Criminal Law / Criminal Justice
This section includes literature on:- domestic / family / intimate partner violence
- law enforcement / policing
- prisons / penology / incarceration
Abstract: Wisconsin’s Milwaukee and Dane Counties are among many jurisdictions in the country employing modern bail reforms, specifically the Public Safety Assessment (PSA). Most of these jurisdictions adopted the PSA before the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, but are increasingly relevant as the virus continues to derail public health measures. Through the intersection of detainees, correctional officers, judicial officials, attorneys, and visitors, millions of Americans filter in and out of correctional facilities on an annual basis. These facilities serve as a microcosm of society and breeding ground for mass infection. The COVID-19 pandemic amplified an existing need for reform of correctional facilities to better protect the rights and health of pretrial detainees. This Comment examines the efficacy of the PSA and other currently employed bail reform measures and concludes with how the State of Wisconsin can adopt stronger measures to effectively assess risk while maintaining the liberties of pretrial detainees.
Aborisade, Richard Abayomi and Oladele Adelere Adeleke, ‘Pandemic Policing and Community Engagement: Preparedness, Legitimacy and Public Support During the COVID-19 Crisis in Nigeria’ (2024) 49(3) Criminal Justice Review 375–394 Abstract: This study brings to the fore, insights into three key factors that had been widely noted to play significant roles in driving effective pandemic policing. These are the preparedness of the police as first responders to a public health crisis, the level of public trust in the police as a legitimate power holder, and community engagement as a tool to drive public support and participation in fighting COVID-19. Using the Nigeria police as a case study, with the damning reports of abuse of power and other misconduct, this study examined how the police responded to COVID-19 mandates and community participation. Interviews with 40 police officers who enforced the COVID-19 lockdown, 16 senior police officers, and 18 community leaders within Lagos and Ogun states were conducted, and a thematic analysis of the narratives was carried out. Findings indicated that community engagement was not effectively deployed by the Nigerian police in the course of pandemic policing. This was due to a lack of police preparedness, over-reliance on the use of force for public control, public distrust in the police, and a lack of prior practice of community engagement by the police. Public distrust in the police was found to be central to peoples’ disobedience to COVID-19 rules which worsened police-community relations, culminating in protests against the police and its formations. These findings have important policy and practical implications if police legitimacy and post-COVID police-community relations are to improve.
Aborisade, Richard A and Oluwajuwon G Ariyo, ‘Policing the Coronavirus Pandemic: Nigeria Police Senior Officers’ Views on Preparedness, Response, Legitimacy and Post-COVID Policing’ (2022) 24(1) International Journal of Police Science & Management 77–88 Abstract: In the wake of pandemic policing occasioned by COVID-19, Nigeria police have been facing challenges of a lack of legitimacy, together with what is termed the militarization of police operations. This has impacted considerably on police–community relations. Meanwhile, early reports on the police response to the pandemic indicated high levels of lockdown violation, despite adoption of a militarized option in the enforcement of restriction orders. In reviewing one of the first police interventions on a public health crisis in Nigeria, a qualitative study was conducted among top-ranking police officers who supervised the enforcement of lockdown and other COVID-19 measures. Sixteen interviews were conducted and a thematic analysis of the narratives was carried out. Police unpreparedness for public health interventions, and public resistance to the use of repressive, force-led styles of policing were identified as major impediments to positive pandemic policing. Therefore, police officers are advised to ensure the application of procedurally just practices in their interactions with the public.
Abraham, Leola A, Timothy C Brown and Shaun A Thomas, ‘How COVID-19’s Disruption of the U.S. Correctional System Provides an Opportunity for Decarceration’ (2020) 45(4) American Journal of Criminal Justice 780–792 Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified decades of vulnerabilities, disparities, and injustices within the U.S. correctional system. The spread of the coronavirus poses a particularly serious threat to those that comprise the system, including personnel, attorneys, prisoners, their families and extends into the communities in which facilities are located. These correctional facilities and communities were especially underprepared for the sudden onset of a highly contagious virus, which has resulted in an exceedingly high number of infections among those who work and are held in the facilities. Rampant overcrowding in the U.S. correctional system, an aging population, and a population exhibiting high rates of underlying health conditions are highly likely to exacerbate the spread of this highly contagious virus. This potentially dire set of interrelated circumstances necessitates rapid decarceration measures that effectively balance public safety and public health. Unfortunately, there has been unclear guidance as well as changing and even contradictory information coming from the federal government concerning rapid measures to mitigate the spread of infection to justice system personnel and federal prisoners. In this paper we summarize the federal response and how it has impacted those responsible for implementation. Furthermore, we discuss how systemic deleterious conditions of the U.S. correctional system serve as both accelerants to as well as effects of the pandemic. We end highlighting critical issues relating to early release due to COVID-19 that will necessitate future research.
Abrams, David, ‘COVID and Crime: An Early Empirical Look’ (Institute for Law and Economics, Research Paper No 20–49, University of Pennsylvania, 14 August 2020) Abstract: We collect data from over 25 large cities in the U.S. and document the short-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on crime. There is a widespread immediate drop in both criminal incidents and arrests most heavily pronounced among drug crimes, theft, residential burglaries, and most violent crimes. The decline appears to precede most stay-at-home orders, and arrests follow a similar pattern as reports. We find no decline in homicides and shootings, and an increase in non-residential burglary and car theft in most cities, suggesting that criminal activity was displaced to locations with fewer people. Pittsburgh, New York City, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Washington DC and Chicago each saw overall crime drops of over 35%. There was also a drop in police stops and a rise in Black detainee share in Philadelphia, which may reflect the racial composition of essential workers. Evidence on police-initiated reports and geographic variation in crime change suggests that most of the observed changes are not due to reporting changes.
Adeoye, Feranmi, ‘COVID-19: Impact on the Administration of Criminal Justice in Nigeria’ (SSRN Scholarly Paper ID 3757851, 15 May 2020) Abstract: While Nigeria refuses to halt the wrestle against the pandemic to prevent an uncontrollable outbreak, almost every facets of human life outside the home has been on a standstill. On the 30th day of March 2020, the Nigerian President announced the lockdown of major cities including Lagos, Ogun and Abuja while many other states are also on lockdown in compliance with various laws and regulations made by the appropriate bodies. On the 13th day of April, the President extended the lock down by two weeks since the number of positive cases have reached 343 persons across the country. There is no gainsaying that the pandemic has meted out its impact on the administration of criminal justice in various nations of the world. This article examines the impact of COVID-19 on the administration of criminal justice in Nigeria.
Agarwal, Ayushi, ‘Why Women Can’t “Stay Home, Stay Safe”: Domestic Violence in the Times of Lockdown’ (2020) 7(1) Gender, Human Rights, and Law 100 Abstract: ‘Stay home stay safe’ has become the enduring slogan of the lockdown the world over. In this new world, where each interaction with a stranger and each contact with an unfamiliar surface is to be avoided at all costs, the home has acquired the status of being the safest place to be. Some have gone as far as likening the boundaries of one’s home with the ‘Lakshman Rekha’, drawing a parallel with the safety that was promised to Sita if only she had not transgressed that line. Ironically, the assumption that the home is a safe haven for all does the most disservice to women, as it ignores the reality of unequal gender relations within the home and its consequences.This essay argues that while no one can deny that it is necessary to practice social distancing in times like this, the narrative that staying home necessarily means staying safe is simply false. The lockdown has locked the victims in with their abusers, and resulted in an increase in domestic violence due to a multiplicity of factors, as demonstrated by the data. It has also resulted in mental, emotional and verbal abuse. This is especially problematic in the face of apathy from government institutions such as the police and courts. The effects or the success of the lockdown cannot be determined without adopting an intersectional gender lens. Even if it serves to drastically contain the spread of Covid-19, it is only a half measure in so far as it has amplified one problem at the cost of solving another. As is often the case, the problem lies not with the policy (of lockdown), but with the policymaker – and a policymaker who cannot account for the realities of gender relations at home will no doubt fail to ensure measures that can make the policy a real success.
Aikaterini K Sykiotis-Charalambakis, ‘How Criminal Law Helps to Tackle the Pandemic’ in Vasiliki Karagkouni (ed), The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Human Rights: Collective Research Project (Logos Verlag Berlin, 2024) 121 [OPEN ACCESS E-BOOK]
Ajayi, Mary-Ann O and Mathias Ikokoh, ‘Addressing the Epidemic of Rape and Sexual Violence against Women and Children during the COVID-19 Lockdown in Nigeria’ (2023) 10(2: Special Edition on COVID-19) KNUST Law Journal 103–126 Abstract: Since the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, there has been drastic increment of cases of rape in Nigeria which has resulted in public outcry and condemnation. The worrisome trend in the reported cases, is the murder of most victims especially females. The effects of rape, are multifaceted and its affects both the victim and the society at large. It renders the victim emotionally and psychologically traumatized. This paper adopts the doctrinal methodology examining the quagmire of increment of rape cases in Nigeria in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic by highlighting the consequences of rape, the legal framework on rape in Nigeria. It also discusses various forms of sexual violence and the challenges in investigating and prosecuting rape cases in Nigeria. The paper examines the criminal justice system and the adjudication of rape cases in Nigeria. The paper found that the legal framework on rape is inadequate as at present, with the exception of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, is inadequate and obsolete. The attitude of investigating personnel especially the police, is an albatross to the successful investigation and prosecution of rape cases in Nigeria. The paper therefore makes vital recommendations on how to curb the rape epidemic in Nigeria post covid-19.
Akiyama, Matthew, ‘Flattening the Curve for Incarcerated Populations: COVID-19 in Jails and Prisons’ (2020) 382 New England Journal of Medicine 2075–2077 Extract: Because of policies of mass incarceration over the past four decades, the United States has incarcerated more people than any other country on Earth. As of the end of 2016, there were nearly 2.2 million people in U.S. prisons and jails. People entering jails are among the most vulnerable in our society, and during incarceration, that vulnerability is exacerbated by restricted movement, confined spaces, and limited medical care. People caught up in the U.S. justice system have already been affected by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and improved preparation is essential to minimizing the impact of this pandemic on incarcerated persons, correctional staff, and surrounding communities. … As with general epidemic preparedness, the Covid-19 pandemic will teach us valuable lessons for preparedness in correctional settings. It will also invariably highlight the injustice and inequality in the United States that are magnified in the criminal justice system. As U.S. criminal justice reform continues to unfold, emerging communicable diseases and our ability to combat them need to be taken into account. To promote public health, we believe that efforts to decarcerate, which are already under way in some jurisdictions, need to be scaled up; and associated reductions of incarcerated populations should be sustained. The interrelation of correctional-system health and public health is a reality not only in the United States but around the world.
Al-Amaireh, Monther Abed-Alrazzaq Musleh, ‘The Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Crime in Jordan and the Extent to Which the Provisions of the Penal Code Are Applied in Light of the Declaration of a State of Emergency and the Jordanian Defense Law: A Comparative Study’ (2021) 22(5) Central Asia and the Caucasus : Journal of Social and Political Studies 1470–1483 Abstract: This study aims to shed light on a new and important topic, which is to study the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on crime by reading its repercussions on a different group of crimes represented in forgery, fraud, electronic crimes, domestic violence, terrorist and extremist organizations, and the extent to which the provisions of the Penal Code are applied with announcing a case Emergency and Defense Law. This study also deals with a comparative analysis of the impact of the Corona virus on crime rates in Jordan, by comparing crime rates in previous years for the year 2020 with the emergence of this epidemic and comparing them with each of the United States of America and Egypt. The research stems from the premise that despite the challenges of the Corona pandemic crisis with its health, economic, social and political consequences, it highlighted opportunities to exploit these criminal organizations. The curfew also contributed to reducing the rates of some crimes. Therefore, this had to be studied, especially with the application of the emergency law and the temporary release of a number of prisoners due to the Corona pandemic. The study relied on the descriptive analytical method by referring to many sources and primary and main data for the various crimes under study to read and analyze their interpretations of the crisis, as well as to monitor and study their reactions to it on the ground. The study concluded with a number of results and recommendations, the most important of which is the climate of crises in general and the crisis of the Corona virus in particular, which constitutes a focus for corrupt and criminals to invest this despite their different opinions and intellectual antagonism with the aim of material and moral gain, by exploiting and highlighting the crisis within societies and Exploiting the voids resulting from the inability of the authority to fill them, or the lack of desire on the part of some countries to rise and fill the void.
Alagha, Samah, ‘The Response of the Saudi Criminal Law in the Wake of the Corona Virus Pandemic (Covid-19)’ [2021] International Journal of Doctrine, Judiciary and Legislation (in press, published online 18 April 2021) Abstract: At the end of 2019, a new dangerous and contagious disease emerged in the city of Wuhan, China. It has spread throughout the world at a very fast pace. The Coronavirus pandemic has profound impacts on the society and the economy. Therefore, countries endeavor to minimize the severe impacts of this crisis. However, since public health and criminal law are inevitably linked, the purpose of this paper is to explore the response of the criminal law toward the pandemic of coronavirus in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Especially since the deficiency of the criminal legal system has been proven in countries that witnessed a significant increase in infections with the Coronavirus without any pause, and in countries that witnessed large waves of infections after they had greatly decreased. This study applies the qualitative research represented in the descriptive and analytical method. The study found out that since the Saudi criminal law is derived from Islamic Shariah, it has been flexible and adaptable to the confrontation of coronavirus pandemic by criminalizing and penalizing all acts of deliberate transmission of coronavirus and all violations of the precautionary measures issued by the competent authorities. Finally, the study concludes with some recommendations with regards to making the Saudi criminal law more effective in the fight against coronavirus.
Alazab, Saleem Isaaf, ‘Causality in the Crime of Willful Murder by Transmission of Coronavirus in the Jordanian Legislation’ (2020) 13(4) Journal of Politics and Law 181–186 Abstract: Article (326) of the Jordanian Penal Code does not differentiate between methods of willful murder. These methods include transmission of Covid-19, where such type of disease is considered contagious under Article (17) of Jordanian Public Health Law No. (47) of 2008. However, medical science has not certainly proven that the transmission of the virus to a victim is a viable method of infection that definitely causes death. This is since this result (death) might happen a long time after transmission of coronavirus to a victim. It is difficult for the legislator to draft clear provisions that take into account the various circumstances of the willful murder and its sophisticated methods. Therefore, the trial judge is required to verify the existence of the causal relationship in each willful murder case based on its relevant circumstances.
Albertson, Skylar, ‘Do Prison Conditions Change How Much Punishment A Sentence Carries Out? Lessons From Federal Sentence Reduction Rulings During the COVID-19 Pandemic’ (2022) 18(1) Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy 1 Abstract: A set of motions filed during the COVID-19 pandemic challenged federal judges to consider whether they should always view the duration of imprisonment—as contrasted with prison conditions—as the sole determinant of how much punishment a sentence carries out. Under 18 U.S.C § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i), federal judges may ‘reduce’ already imposed terms of imprisonment upon finding that ‘extraordinary and compelling reasons’ warrant reductions. Prior to 2019, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) effectively controlled the scope of a catch-all subcategory of ‘Other Reasons’ justifying sentence reductions. The BOP used this authority almost exclusively for people who were in the final stages of terminal illness. The First Step Act of 2018 (FSA) amended § 3582(c) in a manner that freed federal judges to decide for themselves what types of circumstances meet the ‘extraordinary and compelling reasons’ standard. The FSA also authorized people in federal custody to file motions on their own behalf, instead of permitting only the Director of the BOP to do so. Roughly a year later, the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the increased use of lockdowns and other restrictions inside U.S. prisons. Among the many thousands of people who moved for sentence reductions, several hundred argued that imprisonment with these new restrictions amounted to a greater punishment than pre-pandemic imprisonment. This Article explores the lessons that the decisions adjudicating these motions offer for the design of sentencing laws—including second looks—as well as efforts to increase transparency surrounding life inside prisons.
Allan-Blitz, Lao-Tzu, ‘Is It Ethical to Mandate SARS-CoV-2 Vaccinations among Incarcerated Persons?’ (2022) 22(11) The American Journal of Bioethics 8–10
Al-Qatawneh, Ibrahim Suleiman, Aliaa Zakaria and Jamal Barafi, ‘Healthcare for Prisoners in Penitentiary Establishments during COVID-19: A Comparative Study between National Legislation and International Covenants’ (2024) 10(1) International Journal of Public Law and Policy 1–16 Abstract: This study examined the prisoner’s right to healthcare in penal facilities during health crises in three Arabic countries, namely the UAE, Jordan, and Bahrain. The study is rare in that it also deals with prisoner healthcare during a pandemic. The study considers the key international rules and standards governing prisoner healthcare and its development over the past 60 years, regarding the obligations of states and the rights of the prisoner and the constitutions of the study countries, their national legislations, and the measures taken to confront COVID-19, to identify the extent of their adequacy and effectiveness and compatibility with key international standards. Despite numerous measures being taken to protect the health of prisoners and the enactment of international and national legislations, at the time of writing, the pandemic is still uncontrolled; therefore, the study finds that exceptional measures continue to be required.
Altheimer, Irshad, Janelle Duda-Banwar and Christopher J Schreck, ‘The Impact of Covid-19 on Community-Based Violence Interventions’ (2020) 45(4) American Journal of Criminal Justice 810–819 Abstract: This paper examines the impact of Covid-19 on community-based violence interventions, especially hospital-based violence interventions and street outreach organizations. Guided by our work in Rochester, New York, we explore how the emergence of covid-19, and the subsequent social restrictions, have hampered the ability of community-based organizations to respond to violence. We also examine ways that community-based organizations can adapt to the challenges associated with Covid-19 and continue providing services to the community.
Alwasmi, Muna, ‘Criminal Responsibility to Protect the Child from the Dangers of the Virtual World after COVID-19; a Study from UAE Federal Legislation’ (SSRN Scholarly Paper No 4109325, 1 March 2022) Abstract: The UAE has taken care of children in various fields, for example, the establishment of motherhood and childhood councils and the Arab Parliament for the child, but the federal legislation still needs to enact laws that simulate the virtual world and protect the child from the dangers of the virtual world—determining criminal responsibility for exposing the child to dangers through the virtual world. After COVID-19, Education has become between physical, hybrid, and online. In this case, the child must simulate the virtual world to cancel an education through the virtual world. Who is responsible for protecting the child from the dangers of this world? Is the family? Or the school by setting a code to only direct entry to educational programs. The research relied on a qualitative research approach. It is suggested that a state cyber-safety strategy should be developed on which schools can center their rules, making it much simpler for stockholders to deal with cyberbullying and assure cyber-safety. Schools must emphasize teachers and their position in the approach and the level of power they have when intervening to prevent their kids from cyber-risks and cyberbullying both within and outside the school grounds while designing their cyber-safety rules. Because of its growing importance, schools should be urged to consider cyber-safety measures. Schools should conduct standard operating research, include all community stockholders in policy development, and evaluate their practices regularly. Furthermore, schools must verify that their rules are integrated and in line to prevent dispute and decrease repetition.
Ambrus, István, ‘The COVID-19 Pandemic and Hungarian Substantive Criminal Law’ (2021) 16(7–8) ZIS Zeitschrift für Internationale Strafrechtsdogmatik 462–471 Extract from Introduction: I am primarily investigating the COVID-19 pandemic and its possible consequences under the criteria of criminal law in this work. After a short historical overview, primarily concentrating on the development of criminal prosecution of epidemic offences closely related to the topic, I will first and foremost discuss the interpretation of possible criminal offences (and certain qualifying circumstances) with particular reference to the question of their establishment and the specific problems that arise. It may be highlighted that the pandemic has a characteristic effect on the law of regulatory offences; however, I do not investigate this question in detail.
Amon, Joseph J, ‘COVID-19 and Detention: Respecting Human Rights’ (2020) 22(1) Health and Human Rights Journal 367-370 Extract from Introduction: This summary presents a picture of extraordinary numbers already affected and at risk and unprecedented response. However, one area where there has been too limited of a response to date is action to prevent transmission in detention centers, including jails, prisons, and immigration detention facilities.
Andavolu, Sarika, ‘Damn the Torpedoes! An Unprincipled, Incorrect, and Lonely Approach to Compassionate Release’ (2023) 44(2) Cardozo Law Review 477–518 Abstract: When Congress passed the First Step Act in 2018, it extended to federal prisoners the right to file their own motions for compassionate release under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A). As COVID-19 ravaged prisons, sentencing courts received a massive influx of prisoner-filed compassionate-release motions. But because the United States Sentencing Guidelines and the relevant Application Note predated the First Step Act, and therefore made no mention of prisoner-filed compassionate-release motions, sentencing courts were unsure whether they had discretion to determine whether a prisoner presented ‘extraordinary and compelling circumstances’ warranting compassionate release. Every United States Court of Appeals to consider whether sentencing courts had discretion in evaluating prisoner-filed compassionate-release motions agreed they did. All but one. In United States v. Bryant, the Eleventh Circuit incorrectly interpreted the First Step Act, the Sentencing Guidelines, and the Application Note. Today, two Americas exist. Federal prisoners in forty-seven states may request compassionate release, and sentencing courts have the discretion to determine whether extraordinary and compelling circumstances warrant relief. Federal prisoners in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia may also request compassionate release, but the Bureau of Prisons, not sentencing courts, determines which reasons outside those enumerated in the Application Note are extraordinary and compelling.This Article examines compassionate release’s history, critiques the Eleventh Circuit’s Bryant opinion, and proposes three avenues to return discretion to sentencing judges: the Sentencing Commission could amend the Application Note, Congress could legislate, and a prisoner could seek en banc review in the Eleventh Circuit challenging Bryant as wrongly decided.
Annisa, Bernieka Nur et al, ‘Implementation of the Money Laundering Law as a Predicate Crime during the Covid-19 Outbreak’ (2022) 6(1) Hang Tuah Law Journal 77–86 Abstract: Cases of criminal acts of corruption and Money Laundering have such fundamental ties. In this case the act of corruption is a part of the special criminal law in addition to having special specifications or different from the general criminal law or other, such as a deviation of procedural law and when viewed from the material regulated, the act of corruption directly or indirectly there is a the case or further criminal action from the existence of this criminal act of corruption resulting in a loss that affects the country’s economy, namely by committing the crime of money laundering as an act of laundering or busting the trace rather than the original criminal activity. In addition, in these two acts there is a form of indictment which is very important in the Money Laundering Act because this is very much a part of the determination by the judge in proving an element of guilt from the offender, therefore, the preparation of an appropriate indictment in the Criminal Act of Laundering The money in which the part can’t be ignored. So, in the development of the case, we need to know a lot about the continuity of corruption in the money laundering law, the use of money laundering legislation in its handling of corruption to optimize the efforts to recover state losses, and also the mechanism of imposing criminal penalties in proving the crime of money laundering without first proving the crime predicate as the most important element in imposing sanction.
Arenas-Arroyo, Esther, Daniel Fernández-Kranz and Natalia Nollenberger, ‘Can’t Leave You Now! Intimate Partner Violence Under Forced Coexistence and Economic Uncertainty’ (IZA Discussion Paper No 13570, 10 August 2020) Abstract: With the COVID-19 outbreak imposing stay at home and social distancing policies, warnings about the impact of lockdown and its economic consequences on domestic violence has surged. This paper disentangles the effect of forced coexistence and economic stress on intimate partner violence. Using an online survey data set, we find a 23% increase of intimate partner violence during the lockdown. Our results indicate that the impact of economic consequences is twice as large as the impact of lockdown. We also find a large increase of domestic violence when the relative position of the man worsens, especially in contexts where that position was already being threatened. We view our results as consistent with the male backlash and emotional cue effects.
Ashby, Matthew PJ, ‘Changes in Police Calls for Service During the Early Months of the 2020 Coronavirus Pandemic’ Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice (advance article, published 25 June 2020) Abstract: The coronavirus pandemic poses multiple challenges for policing, including the need to continue responding to calls from the public. Several contingency plans warned police to expect a large and potentially overwhelming increase in demand from the public during a pandemic, but (to the author’s knowledge) there is no empirical work on police demand during a major public health emergency. This study used calls-for-service data from 10 large cities in the USA to analyse how calls for service changed during the early months of the 2020 COVID-19 outbreak, compared to forecasts of call volume based on data from previous years. Contrary to previous warnings, overall the number of calls went down during the early weeks of the pandemic. There were substantial reductions in specific call types, such as traffic collisions, and significant increases in others, such as calls to dead bodies. Other types of calls, particularly those relating to crime and order maintenance, continued largely as before. Changes in the frequency of different call types present challenges to law enforcement agencies, particularly since many will themselves be suffering from reduced staffing due to the pandemic. Understanding changes to calls in detail will allow police leaders to put in place evidence-based plans to ensure they can continue to serve the public.
Ashby, Matthew PJ, ‘Initial Evidence on the Relationship between the Coronavirus Pandemic and Crime in the United States’ (2020) 9 Crime Science Article 6 Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic led to substantial changes in the daily activities of millions of Americans, with many businesses and schools closed, public events cancelled and states introducing stay-at-home orders. This article used police-recorded open crime data to understand how the frequency of common types of crime changed in 16 large cities across the United States in the early months of 2020. Seasonal auto-regressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) models of crime in previous years were used to forecast the expected frequency of crime in 2020 in the absence of the pandemic. The forecasts from these models were then compared to the actual frequency of crime during the early months of the pandemic. There were no significant changes in the frequency of serious assaults in public or (contrary to the concerns of policy makers) any change to the frequency of serious assaults in residences. In some cities, there were reductions in residential burglary but little change in non-residential burglary. Thefts of motor vehicles decreased in some cities while there were diverging patterns of thefts from motor vehicles. These results are used to make suggestions for future research into the relationships between the coronavirus pandemic and different crimes.
Ashford, Chris and Mark O’Brien, ‘Counter-Cultural Groups in the Age of Covid: Ravers, Travellers and Legal Regulation’ (2022) 86(4) The Journal of Criminal Law 241–255 Abstract: The Covid-19 pandemic once again brought into sharpened focus the contested relationships of marginalised groups in the criminal law sphere, and the liminal (re-)regulation of space. Over the course of the last four decades, the law has borne witness to an episodic yet regular intertwining of the fortunes of arguably two elements of Britain’s counterculture: ravers and travellers, specifically ‘new age’ travellers. The two groupings of peoples have had a long, complex and often uncomfortable and fractious relationship both with English law, and also its enforcement agencies. This is perhaps particularly evident in the criminal law provisions and sometimes questionable enforcement of the Public Order Act 1986 and the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, through to the social and environmental provisions of the Caravan Sites Act 1968, Entertainments (Increased Penalties) Act 1990, and subsequent provisions., Both the groupings of ravers and travellers have been faced with a series of legislative and administrative measures that, directly or indirectly, curtail or otherwise restrict their choices as to activities, lifestyles and behaviours. The article analyses how the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has led to some long-established legal and regulatory themes being once again played out in relation to these two counter-cultural groups.
Aslim, Erkmen Giray and Murat C Mungan, ‘Access to Substance Use Disorder Treatment During COVID-19: Implications from Reduced Local Jail Populations’ (George Mason Law & Economics Research Paper No 20–27, 23 September 2020) Abstract: Many states have responded to the spread of COVID-19 by implementing policies which have led to a dramatic reduction in jail populations. We consider benefits associated with providing the population of individuals who would, but for these policies, be incarcerated with substance use disorder (SUD) treatment. We discuss problems that may prevent this population from receiving SUD treatment as well as policies which may mitigate these problems.
Auethavornpipat, Ruji, ‘Hate Speech and Incitement in Malaysia’ in Preventing Hate Speech, Incitement, and Discrimination: Lessons on Promoting Tolerance and Respect for Diversity in the Asia Pacific (Global Action Against Mass Atrocity Crimes, 2021) 119–158 Abstract: This chapter examines how COVID-19 not only instigates hate speech and incitement but also increases the vulnerabilities of migrants and refugees in Southeast Asia. It starts with a regional overview of public attitudes towards foreigners and refugees before narrowing down to illustrate how and why the Rohingya populations have become the target of hate speech and incitement in Malaysia. The detailed examination of the Rohingya in Malaysia is motivated by the fact that hateful remarks were expressed by online social media users as if there was a consensus among the local population. It is thus highly significant to understand such a phenomenon. The findings reveal that the global pandemic heightened public anxieties and subsequently led to the proliferation of hate speech and incitement against ‘unwanted’ foreigners perceived as intruders in the country. The situation was also significantly worsened by the wide spread of misinformation about victims of hate speech, which in turn resulted in incitement of violence.
Azemi, Florent, Mensur Morina and Fatos Haziri, ‘Comparative Aspect of the State of Terrorism in the Period of the Covid-19 Pandemic at the Global Level and in Kosovo’ (SSRN Scholarly Paper No 4534738, 8 August 2023) Abstract: In this research, we have addressed the state of global terrorism by comparing it with the state of terrorism in Kosovo. In recent years, some special forms and activities of global terrorism and the possible threats it poses to the international community have emerged. The latest report of the Global Terrorism Index for the time period 2020 and 2021 has marked a positive reflection on the evident decrease in terrorist cases according to the data analysed and collected in different countries at the global level. However, the forms of terrorist phenomena and the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic remain a challenge. Also, the latest reports indicate that the regional spread of terrorist cases has taken a different form, where South Asia remains the most sensitive and affected region by terrorism. Reports point to the terrorist organization ISIS as a threat, with particular emphasis on the cyber domain, despite the lack of growth within groups and individuals within it. The growing activity of far-right groups in North America, Europe and elsewhere, including the Western Balkans and Kosovo, is another phenomenon that is considered to be challenge and concern. The period of the COVID-19 pandemic may have reflected positively by hindering some terrorist activities, but the economic damage to vulnerable social layers may give extremist groups new opportunities to attract new recruits, and Kosovo may also be affected by this risk. Kosovo, as a small country, although with its problems in the north in relation to Serbia, has continuously cooperated and coordinated its work with the international community in Kosovo and in particular with their missions, such as the NATO mission in Kosovo, KFOR and EULEX rule of law mission. During the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kosovo has managed the security situation well, with no cases of terrorism recorded thanks to international cooperation and its legal aspect, where in particular it has completed the Anti-terrorism Strategy 2018-2023.
Azhar-Graham, Amina and Carina Gallo, ‘Reimagining Public Defense Advocacy in Times of Covid-19: Lessons from a Task Force’ (2021) 33(1) Current Issues in Criminal Justice 126–130 Jurisdiction: USA
Abstract: In March 2020, the Contra Costa Public Defenders Association (CCPDA) established a task force to counter the injustices and dangers experienced by clients in custody during the Covid-19 pandemic. The purpose of this commentary is to describe the background and work of the task force, discuss the lessons learned and finally, to identify opportunities for reshaping the criminal justice landscape. In response to the humanitarian crisis in jail, the task force fought for systematic reform, including decarceration. However, while faced with increasingly divergent challenges arising from the pandemic, the task force became overextended, reverting its focus onto membership. The task force’s main lesson is that alliances with other organizations are essential to propel political and legislative change. The Covid-19 task force provided a platform for CCPDA to publicly protest the treatment of incarcerated people, while also providing an opportunity to rethink its role as a political organization. Moving forward, public defenders can, in collaboration with other organizations, play an essential role in criminal justice reform. To prevent future deaths of people in custody during this and future pandemics, we must find alternatives to the current correctional system.
Aziani, Alberto et al, ‘COVID-19 and Organized Crime: Strategies Employed by Criminal Groups to Increase Their Profits and Power in the First Months of the Pandemic’ (2023) 26(2) Trends in Organized Crime 114–135 Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has created new opportunities for organized criminal groups and confronted them with new challenges. Analysis of how these groups have reacted to the pandemic yields better understanding of how they work and enables the devising of more effective counter-strategies. To this end, we identified illustrative cases regarding the provision of illegal governance and infiltration of the legal economy by conducting a systematic content analysis of international media articles and institutional reports published during the first eight months after the outbreak of the pandemic (January to August 2020). These cases were further analyzed in order to cluster the behavior of criminal groups in response to the COVID-19 emergency, and the means by which they tried to exploit the pandemic to strengthen their political and economic power. We found that different governance-type criminal groups proposed themselves as institutions able to mitigate the burdens imposed by the pandemic by providing support to people in need and enforcing social-distancing measures. Further, identified cases did not provide evidence of groups devoted to the provision of illicit services and goods assuming any governance role. In this respect, the available evidence supports previous knowledge about organized crime. Cases of misappropriation of public funds and organized crime infiltration of the legal economy seem less common, at least in the first phase of the pandemic. The wholesale distribution of pharmaceuticals and medicines has been the sector targeted the most.
Bagaric, Mirko, ‘The Crime of Criminalising Everyday Life: The Rule of Law Discarded in Victoria’s COVID-19 Response’ (Report, Institute of Public Affairs, 21 September 2022) Abstract: The criminal law was the main instrument employed by the Victorian government to force Victorians to comply with the strictest COVID-19 lockdown in the world. This report argues that the criminal law should never again be used as a blunt instrument of oppression to achieve health objectives.
Bagaric, Mirko, ‘Editorial: Can the Pandemic Induced Fall in Prison Numbers Lead to Durable Principled Sentencing Reform?’ (2020) 44(5) Criminal Law Journal 273–274 Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on nearly every section of society. One exception is incarceration levels. As has been previously noted in this journal, Australia has experienced runaway prison numbers in recent years. This has made Australia the second most punitive developed nation on earth when it comes incarceration rates – behind only the United States – and resulted in massive public expenditure on prisons, while providing no demonstrably community benefit. The seemingly unstoppable increase in prison numbers has finally been abated, and quite dramatically. Not by design, but rather as a result of an unintended consequence of the pandemic.
Bagaric, Mirko, ‘Editorial: COVID-19 and Early Global Decarceration Trends’ (2020) 44(4) Criminal Law Journal 205–206 Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted every area of human activity in every part of the world. The criminal justice system is no exception. There has been no systematic or co-ordinated criminal law response but six months into the pandemic there are some patterns emerging regarding the impact of the pandemic on incarceration numbers.
Bagaric, Mirko, ‘Editorial: The Questionable Legitimacy of the Criminal Law as the Front Line of Defence Against COVID-19: Long-Term Implications’ (2021) 45(4) Criminal Law Journal 199–200 Abstract: The desirability of Australia's approach to the pandemic (one the few countries to pursue an elimination strategy) is contestable and is an issue which requires extensive analysis from the perspective of a number of disciplines, including health, economics and sociology. However, irrespective of the answer to this, there will remain the narrower important jurisprudential issue of whether the manner in which the criminal law was operationalised to control human behaviour was (1) effective; or (2) fair.
Bagaric, Mirko, Dan Hunter and Jennifer Svilar, ‘Prison Abolition: From Naïve Idealism to Technological Pragmatism’ (2020) 111(2) Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology (forthcoming) Abstract: The United States is finally recoiling from the mass incarceration crisis that has plagued it for half a century. The world’s largest incarcerator has seen a small drop in prison numbers since 2008. However, the rate of decline is so slow that it would take half a century for incarceration numbers to reduce to historical levels. Further, the drop in prison numbers has occurred against the backdrop of piecemeal reforms, and there is no meaningful, systematic mechanism to reduce incarceration levels. Despite this, there is now, for the first time, a growing public acceptance that prison is a problematic, possibly flawed, sanction. Prison is expensive, inflicts serious unintended suffering on offenders, and profoundly damages families. Alternatives to prison are finally being canvassed. In one respect this is not surprising. The manner in which we deal with serious offenders has not meaningfully changed for over 500 years—during all this time, we have simply locked offenders behind high walls. The way we deal with serious criminals has been more resistant to scientific and technological advances than any other aspect of society. The most radical suggestion regarding prison reform is to abolish prisons. Abolition of prisons has been a theme in some limited academic quarters for many decades. It has never received anything approaching mainstream credibility as a reform option. This is now changing. Prominent politicians, social groups, university organisations, and the mainstream media commentaries have recently advocated prison abolition. This proposal is no longer a fringe idea. It has gained considerable more currency in light of the dual society-changing phenomenon of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matters movement. Yet, the persuasiveness of the proposal to abolish prison evaporates hastily when any degree of intellectual rigor is cast over the proposal. It is likely to go down as naïve idealism due to the absence of any practical alternatives to prison. This Article shores up the notion of prison abolition by carefully outlining an alternative to prison and hence addresses what is thought to be an insurmountable flaw in abolitionist proposal. We advance a viable alternative to prison that involves the use and adaption of existing monitoring and censoring technology, which will enable us to monitor and observe the actions of offenders in real-time and, when necessary, to halt potentially harmful acts of offenders before they harm other people. In proposing this new sanction, we give pragmatic weight to the prison abolition proposal and provide lawmakers and the community a pathway to abolishing most prisons. The reforms suggested in this Article can result in prison numbers being reduced by over ninety percent, without any diminution in public safety.
Bagaric, Mirko and Peter Isham, ‘Sentencing Developments in the United States in 2020: The Pandemic, Black Lives Matter and Further Erosion of Mass Incarceration’ (2021) 45(2) Criminal Law Journal 114–121 Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic and to a lesser extent the Black Lives Matter movement have had a considerable impact on sentencing law and practice in the United States in 2020. In this survey of United States sentencing developments, we also explore key reforms in the federal jurisdiction and at State level and reflect on the likely impact of Joe Biden being elected President in November 2020.
Baharuddin, Ahmad Syukran et al, ‘Offense of Spreading Infectious Disease and Methods of Proof Through Forensic Science’ (2020) 3(1) INSLA E-Proceedings 340–350 Abstract: Since 1988, a specific Act has been enacted concerning the prevention and control of infectious diseases. This Act is known as the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988. The preamble to this Act states that it was enacted to amend and consolidate laws relating to the prevention and control of infectious diseases and to provide for other matters relating thereto. In this Act, there are several types of actions that if committed can be convicted as an offense under this Act, among them include acting in a manner that can spread infectious diseases. This study discusses matters related to offense causing the spread of infectious diseases from the view of civil and Syariah law. It also covers scientific methods to prove such offense. This qualitative study has collected relevant data through primary and secondary documents and subsequently analysed it using the document analysis method. The result of this study found that the act of exposing others to the risk of infection is an offense and it is forbidden in Islam. Several scientific methods can be used in convicting this offense; among them are medical reports, travel records, physical examinations, CCTV footage, and biological examinations. This study suggests that the aspect of proof for such cases should be emphasized because such studies have not yet been conducted by previous researchers
Bakry, Muammar et al, ‘Arguing Islamophobia during COVID-19 Outbreaks: A Consideration Using Khuṣūṣ Al-Balwᾱ’ (2020) 9 International Journal of Criminology and Sociology 2757–2765 Abstract: The threat of Islamophobia continues to surface. The latest is related to COVID-19. Islam considered as the source of the virus suddenly went viral, even with the hashtag #coronajihad. The implementation of religious rituals by ignoring social distance by certain groups can be one of the triggers besides propaganda and conspiracy from antiIslam. This article aims to provide an argument against Islamophobia with consideration of Khusus Al Balwa. The approach used is a combination of normative and empirical facts amid the heterogeneity of Muslims during the pandemic. An interesting finding from this research shows that khusus al-balwa is a concept that Muslims need amid co19 hegemony, especially in terms of providing a complex understanding to present a calming Islam rather than a threat. In reality, khusus al-balwa happened a lot amid the pluralism of Muslims to prevent the outbreak of Islamophobia amid co-19 issues. Consideration of khusus al balwa contribute to prevent the negative stigma that could harass verbally and physically to the muslem. In fact, the special concept of al-balwa has not been much studied by observers of Islamic law which is covered because of the ‘fame’ of ‘umum al-balwa. Khusus al-balwa has not been fully taken into consideration by the Mufti, both individuals, and institutions in bringing forth fatwa products.
Balakrishnan, Prithika, ‘Mass Surveillance as Racialized Control’ (2024) 71(3) UCLA Law Review 478–538 Abstract: Incarceration has become the historicized norm for those who assert their innocence. A staggering number of defendants are incarcerated prior to the adjudication of their cases — a reality that has become a central paradox of an American criminal justice system which holds axiomatic the presumption of innocence. Recent attempts to address pretrial mass incarceration through bail reform and COVID-19 compassionate release have embraced digital surveillance, resulting in unintended and little understood consequences.This Article examines how the expanded use of pretrial GPS surveillance is radically changing the presumption of innocence by implicating punitive measures absent constitutional protections and amplifying the racial disparities in our criminal justice system. Largely viewed as a substitution for physical detention and therefore a less onerous intrusion on a defendant’s liberty, pretrial GPS surveillance erodes fundamental liberties under the guise of criminal justice regulation. These highly racialized but invisible repercussions include harms to physical and psychological health, freedom of movement, privacy, and future economic self-determination. I argue that in light of these substantial harms, courts must examine how they evaluate technological surveillance, affording defendants substantive and procedural due process protections where there currently are none.Part I of this Article charts the ways in which bail reform and COVID- 19 related compassionate release have resulted in the expansion of pretrial GPS monitoring far beyond the footprint of physical incarceration. Part II, examining an empirical case study as a basis, details the specific and racialized harms imposed by technologically-mediated restraint. Part III offers a substantive and procedural due process framework for how courts should weigh these harms. Finally, I argue for a re-assessment of United States v. Salerno to recognize future dangerousness as a fundamentally racialized concept that, guided by increasingly sophisticated means of constant surveillance, oversteps the boundary between regulatory and punitive purposes.
Balmori de la Miyar, Jose Roberto, Lauren Hoehn-Velasco and Adan Silverio-Murillo, ‘Druglords Don’t Stay at Home: COVID-19 Pandemic and Crime Patterns in Mexico City’ (SSRN Scholarly Paper No ID 3667160, Social Science Research Network, 15 July 2020) Abstract: Objective: To investigate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on conventional crime and organized crime in Mexico City, Mexico.Methods: Mexico City’s Attorney General’s Office reported crime data, covering domestic violence, burglary, robbery, vehicle-theft, assault-battery, homicides, kidnapping, and extortion. We use an event study for the intertemproal variation across the 16 districts (municipalities) in Mexico City for 2019 and 2020.Results: We find a sharp decrease on crimes related to domestic violence, burglary, and vehicle theft; a decrease during some weeks on crimes related to assaultbattery and extortion, and no effects on crimes related to robbery, kidnapping, and homicides.Conclusions: While our results show a decline in conventional crime during the COVID-19 pandemic, organized crime remains steady. These findings have policy implications for catastrophic events around the world, as well as possible national security issues in Mexico.
Bani-issa, Husein, ‘The Criminal Liability for the Transmission of the Novel COVID-19 to Others in Accordance with the Bahraini Legislation (Analytical Study)’ (2021) 12(13) Turkish Journal of Computer and Mathematics Education (TURCOMAT) 1019–1030 Abstract: Since appearance of the new Corona virus (Covid-19) in China, then its spread in Bahrain and all over the world at the beginning of 2020, the Kingdom of Bahrain has faced the pandemic with strict measures, including imposing restrictions on travel, commercial exchanges, closing public places and places of worship. The study aims to identify the punitive confrontation withthe spread of epidemics such as the Corona virus in light of the effective Bahraini legislation. Also, adapting the crimes resulting from the transmission of the Corona virus intentional and non-intentional, furthermore sufficiency in providing influential punitive protection for society and individuals, especially in light of the seriousness of this virus and the impact of its spread on all aspects of health life, economic, social and others.
Bansal, Sakshat and Shruti Sahni, ‘Bail, Prisons and COVID-19: An Indian Perspective’ (2021) 46(4) Alternative Law Journal 326–331 Abstract: This article explores the implementation of the right to bail for prisoners during COVID-19. Using data from a sample of 50 advocates collected through a face-to-face questionnaire, the article probes lawyers’ perceptions of the functioning of the mechanism of bail in the pandemic. The article also evaluates the efficacy of measures taken to decongest prisons by critically reviewing the criteria identified by the High-Powered Committees of States for releasing prisoners. Finally, it concludes by indicating the urgent need to remedy the deficiencies and provides recommendations for reforming the criminal justice system to safeguard prisoners’ right to life and health.
Barnert, Elizabeth, Cyrus Ahalt and Brie Williams, ‘Prisons: Amplifiers of the COVID-19 Pandemic Hiding in Plain Sight’ (2020) 110(7) American Journal of Public Health 964–966 Abstract: Introduction: On February 29, 2020, nearly half of incident cases (233 of 565) of COVID-19 reported in Wuhan, China, were from the city’s prison system. A separate prison outbreak, 450 miles away, in Shendong, China, was traced to officials who had visited Wuhan and infected seven prison guards and 200 inmates. Modern prisons have faced infectious outbreaks but none at the scale of COVID-19’s. On March 26, 2020, the United States reported its first death of an incarcerated patient, in Georgia, and New York City jails reported an infection rate seven times higher than in the rest of the city, a current US epicenter of COVID-19. For many Americans, it is easy to forget the experiences of our detained community members. But custodial facilities are vulnerable to devastating COVID-19 outbreaks that pose disproportionately high health risks to detained and incarcerated people, elevate transmission risk in surrounding communities, and would likely trigger an occupational health crisis for hundreds of thousands of professionals performing essential work in custodial facilities around the nation. In view of the considerable yet poorly understood and little discussed health risks, public health and custodial leadership must take urgent measures to keep COVID-19 out of custodial settings and develop stringent mitigation strategies for when it does.
Baron, E Jason, Ezra G Goldstein and Cullen T Wallace, ‘Suffering in Silence: How COVID-19 School Closures Inhibit the Reporting of Child Maltreatment’ (SSRN Scholarly Paper ID 3601399, 14 May 2020) Abstract: To combat the spread of COVID-19, many primary and secondary schools in the United States canceled classes and moved instruction online. This study examines an unexplored consequence of COVID-19 school closures: the broken link between child maltreatment victims and the number one source of reported maltreatment allegations - school personnel. Using current, county-level data from Florida, we estimate a counterfactual distribution of child maltreatment allegations for March and April 2020, the first two months in which Florida schools closed. While one would expect the financial, mental, and physical stress due to COVID-19 to result in additional child maltreatment cases, we find that the actual number of reported allegations was approximately 15,000 lower (27 percent) than expected for these two months. We leverage a detailed dataset of school district staffing and spending to show that the observed decline in allegations was primarily driven by school closures. Finally, we discuss policy implications of our findings and suggest a number of responses that may mitigate this hidden cost of school closures.
Bartels, Lorana, ‘Sentencing Review 2019–2020’ (2020) 44(5) Criminal Law Journal 328–347 Abstract: This year’s sentencing review will focus on two issues: COVID-19 and the Bugmy Bar Book (BBB) Project, both discussed in much more detail below.
Beard, Jacqueline, ‘Coronavirus: Prisons (England and Wales)’ (House of Commons Library, Briefing Paper No 8892, 18 May 2020) Abstract: On 27 April 2020 the Justice Secretary said that the numbers of coronavirus cases and deaths in prisons were lower than had been originally predicted and that prisons were coping and dealing well w…
Bennett, Belinda, Ian Freckelton and Gabrielle Wolf, ‘Criminal Justice Issues and the COVID-19 Pandemic’ in COVID-19, Law, and Regulation: Rights, Freedoms, and Obligations in a Pandemic (Oxford University Press, 2023)
Berkowitz, Ariel, ‘(Un)Masking the Truth: The Cruel and Unusual Punishment of Prisoners Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic’ (2021) 37(1) Touro Law Review 347-373
Berryessa, Colleen, ‘Compassionate Release as a “Right” in the Age of COVID-19’ (2020) 20(7) American Journal of Bioethics 185-187 Abstract: This comment discusses the immense need for compassionate release of vulnerable and elderly inmates during the COVID-19 pandemic. Compassionate release will save lives, and asserts the basic rights and protections of the most vulnerable. Many elderly and sick inmates, unless action is taken, will die of COVID-19 while waiting on their compassionate release decisions during the pandemic, and many more will die if their applications are stalled or denied for political reasons. Counsel for vulnerable defendants seeking compassionate release based on health or age, as ‘extraordinary and compelling reasons’ for early release, should examine successful applications, although few and far in between, in order to increase the likelihood of securing compassionate release for their clients.
Bettinger-Lopez, Caroline, Denisse Cordova-Montes and Maxwell Zoberman, ‘The Duty to Protect Survivors of Gender-Based Violence in the Age of COVID-19 an Expanded Human Rights Framework’ (2022) University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review (forthcoming) Abstract: Many commentators have referred to domestic violence and other forms of gender-based violence (GBV) in the age of COVID-19 as a ‘double pandemic.’ Based on results of a mixed-methods study on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on GBV in South Florida, conducted by the Human Rights Clinic of the University of Miami School of Law, in close collaboration with community-based organizations, this article offers a proposal for an expanded normative human rights framework to address domestic violence and other forms of GBV. The local study sought to elucidate the pathways that link pandemics such as COVID-19 and GBV, highlight linkages with other social and economic factors, seek greater clarity on the conditions and systems that actually lead to safety, and inform intervention and response options. Study results show just how underfunded and unprepared service providers have been to respond to victims’ needs and priorities during this pandemic. This article’s human rights analysis and recommendations offer approaches that respond to the most affected communities’ needs and priorities and insist on improved policy and government responses during the current crisis and its aftermath.
Bettinger-Lopez, Caroline et al, ‘The Impact of COVID-19 on Survivors of Gender-Based Violence and Service Providers in Miami-Dade County: A Case Study’ (SSRN Scholarly Paper ID 4054048, 10 March 2022) Abstract: Many commentators have referred to domestic and gender-based violence in the age of COVID-19 as a ‘double pandemic.’ This chapter offers a local view on that phenomenon. We elaborate on the results of a mixed-methods study on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on gender-based violence (GBV) in South Florida, conducted by the Human Rights Clinic of the University of Miami School of Law, in close collaboration with community-based organizations. The study sought to elucidate the pathways that link pandemics such as COVID-19 and GBV, determine the magnitude of the problem, highlight linkages with other social and economic factors, seek greater clarity on the conditions and systems that actually lead to safety, and inform intervention and response options. More specifically, the study was designed to assess the impact of COVID-19, racism, and exclusionary policies on GBV survivors using an intersectional gender lens that places the focus on the most marginalized and vulnerable communities in South Florida who experience bias and marginalization due to immigration status, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, disability, socio-economic status, and other factors. This chapter summarizes a forthcoming report on the study, which offers key results, a human rights analysis, and recommendations to inform local and national advocacy. Initial results show just how underfunded and unprepared many organizations have been to respond to victims during this pandemic. The study’s analysis and recommendations offer approaches that respond to the most affected communities’ needs and priorities, and insist on improved policy and government responses during the current crisis and its aftermath. This study built off the fact-finding work of our Human Rights Clinic’s COURAGE in Policing Initiative (COURAGE = Community Oriented and United Responses to Address Gender Violence and Equality), which works with community-based organizations, police departments, and GBV experts locally, nationally, and globally on improving law enforcement responses to GBV. The project aims to increase access to safety and justice for all survivors, with a particular focus on black and brown women, immigrant women, disabled women, indigenous women, LGBTQI individuals, and other underserved populations. In collaboration with partners, the project is developing surveys, model policies, trainings, supervision protocols, reports, online resources, and systems of accountability for law enforcement responses to GBV, including research and tools specific to the COVID-19 context. But as the national dialogue transitioned away from law enforcement-centric solutions, and of course, as the pandemic set in in March 2020, the COURAGE project transitioned into its new iteration, which focused on a series of new research questions, namely (1) how the COVID pandemic had impacted the service providers that care for GBV survivors in South Florida, (2) what these service providers were doing to respond to the new challenges, and (3) what the evolving needs of survivors and service providers were. The ultimate goal was to produce a series of recommendations that could then be implemented across Miami-Dade County and surrounding municipalities, to address pressing immediate needs and to better prepare for future public health or other massive crises. Below, we first discuss the ‘double pandemic’ phenomenon of domestic and gender-based violence in times of COVID-19. Next, we explore the intersectional impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, as it relates to GBV. Then, we offer a synopsis of our study and our conclusions. Finally, we offer a human rights analysis of our study findings as well as law and policy recommendations.
‘Beware of Coronavirus Scams’ (2020) 113(5) Servamus Community-based Safety and Security Magazine 25–25 Abstract: SABRIC, the South African Banking Risk Information Centre, warns bank clients that cybercriminals are exploiting the spread of COVID-19 for their own gain using the ‘Coronamania’ panic to spread coronavirus scams. Coronavirus scams exploit peoples concerns for their health and safety and pressure them into being tricked using social engineering. Social engineering is manipulative and exploits human vulnerability because criminals know that the weakest link in the information security chain is the human being.
Bhatia, Himanshi, ‘Marital Rape: Rape that Shackled Women During COVID-2019’ (2021) 24 Supremo Amicus Journal (unpaginated)Jurisdiction: India
Extract: Since the day, lockdown has been imposed in the entire country by the Indian government, in order to protect the nation from the widespread coronavirus, the lockdown started showing its negative impact not only on the ones who are getting affected by such novel virus but it has impacted the families and especially women residing in their homes to a large extent. Earlier to this coronavirus when the lockdown was not imposed before these conditions when women were raped, there used to be implied theories which were followed by the society like, lady must be wearing short dresses, lady must have gone alone without her husband/brother/father or she must be roaming on the roads late at night. Now, during coronavirus there are the restrictions which have been imposed by states on free movement, so, during these conditions we need to ask ourselves that, when women are living in their homes then also, what could be the reason for such rise in the number of women getting raped. The basic principle that has to be understood is that, ‘rapist remains a rapist regardless of his relation with the victim’. The effect of coronavirus is not only outside the homes but rather this virus has disturbed the women who have been shackled in their own houses.
Bhoi, Pritish Kumar et al, ‘Covid-19 Pandemic: Cybercrimes vs Cybersecurity’ (2021) 10(2) International Journal of Modern Agriculture 145-152 Abstract: The whole world as we know is experiencing the worst ever pandemic in the history of mankind. The novel Corona Virus i: e COVID-19 has shaken the world economy to its knee. With the rapid spread of the virus, lots of tech giant companies are busy workings with the Govt. to handle the situation. As most people are accessing confidential data through home routers, hackers are easily finding the loopholes to get to the systems and do mischief things. The paper tries to investigate the current scenario of COVID 19 and how it has become the catalyst for the cyberwar between hackers and cybersecurity specialists. This paper will go through various ongoing use instances of cybercrime examining differences from the previous pandemics. It also aims at realizing the relevance for cyber security in the current context along with basic guidelines against cyber threats.
Białogłowski, Wojciech, Dominika Łukawska-Białogłowska and Bogusław Przywora, ‘Suspendium Ad Kalendas Graecas? The Problem of the Constitutionality of Suspending the Statute of Limitations for Fiscal Offences during the State of the Epidemic or the State of the Epidemic Threat as the Example of Broadly Understood “Fiscal Repression” of the State against the Individual’ (2024) 29(1) Bialystok Legal Studies / Białostockie Studia Prawnicze 255–267 Abstract: One of the basic principles defining the relationship between individuals (including entrepreneurs) and the state is the principle of protecting the citizen’s trust in the state and the law enacted by it. This principle is based on legal certainty, understood in the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Tribunal of the Republic of Poland as a certain set of features inherent in the law which ensure legal security for the individual; the individual then has the possibility of full knowledge of the reasons for the operation of state authorities and the legal consequences that his or her actions may entail. An individual should be able both to determine the consequences of behaviours and events on the basis of the legal status in force at a given moment, and to expect that the legislator will not change it arbitrarily. On 22 June 2021, Article 15zzr1 was added to the Act of 2 March 2020 on special solutions related to the prevention, counteraction and combating of COVID-19, other infectious diseases and crisis situations caused by them; the article stipulates that during the state of epidemic threat or state of the epidemic, as announced due to COVID-19, and in the period of six months after their cancellation, there is no statute of limitations for the criminality of the act and no statute of limitations for the execution of a penalty in cases of crimes and fiscal crimes (paragraph 1); the periods referred to above are counted from 14 March 2020 – in the event of an epidemic threat, and from 20 March 2020 – in the event of an epidemic (paragraph 2). The subject of this paper is an attempt to answer the question of whether the indicated provision – interfering with the current model of the relationship between penal fiscal law and tax law – meets constitutional standards.
Biswas, Debajyoti and Parvin Sultana, ‘Policing During the Time of Corona: The Indian Context’ [2020] Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice (advance article, published 31 May 2020) Abstract: According to Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker, India has the most stringent lockdown as compared to other nations and has scored 100% in the scale; nevertheless, there had been sporadic incidence of attacks on police personnel and medical workers in different parts of India. This article argues that such resistance comes from two broad factors: (i) a collective scepticism that has built up among certain section of people and (ii) a tool of defiance against the government. In order to quell such resistance, community leaders and the police can play a very crucial role. In order to establish the above hypotheses, a quantitative approach of the events that have occurred in India during the lockdown period of 21 days shall be considered.
Blore, Ken and Felicity Nagorcka, ‘Human Rights and Trust in the Time of COVID-19: Lockdowns, Prison Conditions and Vaccine Mandates’ [2024] (110) AIAL Forum 21-49 Abstract: On the eve of the COVID-19 pandemic, Queensland joined the Australian Capital Territory and Victoria in enacting human rights legislation. The response to the pandemic required incursions on fundamental rights and freedoms which tested the human rights frameworks in each of these jurisdictions. Under that framework, whenever an act, decision or statutory provision limits a human right, generally that limit must be justified according to a test of proportionality. In this way, the legislation aims to embed a "culture of justification". This article follows how this culture of justification played out in the ACT, Victoria and Queensland for lockdowns, vaccine mandates and the heightened risks of transmission in a prison setting. It explores what these examples reveal about how human rights legislation interacts with trust in government institutions, and seeks to answer the following question: does a human rights framework help to build trust in government or might it, conversely, encourage scepticism about government decision-making?
Bloshchynskyi, Ihor, ‘Peculiarities of Distance Learning Platforms Usage in Law Enforcement Educational Institutions during the Covid-19 Pandemic’ (2022) 13(2) Postmodern Openings 514–527 Abstract: The article reviews the peculiarities of distance learning platforms usage in law enforcement educational institutions during the Covid-19 pandemic. Distance learning at U.S. Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, which is based on the Online Campus have been substantiated. Particular attention is paid to topical issues of training on such online training mod-ules of the Campus: crime scene, driving training, drugs, firearms, health, interviews, investigation, law, topography, maritime training, personal security, technical means, terrorism, stopping vehicles, etc. There are also programs to study the courses ‘Small Arms’ and ‘Use of Force’ in the online training modules of the Campus. The specifics of professional training of border guards in Asian countries have been revealed: the use of platforms of law enforcement agencies; focus of training on the development of basic competencies and the ability to solve problem situations; the opportunity to take online courses for all categories of staff at a convenient time; creation of a three-level round-the-clock system of functioning of training of specialists. Peculiarities of professional training of border guards of European countries have been outlined considering the usage of both the platforms of institutions and joint platforms of international organizations, namely: web platform Virtual Aula of Agency FRONTEX; CEPOL DL (e-Net) web platform; European Coast Guard Training (ECGTP) platforms; ILIAS EU Mission EUBAM; Connect & Learn UNHCR; UNODC and others. Special attention is paid to the capabilities of the Virtual Aula web platform for training teachers, instructors, external experts, etc. Web platform Virtual Aula of Agency FRONTEX presents up-to-date information on educational programs conducted in Europe. Characteristics of distance learning platforms usage in higher law enforcement educational institutions in Ukraine have been presented. Distance learning course of the English language for border guards have been developed and implemented. Considerable attention is also paid to the disclosure of online assessment of knowledge: the test of self-control on the topics, modules, and procedure of final assessment.
Boateng, Festival Godwin, Saviour Kusi and Samuel Ametepey, ‘COVID-19 Lockdown Defiance, Public “Indiscipline”, and Criminalisation of Vulnerable Populations in Ghana’ (SSRN Scholarly Paper ID 4001957, 25 November 2021) Abstract: Behavioural economics has provided much source of inspiration for public policy in the COVID-19 era. Such is evidently the state of discussion in Ghana, where Ghanaians’ so-called stubborn resistance to positive behavioural change is increasingly the target of public and popular criticisms. This paper argues that further to legitimising the police violence and extrajudicial sanctions meted out to ‘undisciplined’ violators of the restrictions, the indiscipline narrative leaps too quickly from an account of the personal morality/attitudes of Ghanaians to the collective action of mass-defiance of the restrictions without taking adequate account of the range of structural constraints that made it difficult for the majority of the people to comply with the restrictions. The mass defiance of the restrictions is best understood in the context of the unequal outcomes of the broader policy processes and practices, and the historical-institutional power dynamics around them that put some people in criminogenic situations in the country. It is important that media and policy analyses of public defiance of the restrictions and social problems in the country generally move beyond the simplistic notion of indiscipline to dissect how deliberate bias against the needs of the majority operates, and is institutionalised in policy and practice in ways that undermine their commitment to rules and regulations.
Boman, John H and Owen Gallupe, ‘Has COVID-19 Changed Crime? Crime Rates in the United States during the Pandemic’ (2020) 45(4) American Journal of Criminal Justice 537-545 Abstract: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, state-level governments across the United States issued mandatory stay-at-home orders around the end of March 2020. Though intended to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the lockdowns have had sweeping impacts on life in ways which were not originally planned. This study’s purpose is to investigate the extent to which governmental responses to COVID-19 have impacted crime rates in the U.S. Compared to the pre-pandemic year of 2019, crime – as measured by calls for service to law enforcement – has decreased markedly. However, there are multiple indications that the crime drop is being driven by decreases in minor offenses which are typically committed in peer groups. At the same time, serious crimes which are generally not committed with co-offenders (namely homicide and intimate partner violence) have either remained constant or increased. As such, the crime drop appears to be hiding a very disturbing trend where homicides remain unchanged and intimate partner batteries are increasing. Since many offenders would presumably be committing less serious crimes in a non-pandemic world, we raise attention to the possibility that mandatory lockdown orders may have taken minor offenders and placed them into situations where there is rampant opportunity for intimate partner violence, serious batteries, and homicides. While crime in the U.S. appears to be down overall, this good news should not blind us to a troubling co-occurring reality – a reality that paints a dim picture of unintended consequences to public health and criminal justice finances as a result of COVID-19 lockdowns.
Bondoc, Audrey Shane, ‘Cybercrime Prevalence during COVID-19 Pandemic and Psychological Effects and Impact of Pre-Trial Publicity: A Review of Ronnel Mas’ Case’ (SSRN Scholarly Paper No 4532255, 10 June 2020) Abstract: The aim of this case study is to explore Ronnel Mas’ Case to identify and analyze the prevalence of cybercrimes during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the psychological effects of pre-trial publicity of crime suspects through media in-relation to Mas’ Case. The pre-trial publicity of the accused who is not yet convicted by the court causes higher chances of an adverse effect to the accused’s mental health and fair trial. The accusation that Mr. Mas has faced, also exhibited the lapses of the criminal justice system, specifically the law enforcement. Thus, strict observance of laws, rules and criminal procedure must be adhered at all costs to prevent violations in order to have proper, fair and impartial proceedings ensuring the maintenance of the rights of the accused. Moreover, the sense of responsibility of a citizen towards social media must always be applied.
Bonvicini, Barbara et al, ‘Legal Scenarios in the Coronavirus Time: Medico Legal Implications in the Aspects of Governance’ (2021) 48 Legal Medicine Article 101832 Abstract: Along with rising levels of the infection around the world, the state of emergency prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic has also been having a heavy legal impact. The situation is posing important criminal challenges, as well as an ocean of social and public health issues around the world. It has not only directly affected constitutionally-guaranteed rights and individual freedoms, but also brought to the fore certain types of criminal offence that had previously been of little practical importance, such as the crime of ‘maliciously or unintentionally causing an epidemic’. Different countries and states have introduced policies to manage the emergency at different times and in different ways. The measures adopted have been the object of much criticism, also raising questions of constitutional legitimacy in countries like Italy. The present contribution begins with a brief outline of the different international scenarios. Then we examine some of the medicolegal aspects of criminal offences previously envisaged and newly introduced since the arrival of the pandemic. We suggest the need for a sort of ‘code of public health laws for the time of coronavirus’, that could also be applied to other public health emergencies, pandemic or otherwise. The idea is to give operators in the sector and the general population the opportunity to identify clear and simple rules to follow in the current complex global situation. We need a new, appropriate interpretation of the ‘boundaries’ of our individual rights in relation to the need to safeguard the wider community and its more vulnerable members.
Boon-Kuo, Louise et al, ‘Policing Biosecurity: Police Enforcement of Special Measures in New South Wales and Victoria during the COVID-19 Pandemic’ (2021) 33(1) Current Issues in Criminal Justice 76–88 Abstract: In this article we consider the enforcement of COVID-19 measures as an instance of security policing, characterised by a pre-emption paradigm. Whilst COVID-19 measures are directed towards the goal of ‘biosecurity’ to stop the spread of the disease, in practice, COVID policing appears to rely on long-standing criminalisation strategies at odds with public health. Drawing on a range of primary and secondary data sources, we provide a critical account of the policing practices used and the groups to which the special measures have been directed in the most severely affected states of Victoria and New South Wales. We consider the implications of the securitisation of public health through the use of policing. Although we identify the potential for expansion—whereby population groups that do not usually attract police attention are drawn into contact with police—our case studies reveal that COVID policing as practiced in those contexts intensifies existing patterns of public order policing directed towards the ‘usual suspects’ and reinforces a criminalisation rather than a public health paradigm.
Bošković, Marina Matić and Svetlana Nenadić, ‘Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Criminal Justice Systems Across Europe’ (2021) 5(EU 2021 – The Future of the EU in and After the Pandemic) EU and Comparative Law Issues and Challenges Series (ECLIC) 263–290 Abstract: Last year the Europe and world were facing with COVID-19 outbreak that put at the risk lives of the people and capability of healthcare systems to provide their services. To prevent spread of the COVID-19 governments have imposed restrictive measures, while some of them declared state of emergency. The response to the pandemic influenced on the functioning of the criminal justice system and daily operation of courts, but also on the substantive criminal law since some states are applying criminal law to violation of restrictive measures or to criminalizing disinformation on COVID-19 outbreak. Outbreak of COVID-19 revealed new trends in criminal law like accelerated introduction of new crimes during pandemic, extremely flexible interpretation and rapid changes of criminal laws, which tend to be threat for legal stability and human rights protection. In addition, populist governments tend to use that new trend as a tool in suppression of political dissidents. COVID-19 pandemic has posed unprecedent challenges to the functioning of judiciaries. Courts and prosecution services were working with limited capacities to ensure social distancing. Some countries introduced ICT tools and fast-track procedures to organize hearings, which raised question of procedural rights and protection of rights of defendant. In the article authors assessed whether derogation of fair trial rights was in the line with standards of international human rights law and if introduction of state of emergency and restrictions were proportionate, time limited and needed and whether they changed understanding of the fundamental rights protection, especially right to a fair trial. Furthermore, authors explore whether COVID 19 changed perception of criminal law and legal certainty. Authors assessed how restrictions in the organization of judiciary work influenced on human rights protection and citizens trust in judiciary. Consequently, authors assesses whether some of introduces changes, especially use of ICT tools made permanent changes in operation of courts and understanding of access to justice. Finally, authors are assessing whether these changes tend to erode judiciaries or put into the risk access to justice in the EU members states and candidate countries or whether they jeopardized EU principle of mutual trust.
Boudin, Chesa, ‘The Opportunity in Crisis: How 2020’s Challenges Present New Opportunities for Prosecutors’ (2020) 110 Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Online 23–62 Abstract: As San Francisco District Attorney, I was elected in late 2019 on an ambitious platform focused on ending mass incarceration and decreasing racial disparities in the criminal justice system. . Little did I imagine that my first year in office would bring an acute national focus to the exact issues on which I had campaigned. Two phenomena have, thus far, largely defined the year 2020. First came the COVID-19 pandemic, which had a grossly disparate impact on communities of color and on those living or working in prisons and jails. Second, a national Black Lives Matter movement arose in response to the murder of George Floyd—potentially the largest national movement in U.S. history —demanding police accountability and criminal justice reform with a focus on racial equity. The nation’s collective response to these developments—how the country navigates an unprecedented national health crisis and an unprecedented protest movement—will have lasting implications for myriad aspects of American life, including the criminal justice system. COVID-19 and the recent growth of the Black Lives Matter movement created a tremendous impetus for wide-ranging criminal justice reform including decarceration and police accountability. Although some criminal justice policy makers have actively resisted change, and others have simply been unprepared for it, San Francisco was ready. After all, San Francisco residents had just elected me on explicit promises to deliver many of the reforms now in the national spotlight, and we had begun changemaking even before the first case of COVID was diagnosed in the United States. Even before my election, the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office (‘SFDAO’) was already ahead of the criminal justice reform curve nationally by virtually any metric. Since 1991, none of my three elected predecessors had chosen to seek the death penalty. In 2005, then District Attorney Kamala Harris launched the ‘Back on Track’ program as an alternative to the war on drugs. Former District Attorney George Gascon advanced decarceration through state legislative reforms; launched a fully staffed Independent Investigation Bureau to respond to the scene of and investigate and prosecute police use of force cases; and initiated a series of ‘collaborative courts’ and restorative justice programs as alternatives to traditional criminal prosecution. Well before George Floyd was killed, San Francisco leaders had implemented a wide range of police reforms, which included and went even further than the ‘eight can’t wait.’ These reforms, and many, many more had contributed to San Francisco having an incarceration rate less than half that of the rest of California before I took office. And yet these reforms were still not nearly enough to undo the failings of past criminal justice policies; they were not nearly enough to build trust between impacted communities and law enforcement. The tensions, shortcomings, and distrust that the Black Live Matters movement brought to national focus will not be resolved through quick slogans, social media campaigns, quick fixes, or singular policies. The point, here, is not to analyze the history of reforms in San Francisco but rather to make explicit that no there is still much work to do in undoing the complex systems of oppression and racism baked into the criminal justice system. This article focuses on policies implemented in one local jurisdiction, specifically one District Attorney’s office, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement during the first six months or so in office of a newly elected District Attorney: me. In some ways, what follows is San Francisco-centric and yet most of the policies and initiatives described below serve as examples of new ways to approach common challenges for virtually any law-enforcement jurisdiction in the country. An as yet unwritten part is the still unfolding historical context: the impact of COVID-19 on criminal courts, jails, and prisons, and the still ongoing story of how Black Lives Matter went from being a radical and isolated social movement to mainstream cause celebre. Rather than self-consciously seeking to write a first draft of a history that is very much still in the present, I will focus on the challenges of the moment and the SFDAO’s responses. A few years from now historians will surely have more perspective on the lasting impacts of these phenomena on the criminal justice system. But policy makers cannot afford to wait until a crisis has passed to formulate responses; instead we must be dynamic, make calculated risks, and hope that our ideas, vision, and political will are adequate to meet the challenges of the moment. Parts II, III, and IV, respectively set out in detail many of the more than a dozen wide-ranging policy initiatives of the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office since I took the helm in January 2020 and the rationale underlying the policies. These policies are organized into three Parts: Victim support; Decarceration to improve public safety; and Police and prosecutor accountability. It bears mentioning, before launching into these specific policy analyses, that the SFDAO aims to implement data-driven and data-informed policies. The SFDAO has nearly a dozen research partnerships to help track outcomes and trouble-shoot implementations as well as to generate new policy ideas. Meaningful data take time to collect and analyze. The SFDAO aims to continue to improve its policies in response to empirical data. Thus, what follows, is very much just a beginning. New policies which do not yet have enough of a track record to be analyzed critically for their empirical impact, successes, or shortcomings overt time.
Bozza, James, ‘Stimulating Fraud: Comparing the Effectiveness of Fraud Recovery Mechanisms Between the United States and the United Kingdom Through the Lens of Public COVID-19 Expenditures’ (2024) 52(2) Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law 462-478 Abstract: Fraud committed against the U.S. government is one of the largest costs that taxpayers must bear. The False Claims Act has been the most effective monetary fraud recovery mechanism in history. The question remains, however, of if it will continue to be as useful given modern trends of increased spending. An analysis of the U.S. fraud recovery model compared to the United Kingdom through the lens of Covid-19 expenditures demonstrates both the strengths and weaknesses of the U.S. model and provides reasoning for legislative alteration.
Brancati, Dawn, Jóhanna Birnir and Qutaiba Idlbi, ‘Locking Down Violence: The COVID-19 Pandemic’s Impact on Non-State Actor Violence’ (2023) 117(4) American Political Science Review 1327–1343 Abstract: Although the effects of non-state actor violence on public health outcomes are well known, the effects of public health crises like the COVID-19 pandemic on non-state actor violence are not. Lockdown measures, widely used to stop the spread of disease in crises, we argue, are likely to reduce non-state actor violence, especially in urban and non-base areas. These measures deplete actors’ resources, reduce the number of high-value civilian targets, and make it logistically more difficult to conduct attacks. Using the example of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and taking advantage of the exogenous nature of COVID-19 lockdowns, we find that curfews and travel bans significantly reduce violence, especially in populated and non-base areas. These effects are most likely due to short-term changes in ISIS’s targets and logistics rather than its resources. These findings provide important insights into the security aspects of public health crises and offer novel findings into the general effectiveness of two common counterinsurgency tools.
Brandao, Claudio and Renato Feitosa, ‘Prison by Human Rights’ Lens and Covid19 Pandemic: The Brazilian Crisis’ (2020) 2(2) Humanities and Rights Global Network Journal 147–163 Abstract: From the eighteenth century, prison was raised as the main response of Criminal law. This happened for a political reason, namely the creation of State. In this context, incorporations that the ideologies and characteristics of later centuries brought to prison entail an aporia. To face this crisis, Human rights has produced criteria that should guide the actions of States. The COVID19 pandemic caused urgency of segment of these criteria and the Brazilian case is brought up as an example of failures of most UN member states.
Bresler, Jessica and Leo Beletsky, ‘COVID-19, Incarceration, and the Criminal Legal System’ in Scott Burris et al (eds), Assessing Legal Responses to COVID-19 (Public Health Law Watch, 2020) 228–233 Abstract: Even before the pandemic, contact with the criminal legal system resulted in health harms on both individual and community levels, with disproportionate impact on people of color. The COVID-19 crisis magnified the deleterious public health impact of policing, prisons, community supervision, and other elements of the United States’ vast system of control and punishment. Despite the scientific consensus that prisons and jails needed to be rapidly depopulated to avert disaster, the number of people released has remained small, resulting in explosive outbreaks of COVID-19 behind bars. Depopulation of correctional settings is also rarely paired with meaningful efforts to connect reentering individuals to vital supports. Community supervision systems failed to relax onerous probation/parole requirements, while police have taken on enforcement of physical distancing and other public health orders. Even as COVID-19 is raging, the criminal legal system is resisting changes necessary to facilitate pandemic response. With a focus on incarceration, this Chapter provides an overview of how the U.S. criminal legal system has shaped its COVID-19 response, situating prescriptions in the current debate about divestment from structures of social control in favor of a renewed focus on the social contract. This Chapter will discuss (1) how criminal legal system has exacerbated the current public health emergency and (2) how the United States can use this moment to reform this system and its legal underpinning.
Brett, Lawrence A, ‘Prosecutorial Discretion During a Pandemic: Implications for the Criminal Justice System and the Rule of Law’ (2021) 34(4) Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics 747–764 Abstract: This Note argues that the criminal justice system’s blanket release and non-prosecution policies are not the proper response to the COVID pandemic. Rather, case-by-case adjudication is a hallmark of this system and better serves and balances the goals of achieving justice and providing the consistency required by the rule of law. This is a ground-breaking topic within the scholarship given the recent and ongoing developments of this crisis. Therefore, it addresses a timely and meaningful issue faced by actors within the criminal justice system across the nation on a daily basis.
Brewster, Ben et al, ‘Covid-19 and Child Criminal Exploitation in the UK: Implications of the Pandemic for County Lines’ (2023) 26(2) Trends in Organized Crime 156–179 Abstract: In March 2020, the UK was placed in lockdown following the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Just as legitimate workplaces made changes to enable their employees to work from home, the illicit drugs trade also made alternative arrangements, adapting its supply models to ensure continuity of operations. Based upon qualitative interviews with 46 practitioners, this paper assesses how front-line professionals have experienced and perceived the impact of Covid-19 on child criminal exploitation and County Lines drug supply in the UK. Throughout the paper, we highlight perceived adaptations to the County Lines supply model, the impact of lockdown restrictions on detection and law enforcement activities aimed at County Lines, and on efforts to safeguard children and young people from criminal exploitation. Our participants generally believed that the pandemic had induced shifts to County Lines that reflected an ongoing evolution of the drug supply model and changes in understanding or attention because of Covid-19 restrictions, rather than a complete reconstitution of the model itself. Practitioners perceived that Covid-19 has had, and continues to have, a significant impact on some young people’s vulnerability to exploitation, on the way in which police and frontline practitioners respond to County Lines and child criminal exploitation, and on the way illegal drugs are being moved and sold.
Brobst, Jennifer A, ‘The Revelatory Nature of COVID-19 Compassionate Release in an Age of Mass Incarceration, Crime Victim Rights, and Mental Health Reform’ (2021) 15 University of St Thomas Journal of Law & Public Policy (forthcoming) Abstract: The crime victim rights movement and mass incarceration grew side-by-side in the United States, and in many ways they deal with similar questions about the purposes, benefits, and effectiveness of the criminal justice system. The COVID-19 worldwide pandemic in 2020 tested the value attributed to retribution, rehabilitation, and other criminal justice goals in sentencing and incarceration. Specifically, the First Step Act of 2018 enhanced discretionary compassionate release from prison due to illness and disability, requiring a post-sentencing balance of interests between perceived risks to the prisoner while in prison and risks to the public if release were granted. Early COVID-19 compassionate release decisions reveal that courts continue to base early release decisions primarily on an assessment of public safety risk from crime, not community impact, crime victim impact, or even prisoner health. In so doing, judges and prosecutors usurp and marginalize the role of the community and those most affected by crime.
Brown Hayat, Norrinda, ‘Housing the Decarcerated: Covid-19, Abolition, and the Right to Housing’ (2022) 110(3) California Law Review 639–680 Abstract: The coronavirus pandemic revealed the need to advance the right to housing and abolition movements. The need for advancements in both spaces was no more painfully apparent than among the recently decarcerated population. Securing housing for the recently decarcerated is particularly difficult due to the ‘culture of exclusion’ that has long pervaded subsidized housing policy, enabled by a patchwork of federal laws, including the Anti-Drug Abuse Act (ADA) of 1988 and the Supreme Court’s ruling in HUD v. Rucker. The culture of exclusion is arbitrated by local housing authorities and works on three levels: eligibility, enforcement, and set asides. As a result, formerly incarcerated persons are often rejected outright during the application process. In addition, persons living in subsidized housing can be evicted for merely associating with the recently decarcerated. This Article seeks to motivate a pathway toward housing the decarcerated by ending the culture of exclusion. In Part I, the Article updates the status of the prison abolition and right to housing movements and argues why they are interdependent. Part II builds on the idea that stable housing for formerly incarcerated persons is essential to the prison abolition movement’s success by reviewing pilot programs. Part III suggests that ‘one strike’ policies have created a broader ‘culture of exclusion,’ which the Supreme Court validated in Rucker, further burdening the reentry process for the recently decarcerated. Finally, Part IV prescribes policy changes that are essential to housing the decarcerated beyond repealing the ADA and overturning Rucker, including transcending the narrative of innocence, directing public housing authority discretion, and equalizing voucher holders through civil rights laws.
Bruce, Raphael, Alexsandros Cavgias and Luis Meloni, ‘Filling the Void? Organized Crime and COVID-19 in Rio De Janeiro’ (SSRN Scholarly Paper No ID 3678840, Social Science Research Network, 21 August 2020) Abstract: How does the presence of organized crime affects the intensity of the COVID-19 epidemic? Rio de Janeiro is the perfect laboratory to answer such an overlooked question because two distinct types of criminal organizations operate in its territory. First, there are drug trafficking gangs comprised of slum dwellers. Second, there are the milícias, paramilitary groups with links to the police, usually financed by extortion. We estimate two-way fixed effects models comparing the number of cases (deaths) caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARI) before and after the COVID-19 outbreak in neighborhoods with and without the presence of organized crime. We document two findings. First, the number of SARI deaths in neighborhoods controlled by gangs increased 43% less than in areas without any form of organized crime. In neighborhoods controlled by milícias, however, this outcome increased 29% more than areas without any form of organized crime. We find similar effects for SARI hospitalizations. These results are robust to various specifications. Overall, our results show that the reaction of organized crime to a public health crisis depends on its form of criminal governance.
Buchanan, Molly et al, ‘It’s F**ing Chaos: COVID-19’s Impact on Juvenile Delinquency and Juvenile Justice’ (2020) 45(4) American Journal of Criminal Justice 578-600 Abstract: An early examination of the impact of COVID-19 on juvenile delinquency and juvenile justice in America, this review provides initial scholarship to rapidly evolving areas of research. Our appraisals of these topics are made after nearly 2 months of national COVID-19 mitigation measures, like social distancing and limited “non-essential” movement outside the home but also as states are gradually lifting stricter directives and reopening economic sectors. We consider the impact of these pandemic-related changes on twenty-first century youths, their behaviors, and their separate justice system. To forecast the immediate future, we draw from decades of research on juvenile delinquency and the justice system, as well as from reported patterns of reactions and responses to an unprecedented and ongoing situation. As post-pandemic studies on juvenile delinquency and juvenile justice proliferate, we urge careful consideration as to how they might influence societal and the system responses to youths’ delinquency. Additional practical implications are discussed.
Budiyanto, Budiyanto, ‘Criminal Law Policy Enforcement Against the Perpetrators of Forcibly Picking up the Covid-19 Infected Patient Corpse on This Pandemic at Hospital’ (2021) 8(9) International Journal of Multicultural and Multireligious Understanding 463–470Jurisdiction: Indonesia
Abstract: This research aims to cover the strategic forms of criminal law policy enforcement to prevent and overcome the covid-19 corpses who were forced picked up in this pandemic at a hospital and its obstacle. The method used in this research is a normative juridical and empirical juridical approach. This research shows that the strategic form of criminal law policy enforcement prioritize more and apply the persuasive approach with negotiation and not using the criminal law policy against the family of the deceased person who forcibly picked and the society which refused to bury the covid1-19 patient. The obstacle faced are: from law substance which not done well on its application; limitation of the security, helplessness of the health officer on facing the pressure and threat, limitation of officer; limitation of facilities and infrastructure which owned by the hospital, police officer, and covid-19 officer (Satgas), the minimum knowledge of the society about the danger of covid-19, minimum of socialization; and the existence of people’s habits which not following the strict health protocol, not using a medical mask, and keep a distance.
Burningham, Sarah, ‘Reflections on COVID-19 And Criminal Law: How Does Judicial Doctrine Function in A Crisis?’ (2022) 59(3) Alberta Law Review 587–587 Abstract: This article reviews the impact of COVID-19 on judicial decision-making in certain areas of criminal law. Reviewing decisions from the areas of bail, sentencing, and trial within a reasonable time, the author analyzes how COVID-19 has been integrated into legal doctrine. The author concludes that doctrines are flexible enough to accommodate COVID-19 concerns. At the same time, doctrine is firmly entrenched, meaning the pandemic has not presented the opportunity for judges to rethink incarceration as some had hoped.
Caputo, Fiorella et al, ‘Covid-19 Emergency in Prison: Current Management and Forensic Perspectives’ (2020) 88(4) Medico-Legal Journal 185–186 Abstract: The Covid-19 pandemic is currently a major worldwide public health problem. Contagion within prisons and in other custodial settings will need to be addressed promptly, but the management of preventive measures will be difficult due to overcrowding and inmates and officers’ close physical contact. There may also be less access to care than in community settings. Accordingly, prisons are particularly vulnerable to outbreaks of infection, and in addition to the likely greater risks of contagion attention must be paid to the psychological problems that the pandemic can have on the prison population. Riots and episodes of violence have already taken place in various prisons. With the inevitable restrictions on social contact and family meetings, prisoners who already are at increased risk of mental illness and suicide are more susceptible to adverse psychological repercussions. From a forensic point of view, therefore, we stress the need for the development of a strong support network by mental health workers for the prison population.
Carrington, Kerry et al, ‘Impact of COVID on Domestic and Family Violence Workforce and Clients: Submission to the Australian Parliament Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs Inquiry into and Report on Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence’ (QUT Centre for Justice, 30 July 2020) Abstract: A research team from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Centre for Justice has prepared this interim select report drawn from our nation-wide survey on the impact of COVID-19 on the domestic and family violence (DFV) workforce and clients for submission to the Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs inquiry into and report on family, domestic and sexual violenceThe interim (July 24, 2020) findings of a nation-wide survey on the impact of COVID-19 on the domestic and family violence (DFV) sector and their clients based on 288 responses confirm concerns raised early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Australian healthcare and women’s safety professionals predicted an ‘impending increase’ in cases (Hegarty & Tarzia, 2020; Forster, 2020). Advocates have also reported increased complexities and challenges in assisting victims/survivors amidst COVID-19 (Forster, 2020). A huge proportion, 88% of respondents to our survey so far, have reported an increase in the complexity of their client needs. They also reported increases in controlling behaviours, such as isolation, increased sense of vulnerability, forced to co-habitat during lock-down, and inability to seek outside help, increased fear of monitoring by abuser, and increased use of technology to intimidate. Perhaps one of the most concerning of our findings is the number of DFV workers reporting new clients seeking their help for the first time during the COVID-19 crisis. This is evidence that the pandemic conditions are affecting the rate of domestic violence consistent with international research. We asked the DFV workforce what extra resources they needed to better cope with a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic in the future. They need more of everything, but front-line workers emphasised the need for: • better technology and technology support for workers, technology checks for clients, more safe mobile phones for clients and better internet connectivity; • more government funding for crisis supplies and emergency and long-term accommodation; • transport for home delivery of services; • the continuation of tele-health provisions; • more resources for male perpetrator programs (especially for Indigenous men). They also need systems to be flexible, especially courts and magistrates and they called for improved policing and better communication and translation services and supports for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities.
Carroll, Faelynn and Walter E Block, ‘Selling Sex: (More) Evidence for Decriminalization’ (2021) 37(3) Touro Law Review 1155–1172 Abstract: This paper makes a case for decriminalization of sex work in response to recent legislation restricting sex workers’ access to online platforms and to the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a feminist economic lens, we summarize the current understanding of sex work markets and analyze how agency and stigma are affected by increasingly limited access to online platforms as well as by the social and economic restrictions of COVID-19. We analyze sex work from the point of view of the same labor economics that would be applied to any other industry, rather than as a romanticized or demonized group of sexual deviants, finding destigmatization of the sex work industry as central to the increased agency and well-being of sex workers and their clients. This paper also employs the libertarian philosophy, according to which all acts should be legal except those that employ, or threaten, violence against innocent people. According to this perspective, murder, rape, theft, arson, kidnapping, and fraud, should be prohibited; but, everything else, certainly including sex work, should be decriminalized.
Carroll, Jenny E, ‘COVID-19 Relief and the Ordinary Inmate’ (2021) 18(2) Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law 427–447 Abstract: As scholars and advocates have lamented the deficiencies of remedies pre- and post-conviction for the extraordinary, the ‘ordinary’ are not saddled with slow and deficient remedies -- they have none. This Essay explores this absence of such relief for those unable to make an extraordinary claim during the COVID-19 public health crisis of 2020. For the ordinary men, women, and children held in custody in 2020 and beyond, pretrial detention and sentencing laws make no exception in the face of a potentially fatal contagion or the public health crisis it creates. Yet, the pandemic highlights the reality that systematic flaws -- carceral systems that permit mass infection within and outside their walls and release triggers premised on extraordinary circumstances or conditions -- are a sort of roulette of disaster for ordinary people in custody who lack access to pre- and post-conviction relief. As problematic as these flaws are, they also represent an opportunity to reconsider the priorities that animate such relief and to question (or reimagine) systems that rebalance those priorities not just around the lives of the extraordinary, but around the lives of the ordinary.
Carroll, Jenny E, ‘Pretrial Detention in the Time of COVID-19’ (2020) 115 Northwestern University Law Review Online 59-87 Abstract: It is hard to overstate the impact of COVID-19. When it comes to the criminal justice system, the current COVID-19 crisis has shone a light on pre-existing flaws. Long before the first confirmed case in Seattle or elsewhere, America’s jails and prisons were particularly susceptible to contagions, exacerbated by problems from overcrowding to over policing to lack of reentry programs. This Essay focuses on one aspect of the challenges the criminal justice system faces in light of COVID-19 and beyond—that of a pretrial detention system that falls more harshly on poor and minority defendants, has swollen local jail populations, and has incentivized pleas contributing in its own right to prison overcrowding. Even in the best of times the pretrial detention system is often punitive, fraught with bias, produces unnecessarily high rates of detention, and carries a myriad of downstream consequences both for the accused and the community at large. In the context of the COVID-19 crisis, this pretrial detention system faces an exacerbated challenge: the health and safety of those in custody and those who staff U.S. jails and prisons. This new reality reveals that even during ‘ordinary times’ the pretrial detention system fundamentally miscalculates public safety interests to the detriment of both detainees and the communities they leave behind. Simply put, current pretrial detention models fail to account for risks to defendants during periods of incarceration and pit defendants’ interests against the very communities that depend on them. The public health crisis of COVID-19 demonstrates in very real terms the interconnected nature of a defendant’s and the community’s safety interests. This connection is not unique to the current public health crisis, however, COVID-19 brings to light the persistent reality that communities are often weakened, not made safer, by the removal of defendants during pretrial periods.
Castro, Carmen et al, ‘The Role of Law Enforcement Agencies and the Use of IT Tools for a Coordinate Response in Pandemic Crisis Management: The STAMINA Project’ (2021) (Special Conference Edition No. 5) European Law Enforcement Research Bulletin 1–12 Abstract: Pandemic crises are disruptive events that imply a threat to the health of citizens, and also to public safety. In order to provide an adequate response, Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) organizations up to now had to adapt their structures, staffing conditions and competencies to the exceptional circumstances. At the same time, pandemics, such as COVID-19 that is currently a real scenario, require from LEAs to test their capabilities and thus to further identify their own gaps and get to know themselves better. The complexity of this kind of phenomena requires a coordinated and multidisciplinary response through Information Technology (IT) tools to mitigate the effects of pandemics. In this sense, our participation in the European H2020 STAMINA project: ‘Demonstration of intelligent decision support for pandemic crisis prediction and management within and across European borders’ brings added value to our daily work as LEAs. The project implements a set of tools whose goal is twofold: improvement of management of information in all phases of the pandemic as well as improvement of response and coordination among all first responders involved in a pandemic. STAMINA attempts to achieve this through the combination of a number of IT tools ranging from Predictive models and Early Warning systems to Real-time Social Media Analytics and a Common Operational Picture (COP) platform that acts as the main interface for real-time situation assessment and coordinated responses of the involved LEAs.
Chartrand, Vicki, ‘Abolition in the Land Known as Canada in the Wake of COVID-19’ (2021) 33(1) Current Issues in Criminal Justice 138–143 Abstract: In 2020, while states worldwide were instituting large scale lockdowns and physical distancing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, those in penal and detention systems remained one of the most invisible and vulnerable populations to its spread. With limited resources and support, exposure for incarcerated and detained persons is heightened within confined spaces, lack of access to protective and sanitizing equipment, and grossly inadequate healthcare. Amid the pandemic, abolition groups and individuals emerged as a community of advocacy, resource, and support for those confined behind the walls. This contemporary comment shares some of the important organizing of abolitionists and anti-carceral groups throughout the land now known as Canada during the pandemic. These initiatives and activities included solidarity strikes and actions, twitter and social media campaigns, fundraising initiatives, news releases, conferencing and interviews, videos and online speaker panels, educational awareness and tools, caravans and rallies, and legal interventions among many others.
Childs, Andrew, ‘The Distribution of Fake Australian Vaccine Digital Certificates on an Alt-Tech Platform’ (2023) 26(2) Trends in Organized Crime 136–155 Abstract: This paper provides the first exploration of the online distribution of fake Australian COVID-19 vaccine certificates. Drawing on a collection of 2589 posts between five distributors and their community members on the alt-tech platform Gab, this study gathers key insights into the mechanics of illicit vaccine certificate distribution. The qualitative findings in this research demonstrate the various motivations and binding ideologies that underpinned this illicit distribution (e.g. anti-vaccine and anti-surveillance motivations); the unique cybercultural aspects of this online illicit network (e.g. ‘crowdsourcing’ the creation of fake vaccine passes); and how the online community was used to share information on the risks of engaging in this illicit service, setting the appropriate contexts of using fake vaccine passes, and the evasion of guardians in offline settings. Implications for future research in cybercrime, illicit networks, and organised crime in digital spaces are discussed.
Chowdhury, Jamila A, ‘Legal Liability of “Free-Riders” during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mere Negligent Public Nuisance or Reckless Public Health Offence?’ (2021) 32(1) Dhaka University Law Journal 174–195 Abstract: This paper illustrates how the gravity of criminal offence caused by ‘negligent’ free-riders duringCOVID-19 outbreak has evolved from mere ‘negligent public nuisance’ to ‘reckless public health offence’ around the globe. In this paper, ‘free-riders’ during COVID-19 pandemic signify people in a given society, who do not comply with prescribed health guidelines (e.g. wearing masks, social distancing, quarantine rules, isolation rules etc.) set by the World Health Organization (WHO)and the Government of Bangladesh to curb the communal spread of the highly contagious Coronavirus. This paper urges policymakers of Bangladesh to make ‘free-riders’ criminally liable with prompt and stringent punishments, especially for their ’reckless’ behaviour manifest in repeated violations of health regulations. this paper has identified existing legal provisions, their recent evolution, and lack of implementation to adequately address the COVID-19 related health risks in Bangladesh. Analysing relevant legislative provisions and associated implementation strategies followed in the UK and other countries, including Singapore, India, and Sri Lanka, this paper emphasises on strategic legal provisions to improve the effectiveness of existing laws in this regard. If adopted, these legal provisions can effectively separate those who ’negligently’ violate health regulations from those ’reckless free-riders’ who repeatedly disregard health guidelines and violate Government regulations over and over again.
Cioffi, Andrea, ‘COVID-19 and the Release of Mafia Bosses: The Importance of Medico-Legal Evaluations’ (2020) 60(3) Medicine, Science and the Law 239–240 Abstract: Reproduces a letter discussing Italy’s rule that, during the coronavirus pandemic, prisoners with less than 18 months of their sentence remaining should serve it at home under house arrest. Notes the release of leading Mafia figures and suggests the need for medico-legal evaluations before release.
Cohen, Laura, ‘Incarcerated Youth and COVID-19: Notes from the Field’ (2020) 72(5) Rutgers Law Review 101-115 (forthcoming) Abstract: On a Sunday morning in April 2020, as the novel coronavirus wreaked havoc across the nation, eighteen-year-old Nathaniel woke up with a pounding headache and 103-degree fever. Within hours, he began to feel chest pains, developed a cough, and had trouble breathing, a particularly alarming symptom in light of his lifelong history of asthma. He needed medical attention, quickly.But Nathaniel could not simply call his doctor or go to an emergency room. He is incarcerated in one of New Jersey’s youth prisons, and his story throws open a window to the pandemic’s particularly harsh impact on the lives of children behind bars.Tragically, Nathaniel’s experience with the virus reflects those of incarcerated people throughout the United States. According to weekly data collected by the Marshall Report, 249,093 adults in prisons and jails have tested positive for COVID-19, and at least 1,647 have died—an infection rate that surpasses that of the general population by more than 228 percent. In New Jersey—an epicenter of this sub-pandemic—fifty-two incarcerated adults have died, among the top ten highest inmate mortality rate in the country, and more deaths than in twenty other states combined.Much media attention has focused on the devastating consequences of the pandemic on incarcerated adults in the U.S., but the virus also has run rampant in youth prisons and detention centers. This essay examines the pandemic’s incalculable harms on young people in custody through the lens of the lived experiences of incarcerated adolescents in New Jersey; the pandemic’s exacerbation of racial disparities within the juvenile legal system; and the multi-pronged advocacy strategies - - judicial, legislative, and regulatory - - employed throughout the year in an effort to keep them safe.
Coman, Iulian and Ioan Cosmin Mihai, ‘The Impact of COVID-19: Cybercrime and Cyberthreats’ [2021] (Special Conference Edition 5) European Law Enforcement Research Bulletin 61–67 Abstract: The paper describes the evolution of cyber-attacks, based on different official reports from law enforcement agencies and cybersecurity companies. It focuses on the EMPACT priority ‘cybercrime-attacks on information systems’ and analyses the main types of malware (banking trojans, ransomware, cryptojacking and botnets malware) and their evolution during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The paper presents both online threats vectors (email-based attacks, web-based attacks, social media scams) and offline threats and their impact to the information systems. The present article underlines the importance of education and training in this field and recommends measures to fight with the cybercrime phenomenon.
‘Conditions of Confinement, COVID-19, and the CDC’ 134(6) Harvard Law Review 2233–2256 Extract from Introduction: Section A surveys recent cases in the Eighth Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment conditions of confinement sphere to show that courts are giving excessive deference to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance and sometimes ceding the constitutional inquiry to the CDC altogether. Section B then argues that this level of deference is inappropriate given established principles of administrative and constitutional law. The CDC’s guidance represents the most informal of agency actions — it was promulgated with little process and involves details of prison administration outside the CDC’s expertise. Administrative law instructs courts to provide this sort of agency action little to no deference. Here, courts have done the opposite. Further, by inserting the CDC into constitutional cases, courts are abdicating a duty that is fundamentally theirs: to answer questions about what our society is willing to accept in the name of punishment. In fact, courts are deferring to CDC guidance which itself seems to subjugate the best public health advice to penological interests of incarceration. This results in a double deference of sorts: courts defer to the CDC which in turn defers to prison officials. Both public health and constitutional rights get lost along the way.
Cooper, Sarah L, Michael Bayham and Thomas Nicklin, ‘Disease Outbreak & Corrections in the United States: [Existing] Statutory Options’ (2021) 24(36) Juris Poiesis 267–273 Abstract: Correctional facilities quickly emerged as large COVID-19 clusters — places with the largest number of known infections — in the United States (US). Noting calls for state (and federal) authorities to ‘slow the spread’ through inter alia reducing correctional populations, we investigated what, if any, statutory mechanisms exist to support such efforts. Within the broader context of the relationship between health and incarceration in the US, this short article shares on overview of our investigation with some broad, provisional findings.
Copeland, Katrice Bridges Copeland, ‘Telemedicine Scams’ (2022) 108(1) Iowa Law Review 69–126 Abstract: Telemedicine emerged as a lifeline during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the technology existed long before the pandemic, its use was limited due to strict government regulations that limited reimbursement for telemedicine visits. In response to the pandemic, the Government waived many of its restrictions for the duration of the Public Health Emergency. These changes fueled the growth of telemedicine. The problem, however, is that telemedicine makes it easier to conduct fraud on a large scale because without in-person visits, medical providers can reach many more beneficiaries in a short period of time. Thus, the size and scale of typical health care fraud schemes, such as sending medically unnecessary durable medical equipment, is magnified. This type of fraud has been on the rise since 2016, and, with the relaxed rules for telemedicine reimbursement during the pandemic, there is a serious concern that there will be a sharp increase in telemedicine fraud. This Article examines the fraudulent practices in the telemedicine industry and the conditions that permit them to flourish. This Article critically assesses the changes to telemedicine coverage and their relationship to fraud. It examines the fraudulent practices through the lens of the fraud triangle to determine why telemedicine fraud occurs. After assessing the causes of telemedicine fraud, this Article argues that there is no need for additional criminal statutes to address telemedicine fraud. As the typical telemedicine scam involves the payment of kickbacks and billing for medically unnecessary treatment and services, the existing fraud laws such as the Anti-Kickback statute and the False Claims Act are sufficiently capacious to address the criminality involved in these cases. This Article also argues that in lieu of additional criminal statutes, the Government should focus on additional measures to prevent or detect telemedicine fraud because preventative measures are the best way to safeguard the integrity of federal health care programs.
‘Coronavirus: Impact on Penalties: Portugal’ [2020] (8 April) Lawyer (Online Edition) 1 Abstract: The article informs that breach of legal provisions regulating market organization is punishable in Portugal under public health epidemiological crisis. It mentions that crimes aimed at repressing anti-economic and public health offences, the law provides for and punishes as a crime the acquisition of essential goods, such as medicines, masks, or disinfectant product in the situation of coronavirus.
Coster, Maria, ‘A Disease Exacerbated’ (2020) 163(6) Solicitors Journal 41–43 Abstract: Considers the plight of victims of domestic violence and abuse in the coronavirus pandemic, confined to their homes and more vulnerable than ever to their abusers. Discusses the legal remedies available to protect victims and children, including protection orders, injunctions and financial support.
Coyne, Christopher J and Yuliya Yatsyshina, ‘Pandemic Police States’ (SSRN Scholarly Paper ID 3598643, Social Science Research Network, 11 May 2020) Abstract: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, governments’ willingness to employ their police powers have been brought to the forefront. Pandemic police states utilize surveillance, dictates limiting association, and punishment in the name of combating the virus. While police powers can be used for good, they can also be abused. We outline the theoretical foundations of the operation of the potentially troubling aspects of pandemic police state activities. We then catalog some pandemic police state activities associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. We conclude with the implications for peace studies.
Cyphert, Amy, ‘Reprogramming Recidivism: The First Step Act and Algorithmic Prediction of Risk’ (2020) 51(2) Seton Hall Law Review 331-381Jurisdiction: USA
Abstract: The First Step Act, a seemingly miraculous bipartisan criminal justice reform bill, was signed into law in late 2018. The Act directed the Attorney General to develop a risk and needs assessment tool that would effectively determine who would be eligible for early release based on an algorithmic prediction of recidivism. The resulting tool--PATTERN--was released in the summer of 2019 and quickly updated in January of 2020. It was immediately put to use in an unexpected manner, helping to determine who was eligible for early release during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is now the latest in a growing list of algorithmic recidivism prediction tools, tools that first came to mainstream notice with critical reporting about the COMPAS sentencing algorithm. This Article evaluates PATTERN, both in its development as well as its still-evolving implementation. In some ways, the PATTERN algorithm represents tentative steps in the right direction on issues like transparency, public input, and use of dynamic factors. But PATTERN, like many algorithmic decision-making tools, will have a disproportionate impact on Black inmates; it provides fewer opportunities for inmates to reduce their risk score than it claims and is still shrouded in some secrecy due to the government’s decision to dismiss repeated calls to release more information about it. Perhaps most perplexing, it is unclear whether the tool actually advances accuracy with its predictions. This Article concludes that PATTERN is a decent first step, but it still has a long way to go before it is truly reformative.
Das, Pragnya and Arpita Mitra, ‘An Exploration of Socio-Economic Factors and Post-COVID-19 Impact on Children in Conflict with Law: A Study in Odisha, India’ in Rabi Narayan Subudhi et al (eds), Future of Work and Business in Covid-19 Era (Springer, 2022) 229–236 Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has put a major impact on the children in conflict with law. This paper aims to capture the major key issues and the necessary steps taken by the state government to mitigate the negative consequences for children in conflict with law. It is found from various studies that during the beginning period of COVID-19, reduction in the rate of crime is observed, and the reason for this is due to drastic change in the routine activities of the individuals and with the closure of schools, colleges and other services. The pandemic effect of staying at home and social distancing led to decline in crime rate by the juveniles. The most concerning part was the staffing crisis seen at observation and special homes in the state of Odisha. The social factors such as parental supervision, love, care and affection play vital role against delinquent behaviour of children.
Daśko, Natalia, ‘The Coronavirus and Criminal Law in Poland’ in Frydrych-Depka, Anna, Maciej Serowaniec and Zbigniew Witkowski (eds), Pandemic Poland: Impacts of Covid-19 on Polish Law (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2021) 113
David, David, ‘Criminal Responsibility Towards Public Transportation Companies if Traffic Accidents Based on Law Number 22 of 2009 Concerning Traffic and Road Transport’ (International Proceeding: Law and Development in the Era of Pandemic, Faculty of Law, Universitas Islam Indonesia, 28 November 2020, 2021) 68–71 Abstract: The number of accidents caused by public transportation and no concrete responsibility for the entrepreneur / owner of public transportation, the absence of strict sanctions against the owner or entrepreneur of public transportation in the event of a traffic accident, and there is no legal protection for passengers or family of passengers who are victims of accidents traffic on public transport. In the event that a traffic crime is committed by a Public Transportation Company, in addition to the punishment imposed on the management as referred to in paragraph (1), a maximum fine of 3 (three) times the fines specified in each article in this Chapter shall also be imposed. In addition to fines, public transportation companies can be subject to additional penalties in the form of temporary suspension or revocation of the transportation operation permit for the vehicles used. However, the police cannot immediately revoke the license to operate public transport whose fleets have experienced traffic accidents. In this study, the author uses a type of empirical research, namely research conducted through field studies that examines (especially) primary data which is also complemented by materials in the form of legislation and research results, assessment results and other references. Sanctions against public transportation companies in the event of a traffic accident based on Law Number 22 of 2009 concerning Road Traffic and Transportation.
Davis, Benjamin, ‘COVID-19 Human Endangerment As A Domestic Crime or an International Crime Against Humanity’ (University of Toledo Legal Studies Research Paper, 19 May 2020) Abstract: To analyze human endangerment in the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States as a crime, this paper starts with a review of domestic law in a comparative manner. The experience in France with regard to high government officials being charged with domestic crimes for the contaminated blood scandal during the AIDS epidemic is presented and analyzed noting the key legal rules expressed by the French courts in that context. This paper goes on in a comparative approach in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic to examine such criminal liability in the US system with a discussion of the murky and complex issues of qualified immunity. It further highlights the efforts to have legislation passed to provide robust immunity for civil claims. And it posits that these immunities for civil claims likely reduce any likelihood of criminal process for acts and omissions of both public and private actors, except in the most egregious cases.Finding a likely impasse through these mechanisms, the article turns to international law and in particular customary international criminal law to see if it can provide a method of analyzing the human endangerment. Drawing from the Statute of the International Criminal Court as a possible crystallization of certain types of crimes against humanity, I identify particular groups against which such crimes might be seen as being in the process of being perpetrated.But, even if the particular crimes against humanity in the Statute of the International Criminal Court are seen as progressive development rather than crystallization, the article suggests that they are useful tools in helping to have an organize principle as to how to address the monstrous US response to the COVID-19 pandemic.The article ends with examples of how this method can help those concerned with human life to examine in a clear eyed manner the hundreds or thousands of intentional acts being done by public and private actors that endanger human life. And it also points a way as to how to think about the myriad acts being done by persons to protect human life.In the end, the monstrous response is seen as placing populations and particularly vulnerable populations before Hobbesian choices between protecting their health and venturing out into society in a time of uncertain information, uncertain resources, and pressure to reopen and pressure to reopen or lose unemployment or other benefits.
DEDICA-20, ‘COVID-19, Crisis and Imagination’ (2021) 33(1) Current Issues in Criminal Justice 144–149 Abstract: The prison, as the centrepiece of our justice system, is seen as fixed, unassailable, necessary. Yet, globally, COVID-19 has opened safety valves in previously impregnable, impermeable institutions, from maximum-security prisons to immigration detention. Some Australian prisons – bursting at record-high levels with our most dispossessed, wounded and reviled – have created space in ways that bring cautious hope. Might the crisis license/allow a reimagining of how we might do justice differently? The pandemic has given us pause to consider what ‘justice’ means, what we expect of our penal system, and to rethink our justice machinery. As never-imprisoned and formerly imprisoned co-authors, we reflect critically on COVID-19 inspired commentary, scholarly arguments for decarceration, and the lived experience of criminalisation and imprisonment. We weigh the social and economic costs of a system of punishment that dehumanises, reproduces violence, and causes countless harms to countless lives. We find it unable to rehabilitate, unable to keep us safe, unable to justify its vast expenditure. We find it unsustainable. We reflect on the UN call for a global ceasefire amid the pandemic to imagine a justice system that represents both a ‘ceasefire’, in the short-term, and an architecture of sustainable justice practices into the future.
Deflem, Mathieu (ed), Crime and Social Control in Pandemic Times (Emerald, 2023) Selected Contents:
- McQuigg, Ronagh, ‘The COVID-19 Pandemic, Domestic Abuse, and Human Rights’ 7–21
- Silverio-Murillo, Adan, Jose Balmori de la Miyar and Lauren Hoehn-Velasco, ‘Families Under Confinement: COVID-19 and Domestic Violence’ 23–41
- Iesue, Laura, Jenifer González and Kelly V Martinez, ‘Domestic Violence During COVID-19: Insights from Guatemala’ 43–53
- Eichelsheim, Veroni et al, ‘Stay Home, Stay Safe? Short- and Long-Term Consequences of COVID-19 Restrictions on Domestic Violence in the Netherlands’ 55–71
- Fishman, Gideon and Arye Rattner, ‘Crime in the Coronavirus Pandemic: The Case of Israel’ 73–85
- Piché, Justin and Kevin Walby, ‘Flooding the Zone, Challenging State Secrecy: Newsmaking Criminology in Pandemic Times’ 107–122
- Kort-Butler, Lisa A, ‘Tweeting about Crime in Pandemic Times: US Legacy News Media and Crime Reporting During the COVID-19 Pandemic’ 123–139
- Cheesman, Samantha Joy, ‘The Hungarian Legislative Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Challenges to the Rule of Law’ 141–154
- Nocera, Laura Alessandra, ‘Facing the Pandemic: Emergency Legislation in the COVID-19 Era and the Hypothetical Erosion of Democracy’ 155–170
- Smith, Molly and Nancy R Gartner, ‘Institutional Corrections and COVID-19’ 227–241
- Zaitzow, Barbara H, ‘No Escape: “Doing COVID-19 Time”’ 243–256
Abstract: We can no longer ignore this- A national crisis resulting in more than half-a-million American deaths, costing hundreds of millions of dollars in losses to the economy, ravaging the health care system, and devastating state and local communities. This narrative describes the COVID-19 pandemic and something else: the epidemic of opioid addiction and abuse. In the last twenty years, the opioid epidemic claimed the lives of more than 700,000 people at the cost of more than 500 billion dollars to the economy. The COVID-19 pandemic has made the opioid epidemic worse, causing a staggering increase in opioid-related overdose deaths. Even now, on average, 140 people die every day from an opioid overdose, making it a leading cause of injury-related death in the United States. And 70 percent of those deaths involve a prescription opioid. There is a growing sense that those responsible for the opioid epidemic, specifically drug companies and their executives, have escaped responsibility for their dangerous and deceptive practices in manufacturing and marketing opioids. Although they have confronted civil lawsuits, the pharmaceutical industry has faced virtually no criminal scrutiny; only a couple of companies and executives have ever been criminally charged for the devastation that opioids have caused. This raises questions: Given the increasing number of opioid overdose deaths nationally, why are charges and convictions of drug companies and their executives so rare? And why haven’t existing legal mechanisms worked to punish the improper manufacturing and marketing practices and curb the epidemic? Their misconduct continues because no single federal law exists to prosecute pharmaceutical companies and their executives for causing the epidemic. And the laws that govern the industry are ineffective; they fail to criminalize the type of conduct that caused the epidemic, contain elements that are prohibitively difficult to prove, or impose minimal penalties that fail to deter bad actors. Thus, the drug industry has persisted in dubious practices unfettered by civil litigation, government enforcement actions, and fines. This article seeks to examine these issues and others. It is the first in legal scholarship to offer a concrete and omnibus solution grounded in federal law to address the pharmaceutical industry’s misconduct. The article also continues the conversation I began in my article, The Prescription Abuse Prevention Act: A New Federal Statute to Criminalize Overprescribing Opioids, 39 YALE L. & POL’Y REV. (forthcoming, 2021) which offered a proposal for federal criminalization of doctors who overprescribe opioids. The novel 360-degree solution proposed here—the ‘Controlled Substance Manufacturing and Marketing Accountability Act’--will deter and punish those pharmaceutical companies and their executives who provided misleading information to government regulators and used deceptive practices in marketing opioids to the public. It also recognizes that when properly prescribed, these drugs provide essential relief for pain and suffering. Thus, this proposal seeks to address prior misconduct and point the way forward to avoid the next drug epidemic.
Dias, Silva and Andressa Patricia, ‘Virtual Assets: A Legal, Causal, and Case Study Analysis of the Influence of COVID-19 on the Use of Virtual Assets to Launder Money and of the European Union Regulatory Reaction on It’ (SSRN Scholarly Paper No 4198199, 1 July 2022) Abstract: During COVID-19, the use of virtual assets to launder money surged. Because of COVID-19 consequences, including the recent migration to the digital sphere, money laundering criminals now find it easier to use virtual assets to launder illicit money. In response to this phenomenon, FATF published several recommendations and guidelines on virtual assets, and the European Union proposed a few important legal frameworks which effectively mitigate money laundering using virtual assets and its adverse effects on the economy. This thesis aims to measure the efficiency of the European Union’s post-COVID-19 legal frameworks on money laundering through the use of virtual assets. To this end, this thesis provides a causal analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on the use of virtual assets to launder money. The thesis also introduces FATF and briefly examines its recommendations on virtual assets. Following this, a comparative legal analysis of the European Union’s legal frameworks pre-COVID-19 compared to during COVID-19 was conducted. The focal frameworks included the AMLD5 and the proposals for the AMLD6, AMLR, the reform on the Regulation 2015/847, and MiCA. A case study was conducted to test the efficiency of these frameworks. This case study used a hypothetical crypto-asset service provider currently under investigation. The service provider needed advice from a consultant firm to establish the company in Italy and to improve its compliance procedures. Through the report provided by the consultant firm, the application of the discussed EU legal frameworks was tested in a hypothetical scenario. This case study provided a practical measure of the efficiency of these frameworks in combating money laundering. The results suggest that the current proposals discussed by the European Union will mitigate money laundering using virtual assets and alleviate the adverse effects on the economy.
Díaz, Carlos, Sebastian Fossati and Nicolas Trajtenberg, ‘Stay at Home If You Can: COVID-19 Stay-At-Home Guidelines and Local Crime’ (2022) 19(4) Journal of Empirical Legal Studies 1067–1113 [pre-published version available on SSRN] Abstract: Government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic had an unprecedented impact on mobility patterns with implications for public safety and crime dynamics in countries across the planet. This paper explores the effect of stay-at-home guidelines on thefts and robberies at the neighborhood level in a Latin American city. We exploit neighborhood heterogeneity in the ability of working adults to comply with stay-at-home recommendations and use difference-in-differences and event study designs to identify the causal effect of COVID-19 mobility restrictions on the monthly number of thefts and robberies reported to police across neighborhoods in Montevideo (Uruguay) in 2020. Our results show that neighborhoods with a higher share of residents with work-from-home jobs experienced a larger reduction in reported thefts in relation to neighborhoods with a lower share of residents with work-from-home jobs. In contrast, both groups of neighborhoods experienced a similar reduction in the number of reported robberies. These findings cast light on opportunity structures for crime but also on how crime during the pandemic is disproportionately affecting more vulnerable areas and households.
Dijk, Auke J van, Clifford Shearing and Gary Cordner, ‘Policing the Pandemic: Public Health, Law Enforcement, and the Use of Force’ (2022) 7(2) Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being 67–74 Abstract: This article delves into the relationship between policing and public health in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The police have been seen as a crucial and extensively mobilised resource that has been utilised in responding to a public health crisis. The response to the pandemic shows the police mainly as enforcing state orders in which they have a traditional function related to the use of force. It is argued here that the classic definition of policing in terms of the use of force allows for the police becoming ‘decoupled’ from the institutional frames of criminal justice and public order. The perspective of a decoupled police would have real consequences for their involvement in public health. The article concludes with the conditions necessary for police to be a legitimate force in the public health domain.
Dokic, Ivan and Dragana Cvorovic, ‘Criminal Legal Challenges in Republic of Serbia during COVID-19 Pandemic’ (2021) 2021(3) CRIMEN: Casopis za Krivicne Nauke 259–276 Abstract: The pandemic caused by the spread of the infectious disease COVID-19, which affected the entire planet, caused not only the global health crisis, changing the usual way of life of the majority of the world’s population, but also affected almost all areas of the state and social system. The health systems were most affected; however, in addition to them, the effects of measures adopted by national legislators or other competent authorities to eliminate or reduce the risk of spreading the disease have affected, inter alia, economic stability, but also challenged the judicial authorities given that in the new circumstances it was not easy to ensure their normal functioning. This primarily refers to the criminal justice, given the importance of cases and the need for urgent action, since it is necessary to ensure the conduct of trials and the work of all procedural entities in conditions that, at least in one period, implied drastic restrictions on some basic civil and human rights and freedoms. In that context, it is especially important to review the justification and legality of the measures introduced in the Republic of Serbia during the state of emergency with the aim of more or less normal operation of the judicial system in conditions when social life was almost completely paralyzed. In addition, there is the question of what challenges and controversial issues are generally posed before criminal law in a pandemic, as well as the analysis of data on the crime rate and the overall crime situation in the Republic of Serbia in the period since the introduction of the state of emergency and during the pandemic.
Dolovich, Sharon, ‘The Coherence of Prison Law’ (2022) 135 Harvard Law Review Forum 302–342 Abstract: In this essay, I explore the mechanisms by which, despite what is known about the reality on the ground in American prisons, courts hearing constitutional challenges brought by prisoners so persistently find in favor of the state. In terms of doctrine, I show that, especially during the Rehnquist Court, the Supreme Court systematically deployed a set of maneuvers to construct doctrinal standards for prison law cases that strongly incline courts to rule for defendants. Yet skewed doctrinal standards alone cannot explain prison law’s strong pro-state bent, since courts hearing prison law cases will often side with defendants even when plaintiffs’ claims are strong on the merits and even when defendants’ arguments strain credulity. To achieve this effect also requires a judicial readiness to see the state’s case through an especially sympathetic lens and to exhibit a studied indifference to plaintiffs’ constitutional rights and lived experience. As I show, the Court’s prison law opinions persistently exhibit this orientation, which I term dispositional favoritism. When federal courts hearing prison cases follow this lead, as they frequently do, they can wind up favoring defendant prison officials in any number of ways hard to square with either the record or the relevant legal rules. These dynamics, hidden in plain sight, had been present in the prison law doctrine for decades. Then came Covid-19. As this essay shows, the methods courts used to deny the COVID claims of incarcerated plaintiffs were the same that have been used for years to deflect prisoners’ constitutional claims more generally. COVID, in short, definitively confirmed the terrible coherence of prison law: it is consistently and predictably pro-state, highly deferential to prison officials’ decision-making, and largely insensitive to the harms people experience while incarcerated. These features collectively embody the plainly divergent normative inclinations the Supreme Court routinely displays toward the parties in prison law cases.
Dolovich, Sharon, ‘Mass Incarceration, Meet COVID-19’ (UCLA School of Law, Public Law Research Paper No 21–02, 15 January 2021) Abstract: With the global pandemic still unfolding, we are only beginning to make sense of the overall impact of COVID-19 on the people who live and work inside American prisons and jails, and of what effect, if any, the pandemic will have on the nation’s continued commitment to mass incarceration under unduly harsh conditions. In this Essay, I take stock of where things now stand. I also consider how we got to this point, and how penal policy would need to change if we are to prevent another round of needless suffering and death when the next pandemic hits. Part I explains why the incarcerated face an elevated risk of infection and potentially fatal complications from COVID-19. Part II describes the measures various corrections administrators took at the start of the pandemic to try to limit viral spread inside jails and prisons, and why, however well-intentioned, these measures were insufficient to bring the virus under control. Part III addresses the steps taken by public officials at all levels to reduce the number of people in custody and offers initial thoughts as to why, after a concerted push for releases on the part of many public actors in the first months of the pandemic, these efforts had already considerably slowed by the latter part of May 2020. (Here, the focus is primarily, though not exclusively, on the federal courts’ nonresponse to urgent petitions from incarcerated plaintiffs.) Part IV draws on the work of the UCLA Law COVID-19 Behind Bars Data Project. It explores what the data shows regarding infection rates and COVID deaths in custody, describes the limits of the available data, and explains why the impact on people in jails and prisons is likely even greater than the official numbers suggest. Part V zeroes in on the culture of secrecy that American corrections administrators have long been empowered to cultivate regarding what goes on behind bars. It argues that this culture has exacerbated the threat COVID poses to the incarcerated as well as to staff, that such secrecy is at odds with the imperatives of a public institution, and that we need to replace the reigning default posture of concealment with an ethos of transparency. This Essay concludes with a call for a broad normative reorientation toward assessing carceral policy through a public health lens.
Dolovich, Sharon, ‘The UCLA Law COVID Behind Bars Data Project: Doing Social Justice Work from Inside a Law School’ (2023) 7(1) UCLA Criminal Justice Law Review 211–248 Abstract: Part I of this Essay tells the origin story of the UCLA Law COVID Behind Bars Data Project. Part II addresses the question of how an effort like this, focused on data and policy, could have arisen in a law school, and what our experience reveals about the role the legal academy and legal scholarship can play in the movement for social justice and policy change. Part III highlights some of the organizational factors that enabled us to do what we did despite significant time and resource constraints. The focus here is on the process of institution-building and lessons learned. Finally, Part IV briefly describes the denouement of our COVID data collection efforts and our decision to pivot to our current focus on national, all-cause carceral mortality.
Draper, Brandon Marc, ‘And Justice for None: How COVID-19 Is Crippling the Criminal Jury Right’ (2021) 62(9) Boston College Law Review (Electronic Supplement, Article 1) Abstract: The jury trial is the cornerstone of the criminal justice system in the United States. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, however, access to fair and constitutional jury trials has largely come to a halt. Courts correctly decided to stop all jury trials and other in-person proceedings as the nation learned more about a new and deadly virus. Nevertheless, this decision denied access to an important constitutional right. In response, some courts employed video conference technology such as Zoom and WebEx to conduct arraignments, general court appearances, and some pretrial hearings. Six months into the pandemic, some criminal courts are beginning to consider and test two adaptations of jury trials to attempt to meet the needs of the system: (1) trials that are both in-person and compliant with social distancing policies and (2) trials conducted exclusively via video conference. This Essay argues that at best, these solutions are grossly unfair to all of those who participate in the criminal justice system. At worst, they likely violate the Sixth Amendment rights of the accused and create ethical concerns for prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, and jurors. Yet, even with these legitimate concerns, courts should attempt to mitigate the risks and resume jury trials that are both in-person and compliant with social distancing policies to provide the criminal justice system with the best opportunity to ensure fair jury trials.
Eboibi, Felix E, ‘Cybercriminals and Coronavirus Cybercrimes in Nigeria, the United States of America and the United Kingdom: Cyber Hygiene and Preventive Enforcement Measures’ (2021) 47(1) Commonwealth Law Bulletin 113–142 Abstract: There seems to be no lockdown for cybercriminals who are capitalizing on the global lockdown to perpetrate cyber coronavirus crimes. Qualitatively, this paper examines these crimes, their peculiarities, and how they can be curtailed. Although the United States of America (US) and the United Kingdom (UK) have put in place cyber hygiene and preventive enforcement measures to curtail the activities of cybercriminals in cyberspace, the same cannot be said of Nigeria. Arguably, cybercrime institutions in Nigeria lack adequate capacity building, professional competence, and inter-agency cooperation concerning cyber coronavirus crimes. Consequently, it calls for the adaptation of the US and UK measures to protect cybercitizens.
Elberg, Jacob T, ‘Health Care Fraud Means Never Having to Say You’re Sorry’ (2021) 96(2) Washington Law Review 371–423 Jurisdiction: USA
Abstract: For decades, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued a steady flood of press releases announcing False Claims Act (FCA) settlements against health care entities and extolling the purportedly sharp message sent to the industry through these settlements about the consequences of engaging in wrongdoing. The FCA is the primary mechanism for government enforcement against health care entities engaged in wrongdoing, and it is expected to be DOJ’s key tool for addressing fraud arising out of government programs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. DOJ has pointed to three key goals of its enforcement efforts (deterrence, incentivizing cooperation, and building a culture of compliance in the health care industry). However, careful examination of the settlements touted in those DOJ press releases calls into question whether DOJ’s settlement practices are conveying the message DOJ seeks to impart or having the impact it hopes to achieve. Virtually all FCA cases resolve without requiring the defendant to admit wrongdoing, and many defendants issue explicit public denials of wrongdoing when the resolution is announced. The absence of any need to admit wrongdoing has fueled a cost-of-doing-business narrative in which health care entities are required periodically to pay inconsequential settlements to the government regardless of their conduct. DOJ thereby risks both diminishing the general deterrence value of resolutions and lending credence to the vocal skepticism among industry and the defense bar that DOJ could, in fact, prevail at trial. DOJ’s willingness to allow settlements in health care fraud cases without admissions is diametrically contrary to DOJ’s policy in criminal cases, which is against permitting resolutions without defendants’ clear and unequivocal acceptance of responsibility for violating the law. Permitting no-responsibility settlements in the civil FCA context suggests both that DOJ pursues, illegitimately, weak cases it cannot prove at trial, and potentially weakens the general deterrence value of civil FCA claims in general. New defendants may be left with cover that they are not wrongdoers but are merely ensnared in an illegitimate money grab. Even defendants who frankly recognize that they are in violation of the statute may be comforted that they likely face paying little more than restitution, and no significant penalties or social opprobrium. These practices suggest that DOJ rewards willingness to settle, and the monetary recovery it brings, above all other factors. DOJ’s focus on settling and monetary recoveries in turn lends credence to the widespread belief that civil health care fraud settlements simply do not signal wrongdoing. There is no law, policy, or practice that prevents DOJ from requiring admissions in FCA settlements. Yet an in-depth review of nearly 200 FCA resolutions involving health care entities over the past two years reveals that approximately 92% did not include defendants’ clear acceptance of responsibility, and approximately 37% involved defendants actively denying responsibility. The absence of any DOJ policy favoring admissions has important negative consequences, undermining DOJ’s goals of deterrence, incentivizing cooperation, and building a culture of compliance. First, when corporate actors believe DOJ will pursue claims regardless of wrongdoing and the consequences of even a settlement will be relatively painless from a financial and reputational perspective, those actors have reduced incentive to put in place compliance structures dedicated to preventing wrongdoing. Second, and perhaps more importantly, when corporate actors diminish the force of settlements with DOJ by denying responsibility, they undermine the system’s legitimacy vital for DOJ to encourage cooperation and for the government and well-meaning corporate actors to cultivate an industry-wide culture of compliance. This Article examines DOJ policy both from an economic incentive perspective and in light of research surrounding the psychology of legal authority, concluding that under both lenses DOJ undercuts its own goals. With DOJ actively reforming FCA policy and the FCA poised to take center stage in the government’s fight against COVID-19 program abuse, it is beyond time to address this gap in DOJ’s enforcement policy.
Enggarsasi, Umi and Nur Khalimatus Sa’diyah, ‘Examining the Impact of Assimilation on Prisoners During the Covid-19 Pandemic: Balancing Public Health and Public Safety in Legal Measures’ (2023) 11(8) Journal of Law and Sustainable Development e1445–e1445 Abstract: The aim of this study is to examine the impact of providing assimilation to prisoners during the Covid-19 pandemic. Social Integration Theory is used as theoretical perspective in this study which suggests that social integration and belonging are essential for individuals’ well-being. The research might examine how the pandemic and legal measures have affected prisoners’ sense of social integration, including their connection to society, family, and community.
European Law Enforcement Research Bulletin (2021) (Special Conference Edition SCE 5)The articles in this special issue comprise a collection of contributions to the CEPOL Online Research & Science Conference, Pandemic Effects on Law Enforcement Training and Practice (3-5 May 2021)
- den Boer, Monica, Eric Bervoets and Linda Hak, ‘Preparing for Future Pandemic Policing’
- Coman, Iulian and Ioan Cosmin Mihai, ‘The Impact of COVID-19. Cybercrime and Cyberthreats’
- Cordner, Gary and Martin Bartness, ‘Police Training in Baltimore During the Pandemic’
- Fuchs, Micha, ‘Challenges for Police Training after COVID-19’
- Garcés, Carmen Castro et al, ‘The Role of Law Enforcement Agencies and the Use of IT Tools for a Coordinate Response in Pandemic Crisis Management’
- Herbinger, Paul Luca and Norbert Leonhardmair, ‘Domestic Abuse During the Pandemic’
- Herbinger, Paul Luca and Roger von Laufenberg, ‘Policing in Times of the Pandemic’
- Kriegler, Anine, Kelley Moult and Elrena van der Spuy, ‘Policing South Africa's Lockdown: Making Sense of Ambiguity Amidst Certainty?’
- Levi, Michael, ‘Fraud, Pandemics and Policing Responses’
- Mignone, Mara and Valentina Scioneri, ‘Training and Education during the Pandemic Crisis’
- Riccardi, Michele, ‘Organised Crime Infiltration of the COVID-19 Economy: Emerging Schemes and Possible Prevention Strategies’
- Rowe, Mike et al, ‘Policing During a Pandemic’
- Silva, Teresa C and Hans Löfgren, ‘The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Police Officers’ Mental Health’
- Szitkay, Eszter Kovács and Andras L Pap, ‘Populist Pressures, Policing and the Pandemic’
- Viedma, Julia and Mercedes Abdalla, ‘The Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis on Law Enforcement Practice’
- Walkate, Sandra, Barry Godfrey and Jane Richardson, ‘Responding to Domestic Abuse - Policing Innovations During the Covid-19 Pandemic’
- Wall, David S, The Transnational Cybercrime Extortion Landscape and the Pandemic
Abstract: We examine the use of forced confinement and isolation to limit the spread of COVID-19 in Ontario prisons and jails. Drawing on interview data, we illustrate how a reliance on forced confinement and isolation has exacerbated harms experienced by prisoners in relation to physical, mental, and social health. Through discourse analysis of grey literature, we then discuss the politics and governance of carceral institutions during the pandemic, focusing on how practices of isolation were legitimized during the pandemic, despite recent rulings establishing isolation and segregation as torture. We close by arguing that the case of isolation during the pandemic is one example which highlights the systemic and ongoing nature of rights violations in Canadian prisons and jails. To address these harms, we must shift focus away from reform and towards decarceration.
Farmer, Ashley K and Allen Copenhaver, ‘Policing in a Pandemic: How Law Enforcement Communicates with the Public’ (2021) Policing: An International Journal (advance article, published 29 April 2021) Abstract:
Purpose: This study, a content analysis, aims to analyze general communications from law enforcement via agency websites about the COVID-19 pandemic and how this affected police roles. The authors study the extent to which police departments used their websites to inform the public about COVID-19, changes to their policies and additional information they felt necessary to give members of the public. This is important for understanding how the police inform the public during a pandemic and how the pandemic affected their police role.
Design/methodology/approach: The data gathered for this project came from a content analysis of the official websites of the largest municipal police departments in the USA. The researchers collected quantitative data from the official websites of law enforcement agencies who serve the 200 largest cities in the USA in March 2020 and coded the information from the websites to determine what themes were most prevalent.
Findings: The messages most often provided on department websites included information about COVID-19 (52% of websites included this information), modifications to services (33%) and informing users that services such as fingerprinting would be altered (42%). Websites also reminded the public of restrictions on public gatherings (25%) and stay-at-home orders (38%). Further logistic regression analyses explored significant associations among these variables to understand how police/public communications influenced the role of law enforcement during the pandemic. Originality/value: Little is known about how law enforcement communicates online with the public during a global pandemic like COVID-19 or how this might affect the police role. Police departments can use their websites to communicate important information to citizens and keep communities updated. Policy implications suggest that agencies continue to update websites with important information and be direct about expectations from the public regarding compliance while also being transparent about how police roles might change.
Farran, Sue and Rhona Smith, ‘Graffiti in a Time of Covid-19: Spray Paint and the Law’ (2021) 32(1) King’s Law Journal 84–95
Farrow, Kathryn, ‘Policing the Pandemic in the UK Using the Principles of Procedural Justice’ (2020) 14(3) Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice 587–592 Purpose: This study, a content analysis, aims to analyze general communications from law enforcement via agency websites about the COVID-19 pandemic and how this affected police roles. The authors study the extent to which police departments used their websites to inform the public about COVID-19, changes to their policies and additional information they felt necessary to give members of the public. This is important for understanding how the police inform the public during a pandemic and how the pandemic affected their police role.
Design/methodology/approach: The data gathered for this project came from a content analysis of the official websites of the largest municipal police departments in the USA. The researchers collected quantitative data from the official websites of law enforcement agencies who serve the 200 largest cities in the USA in March 2020 and coded the information from the websites to determine what themes were most prevalent.
Findings: The messages most often provided on department websites included information about COVID-19 (52% of websites included this information), modifications to services (33%) and informing users that services such as fingerprinting would be altered (42%). Websites also reminded the public of restrictions on public gatherings (25%) and stay-at-home orders (38%). Further logistic regression analyses explored significant associations among these variables to understand how police/public communications influenced the role of law enforcement during the pandemic. Originality/value: Little is known about how law enforcement communicates online with the public during a global pandemic like COVID-19 or how this might affect the police role. Police departments can use their websites to communicate important information to citizens and keep communities updated. Policy implications suggest that agencies continue to update websites with important information and be direct about expectations from the public regarding compliance while also being transparent about how police roles might change.
Extract: The involvement of the police in ensuring compliance with lockdown measures has raised questions regarding the legitimate boundaries of police power during what is first and foremost a public health emergency. Although it can be argued that enforcing social distancing laws can be seen as part of the police mandate of ensuring social order, it is unusual for officers to enforce measures for what essentially is a public health issue. Concerns have been raised regarding the ability of the police to effectively police social distancing measures, and such issues are only likely to increase as the rules change and adapt with the imminent easing of the lockdown period. The decision for the government to put law enforcement officials in the position of enforcing public health regulations is unprecedented, but is widely in step with the approach taken by many other countries around the world. Although this method of ensuring compliance with public health measures has been questioned, it is still possible for it to be highly effective during the ‘emergency period’ of the pandemic.
Ferraro, John, ‘Compelling Compassion: Navigating Federal Compassionate Release After the First Step Act’ (2021) 62(7) Boston College Law Review 2463 Abstract: Prior to the First Step Act, compassionate release was rarely utilized in the federal criminal justice system. Upon the Act’s passage, the federal judiciary took a more significant role in assessing motions for compassionate release. The number of motions for compassionate release swelled as the COVID-19 pandemic became a major public health crisis in the United States, especially in prisons. Many, but not all, federal district courts departed from prior administrative guidelines that were not consistent with the statutory language of the First Step Act. These differing levels of discretion have created an inconsistent patchwork of case law across the federal judiciary. This Note surveys the variety of district court rationales for granting or denying motions for compassionate release. Given the purpose and legislative intent of the First Step Act, this Note argues that district courts should continue to exercise broad discretion to determine whether compassionate release is appropriate. It also argues that future compassionate release administrative guidance should allow courts broad discretion on whether to grant compassionate release, subject to appellate review.
Ferstman, Carla, ‘Detention and Pandemic Exceptionality’ in Carla Ferstman and Andrew Fagan (eds), Covid-19, Law and Human Rights: Essex Dialogues (School of Law and Human RIghts, University of Essex, 2020) 177–185 Abstract: This essay considers the circumstances of persons deprived of their liberty in the context of Covid-19. Detention is always intended to be exceptional and the essay explores the extent to which the pandemic impacts upon this exceptional character. First, by increasing the unacceptability of detention, have the rules regarding what may constitute ‘arbitrary detention’ changed? Secondly, for persons serving out prison sentences, to what extent should Covid-19 serve as a justification for early release or commutation of punishment? In this respect, should the goals of retribution and specific and general deterrence be weighed against the rights to health and safety of prisoners and prison staff, and if so, how? Do detaining authorities have absolute discretion to determine which detainees to release or must they ensure that policies of release also, are not arbitrary? To what extent does the arbitrary resort to detention as well as the arbitrary decision to maintain someone in detention during the pandemic, which may heighten certain individuals’ exposure to the disease and thereby produce extreme anxiety, give rise to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, if not torture? The paper considers how governments, specialist agencies and courts are beginning to grapple with these legal, ethical and public health issues. On the one hand, recognition of the heightened health risks for detainees associated with the pandemic is proving to be an important opportunity to reduce reliance on detention – and thereby to make good on the intention for detention to be recognised as an exceptional measure. Yet on the other hand, as will be shown, the selectivity of approaches and lack of transparency and oversight of decision-making has put some detainees at even greater risk of harm.
Finkle, Victoria, ‘How Compassionate?: Political Appointments & District Court Judge Responses to Compassionate Release During COVID-19’ (2022) 110(6) THE GEORGETOWN LAW JOURNAL 1495–1517 Abstract: The Trump Administration sought to transform the judiciary by appointing numerous conservative judges to the bench, building on a Republican project that is decades in the making. This Note examines how judges are deciding compassionate release motions in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has proven particularly deadly inside the nation’s prisons. This Note explores how judges appointed by Republicans and Democrats have ruled in more than 6,000 federal compassionate release cases in the first ten months of the pandemic, finding that judges appointed by Democrats are granting compassionate release at far higher rates than their Republican counterparts, with Trump judges granting among the fewest requests. The First Step Act of 2018 gave incarcerated individuals the right to file a motion for early release in court in light of ‘extraordinary and compelling’ circumstances, and requests for release have skyrocketed since the outbreak of the virus. The unique conditions of the pandemic, high levels of virus transmission in prisons, and the highly discretionary nature of the compassionate release statute together offer a natural experiment for considering how judicial ideology impacts people’s lives. The results of this analysis underscore the importance of the fight over control of the judiciary going forward.
Flanders, Chad et al, ‘“Terroristic Threats” and COVID-19: A Guide for the Perplexed’ (2020) 169(4) University of Pennsylvania Law Review Online 63-89 Abstract: The first few months of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States saw the rise of a troubling sort of behavior: people would cough or spit on people or otherwise threaten to spread the COVID-19 virus, resulting in panic and sometimes thousands of dollars’ worth of damages to businesses. Those who have been caught doing this — or have filmed themselves doing it — have been charged under so-called ‘terroristic threat’ statutes. But what is a terroristic threat, and is it an appropriate charge in these cases? Surprisingly little has been written about these statutes given their long history and regular use by states. Our article is one of the first to look systematically at these statutes, and we do so in light of the rash of these charges during the recent pandemic. Our argument begins with the premise that these statutes typically contemplate a ‘core case’ of terroristic threatening, e.g., someone calls in a bomb threat which forces the evacuation of a building. But these statutes have been variously revised and repurposed over the years, most notably to mass shootings, and more problematically to those who threaten to give others HIV. The recent COVID-19 charges seem to involve facts that are outside the ‘core case,’ so that even if terroristic threatening is a permissible charge in these cases, it is often not the most appropriate one. We conclude by suggesting that in many of the COVID-19 cases other charges should be made (criminal mischief, disorderly conduct, false reporting, etc.) instead of terroristic threatening, and that a lot of the expressive and deterrence benefits of more serious charges can be accomplished just as well by social disapproval.
Flanders, Chad and Stephen Galoob, ‘Progressive Prosecution in a Pandemic’ (2020) 110(4) Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 685-706 Abstract: This article, written as introduction to a conference volume on ‘progressive prosecution,’ tries to situate the progressive prosecution movement in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The article briefly describes the movement and its main goals before considering three possible results of the pandemic on progressive prosecution: 1) an optimistic result, where the urgency of releasing people from prisons and jails bolsters the ideals of progressive prosecution, 2) a mixed result, where there is only a temporary convergence between the progressive prosecution agenda and a more self-interested public-health impetus for release, and 3) a pessimistic result, where concerns for public health and public safety serve to crowd out any effective movement for criminal justice reform. We conclude by laying out some future challenges to progresive prosecution.
Fletcher, Ernie et al, ‘COVID-19, Corrections, and Early-Release: Implications and Solutions for Populations with Opioid and Substance Use Disorders’ (SSRN Scholarly Paper ID 4004589, 15 July 2021) Abstract: As the United States continues to feel the weight of the delta variant, it is a time of reflection. This global pandemic serves as a reminder that infectious diseases pose an existential threat to our way of life and the way we operate institutions. Correctional facilities are one of many institutions that are high-risk environments and require a nuanced approach to policies and practices. Epidemic planning, as part of a robust disaster/crisis response, may include correctional early releases in order to reduce census and subsequent risk associated with congregate living. However, early release planning must equitably balance inherent risks that marginalized people face, including those with opioid and other substance use disorders (OUD/SUDs). The majority (80-85%) of individuals incarcerated have reported illicit substance use in their lifetime, but only 20% receive treatment while incarcerated. Releasing individuals with OUD/SUDs early due to COVID-19 or another epidemic or pandemic, without a robust reentry plan may result in a return to substance use, fatal and nonfatal drug overdose, and recidivism. This report describes the risks associated with this practice and provides comprehensive policy recommendations incorporating a COVID-19 risk assessment, considerations for OUD/SUD, mental health (MH), healthcare access and resources, recovery housing, and employment. COVID-19 variants and emerging infectious diseases pose an ongoing threat; therefore prevention/planning and response efforts should take place in all sectors. This policy may be adapted to future early release planning scenarios to adequately balance risk and support successful transitions.
Foffani, Luigi, ‘Covid-19 Outbreak, Criminal Law and Role of the EU’ (2020) 10(2) European Criminal Law Review 137–139
Folami, Olakunle and Abiodun Bakare, ‘Prevention of Gender-Based Violence Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic in South-West, Nigeria’ (2022) 2(2) Humanus Discourse 1-15 Abstract: Gender-based violence from time immemorial has been with the inhabitants of the South-West, Nigeria. It has become a cultural transition phenomenon. Gender-based violence can be described as violence directed against women because they are women or that disproportionately affecting women. COVID-19 pandemic worsens the occurrence of gender-based violence. Lockdown provided opportunities for perpetrators of gender-based violence to attacked women and young girls. Men were at home most times. Offices were lockdown. Movements were restricted. Women lost their jobs, and they became prey to their husbands and outsiders. COVID-19 pandemic presented key challenges in displacement contexts with increased gender-based violence, in addition to and resulting from loss of income and household stress; as well as barriers to help-seeking options for survivors. Gender-based violence is both biological and cultural learning attitude. Cultural Transmission Theory (CT) as a theoretical explanation of the prevalence of gender-based violence in South-West, Nigeria. This paper, therefore, identifies stakeholders on the prevention of gender-based violence such as the government, survivors, development partners, and non-governmental organizations. In this paper, the following prevention mechanisms were suggested such as prompt arrest and prosecution of gender-based offenders, scholarship, and stipends for women and young girls.
Franchino, Alexandra, ‘Solitary Confinement in Sheep’s Clothing: The Unlawfulness of Medical Isolation Protocols During the COVID-19 Pandemic in American Prisons’ (2024) 54(3) Seton Hall Law Review 889–921 Abstract: This Comment analyzes the use of solitary confinement, usually disguised as medical isolation, in prisons during COVID-19 as a means of isolating and quarantining incarcerated individuals and its detrimental impact on incarcerated people on a national scale. Part II outlines the nation’s use of solitary confinement as punishment and considers the linkage and overlap between its modern and historical use as a segregation tactic in the medical quarantine context. Part II also describes the modern trend towards public and judicial acknowledgement of the adverse mental effects of solitary confinement. Part III highlights the use of solitary confinement as a means of medical isolation and prevention during COVID-19. Specifically, it exposes the pervasive and systemic imposition of harm on incarcerated people, usually under the guise of paternalistic goals of general safety and welfare. Additionally, it analyzes these practices under an Eighth Amendment framework, arguing that they are characteristic of the deliberate indifference that qualifies as an Eighth Amendment violation. Part IV proposes alternatives to the practices that occurred during COVID-19 and presents an argument for the implementation of protocols that actually advance the health and wellbeing of incarcerated people. Part V begins by calling on the courts to reconsider their responses to conditions of confinement challenges under the Eighth Amendment and urges officials and administrators of American prisons to learn from the detrimental mistakes made during the COVID-19 crisis to avoid future abuse in the next health crisis.
Fransisco, Wawan, ‘Law Enforcement as Indonesian Relief Commandment in the Transition from the Covid-19 Crisis’ (2021) 4(9) International Journal of Social Science and Human Research 2316–2321 Abstract: This study aims to find out and analyze law enforcement against health protocol violations during the covid-19 pandemic in Indonesia and to find out and analyze the application of sanctions for health protocol violations committed by the community during the covid-19 pandemic in Indonesia. This research was conducted by using a normative juridical research using a statutory approach, a concept analysis approach that is descriptive qualitative analysis. The results of this study indicate that law enforcement against violations of health protocols during the covid-19 pandemic in Indonesia is carried out based on statutory regulations, by conducting Community Activity Restrictions (PKM), Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB) as a form of law enforcement against health protocol violations during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia through socialization in preventing the spread of the COVID-19 virus and Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB) by imposing sanctions on violators. However, law enforcement against health protocol violations has not been implemented properly. This is because there are still violations of health protocols carried out by the community.
Freckelton, Ian, ‘COVID-19: Criminal Law, Public Assemblies and Human Rights Litigation’ (2020) 27(4) Journal of Law and Medicine 790–806 Abstract: Australia’s criminal law was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic from the outset and then progressively as statutory measures and judicial rulings on matters such as bail entitlements, judge-alone trials, sentences and applications for demonstrations and public assemblies were made by courts. This column identifies some of the major decisions made during the period of the lockdown measures between March and July 2020, and reviews significant New South Wales judgments in relation to the lawfulness of mass gatherings during the period of lockdown as expert assessments of risks of community transmission of the virus waxed and waned. It explores the importation into Australia’s criminal law of public health principles for the protection of the community, and its compatibility with traditional principles of criminal justice.
Froimson, Jill R et al, ‘COVID-19, Home Confinement, and the Fallacy of “Safest at Home”’ (2020) 110(7) American Journal of Public Health 960–961 Abstract: IPV is a public health crisis amid and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the United States, one in four women and one in seven men experience severe physical IPV at some point in their lives. Transgender individuals report even higher levels, with some studies quoting lifetime prevalence of IPV of up to 50%.3 Restricted economic resources, unemployment, and high stress levels all correlate with an increase in both the incidence and the severity of IPV.
Fuentes, Gabriel A, ‘Federal Detention and “Wild Facts” during the COVID-19 Pandemic Criminal Law’ (2020) 110(3) Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 441–476 Abstract: Extract from Introduction (page 442): This Article offers a framework for considering defendants’ arguments for release based on the COVID-19 pandemic. It suggests that the shifting landscape of facts and scientific knowledge about this disease, as well as governmental responses to it, challenge practitioners and courts to grapple with an additional layer of complexity in applying the Bail Reform Act and the Constitution to federal detention decisions. It is now crucial for courts to push past the parties’ representations and into the facts and science behind them. The challenge is to try to rely on our experience to search for the line between the known and unknown about the risk this new virus poses in jail environments, by venturing past the open grasslands in a hunt for the less visible ‘wild facts’ lurking in the forest. The lore of ‘wild facts,’ an abstract concept first articulated in the early twentieth century by philosopher William James, tells us that ‘wild facts’ are ‘subtle, unexpected particulars’ that lie not in law but in human experience, and that militate against the mechanical and impersonal application of a society’s laws. 2 Now that COVID-19 has injected a new level of complexity into federal detention decisions, this Article uses the ‘wild facts’ concept as an inspiration for meeting the new challenge of complexity in federal detention.
Fuentes, Gabriel A and Mackenzie Krage, ‘Federal Detention Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Follow-Up’ (2020) 67(6) Federal Lawyer 11–19 Abstract: The article focuses on federal judges began seeing arguments for pretrial release, either at the initial detention stage or after detention during COVID-19 pandemic. It mentions risk of uncontrolled outbreaks in congregate jail settings posed an unacceptable risk to community safety, and that risks associated with incarceration. It also mentions courts have reasoned that the risks posed to a defendant by COVID-19 in terms of terms of Bail Reform Act.
Geldenhuys, Kotie, ‘Violence against Civilians during the COVID-19 Lockdown’ (2021) 114(2) Servamus Community-based Safety and Security Magazine 20–25 Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the world to a state of lockdown and at the time of going to print, more than 2.1 million people have already succumbed to this virus. As humanity struggles against this deadly threat, they sadly also have to deal with some members of the security forces such as the police and soldiers who are acting violently and inhumanely against civilians while enforcing lockdown regulations.
Geldenhuys, Kotie, ‘When COVID-19 Knocks on Law Enforcers’ Doors’ (2021) 114(2) Servamus Community-based Safety and Security Magazine 14–17 Abstract: During their daily duties police officials are exposed to a unique set of challenges. But during the past couple of months, law enforcement agencies faced even more challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During pandemics, such as COVID-19, law enforcement agencies are responsible for working with government and public health officials to contain the spread, serve the local community, maintain public order and conduct their normal policing duties.
Gerell, Manne et al, ‘COVID-19 Restrictions, Pub Closures, and Crime in Oslo, Norway’ (2022) 23(2) Nordic Journal of Criminology 136–155 Abstract: Alcohol consumption and crime are closely linked and there is often more crime near pubs and bars. Few studies have considered the impact of restricting access to pubs or bars on crime, and the present study aims to provide more insight into this by using the restrictions to combat the COVID-19 pandemic as a natural experiment. In Oslo, Norway, alcohol serving was banned twice during 2020, and at other times during the year, restrictions were placed on how late it could be served. In the present paper, these restrictions are analysed, alongside more general COVID-19 restrictions, to assess their association with crime. To identify these, we employ negative binomial regression models of daily crime counts for nine types of crime adjusted for the day of the week, the week of the year, and the year itself. This is in addition to the presence, or absence, of alcohol-related restrictions and more general COVID-19 restrictions. The findings suggest that both, general restrictions and bans on serving alcohol, reduced crime, although not universally across all crime types and times of the day. When pubs are ordered not to sell alcohol after midnight there appears to be an unexpected increase in crime.
Gilchrist, Heidi, ‘“Act Normal or Leave”: When Law and Culture Collide’ (2020) Columbia Journal of European Law (forthcoming) Abstract: ‘Act normal or leave’ wrote the Prime Minister of the Netherlands before the 2017 elections in an open letter published on-line and in full-page newspaper advertisements. This article examines the idea of legislating ‘normal’ and what this means in a diverse world. I specifically explore laws that criminalize dress in Europe - burqa bans that can even carry jail time for women who cover their face in public. I look at these laws as forced assimilation and as simply a ‘Muslim ban.’ Not only is forced assimilation ineffective, it is a national security threat. In upholding and justifying these laws, I question whether the European Court of Human Rights has created a dangerous new right of the majority not to be offended. Although I argue against these criminal laws, I also consider the issue of what duty to integrate newcomers do have to a host country where they are living and ways in which pop culture can help this integration take place. I then analogize local laws in the United States that criminalize ‘saggy pants.’ In Louisiana, a young man died after being chased by police for wearing saggy pants. Although obvious differences, these laws share the flaw of using the force of law against a minority group by criminalizing dress. The COVID-19 pandemic and recent laws in Europe requiring face masks, but still criminalizing burqas, highlight the injustice.
Gordon, Faith, Hannah Klose and Michelle Lyttle Storrod, ‘Youth (in)Justice and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Rethinking Incarceration through a Public Health Lens’ (2021) 33(1) Current Issues in Criminal Justice 27–46 Abstract: Serious concerns for the safety and well-being of children and young people are multiplying due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child has called for children’s urgent release from prison. Evidence demonstrates that incarceration can aggravate existing health conditions and result in new health issues, such as depression, suicidal thoughts and post-traumatic stress disorder (Australian Human Rights Commission [2019, October 11], UN global study on children deprived of liberty, https://humanrights.gov.au/about/news/un-global-study-children-deprived-liberty). This paper draws on findings from a larger study involving 25 qualitative interviews with policy makers, practitioners and researchers working in youth justice and utilises Victoria in South East Australia as a case study. Victoria represents the Australian state worst affected by COVID-19 and has one of the highest levels of children and young people incarcerated. This paper recommends decarceration of children and young people, with alternatives built around principles of a public health model. It argues that this holistic approach can promote children’s rights and crucially attend to the physical and emotional well-being of children and young people, compared with the current arrangements.
Gover, Angela R, Shannon B Harper and Lynn Langton, ‘Anti-Asian Hate Crime During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Exploring the Reproduction of Inequality’ (2020) 45(4) American Journal of Criminal Justice 647-667 Abstract: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is believed to have emerged in Wuhan, China in late December 2019 and began rapidly spreading around the globe throughout the spring months of 2020. As COVID-19 proliferated across the United States, Asian Americans reported a surge in racially motivated hate crimes involving physical violence and harassment. Throughout history, pandemic-related health crises have been associated with the stigmatization and “othering” of people of Asian descent. Asian Americans have experienced verbal and physical violence motivated by individual-level racism and xenophobia from the time they arrived in America in the late 1700s up until the present day. At the institutional level, the state has often implicitly reinforced, encouraged, and perpetuated this violence through bigoted rhetoric and exclusionary policies. COVID-19 has enabled the spread of racism and created national insecurity, fear of foreigners, and general xenophobia, which may be related to the increase in anti-Asian hate crimes during the pandemic. We examine how these crimes – situated in historically entrenched and intersecting individual-level and institutional-level racism and xenophobia – have operated to “other” Asian Americans and reproduce inequality.
Grace, Sara, ‘Policing Social Distancing: Gaining and Maintaining Compliance in the Age of Coronavirus’ Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice Article paaa029 (advance article, published 12 July 2020) Abstract: Drawing on motivational posturing theory (MPT) and procedural justice theory (PJT), this article makes recommendations for how best to secure compliance with social distancing regulations. Applying those theories to—mostly observational—data from a study on the use and impact of penalty notices for disorder, the influences on cooperation during police–citizen encounters are explored. Whilst focusing on the English data/regulations, as both MPT and PJT have been tested internationally, the conclusions have relevance beyond these shores. The article proposes a sixth posture—compulsion, a form of resistant compliance—to the five set out by MPT. Focusing attention not just on whether compliance is achieved but how recognizes the risk to future legitimacy posed by only achieving compliance through coercion or the threat thereof. Lessons from the research are applied to policing social distancing, with regards to: securing compliance during interactions, self-regulation and enforcement action, and how to preserve police legitimacy.
Gradoń, Kacper, ‘Crime in the Time of the Plague: Fake News Pandemic and the Challenges to Law-Enforcement and Intelligence Community’ (2020) 4(2) Society Register 133–148 Abstract: The Paper explores the problem of fake news and disinformation campaigns in the turmoil era of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. The Author addresses the problem from the perspective of Crime Science, identifying the actual and potential impact of fake news propagation on both the social fabric and the work of the law-enforcement and security services. The Author covers various vectors of disinformation campaigns and offers the overview of challenges associated with the use of deep fakes and the abuse of Artificial Intelligence, Machine-, Deep- and Reinforcement-Learning technologies. The Paper provides the outline of preventive strategies that might be used to mitigate the consequences of fake news proliferation, including the introduction of counter-narratives and the use of AI as countermeasure available to the law-enforcement and public safety agencies. The Author also highlights other threats and forms of crime leveraging the pandemic crisis. As the Paper deals with the current and rapidly evolving phenomenon, it is based on qualitative research and uses the most up-to-date, reliable open-source information, including the Web-based material.
Grayson-Morison, Reegan and Stacey Steele, ‘Judicial Responses to COVID-19: Japanese and Victorian Courts’ Use of Technology’ (Asian Law Centre, Melbourne Law School, 24 June 2020) < > Abstract: A/Professor Stacey Steele and Reegan Grayson-Morison discuss Japanese criminal justice in this second post on the Japanese justice system and responses to COVID-19. In this post, they consider detention applications (勾留 kōryū), bail (保釈 hoshaku), the management of detention houses (拘置所 kōchisho, 留置施設 ryūchisisetu) and prisons (刑務所 keimusho, 少年刑務所 shōnen keimusho), and the ability of lawyers to interact with clients. Reegan also offers some comparative insights into the measures being taken in Victoria in relation to these matters.
Greener, Mihal, ‘“COVID Bail”: The Response of Victorian Courts and Prisons in Navigating the Impact of COVID-19’ (2021) 33(1) Current Issues in Criminal Justice 89–93 Abstract: The rapid increase in applications for bail was one of the earliest responses to COVID-19 across the Victorian court system. As the courts addressed the challenges that the pandemic posed it was accepted that COVID-19 would be taken into account as a surrounding circumstance relevant to the determination of bail applications.The consideration of conditions in custody under COVID-19 restrictions as a factor relevant to the determination of bail applications has highlighted the need for greater communication and transparency of the onerous conditions for prisoners under COVID-19 restrictions.While it was established that the impact of the pandemic on those in custody would be assessed by the courts on a case by case basis, the paucity of information on lockdown conditions within Victorian prisons has impeded the court’s ability to assess the competing considerations before it in determining questions of bail.
Gulati, Gautam and Brendan D Kelly, ‘Domestic Violence against Women and the COVID-19 Pandemic: What Is the Role of Psychiatry?’ (2020) 71(July-August) International Journal of Law and Psychiatry: Special Issue on Mental health, Mental Capacity, Ethics and the Law in the Context of Covid-19 (Coronavirus) Article 101594 Abstract: A heightened risk of domestic violence has been associated with infection-reducing measures undertaken by governments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychiatric services can play a key role in addressing this issue by (a) addressing certain risk factors for perpetration of domestic violence through, for example, assertive identification and management of substance misuse; (b) providing support, advocacy and treatment services for victims of domestic violence; and (c) multi-agency working to strengthen medical and social responses to domestic violence. At a time like this, it is important that multi-disciplinary mental health services are strengthened, rather than depleted, in order to address the pressing issues at hand.
Guzik-Makaruk, Ewa M, ‘Some Remarks on the Changes in the Polish Penal Code during the Pandemic’ (2021) 26(6) Bialystok Legal Studies / Bialostockie Studia Prawnicze 27–38 Abstract: The study indicates the solutions introduced by the amendment to the Penal Code during the pandemic. These are the so-called anti-crisis shields – shield 1.0, shield 3.0 and shield 4.0. The primary role of these laws was to respond to the crises related to the COVID-19 epidemic. Amendments to the Penal Code were introduced in a manner inconsistent with the Constitution of the Republic of Poland and the Regulations of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland. The mere legislative change and increasing punitiveness of the criminal law system and penal policy will not significantly reduce crime. The work is of a presentative and systematising character. The assumed hypothesis boils down to the assertion that the changes to the penal code made pursuant to the so-called anti-Covid laws are irrational and introduced without the required legislative procedure. The study mainly used the formal-dogmatic method.
Haasl, Mary M, ‘A Prisoner’s Dilemma: Why COVID-19 Must Serve as a Catalyst to Address Compassionate Release Limitations in Federal Prison’ (2022) 106(5) Minnesota Law Review 2501–2541 Abstract: COVID-19 significantly impacted the U.S. prison population. Given concerns surrounding its rapid spread through prisons, many federal inmates petitioned for compassionate release during the pandemic’s initial months. This significant increase in compassionate release petitions has yielded an impactful case study regarding the significant limitations posed by the compassionate release statute as written—particularly related to its exhaustion of administrative remedy requirement. Under the First Step Act of 2018, inmates must exhaust their administrative remedies before petitioning the district court for compassionate release. With concerns surrounding COVID-19 spread, some federal district courts allowed the waiver of the exhaustion requirement, while other did not. Although the present waiver issue has somewhat resolved itself with time, the exhaustion issue remains for future health crises. This Note considers the current limitations of the compassionate release’s exhaustion requirement by analyzing the court split and assessing the statute’s plain language, congressional intent, and federal case law. The Note argues that, given the statute’s clear ambiguity and courts’ inability to fully address the issue, the legislature must clarify the First Step Act’s intention to ensure that judicial discretion is available in all circuits to waive the compassionate release exhaustion requirement during other similar national health emergencies.
Hajizadeh, Nazanin, ‘Coronavirus and Its Effect on Prisons and Prisoners’ (2022) Journal of Law Research (advance article, published online 5 July 2022) Jurisdiction: Iran
Abstract: As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and catastrophic effects of it on different aspects of human life, including national health and security and personal and social wellbeing of people, there must be special consideration to the criminal proceedings and the situation of the prisons and the prisoners. There have been some initiative in the form of regulations and bylaws to manage the special conditions created by judicial authorities and correction system to materialize the social distancing requirements in prisons. On the other hand, this disease and its fast spread created many chances for development of Iranian judiciary system along with the developed countries. Some of the measures taken in this era are included in an executive order called “organization and moderation of prisons’ population” and some other initiatives like maximizing the use of parole and probation, alternative punishments and electronic proceedings. There have been also challenges and deficiencies in our legal system which are related to this pandemic and must be considered carefully. In this paper, analysis has been made about the effect of covid-19 pandemic on prisons and prisoners and challenges and opportunities created by it in this field.
Hanan, Eve, ‘Incarcerated Activism During COVID-19’ (2021) 18(2) Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law 475–513 Abstract: Incarcerated people have a notoriously difficult time advocating for themselves. Like other authoritarian institutions, prisons severely curtail and often punish speech, organizing, and self-advocacy. Also, like other authoritarian institutions, prison administrators are inclined to suppress protest rather than respond to the grounds for protest. Yet, despite impediments to their participation, incarcerated people have organized during the pandemic, advocating for themselves through media channels, public forums, and the courts. Indeed, a dramatic increase in incarcerated activism correlates with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Handayani, Tira Andhika and Wawan Kurniawan, ‘The Effectiveness of the Law Enforcement of Health Protocols in Efforts to Prevent and Control Covid-19 by Satpol PP, Bandung City’ (2021) 1(2) International Journal of Latin Notary 72-84Jurisdiction: Indonesia
Abstract: SARS-CoV-2 or better known as the Corona Virus is the virus that causes the Covid-19 pandemic. In several countries, including Indonesia, the problem of handling the spread of the corona virus pandemic (Covid-19) continues to be carried out. Since August 2020, the Regional Government of Bandung City has effectively implemented Bandung City Regulation Number 37 of 2020 concerning Guidelines for Adaptation of New Habits in the Context of Prevention and Control of Corona Virus Disease 2019. As a leading sector in suppressing the level of spread of the virus, the Bandung City Satpol PP has carried out. One of the efforts made by the Satpol PP as the implementer of the Bandung City government policy is by making several efforts ranging from socialization, appeals to enforcement. The Satpol PP, assisted by the joint apparatus of the National Police and the National Police, enforces restrictions in several areas that have the potential to accumulate masses at one point, such as areas that are densely populated with street vendors, cafes, parks etc. Law enforcement carried out by the Satpol PP is solely carried out to provide an understanding of the citizens of the importance of maintaining personal health and the environment during the current pandemic. The enactment of the Bandung mayor Regulation, Number 37 of 2020 concerning Guidelines for Adaptation of New Habits in the Context of Prevention and Control of Corona Virus Disease 2019. The number of people exposed to not using a mask is still a lot. The effectiveness of implementing health protocols becomes a question when the level of spread and the level of violations of health protocols is still relatively high.
Hansen, J Andrew and Gabrielle L Lory, ‘Rural Victimization and Policing during the COVID-19 Pandemic’ (2020) 45(4) American Journal of Criminal Justice 731-742 Abstract: Rural criminal justice organizations have been overlooked by researchers and underfunded in the United States, exacerbating problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Access to victims’ services has been a longstanding issue in rural communities, but has become more difficult due to stay-at-home orders and changes in daily activities. Requirements such as social distancing, necessitated by COVID-19, have increased the risk of domestic violence and rural service providers are less prepared than those in more populated areas. Rural law enforcement agencies, on the other hand, have traditionally operated with smaller budgets and staffs—conditions that have complicated the response to the unprecedented event. Many of the recommended practices for policing during a pandemic have been more applicable to larger urban and suburban departments with more resources and officers extended across many units. The strain on rural victims’ services and law enforcement has been felt only a few months into the coronavirus pandemic, while the long-term effects are not yet known.
Harris, Jasmine, ‘COVID-19, Disability, and the Rise of a Modern Deinstitutionalization Movement’ (2021) 106 Cornell Law Review Online (forthcoming) Abstract: This Article argues that the current pandemic has raised the stakes (and, in some respects, has cleared the way) for a modern deinstitutionalization movement. The hotbeds of COVID-19 continue to be congregate ‘custodial spaces’ such as nursing homes, prisons/jails, psychiatric hospitals, group homes, and immigration detention centers. This project makes three unique contributions to the emerging legal literature on COVID-19 and equality law. First and descriptively, I show how the design of congregate facilities makes them ill-suited for effective responses to the current pandemic by interrogating early design choices as illustrative of penal intent and control. By juxtaposing the criminalization and institutionalization of disfavored bodies and minds through multiple bodies of law – criminal law, immigration law, and disability laws – a clearer image of structural subordination emerges that unites the often-siloed movements for racial and disability justice. Second, this Article offers a typology of legal interventions designed to address the growing COVID-19 risks to particularly vulnerable groups of people with pre-existing disabilities and older adults with compromised immune systems. This typology allows for a more critical examination of the ability of existing laws to address the systemic inequities of the current public health crisis. Third, with the previous lessons and framework, I join the normative conversation on reform versus abolition of largescale institutions as service providers with particular attention to the role of race and disability.
Hartmann, Mia RK and Rasmus Koss Hartmann, ‘Frontline Innovation in Times of Crisis: Learning from the Corona Virus Pandemic’ [2020] Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice (advance article, published 30 July 2020) Abstract: The current COVID-19 pandemic brings about dramatic challenges for frontline police officers and their organizations. This will, we argue, likely hav
Harwood, Jo, ‘Domestic Abuse and COVID-19: The Legal Challenges’ in Carla Ferstman and Andrew Fagan (eds), Covid-19, Law and Human Rights: Essex Dialogues (School of Law and Human Rights Centre, University of Essex, 2020) 237–245 Abstract: At a time when the home is presented as a place of safety in the face of Covid-19, there are major concerns that forced confinement is exacerbating the risks posed to victims of domestic abuse. Increased isolation, coupled with more limited opportunities to seek support, are presenting unprecedented challenges for victims and for the law in responding to domestic abuse. This paper takes as its focus these legal challenges, focusing particularly on the situation in the UK. It opens by addressing the implications for domestic abuse victims of the restrictions in movement. It then assesses the capacity of the criminal offence of coercive or controlling behaviour to respond to the rise in domestic abuse. It also explores the recent move to remote hearings within the family justice system, and associated access to justice concerns.
Hassan, Mozn and Helen Rizzo, ‘The Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Epidemic Meets the COVID-19 Pandemic: Survivors’ and Advocates’ Narratives in Egypt’ (2023) 47(2) International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice 147–165 Abstract: This research traces activism over the last 30 years against sexual and gender-based violence with a focus on survivors’ and advocates’ narratives in Egypt. We argue that several focusing events in Egypt and the support of transnational advocacy networks over the last decades have galvanised the efforts of activists and citizens of good will to mobilise around these issues. Egyptian feminist mobilisation during the pandemic brought to the public sphere the untold stories of the forms of violence that occurred through online and social media platforms. While social media and other online tools hold the promise of becoming ‘a new public sphere’ for social movements, the current political atmosphere still has low tolerance for dissent both offline and online. However, the new generation of feminist activists have showed strength in facing difficult social and political challenges which gives hope for future social movement mobilisation on the horizon.
Hastings, Colin et al, ‘Intersections of Treatment, Surveillance, and Criminal Law Responses to HIV and COVID-19’ (2021) American Journal of Public Health (advance article, published 10 June 2021) Abstract: Public health institutions are playing an increasingly central role in everyday life as part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., through stay-at-home orders, contact tracing, and the enforcement of disease control measures by law enforcement). In light of this, we consider how COVID-19 disparities and disease control practices intersect with the response to the more longstanding epidemic of HIV infection in Canada and the United States.
Hawdon, James, Katalin Parti and Thomas E Dearden, ‘Cybercrime in America amid COVID-19: The Initial Results from a Natural Experiment’ (2020) 45(4) American Journal of Criminal Justice 546–562 Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has radically altered life, killing hundreds of thousands of people and leading many countries to issue ‘stay-at-home’ orders to contain the virus’s spread. Based on insights from routine activity theory (Cohen & Felson 1979), it is likely that COVID-19 will influence victimization rates as people alter their routines and spend more time at home and less time in public. Yet, the pandemic may affect victimization differently depending on the type of crime as street crimes appear to be decreasing while domestic crimes may be increasing. We consider a third type of crime: cybercrime. Treating the pandemic as a natural experiment, we investigate how the pandemic has affected rates of cybervictimization. We compare pre-pandemic rates of victimization with post-pandemic rates of victimization using datasets designed to track cybercrime. After considering how the pandemic may alter routines and affect cybervictimization, we find that the pandemic has not radically altered cyberroutines nor changed cybervictimization rates. However, a model using routine activity theory to predict cybervictimization offers clear support for the theory’s efficacy both before and after the pandemic. We conclude by considering plausible explanations for our findings.
Haley, Mariah D, ‘Unequal Treatment: (In)Compassionate Release from Federal Prison in the Context of the Covid-19 Pandemic and Vaccine’ (2022) 122(7) Columbia Law Review 1997–2032 Abstract: In December 2019, the world was introduced to COVID-19--a severe acute respiratory disease that would ultimately wreak havoc in communities across the globe. In the United States, many federal prisons experienced outbreaks of the virus, leading to both severe illness and death. Estimates suggest that roughly 620,000 people contracted the disease while incarcerated, resulting in nearly 3,000 deaths. The actual toll is likely much greater. As the pandemic progressed, incarcerated individuals sought relief through the statutory mechanism known as compassionate release. They argued--to varying degrees of success--that the ‘extraordinary and compelling’ nature of the pandemic, in combination with their individual circumstances, justified a sentence reduction or early release. This Note examines how federal courts considered compassionate release requests as they navigated the unique legal landscape engineered by the pandemic. It focuses specifically on the disparate outcomes that resulted from the vast discretion granted to federal judges in adjudicating petitions. While the fact-intensive nature of compassionate release cases renders comparison challenging, this Note argues that the current system results in inequitable, geographic-based outcomes. In many cases, the prime indicator informing whether an incarcerated individual was released was the judge and courthouse before them. In response, this Note calls on the newly revitalized United States Sentencing Commission to offer uniform guidance to federal courts on the most effective ways to approach compassionate release petitions moving forward.
Herbinger, Paul Luca and Norbert Leonhardmair, ‘Domestic Abuse During the Pandemic’ [2021] (Special Conference Edition 5) European Law Enforcement Research Bulletin 69–81 Abstract: From the onset of lockdown measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, experts and frontline responders alike warned of the detrimental impact these measures may have on the prevalence and intensity of Domestic Abuse. Early statistics issued by police and social sector organisations did not always, however, paint a clear picture corroborating this assumption. Data collected during the early stages of the pandemic for a special report to the European Commission by the EU-IMPRODOVA project, indicated similar divergent trends in the effect of lockdown measures on Domestic Abuse. This paper explores four case studies from the IMPRODOVA report (Austria, Finland, Hungry and Portugal) and develops three hypotheses to make sense of heterogenous data on Domestic Abuse during the pandemic. After identifying possible statistical artefacts, as well as socio-legal and sector specific influences on detection and enumeration as probable causes, this paper discusses the centrality of differentiating among types of Intimate Partner Violence as the key to making sense of such heterogenous data. Pointing to the structural analogies between lockdown-settings and Coercive Controlling Violence, we argue that divergence between the stagnation or decline in police data and the universal increase of calls to the social sector, must be understood as the strengthening of perceived control by perpetrators over victims of Domestic Abuse in the short-term during lockdown. By the same logic, service uptake in the medium and long-term can be explained by a perceived loss of control by perpetrators as lockdown measures are relaxed. Finally, we argue that identifying this dynamic of risk and delayed reporting is central to the development of adequate interventions and responses by frontline responders in the ongoing pandemic.
Hoehn-Velasco, Lauren, Adan Silverio-Murillo and Jose Roberto Balmori de la Miyar, ‘COVID-19 and Crimes Against Women: Evidence from Mexico’ (SSRN Scholarly Paper No ID 3701472, Social Science Research Network, 1 September 2020) Abstract: This paper considers whether the COVID-19 stay-at-home order affected crimes targeting women. We use national municipal-level crime data from Mexico’s National Public Security System, which reports sexual crimes, lapses in alimony, domestic violence, and femicides. We track monthly changes in crime using an event-study design. Our results show three main patterns. First, lapses in alimony, sexual crimes, and domestic violence follow a U-shaped trend. Each crime declined and then rose back to their pre-COVID levels. Second, femicides, the most violent crime against women, remained constant during the pandemic. Third, we find that femicides declined in municipalities with alcohol sales prohibition
Howard League Scotland, ‘Things Are Improving in Our Prisons ... Aren’t They?’ (2020) 65(5) Journal of the Law Society of Scotland 27 Abstract: Highlights the work of Howard League Scotland: ensuring that certain prisoners are released under the Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020; upholding prisoners’ human rights during the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions; campaigning for the publication of prison-specific COVID-19-related data; and highlighting the need for prisons to continue to be monitored during COVID-19 when prison inspections have been suspended.
‘Human Trafficking during Pandemics and Disasters’ (2021) 114(2) Servamus Community-based Safety and Security Magazine 36–38 Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has put the world under enormous strain and is having a huge impact on everyone. Apart from health concerns, some people have lost their income and homes and through all of this, we have to live according to the ‘new normal’ which includes lockdowns, quarantine, travel restrictions and curfews in an attempt to flatten the infection curve. As we all had to change our lives during this difficult time, so did criminal networks.
Hunyor, Jonathon and Grace Gooley, ‘Pandemic Policing and the Preventive State’ (2023) 48(4) Alternative Law Journal 281–287 Abstract: We analyse the ‘law and order’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic in New South Wales and suggest that pandemic policing was just one example of the reflexive reach by governments for a punitive response to a social challenge. The pandemic response followed a trend toward securitisation, criminalisation and pre-emption of risk. This trend is also evident in a range of other laws and policing practices – the STMP, bail compliance checks, consorting laws and protest policing. We argue these are policy choices that are increasingly common in what has been described as the ‘preventive state’, where pre-emption of risk has become central. We suggest that, instead, the pandemic response should have focused on the needs of community and capacity building. This lesson must be applied to address the cascading physical and economic impacts of climate change.
Ibrahimi, Adrianit and Besa Arifi, ‘Defending the Rights of the Victims of Corruption in the Republic of Kosovo: With a Special Focus to the Pandemic COVID-19’ (2021) 15(1: Challenges and Perspectives of Covid-19) SEEU Review 3-23 Abstract: Justice is not only about punishing the perpetrators but also protecting the rights of their victims. Corruption is not a victimless crime! Therefore, the main intention of this paper is to enlighten that protecting the rights of the victims of corruption is one of the crucial battles in the war against corruption. Winning this battle during the pandemic COVID-19 is grinding but of vital importance at the same time! Corruption has already been a remaining concern in the Republic of Kosovo. Notwithstanding, the situation with the pandemic COVID-19 has made the justice system, and not only, more fragile. Consequently, we are currently living in a perfect environment for corruption acts where the victims of corruption are not acknowledged and sometimes even ‘garbled’ with the victims of COVID-19! It is important more than ever to ensure effective remedies for persons who have suffered from corruption acts including the possibility of compensation for their damage. Indeed, the Republic of Kosovo is not a state party of the Civil Law Convention on Corruption. Yet this convention shall be the guide for establishing such legal avenues while the good practices of the United Kingdom and the French Republic shall be the aim and motivation for this.
Iftene, Adelina, ‘COVID-19 in Canadian Prisons: Policies, Practices and Concerns’ in Colleen M Flood et al (eds), Vulnerable: The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19 (University of Ottawa Press, 2020) 447 Abstract: Correctional Service of Canada and the provincial prison systems have a duty to provide incarcerated individuals with health services that are comparable to those in the community, but they have failed to do so during the COVID-19 pandemic. There are inherent practical difficulties to implementing health care in prisons. In addition, prison demographics include a higher proportion of populations that are vulnerable to disease. These factors together mean that the prison response to COVID-19 must involve depopulation and the implementation of guidelines provided by public health agencies in all institutions. So far, the measures taken have been insufficient, as is evidenced by the rapid rates of spread of COVID-19 within prisons compared to the community. An overreliance on segregation of incarcerated individuals as a preventive measure raises concerns under s. 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the Charter) and international human rights. There are also equality concerns under s. 15 of the Charter, given the high proportion of Indigenous people in prison.
Iman, Ahmad Syaiful, Taufik Firmanto and R Ridwan, ‘Law Enforcement of the Criminal Action of Corruption in The Time of the Pandemic COVID-19’ (2022) 1(1) Proceeding International Conference Restructuring and Transforming Law 19–26 Abstract: This research is a legal research that examines the law enforcement of criminal acts of corruption during the COVID ‐19 pandemic. This study aims to analyze the model of law enforcement against corruption which is one type of extraordinary crime (extraordinary crime). Corruption is a very serious problem, because it can endanger the stability and security of the State, endanger social and economic development, politics, and can even damage democratic values and national morality. Law enforcement was highlighted during the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (covid‐19) pandemic, where the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID‐19 a global pandemic. President Joko Widodo also declared the spread of the deadly epidemic a national disaster. This emergency status comes into effect as of April 13, 2020. The determination of the spread of this virus as a disaster is stated in Presidential Decree (Kepres) No. 12 of 2020 concerning Determination of Non‐Natural Disasters for the Spread of Corona Virus Disease 2019 Covid‐19. This type of research is a normative legal research (doctrinal), with several approaches used, among others; the statute approach, both conceptual approaches, and the data analysis method used in this paper is the deductive analysis method. Research result This refers to law enforcement of corruption in Indonesia The ciovid‐19 pandemic period is still quite bad, and it can be seen from the increasing percentage of state losses and the increasing number of cases of cases that are increasing from previous years. Report from Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW). said that there was no openness information from APH, especially the police and the prosecutor’s office regarding the handling of corruption.
‘The Impact of a Pandemic on Organised Criminal Groups’ (2021) 114(2) Servamus Community-based Safety and Security Magazine 39–41 Abstract: COVID-19 does not only impact on society and the economy, but it also impacts and shapes organised crime and illicit markets. The initial response to the pandemic affected the operation of criminal networks across the globe. While the pandemic has reduced some organised criminal activities, it has simultaneously provided opportunities for new ones.
Irawan, Benny and Rena Yulia, ‘Emerging Challenges to Prisoners Vaccination of Covid-19: Historical, Legal and Humanitarian View’ (2022) 11(4) Journal of Public Health Research (advance article, published online 20 October 2022) Abstract: This research aims to present a legal history of the prisoners? treatment in global crises along with presenting an overview of prisoners? treatment during Covid-19 in view of International Humanitarian Laws. Using the formative research method with a conceptual approach and statute approach, data was gathered from various legal documents related to prisoners’ health laws linked to legal purpose theories. This study further explains the need to treat old age prisoners on a priority basis and to what extent international health organizations are making efforts to establish criteria to vaccinate this societal segment. The international regulatory framework was deeply analyzed to draw conclusions and recommendations along with WHO efforts. It was revealed that there exist adequate laws regarding priority health treatment of the prisoners in crises times but existed an enormous need to highlight and address the sensitive humanitarian issue. Additionally, WHO and other international organizations have also revised the international laws during Covid-19 to treat the prisoners. However, there is an immense need to devise explicit regulations regarding the accessibility of the vaccine to all the groups of society, including prisoners. The provision of a detailed overview of international laws and treaties regarding prisoners’ priority health treatment is a major advance of this research. Further recommendations for the developed and developing nations and future research directions are suggested.
Islamova, Oleksandra et al, ‘Development of Distance Learning System for Law-Enforcement Higher Education Institutions: Post-Pandemic Challenges and Responses’ (2021) 7(3A) Laplage em Revista / Laplage In Review 665–674Jurisdiction: Ukraine
Abstract: The article reveals the peculiarities of development of distance learning system for law-enforcement higher educational institutions in post-pandemic period and provides generalization of distance learning possibilities on the example of the higher education institution of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. The authors indicate that the border guard service should pay more attention to implementation of a holistic and logical system of distance learning both of officers and junior staff. The results of the survey showed that the distance form of training of cadets under restrictions of pandemic becomes one of the main forms of training at the law-enforcement higher educational institution. Among the major drawbacks of the currently functioning distance learning system are the technical capabilities of currently used ICT, web-platforms and application, their stability and quality of communication, time of uninterrupted sessions, limitations on the number of participants and feedback from the audience, the number of equipped workplaces, possibility of organizing mobile learning.
Ismail, Noraini et al, ‘A Legal Perspectives of the Malaysian and International Law in Combating Domestic Violence Cases During Pandemic COVID-19’ (2023) 8(52) Journal of Islamic, Social, Economics and Development 161–170 Abstract: The Covid-19 pandemic has a significant likelihood of intensifying domestic violence. This paper examines the current legal framework for women’s protection of their social rights against domestic violence based on Malaysian and international law. The analysis is based on a qualitative and descriptive cross-sectional analysis of the governing statutes, reported cases, and data gathered from the administrative authorities. The issue is also examined from the perspective of the Qur’an and the Sunnah. The research concludes that the Domestic Violence Act 1994 and Penal Code serve as the primary legal framework for dealing with domestic violence cases. However, although various international legal instruments are in place, when it comes to implementation, it remains unclear whether such facilities are being fully utilised in individual communities or not. Therefore, this issue needs to be addressed. It is proposed that the principle rights of women as outlined in the Islamic law must be strengthened in the government policies as the impact is in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Plan (2030) in terms of gender equality, promoting peace from any violence and inclusive societies as well as communities for sustainable environment and development.
Jantea, Andreea and Mugural Ghiță, ‘New Challenges for Police During the Pandemic and Specific Actions to Counteract Them in Romania’ [2021] (Special Conference Edition 5) European Law Enforcement Research Bulletin 159–164 Abstract: Measures designed to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV2 included a series of actions that contributed to the amplification of social tensions (traffic restrictions, limitation of income sources, adjacent economic shortages, return to the country of a large number of Romanian citizens, and the amount of fines for violating the restrictions provided by the military ordinances), some of which affected the activity of the police. Therefore, police had to face new threats and to ensure the respect of a wide range of limitations in regard to people’s conduct and public order. This article will analyse the specific challenges faced by the police in the period following the spread of Covid-19, mainly during the lockdown installed in Romania, challenges directly related to the measures adopted, the changes in the daily routine and the necessary actions to limit and eliminate the pandemic’s negative effects. More specific, the article analyses the group conflicts that have risen during lockdown and aggressive conduct towards Police determined by the enforcement of rules meant to limit the pandemic in different areas of the country. The paper pays a large amount of attention to the ways in which the Romanian Police approached these cases, their implication and elaborates a set of necessary measures Police needs to implement in order to properly manage them.
Javorka, McKenzie et al, ‘The Impacts of COVID-19 on Criminal Legal Proceedings and Victim Advocacy for Sexual Assault Survivors’ (2022) Victims & Offenders (advance article, published online 14 Feb 2022) Abstract: This study examines how sexual assault criminal legal proceedings and victim advocacy services for survivors have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. We interviewed 12 victim advocates at a sexual assault service organization in a large Midwestern city that was particularly impacted by the pandemic. Results indicate that there have been major disruptions to sexual assault case timelines and communication with victims. Victim advocacy for survivors has also been affected, especially the provision of court advocacy and accompaniment. We discuss implications of these findings for sexual assault survivors, service providers, and future emergency preparedness planning for the criminal legal system.
Jefferson-Bullock, Jalila, ‘Let My People Go: A Call for the Swift Release of Elderly Federal Prisoners in the Wake of COVID-19’ (2020) 32(5) Federal Sentencing Reporter 286–291
Jennings, Wesley G and Nicholas M Perez, ‘The Immediate Impact of COVID-19 on Law Enforcement in the United States’ (2020) 45(4) American Journal of Criminal Justice 690–701 Abstract: During pandemics, like COVID-19, law enforcement agencies are responsible for working with government and public health officials to contain spread, serve the local community, and maintain public order. Given the person-to-person spread of COVID19 through respiratory droplets, law enforcement officers are also at a heightened risk of exposure due to their close contact with members of the public. To protect officers, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other agencies have made numerous recommendations for law enforcement agencies to protect officers and the public. Departments around the country have responded to the pandemic in various ways, such as reassigning personnel to high-traffic areas, suspending training, roll calls, and community outreach initiatives, only issuing citations for low-level crimes, implementing safety precautions for officers, and limiting access to department facilities. The COVID-19 pandemic also has exposed some key obstacles for law enforcement, related to communication, resource management, the enforcement of public health restrictions, and changes to crime and service patterns. Based on these early/ initial responses and obstacles during the COVID-19 outbreak, the current paper highlights directions for future responses to pandemics to ensure the safety and security of police officers and the communities they serve.
Jiang, Feng and Chuanyu Xie, ‘Roles of Chinese Police Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic’ (2020) Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice Article paaa071 (advance article, published 28 December 2020) Abstract: This article provides an overview of frontier issues of policing in China by examining the roles of police during the pandemic. It starts with a short introduction to the challenges and overall performance of China in keeping social order in the context of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Then, it outlines four major missions the Chinese police have pursued, each with a sketch of what has been done and how law enforcement officials have managed to achieve their goals. It follows with a further insight into their strategies in social control in connection with the latest reforms on policing. Finally, it concludes briefly with features of Chinese policing.
Johnston, Ed and Ed Cape, ‘Legal Assistance at the Police Station: Shifts and Contradictions in the Context of Covid-19’ in Challenges in Criminal Justice (Routledge, 2022) 6–25 Abstract: The Covid-19 pandemic has presented severe challenges to the criminal justice system in England and Wales. The issue that received most public attention was the suspension of criminal trials and, in particular, the difficulties of conducting jury trials in the context of social distancing. Less publicised but no less problematic, were the challenges at the investigative stage of the criminal process, especially ensuring respect for the procedural rights of persons suspected of crime. A person arrested on suspicion of a criminal offence is entitled to ‘consult a solicitor privately at any time’ (PACE 1984, s. 58(1)). One response to the need for social distancing was a protocol, agreed between the CPS, NPCC, Law Society and a number of other professional bodies, under which police interviews may be conducted entirely ‘virtually’ or, where an interview physically takes place at a police station, with the suspect’s lawyer participating by telephone and/or other electronic means. In this way, the right to consult a solicitor under PACE is preserved, although it requires some ‘creativity’ in respect of the requirements of PACE Code of Practice C, para 6.8, which provides that a suspect is entitled to have their solicitor ‘present’ when they are interviewed. This chapter questions whether this ‘creative’ approach sufficiently respects the right to a lawyer and, in this context, also examines the latest ‘efficiency’ mechanism known as Pre-Charge Engagement.
Jones, Clarke R and Raymund E Narag, ‘Reducing the Dangers of COVID-19 through Shared Governance in a Philippine Jail’ (2021) 33(1) Current Issues in Criminal Justice 120–125 Abstract: The Covid-19 pandemic poses a grave threat to the welfare of detainees and personnel in correctional facilities worldwide. This is especially true in jails and prisons with acute problems of overcrowding, such as in the Philippines, where the congestion rate hovers around 463%. This article documents shared governance practices in Manila City Jail Male Dormitory, the Philippines’ most populous jail. Despite limited space and resources, jail personnel and detainees cooperatively addressed the pandemic threat. Using interviews with jail personnel and detainees, and a review of social media postings and official internal reports, we document the varied manifestations of shared governance. Specifically, jail personnel and prisoner leaders cooperated by disseminating information, crafting policies, identifying makeshift quarantine areas, assigning prisoner medical staff, and instituting discipline. The shared governance approach entails addressing the Covid-19 crisis as community and family, where prisoners actively take part in identifying, reporting, and addressing problems. While other jails and prisons in the Philippines experienced Covid-19 infections and social tensions within their facilities due to restrictive protocols, the Manila City Jail Male Dorm experienced no infections or violent incidents. Implications to theory and practice of jail governance, especially in periods of public health emergency, are discussed.
Jones, Daniel J, ‘The Potential Impacts of Pandemic Policing on Police Legitimacy: Planning Past the COVID-19 Crisis’ (2020) 14(3) Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice 579–586 Abstract: One of the biggest challenges facing modern policing in recent years has been the lack of police legitimacy. The tipping point of this phenomenon is often attributed to the Rodney King incident in Los Angeles in 1991, where Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers were videoed assaulting a lone black male. They were arrested and charged but eventually all were acquitted, thereby etching deep distrust between communities and police. Now the Rodney King example is an extreme and criminal act by police but it was the beginning of communities and media focusing on what the police were doing and how they were doing it. This lack of legitimacy coupled with what is referred to as the militarization of policing have lasting consequences and impacts on police–community relations and how interactions between police and community shape society today. In the wake of pandemic policing due to COVID-19, there are tales of two eventualities for police legitimacy that will be explored in this article: (1) The police response to the pandemic results in further militarization and draws deeper divides between police and communities or (2) the police response is compassionate and build on procedurally just operations resulting in the rebuilding of police legitimacy post-pandemic.
Journal of Modern Slavery (2021) 6(2): Covid-19 and Modern SlaveryNote: This Special Issue contains the following articles (other articles from this Issue, particularly on migrant workers, are listed in the Labour Law section of this bibliography):
- Hanley, Idel and Jean-Pierre Gauci, ‘COVID-19’s Impact on Anti-Trafficking Efforts: What Do We Know?’ 7–29
- Chazal, Nerida and Kyla Raby, ‘The Impact of Covid-19 on the Identification of Victims of Modern Slavery and Their Access to Support Services in Australia’ 30–50
- Byrne, Dr George, ‘Fluid Vulnerabilities: Narratives of Modern Slavery in India During Lockdown’ 51–78
- Ewen, Phoebe, ‘The Finance of Sex Trafficking and Impact of COVID-19’ 159–168
- Keaveney, Erika et al, ‘Red Light Refracted: Impacts of COVID-19 on Commercial Sexual Exploitation in Maharashtra, India’ 169–194
- McGaughey, Fiona, ‘Australia’s Modern Slavery Act and COVID-19: A Get out of Jail Free Card?’ 216–230
- Cordisco Tsai, Laura, Jonna Eleccion and Ankita Panda, ‘Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Survivors of Human Trafficking in the Philippines’ 231–246
- Brady, Emily et al, ‘The Impact of COVID-19 on Survivors of Human Trafficking in Kenya: A Participatory Approach’ 247–266
Abstract: After four decades of growth, the size of the U.S. incarcerated population has been declining for the past decade, and racial disparities were beginning to shrink. The start of the COVID-19 pandemic triggered immediate calls for decarceration (i.e., reducing the number of people incarcerated), given the high risk of the virus spreading in congregate settings like jails and prisons and subsequent, inevitable spread to the neighboring community. Although the majority of incarcerated people were left behind bars to face potential illness and death, the U.S. incarcerated population experienced its largest recorded one-year population reduction in U.S. history. This large-scale decarceration undoubtedly saved lives and will have long-term benefits for those who were diverted out of jails and prisons, as well as their families and communities. However, not all benefited from the decarceration equally: racial disparities in jail and prison worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Black people represented a larger percentage of the incarcerated population as it declined. In this brief, we examine the drivers of pandemic-related decarceration, interrogate its impacts on racial disparities, and draw lessons to inform policy recommendations for racially equitable decarceration.
Karo-Karo, Rizky Pratama Putra, ‘The Reason to Amandment [sic] of Article 27 Paragraph (1), Article 28 Paragraph (1) and (2) of the ITE Law that are Considered to have Multiple Interpretation of the ITE Law in the Time of the Covid-19 Pandemic for Legal Certainty’ (2021) 14(1) Indonesian Law Journal 1–18 Abstract: Indonesian Law No. 11 of 2008 on Electronic Information and Transactions as amended by Law No. 19 of 2016 (ITE Law) provides benefits for the community and the business world on justice, legal certainty, and legal protection for activities in cyberspace using electronic media. However, there is an assumption that several articles in the ITE Law have multiple interpretations so that it is potentially to criminalize someone and make law enforcers have different perceptions. The formulation of the problem that the author raises are, first, what is the urgency of changing articles that are considered to have multiple interpretations in the ITE Law during the Covid-19 pandemic? Second, what is the ideal legal product to deal with articles that are considered to have multiple interpretations? The method used is a normative juridical method, the authors use secondary data and analyzed qualitatively. The results of the first research shows that the interpretation of the ITE Law alone is not sufficient and must be revised to support the amendment of the ITE Law. The second research result is that an appropriate legal product is a legally binding legal product for law enforcement officials in conducting investigations, prosecutions, and judicial process, namely Supreme Court Regulations and Attorney General Circulars.
Karski, Karol and Bartlomiej Oreziak, ‘Selected Considerations Regarding the Digitalisation of Criminal Proceedings in Light of the Standards of the Council of Europe: Analysis Taking into Account the Experience of the Current Pandemic’ (2021) 26(6) Bialostockie Studia Prawnicze 55–70 Abstract: Th e aim of the article is to prepare an analysis in order to formulate propositions regarding the digitalisation of Polish criminal proceedings as regards the administration of justice. Th ese hypotheses would have merited consideration even pre-pandemic, but they demand even more attention as a result of the pandemic. Th e pandemic has served to highlight the pre-existing necessity to adapt criminal law to the latest observable technical and technological advances. In light of the above, the fi rst issue to be analysed concerns the conditions, procedures, and possibilities surrounding the collection of evidence electronically, taking into account the most recent relevant guidelines of the Council of Europe. Th e second issue to be examined will be the adaptation of criminal procedures, including Polish, to the standards stipulated in the Convention of the Council of Europe on Cybercrime of 23 November 2001, in light of national norms regarding evidence gathering. Th e third issue that will be assessed in this study will be the benefi ts, risks, or potential of the application of artifi cial intelligence algorithms in criminal procedure. Th e consideration of each of the three areas will have regard to the present global pandemic. Th e article concludes with a concise summary containing the authors’ conclusions and propositions de lege ferenda.
Karsudin, Karsudin and Irma Cahyaningtyas, ‘Government Policy on Child Crime Through the Concept of Diversion as a Solution Amid the Spread of Covid-19’ (2021) 5(2) Lex Scientia Law Review 1–18 Abstract: This study aims to analyze the concept of diversion as an instrument to realize restorative justice, applied in the Decree of the Minister of Law and Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia Number M. HH-19. PK.01.04.04 of 2020 Regarding Release and Acquittal of Prisoners and Children Through Assimilation and Integration to Prevent and Control the Spread of Covid-19. The research method used in this research is normative juridical using secondary legal data. Based on the results of the research, it is known that the handling of juvenile criminal cases through the concept of diversion based on restorative justice is carried out to guarantee and respect the dignity of the child, carried out in the best interests of the child and by considering justice for the victim. The government, which is represented by The Minister of Law and Human Rights, has made a very responsive policy through the Decree of the Minister of Law and Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia Number M. HH-19. PK.01.04.04 of 2020 Regarding Release and Acquittal of Prisoners and Children Through Assimilation and Integration to Prevent and Control the Spread of Covid-19.
Kasim, Ceren, ‘Lockdowns and Domestic Violence: The Impact of Remote Work Regulations on Women Workers in Türkiye During the COVID-19 Pandemic’ in Tindara Addabbo et al (ed), Work Beyond the Pandemic: Towards a Human-Centred Recovery (Springer Nature, 2023) (pre-print) Abstract: The article delves into the profound effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on remote work in Türkiye, with a specific emphasis on the challenges faced by women in the workforce. It explores how the pandemic catalysed a significant surge in remote work arrangements in Türkiye and investigates the resulting shifts gender roles. The research primarily investigates the concerning issue of gender-based domestic violence against women working from their home offices. In doing so, it scrutinises the impact of the blurred lines between the private and public spheres, as well as the influence of anti-gender movements on the protection of women workers against gender-based domestic violence, especially in the context of Türkiye’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention—a leading human rights instrument addressing gender-based violence against women on the international stage. Additionally, the article delves into the legal regulations related to remote work and the safeguarding of women against violence in Türkiye. Ultimately, this research underscores the necessity for a human-centered recovery that takes into consideration the unique needs of women workers, particularly in terms of protection against domestic violence. In summary, this study raises two essential questions: How were women working remotely protected from domestic violence in Türkiye during the pandemic, and why?
Kasim, Ceren, ‘Remote Work and Domestic Violence Against Women’ (2022) 12 Russian Journal of Labour & Law_ _Abstract: After the outbreak of the pandemic, many companies in Turkey either started or continued to work remotely and many of them aim to make remote work permanent in the post-pandemic period. Remote work, once a luxury of high-skilled employees, is becoming more common across the entire labor market. As large numbers of workers were instructed to work remotely from home-offices during the pandemic, reported domestic violence cases against women increased. Women have been treated as collateral damage in the ongoing fight against the pandemic. Given the expectation that remote work will remain commonplace once the pan- demic is over, it is of great importance for the sake of women workers to provide sufficient protection against domestic violence. Turkish Remote Work Regulation is grounded in a mu- tual agreement between the employer and the employee, and it favors flexibility for employers over security for employees, it also overlooks the specific needs of women workers, including protection for domestic violence victims. Turkish National Act on the Protection of the Family and the Prevention of Violence against Women contains, promisingly, regulations regarding women workers, but it has not proved sufficient in providing the necessary protections. In order to meet the needs of women in an unequally organised work environment and for the realisation of not only de jure but also de facto equality between women and men in the world of work, new approaches are required.
Kaukinen, Catherine, ‘When Stay-at-Home Orders Leave Victims Unsafe at Home: Exploring the Risk and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence during the COVID-19 Pandemic’ (2020) 45(4) American Journal of Criminal Justice 668-679 Abstract: The novel coronavirus pandemic (hereafter COVID-19) is likely to have unprecedented impacts on the incidence and impacts of crime and violence globally. This includes impacts to the risk, consequences, and decision-making of women experiencing violence by an intimate partner (hereafter IPV). Most importantly, the COVID-19 pandemic, and its impact on the risk of IPV is likely to differentially impact vulnerable populations, including minority women and those with long histories of victimization and mental health issues. This review paper explores the potential short- and long-term implications of COVID-19 on the risk of IPV, highlighting some of the most recent preliminary data. The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, record levels of male unemployment, added stressors in the home, including the care and home schooling of children, and the social distancing measures required by the epidemiological response, may serve to undermine the decades of progress made in keeping women and children safe at home. Victim police reporting, help-seeking decisions, and social service utilization during the pandemic are likely to be impacted by stay-at-home orders and social distancing requirements. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for providing safety planning and self-care for victims and their children.
Kavanagh, Matthew M et al, ‘Law, Criminalisation and HIV in the World: Have Countries That Criminalise Achieved More or Less Successful Pandemic Response?’ (2021) 6(8) BMJ Global Health e006315 Abstract: How do choices in criminal law and rights protections affect disease-fighting efforts? This long-standing question facing governments around the world is acute in the context of pandemics like HIV and COVID-19. The Global AIDS Strategy of the last 5 years sought to prevent mortality and HIV transmission in part through ensuring people living with HIV (PLHIV) knew their HIV status and could suppress the HIV virus through antiretroviral treatment. This article presents a cross-national ecological analysis of the relative success of national AIDS responses under this strategy, where laws were characterised by more or less criminalisation and with varying rights protections. In countries where same-sex sexual acts were criminalised, the portion of PLHIV who knew their HIV status was 11% lower and viral suppression levels 8% lower. Sex work criminalisation was associated with 10% lower knowledge of status and 6% lower viral suppression. Drug use criminalisation was associated with 14% lower levels of both. Criminalising all three of these areas was associated with approximately 18%–24% worse outcomes. Meanwhile, national laws on non-discrimination, independent human rights institutions and gender-based violence were associated with significantly higher knowledge of HIV status and higher viral suppression among PLHIV. Since most countries did not achieve 2020 HIV goals, this ecological evidence suggests that law reform may be an important tool in speeding momentum to halt the pandemic.
Kemboi, Leo Kipkogei, ‘Two COVID-19 Lessons That Were Long Overdue to Kenya’s Justice Sector’ (SSRN Scholarly Paper ID 3625502, 12 June 2020) Abstract: The two decisions made by policymakers in Kenya’s because of COVID-19 were timely but were bound to happen. they are direct economic benefits for reducing the prison population and use of technology in courts. If the Prison population is reduced at least by 10%, the prison population will reduce by 22,372 prisoners. Using the GDP Per Capita as of 2018, we estimate that income gained would be equivalent to Ksh 4.3 billion whereas a 30% prison population reduction would be 67,115 prisoners and equivalent to Ksh 12.9 billion. The mechanism of technology must allow for more accountability.
Khairuummah, Rosdayana, ‘Future Policy Planning of Law Enforcement and Criminal Execution to Face Covid-19 Pandemic’ (2021) 4(2) Nurani Hukum: Jurnal Ilmu Hukum 16–28Jurisdiction: Indonesia
Abstract: The Covid-19 pandemic is first reported in late December 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei Province of China, Covid- 19 has rapidly spread worldwide. In the middle of 2019, by paying attention to the victims affected by covid-19 in the country more and more, the government, through Presidential Decree No. 11 of 2020 on The Determination of Public Health Emergency Corona Virus Disease 2019 (Covid-19), has established a public health emergency, following the event as a non-natural national disaster through the Presidential Decree No. 12 of 2020 on the Determination of Non-natural Disasters The Spread of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) as a national disaster, attempts to prevent the transmission of the Covid-19 virus are also carried out by the government through the Correctional Institution and Detention Center and Child Development Institutions as a closed institution that in actually experienced overcrowding conditions that facilitate the transmission of Covid-19. In the face of overcrowding prison, the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, the Directorate General of Corrections, has implemented several policies on the Correctional Institutions, Detention Center and Child Development Institutions. Considering the number of people affected by the Covid-19 pandemic is increased, it is not yet known exactly when it will decrease in the graph, criminal acts will continue to occur so that it will cause problems for the execution of unlawful deprivation of liberty that will have implications for the enforcement of criminal law in the future.
Kim, Sage et al, ‘Pandemic Behind Bars’ (SSRN Scholarly Paper ID 3888415, 6 July 2020) Abstract: This policy spotlight documents the growing concern for the health of the incarcerated population and explores the implication of unabated COVID-19 outbreaks in Illinois prisons for the health of Illinois communities where correctional facilities are located. Jails and prisons are not isolated from the community. Preventing COVID-19 transmission in correctional settings requires steps to ensure that COVID-19 outbreaks within prisons do not spill over to the surrounding communities, and that community infection does not enter into correctional facilities. Correctional facilities not only in Illinois but throughout the U.S. have been affected by localized outbreaks but also experienced poor access to personal protective equipment and testing. Furthermore, because of unsanitary, crowding, and congregate living conditions, social distance, a key public health mitigation measure, has been a challenge. Correctional employees and officers are not immune to these risks. The high infection rates in correctional settings have been a concern since the beginning of the pandemic. The reports from prisons and jails around the country underline the vulnerability of the incarcerated population and correctional staff to COVID-19. IDOC will need to implement preventive measures to protect the health of inmates and staff, as well as the community. Meeting the public health and mental health needs of inmates is not only just, it is a smart public health policy.
Kirby, Michael, ‘Incarceration, Injustice and COVID-19’ (2021) 46(2) Alternative Law Journal 93 Extract: The unexpected catastrophe of COVID-19 that struck our society has special implications for prisoners today. It has meant a special impact on people housed in custodial institutions, including on remand or in immigration detention. Because COVID-19 is a disease, especially prone to cause death and disability in older persons who become infected, strategies involving social distancing, isolation and reduction of contact have been recommended. However, the close proximity people are forced into when in custodial detention has resulted in a heightened risk of infection among prisoners and detainees.
Kirchmaier, Tom and Carmen Villa-Llera, ‘Poverty and Crime: COVID and the “New Normal”’ (SSRN Scholarly Paper ID 3700329, Social Science Research Network, 27 September 2020) Abstract: The ultimate aim of this paper is to shed light on the direction of causality between poverty and crime. For this we use the unexpected economic COVID-19 shock as an instrument, as different regions got hit in different ways, and at different times. We show preliminary results, which we are planning to update every month and hence are subject to change. We also document the spatial and temporal uptake of furlough and unemployment support schemes. We provide near-time insight into the economic impact of the pandemic on crime rates in England and Wales.
Kirchner, Stefan, ‘End-of-Life Decisions Amid the Covid-19 Pandemic as a Practical Problem of Criminal Law Theory’ (SSRN Scholarly Paper No ID 3576543, Social Science Research Network, 15 April 2020) Abstract: The current Covid-19 pandemic threatens to overwhelm health care systems. Because many patients have to be provided with ventilators, there is a risk that not all patients will receive the medical help they require. This has already happened for example in Italy, Spain and France and at the time of writing, during the second week of April 2020, it appears likely that other countries will face the same shortages. In some countries, guidelines have been created to determine under which circumstances a patient will be allocated a ventilator. This allocation of scarce life-saving resources raises significant concerns regarding the protection of the right to life and respect for human dignity. By determining that a person’s life has to end in order to re-allocate resources such as a respirator in an intensive care unit the patient is no longer an actor but becomes the mere object of the decision made by others. This is incompatible with the concept of human dignity, in particular when one takes into account the definition of human dignity employed by the German Federal Constitutional Court in several cases. This notion can be traced back to Immanuel Kant. In practice, however, medical decision-makers will be forced to choose between different patients. These choices can be deadly for one patient and potentially life-saving for the other, violate human dignity and place an inhuman burden on those who have to decide. This text aims to investigate this matter from the perspective of criminal legal theory and to provide guidance as to whether ending life-saving measures amounts to an action or an omission.
Klein, Brennan et al, ‘COVID-19 Amplified Racial Disparities in the US Criminal Legal System’ (2023) Nature (advance article, published online 19 April 2023) Abstract: The criminal legal system in the USA drives an incarceration rate that is the highest on the planet, with disparities by class and race among its signature features. During the first year of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the number of incarcerated people in the USA decreased by at least 17%—the largest, fastest reduction in prison population in American history. Here we ask how this reduction influenced the racial composition of US prisons and consider possible mechanisms for these dynamics. Using an original dataset curated from public sources on prison demographics across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, we show that incarcerated white people benefited disproportionately from the decrease in the US prison population and that the fraction of incarcerated Black and Latino people sharply increased. This pattern of increased racial disparity exists across prison systems in nearly every state and reverses a decade-long trend before 2020 and the onset of COVID-19, when the proportion of incarcerated white people was increasing amid declining numbers of incarcerated Black people. Although a variety of factors underlie these trends, we find that racial inequities in average sentence length are a major contributor. Ultimately, this study reveals how disruptions caused by COVID-19 exacerbated racial inequalities in the criminal legal system, and highlights key forces that sustain mass incarceration. To advance opportunities for data-driven social science, we publicly released the data associated with this study at Zenodo.
Kordalivand, Rouheddin, ‘Adapting Criminal Policy of France to Combating Domestic Violence in Lockdown Period of Covid-19’ (2022) Journal of Law Research (advance article, published online 5 July 2022) Abstract: The reports of some organizations of United Nations and some countries like France, shows that the rates of domestic violence has been increased during the quarantine arising from covid 19. Circumstances under lockdown increase the risk factors for domestic violence. To preventing and combating domestic violence during quarantine, France has adapted its criminal policy in the period of suspension or reduction of the activities of the courts. By declaring a state of Public Health State of emergency, France has mobilized significant resources to help the victims and ensured the continuity of justice in family matters. In this article, we examine the different means mobilized by the French to adapt its criminal policy to combating domestic violence during quarantine arising from covid 19. domestic violence, Public Health State of emergency, ordinance of protection, immediate summons, the Great Danger Phone.
Koshan, Jennifer, Janet Eaton Mosher and Wanda Anne Wiegers, ‘COVID-19, the Shadow Pandemic, and Access to Justice for Survivors of Domestic Violence’ (2021) 57(3) Osgoode Hall Law Journal 739–799 Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has co-existed alongside a far less visible ‘shadow pandemic’ of violence against women, with COVID-19 impacting the number and complexity of domestic violence cases and enabling new tactics for coercive control. This article provides a preliminary assessment of the extent to which Canada’s responses to the COVID-19 pandemic have prioritized the safety of women and children, with a focus on the courts and women’s access to justice. We examine court directives and judicial decisions triaging which cases would be heard as ‘urgent,’ as well as courts’ decisions on the merits in cases involving domestic violence and COVID-19, spanning the areas of family, child welfare, criminal law, and civil protection orders. In the sixty-seven reported decisions in our sample, we find very little awareness overall of the heightened risks for survivors during COVID-19, in keeping with the pre-pandemic tendency of decision makers to focus on incident-based physical violence instead of patterns of coercive control. Our analysis also suggests that survivors’ ability to prove domestic violence and secure court orders that would help to ensure their safety was hampered not only by procedural complexity but also by the reduced availability of a range of services—health, counselling, housing, and supervised access centres, for example— as a result of COVID-19. The cases further reveal significant differences in judicial interpretation of the risks of COVID-19 relative to the risks of domestic violence, often depending on the area of law in question. This again aligns with observations of the judicial treatment of domestic violence prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, with different and sometimes conflicting norms and assumptions prevailing in different legal contexts. We conclude that despite some positive government responses and judicial decisions, COVID-19 has further exposed many of the gaps in knowledge about domestic violence and in the supports and resources necessary to make women and children safe that long pre-dated COVID-19. In addressing the ongoing pandemic of violence against women, we offer some suggestions of measures to improve access to justice during this and future disasters.
Kothari, Radha et al, ‘COVID-19 and Prisons: Providing Mental Health Care for People in Prison, Minimising Moral Injury and Psychological Distress in Mental Health Staff’ (2020) 60(3) Medicine, Science and the Law 165–168 Abstract: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic presents substantial challenges to global health and social care systems. Mental health services have faced restrictions in service delivery, risking the deterioration of already vulnerable individuals. Mental health staff have been working with new risks, in unfamiliar ways, for which they often feel inexperienced and untrained, for example accessing and using personal protective equipment (PPE). Prisons face unique additional hazards to both prisoners and staff. Public Health England’s recent report describes limited and variable COVID-19 testing, concerns about an outbreak in prisons and the unsuccessful follow-through of the early release strategy which, according to modelling, would considerably reduce deaths from COVID-19. The report also highlights the longer-term challenges.1 Whilst recognising these additional difficulties, we argue that there is precedent and evidence from which we can learn. We propose ways to optimise the support to staff and prisoners.
Kovarsky, Lee, ‘Pandemics, Risks and Remedies’ (2020) 106 Virginia Law Review Online 71–98 Abstract: There are lessons in every catastrophe, and the impact of Coronavirus-19 (‘COVID’) on America’s prisoner population has been especially catastrophic. Jails and prisons are sites of unique peril because each facility bears the systemic risk of a single infection. That COVID tore through these facilities was predictable—the health infrastructure is deplorable, social distancing is impossible, and the community has heightened medical vulnerabilities. These places are pandemic tinder boxes, and COVID was more than enough to kindle the blaze. There is a temptation to view America’s inability to protect her prisoners as a simple failure of political and bureaucratic will, but the shortage of such resolve was just one part of a more complex institutional disaster. In this Paper, I argue that COVID exposed a remedial deficit between pandemic risks that were systemic and remedies that were not. In so doing, I explore the surprisingly poor performance of the mechanisms that one might have expected to facilitate sufficient prisoner discharge: federal civil rights litigation, administrative release, and clemency power. The systemic health risk at jails and prisons requires remedies that are fast and scalable, but existing discharge mechanisms are too slow, require too much multilateral consensus, and concentrate discharge powers in the wrong institutions. To address future waves of pandemic infection, American jurisdictions should concentrate discharge powers in decision-makers who are closer to the most acutely affected localities. A concentration-and-localization principle is also a model for a broader back-end decarceration strategy.
Krajewski, Krzysztof, ‘Crime, Law Enforcement and Rule of Law in Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Poland’ in Dina Siegel, Aleksandras Dobryninas and Stefano Becucci (eds), Covid-19, Society and Crime in Europe (Springer, 2022) 63–80 Abstract: Governmental response to the Covid-19 pandemic in Poland was and still is of very controversial nature, as legislative measures introduced in March 2020 are considered by most lawyers to be unconstitutional. They were also used for purposes unrelated to the pandemic. As regards impact of the pandemic, and governmental measures on crime rates and patterns, the emerging picture is not clear: there was neither consistent growth nor decline of crime. As a matter of fact, during the year 2020, many offences tended to decline, as they did during the last couple of years. But there were some exceptions to that rule. There is no doubt that the pandemic and its accompanying measures could have had a radical impact on increasing or decreasing opportunities for various forms of crime. However, available data for the entire year 2020 do not necessarily show patterns consistent with assumptions regarding changes in opportunity structures.
Kriegler, Anine, Kelley Moult and Elrena van der Spuy, ‘Policing South Africa’s Lockdown: Making Sense of Ambiguity Amidst Certainty?’ [2021] (Special Conference Edition 5) European Law Enforcement Research Bulletin 239–249 Abstract: Despite the progressive vision of South Africa’s policy elites after the end of Apartheid, the South African Police Service (SAPS) faces such severe challenges of efficiency, accountability, and legitimacy that the institution appears under chronic siege. We sought to document the view of insiders on the SAPS’s preparedness and effectiveness at fulfilling its expanded mandate in response to Covid-19. As part of a larger research project, we conducted 27 interviews with police officers and representatives of other government departments across three provinces. These revealed two narratives. The first – and surprisingly dominant – is one of strong coordinating structures, capable leadership and effective command and control under exceptionally difficult circumstances. The second, however, is of an organisation stretched beyond breaking point and placing its members under impossible strains. We conclude that the two narratives are complementary and that their co-existence reflects the opposing pressures faced by the police in this period: the consolidating logic of state securitisation under conditions of crisis and the underlying fragmenting logic of dysfunctional, kleptocratic governance.
Kubrin, Charis E and Bradley Bartos, ‘The COVID-19 Pandemic, Prison Downsizing, and Crime Trends’ [2023] Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice (pre-published article) Abstract: California has fundamentally reformed its criminal justice system. Since 2011, the state passed several reforms which reduced its massive prison population. Importantly, this decaceration has not harmed public safety as research finds these measures had no impact on violent crime and only marginal impacts on property crime statewide. The COVID-19 pandemic furthered the state’s trend in decarceration, as California reduced prison and jail populations to slow the spread of the virus. In fact, in terms of month-to-month proportionate changes in the state correctional population, California’s efforts to reduce overcrowding as a means to limit the spread of COVID-19 reduced the correctional population more severely and abruptly than any of the state’s decarceration reforms. Although research suggests the criminal justice reforms did not threaten public safety, there is reason to suspect COVID-mitigation releases did. How are COVID-19 jail downsizing measures and crime trends related in California, if at all? We address this question in the current study. We employ a synthetic control group design to estimate the impact of jail decarceration intended to mitigate COVID-19 spread on crime in California’s 58 counties. Adapting the traditional method to account for the ‘fuzzy-ness’ of the intervention, we utilize natural variation among counties to isolate decarceration’s impact on crime from various other shocks affecting California as a whole. Findings do not suggest a consistent relationship between COVID-19 jail decarceration and violent or property crime at the county level.
Kugler, Matthew B et al, ‘American Law Enforcement Responses to COVID-19’ (2020) Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology (advance article, published 9 July 2020) Abstract: During the spring and summer of 2020, what role did law enforcement play in promoting COVID-19 restrictions in the United States? Because most law enforcement in the US occurs at the local level, we conducted a survey of local police departments to examine their responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our results show that most departments, especially departments in smaller jurisdictions, played a minimal role in enforcing COVID-related restrictions and tended to only encourage compliance. Further, it was extremely rare for a department to use sophisticated surveillance technology to monitor COVID compliance. This lack of monitoring stands in stark contrast to both the regimes employed by several comparable industrialized countries and the broad surveillance powers permissible under the U.S. Constitution.
Kumar, TK Vinod, ‘Role of Police in Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 through Social Distancing, Quarantine and Lockdown: An Evidence-Based Comparison of Outcomes across Two Districts’ (2021) 23(2) International Journal of Police Science & Management 196–207 Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic is a formidable challenge to societies and governments across the world. The non-medical interventions of social distancing, quarantine and lockdown have been adopted to prevent transmission of the disease by contact. In some countries, police have been used to enforce public health laws. This research analyses data from two districts in the State of Kerala, India to examine whether police efforts had any impact on the outcome of reducing transmission of the disease by contact. Analysing the different methods used by the police across the two districts, this study concludes that police efforts at non-medical interventions reduce the spread of the disease. The study also concludes that, in contrast to mere enforcement of public health laws and regulations, the strategic use of resources is an important factor in achieving better outcomes.
Kyprianides, A et al, ‘Policing the COVID-19 Pandemic: Police Officer Well-Being and Commitment to Democratic Modes of Policing’ (2022) 32(4) Policing and Society 504–521 Abstract: Police organisations have a wealth of experience in responding to emergencies, but COVID-19 is unprecedented in terms of the speed, scale and complexity of developing doctrine and its implementation by officers. The crisis also threw into sharp relief the fact that police policy and, crucially, practice are always implemented within wider social, political and economic contexts. Using online survey data collected from 325 police officers based at forces operating across different UK contexts (cities, conurbations, towns and rural areas), we seek to understand officer experiences and perceptions of policing COVID-19. In particular, we examine whether (internally) organisational climate and (externally) the UK government’s response to COVID-19 were important to (a) officers’ support for police use of force at times of emergency, (b) officer’s support for procedurally just policing at times of emergency, and (c) their health and well-being; and whether identification and perceptions of self-legitimacy mediate the associations between these variables. We show that a positive organisational climate was associated with less support for police use of force, more support for procedurally just policing and increased police officer health and well-being. Our results, however, suggest potential negative correlates of police officer self-legitimacy: higher levels of self-legitimacy were associated with poorer police officer health and well-being and increased support for police use of force. These results have important implications for our understanding of police officer well-being and police officers’ commitment to democratic modes of policing when faced with policing a pandemic.
Lachsz, Andreea and Monique Hurley, ‘Why Practices That Could Be Torture or Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment Should Never Have Formed Part of the Public Health Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Prisons’ (2021) 33(1) Current Issues in Criminal Justice 54–68 Abstract: In this article, we consider the use of restrictive practices in Australian prisons in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on solitary confinement. We explore the health and human rights implications for people subjected to the practice. An overview is provided of the expansion of powers that have increased the risk of people being detained in conditions that amount to solitary confinement during the pandemic. Australian governments’ use of quarantine and lockdowns as tools to address the risks posed by COVID-19 to people in prison is examined and critiqued. To safeguard against the normalisation of these practices, the use of solitary confinement in prisons should be prohibited in law, and any exceptional circumstances in which a person may be separated from others in prison should be clearly defined, with appropriate safeguards. There also needs to be immediate and effective oversight of prisons in compliance with the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
Laely, Mafidhatul et al, ‘Criminal Law Aspects of Forcibly Taking the Corpse of Suspect/Probable COVID-19 Patients in Hospitals’ (2021) 21(3) Medico Legal Update 372–379Jurisdiction: Indonesia
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to find out the Criminal Law aspects of forcibly taking the corpse of suspect/ probable Covid-19 patients in Hospitals. Efforts to forcibly taking the corpse of suspect/probable Covid-19 patients by family continue to occur in a number of areas, often by mobilizing masses. Hundreds of people came to the hospital to forcibly taking the corpse of Covid-19 patients who had just died. There are so many cases of forcibly taking the corpse of suspect/probable Covid-19 patients that have occurred in Indonesia, but no legal action has been taken by law enforcement officials to take action against and detain the perpetrators of forcibly taking the corpse of suspect/probable Covid-19 patients. This caused the absence of legal certainty, both legal protections for the Hospital and for the patient’s family.
Lasmadi, Sahuri, ‘The Legal Act on Counterfeiting the Covid-19 Vaccine in Indonesian Health Law’ (2021) 5(2) International Journal of Law Reconstruction 273–291 Abstract: The International Criminal Police Organization has officially issued a global warning to law enforcement officials in 194 member countries to prepare to prevent and deal with various world criminal networks that will seek to utilize the Covid-19 vaccine, both physically. The online form is counterfeiting the Covid-19 vaccine. This study aims to analyze the criminal act of counterfeiting the Covid-19 vaccine from the Health Law in Indonesia. The research method used is the Normative Law research method, which examines library materials or secondary data. Normative legal research is also called doctrinal legal research. The criminal act of counterfeiting the Covid-19 vaccine is generally regulated in Article 386 Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code relating to acts of fraud and forgery. However, it is specifically regulated in the provisions regarding penalties for distributing fake vaccines in Indonesia as regulated in Articles 196, 197, 198, and 201 Act No. 36 of 2009 concerning health. The ingredients are everyone deliberately and producing and circulating counterfeit vaccine preparations. For the criminal act ofCovid-19 vaccine counterfeiting corporate, the corporation can be subject to additional penalties in the form of revocation of business licenses and revocation of legal entity status.
Lee, Janice, ‘Note on COVID-19 and the Police Powers Doctrine: Assessing the Allowable Scope of Regulatory Measures During a Pandemic’ (2020) 13(1) Contemporary Asia Arbitration Journal 229–248 Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused severe disruptions not only to public health, but also to the global economy. In response, many States have enacted preventive control measures to curtail the spread of the virus, as well as rehabilitative measures aimed at protecting the economy. Due to the breadth, scope and (at present) uncertain duration of these measures, it is likely that these may result to investment claims from foreign investors whose investments have been severely affected. This Note will discuss one of the available defences to investment claims resulting from regulatory measures undertaken pursuant to public health, that of the doctrine of police powers. This doctrine recognises that reasonable governmental regulation does not result to compensable expropriation. This Note will further consider the challenges faced in the application of the police powers doctrine to the present pandemic situation.
Lee, Murray, ‘Policing the Pedal Rebels: A Case Study of Environmental Activism Under COVID-19’ (2021) 10(2) International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy 156–168 Abstract: Australia, along with nation-states internationally, has entered a new phase of environmentally focused activism, with globalised, coordinated and social media–enabled environmental social movements seeking to address human-induced climate change and related issues such as the mass extinction of species and land clearing. Some environmental protest groups such as Extinction Rebellion (XR) have attracted significant political, media and popular commentary for their sometimes theatrical and disruptive forms of nonviolent protest and civil disobedience. Drawing on green and cultural criminology, this article constitutes an autoethnographic account of environmental protest during the final stages of the initial COVID-19 lockdown in NSW, Australia. It takes as a case study a small protest by an XR subgroup called the Pedal Rebels. The article explores the policing of environmental protest from an activist standpoint, highlighting the extraordinary police resources and powers mobilised to regulate a small peaceful group of ‘socially distanced’ protesters operating within the existing public health orders. It places an autoethnographic description of this protest in the context of policing practice and green and cultural criminology. Additionally, it outlines the way in which such policing is emboldened by changes to laws affecting environmental protest, making activism an increasingly risky activity.
Lelliott, Joseph, Andreas Schloenhardt and Ruby Ioannou, ‘Pandemics, Punishment, and Public Health: COVID-19 and Criminal Law in Australia’ (2021) 44(1) UNSW Law Journal 167–196
Abstract: This article examines the scope, application, and implications of criminal offences relating to the containment of COVID-19 in Australia. Drawing in part on existing research concerning criminalisation of HIV transmission, the article highlights actual and potential discriminatory consequences of the criminal justice approach to COVID-19, as well as consequences for persons’ right to health. The article concludes that criminal offences relating to the spread of the virus must be precisely and narrowly circumscribed to be both fair and meaningful. Criminal prosecution and punishment can only be justified in a very small number of situations. Broad use of coercive and punitive powers, together with stigmatising rhetoric, may well be counterproductive to public health goals.
Lersch, Kim M, ‘COVID-19 and Mental Health: An Examination of 911 Calls for Service’ [2020] Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice Article paaa049 (advance online article, published 5 August 2020) Abstract: The purpose of this study was to explore the rate and geographic distribution of 911 calls for service related to mental health issues during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the City of Detroit, MI, USA. The results suggest that the total number of calls for mental health issues was at the lowest level when compared with the same time period for the previous 3 years. Furthermore, as both the daily reported COVID-19 cases and related deaths increased over time, there was a significant decline in both suicide threats and suicides in progress. Significant hot spots were found for the total calls as well as for threats of suicide. These hot spots did not coincide with the spatial distribution of reported cases of COVID-19 by ZIP code. While higher and lower areas of reported cases were found, these differences by ZIP code were not found to be significant. When compared with the previous 3 years of data, the hot spot area was much smaller in 2020, implying that the mental health-related calls for service were more evenly spread throughout the city.
Leslie, Emily and Riley Wilson, ‘Sheltering in Place and Domestic Violence: Evidence from Calls for Service during COVID-19’ (SSRN Scholarly Paper ID 3600646, 14 May 2020) Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a worldwide slowdown in activity as more people practice social distancing and shelter at home. The attendant increase in time families spend in isolation, unemployment, and economic stress has the potential to lead to more incidents of domestic violence. In this paper we document the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on police calls for service for domestic violence. The COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying public health response led to a 10.2 percent increase in domestic violence calls. The increase in reported domestic violence incidents begins before official stay-at-home orders were put into place, is not driven by any particular demographic group, but does appear to be driven by households without a prior history of domestic violence.
Levenson, Laurie L, ‘Climate Change and the Criminal Justice System’ (Loyola Law School Los Angeles Legal Studies Research Paper No 2020–22, 1 August 2020) Abstract: The past decade has been the warmest decade in history. But while there has been a great deal of attention paid to issues of infrastructure sustainability, less attention has been focused on the impact of climate change on our criminal justice system.This paper identifies how we can anticipate climate change will affect and create new challenges for law enforcement, prisons, prosecutorial and defense agencies, government offices, and communities.This article first examines three ways climate change is challenging our criminal justice system –from altering the types of crimes committed, to detrimentally impacting prisons, jails, and other criminal justice institutions, to challenging traditional doctrines of criminal law such as the necessity and duress defenses and causation. Drawing in part on lessons from the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, this article makes ten recommendations on how such challenges can be met.
Levi, Michael, ‘Fraud, Pandemics and Policing Responses’ [2021] (Special Conference Edition 5) European Law Enforcement Research Bulletin 23–31 Abstract: The article identifies some novel crime types and methodologies arising during the current pandemic that were not seen in previous pandemics. These changes may result from public health measures taken in response to COVID-19, the current state of technologies and the activities of law enforcement and regulators. It shows that most frauds that we know about might have occurred anyway, but some specific – mainly online - frauds occur during pandemics, and because of large scale government assistance programmes to businesses and individuals, many more opportunities were created from Covid-19. In the UK and Australia (less clearly elsewhere), public-private partnerships between police and banks led to joint activities in the attempted prevention of public-facing frauds (though the success measures are unclear), and arrests of suspects were sometimes easier because they were at home more! However, responses to fraud against government loans and grants were weaker and it is likely that many of them will be unprosecuted. More frauds will come to light later. More rapid prevention is the key to reducing the impact of economic crimes, but we need better focused research on how to get people not to fall for scams, better technologies to make frauds harder, and better processes and political will to stop procurement frauds.
Levin, Anthony and Trish Kashyap, ‘Law Enforcement and Police Powers in NSW during COVID-19’ (2020) 32(4) Judicial Officers Bulletin 29–33 Abstract: With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March, the Commonwealth and NSW Parliaments have introduced temporary laws to enable the management of public health and safety and prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. This article provides an overview of these laws with a focus on the exercise of discretion under novel or temporary police powers.
Levin, Benjamin, ‘Criminal Law in Crisis’ (Colorado Law Review Forum, 16 August 2020) Abstract: In this Essay, I offer a brief account of how the COVID-19 pandemic lays bare the realities and structural flaws of the carceral state. I provide two primary examples or illustrations, but they are not meant to serve as an exhaustive list. Rather, by highlighting these issues, problems, or (perhaps) features, I mean to suggest that this moment of crisis should serve not just as an opportunity to marshal resources to address the pandemic, but also as a chance to address the harsh realities of the U.S. criminal system. Further, my claim isn’t that criminal law is in some way unusual in this respect (i.e., similar observations certainly could be and have been made about the pandemic’s exposure of long-lasting problems associated with the health care/insurance system, the tethering of social benefits to employment, pervasive inequality, and many other features of U.S. political economy). Nevertheless, the current moment provides an opportunity to appreciate the ways in which some of the most problematic aspects of criminal law in times of crisis are basic features of the U.S. carceral state in times of ‘normalcy.’ To this end, my argument proceeds in two Parts, each addressing one of the aspects or pathologies of U.S. criminal policy that the pandemic has exacerbated. In Part I, I address the absence of ‘sentencing realism’ or, perhaps more accurately, the failure to consider the reality of jails and prisons when imposing sentences or pretrial detention. In Part II, I address the basic limitations of thinking of ‘the criminal system’ as a single monolithic ‘system,’ or, even, as ‘systematic’ at all. What do commentators and lawmakers miss when they suggest or assume that criminal law and its administration are the same in a rural county in Colorado as in an urban county in New York? In each Part, I explain how the pandemic has made each phenomenon more easily identifiable, but also how each phenomenon defined the criminal system in pre-coronavirus days. Ultimately, I argue that the ‘crisis’ frame provides an opportunity for reform, but we must not allow the crisis frame to obscure the ways in which the criminal system was in crisis well before the first COVID-19 tests came back positive.
Liu, Mengyan et al, ‘Public Health Crisis and Hate Crimes: Deciphering the Proliferation of Anti-Asian Violence in the US Before and During Covid-19’ (2023) 17(2) Perspectives on Terrorism 30–59 Abstract: The substantial increase in far-right violence in the United States in the last few years was also manifested by the intensification of attacks against Asian American communities and individuals. This trend was especially evident during the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The current paper utilises a natural experimental design and a multitude of analyses (descriptive, geospatial, and advanced regressions) to illustrate the intricate combination of factors that facilitated anti-Asian violence during the pandemic and the various paths in which public health crises may enhance the persecution of minorities. The findings illustrate that the main drivers of anti-Asian violence are not related to changing focus among organised hate groups, but to environmental and economic stress factors which, combined with existing xenophobic narratives, have legitimised anti-Asian violence. Additionally, we identified a clear association between othering rhetoric, also operationalised by President’s Trump kung flu remarks and the subsequent increase in anti-Asian violence. Overall, our findings provide important insights into our understanding of the endogenous and exogenous factors that facilitate hate-related violence against minorities during public health crises.
Logan, Wayne A, ‘Sex Offender Registration in a Pandemic’ (2021) 18(2) Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law 515–536 Abstract: This Essay, part of a symposium examining how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the criminal justice system, addresses whether, and how, state and local governments maintained their requirement that individuals convicted of sex offenses meet with authorities in person to confirm and update their registry information. Focusing in particular on the first months of 2020, the tale told highlights the distinctiveness of registration: while many governmental operations were suspended, or went online, in-person registration very often persisted. As a result, registrants were required to travel to a government office (perhaps by public transport), wait in a closed space very possibly with poor ventilation, sometimes for extended periods of time, where social distancing might not have been feasible. If they failed to satisfy the registration requirement they faced significant criminal punishment. The in-person registration requirement remained in effect even though registrants often share many of the same health and age-related characteristics of the broader at-risk population, risks often aggravated by sanitary problems associated with chronic homelessness (e.g., lack of access to soap for hand washing) that registrants often experience. As a result, in-person registration posed the threat of registrants transmitting and contracting the virus, affecting not only the registrants themselves, but also friends, family, and employers, as well as the governmental authorities with whom they had to interact. As states and localities undertook aggressive measures to stem the spread of COVID-19, the persistence of in-person registration provides a stark reminder of the continued exceptionalism of registration and the population it targets (individuals convicted of sex offenses). The Essay explores the reasons accounting for this distinctiveness and provides some thoughts on how and why in-person registration persisted in the early stages of the pandemic when so many other governmental operations were suspended or significantly modified.
Loin, Raymundus et al, ‘Assimilation and Integration for Prisoners in the Middle of the Covid-19 Pandemic Based on Minister of Law and Human Rights Regulations Number 10 of 2020’ (2023) 7(2) Journal of Law and Policy Transformation 62–74Jurisdiction: Indonesia
Abstract: The provision of assimilation and integration programs is one of the answers to the problem of overcrowded prisons . As a result of being overcrowded, prisons cannot implement the health protocol, namely physical distancing recommended by the government. Policies for implementing assimilation programs during the Covid-19 pandemic should be accompanied by legal policies whose impacts can be beneficial for the legal system in Indonesia, especially regarding criminal policies, namely through reconstruction and/or reformulation of the criminal system and criminal sanctions through the application of social work criminal sanctions and prevention and/or or crime prevention through restorative justice efforts and this is taken into consideration as an effort to resolve the over capacity problem.
Longman, Craig, ‘Criminal Law: Could the “great Writ” Lie to Release Prisoners at Risk from COVID-19?’ (2020) 66 LSJ: Law Society of NSW Journal 74–75 Abstract: There is an imminent human disaster threatening Australian prisons, and the disproportionately high number of First Nation prisoners who are incarcerated within. Across the world, governments are recognising the risk to prisoners from the COVID-19 virus. Commentators have noted the ‘notorious’ status of prisons as incubators for infections, and the World Health Organization foresees the possibility that ‘every prisoner’ will be contaminated with COVID-19 ‘very quickly’.
Lorenz, Henning and Engin Turhan, ‘The Pandemic and Criminal Law: A Look at Theory and Practice in Germany’ (2021) 26(6) Bialystok Legal Studies / Bialostockie Studia Prawnicze 9–26 Abstract: This article provides an overview of the topic of the pandemic from the perspective of criminal law theory and practice in Germany. First of all, the major criminal offences of bodily injury and murder are discussed in the context of infecting a person with the Coronavirus and the (possible) consequences of having Covid-19, such as risk of death. Th e dilemmatic situation of triage, i.e., allocating limited intensive care resources, is illustrated in relation to the same offences. Then, the more specific crimes that came to the fore in the course of the pandemic are addressed. Subsidy fraud due to the state aids intended to compensate for the financial damage in the marketplace because of pandemic-related measures, and issuance or use of incorrect health certificates for exemption from the obligation to wear a face mask fall within this scope. Finally, the administrative offences law of the German Infection Protection Act was discussed, primarily with regard to regulations that violate the principle of legal certainty.
Lorvick, Jennifer et al, ‘Decreased Homelessness among Women Involved in the Criminal Legal System after a COVID-19 Housing Intervention’ (2022) Journal of Social Distress and Homelessness (advance article, published online 12 April 2022) Abstract: The COVID-19 outbreak fueled unprecedented public health efforts to mitigate the spread of infection, including rapid provision of non-congregate housing to people experiencing homelessness. People on community supervision (criminal probation or parole) have high levels of homelessness due to housing discrimination, poverty and racism, and are among the groups most vulnerable to COVID-19. We examined housing status in a cohort of women with probation histories in Alameda County, CA before and after the COVID-19 outbreak (N = 204). Before March 2020, 38% of women in the cohort reporting being homeless (95% CI: 34–43%), a level that was consistent over 12 months. As of August 2020, 15% of the cohort was homeless (95% CI: 10–20%; relative risk [RR] 0.40, 95% CI: 0.28, 0.55; p < 0.001). During a period of assertive public health efforts to reduce COVID-19 risk through provision of housing, we found meaningful reductions in homelessness in this sample of vulnerable women.
Luong, Hai Thanh, ‘Community-Based Policing in COVID-19: A 4-P’s Priorities of Vietnam’s Police’ (2021) 31(10) Policing & Society 1217–1231 Abstract: While the COVID-19 pandemic is still infecting without unpredictable estimations around the world, the role of law enforcement in the deal with this crisis is still debating. Mainly, among multidisciplinary research studies, the question of policing and police responses to deal with this virus is necessary to look for different approaches and several comparisons between national, regional, and international scale. This paper is the first study to introduce and analyse the model of community policing in COVID-19 in Vietnam as a new lens to balance between sensor and convince in policing. Using mixed methods research to combine between primary and secondary data in the period of five continuous phases, from January to July 2020, the study looks for how the 4-P’s approach in policing of Vietnam contributed to limit the spread of the virus. Main findings pointed out that proactive activities, propaganda approaches, protective measures, and preventable forms are prioritised to implement in the community-based policing (CBP) to prevent and combat COVID-19. Depending on each scenario and relevant requirement, these four initiatives of Vietnam’s police will be conducted as flexible and harmonic as possible based on people-centred approaching. Finally, the paper identifies some practical recommendations that need further discussions to improve the effectiveness of CBP in health crisis in the future.
Ma, Yong and Xiaolin Zhang, ‘Scientific Uncertainty and the Challenges of Applying Criminal Law: Lessons from China’s COVID-19 Response’ (2024) 10(14) Heliyon (article e34777) Abstract: This study addresses the complexities of applying criminal law during public health emergencies, particularly under the shadow of scientific uncertainty, and explores the challenge of balancing public health protection with individual rights. The primary aim is to dissect the application of criminal law in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in China, focusing on the impact of scientific uncertainty on legal decision-making and the efficacy of criminal law interventions in public health crises. This study utilized a doctrinal method combined with case studies, integrating theoretical frameworks on risk and uncertainty with an analysis of China’s legal responses to COVID-19. It involved assessing legislative and policy documents alongside judicial decisions, focusing on their alignment with evolving scientific understanding and public health strategies. The study reveals significant hurdles, including the limitations of empirical rules in judicial judgments, the emergence of technocratic bureaucracy, and the complexities surrounding risk mitigation and legal attribution under uncertain conditions. It highlights the inadequacy of traditional criminal law mechanisms to respond dynamically to the evolving landscape of public health emergencies. To address these challenges, the study recommends the development of temporary criminal legislation tailored to public health emergencies, the adoption of risk-based criminal law approaches, and the refinement of individualized risk assessment procedures. These measures aim to provide a more flexible and effective legal framework capable of safeguarding public health while ensuring the protection of individual liberties during crises.
Mack, Dallas, ‘COVID-19’ [2020] (6) Mack’s Criminal Law BulletinJurisdiction: UK
Abstract: This issue reviews recent cases that have considered the COVID-19 pandemic; in particular, this issue looks at the impact of this pandemic on bail and sentencing.
Maigari, Abdullahi Muhammad, Faruk Usman Dauran and Uthman Abdullahi Abdul- Qadir, ‘Covid-19 Lockdown and The Plights of People Remanded in Security Detention Centres: A Socio Legal Analysis’ (2022) 4(1) Walisongo Law Review 1–18 Abstract: The researchers analyzed from sociological and legal perspectives the COVID-19 lockdown and the plights of people remanded in security detention centers in Nigeria. The objective of the study is to identify the loopholes in the Constitution of the Federal Republic 1999 as amended and other relevant legal provisions in Nigeria. The study is an exploratory type of research whose goal is to explore the phenomenon under investigation. This research design is considered appropriate for this paper because the COVID-19 lockdown has explored the weaknesses of the extant legal provisions in Nigeria in a situation like the Lockdown. Data were from secondary sources and were subjected to content analysis. The result revealed that during the COVID-19 lockdown in Nigeria, accused persons, awaiting trial persons and prisoners in different detention centers were detained beyond the legal requirements whereas there is no legal provision that clearly stated remedies.
Maphumulo, Mtho, ‘COVID-19 Law Enforcement Incompetence and Brutality Not a New Thing’ (2020) 20(5) Without Prejudice 56–57 Abstract: It is often said that the best time to fix a leaking roof is in winter when there are no storms or heavy rains. This has proved to be true as South African law enforcement agencies inabilities have been exposed by the COVID-19 outbreak.
Marcum, Catherine D, ‘American Corrections System Response to COVID-19: An Examination of the Procedures and Policies Used in Spring 2020’ (2020) 45(4) American Journal of Criminal Justice 759-768 Abstract: This article will explore the federal and state correction system responses to COVID-19 as of early May 2020. Current statistics of infection rates and policy responses will be discussed. In addition, adjustments to inmate activities and staff will be reviewed, as well as responses by community corrections agencies.
Marinclin, Antonija, ‘What Has the Covid-19 Pandemic Taught Us About the (In)Effectiveness of Legal Protection Against Domestic Violence?’ (2022) 8(1) International Journal - VALLIS AUREA 75–93 Abstract: Combating domestic violence requires an interdisciplinary approach to solving this serious social problem, with law, legal practice and science playing a very important role. Theoretically, it appears as physical, psychological, sexual and economic violence, while the victims are mostly weaker social groups – women, children and the elderly. Numerous international documents, as well as national regulations in the field of family, criminal and misdemeanor law, provide protection against domestic violence, but statistical indicators do not speak in favor of sufficient effectiveness in their application in practice. The COVID-19 pandemic has in a way further intensified the existing ones, but also created new challenges in the fight against domestic violence. Measures of social isolation, unavailability of competent institutions and general uncertainty are just some of the causes that have contributed to the increase in the number of cases of domestic violence, and the possibility of protecting victims of such treatment.
Marsons, Lee and Sarah Nason, ‘Prisoners and Mental Health Detainees’ [2020] (October) Public Law 785 Abstract: Summarises key features of the Parole Board’s annual report for 2019-20, including statistics on the number of prisoners released, the number it deemed necessary to retain in custody for public protection, and the number of Board members from ethnic minorities. Details the Board’s guidance on the conduct of online hearings during the coronavirus pandemic, and the treatment of vulnerable prisoners.
Martin, Greg, ‘A Law unto Themselves: On the Relatively Autonomous Operation of Protest Policing during the COVID-19 Pandemic’ (2022) 5(1–2) Justice, Power and Resistance 28–45 Abstract: A central argument of this article is that the exercise of police power in respect of protests is relatively autonomous of judicial pronouncements affirming or upholding rights of free speech and peaceful public assembly. Using mostly Australian examples, but also drawing on UK material and some American references, the article shows how protests have gone ahead regardless of prohibitions on mass gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic. In New South Wales, courts have sometimes allowed protests to proceed when public health experts have assessed the risk to community transmission of coronavirus to be sufficiently low. Notwithstanding that, as they did prior to the pandemic, police have moved to prevent protests and repress protestors. Accordingly, the article takes issue with the ‘negotiated management’ model of protest policing, which perpetuates a fiction of police-protestor cooperation. Indeed, protest policing has often been conflictual and heavy-handed, even militaristic, which, paradoxically, has sometimes led to potential breaches of COVID-19-safe protocols. The article concludes by highlighting analogies between the COVID-19 crisis and the ‘war on terror’ following 9/11, including the role played by courts in attempting to limit the concentration of executive power, government overreach, and intensification of police powers under a paradigm of security.
Mazepa, Svitlana, ‘COVID-19 and Its Impact on Ukrainian Criminal Law’ in Ewoud et al Hondius (ed), Coronavirus and the Law in Europe (Intersentia, 2020) Abstract: At the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020, a new dangerous disease appeared in the world, which was named ‘Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)’. Each country decided how to react and what steps should be taken as a first priority. The fact that national governments were taking exceptional measures to slow down the spread of the virus and to deal with the pandemic has implications not only for criminal proceedings that are already underway but also for future ones. In this scrutiny, the author highlighted the legal response of Ukraine to the pandemic from the criminal law perspective. A number of restrictive measures and prohibitions were adopted, which were aimed at self-isolation. The focus in this contribution is on criminal law, as the pandemic has prompted changes to existing law, including criminal law and legislation. The immediate reaction of the Ukrainian parliament to the pandemic was to increase criminal liability and introduce administrative liability for violating quarantine. These changes have become the subject of this article. Also, a number of bills on inclusion in the current Criminal Code in connection with the coronavirus were analysed.
Mazerolle, Lorraine and Janet Ransley, ‘Policing Health Regulations in Democratic Societies: A Focus on COVID-19 Challenges and Opportunities in Australia’ (2021) 45(3) International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice 315–327 Abstract: Bayley stated just four short years ago that ‘… policing has become dramatically more complex in six ways: its tasks, public demands, strategies, technology, accountability and resources’ (p. 164). The COVID-19 pandemic has clearly escalated these policing complexities creating a range of new responsibilities, tasks and strategies for police as well as raising new accountability questions. In this paper, we examine a number of new health regulations that are now commonplace for police to enforce including: restrictions on the number of people visiting private homes, maintaining physical distancing between people in public space, and mandated wearing of masks. We explore what these new tasks, public demands, and strategies mean for the future of policing in democratic societies. We conclude that the pandemic has created unprecedented access for police into the private lives of citizens creating what David H. Bayley would have seen as both as an opportunity and threat to civil society.
McCormick, John, ‘New York on Pause, Crime on Hold’ (SSRN Scholarly Paper ID 3759277, 11 December 2020) Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic abruptly changed American’s lives in the spring of 2020 with stay-at-home (SAH) orders. COVID-19 significantly impacted crime rates related to domestic violence. I used crimes per week in the categories of rape, general sex crimes, child crimes, and the total of those three to assess the change in crimes relating to domestic violence. There was a decrease of reported crimes in 2020 as compared to the base year 2019, with a 42.84%, or 13.19, decrease in crimes per week total across the different crime categories. Each borough also had significant increases or decreases in crime based on their relative population. The boroughs with higher populations showed higher levels of crimes per week. Overall, the effect of SAH orders had minor impacts on crimes per week. When they were significant, they showed a decrease of 0.248 total crimes per week for every week since the SAH order started. There is still a distinct possibility that crime is still occurring but is unreported; however, the evidence is clear that police departments have less reports after a SAH order is put in place.
McGee , Robert W, ‘Are the CDC’s Corona Virus Statistics Fraudulent? An Accounting and Legal Analysis’ (SSRN Scholarly Paper No ID 3590800, 1 May 2020)
Jurisdiction: USA Abstract: This paper presents an overview of the Corona virus situation and examines the literature that seems to suggest that some, or perhaps much of the reporting of Corona virus deaths is actually the result of deliberate misclassification. The accounting and legal literature is also examined to determine whether the misclassifications amount to fraud.
McKay, Tara, Jonathan Metzl and Jennifer Piemonte, ‘Effects of Statewide Coronavirus Public Health Measures and State Gun Laws on American Gun Violence’ (SSRN Scholarly Paper No ID 3680050, Social Science Research Network, 24 August 2020) Abstract: The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic dramatically shifted American public life, and with it patterns of gun violence. In this paper, we show that states’ efforts to contain COVID-19 infections through statewide emergency declarations, Stay at Home orders, and phased reopening have significantly altered prevailing patterns of firearm injuries and deaths. We provide a systematic analysis of how state policy responses to COVID-19 affected overall levels of gun violence and specific kinds of shootings, including multiple victim and mass shootings. While emergency declarations and Stay at Home orders had a dampening effect on many forms of gun violence, we find that the number of people injured or killed by a firearm per day increased more than 15% following state reopening, on average. Over the first 30 days of reopening, we estimate that the average state had an additional 5 mass shootings than would be predicted absent the epidemic in the first 30 days of reopening. Additionally, we examine how COVID-related public health measures affect the composition of gun violence. We find that gun violence has followed workers and children home; even though workplaces and schools have closed, gun violence has likely reappeared in Americans’ lives as domestic violence related shootings and child involved shootings during Stay at Home and school closure periods. Finally, we show that state gun laws worked together with COVID-related emergency declarations and Stay at Home orders to further decrease gun violence in some states. Conversely, in states with decreased criminal liability for firearm use, as in states with Stand Your Ground laws, we observe an exacerbating effect on firearm injuries and deaths during the emergency declaration and Stay at Home order periods. Only one policy, waiting periods for handgun purchases, significantly dampened reopening surges in gun violence. These findings suggest that state policy environments can substantially reduce the impacts of exogenous shocks like COVID-19 on American gun violence and provides guidance on which policies can be helpful and which can be harmful.
McQuigg, Ronagh, ‘Domestic Abuse: The “Shadow Pandemic”’ (2022) 73(2) Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly 341–364 Abstract: Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, incidents of domestic abuse have increased substantially around the world. The lockdown measures which were adopted by many jurisdictions, although necessary to limit the spread of the virus, nevertheless resulted in those living in abusive relationships finding themselves to be even more isolated. Indeed, UN Women has termed violence against women during the COVID-19 pandemic as the ‘shadow pandemic’. This article discusses the increased levels of domestic abuse globally, proceeds to examine the rise in instances of domestic abuse on the island of Ireland, and then analyses the measures adopted in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in response. It is argued that, although meritorious steps were taken in both jurisdictions, essentially the pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing difficulties with the responses of both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to this issue.
Mead, David, ‘Policing Protest in a Pandemic’ (2021) 32(1) King’s Law Journal 96–108
Meško, Gorazd and Vojko Urbas, ‘Crime Investigation During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Slovenia’ [2021] (Special Conference Edition 5) European Law Enforcement Research Bulletin 83–96 Abstract: The article presents an introductory reflection on the COVID-19 epidemic, registered crime and police work in the field of crime investigation, especially during the first wave of the epidemic in the spring of 2020 in Slovenia as compared to the previous year. First, an analysis of recorded crime for the first nine months (January–September) of 2019 and 2020 is presented, followed by comparing the same period in the first wave of the epidemic from March to May 2020. Governmental measures for curbing the epidemic are also presented. The comparisons show that most recorded crimes decreased in Slovenia during the first wave of the epidemic in 2020 and the first nine months of 2020. We also present the opinions of the heads of criminal investigation sectors at the Criminal Police Directorate on the incidence and nature of criminal offences during the epidemic and the criminal police responses. The findings indicate the need for additional victimisation and self-reporting studies of delinquency, which could be a qualitative supplement to the official statistical data on recorded crime during the COVID-19 epidemic in Slovenia.
Meyer, Jaimie, Marisol Orihuela and Judith Resnik, ‘Tolerating the Harms of Detention, With and Without COVID-19’ in Glenn I Cohen et al (eds), COVID-19 and the Law: Disruption, Impact and Legacy (Cambridge University Press, 2023) 91–104 Abstract: This chapter analyzes how the experiences of COVID-19 for people in detention illuminate both the achievements and the limits of the previous decades. Health care became inscribed as a constitutional right of detainees and prisoners, yet its implementation remained elusive. COVID-19 underscored the total dependence of detained people on the governments that confine them and made vivid the health care failures endemic before COVID-19 and the degree of connection between prisons and the communities in which they sit. The divisive debates about regulation, government obligations, and the need for joint venturing to reduce the risk of disease have shaped the responses to COVID-19, in and outside the prison gates.
Mirić, Filip, ‘Preventing the Spread of the Covid-19 Disease: Criminal Law Aspect’ (2022) 20(2) Law and Politics 115–123 Abstract: The outbreak of the contagious disease COVID-19 has led to major changes in everyday life. There is almost no segment of life and work that has not been affected. In this context, the paper analyzes the criminal law aspect of preventing the spread of COVID-19 in the Republic of Serbia, by presenting two criminal offences whose incrimination is important for pandemic control: Failure to comply with the Health Regulations during an Epidemic (Article 248 CC) and Transmitting a Contagious Disease (Article 249 CC). The work of judicial bodies during the pandemic will be presented and analyzed with reference to the statistical data issued by the Statistics Office of the Republic of Serbia on the number of criminal reports, charges, convictions and sanctions imposed for the commission of these criminal offences in the first pandemic year (2020). The statistical data will provide a clear insight into the phenomenological characteristics of this form of crime in Serbia, which will enable the formulation of recommendations for improving the response of the criminal justice system de lege ferenda.
Miller, Antonia, ‘Lawcodes Report: New Criminal Penalties for COVID-19 Related Offences’ (2020) 32(4) Judicial Officers Bulletin 33–34Jurisdiction: Australia
Abstract: The Lawcodes database provides unique codes, called Law Part Codes, for all NSW offences and Commonwealth offences dealt with in NSW. These law part codes are intended to improve the operation of the criminal justice system in NSW through the exchange, between major criminal justice agencies, of standardised electronic information regarding offences.
Miller, J Mitchell and Alfred Blumstein, ‘Crime, Justice & the COVID-19 Pandemic: Toward a National Research Agenda’ (2020) 45(4) American Journal of Criminal Justice 515-524 Abstract: The novel corona virus COVID-19 has become a worldwide public health pandemic that has induced anomic conditions impacting daily routines. COVID-19 response measures specifically alter regular schedules and both restrict and expand opportunities for various types of crime while presenting unprecedented challenges for the criminal justice system. For criminologists and criminal justice scientists, the virus also presents natural experiment conditions allowing for real-world theory tests and observation of the relative effectiveness of practice and policy options under weighty conditions. Toward synthesizing scientific discourse and forthcoming empirical work, we suggest the benefits of a COVID-19 crime and justice research program and offer some anchoring concepts. Contagion, containment measures (social distancing, facemasks, shelter-in-place, economic shutdown, virtual work and schooling, banned group gatherings), and social ordinance compliance (voluntary or enforced) posture a conceptual framework from which to align research on crime, justice, and victimization during the virus. After observing crime trends and justice system challenges, we suggest how the pandemic presents opportunities for review of various criminal justice, especially incarceration, policies. System change is a recurring theme across this special issue of the American Journal of Criminal Justice that features twenty additional contributions from a wide range of authoritative crime and justice scholars. These articles on traditional crime during the virus, virus specific hate crime and domestic violence, and the challenges posed by COVID-19 to law enforcement, the courts, and corrections will hopefully provide initial commentary toward deeper inquiry.
Milo, Dario et al, ‘The Effect of COVID-19 on Cybersecurity and Cyber Breaches’ (2020) 20(6) Without Prejudice 19–20 Abstract: With more employees working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, the risk of cybercrime has escalated, and the need to have proper systems and procedures in place has become even more important.
Mim, Protyasha Ahmed, ‘The Rise of Violence and Inequality against Women during Covid-19 Pandemic in Bangladesh and Barriers to Legal Protection’ (2022) 3(1) Jus Corpus Law Journal 29–44 Abstract: This research addresses the surge of Gender-based violence against women in Bangladesh during the Covid-19 outbreak. By emphasizing the structural barriers to justice accessibility and the hardships victims have in receiving legal assistance and protection from the law. At the time of the hardest hit during the coronavirus pandemic, the court services were temporarily shut down. This made access to urgent legal support more difficult for the survivors of victims of gender-based violence as the level of violence against women and girls increased during Covid-19. This research aims to analyze statutory provisions regarding inequality and violence against women of Bangladesh and the effectiveness of their implementation in the situation of Corona Virus Pandemic, to identify the areas that need to be developed to provide legal support to the victims of violence during lockdown and dimensions of government responsiveness in this specific section of progressive social policies. A combination of qualitative method and empirical research methods have been adopted for this study. Mainly secondary data have been consulted for this Study to analyze the instruments regarding Gender-based violence against women and implementation, social phenomenon, and effectiveness of the laws to reduce gender crimes against women in the coronavirus pandemic. This study also aims to find out the factors which facilitate the rise of the level of violence against women, to identify the barriers to access justice and the way out for the victims of violence during Covid19.
Minkler, Meredith, Joseph Griffin and Patricia Wakimoto, ‘Seizing the Moment: Policy Advocacy to End Mass Incarceration in the Time of COVID-19’ (2020) 47(4) Health Education & Behavior 514–518 Abstract: The mass human and economic casualties wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the deep inequities at the base of the disproportionate losses and suffering experienced by diverse U.S. populations. But the urgency and enormity of unmet needs requiring bold policy action also provided a unique opportunity to learn from and partner with community-based organizations that often are at the frontlines of such work. Following a review of Kingdon’s model of the policy-making process, we illustrate how a partnership in a large California county navigated the streams in the policy-making process and used the window of opportunity provided by the pandemic to address a major public health problem: the incarceration of over 2 million people, disproportionately African American and Latinx, in overcrowded, unsafe jails, prisons, and detention centers. We highlight tactics and strategies used, challenges faced, and implications for health educators as policy advocates during and beyond the pandemic.
Minson, Shona and Catherine Flynn, ‘Symbiotic Harms of Imprisonment and the Effect on Children’s Right to Family Life: Comparing the Impact of Covid-19 Prison Visiting Restrictions in the UK and Australia’ (2021) 29(2) International Journal of Children’s Rights 305–325 Abstract: Measures taken by governments to address COVID-19 in prisons, have impacted significantly on the lives and rights of children. There has been consequential interference with children’s rights to family life and to contact with a parent from whom they have been separated. Since the onset of the pandemic, prisoners in many jurisdictions have lived under restricted regimes with almost universal bans on family visits. Children have not had face-to-face contact with their imprisoned parents, and alternate forms of contact have not always been available to them. Using survey and interview data collected during lockdowns in the UK and Australia, we consider the implications of the interference with the rights of children with an imprisoned parent. Focusing on their relationships, health and wellbeing and using the concept of symbiotic harms, we note how children’s experiences of the cessation of contact interacted with parents’ and caregivers’ experiences, amplifying the harms to children.
Mishra, Anubhav, ‘Prisoners’ Dilemma: Is India a Real Follower of Reformative Theory?’ (SSRN Scholarly Paper No ID 3710364, 3 October 2020) Abstract: Every citizen of India has fundamental rights guaranteed under the Indian Constitution and hence the Nation is obligated to furnish the quality of life to its subjects the citizens. But on the other hand it is unfortunate to say that a country like India has no proper implementation of prisoner’s rights. This paper mainly focuses on the right of Prisoners including those who are under trial and the responsibility of both legislation and judiciary to provide such fundamental rights which are very essential for the survival of humans which also includes personal liberty not just mere animal existence. This paper also covers the International as well as judicial perspective regarding the rights of prisoners as the honorable Supreme Court has highlighted that a prisoner, be it a convict or an under-trial, does not cease to be a living being and, while lodged in four walls of jail, he appreciates all his fundamental rights pleaded under the Constitution including the right to life. The author of this paper also focuses on the role of Jail authority and their liability for the suffering of prisoners during the time of Pandemic ‘COVID- 19’.
Mohler, George et al, ‘Impact of Social Distancing during COVID-19 Pandemic on Crime in Los Angeles and Indianapolis’ (2020) 68 (May-June) Journal of Criminal Justice Article 101692 Abstract: Governments have implemented social distancing measures to address the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The measures include instructions that individuals maintain social distance when in public, school closures, limitations on gatherings and business operations, and instructions to remain at home. Social distancing may have an impact on the volume and distribution of crime. Crimes such as residential burglary may decrease as a byproduct of increased guardianship over personal space and property. Crimes such as domestic violence may increase because of extended periods of contact between potential offenders and victims. Understanding the impact of social distancing on crime is critical for ensuring the safety of police and government capacity to deal with the evolving crisis. Understanding how social distancing policies impact crime may also provide insights into whether people are complying with public health measures. Examination of the most recently available data from both Los Angeles, CA, and Indianapolis, IN, shows that social distancing has had a statistically significant impact on a few specific crime types. However, the overall effect is notably less than might be expected given the scale of the disruption to social and economic life.
Molldrem, Stephen, Mustafa I Hussain and Alexander McClelland, ‘Alternatives to Sharing COVID-19 Data with Law Enforcement: Recommendations for Stakeholders’ [2020] Health Policy (advance article, published 7 November 2020) Abstract: During the COVID-19 pandemic, in some jurisdictions, police have become involved in enforcing coronavirus-related measures. Relatedly, several North American jurisdictions have established COVID-19 data sharing protocols with law enforcement. Research across a range of fields has demonstrated that involving police in matters of public health disproportionately impacts the most vulnerable and does more harm than good. This is reflected in the consensus against COVID-19 criminalization that has emerged among civil society organizations focused on HIV, human rights, and harm reduction. The European Data Protection Board has also released guidelines against re-uses of COVID-19 data for law enforcement purposes. This article offers an overview of the harms of criminalizing illnesses and strategies for health stakeholders to seek alternatives to sharing COVID-19 data with police agencies while facilitating interoperability with healthcare first responders. It also presents case studies from two North American jurisdictions – Ontario and Minnesota – that have established routine COVID-19 data sharing with police. We recommended seven alternatives, including designating COVID-19 data as sensitive and implementing segmented interoperability with first responder agencies. These guidelines can help ensure that health information technology platforms do not become vehicles for the criminalization of COVID-19, and that health data stay within the health system.
Moore, Kesha, ‘When an Arrest Becomes a Death Sentence: Overpopulation of U.S. Jails Increases the COVID-19 Threat to Every Community’ (SSRN Scholarly Paper No 4709348, 29 July 2020) Abstract: As the coronavirus continues to spread in the U.S. and surge in an increasing number of states, we must consider the role of jails in transmitting the virus. Even with highly effective social distancing outside of the jails, our national rates of COVID-19 deaths are projected to rise by 98% due to infections in jails. Jails act as a revolving door for the spread of COVID-19 in our communities. Inhabitants of the jails — both staff and incarcerated persons — come from our communities and soon return to them. Thus, the strategy of social distancing to limit the spread of COVID-19 can only be effective if it includes jails, which are a primary vector for the infection. In the age of COVID-19, an arrest could mean a death sentence because there is no way to effectively, safely, or fairly quarantine inside a jail. Jails are particularly vulnerable to rapid and severe outbreaks of COVID-19 because of the frequent movement in and out of jails from detainees and staff, the aggregation of people from a variety of geographic locations, the limited space available for medical isolation, the limited ability to practice disease prevention measures (e.g. handwashing) due to restrictions in access to soap, paper towels, and hand sanitizers; and the inability to social distance given the volume of people and the architectural design of the facilities. Numerous public officials can play a role in protecting the health and safety of our communities by reducing the jail population during this pandemic. When an Arrest Becomes a Death Sentence identifies the key front-end criminal justice system actors responsible for shaping the jail population and the actions they can take to protect everyone’s health and safety. To successfully address the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S., we must significantly reduce our jail population. Addressing pretrial detention enables us to protect public safety and improves our criminal justice system. These measures can be implemented quickly and will significantly improve safety for the staff and individuals held in jails and significantly improve safety for us all.
Moreira, Diana Nadine and Mariana Pinto da Costa, ‘The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic in the Precipitation of Intimate Partner Violence’ [2020] (July-August) International Journal of Law and Psychiatry Article 101606 Abstract: Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a global pandemic and many have been victims of it long before Covid-19. International organizations have documented an increase in IPV reports during the current pandemic, raising awareness of the potential causes for such an increase. Reflecting on risk factors associated with IPV, and the underlying need of the perpetrators to exert control over the victims, it becomes increasingly important to understand how the current policies of social distancing, self-isolation, and lockdown can precipitate episodes of IPV. Furthermore, access to specialized services and health care can be compromised, and health care professionals face new challenges and demands imposed by the pandemic while managing IPV cases. This article begins by examining the main risk factors more commonly associated with IPV in the literature. It proceeds by reflecting on how these risk factors may be exacerbated during the Covid-19 pandemic, which can explain the increased number of reports. Finally, it emphasizes the new challenges faced by health care professionals, while assisting IPV victims during the pandemic and provides possible recommendations on actions to implement during and beyond the Covid-19 pandemic to prevent such cases.
Mostyn, Ben and Niamh Kinchin, ‘Can I Leave the House? A Coded Analysis of the Interpretation of the Reasonable Excuse Provision by NSW Police During the COVID-19 Lockdown’ (2021) 49(3) Federal Law Review 465–495 Abstract: This article looks at the recent Public Health (COVID-19 Restrictions on Gathering and Movement) Order 2020, which was in force in New South Wales from 31 March 2020 to 14 May 2020. The order allowed police to fine people who left their houses without a ‘reasonable excuse’. This article considers the confusion around the order in the community and upper levels of the government. Publicly available information about the fines issued by the police is analysed and it is argued that an overly narrow application of the order by police meant that its application was not reasonably proportionate to the authorising legislation, the Public Health Act 2010 (NSW). It is concluded that if future lockdowns are required, care will need to be taken to ensure that Ministerial orders are crafted in line with the legislation and that police officers clearly understand their operation.
Mubarak, Syaugi, ‘Implementing the Fiqh of Disaster in Islamic Criminal Law Perspective and Legal Relevance of Mui’s Fatwas during the COVID-19 Pandemic’ (2023) 18(1) International Journal of Criminal Justice Sciences 79–96 Abstract: Islamic criminal law has co-existed as a major legal system along with other community laws. When pandemic occurred and instinbᾱth al hukm (fatwas) were issued by MUI, it was argued whether the noncompliance of these fatwas would be seen as a criminal offence under the Islamic criminal law; Islamic legal experts opine that kejahatan or any unlawful act that is injurious to human body, property or morals is a forbidden act and carries punishment under the category of criminal offence. This study aimed to establish how the fatwas of the MUI related to the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia were seen as disaster fiqh or legal maxims and whether they could be equivalent to the laws such as Law of the Republic of Indonesia, Number 24 of 2007, concerning Disaster Management; or Regulation No 21 of 2008 Implementation of Disaster Management. The fatwas of the MUI and sampled for this study were issued during 2020 and 2021. The results showed that the legal maxims in MUI fatwas during the COVID-19 pandemic were treated as a product of disaster fiqh. It was reiterated that the fiqh of disaster should be seen as a product of MUI’s ijtihad and that it can serve as a guide for Indonesian Muslims to regulate themselves during the pandemic. This study contributes to providing insights into the legal principles used in MUI fatwas during the pandemic.
Murphy, Brendon, ‘Case and Comment: Re Broes [2020] VSC 128’ (2020) 44(3) Criminal Law Journal 189–195 Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a disruptive effect in Australian criminal law, primarily because the processes involved in criminal prosecution are distinctly social in their character. Trials have been delayed, judge-only trials have replaced jury trials, and incarceration has become more onerous as correction facilities and prisons have gone into lockdown. For those who are in custody awaiting trial, this issue creates a specific problem linked to bail, as the courts strive to find a balance between ordering a person to extended detention in the absence of a conviction, and allowing the accused to return to the community where future re-offending may take place. This issue is neatly illustrated by a decision of Justice Lasry in the Victorian Supreme Court to grant bail in a case involving serious drug offences, which has rapidly become a beacon for bail decisions in that jurisdiction.
Murphy, Brendon and Tahlia Ferrari, ‘Bail in the Time of COVID-19’ (2020) 44(4) Criminal Law Journal 247–263 Abstract: One of the numerous and unexpected ways that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected Australian law and judicial practice, has been the impact on bail applications. In a very short space of time, a new body of jurisprudence has emerged in which the COVID virus has become a relevant factor in the determination of bail. This article considers the extent to which COVID has influenced bail decisions in New South Wales and Victoria, by analysing how COVID-19 has changed bail applications, and the impact this has on bail jurisprudence. In conclusion, we suggest that while COVID has been integrated into Australian law rapidly, it has done so with respect to existing categories including concerns centred around trial delay, potential exposure to the virus while incarcerated, increased health risks due to a compromised immune system, hardship on remand, and limits on access to legal representatives. While COVID has affected decision-making, it is one of many factors considered.
Murphy, Julian R, ‘Pandemic Sentence Remissions: A Model for Executive Decarceration during and Following COVID-19’ (2021) 33(1) Current Issues in Criminal Justice 47–53 Abstract: During the COVID-19 pandemic, prisoners around the world have been released from custody as a result of generally applicable government policies or individualised administrative decisions. This has brought to light the ways in which the Executive may, consistently with historical practice and contemporary exigencies, alter the effect of sentences imposed by the judiciary. In this comment, the author argues that this phenomenon also has implications for those prisoners who have not been released during the pandemic. Taking Australia as the immediate site for his intervention, Murphy argues that – under existing legislation – thousands of prisoners may now be eligible for sentence remissions to account for the especially onerous conditions of imprisonment during the pandemic. Many aspects of this proposal are modest, especially its framing within current doctrine. Yet the modesty of the proposal serves to uncover a middle ground for the meeting of criminal justice traditionalists and advocates of decarceration. Meaningful, if provisional, compromise on decarceration may be closer than we think.
Ndedi, Professor Alain, ‘Framework in Ending Gender-Based Violence with the Advent of the COVID 19 from an African Perspective’ (SSRN Scholarly Paper ID 3571319, 8 April 2020) Abstract: African countries have been among the last to be hit by the global coronavirus pandemic. Yet, as the cases rise and governments rightfully take the necessary measures to slow the spread of the virus, the continent is likely to face widespread economic fallout as business slows to a near halt. (Ndedi, 2020) The emerging evidence of the impact of the recent global pandemic of COVID-19 on violence against women and girls needs some attention. In this paper, we are making recommendations to be considered by all sectors of society, from governments to international organisations and to civil society organisations in order to prevent and respond to violence against gender-based violence, during, and after the public health crisis with examples of actions already taken. In view of economic impact of the pandemic and its implications for violence against women and girls in the long-term. This paper draws upon the knowledge and experience of a wide range of experts who support solutions to end violence against women and girls.
Nesbitt, Michael and Tara Hansen, ‘Enforcing Canadian Security Laws through Criminal Prosecutions during a Pandemic: Lessons from Canada’s COVID-19 Experience’ in Leah West, Thomas Juneau and Amarnath Amarasingam (eds), Stress Tested: The COVID-19 Pandemic and Canadian National Security (University of Calgary Press, 2021) 193 (open access E-book) Extract from Introduction: Emergencies of all kinds, pandemics being no exception, produce a host of acute challenges while simultaneously revealing and exacerbating latent systemic vulnerabilities. This chapter considers Canada’s experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on illuminating those most pressing challenges and vulnerabilities associated with enforcing security threats through the criminal law.
Nicolson, Donald and Jago Russell, ‘Covid-19 and Criminal Justice: Temporary Fixes or Long Term Reform?’ in Carla Ferstman and Andrew Fagan (eds), Covid-19, Law and Human Rights: Essex Dialogues (School of Law and Human Rights Centre, University of Essex, 2020) 207–215 Extract from Introduction: Countries across the globe have been struggling with the question of how to keep the wheels of justice turning during the Covid-19 pandemic. Accordingly, both the UK and Scottish governments have taken a number of measures to ensure the justice system does not grind to a halt despite rules requiring social isolation and social distancing. Most notably, they have moved court hearings (and even trials) online and the Scottish government has extended the exceptions to the hearsay rule to cover witnesses who cannot be in court because of Covid-19.
Nigam, Shalu, ‘COVID-19: India’s Response to Domestic Violence Needs Rethinking', South Asia Journal (14 May 2020) Abstract: This essay investigates the gaps in the state’s response in India to the increase in incidents of violence during the lockdown and argues that a robust comprehensive plan is required to address different aspects of violence women are facing in the largest democracy. The government cannot miss the chance to protect women from violence. In order to imagine a gender just violence free world, the need is to impose the lockdown on the collective imagination that reiterate gender stereotypical notions and to put the viruses of patriarchy and poverty in quarantine and isolation forever. By maintaining social distancing with the misogynist ideas and developing a plan to eliminate inequalities in all forms, gender justice and human rights could be achieved and the rights guaranteed under the Article 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution can be reclaimed.
Nigam, Shalu, ‘COVID-19: Right to Life with Dignity and Violence in Homes’ (2020) 11(1) SPRI Vision 97–99 Abstract: COVID-19 has caused illness and deaths worldwide, and at the same time, it has also re-exposed many other worst vulnerabilities that exist within the society since ages. The fragility of the pandemic has gender dimensions. Patriarchal violence is existing for ages, yet it is manifesting itself extensively now. For instance, during the lockdown, the violence against women and children has risen within homes. This is despite the fact that during COVID-19, home has emerged as a significant space which could provide safety from the spread of the disease. Countries worldwide have enacted special policies and programs to deal with increasing violence against women in homes during the pandemic. In India, the stakes are high as almost half a billion women stay at risk. Therefore, there is a need to evolve a comprehensive robust response plan to tackle the emerging challenges. The Supreme court recently gave directions regarding the provisions of Shramik trains, food and work among other facilities to the migrant workmen, however, the urgent need is also to permanently notify domestic violence as an `essential service’ to ensure that in calamities or otherwise support to women victims remain available round the clock. Also, plans have to be made to support women who walked back while facing adversities. Schemes for compensation and rehabilitation packages are essential to support children who are being orphaned or are facing risk due to the pandemic. Moreover, as the restrictions are being eased down, it is crucial to recognize the link between the consumption of liquor by men and its proportionality to the incidences of abuse against women as been highlighted by several anti-arrack movements led earlier. While dealing with the virus, it is vital that all other existing ailments that this pandemic is fueling, be taken care of, such as patriarchy, discrimination, poverty, inequalities among others which are adversely affecting the society. Scientists will find the treatment for coronavirus, but for all other anathemas, the society has to find a permanent cure. Article 21 of the constitution guarantees life with dignity. But the fact remains that domestic violence existed earlier and is increasing during the pandemic denying women their basic survival. Unless the state holds perpetrators accountable, it is not going to disappear. A campaign to spread a strong message that there is a zero-tolerance for violence against women is essential. In the long term, the need is to address entrenched structural discrimination in order to eliminate patriarchy and to restore the right to dignified life for every person. In the post-COVID world, the society needs to isolate the patriarchal notions and quarantine the misogyny to reimagine the violence-free gender-just world.
Nikolovska, Manja and Shane D Johnson, ‘Covid-19 and Future Threats: A Law Enforcement Delphi Study’ (Dawes Centre for Future Crime at UCL, November 2022) Abstract: On 30 January 2020 the World Health Organisation declared the outbreak of Covid-19 a ‘Public Health Emergency of International concern’ which posed an unprecedented threat. Chief police officers recognised that quick decisions needed to be taken, working with partners to ensure public safety and to help contain the spread of the virus. The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) assumed the lead for the national policing response, using an enhanced cross portfolio command structure named Operation Talla. The work described in this report was commissioned by the NPCC and conducted by the Dawes Centre for Future Crime at UCL, in consultation with Op Talla, to understand the effects of the pandemic on the policing response and future impacts.
Nomani, MZM and Zafar Hussain, ‘Health Rights of Prisoners and Prison Law Reforms during COVID-19 Pandemic in India’ (2022) 21(4) Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science 893–900 Abstract: The National Crime Record Bureau and the Prison Statistics India, 2020 report on the overcrowding and occupancy in jails has ripple effect on the spread of the COVID-19.The protection to health freedoms of detainees and prisoners reflected in the World Health Organization (WHO) Guidance on COVID-19 for Prisons and Detention, 2020. The Indian jails have congestion and inhabitance and prone to contagion disease. The COVID-19 has an expanding transmission among detainees in prisons, jails and detention homes. The paper tracks the salubrious results of the international legal norms and national precedents of High Courts and Supreme Court in heralding systemic prison reform. The compliance of WHO Interim Guidance on Preparedness, Prevention and Control of COVID-19 In Prisons and Other Places of Detention, 2020 cultivated robust criminal administration during COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown in India. The judgment of High Courts and Supreme Court on prison reform during the COVID-19 pandemic in India has resulted in Health Rights of Prisoners and Prison Law Reforms during COVID-19 Pandemic in India. It also refurbished the medical services in correctional facilities and confinement homes in criminal justice system.
Nomani, MZM et al, ‘Quarantine Law Enforcement and Corona Virus (COVID-19) Pandemic in India’ (2020) 14(4) Journal of Xidian University 536–542 Abstract: The classical remedies for quarantine law enforcement are rooted to development of legal theory as a body of rules and principles of common law. The earliest precedent of quarantine law dates back to the 1824 in Gibbons v. Ogden ruling of full bench of United States Supreme Court. The Indian Penal Code, 1860 contains provisions on public health and safety to deal the quarantine enforcement. The Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 as a special law applied to the containment of epidemics like cholera, malaria, dengue, swine flu and COVID-19 in India. The nation-wide lockdown, from March 25, 2020 to April 14, 2020 uniquely added Disaster Management Act, 2005 for the preventive strategy of the COVID-19. The paper takes a legal stance on the quarantine law enforcement in sanctioning the lockdown and social distancing rule in the light ruling of Federal Court of San Fransisco in Jew Ho v. Williamson and Indian Supreme Court decisions in Municipal Council Ratlam v. Vardichand and Alakh Alok Srivastava v. Union of India to meet the contemporary challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in India.
Noor, Muhammad Nouman and Farah Haneef, ‘Threat of Crimes Related to Robbery During Covid-19: Special Focus on Pakistan’ (SSRN Scholarly Paper No ID 3830792, 20 April 2021) Abstract: Corona virus which is also called as COVID-19 outbreaks first time in Wuhan, city of China in December, 2019 and then spread all over the world. Currently, it is also declared as global pandemic by World Health Organization (WHO) as not even a single country of world is left which is safe from this disease. As per International Labor Organization (ILO), this global pandemic can cause different threats on the population like hunger, unemployment and financial cries. These crises may cause increase in crimes like robbery. In this paper we have discussed the facts and figures about the threats caused by COVID-19. We also elaborated the threat of crimes like robbery and discussed some technological preventive measures like Drones, Intelligent CCTV Cameras, Central Command & Control Centers and Artificial Intelligent Sensors which can be adopted to stop the robberies during the pandemic as Police will be mostly dealing to ensure check and balance of SOPs developed for stopping spread of corona virus.
Nott, Emma, ‘Addressing Domestic Abuse before, during and after the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Perspective from within the Criminal Justice System of England and Wales’ [2022] (7) Criminal Law Review 525–544 Abstract: The article aims to examine the issue of domestic abuse as a shadow pandemic in the UK through exploration of the legislative framework and through description of events as they unfolded during the pandemic, with a particular focus on the criminal justice system.
Novak, Andrew and Daniel Pascoe, ‘Executive Clemency During the Coronavirus Pandemic: A Global Analysis of Law and Practice’ (2022) International Criminology (advance article, published online 17 February 2022) Abstract: Because of the threat that Covid-19 poses to incarcerated populations, executives around the world have used their clemency powers to commute sentences and grant freedom to prisoners in high-risk categories. Coronavirus pardons may be justified on several theories of punishment and have been exercised alongside bureaucratic forms of legal mercy such as parole and compassionate release. Although executive clemency is residual in most legal systems, the novel coronavirus has reactivated the pardon power in many jurisdictions, overcoming significant legal and procedural barriers, albeit with exclusions for particular crimes and categories of offender. This article relays recent global trends in executive clemency granted as a result of Covid-19, drawing out relevant lessons for the academic literature on the topic, as well as for policymakers dealing with future pandemics and other emergencies.
Nowotny, Kathryn et al, ‘COVID-19 Exposes Need for Progressive Criminal Justice Reform’ (2020) 110(7) American Journal of Public Health 967–968 Abstract: Although some correctional entities have embraced the need for temporary reforms, many others remain opposed. This crisis reiterates the need for progressive criminal justice policy reforms—in particular, the wider adoption of compassionate release and the elimination of cash bail—and has shown that policy change is possible. Immediate action will have a positive impact on slowing the spread of COVID-19 and should become standard practice to alleviate the health harms caused by mass incarceration.
Nuñez, Fernando, ‘Reentering During a Pandemic’ (2020) 168(Special Issue: Law Meets World) UCLA Law Review Discourse 144–154 Abstract: Criminal record clearing remains an important tool to combat the overrepresentation of Black and Latinx people in unemployment and homelessness statistics that is a consequence of systemic racism. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these barriers by making it harder to clear criminal records while increasing the demand for employment and housing. Specifically, the pandemic has made it difficult to access vital criminal records, access the courts, and access reentry service providers. In so doing, the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to increase the existing racial disparities in access to jobs, housing, and other important areas of life. The pandemic, however, presents an opportunity for innovation and adaptation in the provision of reentry services with a race equity lens. It is something that reentry advocates have long called for.
Nurhafifah and Teuku Irvan Riyadi, ‘Implementation of Assimilation of Criminals in the Time of the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Study in the Legal Area of Class IIA Prisons in Banda Aceh’ (2021) 5(3) Syiah Kuala Law Journal 305–316 Abstract: The Decree of the Minister of Law and Human Rights Number M.HH-19.PK.01.04.04 of 2020 concerning the Release and Release of Prisoners and Children Through Assimilation and Integration in the Context of Prevention and Control of the Spread of Covid-19 stated that the provision of assimilation was given to reduce the prevention of Covid-19 However, in the implementation of the assimilation of prisoners at the Class IIA prison in Banda Aceh, it is still not running optimally due to increasing public concerns and unrest amid economic difficulties as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. In an effort to provide assimilation of inmates with the Assessment and Supervision system of officers to assimilation prisoners at the Class IIA Banda Aceh Prison, the prisoners must behave well, as evidenced by not undergoing disciplinary punishment within the last 6 months.
Nwokeke, Chidera, ‘Does the Law Support the Grant of Posthumous Pardon in Nigeria?’ (SSRN Scholarly Paper ID 3579276, 18 April 2020) Abstract: This article examines the position of our law with regards to granting of posthumous pardon. Who can benefit from presidential pardon? The effect of presidential pardon and its impact on COVID-19.
Oliva, Jennifer D, ‘Policing Opioid Use Disorder in a Pandemic’ University of Chicago Law Review Online (forthcoming) Abstract: This essay examines the federal government’s pandemic-provoked waiver of long-standing legal and regulatory barriers to evidence-based opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment aimed at enhancing access to OUD care while mitigating the risk of exposure to COVID-19. OUD is a highly stigmatized, chronic neurological disease with a poorly understood etiology. The prevailing approach in the United States, however, has been to criminalize individuals with OUD. This is because U.S. drug policy has been long dominated by the antiquated view that OUD is a deviant moral failing that deserves prosecution instead of a complex health care condition that demands evidence-based treatment. The persistence of such anti-scientific theories about OUD motivated the federal government’s creation of a surveille-and-supervise regulatory regime that isolates OUD treatment from the traditional health care delivery system and prioritizes the policing of individuals with OUD over the provision of expansive access to care. Unlike prior U.S. drug crises, which were attributed to the alleged immoral nature of targeted racial and ethnic minority groups, the country’s current drug use and overdose dilemma has been characterized as a predominantly rural and suburban white American problem instigated by clinical overprescribing and the aggressive and fraudulent marketing of opioid analgesics. This popular narrative, which shifts blame for use disorder from the white ‘victim,’ to unscrupulous prescribers and Big Pharma, changed the substance use disorder solutions rhetoric from policing and punishment to public health interventions. Consequently, federal health officials were more amenable to policies aimed at enhancing assess to OUD treatment as the novel coronavirus began to sweep over the United States in early months of 2020. In fact, they quickly waived several of the rigid federal legal requirements that attend to OUD treatment—and have long-obstructed access to OUD therapeutics—at the inception of the COVID-19 national health emergency. The federal government’s decision to waive certain access to treatment barriers for individuals with OUD was a long overdue positive development. There is no question that the federal agencies that oversee the draconian U.S. OUD therapeutic regulatory regime ought to make those waivers permanent post-pandemic. This essay argues, however, that the benefits of the OUD-related COVID-19 waivers have disproportionately inured to individuals who use buprenorphine and are overwhelmingly white at the expense of individuals who use methadone and are overwhelmingly persons of color. This is particularly tragic given that it was considerably easier to obtain a prescription for officed-based buprenorphine than access methadone administration treatment under the drug control regulatory regime pre-pandemic. The essay concludes by advancing a series of additional reforms beyond the current COVID-19 waivers that the federal government should adopt to ensure more equitably enhance access to OUD treatment.
Olujobi, Olusola Joshua and Tunde Ebenezer Yebisi, ‘Tackling Corruption in the Distribution of Covid-19 Palliatives and Public Health Facilities in Nigeria: Legal Insights and Strategic Blueprint for Future Emergencies’ (2023) Journal of Financial Crime (advance article, published online 14 August 2023) Abstract: The purpose of this study is to examine the corruption prevalent in the distribution of COVID-19 palliatives during the lockdown and movement restrictions in the country. This study seeks to analyse the current state of corruption in the distribution of COVID-19 palliatives and public health facilities in Nigeria while also providing a legal insight and strategic blueprint to combat corruption. To this end, this study will address the current legal framework for combating corruption and build upon this to formulate a working strategy for tackling corruption in the future. Using a doctrinal legal research methodology, this study draws upon existing literature, tertiary data sources and information from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control. The collected data is analysed and compared with current literature to identify key findings. Rent-seeking and utilitarian theories of the law were examined to guide this study. This study offers useful insights into combating corruption. The use of this method is justified, as it enhances the credibility of the findings on the importance of strategies for future emergencies. This legal research approach is consistent with the law and can be easily verified. The empirical aspect of this study involved a survey of multidimensional health-care and economic data set of 36 states in Nigeria plus the Federal Capital Territory on COVID-19 in Nigeria. A survey linearised regression model was estimated to determine the influence of government revenue and public health-care facilities in the control of the virus spread in Nigeria. Findings This study reveals the need for emphasis on the imperative of combating corruption in the distribution of COVID-19 palliatives and establishing economic resilience through transparent and accountable practices, supported by legal frameworks. Rent-seeking and utilitarian theories of law are evaluated because of their impacts on combating corruption. The limitation of this study is the intricacy of gathering data on COVID-19 palliatives corruption in Nigeria because of secrecy and the absence of reliable data on the subject. Practical implications Estimating the exact number of stolen palliatives and their fiscal impact on Nigeria’s economy proves to be a formidable task because of the covert nature of corruption. This study equips policymakers in Nigeria with a better understanding of the legal challenges posed by corruption in the health care sector and provides an effective strategy to combat it. The lack of reliable data on the extent of palliative theft hinders the ability of lawmakers to enact effective legislation and strategies for combating corruption in the distribution of COVID-19 palliatives and addressing future emergencies in Nigeria. The policy implications of this study can assist policymakers in Nigeria and other countries in formulating measures to combat corruption in the distribution of COVID-19 palliatives and other future emergencies. Furthermore, it recommends the overhaul of anti-corruption laws and mechanisms in Nigeria to ensure effective measures against corruption. In conclusion, this study contributes to knowledge by proposing a legal model centred on people’s participation to enhance transparency and accountability in future palliative distribution processes. This study recommends legal strategies that can effectively address corruption in future emergencies or shocks. This study proposes a strategic blueprint to tackle corruption in the future. This blueprint includes an analysis of existing laws and regulations, as well as potential policy changes and legislative reform. This study also includes recommendations for improved enforcement and oversight mechanisms and for improved public awareness and education. As part of this, this study considers the potential for public–private partnerships to increase transparency and accountability in public health and health-care services.
Omar, Habibah, Indrawati S.h and Che Audah Hassan, ‘Law Enforcement Issues During Covid-19: Experience from Malaysia and Indonesia’ (2021) 6(SI6) Environment-Behaviour Proceedings Journal_ _Abstract: This article examines the legal issues relating to the State Administrators’ enforcement of policies, rules, and decision-making in Malaysia and Indonesia during the pandemic from the perspective of administrative law. The State Administrators have come out with various Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) that impacted the people. It is argued that administrative law can discern potential abuse by State administrators while enforcing the law. This article will examine the enforcement issues in both nations by utilizing doctrinal and comparative analysis. Consequently, some exercise of discretion of the executive can be questioned and challenged under the purview of administrative law.
Ong, Nathan and Thomas Lim, ‘TraceTogether and the Doctrine of Legitimate Expectation’ [2021] Singapore Comparative Law Review 42–56 Abstract: On 4 January 2021, the Minister of State for Home Affairs Mr. Desmond Tan stated in Parliament that the police were able to obtain any data under Singapore’s jurisdiction for the purposes of criminal investigations, including data obtained from the mobile application ‘TraceTogether’,’ developed by Singapore’s Ministry of Health and Government Technology Agency (GovTech) for contact-tracing purposes in relation to the spread of the Covid-19 virus. These powers are derived from the Criminal Procedure Code (s. 20 CPC). This contradicted a privacy statement on the TraceTogether website and an assurance from the minister responsible that the data would only be used ‘for contact tracing purposes’. Following public outcry, the Singapore government announced that it would pass a law to formalise assurances made earlier that data from the Covid-19 TraceTogether contact-tracing programmes, if needed, could only be used in investigations pertaining to serious crimes. We will discuss the doctrine of legitimate expectation in the context of an action brought on the grounds of ministerial statements in the public law of Singapore and England, as elucidated by the controversy regarding the use of TraceTogether data for the purposes of criminal investigations. This will be done in two parts. Firstly, through an exploration of a hypothetical judicial review of a case based on issues surfaced by the TraceTogether controversy, we will compare the outcomes in the two jurisdictions. Secondly, we will trace how both jurisdictions have reasoned the existence of the doctrine. This will allow us to identify the public law principles influencing the conceptual basis of the doctrine, and how that leads to the results in our hypothetical case.
Osler, Mark William, ‘Criminal Justice Amid the Pandemic of 2020’ (Univerity of St Thomas (Minnesota) Legal Studies Research Paper No 20–23, 2020) Abstract: Tragedy is the very nature of criminal law. Every bit of it is about tragedy, from the pain of the victims to the harm done to offenders through punishment. The enterprise as a whole, even at its best, presents a practical and spiritual challenge to those that work within its dirty, clanking machinery. And then came 2020, bringing with it a pandemic which ravaged prisons, shuts down the courts, and destroyed the economy, especially for the least among us. Like a snow-globe that reveals its nature when shaken, the shocks of 2020 have revealed a striking and unsettling picture of criminal justice in the United States.This book chapter is a first cut at describing some of that picture. It looks at the impact of the pandemic on prisons and jails, on crime, on its intersection with the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers, and something more deeply hidden but significant: 2020’s grinding away of the last bits of emotional connection to their work for some of the people who work in this dystopian system.
Owa, Funmilola Temitope et al, ‘Impact of COVID-19 on Community Relationship and Technical Preparedness of Law Enforcement Agencies in Nigeria’ (2020) 5(2) KOGJOURN 128–143 Abstract: The covid-19 pandemic has activated business unusual for the Nigeria law enforcement agencies and fashion unprecedented challenges as crime patterns went virtual away from the physical search, arrest and charge which the agencies are used to. Station offices went dry as reactive policing; complainants coming to report cease due to the implementation of covid-19 safety protocols. It is against this backdrop that this study investigates the impact of covid-19 on community relationship and technical preparedness of law enforcement agencies in Nigeria. The study focused on Department of State Services, The Nigeria Police Force, The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and The Economic and Financial Crime Commission in Ilorin, Kwara State. The study engaged survey research design; questionnaires were designed in five-point Likert scale to extract primary data. The questionnaires were purposively distributed to officers of these security agencies, simple ordinary regression was used to analyze the data. This study was underpinned by the crime pattern theory. Findings from the study revealed that covid-19 has a significant and positive effect on community relationship and technical preparedness of the Nigeria law enforcement agencies. Thus, the study recommends that the laws enforcement agencies should use the Covid-19 period to educate, enlighten the populace and link the endangered one to palliative centers rather that the extortion and harassment of the people while government and head of these security agencies should step up the technological and trained manpower level to be equal with the world best standard and practice on law enforcement.
Pang, Dongmei and a Jiahui Ma, ‘Criminal Law Regulation of Criminal Acts Involving COVID-19 Epidemic’ 13(1) Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Law 181–205 Jurisdiction: China
Abstract: On the eve of the 2020 Spring Festival, the new coronavirus pneumonia broke out, normal social order was affected, and crimes involving the epidemic increased. On February 6, 2020, the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of Justice jointly issued ‘Opinions on Punishment of Crimes Obstructing the Prevention and Control of the Novel Coronavirus Infection Pneumonia Epidemic According to Law’, which clearly stipulates nine types of crimes that hinder the prevention and control of the epidemic. In order to clarify and solve some outstanding problems of inconsistent understanding of the application of laws in the practice of epidemic prevention and control, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate selected cases that accounted for a large portion of cases, reflected many problems, and urgently required practical practices; they then issued ten batches of ‘Typical Cases of Crimes Obstructing the Prevention and Control of the New Coronary Pneumonia Epidemic by Procuratorial Organs across the Country’. This article is mainly based on the ‘Prosecutors across the country handle typical cases of crimes obstructing the prevention and control of the new crown pneumonia epidemic in accordance with the law’, analyzing economic and property crimes, crimes that disrupt the order of social management, and crimes that endanger public safety.
‘Parole Board’ [2020] (July) Public Law 569–570Jurisdiction: UK
Abstract: Highlights the Parole Board’s February 2020 publication of its Operational Protocol to make transparent to the public, prisoners and victims the procedures it will follow when taking decisions. Notes the May 2020 release of its Strategy and Business Plan for 2020-2022, its guidance on the holding of oral and remote hearings during the coronavirus pandemic, and its collation of decisions under the reconsideration mechanism introduced in June 2019.
Parpworth, Neil, ‘Refusing to Provide a Name and Address and the Common Law Right to Remain Silent: Neale v Director of Public Prosecutions [2021] EWHC 658 (Admin)’ (2021) 85(4) The Journal of Criminal Law 325–328 Abstract: On the facts, since the appellant was suspected of having breached the Coronavirus Regulations and was refusing to provide his name and address, his arrest was clearly lawful. The appellant was acquitted on a separate charge, that of being in a public place without a reasonable excuse contrary to regs 8(1) and 12(1)(b) and (4) of the Coronavirus Regulations, on the basis that since he was homeless he was entitled to rely on the exception provided for in reg 8(4). They did so on the basis that the police officer had been carrying out his duties during lockdown in enforcing the Coronavirus Regulations and that the appellant’s behaviour had made it more difficult for the officer to engage with him regarding a potential breach of the Regulations.
Parween, Shabnam, Mazhar Shamsi Ansary and Santosh Kumar Behera, ‘Criminal Activities During COVID-19: Evidence from India’ in Nadia Mansour and Lorenzo M. Bujosa Vadell (eds), Finance, Law, and the Crisis of COVID-19: An Interdisciplinary Perspective (Springer, 2022) 173–191 Abstract: The CVOID-19 Pandemic increased the hardships of millions of people all over the world and also increased the disparity between the rich and the poor with rising unemployment, loss of educational days, institutional failure, infrastructural collapse, malnourishment and malnutrition due to the stringent lockdown measures which forced numerous sections of society into the brink of poverty and destitute. The pandemic has led to multifarious problems require multi-stakeholder approach. The problem of rising criminal behaviour and the increasing crime rates coupled with the failure of the law enforcement institutions to tackle the challenges due to overload, shortage of manpower and the uniqueness of the problem has posed a serious problem to the law-and-order situation of the country. The problem becomes chronic due to the rising technical nature of crimes requiring adequately trained manpower to deal with such issues as well as the necessary dedicated infrastructural support to complement such efforts. The aspect of policy development as a base to cater and legally recognize such nature of crimes also becomes a challenge due to the pandemic induced lockdown and protocols which is crippling the law-making power of the legislatures severely. Based on qualitative approach, this paper tries to study the rising nature of crime and criminal activities in India during the COVID-19 pandemic, reasons and various probable actions and measures to be taken to solve these criminal activities.
Pasculli, Lorenzo, ‘Coronavirus and Fraud in the UK: From the Responsibilisation of the Civil Society to the Deresponsibilisation of the State’ (2020) 25(2) Coventry Law Journal 3–23 Abstract: The sudden move of our lives online during the coronavirus pandemic has dramatically increased fraud risks. The personal and economic harms are enormous. The UK Government is responding with a two-fold approach. On the one hand, it relies on traditional law enforcement. On the other hand, it seeks to encourage individuals, businesses and public agencies to take responsibility in controlling and preventing crime by changing their practices through information campaigns and risk assessment and management., a strategy known as ‘responsibilisation’. While literature in the last few decades has broadly analysed the social implications of responsibilisation on crime control in general, not many studies have focused on the specific area of financial crime. This study assesses the UK response to COVID-19-related fraud risks in light of the literature on responsibilisation through a comparative review of different policies and practices by various government agencies. Our analysis will reveal that the UK Government’s two-fold approach to fraud and financial crime is inherently inadequate to effectively prevent crime. Strained law enforcement agencies and regulators struggle to cope with the high numbers of reported frauds. As a result, both deterrence and retribution are undermined. On the other hand, the fixation on the surgical identification, dissection and rectification of a myriad of micro-situations that can entail a risk of crime causes the government to lose sight of the root causes of crime - biological, psychological, social, cultural, economic and political. After our critical discussion, we will put forwards some recommendations to improve not only COVID-19-related anti-fraud policies and practices but, more generally, the response to fraud and financial crime.
Pawluczuk-Bucko, Paulina, ‘The Impact of the Pandemic on Economic Crime’ (2021) 26(6) Bialystok Legal Studies / Bialostockie Studia Prawnicze 71–84 Abstract: This paper aims to outline possible directions of criminal activity that are part of both state and global economic crime. It is not a novelty that periods of economic crises carry particular criminogenic potential, affecting the scale and dynamics of specific crime categories. The ongoing pandemic makes precise data collection or statistical calculations, in the context of the problems described in this paper, difficult. Nevertheless, at this stage, it is possible to indicate certain areas which, from the perspective of criminal law, should be of interest for criminal law specialists, but also criminologists aiming to develop tools to combat the most serious pathologies in business trading.
Payne, Brian K, ‘Criminals Work from Home during Pandemics Too: A Public Health Approach to Respond to Fraud and Crimes against Those 50 and Above’ (2020) 45(4) American Journal of Criminal Justice 563-577 Abstract: This paper uses the public health framework to address the apparent impact of the coronavirus on the victimization experiences with a specific focus given to those over the age of 50. The bulk of attention is given to fraud victimization, with consideration also given to parent abuse, partner violence, and patient abuse. A review of data from the Federal Trade Commission shows that reports of most types of fraud grew significantly in the first three months of 2020 in comparison to the same time period in 2019. Differences between fraud experiences based on age are considered. Older persons lost much more to fraud than younger persons, and far more in 2020 than 2019. In addition, they reported being targeted more often for certain types of cybercrime (i.e., tech support scams). While devastating to everyone, it is concluded that the coronavirus will potentially have a more significant impact on the financial health of older persons than younger persons. It is concluded that minimizing the consequences of all forms of crimes targeting older adults will be best achieved by using a public health approach.
Pejaković-Đipić, Silvija and Željko Karas, ‘Two-Witness Rule During Home Search in the Light of the Covid Pandemic’ (2022) 6 EU and Comparative Law Issues and Challenges Series (ECLIC) 315–329 Abstract: Authors are analysing the extent of acceptance of rule on mandatory presence of two witnesses during a home search in national criminal proceedings in EU Member States. While some police powers in Croatia are regulated using modern forms of protection of suspects’ rights, some other investigative actions are regulated using rules that are uncommon in EU. Home search has a historic model of obligatory presence of two witnesses. These witnesses are often randomly selected among citizens, they are not legal professionals. A suspect has no right to reject witnesses if he considers that they could violate his privacy or health rights. Besides that, the Two-witness Rule has a peculiar impact on the evidence law. Items found during home search cannot be legally used if only one witness was present. According to such consequence, this rule actually requires a certain number of witnesses to prove a fact. Such requirements on number of witnesses have been abandoned in modern evidence law. The results of the analysis of the EU Member States show that the rule on the mandatory presence of two witnesses is widespread only in some post-communist systems. When it comes to EU criminal procedure codes (CPCs), the mandatory presence of witnesses exists in Croatian, Slovenian and Bulgarian CPC. The study is showing influence of former Russian CPC in post-Soviet era as well as the influence of former Yugoslav CPC. Regarded as the relic of the past, these procedural guarantees of home inviolability in the cases of home search should be reassessed and improved. In the context of COVID crisis, mandatory presence of witnesses presents challenge for the protection of suspect’s and witnesses’ health. Observed from the suspect’s right to protect his health or the witnesses’ right not to expose themselves to potentially health endangered situations, finding witnesses presents even more complexed mission. If the suspect is in COVID quarantine and the search must be conducted, can witnesses be forced to enter such premises? In case that suspect requires fully vaccinated witnesses who can present valid COVID Certificate or negative PCR test, how could his requirement be fulfilled? The possible solution for both evidence law and health reasons could be the use of modern technologies such as video recording that could replace mandatory witnesses presence. Finally, it would be more appropriate to respect the suspect’s choice on protection of his rights or to use modern technical means or defence lawyer, as in other investigative actions in criminal procedure.
Peršak, Nina, ‘COVID-19 and the Social Responses Thereto: Penal and Criminological Lessons, Human Rights and Rule of Law Implications’ (2020) 28(3) European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice 205–216 Abstract: There are many humbling lessons to be learnt from the social response to this virus, lessons that criminal law and criminological field can put into perspective, and it is a few of those lessons that will be addressed in this editorial.
Piquero, Alex R et al, ‘Staying Home, Staying Safe? A Short-Term Analysis of COVID-19 on Dallas Domestic Violence’ (2020) 45(4) American Journal of Criminal Justice 601-635 Abstract: COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on the lives of persons around the world and social scientists are just beginning to understand its consequences on human behavior. One policy that public health officials put in place to help stop the spread of the virus were stay-at-home/shelter-in-place lockdown-style orders. While designed to protect people from the coronavirus, one potential and unintended consequence of such orders could be an increase in domestic violence – including abuse of partners, elders or children. Stay-at-home orders result in perpetrators and victims being confined in close quarters for long periods of time. In this study, we use data from Dallas, Texas to examine the extent to which a local order was associated with an increase in domestic violence. Our results provide some evidence for a short-term spike in the 2 weeks after the lockdown was instituted but a decrease thereafter. We note that it is difficult to determine just how much the lockdown was the cause of this increase as the domestic violence trend was increasing prior to the order.
Pires de Vasconcelos, Natalia, Maíra Rocha Machado and Daniel Wang, ‘COVID-19 in Prisons: A Study of Habeas Corpus Decisions by the São Paulo Court of Justice’ [2020] Revista de Administração Pública (forthcoming) Abstract: Brazil has become the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Global South—a pandemic that disproportionately affects vulnerable populations, especially those detained and imprisoned. Legal institutions are struggling to respond. In this paper, we focus on the National Council of Justice’s Recommendation 62, issued March 17, 2020, which recommends that judges take several measures to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection in prisons. We test this recommendation’s impact by looking at habeas corpus decisions in the São Paulo Court of Justice. The exploratory findings presented here indicate that Recommendation 62 has little impact on habeas decisions. In general, citing the recommendation does not lead the Court to grant early release or house arrest to those detained, and most habeas actions are decided against petitioners. This is true even when petitioners claim to be part of a risk group or their alleged offense did not involve violence or serious threat—factors that should favor habeas relief under Recommendation 62.
‘Police Minister Welcomes the Decrease in Serious and Violent Crimes since the Lockdown: Info’ (2020) 113(5) Servamus Community-based Safety and Security Magazine 57Jurisdiction: South Africa
Abstract: During April 2020, the Minister of Police, Gen Bheki Cele, welcomed the general decrease in serious and violent crimes, attributing this to, among others, the prohibition of the sale and movement of liquor since the COVID-19 nationwide lockdown.
Policing and Society: An International Journal of Research and Policy (2021) 31(5): The Policing and Public Health Interface: Critical Issues From the COVID-19 PandemicNote: this Special Issue of Policing and Society includes the following articles. Some are freely available (links to these free articles are provided) and others are pay per view or by subscription only.
- Ian Stanier and Jordan Nunan, ‘The Impact of COVID-19 on UK Informant Use and Management’ 512–529
- Francesca Menichelli, ‘Preventing Crises in the Midst of a Global Pandemic: Responsiveness, Participation and Equity in Policing and Public Health Partnerships During COVID-19’ 530-543
- Alex Workman, Erin Kruger & Tinashe Dune ‘Policing Victims of Partner Violence During COVID-19: A Qualitative Content Study on Australian Grey Literature’ 544-564
- Richard Abayomi Aborisade & Dooshima Dorothy Gbahabo, ‘Policing the Lockdown: Accounts of Police Officers’ Aggression and Extortion of Frontline Health Workers in Nigeria’ 565-582
- Zoha Waseem, ‘Policing COVID-19 through Procedural Informality in Pakistan’ 583–600
- McCarthy, Molly et al, ‘Policing COVID-19 Physical Distancing Measures: Managing Defiance and Fostering Compliance among Individuals Least Likely to Comply’ 601–620
- Deckert, Antje et al, ‘“Safer Communities … Together”? Plural Policing and COVID-19 Public Health Interventions in Aotearoa New Zealand’ 621–637
Abstract: The article offers information on the U.S. federal criminal justice system which is driven by a deep-seated commitment to putting people in prison for really long periods of time. It discusses that even the basic screening questionnaire for those entering the facility is deficient, failing to ask about common symptoms of COVID-19 as the Second Circuit explained, Congress contemplated that a range of possible circumstances, including long sentences, could qualify as a compelling basis.
Posick, Chad et al, ‘Child Victim Services in the Time of COVID-19: New Challenges and Innovative Solutions’ (2020) 45(4) American Journal of Criminal Justice 680-689Jurisdiction: USA
Abstract: The impact of COVID-19 has been felt by all facets of the criminal justice system and victim services agencies. The ability to monitor and report maltreatment has been severely limited for organizations that work with children of abuse and neglect; this is particularly troubling given that abuse and neglect are likely to rise during times of distress and turmoil. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the importance of organizations that work with children exposed to maltreatment, highlight the novel approach of Child Advocacy Services, SEGA, Inc. (CASSEGA), the sponsoring agency for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) and the Ogeechee Visitation Centers, in rural southeast Georgia and how the COVID-19 pandemic has challenged this work, and develop strategies that can be put into place to alleviate these challenges for other child-serving organizations.
Powell, Anastasia et al, ‘Understanding the Impact of COVID-19 on Responses to Technology-Facilitated Coercive Control’ (2024) 698 Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice_ _Abstract: Perpetrators of domestic and family violence are increasingly using advancements in communication and surveillance technologies to extend the tactics of their abuse. Concern is growing, particularly about how technologies enable and amplify coercive controlling behaviours of abusive partners. This paper examines the experiences of victim-survivors, and the challenges support services face, responding to these harms in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown restrictions. The implications of these findings are discussed with respect to ongoing gaps in responses to victim-survivors of technology-facilitated coercive control.
Priambudi, Zaki et al, ‘An Analysis of The Imposition of Criminal Sanction to COVID-19 Vaccination Objectors Through the Lens of Criminal Law and Qiyas Shafi’i Mazhab in Indonesia’ (2022) 20(1) Pena Justisia: Media Komunikasi dan Kajian Hukum 60–73 Abstract: This article aims to answer whether vaccination is a right or an obligation and how criminal law and Qiyas Shafi’i Mazhab views the basic provisions of criminal law against vaccination objectors. By combining doctrinal and socio-legal research method, this article concludes that vaccination is an obligation because a person’s personal right to choose health services, especially COVID-19 vaccination has turned into a public right. Vaccination is the government’s obligation to protect public health as part of meeting health needs, following the mandate of the constitution and human rights. According to the relative punishment theory, the application of criminal sanctions is an effort made to maintain public order and peace of society, not as a means of repaying the perpetrator’s mistakes. Thus, the sanctions imposed on the perpetrator are solely to provide fear so that they do not repeat their actions and other people do not follow them. There are three main objectives of relative theory, namely prevention, prevention, and reform. Whereas Qiyas Shafi’i Mazhab puts forward the application of qiyas as a justification for imposing criminal sanctions against vaccination objectors. Because a person is prohibited from doing something that endangers himself and others, punishment according to the Qiyas Shafi’i Mazhab can be applied. There are similarities between criminal law and Qiyas Shafi’i Mazhab to a view of the obligation to vaccinate, that is, both allow the reduction of individual human rights for the sake of common interests. Ultimately, this article recommends the need to regulate the handling of COVID-19 vaccination objectors through act so that vaccination and law enforcement can run comprehensively, not partially.
Pribadi, Firman Arif, Nurus Zaman and Eny Suastuti, ‘Limitation of Indonesian Administrative Criminal Law for Pandemic Treatment Against Health Protocols Violation’ (2021) 8(6) SALAM: Jurnal Sosial dan Budaya Syar-i_ _Abstract: Criminal Law to deal with Corona Virus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) is under the spotlight during the handling of the pandemic. Criminal Law is intended to be used when the patient’s moral responsibility to declare that he has been abroad has not been fulfilled, and the government’s health protocols are ignored. Meanwhile, various laws for Covid-19 pandemic treatment do not provide strict norms; on the contrary, it is sometimes using blanket offence formulation. This study explores the limits of Administrative Criminal Law in the health sector and pandemic management to impose penalties for health protocols violation. Using the normative systematic interpretation method, the study results show no difference formulation of criminal law norms in special laws, which are administrative with criminal law norms in special laws. However, the difference exists within the theoretical realm. Administrative criminal law is not aimed at free individuals and is not socially and psychologically illegal. Still, it is aimed at humans as players of particular roles required to conform with other forms of action according to their role. Unfortunately, administrative criminal law exists outside the Criminal Code, primarily aimed at freeing individuals and socially and psychologically illegal. Law enforcement practices cannot provide a gradation for these two groups of laws—conditions where the fundamental rights of citizens are threatened by the power to impose penalties. This study proposes broadening justification and excuse in the Indonesian Criminal Code, which is appropriate for the character of administrative criminal law.
Priono, Yamin Dian and Ahmad Rifai Rahawarin, ‘Criminal Legal Policies Toward the Release of [Convicts] During The Covid 19 Pandemic in The Ius Constituendum’ (2023) 2(3) Interdiciplinary Journal and Hummanity (INJURITY) 169–188 Abstract: Criminal law policy on the release of convicts during the Covid 19 pandemic in the ius constititum , namely carrying out criminal law policies through spending for convicts and children through assimilation . As well as release for convicts and children through integration in the form of parole, parole and leave before being free) . This policy is carried out by applying certain conditions so that it does not maximally reduce the number of inmates in correctional institutions to reduce the risk of spreading Covid-19. Whereas the criminal law policy regarding the release of convicts during the Covid 19 pandemic in the ius constituendum, namely in the Corrections Bill, there is the concept of restorative justice as a means of social integration, but the formulation of this concept has not been clearly implemented, so it is necessary to use the concept of restorative justice at the post-adjudication stage as a means to reduce correctional inmates as well as recovery of victims and their original condition. As well as in the RKUHP implicitly there is a concept of conversion of the sanction system but it has not been clearly formulated, so there is a need for the concept of conversion of the sanction system as an alternative in an effort to reduce correctional inmates to prevent prison overcapacity.
Priya, Sakshi, ‘Trafficking and Its Increased Adversities during Pandemic’ (2021) 2(1) Jus Corpus Law Journal 206–213 Abstract: Human Rights are mostly talked with a perception of change, same goes with human trafficking which itself is the worst social abuse for humanity. Trafficking is not just a social evil but also a reason for many to ensure darkness in the lights of glittering streets of cities which serves as a road to livelihood for many low-wage workers. These, often get trapped in this vicious cycle of slavery and prostitution and seem never coming back. Also, with this pandemic when most people are enjoying time with their families, many are in search of some work migrating from one place to another fall in this cycle of distress. This article reflects the condition of these people especially in the times of COVID, and the road ahead with the provisions we have now to what we can expect from law-making and implementing authorities.
Purba, Nelvitia et al, ‘Legal Application of Extra Ordinary Enforcement Model Against the Period of Criminal Acts as a Form of Legal Protection Against Victims of Children Under the Age of Pandemi Covid -19’ (2021) 24(Special Issue 6) Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues 1–7 Abstract: The cases number of violence against children that occur in Indonesia is considered an indicator of the poor quality of child protection. The existence of children who have not been able to live independently, of course, really needs people as a place of refuge for children. The low quality of child protection in Indonesia has drawn attention and criticism from various levels of society. One of reasons for the occurrence of child crimes committed by children is none other than the very rapid advances in technology, for example, internet access that has developed is being misused by some children to find pornographic sites where it affects a child’s behavior. Especially since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic virus, children’s school activities have been carried out online, in this situation children’s activities are more spend on the internet. Methods of Data Analysis is carried out in a qualitative descriptive way, namely by describing, discussing, interpreting research findings with a viewpoint or approach in the form of normative and empirical juridical and drawing conclusions is carried out by deductive methods, namely describing general matters and then draw conclusions that are specific to the problems discussed in this study. From the research results, it can be stated that protection for victims of criminal acts of rape, it is necessary to organize victim management which includes preventive, therapeutic and rehabilitation as well as imposition of extra sanctions against perpetrators of child molestation. During Covid -19 pandemic, the crime of sexual abuse against minors continued to occur and even increased. The criminal act of sexual immorality against minors causes huge losses, therefore the perpetrators of these crimes are prosecuted in extraordinary ways (extra ordinary enforcement), namely by providing extra costs to the victims of this sexual abuse, namely minors, which is different from general public so that it can increase deterrent effect on the perpetrators of this child molestation.
Pyrooz, David C et al, ‘Views on COVID-19 from Inside Prison: Perspectives of High-Security Prisoners’ (2020) 3(2) Justice Evaluation Journal 294–306 Jurisdiction: USA
Abstract: People confined in jail and prison are especially vulnerable to outbreaks of communicable diseases such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Corrections officials across the country have responded by shifting institutional practices, including suspending visitation and programming, as well as releasing some prisoners early. Missing from leading accounts of COVID-19 in correctional facilities are the perspectives of prisoners. This study examined perceptions of risks and responses among a random sample of 31 high-security male prisoners in Oregon. In-depth interviews were conducted by phone in private attorney rooms between April and May 2020. Mixed method data revealed that respondents felt it was a matter of when, not if, the disease would spread throughout the prison system, due primarily to transmission from correctional officers. Yet prisoners were not highly worried about contracting the disease. This was due, in part, to being physically and socially isolated in restrictive housing, which in this instance they viewed as advantageous. Respondents believed the threat of the virus was being taken seriously by prison officials but lacked confidence in their ability to prevent an outbreak or effectively treat infected prisoners. Strategies are needed to mitigate the spread, fear, and consequences of COVID-19 in correctional facilities, as this disease has the potential to upend the functions and purposes of the American prison.
Quirk, Hannah, ‘“Shock Therapy” and The Criminal Justice Casualties of Covid-19’ (2021) 32(1) King’s Law Journal 137–146
Rab, Abdur and Golam Mostofa, ‘Attitude towards Prescribing Legal Action on Domestic Violence against Women: Context of Bangladesh during COVID-19 Pandemic Period’ (2022) 9(3) Open Access Library Journal 1–9 Abstract: Domestic violence is rampant and pervasive in Bangladesh. It has become a burning question across the world on the whole year especially during COVID-19 pandemic period. The woman is generally thought vulnerable, controlled by their father, husband or son in where dominated and subjugated approach by the man even though considered as slave to men. Generally, females are thought as subordinate, inferior and subservient to males which have become common characteristics in the patriarchal society like Bangladesh. The paper briefly explores women attitude towards taking legal actions against offenders who commit assault on domestic violence against women. Method: The paper is intent to use secondary data collected from Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK) accumulated published data taken from Prothom Alo, Ittefaq, Samakal, Sangbad, Janakantha, Noya Diganta, Daily Star, New Age, Dhaka Tribune (include their e-papers), some online news portals and Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK) on domestic violence against woman in the context of Bangladesh during COVID-19 pandemic period from April to August, 2020. Result: Of 303 cases, 76% women tortured by intimate partner called husband, 80% women tortured by husband’s family members, 52% tortured by own family members and 66% committed suicide are no more concerned about taking legal actions. Cases have been filled and taken judicial proceedings who are victimized on 62% murdered by husband, 64% murdered by husband family members and 57% murdered by own family members. Conclusion: The handsome number of women who are engrossed to fill case on taking legal action against delinquent if they are offenders even though a good number of women who are no more concerned to fill cases against guilty on torture, murder and ultimate outcome of torture, is committed suicide as a form of domestic violence to women in where women are victim of domestic violence within their husband, family members and own family members.
Rahim, Rohani Abdul et al, ‘Implementation of Community Activities Restrictions During The Covid-19 Pandemic in Criminal Law Perspective’ (2022) 22(2) Nurani: Jurnal Kajian Syari’ah dan Masyarakat 261–274 Jurisdiction: Indonesia
Abstract: Minister of Transportation Regulation Number 25 of 2020 on Transportation Control during the Idul Fitri Homecoming Year 1441 Hijri in the context of Preventing the Spread of COVID-19. This Regulation of the Minister of Transportation Number 25 of 2020 regulates the transportation system during the Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB) implementation, especially related to the 2020 Idul Fitri Homecoming. The formulation of the problem in this study: first, how could the elements of actions be categorized as violations of criminal law norms? second, could the violation of the prohibition of homecoming be categorized as a violation in the criminal law?. The purpose of this study is to find out that violations of the homecoming ban have met the elements that can be categorized as violations of criminal law norms. The research method used normative legal research for this research and used the Theory of Legal Effectiveness for the theory. This study concludes that: First, an act that can be categorized as a violation of criminal law, then there must be elements of a criminal act, both from a theoretical and legal point of view. Second, that the Ministerial Regulation (Permen) cannot contain criminal provisions.
Ramaswamy, Megha et al, ‘Criminal Justice: Involved Women Navigate COVID-19: Notes From the Field’ (2020) 47(4) Health Education & Behavior 544–548 Abstract: In March–April, 2020, we communicated with a cohort of criminal justice–involved (CJI) women to see how they were navigating COVID-19, chronic illness, homelessness, and shelter-in-place orders in Oakland, Birmingham, and Kansas City. We report on conversations with N = 35 women (out of the cohort of 474 women) and our own observations from ongoing criminal justice involvement studies. Women reported barriers to protecting themselves given widespread unstable housing and complex health needs, though many tried to follow COVID-19 prevention recommendations. Women expressed dissatisfaction with the suspension of research activities, as the pandemic contributed to a heightened need for study incentives, such as cash, emotional support, and other resources. COVID-19 is illuminating disparities between those who can follow recommended actions to prevent infection and those who lack resources to do so. Concerted efforts are required to reduce inequities that put the 1.3 million U.S. women under criminal justice supervision at risk for infection and mortality.
Rao, R Venkata and Prakash Sharma, ‘Pandemic and “The Other Class”: The Indifferent Response When Caught Off-Guard’ (2020) 47(4) Indian Bar Review 13–29 [pre-print] Abstract: During the COVID-19 governance experience, instances remain common wherein one could see the adoption of ‘haphazard’ or caught ‘off-guard’ measures. At one place they have the potential to violate the constitutional right to equality and right to life of general masses, at the same time their continuous use strengthens development of an oppressive structure that targets vulnerable sections of the society. It is in this perspective the paper seeks to address the concerns of prisoners and migrant labours—termed ‘others’. The paper reveals that while on the issue of prisons the initial efforts to resolve their concerns came through the Court followed by the governments; whereas in matters concerning the migrants the initial efforts saw government attention and later due to continuous reference from various corners of society the Court took the suo moto role to correct the situation on ground. The paper finally concludes that in both the cases, the results have been woefully uncoordinated.
Rao, R Venkata and Prakash Sharma, ‘Policing during Public Health Emergencies: Examining Preparedness during COVID-19 Crisis’ (SSRN Scholarly Paper ID 4115993, 21 June 2021) Abstract: The ongoing pandemic experience has not only exposed some key obstacles for law enforcement agencies, viz. communication, resource management, the enforcement of public health restrictions and changes to crime and service patterns, but also brought to the fore the ad-hoc and reactive responses from law enforcing authorities. For example, in the absence of proper national policing pandemic guidelines, there were instances wherein officers have used force. Such use of illegal measures for enforcing compliance, expose lack of preparedness of forces to tackle public health emergencies. Perhaps, one possible reason for such behaviour appears to be the continuous persistence on impartation of hard skills such as weapon use, combat skills, parades, crowd control drills and other physical competencies. As a result, development of soft skills like mob management, communication and coordination, negotiation, and conflict resolution, receive scant attention. Achieving compliance in any unforeseen and unprecedented circumstance is an important test of every police officer’s skills. It is also an essential element of effective governance. In this regard, the present paper argues against deliberate vagueness and calls for greater police accountability. Also, in cases of public health emergencies the need to institute and enforce constitutional safeguards against extensive administrative powers must receive the judicious attention of the institutions in the echelons of power. Further, public health emergencies demand collaboration between law enforcement agencies and public health institutions. The paper suggests that optimal utilization of resources at various levels and greater sensitization of the personnel will enable the restoration of confidence levels of the people in the institutions.
Reicher, Stephen and Clifford Stott, ‘Policing the Coronavirus Outbreak: Processes and Prospects for Collective Disorder’ (2020) 14(3) Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice 569–573 Abstract: This briefing is divided into three parts. First, we outline the factors which lead to incidents of collective disorder (or riots). Secondly, we consider how the overall response to the coronavirus outbreak and the role of the police within this response will impact the probability of such disorder. Thirdly, we apply these understandings to three specific scenarios of potential disorder.
Riccardi, Michele, ‘Organised Crime Infiltration of the COVID-19 Economy’ [2021] (Special Conference Edition 5) European Law Enforcement Research Bulletin 33–43 Abstract: The Covid-19 pandemic, and the recovery measures introduced by countries across the world to face the current economic crisis, have provided opportunities to organised crime (OC) networks to infiltrate the legitimate economy, take control of legitimate businesses and profiting from the current emergency situation. In particular, the following typologies of infiltration could be observed: (i) illicit lending and usury to entrepreneurs lacking liquidity; (ii) acquisition of firms in financial distress operating in sectors heavily affected by the crisis (e.g. hotels and restaurants); (iii) interest towards sectors pumped by the COVID-19 related lockdown (e.g. transport and logistics, cleaning services, trade of medical devices and pharmaceuticals); (iv) acquisition of recovery funds and public subsidies through fraud and accounting manipulations. By providing case studies and empirical data in selected countries, this paper will propose a classification of the infiltration strategies employed by OC networks as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, of the most common targets and victims, and discuss potential prevention and investigation strategies to curb and mitigate this risk.
Richards, David L and Ronald Gelleny, ‘Torture in the Time of COVID-19’ (SSRN Scholarly Paper ID 3914295, 26 February 2021) Abstract: The core question of this paper is ‘How, to this point, has the pandemic affected torture and ill-treatment?’. By ‘affected’ we mean: modality, victim and perpetrator type, and prevalence. We begin with a brief outline of how and why certain behaviors and practices seen during the pandemic qualify as torture and/or ill-treatment. One can think of the framework of legal norms relating to torture as one type of antecedent to the critical juncture that is the pandemic. We then use an original six-path framework to explore torture-related occurrences around the world during the pandemic and, at the end of each section, derive testable hypotheses. Once enough time has passed for observational data to become available, these hypotheses can help serve as a guide for scholars systematically studying the torture-related dynamics of the pandemic. In our conclusion, we offer some thoughts on the anticipated legacy of the crisis: what pandemic-era dynamics might or might not be expected to persist once COVID-19 is brought under control.
Richards, Edward P, ‘A Historical Review of the State Police Powers and Their Relevance to the COVID-19 Pandemic of 2020’ (2020) 11(1) Journal of National Security Law & Policy 83–105 Abstract: In response to COVID-19, U.S. states and localities are exercising various health actions under their inherent police powers—often facing stiff resistance by the public and the courts. Edward P. Richards outlines how states and localities enjoyed broad police powers over public health since the colonial period. The Supreme Court limited this authority only in cases of discrimination. Historically, courts deferred to local authorities or legislatures during health emergencies; the general public, in contrast, often demonstrated greater resistance. At times, this resulted in devastating outcomes, such as when public resistance to masks during the 1918-1919 flu pandemic caused a second wave and rise in deaths. COVID-19, Richards argues, is unprecedented because both the public and, unusually, the courts are resisting local public health orders. Many judges today are substituting their own judgment for that of public officials, raising questions over the future of traditional police powers.
Riduansyah, Risdalina Sriono, Indra Kumalasari M and Muhammad Yusuf Siregar, ‘Children’s Rights Conflict with the Law in the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic’ (2021) 10 International Journal of Criminology and Sociology 1154–1162 Abstract: Children are individuals who are less than 18 years old. Children both in the constitution of the Republic of Indonesia and internationally have the right to be protected. This scientific work aims to analyze the rights of children who are in conflict with the law during the covid 19 pandemic, do children who are in conflict with the law during the covid 19 pandemic get special rights? The method used to obtain data in this scientific work is using the empirical juridical method with primary data obtained directly. Based on the results of the analysis conducted, the rights of children who are in conflict with the law during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia get special rights or get special treatment. The rights of children given are the right to survival (survival rights), the right to grow and develop (development rights), the right to obtain protection (protection rights), the right to participate (participation rights). Giving health rights to children in conflict, and resolving legal conflicts by prioritizing the diversion process, namely the transfer of the settlement of children’s cases from the criminal justice process to processes outside criminal justice. There are obstacles or obstacles in handling children who are in conflict with the law, namely in general the detention rooms for children in Indonesia are not adequate, even some areas do not have special detention rooms for children and special investigators for children.
Rochaeti, Nur and Irma Cahyaningtyas, ‘The Socio-Legal Study of Rights Fulfillment and Fostering Prisoner at Correctional Institutions in Covid 19 Pandemic’ (2021) 21(2) Jurnal Dinamika Hukum 207–214 Abstract: As part of the integrated criminal justice system, Correctional Institutions play a role as law enforcement officers in addition to having a strategic role in the formation of Human Resources (HR) that are independent, responsible, quality, and dignified. The correctional system is a more humane and normative treatment system for inmates based on Pancasila and is characterized by rehabilitative, corrective, educative, and integrative or order regarding the direction and boundaries as well as ways of fostering prisoner based on Pancasila, which are carried out in an integrated manner between the coach as a correctional officer , being fostered, and integrative or order regarding the direction and boundaries as well as the way of fostering the prisoners based on Pancasila which are carried out in an integrated manner between the coach, prisoners and integrative Public. The problem is how is the socio-legal study of fulfilling prisoner’s rights and fostering in correctional institutions during the COVID 19 pandemic. The research method used is socio-legal, to analyze the policy on Act Number 12 of 1995 of correctional and fulfillment of prisoner’s rights in coaching during the COVID 19 pandemic. The results of the study analysis that the policy in Act Number 12 of 1995 of correctional currently does not accommodate the fulfillment of prisoner’s rights in correctional facilities, prisoner’s guidance is carried out by providing useful skills after leaving correctional facilities for independence and personality, which cannot be fully utilized. Inmates optimally, after leaving penitentiary, infrastructure facilities, as well as health workers in correctional, are needed, especially when the COVID 19 pandemic. The release of prisoners is a dilemma in the condition of the COVID 19 pandemic.
Romanczuk-Gracka, Marta, ‘Conflicts of Doctor’s Duties in the Case of an Extreme Shortage of Intensive Care Beds and the Good Samaritan Clause from the Perspective of Criminal Law’ (2021) 26(6) Bialystok Legal Studies / Bialostockie Studia Prawnicze 163–184Jurisdiction: Poland
Abstract: The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed many weaknesses of healthcare systems. An example of a crisis situation is the case of a doctor who has to make a decision about qualifying a patient with COVID-19 for an intensive care bed when there are not enough such beds and when, out of the many obligations to save lives, he can choose and fulfi l only one. The aim of this paper is to analyse the criteria of establishing the priority in access to intensive care, to settle the conflict of obligations in regard to criminal liability, with respect to Art. 26 § 5 of the Polish penal code regarding the doctor’s decision to provide, or to not provide, healthcare services including intensive care given the extreme shortage of the beds, to determine the scope of legal safety guarantees laid down in the good Samaritan clause and the relationship between the conflict of duties and the clause. The work is theoretical with the use of a formal-dogmatic and functional analysis of Polish criminal law.
Roure, Jodie G, ‘The Reemergence of Barriers during Crises & Natural Disasters: Gender-Based Violence Spikes among Women & LGBTQ+ Persons during Confinement’ (2020) 21(2) Seton Hall Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations 23-50 Abstract: The article focuses on gender-based violence (GBV) during crises and natural disasters, and the reemergence of obstacles that impede the protection of human rights of vulnerable groups often resulting in an increase of GBV, particularly among women and LGBTQ+ persons. It introduces GBV through the case study of Puerto Rico, examining four of the 2020 transgender murders in the United States that occurred there. By exploring how restriction of movement during times of crises affect the human rights of women and LGBTQ+ persons, it will emphasize the particular vulnerability of transgender persons. It offers a webbased research platform, The Domestic Violence Project, as an example of efforts youth and community based organizations can explore to ensure the promotion, protection, and safety of vulnerable groups, particularly women and LGBTQ+ persons during quarantine periods including COVID-19, and proposes recommendations to nation-states, local governments, and communities.
Rudman, Jody L and Sean O’D Bosack, ‘Lemons into Lemonade: Enforcement Risks Associated with the Receipt of COVID-19 Government Assistance Funds, and Mitigation Strategies and Defenses for the Long Haul’ (2021) 15(2) Journal of Health & Life Sciences Law 123–135Jurisdiction: USA
Abstract: The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) made available numerous funding mechanisims to individuals, businesses, and health care providers to help them deal with the health and economic impacts of COVID-19. This article will address some early enforcement actions and the announced vigilance toward policing CARES Act and COVID-related fraud. We will describe enforcement tools within the CARES Act and current law, followed by a discussion of defensive strategies aimed at mitigating risk for good faith actors who go through a post-relief investigation or enforcement action.
Sabadell, Ana Lucia and Thamires Vieira, ‘Isolation and “Toxic” Privacy In Times Of Pandemic: Female Suffering’ (2020) 2(2) Humanities and Rights Global Network Journal 25–41 Abstract: The practice of self-isolation as a preventive and combat measure against the Covid-19 virus brought up the discussion about domestic violence practiced against women in Brazil. The author understands that the legal protection of intimacy favors the process of denial of this type of violence and presents a reflection on the practical measures that can be taken to face violence against women in the current pandemic context.
Sacco, Matteo Antonio et al, ‘The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Domestic Violence: The Dark Side of Home Isolation during Quarantine’ (2020) 88(2) Medico-Legal Journal 71–73 Abstract: Domestic violence is a global public health problem. It takes many different forms and leads to significant physical and psychological consequences for the victim and the whole family. Situations that may prompt episodes of violence in the family include stress, emotional disappointment, economic factors, bad and cramped housing, and alcohol or drug abuse. How does the government’s forced home isolation to contain Covid-19 infections impact on this type of abuse? Numerous articles have reported a decrease in reports of domestic violence since quarantine began but how reliable is these data? Is it a potential wake-up call for public institutions? We discuss the risks associated with quarantine measures during the pandemic and suggest the measures to prevent and improve the reporting of abuse cases.
Sanga, Sarath and Justin McCrary, ‘The Impact of the Coronavirus Lockdown on Domestic Violence’ (SSRN Scholarly Paper ID 3612491, 28 May 2020) Jurisdiction: USA
Abstract: We use 911 call records and mobile device location data to study the impact of the coronavirus lockdown on domestic violence. The percent of people at home sharply increased at all hours, and nearly doubled during regular working hours, from 45 to 85 percent. Domestic violence increased 12 percent on average and 20 percent during working hours. Using neighborhood-level identifiers, we show that the rate of first-time abuse likely increased even more: 16 percent on average and 23 percent during working hours. Our results contribute to an urgent need to quantify the physical and psychological burdens of prolonged lockdown polices.
Saraswati, Putu Sekarwangi, ‘Law Enforcement during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Indonesia’ (2020) 5(7) International Journal of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences Studies 32–36 Abstract: Law enforcement is the process by which efforts are made for the establishment or functionning of legal norms as a real guide to behavior in traffic or legal relations in the life of society and the state. The community needs law enforcement for a sense of justice, legal certainty, and benefits in society. At this time the Covid-19 Pandemic spread throughout the country. Although there is still a Covid-19 Pandemic, law enforcement continues. Law enforcement is carried out by law enforcement agencies. Law enforcement agencies that continued to carry out law enforcement during the Covid-19 Pandemic period were the National Police, the Attorney General’s Office, the Supreme Court (MA) and the KPK through law enforcement officials. Law enforcement continues to be carried out during the Covid-19 Pandemic. With the aim of maintaining a sense of justice, legal certainty, and benefits in the community during the Covid-19 Pandemic era. The National Police in enforcing the law during the Covid-19 Pandemic era by issuing a Secret Telegram (TR) and the police crack down on crowds of citizens. In law enforcement during the Covid-19 Pandemic period, the Supreme Court tightened the work system in the judiciary. By issuing MA Circular Letter Number 1 of 2020 concerning Guidelines for Implementing Tasks During the Prevention Period of Covid-19 Distribution within the Supreme Court and its Judicial Bodies. During the Covid-19 Pandemic period the Attorney General’s Office continued to carry out law enforcement, the prosecutor’s examination process in a case continued during the Covid-19 Pandemic period and continued to carry out trials. In law enforcement during the Covid-19 Pandemic period, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) prosecution such as investigators and prosecutors continued.
Sarat, Austin and Ryan Kyle, ‘The Death Penalty in Dark Times: What Crises Do (or Do Not Do) to Capital Punishment’ (SSRN Scholarly Paper ID 3902095, 9 August 2021) Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic temporarily stopped executions in the United States and played a part in a record low number of death sentences handed down in 2020. While many newspapers reported on the pandemic-related disruption of individual executions and court proceedings, little attention has been given to understanding whether other crises in American history have similarly disrupted the death penalty. This paper examines execution data from several major crises in American history – wars, economic downturns, and pandemics – to assess whether COVID-19’s disruption of the American death penalty represents an anomaly among pandemics and other crises. As we will show, the death penalty has shown remarkable resiliency. Through all manner of national disruptions, with the exception of the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, America’s execution machinery has kept on running. This fact is one indication of this nation’s attachment to capital punishment.
Sarel, Roee, ‘Crime and Punishment in Times of Pandemics’ (SSRN Scholarly Paper ID 3621478, 12 June 2020) Abstract: How should we think about crime deterrence in times of pandemics? The economic analysis of crime tells us that potential offenders will compare the costs and the benefits from crime and from innocence and then choose whichever option that is more profitable. We must therefore ask ourselves how this comparison is affected by the outbreak of a pandemic and the policy changes which may accompany it, such as governmental restrictions, social distancing, and economic crises. Using insights from law and economics, this article investigates how the various components in the cost-benefit analysis of crime might change during a pandemic, focusing on COVID-19 as a test case. Building on classical theoretical models, existing empirical evidence, and behavioral aspects, the analysis reveals that there are many potentially countervailing effects on crime deterrence. The article thus highlights the need to carefully consider which aspects are applicable given the circumstances of the pandemic, as whether crime deterrence will increase or decrease should depend on the strength of the effects at play.
Scalia, Vincenzo, ‘“Stay Home You Murderer!”: Populist Policing of COVID-19 in Italy’ (2021) 23(3) International Journal of Police Science & Management 242–252 Abstract: Italy was the first European country to experience the impact of COVID-19. In order to deal with the health emergency, in early March 2020, the Italian government enforced strict lockdown measures. The different Italian police forces, the Polizia di Stato, Carabinieri and city police forces (Polizia Municipale), patrolled the streets, ensuring that people stayed at home and non-essential shops remained closed. These police forces received unprecedented support from the public in enforcing lockdown. People were active in their neighbourhoods, taking pictures of alleged violators and reporting them to the police, as well as posting pictures of those violating the rules on social networks. Local administrators encouraged citizens to report lockdown violations and in the case of Rome, introduced an online reporting system. This article focuses on the policing of lockdown in Italy. The article develops the argument that public attitudes, defined as policing from below, combined with policing from above by local administrators, produced a populist policing of the lockdown. Qualitative methodology is used to discuss interviews with police officers and analyse newspaper articles. Populist political forces are hegemonising in Italy, relying on the feelings of insecurity that the virus has embittered. Populist hegemony strongly influenced the policing of problems related to COVID. The lack of community policing or plural policing models within the organisation of Italian police forces, which remain a combination of continental and colonial models, has been decisive in the development of populist policing. The consequence of this is a type of ‘policing on demand’, with the public providing the police with intelligence and demanding enforcement.
Schotland, Sara, ‘A Plea to Apply Principles of Quarantine Ethics to Prisoners and Immigration Detainees During the COVID-19 Crisis’ (2020) 7(1) Journal of Law and the Biosciences Article lsaa070, published 24 August 2020 replacement Abstract: Individuals who are detained in prisons and immigration centers are exposed to a high risk of illness and death from COVID-19. These facilities generally contain both isolation units for those who are already infected and quarantine units for those who are suspected of having the virus.1 Even where individual inmates and detainees are not personally suspected of having the virus (such as would require assignment to the quarantine unit within the facility), virtually all those confined are at risk, due to close contact from overcrowding and multiple challenges in maintaining sanitation. Under these circumstances I argue for facility-wide applicability of principles of Quarantine Ethics that provide for adequate medical treatment and safe, healthful conditions of confinement.
Schotte, Tamara and Mercedes Abdalla, ‘The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Serious and Organised Crime Landscape’ [2022] (Special Conference Edition 5) European Law Enforcement Research Bulletin 19–22 Abstract: Organised crime not only did not stop during the pandemic: on the contrary, it leveraged the situation prompted by the crisis, including the high demand for certain good, the decreased mobility across and into the EU, as well as the increased social anxiety and reliance on digital solutions during the crisis. Criminals have quickly capitalised on these changes by shifting their market focus and adapting their illicit activities to the crisis context. The supply of counterfeit goods and the threat posed by different fraud schemes, financial and cybercrime activities have remained significant throughout the crisis. The prolonged COVID-19 situation and related lockdown measures have exposed victims of crimes revolving around persons as a commodity to an even more vulnerable position. Recently, newly emerging criminal trends and modi operandi have emerged that are specific to the current phase of the pandemic that revolves around the vaccination roll-out and the wider financial developments of the crisis. In parallel, already known pandemic-themed criminal activities continued or criminal narratives further adapted to the recent developments in the pandemic and the fight against it.
Schreier, Sarah and Katharina Leimbach, ‘Same but Different? A Qualitative Analysis of the Influence of COVID-19 on Law Enforcement and Organized Crime in Germany’ (2023) 26(2) Trends in Organized Crime 180–201 Abstract: Criminological research on COVID-19 and its repercussions on crimes, criminals and law enforcement agencies is still in its infancy. This paper fills that void with regard to the influence of COVID-19 on organized crime and the work of law enforcement agencies’ investigations of organized crime in Germany by presenting empirical findings from a nationwide qualitative interview study. Through the methodological combination of Grounded Theory and Situational Analysis, we find three central narratives (us vs. them, nationalization vs. internationalization, conservatism vs. innovation) that were provided by law enforcement personnel in terms of the way in which COVID-19 influenced both organized crime groups and their work in the investigation thereof. Following a reflexive approach, the implications of COVID-19 on the research process itself are also discussed.
Scott-Hayward, Christine S, ‘Correctional and Sentencing Law Commentary: Compassionate Release, the First Step Act, and COVID-19’ (2021) 57(1) Criminal Law Bulletin 89Jurisdiction: USA
Abstract: The COVID-19 outbreak exacerbated all of the risks faced by elderly and sick people in prison. People who are older and those with chronic conditions, like many people in prison, are at higher risk from complications if they contract COVID-19, and less likely to receive adequate healthcare. Moreover, the main ways that people can protect themselves from contracting the virus—physical distancing, wearing masks, and frequent handwashing or hand-sanitizing—are far more difficult in a prison setting. As a result, there have been numerous reports of people who have tested positive for COVID-19 receiving inadequate or ‘virtually no’ care; tens of thousands of people in jails and prisons have been infected with the virus and thousands have died. For these reasons, compassionate release is more important than ever, as a release mechanism that can protect the health and lives of people in prison. After briefly reviewing the history of compassionate release in the federal system and explaining the changes made by the First Step Act of 2018, this commentary examines how the Bureau of Prisons and federal courts have used compassionate release to alleviate the risks to sick and elderly people in prison during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Setyadi, Yusef, ‘Social and Security Impact of COVID-19 Outbreak in West Kalimantan Based on the Police Law Perspective’ (2020) 20(1) Syariah: Jurnal Hukum dan Pemikiran 14–27 Abstract: There is a dilemma in implementing social distancing as a government policy program to stay at home. For this, the author analyzed the police law perspective, especially the role of the National Police in overcoming the problems during the enactment of government regulations. The study was conducted using primary and secondary data. Primary data obtained through observation and interview, while secondary data obtained through library research. The data was then analyzed qualitatively and presented descriptively. From the results, it was concluded that the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak in the area of West Kalimantan Province was relatively safe and well-controlled which was indicated by no extraordinary crimes there. Polices had carried out their duties in all aspects both in maintaining security and public, law enforcement, protection, guard, and community services.
Seregig, I Ketut, Bambang Hartono and Budi Waskito, ‘Impact of Corona Virus on Criminal Action and Prevention Measures in Indonesia’ (2020) 3(2) Sociological Jurisprudence Journal 117–125 Abstract: This article is data obtained from interviews with traders in traditional and modern markets about the impact of criminal acts due to the corona virus outbreak in Indonesia. The data is supported by secondary data collected from official sources, among others published by the ministry of trade and other social media. The purpose of writing this article is to provide input on a corona virus epidemic prevention plan and mitigate the impact of criminal acts due to hoax news related to corona virus outbreaks. The impact of the corona virus outbreak in the community is the accumulation of protective masks that cause the price of masks to rise in the market, the spread of hoaxes by people who are not responsible, among others; hoax news with the contents ‘corona virus cannot stand the heat’, and ‘red ginger, kaempferiagalanga, curcuma, pepper are considered as drugs that can fight the corona virus’ which results in an increase in the price of rhizomes and spices and is becoming rare in the traditional market. The stakeholders under the coordination of the Coordinating Ministers undertook strategic actions including the National Police and the Ministry of Health and the Regional Head who carried out market operations for the distribution of masks, ginger and spices distribution in traditional markets. As a result, the team formed by the National Police, assisted by the Ministry of Health, succeeded in capturing mask hoarders in the Jakarta area. The hoarders are prosecuted by carrying out law enforcement and bringing the perpetrators to justice.
Shayegh, Soheil and Maurizio Malpede, ‘Staying Home Saves Lives, Really!’ (SSRN Scholarly Paper No ID 3567394, 2 April 2020) Abstract: As coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is spreading around the world, many national and local governments have imposed social restrictive measures to limit the spread of the virus. Such quarantine measures in different cities across the world have brought a new trend in public safety improvement and crime reduction. Using daily crime reports in the US and European major cities, the aim of this project is to evaluate the effects of quarantine and ‘shelter-in-place’ policies on different crime categories. We adopt a difference in difference strategy to evaluate the change in crime rates. Early results from Oakland and San Francisco in the U.S. suggest a drop by about 40% across the communities and crime categories in both cities. While theft, homicide, and traffic accidents have fallen sharply, domestic violence incidents show no sign of reduction from our early observations. These trends although promising a glimpse of positive outcome for the community during the outbreak, may not have a lasting impact in the long term.
Sheldon, David, ‘Policing the Pandemic: Maintaining Compliance and Legitimacy during Covid-19’ (2021) 32(1): Covid-19: Political Responses and Legal Consequences King’s Law Journal 14–25 Abstract: The Coronavirus Pandemic resulted in a raft of legislation being hastily introduced by the UK government to implement a national lockdown which resulted in a range of restrictions on movement and association. These legislative changes, while implemented for the protection of public health, have been the responsibility of the police and the wider criminal justice system to enforce. This has presented a distinct challenge for the police in how the broad powers given to them under the Coronavirus legislation is enforced to maintain long-term compliance from the public with the regulations and the need to ensure the legitimacy of the police service’s actions is similarly maintained.
Sheptycki, James, ‘The Politics of Policing a Pandemic Panic’ (2020) 53(2) Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology 157–173 Abstract: This essay was completed in early April 2020 and begun during the first week of the official pandemic panic in Canada. The world-wide plague caused by the COVID-19 virus precipitated the first global police event presenting an occasion for researchers and scholars to apply existing theory and empirical understanding to extra-ordinary circumstances. Consideration of the politics of the police during the plague reveals a tectonic shift in the world system. The transnational and comparative study of police and policing reveals the contours of the emerging system of world power all the more clearly in a moment of crisis. The pandemic panic presents an historical moment during which, figuratively speaking, policing power crystalizes and can be seen clearly. On the global stage, in response to the pandemic panic authoritarian and totalitarian policing practices are demonstrated alongside those in putative democracies. Emerging and observable practices of rule by law are antithetical to democratic policing in the general social interest, and rule of law rhetoric justifying militarized law enforcement action in many places continues to bring police into further disrepute. The coming era will continue to be a time where, in most places
Shivam, Satyam and Shweta Gautam, ‘Domestic Violence and Women’s Safety during the Lockdown’ (2022) 2(2) Jus Corpus Law Journal 244–253 Abstract: This article talks about women safety and domestic violence especially during the unprecedented time of covid-19, due to the pandemic many countries imposed nationwide lockdown and this was the period when people had no option but to stay at their respective homes, spending time together with family, spouse or partner means sharing love and having compassion but it resulted into conflicts too. Women were subjected to physical, social, mental, and financial abuses and all these come under the ambit of domestic violence. The world was battling with a pandemic outside their homes but women were facing domestic violence inside their homes which also has been referred to as a shadow pandemic by the international body UN Women. The essay describes various aspects of domestic violence, its causes, consequences, and the solution. It also gives a legal perspective on how do mestic violence is not morally wrong but also a crime and grossly violates the human rights of the victim. Various landmark judgments and reports were studied to present the issue of domestic violence from all the possible perspectives i.e. social, emotional, legal, and financial, etc to conclude this essay.
Shkabin, GS, AM Pleshakov and AD Nazarov, ‘Problems of Criminal Law Provisions in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic’ in Research Technologies of Pandemic Coronavirus Impact (RTCOV 2020) 513–517 Abstract: The current situation with the new coronavirus disease that modern humanity is experiencing is unprecedented. It brought many changes to various spheres of life. First of all, this concerns the development of medicine, chemistry, information technology, management, and organization of social processes. However, the sharp spread of the disease gave impetus to the legal regulation of public relations. Criminal legislation is no exception. The article analyzes the shortcomings and gaps in the general part of the criminal law’s branch caused by the pandemic. The latter is considered as a source of danger to objects of criminal law protection. The most common cases of causing harm to objects of criminal law protection are analyzed. The authors gave a brief description of the changes in the criminal law of some states associated with the spread of the disease. The purpose of the article is to identify the shortcomings of the penal relations’ legal regulation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to develop proposals for their elimination.
Shodunke, Aliu Oladimeji, ‘Protection or Predation? Examining COVID-19 Policing and the Nuances of Police Corruption in Nigeria’ (2024) 34(5) Policing and Society 467–484 Abstract: The bulk of scholarship on police intervention in enforcing COVID-19 pandemic-imposed restrictions focuses on police misconduct, securitisation, human rights, police preparedness, and legitimacy, but empirical research on police corruption during the restriction in Nigeria is sparse despite reports of pervasive police extortion and bribery. Thus, this study fills the academic gap by examining the dynamics of police predation and corruption during the enforcement in Nigeria. With interview data, I uniquely examined the intervention from the purview of predatory policing – an aspect of policing that is understudied in the context of COVID-19 policing despite its relevance in contemporary discourse on social control. Evidence indicates that, as COVID-19 policing characterised predation in Nigeria, the embedded problems of police corruption revolve around unresolved police institutional challenges and police-public connivance that results from moral decadence, thereby portending gloomy implications for law enforcement and society. Therefore, advancing and implementing police reforms, addressing moral corruption, and resolving widespread socioeconomic problems are very critical in the effective policing and containment of future public health crises.
Shovon, Islam Shahriar, ‘Domestic Violence Against Women in Rural Areas in the Time of COVID-19 Pandemic: Bangladesh in Context’ (2021) 1(1) University of Asia Pacific (UAP) Law Review 89–102 Abstract: Domestic violence against women in Bangladesh manifests itself in various ways, ranging from overt physical violence to dowry-related violence, maltreatment via underage marriage, and marital rape etc. Among others, physical aggressiveness or threats include, sexual assault, emotional abuse, stalking, and passive/covert abuse, other including economic hardship early marriage. Although domestic violence against women has always been a concern in rural Bangladesh, the COVID-19 pandemic (the pandemic) has heightened the violence in to more degree than the normal situation. According to a United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) research, domestic violence increased around 20% during the pandemic among the Member Nations of the United Nations, including Bangladesh. Specifically, married women in rural areas in Bangladesh face a higher frequency and severity of physical and mental torture at the hands of their husbands, husbands’ relatives, and family members than urban women. While significant attention has been paid to domestic violence in metropolitan regions, there have been few studies examining the effects of the epidemic on rural communities. This article will examine the state of domestic violence in rural Bangladesh during the outbreak in this background. It will attempt to ascertain the factors contributing to the abrupt surge in domestic violence in rural regions. Additionally, it will review the current legal and policy frameworks to assess whether the present legal and policy frameworks adequately safeguard rural women’s interests. Finally, it will provide some concrete recommendations to help ease the deteriorating situation of domestic violence in rural Bangladesh.
Shree Pant, Shiwanee, ‘The Surge of Domestic Violence during the COVID-19 Pandemic’ (SSRN Scholarly Paper No ID 3699388, 25 August 2020) Introduction: Domestic violence is a violation of human rights where a person is abused by a partner or someone close to them. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a lot of mental distress and escalated the number of cases. This research aims to investigate what causes the surge in domestic violence and what can be done to stop it. Methods: Based on online researches and journals on domestic violence, its causes and impacts, a qualitative research was carried out to see what causes the surge in domestic violence, especially in times of disaster.Results: Analysis of the research demonstrated that the disruption in normalcy caused by disasters and the mental distress that follows might develop into violence. Conclusion: The research indicates that disruption of social and protective networks, and decreased access to services can exacerbate the risk of violence at home. On this basis, it is recommended that a safe and supportive environment is created for the victims of domestic violence. Further research is needed to identify what can be done to prevent domestic violence and protect the victims.
Siegel, Dina, Aleksandras Dobryninas and Stefano Becucci (eds), Covid-19, Society and Crime in Europe (Springer, 2022) Contents:
- Atanas Rusev and Tihomir Bezlov, ‘COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis and Its Impact on Crime Rates in Bulgaria’ 3-22
- Vesna Nikolić-Ristanović, ‘COVID-19 and Crime in Serbia’ 23-42
- Aleksandras Dobryninas, ‘Pandemic and Infodemic in Lithuania’ 43-62
- Krzysztof Krajewski, ‘Crime, Law Enforcement and Rule of Law in Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Poland’ 63-80
- Gorazd Meško, Iza Kokoravec, ‘COVID-19, Crime and Social Control in Slovenia’ 81-98
- Klára Kerezsi et al,‘Influence of COVID-19 Pandemic on Social Control, Crime Patterns and Life in Prison in Hungary’ 99-118
- Christina Zarafonitou, Eleni Kontopoulou and Elli Anitsi, ‘Crime, Criminal Policy and Social Reactions in Greece in the Era of COVID-19’ 121-139
- Stefano Becucci, ‘The COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy: The Effects on Society and Crime’ 141-158
- Andrea Giménez-Salinas Framis, ‘Social and Criminal Impact of COVID-19 in Spain’ 159-176
- Rita Faria, Jorge Quintas and Pedro Sousa, ‘How Did the Pandemics Shape Crime and Justice in Portugal?’ 177-193
- Julia Habermann and Louisa Zech, ‘The COVID-19 Pandemic in Germany: Prevention Measures, Protest and the Impact on Crime Rates’ 197-220
- Dina Siegel, ‘COVID-19: Policies, Trust and Crime in the Netherlands’ 221-238
- Wim Hardyns et al, ‘Patterns of Crime During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Belgium’ 239-258
- Janne Kivivuori and Katri Kärkkäinen, ‘Violent Crime in Finland During the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic’ 259-278
- Timothy Peter Martin Lowe et al, ‘Violent Crime and COVID-19 in England and Wales’ 279-294
- Daniel Fink et al, ‘Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Crime in Switzerland in 2020: A First Assessment’ 295-310
Jurisdiction: USA
Abstract: The federal bail system is in crisis, with three out of every four people locked in a cage despite the presumption of innocence. Disheartening as the numbers are, we defense attorneys have the power to free our clients through zealous advocacy at bail hearings. Bond advocacy is all the more important now. As the COVID-19 pandemic ravages federal jails, pretrial release has become a matter of life or death. All of us who represent clients in federal court have a responsibility to redouble our efforts to defend our clients’ fundamental right to liberty. To change the culture of detention, we need to radically rethink our advocacy and ensure that all of the players follow the Bail Reform Act’s defense-friendly rules. This article provides statistics to illustrate the contours and costs of the federal pretrial detention crisis and action steps for bringing federal pretrial detention practices back in line with the law. We can change the culture of detention by using the action steps, tethering our arguments to the statute and the data, and filing more bond motions.
Simanjuntak, Apri Ando and Firmansyah Nasution, ‘Policies Relating to Criminal Economic Law to Overcome the Covid-19 Pandemic in Indonesia’ (2024) 9(3) Syntax Literate: Jurnal Ilmiah Indonesia 1941–1957 Abstract: The legal vacuum (leemten in het recht) surrounding Criminal Economic Law in Indonesia amid the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic necessitates the formulation of appropriate legal policies to address this novel phenomenon. This study aims to elucidate the existing legal policies pertaining to Criminal Economic Law in Indonesia and to propose policies specifically tailored to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Adopting a normative legal research approach with a legislative and conceptual focus, the study examines both substantive and procedural legal aspects. The findings reveal two main categories of policies: those of substantive law and procedural law. These policies strive to strike a balance between providing deterrence against economic crimes while considering the unique challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. In conclusion, the study underscores the importance of formulating legal policies that reflect proportional justice, effectively deterring economic crimes while considering the context of the ongoing public health crisis.
Skolnik, Terry, ‘Criminal Law During (and After) COVID-19’ (2020) 43(4) Manitoba Law Journal 145–180 Abstract: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, governments across the globe are implementing drastic physical distancing measures with wide-ranging implications. Courts are increasingly confronted with novel pandemic-related issues that are significantly altering the criminal justice system. This article explores the current and potential impacts of COVID-19 on three specific areas of the criminal law: the scope of certain crimes, bail, and punishment. It advances three core arguments. First, the pandemic creates a risk that courts will expand the breadth of crimes such as assault and aggravated assault for conduct such as coughing. It provides compelling reasons why courts must limit the scope of these criminal offences and why judges should not extend the legal framework that applies to HIV non-disclosure to COVID-19 transmissions. Second, the pandemic is changing the bail process. Due to COVID-19 outbreaks in detention centres, courts are rethinking whether pre-trial custody is necessary to maintain public confidence in the criminal justice system. More than ever, judges consider the interests of defendants and detainees when interpreting the concept of ‘public confidence’ – a positive change that limits recourse to pre-trial custody. Third, the pandemic is impacting sentencing as judges move away from custodial punishments. COVID-19 highlights why incarceration and financial penalties disparately impact defendants, which raises concerns regarding proportionality and retributive justifications for punishment both during and beyond the pandemic. Ultimately, this article shows why judges, policy makers, and justice system actors should seize on this unique opportunity to generate lasting positive changes to the criminal justice system that are taking place during the pandemic.
Smith, Clytisha, ‘A Policy Without Enforcement Is Meaningless: The Effect of COVID-19 on Incarcerated Individuals, the Courts’ Focus on Policy, and the Solution’ (SSRN Scholarly Paper ID 4052058, 7 March 2022) Abstract: Though it’s easy to focus on the effect that COVID-19 has had on the general population, many have shut their eyes to its effect on one of the most vulnerable populations—incarcerated individuals. The first case of the Coronavirus named COVID-19 in the United States was confirmed on January 20, 2020, and has caused panic and affected the day-to-day routine of individuals globally. Due to the way COVID-19 is contracted and the environment of prisons and jails, incarcerated individuals are five times more likely to contract COVID-19 than the general population. Since the initial rise of COVID-19, incarcerated individuals have challenged the conditions of prisons and jails, claiming that the environment and treatment to which they are being subjected are cruel and usual, in violation of the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The Eighth Amendment provides a fundamental right that protects persons from cruel and usual punishments. Although courts disagree, in the author’s opinion, conditions that incarcerated individuals are being subjected to due to the COVID-19 pandemic do in fact violate incarcerated individuals’ protections provided by the Eight Amendment. This article examines how courts have responded to Eighth Amendment cruel and usual punishment challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It reviews prison conditions since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, incarcerated individuals’ experiences during the pandemic, the history of the Eighth Amendment, and how ‘cruel and usual punishment’ is defined. It concludes with suggestions for the courts—that courts alter the ‘deliberate indifference’ standard and work actively to create a solution that will remedy the present day effect on those incarcerated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sorabji, John and Steven Vaughan, ‘“This Is Not A Rule”: COVID-19 in England & Wales and Criminal Justice Governance via Guidance’ (2021) European Journal of Risk Regulation (advance article, published 9 February 2021) Abstract: Soft law is an integral part of the efficient and effective functioning of public administration in England & Wales, with a long history of use. As such, its deployment per se as part of the regulatory response to COVID-19 in England & Wales is unremarkable. What is more striking, however, is the extent to which soft law was deployed, with over 400 pieces of ‘guidance and regulations’ created by the government in Whitehall, to say nothing of the other primary and secondary legislation passed to deal with the crisis. In this article, we do three things. First, we look at the place of soft law in administrative law in England & Wales. We then turn to the broad regulatory framework, including soft law, which governs the COVID-19 pandemic in our jurisdiction. This background then allows us, in the final part of this article, to take a deep dive into the criminal justice system. Here, we show how the senior judiciary predominately relied on soft law in the form of judicial guidance and protocols to manage the system. This was against the backdrop of targeted legislation that provided for an expansion of access to the criminal courts via video and audio links and also a limited number of Practice Directions that have the force of law. Our deep dive allows us to argue that the approach taken by the senior judiciary to the use of soft law during the COVID-19 pandemic has, in a number of ways, been more effective than that taken by the government. That being said there remains room for improvement, particularly as concerns the nature of the judicial guidance issued and clarity in terms of what guidance was in place and when.
Spencer, JR, ‘COVID Coughing and the Criminal Law’ (2020) 5 Archbold Review 5, 8–9Jurisdiction: UK
Abstract: Examines the criminal offences that are potentially committed by persons carrying the coronavirus who deliberately cough over other people to scare or harm them. Refers to various offences under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 and relevant case law.
Spohr, Thomas, ‘Criminal Law’ [2020] (66) LSJ: Law Society of NSW Journal 97–98Jurisdiction: Australia
Abstract: In ‘Kennedy v R’ [2020] NSWCCA 49 the Court of Criminal Appeal examined the sentencing range for ongoing supply - which is due to become a Table 1 offence soon - and held that at least in the circumstances of this case, no penalty other than a conviction was necessary. Some practitioners likely have health concerns which place them at particular risk if they contract COVID-19. Those practitioners may also feel compromised by the lengthy history of some matters, so that they don’t feel they can withdraw, especially if there is no other representation available (for example in regional areas). ‘Kahil v R’ [2020] NSWCCA 56 provides at least a little guidance.
Stanojoska, Angelina and Goran Ilik, ‘Penitentiary Institutions and COVID-19: How to Stop the Virus and Guarantee Human Rights?’ (2020) 6 Journal of Liberty and International Affairs 80–92 Abstract: Starting the COVID-19 pandemic, physical and social distancing, besides wearing masks and frequent use of disinfectant, was and still is the most important preventive measure in stopping the spreading of the new coronavirus. Penitentiary institutions, especially the crowded ones, became a hard place to manage in stopping the infections. Why? Because these institutions are the ones where there is even more need to balance health protection with human rights. Using medical isolation and quarantine in the process of prevention of infections with SARS-CoV-2 virus, is complicated as result of the use of punitive solitary confinement as disciplinary sanction. The paper analyses the possible methods of protection of prisoners’ health during COVID-19 pandemic with parallel protection and respect of their basic and guaranteed human rights.
Starodubov, Sergil, Viktoriia Vladyshevska and Maryna Pyzhova, ‘Liability for Violation of Quarantine: Novelties of Administrative and Criminal Legislation’ (2020) 9(2) Ius Humani Law Journal 137–158 Abstract: Public legislation has long failed to meet such large-scale challenges as the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. In emergencies, to protect the lives and health of the population, it is necessary to promptly make decisions on the legal regulation of public relations that have developed due to the spread of Covid-19. For this purpose, the state has created legal mechanisms that are designed to ensure compliance with the rule of law and which need the scientific-legal assessment. The objective of the work is to analyze the novelties of administrative and criminal legislation, which regulate the liability for violation of quarantine. The object of research is the norms of administrative and criminal law. The subject of the study is public relations that have developed as a result of the introduction of quarantine and which are governed by administrative and criminal law. To achieve this goal, the situation in foreign countries was firstly analyzed; general patterns were identified; alternative solutions were proposed, with a minimum restriction of human rights and freedoms. Then, the novelties of the national legislation were studied in more detail; additional specific problems were identified; and a more balanced legislative policy was proposed. As a result of the study, the current state of legal regulation in the areas of administrative and criminal law related to quarantine violations was analyzed; the liability for such offenses was characterized; some conclusions regarding the existing related problems were made and options for their solution were proposed, as well as propositions for modernization of legislation were made.
Stewart, Ashleigh, Reece Cossar and Mark Stoové, ‘The Response to COVID-19 in Prisons Must Consider the Broader Mental Health Impacts for People in Prison’ (2020) 54(12) Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 1227–1228 Introduction: Prisons are an integral part of the global public health response to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In light of typically over-crowded physical environments, prisons operating beyond their capacity and restrictions on freedom of movement, the introduction of COVID-19 in prisons and other custodial settings could be devastating. Effective COVID-19 infection control strategies in custodial settings have seen an emergent emphasis on physical distancing and quarantining (World Health Organization [WHO], 2020). These strategies are crucial to slow COVID-19 transmission; however, they also pose significant risk for people with mental illness in these settings. Rates of severe mental illness and mental health morbidity and mortality are substantially higher among people in prison compared to general populations. Therefore, the response to COVID-19 requires consideration of associated mental health implications to minimise adverse consequences for people in prison.
Stickle, Ben and Marcus Felson, ‘Crime Rates in a Pandemic: The Largest Criminological Experiment in History’ (2020) 45(4) American Journal of Criminal Justice 525–536 Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 has impacted the world in ways not seen in generations. Initial evidence suggests one of the effects is crime rates, which appear to have fallen drastically in many communities around the world. We argue that the principal reason for the change is the government ordered stay-at-home orders, which impacted the routine activities of entire populations. Because these orders impacted countries, states, and communities at different times and in different ways, a naturally occurring, quasi-randomized control experiment has unfolded, allowing the testing of criminological theories as never before. Using new and traditional data sources made available as a result of the pandemic criminologists are equipped to study crime in society as never before. We encourage researchers to study specific types of crime, in a temporal fashion (following the stay-at-home orders), and placed-based. The results will reveal not only why, where, when, and to what extent crime changed, but also how to influence future crime reduction.
Stoianova, Tatiana, Liudmyla Ostrovska and Grygorii Tripulskyir, ‘COVID-19: Pandemic of Domestic Violence’ (2020) 9(2) Ius Humani Law Journal 111–136 Abstract: The article is devoted to the analysis of domestic violence in the context of Covid-19. The research is carried out for the first time in the focus of several sciences: psychology, sociology, and jurisprudence. To study the legal regulation of domestic violence, knowledge from different branches of law was used: international, criminal, administrative, and civil procedural law. Attention was paid to the historical retrospective—how the concept of domestic violence first appeared at the world level, and how it was differentiated and implemented in the national legislation of the participating countries. The problems of signing the Istanbul Agreement are highlighted. Special attention was paid to the current wave of domestic violence as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The prerequisites of a general psychological, social, and economic nature, their interdependence, and connection with the pandemic were investigated. The scale of the scourge of domestic violence in the context of a pandemic in different countries is indicated, and its short-term and long-term consequences for the well-being of the nation. The specific mechanisms for preventing family violence at three levels are considered: general criminogenic, a comprehensive mechanism for preventing violence at the level of interaction between the state and public organizations, and directly special means. The study concludes that Covid-19 pandemic has a direct impact on the exacerbation of domestic violence. The solutions are proposed, from legislative amendments to the redistribution of state and public forces to address the problem of domestic violence.
Stott, Clifford, Owen West and Mark Harrison, ‘A Turning Point, Securitization, and Policing in the Context of Covid-19: Building a New Social Contract Between State and Nation?’ 14(3) Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice 574–578 Extract from Introduction: … the measures taken by governments to control disease often produce outcomes that can threaten the very basis of functional democracy. In this commentary, we provide a brief analysis of some of the security implications of Covid-19
Strassle, Camila and Benjamin Berkman, ‘Prisons and Pandemics’ (SSRN Scholarly Paper No ID 3644635, 6 July 2020) Jurisdiction: USA
Abstract: This Article examines the public health response to COVID-19 within federal and state prisons and local jails. Prisons and jails are often a hotbed of airborne infections like COVID-19 as a result of chronic overcrowding, unavoidably close living quarters, and incarcerated people’s underlying health risk factors. Proposals for handling coronavirus vary but tend to include the incorporation of prevention measures within congregate settings as well as the return of individuals to their local communities in order to facilitate physical distancing. This Article identifies ethical tradeoffs and sets priorities for incarcerated people’s return to communities. In Parts I and II, we provide background on why the COVID-19 pandemic is especially dangerous within correctional facilities and lay out the various enacted and proposed public health responses. In Part III, we provide moral, practical, and legal arguments for supporting the early release of incarcerated individuals that stand independently of specific views about criminal detention and theories of legal punishment. In the last part, we set priorities for which individuals to release first. These are individuals who (1) have low risk of recidivism for a violent offense, (2) are being held pretrial, (3) have high risk of mortality from COVID-19, (4) are nearing the end of their sentences, and (5) have custodial responsibilities to third parties.
Stawińska, Weronika, ‘How Has the Coronavirus Affected Polish Criminal Law?’ (2022) 51 Polish Political Science Yearbook (advance article, publihed online 20 June 2022) Abstract: This paper aims to indicate the changes in Polish criminal law introduced in the COVID-19 acts. The text identifies the new regulations of most importance to society. For this reason, the initial focus is on the issue of suspension of procedural time limits and some substantive law time limits from the Criminal Code. It must be stated that, from the perspective of the legal certainty principle, precisely these provisions are of the most significant importance for the defendant. Next, the changes in the Electronic tagging concerning the possibility of interrupting the execution of an imprisonment sentence and serving an imprisonment sentence were discussed. From a criminal policy point of view, higher penalties for the offences of exposure to infection and stalking should also have been mentioned. A new offence of particularly aggravated theft has appeared in the Penal Code and a new offence of obstructing a Police or Border Guard officer in performing official duties. For a more effective fight, it is also vital to provide for the possibility of imposing a new preventive measure and confiscating objects important to public health. The indicated legal developments are presented in the context of human rights protection and in light of recent literature and judicial decisions.
Subroto, Wandi, ‘Hoarding of Personal Protection Tools during the Covid-19 Pandemic: Criminal Law Study on Consumer Protection’ (2022) 5(1) Budapest International Research and Critics Institute (BIRCI) Journal: Humanities and Social Sciences 6551–6561 Abstract: During the pandemic, some unscrupulous perpetrators hoard Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), which then causes a shortage and an increase in the price of PPE. This is a problem that is quite worrying for consumer protection. This study will examine how criminal law in consumer protection looks at the issues regarding the hoarding of PPE by these elements. The research will be carried out using a normative juridical method. The approach used is a statute approach and a conceptual approach by looking at the law, research results, and previous studies related to this research. The study results found that criminal law plays an essential role in consumer protection. Then this criminal law can be used to take action against the perpetrators of hoarding PPE based on the Trade Law and the Business Competition Law.
Sun, Nina, Jason Rudall and Livio Zilli, ‘The Use of Criminal Sanctions in COVID-19 Responses: Exposure and Transmission (Part 1)’ in Barrie Sander (ed), Opinio Juris Symposium on COVID-19 and International Law (2020) Abstract: This piece is split into two parts – the first focuses on criminalization of COVID-19 exposure and transmission, and the second on criminal sanctions for the enforcement of public health measures.
Sun, Nina, Jason Rudall and Livio Zilli, ‘The Use of Criminal Sanctions in COVID-19 Responses: Enforcement of Public Health Measures (Part 2)’ in Barrie Sander (ed), Opinio Juris Symposium on COVID-19 and International Law (2020) Abstract: This piece is split into two parts – the first focuses on criminalization of COVID-19 exposure and transmission, and the second on criminal sanctions for the enforcement of public health measures.
Suteki, Suteki, ‘Examination of Witnesses in Criminal Case Trials during the Covid-19 Pandemic in Progressive Legal Perspective’ (Proceedings of the 1st International Workshop on Law, Economics and Governance, IWLEG 2022, 27 July 2022, Semarang, Indonesia, 2023) [unpaginated] Jurisdiction: Indonesia
Abstract: Law is continuously changing, including in terms of the criminal justice system. In this case, the examination of witnesses in court must also adjust to the actual health conditions, mainly related to the Covid-19 pandemic. This article proposes to find out the judge’s obligation to present the witness Mardani Maming while there are juridical reasons for allowing a witness to give testimonies virtually. In this context, the legal status of the summons has been signed by the panel of judges at the Banjarmasin Anti-Corruption Court. At the previous trial, there was an agreement that witnesses could provide information online. Based on the analysis, it is known that the judge does not have a firm basis for delivering a forced summons to Mardani Maming to attend the trial since, according to the provisions of the Regulation of the Supreme Court No. 4 of 2020, trials can be conducted virtually. Therefore, sending a summons to Mardani Maming puts law enforcement ahead of humanity; this action is contrary to progressive law.
Syahputra, Azmi and Rocky Marbun, ‘Double Standards of Law Enforcement in the Covid-19 Pandemic Era in Indonesia: A Relationship Trichotomy Study’ (2nd International Conference on Law Reform (INCLAR 2021), 2021) 51–56 Abstract: Since World Health Organization (WHO) declared a pandemic all over the world, including Indonesia, the whole living system seems to be experiencing “reconstruction”. Not a single system has been able to be maintained, so that every government reformulates the system, including the criminal law system. The process of enforcing criminal law is always overshadowed by the slogan “Salus Populi Suprema Lex Esto”. In the end, the word “crowd” as a word that has a primordial meaning, in this pandemic era it has become a “favorite” word which is often used as a normative proposition. However, the phenomenon of ‘swarming’ itself received a response in the context of law enforcement, which was varied. The government, in this case the National Police of the Republic of Indonesia, always rationalizes both active and passive (silent), producing knowledge to determine which ones are being acted upon and which are not. Therefore, this study aims to uncover the ideological aspects of the double standard phenomenon in the criminal law enforcement process. Restrictions problems in this study relates to “How the Indonesian National Police in carrying out police functions in a pandemic era based on the concept of Trichotomy Relationships?” This research uses the socio legal method by using an approach from Law Science and from Social and Political Sciences. The results of this study indicate that there is a pattern of law enforcement work by rationalizing a decision that relies on the authority. Authority holders carry out the production of knowledge in order to provide juridical legitimacy through their power and authority.
Szczygiel, Grazyna B, ‘Prisoners during the Pandemic’ (2021) 26(6) Bialystok Legal Studies / Bialostockie Studia Prawnicze 39–54 Abstract: In connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, all countries of the world are taking actions to minimize the spread of the virus. Th ese actions interfere with civil rights and liberties. Th ey particularly aff ect convicts who serve prison sentences, as such sentences deprive them many of their rights or signifi cantly restrict them. Recognizing the situation of prisoners at this diffi cult time, in March 2020, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment (CPT) issued the Statement of principles relating to the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty in the context of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)1 , while the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment prepared Advice to States parties and national preventive mechanisms to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Th e purpose of this paper is to determine whether our country, while taking certain actions, takes into account the recommendations contained in both aforementioned documents.
Tanvir, Sakin and Tamanna Tabassum Kabir, ‘Combating the Rise of Domestic Violence against Women during the Pandemic: The Weaknesses of Bangladeshi Legal Regime’ (2020) 3(3) Society for Critical Legal Studies (SCLS) Law Review 94–102 Abstract: The purpose of this study is to find out the effectiveness and sufficiency of national and international laws and provisions in minimizing violence in the household or domestic violence in Bangladesh. As COVID-19 has affected the whole country financially, socially and in individual level, intra-family conflicts like domestic violence have increased at an alarming rate. Presence of various laws, provisions, including both national and international such as the Penal Code, 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act, 2010, the Prevention of Cruelty against Women and Children Act, 2000, International Human Rights instruments and some national-international organizations indicate towards the punishment and prevention of the offenders of domestic violence. To find out whether those provisions and mechanisms are sufficient to minimize domestic violence, the authors have studied and analyzed all the facts and circumstances regarding those mechanisms. They selected qualitative method and secondary data analysis as their design to conduct the research. In the consequences of this study, the authors have found that despite being many Acts and mechanisms to deter the offenders from committing violence in the family, the number of incidents has not gone down whereas increased. In the understanding of the sufficiency of mechanisms to minimize the rate of domestic violence, national and international mechanisms are needed to be collaborated and required some new techniques for preventing domestic violence.
Taher, Qasim Muthanna and Abdul Ghani, ‘Criminal Liability for Intentionally Transmitting the COVID-19 Virus to Others in the UAE Law’ (2024) 16(2) Pakistan Journal of Criminology 959 Abstract: This study explores the alignment of the noble Islamic Sharia’s emphasis on preserving human life and safety with international conventions and national legislation, particularly in the context of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Grounded in the principles of Islamic Sharia, which prioritizes the preservation of the soul, the study employs a qualitative analysis of the UAE’s health policies and legislative measures against the pandemic, guided by the World Health Organization’s recommendations and supported by a review of the UAE Constitution and global COVID-19 statistics. Findings reveal that the UAE’s comprehensive health and legislative measures to combat the pandemic align with Islamic Sharia and international health guidelines, highlighting the effectiveness of integrating religious principles with modern health policies for pandemic preparedness and response. This study offers valuable insights into enhancing public health crisis management through integrating religious principles and modern legislative measures, underscoring the importance of strengthening legislative and healthcare systems in controlling communicable diseases.
Tas, Sarah, ‘Keeping the Internet Safe During and After the Pandemic: Dealing with rise of Cybercrime in the EU’ in Francisco de Abreu Duarte and Francesca Palmiotto Ettorre (eds), Sovereignty, Technology and Governance after COVID-19: Legal Challenges in a Post-Pandemic Europe (Bloomsbury, 2022)
Temprosa, Francis Tom and Darwin Simpelo, ‘Rights under Lockdown: Not Releasing Vulnerable Prisoners in the Time of a Pandemic Is a Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment’ Michigan Journal of International Law Online (forthcoming) Abstract: This argues that the non-release of vulnerable prisoners in this time of a pandemic constitutes a cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of punishment, a grave violation of the Torture Convention in international law. With the quick and far-reaching spread of the novel coronavirus or COVID-19, prisoners are among the most vulnerable people in the world. Prisoners face the real danger of COVID-19 while being held in environments that make basic health measures of personal protection and distancing impossible. While the situations of prisons, jails, and other detention centers in each country differs, there could be instances when the danger of being afflicted with the disease is grave and imminent in all carceral States.
Terziev, Venelin, Marin Georgiev and SM Bankov, ‘Increasing the Risk of Corruption Activities during a COVID-19 Pandemic’ (2020) 92(12) International Scientific Journal, Internauka 58–59 Abstract: The actions of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Bulgaria are positively recognized not only by the Bulgarian society, but also by the previous European Commission in relation to the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism in the field of justice and home affairs. Thus, the last Monitoring Report on the progress of Bulgaria acknowledged the fulfillment of all criteria and the Commission expressed the opinion that the progress made by the Republic of Bulgaria on the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism is sufficient to meet the country’s commitments made at the moment of EU accession. This opinion does not minimize the expectations for outcomes in the fight against corruption and organized crime in the country. Therefore the efforts of the law enforcement authorities in recent years will not remain on an occasional basis, but will impose a lasting trend to strengthen the rule of law in the Republic of Bulgaria.
Tessler, Hannah, Meera Choi and Grace Kao, ‘The Anxiety of Being Asian American: Hate Crimes and Negative Biases During the COVID-19 Pandemic’ (2020) 45(4) American Journal of Criminal Justice 636–646 Abstract: In this essay, we review how the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic that began in the United States in early 2020 has elevated the risks of Asian Americans to hate crimes and Asian American businesses to vandalism. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the incidents of negative bias and microaggressions against Asian Americans have also increased. COVID-19 is directly linked to China, not just in terms of the origins of the disease, but also in the coverage of it. Because Asian Americans have historically been viewed as perpetually foreign no matter how long they have lived in the United States, we posit that it has been relatively easy for people to treat Chinese or Asian Americans as the physical embodiment of foreignness and disease. We examine the historical antecedents that link Asian Americans to infectious diseases. Finally, we contemplate the possibility that these experiences will lead to a reinvigoration of a panethnic Asian American identity and social movement.
Thomas, Kimberly, ‘Voices from a Prison Pandemic: Lives Lost from COVID-19 at Lakeland Correctional’ (2021) 19 Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law (forthcoming) Abstract: Coronavirus tore through jails and prisons like wildfire. In some states, more than half of the people incarcerated there tested positive for COVID-19; nearly 400,000 people in prison across the United States have tested positive. For people in prison, COVID-19 brought the loss of close friends, solitary confinement, loss of connection with family and programming, lack of information, and fear of contracting the virus. It has also reminded those who are incarcerated of the one-dimensional way in which people in prison are perceived. As stated by one collaborator, Cory Souders, ‘[s]o many men and women who come to prison are identified by the crime they committed. In my eyes, many on the outside have forgotten the fact that we are still human.’Before society’s collective consciousness fades, the authors of this Commentary seek to document the experience of the coronavirus from inside the prison walls and to remember of the lives of the men who died from COVID-19 inside one prison, Lakeland Correctional Facility, a 1,400-person state prison in rural Michigan where coronavirus hit early and hard.
Thorneycroft, Ryan and Nicole L Asquith, ‘Unexceptional Violence in Exceptional Times: Disablist and Ableist Violence During the COVID-19 Pandemic’ (2021) 10(2) International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy 140–155 Abstract: It is well established that violence and oppression towards vulnerable and marginalised communities are intensified and compounded during times of social upheaval, and the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated disablist and ableist violence against disabled people. During the first year of the pandemic, we have been confronted with instances of violence meted out to disabled subjects. In this article, we provide a theorisation of such violence. Based on an assemblage of our collective readings of Butler, Campbell and Young, as well as our own observations and experiences, we suggest that added anxieties currently confronting people’s fragile corporeal embodiment are licensing abled subjects to violate disabled subjects to put them back in their place. Through an excavation of ‘Norms, Binaries, and Anxieties’, ‘Abjection, Substitutability, and Disavowal’, and ‘Ableism and (Un)grievability’, we trace the social contours of disablist and ableist violence, both within and beyond the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and provide a way of imagining otherwise to resist this violence.
Thusi, India, ‘The Biopolitics of Maskless Police’ (2021) 18(2) Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law 555–574 Abstract: Despite the recent movement against police violence, police officers have been endangering their communities by engaging in a new form of violence—policing while refusing to wear facial coverings to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Many states advise people to wear masks and to socially distance when in public spaces. However, police officers have frequently failed to comply with these guidelines as they interact with the public to enforce these COVID-19 laws. Police enforcement of COVID-19 laws is problematic for two reasons: (1) it provides a method for pathologizing marginalized communities as biological threats; (2) it creates a racialized pathway for the spread of the virus.
Tinto, Katie and Jenny Roberts, ‘Expanding Compassion Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic’ (2021) 18(2) Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law 575–603 Abstract: Compassionate relief matters. It matters so that courts may account for tragically unforeseeable events, as when an illness or disability renders proper care impossible while a defendant remains incarcerated, or when family tragedy leaves an inmate the sole caretaker for an incapacitated partner or minor children. It matters too, as present circumstances make clear, when public-health calamities threaten inmates with literal death sentences. It matters even when no crisis looms, but simply when continued incarceration would be ‘greater than necessary’ to achieve the ends of justice.
Travaini, Guido, Palmina Caruso and Isabella Merzagora, ‘Crime in Italy at the Time of the Pandemic’ (2020) 91(2) Acta Bio Medica Atenei Parmensis 199–203 Abstract: The beginning of 2020 has been marked by a historic event of worldwide importance: the Coronavirus pandemic. This emergency has resulted in severe global problems affecting areas such as healthcare and the social and economic fields. What about crime? The purpose of this work is to reflect about Italy and its crime rate at the time of Coronavirus. Some crimes will be analysed (the ‘conventional’ ones only, ruling out health-related offences) in the light of data resulting from Ministries and Europol reports, as well as from newspapers and news. The outcome will be explained, and some criminological remarks will be added.
Turanjanin, Veljko and Darko Radulovic, ‘Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Possibilities for Criminal Law Reaction in Europe: A Review’ (2020) 49 Iranian Journal of Public Health 4–11 Abstract: Coronavirus (COVID-19) is the newest dangerous contagious disease in the world, emerged at the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020. World Health Organization at the daily level publishes numbers of infected patients as well as several dead people around the world and in every region particularly. However, public health and criminal law are inevitably linked. National criminal laws in Europe mainly prescribe criminal offences for transmitting a dangerous contagious disease. Numerous states have closed their borders, quarantining their nationals that entering in the state. Strangers cannot enter in European Union. However, many do not abide by the restrictions, and people who have become ill with coronavirus walking the streets and committing a criminal offence. The authors in the work, in the first place, explain the connection between public health and criminal law and then elaborate criminal jurisdictions in Europe.
Turanjanin, Veljko, ‘Unforeseeability and Abuse of Criminal Law During the Covid-19 Pandemic in Serbia’ (2021) 5(EU 2021 – The Future of the EU in and After the Pandemic) EU and Comparative Law Issues and Challenges Series (ECLIC) 223–246 Abstract: The author deals with the problem of criminal measures and sanctions in the legislation of the Republic of Serbia during the Covid-19 pandemic. The executive branch of the government declared a state of emergency in the Republic of Serbia in March 2020. At the same time the so-called Crisis Headquarter was established with the authority to impose measures of criminal-legal nature. During the two-month state of emergency, through the Crisis Headquarter, the executive branch of the government was changing criminal laws and sanctions at an almost daily basis. It is debatable whether such laws meet the rule of law and the European Court of Human Rights standards. Many citizens failed to adapt their behavior to the imposed measures. On the one hand, the courts have fallen into the trap of double punishment, both for a crime and for a misdemeanor. On the other hand, justifications of the courts’ decisions are also questionable, especially those containing references to statements made by members of the crisis team through the media. Furthermore, the Constitutional Court didn’t rule on any of the numerous requests for constitutional review, but in September it came out with the view that since the state of emergency was over, its decision was unnecessary. The paper is comprised of several units. In the first place, the author explains the process of legal changes by analyzing all the laws and rules that were passed by the end of 2020, as well as data related to the punishment of residents whose behavior was not in accordance with existing legal solutions. Bearing in mind the standards of the rule of law and the European Court of Human Rights, the author then explains that the measures implemented by the Serbian authorities do not meet the basic required criteria, primarily the foreseeability of the law, as well as that the laws were abused for the purpose of the election campaign. The special attention is paid to curfews and the complete ban on leaving homes for senior citizens well as ban of contacting with the family members, and then the lockdown of the rest of the population. The actions taken by the authorities during the epidemic resulted in violation of human rights of their citizens, and experience shows that the only court that citizens will be able to turn to will be the European Court of Human Rights. The author believes that with this understanding of the law and respect for its own citizens, the European Union can only be a distant idea.
Van Hout, Marie Claire, ‘Using COVID-19 to Address Environmental Threats to Health and Leverage for Prison Reform in South Africa, Malawi and Zimbabwe’ (2023) 15(2) Journal of Human Rights Practice 477–505 Abstract: Health rights of prisoners has long been a neglected political issue in Africa, where over one million people are detained, and almost half of whom are in pre-trial detention. African prisons constitute high-risk environments for communicable disease transmission. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the public health literature on African prison responses focused on preparedness as it related to testing capacity, quarantine practices and personal protective measures to mitigate disease spread. This article combines the right to health as narrowly defined by a prisoner’s right to access non-discriminatory equivalent health care, with a broader focus on assessing normative standards of detention. A comparative legal realist assessment of prison operations in South Africa, Malawi and Zimbabwe during COVID-19 state disaster measures is presented, focusing on the environmental determinants of health (ventilation, minimum floor space, water, sanitation, hygiene and nutrition) in prisons. It reveals the inherent tensions in ensuring a balance between respecting the fundamental rights of people living and working in prisons, ensuring adequate environmental health standards and mitigating disease during public health emergencies. Despite insufficient government resourcing and inadequate coverage of COVID-19 responses, few severe outbreaks were reported. This could be due to lack of testing, reporting or other factors (asymptomatic infection, acquired immunity). Prison congestion and unrest however affected prisoners and staff fearful of hazardous living and occupational health conditions. COVID-19 as public health emergency amplifies the need to address systemic deficits in infrastructure, resourcing and efficiency of criminal justice systems. Policy level and pragmatic recommendations for enhanced human rights practice are outlined.
Van Hout, MC et al, ‘A Legal-Realist Assessment of Human Rights, Right to Health and Standards of Healthcare in the Malawian Prison System during COVID-19 State Disaster Measures.’ (2022) International Journal of Prisoner Health (forthcoming) Abstract: The first case of COVID-19 in the Malawi prison system was reported in July 2020. Human rights organisations raised concerns about the possibility of significant COVID-19 outbreaks and deaths in the prison system, due to the poor infrastructure, lack of health care and adequate COVID-19 mitigation measures, existing co-morbidities (tuberculosis, HIV, hepatitis C), malnutrition and poor health of many prisoners. We conducted a legal-realist assessment of the Malawian prison system response to COVID-19 during state disaster measures, with a specific focus on the right to health and standards of health care as mandated in international, African and domestic law. The Malawi prison system was relatively successful in preventing serious COVID-19 outbreaks in its prisons, despite the lack of resources and the ad hoc reactive approach adopted. Whilst the Malawi national COVID plan was aligned to international and regional protocols, the combination of infrastructural deficits (clinical staff, medical provisions) and poor conditions of detention (congestion, lack of ventilation, hygiene and sanitation) were conducive to poor health and the spread of communicable disease. The state of disaster declared by the Malawi government and visitation restrictions at prisons worsened prison conditions for those working and living there.
Van Hout, MC and J Wessels, ‘“Ubuntu” I Am Because We Are: COVID-19 and the Legal Framework for Addressing Communicable Disease in the South African Prison System’ (2021) International Journal of Prisoner Health (Advance article, published online 3 October 2021) Abstract: Severely congested and ill resourced prison systems in Africa face unprecedented challenges amplified by COVID-19. South Africa has recorded the highest COVID-19 positivity rate in Africa and on March 15th 2020 declared a national state of disaster. The first prison system case was notified on April 6th 2020. A legal-realist assessment of the South African prison system response to COVID-19 in the 12 months following initial case notification focused on the minimum State obligations to comply with human rights norms, and the extent to which human, health and occupational health rights of prisoners and staff were upheld during disaster measures. A legal-realist account was developed, which revealed the indeterminate nature of application of South African COVID-19 government directives, ill resourced COVID-19 mitigation measures, alarming occupational health and prison conditions and inadequate standards of health care in prisons when evaluated against the rule of law during State declaration of disaster. This legal-realist assessment is original by virtue of its unique evaluation of the South African prison system approach to tackling COVID-19. It acknowledged State efforts, policy making processes and outcomes, and how these operated within the prison system itself. By moving beyond the deleterious impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the already precarious South African prison system, we argue for rights assurance for those who live and work in its prisons, improved infrastructure and greater substantive equality of all deprived of their liberty in South Africa.
Viero, A et al, ‘Violence against Women in the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Review of the Literature and a Call for Shared Strategies to Tackle Health and Social Emergencies’ (2021) 319 Forensic Science International (advance article) Article 1106502 Abstract: The aim of this article was to conduct a rapid critical review of the literature about the relationship between violence against women (VAW) and the current COVID-19 pandemic. After the screening process, a total of 42 articles were considered. Our review confirmed that the ‘stay at home’ policies to contrast the pandemic have increased the problem of VAW, creating a ‘shadow pandemic within the pandemic’, as it was called by the United Nations. However, rigorous studies estimating the relationship between VAW and COVID-19 pandemic are scarce; most of the articles are commentaries, letters, editorials, and most of the published data derives from social media, internet, anecdotal evidence and helplines reports. Health care systems should promote further investigations into the relation between VAW and COVID-19, to identify creative solutions to provide clinical care and forensic services for victims of VAW.
Vilalta, Carlos, Gustavo Fondevila and Ricardo Massa, ‘The Impact of Anti-COVID-19 Measures on Mexico City Criminal Reports’ (2023) 44(5) Deviant Behavior 723–737 Abstract: From the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, government measures impacted citizens’ behavior, particularly regarding social distancing and confinement. Whether or not these measures influenced criminal behavior is an area of particular interest. Findings, mainly concerned with the routine activity theory, have correlated restrictions on movement and circulation with a general decrease in crime. In this analysis, we use the case of Mexico City to estimate the impact of the national health crisis, and the corresponding government measures implemented, as well as their subsequent relaxation, on the daily crime count for six types of crimes (assault, burglary -residential and commercial-, domestic violence, larceny, robbery, and vehicle theft). We use generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (GARCH) models to control for the volatility of the time series. While there is a growing body of literature that focuses on the study of criminal behavior during the pandemic, there is a scarcity of work that uses time series to analyze the impact of government measures and their consequences on criminal activity. Our results show a significant reduction in criminal reports for the analyzed crimes during the period of strictest social distancing measures, followed by an increase as these were gradually lifted or lightened.
Visuasam, Srithar, ‘Policing during COVID: An International Perspective’ (2021) 94(5) Police Association (Victoria) Journal 21 Abstract: Policing in Australia has evolved significantly in recent times and TPAV Delegates got to listen to an international perspective of policing during the COVID pandemic at their September conference from Calum Steele, General Secretary of the Scottish Police Federation.
Vose, Brenda, Francis T Cullen and Heejin Lee, ‘Targeted Release in the COVID-19 Correctional Crisis: Using the RNR Model to Save Lives’ (2020) 45(4) American Journal of Criminal Justice769 - 779 Abstract: While the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically affected the lives of people around the world, select populations (e.g., elderly, immune-compromised, and incarcerated individuals) are among the most likely to contract the virus and among the least likely to overcome the illness and regain full health. This paper focuses on the incarcerated individuals and how the coronavirus has added a new and unprecedented threat to correctional facilities that are already overcrowded and ill-equipped to identify and address the medical needs of the inmate population. The risk-need-responsivity model (RNR) should be used to make empirically-informed decisions about the targeted release. The identification and release of inmates who pose the least threat to society will help alleviate some of the burdens associated with prison crowding. Specifically, with fewer inmates, correctional facilities can comply with social distancing guidelines, introduce enhanced cleaning measures, and make necessary institutional adjustments. In so doing they will limit the transmission of COVID-19 within correctional institutions, ensure the safety of staff and their charges, and enable prisons and jails to better accommodate the needs of the inmate population.
Walklate, Sandra, Barry Godfrey and Jane Richardson, ‘Changes and Continuities in Police Responses to Domestic Abuse in England and Wales during the Covid-19 “Lockdown”’ (2022) 32(2) Policing & Society 221–233 Abstract: Covid-19 and the associated public health response directing people to stay at home and/or shelter in place generated acute awareness of, and concerns about, the likely impact on violence(s) against women across the globe. Initial reports from support services suggested that such violence increased, and that its impact was more complex. Early evidence of increased demands in relation to domestic abuse on policing was however less clear. This paper, based on findings from a larger project, offers an analysis of the initial responses to domestic abuse by the police and the courts in England and Wales during the initial pandemic lockdown of 2020. These findings are situated within wider debates concerned with the nature and impact of the current organisational structure of policing and suggests that whilst police forces responded both quickly and innovatively in order to maintain a focus on domestic abuse, their capacity to continue in this vein will be limited in the absence of wider structural and organisational change.
Wall, David S, ‘The Transnational Cybercrime Extortion Landscape and the Pandemic’ [2021] (Special Conference Edition 5) European Law Enforcement Research Bulletin 45–60 Abstract: The sudden disruption of work, recreation and leisure practices caused by the COVID-19 lockdown caught many organisations and their employees unaware, especially during the move towards working from home. This led adaptive cybercriminals to shift their own focus towards home workers as a way into organisational networks. The upshot was a massive acceleration in major cyberattacks upon organisations and a noticeable shift in offender tactics which scale up levels of fear in victims to encourage payment of the ransom. Such tactics include a shift towards naming and shaming victims, the theft of commercially sensitive data and attacks targeting organisations which provide services to other organisations. These developments have also led to changes in the organisation of offenders online. Such attacks negatively impact upon national and international economies as they try to recover from lockdown. Drawing upon an analysis of 4000+ cases of ransomware attacks collected for the EPSRC EMPHASIS & CRITICAL research projects, this paper charts the evolution of ransomware as a modern cybercrime and changes in the organisation of cyber-criminals as well as highlighting some of the implications for transnational policing.
Wang, Deborah, ‘Expanding Judicial Discretion to Grant Compassionate Release During COVID-19’ (2022) 97(4) Washington Law Review 1283–1308 Abstract: In the 1980s, Congress introduced compassionate release to counteract the increased rigidity of our federal sentencing system. This mechanism allowed courts, through a motion filed by the Bureau of Prison’s director, to reduce a prisoner’s sentence if ‘extraordinary and compelling’ circumstances warrant such a reduction. However, because the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) seldom brought these motions, few people were released early via compassionate release. At the same time, public discourse and concerns regarding mass incarceration have continued to grow, causing lawmakers to revisit and revise compassionate release through the First Step Act of 2018 to ensure that this mechanism’s potential is fully realized. From the First Step Act’s passage in 2018 until 2020, however, compassionate release was still more modestly utilized than legislators envisioned. This changed when the COVID-19 pandemic swept the United States and its prisons. The pandemic has presented courts with new opportunities to expand the use of compassionate release. While some legal scholars have examined the pandemic’s impact on courts’ compassionate release decisions, this Comment is the first to address a split among district court judges on how to interpret the relevant compassionate release statute’s exhaustion requirement. Some courts have interpreted the statute to allow prisoners to file a motion for compassionate release thirty days after a warden’s receipt of the request, regardless of whether the warden acted upon the request within that timeframe. In contrast, other courts have held that, if the warden denied the request within thirty days of receipt, the defendant must first exhaust administrative remedies within the BOP before filing a motion with the court. This Comment argues that courts should allow prisoners to directly file a motion with the court even if the warden timely denied the request. Not only is this interpretation more faithful to the statutory text, but it also allows courts to reach the merits of the case and thus grant more motions for compassionate release, which aligns with the First Step Act’s purpose of alleviating our current mass incarceration crisis.
Wasilczuk, Madalyn, ‘Lessons from Disaster: Assessing the COVID-19 Response in Youth Jails & Prisons’ [2021] (2) Arizona State Law Journal Online 221–245 Abstract: In many states, the law requires a child’s custody to be for rehabilitation, not for punishment. Nevertheless, to stop the spread of COVID-19, some youth jails and prisons have halted all rehabilitative programming, educational services, and family visits. These ostensibly evidence-based positions fail to account for the underlying conditions of the children held in youth jails and prisons and discount the long-term effects of trauma on the developing brain. Black and Native youth are overrepresented in youth facilities, and their families are overrepresented in COVID death tolls. While the COVID-19 crisis barrels down on these children’s communities, they are cut off from regular contact with those they love, statistically diminishing their chances of successful reentry. Children in youth facilities are also disproportionately likely to have mental illnesses, intellectual disabilities, and extensive trauma histories. These underlying conditions exacerbate the effects of lockdowns, withdrawal of services, and the prohibition on family visits. Moreover, studies in the wake of Hurricane Katrina demonstrate that the traumatic effects of a disaster fall disproportionately on children. Those who have studied children’s experiences during the hurricane expect similar patterns to emerge after the coronavirus. Children in custodial settings, further separated from community supports, are especially vulnerable. Moreover, as COVID-19 trauma affects children in custody at a critical developmental stage, those who care for them must take steps to prevent the effects of trauma from continuing into adulthood. This essay argues that courts and others with the power to protect young people in custody across this country must take the mental health harms to children as seriously as physical ones and take serious steps toward decarceration in the juvenile legal system.
Weisburd, Kate et al, ‘Electronic Prisons: The Operation of Ankle Monitoring in the Criminal Legal System’ (GWU Legal Studies Research Paper No 2021–41, 2021) Abstract: The use of surveillance technology to tag and track people on pretrial release, probation and parole is on the rise. The COVID-19 crisis in prisons and jails, bail reform efforts and bipartisan support for curbing mass incarceration accelerated interest in purported alternatives to incarceration. As a result, the use electronic monitoring devices, including GPS-equipped ankle monitors, went up dramatically. Thanks to the leadership of community organizers and advocates, the harmful and racialized nature of this type of carceral surveillance has been exposed. This report seeks to add to those efforts by examining the specific policies, procedures, contracts and rules that govern the use of electronic monitoring of people on probation, parole and pretrial release. Drawing on over 247 records from 101 agencies across 44 states and the District of Columbia, this report focuses on the operation of electronic monitoring. The report reveals the degree to which monitoring rules and policies restrict movement, limit privacy, undermine family and social relationships, extract wealth and result in repeated loss of freedom. Unlike traditional models of probation and parole, electronic surveillance is more intensive, restrictive and dependent on private surveillance companies that are driven by profit motive. The findings in this report demonstrate what advocates have long said: Electronic surveillance is not an alternative to incarceration, it’s an alternative form of incarceration. And like incarceration, the deprivations and restrictions of electronic monitoring further entrench race and class-based subordination.
Weisburd, Kate, ‘Punitive Surveillance’ (2022) 108(1) Virginia Law Review 147–221 Abstract: Budget constraints, bipartisan desire to address mass incarceration, and the COVID-19 crisis in prisons have triggered state and federal officials to seek alternatives to incarceration. As a result, invasive electronic surveillance—such as GPS-equipped ankle monitors, smartphone tracking, and suspicionless searches of electronic devices—is often touted as a humane substitute for incarceration. This type of monitoring, which I term ‘punitive surveillance,’ allows government officials, law enforcement, and for-profit companies to track, record, search, and analyze the location, biometric data, and other meta-data of thousands of people on probation and parole. With virtually no legal oversight or restraint, punitive surveillance deprives people of fundamental rights, including privacy, speech, and liberty. Building on the critique that punitive surveillance is a form of racialized carceral control, this Article makes three contributions: First, drawing on original empirical research of almost 250 public agency records governing the operation of electronic ankle monitoring, this Article reveals non-obvious ways that punitive surveillance, like incarceration, strips people of basic rights and liberties. In particular, the records show how monitoring restricts movement, limits privacy, undermines family and social relationships, jeopardizes financial security, and results in repeated loss of freedom. Unlike traditional probation and parole, punitive surveillance is more intensive, restrictive, and dependent on private surveillance companies. Second, this Article explains how, and why, courts’ labeling of such surveillance as a ‘condition’ of punishment or a regulatory measure stems from a misunderstanding of this surveillance and punishment jurisprudence. Third, and most ambitiously, this Article raises the question of whether a fundamental rights analysis, a regulatory response, or an abolitionist approach is the most effective way of limiting—if not outright eliminating—punitive surveillance.
Weiss, Allison, ‘Habeas Corpus, Conditions of Confinement, and COVID-19’ (2020) 27(1) Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice 131–158 Abstract: Incarcerated individuals, worried about contracting the disease in prison without adequate healthcare and often serious health risks, have filed lawsuits challenging their incarceration in the age of COVID-19. Overall, very few have been successful. This virus has changed our world and the reality for those in prison. The traditional legal avenues available to incarcerated individuals to challenge their continued confinement are often ill-equipped to allow for comprehensive and expedited review. The author argues that during these unprecedented times, courts should recognize that the ‘duty to defend the Constitution’ requires them to grant motions for habeas corpus by the most vulnerable prisoners—those who are elderly or suffer from certain medical preexisting conditions—and that ‘a public health emergency does not absolve [courts] of that responsibility.’ To the contrary, the pandemic has underscored the necessity of courts to step into and embrace their roles as protectors of those who are currently unconstitutionally incarcerated.
White, Michael D and Henry F Fradella, ‘Policing a Pandemic: Stay-at-Home Orders and What They Mean for the Police’ (2020) 45(4) American Journal of Criminal Justice 702–717 Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically altered life globally during the first 4 months of 2020. Many countries, including the United States, responded to the pandemic by issuing stay-at-home orders/shelter-in-place orders (SaHOs /SiPOs) to their citizens. By April 2020, more than 90% of the U.S. population was subject to an order. SaHOs /SiPOs raise a number of complex issues for the police, ranging from concerns about infringement of constitutional rights to potential sanctions for violations of an order. This article delves into the issues surrounding SaHOs /SiPOs and highlights their complexity for the police. First, we examine the ‘why the police?’ question, and point to key features of their role which make enforcement of SaHOs /SiPOs the proper business of the police. Second, we examine the relevant legal doctrines that can serve as the basis for police actions against violators of orders, most notably the special needs doctrine. Last, we offer police legitimacy as a lens for viewing the appropriateness of police responses to violators of SaHOs /SiPOs. :
Whittaker, Alison, ‘No News Is No News: COVID-19 and the Opacity of Australian Prisons’ (2021) 33(1)Current Issues in Criminal Justice 111–119 Abstract: The abysmal conditions facing people inside Australian prisons are often difficult to draw public interest on. During COVID-19, when these conditions pose an even greater danger to the dignity, wellbeing and lives of people inside, why has mainstream media reporting on conditions – including personal protective equipment (PPE) and soap provision, lockdown, health resources and communication – been so sparse? This article will explore the tightening regulatory and legal net of communications and media coming from inside prisons to families, community, and media during COVID-19, and in the years preceding it. It will then outline the significance of these communications, access, and publication restrictions to the media and policy advocacy for COVID-19 decarceration in Australian prisons and the Australian abolition conversation generally.
Widodo, Joko Sri, Kristiawanto Kristiawanto and Tofik Yanuar Chandra, ‘The Study of Implementation Effectiveness in the Various Criminal Law Policies During the Covid-19 Pandemic’ (2021) 23(3) Kanun Jurnal Ilmu Hukum 359–378 Abstract: There are various pros and cons to the criminal law policies by the Indonesian government in the context of dealing with covid 19. So it is necessary to have a study related to the effectiveness of implementing these various policies. The author’s background is to discuss the formulation of the problem in this article: What is the criminal law policy during the covid 19 pandemic? And how is the effectiveness in the implementation of these policies? This article uses a normative juridical research method that examines various positive laws from the applicable laws and regulations, and then it is analyzed in analytical descriptive. The Indonesian government has established various policies to prevent the covid 19 transmission. The guidelines consist of: the formation of various legal regulations related to the covid pandemic; a policy of criminal sanctions for violators of social policies during the covid 19 pandemic; prisoner assimilation policy; electronic trial of criminal cases during the covid 19 pandemic; corruption prevention policies; policies on workplaces in public areas. Regarding the effectiveness of implementing these policies, it can be said that the execution tends to be less optimal because the policies are contrary to one another. So this article provides suggestions to the government and the community should have mutual support for the implementation of criminal law policies during the COVID-19 pandemic can be effective.
Wilanowska, Monika, ‘Legal Protection of Victims of Domestic Violence during the COVID19 Pandemic: Analysis of Solutions Adopted by Selected European Countries’ (1st International Conference on Multidisciplinary Industry and Academic Research 2020, 2020) Abstract: Violence in the family is a serious social problem that occurs in every country in the world and has negative consequences not only for families but also for societies and countries as a whole. Violence in the family is above all a threat to the public security of the state. However, one should not forget that experiencing violence has a destructive impact on the life and health of victims. One of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic is the isolation of society. Isolation, which in the case of a victim of domestic violence often means constantly being with the perpetrator and thus constant feeling of threat, fear and uncertainty. Reports from countries in different regions of the world indicate that during the pandemic the number of victims of domestic violence has increased and their situation has become extremely difficult. Undoubtedly, this requires intensified efforts to counteract domestic violence and to implement new legislative solutions, which should aim to strengthen the protection of victims of domestic violence in this demanding time. This research analyzed the legal solutions in the field of domestic violence prevention implemented by selected European countries during the COVID -19 pandemic. The methods specific to the legal sciences were applied, namely the dogmatic method and the comparative legal method. To illustrate the analyzed problem, reports and statistics on the increase in cases of domestic violence during the pandemic were presented.
Woźniakowska-Fajst, Dagmara and Katarzyna Witkowska-Rozpara, ‘How Neoclassical Criminology, Penal Populism and COVID-19 Helped to Escalate the Repressiveness of Criminal Law – the Case of Poland’ (2021) 44(1) Archives of Criminology / Archiwum Kryminologii 77–106 Abstract: Since almost the very beginning of the 21st century, the prevalent criminal policy in Poland has been punitive, seeking to solve almost all problems related to crime by means of one solution, i.e. more severe penalties. At the same time, for more than 20 years political power has been wielded by conservative parties. It will come as no surprise that neoclassical criminology, with its retributive approach to punishment and repeated invocation of a social sense of justice, appeals most to a conservative government. Neoclassical criminology is also a good starting point for creating a penal offer typical of penal populism. In this article we analyse the latest changes in law related to the amendment of the Penal Code in June 2019. Although the amendment did not enter into force, it triggered operations aimed at tightening criminal law, with some of the changes proposed in the amendment adopted with the introduction of anti-crisis acts related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wu, Paloma and D. Korbin Felder, ‘Hell and High Water: How Climate Change Can Harm Prison Residents and Jail Residents, and Why COVID-19 Conditions Litigation Suggests Most Federal Courts Will Wait-And-See When Asked to Intervene’ (2022) 49(2) Fordham Urban Law Journal 259–340 Abstract: This Article proposes that COVID-19 prison and jail conditions litigation provide insights into how federal courts may analyze future climate-related prison and jail litigation. The global COVID-19 pandemic and the exogenous threats associated with global climate change differ in critical ways. However, both pose grave public health hazards to people worldwide yet pose a greater risk of serious harm to prison and jail residents because they are confined without the physical ability to mitigate on their own or at all. Plaintiffs in both suit types will bring the same claims and types of actions to enforce their right to be free from illegal conditions of confinement or disability-based discrimination. Both will seek preliminary relief. To prevail, both will need to overcome the same thorny jurisdictional and remedial barriers imposed by the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) or habeas statutes. Observations about outcomes in COVID-19 prison and jail conditions litigation — when considered together with geographic projections of future climate change-related harm that predict the U.S. South will be hardest hit — suggest that prison and jail residents living in the Fifth and Eleventh Federal Circuit Courts of Appeals, who are disproportionately Black Americans, may be particularly disadvantaged when seeking preliminary relief from life-threatening climate-related crises.
Zagmutt, Valentina and Martín Böhmer, ‘COVID-19, Public Health, and Criminal Law: Criminalising Non-Compliance with Quarantines in Chile and Argentina’ (Southern Voice, Occasional Paper Series No 74, 14 September 2021) Abstract: This study presents a comparative analysis of the use of criminal law to enforce compulsory preventive social-isolation measures, or quarantines, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in Chile and Argentina. Because the use of criminal law to enforce quarantines is a public policy decision, it should be subject to public accountability. At the same time, the use of criminal law to guarantee the right to health can seriously affect the right to liberty. This clash must be considered when assessing the enforcement of social-isolation measures, given that the criminalisation of non-compliance may disproportionately affect certain sectors of the population, particularly those experiencing problems with housing and regular employment. Our study finds that in Argentina, where criminal prosecution of quarantine violators was most intense during the first months of the pandemic but declined over time, and where most criminal prosecutions ultimately did not go forward, there is no evidence of discrimination by socio-economic level or geographical area. In Chile, by contrast, criminal prosecution was effective and continuous, with an unequal incidence among population groups. Overall, the results show that differences in how laws related to social isolation were implemented negatively impacted the most vulnerable sectors.
Zeveleva, Olga and José Ignacio Nazif-Munoz, ‘COVID-19 and European Carcerality: Do National Prison Policies Converge When Faced with a Pandemic?’ (2021) Punishment & Society (advance article, published online 24 March 2021) Abstract: The article analyses an original dataset on policies adopted in 47 European countries between December 2019 and June 2020 to prevent coronavirus from spreading to prisons, applying event-history analysis. We answer two questions: 1) Do European countries adopt similar policies when tackling the COVID-19 pandemic in prisons? 2) What factors are associated with prison policy convergence or divergence? We analyze two policies we identified as common responses across prisons around the world: limitations on visitation rights for prisoners, and early releases of prisoners. We found that all states in our sample implemented bans on visits, showing policy convergence. Fewer countries (16) opted for early releases. Compared to the banning of visitation, early releases took longer to enact. We found that countries with prison overcrowding problems were quicker to release or pardon prisoners. When prisons were not overcrowded, countries with higher proportions of local nationals in their prisons were much faster to limit visits relative to prisons in which the foreign population was high. This research broadens our comparative understanding of European carcerality by moving the comparative line further East, taking into account multi-level governance of penality, and analyzing variables that emphasize the ‘society’ element of the ‘punishment and society’ nexus.
Zhang, Zheng, ‘Counterterrorism in the Post-Epidemic Era’ (SSRN Scholarly Paper No 4169237, 1 April 2022) Abstract: The global outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic in 2020 has shifted the world’s focus from counter-terrorism to epidemic prevention, yet the act of counter-terrorism cannot be ignored. This paper first attempts to understand Jihad from the perspective of Islamic law and then analyzes possible post-epidemic acts of terrorism. It then focuses on the FTF, not only in terms of the status of its members but also in terms of the pre-epidemic preventive measures taken by states, such as deprivation of citizenship or nationality. However, it is worth considering whether prohibiting FTFs from returning to their home countries by depriving them of their citizenship or nationality in an epidemic is a violation of their right to vaccination. Finally, the question of whether it is appropriate for the military to take over counter-terrorism operations that would otherwise belong to the police is explored.
Zuckerman, Michael, ‘When the Conditions Are the Confinement: Eighth Amendment Habeas Claims During COVID-19’ (2021) 90(1) University of Cincinnati Law Review 1–67 Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic cast into harsher relief much that was already true about mass incarceration in the United States. It also cast into harsher relief much that was already true about the legal barriers confronting people seeking to make its conditions more humane. This Article offers a brief overview of the legal landscape as the COVID-19 crisis arose and then surveys eight prominent federal cases involving Eighth Amendment claims related to COVID-19 outbreaks at carceral facilities, most of which included significant litigation over whether they could secure release through habeas corpus. The Article then distills six key tensions from these cases—each a potential stumbling block for courts and litigants—and discusses their implications for future litigation and doctrine. Specifically, the Article addresses the following: (A) the relationship between habeas corpus and classic ‘conditions of confinement’ cases; (B) the nature of Eighth Amendment ‘deliberate indifference’ in this context; (C) the efficacy and availability of class-wide procedures for adjudicating these kinds of claims; (D) issues involving federalism and comity and how such concerns may motivate stricter enforcement of exhaustion requirements; (E) whether temporary release in the Eighth Amendment habeas context is better conceived of as preliminary or final relief; and (F) the fraught interplay between rights and remedies. The Article concludes by suggesting potential solutions for courts and legislatures.
Zurschmiede, Jake, ‘Habeas Corpus and COVID-19: In the Midst of a Viral Pandemic, Can the “Great Writ” Provide Home Supervision to At-Risk Plaintiff Inmates?’ (2022) 19(1) Indiana Health Law Review 249–274 Extract from Introduction: The guiding question of this Note centers on the willingness of courts to deem viral pandemic-related dangers as so materially deleterious to inmate health as to comprise the very legality of an inmate’s confinement.
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