Double Thematic Issue on: Proofing Eu Legislation Against Crime

Abstract

This thematic issue of the journal is devoted to the crime proofing of legislation. As coordinator of the MARC project, financed in 2004 under the Sixth European Framework Programme of the European Union, I am very happy to put the main results of this project at the disposal of the community of researchers, policy makers and practitioners.The MARC project had two legs: one focusing on the crime proofing of legislation and a second focusing on the crime proofing of products. This issue is devoted to the former.Why crime proofing legislation? The concept originated in the framework of the prevention of organised crime, where the criminogenic potential of any civil and administrative (but not criminal) legislation became evident. The main assumption of legislative crime proofing is that a policy, together with the instrument through which it is implemented (legislation, regulation), may have loopholes that are exploitable by criminals. Pointing out these loopholes and closing them, when this is possible, are the two main components of any crime proofing activity. The MARC project, and this issue of the journal, presents its main findings in the area of legislation, aimed at developing a model that could help policy-makers and public officials in charge of drafting legislation to determine whether parts of the legislation they are preparing and/or using create crime risk. And, if so, which crime/s and what magnitude. Aware of this, policy-makers might decide to trade these costs (in terms of crime) for the benefits the legislation produces, or, rather, to reduce/eliminate these costs by proofing the legislation that creates them.The construction of the MARC legislative crime proofing mechanism has gone through different steps. The different parts and the articles in this issue present them in a logical sequence.In the background part there are the introductory articles to crime proofing. The first article introduces the different models of risk assessment; the second points out which Eur

Illicit Waste Trafficking and Loopholes in the European and Italian Legislation

“…In the past, authors introduced the CPL as an efficient crime risk assessment mechanism capable of safeguarding legislation against different types of unlawful conducts (Savona 2007). The core idea underlying this approach is that legislation may inadvertently produce opportunities for crime.…”

“…The CPL is a scientific approach developed in 2006 (Calderoni, Savona, and Solmi 2012;Calderoni et al 2006;Savona 2017Savona , 2006. The core idea underpinning the CPL is that every type of regulation has the potential to produce unintended criminal opportunities, and, in fact, the latent criminogenic effects of the legislation can even go so far as to undermine the main objectives of the law itself (Calderoni, Savona, and Solmi 2012;Curtol, Pesarin, and Vander Beken 2006;Savona 2017). Accordingly, the screening of legislation can significantly contribute towards minimising the potential risks and their attendant consequences, both in terms of costs and victims (Savona 2017).…”

“…The core idea underpinning the CPL is that every type of regulation has the potential to produce unintended criminal opportunities, and, in fact, the latent criminogenic effects of the legislation can even go so far as to undermine the main objectives of the law itself (Calderoni, Savona, and Solmi 2012;Curtol, Pesarin, and Vander Beken 2006;Savona 2017). Accordingly, the screening of legislation can significantly contribute towards minimising the potential risks and their attendant consequences, both in terms of costs and victims (Savona 2017). 12 More specifically, the CPL focuses on the connection between the legislative index and the vulnerabilities of the market as potential sources of criminal opportunities.…”

“…The CPL mechanism consists of two phases: an assessment of the risks and criminal implications that a policy option may inadvertently produce (the so-called "crime risk assessment"); and the subsequent actions required to close loopholes in legislation, thus "proofing" it against crime (the so-called "crime risk management") (Calderoni, Savona, and Solmi 2012;Calderoni et al 2006;Savona 2017Savona , 2006. The analysis here presented focuses on the crime risk assessment phase.…”

“…Step 1: The IS checks if any policy options fall under one of the seven general risk indicators identified by the original CPL framework (Savona 2017(Savona , 2006 and presented in Table 1. It is conducted through a rigorous analysis of the contents of the texts of each regulation.…”