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Recent events of police misconduct sparked a nationwide debate on the effectiveness of police ethics training. In this article, we ask: do basic police academies prepare future police officers to b...

Human source management (HSM) is an area of policing that is fraught with ethical and legal risks, and yet until relatively recently has received limited attention in policing literature. This arti...

The object of the research in the paper is the treatment of corruption and strengthening the integrity of the Kosovo Police. The aim of the conducted research is not only to inform the public and the reader to understand the causes and the specific forms of corrupted behavior and abuse of official duty from the police officers, but to also inform them with damages that are caused to the values of police culture and ethics in general, as well as the measures to be taken. Growth and development of the Police with human resources and legal competencies, by a certain individual is often accompanied by abuse and deviation from the exercise of those powers during the exercise of official duty, and investigations conducted during 2015-2019 testify the involvement of police officers in criminal offenses with corrupt elements. This research is based on and implements a research and comparative approach and model related to the phenomenon of corruption in the Kosovo police for the period from 2015-2019. The case that is being studied aims to learn through the comparative method regarding the investigation and treatment of corruption in the police of Kosovo and Albania. In the final analysis of this paper from all the conclusions and recommendations it can be said that the ways of recognizing the existence of corrupt behaviors and identifying work in preventing, detecting and cracking down on this negative phenomenon by both the police themselves and the specialized oversight and control structures, avoids and reduces corruption.

Since the beginning of UN peace operations, there has been discussion as to exactly how they should be carried out. Thus far, a just theory of UN peacekeeping operations has not yet been formed, in the way a Theory of Just War for waging war or a theory of police ethics for law enforcement in a peace context had been formed. The article discusses what a justified risk distribution between UN peacekeepers and local civilians should be. One of the points of criticism of UN peacekeeping missions is the lack of protection of the local population in the course of an escalating situation. Familiar examples are the traumas of Rwanda (1994) and Srebrenica (1995). Discussing differences between UN peacekeeping missions, warfare, and law enforcement, it appears that peacekeepers have more in common with law enforcers than with combatants during wartime. Through the method of analogy and by applying some typically military ethics principles, the moral status of the UN peacekeepers is analyzed. Finally, a risk distribution analysis between UN peacekeepers and the local population is carried out, by offering a concise overview by philosophers of arguments for and against taking fewer risks by peacekeepers. The analysis reveals important deontological and consequentialist arguments. Taking also into consideration that transferring more risk to the peacekeeping troops alone does not mandatory lead to less exposure to risk of the vulnerable and innocent local civilians, it can be concluded that a more practical, virtuous, responsible risk calculation will be necessary at that point to find the best risk distribution.

In the wider spectrum of Taiwanese public service spheres, the herculean services and dedication of its committed Police personnel have long been recognized, respected, and admired. However, regrettably, question marks concerning their conduct, discipline, and abuse of power have surfaced on intermittent occasions. A classic example that lingers in the public memory is the bribing of Taiwanese video game companies to some unscrupulous elements of the police department, in the closing decades of the 20th century that triggered public outrage and called for scrutiny concerning serious lapses in the discipline and conduct of Police personnel. This research paper endeavors to understand, analyze and address some of those issues based on empirical data on the police personnel of certain specific work zones/areas taking into account holistically both the sentenced police officers vis-à-vis the law-abiding police officers. This module looks into and sieves through available data for seven critical variables, including their degree of variation through the Identification and Analysis Method to develop a Predictive Model on Police Ethics and the important factors that affect Police Ethics. Concretely based on the integrated research, it is proposed that this Predictive Model has good applicability as well as accurate predictive ability in addressing the core issues that affect Police Ethics. It is hoped that through this Early Warning Predictive Model—all the stakeholders that are Policy and Decision-makers, Regulatory Police Agencies but more importantly the Police personnel themselves would effectively address the criticality of the issues that affect the Police Ethics so as to undertake competent and effective measures to erase/lessen the menace and provide an early rehabilitative care/assistance to build a strong, constructive and visionary Taiwanese Police Force to meet the challenges of 21st century and beyond.

This chapter focuses on the criminal justice system. It contains summaries of the different social theories that underpin both the criminal justice system and the fundamental principles relating to sentencing policy. The system is examined in three segments: pre-trial stages, trial stage, and post-trial stages. Each is discussed in turn. This chapter emphasizes the holistic approach by looking not only at what happens in courts, but also the police station and in post-trial contexts such as parole and criminal cases review. The place of the victim in the system is also considered. Particular emphasis is placed on how the current system is changing in the quest for improved efficiency.

[ ]to me, as a woman of color leading the country's largest public health agency, Mr Floyd's death feels different because it represents a cumulative injury on top of the sustained acuity of health inequities playing out in horrifying details through the COVID-19 pandemic Think ofa collective moral injury as lasting emotional and spiritual impacts on a community when authorities commit actions that violate core moral values and expectations of righteous behavior [ ]agency partners, health care providers, community leaders, and government officials immediately joined us in centering the most affected New Yorkers in their responses to the virus

Purpose There is considerable evidence to illustrate police occupational culture can negatively influence service delivery and organizational reform. To counteract this, and to improve professionalism, the police services of England and Wales will become a graduate profession from 2020, although little empirical evidence exists as to what impact this will have. The purpose of this paper is to examine the implications of a police degree course on its students. Design/methodology/approach Initially, a survey was conducted with 383 university students studying for criminal justice-related undergraduate degrees in a UK university. This indicated Police Foundation degree students (n=84), identified themselves as being different, and behaving differently, to other university students. To explore the reasons for this, four focus groups were conducted with this cohort, during their two-year degree programme. Findings The study found that the Police Foundation degree students quickly assimilated a police identity, which affected their attitudes and behavior. The process led to a strengthening of ties within their own student group, at the expense of wider student socialization. Originality/value The study provides new findings in relation to undergraduate students who undertake a university-based degree programme, tailored to a future police career. The results have implications for both police policy makers and those in higher education as it highlights the strength of police occupational culture and the implications for the design of future police-related degree programmes.

The killings of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and others have instigated widespread debate concerning the ethics and politics of police b...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to argue that police research has reached a level of acceptance such that executive management has an ethical obligation to their communities to use evidence-based practices. Design/methodology/approach Using an Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) framework the authors apply an ethical-based decision-making model to policing decisions. EBM does not allow physicians to ignore research when giving guidance to patients. The authors compare the two professional approaches to decision making and argue policing has reached a level of research that if ignored, just like medicine, should be considered unethical. Police interventions can potentially be harmful. Rather than do no harm, the authors argue that police managers should implement practices that are the least harmful based on the current research. Findings The authors found policing has a substantial amount of research showing what works, what does not, and what looks promising to allow police executives to make decisions based on evidence rather than tradition, culture, or best practice. There is a deep enough fund of knowledge to enable law enforcement leadership to evaluate policies on how well the policies and procedures they enforce prevent crime with a minimum of harm to the communities they are sworn to protect and serve. Originality/value Policing has yet to view community interventions as potentially harmful. Realigning police ethics from a lying, cheating, stealing, lens to a “doing the least harm” lens can alter the practitioner’s view of why evidence-based policing is important. Viewing executive decision from an evidence-based ethical platform is the future of evaluating police executive decisions.

This paper considers select emergent issues arising from the reform of the EU data protection framework, and how these might impact upon data processing in the law enforcement and criminal justice ...

PurposeThe current criminal justice system is pledged to serve and protect society while preserving the rights of those who are accused. The purpose of this paper is to explore the premise of “innocent until proven guilty” and examine whether this assumption truly prevails under the current criminal justice system, or be modified to accommodate a sliding continuum of virtuosity.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is a conceptual paper which relies heavily on the current literature about criminal justice and related ethical issues.FindingsThe paper argues that today’s criminal justice system fails to meet the standards of the virtuous continuum and that those who oversee that system need to rethink how the system operates and is perceived by the public if they wish the criminal justice system to be perceived as just, fair, and ethically responsible.Research limitations/implicationsBecause this paper is a conceptual paper it does not present research hypotheses.Practical implicationsThis paper suggests that “virtue” and “ethics” must be the foundation upon which the criminal justice system is evaluated, and criminal justice must incorporate an ethical standard which is virtuous and fair to all parties and leaders who oversee that system must meet the standards suggested by the virtuous continuum.Originality/valueThis paper is among the first to identify the viewpoint of the virtuous perspective, moral perspective, amoral perspective, and immoral perspective in the criminal justice system.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the dimensions of organizational justice in police organizations and evaluate how they contribute to organizational commitment, job satisfaction and compliance with agency rules. Design/methodology/approach A survey of 15,236 sworn officers from a national sample of 88 agencies was used, as well as other agency- and community-level variables. Multi-level models assessed how four dimensions of organizational justice affected these outcomes. Findings More favorable perceptions of organizational justice were strongly related to increased commitment to the organization, job satisfaction and compliance with agency rules. Perceptions of organization-wide justice, leadership justice and diversity justice were especially important in predicting those outcome measures. Research limitations/implications While the sample of agencies was broad and diverse, it should not be considered representative of smaller municipal police departments and sheriff’s offices in the USA. Practical implications The findings suggest that “buy in” to reforms and police compliance with rules is much more likely when supervisors and leaders are fair, respectful, give officers input, provide growth opportunities and show concern for officers’ welfare. As such, agencies would benefit from leadership and leadership training that values the core principals of organizational justice. Originality/value The study provides clarity about how organizational justice is perceived by police officers, including women and officers of color, and provides an unprecedented test of organizational justice theory in diverse police agencies.

While there is plenty of research into crime committed by police officers, surprisingly little debate can be found regarding the situation where a police officer becomes a victim. This is remarkable as the police not only embody criminal law enforcement but also epitomise state power. Based on a comparative study, this article examines how criminal law in England and Germany deals with attacks against police officers through separate criminal offences as well as increased sentences. The authors examine how the use of criminal law reflects on the state’s perception and valuation of the role of the police officer. It will be shown that while in England there is the clear understanding that the status of the victim as police officer has an aggravating effect, Germany strongly opposes the idea that the office-holder deserves more protection than ordinary citizens. On the contrary, the law takes in consideration that the offender finds him- or herself in a vulnerable situation when faced with the power of the state.

Introducing the fundamentals of ethical theory, Ethics in Criminal Justice: In Search of the Truth, Seventh Edition, exposes the reader to the ways and means of making moral judgments by exploring the teachings of the great philosophers, sources of criminal justice ethics, and ethical issues in the criminal justice system. It is presented from two perspectives: a thematic perspective that addresses ethical principles common to all components of the discipline, and an area-specific perspective that addresses the state of ethics in criminal justice in the fields of policing, corrections, and probation and parole. The seventh edition features discussion of current critical issues in criminal justice: accusations of racism, police shootings, stop and frisk policy, marijuana laws, mass incarceration, life sentences, prison privatization, the swift and certain deterrence model of probation, excessive probation fees, and the Good Lives Model in corrections. The seventh edition also offers completely revised coverage of capital punishment and the rehabilitation debate, and a discussion of how juvenile justice often fails to live up to its ideals. Finally, the book features new case studies of recent ethical dilemmas in criminal justice to enhance students’ understanding of real-life ethics decision-making. Suitable for advanced undergraduates or graduate students in criminal justice programs in the US and globally, this text offers a classical view of ethical decision-making and is well-grounded in specific case examples.

In this paper, we present a thought piece examining recent core policing reforms introduced in the Republic of Ireland (ROI), responding to a perceived crisis of legitimacy, for An Garda S&iacute, och&aacute, na (AGS) (translated: &lsquo, The Guardian of the Peace&rsquo, ). Central to this process is the critical reform of the education and training of police and their relationship to the professionalisation and legitimacy of policing. In this paper, we put forward an explorative analysis of the potential link between the professional education of police and their perceived legitimacy. A literature review was carried out on the reform process, including the related elements of police education, training, professionalisation, community policing, police legitimacy, code of ethics (CoE) and police culture. We consider the espoused ambition to professionalise policing via processes including the provision of professional learning in universities and how this might be deemed to contribute (or not) to legitimacy. While no empirical research to date has been carried out on these specific reforms in the ROI, the reform recommendations had several resonances with broader examination of the themes and challenges (in particular police ethics and culture) associated with reform of democratic policing in other jurisdictions, particularly with respect to increasing professional learning and perceived police legitimacy.

This chapter discusses the development of international criminal law and institutions, international criminal courts and tribunals, and international criminal justice in national courts. These developments respond to but also reflect repeated failures to prevent serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. The work of the International Criminal Court, specialized criminal tribunals and ‘hybrid’ tribunals is outlined.

With an increasing number of students entering criminal justice programs across the country, the majority of students are looking to pursue a career in law enforcement. While many students graduate...

After a sustained period of hypercriminalization, the United States criminal justice system is undergoing reform. Congress has reduced federal sentencing for drug crimes, prison growth is slowing, and some states are even closing prisons. Low-level crimes have been removed from criminal law books, and attention is beginning to focus on long-neglected issues such as bail and criminal court fines. Still largely overlooked in this era of ambitious reform, however, is the treatment of immigrants in the criminal justice system. An unprecedented focus on immigration enforcement targeted at “felons, not families” has resulted in a separate system of punitive treatment reserved for noncitizens, which includes crimes of migration, longer periods of pretrial detention, harsher criminal sentences, and the almost certain collateral consequence of lifetime banishment from the United States. For examples of state-level solutions to this predicament, this Essay turns to a trio of bold criminal justice reforms from California that (1) require prosecutors to consider immigration penalties in plea bargaining; (2) change the state definition of “misdemeanor” from a maximum sentence of a year to 364 days; and (3) instruct law enforcement agencies to not hold immigrants for deportation purposes unless they are first convicted of serious crimes. Together, these new laws provide an important window into how state criminal justice systems could begin to address some of the unique concerns of noncitizen criminal defendants.

This paper will discuss two issues related to poor implementation of human rights by Police, based on four measuring analyzes of human rights implementation based on role and function as follow: the use of violence, human rights violations, act of disparage and militaristic culture in Police tasks. This paper also argues that human rights implementation in the Police are still not fully guaranteed and improved. This is due to four reasons: prolonging police culture, inappropriate police discretion, the role of Precinct as key implementer of police policies, as well as the improper role of Police as state-agency of violence in term of implementation. The second issue of this paper is a model of police supervision in order to be effectively implements Human Rights for Police in performing tasks, roles and functions to serve the public.

Growing attention to the unique ways in which women of color’s bodies are racially profiled and policed has prompted questions concerning gender-specific impacts of law enforcement practices. Arrest statistics, patterns of enforcement, and high-profile cases of police violence against Black women and other women of color suggest that gaps in policy and implementation will disproportionately affect women of color. In the current research, the policies of 36 police departments across the country were examined to ascertain the degree to which they address profiling, police sexual misconduct, and other gendered experiences of policing. The findings reveal considerable divergence in attention to regulating police behavior in the context of interactions with women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, exposing important gaps in police policies, and highlight a need for further research and action specifically focused on intersectional factors at play in the context of policing women’s bodies.

As unprecedented levels of human mobility continue to define our era, criminal justice institutions in countries around the world are increasingly shaped by mass migration and its control. This collection brings together legal scholars from Europe and the United States to consider the implications of the attendant changes on the exercise of state penal power and those subject to it. The contributions in this special issue are united by a shared set of questions about the salience of citizenship for contemporary criminal justice policies and practices. They are specifically concerned with questions of fair and equal treatment, the changing configurations of state sovereignty, and the significance of migration on criminal justice policies and practices. Collectively, the articles show how, in grappling with mass mobility and diversity, states are devising novel forms of control, many of which erode basic criminal justice principles and reinforce existing social hierarchies.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the representativeness of police departments, i.e. the extent to which the demographics of sworn police officers mirror their local constituency’s demographic makeup, has an effect on communities. The study seeks to explain whether community complaints about police use of force are related to the representativeness of the police department. Design/methodology/approach The study examines the relationships between use of force complaints lodged against a police department and the representativeness of the police vis-à-vis their community using ordinary least squares regression and city fixed-effects models. The stratified sample of 100 large US cities uses data from the US Census Equal Employment Opportunity Survey and the Bureau of Justice Statistics Law Enforcement Management and Administration Statistics Survey from several points-in-time. Findings The analysis suggests that racial makeup and, to a lesser extent, local residency of police departments might matter in reducing community conflict with police, as represented by use of force complaints. However, the fixed-effects model suggests that unobserved community-level characteristics and context matter more than police departments’ representativeness. Originality/value This study seeks to provide a unique perspective and empirical evidence on community conflict with police by integrating the public administration theory of representative bureaucracy with criminal justice theories of policing legitimacy. The findings have implications for urban policing as well as law enforcement human capital and public management practices, which is essential to understand current crises in police-citizen relations in the US, especially in minority communities.

Systems change efforts seek to alter the status quo by shifting the form and function of a targeted system. Evaluation is a critical component, yet little research has examined a collaborative forum as a vehicle for change in the criminal justice system. Over 150 citizens and police were brought together to work collaboratively at improving a Canadian police complaints system. Using survey, participant observation, and focus group data, this study investigates the perceptions of this Forum as a vehicle for systems change in police oversight mechanisms. We find the Forum provided both opportunities for, and barriers to, collaborative systems change work. However, these findings need to be understood within the context of police-community relations as fear and mistrust of police influence problem definitions and potential solutions. Therefore, the collaboratives model is not a one-size-fits-all approach to systems change work in the criminal justice system.

The procedural justice that citizens subjectively experience with the police affects police legitimacy. The procedural justice of policing is typically not measured in police agencies, nor is it an outcome for which managers are held accountable. We examine whether and how the measurement of procedural justice would affect its management. Survey-based measures of subjective procedural justice in police contacts were reported to two departments’ command staffs on a monthly basis in Compstat meetings. The impacts of thusly measuring performance were estimated. We also analyzed an indicator of procedural justice that was based on systematic observation through video and audio recording of police-citizen encounters, and we interviewed patrol officers and supervisors about supervisors’ efforts to manage procedural justice. Neither indicator of police performance revealed consistent changes. However, a modest improvement on one platoon was detected. We discuss the implications for enhancing police legitimacy.

У раду се разматра организација безбедоносног система на територији Дунавске бановине, преко ког се може стећи увид у његово стање на територији целе Краљевне Југославије. Посебан осврт је дат на однос који су припадници органа безбедности имали према грађанима и припадницима националних мањина. Вршење њихове службе великим делом било је условљено притисцима, којима су и сами били изложени од стране централних управних органа. Коришћен је фонд Краљевске банске управе Дунавске бановине Архива Војводине, као и Службене новине Краљевине Југославије.

The articles in this Special Issue make clear that international criminal justice will not eradicate modern slavery. However, they also make clear that the answer to the question ‘What role does international criminal justice have to play in the fight against modern slavery?’ is not simply: ‘None.’ Understanding the specific utility of international criminal justice in the fight against slavery requires understanding international criminal justice in historical, social, economic, political and broader legal context. It means recognizing that the existing tools of international criminal justice were sharpened to address international crimes that occur during armed conflict and mass atrocity, while exploring how those tools can be USED, adapted and developed to address the systematic injustices that underpin contemporary forms of slavery. It means recognizing that international criminal jurisprudence can shape human rights law, domestic criminal justice and even international business regulation c but also recognizing that institutions in each of those regimes will adapt and mould international criminal norms to their own contexts. It means recognizing that corporate actors are not clearly, at present, subject to international criminal responsibility; but also recognizing that international criminal law can indirectly shape corporate behaviour through other, more indirect, transmission vectors, notably prosecution of individual directors and statutory due diligence requirements. In this conclusion, I reflect on the cross-cutting insights that emerge from the articles in this Special Issue about the varied and nuanced roles that international criminal justice is playing c and could play c in the fight against slavery. I consider the policy implications that flow from these insights, and close with some practical suggestions for strengthening the role that international criminal justice plays in the fight against contemporary forms of slavery.

A long tradition of research has examined the influence of organizational environments on criminal justice agencies. Based on survey data from a sample of local police chiefs, this study explores the effects of the institutional environment on police agency priorities. Specifically, we investigate how the perceived importance of different sectors of the institutional environment influences police agency priorities, as reported by police chiefs. The analyses reveal that certain sectors of the institutional environment exert greater influence on police organizational priorities than others. Moreover, the influence of institutional sectors differs according to the specific type of priority. Our findings reveal that institutional considerations exert more consistent effects on the importance of maintaining relationships with constituents than on maintaining law and order or adopting innovative practices. We draw on institutional theory in explaining the study’s findings.

The Baton Rouge Area Violence Elimination (BRAVE) Project is a group violence reduction strategy based on the Boston Gun Project’s Operation Ceasefire. This violence reduction model is predicated on the idea that violence can be dramatically reduced when community members and law enforcement join together to directly engage with criminal groups. In Baton Rouge, selected law enforcement officers have received specialized training regarding the implementation of the BRAVE Project and additional training with regard to working with residents in the community. To that end, surveys and focus groups were administered to residents in the intervention target area to identify their perceptions of crime, law enforcement, and leaders in their community. In addition, law enforcement officers completed surveys that focused on their perceptions of crime and other problems in the target area and their thoughts about whether this intervention could be successful. Results suggest that law enforcement and community...

Procedural justice advocates argue that fair procedures in decision making processes can increase participant satisfaction with legal institutions. Little critical work has been done however to explore the power of such claims in the context of mass violence and international criminal justice. This article critically examines some of the key claims of procedural justice by exploring the perceptions of justice held by victims participating as Civil Parties in the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (eccc). The eccc has created one of the most inclusive and extensive victim participation regimes within international criminal law. It therefore provides a unique case study to examine some of claims of ‘victim-centred’ transitional justice through a procedural justice lens. It finds that while procedural justice influenced civil parties’ overall perceptions of the Court, outcomes remained of primary importance. It concludes by analysing the possible reasons for this prioritisation.

For millennia, occidental medical ethics has required doctors to care only for people accepted as patients. Except for emergencies, physicians have no duty to care for sick and needy people as such...

The lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) among health-care workers in the UK has been an integral part of the debate on the UK Government's failure in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.1 Similar to the close contact that is expected between patients and health-care staff, which could put both at risk of transmissible disease in the absence of appropriate measures, members of the public can also come in close contact with police staff during the process of frisking. The chances of being stopped and frisked by the police are dramatically (up to 10 fold) increased for Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) individuals2 in the UK who are also disproportionately affected by the risks of COVID-19.

The Spanish judicial system is independent and headed by the Supreme Court. Spain has a civil law system. The criminal procedure is governed by the legality principle--by opposition to the opportunity or expediency principle--which implies that prosecution must take place in all cases in which sufficient evidence exists of guilt. Traditionally, the role of the PPS in Spain has been very limited during the investigative stage of the process. That stage is under the responsibility of the Examining Magistrate (EM). Since the end of the 1980s, a series of modifications has been introduced in order to extend the functions of the PPS. In 1988, the PPS received extended competences which allow them to receive reports of offenses. Upon knowing of an offense (reported or known to have been committed), the PPS can initiate the criminal proceeding. The PPS is also allowed to lead a sort of plea bargain under a series of restrictive conditions and only for some offenses. At the same time, the PPS received extended competences in the juvenile justice criminal proceeding in 2000. With all this said, the role of the PPS has not changed radically and, during the investigative stage of the process, their main role remains the presentation of the accusation, playing a more active role during the trial stage of the proceeding. In this article the national criminal justice system of Spain is described. Special attention is paid to the function of the PPS within this framework and its relationship to police and courts. The article refers to legal provisions and the factual handling of criminal cases.

Ethical social work practice within criminal justice settings is fraught with challenges. Through individual interviews in a qualitative study exploring social work practice in diverse criminal justice settings in the northwestern United States, a subsample of 9 social workers described the difficulties they experience adhering to social work’s professional code of ethics. They identify 2 primary areas of divergence, conflicting responsibilities and opposing interests, and identify the ways they respond to these challenges and the rationale behind their decisions. The discussion section explores avenues for strengthening social workers’ abilities to be a vital and ethical presence in criminal justice settings.

The International Criminal Court has generally a bad reputation in the African continent as a whole with hostile assertions by the African Union, that the court is nothing but a political tool for the powerful. The Court, plagued with numerous difficulties, has come under pressure to perform, with some doubting its viability. Created by the Rome Statute, and the parties therein governed by general treaty law, enforcement mechanisms of the court have been unsatisfactory at best and this has led to questions being asked as to its survival. There exists a pool of divergent views, in regard to the African Union and the International Criminal Court, in many of the crucial areas of international criminal justice. This paper seeks to find out just how true is the claim that the ICC is ‘dead’ is, and the implications of this in the future of the continent as regards international criminal justice. How important is it for us to preserve international criminal justice? Just how much of a role do states play in this revered area of law? Is its legal viability coming to an unfortunate premature end? What does this mean, then, for the victims of mass atrocities? This paper seeks to show an interplay of the role of states and politics in international criminal justice, and determine then, whether there exists any bright future for this area of law in Africa.

We model major criminal activity as a game in which a law enforcement officer chooses the rate at which to screen different population groups, and a criminal organization (e.g. drug cartel, terrorist cell) chooses the observable characteristics of its recruits. Our model best describes smuggling or terrorism activities at borders, airports and other security checkpoints. The most effective law enforcement policy imposes only moderate restrictions on the officer's ability to profile. In contrast to models of decentralized crime, requiring equal treatment never improves the effectiveness of law enforcement.