CRJ355 Research Methods in Criminal Justice Prisoner Statistics, Post University

 

CRJ322 – Human Trafficking, A Hidden Crime Unit 3 Assignment Law Comparison, Post University, November 2024

                                                    Italy and the United States:  

Comparison of Human Trafficking 

 

Jackie Phillips 

Criminology, Post University  

CRJ322 – Human Trafficking, A Hidden Crime  

Unit 3 Assignment Law Comparison 

Professor Robert Eddy 

Due: 11:59 pm, on Sunday of Unit 3 

  

Overview: This week we have looked at some of the laws, treaties, and acts from the United States and other countries associated with human trafficking. This assignment will compare some of those laws to the laws in the United States. This paper can be a 2 column chart comparing them or written in paragraph format.  

 

Select a foreign country and research their human trafficking laws and regulations. Compare them to the laws of the United States. 

I will be selecting Italy as the country I will be researching for human trafficking and comparing their efforts to the United States. Italy is a unique country due to its proximity and easy access to all of Europe, Africa and Asia.  

Based on your findings, identify which country you feel is better prepared to prevent and/or deter the problem of human trafficking.  

According to recent reports, Italy sees a significant number of human trafficking victims, with sexual exploitation being the most prevalent form, though labor exploitation is also growing, with high-risk sectors including agriculture, domestic service, and construction. Most victims are women, often trafficked from North Africa, and the country is considered a major destination point due to its geographical position as a gateway to Europe. While the government has made efforts to combat trafficking, concerns remain regarding the identification and support of victims, and the issue of underreporting persists. 

“GRETA notes that these figures do not reflect the real scale of the phenomenon of human trafficking in Italy, due to the persisting limitations of the existing procedures for identifying victims, as well as a low self-reporting rate by victims who fear being punished or deported. Trafficking for labour exploitation remains under-reported, says the report. High-risk sectors include agriculture, textile, domestic service, construction, hospitality and restaurants.” (No author given, 2024) 

“Organized crime is on the rise, including illegal fabric importation, human trafficking, prostitution, gambling and money laundering. Authorities raided over 154 Chinese-owned businesses in the first half of 2010, at the time there were over 3,000 registered Chinese-owned businesses. Police forces do not have the man-power in order to stay on top of the immigration problem. Several Italian Officers were arrested earlier that year for taking bribes in exchange for residence permits. The government of Italy did not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking in 2022, but it made significant efforts to do so. In 2023 the U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking Office placed the country at Tier 2. In 2023, the Organized Crime Index gave the country a score of 7 out of 10 for human trafficking, noting that most victims were moved to Italy from Nigeria and northern Africa.” (No author given, 2024) 

“As reported over the past five years, human traffickers exploit foreign and, to a lesser degree, domestic victims in Italy. Victims originate primarily from Bulgaria, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Cote d’Ivoire, the Gambia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Romania, including ethnic Roma.” (No author given, 2022) 

In comparison, the United States is a Tier 1 country and Italy is a Tier 2 country.  

A Tier 1 country is a country or territory whose government fully complies with the minimum standards set forth in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) to combat human trafficking. The US Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report) ranks countries based on their efforts to comply with these standards. 

Tier 2 is a ranking given to countries that are not fully compliant with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act's (TVPA) minimum standards for combating human trafficking, but are making significant efforts to comply. Countries on the Tier 2 Watch List must meet specific standards in the following year to avoid being downgraded to Tier 3. The U.S. President can also restrict Tier 3 countries from certain types of funding and educational and cultural exchange programs. 

Tier 2 Watch List: Countries that are Tier 2, but have significant trafficking problems or have not shown increased efforts to combat trafficking  

Tier 3: Countries that are not fully compliant and are not making significant efforts to comply 

“According to the Department of State 2011 Trafficking in Person Report, the United States is a Tier 1 country for trafficking. Tier 1 means that the government is in compliance with the U.S. government's minimum standards of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 to eliminate trafficking.” (No author given, 2024) 

“The Trafficking in Persons Report, or the TIP Report, is an annual report issued since 2001 by the U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. It ranks governments based on their perceived efforts to acknowledge and combat human trafficking.” (No author given, 2024) 

“The TIP Report sheds light on the current scale of modern slavery around the world. Think of it as a collection of report cards with grades based on factors like law enforcement effectiveness, criminal accountability, victim protection, government funding and more. Each country is graded on the strength and effectiveness of its efforts to end human trafficking within its borders.” (No author given, 2024) 

In conclusion, I think the differences in the countries start with Italy’s geographic location and proximity to so many other countries and continents, and that Italy is surrounded by water as a massive peninsula. This water access increases the chances of people in a variety of boats willing to make long and short journeys and sneak into the country. This sets the country up for traffickers to take advantage of desperate people who need work and a place to live. This increases organized crime, which then puts the government and law enforcement at a disadvantage and unable to handle all the crime and victims and their needs. Compared to the United States, their main issues are at the Mexican border.

 

References  

No author given, 2024, GRETA, GRETA publishes its third report on Italy, https://www.coe.int/en/web/anti-human-trafficking/-/greta-publishes-its-third-report-on-italy#:~:text=Today's%20report%20shows%20that%20between,over%20a%20number%20of%20issues 

 

No author given, 2024, Wikipedia, Human Trafficking in Italy, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_trafficking_in_Italy 

 

No author given, 2022, US Department of State, 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report: Italy, https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-trafficking-in-persons-report/italy/ 

No author given, 2024, Wikipedia, Human Trafficking in the United States, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_trafficking_in_the_United_States 

 

No author given, 2024, International Justice Mission, What is the TIP Report? https://www.ijm.org/news/what-is-the-tip-report#:~:text=Tier%202%3A%20Like%20a%20C,it%20has%20work%20to%20do. 

 

No author given, 2024, Wikipedia, Trafficking in Persons Report, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trafficking_in_Persons_Report 

CRJ322- Human Trafficking, A Hidden Crime, Unit 3 Assignment Research Paper Introduction, Post University

                                                    Prison Labor and The World: 

A Hidden Problem Allowed to Exist 

 

Jackie Phillips 

Criminology, Post University 

CRJ322- Human Trafficking, A Hidden Crime 

Unit 3 Assignment Research Paper Introduction 

Professor Robert Eddy 

Due: 11:59 pm, Sunday of Unit 3 

 

 

Overview: For this week’s assignment, you will be submitting a full introduction to your Research Paper. This is the third of five assignments which will make up the Research Paper. For this assignment, you will define human trafficking and provide an introduction to your topic.  

Introduce and define your topic.  

My topic is about the worldwide practice of prison labor, also called penal labor, penal servitude, punitive labor and convict labor which forces prisoners to work in a wide variety of situations, and often or little to no pay or compensation or credit.  

“From the moment they enter the prison gates, incarcerated people lose the right to refuse to work. This is because the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which protects against slavery and involuntary servitude, explicitly excludes from its reach those held in confinement due to a criminal conviction.” (No author given, 2022) 

Explain why this area of human trafficking is significant.  

The primary reason that prison labor is a huge problem is because this type of labor can fall beneath and outside the legal regulations of protected worker safety.  

“Punitive labour encompasses two types: productive labour, such as industrial work; and intrinsically pointless tasks used as primitive occupational therapy, punishment, or physical torment.” (No author given, 2024) 

Limited protections 

Incarcerated workers are often denied the same protections as other workers, such as those provided by OSHA and state agencies.  

Dangerous conditions 

Incarcerated workers may work in dangerous conditions that would be regulated by health and safety laws if they were not incarcerated.  

  

Exploitation 

Incarcerated workers are often paid pennies per hour, and over half of their pay goes toward room and board, court costs, and other prison fees.  

Lack of rights 

Incarcerated workers are often not legally considered employees and are denied the right to unionize or protest. 

 

Identify the areas/populations this type of trafficking traditionally effects.  

“Reports indicate that state-imposed forced labour occurs in public and private prisons around the world, including Brazil, China, North Korea, Poland, Russia, Turkmenistan, the United States, Viet Nam, and Zimbabwe. It also occurs in migrant detention centres in Libya, re-education camps in China, administrative detention camps in North Korea, and in medical labour centres in Belarus and Viet Nam, in which citizens struggling with drug addiction are forced to work as part of their recovery.” (No author given, 2024) 

Include any additional information which you feel is required to help your audience to better understand your paper. 

Is penal labor, sometimes called captive labor, ethical? 

“Incarcerated men and women toil in workshops, kitchens, and fields, producing goods and services that reach far beyond their confinement. From manufacturing furniture and processing food to fighting fires and working in call centers, their labor fuels supply chains, corporate profits, and consumer markets. Yet these workers remain invisible, their contributions often overlooked or dismissed. The commodification of their labor perpetuates a cycle of vulnerability, where meager wages and limited rights prevail.” (Shewan, L., 2024)

 

References 

No author given, 2022, American Civil Liberties Union, Captive Labor: Exploitation of Incarcerated Worker, https://www.aclu.org/news/human-rights/captive-labor-exploitation-of-incarcerated-workers 

No author given, 2024, Wikipedia, Penal Labour, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penal_labour 

No author given, 2024, WalkFree, Guardians and Offenders: State Imposed Forced Labor, https://www.walkfree.org/global-slavery-index/findings/spotlights/examining-state-imposed-forced-labour/#:~:text=State%2Dimposed%20forced%20labour%20can,all%20state%2Dimposed%20forced%20labour. 

Shewan, L., 2024, The Center for Law and Social Policy, The Unethical Use of Captive Labor in U.S. Prisons, https://www.clasp.org/publications/report/brief/unethical-use-captive-labor-prisons/ 

CRJ355 Research Methods in Criminal Justice, Unit 8 Assignment Research Project Reflection, Post University

                                            Does the Death Penalty Deter Crime? 

Are States Safer When They Keep the Death Penalty? 

 

Jackie Phillips 

Criminology, Post University  

CRJ355 Research Methods in Criminal Justice  

 Unit 8 Assignment: Research Project Reflection 

Dr. Lyndon Godsall 

 Due Friday, June 23, 2023

 

Over the course of the term, you have had a chance to share your ideas with others and receive feedback as your research project took shape. Reflecting on your experience, feedback received, and your exploration of ideas leading to the submission of your research project, you will conclude your course experience with a reflection about your experience. Your paper will communicate about your experience with respect to each area noted above and share how your experience challenged and supported your learning about creating a Criminal Justice Research Project. You may use first person for this assignment. 

 

For this assignment you will submit a reflection piece.  

Your submission will be in the form of a two page paper in which you will respond to the following:  

Identify and share your perspectives concerning one area or aspect of your work developing your Criminal Research Project that you found most challenging.  

https://www.jotform.com/report/23163659701205213 

I found working with this JotForm the most challenging because I was not familiar with 

the software at all since I had never used it before. However, I am familiar with spreadsheets, so I tried to use my knowledge of spreadsheets to create this form that has data about a large variety of Death Row prisoners, both past and present. I also had a difficult time trying to decide what information to include and what was important for the accurate description of each prisoner. There was a huge wealth of information on each prisoner, and I had a hard time deciding which to use with the very limited page space. Once I developed the form, I found myself wanting to find more and more prisoners to enter, and luckily, I did find a huge supply of information on the wide variety of Death Row prisoners. The difficulty was picking and choosing which to use. I tried to use people who had a variety to offer with their data and timeframe and outcome.  

Identify and share your perspectives concerning one area or aspect of your work in developing your Criminal Research Project that you found the easiest.  

The primary focus of my paper in the beginning was to determine if the Death Penalty is a deterrence to crime. Does crime noticeably reduce when a state has a Death Penalty? I found a lot of information that does support that crime does not reduce if the Death Penalty is a sentencing option. Here is one resource that I found:  

“Deterrence should not be considered in a vacuum. The critical question is not whether potential criminals will be dissuaded from killing because they would face the death penalty rather than no punishment at all. Other punishments such as life without parole might provide equal deterrence at far less costs and without the attendant risk of executing an innocent person. Whether the death penalty is a proven method of lowering the murder rate has been subjected to many studies over many decades. It is not enough to compare jurisdictions with the death penalty to those without unless the study controls for the many other variables that could affect the murder rate. For example, lower unemployment rates correlate with lower crime rates. More police involvement in the local community seems to reduce crime. The death penalty affects only a tiny percentage of even those who commit murder. Its effect is very difficult to pinpoint, and the National Academy of Sciences has concluded that past studies have neither proven nor disproven a deterrent effect.” #1 (No Author Given, 2023) 

 

Here is another article by an independent group in North Carolina who states that the Death Penalty does not deter crime: 

“Our close work with death-sentenced people, as well as families who have lost loved ones to violence, confirms that there are more effective ways to prevent murder. The vast majority of those on death row committed unplanned crimes arising out of mental illness, poverty, substance abuse, and trauma. Societal efforts to remedy those problems, along with the racial inequities that underlie them, would have a far greater impact on public safety. Many surviving family members also say the death penalty fails to bring them healing, and they ask that the state not kill in the names of their loved ones. Practices like restorative justice are designed to address harm and bring healing, rather than focusing on retribution.” #2 (No Author Given, February 2022)

Identify one major personal “takeaway” or learning outcome that you found most valuable in developing a Criminal Research Project.  

I was disturbed by this article that specifically addresses the innocence of convicted people on Death Row: 

“The great majority of innocent people who are sentenced to death are never identified and freed, says Professor Samuel Gross of the University of Michigan Law School, the study’s lead author. The difficulty in identifying innocent inmates stems from the fact that more than 60 percent of prisoners in death penalty cases ultimately are removed from death row and resentenced to life imprisonment. Once that happens, their cases no longer receive the exhaustive reviews that the legal system provides for those on death row… The research produced an estimate of the percentage of defendants who would be exonerated if they all remained indefinitely on death row, where their cases would be subject to intense scrutiny for innocence… The study concluded that the number of innocent defendants who have been put to death is “comparatively low. … Our data and the experience of practitioners in the field both indicate that the criminal justice system goes too far greater lengths to avoid executing innocent defendants than to prevent them from remaining in prison indefinitely.” #3 (Hannon, Elliot, 2014)  

 

 References  

#1, No Author Given, 2023, “Deterrence: Studies show no link between the presence or absence of the death penalty and murder rates.” Death Penalty Information Center, https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/policy-issues/deterrence 

 

#2, No Author Given, February 2022, “Why End the Death Penalty? The Death Penalty Does Not Keep Us Safe,” North Carolina Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, https://nccadp.org/reasons-to-end-the-death-penalty/failure-to-deter-crime/ 

 

#3, Hannon, Elliot, 2014, “Big Data Study: 1 in 25 Given Death Penalty Sentence Are Likely Innocent,” Slate.com Magazine, https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2014/04/a-new-study-estimates-error-rate-of-death-penalty-sentences-in-u-s.html 

CRJ331 Community Corrections, Unit 6 Assignment Restorative Principles, Post University

                                                    What is Restorative Justice? 

What Are its principles? 

 

 

Jackie Phillips 

Department Name, Post University  

CRJ331 – Community Corrections  

Unit 6 Assignment: Restorative Principles 

Professor Terri Johnson 

Due Date: 11:59 pm EST Sunday of Unit 6

 

In your own words, what is “Restorative Justice” and what are its principles?  

Restorative justice is a community-based, victim-centered approach in a justice environment that focuses on repairing harm caused by criminals and then makes the offender accountable for their crimes and towards the victims. The offender accepts responsibility for their actions and is held accountable to repair the harm done. 

“A great way to understand the Restorative Justice Community Group Conference process is to look at it through the lens of the 5 R’s: Relationship, Respect, Responsibility, Repair, and Reintegration 

Relationship: 

At the heart of every restorative justice process is a damaged relationship. The person who caused harm has negatively impacted the lives of real people and real communities. 

Respect: 

Respect keeps the process safe. All involved parties are trusted to show respect for themselves and for others at all stages of the process. 

Responsibility: 

We ask that everyone is honest with themselves and searches deeply in their hearts to discover how they might have had a hand in the matter. 

Repair: 

The repair principle replaces thoughts of revenge and punishment, instead focusing on moving forward in a more positive direction. 

Reintegration: 

By accepting responsibility and agreeing to repair the harm, the person who caused harm creates space and trust to be reintegrated into the community.” (Capstick, L., 2018) 

 

How do you feel that these principles differ from traditional criminal justice practices?  

 

Restorative Justice has a different viewpoint than Traditional Criminal Justice. Restorative Justice sees that harm has been done to people, families and a community, compared to Traditional Justice who sees only that laws are broken. Restorative Justice seeks to rebuild communities affected by crime and rebuilding relationships, compared to Traditional Criminal Justice that wants to assign consequences to the offender.  

 

“The differences between TCJ and RJ principles, models and programs are significant.  The major difference is that TCJ is primarily concerned with retribution against the offender, whereas RJ focuses on the needs of the victim, offender and the community and their interrelationships; the obligations of the offender and the community vis a vis the victim; and on engaging all of the parties involved. In the last 40 years, RJ programs have been growing in popularity worldwide, and research shows that in most cases RJ programs are more effective than TCJ.” (Horodeckyj, S., 2020) 

 

I think that Restorative Justice is a great idea if the offender is willing and mature enough to understand what is expected of them and that they agree to follow the guidelines. They should also be made aware of what will happen if they choose not to follow the guidelines. I think that the offender should be allowed to follow the RJ program if their Community Service officer believes it is a good fit for the offender. The more options a person has to improve, the better a society we will become.  

 

“Restorative Community Conferencing”  

Through Make it Right, eligible young people are given the option, before their cases are charged, to participate in “restorative community conferencing.” In this process, the youth come together with their victim and their supporters (including family/caregivers, youth services, schools, coaches, and others) in a community-based facilitated dialogue to develop an agreement for the young person to repair harm, address root causes, and make amends. This collective agreement identifies concrete actions the youth will take to address harm caused to the victim, the community, the youth’s family, and him/herself. With support from a community-based case manager, the young person has a six-month period to complete their agreement. If successful, the case is not prosecuted.” (No author given, 2024) 

 

References  

Capstick, L., 2018, The Conflict Center, The Five R’s of Restorative Justice, https://conflictcenter.org/the-5-rs-of-restorative-justice/ 

 

Horodeckyj, S., 2020, IJ4J For All, Traditional Criminal Justice vs Restorative Justice, Internet Journal of Restorative Justice, https://www.rj4allpublications.com/product/traditional-criminal-justice-vs-restorative-justice/ 

 

No author given, 2024, San Francisco District Attorney, A New Approach to Juvenile Delinquency in San Francisco, https://sfdistrictattorney.org/policy/restorative-justice/make-it-right/