Lauren A. McCarthy

Trafficking Justice: How Russian Police Enforce New Laws, from Crime to Courtroom Lauren A. McCarthy

Marc Notes: Based on author's thesis (doctoral - University of Wisconsin--Madison, 2011) issued under title: Trafficking (in)justice: law enforcement's response to human trafficking in Russia.; Includes bibliographical references and index. Brief Description: Based on author's thesis (doctoral - University of Wisconsin--Madison, 2011) issued under title: Trafficking (in)justice: law enforcement's response to human trafficking in Russia. Review Quotes:"This fascinating book reveals how and why legislation on human trafficking created uncertainties in interpretation for Russian law enforcement and how institutional machinery shaped and constrained the investigation of the complexities of human trafficking. Taking an original approach that casts those in law enforcement as 'street-level bureaucrats' who respond to institutional incentives and disincentives, Lauren A. McCarthy s excellent analysis challenges stereotypically negative characterizations of Russian conviction rates by delving into structures, norms, practices, and culture to explain why and how traffickers may indeed be convicted but not necessarily under the Articles in the Criminal Code on human trafficking and the use of slave labor. Drawing on thorough fieldwork in Russia and illuminating interview data, McCarthy brings her material alive with vivid quotations and examples that reveal informal criteria, hierarchical subordination, the worries of investigators, the fluidity of charging practices, and interagency tensions. This material is accessible and essential reading for those interested in Russian society, law, and politics and in global issues of tackling human trafficking and slavery." Mary Buckley, University of Cambridge, author of Mobilizing Soviet Peasants: Heroines and Heroes of Stalin's Fields "Review Quotes:""Trafficking Justice" is an impressively researched and convincing book. Lauren McCarthy both provides an overview of human trafficking in Russia and gives a fresh perspective on the workings of the Russian state from the inside. It is a unique and important contribution." Brian Taylor, Syracuse University, author of "State Building in Putin's Russia: Policing and Coercion after Communism""Table of Contents: Introduction1. History, Trends, and Contours of Human Trafficking in Russia2. The Human Trafficking Laws3. Law Enforcement's Institutional Machinery and the Criminal Process4. The Identification of Trafficking Cases5. The Investigation of Human Trafficking Cases6. Indictment, Trial, and SentencingConclusionAppendix A: MethodologyAppendix B: Official Russian Law Enforcement Statistics on Human Trafficking CrimesLegal SourcesReferencesIndexReview Quotes:"Trafficking Justice is an impressively researched and convincing book. Lauren McCarthy both provides an overview of human trafficking in Russia and gives a fresh perspective on the workings of the Russian state from the inside. It is a unique and important contribution." Brian Taylor, Syracuse University, author of State Building in Putin's Russia: Policing and Coercion after Communism"Publisher Marketing: In response to a growing human trafficking problem and domestic and international pressure, human trafficking and the use of slave labor were first criminalized in Russia in 2003. In Trafficking Justice, Lauren A. McCarthy explains why Russian police, prosecutors, and judges have largely ignored this new weapon in their legal arsenal, despite the fact that the law was intended to make it easier to pursue trafficking cases. Using a combination of interview data, participant observation, and an original dataset of more than 5,500 Russian news media articles on human trafficking cases, McCarthy explores how trafficking cases make their way through the criminal justice system, covering multiple forms of the crime sexual, labor, and child trafficking over the period 2003 2013. She argues that to understand how law enforcement agencies have dealt with trafficking, it is critical to understand how their "institutional machinery" the incentives, culture, and structure of their organizations channels decision-making on human trafficking cases toward a familiar set of routines and practices and away from using the new law. As a result, law enforcement often chooses to charge and prosecute traffickers with related crimes, such as kidnapping or recruitment into prostitution, rather than under the 2003 trafficking law because these other charges are more familiar and easier to bring to a successful resolution. In other words, after ten years of practice, Russian law enforcement has settled on a policy of prosecuting traffickers, not trafficking."

Contributor Bio:  McCarthy, Lauren A Lauren A. McCarthy is Assistant Professor of Political Science and Legal Studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.