Law Enforcement Co-operation and Judicial Assistance in the Asia and Pacific Region (From Enhancing International Law Enforcement Co-operation, including Extradition Measures, P 18-32, 2005, Kauko Aromma and Terhi Viljanen, Eds, --See NCJ-213767)

• NCJ Number: 213770
• Author(s): Rob McCusker
• Date Published: 2005
• Length: 15 pages
• Corporate Author: United Nations European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control (HEUNI)
• Sale Source: Criminal Justice Press/Willow Tree Press
• Publication Format: Book Chapter
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This chapter assesses the degree and quality of international law enforcement cooperation and judicial assistance among agencies in the Asia and Pacific Region during 2003 through 2004.

Abstract

The Asia-Pacific region has a number of developing countries with similar economic, social, and political challenges. Reforms are needed in the economic sectors as well as the financial and judicial sectors in terms of infrastructure and oversight. Despite the problems in this region, the Australian Government has played a leading role in developing international law enforcement cooperation and increasing the long-term stability of the region. The activities and achievements relating to international law enforcement cooperation that have been reported by government departments and agencies in the Asia-Pacific region are described, including the work of the Attorney General’s Department in Australia which established the Pacific Transnational Criminal Intelligence Network to combat terrorism and transnational crime in the region. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is helping international cooperation in the region by entering into a protocol with Philippines law enforcement authorities to launch a $3.6 million project to build the country’s counterterrorism capacity through information sharing, bomb investigation techniques, and forensics. Initiatives of the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), which will cost roughly $10 million over the next 4 years, are described and the key priorities for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation’s (APEC’s) Counter Terrorism Task Force are enumerated. Following descriptions of the work initiated by five other agencies, the chapter examines the extent of mutual legal assistance and extradition in the region. The success of these initiatives toward international law enforcement cooperation will depend, in part, on the ability of law and order institutions to maintain their impartiality and effectiveness in an unstable region. Footnotes, sources