Criminal Procedure

The United States is governed by constitutional laws covering the entire nation.  The Constitution has allowed each state to put into effect its own laws to govern the boundaries of its state in order to maintain peace as per the law requires.  There sometimes occurs the passing of state laws and statutes which cause issue to be raised as to the constitutionality of the enforced law of the state.  When this occurs, the matter is generally processed through the confines of the legal system in search of clarification from the United States Supreme Court in reference to the law being constitutional or unconstitutional.
   
The stated scenario indicating that an out of town motorist was pulled over for speeding, and was ultimately charged for possession of state outlawed contraband.  The first question in the matter is jurisdiction.  Based on the property location, it would seem that the state of Connecticut does have jurisdiction. Jurisdiction is, a governments general power to exercise authority over all persons and things within its territory (Garner, 2001).  Under the statute being enforced it appears that in rem jurisdiction is more probable.  In rem jurisdiction allows a court to subdue rights to property and affords the state the right to seize it.  The legality of the statute is the second question.  Since the new statute limits the rights of people it should be termed as a disabling statute.
   
In 1977, the US Supreme Court ruled in Shaffer v. Heilner that a respondent must have a minimum level of purposeful contacts with the forum state before a court can gain jurisdiction.  The respondent was not looking to reside in the state and was merely a motorist who was passing through.  It is disabling and it infringes upon an individuals constitutional rights in the pursuit of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  Finally, the enforced statute would be easily trumped based on the Supremacy Clause (Wests Encyclopedia of American Law, 2005).  It simply states that all Federal law over rules a state statute and rules it unconstitutional.

A Book Review on Lucky A Memoir by Alice Sebold

Rape has always been one of those rampant societal predicaments that continuously make peoples lives everyday uncertain. Every day, people will always hear of stories that talk about rape cases that remain unsolved and worse, most of these cases are being said to be products of injustice and discrimination. Alice Sebold was one of the unfortunate women who have been victimized through rape. Her painful experience has been very implicative in her life ever since, that she decided to retell it through a novel. In her book, Lucky (1999), Sebold restates her own miserable story with the objective of correcting peoples misjudgements about rape. The story basically tells the tale of a young girl who has been raped and brought to justices course, yet was never able to find fair dealing in the end. The story tells that, for several times, Sebold approached the police, whom she thought have the best capabilities and authorities to help her. The police told her that most of the women who have been attacked in the same place where she was raped have been killed. Thus, the authorities even deemed her, lucky.

This story tells a similar tale to most rape cases a woman has been brutally and relentlessly forced into a sexual intercourse with a man. After the incident, the victim immediately felt humiliation and the feeling of being abused. She consulted the people she trusted, such as her professors, and especially the authorities. She went on every day trying to get the right kind of justice she deserved however, fate appeared too cruel. At one point, Sebold caught up with her assailant. However, the rapist just smirked at her and went on. When the victim approached the police to report about the encounter, rather than helping her trace the assailant, she was apprehended. This scenario plays a typical victim-blaming scenario. People often consider the fact that victims could have been stronger during the crime to fight it off however, the people who think this way might have missed the possibility that a young girl also tends to lose all the strength, the faith and the hope she has during a brutal and horrendous act of rape. And through this book, at the least, Sebold was able to awaken people about that reality.

Just like what happens to most rape victims, the long term effects of the experience for Sebold in the story were terrible. Although her assailant was arrested and imprisoned in the end, one of her friends got raped again and this seemed to tell her that injustice will always run in a vicious circle. Sebold did not just grow in fear, but she also grew spending her days disbelieving in justice and fairness. She thought she held a curse, that instead of being lucky, she was doomed and was meant to suffer the horrendous after-effects of rape forever. At the latter part of the story, Sebold even went into thinking whether or not her act of speaking out and fighting for her right was the right thing to do. This entails that aside from losing faith toward other people, the victim also lost faith to herself. This clearly tells the readers how destructive of ones life and future rape can actually be.

It is understandable that some people still carry a victim blaming attitude when it comes to rape. Surely, there could have been ways wherein these victims could have avoided such a possibility. However, it seems like people tend to miss the fact that assailants were never weak individuals. Furthermore, being trapped in a helpless and near-death experience is not always escapable. I was personally disturbed with the fact that even authorities tend to display such an attitude, when they are the ones whom people expect to be fair judging in these situations. Personally, I find Sebolds book very awakening in the sense that it gives people a different view of what really happens when a person is being raped. Hope, faith and trust upon ones self really tend to falter during these times. Sebolds work is a great catalyst as well, which will allows people to start discussing about rape as a serious societal issue, and not just some silly case of carelessness on the victims end.

Counterterrorism

What is counterterrorism
Before defining counterterrorism, it is pertinent to understand what terrorism is all about. Executive Order 13224 recognizes terrorism as any kind of violent activity whereby human life is endangered or the violent activity may prove to be dangerous to infrastructure and property in general. In addition, the act is said to be a terror motive if the intention was to intimidate the civilian population. If the coercion is directed towards influencing a government policy, the act also qualifies to be a terrorist activity. It is also possible to have the violent act being done with the intention of intimidating government activities by either carrying out assassinations, mass destruction or taking people hostage.

There is no single way of defining how terrorism is countered and rather counterterrorism applies several practices or strategies in fighting terrorism. Counterterrorism is also not restricted to a particular arm of the government but it involves several players including the society at large. This implies that the government may liaise with businesses which may help in providing commercial data important terrorist investigations. Other players in counterterrorism other than the military include the army, police and local organizations. Counterterrorism entails activities such as collecting intelligence information, disposing bombs, rescuing hostages or even engaging in negotiations. Important to note about counterterrorism is that it is not restricted to acting after a terror attack but also encapsulates all the activities that are aimed at preventing occurrence of terrorism.

Terrorist never attack without a given intention. Identifying the root of the problem is a big step towards resolving any puzzle. Answering the question of why terrorists are attacking say a group of people or certain nations would be very helpful in finding the solution. Having done excellent intelligence studies, it is unlikely that terrorism acts would be accomplished with success. The motivation behind any terrorist act is predicative of the tactics that the terror group is likely to use, the goals of the group and what they intend to achieve as well as how long the terror group is likely to last. Fettweis (2007) says that proper understanding of terrorist motivation is necessary to devise counterterrorism strategies that have the highest likelihood of success. Since combating terrorism requires sufficient and intelligent planning, having a clear understanding of the motivation of terrorists is very important principle in effective planning. It is even more effective in fighting terrorism since terror groups are usually given wholly to the motivation behind attack and therefore unearthing this motivation helps to fight the ideology behind their actions.

Identifying the motivation of terrorist groups has been identified by Ganor (2005) as one of the functions of the counterterrorism equation. In this equation, Ganor terrorism is given as equal to motivation plus operational capability. Thwarting the motivation means that the equation is not complete and therefore terrorism activities are rendered ineffective. It is easier and less complex to counter a terrorism motivation than to counter the terrorism itself. As such, recognizing the motivation and countering it is an important aspect in counterterrorism. After all, it is possible to carry out counter-motivation in the underground but offensive counterterrorism moves can provoke more violence.

There have been a number of terrorist attacks in the United States. In 1996 alone for instance, there were three terrorist attacks. One of them involved the pipe bomb explosion whereas another one involved bombings and robberies carried out by the Phineas Priesthood. Perhaps the most well known and recent terror attack was the September 11 attack of the Twin Towers. It is also clear that there are both domestic terrorism involving groups within the United States and international terrorists where terrorists carry out their attacks beyond national boundaries. A clear look into such terror attacks indicates that there are certain motives behind them.

Among the main motives of terrorism in the United States has been to get the attention of the government to the cause of the terror group. The Phineas Priesthood group for instance carried out the 1996 attack as retaliation due to the arrest and harsh treatment of individuals belonging to the Freemen Organization. There are other groups that carry out their terror attacks for alleged political reasons. This was particularly in the 70s and 80s. For instance, the Irish Republic Army carried out its attacks in quest for certain political concessions (FAS, 2009). Recently (as from the end of twentieth century), most international terrorism moves have been aiming at causing massive killings in spite of still holding to other causes. Terrorists have been targeting the masses as was the intention of the World Trade Center bombing. The attacks have been carried as intimidation acts against the American government by targeting American citizens and friends of the United States. This is demonstrable with not only attacks within American soil but also attacks in Americas embassies in other countries.

Even with the motive of causing high casualties, there have still been religious motives as found with the Al-Qaeda group under the leadership of Osama Bin Laden. In such a group, religious motives have been put together with hatred for certain governments. It is notable that political motives have been going down and instead, some terrorist groups are driven by visions of a post-apocalyptic future or by ethnic hatred (FAS, 2009, para 12). The intentions of such groups have been to kill their opponents in the largest numbers possible.

Counterterrorism- a tactic of warfare or crime-fighting
Counterterrorism has been viewed in one way as a tactic of war and on the other as a way of fighting crime. It all depends on the strategy taken to counter terrorism. Among the tactics include placing of embargoes and trade sanctions to the terror groups and their supporters, freezing assets under the control of such individuals and the more controversial waging war against terror groups and their supporters (Day, Berry  Howard Foundation, Inc, 2004). The war on terrorism that arose after the 2001 attack raised questions on whether it was a way of waging war against enemies countries or the intention was to fight terrorism indiscriminately.

In the process of fighting crime, it is important that those combating crime adhere to the principle of human rights as well as remaining under the law. Any response towards countering terrorism that does not adhere to these principles is not fight against crime but rather qualifies to be termed as warfare. In view of this, counterterrorism is warfare since privacy rights are infringed during surveillance. By attacking Iraq in 2003, the bush administration can be regarded as having had warfare against Iraq. There were cases of inhumane treatment as with the case of Guantanamo Bay prisoners. On the other hand, counterterrorism can be termed as fight against crime considering that it is implemented under various regulations such as the Foreign Intelligence and Surveillance Act or the U.S. PATRIOT Act.

The way terrorists are viewed determines whether they are to be countered in form of warfare or as fighting crime. Characterizing terrorists as enemies is likely to invite war as each side would fight to eradicate their enemies whom they consider to be a hindrance in furtherance of their interests. A perfect example is the War on Iraq in 2003 where Iraq was being considered as an enemy of the U.S. Such a war is intended to eliminate rival groups contrary to fight against crime where stopping crime is the main agenda and can be achieved through peaceful means.

Traditional versus new surveillance
Surveillance is an intelligence gathering means whereby certain persons or groups are monitored by either observing them or listening to their conversations. This can be done by visual or aural or sometimes both techniques can work simultaneously. A direct observation by intelligence agents without the use of such tools also amounts to surveillance. Surveillance has undergone several changes with time just as terrorists tactics have evolved.

Traditional methods of surveillance can be categorized as those methods that existed prior to the 911 attack which was a major turning point for surveillance methods. Such methods included the use of closed circuit television (CCTV) and video cameras in airports and other public places. The CCTV is positioned in areas where the persons being monitored are unaware of. This kind of surveillance is known as covert surveillance as opposed to overt surveillance where the individual(s) being monitored are aware of such activities. Wiretapping is a surveillance technique whereby a conversation between individuals is overheard. This falls into the category of surveillance of communications. This method has been in use for many years now. The so called new surveillance methods are not as novel as they are termed but rather most of them are developments on the traditional techniques.

After the 911 attack, the science and technology industry advanced the surveillance techniques. Facial recognition software has been added. The use of biometric systems in the surveillance process has been expanding since the 911 attack. These have been used in public places more so in the aviation sector. This technique identifies physiological and physical traits such as gait, voice recognition, and fingerprints among other biological characteristics. Other than those developments, governments especially the U.S. and Britain have gone ahead to keep DNA databases as well as databases containing personal information. The databanks can be used to track individuals and their activities. With the establishment of such databases of information, a new and sophisticated surveillance technique known as data mining has been developed.

Data mining is the application of database technology and techniques-such as statistical analysis and modeling-to uncover hidden patterns and relationships in data and infer rules that allow for the prediction of future results (Guzik, 2009, p 6). This is a predictive technique that takes certain characteristics in individuals and computes the likelihood of such persons being involved in terrorism.

Change in the surveillance techniques have raised questions on how democratic they are. They are a threat to civil liberties since they infringe on privacy thus contravening the Fourth Amendment and they are also likely to be used for other purposes. Surveillance through CCTV for instance has been intensified in both public and private places thus making Americans paranoid and without personal privacy. Since wiretapping and internet surveillance continued post 911, National Security Agency came under criticism over infringing personal privacy. DNA profiles in the databanks are also likely to be used by some individuals maliciously such as to discriminate certain individuals from employment with specific genetic predisposition. The heavily criticized technique is the data mining method that has been mentioned to lead to racial profiling. Persons of Middle East and North African as well as the Muslim community have faced discrimination and a common label as most likely suspects of terrorism.

It is worthwhile to apply every technology available to enforce law including fighting terrorism. Considering that terrorists mainly hit with surprise as far as technology and tactic is concerned, the law enforcers have no other option but to keep ahead of the terrorist. Such a cutting edge can be achieved by using all technologies available to predict terrorism and even to halt the activities of terrorists. Knowing how to detonate explosives and neutralize toxic biologic agents are examples of good use of technology in fighting crime. Even with such promising achievements, it is necessary to regulate the use of these techniques. To avoid racial profiling, unwarranted invasion of privacy and any kind of discrimination, and regulations should be set to limit the extent to which the technologies should be used. The United States have Acts governing such issues. The Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act as well as the Foreign Intelligence and Surveillance Act are in place to regulate surveillance of personal communication. It is only unfortunate that introduction of such Acts as the USA PATRIOT Act seems to disregard OCCSA and FISA.

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Court
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) was established in 1978 by the Congress with the aim of ensuring that the government provided safety for all Americans from attacks and at the same time ensuring the respect of civil liberties. As such, wiretapping and personal searches can only be carried out once a warrant has been issued by the FISC. The court which is currently made of 11 federal judges as appointed by the U.S. Chief Justice for a non-renewable term of seven years is headed by a Chief Judge selected from the eleven. The Court is mandated to review surveillance applications as put forward by the government intelligence agencies. This happens in case the intelligence agency wants to monitor individuals either within the country or outside but who pose a risk to the security of Americans and their property. After the request has passed through the NSA and the Office of Intelligence Policy Review, a recommendation is made to the Attorney General who approves the application. This is when the FISC is given permission to give a surveillance warrant.

The functioning of the FISC is different from the traditional courts in several aspects other than the composition of and terms of Judges. Review of requests takes place in the Justice Department (DOJ) with only DOJ lawyers being allowed in the Court. In addition, the individuals to be monitored are kept unaware and therefore they cannot have representation in the Court. This means that it is an ex parte proceeding (U.S. Courts, 2010, para 5). There also exists a Foreign Intelligence Court of Review which handles appeals arising from the requests. The U.S. Supreme Court takes over appeals arising from the Foreign Intelligence Court of Review.

The continued use of FISA has not been without outcry from various sectors of the society. Civil Liberty Unions in America have protested over the secrecy of the FISA proceedings. Such groups have been calling for enactment of an Oversight Bill for the public to be aware of the activities of the Court. This is said to be a move towards ensuring that democratic principles are used in matters of surveillance and that the court does not abuse its powers. The role of the FISA has however been insignificant in surveillance since the introduction of the U.S. PATRIOT Act making most people call for its abolishment. This means that foreign surveillance would be carried out without need for a warrant as it merely protects individuals who form the target of surveillance.

Aviation security since 911
Security in the aviation sector was one of the main issues of concern to the government bearing in mind that the 911 terrorists accomplished their heinous act through the use aircraft.  There was need to intensify security measures which called for several changes. Prior to 911, security in the aviation sector was mainly left in the hands of the security screeners hired by the airline companies. These were often incompetent and fairly inexperienced hence the 911 incident. The need for tougher security measures called for the establishment of the Aviation and Transportation Act (ATSA) in 2001. The Transportation Security Aviation (TSA) was also set under the ATSA as a measure of enhancing security in the aviation industry. The federal government took over the mandate of maintaining airport security from previous private contractors. Regulations under ATSA were tight such that criminal background of passengers and employees became a requirement while screening of baggage and personal screening was heightened including performing cross-checks with FBI.

The enactment of this bill brought about some change although it has been criticized on the other hand. One achievement is that TSA enabled the confiscation of prohibited items such as firearms with the Department of Homeland Security intercepting about 49,331 box cutters among other items as of 2003. On the other hand, TSA has been under criticism that it concentrated more on hiring personnel rather than allocating resources to development of novel technologies that would be effective in screening passengers and baggage. It has therefore been a challenge to the TSA to come up with new screening technologies that would uncover a wide range of prohibited items other than relying on X-ray and metal detection technologies only.

Perhaps the development of the data mining technology and the application of this technique in the aviation industry are more promising. There are software systems that are used to classify individuals risk of terrorism. Such include the Computer Assisted Passenger Screening System (CAPPS) and the Secure Flight. These systems are under criticism of creating racial profiles in the name of ensuring aviation security. Since the systems seem to discriminate against individuals from the Middle East and North Africa as well as Muslims, they stand to miss terrorists who may not be from such ethnic and religious backgrounds. The profiling-based aviation security is prone to false positives as well as false negatives and therefore they should not be fully relied on as absolute measures of aviation security. Racial and religious profiling no matter how promising it may be in ensuring aviation security should not be used solely to determine risk of terrorism but criminal background and tangible evidence should be the principle items to look for in ensuring a secure aviation industry.

Forensic Technologies

The field of forensic technology has been growing steadily because of advances in the science and technical fields and growing emphasis on the use of these new technologies in solving criminal activities. Forensic technologies include DNA testing, ballistics, fingerprinting, and toxicology. Technologists in this field of criminology work at crime scenes and also in the laboratories and are called upon to give testimonies in courts of law.

The criminal justice system is highly dependent on forensic science as the new technology is rising at a steady but faster rate. The inadequate available resources for carrying out this work are put under strain due to increasing demand for scientific evidence. The demand is too much to an extent that our laboratories are unable to meet the demands of our clients at the time which is necessary. Because of this strain, the entire criminal justice system has become inefficient and ineffective. It is our responsibility to ensure that increasing demand on our laboratories does not compromise the accuracy and the quality of the work we do because this would result into injustice.

Because of the above challenges, I thought it wise to bring to your attention the current status of our laboratory equipments. The equipments which are currently used in our laboratories are outdated and are unable to meet the growing demands of our clients. There is dire need to purchase new advanced equipments which will ensure accurate and faster results to our clients. This will also improve the quality of the evidence provided and make the criminal justice system effective and efficient. New advanced equipment will also limit the possibility of human error at the time of processing the evidence since this can alter the entire sample.

The efforts to increase the analysis capacity of the crime laboratory includes updating the infrastructure, automating DNA analysis procedure, improving retention and storage of the scientific evidence. Our laboratory needs assistance so as to obtain the basic equipment and materials which are necessary to carry out DNA analysis which includes extraction, quantification, and amplification so as to meet various endorsement requirements.

Automation tools such as robotic DNA extraction units are needed. This will increase analyst productivity, reduce human error and avoid contamination of the samples. The laboratory needs to be provided with support so as to store and retain forensic evidence in a manner that maintains its integrity, and availability throughout the investigation period and judicial proceedings. The equipments for storage are costly since it should include security systems, environmental control systems, room temperature monitors, and de-humidifiers. These equipments will ensure improvement of evidence storage therefore accurate results.

Our laboratory currently requires various equipments some of which include DNA analyzer, gas chromatograph and mass spectrometer, photo lab, PCR technologyPCR systems, laboratory and industrial freezers and infrared spectroscopy. Photo lab would be used to develop and print out required pictures at the right time when they are needed. It will also make work easier especially when taking photos of the crime scene. PCR technology PCR system equipments are very important in cases where the evidence needs to be amplified and more specifically biological evidence. It produces billion copies of DNA material needed. This equipment will enable the laboratory to process even the trace evidence which can be found at the crime scene. DNA analyzer is very important equipment which our laboratory cannot operate without. It works by identifying the DNA sequence of the evidence collected and comparing it to the sequence of the suspect linked to the crime.

Laboratory and industrial freezer will ensure that the evidence is preserved in the right way in which no information will be lost. They can keep the samples for long without changing their contents. Gas chromatography is used to separate and analyze compounds which can be vaporized without decomposition. It is mainly used to test purity of a particular substance or to separate mixture of different things and their amounts in the mixture determined.

Therefore, in conclusion, owing to the current situation of our crime laboratory, there is urgent need of the above listed equipments and materials. It is upon each and every one who is seated here today to come up with a solution to the current crisis we are faced with. This is because if the condition prevails for a long time, we are going to be rendered irrelevant and this would mean that we will not be able to provide the services to our clients. Increasing demand for scientific evidence is currently on the rise which means even the laboratory should have advance equipments needed.

Integration of Technology

With advancement in technology, the systems of criminal justice have not been left behind. Various advanced technological gadgets have found their use in various areas of the criminal justice. These gadgets have more advantages than disadvantages.

Technology integrated into various parts of the criminal justice system
There are numerous areas of criminal justice in which technology has been integrated. Police cars are one of them. Video recorders that are supposed to video tape all stops have been installed in police cars. The main purpose of these recordings is to provide evidence when police are charged in court. Radars have also been mounted on police vehicles dashboards for the purpose of tracking high speeding vehicles. Internet connected laptop computers have also been installed in police vehicles. Police stations have also not been left behind in technological development. Automated Fingerprint Identification System is one of the most employed technologies in police stations. Computers are used for booking in police stations. Printers are also used in police stations. Photocopier machines have also found their use in police stations. In court setting, information about the status of a certain case is available online. Cases are now presented in court using technologically advanced machines such as projectors.

According to Pattavina (2005), the integration of technology into routine aspects of police has increased officer productivity and decreased resource costs. For example, the recordings are of very much benefit as they prevent police from being accused wrongfully in court. They act thereby as cost savers against lawsuits. After offenders have been ticketed, these devices act as sources of revenue. The use of internet connected laptops has acted as a cost as well as time saver. Initially, a cop had to radio in and wait for results. Laptops reduce the task of checking multiple vehicles and people. The use of Automated Fingerprint Identification System have made easier the tedious task of  perusing files to check whether  somebody has been charged before or is a member of the military. The use of computers to type and keep booking reports has reduced the burden to the tax payers of paying extra tax as no clerical support staffs are required. Police officers can now comfortably handle the task. Printers are cost savers they cost less than a typewriter. Availability of cases status online saves attorneys time and money of sending someone to retrieve a paper file and go through it.

Conclusion
There are numerous machines developed from technological advancement that have found their way into various areas of criminal justice for example, courts and police stations. These gadgets include computers, radars, and video recorders. These gadgets have acted as time as well as cost savers in this sector.

Homeland Secretary

In such a case, it would be advisable to take immediate measures so as to avoid people from suffering from this bomb attack. The very first thing that I would do is to identify the area where the suspected bombers are located. Unsuspected, I would send some investigators to ensure that in deed there are some activities that are taking place in that warehouse. Once I have confirmed that there are some activities in this warehouse, I would inform the law enforcement department or the police department. I would advise them that they should ensure that people are evacuated from that area so that they cannot be victims of the attack.

While I am informing the police, I would inform the investigator and the bomb expert team. This is because these are the people who may be in better position to handle such a situation. In case these terrorists want to detonate the bomb, the explosive experts should be there so that they can handle the case and prevent any damages. I would make sure that within twenty four hours, all these departments are aware of the situation and the exact location where these terrorists are.

For the evacuation of the people, I would advise the officers to make a door to door announcement to all the people living within a kilometer from the area where the warehouse is. This would minimize the chances of the terrorists knowing that they will be impounded. I would advise the police officers to give the neighborhood a deadline of about six hours to temporally vacate the area. It should be made clear the reason why they are being asked vacate the area and the possible consequences of failing to vacate the area.

At this point, I would also inform the military and tell them that they should stay alerted in case the administration police will not be able to deal with the terrorist. They should therefore not make any move until they are instructed to do so. I would then require the police offices to make an arrangement with the bomb or explosive experts on impounding the area. Before the warehouse is impounded, it is necessary for the police officers should make sure that all the people in the nearby areas have vacated the area. This should be done in case the terrorists think of detonating the bomb it will not affect too much damage to life and property.

All these activities should be done within twenty four hours from the time I have been informed of the existence of such activities in the city. Very early in the morning of the following morning, I would require the police officers and the explosive experts to impound the warehouse. They should do it carefully to avoid any tip off to the terrorist. They should make immediate arrests to the terrorist and they should thoroughly search the warehouse for existence of explosives. This is where the work of the explosive experts is they are supposed to ensure that all the explosives that are found are handled with care to prevent any explosion which may be dangerous to the police officer. If the police officers are overwhelmed by the terrorists, I would inform the military to report to the area immediately.

In case the police officers succeed in apprehending the terrorist, this is the time that I would make it public through announcement in the media such as radio or television. After making sure that no other such incident is in the area, I would announce through the same media to all those people who have formally vacated their area to return as it is now safe. I would also ask them not to hesitate in case they hear or learn of such an activity in the area and in the entire city.

Economic Digression in Africa

Despite considerable economic improvements and expected increase in GDP in the beginning of the twenty first century, the economic performance after 2007 slowed down and is not capable to deal with the growing poverty and inequality in Africa. It is clear that today most African countries are facing the task of achieving important structural changes in their economies in order to protect hard-won economic gains of the recent years and try to achieve Africas development goals. There is need in effective economic and legal reforms directed towards improvement of the business environment and removing trade barriers, thus creating favorable investment climate in the countries. In order to achieve the above goals the structural economic adjustments should be implemented that will try to engage the private sector in the states developmental programs. This paper argues that higher and sustained levels of economic growth by means of integration with the world and liberalization agenda can hardly be achieved without the promotion of the still only starting to grow and develop private sector as a dynamic engine for growth. To support this argument, this paper considers the case of Tunisia. Strong win-win partnership between private and state sector is Tunisias major priority in itseconomicadjustment strategies. Tunisias legislative and regulatory framework provided enticing advantages to foreign investment that led to overall economic growth, reduction of inflation and budget deficits, and adjustment to growing debt services (Jere-Malanda, 2009, p. 52). After examining, first, the current economic situation in Africa and, second, the development of private sector, why it remains generally weak and how the unfavorable legal fretwork hinders investment into the countries, the paper then provides proposals how to remove serious barriers to private sector development in Africa and thus support overall economic growth.

After a long economic and politic decline from the 1980s to early 1990s, Africas economic growth prospects have improved substantially in the period of 2003 to 2007, with above 5 per cent economic growth per annum between 2000 and 2007 (IMF African Department, 2009). For the most part the economic progress has occurred as a result of economic reforms introduced starting from the 1980s. This process of recovery was evidenced by a gradual drop in budget deficits and inflation rates. Moreover, more favorable exchange rates and real interest rates were attained in most African countries (Hope 2002, p. 172). From that time on, however, the picture has gradually become one of economic setback instead of development and growth. Today most African countriesare suffering from global economic weakness that is further worsened by the fact that the developing countries have rather weak legal and political framework. The present paper will consider the macroeconomic problems facing African countriesat present, with particular emphasis on legal problems during the continuing crisis.

Through the examination ofTunisias strategy of handling of its social, economic, and political problems, this paper demonstrates that economic adjustment is seen as the key measure to eliminate economic setback and promote growth and development in the developing countries. It might be right to be surprised what lessons such small North African country as Tunisiacould offer in comprehending the nature of a significant international problem such as elimination of economic setback and economic adjustment. Yet geographical size is not a crucial factor in reaching adjustment success. Successfully adjusting developing countries as Tunisia may be at some point or another called the best example of strongeconomicpolicy of the countries on the Mediterranean (Marks, 1992, p. 2). Tunisias economic and legal reform in the time of crisis is what makes the country a good example for the study of economic adjustment in African countries during todays global financial crisis. Tunisiawill be offered as a model of adjustment of a conceptual framework that should be implemented in other developing countries. This will be accomplished through an analysis of the critical role of state-private sector relations in Tunisias economic and political adjustment. The following discussion will help understandTunisias own relative success in economic adjustment and how it may be applied to African countries in the time of global crisis and economic setback.

Africa and the Global Economic Crisis
African countries are currently well integrated into the world economy.  From 2003 to 2007 globalization through trade and regional cooperation has been promoted and developed in the region. Actuality, before the global crisis and economic slowdown, Africa directed its efforts towards intercontinental alliances and international joint operations. As a result, its economy has finally begun to recover from prolonged economic stagnation (Lundahl 2001). However, the global economic crisis has presented African countries with many new problems and economic setback.

The African economy is facing difficult times. For almost a decade it was characterized by a growth rate. In 2007, however, the growth machine began to stop work properly. According to African Development Bank Group (2009), what is most worrying is that what took Africa a decade to build has been wiped off in a matter of months (p. 3). A series of global shocks, notably the oil price slump and decreased commodity prices, put pressure on the economy in the region. In a very short period, oil exporting countries witnessed a budget deficit of -7 of GDP in 2009 against a surplus of 7 of GDP in 2008 and 3.8 of GDP in 2007 (ACON Chief Economists Office, 2009, p. iii). IMF reports that FDI in Africa lowered by approximately 26.7 per cent in 2009, in comparison with 2008 (Arieff et al., 2009, p. 15). The World Bank (2009) reported thatinAfrica GDP growth was expected to halve from 4.9 percent in 2008 to 2.4 percent in 2009. The considerable drop in commodity prices had strongly struck economy across African region.

In general, the global crisis has several dimensions in African developing countries. Slowing or negative economic growth, serious balance of payments difficulties, considerable fiscal problems, and ineffective and underproductive agricultural performance, in addition to problems of rapid rates of population increases, are only some indications of the economic crisis. Other dimensions of economic crisis involve rapidly growing unemployment. Thus, for example, according United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (2009), in the Katanga province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, 60 percent of enterprises have closed and about 300,000 people have been laid off. In South Africa, where migrants from Lesotho and Swaziland also work in the mines, more than 5,000 workers lost their jobs in February 2009 alone. There are also considerable reductions in investments on indispensable social services and education, worsening health conditions and growing child mortality. Loss of environmental resources and degradation, including such problems as desertification and deforestation, also hinder economic development. Furthermore, these conditions are worsened even more by the fact that the political and legal systems are generally characterized by corruption, inefficient policies, particularly regarding the private sector. The following section will briefly review the current profile of the private sector in Africa and constraints experienced by the private sector.

The Current Profile of the Private Sector in Africa
The private sector plays an important role in the economies of developing countries of Africa. In particular, it contributes to GDPs, creation of employment opportunities and foreign direct investment. Private sector encourages economic progress and development, and therefore makes contributes to the state program of poverty reduction (see Williamson and DAlessandro, 1999 The World Bank Group, 1999 International Monetary Fund, 1998 Department of Econ.  Soc. Affairs  United Nations Conference on Trade  Dev., 1999 Ibru, 2009 Jonah, 1995 Supporting the Private Sector for Growth, 2009).

The activity directed towards development of the private sector, especially in the time of economic crisis, not only generates jobs, but can also be an effective mechanism of participatory development (Olowu and Sako 2002 Platt, 2007). This means that it provides a vast part of the population, particularly the poor, with an opportunity to participate in the process and profits of economic development.

Constraints on Private Sector Development
Process of developing private sector in Africa is hindered by a number of restrictive conditions, some of which are policy-related and others legal. According to a well-known study by Brunettiet al. (1997), examining and analyzing approximately 3600 private businesses in 69 countries, African businessmen indicated that regulatory, legal, and institutional constraints were main difficulties. Corruption was indicated as the most problematic aspect of doing business in Africa, followed by tax laws or extremely high taxes.

According to Ferreira and Bayat (2005), corruptionin the government service is the major concern among foreign investors. Moreover, the authors note that according to the CPSI, a survey of sixty-nine countries rankedcorruptionas the single largest obstacle to doing business with SouthAfrica (pp. 15-17). In Brunettis study,ineffective structure and organization came third, in addition to inflation.

The Case of Tunisia Economic Adjustment
Tunisiais considered in this section as a framework for the developing countries of Africa. This is accomplished through an examination of the important role of state-private sector relationship and partnership in the context of economic and legal adjustments during economic crisis. The following discussion will help understandTunisias own success in economic adjustment and how it can be applied to most developing countries.

After decades of very poor economic performance, Tunisia launched Economic Recovery Programme (ERP) in 1986 that included efficient steps towards economic strengthening, structural adjustment and process of recovering from stagnation. The main goal of the program was to improve private sector development and its relations with the state. As a result, there were introduced many price incentives within agriculture sector and was made a more efficient distribution of currency within the manufacturing sector. In addition, new regulatory fiscal and monetary policies were to be introduced, the currency was to be reduced in exchange value and the economy was to become increasingly open, liberated and oriented towards the foreign investors.

The ERP produced many positive results. A number of important steps were taken in the right direction, and as a result GDP grew in a short time. Despite the fact that the social infrastructure was not included in the ERP goals, income distribution was considerably improved as a result of the measures that produced improvements in farming (see Howard, 2001 Hansson, 1993 Grilli and Salvatore 1994). Importantly, Tunisia negotiated with the IMF and as a result was granted in 1988 an Extended Fund Facility (EFF) loan. It should be noted, at the same time, both Morocco and Algeria were denied EFFs. The loan granting and its following extension demonstrated confidence in Tunisias economy (International Monetary Fund, 1991).

Because of ERPs success in Tunisia, observers in many international financial institutions (such as the IMF and the World Bank) many times admiredTunisias advances in economic adjustment, for instance calling it one of the best examples of how a developing country can overcome apparently intractable difficulties (OSullivan, 1992, 5).

One of the most important features of Tanzanias ERP has been that of legal reforms. It should be noted that economic reforms are closely interrelated with legal reforms and may not be functioning effectively unless they are undertaken at the same time. The policy measures that will be employed to steer an economy are ultimately determined by the legal system that prevails. Certain lows are simply not compatible with certain economic systems, and if the new economic system is to be implemented, legal system must be reformed as well. Perhaps the best example of this is whenlegalframework in the country must be made highly liberal before it is possible to go ahead with a market-oriented incentive policy directed towards favorable investment climate. Thus, by the end of 2000, the Tunisian state introduced a number of laws providing the necessary legislative framework foreconomicreform. In particular, these included the budget law, the law on economic processes, the law on foreign direct investments, the law on foreign exchange and the law on public businesses (see Tunisias Commitment to an Open Economy in a Global Environment, 1996 Dorraj, 1995 Gibbon and Ponte, 2005). As a result, foreign trade has been made more liberal and price controls removed. These measures have undoubtedly contributed to the development and consolidation of the private sector.

Improving Private Sector Development in Africa
It is widely acknowledged that the creation and development of a sound macroeconomic and legal framework is a required condition to the quick and steady growth and development of Africas private sector (see Winiecki et al. 2004 Chui and Gai, 2005 Olowu and Wunsch, 2004 Brntrup et al 2006). The consequences of ineffective macroeconomic and legal framework are easily noticed in high inflation, low foreign direct investment and slow growth, with negative impact on private sector trust and participation in state economy. As can be seen from above discussion, some African countries, such as Tunisia, have succeeded considerably in improving their macroeconomic and legal environment in last ten years and continue to do so. During this process, such developing countries have removed strict foreign exchange regulations, and there have been activities in liberation of credit allocation and interest rates, and in making fiscal management more effective. An essential part of legal reforms has been the removal of import license, of price regulations and of direct allocation of inputs and foreign exchange (see Mbaku, 1994 Siddiqi, 2006 Nevin, 2000 Spraracino, 1997 Husain, 1994 Adamolekun, 1999).

To foster improvements in the business environment in most developing African countries today, therefore, attention needs to be focused on many of these areas. In general, these should include improving the legal and judicial system and making the regulatory framework better in quality and more effective encouraging and providing the necessities of productive work for business development encouraging the progress of trade and foreign direct investment speeding up the process of privatization and stabilizing the financial area.

Tunisian successful adjustment politics were chiefly based on improving the regulatory and legal framework. In the same manner, in the present time of global economic downturn African countries should direct state efforts towards development of competitive markets by supporting entrepreneurship, removing strict regulations and controls from business activities, and getting rid of barriers to entry and exit in a number of sectors. Importantly, legal reforms should be worked out with focus on promotion of competition, something that is a foundation for effectual private sector growing and advance. Legal reforms should also concentrate on improving tax and customs management, together with business permissions and registration regulations. New laws for competitive labor markets are also needed to provide small businesses with more freedom in reacting to constantly transforming competition. A trustworthy and reliable legal and judicial framework in Africa that would support private economic rights is essential for private sector activity and building of transparent relations between state and private sectors. At the moment, in many African countries, there are ineffective legal institutions with inappropriate management of procedures and lack of qualified employees to introduce necessary laws.

Conclusion
Today, many developing countries need concentrate their efforts on saving their wealth gained in the pre-crisisperiod and follow current economic developments goals. Whenthe world economy is facing adeepdownturn this is rather difficult task. Yet, improvement of state-private sector relations may play a key role in effective economic adjustment process. Taking as an example Tunisian adjustment program, this paper demonstrated that developing countries can succeed even during the height of thecrisis and overcome seemingly intractable difficulties. Tunisian experience demonstrates that the private sector development can lead to a rapid growth of economy and improvement of social conditions in general.