This monograph presents the findings of research into the involvement of organized crime and terrorist groups in counterfeiting a wide range of products, from watches to automobile parts, from pharmaceuticals to computer software. It presents detailed case studies from around the globe in one area of counterfeiting, film piracy, to illustrate the broader problem of criminal -- and perhaps terrorist -- groups finding a new and not-much-discussed way of funding their activities. Piracy is high in payoff and low in risk, often taking place under the radar of law enforcement. The case studies provide compelling evidence of a broad, geographically dispersed, and continuing connection between film piracy and organized crime, as well as evidence that terrorist groups have used the proceeds of film piracy to finance their activities. Counterfeiting is a threat not only to the global information economy, but also to public safety and national security. Cooperation among law enforcement and governments around the world is needed in the battle against intellectual-property theft, and meaningful progress will require increased political will, strong legislation, consistent enforcement, deterrent sentencing, and innovative solutions. Increased global intelligence-gathering and sharing is needed to further illuminate the scope and nature of the connections between piracy and organized crime, and policy makers and law enforcement agencies worldwide should reexamine the common but erroneous assumption that counterfeiting is a victimless crime.

Forensic DNA testing has helped law enforcement solve crimes, often long after the investigative trail has gone cold. Familial DNA and moderate stringency search protocols are logical extensions for cases where there is no exact DNA match. Although familial DNA searching is permissible in most states, it is used sparingly. Additionally, policies governing the use of familial searching lack consistency, and lawmakers might be uncertain about the procedure's effectiveness in solving or deterring crime-and about the unintended implications and legal, ethical, and practical barriers to its wider adoption. The authors provide a baseline for criminal justice policymakers to better understand the ways in which familial DNA and moderate stringency testing are being used in the field today. Their findings are based on a U.S. survey and study of practices at state and local forensic laboratories and interviews with representatives of two states-California and Texas-that have used the technique in different ways. Additional qualitative interviews shed light on how the issues of privacy, public safety, and budget consciousness have shaped policies on familial DNA searching in England and Wales. The authors fill a knowledge gap for academics and practitioners about the history, prevalence, and typical practice of this technique and for policymakers seeking to make informed decisions on whether an expansion of the U.S. DNA databases would be acceptable by society in investigating how crimes can potentially be solved or prevented.

A critical question in the development of state DNA index system (SDIS) databases has been weighing the additional crime solving and deterrence benefits of expansion against civil libertarian concerns that SDIS databases reinforce racial disparities in criminal justice involvement and become, in effect, genetic surveillance tools. To help understand this issue better, the authors provide criminal justice policymakers with a tool to view how state policies, including familial DNA searches, affect the size and racial composition. Users of the tool can select a state policy to view; designate policy measures; specify common criminal offenses; and refine the model based on recidivism rate, conviction rate, and the average number of first-degree relatives offenders have residing in-state. The model shows the average population, total unique arrests, and an estimate of the population that would be searchable in the SDIS database if the selected options had been active for the years specified.

"The authors describe how law enforcement agencies can use barrier analysis, a method of assessment aimed at identifying potential obstacles to obtaining resources or participating in a program, to better understand and address the challenge of creating diversity among their personnel. They examine key points in the career lifecycle, such as recruitment, hiring, promotion, and retention practices, to determine where women and racial/ethnic minorities face obstacles that might account for less-than-proportionate representation among applicants, hires, and senior leadership. They describe the barrier analysis process, illustrate how it can help law enforcement agencies increase the diversity of their workforce, and present case studies featuring police departments that have used barrier analysis."--Publisher's description.

Recruiting diverse, qualified candidates is a continual challenge for law enforcement. With the downturn in the economy came a flood of applicants, but also, eventually, slashed funding for recruitment and hiring. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has felt the recession keenly: Its advertising budget was cut by 60 percent in fiscal year 2009, and, in 2011, the Los Angeles City Council approved a three-month hiring freeze. The LAPD, and law enforcement in general, can clearly benefit from evidence-based approaches to evaluating recruitment programs and streamlining the application process. Using LAPD and city administrative data from fiscal years 2007 and 2008, the author estimates impacts - in terms of applicant numbers - for LAPD's recruitment efforts and proposes a revised model for prioritizing applicants. While the results of these analyses may be of particular interest to LAPD, the methods employed, as well as those recommended for future studies, are applicable to any law enforcement agency interested in attracting and identifying high-quality applicants more efficiently.

The readiness of any police workforce requires careful and consistent personnel development. Specifically, the individual talent within the workforce must be managed in such a way that the skills and knowledge needed to provide effective law enforcement are recognized, appropriately utilized, and fostered. This occasional paper provides an overview of a RAND methodology for creating an effective workforce development system to better align personnel with current and future force requirements. The paper presents a conceptual framework, its major steps, and its strengths and limitations in a law enforcement context.