PONS-JOURNAL 1 of 2014

EUROPEAN
JOURNAL
OF
PUBLIC ORDER
AND
NATIONAL SECURITY
Volume 1, Issue 1 of 2014
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ORDER AND NATIONAL SECURITY

w w w . p o n s - j o u r n a l . e u 1

Table of contents

1. INSTRUMENTS OF PREVENTING CORRUPTION WITHIN THE
MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS (pp.3-6)
George TICAL, ph.D

2. PLACE AND ROLE OF FORENSIC SCIENCE WITHIN ROMANIAN
SYSTEM OF PUBLIC ORDER AND NATIONAL SECURITY (I) (pp.7-11)
Georgic PANFIL, ph.D

3. ASPECTS RELATED TO COMMUNITY POLICING (pp.13-17)
Antonela OFINE

4.HOW TO IDENTIFY COUNTERFEIT U.S. DOLLARS (pp.19-22)
Petru ENACHE, Marin RUIU ph.D

5.ISSUESLINKED TO ARSON AND ARSONIST (pp.23-27)
Cezar CIOAC, Diana CIOAC



Instruments of preventing corruption within the Ministry of
Internal Affairs
Author: George TICAL, ph.D
1

1
Alexandru Ioan Cuza Police Academy, Romania
ticalgeorge@yahoo.com

Content
description:
Corruption represents a pregnantly manifesting phenomenon in the current
society, one which not only caught the attention of all participants in the
social department- police, justice, administration, but is also of interest for
the public opinion. Both the institutional and individual stability and
security are noticeably threatened, and the consequences of corruption could
be devastating in an out-of-control situation.
Keywords:
Corruption, threat, Romanian facts, security space, fighting corruption,
national efforts
Article info: Received: 03/03/2014 Approved: 9/04/2014 Pages/ words: 4/1957

Content of the article:
a.Introduction
b.Actual facts about corruption in Romania
c.M.I.A. role in fighting corruption
d.Conclusions
e.Refferences

a.Introduction
Corruption represents a pregnantly manifesting phenomenon in the current society, one which
not only caught the attention of all participants in the social department- police, justice,
administration, but is also of interest for the public opinion. Both the institutional and individual
stability and security are noticeably threatened, and the consequences of corruption could be
devastating in an out-of-control situation.
In this context, but also in that of Romania being a country pertaining to the security space
provided by NATO and the EU, one of its national interests is, without a doubt, the efficient fight
against corruption and crime, keeping our countrys status as a stabile zone and a security generating
factor. Therefore, we must all have an active role in promoting certain anti-corruption policies in
order sustain our national security.

b.Actual facts about corruption in Romania
The problem with Romanias real and total integration in the EU depends on the way
Romanian justice proves its independence, impartiality, professionalism and its capacity to action as
a righteous constitutional state. Up until now, the efforts of the active participants in the fight against
corruption focused on its substantial minimization and control, on creating and adapting mechanisms
and efficient instruments, changing the citizen mentality and public opinions perception.
Nowadays, it is imperative for the national institutions to work together with the civil society
and the citizens in an integrated system characterized by a flux and afflux of information and legality,
in which each responsibility is clearly defined and kept with maximum efficiency.


At the same time, the European Commission has taken an interest in preventing and fighting
corruption and has focused on taking additional measures and strict monitoring, this necessity of
intensifying the fight against this phenomenon being closely tied with the national report course
within the Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification. In this context, the Anti-corruption General
Directorate became the structure of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, with legal entity, specialized in
preventing and fighting corruption
1
. AGDs competence might represent a first step towards
spreading the acquired expertise in preventing corruption amongst all public entities, followed
afterwards by its reinforcement through exact protocols.

c.M.I.A. role in fighting corruption
Within the M.I.A, sticking to certain basic principles is essential for preventing corruption.
Consequently, according to the principle of anti-corruption activities as prerogative, anticipated
identifying and removing corruption as fast as possible take priority; according to the principle of
efficiency, prevention relies on continuous evaluation of anti-corruption activities, not judging only
by specific results, but also by institutional management.
Also, the principle of cooperation and coherence specifies the fact that cooperation between
institutions for reassuring coherent conceptions on set objectives and following measures taken in
order to prevent corruption; the principle of partnership emphasizes the importance of involving the
civil society in various activities of corruption prevention.
MIAs general goals regarding anti-corruption revolve around gaining the trust of citizens in
the Ministrys structures and personnel, but also around stimulating a civic sense of aversion towards
corruption and promoting integrity, legality and professionalism within the staff in order to develop
a proper organizational culture.
Among the specific goals, we can enumerate: efficient monitoring of the risk factors which
generate or favor corruption within the Ministry, improving the quality of training programs in the
field of anti-corruption and disciplinary management designed for the MIA staff, accountability of
the MIA structure managers regarding countering measures and protecting the resident personnel
signaling activities of corruption within MIA.
Within the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the means used for preventing corruption are the
results of certain analyses, quantitative and qualitative studies, as well as accounts of international
norms in the field.
The main instrument for preventing corruption on a national level is the National Anti-
corruption Strategy of 2012-2015, which is also the most important normative act focusing on the
phenomenon. The multidisciplinary document focuses on reducing and preventing the phenomenon
of anti-corruption through a rigorous implementation of the normative and institutional rules in order
to maximize the impact of the anti-corruption measures
2
and was applied on the Plan of action for
implementing the National Anti-corruption Strategy. The Strategy has set as general goals the
prevention of corruption through administrative and criminal actions, aims that are in perfect
correlation with the European Unions priorities regarding corruption: the retrieval of any goods
obtained through crime, the protection of integrity advisors, the prevention and fight against politic
corruption and protection of the financial interests of the EU.
An instrument specific to the Ministry of Internal Affairs is represented by the integrity
advisor existing in a structure. This is the assigned person by the structures within the central
apparatus of MAI, the institutions and structures existent under or coordinated by MAI and their
respective substructures, the leaders of which are 3rd degree money coordinator in supporting the
corruption prevention activities developed by the AGD
3
, who is also the contact person for the
employees, structure administration and the AGD.
In this aspect, the integrity advisor assures the counseling of the personnel of MAI structures
regarding the prevention of anti-corruption, and also the constant information of personnel about case


studies, social studies, analyses and opinion surveys carried outside of and within the Ministry, in
close collaboration with the specialized members of the AGD.
One of the most important responsibilities of the integrity advisor is identifying areas in which
the personnel still needs instructions in the fight against corruption in addition to proposing activities
regarding the necessity and convenience of organizing and carrying them out by the specialized
personnel of the AGD.
Another specific instrument, developed for performing anti-corruption activities, is the work
group who also acts as a catalyst for the management of corruption risks. It focuses on elaborating
prevention plans, evaluating and analyzing the displayed measures, the ways of implementing them,
as well as identifying the risks, threats and vulnerabilities to corruption on a structure level.
The most important activities focus on the risk analysis of corruption in MIA, but also on
information regarding precise risks of corruption in the activity fields of organizations and on
prevention measure proposals.
The leading staff within MIA is held responsible for the prevention of corruption, which
represents the third anti-corruption instrument. The responsibility and mobilization of the personnel
pertaining to the field of corruption prevention has risk analysis as a starting point in addition to
setting a controlled system for limiting the opportunities for corruption in the structures. At the same
time, the personnel are bound to monitor professional activities of the subordinates so as to catch any
sign of corruption. Also, the intensification of control activities of vulnerable corruption spots and
the specialized check-ups carried out in the competent structures have to be among the personnels
responsibilities
Understanding of both national and international legislations regarding corruption prevention
is another attribute of the leading staff, along with describing the relevant aspects to their
subordinates. Also, including program or prevention strategies or norms of conduct in partial or
annual evaluation tests, exams or contests for a position within MAI or in continual professional
preparation plans, be it individual or in a group, is another responsibility of the aforementioned
personnel.
Two other anti-corruption instruments are represented by the activities of information and
instruction for preventing corruption on a level with MIA. These too are carried out by specialized
personnel of the AGD in order to develop the residing personnels capacities of utilizing and
combining theory elements with practical ones, using attitudes and abilities specific to the field of
corruption prevention and targeting mainly newly appointed personnel in MIA, who works the most
fields exposed to corruption risks, as well as leading personnel.
4

The integrity test represents a way of testing the professional integrity of the MIA personnel
through simulating practical situations in order to observe the subjects reactions and behavior in a
programmed activity. The test takes place by respecting the fundamental human rights and liberties,
of human and professional dignity of the tested subjects.
5
After the test, if acts of a criminal or
disciplinary nature are detected, the AGD personnel will act accordingly by taking action either by
filing a report according to the Criminal Procedure Code or by informing and urging a competent
structure to take action by rule of the law.
As for the general instruments of preventing corruption, we state that there have been legal
frames created by using ways of countering it on a national level. One of these is Law 571/2004
regarding personnel protection within Authorities and public institutions which signalizes breakings
of the law, through which another instrument necessary to fulfilling the goals set in the field or
corruption prevention was created. This way, noticing any breaking of the active normative acts
represents a duty and proves a clean civic and moral sense in addition to wanting to get actively
involved in respecting professional ethics and deontology. For this purpose, the leading staff is not
allowed to apply disciplinary measures of any kind against the advisors who, in good faith, help by


reporting any felony or threat against professional deontology of the efficiency, transparency or well
administration principles.
Lastly, Law 52/2003 regarding decisional transparency in public administration represents
another instrument contributing to the maximization of the wanted effects in the fight against
corruption. The normative act offers a legal frame which assures decisional transparency not only
within central and local public authorities, but also in also public institutions using financial resources
from public funds.
Concurrently, the aforementioned normative act targets the stimulation for active citizen
involvement in the decisional process, as well as the developing of the normative act itself. The
importance of getting the civil society involved in such activities is obvious and their participation
also subsists because there is a need of improving the services offered by public institutions and
mutual responsibility.
Furthermore, Law 176/2010 regarding integrity in exercising positions and public dignities,
Law 144/2007 regarding the founding, organization and function of The National Integrity Agency,
and well as Law 251/2004 regarding gratuitously goods received because of a position or following
certain actions of protocol are three other instruments used in countering the phenomenon of
corruption in public national institutions.

d.Conclusion
In conclusion, its imperative to highlight the importance of how preventing activities must
be permanently adapted to new social necessities and prioritized depending on the vectors detected
in scientific research, sociologic studies and case analyses carried out rigorously with time steadiness.
The dynamics of crimes attributed to corruption implies a careful look over activities of prevention
and engaging all necessary resources in due time, be it human, informational, financial or technical.

e.Refferences
1
According to the Decree of Emergency no. 59/2013 regarding the appointment of measures for efficiently prevent and
fight corruption.
2
Adopted by the Romanian Government through Decision no. 215 of March 20
th
2012 and published in Monitorul
Oficial, Part I, no. 202 of March 27
th
2012.
3
Decree 86/12.06.2013 regarding the organization and development of anti-corruption activities within MIA.
4
Decree 86/12.06.2013 regarding the organization and development of anti-corruption activities within MIA.
5
Decree MAI 256/2011 regarding the professional integrity testing procedure of the MIA personnel.



Place and role of Forensic Science within Romanian System of
Public Order and National Security (I)
Author: Georgic PANFIL, phD
1
.
1
Alexandru Ioan Cuza Police Academy - Romania, Forensic Science Department
panfil.george@gmail.com

Content
description:
The article tackles with the main issues linked to the role and the place of
Forensic Science within Romanian System of Public Order and National
Security, the importance of this science, main principles and characteristics.
Also, the purpose of this article is to offer a description of the perception of
Forensic Science from a Romanian perspective.
Keywords:
forensic science, public order, links, place and role, criminalistics,
Romanian realities, forensic principles

a.Introduction
b.Criminalistics a police domain
c.The criminalist or forensic scientist
d.Domains of Forensic Science within the Romanian perspective
e.Criminalistics a Science
f.Conclusions
g.Bibliography

a.Introduction
In Romania, the System of Public Order and National Security refers mainly to the activities
and tasks of Ministry of Internal Affairs and the forces from its subordination (Police, Gendarmerie,
Firefighters). Beyond the characteristic tasks of Ministry of Internal Affairs, other forces are also
involved in this system: Romanian Intelligence Service, organisms linked to the fight against
corruption, other intelligence institutions, structures involved in training and education of different
cathegories of personnel
1
and others. In this article, we will only refer to the links between Forensic
Science and Internal Affairs area.
Within the Romanian Police, Forensic Science tends to be a very special and sensitive area.
Thus, it has to be said that lately the domain of Forensic Science (called, in Romanian language,
especially with the term of Criminalistics, and in other languages with terms such as kriminalistic
in german, police technique et scientifique in french) gained more and more importance duet o its
role in linking the criminals to the crime scene and, as follows, providing for law enforcement
institutions the material means to sustain in Court aspects related to the guilt or innocence of a person.
Due to the specific and, for some part, the limitations of the Criminal Law from Romania, testimonial
proofs are often unsure to be uses, as a witness or a suspect has the right to change his statement at
any moment of the trial. For this reason, physical evidence provided by Criminalistics are of a great
value for our system. Beyond this, as a difference between our country and others, is has to be stated
that in Romania Forensic Science is only carried out by police workers. We do not allow the presence
of private personnel at crime scene; furthermore, only dedicated personnel can carry out the tasks
linked to forensic domain for example an investigator will only coordinate the activities linked to


crime scene, but will not interfere with searching and discovering the traces, also he will be involved
in speciffic activities but not the ones from forensic domain.

b.Criminalistics a police domain
The first question to be answered when tackling this field is: what actually is Criminalistics
(or Forensic Science) in the perception of Romanian realities?
There are multiple opinions linked to instructing a complete and correct definition of this
science. First of all, we have to emphasize two main opinions: Forensic Science as a part of the Law
Educational System and Forensic Science as a part of Public Order and National Security Educational
System. Both opinions have pros and cons, and we will try to approach them on an objective
perception.
Currently, Forensic Science is being tuited in almost all Law Faculties, being part of the
general training of the future lawyers, prosecutors, judges and other categories of personnel to be
licensed in the field of Law. However, though, none of the categories presented above will be able to
actually practice real forensic. This is because the dedicated personnel to practice forensic science is
to be found only within the structures of Ministry of Internal Affairs. We do not have any type of
private personnel with the legal ability to actually be involved within the crime scene investigation,
forensic identification, laboratory analysis and other specific activities. The private laboratories of
forensic science only provide advisory opinions and only if demanded by the Judge. As follows, the
job of forensic scientist is reserved for police cadets and officers
2
. As a discipline dedicated for police-
involved personnel, some of the methods and techniques are only available for these categories of
workers. Within the Police Academy and Cadets Schools, Forensic Science is being touted to all of
the students, and especially for the (future) forensic specialists. In my our opinion, some aspects
related to this science can be taught to every law student, but for certain this is domain strictly linked
to police work and therefore to Public Order and National Security domain. Of course, for a teacher
part of a Law Faculty
3
there is a motivation to sustain the links between this domain and law, but the
specific of this discipline makes is to be bond with the police work and not other domains. From the
point of view of

c.The Criminalist or Forensic Scientist
In order to fully understand what a Criminalist is, conceptual boundaries linked to this
profession must be done. First of all, in Romania there are three levels at which a police practician
can operate: technician (cadet), specialist (officer) and expert. In the following lines we will only
tackle those three levels from the point of view of the forensic science.
A forensic technician is that police worker that has graduated a cadet school hand is working
within Romanian Police Forensic areas. It does not matter how long has he been working in this
area, nor tre subdomain (crime scene, investigation, laboratory work).
A forensic specialist represents the police officer (has graduated Romanian Police Academy)
with studies in the field of Forensic science. Within the Police Academy, all students are to choose
a profile, a domain they are to follow for two years, becoming specialist in that domain. As follows,
it is mandatory to have graduated the Academy in that area of expertise in order to become a forensic
officer (or specialist).
A forensic expert it that forensic specialist (that is officer) who has worked in one specific
domain of forensic science for four years, has sustained an exam and is being certificated by a national
organism as expert on that domain (ballistics, traceoloy, crime scene, forged documents etc.). It must
be said that one officer can be expert in multiple domains, if he meets the requirements for
certification.



d.Domains of Forensic Science a Romanian Perspective
It has to be said that, linked to the Forensic Science, there are also two different opinions
regarding its subdomains. From the point of view of the police work, it is obvious that a forensic
technician, specialist or expert has his specific tasks and none of the other officers presents at the
crime scene cannot replace him. From the point of view of (some of) the teachers from this area,
forensic science has three branches: forensic technique, forensic tactics and special tactics (also
known as forensic methodology). While forensic technique is actually overlapped on the stricto sensu
perception of forensic work, the other two branches are referring to the investigative side of police
work, with all types of specific issues linked to interrogation, forensic search, crime scene
reconstruction, group identification etc., all from the point of view of the investigation officers. Even
at the level of Romanian Police Academy, those three disciplines are reunited within the Forensic
Science Department. We only partially agree with this opinion: while at the learning level it is nothing
wrong in having all three disciplines taught under the same name, at operational level there are some
police officers calling themselves forensic experts, while they are only simple investigators.
As follows, the three domains of the forensic science (the one touted in educational systems)
are:
-forensic technique, dealing mainly with the activities linked to traces and exploiting them
with laboratory analysis. This domain contains judicial ballistics, crime scene investigation, different
levels and subdomains of forensic identification, forensic anthropology, polygraph examinations,
forensic databases etc.
-forensic tactics: training personnel in general investigative knowledge (interrogation, crime
scene management, reconstruction etc.);
-forensic methodology (or special tactics), teaching how to apply general rules from forensic
tactics to different types of crimes, for example, how to interrogate a witness of a rape, or how to
conduct a search in case of drug-related crimes.

e.Criminalistics A Science
Another issue linked to Forensic Science is linked to the very question whether this can be
considered an autonomous science or not. In this case, the answer is simple, as this domain is
characterized thru own methods, specific character and its own principles. Furthermore, this science
is actively promoting scientific research and innovation of the best methods to interact with traces (in
the laboratory or at the crime scene).
As follows, an accepted definition for Forensic Science (or Criminalistics) is: the
multidisciplinary science, reuniting methods and techniques for searching, discovering, revealing,
fixation, sampling, documentation, interpretation, conservation, transportation and analysis of
different categories of traces, in order to reveal the truth
4
. It has to be said that forensic science is
also called the science of truth or the science of the factual realities, as it is only based on facts
(the trace was created by someone) and not on legal problems (guilty/innocent).
The main characteristics of this science are the following ones:
-forensic science has scientific character (own rules, own research methods, own principles);
-forensic science is a judicial science, as a result of the links between the crime scene, forensic
science, prosecution activities, court and the help provided by this domain for judicial system itself;
-forensic science is independent and autonomous: this area is not under the coordination of
any other domain (except the content of the laws governing it);
-forensic science is a multidisciplinary science, as it uses methods taken from other areas
(biology, medicine, chemistry etc.) and bonds them in order to obtain objective conclusions;
-forensic science has a legal character, as the activities are only governed by laws,
methodologies, procedures and are developed within those limits.


From the point of view of the principles governing this domain
5
, we can tackle the following
ones:
a.Forensic activities are governed by the presumption of innocence. As all the activities from
the domain of police work, forensic tasks wil be carried out with the idea of this presumption, as it is
not mandatory to prove the guilt of a person if the traces are not confirming it.
b.All forensic activities are under the principle of confidentiality. None of the data related to
an exploited case are to be revealed to the public, media or other institutions, in order to protect the
fundamental rights of a person and not endanger the identification itself (for example, by giving some
intelligence linked to a case to the media might help the criminal to know whether he is a suspect or
not). On the other hand, most of the time the forensic worker only works with codes and numbers and
not with a known identity (for example, he only has a code of a DNA profile and not the real identity
of the suspected person).
c.All criminal activities or interactions produce changes in the environment (the Locard
principle). This principle can also be restated as: there is no perfect crime, no matter the measures the
criminal has taken in order to prevent leaving those traces. Even if at a crime scene there are no visible
traces there can always be found latent traces or micro traces. It only depends on the forensic worker
to choose the best way to search them.
d.Principle of quality activities in forensic. Without respecting a minimal quality standards,
there are different types of risks (linked to personnel, alteration of traces etc.). The quality in the field
of forensics is achieved thru accreditation of the laboratories, standardization of the procedures and
certification of personnel.
e.Establishing the truth is the desired finality of the forensic activities. A forensic worker is
only interested in identity or nonidentity aspects as they appear following the examinations. He is not
interested in proving someone is guilty or not, as this is to be decided in Court.
f.All forensic procedures are characterized by celerity and operability. Forensic activities
means interacting with traces. This must be done as soon as possible as some categories of traces can
be altered by human action or environment. Furthermore, some of the characteristics of the object
that created the trace can change in time (for example, an impression from a shoeprint has some
characteristics that can change in time; the same rule applies to a weapon`s barrel whe firing very
often etc.), thus an immediate response in order to search and discover traces/ creator factor must be
carried out.
g.Principle of legality. Everything linked to the police and, as follows, the forensic activities
are carried oud in accordance with the laws. This principle involves the following aspects:
-the laws are governing the forensic activities;
-the laws are protecting the forensic workers, giving them the right to use different methods
and techniques;
-forensic activities are carried out in order to identify the persons that have violated the law.
h. Principle of identity. In other words, any object of the material world is identical with itself
at a certain moment. Furthermore, forensic science regards the term identity in a relative way and
not in an absolute one, as it accepts some modifications (a person grows and his weight/height are
changing, yet it remains the same person) and still can prove the identity.
i.Principle of objectivity. All forensic personnel must perform tasks without subjective
interferences. This principle is strictly linked with the ones linked to establishing the truth and
legality.

f.Conclusions
In the first part of the article we have presented the main characteristics, principles and
definition of forensic science also known as criminalistics, with accent on the perspective of the


Romanian specialists. Furthermore, issues linked to the controversial aspects of this domain such
as domains, place and position, term of criminalist have been tackled.
We have also tried to explain the way that our system of Public Order and National Security
works and why this area is placed within it. In Romania, the domain of forensic science tends to be
monopolized by Police and Government, despite de existence of some private structures, which have
a limited role and for certain cannot interfere with the main source of evidence in process that is
crime scene. Another purpose of this article was to provide elements to sustain the scientific character
of this domain.

Bibliography
1
Romanian Police Academy, Cadets Schools, National Intelligence Academy etc.
2
Officers are trained by Romanian Police Academy, which is placed at rank of University (courses of 3 and 4 years),
while cadets are workers trained by Cadet Schools (can be followed after highschool, have no equivalent linked to a
Faculty and have courses of 6 months to 2 years).
3
Usually, this discipline is touted in the Law Faculties by active/retired police officers.
4
G.Panfil, Forensic Science Fundamentals, Estfalia Publishing, Bucharest, 2013, p.12.
5
V.Viorel (coord.), G.Panfil, D.Nechita, P.Enache, Forensic science theoretical and practical guidelines, Estfalia
Publishing, Bucharest, 2014, p.14-16.



Aspects related to community policing
Author: Antonela OFINE
1

1
National Division Against Corruption - Romania, ph.D student within Romanian Police Academy
Antonnella77@yahoo.com

Content
description:
The article presents the characteristics of the community policing and how
this concept should be implemented and assessed within police departments.
It highlights the fact that community policing is not just a philosophy or just
a police marketing strategy, but also a program that leads to results, actions
and different behaviors.
Keywords: community policing, citizens, neighborhood, partnership, communication

a.Introduction
b.General issues
d.Conclusions
e.Bibliography

a.Introduction
The concept of community policing is not a new one, it can be traced back to some of the
oldest policing traditions. It is all about the idea of reinterpreting and considering it the dominant
philosophy within a department, and not just a specific program.

b.General issues
The first component of the community policing philosophy is an orientation towards problem
solving. We can talk about problem identification, problem analysis, as well as problem resolution;
however, this concept relies heavily on the articulation of policing values which include citizen
involvement in the problems regarding the safety and quality of neighborhood life.
Community policing urges the need to adopt the problem-solving orientation towards
policing, instead of the incident-oriented approach that has tended to prevail in conjunction with the
professional model. Emergency calls will still be handled right away and the police officers will still
spend a lot of their time handling individual incidents. However, police officers should still try to
identify the underlying causes that give rise to the single and multiple incidents. When the causes are
identified, officers should use them in order to control and prevent future incidents. Basically, they
should strive and have a more substantive and meaningful impact that occurs from 15-minute
treatment for individual call for service.
Another characteristic of the community policing is the understanding of needs, concerns and
priorities of a neighborhood life, in order to meet its requirements. And this can only be achieved by
focusing on the interaction and communication between police officers and residents on a routine
basis, in order to develop a mutually beneficial relationship.
In this sense, it must be highlighted the fact that police officers are expected to identify
innovative ways of community solving problems. Therefore, it is inherent to develop their


communication abilities and interaction behavior with the people that live and work in their beats; by
definition, the community policing represents the interactive process between the police and the
community to mutually identify and resolve community problems. The community policing lays
stress on the union that should exist between the police and people in order to improve the quality of
their life. The partnership between the two forces should rely on confidence, empathy, reliability and
peer-trust, in order to work in tandem and tackle community problems.
And in order to reach that communication, more face-to-face interactions should be brought
in front, rather than the use of a patrolling system. Neighborhood meetings can be of real help. Also
the school-based policing concept is not to be neglected; this implies going into schools and interact
positively with the youngsters, teachers and other school stuff.
Emphasis should be placed on more interactive and effective practices, instead of effective
and isolated operational practices (e.g. motorized patrol and rapid response to law priority calls).
Some re-oriented methods can be the foot patrol, bicycle patrol, scooter or horse patrol, also parking
the patrol vehicles and engage in foot patrolling periodically in shopping areas, parking lots, malls,
business parks or residential areas. Police patrols should interact more often with the citizens during
their patrol and not just limit to watching or observing while patrolling. The important role in the
community policing is taken by the verbal and non-verbal communication with the residents, which
also include the stopping and talking to people while patrolling.
This way, every police officer could have the opportunity to deal with the people in a friendly,
open and personal manner, designed to turn them into satisfied customers, bearing in mind the fact
that police are public service providers. And this can only be best done by eliminating as many
artificial bureaucratic barriers as possible and incite peoples interest in dealing directly with their
officers.
Citizens interest can be awoken by means of personalized service. Such services include:
personalized business cards that police can distribute to the victims, complainants and other citizens
with whom they are in contact with, use of re-contacting procedures for all the
victims/complainants/citizens in cases where the police had handled their situation in order to see if
further assistance is needed, adopted slogans and symbols, mission or value statements and other
devices designed to reinforce the importance of providing personalized service to the public.
But community policing is also about learning and applying methods of transforming the
police actions with a negative connotation in peoples minds into positive ones, bearing in mind the
fact that police work is also based on people arrests, fines and stops for suspicion, desists, inability to
help more the victims etc. In such cases, the officers must have a different approach and consequently
engage in different positive interactions as often as possible, whenever possible. Such interactions
include neighborhood meeting or civic meetings that can create a large spectrum of non-enforcement
interactions with a majority of the community.
Alongside, partnerships bear a prominent position in the area of community policing as well.
Active partnerships are a must-have where the civil society, the citizens and other parties cooperate
in order to identify and solve problems. Nowadays, the concept of citizen-patrol is widely used;
citizens actively patrol their neighborhoods, usually in cooperation with the police and often in radio
communication with the police dispatch. Also, reunions such as citizen police academies explain to
the citizens the organization and the roles of each police department, preparing them for a volunteer
role or citizen patrols.
Notwithstanding, of paramount importance is also the power sharing between police and
community. The responsibility for making decisions must be divided between officers and residents
based on a mutual legal partnership that can encourage an active citizen involvement in police efforts.
A passive involvement of the community is not sufficed as a matter of fact.
The prevention component must be also highlighted in terms of community policing. The
main idea resides in that although citizens appreciate and value rapid police response, the reactive


investigations and prompt apprehension of the wrongdoer, they would also prefer the education of
the victims in the first place. That is why police departments should devote lots of financial, human,
technical and intelligence resources to the preventive component. Anyways, prevention should be
interlinked with the police officer or at least a part of every officers job.
The above-mentioned component is based on preventive measures that must be tailored to
each specific situation, depending on its characteristics. Firstly, the environmental design is important
based on the fact that police should focus on the physical elements of the locations that make them
conducive to incident/crime. Secondly, the closely working with individual residents and groups of
residents in a cooperative manner is of utmost importance. In addition, the youth oriented-prevention
is part of the preventive component and focuses on programs and projects designed to prevent
youngsters from committing offences, such as tutoring, recreation and mentoring programs.
Alongside the youth oriented-prevention stands the business crime-prevention that is centered on the
cooperation between the police and business representatives, the latter being in the position to
recommend personnel practices, retail procedures or other security measures designed to prevent
crime.
The geographical element is another characteristic of community policing. This means that
police officers should establish stronger bonds between them and neighborhoods in order to augment
mutual recognition, identification, responsibility and accountability. We acknowledge the fact that
beat patrols are temporally allocated with police for the term of their shift and not necessarily
geographically. But in terms of community policing, stress should be laid on places and
neighborhoods, rather than on time or functions.
Therefore, the redesign of the beat is necessary and desired. The beats must be reconfigured
based on the neighborhoods necessities, not on the police department needs. In this respect, the beat
assignments must be issued on a permanent basis, rather than on a rotating one. In this respect, the
success of a geographical patrolling system can be reached by assigning patrol officers to a
geographic beat for extended periods of time, rather than being frequently rotated. In addition, since
several different officers will be assigned to a beat across 24 hours/day, 7 days a week, one officer is
designated to be the lead officer responsible for the problem identification and coordination of all
officers efforts. Also, the patrol beat can be divided into smaller areas of individual accountability,
so that every patrol officer has general responsibility for a beat and special responsibility for a smaller
area. In this respect, each beat can have its own facilities such as mini-stations, storefronts that
enhance the geographic focus for officers and residents. Notwithstanding, police specialists can be
assigned to a geographic area, instead of to their specialties, meaning that a police officer should
handle all, or at least most of the crimes occurring in a neighborhood area, instead of handling car
thefts from all over the area of jurisdiction. In fact, this should lead to a more efficient management
of the police work and to a better knowledge of the neighborhood issues.
Also, in order to nurture a healthy community policing system, the organizations structure
should be redesigned and the police departments should be reorganized as to facilitate and support
the implementation of this concept. That is why authority and responsibility can sometimes be
delegated more widely so that officers can act more independently and be more responsive. In
addition, the number of layers of hierarchy in the police organization can sometimes be reduced in
order to improve communications and reduce waste, rigidity and bureaucracy.
Bearing this in mind, beat officers should be empowered by their chiefs to take action and
make the decisions they consider fit for the given situation; they should have the authority to move
freely and perform independently at the scene. In order to reach performance in terms of community
policing, police patrols should become the managers of their beat, while the supervising officers must
focus on the training, coaching, coordinating and evaluating officers under.
Also, in terms of independent policing, police officers should be able to decide on their own
if they would rather use an alternative method for the patrolling car or not; such alternatives are taking


the incident report over the telephone, by mail or in person at the police facility, walk-in reporting in
cases where there have only been damages, without victims, hold lower priority calls or even organize
appointments with an individual or a group, whenever possible and appropriate. Such methods can
be of real help for the professional development of the officer, as well as for the financial, human and
technical resources saving, not least the opportunity for the police officer to prioritize their actions
and handle really important issues that require an on-scene response.
Community policing is often associated with styles of leadership, management and
supervision that give more emphasis to organizational culture and values and less emphasis to written
rules and formal discipline. The management is to be addressed to the citizens problems and
concerns; it must be flexible and appropriate.
The statements of police missions and values should always be used in the decision-making
process, in the guidance of the employees and training of new recruits. Also, police departments
should engage in continuous strategic planning aimed at ensuring that resources and energy are
focused on mission accomplishment and adherence to core values; otherwise police organizations
tend to get off track, confused about their mission and about what really matters. In addition,
subordinates should be coached and guided more, instead of being restricted to their roles of
reviewing of paperwork and enforcement of rules and regulations.
It is also relevant that a police officer must be trained in the spirit of community policing. This
means that he has to have leadership abilities; he must be prepared to develop skills such as exciting
citizens in embracing the concept of the community policing. During the evaluation process of a
police officer, it must be taken into consideration his ability to involve and implicate the residents in
crime fighting and solving efforts. The performance evaluation will be then considered in terms of
lack of incidents such as criminal offences, traffic accidents and repeat call-for-service.
Consequently, young employees need mentoring from managers, supervisors and not just
learn how to do their job right. They need to learn about ethics and values and what it means to be a
good police officer. In terms of community policing, employees are encouraged to be risk-takers,
to demonstrate imagination and creativity in their work; this kind of empowerment can only succeed,
however, when employees are thoroughly familiar with the organizations core values and firmly
committed to them. In what it concerns the discipline, police departments should make distinctions
between intentional and unintentional errors made by employees and between employee actions that
violate core values versus those that merely violate technical rules.
Community policing stands also for the quality appraisal, instead of quantity. This way,
officers can be evaluated on the quality of the their community policing and problem solving
activities, and perhaps on results achieved, instead of on traditional performance indicators such as
tickets, arrests, calls handled etc..
In terms of departmental assessment, police departments can measure their overall
performance based on of a wide variety of indicators, such as customer satisfaction, fear levels,
problem solving etc., instead of a narrow range of traditional indicators including reported crime,
response time etc..
This article has no intention to clear all the aspects of such a complex concept like community
policing, rather than to provide some basic information on its practical relevance, on the importance
of its implementation and consequent results. Police management should focus on the advantages
of the implementation of the concept, its benefits and its payoff and act correspondently.
Based on the synergy of the police and residents actions, the community policing is a program
that helps boosting the prevention activities and the participation of the civil society in the activities
circumscribed. In addition, the concept focuses on the community cooperation with the police in order
to reach a coherent, integrated conception, with regard to the neighborhood problem-solving, based
on an adequate coordination of the joint actions and deployed forces.


During the implementation of the concept, a high level of crime-related information can be
reached by the community. Alongside information, the residents can get a high level of awareness
with regard to the causes and the consequences of crimes committed in their neighborhood, as well
as a high level of self-protection capacities, especially for the vulnerable ones. These are all practical
results that can be obtained after the implementation process.

c.Conclusions
Community policing is a concept that folds into the responsibility of each police department
management; it is not just an independent activity for every police officer, it must be seen as a total
concept applied in its assembly. The holistic approach is the successful method for the
implementation of the community policing concept, where the police and the community are the main
actors that are to perform on the scene of a safety and secure life because the aim of it is to support
the delivery of confidence and satisfaction through personal, professional and protective policing.

Bibliography

1.Policing in the 21
st
Century: Reconnecting police and the people, ISBN 9780101792523, TSO information and
publishing solutions;
2.Community Policing: Principles and Elements Gary Gordner, Eastern Kentucky University, grant #96-CK-WX-0011;
3.www.cepol.europa.eu, Hans-Gerd Jaschke, Tore Bjrg, Francisco del Barrio Romero, Cees Kwanten, Robin Mawby,
Milan Pagon, Perspectives of Police Science in Europe, Bramshill 2007;
4.www.isn.ethz.ch, Security Strategy of the Czech Republic 2011
5.www.psni.police.uk, Policing with the Community 2020 Strategy.



How to identify counterfeit US dollars
Authors: Florin Petru ENACHE
1
, Marin RUIU
2

1
National Police Directorate, ph.D student within National Defence Academy, Romania
2
Alexandru Ioan Cuza Police Academy, Romania
petrut_pol@yahoo.com, marin.ruiu@academiadepolitie.ro

Content
description:
Every year people are victimized by the counterfeiting of United States
currency and other U.S. obligations. Those who fail to carefully examine the
money they receive or who cash checks and bonds without requesting proper
identification are potential victims. Only with the publics cooperation can
the United States Secret Service reduce and prevent these crimes.
Keywords:
watermark, security thread, color-shifting ink, intaglio printing, micro
printing, transmitted light, UV light

a.Introduction
b.General issues
d.Conclusions
e.Bibliography

a. Introduction
Forgery is a crime that is never committed randomly or without knowing, neither from
passion, nor from poverty leaded to extreme. Its a crime that is planned very meticulously by people
owning advanced technical skills and investing a large amount of money for the equipment
1
.
In order to identify the counterfeit bills you need to follow two rules. First of all, you have to
know the design and security features of a genuine banknote. Secondly, you have to check more than
one of the security features of the banknote (especially when you find a genuine feature) because
most of them had been counterfeited. This is also the main reason why the US authorities are always
in the seeking of new security features that are difficult to counterfeit.

b. General issues
First rule in the identification of counterfeited banknotes is to know the design and security
features of a genuine banknote.
The most banknotes that are in circulation are 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 denomination.
Next, I will briefly present them:
- 1 US bill: portrait Washington; back: obverse and reverse of the Great Seal of the United
States.
- 2 US bill: portrait Jefferson; back: Monticello (United States Notes); Signing of Declaration
of Independence (Federal Reserve Notes).
- 5 US bill: portrait Lincoln; back: Lincoln Memorial.
- 10 US bill: portrait Hamilton; back: U.S. Treasury Building.
- 20 US bill: portrait Jackson; back: White House.
- 50 US bill: portrait Grant; back: United States Capitol.


- 100 US bill: portrait Franklin; back: Independence Hall.
Next, I will present some steps in order to identify counterfeit banknotes, but these are not
compulsory to be applied to all bills.

1. Feel the texture of the bill.
Some people, identify fake bill instantly just by feeling it. Even if one does not have much
experience, one has, most probably, handled enough money, so as to be able to detect many
counterfeits just by feeling the texture and paying more attention.
The paper on which banknotes are printed, is not sold commercially. All paper must be 100
% rag content 75% cotton and 25% linen, with long fibers to impart strength. The paper contains
no watermarks. It has tiny red and blue fibers embedded throughout. Often counterfeiter tries to
simulate these fibers by printing or hand drawing tiny red and blue lines on their paper, but the
inspection of these ones reveals that the fibers are on the surface of the paper and not embedded
throughout it.
Another important thing to consider is that genuine currency has slightly raised ink that is
produced in the intaglio printing process. You should be able to feel the texture of this ink, especially
if you are holding a new dollar bill. Intaglio engraving permits more delicate and intricate lines and
has a greater range of light and shade.

2. Compare the bill with another of the same denomination and series.
If the bill seems genuine or if it raises suspicions of counterfeit, hold the bill side by side with
another bill. You should get a note of the same denominations. Moreover, all denominations, except
the $1 and $2, have been redesigned at least once since 1990, so it is recommended to compare the
suspect bill to one in the same series, or date.

3. Notice the relative flatness and lack of detail on the fake bill. Look carefully at the
printing quality.
The techniques through which real U.S. bills are printed cannot be replicated by regular offset
printing and digital printing. Look for blurry areas, especially in fine details such as around the
borders. The fine lines in the border of a genuine bill are clear and unbroken. On the counterfeit
banknotes, the lines may be blurred and indistinct. The genuine portrait appears lifelike and stands
out distinctly from the fine screen-like background. The counterfeit portrait is usually lifeless and
flat. Details merge into the background which is often too dark or mottled.

4. Search for colored fibers in the paper.
Note that all U.S. bills have tiny red and blue fibers embedded in the paper. Counterfeiters try
to reproduce these by printing or drawing these fibers onto the paper. However, a closer examination
reveals that on the counterfeit note you can observe they are not part of the paper itself, but rather
printed on it.

5. Examine the serial numbers.
Make sure that the serial numbers on a bill match, and examine them carefully. Genuine serial
numbers have a particular style and are evenly spaced. There are printed in the same color as the
Treasury seal.
Fake bills often have serial numbers that are not evenly spaced or that are not perfectly aligned
in a row. If you received multiple suspicious bills, see if the serial numbers are the same on both bills.
If they are the same, then one or more banknotes are not genuine.


You may even see a star note. A star note is a bill that has a serial number which is out
of sequence with the others in the series. A star is printed after the number to indicate that it was
placed in the series as a substitute.

6. Look for security features in all denominations, except the $1 and $2.
The easiest way to identify a fake $5, $10, $20, $50 or $100 bill is to pay attention to the
following security features, all of which are very difficult to fake.
The security thread is a polyester strip which is running from top to bottom. Starting 1990,
an embedded (not printed) security thread was added to all bills except the $1 and $2 bills. If you
hold the bill up in the light (transmitted light), you will see the strip and printing on it. The printing
says "USA" followed by the denomination of the bill, which is spelled out for $5, $10, and $20 bills
but presented in numerals on the $50 and $100 bills. These threads are placed in different places on
each denomination to prevent lower-denomination bills being bleached and reprinted as higher
denominations. Compare a real bill of the same denomination, to make sure that the position of the
thread is correct. If it is not, the bill is not genuine.
On the $5 bill it is written "USA FIVE" on the thread, the $10 bill has "USA TEN" written
on the thread; the $20 bill has "USA TWENTY" written on the security thread, while the $50 bill has
"USA 50" written on the thread; and the $100 bill has the words "USA 100" written on the security
thread.
When you examine a banknote in a UV light, if it is authentic, the security thread in the bill
will glows: the $5 bill glows blue, the $10 bill glows orange, the $20 bill glows green, the $50 bill
glows yellow and the $100 bill glows pink. If it turns dark or black then the banknote is a counterfeited
one.
Micro-printing represents a small text that can be read only with a magnifier and is very
difficult to be copied by the forgers. It can be found around the portrait as well, on the security threads
and in other parts of the banknotes. Starting 1990, very tiny printing was added to certain places
(which have periodically been changed since then) on $5 and higher denomination bills. The exact
location of the micro-printing is not an issue. Counterfeits will often have either no micro-printing or
very blurred micro-printing. On a genuine bill, the micro-printing will be crisp and clear.

Watermark represents an image that can be observed when the banknote is held against a light
source. It does not copy on color printer.
On all $10, $20, $50, and $100 bills series 1996 and later, and on $5 bills series 1999 and
later, you can find a watermark bearing the image of the person whose portrait is on the bill. The
watermark is embedded in the paper to the right of the portrait, and it can be seen from both sides of
the bill. If it turns dark or black in a UV light, then the banknote is a counterfeited one.
Color-shifting ink is an ink that appears to change color when the bill is viewed from
different angles. For example, the color changes from copper to green. This security feature is a latest
one and is very difficult to be counterfeit. Some of the counterfeit dollars have the color-shifting ink
security feature which is reproduce quite well.
Red and blue fibers embedded in the paper. These fibers are visible with the naked eye and
they didnt react in an UV examination. Instead, these fibers react in IR light.

Facts regarding the U.S. dollars bills:

A common misconception is that if the ink smears when you rub the bill on something, the
bill is not genuine. This is not necessarily true, but if the ink does not smear, it does not mean that the
bill is genuine either.


A very simple type of counterfeit is "raised bills", where numerals are glued onto a low
denomination bill to make it look like a higher denomination. These fakes can be identified by
comparing the numbers in the corners to the denomination printed in letters at the bottom of the bill.
Furthermore, you can compare the bill to another bill of the same denomination.
On the $100 bill you can see the words "the United States of America" micro printed in the
lapel of Benjamin Franklin jacket.
The Secret Service and U.S. Treasury do not recommend relying only on a counterfeit-
detection pen that is often used by clerks in stores. These pens can only indicate whether the note is
printed on the wrong kind of paper (they simply react to the presence of starch). They will catch some
counterfeits, but they will not detect more sophisticated fakes and will give false-negatives on real
money that has been through the wash.
The fine lines in the border of a genuine bill are clear and unbroken. On the counterfeit, the
lines in the outer margin and scrollwork may be blurred and indistinct.
The genuine portrait stands out distinctly from the background and appears lifelike. The
counterfeit portrait is usually lifeless and flat. Details merge into the background, which is often too
dark or mottled.
Although the ink used in U.S. currency is magnetic, this is not a method for detecting
counterfeits. The strength is very low and is useful only for automated currency counters. With a
small but strong magnet, you can lift a genuine bill. Although you cannot lift the bill off of a table,
you can definitely tell that it is magnetic.
Look for differences, rather than similarities. If they are any good at all, counterfeit bills will
be similar to real ones in many aspects, but if a bill is different in just one way, it is probably fake.

c. Conclusions

The goal of this presentation is that its readers will be able to identify easier some of the
security features of U.S. dollars in order to distinguish a genuine banknote from a counterfeited one.
Of course, this presentation does not include all of the security features that are found on a banknote
but only those which could be examined without specialty knowledge and expensive higly specialized
technique, making them accesible to verify by common people.
I consider that an increased degree of knowledge regarding the detection of counterfeited
banknotes, found among the population can considerably help the economy and wellnes of the whole
society, as well as the efficiency of the police in its continuos fight against this type of crime.

d. Bibliography

- www.wikihow.com
- www.treas.gov/usss
- www.secretservice.gov

1
Robert H. Jackson (1892 1954) Associated Judge at the US Supreme Court.



Issues linked to Arson and Arsonist
Author: Cezar Cioac
1
, Diana Cioac
2
1
Alexandru Ioan Cuza Police Academy - Romania, Forensic Science Department
2
Digital Cable Systems INC.- Romania
cezar_forensic@yahoo.com, diana_dumitrache2002@yahoo.com

Content
description:
Arson is a symptom of many social phenomena such as; poverty, a
deteriorating housing infrastructure, a poor investment climate, and an
antiquated welfare system. Solution to these social i l l s must come from
the federa1 government although this is un1ikely in the foreseeable
future. The constraints of the legal environment on public policy
alternatives vis a vis arson must be altered to favor law-abiding tenants,
landlords, and businessmen at the expense of profit-oriented arsonists.
Keywords: arson, arsonist, fire, destruction, perpetrator

a. Introduction
b. Definition in according to Romanian Criminal Law and other European Criminal Law
c. Statistics when used the Arson phenomenon
d. The arsonist motivation criminalistics point of view
e. Conclusions
f. Bibliography & References

a. Introduction
Arson is considered in ancient times, as a very serious offense that causes very much
damage, even human disasters
1
. The old Roman law of property stipulated that the punishment for
ignition or burning someone fortress was burning at the stake. Later, in the Middle Ages and
afterwards, both in Europe and across the Atlantic, the destruction of someone property by fire was
punished with death and confiscation of property.
ARSON term used in Anglo -Saxon literature has no equivalent in the Romanian legal
terminology, but it can be equated with the term who represents the action when someone put the
fire with intention. He was taken as it is in Romanian by SR - ISO 8421/2001 where is defined as
malicious fire.
The term of arson is defined in British dictionaries as the criminal act of deliberately
setting fire to property
2
(Oxford Dictionary), being interpreted as intentional or accidental
destruction by fire of property of another person.

b. Definition in according to Romanian Criminal Law and other International
Criminal Law
According to the Romanian Criminal law, the arson is considered a means by which other
crimes with serious consequences on the property can be done but not as a criminal act itself.
These relate mainly to the destruction, the degradation, brought into disuse of property
belonging to another or preventing taking conservation measures or rescue of the good ( Art.217 -


219 Old Romanian Criminal Code - destruction ) or the destruction, the degradation, bring to
unusable, in whole or in part, the factories, industrial plant, machinery, passage ways, ways of
transport, ways of telecommunication, industrial construction products or agricultural, if the act in
any way without achieving national security. (Art.163 Old Romanian Criminal Code - acts of
diversion and art. 298 New Romanian Criminal Code). The New Romanian Criminal Code (art.
253 paragraph 1 and 255 paragraph 1) provides in section 6 that if the destruction, the degradation
or rendering disuse is committed by arson, explosion or any other such means, resulting danger to
the public, the action has aggravating circumstances and the criminal law provides a higher penalty.
In some cases, burning may result in the production of offenses against life, human integrity
and health, with the purpose to hide such offenses, the arson may be the means of causing or aiding
suicide or middle blackmail.
In Europe, many statistical studies highlight an alarming rise of the number of deliberate
fires in close correlation with socio-economic situation. The general increase in crime, youth tend to
violence and vandalism, economic difficulties (especially unemployment), the alarming increase in
the number of homeless people, ethnic conflicts or actions against immigrants or foreign terrorism,
arson falling thus the general climate of violence that characterized the beginning of the millennium
are mentioned in this regard.
The same applies in the U.S., where the 5600 arsons in 1951 reached 250,000 in 2010, and
in Japan where arson weight reached about 16% of all criminal acts, in the UK rose 15 times, 16
times in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium 10 times, and in France there is an alarming
increase of arson against public property - 120% private property and over 150% in 1990-2010.
The main targets of arsonists are in France: housing (40%), motor vehicles (25 %), public
buildings (7%); in Great Britain- schools, shops, theaters, hotels; in Sweden: housing and schools;
in Spain - factories; in Belgium: factories, restaurants, discos, cars, etc.. Country differences are
evident, indicating the important role of social conditions, economic and local traditions in the
manifestation of the phenomenon ARSON.

c. Statistics when used the Arson phenomenon
Arson has become one of the most expensive criminal behaviors to society, affecting all
developed countries. It became a real social phenomenon that can produce side effects and beyond
the State, and represents a growing threat to the security and stability shaped economic policy in
European Union countries but also in the other. You can specify actions to Rostock and Hamburg (
Germany) - 1992/1993, in Paris, Toulouse, ( France) - 2004/2005 against migrants - where on the
night of 26 / 27 October 2005, 98 vehicles were torched; incendiary attacks on merchant stores
Asians in England in 1990, otherwise the fire caused violent street movements as to Los Angeles
(1992 ), Istanbul ( 1995), Paris (2005 ), Toulouse (2005 ) - which caused great destruction and
required massive intervention of the police for to restore public order. For these reasons, police,
firefighters, insurance companies, other legal authorities have launched large-scale operations
against this destructive phenomenon. In 1988 was created the European Arson Prevention Institute,
headquartered in Vernon in France. The symposia for European protection associations took place
in l985 in Brussels and Luxembourg in 1989. It was established specialized police units, fire units
associated with the joint investigation of such cases: Fire Investigation Unit (UK), Le Laboratoire
Prefecture of Police (France). Insurance companies have established themselves specialized bodies:
Insurance Committee for Arson Control (U.S.), Association to combat insurance fraud (ALFA-
France).



d. The arsonist motivation criminalistics point of view

I aim to optimize the cooperation between police, firefighters and specialists in various
fields since such facts are difficult to investigate. Based on statistical data from records of the above
mentioned specialized bodies, intentional fires can be classified into the following categories:
- To gain financially: Investigations carried out at the behest of insurance companies will
need to establish as far as possible whether there is any evidence to indicate that the fire was started
by assured persons, or their agents, for the purpose of financial gain;
- To revenge;
- To conceal evidence of another crime, such as murder or theft;
- Socio-political reasons;
- Vanity;
- From vandalism, to destroy or protest: Perpetrators in this category may resort to willful
fire rising in an attempt to attract attention to a specific cause which they support. Fires in this
category are often started during civil disorders. Alternatively, the perpetrator may be someone
who wishes to seek revenge, such as an employee who has been recently dismissed, or someone
who has been made to feel that they have lost status or that they are inadequate. It is quite often
found in these cases that the perpetrator makes no attempt to conceal the fire which may have been
started during a fit of anger
3
.
- To fulfill a need: More often than not, the perpetrator is found to have a mental disorder,
for example those who receive, mental or sexual stimulation from witnessing a fire;
- Self-immolation;
- To become a hero: Perpetrators of fires in this category are usually those who do not get
sufficient satisfaction or excitement from their work, or feel a need to be recognized by others in the
community.
- Boredom.
In front of arsonists, building neither is nor perfectly protected, but some buildings are more
vulnerable and require additional protection (insulated, no security, no alarm - detection systems,
public buildings, etc.), operating methods and techniques of arsonists requires detailed presentations
but is not subject of this presentation.
However, one aspect, shows us immediate interest, is the need for a database drawing on
arsonists, including the person with mental disorder, which would provide extremely useful data,
including the techniques used. Psychiatric studies on perpetrators of deliberate fires reveal that
events and their behavior is a means of resolving conflict or deep emotional expression.
Understanding the psychological aspects of this sort of crime is essential to preventing and
stopping their work. Knowing the psychodynamic aspects of behavior can bring incalculable
support allowing to the investigator as a direct researcher to identify potential suspects and to devise
various techniques and strategies to query different types of authors.
In psychological profiling the perpetrator of arson type are several steps:
- The causes, motive and purpose of fire - to determine the exact cause of fire is necessarily
a long and thorough investigation, as it may be accidental or intentional. Moreover, unintentional
damage or destruction of evidence response teams is likely to complicate the investigation. The
context in which the fire is often revealing to deduct criminal intent, and among elements
demonstrating voluntary nature may be listed: like fire, origin, presence or absence of aggravating
elements, production time, any previous sinister facts, type of construction, the identity of the
owner of the building, etc..
- Mobile fire the motive is an impulse, an inner urge that causes a person to act in a certain
way. It is the reason; the stimulus that causes or involves a specific behavior. In the legal context,
motive explains "why" the offender has committed an illegal act. The unlike intent, the motive is


not an essential element in tracking but can be a support. Thus mobile plays a key role when it
comes to determining the identity of causes as those who are responsible for its production. The
mobile identification helps the investigator to direct research towards likely suspects. At the same
time, searching the mobile among the remaining remnants of the fire is often an attempt which does
not succeed because the gesture can belong to an individual with criminal behavior disorders that
can hide the real motive. In practice it is very difficult to discern motives for vengeance,
intimidation or profits, whether concealed or complicated by the absence of evidence or the
presence of false clues.
- Conscious or unconscious motivation - it is assumed that the perpetrators psychodynamic
plan may partially or totally motivate his behavior, while the real motives of the crime may slip.
Psychologists consider that when an individual starts a fire tends to make a thing of it seems
necessary at the time. The problem is that the perpetrators are not always aware of the reasons why
they have been pushed to committing the crime.
- Pathological and non-pathological reasons - psychological and psychiatric studies
distinguish between the non-pathological and pathological perpetrator.
The first is considered to hold irrational reasons, and the second, non-pathological, on the
contrary. Perpetrator irrational and pathological generally manifests certain disorders and impaired
mentally, emotionally or personality. He causes the fire to manifest aggression, hostility, for
revenge, to attract attention and to make known to their revalued image to procure a satisfaction or
a hallucination.

e. Conclusions
In some cases there is sufficient preliminary evidence available to make the Fire Brigade
suspicious that a fire has been started deliberately, and the police are then involved at an early stage.
Scene examinations may be conducted by a Fire Brigade fire investigation team, police Scenes of
Crimes officers or a scientist from one of the Home Office forensic science laboratories. Police
enquiries may lead to the identity of a person or persons suspected of starting the fire deliberately
and the importance of the forensic evidence and other circumstantial evidence will be put to the test
unless a confession is obtained. In many cases, the Crown Prosecution Service will determine
whether the evidence available is sufficiently strong to obtain a conviction, where the test of the
evidence is that it shows "beyond reasonable doubt" that the suspect, or suspects, started the fire.
In civil litigation, insurers may wish to repudiate liability on the basis that the fire was
started deliberately by the insured or by their servants or agents, for the purpose of gaining under
the terms of the insurance contract. Because of the seriousness of a Defence of this kind under the
terms of the insurance contract, courts have tended to apply a test on the evidence which lies
somewhere between beyond reasonable doubt and on the balance of probabilities. Successful
repudiations of this kind have been obtained in cases where there is no positive evidence to show
that the fire was started deliberately, but in the light of all other circumstances, there is no other
satisfactory explanation.
Most of the publications describe a plan for management to improve security against the
fire raiser, which includes the following measures
a. Keep out intruders;
b. Control access to a premises at all times;
c. Install and operate a system for the quick detection and extinction of fire;
d. Deny fuel to the fire raiser:
e. Take care over recruitment and obtain employees collaboration:
f. Consider layout of the premises with a view to reducing the need for employees and
others to pass through or close to areas of unavoidably high fire risk.



Bibliography

1
Tacitus Annals, talk about The Great fire of Rome, when Nero put the fire on that great city Rome, and the fire
spread quickly and burned for six days
2
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/arson?q=arson
3
dr C.D. Foster - Scientific investigation of arson and fraud, ASCE Journal of Engineering Mechancs

References
1. Summary Fire Statistics, United Kingdom, 1990
2. Burgoyne, J.H. - The Scientific Investigation of the Occurrences of Fires - Fire Safety Journal, 4, 159, (1982).
3. Foster, C.D.- The Scientific Investigation of Fires and Explosions Journal of Insurance Institute of London, 75, 63,
(1987).
4. Lloyd, J.B.F. - Capillary Column gas chromatography in the examination of high relative molecular mass petroleum
products. J.Forensic Science Society, 22(3), 283, (1982).
5. Measures to Combat the Fire Raiser. Security Gazette, 1971, 13 (8), 345.
6. Planning Guide to Security against Fire. F.P.A. Journal 1972, (96), 31-4.
7. F.P.A. Fire Safety Data MR5 London 1978.
8. Incendiarism in 1973. Study shows pattern of losses. Sentinel 1975, 31 (1)., 4-5 and 8-10.
9. Fire Prevention 1978, (125), 20-23.
10. Fire Journal 1976, 70 (2), 45
11. www.faip.be/.../Scientific%20Investigation%20of%20Arson%
12. http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english

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