).
Since that time, there has been a steady and Comparative criminal justice courses in col-
renewed interest in international crime and jus- leges and universities have also increased in
tice issues. Many criminologists, governmental number (Cordner, Dammer, & Horvath, 2000;
agencies, and international organizations have Dammer & Reichel, 2007; Peak, 1991). The John
come to see the value in the study and dissemina- Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City
tion of information on issues of international developed what is the first full-fledged bachelor’s
and comparative criminal justice. Various forms degree in international criminal justice (Natarajan,
of statistical data have been compiled by the 2002). Various forms of written and electronic
International Police Organization (Interpol), by material on the subject have now been published,
the World Health Organization (WHO), and with thousands more cross-national studies com-
through the International Crime Victim Surveys pared to a couple of decades ago (Howard,
(ICVS). The United Nations has created a large Newman, & Pridemore, 2000; Natarajan, 2012,
group of criminal justice information providers, p. xxv). A number of textbooks are now devoted
including the Dag Hammarskjold Library in entirely to the study of comparative criminal jus-
New York City and the website of the U.N. Office tice (Dammer & Albanese, 2011; Pakes, 2010;
on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Reichel, 2013; Terrill, 2009).
Chapter 2: Comparing Crime and Justice——25
Criminal justice libraries worldwide have also how others practice criminal justice. When we
joined in the search for transnational criminal can learn about the criminal justice processes of
justice knowledge. The World Criminal Justice other countries, we are then able to develop
Library Network has been developed to link hypotheses that will help us begin to solve our
nearly 100 criminal justice libraries. Active par- own problems related to crime and justice
ticipants include university libraries in the United (Zimring, 2006). Another view that expresses
States (Eastern Kentucky University, Rutgers this well is proposed by international scholar
University, Sam Houston State University), David Nelken (2011b) when he writes, “We can
Canada (University of Montreal and the learn from what happens elsewhere so as to
University of Toronto), England (University of engage in ‘internal critique’ according to our own
Cambridge, Radzinowcz Library), Europe (Max standards” (p. 403).
Planck Institute in Freiburg, Germany, and the In all areas of the criminal justice system—
Netherlands Institute for Study of Crime and Law police, courts, and corrections—there are many
Enforcement), and university and government examples of how nations have adapted others’
entities in Australia (e.g., the Australian Institute methods of criminal justice implementation. For
of Criminology) and Asia (Korean Institute of example, people wonder why Japan has a much
Criminology) (see http://andromeda.rutgers. lower crime rate than the United States or,
edu/~wcjlen/WCJ/). Having briefly expressed indeed, most other Western nations. The Japanese
the reasons for and vehicles contributing to the themselves give some of the credit for their low
growth of the field of comparative criminal jus- crime rates to their police methods—most nota-
tice, we now turn to the larger question of why bly, community policing. Many countries, includ-
people around the globe should concern them- ing the United States, have become interested in
selves with the identification and comparison of adapting the Japanese police practices, including
issues related to crime and justice. the use of Kobans (small local police stations).
Many countries have also adopted rules of
criminal procedure that were pioneered by others.
Why Should We Compare In fact, some criminal procedure rules, such as the
Issues of Crime and Justice? right to counsel at an early stage of the criminal
process, are becoming universal in many systems
There are many reasons to study and compare of justice around the world. And many countries
issues of crime and justice. We will concentrate have even adopted entire legal codes from the
on three: (1) to benefit from the experience of codes of others. The Napoleonic Code of civil law,
others, (2) to broaden our understanding of dif- developed in France in the early 19th century, was
ferent cultures, and (3) to help deal with the one such export, as was the French penal code,
many transnational crime problems that plague also developed under Napoleon. Another export
the world today. in the late 19th century was the German Civil
To benefit from others’ experience. “The reason Code. These codes have had an enormous influ-
for comparing is to learn from the experience of ence on the development of legal systems and
others and, conversely, that he who knows only criminal justice systems throughout the world
one country knows none” (Sartori, 1996, p. 20). (Merryman, 1985).
This statement by George Sartori was made to Corrections strategies also tend to spill over
illustrate the importance of international com- borders. For example, the idea of day fines, which
parative study in the field of political science. But was first developed in Scandinavian countries,
his remarks are equally relevant to criminal jus- has been adopted by Germany, Great Britain, and
tice study. Comparative work in criminal justice the United States. And New Zealand, Belgium,
is an excellent vehicle for learning more about Australia, Canada, and the United States have all
implemented different kinds of restorative justice “right” and all other ways are “wrong” or “foreign.”
programs. Restorative justice is an idea that was Ethnocentrism is a common phenomenon;
cultivated by many victims’ rights advocates in people often think their country, culture, or reli-
the United States, but it has its roots in the justice gion is better than all others. In terms of crime
practices of many indigenous cultures. and criminal justice, ethnocentrism is a problem
There are many other examples of countries because it can lead to crime within and across
borrowing or adapting criminal justice practices borders as well as to discrimination, oppression,
from the United States. In the 19th century, many or violent ethnic-based conflicts. Examples of the
European countries, especially France, copied latter were the atrocities committed during the
American methods of incarceration—specifically, conflicts in Croatia (1991–1995), Bosnia and
the Auburn system and the Pennsylvania system. Herzegovina (1992–1995), Kosovo (1998–1999),
More recently, former communist countries in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Eastern Europe have called on American law (2001), and in the territory of Rwanda (1994).
enforcement agencies, including the FBI, to help Less extreme forms of ethnocentrism are the
train them in the fight against corruption and pejorative comments made by the media, aca-
organized crime. Many countries have also demics, and activists over actions taken by crim-
improved their ability to collect and disseminate inal justice officials around the world. Saudi
crime statistics using the U.S. models of the Arabia is often lambasted when a hand or a foot
Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) and National is severed or a person is stoned to death as pun-
Crime Victimization Surveys (NCVS). ishment for certain criminal acts. The Chinese
However, it should be kept in mind that it is are threatened with sanctions over the use of
naive to try to import ideas in criminal justice “administrative detention.” French officials are
that are bound to local cultural values without sometimes criticized for lengthy pretrial deten-
modifying them to conform to the new context. tion without bail. In each of these examples, the
For example, it would be short-sighted for U.S. fact is that a nation’s way of administering justice
policymakers to think that we could easily imple- often reflects deep-seated cultural, religious, eco-
ment a strict corporal punishment system like nomic, political, and historical realities. Many of
that found in Islamic societies, given the signifi- these might be hard for many to understand.
cant differences in the diversity of the population Learning about the reasons for these different
and the process by which laws are made. practices can give us insight into the values, tra-
ditions, and cultures of other systems. Such
To broaden our understanding of the world. broadening of perspective helps us see our own
Another reason for studying the administration system and the world in more objective terms.
of justice in other countries is to broaden our
understanding of other countries and cultures. To deal with transnational crime problems. A
This is imperative because the multicultural third good reason to study criminal justice from
world we now live in has entered the stage of a comparative perspective is the increasing need
globalization, whereby the world has become to address transnational and international crime
interdependent in terms of the events and the problems. Numerous worldwide events, such as
actions of people and governments around the end of the Cold War and the subsequent
the world. In short, globalization is the idea that demise of the former Soviet Union, the changing
the world is “getting smaller.” Although in many of China to a market economy, and the creation
ways globalization is a positive condition, one of free-trade blocs such as the European Union
possible pitfall is that we are all more likely to fall and the North American Free Trade Agreement
prey to the problem of ethnocentrism—the belief (NAFTA) have served to fuel the move to glo-
that one’s own country or culture does things balization. One of the results of globalization,
however, is the rise in international and transna- crimes committed within our borders or in
tional crime. Transnational crimes are occurring another region of the world, international coop-
with increasing frequency as opportunities eration must be an essential ingredient. Without
expand for the global movement of people, prod- international cooperation, we cannot find, extra-
ucts, technology, and communications. In some dite, or serve justice on those who violate laws
regions of the world, it appears that garden vari- and cause pain, suffering, and loss throughout
ety thefts, robberies, and assaults have become the world.
less troublesome than offenses such as transna- Benefiting from others’ experience, broaden-
tional organized crime, corruption, terrorism, ing our understanding of the world, and combat-
and the trafficking of humans. ing transnational crime are clearly three excellent
Consider one form of human trafficking to reasons for studying comparative crime and jus-
understand the complexity of dealing with trans- tice. Those reasons express clear goals that appeal
national crime. A young woman in an Eastern to the practitioner, policymaker, and to academ-
European country answers an online advertise- ics with an applied bent. There is another good
ment for the position of “live-in baby sitter” in reason for comparing issues of crime and justice,
Canada. She is told she will receive free transpor- but this reason is often neglected because its
tation to Canada. After her arrival at the airport, application is less obvious. Specifically, compara-
she is put on the plane and told to first meet a tive studies can help build, modify, and advance
contact in Frankfurt, Germany. In Frankfurt, she theoretical analysis of crime and criminal behav-
then meets a man who puts her on a plane to ior. Obviously, theory informs practice, so it is
Toronto. In Toronto, she is met at the airport by unfair to suggest that strengthening theoretical
a woman who tells her they will be met outside analyses cannot be lumped with practical reasons
by a limo driver, but she must first hold her pass- for comparative studies. But a consistent predica-
port for security reasons. The limo driver and ment of theoreticians is to have their applied
woman then proceed to tell her she is now their credentials questioned. A brief review of the
employee and her job will be as a dancer and efforts of comparative criminology will show
“escort” at a local adult establishment. After she how comparative studies benefit the growth of
refuses, she is told that if she resists she will be theory. We will then turn our attention to com-
beaten, maybe killed, and her family back in her parative justice studies in order to appreciate how
homeland will also suffer. She now has no pass- that field of study works to achieve some of the
port, little money, and no freedom of movement. other benefits of comparative study.
Fortunately, we now are keenly aware that the
solution to this kind of crimes requires coordina-
tion of resources at multiple levels and multiple Comparative Criminology
jurisdictions in different criminal justice systems
across boundaries. We have had some success in Comparative studies have a lengthy history in the
this area, such as how we have effectively dealt social sciences, and despite its seemingly recent
with terrorist groups like al-Qaida to eliminate appearance, comparative criminology is no
their worldwide financial and communication exception. Jeremy Bentham, Émile Durkheim,
networks. Further, to address drug trafficking Adolph Quetelet, Gabriel Tarde, and Alexis de
into the southern regions of the United States, we Tocqueville would be on many lists of scholars
have tried to work with Mexican law enforce- interested in cross-national studies of crime. But
ment agencies, a task that is made more difficult just what do comparative criminology scholars
by the corruption at various levels of government study and what have they found? These are
and at the border (Casey, 2010). But if we wish to important questions when trying to understand
continue to serve justice well, whether it be for the current interest in comparative criminology
and when considering the future of this field of very informative, can clearly advance scientific
study. We briefly consider each question in knowledge, and could be a necessary step in
hopes of whetting the appetite of persons inter- developing or refining theories about homicide’s
ested in a more rigorous inquiry into compara- occurrence. To be a comparative study, however,
tive criminology. homicide in at least two countries should be
studied.
What Is the Subject Matter of Another feature of comparative criminology
must be noted. To date, comparative criminology
Comparative Criminology?
has mostly compared domestic crime events in
As noted at this chapter’s start, criminologists are two or more countries. The growth of criminal
interested in crime as a social phenomenon and acts that cross national borders should also be of
as social behavior. Most simply, comparative interest to comparative criminologists. Other
criminologists are interested in the same things chapters in this book provide examples of trans-
but on a broader scale. Johnson and Barak- national crimes such as money laundering and
Glantz (1983) suggest that comparative crimi- trafficking in illicit drugs. An understanding of
nologists seek to locate commonalities and these criminal events requires knowledge of their
differences in crime patterns among divergent spread and distribution across time and place—a
cultures. Newman and Howard (2001) list issues type of inquiry appropriate to comparative crim-
such as testing at the international level our tra- inology. In addition, transnational crime involves
ditional theories about crime, identifying the the cooperative behavior of people in several
distribution and patterning of crime in different countries as they coordinate efforts to accom-
countries, and describing how cultures might plish the crime. Explaining such behavior by
differ in their relation to crime as topics of inter- criminals in different countries is also an appro-
est to comparative criminologists. Helpful as priate investigation for comparative criminolo-
those denotations are, we are drawn to Beirne gists. To more accurately reflect contemporary
and Nelken’s (1997) succinct definition of com- research topics, we propose an expansion of
parative criminology as referring to “the system- Beirne and Nelken’s (1997) definition of com-
atic and theoretically-informed comparison of parative criminology to be a systematic and theo-
crime in two or more cultures” (p. xiii). retically informed comparison of crime in two or
Appealing aspects of Beirne and Nelken’s more cultures or across two or more countries.
(1997) definition are the focus on crime and the
requirement that two or more cultures are com- What Variables Are Used in
pared. By restricting comparative criminology to
Comparative Criminology?
the study of crime, we avoid confusion with com-
parative criminal justice, which focuses on the Criminologists seeking to understand better the
policies and procedures established by a culture spread and distribution of crime in a particular
to achieve social order. As we do at this chapter’s country have considered the possible influence of
beginning, Beirne and Nelken recognize the arti- social, economic, political, psychological, and
ficial nature of any line drawn between crime and biological variables. Comparative criminologists
criminal justice. But doing so helps distinguish have used these same variables in their attempt to
fields of study that might otherwise be confused. compare crime’s occurrence cross-nationally.
Similarly, requiring a research effort to involve Especially popular have been variables associated
two or more cultures before being designated an with economic conditions and urbanization.
example of comparative criminology seems very Economic development and industrialization are
reasonable. Research describing homicide in a among the most popular variables included in
particular country other than one’s own can be comparative research on crime—with homicide
and theft often being the crimes of research In addition to economic conditions, research-
choice. Most studies have found that neither eco- ers have also considered the role urbanization
nomic development nor industrialization is sig- might play in explaining differences in cross-
nificantly related to homicide rate (e.g., He, 1999; national crime rates. The results here are also
LaFree, 1999). However, the majority of research mixed. Using population growth rate as measure-
comparing theft rates among countries finds a ment of urbanization, two studies found a posi-
significant positive effect of economic develop- tive effect of urbanization on homicide (Krahn,
ment and industrialization (e.g., Hartnagel, 1982; Hartnagel, & Gartrel, 1986; McDonald, 1976),
He, 1999; Stack, 1984). but two others did not (Krohn & Wellford, 1977;
Other economic variables of interest to Messner, 1982). Both Krohn and Wellford (1977)
researchers have included unemployment rates and McDonald (1976) found a significant posi-
and the amount of money the government spends tive effect of urbanization on theft.
on social service programs. Fiala and LaFree When urbanization is operationalized as the
(1988) found no significant effect of unemploy- percentage of the population living in urban areas,
ment on homicide. Neapolitan (1995) found no researchers have not found a significant positive
evidence to suggest that unemployment has any effect of urbanization on either homicide (e.g., Kick
significant effect on theft in less developed & LaFree, 1985; Messner, 1980; Ortega, Corzine,
nations. Using both cross-sectional and pooled Burnett, & Poyer, 1992) or theft (e.g., Hartnagel,
data, He (1999) found a significant positive effect 1982; He, 1999; Kick & LaFree, 1985). In fact, some
of unemployment on homicide, but the effect of studies suggest a significant negative effect of
unemployment on theft is less consistent. urbanization on homicide (e.g., Conklin & Simpson,
Several researchers have offered government 1985; Ortega et al., 1992). Obviously, urbanization
expenditures on social service programs as a remains a variable worthy of additional research.
potential correlate to crime (see DeFronzo, 1997). In addition to economic conditions and
Fiala and LaFree (1988) found a significant nega- urbanization, comparative criminologists have
tive effect of welfare spending on child homicide considered the potential role played by factors
victimization among 18 industrialized nations. such as political strictures and moral individual-
Similarly, using advanced industrialized nations ism. Lynch, Newman, McDowall, and Groves
as samples, Gartner (1990, 1991) and Briggs and (1988) tested a hypothesis proposing that the
Cutright (1994) both found a significant negative rates of violent and property crime will differ
effect of “social assistance” on child homicide. according to world system location. They sug-
Pampel and Gartner (1995) also found that the gested that core nations would have higher rates
level of welfare assistance had a significant nega- of property crime because of the democratic and
tive effect on homicide offending among young egalitarian ideologies. Periphery countries will
men in 18 industrialized nations. A significant have higher rates of violent crime because of
negative effect of welfare assistance on property political repression, frustration-aggression reac-

crime has been found in single-nation studies tions, and alienation. Controlling for income
(e.g., DeFronzo, 1996). inequality and the level of economic development,
He (1999) measured the theoretical concept of Lynch et al.’s study supported their hypotheses
human investment as the total percentage of the regarding crimes in the core and the periphery
government expenditures in social security, nations. In an attempt to identify patterns for
social welfare, health care, and education in his semiperiphery nations, He (1999), using pooled
study. Contrary to expectations, He’s cross-sectional data analysis, found a significant positive effect
analysis results indicated no significant effect of of both semiperiphery and periphery on homi-
government expenditure on social welfare on cide. He also found a significant negative effect of
either homicide or theft. both semiperiphery and periphery on theft.
Only a handful of comparative studies have effects” on homicide. Similarly, Pridemore and
looked into the effect of moral individualism on Trent (2010) reviewed 65 cross-national studies to
homicide. Messner (1982) used Protestant religi- examine whether the social structural covariates
osity and school enrollment as measurements of of homicide (i.e., resource deprivation, popula-
moral individualism but did not find a relation- tion size and density, and divorce) consistently
ship between these two measures and homicide. found in the United States can be generalized to
Huang (1995), upon finding a significant nega- cross-national studies. The authors conclude that
tive effect of individualism (measured by scores “the findings for population structure and divorce
on political and civil rights) on homicide, sug- are inconsistent in this literature but that there is
gested that a society’s common sentiment of relatively consistent evidence for an association
respect for individuals’ political and civil rights between homicide and some form of resource
might inhibit citizens from killing each other. deprivation cross-nationally” (Pridemore &
Neapolitan (1995) tested the effect of political Trent, 2010, p. 296).
rights on theft in a sample including only the less Attempting to make sense of these positive,
developed nations. He found that political rights negative, null, and mixed effects requires
had a significant positive effect on theft in less researchers to draw on the rich tradition of the-
developed nations. ory that has developed in criminology. A key
Comparative criminological research has kept question is whether theoretical explanations for
its momentum in the most recent decade. crime’s occurrence in a particular country have
Researchers attribute this development to both any explanatory power in another country.
the availability and improvement in cross-national Continuing our brief overview of comparative
crime data sources, analytic techniques, and theo- criminology, we consider some of the explana-
retical perspectives (Marshall & Block, 2004; van tions that have been offered to explain crime
Dijk, 2008). However, Nivette’s (2011, p. 103) cross-nationally.
recent meta-analysis of cross-national predictors
of homicide reveals that “biased sample composi- What Explanations Have
tion, a lack of theoretical clarity in predictor
Comparative Criminologists Offered?
operationalizations, and an overwhelming reli-
ance on cross-sectional design” remain major An entire section of this book is devoted to the
problematic issues. Nivette (2011) adopts 11 so- research of comparative criminologists as they
called predictor domains (with multiple predic- seek to understand transnational crime (see Part II).
tors in each domain) in conducting her Here, we provide a brief account of the more
meta-analysis. These domains include absolute traditional research endeavors that compare
deprivation, relative deprivation, moderniza- domestic crime in two or more countries. This
tion/development, social disorganization, institu- review of classic and contemporary examples of
tional anomie theory, social support, routine comparative criminology shows the diversity of
activity, deterrence, political structure, culture, crimes considered, variables addressed, and the-
and demographic predictors (Nivette, 2011). The ories proposed by scholars interested in compar-
key findings based on this meta-analysis of 54 ing crime across cultures.
publications (from 1977 to 2009) suggest that A popular technique among comparative
“static population indicators, democracy indices, criminologists has been an attempt to identify
and measures of economic development had the commonality among cases of crime to determine
weakest effects on homicide.” On the other hand, a general theory of criminal behavior. Shelley’s
income inequality indicators, decommodification (1981) Crime and Modernization is an early
index, and Latin American regional dummy vari- example of this methodology. As the title indi-
ables are found to have the “strongest mean cates, Shelley uses empirical evidence to show
that modernization provides the best theoretical broader society. And such a situation occurs
explanation for crime’s evolution in recent his- when there is a monopoly of social institutions. If
tory. Specifically, she suggests that social pro- Elias’s hypothesis holds true, that interpersonal
cesses accompanying industrial development relations vary with the civilization of society,
have resulted in conditions conducive to then so should the nature of interpersonal vio-
increased criminality, such as loosened family lence and crime (Heiland & Shelley, 1992). And
ties, instability of family, and lack of supervision it would not be unreasonable to hypothesize that
of younger family members. More recent ver- a more civilized society would have lower vol-
sions of this approach are grouped as examples of umes of violent crimes but higher volumes of
Durkheimian-modernization theory (see Neuman self-inflicted harmful behaviors such as drug use
& Berger, 1988). This perspective uses the nation- or suicide.
state or society as the unit of analysis, and it In their assessment of the Durkheimian-
posits that all nations develop through similar modernization perspective, Neuman and Berger
stages. Variables such as industrialization, popu- (1988) found weak support for the perspective’s
lation growth, urbanization, the division of labor, ability to explain variation in crime rates across
social disorganization, anomie, modern values, countries. Believing other perspectives could
and cultural heterogeneity are used to explain work as well, Neuman and Berger consider a
variation in crime rates. Marxian world-system perspective and an
Recent theorizing in the Durkheimian- ecological-opportunity perspective. The Marxian
modernization vein uses the triad of modern- world-system perspective defines crime as a
ization, civilization, and power to explain sociopolitical concept that reflects production
different criminological developments in and power relations, which are intrinsically linked
diverse societies (Heiland & Shelley, 1992, p. 18). to a society’s relation to other societies (see, e.g.,
This synthesized modernization-civilization Humphries & Greenberg, 1981; Lopez-Rey, 1970;
theory is seen by some as strengthening the Neuman & Berger, 1988). This perspective treats
explanatory power of the Durkheimian- industrialization and urbanization as the out-
modernization perspective by adding civiliza- comes of capitalist expansion. Unlike the
tion and power variables. The civilization Durkheimian-modernization perspective, which
concept, drawn from Elias’s (1982) civilization sets modernization as a key predictor of crime
theory, provides the link between the long-term rates, the Marxian-world system perspective uses
structural changes and the alteration of person- modernization only as an intervening variable. In
ality structures. At the individual level, Elias this way, it argues that the effect of industrializa-
suggests that historically there has been an ever- tion and modernization depends on how modes
increasing refinement of customs and manners, of production articulate with one another.
an obvious pacification of the conditions of Durkheimian-modernization, synthesized
daily life, and an intensification of instinctive modernization-civilization, and Marxian world-

and affected inhibitions. At the institutional system perspectives all provide a macrolevel
level, Elias found three key societal factors in analysis of variation in cross-national crime data.
the development of greater individual control: The ecological-opportunity perspective takes a
(1) the monopolization of the instruments of microlevel approach by concentrating on the
power, (2) the centralization of state power, and criminal act itself. This theory argues that crime
(3) the creation of power monopolies. occurs where environmental conditions are
According to Elias (1982), the limitations on favorable. For example, LaFree and Birkbeck
individual behavior can find equilibrium only (1991) studied victimization data in Venezuela
when they are part of a relatively stable and easily and in the United States and found that in both
comprehensible arrangement of actions by the countries, robbery typically involves public
domains, lone victims, strangers, and incidents those are just a very few topics and authors who
taking place outside buildings. Neuman and are building the knowledge base of comparative
Berger (1988) see this ability to identify the spe- criminal justice.
cific situations that immediately precede in space As an example of the type of information
and time the actual execution of a crime as a resulting from comparative justice studies, we
strength of the ecological-opportunity perspec- offer a descriptive account of how the courts are
tive. Should comparative criminologists continue structured in four different countries. To intro-
to find that crimes occur in similar situations, duce another comparative technique, the coun-
regardless of country, we will have valuable tries are chosen to reflect each of four legal
information about criminal acts—although our traditions. This concept of legal traditions—also
knowledge about motivation to commit those called legal families—refers to a culture’s atti-
acts will not necessarily be advanced. tudes, values, and norms regarding the nature,
It is apparent from this review of comparative role, and operation of law. Three specific legal
criminology that it is a field of study in which traditions are used here, plus a fourth category
scholars are drawing on traditional criminologi- that includes countries with a mixture of several
cal theory and methodology while simultane- traditions.
ously expanding the discipline’s enquiry beyond
events in a single country. In a similar manner, Civil Law Family and German Courts
scholars interested in comparative criminal jus-
tice are borrowing from the knowledge base in The oldest contemporary legal family is the civil
disciplines such as sociology, political science, legal tradition. Persons familiar with the
and criminal justice as they seek to understand American legal system often find this term con-
how nations have sought to maintain a system of fusing because civil law in U.S. jurisdictions
formal social control. We now turn our attention refers to private wrongs (such as contract dis-
to this other area of importance—the broad field putes) rather than to the criminal law, which
of comparative studies. handles social wrongs (such as thefts and
assaults). Some authors attempt to avoid this
confusion between civil law as private wrongs
Comparative Criminal Justice and civil law as a legal tradition by referring to
the Romano-Germanic law family. That desig-
While comparative criminologists are busily nation is appropriate because the origins of the
comparing crime patterns cross-nationally, com- civil law tradition are in the Corpus Juris Civilis
parative justice scholars are considering the simi- (450 b.c.) and the laws of the Germanic tribes,
larities and differences in how countries attempt such as the Franks and the Bavarians that bor-
to maintain social order and accomplish justice. dered the Roman Empire in central Europe and
Research has identified the different ways police eventually conquered most of Europe. Although
organizations are structured (e.g., Bayley, 1985; use of the term Romano-Germanic avoids the
Haberfeld & Cerrah, 2008), described variation problems of confusion, especially by Americans,
in criminal procedure around the world (e.g., between the civil law family and civil law as pri-
Bradley, 2007; Vogler, 2005), explained the many vate wrongs, most comparative scholars prefer to
ways that laypeople are used during adjudication refer to the civil law tradition. We honor that
procedures (e.g., Kutnjak Ivkovic, 2007; Malsch, preference and use the term civil law as referring
2009; Vidmar, 2000), and offered explanations to one of the world’s major legal traditions.
for variation in sentencing and punishment Countries in the civil law family consider the
practices (Cavadino & Dignan, 2006; Miethe & source of law to be its written, or codified, nature.
Lu, 2005; Tonry, 2009; Whitman, 2003). And That is, laws are binding because they are
authorized and recorded by the competent case are expected to provide all relevant evidence
authority (e.g., the ruler or the legislature). A to the court. The judge, not the attorneys for
number of different codifications of civil law fol- defense or prosecution, then calls and questions
lowed the Corpus Juris Civilis, including the witnesses. As a result of this process, the civil
famous Code Napoléon (1804), which codified legal tradition has a procedurally active judge
the civil law of France. During the first part of the and rather passive lawyers. This is nearly oppo-
19th century, the idea of codification spread from site the adversarial process, which has a proce-
France to other parts of Europe and to Latin durally passive judge and rather active advocates.
America. Germany was among the countries The German states (Länder) are responsible
finding favor with the idea of codification, but for administering federal law, so all trials are
the Germans did not agree with basic principles conducted at the state level. Federal courts exist
used in developing the Code Napoléon. With sig- primarily to handle appeals from the state courts.
nificant deliberation and historical research, Germany’s criminal courts are organized in three
Germany finally succeeded in creating its version tiers (Council of Europe, 2000; Jehle, 2009). At
of a civil code (the German Civil Code of 1896), the bottom are the local courts (Amtsgerichte)
which became effective in 1900. that hear minor criminal cases where the punish-
The German national legislature determines, ment is not likely to be more than 4 years’ impris-
for the entire country, what behavior is criminal onment. Above them are the regional courts
and what will be the accompanying punishment. (Ländgericht) where major criminal cases are
However, each German state is responsible for tried and the punishment is likely to be more
administering both the law and the punishment. than four years imprisonment. The higher
Germany’s penal code places criminal offenses regional court (Oberländesgerichte) hears appeals
into one of two categories. The more serious from the lower state courts and will also try
offenses are punishable by imprisonment for at some exceptional cases (e.g., treason). Appeals
least 1 year, whereas the less serious offenses are on points of law from the state courts may
punishable by a shorter term or a fine. The dis- eventually reach the Federal Court of Justice
tinction is similar to that of felonies and misde- (Bundesgerichtshof), which is Germany’s highest
meanors in the United States, but Germany’s less court (Dammer & Albanese, 2011; Federal Court
serious category comprises a broader range of of Justice, 2010). When the appeal is on a consti-
offenses than does American misdemeanors. In tutional question, the Federal Constitutional
addition, the German category includes some Court decides the issue and returns the case to
crimes such as larceny, fraud, or negligent homi- the lower court for final disposition.
cide that would be considered felonies in many Legal systems following the inquisitorial pro-
American jurisdictions. cess seldom use a jury as Americans know the
A distinguishing feature of the civil legal tra- term. Instead, participation from the public is in
dition is a reliance on the inquisitorial rather the form of lay judges serving alongside profes-
than adversarial process for adjudication. The sional judges on what is termed a “mixed bench.”
adversarial process, found especially in the com- Working together, the professional and lay judges
mon law tradition, assumes that truth will arise consider evidence, question defendants and
from an open competition over who has the cor- witnesses, and then decide the punishment in
rect facts. The prosecution and defense propose cases where they find the defendant guilty. In
their version of the “truth,” and the judge or jury Germany’s version of the mixed bench, trials for
determines which side has the most accurate the less serious crimes are heard by a panel of one
portrayal. Rather than a competition between professional judge and two lay judges. When the
opposing sides, the inquisitorial process is more trial is for a more serious offense, it will be heard
like a continuing investigation. All parties in the by three professional judges and two lay judges
(Dammer & Albanese, 2011; Jehle, 2009). The wherein courts are expected to abide by previ-
verdict is by majority vote, so it is possible that ously decided cases. Those cases were in written
the lay judges have a significant say in the out- form, but they cannot be considered written law
come. However, since the professional judge or in the way the civil legal tradition views written.
judges typically dominate the questioning and The prior cases reflected custom, albeit custom
the deliberation, lay judges have to be especially in writing, rather than reflecting specific deci-
assertive to have significant influence. The lay sions by rulers or legislators. The criminal stat-
judges are assigned to trials over a 4-year period, utes found in common law countries today must
but they serve an average of only 1 day per month be considered in the same way. When common
(Reichel, 2013). law legislatures prepare written penal statutes or
codes, they are not so much making written law
Common Law Family and Canadian (as do civil law legislatures) as they are proposing
law. That is because final determination regard-
Courts
ing the validity of a statute lies with the courts,
You will recall that the primary source of law in who will evaluate the legislature’s work. In other
the civil legal tradition is the written code. For words, civil law legislation stands on its own
the common legal tradition, the primary source because the legislature is the source of law. But
of law is custom. The distinction between common law legislation is not authoritatively
codification and custom is confusing because it established until it passes examination of the
is possible—in fact, likely—that common law is courts because custom is the source of law.
also expressed in written form. However, it is Because common law developed in England
neither necessary nor sufficient that common and influenced the application of law in the
law be written down for it to have legal authority. British colonies, this legal tradition is the one
A brief review of the origin of common law will most familiar to citizens of the United States.
make this point more clearly. Today, the United States, Canada, Australia, New
In an attempt to return order to an increas- Zealand, India, and former British colonies in
ingly disrupted kingdom, Henry II (1154–1189) Africa have legal systems counted among those
issued the Constitutions of Clarendon (1164), of the common law tradition. Exceptions include
which listed customs said to be the practice in parts of those countries where France had great
England when the 12th century had begun. The influence in the province’s or state’s history. So
idea was that traditional, consistent, and reason- Canada’s province of Quebec and the state of
able ways of deciding disputes provided the Louisiana each have a strong civil law tradition
appropriate source of law. Determining whether despite being part of a common law country.
something was “customary” fell to members of Canada’s contemporary court structure was
the community, who sat as a jury of peers. Judges established with the passage of the British North
were expected to follow legal custom by abiding America Act in 1867 (since renamed the
by prior decisions in similar cases. In this man- Constitution Act) and was thus influenced by the
ner, custom could be identified by reliance on the British judicial system. Enforcement of law falls
people and through reference to several cases. to the provinces, and the provincial court system
Importantly, however, the case was not referred handles all criminal prosecutions. Within the
to as the source of law; it merely provided proof provincial system, there are five main types of
that a legal principle (a custom) was once applied. courts: criminal matters, family matters, youth
Eventually the practice of citing prior cases matters, small claims, and traffic and municipal
was done less to show custom and more as a way by-law matters. There are also federal level courts
to reference authority. In this way, common law (federal court, federal court of appeal, and the
developed a reliance on precedent or stare decisis, Supreme Court of Canada) but these courts do
not hear criminal cases—except on appeal in the as summary conviction offenses. In general, such
case of the Supreme Court. Also, it is important offenses may be tried only before a provincial
and interesting to note that the Province of court judge sitting without a jury. Accused per-
Quebec (a largely French colony at the time it sons may appear in person at the trial or may
was defeated by the British in 1760), follows send their lawyer to represent them—unless the
French civil law but uses British common law for judge has issued a warrant requiring their atten-
criminal law matters. dance. The term summary conviction implies that
Canada’s Criminal Code places crimes into casual and concise justice is dispensed.
one of three categories. Summary conviction Indictable offenses, and hybrid offenses
offenses are the least serious and result in only charged as indictable, can be heard at either the
slight punishment (i.e., a maximum of 6 superior or provincial court level. The most seri-
months imprisonment or up to a $5,000 fine or ous indictable offenses (e.g., murder, treason,
a combination of both). They include, for piracy) may be tried only by a judge of the supe-
example, committing an indecent act, creating rior court sitting with a jury, unless the judge and
a public disturbance, soliciting prostitution, the attorney general consent to forgo the jury.
and driving a motor vehicle without the own- The least serious indictable offenses (e.g., theft,
er’s consent. Indictable offenses are the most fraud, possession of stolen goods) may be tried
serious crimes and bring the harshest penalty. by only a provincial court judge. If the charge is
Typical indictable offenses are murder, posses- on an indictable offense not falling into either of
sion of stolen goods, dangerous driving, and those categories, the accused can choose the
sexual assault. The accused has a right to trial mode of trial. Robbery, dangerous driving,
by jury when charged with an indictable assault, and breaking and entering are examples
offense, but not for a summary offense. Falling of these “electable” offenses. The choices avail-
between summary and indictable offenses are able to the accused are to have a trial by a provin-
hybrid offenses, a decision that is made by the cial court judge, a superior court judge and jury,
Crown (known as “Crown election”), such as or a superior court judge. Failure to make a
theft of an item valued at less than $5,000 choice sends the case to a judge and jury. At the
(Canadian), impaired driving, and some types federal court level, and standing as the country’s
of assault. court of last resort, is the Supreme Court of
Canada’s nine provinces and three territories Canada. The Supreme Court justices are
generally have a three-tiered court system going appointed by the federal government from lists
from provincial/territorial courts at the lowest level prepared by the provinces.
through superior courts (with name variation by
province/territory) to the provincial/territorial Islamic Law Family and Saudi
courts of appeal at the highest level (Department of
Arabian Courts
Justice Canada, 2011). The provincial/territorial

courts carry the greatest workload of any court The Islamic legal tradition is unique among legal
level because all cases enter at this level. The major- families in several respects. The first difference is
ity will also be tried and finally disposed of in the its perception of law’s source as sacred rather
provincial/territorial courts, but others (the most than secular. The other legal traditions, especially
serious indictable offenses) will be sent to the supe- civil and common, have religious links, but they
rior court for trial. remain distinct and separate from religion. The
Provincial courts may have separate divisions Islamic legal tradition, on the other hand, is
to handle family matters, cases of young offend- completely reliant on religion.
ers, traffic cases, and criminal cases. Most of the Muslims, like Christians and Jews, believe in
criminal cases are those that have been charged one God, whom Muslims call Allah. Of Allah’s
messengers to the world, Muhammad (circa In the Shari’a, God identified the crimes and
570–632) is considered the most recent prophet stipulated the penalty, but the law’s application
by Muslims. The religion prescribed by fell to humans. Not surprisingly, humans dis-
Muhammad is Islam (Arabic for submission), and agreed about how to apply God’s law. Some
its followers are “those who submit to Allah” Muslims took a strict interpretation and believed
(Muslims). that every rule of law must be derived from the
Islamic law is called the Shari’a, “the path to Qur’an or the Sunna. Others believed human
follow.” Its primary ingredients are the Qur’an reason and personal opinion could be used to
(Islam’s holy book) and the Sunna (the statements elaborate the law. The latter camp suggested that
and deeds of Muhammad). These two elements as the centuries progressed from Muhammad’s
identify both crimes and punishments, but they time, there were new behaviors or situations that
provide very little information regarding the legal had not been directly addressed in the early
process by which offenders are brought to justice. 7th century. Human reason, these Muslims
Three categories of crime are distinguished in believed, could be used to fill the gaps.
the Shari’a: hudud, quesas, and ta’azir. Hudud, Because human reason could become human
which are offenses against God, require manda- legislation, which is inappropriate because law
tory prosecution and must be punished in the comes from Allah and not from humans, it was
manner prescribed in the Qur’an or the Sunna. important that the reasoning be subordinate to
The seven hudud crimes are adultery or fornica- divine revelation. The result was a process known
tion, defamation, drinking alcohol, theft, high- as qiyas, or reasoning by analogy. For example,
way robbery, apostasy (the rejection of Islam by Lippman, McConville, and Yerushalmi (1988)
one professing Islamic faith), and rebellion or note that some judges have sentenced commit-
corruption of Islam. The punishment for hudud ters of sodomy (a behavior not mentioned in the
crimes include death by stoning for a married Qur’an or Sunna) to the same penalty the Qur’an
person committing adultery, hand amputation provides for adultery by reasoning that sodomy
for theft, and whipping for persons using alcohol and adultery are similar offenses. The presence of
(Sanad, 1991; Souryal, 2004). ta’azir crimes also allows the Shari’a to keep pace
Quesas crimes are less serious than hudud with modern society by making criminal any act
crimes and more serious than ta’azir crimes. that might cause damage to the public interest or
They are similar to what other criminal codes the public order. In this way, acts not specifically
call crimes against persons and include acts such mentioned 14 centuries ago (such as traffic viola-
as voluntary and involuntary homicide, assault, tions, embezzlement, or forgery) are still consid-
and battery. Punishments for these crimes can be ered illegal by divine revelation rather than
acts of retaliation by the victim or his family human legislation.
(e.g., the eye for the eye, the nose for the nose) or Traditional Islamic societies such as Saudi
financial compensation by the offender to the Arabia mold their court system to ensure that
victim or his family. Islamic law is the basis for court proceedings
The least serious of Shari’a crimes are the ta’azir. and decisions. There is a dual court system in
Included in this category are all offenses not identi- Saudi Arabia, with Shari’a courts handling
fied as either hudud or quesas crimes. Examples of criminal cases, family law, and some civil law. A
ta’azir crimes are petty theft, homosexuality, eating separate system of administrative courts has
pork, neglect of prayers, and acts damaging to the jurisdiction over specific issues such as traffic
public interest. A ta’azir penalty can be execution offenses and laws related to business and com-
but is more likely to be whipping, imprisonment, merce (Terrill, 2009). Our concern is with the
or a fine (Sanad, 1991; Souryal, 2004). Shari’a courts, which follow a three-tiered structure
moving from the lower (summary and general For the second type of evidence, testimony, at
courts) at the bottom, to the courts of appeal, least two witnesses should provide consistent
and then to the Supreme Judicial Council testimony before a conviction on hudud and que-
(Ansary, 2008). sas crimes can be given. But just any witness is
Summary courts and general courts are com- not acceptable. To be condoned, the witness must
posed of one or more judges. Summary courts be an adult male (one school accepts two females
hear certain hudud and ta’azir cases, whereas as equivalent to one male), known to have good
general courts hear death penalty cases and que- memory, sound mind, and good character.
sas crimes (i.e., non-death-penalty cases where a In addition to requirements about who can
retaliatory punishment is sought). Judgments in testify, there are rules regarding how many wit-
both summary and general court are handed nesses are required and how the testimony is
down by a single judge (qadi) except in general given. For a conviction on hudud and quesas
court cases involving death, stoning, and ampu- offenses, at least two witnesses should provide
tation (and other cases specified by law), where consistent testimony about the accused’s actions.
judgment is by three judges. A three-judge panel In the case of adultery, four witnesses are
hears court of appeals cases, except those involv- required. Because there are seldom times when
ing certain major punishments, such as death two devout male Muslims observe a burglary in
sentences, which are handled by a five-judge process or four such witnesses watch adultery
panel. Final appeal is before the Supreme Judicial taking place, the “evidence” in many criminal tri-
Council, which is also the agency making regula- als is incomplete. At this point, the rules regard-
tions and policies for administering the country’s ing how testimony is given come into play in the
court system as a whole (Ansary, 2008; Kingdom form of oaths.
of Saudi Arabia, 1975). When the new Judiciary According to Rosen (1989), witnesses under
Law of 2007 is fully implemented (which had not Islamic law are not sworn in before testifying. In
yet occurred as of mid-2012), the Saudi courts fact, there is even some understanding that less
will include a specialized criminal court at the than truthful statements may be made in court as
general court level and will also have a new High witnesses are speaking freely. However, if testi-
Court, which will assume the previous Supreme mony reaches a point where neither side has
Judicial Council’s main function as the highest adequately supported its claim, one party may
authority in the judicial system (Ansary, 2008; challenge the other to take an oath. If the person
Van Eijk, 2010). challenged does so, he wins the case. Or the per-
Although the structure of Saudi courts is not son challenged can refer the oath back to the
especially unique, some of the procedural law challenger who can secure victory by swearing to
governing the trial process is (Rosen, 1989; his own truthfulness. This process of challenging
Souryal, 2004). Sanad (1991) highlights the rules is not a haphazard one. The qadi plays a very
of evidence as a particularly important distin- important role because he decides which party
guishing feature of Islamic law in general. Most will first challenge the other to take an oath. That
Muslim scholars maintain that evidence in crim- decision is important because the first to swear
inal cases must be restricted to confession and wins the case. Rosen suggests that the qadi, after
testimony. Regarding confession, it is not suffi- observing the comments from witnesses and
cient for the accused to simply admit to the from the parties themselves, looks for the person
charges. For a confession to be valid, the confes- most likely to know what is true about the case.
sor must be a mature, mentally sound person That person is designated as the one first to be
who gives, with free will, a confession that is challenged to take the oath. Because false swear-
neither doubtful nor vague. ers will suffer the consequences of judgment day,
devout Muslims take oaths very seriously and, the idea of mixed is seen in a more descriptive
presumably, truthfully. sense than the classificatory one provided by
adherence to three or more categories. Using a
Mixed-Law Family and Chinese family-tree approach, Castellucci describes a for-
est of legal system family trees wherein the
Courts
branches and foliage of each tree (each legal sys-
Countries included in the mixed legal family are tem) intertwines with others. Such a forest/family
those that have elements of several of the other tree model would allow, for example, the exis-
main legal traditions. Importantly, this is not tence of a Chinese legal system coming from a
simply a “catchall” category where one places mixture of civil law and socialist law. That “tree”
countries that do not fit well in one of the other intertwines with, for example, Hong Kong’s
legal traditions. Instead, mixed systems (also Chinese-common law mix and with a Chinese-
called hybrid systems) include those countries customary mix that may describe the North
where components of one legal tradition have Korea legal system.
combined with components from another legal Following the lead of Castellucci (2008) and
tradition. The result is a legal system that draws others (Örücü, 2008) who consider mixed legal
from two or more legal traditions. systems as including more than just a combina-
Much of the contemporary research and lit- tion of civil and common legal traditions, we
erature on mixed systems has focused on coun- discuss China as a country best described as
tries where the civil and common legal traditions being in the mixed legal tradition group. The
have combined (e.g., Kim, 2010; Reid, 2003). But mixture, for our purposes, includes elements of
comparativists are also considering other “mixes” socialist law (continuing control by the
where customary law, socialist law, and religious Communist Party), civil law (codification of
law are included (Örücü, 2008). Although there laws), and customary, or traditional, law (the
is no agreement regarding the key features of influence of Confucianism).
mixed systems, the subsequent presence of dif- China’s formal court system has four tiers.
ferent colonial powers is often mentioned as a Going from the bottom up, they are the basic
common attribute (Castellucci, 2008). Quebec, people’s court, the intermediate people’s court,
Scotland, South Africa, and the Philippines are the higher people’s court, and finally the Supreme
among the examples given of countries having a People’s Court. The basic people’s courts, which
mixed legal tradition resulting, at least in part, are found in each county and municipal area,
from the influence of several colonial powers. handle the majority of the ordinary criminal tri-
In proposing the category of mixed legal sys- als. The intermediate people’s courts hear more
tems as a “third family” (common and civil being serious criminal cases and appeals from the basic
the other two), Palmer (2001) has suggested that people’s courts. Major criminal cases and appeals
countries in this category will have, in a manner are heard by the higher people’s courts, which
obvious to an ordinary observer, the basic ele- operate at the province level and in some major
ments of both civil and common legal traditions cities. The Supreme People’s Court serves pri-
operating so that civil law predominates in the marily in an appellate capacity but will also hear
field of private law and common law predomi- major criminal cases that have an impact on the
nates in criminal law (pp. 7–9). Mixed legal sys- entire country (China Internet Information
tems in this sense are rather few in number and, Center, n.d.; Dammer & Albanese, 2011; Situ &
by definition, exclude countries where the mix Liu, 2000).
involves legal traditions such as religious, cus- The courts are essentially agencies of the cen-
tomary, or socialist. Castellucci (2008) suggests tral government (i.e., the Communist Party) and
these other legal traditions might be included if as a result do not have judicial independence in
the way Westerners think of the term. Court When a conflict arises, the parties can ask that a
activities at each level are reviewed by a judicial mediator get involved. But the PMC does not
committee. Members of the judicial committees need to wait for an invitation. Because the medi-
are appointed by the People’s Congress at each ators live in the community, they usually hear
level, and it is through the People’s Congress about problems early on and can respond quickly.
that the central government has its input and By categorizing the world’s legal systems as
influence. falling into one of four legal traditions, compara-
At the trial, those accused have the right to tive justice scholars are encouraging us to benefit
offer a defense, to argue the case, to explain their from others’ experiences, broaden our under-
innocence, or to request leniency in punishment. standing of the world, and combat transnational
Although the defendant can provide self-defense, crime. They are, in other words, helping us real-
it is also possible to hire a lawyer or ask a close ize the benefits of comparative study as described
relative to defend one’s case. When cases are at at this chapter’s start.
trial with a public prosecutor, the court can
appoint a lawyer to speak for the accused (Situ &
Liu, 2000). Future Issues for the
Like the situation in most civil law countries, Comparative Crime and Justice
China does not use a jury but instead has citizen Community
input through representation of lay judges or
people’s assessors. Minor criminal cases are heard In the first edition of this book we predicted
before a single judge, but more serious cases three issues or trends that would surface in the
come before a panel of one to three professional study of comparative crime and criminal justice.
judges and two to four people’s assessors. The The first prediction was that we would see
people’s assessors are laypersons who have greater clarity and agreement regarding what
reached age 23 and are eligible to vote. activities would be constituted as transnational
In addition to its formal justice system, crimes. Second, we also believed there would be
China is recognized as having an especially well- an increase in the knowledge of the phenomenon
developed system of informal justice. In fact, the of transnational crime by citizens around the
informal system is so integral that it sometimes world. Finally, we anticipated the expanding
operates alongside the formal system. The public cooperation among nations in the areas of
security committees operate in this capacity at enforcement and adjudication. At the risk of
the policing level and the people’s mediation being guilty of hubris, we believe we were correct
committees (PMCs) perform the informal role at in each of our predictions.
the court level. China’s constitution requires each With the assistance of transnational organiza-
urban neighborhood and each rural village to tions such as Interpol, the United Nations, World
have a PMC. In addition, PMCs can be established Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF),
at workplaces, schools, and other institutions and the European Union, we are now better able
(Dammer & Albanese, 2011). to identify the various crime problems around
Although the PMCs serve the socialist ideology the world. Better and clear identification of terms
very well, they have historical ties to Confucianism has been essential for those working in the sys-
and the belief that moral education through tem as they try to reduce crime but also for those
mediation is the best way for communities to who study crime and form laws and crime poli-
resolve conflict. The PMCs operate under the cies. With the growth in technology, especially
guidance of local governments and local people’s mobile communication devices, we now assume
courts. PMC members are elected by the people that many more citizens in our global community
living or working in the PMC’s jurisdiction. are aware of the kinds and extent of transnational
crimes that affect all of us. In recent years, stories judicial body with a higher legal standing than
about human trafficking, money laundering, decisions of courts in individual countries. The
piracy, terrorism, and more recently, crimes first are ad hoc tribunals, the second is a perma-
against humanity have been more common and nent international criminal court, and the third
certainly disseminated more broadly. are recently formed internationalized courts.
It may be, however, that the international Each of these three types of courts has had
cooperation among nations relative to law various levels of success relative to the prosecu-
enforcement and adjudication is probably the tion and conviction of transnational offenders.
most visible and important development in crim- The ad hoc tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda
inal justice in the last decade. Beginning in the have combined for over 120 convictions since
1980s with the onset of the war on drugs and their formation. The first permanent criminal
international drug trafficking, law enforcement court, the International Criminal Court (ICC),
agencies around the world began to collaborate has slowly gained acceptance in the interna-
more consistently to deal with this problem. With tional community. As of July of 2012, Guatemala
the events of 9/11/01 in the United States, the became the 121st State Party to the join the ICC.
issue of global terrorism became paramount, and Internationalized courts, also called mixed tri-
one result has been the intensified cooperation bunals or hybrid courts, operate with the sup-
between national and international law enforce- port of the United Nations to prosecute those
ment agencies. In recent years, more international responsible for crimes against humanity, war
and regional law enforcement agencies such as crimes, and violations of domestic law. These
Interpol, the European Police Organization courts are similar in that they generally are
(Europol), the Asian Nations Chiefs of Police located in places where the crimes occur and
(AESEANAPOL), and various African police chiefs they use law and judges from the international
cooperation organizations (e.g., East Africa Police and domestic jurisdictions. On April 26, 2012,
Chiefs Cooperation Organization) have worked the judges for the Special Court for Sierra Leone
to more effectively share information about crim- convicted former Liberian President Charles
inal activity, location of criminals, and successful Taylor of 11 counts of war crimes and crimes
policing strategies. against humanity for his role in the 11-year civil
As more transnational criminals have been war in Sierra Leone that ended in 2002 and left
caught, there has also been a greater effort to more than 50,000 dead. The Taylor trial is sig-
express outrage toward the offense and the nificant because he is the first head of a state to
offender. Those accused of the most serious crimes be brought to judgment by an international tri-
of international concern—namely, genocide, bunal since WWII. More will be discussed about
crimes against humanity, war crimes, and crimes these courts later in this book.
of aggression—have recently come to be held Having confidently expressed where we may
responsible by the courts. When appropriate and have been correct, let us now speculate again
within the rights of national sovereignty, the about where the field of transnational crime and
majority of these transnational offenders are tried justice will proceed in the next decade. Again,
and punished according to the laws of a particular predicting future issues in any area is always
country. However, in some parts of the world, the risky. It would be easy to speculate that the
problems of global crime and justice have often coming decades will see continued increase in
become too complicated for national or regional transnational crime and more transnational
courts to handle. In response, the international cooperation to combat that crime. These points
community has developed three forms of suprana- form the crux of this book, and they are fully
tional courts that deal directly with criminal mat- developed in the remaining chapters. But what
ters in violation of international law. Each has a may be less obvious are the following trends.
First, if the recent past is any predictor of the controversial. As we mentioned earlier, in
future, we will see continued growth in the response to serious violations of international
blending or convergence of criminal justice sys- law the international community has developed
tems around the world. One system example of various forms of supranational courts. Although
this is in the area of criminal procedure, more it may appear that the growth of these courts is
specifically in the convergence of the adversarial inevitable, there are still many questions and
and inquisitorial systems of justice. Civil law problems that surround them. Among the key
countries, even those in Latin America that have issues of concern are cost-effectiveness, logistics
in the past held tightly to the principles of inquis- of implementation, and political influences. It is
itorial justice, have adopted many of the rules of estimated that from 1993 when the first wave of
procedure that protect the accused from arbi- the current supranational courts were formed
trary action by the state (Vogler, 2005, p. 173). (beginning with the International Criminal
Many civil law countries have also begun to show Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia [ICTY]) until
an increasing prominence of attorneys during the proposed time (2015) that most of them will
trials, the concomitant diminishing of judicial close, the international community will have
authority, a shift in emphasis from the pretrial to spent nearly $6.3 billion (Ford, 2011). As a result,
the trial phase, and the reduced reliance on the many have questioned whether the effectiveness
accused as a source of testimony (Van Kessel, as measured by the scant number of convictions
2002). Common law countries have modified the is worth the incurred cost. Another major issue is
excesses of the adversarial system by allowing for the problem of implementing the process of
pretrial investigations, by allowing judges to par- justice from arrest through incarceration.
ticipate more actively in trials, and by making Supranational courts do not have their own
various arrangements for avoiding trial through police force that is able to gather suspected
the use of plea bargains and various forms of criminals and bring them to the respective courts
mediation. for prosecution. In the few cases that have been
Convergence can also be seen in the Islamic prosecuted, the courts have been at the mercy of
and Socialist legal systems. In Saudi Arabia, suspects turning themselves in, or in a few inci-
Islamic law reflects the inquisitorial system dences they have been able to execute arrest war-
through strong cooperation between the judge rants with the full cooperation of member states.
(quadi) and the investigator. In addition, the Relatedly, if a conviction is obtained, then the
defense attorney is less adversarial than in com- courts must find member states willing to incur
mon law trials. At the same time, Islamic law the costs and security risks associated with long-
includes provisions for the right to confront term incarceration. Probably the biggest hurdle
accusers and even to remain silent for the pre- of supranational courts, however, is their inabil-
sumption of innocence. And it can be argued that ity to gain full political support of key member
China may actually have moved from a strict states. Can supranational courts really gain influ-
inquisitorial to a semi-adversarial mode with ence and respect around the world stage if major
extensive changes in their criminal procedure powers do not support them? For example,
rules (Li & Ma, 2010). With the global sharing of among the U.N. member nations that do not sup-
information and the growing influence of inter- port the ICC are the United States, China, and
national law and supranational courts, conver- Russia. Individual countries have various reasons
gence of systems and criminal justice practices for their decision to support supranational
will increase. courts, but probably the most common is the fear
Second, relative to the issue of supranational of giving up state sovereignty. Many countries,
courts, we have another prediction that may be especially those who have a long history of hav-
more precarious in nature or at least more ing unbridled global power, are concerned about
answering to any international body. It is clear increased interest in the study of these topics in
that supranational courts have gained legitimacy undergraduate and graduate classes in the United
over the last 20 years, but we predict that these States and in other countries. The other chapters
and other hurdles will need to be addressed if in this book will provide another resource to the
they wish to grow in acceptance and achieve sus- increasingly solid foundation being built by
tained success. If not, there is a chance that the scholars and practitioners around the world as
supranational court movement will flounder. we work together to understand the possibilities
Finally, we believe that in the coming years, for a safer and more secure world.
understanding the etiology of crime in any one
country will be inextricably linked to the study of
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CHAPTER 2

Comparing Crime and Justice

is more global in nature. Two academic disci- Justice Study

criminologist—Cesare Beccaria (1738–1794). In The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is the

negative effect of welfare assistance on property political repression, frustration-aggression reac-

daily life, and an intensification of instinctive modernization-civilization, and Marxian world-

Justice Canada, 2011). The provincial/territorial

Penology, 5(1), 1–16. Messner, S. (1980). Income inequality and murder

Quarterly, 29(2), 281–313. Sartori, G. (1996). Comparing and miscomparing. In

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