Transnational crimes are the criminal activities that take place across borders as commonly used in law practice and educationally. It gives the implication of crimes that more than being international or cross border involve border exchange as the core of the crimes. They include human trafficking, smuggling of goods like armory and drugs, sex enslavement and terrorism. These crimes may be practiced by controlled crime groups that involve the organizing and execution of illegal trade activities by these groups or networks of persons working across borders. This type is referred to as transnational planned crime. These planned systems use systematized violent encounters and corruption to achieve their goals. These activities include money laundering, human smuggling, cyber crime, and trafficking of drugs, weaponry, in danger of extinction products, body parts or nuclear equipment. The negative impacts of these activities is that they weaken the economies and financial status of the countries involved, weaken democracy and reduce the peace and stability of countries worldwide as they may employ corruption, aggression and terror to achieve their objectives (Human Trafficking, 1993).
International legal and policing cooperation is the situation where national police agencies and theorists work cooperatively across national borders through forming specialist areas of policing like criminality, captive negotiations, murder investigation, canine treatment, communication transport and patrol through basic recruit training of personnel (Deflem 2002a).
The national borders are meant to separate the rule and jurisdiction of states. Often the borders are used by criminals as a way to avoid the consequences of offenses. This is because the rule of one nation does not extent beyond the borders thus making transnational crime more serious and prevalent. Transnational crime is further fueled by developments in transportation systems especially air, international tourism and business travel development. Other factors include Improvement of communication systems like satellite, fiber optic telephone and television transmission. (Anderson 1989) Another factor is the expansion of trade creating more intercontinental participation making interdependence a basic part of life. The increasing world population has resulted to more crowding, poverty and hunger that lead to more cross border movements. The effect of these factors is more people, more opportunities, and as a result more crime activities. The increased transnational crime can also be attributed to the more effective movement of people and information across borders, terrorism, theft, smuggling, currency and security breaches, computer crimes, drug trafficking and illegal immigration (Deflem 2002b).
This cooperative policing will seek to use governmental institutions like police, courts, and correctional agencies to address transnational crime through control of social violence that is a major aspect of these activities, protect the weak nations that are often taken advantage of by the planned international crime groups and seek further enforcement of societies rules and policies dealing with transnational crime. This makes international policing cooperation the way forward for the transnational crime situation (Deflem 2002c).
This cooperation will further seek to serve each society’s standards and customs with regard to administration of justice, this makes the application of universal rule of law that would result to further confrontations less therefore making the cooperative policing more efficient as the way forward to this problem. This model will develop a multinational police force on behalf of the countries to avoid violation of international law and the member country’s sovereignty therefore a better way forward to approaching the problem. This cooperative policing will be based on the best negotiated agreements based on mutual respect, benefit and approval rather than economic or politically based coercion that further amounts to violation of the sovereignty and extralegal agreement. Secondly the model would achieve more reliability, success, and legality in the international relations that make this approach further worth working for (Jensen 1981).
Further the need for international policing is created by the demand for discovering, documenting and communication of basic working information about offenses. An example is what happened, when it happened, where it happened, describe suspected persons, give information on the situation of the crime like injuries and deaths among other necessary information. This information can only be provided by closely related or first sight personnel and this can only be achieved in the case of multinational policing where the immediate authorities give this information for the international proceeding of the case. The need for direct investigation like locating and apprehending of suspects, collection of proof data, identification and interrogation of witnesses and detention of suspects is best done at the crime area then the information and results are sent to the multinational authorities (Hsi-Heuy 1992).
The other reason that makes international policing the best approach to transnational crime is the demand for help in prosecution. An example is selection of witnesses and preparation for their appearance in court, preparing of investigative staff to testify in court and in the case of conviction provide the sentencing court with the required background information about the offender that is necessary in guiding the court ruling (Ed. Marenin 1996).
International policing can also be done through the sharing of law enforcement expertise, resources like personnel and equipment, Substitution of cultural information and thinking used in administration of law and justice and sharing of duty in facilitating law enforcement. This would further realize the sole role of controlling transnational crime, therefore a worthy to take measure as it’s much more efficient and successful as compared to the individual jurisdiction of each nation’s authority in dealing with this type of criminal activities (Ed.McDonald 1997).
International policing as an option will be supported by the development in communication modes and monitoring of crime activities. This can be done from a central location through the use of satellite communication, use of networks and the use of optical fiber communication that is very fast and efficient. This may involve the use of cameras covering the areas to be monitored therefore making it a better option in dealing with international crime through monitoring sensitive areas like borders among other areas where these criminal activities take place (Ed. Marenin 1996).
The development of the information sector both formal and informal provides information on monitoring of transnational crimes. This information is passed through crime based movies, publications and through education in that studies on criminology have developed to cover the area of transnational crime that provides the information necessary to make international policing operational. International policing is further aided by foreign language proficiency that makes the levels of communication and understanding in the international environment much more favorable. The heightened world awareness has increased cooperation among people making them more concerned with what is happening around the world; therefore people are taking personal concern for the outcome of international events. This further aids the level of operation and success of international policing by creating the need for control on transnational crime (Ed.McDonald, 1997).
Syncretising of leadership to be like that of athletic tutors where the principle of a common threat is applied therefore a common goal established to counter the common enemy. This brings about unification of nations and individual groups with an attempt to fight the undesired enemy. A good example is the worldwide fight against HIV/AIDS. This view is adopted in dealing with transnational crime in achieving the shared goal of socio-economic development. This further creates the preference for international policing towards realizing the common set goals (Eds. Anderson & Monica, 1994).
On the other hand the obstacles that deter the use of international policing as a solution to transnational crime include the harmonization and regularization of relations; here some nations in the pursuit of the same goal of ending the common enemy of transnational crime will seek to override the rule and sovereignty of weaker nations. In the process, they seek to exploit their economic resources among others for their selfish interests and not for the mutual benefit that is supposed to be the motive. This undermines the operation of international policing and creates tension that may further lead to it working inefficiently or not working at all. (Ed.McDonald, 1997). The problem of overcoming short and long-term enemity and rivalry that existed before the cooperation or during the cooperation poses another challenge to the success. The obstacle of compelling among other parties to change and adapt international policing taking into account its uncertainty, inconveniences and the projected success from the current status quo. This poses a challenge due to the time and resource demands it poses on the adopting nation (Hsi-Heuy, 1992).
The other obstacle is the need to diplomatically work out basic differences in law enforcement style having different nations having clearly diverse ideas about state justice administration. An example is the emphasis of individual rights and common law in America’s common law custom. The housing of adverse systems of authority with each other towards developing a common norm amounts to a trial and error affair which may take a long time for the different parties to get conversant with each other, make compromises and adjustments so as to suit to the new system in developing the amalgam policies and procedures and to get them institutionalized. This problem is further extended and made worse by the politicking of the different authorities depending on the level of dominance they can impose on the cooperation (Jensen, 1981).
The major conditions that will either ensure or deter the success of the cooperation are having a shared perception of a serious shared problem that is threatening to the welfare of the member parties. This condition can only be met if the parties view the situation as degrading, reducing the levels of development and not beneficial to them in any way. This is because if a number of the parties are beneficiaries of the transnational crime activities then they will seek to develop means of limiting the operation and success of the cooperation so as to retain the benefits they get from the criminal activities. An examples is some member countries being participants and beneficiaries of drug and armory trafficking they will try the best to protect the vice (Deflem, 2002c).
There should be participation of knowledgeable career law enforcement personnel who can help explain the problem and propose working solutions to the problem. This is because the view of the uninformed people who may not be aware of the challenges the problem causes on the housing economy may not support the step of international policing due to lack of information, guidance and as a result of ignorance. Thirdly the participation of political officials should be present as they will be the ones to help in formulation, passing, and in defending enabling policies and allocate budgetary sustenance for the employment of the policing. For example allocate funds to train the required personnel. The other condition is establishment of a proper and standard communication between rule enforcement personnel and the political class to ensure the success of the whole process. In the case that either of these conditions is missing, faulty or not working the reliability and effectiveness of international police cooperation will not be achieved (Deflem 2002a).
Transnational crime being the criminal activities that take place across national borders is on the increase due to increasing populations, movement of people, improvement in communication, transportation and information like computers and internet there is an acute need for a solution to the crime problem that can address the problem locally and internationally. This therefore creates the need for development of international policing as its evident that the level of success in much higher than the anticipated chance of failure. This can only be done with reference to the guiding principles and addressing the challenges associated for it to operate. With the development of this tool international transnational crime can be controlled if not fully ended.
List of References
- Anderson, M 1989, Policing the World: Interpol and the Politics of International Police Cooperation. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- Anderson, M, Monica B, Eds 1994, Policing Across National Boundaries, London; New York: Pinter Publishers,
- Deflem, M 2002a, Policing World Society: Historical Foundations of International Police Cooperation. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press.
- Deflem, M 2002b, “Technology and the Internationalization of Policing: A Comparative-Historical Perspective.” Justice Quarterly, vol. 19, no.3, pp.453-475.
- Deflem, M 2002c, “The Logic of Nazification: The Case of the International Criminal Police Commission (‘Interpol’).” International Journal of Comparative Sociology, vol.43, no.1, pp.21-44.
- Hsi-Heuy, L1992, The Rise of the Modern Police and the European State System, New York: Cambridge University Press.
- Human Trafficking 1993.
- Jensen, R.B 1981, “The International Anti-Anarchist Conference of 1898 and the Origins of Interpol.” Journal of Contemporary History, vol 16, no.2, pp.323-347.
- Marenin, O, Ed 1996, Policing Change, Changing Police: international Perspectives, New York: Garland Press.
- McDonald, W. F., Ed 1997. Crime and Law Enforcement in the Global Village, Cincinnati, OH: Anderson Publishing
- Nadelmann, E. A. 1993, Cops Across Borders: The Internationalization of U.S. Criminal Law Enforcement, University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press.