Brent Fisse

Bio: Brent Fisse is an academic researcher from University of Sydney. The author has contributed to research in topics: Accountability & Cartel. The author has an hindex of 10, co-authored 24 publications receiving 756 citations.

Corporations, Crime and Accountability.

Abstract: Preface Abbreviations 1. Crime, responsibility and corporate society 2. Individualism 3. Enterprise liability 4. Organisation theory perspectives 5. Making the buck stop 6. Assessing the accountability model 7. The possibility of responsibility for corporate crime Bibliography of cited works Index.

Corporations, Crime and Accountability

Abstract: Preface Abbreviations 1. Crime, responsibility and corporate society 2. Individualism 3. Enterprise liability 4. Organisation theory perspectives 5. Making the buck stop 6. Assessing the accountability model 7. The possibility of responsibility for corporate crime Bibliography of cited works Index.

Covert Facilitation and Crime: Restoring Balance to the Entrapment Debate

Abstract: Covert facilitation of crime by or on behalf of government agents has always been viewed with suspicion, but the recent use of this technique of enforcement against power elites has resulted in a storm of protest from civil libertarians. The argument of this paper is that, although there is virtue in the standard libertarian objections, the use of covert facilitation is essential to ensure that the law is applied effectively against crime in high places. Covert facilitation should be subject to probable cause and other safeguards that would prohibit most of the covert facilitation presently undertaken by police. The greater concern, however, is that the technique will not be used frequently enough to combat the offenses of the powerful. Given this concern, enforcement agencies should be placed under a responsibility to use covert facilitation against white-collar offenders to even up the scales of justice. The use of covert facilitation for this purpose is advocated because of the low visibility of much white-collar crime and the principle of noblesse oblige. Concrete suggestions are set out for implementing this egalitarian policy, together with proposals for safeguarding persons against unjustifiable interference and abuse.

Anarchy is what states make of it: the social construction of power politics

Abstract: The debate between realists and liberals has reemerged as an axis of contention in international relations theory.’ Revolving in the past around competing theories of human nature, the debate is more concerned today with the extent to which state action is influenced by ‘structure’ (anarchy and the distribution of power) versus ‘process’ (interaction and learning) and institutions. Does the absence of centralized political authority force states to play competitive power politics? Can international regimes overcome this logic, and under what conditions? What in anarchy is given and immutable, and what is amenable to change?

Realist review - a new method of systematic review designed for complex policy interventions

Abstract: Evidence-based policy is a dominant theme in contemporary public services but the practical realities and challenges involved in using evidence in policy-making are formidable. Part of the problem is one of complexity. In health services and other public services, we are dealing with complex social interventions which act on complex social systems--things like league tables, performance measures, regulation and inspection, or funding reforms. These are not 'magic bullets' which will always hit their target, but programmes whose effects are crucially dependent on context and implementation. Traditional methods of review focus on measuring and reporting on programme effectiveness, often find that the evidence is mixed or conflicting, and provide little or no clue as to why the intervention worked or did not work when applied in different contexts or circumstances, deployed by different stakeholders, or used for different purposes. This paper offers a model of research synthesis which is designed to work with complex social interventions or programmes, and which is based on the emerging 'realist' approach to evaluation. It provides an explanatory analysis aimed at discerning what works for whom, in what circumstances, in what respects and how. The first step is to make explicit the programme theory (or theories)--the underlying assumptions about how an intervention is meant to work and what impacts it is expected to have. We then look for empirical evidence to populate this theoretical framework, supporting, contradicting or modifying the programme theories as it goes. The results of the review combine theoretical understanding and empirical evidence, and focus on explaining the relationship between the context in which the intervention is applied, the mechanisms by which it works and the outcomes which are produced. The aim is to enable decision-makers to reach a deeper understanding of the intervention and how it can be made to work most effectively. Realist review does not provide simple answers to complex questions. It will not tell policy-makers or managers whether something works or not, but will provide the policy and practice community with the kind of rich, detailed and highly practical understanding of complex social interventions which is likely to be of much more use to them when planning and implementing programmes at a national, regional or local level.

Sanction threats and appeals to morality : Testing a rational choice model of corporate crime

Abstract: We specify and test a rational choice model of corporate crime. This model includes measures of the perceived costs and benefits of corporate crime (for both the firm and the individual), perceptions of shame, persons' assessment of the opprobrium of the act, and contextual characteristics of the organization. Consistent with this model, we find that intentions to commit four types of corporate crime are affected by sanction threats (formal and informal), moral evaluations, and organizational factors. Net of the various incentives and disincentives for corporate crime, persons' personal moral code was found to be a very important source of inhibition. In fact, when moral inhibitions were high, considerations of the cost and benefit of corporate crime were virtually superfluous. When moral inhibitions were weak, however, persons were deterred by threats of formal and informal sanctions and by organizational context. We contend that theoretical models of corporate crime and public policy efforts must contain both instrumental (threats of punishment) and deontological (appeals to morality) factors

Restorative Justice: Assessing Optimistic and Pessimistic Accounts

Abstract: For informal justice to be restorative justice, it has to be about restoring victims, restoring offenders, and restoring communities as a result of participation of a plurality of stakeholders. This means that victim-offender mediation, healing circles, family group conferences, restorative probation, reparation boards on the Vermont model, whole school antibullying programs, Chinese Bang Jiao programs, and exit conferences following Western business regulatory inspections can at times all be restorative justice. Sets of both optimistic propositions and pessimistic claims can be made about restorative justice by contemplating the global diversity of its practice. Examination of both the optimistic and the pessimistic propositions sheds light on prospects for restorative justice. Regulatory theory (a responsive regulatory pyramid) may be more useful for preventing crime in a normatively acceptable way than existing criminal law jurisprudence and explanatory theory. Evidence-based reform must move toward a ...