Search results

The purpose of this paper is to map anti-money laundering policy and its impact on money laundering. The AML system is discussed from the perspective of the compliance officer, who is responsible for translating AML law into practice in Belgian banks.

Literature review, based largely on a PhD study (2009) that involved a survey and interviews. Additionally, 12 compliance officers were interviewed in 2015.

The global AML system impacts significantly on issues of privacy and due process but has not yet been evaluated. The system’s preventive effect is difficult to measure because of a lack of (cross-border) information. The way in which Risks are currently managed in diverse ways.

Results from the first study in 2009 (based on interviews in 2007-2008) were potentially outdated. This recent update (2015) confirms that compliance officers are still dealing with the same issues.

The study clarifies the ways in which compliance and AML is dealt with and mapped, providing insights into an often closed setting.

The battle against money laundering is very costly and intrusive, making the need for stringent evaluation more pressing.

The study is both original and valuable because compliance officers have rarely been the subject of research. The study discloses useful information about their role.

This research uses rational choice theory to analyze the effects of motivation, premeditation and offender characteristics on offenders' weapons during decision-making processes when they are violent towards on-duty police officers. The paper aims to discuss the aforementioned issues.

The researchers examined 597 cases (n = 597) of violence against the police in the China Judgments Online (CJO) database, and analyzed the data using multinomial logistic regression methods. Rational choice theory was used to explore the offenders' weapons decision-making process.

The research results showed that offenders with premeditation were more likely to use a weapon, and tended to choose sharp weapons; offenders motivated to “escape arrest” were more likely to use a weapon, and tended to choose a vehicle as a weapon; and offenders motivated by “conflict resolution” were more likely to choose a sharp or blunt weapon.

These findings have limited applicability to other countries and must be considered in the local background of violence against police.

Through the rational choice theory analytical framework, this study clarifies how motivation and premeditation influence offenders' weapons decision-making processes.

Also, this study may provide support for frontline police officers' law enforcement.

The research identified some specific connections between offenders' weapon choice preferences, their motivation for the violence and whether or not there was premeditation. The findings provide guidance for police agencies developing preventive policies, and for frontline officers in interpreting and managing the situations they face.

This article provides an overview of the latest empirical research regarding police decision-making in Belgium from 2000 to 2021 in terms of methodology and general findings (e.g. types and year of publication, topics studied). Recommendations are given concerning police research and the development of a research agenda.

Fourteen separate and limited scoping reviews regarding police decision-making topics were carried out by students in criminology and law. All scoping reviews followed the same procedure.

Seventy-nine unique publications are included in the analyses. These show that police violence is most frequently studied, whereas violence against the police was only included in one publication. Empirical research on bodycams and (social) media was not found. Most of the studies followed a quantitative research design, mainly by means of secondary data analysis.

The scoping reviews are limited in scope and were carried out by different students, potentially leading to variable interpretations and selections. Additionally, the conclusions are partly the result of the developed review protocols (e.g. keywords, databases).

This article combines 14 different scoping reviews, following the same procedure, on subtopics regarding police decision-making and thus enabling comparison of the literature found in a consistent way.

This article provides an overview of the literature characteristics of empirical research on topics related to police careers from 2000 to 2021. Methodology, distribution in time and space and types of publication are presented. Recommendations for new research avenues are given.

Eight scoping reviews on specific topics were carried out by criminology students under the close guidance and supervision of the first author, an academic researcher. The reviews followed the same procedure, enabling an overarching reflection.

The scoping reviews resulted in 179 unique publications for analysis. It appears that the topic of police professional competencies is studied more often in the field of police careers (n = 55), in contrast to informal learning in police training (n = 4) which was studied the least frequently. Since 2012, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of publications. Publications in scientific journals are by far the most common (n = 153), as is a quantitative research design (n = 123). All topics have been studied in Europe and North America.

More qualitative research and international dissemination of empirical results are recommended to gain a deeper understanding of police careers. As for the limitations, specific topics were selected, which limits the scope of the findings. Working with students for data collection has its benefits in terms of workload, but comes with potential limitations in terms of quality. It is recommended to conduct a screening using the four-eyed principle, as was done here by the first and second authors. Additionally, the review protocol (e.g. keywords and databases) has an influence on the outcome. Different choices may lead to different results.

A comprehensive analysis of police career literature is made based on eight scoping reviews that followed the same procedure. It allows to study the literature in a broad sense rather than studying one topic in depth.

The purpose of this paper is to gain insight into the type of force that is most frequently used by Belgian police officers in their daily activities, and to examine the individual and contextual triggers that result in using force.

First, the results of an online survey of police officers in three Belgian local police zones are presented. Second, qualitative data are used to gain more insight into the factors, individual as well as contextual, that influence the decision to use force.

The survey results indicate that the officers in the sample rarely use force. When force is used, the type of force used is typically situated on the lower end of the continuum (verbal and physical force without a weapon). The interview data suggest that suspect resistance, the behaviour of the suspect in general and the character and personality of the police officer have an influence on the use of force.

The authors conclude that police officers should be provided not only with training on typical situations, but also with training to handle unpredictable cases, as well as individual coaching and aftercare. Increased transparency and reporting of the use of force and evolutions thereof could provide basic information to develop training, coaching and aftercare.

Although there has been plenty of academic attention given to the factors that determine proper use of force by the police, most research in this field is based on police experiences abroad (such as in the USA).

The purpose of this paper is to discuss rise and growth of the “compliance industry” in Belgium by looking at the reasons why this industry became such an important element in the battle against money laundering. The “compliance industry” represents the commercial market that surrounds the battle against money laundering. We aim to map this industry and want to explore how this industry fits in the battle against money laundering.

This paper represents the final phase of a PhD research, studying the origins of battle against money laundering and the private actors within this battle, the compliance officers. The research starts from a criminological point of view. This paper is based on a survey of compliance officers and interviews with both compliance officers and members of the “compliance industry”.

The compliance industry is a booming industry on the market on anti‐money laundering. Their services are mainly focused on software packages, advice, training and consultancy. Although this industry has grown as a result of legislation and regulation, there are some problems, mainly related to privacy issues.

For this paper, only a limited amount of corporations within the compliance industry were interviewed, which may result in an incomplete picture of this industry.

Belgium implemented a regulatory framework in 2001, obliging the installment of a compliance function within banks. The value of this research lies in the fact that neither this booming professional group, nor the surrounding market (including the compliance industry) has never been subject of research before.

The purpose of this paper is to report on the systematic review on the topic of plural policing. The authors aim to discuss the general characteristics of empirical research into plural policing and describe the way in which police literature deals with the questions related to plural policing.

A systematic review, including qualitative research, focused on empirical research results.

First of all, plural policing has been subject of study in a diversity of contexts, using multiple methods and treating very diverse research questions. Although the dangers of blurring boundaries between policing actors is a focal issue in contemplative papers, empirical research on plural policing does not focus on this issue but mentions it in the margins of the research results.

Limitations are that the authors had to set a timeframe for the systematic review and that not all research was accessible. Furthermore, the authors had to limit the studies that could be included in this systematic review.

One of the main research questions relates to the dangers of blurring boundaries between multiple policing actors. This has important implications for citizens in their relations and contacts with police actors (in terms of transparency, equality of rights and so on).

The paper gives a first insight into a domain that is written on extensively, but less empirically studied and sheds light on the studies that have taken the topic of plural policing as the focal point.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, the paper will map Belgian compliance officers' practices and challenges, and second, it makes an attempt to assess the effectiveness of their input in the anti‐money laundering (AML) chain in Belgium: what are actual results of the fight against money laundering?

The research starts from a criminological point of view, studying the preventive AML‐policy by focusing on the compliance function in banks. In order to study this preventive approach more concretely, a survey was sent to Belgian compliance officers, asking about their practices. Second, the available statistics on 13 years of AML in Belgium were studied.

The function of compliance officer implies a number of challenges or “growing pains”; problematic access to information, lack of feedback from the authorities, limited investigative means. Furthermore, although the investments of private organisations in AML have been substantial, the outcome of the AML chain seems modest.

This paper reflects the first phase of an on‐going research (2006‐2009). The results presented here are therefore preliminary.

Belgium implemented a regulatory framework in 2001, obliging the installment of a compliance function within banks. The value of this research lies in the fact that this booming professional group has never been subject of research before, even though they play a crucial role in AML in particular and crime fighting in general. It is therefore of great importance to study compliance officers' views, practices, and opinions in order to get a grip on this new type of “policing”.