The subject of this article is constitutional transformations in Sub-Saharan Africa upon and after the region’s encounter with the third wave of democratization in Africa (TWD) that took place between 1989 and 1994. Since failure in democratic rule in the region was associated with the ease with which political elites amended formal constitutions to subvert democracy, anti-authoritarian factions perceived the solution to the problems bedevilling democratic governance in Africa to lie in formal constitutional rewriting. Hence, virtually all countries ventured into constitutional change – amendment or substitution – in the early 1990s. Inasmuch as different countries changed different formal aspects of their constitutions, they largely recognized multiparty democracy and obliterated the hitherto formulations that either allowed or endorsed single-party political regimes. Yet, on the ground different transitional outcomes were achieved, with a majority of countries either failing to transform at all from de facto authoritarianism or simply making partial transitions into semi-authoritarian or rather hybrid regimes. Using Cameroon, Kenya and Benin, this article contends that disestablishment of authoritarian rule depends on certain enabling factors, which seem to go beyond textual formulation and which may account for both the present conditions of these countries and the different transitional outcomes that were realized after these countries changed their formal constitutions in the early 1990s.

In this article, the author reflects on the impact of COVID-19 on policing, the relations among police officers and the interactions between police and citizens based on systematic social observations in small to semi-sized local police forces during the pandemic. The article discusses the nature of police work during the crisis and new types of interventions that police officers are confronted with (e.g. curfew controls). Additionally, the impact of the pandemic on the internal and external relations is discussed. Internally, the COVID-19 measures may have an impact on police officers’ possibilities for personal, social interactions among colleagues, which may potentially challenge the solidarity within the police force. Externally, tensions may arise in relations with citizens, partly because of unclear regulations or variable interpretations of those regulations. Those unclear regulations, but also uncertainties concerning one’s own competences and questions regarding the police’s role in enforcing the pandemic regulations, put pressure on the police’s (self-)legitimacy.

This article examines the use of citizen participation in urgent missing person cases. The Theory of Planned Behavior was used to examine which specific considerations investigators have in this regard and which have the greatest influence on the choice of whether or not to involve citizens. The findings suggest that this choice is primarily attitude-driven. Detectives are predominantly positive about participation, but see harm to the investigation as the main risk. A practical implication is to focus collaboration primarily on professionally organized groups of citizens to reduce (perceived) risks.

Police officers are often the victim of aggression by citizens, which has negative consequences for them and society in general. Therefore, it is important to gain knowledge about related factors. This study examines to what extent experiencing aggression as a police officer is related to their patience with citizens and use of force. Two explanations based on the victim-offender overlap are examined: that aggression experiences and dealing with citizens influence each other and that they have common causes. This study was conducted on the basis of a longitudinal questionnaire survey among police officers (N=693). The results show that interaction with citizens, including patience with citizens and the use of force, is related to the aggression police officers experience. The association diminishes when common causes, in this case socio-demographic and work-related characteristics, are taken into account, but does not disappear. No direct support is found for reciprocal influence. Implications and suggestions for further research are described.

Based on a scoping review regarding international policy recommendations, the authors of this article explore the most important aspects concerning bodycam policies for police services. Even though most literature on the shortlist is situated in the United States, important issues are discussed for a Belgian bodycam policy. Examples are a clear activation policy and regulations regarding warnings. These recommendations are compared to the legal regulations on bodycams in Belgium, such as the individual discretion Belgian police officers have when activating the camera. Throughout the article, the use of bodycams is linked to procedural justice. Because of the scarcity of Belgian bodycam research, we also give some recommendations for further research on this topic.

Domestic violence is a prevalent and persistent problem in society. To be able to effectively intervene in cases of domestic violence, protect victims, and reduce the costs of domestic violence, several initiatives have been implemented in recent years with the aim of improving the response to domestic violence. A multidisciplinary and systemic approach to tackling domestic violence has been introduced, which is especially important in complex cases. Police work together with different partners, among others, the organisation ‘Safe at Home’ (Veilig Thuis) and the public prosecutor. Police play a particularly important role in achieving immediate safety in cases of domestic violence, and work together with partners to accomplish more structural safety for all family members. The development towards a more holistic response to domestic violence in which the police work together with other organisations is important to be able to tackle domestic violence more effectively. Although the importance of collaboration between different organisations has been recognised, the multidisciplinary response is still in development, resulting in some problems in practice.

In the past years important changes have occurred in police work in the Netherlands and Belgium. These developments, and new questions that arose because of these developments, are the reason we dedicate a special issue to ‘the police and citizen in a changing context’. In this introduction of this issue, we describe a number of developments and new questions. We address the changing distance between police officers and citizens, authority and trust, the role of citizens, technology and digitization and growing complexity and diversity. In addition, the articles in this special issue are introduced.

The rise of the internet and social media has important consequences for the way we interact, communicate and access information. This has repercussions for the police organization and also for the cooperation between police and citizens. One of these forms of cooperation between police and citizens are neighborhood watch (NW) projects (also known as ‘BINs’ in Belgium and ‘burgerwachten’ in the Netherlands). This study uses semi-structured interviews (n=380) in Belgium to examine how NW members and non-NW members perceive the effectiveness of both formal and informal NW projects and how the two relate to each other. The perceived effectiveness is assessed based on several criteria, including impact on crime, fear of crime, policing, and the relationship between police and citizens.

De uitspraak richt zich op de oprichter van Ennetcom en de leverancier van cryptotelefoons. In deze annotatie worden de volgende drie elementen uit de uitspraak besproken en becommentarieerd: (1) de rechtmatigheid van het veiligstellen van de berichten; (2) de vraag is of er sprake is van misbruik van bevoegdheden (détournement de pouvoir); en (3) de vraag of het aanbieden van de cryptotelefoons een illegale activiteit is.

Bulkbevoegdheden, zoals bulkinterceptie van communicatie en bulk-hacking, worden steeds vaker gebruikt, niet alleen in zaken van nationale veiligheid, maar ook in strafrechtelijke onderzoeken naar zware criminaliteit. De EncroChat-hack is daar een recent voorbeeld van. De vraag die echter nog moet worden beantwoord is: hoe moeten deze bevoegdheden, die tot grootschalige data-analyse in strafrechtelijke onderzoeken leiden, worden genormeerd zodat zij in overeenstemming zijn met artikel 8 EVRM? Twee recente arresten van het EHRM met betrekking tot bulkinterceptie bieden enkele lessen. Zij laten zien dat bulkbevoegdheden moeten worden beschouwd als een proces dat ‘end-to-end-waarborgen’ vereist en een gedetailleerde regulering van alle verwerkingsfasen, te weten de verzameling, de selectie, de analyse en het gebruik (waaronder het delen) van de data.

In this article a framework is provided for the design and implementation of exit programmes used in prisons and by probation services. These programmes are targeted at violent extremist (ex-)offenders and are used for the purpose of deradicalisation or disengagement and support the successful reintegration of (ex-)offenders back into society. Based on a review of scientific and practice-oriented literature six categories of standards and practices are described. An exit programme needs to be tailored to the context in which it is used and to the risks and needs of the individual. In addition to various other aspects, earlier attention for reintegration and the active involvement of an (ex-)offender’s social environment are crucial in an exit progamme.

In this article, we investigated the effects of the Covid-19 crisis and lockdown on social stability within the individual level, group level and society level. To investigate these effects, data from incident reports of emergency services (i.e., police, fire brigade and ambulance) in the South of the Netherlands from 2018 to 2020 were collected. An incident is defined as an unique notification with deployment of one or more emergency service(s). Incidents were categorized according to the standardized classification LMC 6.0. We investigated regional differences from 2018 to 2020 using monthly time trends. On the individual level we found a time trend in accordance with the onset of the lockdown, with a decrease in property crime operationalized as theft, burglary and robbery, and an increase in psychological effects, operationalized as suicide attempts and nuisance by a person. On the group level, operationalized as incidents nuisance by youth, noise, fireworks and vandalism, we found a time pattern with an increase in incidents coherent with the lockdown period. On the level of the society, operationalized as incidents public order, conflicts, violence and explosives, we also found an increase in incidents coherent with the lockdown period. We conclude that incident reports of emergency services give additional insight in the effects of a lockdown on social stability.

Those people in charge of rule creation, implementation or dispute settlement are often imagined to work with – or relate in some way to – the state. The state is often imagined to encompass full authority on law and governance over the people living in a specific space-time dimension. However, in everyday life, practices that intrinsically connect to the creation of ‘the state’ are not necessarily connected to those actors or institutions representing it, nor do they necessarily help to create or maintain the state’s positive image. In this dissertation I ethnographically study the everyday practices of law and governance in rural Uganda by using a relational approach. I follow lower-level government servants, police officers and clan councils in their work and show how colloquial conceptions of tradition, modernity and (un)officialdom blur what constituted the state, (state-)law and legitimate authority. I use alcohol as a lens through which to study these governance practices as its ambiguous status in decision-making practices of clans opens up a window through which discussions on legitimate authority, governance and the state can be explored.

In recent years, big data technology has revolutionised many domains, including policing. There is a lack of research, however, exploring which applications are used by the police, and the potential benefits of big data analytics for policing. Instead, literature about big data and policing predominantly focuses on predictive policing and its associated risks. The present paper provides new insights into the police’s current use of big data and algorithmic applications. We provide an up-to-date overview of the various applications of big data by the National Police in the Netherlands. We distinguish three areas: uniformed police work, criminal investigation, and intelligence. We then discuss two positive effects of big data and algorithmic applications for the police organization: accelerated learning and the formation of a single police organization.

Predictive policing is the use of historical crime and other data in complex statistical models to predict where and when there is a high risk of new crime events. These predictions can then be used to direct police patrols proactively. Despite the increasing use and commercialisation of predictive policing worldwide, academic research into the methodological and operational dimensions of predictive policing is relatively limited. Since 2015 we have researched and tested several predictive crime models methodologically and operationally, based on police and other (big) data sources in several Belgian police districts. In this article, we summarise the results of six years of empirical research into predictive policing and look to the future of predictive policing research and practice.

The article discusses the tension between social solidarity and religious freedom as demonstrated by the refusal of the ultra-Orthodox sects in Israel to comply with COVID-19 regulations. The article provides a detailed description of the refusal to comply with the regulations restricting mass prayer services in synagogues and studying Torah in the yeshivas, thus interfering with the ultra-Orthodox religious life. The article suggests possible explanations for that refusal, based on either religious beliefs or a socio-political claim to autonomy, and discusses whether the polity should be willing to tolerate such a refusal on the basis of the cultural defence. The article concludes that despite the drastic restrictions on religious life caused by the social distancing regulations, and the special importance of freedom of religion, reducing the pandemic’s spread called for awarding priority to solidarity over religious freedom, and the enforcement of social solidarity legal duties – the social distancing regulations – on all.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, most governments in Europe have imposed disciplinary and controlling mechanisms on their populations. In the name of solidarity, citizens are pressed to submit to lockdowns, social distancing or corona apps. Building on the historical-philosophical studies of Michel Foucault, this article shows that these mechanisms are spin-offs of health regimes that have evolved since the seventeenth century. In case of COVID-19, these regimes decreased the infection, morbidity and mortality rates. But, as a side-effect, they limited the opportunities to act together and practice solidarity. This negatively affected the social cohesion and public sphere in already highly individualistic societies. To prevent the further disappearing of solidarity – understood as something that is enacted rather than as a moral value or political principle – governments and citizens need to invest in the restoral of the social conditions that enable and facilitate the practicing of solidarity after the epidemic.

The COVID-19 crisis has produced or amplified disruptive processes in societies. This article wants to argue for the fact that we understand the meaning of the COVID-19 crisis only if we relate it to the fundamental vulnerability of modern life and the awareness of vulnerability of whole societies. Vulnerability in modernity are expressions of a reality of freedom that is to some extent considered contingent and therefore unsecured. It is true that law is understood today as the protective power of freedom. The thesis of the article, however, boils down to the fact that the COVID-19 crisis has resulted in a new way of thinking about the protection of freedom. This also means that the principle of solidarity must be assigned a new social role. Individual and societal vulnerability refer thereafter to an interconnectedness, dependency, and a future perspective of freedom margins that, in addition to the moral one, can also indicate a need for legal protection. In this respect, law has not only a function of delimitation, but also one of inclusion.

The Chilean government called upon ideas of social solidarity to fight the pandemic of SARS-CoV-2 and it relied heavily on the criminal law in order to secure compliance with sanitary restrictions. However, because restrictions and prosecutorial policy did not take into account social background and people’s ability to comply with the law, prosecutions soon created groups of people who were being both over-exposed to disease and death, and over-exposed to control, blame and punishment. The configuration of this overpoliced and underprotected group became so visibly unjust that appealing to social solidarity to justify the criminal enforcement of sanitary restrictions became almost insulting. This forced the Fiscal Nacional to develop a ‘socially sensitive’ prosecutorial strategy, something that we have not often seen despite Chile’s inequalities. The changes in policy by the Fiscal Nacional suggest that perhaps, at times, penal institutions can be made accountable for acting in ways that create estrangement rather than cohesion.