The book comprises country reports of the 10 new EU Member States. Each country report provides essential definitional information regarding the various forms of sexual exploitation of children and types of missing children, outlines the way data collection on sexual exploited and missing children by various governmental (police, judicial, other) and nongovernmental actors is organised, and delivers available data on the phenomena concerned. A final, comparative report bridges the country report information into a first epidemiological state of the art for the 10 new Member States and for the entire enlarged EU, comparing the newly gathered information with information collected in the initial 15 Member States during a previous study, the report of which has been published in January 2004 as the first book in the Childoscope series.

The first part of the project resulted in a book entitled Missing and sexually exploited children in the EU. Epidemiological data. The book stresses the importance of EU-wide multidisciplinary and integrated efforts (between competent authorities and civil society organisations) in collecting epidemiological data as a basis for improved, knowledge-based policy-making in the area of missing and sexually exploited minors. It comprises country reports of all 15 EU Member States. Each country report provides essential definitional information regarding the various forms of sexual exploitation of children and types of missing children, outlines the way data collection on sexual exploited and missing children by various governmental (police, judicial, other) and non-governmental actors is organised, and deliver available data on the phenomena concerned. A final, comparative report bridges the country report information into a first Union-wide epidemiological state of the art, thus showing that current data collection is organised in a very chaotic and poor fashion. At the same time, the report identifies the main weaknesses and shortcomings of applied data collection methods. It also offers a set of recommendations for both Member State and EU action in striving for improved and integrated ways of collecting, administering and centralising reliable, comparable and comprehensive data on the various forms of missing and sexually exploited children.

The fight against the sexual exploitation of and trade in children has gained particular and renewed international attention in the last few years and has become one of the most important concerns in the context of international law enforcement policy and cooperation. Since 1998, policy makers have come up with new legal initiatives at global as well as regional levels in order to tackle this problem in a more effective and coordinated way. This proves that the time has come to match words and actions, and to come up with concrete and useful tools for law enforcement services and NGO's active in the areas concerned. The current study therefore examines the feasibility of the further elaboration and implementation of recommendations from a previous project (96/STOP/003) regarding the systematic gathering and administration of data concerning missing minors, minor victims of trafficking in or sexual exploitation of children and perpetrators of sexual offences against minors, with the goal to further prepare the practical setting up of several international databases with immediate relevance to the police and the prosecuting or investigating magistrates or officials, both in the EU Member States and the candidate countries. It is recommended to give Interpol a mandate to host an international database on missing persons and to create an EU monitoring centre responsible for the gathering and administration of reliable statistics and legal information on sexual exploitation of children and trafficking in human beings. It is also recommended for Interpol to host an international reference database on child pornography and to set up an analysis/intelligence child porn database at Europol. Regarding suspected and convicted sex offenders, it is proposed to create a database on pending investigations, an EU criminal records database and a database at Europol containing encoded information on both suspected and convicted offenders of sexual offences against children. Finally, it is suggested to create a European network of national DNA databases. The book also contains a summary of the conclusions in French.

Any effort to gather evidence may prove pointless without ensuring its admissibility. Nevertheless, the EU, while developing instruments for smooth gathering of evidence in criminal matters, is not taking much effort to enhance its admissibility. Due to the lack of common rules in this matter, gathering and use of evidence in the EU cross-border context is still governed by the domestic law of the member states concerned. This may lead to situations where, given the differences between legal systems across the EU, evidence collected in one member state will not be admissible in other member states. Due to the fact that the Lisbon Treaty opened the possibility to adopt minimum rules concerning, among other things, the mutual admissibility of evidence, this research investigates the concept of minimum standards designed to enhance mutual admissibility of evidence in the EU. Through a study of two investigative measures, telephone tapping and house search, the author examines whether coming to various common minimum standards is feasible and whether compliance with these standards would finally shape the as yet nonexistent concept of the free movement and mutual recognition of evidence in criminal matters in the EU. Essential reading for both national and EU policy makers, scholars and practitioners involved in cross-border gathering of evidence in the EU.

Human trafficking captured the attention of the global community well over a decade ago, inspiring multifarious international, national, regional and local responses. While formally recognized as one of the major threats associated with transnational organized crime, human trafficking remains an issue about which much has been written and yet little is known or supported by empirical evidence. The essays selected for this volume reflect four key areas of debate: the transnational organized crime framework; the data and research landscape; the implementation of anti-trafficking responses; and the articulation of alternative responses to human trafficking. These essays are written by well-known and more recent contributors to this field of research. The collection draws attention to contemporary arguments as well as recent empirical research, and points to the importance of contextualizing human trafficking within both the global and local setting. This volume reflects where human trafficking data, research and debate is currently located and where it is heading, and as such is of interest to academics, students, policymakers and practitioners.

Discussions of the possibility to attribute liability to legal persons for committing offenses are far from new. The EU landscape however is scattered. Although there are obligations for the Member States to introduce liability for legal persons committing offenses, diversity remains as to: the offenses that may trigger liability * the legal persons that may be held liable * the attribution theories and mechanisms used * the type of liability, which may be either penal, administrative, or civil * the sanctions that legal persons may incur. Consistent policy making requires an identification of the main commonalities and differences in view of being able to adequately reflect them in cross-national policy initiatives. Hence, the European Commission launched a call for tender for a study on the issue, which was awarded to the Institute for International Research on Criminal Policy (IRCP). The results are published in this book. Based on comparative legal analysis in the EU27, recommendations are formulated relating to the EU approximation policy (amongst others to reconsider the concept of a 'legal person' and to look into the need for specific 'legal person'-offenses), the functioning of mutual recognition (amongst others to extend the current mutual recognition instrumentarium), the exchange of information (amongst others to develop a criminal records policy), and procedural safeguards (amongst others to secure equivalent protection outside a criminal liability context). In other words, a helicopter view is taken to ensure consistent EU policy making. (Series: Institute for International Research on Criminal Policy [IRCP] - Vol. 44)

In 2008, the introduction of the EU's Framework Decision - the principle of mutual recognition of judgments in criminal matters, imposing custodial sentences or measures involving deprivation of liberty for the purpose of their enforcement - sparked discussions as to whether the practical operation of the instrument would be compatible with its very objective, being the enhancement of detained persons' social rehabilitation prospects. Transferring detained people back to their respective Member State of residence and/or nationality within the mutual recognition framework is somewhat precarious in light of the variety of Member States' legal and prison systems. In this context, and following a call for tender by the European Commission, the authors of this book conducted the largest study to date on Member States' material detention conditions, early/conditional release provisions, and sentence execution modalities. In addition to exploring the diversity of legal frameworks, the study also assessed practitioners' views on the cross-border execution of custodial sentences in the EU. This book contains EU-level legal and practitioners' analyses, as well as the high level final report to the study, confirming preliminary concerns that flanking measures are urgently needed for a proper operation of the Framework Decision. It will be essential reading for policy makers, judicial and law enforcement authorities, and defense lawyers. Additionally, it will be an asset to everyone who is involved in or taking an interest in detention issues and cross-border execution of judgements involving deprivation of liberty in the EU. (Series: Institute for International Research on Criminal Policy [IRCP] - Vol. 40)

From the skyrocketing AIDS rate in Haiti to the oppressive pollution in industrial China, from the violent street culture of Nigeria to the crippling poverty in Nicaragua, from child trafficking in Thailand to child marriages in India, this jam-packed six-volume set explores all these issues and more in an unprecedented look at the world's children at the dawn of the 21st century. In recent years, while many countries have enjoyed a higher standard of living and improved working conditions, others have been torn apart by war and incapacitated by famine, and are struggling to improve life for their children and their future. Recent concern over the world's children has resulted in a global attempt to define what constitutes an acceptable childhood. New attention has been paid, not only to healthcare and secondary education, but also to the right to play and increased access to technology. The UN's codification of children's rights has done much to expand our understanding of what is needed for healthy growth and development of children and youth. Organized by region, The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Children's Issues Worldwide is the first globally focused set of this magnitude, offering extensive, up-to-date coverage of these critical issues. Original chapters accessibly synthesize current data on key topics, including education, play and recreation, child labor, family, health, laws and legal status, religious life, abuse and neglect, and growing up in the 21st century.

Recent European Union policy discussions have again highlighted the urgent need for consistent recording and analysis of data relating to trafficking in human beings. Without such a framework, the EU's ability to assess the scale and nature of the problem and, consequently, to formulate effective policy responses is severely impaired. MONTRASEC - a model for monitoring trafficking in human beings, as well as sexually exploited and missing children - demonstrates that real progress can be made in addressing these long standing difficulties. Building on the work undertaken in the previous SIAMSECT (Statistical Information and Analysis on Missing and Sexually Exploited Children and Trafficking) research, a practical IT tool has been developed by which the three phenomena can be described, interpreted, and analyzed in an integrated and multidisciplinary fashion. The IT tool also provides National Rapporteurs or similar mechanisms with enhanced and uniform reporting capacity. Recognizing the EU's emerging policy line, the MONTRASEC IT tool provides a building block by which the European Commission or a future European Monitoring Centre on Trafficking in Human Beings can make horizontal comparison between the reports of the Member States. This book describes how a workable IT tool - with contents based on international legal instruments and definitions concerning the three phenomena - has been designed and tested by a range of operational agencies in two separate EU Member States. Critical questions relating to compliance with both Member States and European data protection and privacy legislation are addressed, alongside the need to ensure the highest possible levels of security for sensitive personal data relating to both victims and authors. Furthermore, a CD-ROM is included, containing a live demonstration of all the features and functions of the MONTRASEC IT tool. The MONTRASEC Demo shows that it is actually possible to move beyond theoretical discussions concerning data collection to a point where agencies operating in the field are prepared to work within a unified and consistent data collection regime, inputting live data which can thereafter be analyzed at the Member State and EU level. The book is essential reading for EU policy makers, judicial and law enforcement authorities, and organizations working in the fields of trafficking in human beings, and in the field of sexually exploited and missing children, both in the EU and in a broader international context. It will also appeal to the research community and anyone with an interest in justice and home affairs or criminal policy initiatives in the EU.