Seventh Crime Congress tackles problems of world-wide crime, adopts Milan Plan of Action.

Seventh Crime Congress tackles problems of world-wide crime, adopts Milan Plan of Action

Current world-wide problems of crime--terrorism, organized crime, drug abuse, computer crime, government corruption, domestic violence and the situation of crime victims-- were the focus of the Seventh United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders.

At a two-week session (26 August-6 September) held in Milan, Italy, the Congress adopted the Milan Plan of Action, recommending that the international community give priority to combating terrorism and continued attention to improving criminal justice systems. These systems should be responsive to the diversity of political, economic and social systems, the Congress said, asking Governments to accord high priority to strengthening crime prevention mechanisms and allocating adequate resources to that end.

Three other international instruments were adopted, relating to the application of norms and standards of criminal justice: Guiding Principles for Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in the Context of Development and a New International Economic Order; Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary; and Model Agreement on the Transfer of Foreign Prisoners and Recommendations on the Treatment of Foreign Prisoners.

Two other international instruments were approved for adoption by the General Assembly. They are the Draft Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice, and United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice ("The Beijing Rules').

Also approved by the Congress were 25 resolutions which covered a broad range of crime-related issues. All texts were adopted without a vote.

The Congress brought together internationally recognized experts from 124 States, including high-level policy-makers and administrators, criminologists, penologists, criminal law specialists, human rights advocates, social workers and other professionals concerned with different aspects of crime prevention and criminal justice.

The Crime Congresses meet every five years to promote and strengthen international co-operation in the field of crime prevention and control. The six previous Congresses were held at Geneva (1955 and 1975); London (1960); Stockholm (1965); Kyoto, Japan (1970); and Caracas (1980).

International instruments

The Milan Plan of Action contains a set of recommendations described as "essential elements of an effective plan of action' for consideation by the General Assembly this year. In the Plan, the Congress asks that the Secretary-General review the functioning and programme of work of the United Nations in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice in order to establish priorities and to ensure the responsiveness of the United Nations to emerging needs. Also recommended is "the immediate establishment in Africa of the long-delayed regional institute for the prevention of crime and treatment of offenders'.

In an introductory section, the text states that crime prevention and criminal justice should be considered in the context of economic development, political systems, social and cultural values and social change, as well as in the context of a new international economic order.

Interested Governments are asked to co-operate bilaterally and multilaterally, to the fullest extent possible, with a view to strengthening crime prevention measures and the criminal justice process.

"It is imperative to launch a major effort to control and eventually eradicate the destructive phenomena of illicit drug traffic and abuse and of organized crime, both of which disrupt and destabilize societies', the Plan states.

Another recommendation calls for continued attention to the improvement of criminal justice systems so as to enhance their responsiveness to changing conditions and requirements in society and to the new dimensions of crime and criminality.

Finally, Member States are urged to implement the Plan of Action "as the collective endeavour of the international community to deal with a major problem whose disruptive and destabilizing impact on society is bound to increase' unless priority is given to concrete and constructive action.

The Guiding Principles for Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice chart a course of action for crime prevention in the context of development. Crime prevention as a global phenomenon, the Guiding Principles state, should not be confined to common criminality, but also address itself to those acts that are especially harmful, such as economic crime, environmental offences, illegal trafficking in drugs, terrorism and apartheid.

The Principles also set guidelines for laws governing the functioning of business enterprises, penalties for economic crimes and legislative measures for crime victims. A multisectoral and integrated approach is urged in a section on national development and crime prevention. Legal systems are called on to promote beneficial and equitable development with due regard to consideration of human rights and social justice. "Less cumbersome and more effective' means of international co-operation is recommended in such matters as extradition, investigative and judicial assistance, service of writs and records of decisions, appearances of witnesses abroad, transfer of proceedings, and transfer of foreign prisoners and execution of sentences abroad.

The judiciary's independence should be guaranteed by the State and enshrined in the constitution or the law of the country, according to provisions of the Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary. The Basic Principles also call for the judiciary to decide matters before it impartially, on the basis of facts and in accordance with the law, and to have jurisdiction over all issues of a judicial nature and exclusive authority to decide whether an issue submitted for its decision is within its legal competence.

The Model Agreement on the Transfer of Foreign Prisoners sets out principles on the social resettlement of offenders and on the transfer of prisoners, stating that the transfer should be effected on the basis of mutual respect for national sovereignty and jurisdiction and that the prisoner should be fully informed of the possibility and of the legal consequences of a transfer.

The second part of the instrument, Recommendations on the Treatment of Foreign Prisoners, states that the allocation of a foreign prisoner to a prison establishment should not be effected on the grounds of his nationality alone and that foreign prisoners should have the same access as national prisoners to education, work and vocational training. It is also recommended that foreign prisoners should in principle be eligible for alternative measures to imprisonment, as well as for prison leave and other authorized exits from prison on the same basis as accorded to nationals.

The situation of victims of crime and of abuse of power are two issues addressed in the Draft Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice, which is to be submitted to the General Assembly for approval. Victims of crime are defined as persons who, individually or collectively, have suffered harm, including physical or mental injury, emotional suffering, economic loss, or substantial impairment of their fundamental rights, through acts or omissions which are in violation of criminal laws operative within Member States, including those laws which proscribe criminal abuse of power.

The Draft Declaration stipulates that victims are entitled to access to the mechanism of justice and to prompt redress as provided for by national legislation. It also calls for access to justice and fair treatment, and affirms that the responsiveness of judicial and administrative processes to the needs of victims should be facilitated by particular measures. It provides for fair restitution to victims, where appropriate, and for their financial compensation.

To protect victims of abuse of power, the Draft Declaration calls on States to consider incorporating into the national law norms proscribing abuses of power and providing remedies to victims of such abuses. Remedies recommended include restitution and/or compensation, and the necessary material, medical, psychological and social assistance and support.

In approving the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice, the Congress recommended that the General Assembly adopt the standard minimum rules and decide that they be known as "The Beijing Rules'. (The draft Rules were adopted by an interregional preparatory meeting for the Congress held in Beijing in May 1984.)

The Beijing Rules state that juvenile justice shall be conceived as an integral part of the national development process of each country, within a comprehensive framework of social justice for all juveniles, and that the juvenile justice system shall emphasize the well-being of the juvenile and ensure that any reaction to juvenile offenders shall always be in proportion to the circumstances of both the offenders and the offence.

Pesolutions

The 25 resolutions adopted by the Congress cover a wide range of crime-related issues.

Reaffirming that crime prevention and the treatment of offenders must be examined within the context of socio-economic and political systems, social and cultural values, and social change, the Congress expressed profound concern at the failure to achieve the objectives set forth in the new international economic order and in the International Development Strategy for the Third United Nations Development Decade.

The Congress also deplored the increase and gravity of crime in different parts of the world and called on Member States to take measures to eliminate conditions of life that degraded human dignity and factors which can lead to crime, including unemployment, poverty, illiteracy, racial discrimination, apartheid and social injustice.

In a text on terrorism, the Congress called on all States to adopt legislation that would strengthen legal measures against those who committed violent acts and to facilitate the exchange of information between States in order to improve the abilities of Governments to prevent violence, to safeguard citizens and to respond more effectively in cases of offences foreseen in relevant multilateral conventions.

To combat the effects of organized crime, the Congress called on Member States to intensify their efforts in such areas as forfeiture of illegally acquired assets, extradition, national campaigns against drug abuse, establishment of national crime authorities or commissions. They were also asked to review laws on taxation, on abuse of bank secrecy and on gaming houses in order to ensure that they were adequate.

On domestic violence, the Congress recommended that the General Assembly ask the Secretary-General to intensify research on that subject, from a criminological perspective, to formulate strategies that could serve as a basis for policy formulation, and to report thereon to the next Congress in 1990. Member States would be asked by the Assembly to adopt specific measures with a view to making the criminal and civil justice system more sensitive in its response to domestic violence.

The Congress also invited Governments to pay particular attention to implementing parity of treatment for female offenders, and invited criminal justice authorities to examine alternatives to confining of these offenders at each stage of the criminal justice process. The Congress also recommended that the Secretary-General and Member States develop adequate strategies to ensure the fair treatment of female offenders and victims.

The Congress approved two texts on drug abuse. Concerning illicit drug trafficking, the Congress recommended that priority be accorded to preparing a new international instrument on such traffic and asked States to strengthen legal instruments that could facilitate the investigation of the proceeds from illicit drug traffic.

The Congress also urged Member States to take advantage of the facility offered by the United Nations Fund for Drug Abuse Control and to initiate or

increase substantially contributions to the Fund.

Four texts were approved by the Congress on the subject of juvenile justice. In the text on youth, crime and justice, the Congress called on Member States to take measures to eliminate such conditions in the life of young persons as illiteracy, unemployment, racial and national discrimination and other forms of social inequality. States were also asked to adopt multifaceted and effective measures to limit the opportunity for young persons to use alcohol and narcotic substances, and to protect them from the adverse influences of "the cult of violence, cruelty and amoral behaviour'.

The Congress adopted a set of principles, guidelines and priorities with respect to research on youth crime. Such research, it stated, should be cognizant of the social relativity of culturally specific crime prevention strategies. It should also jointly involve policy-makers and practitioners, and produce results that could immediately be disseminated in a form that had direct relevance to policy-makers and the potential to stimulate further action-oriented research.

The Congress also recommended that the Committee on Crime Prevention and Control develop standard minimum rules for the protection of juveniles deprived of their liberty.

On development of standards for the prevention of juvenile delinquency, the Congress recommended that the General Assembly request the Secretary-General and Member States to take steps to establish joint programmes in the field of juvenile justice and the prevention of juvenile crime with the United Nations Social Defence Research Institute, the United Nations regional institutes for the prevention of crime and the treatment of offenders, the Arab security studies and training centre at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and other national and regional institutes.

A series of texts was approved relating to the criminal justice system. The Congress invited Member States to include in their periodic report to the Secretariat on implementation of the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, special reference to efforts being made to ensure the guarantees embodied therein and to the mechanisms which had been developed to that end.

To improve methods of international co-operation in criminal matters, the Congress invited Member States to consider concluding agreements for the transfer of criminal proceedings. The Committee on Crime Prevention and Control was requested to study this subject and to consider formulating a model agreement.

Member States were invited to improve methods of international co-operation in criminal matters by considering the conclusion of areements on the transfer of supervision of foreign offenders who have been conditionally sentenced or conditionally released. The Committee on Crime Prevention and Control was asked to study the subject and to consider formulating a model agreement.

Regarding the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, adopted by the General Assembly in 1979, the Congress invited Member States to inform the Secretary-General every five years, beginning in 1987, of progress achieved in implementing the Code, including its dissemination and incorporation of its principles into national legislation.

In a text on extra-legal, arbitrary and summary executions, the Congress called on Governments to take urgent action to investigate such acts, to punish those found guilty and to take measures to prevent those practices. The Secretary-General was asked to submit an analytical review of extra-legal, arbitrary and summary executions for consideration by the Committee on Crime Prevention and Control.

To safeguard the rights of those facing the death penalty, the Congress invited all States retaining capital punishment to adopt the safeguards approved by the Economic and Social Council in 1984, and to take steps to implement them by incorporating them in national legislation. States were to ensure that judges, lawyers, police officers, prison officials and others concerned with the administration of criminal justice were familiar with those safeguards, and draw the attention of persons facing the death penalty to them.

In an effort to reduce the prison population and to find alternatives to imprisonment, the Congress recommended that Member States reduce the negative effects of imprisonment and intensify the search for credible non-custodial sanctions. To promote the human rights of prisoners, the Congress recommended that the General Assembly finalize, as soon as possible, work on the draft Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment.

The Congress recommended that Member States protect practising lawyers against undue restrictions and pressures in the exercise of their functions.

In the selection, appointment and advancement of prosecutors, Member States were called on to avoid discrimination of any kind. They were asked to make improvements in the recruitment and training of prosecutors, and to consider devoting more resources to that effort.

The Congress also recommended that Member States develop adequate training programmes for criminal justice personnel. The Secretary-General was asked to develop guidelines for establishing such programmes in all parts of the criminal justice system and to report thereon to the Committee on Crime Prevention and Control.

To promote criminal justice information and statistical systems, the Congress invited Member States to provide measures which would enhance the transfer of information within the agencies of the criminal justice system, and between such agencies and the community. Interested Member States were urged to protect the rights and legal interests of citizens regarding the privacy of individually identifiable data contained in criminal justice information systems. The Secretary-General was asked to initiate work on the use of information systems in the administration of criminal justice for Member States requesting assistance.

The Secretary-General was asked to give special attention to technical co-operation among developing countries in crime prevention and criminal justice. The Congress asked Governments to contribute financially, through the United Nations Trust Fund for Social Defence, to the development of United Nations technical assistance activities supported by the Secretariat and to activities of the United Nations interregional and regional institutes specializing in crime prevention.

As a matter of the highest priority, the Secretary-General was urgently requested to establish an African regional institute for the prevention of crime and the treatment of offenders, in close collaboration with the Organization of African Unity and with the participation of the Economic Commission for Africa.

"New dimensions' of crime

Computer crime, piracy, illicit drug trafficking, terrorism, hijacking, environmental pollution, criminal negligence, corruption and family violence--these constitute what have been called "new dimensions' of crime being committed worldwide.

As new forms of crime emerge and other types of crime are transformed by circumstance, the effectiveness of national crime prevention programmes and criminal justice systems has been challenged and the very fabric of societies seriously undermined.

Future crime trends will be influenced by the "extremely grave economic conditions' which affect most of humanity, a working paper (A/CONF.121/20) on new dimensions of crime states. As survival is a basic human instinct, increasing poverty and economic deprivation may push more and more people who are ordinarily respectful of law and order into trying to satisfy their basic needs through criminal behaviour. A more effective system of regional and international co-operation in the social and economic sector in general and in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice in particular will be urgently needed. In this context, the working paper conclues that the United Nations has a quintessential role to play.

According to the paper, examples of new dimensions of crime include:

Organized crime: Although not a new phenomenon, organized crime has become geographically widespread and extremely diversified in terms of range of activities. It now operates almost as a multinational organization in that it is internationally co-ordinated. Of all offences committed by organized crime today, illicit drug trafficking has particularly threatening dimensions due to the large number of victims it creates, governmental corruption and political instability associated with such activities, and difficulty in controlling such traffic, the cost of which to society is enormous.

Terrorism: Like organized crime, terrorism is marked by a high degree of international co-ordination. Terrorist organizations also have access to considerable financial resources. Thus terrorism generally has a "deadly efficiency in neutralizing . . . the most elaborate and costly security arrangements'. More alarming, however, is the possibility that in the not too distant future terrorist groups may gain access to chemical, biological and nuclear weapons which could be used against particular countries.

Economic crime: Tax evasion, embezzlement, fraudulent bankruptcy and insurance fraud are types of economic crime. Seldom using physical force, and frequently occurring in conjunction with legitimate economic activities, these are committed largely by perpetrators who enjoy considerable respect in their communities. Such "respectable' offenders rarely perceive themselves as criminal, nor do their peers and relatives.

Corruption: Corruption is the rampant practice of governmental officials taking advantage of their positions within public administrations for the purpose of private gain. Sizeable segments of many societies perceive it as a taken-for-granted component of public adminsitration.

Negligent behaviour: Certain negligent practices, such as inefficient production, use and transportation of extremely dangerous materials, enormously threaten so many that the absence of regulations aimed at safeguarding against negligence can be considered criminal in itself. As industrialization of countries has grown, the impact of negligent actions has assumed "massive proportions'.

Computer crime: Criminals with the necessary know-how may illicitly interfere with financial and banking operations, diverting enormous sums for their own benefit. The highly technical nature of computer operations makes detection of the offence and identification of the offender difficult.

Family violence: A growing awareness of the victimization of women and children within the family has led in many countries to a change of attitude towards family violence. Thus, "benign disregard' of such offences is being replaced by stricter treatment and prosecution of offenders.

Piracy: A criminal phenomenon considered dormant for more than a century, piracy has become a grave problem in sea lanes of several regions of the world, including the Caribbean, South-East Asia, western Africa and the eastern Mediterranean. Cargo thefts, scuttling of vessels, and marine insurance frauds have reached "menacing dimensions', causing substantial losses. In developed countries every year, hundreds of vessels and thousands of cargo vans are hijacked and their contents stolen.

Victims of crime

In Bhopal, India, several thousand people die, following the leak of toxic gas from a Union Carbide plant. In South Africa, blacks living under the system of apartheid endure a life of poverty, exploitation, humiliation, violence and imprisonment. In New York City, a six-year-old boy named Etan Patz disappears on the way to school.

These people are representative of the millions who are victims of crime every year. Many of them die, but the needs of those who do survive are too often neglected. Today, there is a growing awareness of the need for more effective action on behalf of crime victims, whether they be Namibians whose mineral resources are exploited by foreign economic enterprises, "boat people' floating in the Asian seas at the mercy of pirates who rape and murder them, or abandoned "street children' of Latin America who roam the cities begging and stealing in order to survive. This growing interest in "victimology' and the necessity of developing policies to aid crime victims is the subject of a Secretariat working paper (A/CONF.121/6) entitled "Victims of Crime'.

Reparation to victims

The concern for crime victims is not new. Reparation to victims was a cardinal principle of early societies, as exemplified in the ancent Hammurabi Code in the Middle East, the Law of Moses and Indian Hinduism. The principle of reparation to victims has been largely neglected in Western systems, which have tended to limit criminal procedure to the State's prosecution of the offender.

Today, there is a growing acceptance that people who have had a crime committed against them have a special interest in their respective criminal cases. They want to be informed about whether an offender has been caught or their property restored. They have a right to know whether the offender will be released. They want the judge to know the impact of the crime on them. They want restitution for the harm done. In short, they want established rights.

Impact of victimization

The experience of being violently attacked can have profound and longterm psychological consequences, in addition to physical injury. While specific reactions vary according to the seriousness of the event and the individuals involved, an overall pattern and predictable sequence of reactions has been identified in victims. The immediate response tends to be one of shock, disbelief, temporary paralysis and denial, followed by numbness, disorientation, depression and helplessness.

After this first stage of "impact disorganization', which lasts a few hours or days, the reactions to victimization usually change. In a stage typically lasting from three to eight months, the victim may experience swings in feelings from fear to anger, alternating between sadness and elation, between self-pity and guilt. In most victims, there is a gradual dissipation of symptoms within six months of the traumatic event, while some periodically suffer from "post-traumatic stress disorder'. This pattern is found in children as well as adults.

Some striking examples of the impact of victimization:

Studies of the Holocaust victims show the intergenerational transmission of psychological effects on survivors' offspring, and the possible continuation of the effects to the third and succeeding generations;

When sustained, torture inflicts damage far beyond physical and mental pain; it is apt to cause disintegration of the personality of the victim, of the torturer, and ultimately, family and social disruption;

In the case of forced "disappearances', psychologists have found that not knowing what has happened to the loved one throws the survivor into a prolonged state of crisis which continues indefinitely, since the catharsis of mourning has been denied. Children of the disappeared exhibit the symptoms of the forcibly abandoned child, continuous and prolonged stress, and eventually, the abused child syndrome.

A "Magna Carta' for victims

As crime has increasingly assumed transnational dimensions, so, too, have certain kinds of victimization. Counter-strategies must involve wideranging action at the regional, national and international levels. The report concludes that the principles contained in the draft Declaration on Justice and Assistance for Victims, drafted by United Nations experts in 1984, can be used as a starting point. It adds that the increased emphasis on the observance of human rights and social justice and the sense of shared responsibility for wrongs inflicted, illustrate that the common bonds of humanity have been reinforced "even if concrete achievements lag behind'.

Youth, crime and justice

Institutionalization of young people has not been shown to act as a deterrent to crime. Alternatives to incarceration should be found, with juveniles placed in institutions only when there is no other response to protect public safety.

Child incarceration is just one subject dealt with in the Secretariat working paper on "Youth, Crime and Justice' (A/CONF.121/7) considered at the Seventh Crime Congress. Causes of youth crime, characteristics of the young offender, guidelines for juvenile justice and prevention of youth crime are also addressed in the paper.

Since only some delinquents become criminals, delinquency problems should be reconsidered and more tolerant attitudes adopted to help juveniles attain a responsible adulthood, the paper states. Tolerance is particularly called for regarding so-called "status offences', in which certain behaviours are considered an offence if committed by juveniles but not if committed by adults. Delinquent behaviour includes truancy, school and family disobedience, and "growing up in idleness', as well as certain activities tolerated in adults but found objectionable in the young--drinking, using vulgar language, staying out late and immoral conduct.

Beijing Rules: General principles of juvenile justice are laid down in the Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice, also called the Beijing Rules, adopted at the seventh Crime Congress. These Rules, which were formulated in Beijing, China, in 1984, by the Interregional Preparatory Meeting for the Congress, seek a balance between concern for the young and society's need for social protection against offending behaviour. Among other things, they call for:

Protection of young offenders while they remain in official contact with the criminal justice system;

Non-punitive intervention, mobilizing all possible resources to promote the well-being of the juvenile;

Proportionality, which implies that the sanction should stand in just relation to the gravity of the offence and the guilt of the perpetrator;

Protection of basic rights, with the juvenile ensured of procedural and substantive safeguards at every stage of juvenile justice proceedings; and

Equality with respect to race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinions, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

Youth crime: While it is difficult to profile the young offender because of lack of data, experts generally agree that:

Crimes committed by youth are on the increase;

Males constitute the majority of youthful offenders, although the situation is changing in many countries;

Drug offences for both females and males are growing rapidly; and

Violent crimes among youth are increasing.

Destitution, poor living conditions, malnutrition, illiteracy, and unemployment all mitigate against youth realizing their aspirations or participating in national life and increase the likelihood of their becoming involved in criminal behaviour. Further, the failure of the family to provide a supportive framework for healthy primary relations, and of the community to offer needed services and facilities are primary factors in occurrences of youth crime. Finally, discrimination based on socio-economic, cultural, ethnic, national or political backgrounds, sex, age or material means obstructs the participation of youth in development activities.

Problems of the young must be dealt with before they come to the attention of the criminal or juvenile justice systems--in the "pre-conflict' stage.

Women and crime: a "virtually neglected' social issue

Changing female crime patterns, deferential treatment of females in the criminal justice system, and discrimination against and underemployment of women police, lawyers and judges are the subjects of study in the Secretary-General's report on the treatment of women in the criminal justice system.

The report (A/CONF.121/17) represents the first international effort to gather data on what it terms a "virtually neglected' social issue. This study, which is based on information provided by 53 countries over a 12-year period (1970-1982), concludes that criminal justice systems the world over are "best characterized by their tradition of male dominance', with criminal law "promulgated and codified by male legislators . . . enforced by male police officers and interpreted by male judges'. Further, "post-sentencing dispositions are administered by men, primarily for men'. As a result, female offenders, as well as those who work within the system, face discrimination wherever they turn.

Trends

Some trends that emerged from the data collected are:

There has been an increase in female crime and a growing involvement of females in drug offences and violent crime, particularly in North America and Western Europe;

Despite evidence of harsher treatment of female offenders, the notion prevails that they are accorded "chivalrous leniency' in sentencing and handling;

Family court systems use a "double standard' of juvenile justice, harshly punishing the non-criminal conduct (such as running away from home) of young females in conflict with their parents, though many of these females are victims of domestic sexual and/or physical abuse and have good reason to avoid their parents;

At every stage of judicial decision-making, from arrest to institutionalization, female juveniles receive the harshest sanctions. For repeat offences, females are six times more likely than males to be institutionalized;

Women who conform to the stereotypical female sex role are much less likely to be arrested than women who are "aggressive and hostile';

Women in prison are not offered the range of services granted to male inmates; pregnant offenders face additional problems, for adequate gynecological care is rare in women's jails and institutional diets may jeopardize the health of their unborn children;

Women have experienced great difficulty in gaining entrance to occupations within the criminal justice system in the majority of countries due to the fact that all branches of criminal justice, such as law enforcement, prosecution and defence, courts, prisons and after care, have "erected strong barriers' to equal employment.

Profile of "new woman inmate'

Research on women's prisons indicates that the chief problems of women inmates are lack of appropriate programming, lack of specialized medical care and sexual abuse. This is of particular concern because more women are being imprisoned today, and many of them have special needs.

The "new woman inmate' in many countries needs programmes stressing education and job skills, independent living and parenting. Research shows she is: likely to require family assistance; not to require "high security' incarceration; and increasingly to be in need of drug-and alcohol-related treatment programmes and thus require specialized medical care, mental health care and counselling. There is increasing evidence that she has been a victim of familial violence and has a history of sexual abuse.

One study of women's jail conditions found that two thirds of the jailed women had children, yet many jails prohibit visits by children entirely or only allow mothers to see their children through glass. Further, women's facilities are often located far from the family, a particular hardship since so many are single mothers. According to another study, many women have been systematically excluded from non-incarceratory sentencing options; given that the majority are mothers, the report concludes that there is an immediate need to press for such options for women who have committed non-violent crimes.

"Significant barriers'

In the criminal justice field, exclusionary practices begin with law school admissions, where women are consistently discriminated against, the report notes. As graduates, they have greater difficulty in finding positions and are underrepresented in prestigious law firms in spite of proven scholarship and competence. Factors such as rigid organizational structures, quota systems, unsubstantiated physical requirements, veterans' preference, proscribed lateral entry and the absence of meaningful performance criteria all function to hold women back and to limit their opportunities throughout the field. Once employed in the system, women's upward mobility and promotion to higher level positions and authority are severely restricted due to flat organizational structures, unyielding seniority rules and other organizational barriers.

Yet the report concludes that while the barriers that women face in the criminal justice system are "significant', they are not "impenetrable', and that the road to equality, although fraught with problems, is being travelled successfully by an everincreasing number of competent, dynamic and determined women in an equally increasing number of countries.

Photo: Dais of Seventh Crime Congress. Leticia Shahani addresses plenary.

Photo: The grim interior of a traditional, fortress-like prison.