NBP. Nauka, bezbednosti, policija

The Parallelism of Serbian Constitutional Norms on the Concept and Competences of Autonomies

Slobodan Petar Orlović — 2024-06-19

Serbia is a decentralised unitary state comprising two territorial autonomies – the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina and the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohia. The autonomies are constitutional institutions (categories), which means that their status is generally regulated by the Constitution. However, this regulation primarily concerns Vojvodina, whereas Kosovo and Metohia’s status will be determined by a special law, which will embody the constitutionally proclaimed ‘substantial autonomy’.

The Constitution determines the concept and competences of provinces through six articles, leaving the more specific regulation to the law and provincial acts. The paper critically describes this constitutional regulation, with the major remark that some provisions are redundant as they are, unacceptably, simply repeated.

The Impact of Rhetoric on Jerome Frank’s ‘Digestive Jurisprdence’

Dragutin Avramović — 2024-08-21

The paper analyses the relationship between law and rhetoric and their intersection areas, particularly focusing on the significance of rhetoric in contemporary judicial proceedings. In the 20^th century, the issue of the relationship between law and rhetoric (explicitly or implicitly) became relevant particularly through the scientific excellence of the school of American legal realism, but more recently, it has been somewhat neglected. The authors of this paper devotes particular attention to the judicial decision-making theory of Jerome Frank, a prominent legal realist. It is for his radical positions, as a fact skeptic, that he seems to have unconsciously, subtly but persistently, woven into his works the idea of the importance of rhetoric in judicial decision-making processes.

The authors explores the reasons behind Frank’s hesitation for most of his scientific career to give rhetoric (particularly that of Aristotle, which he quoted most) its deserved place. It was only in one of his later works that Frank attempted to build a bridge between his judicial decision-making theory (insisting on the importance of prejudices and subjectivities of a judge to the judicial decision) and rhetoric (aimed at persuading the judge, evoking his emotions, and creating the image of a particular reality in his eyes). It seems that his effort was only a partial success because, even then, he primarily focused on the methods of touching the “souls of the audience”, overlooking the importance of the rhetorical means (primarily logical) that did not lend support for his theory.

Competencies of Court Experts for Road Traffic Accidents and Capacity of States to Perform Needed Expertise

Miladin M Nešić — 2024-08-12

Court expert plays important role in the road traffic accident expertise. The question is how to select an appropriate court expert and what guarantees the quality of expertise. A road traffic accident expertise requires expert competencies and a comprehensive court expert register. The analysis of expert competencies in the road traffic area is performed by surveying available data from the register of Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and North Macedonia (nonEU states) and Croatia and Slovenia (the EU states). A comparative review of legal solutions in the observed states was done in order to consider the legal bases for expertise. Proposal for improvement is made. The capacity indicators of states for performing expertise were defined and an analysis was carried out showing the highest load was on the Slovenian experts (1 day per expertise), while in Bosnia and Herzegovina - District of Brčko the indicator amounted to 34 days per expertise.

The Importance of Whistleblowers in the Field of Environmental Crime Prevention

Jelena Ž Kostic — 2024-10-10

Whistleblowing is an important activity not only for combating corruption, but also other irregularities and illegal actions. Protection of the enviornment is certainly a matter of public interest, and the prevention of crimes that violate its integrity is useful above all from the aspect of protecting peopleˋs lives and health. In a large number of cases, environmental crime is very difficult to detect and prove. The role of the whistleblower is of particular importance for the timely detection of environmental offenses and the reduction of occurence or mitigation of harmful consequences. In this paper, we start from the assumption that whistleblowers in the field of environmental protection are faced with a large number of challenges and arenˋt adequately protected. They are mostly either fired by their employer or forced due to various pressures to quit without the possibility of new employment. Considering the importance of their role in the field of environmental protection, the possibility of improving their postition should be reconsidered. In order to make recommendations for the improvement of both national regulations and practices related to the protection of whistleblowers, in this work we primarily use the method of content analysis, as well as the dogmatic-legal method.

Recognizing Domestic Violence Against Children by the Competent Police Officers

Aleksandra Spasojević — 2024-10-09

The paper shows some risk indicators for domestic violence against children, that are concern parents and indicators concern the children. Than it shows analysis of data/results on the sample od 46 competent police officers in Vojvodina with purpose of identification of those indicators. Eighty percent of respondents concider that most frequent risk indicator for violence against children is unfavourable parents behavior. Externalized problems in child behavior are risk indicator that appears always and indicate on violence, by the opinion of 48% respondents. The least present indicator, who appears rarely is sexualized child behaviour (estimated by 63% respondents), which is justified concidering that sexual child is estimated as the rarest form of violence against children. About half of the respondents chose child's exaggerated reaction when he do something wrong or when points out a mistake to him, as the most frequent indicator of child victim of psychological violence. Although data did not show statistically significant differences in results related to certificate for minors, of respondent concider that competent police officers should also have certificate for minors. As respondents pointed out this need as the biggest systemic complicating work factor in protection of children and as almost half of the officers (22) in this sample did not have this certificate, we point out opinion of autors, that competent police officers as well as police officers of general jurisdiction police, should be specially trained for working with minors, whether thay were victims or witnesses of domestic violence.

Gender Differences in Criminal Recidivism

Dijana Sulejmanović — 2024-09-13

Gender plays a crucial role in shaping the dynamics of criminal behavior and its recurrence within society. While the study of recidivism often focuses on general trends and risk factors, understanding how gender influences these patterns provides deeper insights into prevention and rehabilitation strategies.

This article examines gender differences in criminal behavior and recidivism through a comprehensive review of existing literature, empirical analyses of recidivism data, and qualitative insights from stakeholders within the criminal justice system. It also provides a review of relevant literature, synthesizing theoretical perspectives and empirical findings on gender differences in criminal behavior.

Understanding the pathways to recidivism requires considering the unique challenges faced by male and female offenders upon release from incarceration or supervision. For men, recidivism often stems from factors such as peer influence, substance abuse, and difficulties in finding stable employment, while women are more likely to experience recidivism due to issues such as trauma-related disorders, a lack of social support, and limited access to resources for mental health treatment or housing. Moreover, the reintegration process for female offenders is complicated by responsibilities such as childcare and family reunification, which can influence their likelihood of reoffending. These gender-specific pathways highlight the need for tailored intervention programs that address the underlying causes of criminal behavior and recidivism and provide support systems conducive to successful reintegration into society.

Modus Operandi of a Serial Sex Offender

Liana Spytska — 2024-10-14

The purpose of the study was to investigate the modus operandi of serial sex offenders. The main method of research was criminal profiling based on 50 cases in the Unified State Register of Court Decisions, for which the verdict was passed. A number of indicators were investigated, including the characteristic method of attack, the choice of the victim, the establishment of contact with the victim, and the method of committing the offence. As a result, it was established that criminals can be divided into two characteristic types according to modus operandi: the first type carries out a sudden attack or pursuit of the victim, is characterised by a violent method of attack, and the crime is often accompanied by bodily harm. The psycho-emotional portrait of attackers of this type is characterised by greater impulsivity and spontaneity of actions. The main motivation for committing a crime is to satisfy a sexual urge. Criminals of the second cluster tend to commit planned attacks, mostly indoors, establish contact with the victim, resort to manipulation and threats. They have a less pronounced passion and tend to plan crimes. The dominant motivation can be either sexual or the satisfaction of sadistic tendencies and dominance. This study focuses on the characteristic modus operandi and psychological characteristics of criminals who commit serial sexual offences. The results may be useful for specialists in the field of criminal law, criminology, forensic science, and forensic psychology.