The International Society of Criminology, founded in Rome, Italy, in 1937, is the only worldwide organization in the field of criminology and criminal justice. Its objective is to generate a better understanding of the crime phenomenon on an international scale and translate that into appropriate policies, laws and interventions. Criminology has developed and thrived in the “Western” world, especially in the United States and other English-speaking northern countries. Recently, in step with reaffirming indigenous and local values and perspectives, a call for “regional” criminology expresses Asia’s approach and vision. This issue of the International Annals of Criminology illustrates the internationalization of the discipline and is an indication of its growing strength worldwide.

Artificial intelligence can bring benefits to legal practice, providing agility and precision. It can allow judicial decisions to be the result of the combination of algorithms, enabling the development of a system based on machine learning. This article seeks to demonstrate the current state of the use of artificial intelligence in the Brazilian justice system with the impact of the development of a deep learning system, merely the result of the automation of textual analyses of legal cases, which now serve as models. Reflection is more than necessary given the ethical issues that can arise in view of the inherent precepts that are usually impregnated in the judicial function. Civil servants, lawyers, prosecutors and judges should be guided by a pertinent regulation of new technologies and reflect on whether judicial decisions would be the result of human thinking or not, in addition to the risk that they can carry when the models are biased, in good or bad faith, due to erroneous classification or misinformation in the system.

Academic criminology originated in Western countries, primarily in Europe and in the USA. It has achieved great success, produced many influential theories, sophisticated methodology, academic institutions, and effective policy products, and has formed a productive paradigm, which has led to a flourishing discipline. However, as there have been growing critiques against “Western-centric” criminology, growing attention has turned to non-Western criminology. As Belknap has said, “We are in an exciting time in criminology, as the scholarship is becoming more global, collaborative, and interdisciplinary.” This paper addresses several important disciplinary questions: the relationship between Western and non-Western criminology, the strategies of developing criminology under non-Western contexts, the relationship between context-dependent findings from the non-West and the scientific traditions that seek unified human knowledge of criminology. The article suggests a strategy for developing non-Western criminology based on the experience of the successful growth of Asian criminology over the past decade under the concept of an “Asian criminological paradigm.”

Recent criminal psychology research has raised critical questions about applying non-verbal communication methods for lie detection purposes in forensic settings. Research has shown low correlations between non-verbal communication and deception. However, non-verbal communication methods are still widely applied and suggested by police manuals. Results obtained by experimental and field research are biased by the following factors: (i) attention is given only to quantitative aspects of non-verbal behavior; (ii) there is a lack of research of qualitative aspects related to non-verbal behavior analysis; (iii) lack of connections between non-verbal indicators and verbal content; (iv) lack of attention on timing of non-verbal behavior; (v) most research is performed on psychology students in experimental contexts. This article proposes a new methodology for applying the Facial Action Coding System as investigative support and not as a lie detection method. The Facial Action Coding System will be introduced to integrate with verbal content analysis and a new framework to interpret non-verbal signs discussed. The aid of standardized non-verbal methods will be discussed through an in-depth psychological analysis of a case of homicide perpetrated in 2010 in Southern Italy by discussing a video analysis of the suspects’ statements.

The present paper aims to provide a comprehensive yet critical overview of current Brazilian legislation on money-laundering prevention and control. Given that stripping criminals of their illegal profits has for a long time been considered one of the most important measures in the fight against international and organized crime, a part of this paper explores the legal mechanisms that allow for this to take place as a consequence of crime and, especially, in connection with money laundering in the context of the Brazilian criminal justice system.

Corruption is an age-old issue. Although various mitigation measures have been developed over time, it persistently exists and transforms with the dynamic business environment. The development of corruption is linked to the skills of criminals to cover their tracks. Control mechanisms and other lines of defense are insignificant when persons of power override, bully or collaborate to carry out corruption. Since humans are perceived to be rational, educating individuals on the evils of corruption with its apparent negative connotations would have been a logical approach to disrupting corruption. However, the growing trend of corruption reflects otherwise. Human behavior is subjective and based on a person–situation complexity, relationships and associations around human life. This pilot study assesses the decisions of individuals based on various corruption scenarios, using 20 questions modeled around Corruption Dimensions and Prisoner’s Dilemma. Of the respondents, 92% had formal exposure to anti-corruption-related studies. Most respondents responded negatively to corruption-related scenarios in the Corruption Dimensions, with noted bias in their criticism when it involved a politician as compared with a businessman. Similarly, the Prisoner’s Dilemma questions also reflected selective reasoning when comparing those with personal relationships as compared with acquaintances. The strength of the evidence, the independence of the judiciary, the ability to escape, the reluctance to self-incriminate and the personal benefits affect the judgment of the respondents. However, in situations involving environmental issues, respondents selected to confess regardless of the situation stating that it was the right thing to do. Education creates awareness on individual rights, options and, to a certain extent, the moral and legal obligations. However, the subjectivity of the person’s associations and lifelong experience also plays a major role in the decision-making process.

Numerous studies find that sexual jealousy is a motivating factor in many intimate partner femicides. Given the paucity of scholarship in non-Western societies, the current article sought to extend empirical knowledge on the subject by focusing on sexual jealousy homicides in Fiji. A total of 30 male sexual jealousy homicides and attempted homicides in that society during 2010–2020 were identified through a thorough search of official court documents and local media sources. An in-depth criminological analysis of each case focused on victim and perpetrator attributes and offense features. The article finds that each homicide became a high-profile case, judging by the amount of media coverage afforded the incident and the degree of public interest demonstrated in the case. In 24 out of the 25 homicide cases, an aggrieved husband slew a supposed adulterous wife; the assailant killed his wife’s new consort in the remaining case. The mean age differential between perpetrators and victims was 7.9 years, and the mean length of the marital relationship was more than five years. Stabbing with kitchen knives, slashing with machetes, and manual asphyxiation were the dominant modes of offense perpetration. Nearly all cases evinced the following triple features of male sexual jealousy homicides: jealous rage, premeditation, and excessive violence. Summaries of all 30 cases are proffered in the article to reveal their essential features.

This article analyzes the relationship between corruption offenses and money laundering with reference to the Spanish Penal Code. These two criminal categories lack a certain definition, as there is no such univocal concept of “political corruption” and “money laundering.” The reasons for the denaturation of these criminal figures will be addressed. Then, the paper will expose how these criminal figures relate to each other. We argue that a real concurrence between both figures is possible, although it may lead, in certain cases, to double incrimination and its consequent punitive excess. Therefore, we will propose some criteria for a restrictive interpretation of “money laundering” to avoid confusion with other legal figures such as “confiscation.” The paper will end with reference to the Spanish Criminal Code’s regulation on “confiscation” and a brief review of the main critics.

Money laundering repression and asset recovery are tools that share a very relevant preventive–general role. Both measures in Criminal Law seek to inhibit the monetary stimulus to commit offenses. The former does so by hampering the flow of earnings from illicit sources, and the latter by confiscating the earnings from their beneficiaries. These interlinked goals prove to be most useful from a criminal policy standpoint in the fight against organized crime since they are oriented to the economic disabling of their agents, blockading their financial movement and depriving them of the profits thus generated. This article explains the status of Paraguayan law and its application on these issues.

The relationship between terrorism and criminology illustrates the global feature of crime. Terrorism is presently at the top of the fields of interest of global criminology. However, the issue of victims of terrorism has been neglected in its research agenda. This article seeks to redefine global criminology and victimology by incorporating that issue into their fields of interest. It attempts to answer key questions like: What is the typical model for protecting the victims of terrorism? How could a more operative and effective system be created for that purpose? The European and the United Nations systems are two models that provide international experiences, developments and efforts. Since they generally form a soft law-based system, the author concludes that a protection-oriented system for victims of terrorism will be more operative and effective when it is transformed into one based on hard law.

As regulated in Spanish law, money laundering requires a prior illicit activity that has generated the assets that are the subject of laundering. One of the subjects that has been deeply discussed in recent years by certain doctrinal sectors, even with support in various jurisprudential rulings, has been the suitability of crimes against the Public Treasury, especially tax fraud, as the prior offence underlying money laundering. Thus, it has been debated whether the tax offender carrying out one of the activities typified in the Criminal Code (acquiring, possessing, using, converting or transmitting assets) automatically commits a type of money laundering. In that case, it would become an automatic and inevitable consequence of the tax crime itself. If, on the contrary, some other component must be required (essentially through the subjective elements of the unjust) to determine the existence of a second crime, that of money laundering, the prohibition of non-bis in idem confronts us, to a greater or lesser extent. Furthermore, doctrinal approaches and some judgements of the Spanish highest courts have generated a reinterpretation of the criminal law that fits badly with the principles of criminality. Nor is it easy to delineate the assets that are the object of the tax offence that may be subject to laundering, since, by definition, they are assets that were originally in possession of the offending subject and, besides, they are pecuniary obligations. To that extent, the presumption of innocence could, in many cases, determine the exoneration of the suspect.

This article studies the juvenile justice system in juxtaposition to policing in India. To start with, it conducts a comprehensive data analysis of juvenile crimes in India in the last two decades. The author conducted a study involving 400 juveniles in conflict with the law through “Disha,” a project in juvenile re-entry systems. It further marshals the incidences based on social parameters like education, age, and family. Here, the paper impresses upon the “heinousness factor” of the crimes to evaluate the law and institutional response. The article examines the growth of the legal framework on juvenile justice in India and the causal determinants which may have driven its increase. It also scrutinizes the policing systems as far as the legal framework on juvenile justice makes them responsible. It delves deeply into the interactions between juvenile justice and police systems at the institutional and procedural levels. It conducts a detailed inquiry into the international legal framework of juvenile justice systems. Here, it studies such systems in the Americas, Europe, and Asia to suggest the way forward for a transparent, robust and sensitive juvenile justice system in India.

The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, or NDPS Act, was enacted to control addictive drugs and prohibit their possession, dispersion, sale, import, and trade in India. Psychotropic agents have the potential to change an individual’s consciousness, while narcotic drugs relieve anxiety. The Indian Parliament passed the NDPS Act on November 14, 1985. Nonetheless, these types of drugs are important in the practice of medicine. Consequently, the Act contains provisions for the cultivation of cannabis, poppy, and coca seeds and the production of certain psychotropic medicines used for medical purposes. The Act’s primary objective is to regulate the manufacturing, ownership, selling, and transportation of narcotics and psychotropic drugs. The Act forbids the selling of nearly 200 psychotropic medications, resulting in these drugs being inaccessible over the counter to the general public. These medications are only available for use with a prescription. Violations of this law can result in a sentence of incarceration or a fine, or both, depending on the offense’s severity, which is determined by the severity of the situation at hand. If the drugs are being used for personal benefit, the penalty can be minimized. Furthermore, the legislation has been revised several times since its inception.

This paper presents the empirical analysis from two Indian States to understand factors influencing the social reintegration of released prisoners. Samples of the study comprise 100 released prisoners who are currently under the probation system. The article identified stability in income, maintaining good relationships with the family and community, and membership in informal groups as four outcome variables of reintegration. The paper also identified seven factors – four factors concerning the stay at the prison and three factors concerning life after release – as capable of influencing the extent of reintegration. A reintegration index has been constructed to examine the relationship between reintegration and seven supporting factors that influence reintegration. The article also used a correlation matrix to analyse the relationship between the reintegration index and the contributing factors of reintegration. The paper suggests that factors such as visits by family members and probation officers and availing parole have a significant positive relationship, but that years of stay have a significant negative relationship with the reintegration of released prisoners.

In 2006, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in South Asia, in partnership with the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, initiated Project IND/S16. In the beginning, five states were selected to train police officials under the “Strengthening the Law Enforcement Response to Human Trafficking” project. The training program resulted from a study done by two researchers, Dr. P. M. Nair and Shanker Seen. Their study recommended training programs to strengthen the law enforcement response to human trafficking and establish anti-human trafficking units (AHTUs) in India. However, no evaluation of the work of functionaries of AHTUs was done until the authors of this article took the initiative with the support of the Additional Director General of Police of Gujarat to identify the major problems in AHTUs at the grassroots level. Their exploratory research covered the 40 AHTUs from all 33 districts of Gujarat, focusing on the experiences and opinions of 214 police authorities (i.e. police inspectors, police sub-inspectors, assistant sub-inspectors, constables, and Lok Rakshak (public guards)) officially assigned to the AHTUs of Gujarat. This article summarizes the research and is based on experiences documented while collecting information in the field.