Publisher: FACULTY OF SECURITY -Skopje

INTERNATIONAL YEARBOOK FACULTY OF SECURITY 2022/1 Publisher: FACULTY OF SECURITY – Skopje For the Publisher: Nikola Dujovski, Dr.Sc. Dean International editorial board: 1. Dr. Sc. Nikola Dujovski, Dean of the Faculty of Security-Skopje, UKLO, North Macedonia; 2. Dr. Sc. Cvetko Andreevski, Faculty of tourism and hospitality, UKLO, North Macedonia; 3. Dr. Sc. Aleksandra Gruevska-Drakulevski, Law Faculty Iustinianus Primus, UKIM, North Macedonia; 4. Dr. Sc. Natasha Peovska, Faculty of Security-Skopje, UKLO, North Macedonia; 5. Dr.Sc. Vesna Trajkovska, Faculty of security – Skopje, UKLO, North Macedonia; 6. Dr. Sc. Vesna Trajanovska, International Balkan University, North Macedonia; 7. Dr, Sc, Ice Iliejvski, Law Faculty – Bitola, UKLO, North Macedonia; 8. Dr. Sc. Ivan Petrov Vidolov, Academy of the Ministry of Interior, Bulgaria, 9. Dr. Sc. Andrej Sotlar, Faculty of Criminal Justice and Security, University of Maribor, Slovenia; 10. Dr. Sc. Vladimir Cvetkovic, Faculty of security, Beograd, Serbia; 11. Dr.Sc. Zoran Djurdjevic , University of Criminal Investigation and Police studies, Beograd, Serbia; 12. Dr. Sc. Krunoslav Borovec, Higher Police School, Croatia; 13. Dr. Sc. Irma Deljkic, Faculty of Criminalistics, Criminology and Security Studies, University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina; 14. Dr. Sc. Vesna Nikolic Ristanovic, Faculty of Special Education and Rehabilitation, University of Belgrade, Serbia; 15. Dr. Sc. Branislav Simonović, Faculty of Law, University of Kragujevac, Serbia; 16. Dr. Sc. Darko Maver, Faculty of Criminal Justice and Security, University of Maribor, Slovenia; 17. Dr. Sc. Gorazd Meško, Faculty of Criminal Justice and Security, University of Maribor, Slovenia 18. Dr,Sc. Sonja Cindori, Law Faculty, University of Zagreb, Croatia 19. Dr.Sc. Laura Stanila, West University Timisoara, Faculty of Law, Romania 20. Dr.Sc. Rusi Janev, Academy of the Ministry of Interior, Bulgaria. Editorial Board: Vesna Stefanovska, Dr.Sc., Marina Malis Sazdovska, Dr.Sc., Svetlana Nikoloska, Dr.Sc., Marija Milenkovska, Dr.Sc., Katerina Krstevska Savovska, Dr.Sc., Vesna Trajkovska, Dr.Sc., Aljosa Nedev, Dr.Sc, Secretary Editor in Chief:, Vesna Stefanovska Lecturer in English: Aleksandra Bisoska Design and Computer Processing:Kemal Rusid 2 ISSN 1857-6508 DOI: 10.20544/IYFS.42.1.22. CONTENT: CRIMINALISTIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CRIME OF COUNTERFEITING MONEY……………………………………………………...7 SVETLANA NIKOLOSKA AFRODITA DENKOVSKA CONTEMPORARY METHODS OF ADULT PEACE EDUCATION IN SECURITY………………………………………………………………………….19 SAŠE GERASIMOSKI RADE RAJKOVČEVSKI VESNA TRAJKOVSKA INDIVIDUAL FEATURES OF HOMELESS: PRIOR AND THROUGH HOMELESSNESS (SOME FIELD DATA IN THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA)……………………………………………………………………...29 VESNA STEFANOVSKA THE EFFECT OF THE WAR IN UKRAINE ON GLOBAL ACTIVITY AND INFLATION………………………………………………………………………...43 NIKOLCO SPASOV BASRI KASTRATI CRIMINAL - LEGAL PROTECTION OF THE CULTURAL HERITAGE IN THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA…………………………………...53 CVETANKA CUREVA - ALEKSOVSKA SVETLANA NIKOLOSKA PHENOMENOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF JUVENILE CRIMINALITY IN THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA……………71 SLAVICA DIMITRIEVSKA THE MEDIA PORTRAIT OF THE POLICE……………………………………89 JULIJA POPOVSKA- ALEKSANDROVSKA 3 4 Editorial Notes Dear readers, Welcome to the 2022/1 issue of the International Yearbook of Faculty of Security – Skopje which has provided a platform for researchers and practitioners to present new research and developments in their areas of interest. This issue contains seven academic papers that cover topics and contemporary issues in the fields of criminology, juvenile justice, police,, criminal-justice and criminalistics. The first paper entitled Criminalistic Characteristics of the Crime of Counterfeiting Money, and written by Svetlana Nikolovska and Afrodita Denkovska elaborates on the criminalistic characteristics of counterfeiting money (modus operandi, preparation of crime, perpetration etc.) and their recognition by the police for timely response and detection of criminal cases in order to proceed with criminal charges against the perpetrators within the criminal justice system. The second paper entitled Contemporary Methods of Adult Peace Education in Security and written by Saše Gerasimoski, Rade Rakojvčevski and Vesna Trajkovska focuses on theorizing approaches and experiences in adult peace education referring to security, analysing different target institutions as higher education institutions, security services, civil society organizations as well as some other relevant stakeholders related to adult peace education. The findings presented in this paper resulted from the Erasmus Plus project “Dialogue in Adult Education (DIA)”, implemented in the period 2019-2022. As a project partner, St. Kliment Ohridski University (Macedonia) was represented by the team from its unit – the Faculty of Security-Skopje with the acronym UKLO. The third paper entitled Individual Features of Homeless: Prior and Through Homelessness (Some field’s data in the Republic of North Macedonia and) written by Vesna Stefanovska refers to the individual factors or problems related to the homeless, which make them vulnerable and represent risk factors for entering and remaining in the cycle of homelessness. A special subject of analysis is the presence of certain mental illnesses, addictions, victimization and abuse in childhood, criminal tendencies and behavioural disorders that make them susceptible to becoming homeless and how those risk factors impact the process of homelessness and push them deeper. The fourth paper entitled The Effect of the War in Ukraine on Global Activity and Inflation and written by Nikolčo Spasov and Basri Kastrati, raises the key question on how much geopolitical tension will weigh on economic activity in 2022 and beyond? In response to that, the authors quantify the recent rise in geopolitical risks using two measures based on textual analysis: one focusing on newspapers articles, and another constructed from transcripts of firms' earnings calls. Armed with these numerical measures, they use an econometric model and recent data to provide empirical evidence on the global macroeconomic effects of movements in geopolitical risk. Their main result suggests that the rise in geopolitical risks seen since the Russian invasion of Ukraine will have non-negligible macroeconomic effects 5 in 2022. The subject of analysis of the paper entitled Criminal–Legal Protection of the Cultural Heritage in the Republic of North Macedonia and written by Cvetanka Cureva Aleksovska and Svetlana Nikolovska, are the legal framework of crimes against cultural heritage in our Criminal Code. Some of them are: damage or destruction of goods under temporary protection or cultural heritage or natural rarities, appropriation of goods under temporary protection or cultural heritage or natural rarities, taking out, that is, exporting goods under temporary protection or cultural heritage or natural rarities abroad, alienation of cultural heritage of particular importance in state ownership and entry of illegally obtained goods under temporary protection, cultural heritage and natural rarities. The sixth paper entitled Phenomenological Characteristics of Juvenile Criminality in acedonia and written by (Slavica Dimitrievska presents the extent, structure, dynamics and emerging forms of juvenile criminality i.e. its phenomenological characteristics, as well as its scope in relation to adult criminality. The paper is inspired by and partially follows the form of an older scientific paper prepared by the late prof. d-r. Violeta Chacheva, published in 2006 in the Yearbook of the Police Academy - Skopje, entitled Juvenile Justice, From Idea to Practice, where she presents the situation with juvenile criminality in the period from 1981 to 2006, as well as the phenomenological characteristics of this ubiquitous occurrence. On the other hand, the analysis represents an attempt of the author to give a concluding and clear overview of the situation with juvenile criminality in Macedonia seen through the prism of the public and the official statistics. The last paper of this issue entitled The Media Portrait of the Police and written by Julija Popovska Aleksandrova elaborates on the significance of the police image in the media and presents the research results of the study of certain electronic media in the Republic of North Macedonia. The quantitative analysis of media texts related to police points to the conclusion that private televisions show more interest in following and broadcasting about the Police and crime which means that they give adequate space and representation to this topic on their public web portals. We hope that those papers will keep your attention and will expand and enhance discussion among expert and academic community on particular topics and issues related to certain crimes, homelessness, media police image, juvenile crime, impact of Ukraine-Russia war on inflation, as well as to contemporary methods of adult peace education in security. The Editor-in-chief would like to thank all the contributors to this International Yearbook and would also like to extend her gratitude to the members of the Editorial Board, the reviewers and the management of the Faculty of Security in Skopje, who helped this issue to be published. Sincerely, Editor-in-chief Vesna Stefanovska 6 UDK: 343.9.024:336.7 343.51(497.7) DOI: 10.20544/IYFS.42.1.22.P01 CRIMINALISTIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CRIME OF COUNTERFEITING MONEY Svetlana Nikoloska, Ph.D Faculty of security - Skopje [email protected] Afrodita Denkovska M.Sc Ministry of Internal Affairs - Skopje Abstract Counterfeiting money is a specific form of financial and organized crime that has its own criminal characteristics related to the motive, the method, the means, the time, the place of execution and the organization of the perpetrators in the process of planning and realization of the criminal activity. The motives of the perpetrators, depending on the space and the method of execution, can be political, economic, but the prevailing motive is the acquisition of illegal property benefits. The knowledge and skills for recognizing criminal activities with elements of counterfeiting of money by operational officials enable operational action to obtain knowledge about this crime, and especially knowledge about criminal activities of criminal groups and organizations and taking appropriate legal measures and actions for uncovering, elucidating and providing evidence for committed crimes, crimes that are being prepared for the capture of the perpetrators and enabling quality criminal proceedings and appropriate sanctioning. The subject of study is the criminal characteristics of money counterfeiting and their recognition by the criminal police for timely response and detection of criminal cases and enabling the initiation of criminal proceedings against suspects. The normative method and the case analysis method were applied in order to obtain indicators for the significant criminal characteristics of this crime. Keywords: counterfeiting money, criminalistic characteristics, motive, organization, illegal property benefit. 1. INTRODUCTION Money as an expression of the value of goods and as a means of payment has always been the target of attacks by various criminal acts of individuals and groups. The phenomenon of counterfeiting money has been known for a long time and it is almost as old as money and has been practiced in all societies. Looking back through history, counterfeiting money has been 7 done in different ways and by different means. At first, minted money was forged, especially those made of precious metals, and then paper money. The production of fake money and its circulation was carried out by individuals and groups for the purpose of acquiring property benefits, but it was also done by states and various spy organizations in order to cause disorder and chaos in the economy of other states. Such cases are known during the Second World War, when Nazi Germany fabricated large quantities of British pounds, Russian rubles and other currencies and dispersed them through a specially organized network. (Pavlovski: 1997, 70) Money as a means of payment, which is guaranteed by the issuer (the state), has its own economic function and it is put into circulation in a quantity and value that corresponds to the value of the products and services of a state. Any excessive release of money into circulation disrupts the established monetary-financial system and leads to market disruption and a decline in the value of a certain currency. Such consequences can also be caused by making fake money and releasing it into circulation as real, especially if it is done in larger quantities. Considering the mentioned danger, each country prescribes mechanisms to protect its currency from various criminal acts, with special protection of the national currency. These are the trademarks of money that are kept in ”great secrecy“, then the quality of the paper, in order to make it impossible for organized criminal groups to break through those properties of money in order to make a larger amount of counterfeit money and put it into circulation. Money counterfeiting is the first crime systematized in the Macedonian Penal Code in Chapter 25 of Criminal Offenses against Public Finances, Payment Transactions and the Economy, provided for in Article 268. The Macedonian legislator incriminates the criminal activities of the perpetrators of this crime in five paragraphs, which provide for the methods of execution and the specific motive that refers to causing political economic consequences by causing a disorder in the market, for which higher sanctions of at least five years of imprisonment are provided, which is very important especially in more serious cases to meet the legal prerequisites for planning and implementing measures and actions that can provide evidence that is difficult to provide with traditional measures, and these are the special investigative measures that can be obtained about the criminal activities of organized criminal groups. Counterfeiting money as a crime is serious where the perpetrators have intent to commit a criminal act, the crime is not committed out of ignorance, but on the contrary, with knowledge, skill and serious preparation that refers to the procurement of materials and means of execution, as well as intent in the procurement of counterfeit money for circulation. The area of criminal activity also depends on criminal preparation and investment. It is a crime, which is consciously prepared and executed, is invested in production, distribution, procurement and circulation, and the motives are contrived, and the consequences are multifaceted: causing insecurity among citizens, a disorder in the market, and the goal is identical and all manifested through the 8 acquisition of an illegal property benefit. The counterfeiting of money causes doubt in the proper functioning of money as a means of payment and the system of its use, in terms of the possible consequences for individuals, but also for the State, in which trust is lost, if the money as a means of payment is not properly made with high elements of protection. (Chudan: 2006, 52) From a criminal legal point of view, the legislator protects domestic money, but also foreign money, due to the openness of our economic system and the economic and trade cooperation with foreign countries, which leads to the inflow and circulation of foreign currencies. In our country, in addition to the national currency - the denar, foreign currencies are also in circulation: the euro, the dollar, the franc, but also other currencies. (Nikoloska, 2013: 321) The success of money counterfeiters depends on several reasons and factors. When analyzing the reasons for counterfeiting money, it can be concluded that they are numerous and can be analyzed individually or in unity without putting emphasis on some individual reasons, from the aspect that the reason for acquiring illegal property benefit is added to the basic reasons. In general, the reasons are systematized in two large groups, namely: (Chudan and Nikoloska: 2018, 313) 1. Reasons for the acquisition of illegal property benefits. 2. Patterns in spheres of realization of political goals. The success of the perpetrators of money counterfeiting is related to several factors, namely: the quality of materials, quality of equipment and ”expertise“ in making the counterfeit banknotes, organization of the perpetrators and choosing the places and space of criminal activities. The success of the criminal ”business“ related to forgery and circulation of counterfeit money also depends on the quality of counterfeit money. Most often, counterfeiters acquire paper and counterfeiting materials and connect with criminal structures, or create their own criminal structure to find ”buyers“ for counterfeit money and the spread of crime, both on the territory of several cities, as well as in neighboring countries and beyond. The time of its existence in circulation and the detection of counterfeit money also depend on the quality. But it is also quite important in which currency the fake banknotes are and in which denominations, banknotes that are more widely used and are in medium denominations (for example, euros with denominations of 50 euros) are in circulation the longest and the easiest to survive. Forgers and counterfeiters carefully and in an organized way choose the places where they will disperse the money, as well as the people they come into contact with - people to whom counterfeit money will be planted. Most often, these are places where more people gather and where more commotion is created and people's inattention is skilfully used - victims of fake banknotes. In order to make them more unnoticeable, banknotes are crumpled, folded, and dirty, in order not to be noticed. Usually, banknotes are dispersed in smaller quantities in more places and by a larger number of dispersers involved. The period of criminal activity also depends on the quality of counterfeit money and the good organization of the perpetrators. Their 9 criminal realization also depends on the operational work of the criminal police, whose competence is the discovery, elucidation, proof and prevention of this crime, the more investment is made in professional and professional operational work, the greater the success in suppressing money counterfeiting, which should be a priority of each State in the direction of protecting its own currency, but also the foreign currencies that circulate in the legal payment circulation, as well as foreign currencies that are in circulation and are used by the citizens. (Denkovska: 2022, 84) The operational work is conditioned by a good operational setting of the criminal police and the expertise of the operatives in the area of recognizing criminal characteristics, their analysis and undertaking measures and actions of a preventive and repressive nature. 2. CRIMINAL - LEGAL ASPECTS OF COUNTERFEITING MONEY IN THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA The Macedonian Criminal Code provides for three crimes that have the elements of counterfeiting money, namely the basic crime "Forgery of money" according to Article 268, “Making, procuring or disposing of means for counterfeiting“ in Article 271 and ”Special cases of counterfeiting money, securities, or signs of value“ in Article 271 - a. The criminal offense ”Forgery of money“ stipulates that the perpetrator is: ”Whoever makes fake money with the intention of passing it off as real money or who alters real money with the intention of putting it into circulation or who will let in circulation such false money, will be punished with a prison sentence of one to ten years; with the same prison sentence will be punished the one who obtains or holds fake money with the intention of putting it into circulation as if it were real. Paragraph (3) provides for a prison sentence of at least five years if the previously mentioned actions lead to a disturbance in the economy of the country, in all cases confiscation of the fake money is provided for.“ (Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia No. 37/96 ....248/18) The criminal offense ”Making, procuring or disposing of counterfeiting funds“ from Article 271 provides for the sanctioning of perpetrators who manufacture, procure or dispose (sell) funds that are used for counterfeiting money, as well as for making, procuring, keeping, selling or providing for use instruments, objects, computer programs and other security protections or components that serve to protect against counterfeiting, as well as means for the unauthorized acquisition of bank data for the purpose of making counterfeit money or impersonating real money or other instruments for payment, securities or fake payment cards, for which prison sentences of one or three to ten years are provided. In the criminal act ”Special cases of forgery of money, securities or signs of value“ from Article 271 - a p, a special criminal liability is foreseen for the perpetrators of the previous criminal acts for cases when: the perpetrator will make money, securities or signs of value, contrary to the 10 decision of a competent authority on their type, quantity and other characteristics and for the perpetrator who, contrary to a special authorization from the competent authority for withdrawal from circulation or destruction, will leave money in circulation, securities or tokens of value. Liability for legal entities is also foreseen for these criminal acts (Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia No. 37/96 ... 248/18). 3. CRIMINALISTIC CHARACTERISTICS OF COUNTERFEITING MONEY The criminological characteristics of money counterfeiting are related to the object of criminal legal protection from the aforementioned crimes, the basic methods of execution are included, as well as the consequences and means of execution depending on when and how they are used depending on the criminal roles of the perpetrators. Forensic characteristics are quite significant in the process of elucidation in terms of appropriate qualification of a specific crime based on the evidence provided for the perpetrators involved, especially in complex criminal situations where the perpetrators had their own criminal roles. 3.1. Method of execution The counterfeiting of money according to the method of execution occurs in the following forms: (Kambovski: 2003, 361) - Making fake domestic and foreign money, this is a criminal behavior where the perpetrators make fake money that sometimes closely resembles the real one, but in certain cases, it is very noticeable due to the color, the quality of the paper, the production, and is especially noticeable due to the absence of trademarks which are used in real money. Banknotes with a higher value than domestic ones are most often hit, namely banknotes in denominations of 500, 1000 and 5000 denars, and from foreign currencies, they are the euro in denominations of 50 and 100 euros, dollars in denominations of 50 and 100 dollars, the franc in denominations of 100 francs, and other foreign currencies are counterfeited less often. For production, an ordinary thicker or special type of paper, special colors and something ”like“ the trademarks of the banknotes are used. But quite often the money nowadays is scanned and printed on special paper, then cut and distributed to the criminal structure in charge of circulation, or individually released into circulation. In this way of committing the crime with elements of money counterfeiting, the amateur way of doing things or the organized and well-planned way of making counterfeit money comes to the fore. Nowadays, this method of execution is quite dangerous, especially among minors who feel expert and ”powerful“ in their own computer knowledge, so they often decide to ”try their luck“ and create and put into circulation fake money. They mostly use the computer technique of scanning and printing fake money. 11 - Conversion of real money, domestic and foreign money, money with lower denominations is converted to counterfeit money with higher denominations (Example 10 dollars by adding another ”0“ makes 100 dollars). This is especially done with foreign currencies because citizens do not know the illustrations of individual banknotes in detail. - Obtaining fake money and putting it into circulation, fake money is bought at a much lower value than the real one in order to put it into circulation (for 1000 denars, 250 denars are paid, or for 100 euros, 25 euros are paid, etc.). Here the criminal activity begins with the intention of providing counterfeit money which is sometimes difficult but sometimes very easy to obtain. But in certain situations and very often, criminals know well the ”distributors“ of fake money that are procured from domestic criminals or from abroad through a well-organized criminal network. - Circulation of fake money that has been accepted as real, here you can ”suffer“. And an innocent or ignorant person, who does not even know that he/she has received fake money, but has released it into circulation, can be sanctioned for such action. Money was circulated mostly at gas stations, in hotels, motels, shops along highways by traveling criminals who are in danger of not being discovered. The victims who received the fake money as real, and then discovered that it was fake money, in order to compensate themselves, released those banknotes to other people in order to be released and compensated. In that way, they are committing a crime because getting rid of fake money is illegal, and everyone is obliged to report fake money, which is a special form of this crime. - Failure to report fake money that has been received as real or in any other way released into circulation is criminal behavior that is sanctioned, and anyone who has learned in any way that someone possesses and intends to puts into circulation or possesses counterfeit money that he/she received as damaged or defrauded by other persons. A more serious form of this crime is causing disruption in the country's economy. As a rule, this more severe form is connected to the counterfeiting of domestic money (especially when a larger amount of counterfeit money is involved). The counterfeiting of money is a complex criminal operation that involves multiple criminal activities, from the criminal idea to the procurement of means for forgery, the procurement of paper and other materials for the production of trademarks, to the production of counterfeit banknotes, which is the first stage of the realization, and the complete realization of the criminal plan requires the creation of a network for putting counterfeit banknotes into circulation. This is where the professionalism and organization of criminal groups come into play. 3.2. Means of execution Nowadays, counterfeiting is done in two ways: manual (manual) and computer (by reproducing the banknote with a camera, making a model and 12 making a counterfeit banknote). Today with modern technology, basically anyone can produce counterfeit banknotes with just a few clicks on the Internet. Making, procuring or disposing of means of forgery is directly related to previous acts of forgery and has an identical object of protection, money, securities and signs of value. Punishment – legal protection refers to the preparatory actions for the execution of forgeries with certain means of execution. The means have changed with the development of technology, but nowadays, with the rapid development of information technology and the capabilities of the computer, almost all forgeries are made by computer, and this is what gives them the quality of computer crimes. The means of execution have changed throughout history so nowadays computer components are used both for providing data, as well as computer technology and computer tools for planning and making fake money that will be of a quality that is close to the original. The quality of counterfeit banknotes is related to the means of execution in the area of professional production and of course printing using quality paper and quality colors. The quality of counterfeit money depends on the production technique, materials and means used in its production, but the expertise and skills of the perpetrators should not be neglected. (Davies, 1994). 3.3. Organization and area of criminal activity The crime of forgery of money usually has an organized character, so some perpetrators make it, and others pass it to the distributors of fake money in circulation. Favorable weather conditions, darkness, unlit places, letting elderly people - victims into circulation, skillfully avoiding exchange offices, banks or bars where professionals are employed, are also often used. (Boskovic: 1990, 360) Money counterfeiting, as a form of financial crime, is a subject of interest to all police forces in the world. It is also a subject of interest to INTERPOL and EUROPOL, from the aspect of creating policies for the protection of currencies that are counterfeited and pose a danger to financial systems. A special interest of EUROPOL is the euro, a currency used by several member states of the European Union. In order to suppress the counterfeiting of the euro as a currency, EUROPOL has had the role of the Central Office in the fight against the counterfeiting of the euro since 2005. In general, organized criminal groups involved in counterfeiting money are characterized by their rigid structure, a strict delegation of tasks and a certain independence of individual cells, with the ultimate goal of minimizing the risk for those in the upper echelon of the organization. The evidence also shows the separation of the part for generating counterfeit money and the part in charge of distributing the counterfeits. Such a hierarchy in the organization is known as a ”pyramidal structure“. The activities of some organized crime groups involved in the printing, distribution and 13 smuggling of counterfeit money have a high level of sophistication, which cannot be achieved by ”ordinary“ criminals but imply a wide logistical network involving many corrupt entities. Therefore, the production of counterfeit money is not limited only to illegal ”workshops - printing presses“. Owners and employees of legitimate printing companies have also been found engaging in these criminal activities. Typically, in counterfeiting operations, the place to print the money is centralized in one location, usually in a different country from the country of origin of the currency, in order to reduce the risks of the operations. Although not impossible, it is very rare for printing to be distributed across multiple locations, primarily due to the high level of technological sophistication and the large investment associated with it. The intention is to create a large-scale operation due to the low cost of generating the counterfeits compared to the profit they would make. On the other hand, providing access to material for the printing of counterfeit money, to which access is prohibited, involves large costs for corrupt activities, as cooperation with persons from the state apparatus itself must be achieved. In the process of distributing counterfeit money, each degree of intermediation receives a share of the profits. For example, the counterfeit currency will be sold by printing houses at a discount of 75 % to 80 %, i.e. a counterfeit 100 USD will be sold to the first-tier distributor for $ 20 or $ 25, depending on quality. Furthermore, each subsequent level receives a share or a certain commission depending on the risk of each level. Finally, the counterfeit currency is sold at a discount in the range of 15 % to 35 %, i.e. the counterfeit 100 note USD will be sold for $ 65 to $ 75. The methods of placing counterfeit money in the legal financial flows are different and numerous. (Denkovska, 2022: 64) 4. CASE ANALYSIS 1. In June 2021, the Financial Crimes Unit at the SVR Bitola acted on a case of prolonged crime ”Counterfeiting money, a 23-year-old perpetrator procured 25 counterfeit banknotes in denominations of 500 euros each and on two occasions released them into a branch of a Bank in Skopje, and the fakeness of the banknotes was initially not noticed by the bank employee. The perpetrator put the counterfeit euros into circulation in the bank and in this way acquired 766,250,000 denars at the expense of the bank. According to the criminal characteristics of the mentioned case, it is about a method of execution „by putting into circulation counterfeit euros, which he had previously acquired. Most likely, they are of good quality, and there is also a possibility of connection with the bank employee who has the official duty to check the correctness of the banknotes at each reception by the customers“. 2. After receiving operational information, operational checks were carried out by the Tetovo criminal police in coordination and 14 cooperation with the public prosecutor, and during a search, a person from the village Lešnica was found and seized with a certificate of temporarily confiscated items: 12,885 euros, 250 Swiss francs and 40 Kuwaiti dinars, the banknotes were in different denominations, and the perpetrator intended to put them into circulation as real ones. Following the request of the public prosecutor and the decision of a judge in a previous procedure, a detention order was issued for the suspect. In the mentioned case, it is significant that the operational work of the criminal police and the obtaining of operational knowledge are essential for discovering one of the methods of execution, who holds fake banknotes and intends to put them into circulation. What indicates that this is also an important criminal characteristic in terms of recognizing the nature of the crime? 3. In August 2022, the Tetovo police detained a person from Skopje, since, during the search of that person 29 banknotes in denominations of 100 euros were found, and information was obtained about the person that in the previous days and on the day of his detention, he had already circulated several banknotes in Kicevo area. In cooperation at the regional level, information was exchanged about the perpetrator's appearance and based on analyzed operational knowledge, but also on other measures and actions, the person was found, secured, and further action in criminal proceedings was enabled. From the mentioned case, it can be determined that the perpetrators act criminally not only in their place of residence but also choose a place and location for the realization of the criminal intent. 4. After a report was submitted by the Criminal Police of SVR Veles, the Basic Public Prosecutor's Office - Veles is conducting an investigation against 11 persons, of which seven persons are suspected of having committed the crime ”Counterfeiting money“ under Article 268, and four persons are suspected of the crime ”Misuse of official position and authority“ from art. 353 of the Criminal Code. The suspects acted criminally for two months in such a way that one of the perpetrators procured 696 fake banknotes in denominations of 50 US dollars each, which were clearly different in many features from the original banknotes. The same person put them into circulation in a bank branch in Kavadarci, i.e. he exchanged them for 137 fake banknotes, and then, using his family and friends connections, successively on several occasions, he gave a total of 559 fake banknotes to people who sold them in the bank on several occasions. For some of the banknotes, the ”sellers“ were not paid money in denar equivalent value, but transactions were carried out in which the ”sellers“ transferred the money on their behalf as a loan to the accounts of the companies owned by the first suspect and his family. After receiving the fake banknotes, the counter workers in the 15 bank did not perform a manual and machine check of the numerical accuracy of the banknotes and their originality, and with the approval of the head and deputy head of the bank, they paid a denarѕ equivalent, which disobeyed the banking rules, and thus enabled all previous suspects to acquire illegal property benefit to the detriment of the bank in the total amount of MKD 1,727,545.00. In that way, they committed the crime of ”Abuse of official position and authority“ under Article 353. The analysis of the criminal characteristics indicates that previously forged banknotes in denominations of 50 dollars were procured, and they were put into circulation in one place, but for the criminal realization to be successful, the involvement of bank officials was crucial. It is from this case that conclusions can be drawn about the corruption of bank officials through the abuse of official powers. 5. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS Money counterfeiting is a serious crime that has numerous ways of execution, several execution techniques have been used, but the technique is conditioned by the computer technology, the quality of the paper and the counterfeiting techniques and tools used. In the Republic of North Macedonia, this crime is evident, and most often counterfeit money is ”acquired“ from abroad and the same is brought into the state and put into circulation. From the analysis of the cases, conclusions can be drawn about the ”impertinence“ of the perpetrators who, in order to gain illegal property benefits, corrupt bank officials in order to complete their criminal plan. In some of the cases, the operational work of the police contributes to the timely provision of operational information and criminal planning and ”thwarting“ of the complete criminal realization, in such a way that the cases are discovered immediately after the purchase of counterfeit money and the further realization is ”cut“, and thus damage to other persons is prevented, and the essence of the crime is fulfilled for the perpetrator. As a conclusion from which a significant recommendation should be drawn, counterfeiting money is a serious financial crime that has an organized character with a high degree of corruption including bank officials, people who should take care of their institutions and not abuse them for criminal purposes. It is emphasized that the banks need to perform appropriate checks on persons when hiring and assigning official tasks, but also to carry out constant checks on the eligibility and ”loyalty“ of employees and their relationship with customers. 16 6. REFERENCES 1. Bosković M., (1990), Material evidence in criminal processing , Belgrade. 2. Davies G. (1994), A History of Money: From Ancient Times to the Present Day, University of Wales Press, Cardiff. 3. Denkovska A (2022), Criminalistics investigation of the criminal offense „Counterfeiting money“ in the Рepublic of Нorth Мacedonia, Мaster thesis, Faculty of Security, Skopje. 4. Kambovski V., (2003), „Criminal Law“ special part, - fourth supplemented edition, Prosvetno delo AD, Skopje. 5. Nikoloska S., (2013), Methodology of economic and financial criminality research, Van Gogh, Skopje. 6. Pavlovski V., (1997), Criminal offense – Counterfeiting of money, MRKPK no. 1, Skopje. 7. Chudan A., (2006), Destructions of financial transactions in the market, Faculty of Economics, University of Novi Sad. 8. Chudan A. and Nikoloska S. (2018), Economic Crime, Criminal Police Academy, Belgrade. 9. Criminal Code of the Republic of Мacedonia, Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia no. 37/96 ..... 248/18. 17 18 UDK: 37.035:172.4 374.7:172.4(497.7) DOI: 10.20544/IYFS.42.1.22.P02 CONTEMPORARY METHODS OF ADULT PEACE EDUCATION IN SECURITY Saše Gerasimoski, PhD, Full Professor, Faculty of Security-Skopje [email protected] Rade Rajkovčevski, PhD, Associate Professor, Faculty of Security-Skopje, [email protected] Vesna Trajkovska, PhD Associate Professor, Faculty of Security-Skopje [email protected] Abstract The paper focuses on theorizing approaches and experiences in adult peace education referring to security, analysing different target institutions such as higher education institutions, security services, civil society organizations as well as some other relevant stakeholders related to adult peace education. The findings presented in this paper resulted from the Erasmus Plus project “Dialogue in Adult Education (DIA)”, implemented in the period 2019-2022. As a project partner, St. Kliment Ohridski University (Macedonia) was represented by the team from its unit – the Faculty of Security-Skopje with the acronym UKLO. The authors of the paper systematized the results of the projects covering the methods of adult peace education in security that were collected and evaluated between the partners of the project from seven European countries. In this brief overview, they present and discuss the methodology used for the methods of adult peace education in four areas, namely conflict management, peacebuilding, community building and social inclusion. The methods included a variety of methodological approaches in adult peace education, ranging from more individual-oriented to grouporiented approaches, designed according to the compatibility of methodology for each specific method topic. The methodology used in this paper could be very helpful for teachers and learners in adult peace education in security in a way to improve their work and raise the quality of their education process. Additionally, the paper could also be useful for practitioners in security services, civil society organizations and other relevant stakeholders in improving their knowledge and skills in adult peace education. Keywords: adult peace education, methodology, security 19 1. INTRODUCTION Peace education for adults has become a current topic in the field of formal and informal education in recent decades. Numerous social conflicts, weakening of the integrative function of communities, increase in threats towards peace and social exclusion are among the most important issues encompassed by peace education in general, and especially in peace education for adults. Extensive scientific and professional research has been carried out in peace education for adults and many research and applicative projects have been implemented or are ongoing. The need for such education was imposed by the fact that we live in a world surrounded by numerous and increasingly harmful risks, threats, and encroachments. Peace education for adults has special importance for security and security studies, while security institutions and educational institutions that educate and profile staff in the field of security have tendencies to introduce peace education curricula in their study programs. In recent years, special attention has been paid to the development of teaching methodology in the field of adult peace education, both in formal and informal education. In general, innovative, prevention-oriented and participation-oriented methodological approaches are preferred in order to tackle and handle the ever-increasing peace and security risks that flood nowadays societies. Rapid societal changes create new risks, threats and encroachments that could be understood and addressed properly only if adult peace education methodology constantly changes and innovates. The idea behind adult peace education is to have innovative and upto-date teaching processes and methodology that could ensure better understanding and research of the fast and growing changes in vulnerable and insecure societies. “Adult peace education can significantly contribute to determining the risk factors, by offering preventive and other creative solutions that could ensure peacekeeping, societal stability and developing the so-called ’culture of peace‘, i.e. ’learning to live together peacefully and harmoniously in the multicultural and diverse world‘” (Beidoğlu, 2017: 30; Sakade, 2009: 3; de Rivera, 2009: 1-2). “Peace education is crucial in building a lasting and sustainable culture of peace” (Bar-Tal, 2011: 221). In this regard, adult peace education is also indispensable in building and maintaining a culture of peace. Moreover, adult peace education is essential since it implies keeping pace with new developments regarding peace and security after the completion of formal education. In this sense, “adult peace education must be understood as a lifelong process of learning about peace and security needed in a very complex and fast-changing environment” (Despotović, 2016: 15). The most important aim of this process is to heighten the knowledge and skills in adult peace education of the parties involved in this form of education, i.e. educators and learners. In the sections that follow the authors will elaborate on the most significant issues related to adult peace education in terms of some best experiences regarding adult peace education methodology and acquaint the 20 readers with the results from a recently carried out Erasmus + project in this field. 2. ON ADULT PEACE EDUCATION METHODOLOGY IN GENERAL In tracing the recent development of peace education, “it is fundamental to take into consideration the fact that in the past it had always been an integral part of education and in all cultures, taking into account that every culture treats peace as a noble ideal or value that has to be attained. However, with the advent of Western secularism at the beginning of the 20th century through the guise of a positivist scientific outlook to education, moral and human values including peace were slowly discouraged away from education curricula. Under the ideal of value-free positivist and reductionist knowledge the whole education was viewed narrowly as teaching facts on various subjects. However, despite such materialistic views, the thinking of such humanists like Rousseau, Henry Thoreau, Tolstoy and Maria Montessori kept the sense of education alive. With the witness of the horrors of the First and Second World Wars there was a reawakening to the need of developing the humanistic side of education” (UNESCO, 2001: 3). Adult peace education is a lifelong learning process. This means that the process of peace education never ends and can be constantly improved and upgraded. Educators (teachers) and adult learners are the two parties in this process. As far as educators are concerned, their goal is not only to transfer knowledge but also to urge the learners to search for knowledge itself. “A further goal of the educators is to encourage the learners and facilitate the learning procedure” (Giannoukos, Besas, Galiropoulos & Hioctour, 2015: 46). However, it is of utmost salience here to underline that peace education in general and adult peace education in particular, are not and must not always be a one-way process where only the learners learn, and the educators educate. The truth is that it is a contemporary concept where both educators and learners can constantly learn something new in those learning processes. In fact, "peace education stresses this mutual learning aspect“ (Mushakoji, 1974: 10). This must be kept in mind when designing curricula for adult peace education. “A contemporary adult peace education curriculum should comprise a kind of ‘participatory learning strategy’, where educators and learners are active parties in search for solutions, that could resolve or help resolve real problems related with peace and security” (Nwakaire & Kobani, 2022: 57269). In the interactive learning environment, the educator adopts the role of the facilitator, encouraging learners to participate and share their views and opinions and supporting them to take responsibility for their own learning. “Being ’learners-centred, collaborative, participative, and self-reflective‘, active learning motivates learners ’in doing things and thinking about the things they are doing‘” (Goldberg, Sánchez, Jankevičienė, Arenas & Kragić, 2019: 29). “Cooperative and interactive learning methods promote values and behaviours that are conducive to peace” (Fountain, 1999: 30). 21 Also, when talking about the adult peace education methodology, “not only is the very learning important as learning, as well as the acquired knowledge, although they are welcomed, but rather the practical implementation of non-violent communication, peacebuilding, cooperation, mutual respect and so on” (Пирковска-Змијанац и Битољану, 2018: 9). “Studying, educating, training and researching the contents from adult peace education, inter alia, enables the learners to become aware of the existing and possible risks and threats of natural and social nature, to be trained in the procedures in case of modern threats, to act safely and constructively in given situations, to acquire certain knowledge, attitudes and develop a culture of protection, peace and tolerance” (Коцева, 2018: 35). Considering the importance of adult peace education methodology, oftentimes ’how to teach is more important than what to teach'. There are a variety of methods used in the adult peace education process, but the ones most frequently used are the following: cooperative learning, group discussion, peer teaching, brainstorming, role-play, energizers, story-telling, service learning, experimental teaching, inquiry-based learning and teaching, dialogues, individual work and reflection, pair work, team-work, learning through visualization, creative writing and drawing and so on (Mondal, & Ghanta, 2018: 1846; Ekvalis, 2015: 16-18; Нансен Дијалог Центар Скопје, 2018: 38; Нансен Дијалог Центар Скопје, 2016; Parente, 2019). 3. CONTEMPORARY METHODS OF ADULT PEACE EDUCATION IN SECURITY: ANALYSIS OF DIA PROJECT EXPERIENCES The findings presented here are results of the three-year Erasmus + project that were carried out from 1 October 2019 until 30 June 2022. Initially, the project was foreseen to end in January 2022 but was prolonged for six months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The project was named DIA (Dialogue in Adult Education - Dialogue, Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution Methods for Adult Learners) and fell within the Erasmus + Key Action 2, Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices, KA204 - Strategic Partnerships for adult education, financed by the EU. Eight partners from seven countries took part in the implementation of the project (Germany, Denmark, Poland, Ukraine, Croatia, Cyprus and Macedonia). It included six NGO’s and two Universities, out of which UKLO was a partner. The project team from UKLO, Faculty of Security, Skopje, consisted of four members: Saše Gerasimoski, Rade Rajkovčevski, Vesna Trajkovska and Marjan Arsovski, all of them professors at the Faculty of Security - Skopje. DIA was a cross-sectoral interdisciplinary project which addressed the intersection of the key competences of lifelong learning through its methodology and partnership. By exploring the diversity of approaches of peace education in peacebuilding, active citizenship, structured dialogue, conflict resolution, community building, social inclusion etc. the project idea was to collect practices/methods in different community and local contexts. The project idea was somehow connected to pre-defined expectations (within 22 the application process) in contributing to the development of educational methods, as well as to teaching models that involve obtaining new skills and lead to social innovation. “The project was targeted on trainer, teacher and learner in all education sectors, staff and learners within the partnership, stakeholders and associated partners. The indirect target groups were the usual groups, the partners worked with: adult learner and educators, refugees and migrants, refugee women, socially excluded children and young people, internally displaced persons, youth leaders, students, women, NGOs, journalists, local authorities, students, relevant ministries and agencies. The overall aim of DIA was to identify the main areas where peace education could contribute to help adult education institutions mitigate conflicts, to support efforts in community building, to foster mutual understanding and social dialogue by turning citizens into bridge builders in their communities, and to gather and discuss smart practices and methods reflecting each of these areas”. (Erasmus +, 2019: 3-4). At the end of the project, two main products of the projects were delivered. The first (intellectual) project output is “A European eBook on peace education for adults (European Peacebuilder: Dialogue in Adult Education Handbook)”. This was the main dissemination product of the project. It encompassed 32 relevant smart methods/practices1, recommendations and inputs. All smart methods that were included fell within some of the four pre-defined key areas covered by the project idea and application (peacebuilding, community building, conflict management and social dialog/inclusion). The second main product of the project was the interactive map of European Peacebuilders, designed as a database and methods toolkit showing the methods in a more visible way. To achieve these results seven transnational meetings were held (mostly in person, a few of them held online, due to COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions) within the project implementation period. The last transnational meeting, hosted by UKLO/Faculty of Security-Skopje, was held in Skopje, Macedonia. In addition, two pieces of training in Dubrovnik (Croatia) and Nicosia (Cyprus) were held, where the methods were discussed, tested and evaluated. An additional editorial meeting was held in Berlin after sharing the first draft of “European Peacebuilder” among project partners. According to the rules and aims of the project, each partner had to include at least three associated partners (companies and/or organizations), with whom they were supposed to develop, test and evaluate the smart methods (practices) in adult peace education. In this aspect, UKLO established cooperation based on a Memorandum of Understanding with three associated partners: the NGO “Evrotink”, the NGO “Forum Civilen Miroven Servis” and the private security agency “OSA Obezbeduvanje”, all from 1 Four methods by each eight partners were adapted to template for collecting such methods. Some criteria were pre-defined in partners meetings before start of this activity. 23 Skopje. Communication with the associated partners within the DIA project was done regularly, via personal or online meetings about the activities that were to be done and the expectations, as well as via short briefings. We could single out the full and timely cooperation, the joint design and implementation of the smart methods (practices) from the project, as well as the participation in other activities within the project such as the training. There was a large input from associated partners in designing the methods and in their implementation, as well as in participation in other activities within the project, such as training. Considering possible future improvements, it is expected that the knowledge and skills acquired in this project could serve all involved actors as a sound basis for upgrading the smart methods (practices) in terms of improving the methodology, teaching and evaluation process and inclusion of other interested partners and stakeholders. The participants in the project found this project inclusive, creative and useful in terms of re-evaluating and improving their teaching skills and methodology in peace education. As a common outcome it was stated that the project had certain impact at local, regional and national levels. This is reflected in the fact that three associated partners were included in this project, as well as in their will to use the project products in their work at different levels and to share them with similar organizations. All in all, within this project, in the design and implementation of 12 smart methods (practices) in peace education for adults by UKLO, 98 students were included as learners, as well as 20 participants from the three associated partners and 10 participants from the local sports fan group “Chkembari” from Bitola, all of them included as learners. In addition, 3 educators from the three associated partners of the project and 4 educators from the UKLO project team took part in the project as educators. Briefly summarized, in total, 128 participants were included as learners and 7 participants were included as educators. Within the framework of the project, 12 methods were designed and implemented by the UKLO team. In the table below, there is an overview of the topics related to the methods and the key project areas they belong to. Table 1: List of smart methods (practices) and their respective areas designed and implemented by the UKLO(Faculty of Security) team within the DIA (Dialogue in Adult Education) Erasmus + project No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Name of the method (practice) Managing conflicts on bust stops in Skopje Overcoming Societal Exclusion of Drug Addicts Recognizing and reacting to conflict security situations when securing an object Strengthening the community affiliation through an affirmation of security culture Recognizing and responding to conflict security situations during sports events 24 Area Conflict management Social dialogue Conflict management Community building Conflict management 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Improving the inclusion of vulnerable groups in the social environment Dealing with conflicts when securing a parking lot Conflict prevention while maintaining order in a bank and strengthening community security during COVID-19 pandemic – “Prevent Through Empathy” Overcoming social divisions and getting involved in environmental decision-making process Social integration of Roma affected by vagrancy – “Think to Create” Resolving domestic violence during COVID-19 pandemic Overcoming conflict situations while securing the transport of money and valuables Social dialogue Conflict management Conflict management Community building Social dialogue Peacebuilding Conflict management Four out of twelve methods developed and applied in adult peace education by the UKLO team were included in the Handbook on Peace Education for Adults. The selection was made in such a way that it included one method from each of the four areas of the project. The methods covered in the Handbook are the following (Comparative Research Network, 2022):  Strengthening the community affiliation through an affirmation of security culture (community building).  Conflict prevention while maintaining order in a bank and strengthening community security during the COVID-19 pandemic “Prevent Through Empathy” (conflict management).  Social integration of Roma affected by vagrancy – “Think to Create” (social dialogue).  Resolving domestic violence during Covid-19 pandemic (peacebuilding). Regarding the structure of the methods, all of them consisted of method goals, elaboration on a specific situation where learners had to answer questions related to the situation, and summary where the learners, together with the educators, jointly summarized the answers, tried to categorize them and find out the most appropriate ways of dealing with the problems analysed in the situations. The methods were designed and structured in such a way that at first, they required learners to understand the situation properly, figure out the main factors (especially risk factors), determine the possible ways of reaction to the specific situations, and find out preventive and creative ways of reaction aimed at resolving the problems described in the situations. The learners were especially stimulated to think freely and outside the box and to find out solutions to the problems explained in the situations that would be as creative and preventive as possible. The time allotted for the implementation 25 of each method was 45 minutes, which equals the time for a standard class. As far as the methodology is concerned, a variety of methodologies were used, ranging from more individually oriented methodologies, such as individual work and reflection or brainstorming, up to more group-oriented methodologies, such as role-playing, debating and teamwork. Most of the methods were implemented online, due to the COVID-19 restrictions that affected a significant time period within the duration of the project, while some of the methods were implemented in person, i.e., with physical attendance. For the methods that were implemented online, the Padlet interactive software was used, and the Google Meet video conferencing tool. All the activities were disseminated via the UKLO and the Faculty of Security WebPages and social media (in Macedonian and English), presented in a way that would attract a large audience and would make project activities and achievements more visible. However, considering the audience at a local, regional and national level, to whom the project could be addressed, it is possible for the project results to continue to be interesting and implemented by a variety of stakeholders regarding adult education (students, NGO activists, local authorities, security institutions, etc.) in the future. Also, the associated partners of the project were free to disseminate the results to their respective audiences, potentially interested persons and organizations. Regarding the feedback received, the project idea, the activities and the results were considered positive, mainly on the part of its usefulness for the teaching process in adult education, the adult education methodology and its practical implementation (especially by security organizations and NGO organizations). They also positively evaluated the creative and preventive aspects of adult education methodology. The Macedonian DIA project team will put all its efforts in the future to disseminate the project results to a wider national and international audience as much as possible and will also include activities related to the preparation of scientific and professional articles, through which the academic and professional community regarding adult peace education will be informed and could consider their further implementation in the teaching process. As a follow-up of the project, the project team will do its best to inform as many stakeholders as possible about the project results, at different levels (local, regional national) and potentially interested users (students, NGO activists, local and national authorities, security institutions and higher education institutions). The focus will be put on the implementation, upgrade and improvement of the smart methods (practices) in the adult education process. 4. CONCLUSION Peace education for adults has become an important topic in the field of formal and informal education in recent decades. Within the trends of transferring the responsibility in dealing with security issues to a community level, it is more important to involve as many actors as possible in dealing with security risks and threats. 26 Consequently, peace education has a special value for security theorists and practitioners in various relevant institutions and organizations. The idea behind adult peace education is to have innovative and up-to-date teaching process and methodology that could ensure better understanding and research of the rapid changes in insecure societies. With the potential to include more creativity and replicate certain experiences, adult peace education methodology plays a vital part in the successful process of teaching and learning. In that way, the presented experiences can be very useful for selecting the best practices in an international and interdisciplinary context by organizations and institutions dealing with security topics. 5. REFERENCES 1. Bar-Tal, D. (2011), „Challenges for constructing peace culture and peace education“, In Matthews E., Newman D., & Dajani M. (Eds.), The IsraeliPalestinian conflict: Parallel discourses, London: Routledge, pp: 209223. 2. Beidoğlu, Müge (2017), “Revisiting peace learning methodology: Magnus Haavelsrud”, Proceedings of International Conference on Education for a Culture of Peace: Sharing Best Practices, Nicosia: POST Research Institute, pp: 40-49. 3. Comparative Research Network (2022), European Peacebuilder: Dialogue in Ault Education Handbook, Berlin: Comparative Research Network. 4. de Rivera, Joseph (2009), “Introduction”, In de Rivera, Joseph (Eds.) Handbook on Building Cultures of Peace, New York: Springer, pp: 1-10. 5. Despotović, Miomir (2016), Obrazovanje odraslih na Zapadnom Balkanu: Jedan empirijski pogled, Beograd: Društvo za obrazovanje odraslih DVV International. 6. Ekvalis (2015), Handbook for Implementing Peace Education in Schools, Skopje: Ekvalis. 7. Erasmus + (2019), DIA Project Summary, Brussels: Erasmus + 8. Fountain, Susan (1999), Peace Education in UNICEF, New York: UNICEF. 9. Giannoukos Georgios, Besas Georgios, Galiropoulos Christos & Hioctour Vasilios (2015), “The Andragogy, the Social Change and the Transformative Learning Educational Approaches in Adult Education”, Journal of Education and Practice, Vol.6, No.10, pp: 46-50. 10. Goldberg Jana, Sánchez Igual Elvira, Jankevičienė Renata, Arenas Romero Begoña & Kragić Ivana (2019), Methodologies Guidelines for Peace Education: Promoting equality, diversity and inclusion and further preventing violence and bullying in early childhood, Brussels: PEEC. 11. Mondal, Mrinal & Ghanta, Bikash (2018), “Theoretical Perspectives of Peace Education”, International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews, Vol. 5, Issue 3, pp: 1842-1847. 27 12. Mushakoji, Kinhide (1974), “Peace Research and Education in a Global Perspective”, In Wulf Christoph (Eds.), Handbook on Peace Education, Frankfurt-Oslo: International Peace Research Association, pp: 3-18. 13. Nwakaire, Onuzuruike Nwagwu & Kobani, Doreen (2022), “Promoting Peace Education through the Adult in the Community”, International Journal of Development Research, Vol. 12, Issue 7, pp: 57266-57270. 14. Parente, Michelle (2019), Memorlnmotion: Pedagogical Tool on Culture and Remembrance, Sarajevo: Forum ZFD. 15. Sakade, Noriko (2009), Peace Education in Practice? A Case Study of Peace Education in England, Doctoral Dissertation, Birmingham: The University of Birmingham, School of Education. 16. UNESCO (2001), Learning the Way of Peace: A Teachers’ Guide to Peace Education, New Delhi: UNESCO. 17. Коцева, Софка (2018), „Поставеност на мировното образование во Република Македонија во формалниот и неформалниот дел на образовниот систем“, Зборник на трудови „Кон мировното образование“, Скопје: Прва детска амбасада во светот „Меѓаши“, сс: 29-38. 18. Нансен Дијалог Центар Скопје (2016), Прирачник за наставнициреализатори на Нансен модел за интегрирано образование, Скопје: Нансен Дијалог Центар Скопје. 19. Нансен Дијалог Центар Скопје (2018), Како до интеркултурно образование? Прирачник за наставници, Скопје: Нансен Дијалог Центар Скопје. 20. Пирковска-Змијанац, Гордана и Битољану, Ана (2018), „Кон мировното образование во Република Македонија“, Зборник на трудови „Кон мировното образование“, Скопје: Прва детска амбасада во светот „Меѓаши“, сс: 5-10. 28 UDK: 364.682.42-058.1(497.7) DOI: 10.20544/IYFS.42.1.22.P03 INDIVIDUAL FEATURES OF HOMELESS: PRIOR AND THROUGH HOMELESSNESS (SOME FIELD DATA IN THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA) Vesna Stefanovska, PhD Faculty of Security – Skopje [email protected] Abstract In order to understand and explain criminal, deviant and other social problems, as complex phenomena in a society, we need to investigate them and perceive their causality, development, dynamics and duration. They can be observed as individual phenomena and observe the main actors, but also as complex social phenomena that have their own scope, dynamics, structure, occurrence, which are socially dangerous, in contradiction with the system of values in a society, and cause negative consequences. In that context, homelessness as a public, social and health problem can be considered as an individual human condition, and therefore the persons who are at risk of becoming homeless, or who are already homeless, can be analyzed. In this paper, we will refer only to the individual factors or problems related to the homeless, which make them vulnerable and represent risk factors for entering and remaining in the cycle of homelessness. A special subject of analysis will be the presence of certain mental illnesses, addictions, victimization and abuse in childhood, criminal tendencies and behavioral disorders that make them susceptible to becoming homeless and how those risk factors impact the process of homelessness and push them deeper. At the same time, a significant focus will be placed on certain socio-demographic characteristics (age, gender, nationality, education, family status, work status, material) which as significant independent variables have a connection with homelessness and its transitions. Keywords: homeless, risk factors, mental illness, chronic homelessness I. INTRODUCTION In order to understand and explain criminal, deviant and other social problems, as complex phenomena in a society, we need to investigate them and perceive their causality, development, dynamics and duration. They can be observed as individual phenomena and observe the main actors, but also as 29 complex social phenomena that have their own scope, dynamics, structure, occurrence, which are socially dangerous, in contradiction with the system of values in a society and cause negative consequences. In that context, homelessness as a public social and health problem can be considered as an individual human condition, and therefore the persons who are at risk of becoming homeless, or who are already homeless, can be analyzed. Or, on the other hand, as a negative phenomenon present in every state, to analyze the deep structural factors and root causes that lead to homelessness such as inequality, unequal access to public social services, uneven distribution of wealth, inadequate housing policies, especially about social housing, adverse housing loans and benefits for decent housing, the role of the community in providing support to homeless people, and so on. Taking into account the above, two approaches are dominantly present in the literature in explaining the causality of the development, maintenance and duration of homelessness: individual and structural. Accordingly, the factors are divided into individual and structural. Related to that, there are authors in the academic community who advocate the view that homelessness is an individual phenomenon and that is why the people themselves are guilty of bringing themselves to such a situation (according to the concept of "blaming the victim"). Contrary to such views, there is an opinion that pathways to homelessness are much more related to transitions, sources and events than to individual characteristics of homeless persons (Sosin, 2003 cited in Belcher R. John & Deforgem, 2012). Fitzpatrick (2005) writes that structural factors create conditions within which homelessness occurs, i.e. that people with individual problems are more vulnerable than others in the general population to those negative social and economic factors and crises. So, the high concentration of people with personal problems in the homeless population can be explained by their susceptibility to negative structural factors, not just personal circumstances (cited in Homelessness, Causes of Homelessness and Rough Sleeping, Rapid Evidence Assessment, 2019). Hence, all factors act simultaneously and in mutual correlation and interaction contribute to the emergence and duration of homelessness. That is why, in order to understand homeless people, it is necessary to research them together and analyze their connections, relationships and influences. At the micro-individual level, frequently asked questions are: what led certain individuals to become homeless? What individual characteristics are risk factors and increase the likelihood, in correlation with other structural and social factors, of entering the cycle of homelessness? What "stuck" the person in that state and untenable them to exit from it? Hence, there is a need to investigate factors that exist, act and occur before, but also during the homeless situation. It's actually about understanding the concept of homeless careers, which means a process, not a static state. That includes a dynamic analysis of the pathways before, into, and through homelessness as a fluid process that has a changing status. So, a characteristic of homelessness as an individual phenomenon is that it represents a condition in which a person finds themselves, which has its own 30 genesis, but also current existing and still presents causes and risk factors that contribute that condition to take a longer or shorter time, and in some cases it can be a permanent condition or lifestyle. That is why, when homelessness is considered, not only the causes and risk factors that led to that condition are taken into account, but it has to be viewed as a process, a way of life, a struggle for survival or for getting out, having in mind its successes and failures. That means, exploring the changes, challenges, struggles and conflicts of homeless (Mayock, Louise Corr & O'Sullivan, 2008). Its dynamic side and the mutual influence of the individual with family, friends, the environment, the influence of social (public and individual) reactions, etc. are considered. However, in the further part of the paper, we will refer only to the individual factors or problems related to the homeless, which make them vulnerable and represent risk factors for entering and remaining in the cycle of homelessness. A special subject of analysis will be the presence of certain mental illnesses, addictions, victimization and abuse in childhood, criminal tendencies and behavioral disorders that make them susceptible to becoming homeless and how those risk factors impact the process of homelessness and push them deeper. At the same time, a significant focus will be placed on certain socio-demographic characteristics (age, gender, nationality, education, family status, work status, material) which as significant independent variables have a connection with homelessness and its transitions. In the literature, much research can be found on the mentioned phenomenological characteristics, as well as on the individual factors related to personality. They were also the subject of analysis within the scientific research project Pathways of homeless persons: before and during homelessness (2022), which is implemented by the Faculty of Security Skopje. Certain data and research results in that section will also be presented in this paper. 2. INDIVIDUAL FACTORS RELATED TO HOMELESS PERSONS: SOME RESEARCH FINDINGS There is extensive scientific literature on individual factors related to homeless people in the field of criminological, sociological, psychological, and medical sciences. Hence, the topic is analyzed as a social, deviant, psychological, but also as a public health problem, and people are increasingly treated as people with certain mental illnesses, psychological problems, with criminal tendencies who are socially excluded and who come from the low, poor strata in the society. In fact, in identifying individual risk factors, a large number of studies confirm that people with mental illnesses, who have addiction problems, who have experienced trauma or physical and sexual victimization in the family, as well as those who cut ties with the family and cannot establish strong social relationships and bonds are most susceptible to homelessness. Suicidal behaviors are also common among homeless people (Brown, 2019:2). There 31 are high rates of suicide, social isolation and loneliness among them (McNaughton, 2008: 14). All of this leads to behavioral problems, poor school performance, broken families, criminal behavior, addictions and unemployment (Mzwandile A Mabhala, Ellahi, Massey, Kingston, 2016). Such problems make them very vulnerable and in correlation with inadequate social and housing policies, there is a high probability that they enter and remain in the cycle of homelessness. In the book The Culture of homelessness, Ravenhill, M., 2008, as key individual factors related to homelessness are stated: vulnerability, trauma and risky behaviors (addictions and suicidal behaviors), supported by economic and material deprivation of homeless (McNaughton, 2008: 57). In addition, socialization (the network of established social relations) and human capital (economic, human and educational capacities) are also pointed out (McNaughton, 2008: 63). That means, the less constructive social relations and the less human capital, the greater the risk for entry into homelessness. It is actually the result of material deprivation and psychological helplessness to cope with marginalization in an increasingly individualistic society. Explicitly, victimization and abuse in childhood are identified as significant risk factors that reduce the child's ability to successfully cope with life's challenges in the future: to achieve good school results, establish stable relationships, form a family, find suitable employment, etc. In fact, the abuse and trauma experienced have a long-term impact on almost every aspect of an individual's emotional and social life that can lead to withdrawing to the margins of society. And when once the person is on the periphery, there are fewer and fewer protective factors that can successfully prevent the cycle of homelessness. Traumatized children lose self-esteem, often run away from home, have a disturbed self-image, and experience post-traumatic stress and self-harming. In particular, the death of parents during childhood has a significant impact that makes children very vulnerable. (Ravenhill, 2008:105, Mzwandile A Mabhala, Ellahi, Massey, Kingston, 2016, Fulton, Morianos & Spencer, 2010) Also, a significant aspect is drugs and alcohol abuse and other deviant and criminal behaviors that are a step before the threshold of the homeless path. They can be considered as a cause, but also as a consequence of the state of homelessness, that is, a mechanism of retreat and escape from the increased social problems and mental illnesses they face. Another significant characteristic of homeless people is their marginalization and social exclusion. Although homelessness itself is social exclusion, it can still be treated as the end of a spiral. That process is twofold. On the one hand, previous exclusion from active social, political and economic life can lead to loss of home. And vice versa, when a person loses his home and roof over his head at the same time, he slowly begins to lose power and opportunities, within the community and wider society, to exercise certain rights (economic, social, cultural, and political) (McNaughton, 2008: 12). 32 When considering individual risk factors, the age and gender of homeless people should be taken into account, as well as whether they are single or in homeless families. There are significant differences in their etiological process, which is why preventive programs and protection measures differ. At the same time, a large number of research studies place a significant focus on young homeless persons up to 18 or 22 years, who represent a serious problem in a large number of countries. In America, there are alarming numbers of homeless youth between the ages of 12 and 17. In one survey in 1992/93 there were more than 1 million homeless youth who were most concentrated and visible in large cities. According to the answers to the question of why they don't have or don't live in their home, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, (2020) divides young homeless people into 4 categories: 1. youth who are forcibly evicted from home, 2. youth who voluntarily run away from their home, i.e. leave home without parental consent, 3. street youth who spend the day on the street without adequate parental or guardian supervision and 4. youth who grew up in institutions or in foster families (Schuster L Mary, 2022: 109). Regarding certain individual risk factors, certain research results show that 28% have an attention disorder, and 25% visit special or correctional facilities. From 16 to 35% have a history of sexual violence, while 40 to 60% of the homeless youth have a history of physical violence in the family (Levinson. & Ross, 2007). Also, the data shows that they are more sexually active compared to others. The statistics indicate that 27 to 44% of young girls were pregnant at least once, and some of them became mothers. They face a high risk of HIV, personality disorder, conduct disorder and suicide attempts. A large part of them was placed in foster families or in health facilities for mental or other emotional problems. In England, research shows that in 2017 half of the people in sheltered homeless accommodation were aged 18-24 (Homeless Link, 2017). Disintegration of relationships with their families is a leading cause of their homelessness, and abuse and domestic violence are reasons for leaving home. It is an initial driver, which is also influenced by structural factors (for example, inadequate social protection) or other individual factors (mental and physical illnesses). The earlier a person becomes homeless, the greater the chance of repeat homelessness. Thus, according to another research, almost 50% became homeless when they were under 20 years old, and in 44% the main reason was leaving their parents and the family home (Homelessness, Causes of Homelessness and Rough Sleeping, Rapid Evidence Assessment, 2019: 44 - 45). Another study conducted with 201 homeless youth between the ages of 12 and 17 from March 2006 to August 2008 in Los Angeles and San Bernardino (Lopez, Bath, Lee & Comulada, 2017) found that 57% of homeless adolescents had experienced trauma before the first episode of homelessness, and then develop post-traumatic stress syndrome (24% of them) (Bender et al. (2010). The aim of the research was to analyze the 33 relationship between family conflicts, family neglect and traumatic events with impaired mental health and problems with the behavior of homeless adolescents. Based on the above, it can be concluded that among young people, frequent reasons are escape, abuse, victimization, trauma and violence, which are a risk for the occurrence of mental health problems (depression, anxiety), for the beginning of addictions and other deviant behaviors. Such problems and vulnerabilities are predictors of chronic homelessness, especially if their mental health and behavioral problems are not addressed and adequate housing is not provided to facilitate a smoother transition into adulthood. On the other hand, research on elderly homeless people in America (those over 50 years old) shows that they are poor, unskilled workers, predominantly African Americans who cannot afford paid accommodation. Mental illnesses are present, especially among elderly homeless women and almost 1/3 suffer from depression, cognitive impairment (from 10 to 25 %) and rape (¼ of women were raped). Other data shows that almost half of elderly homeless people and ¼ of homeless women were in prison (Homelessness, Causes of Homelessness and Rough Sleeping, Rapid Evidence Assessment, 2019). With regard to homeless families, it is noted that their number cannot be accurately recorded and it is usually a question of approximate numbers. They are counted according to whether the registered single homeless have family (children, wife/husband) who are also homeless. In fact, in a homeless family, children are more likely to be separated due to parental addictions, domestic violence, and similar family problems, so the children are placed in institutional care. Or on the other hand, research shows that sometimes families are forced to break up so that mothers with young children can be placed in homeless shelters that do not accommodate older male family members (fathers and male teenagers). Therefore, recorded homeless families are mostly poor mothers with their children and are part of minority groups. They face great stress, trauma, mental illness and addiction problems (Homelessness, Causes of Homelessness and Rough Sleeping, Rapid Evidence Assessment, 2019: 73 - 75). They suffer from a traumatic childhood, physical and sexual abuse and are therefore unable to establish stable relationships during critical developmental years. According to one survey, only 8.4% of homeless mothers did not experience at least one form of serious violence in childhood or by their spouse. They also suffer from psychological problems, such as depression, anxiety, drug withdrawal crises or posttraumatic stress, which is why a significant number of homeless mothers have been previously hospitalized (Levinson & Ross, 2007). 34 3. CERTAIN RESEARCH RESULTS IN MACEDONIA 3.1. Methodological approach Within the scientific-research project Pathways of homeless persons: before and during homelessness (2022), part of the subject of theoretical and empirical elaboration are individual, family and other risk factors related to homeless, as well as factors related to their criminal history. The goal is to perceive several aspects: which individual factors contribute to the development of the so-called homeless career and how they are manifested during the whole process, what personal characteristics and problems make them more vulnerable and thus disable them to cope with the challenges in life that push them into the circle of homelessness, how traumatic events in childhood affect their affectivity and deviant behavior later in life. To collect the necessary data, a coding list for certain characteristics of homeless persons and an interview protocol were prepared. The coding list contains data on age, gender, nationality, education, place of residence, material and educational status of the family, socio-pathological phenomena in the family, as well as on the criminal career of the homeless. The interview protocol contains structured questions, which are divided into several thematic areas, including questions about individual risk factors related to the family, to the material, the educational and working status of the person, his health and mental capacities, as well as the problems of addiction. During the research, due attention was paid to certain ethical issues related to the protection of the identity of the respondents as a specific category and to the guarantees of voluntary participation, informed consent, anonymity and confidentiality of the collected data. In that sense, all respondents expressed their willingness to be interviewed and signed a declaration of participation and consent to have their statements analyzed and used in scientific papers. In the research, interviews were conducted with a total of 35 homeless people - users of the services of the Red Cross Center for Homeless Momin potok in Skopje. Considering that approximately 150 homeless people are registered in the homeless center, during the selection of the sample (of 40 people) the following characteristics were taken into account: gender, age, nationality, and material, educational and family status. In that process, significant help was received from the coordinator employed in the center, because on her individual calls, 35 people agreed to give an interview in the centre’s premises. 3.2. Results and discussion Regarding the national, i.e. ethnic affiliation of the homeless persons, 60% are of Macedonian nationality, while 30% are of Roma nationality. Only one person is Albanian. A characteristic of people of Roma nationality is that, for most of them, their entire families are homeless. The others, mostly of 35 Macedonian nationality, individually and independently of their families, remained alone in a homeless state. This percentage representation shows that the Roma are disproportionately represented among the homeless population and incomparably much more belong to the category of homeless families. Based on gender, four people are women, while 31 are men. Although homeless women are also present, men are much more and more visible in Macedonia. This may be due to the fact that women receive institutional care more quickly in available centers for homeless people in our country, especially if they are together with their small children or are victims of domestic violence. A characteristic of the interviewed homeless women is that they have impaired mental health and certain mental illnesses, and some of them have not even completed primary education. Although most have children (only one has a small infant child living with him), the mothers do not live with their fathers. According to age, the largest percentage (45%) are between the ages of 41 and 55, which, according to developmental psychology, are in middle maturity, while 37% are between the ages of 56 and 65 (late maturity). Only three people are over 65 years old, and two are under 40 years old. On the other hand, based on the length, i.e. the duration of the homelessness, a division was made into 4 groups: up to 4 years, from 5 to 10, from 11 to 15, and over 15 years. The majority of homeless people are long-term or chronic homeless, considering that they have been homeless for more than 10 years (10 people are from 11 to 15 years old, while 8 people have been homeless for over 15 years). A smaller percentage, i.e. 5 people have been homeless for up to 4 years (it happens mostly just before or during the COVID-19 crisis), while 8 people have been homeless for 6 to 10 years. Four people, although they have had episodes of homelessness, are still high-risk and potentially homeless because they live in unsafe housing or in huts (shelters) with substandard conditions. This percentage representation according to the duration of homelessness, in correlation with the age categories, indicates that the state of homelessness is a serious and long-term problem for a large number of people who are without a suitable place of residence for a long period of their lives. Almost half of the interviewed people did not manage to make any improvements when they entered homelessness, in a sense to have some episodes of exit, but they are continuously homeless. They can spend the night with a friend or relative for a short time or incidentally, but after a few days, they are back on the street. This means that they have been struggling with the challenges of being homeless for years. Only a few people have certain episodes of entry and exit which means temporary rental accommodation, but even those episodes are not a permanent solution because they depend on the work incomes which are often variable and unreliable. Or they depend on the good will of employers to provide shelter for the homeless worker as a sign of humanity and compassion. During the interview period, three people are temporarily placed in a single room that is part of the work facilities where they work. 36 In relation to age, there is a question about the age when people became homeless. That aspect is significant for several reasons: childhood homelessness that has become chronic can mean a lifestyle, a habit, acculturation, on the one hand, but it is also often associated with family traumas or the absence of parental care. In particular, from a young age (when they were children) left homeless (mostly after the loss of one or both parents at an early age, regardless of whether they grew up in homes) there are 6 people who become chronically homeless for a long period of time. For them, that condition becomes a lifestyle and most of them accept it, and it becomes part of their identity and culture. Without parents and without a roof over their heads, in the further course of their lives they fail to find shelter and spend a large part of their lives on the streets. What does this state indicate? That during the period of growth, socialization and upbringing of children who are at risk of homelessness, social and other state services failed in prevention and early intervention of the risk factors that contributed to homelessness. On the other hand, the larger percentage, due to certain life circumstances, remain without a home after the age of 40 or 50, mostly due to the breaking of family ties, the death of elderly parents with whom they are in a dependent relationship, etc. According to education, half of the respondents have secondary education, 35% have primary education and 15% have no education or have not completed primary school. A characteristic of people without a basic education is that they have certain mental illnesses. This figure shows that education as a variable has no significant statistical association with homelessness. In terms of family status, 60% are single, that is, they have not formed their own family. Considering their age, it can be concluded that a large part of them, when they are expected to have a stable partner relationship and support in life, are alone, with short temporary partner relationships. Such a life path indicates long-term emotional loneliness, especially since their biological family is additionally missing due to death or broken family relationships (brothers, parents, sisters, other relatives). The remaining 40% formed a family, but due to divorce, or separation, i.e. disturbed family relations, 80% of them remained alone and for a long time (some even for over 10 years) have no contact with their family, or even with their own children. That is why they are considered single homeless. Only 5 people are part of homeless families, because together with their children (or brother) are homeless, which means they live in improvised substandard conditions. Hence, a broken family and broken relationships, on the one hand, but also not having a family, on the other hand, in correlation with other risky individual and structural factors, makes them vulnerable and susceptible to homelessness. In relation to their biological, primary family, in the largest percentage (95%), both parents are deceased, 2 persons have a deceased mother, one person has a father, and only 2 persons have living parents, with whom they have a broken relationship. Only one person, who has a roof over 37 his head, regardless of precarious housing, maintains regular contact with the mother. The mentioned research results indicate that the death of parents and previously unresolved property-legal relations in the extended family are significant risk factors for the loss of the family home of their children. Hence, the death of parents, in most cases, is strongly associated with the onset of homelessness of their children. In that context, the question that arises is: what are the reasons for losing one's home, considering that all interviewed homeless had a family house from their father or grandfather? Only one person had a jointly purchased home with his wife. According to the answers received, in more than half of the cases (51%) the family home was sold (by the father or another member of the extended family). Out of them, over 72% of the respondents were (and still are) single and with the sale of the home, because they were not financially compensated, 11 out of 13 people already remain alone on the street. Thus begins their Golgotha and lonely homeless life. The other persons (28%) formed their own homes and family independently of their father's home and usually sell it due to going abroad. However, due to certain events and negative circumstances for them, after returning from abroad, they remain mostly alone and without their own home, which is how their homeless saga begins. In two cases, after the death of the parent, with loss of income and unpaid monthly instalments, the respondents were deprived of their homes (probably as beneficiaries of social housing) by the state. For 9 people (or 26% of the respondents) the family home still exists, but mostly without the right of inheritance and use due to disturbed family property legal relations. It is inhabited by their first or second blood relatives who show that family conflicts and unresolved disputes weaken the sense of solidarity and mutual help among extended family members. Based on the above, it can be concluded that, with the loss of the home or the right of inheritance and use, they remain on the street and without sufficient material sources of funds to rent decently paid housing; they enter the circle of homelessness. In the remaining 5 cases, the family home is ruined, without suitable decent living conditions, with an outdoor toilet and usually without water and electricity. But regardless of such a situation, some of them still live in their home, while others prefer to be on the street and lead a homeless life. What does the above data show related to home loss? First, in our society, the loss of a home for certain vulnerable categories of citizens represents a loss of security, of something that is part of identity and personal life. The home provides a sense of security, continuity and stability and it is also a place and a space where individuals define themselves. Therefore, the loss of the home, as a stabilizing factor and center of social and emotional life for the person, means entering the circle of homelessness, without significant encouraging impulses that such a situation can soon change. On the other hand, one can immediately see the unfavorable housing policy, which for a 38 large number of citizens in our society, especially the vulnerable categories, does not offer alternative and favorable solutions in the long term. Related to the above, the following question arises: where do homeless people settle or find shelter? From the answers received, the largest percentage (86%) were homeless for a significant period of their homelessness, which means that they slept on the street for longer periods of time, in abandoned or ruined buildings, at bus stations, under bridges, on benches, at parks and similar places. A small number of them had periods of rented accommodation, but due to unstable working relationships, they ended up on the street again. The remaining 14% always had a certain shelter (in a poor shed on usurped land, with relatives, or in a suitable converted work room with the employer's permission). During the interview period, 15 people (or 43 %) are still on the street, while 8 people are temporarily housed in rented rooms with a high risk of becoming homeless because they have irregular and unstable low monthly incomes. The remaining 30% are sheltered in certain premises mostly in the company where they work, sleep in some friends’ apartments, or in their poor sheds on illegal lands. Only one person, after a long period of homelessness, is the beneficiary of a social one-room apartment. Regarding the work status as a risk factor that significantly contributes to the entry and duration of homelessness; the data show that the majority of respondents (57 %) during the interview period are unemployed for a number of reasons: a) 5 people are not in a healthy psychophysical working condition due to age over 65, b) another 6 people do not work due to a disability or more serious mental illnesses, c) the other 8 people do not work due to family obligations, apathy, lack of any work qualifications and reliance on minimal state aid and food from humanitarian organizations. Another 26% (10 people) survive in life by reselling old staff, collecting used plastic bottles, daily wage work as needed (loading-unloading, help, seasonal work, etc.). At the time of conducting the interview, only 5 people have a more stable job for several months or years and receive a regular monthly income. The given data regarding work status are expected because one of the characteristics of homeless people is that they do not work. But in that part, the question of whether they are able to work, whether they are willing to work and whether they are looking for, but cannot find suitable employment is very significant. The mentioned aspects are connected with certain structural factors (with the employment policy aimed at the vulnerable categories, especially those without adequate qualifications, as well as with the social protection policy (which are not the subject of the analysis of this paper), but also with self-perception, the mental health, addictions and other characteristics of homeless persons. How do people who do not work survive? Forty-three (43) % of respondents receive minimum monthly income from the state (social financial aid, retirement fund, assistance based on disability), compared to 57% who do not receive financial assistance. But even those who receive a certain amount of financial assistance do not have enough for normal monthly expenses, or to 39 provide decent paid housing. Therefore, some of the respondents beg (26%) and are users of the Center for the Homeless and other civic associations that deliver free meals. This means that the social state system for this category does not even provide minimum living conditions. In terms of mental health, a large percentage of respondents (54%) have certain mental (psychological, i.e. neurological) diseases or certain minor or major developmental disabilities. In the absence of appropriate medical documentation, the conclusions stem from the fact that a large number of them completed (or did not complete) primary education in a school for persons with special needs, some of them were institutionalized in a mental illness institution and some of them receive regular medical care therapy due to their mental health state. In addition to mental illnesses, 5 people have physical disabilities. These data show that impaired mental health is a serious problem and a risk factor for entering the cycle of homelessness, which is further aggravated as a result of homeless life. Also, such situations indicate serious deficiencies and weaknesses in the treatment of that category of persons, (which is part of the structural factors), because that significant individual vulnerability, especially to persons without family support, in correlation with poverty and inadequate social and medical care, pushes them into the cycle of homelessness. An additional serious problem is drug and alcohol addiction and gambling. Alcoholism and pathological gambling are dominant factors that, in correlation with other factors, contributed to their homelessness. While two people have overcome their addictions (from drugs and gambling), the remaining seven people are still struggling with those passions. Regarding previous convictions and criminal tendencies of the homeless, it can be concluded from the responses that there is no significant association between criminal behavior (before and during) and homelessness. Namely, although 7 persons have committed property crimes (mostly thefts), out of which (except for one person), the rest were sentenced to prison, they did not return to their criminal tendencies after serving the sentence. This means that even though their homelessness is a risk for further deviant behaviour, still crime is not their option, and most of them have developed personal responsibility and willingness to continue with an honest life. 4. CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS Homelessness is a condition and a process that is present in almost all countries in the world. In the literature, a large number of researches can be found on several aspects related to this phenomenon: studying the causes, characteristics of the homeless, types of homelessness, the scope, and the paths that lead to homelessness, but also beyond it. And while the most acceptable among the academic community is the integrative approach that unites individual and structural factors, the dominant view is that the vulnerable categories of citizens who have personal problems, mental illnesses and other deficiencies are more vulnerable to negative social and 40 economic trends than other people in a society, which means that they enter the cycle of homelessness more easily. So, that process begins with psychological helplessness and loss of resistance to deal with the growing personal and social problems created through a series of negative life events (abuse and stress in childhood, loss of a significant person, family and partner conflicts, breaking of mutual relations etc.). In our country, the fact that a large percentage of people are chronically homeless, who have been in that condition for a long period of their lives, is worrying. Mostly unemployed and without or with minimal social income, they lead a miserable life under a clear sky, helped by the Red Cross, other civil organizations and by the people's mercy. Their vulnerability and helplessness in the absence of an appropriate humane social policy show that they will remain on the periphery of our society for a long time, struggling with their daily lives. As in the publication Transitions through Homelessness, Lives on the Edge (McNaughton, 2008), that condition is described as a "dance on the periphery". And against structuralism, the individual approach in explaining and understanding homeless should be the starting point for providing help, support and protection, because despite the growing social and other economic problems in one country, the solution for a specific individual person, above all, should be at the individual level. 5. REFERENCES 1. Belcher R. John & Deforgem B. Bruce (2012). Social Stigma and Homelessness, Journal of Human Behaviour in the Social Environment 22, 929 - 946, Routledge 2. Brown, Z. (2019). The experience of Homelessness: A Qualitative Study Using Podcast Data and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Manchester Metropolitan University. 3. Farrugia, D. (2016). Youth Homelessness in Late Modernity Reflexive Identities and Moral Worth, Springer 4. Fulton, M., Kut, L., Morianos, M. & Spencer, L. (2010). A Study of Homelessness, 5. Homelessness, Causes of Homelessness and Rough Sleeping, Rapid Evidence Assessment, Alma economics, 2019 6. John R. Belchera& Bruce R. DeForge Social Stigma and Homelessness: The Limits of Social Change, Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, November 2012 Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 22:929–946,2012, Copyright© Taylor & Francis Group, LLC 7. Levinson, D. & Ross, M. (2007) Homelessness Handbook, Bershire Publishing Group, 8. Lopez A. Susana, Bath, E., Lee, A. & Comulada s. Warren (2017). Trauma, family factors and the mental health of the homeless adolescents, Journal of child and adolescent trauma, Springer 41 9. Mayock, P., Louise Corr, M. & O’Sullivan E. (2008). Young People’s Homeless Pathways, Homeless Agency, Dublin. 10. MCNaughton, C. (2008). Transitions through homelessness, lives on the edge, Palgrave Macmillan 11. Mzwandile A Mabhala, Basma Ellahi, Alan Massey, Paul Kingston, Understanding the Determinants of Homelessness through Examining the life Stories of Homeless People and those who Work with them: A Qualitative Research Protocol Diversity and Equality in Health and Care (2016) 13(4): 284-289 12. Mzwandile A. Mabhala, Ellahi, B. & Massey, A. (2016). Understanding the determinants of homelessness through examining the life stories of homeless people and those who work with them: A Qualitative Research Protocol, Diversity and Equality in Health and care, 13 (4): 284-289. 13. Mzwandile A. Mabhala, Asmait Yohannes & Mariska Griffith (2017). Social conditions of becoming homelessness: qualitative analysis of life stories of homeless peoples, International Journal for Equity in Health volume 16, Article number: 150 14. Ravenhill, M. (2008). The culture of homelessness, Ashgate 15. Schuster l. Mary (2022). Homeless voices: stigma, space and social media, Lexington books. 42 UDK: 355.48(470+571:477):327(100) 355.48(470+571:477):336.748.12 DOI: 10.20544/IYFS.42.1.22.P04 THE EFFECT OF THE WAR IN UKRAINE ON GLOBAL ACTIVITY AND INFLATION Nikolco Spasov, PhD Faculty of Detectives and security, Skopje [email protected] Basri Kastrati, PhD Deputy Ombudsman, Kosovo [email protected] Abstract Global geopolitical risks have soared since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Investors, market participants, and policymakers expect that the war will exert a drag on the global economy while pushing up inflation, with a sharp increase in uncertainty and risks of severe adverse outcomes. As an example of these concerns, the April 2022 edition of the International Monetary Fund's World Economic Outlook contains more than 200 mentions of the word "war." Some economic effects are already materializing. The economies of Russia and Ukraine are contracting sharply as a direct result of the war and the sanctions imposed on Russia. Commodity markets are in turmoil and financial markets have been highly volatile since the start of the conflict. In light of these developments, a key question is: How much will geopolitical tensions weigh on economic activity in 2022 and beyond? To answer this question, we first quantify the recent rise in geopolitical risks using two measures based on textual analysis: one focusing on newspapers articles, and another constructed from transcripts of firms' earnings calls. Armed with these numerical measures, we use an econometric model and recent data to provide empirical evidence on the global macroeconomic effects of movements in geopolitical risk. Our main result suggests that the rise in geopolitical risks seen since the Russian invasion of Ukraine will have non-negligible macroeconomic effects in 2022. Relative to a no-war counterfactual, the model sees the war as reducing the level of global GDP by about 1.5 percent and leading to a rise in global inflation of about 1.3 percentage points. The adverse effects of geopolitical risks in the model operate through lower consumer sentiment, higher commodity prices, and tighter financial conditions. Additionally, firm-level indicators suggest that a hit to the European economies will likely be greatest, especially in goodsproducing industries. Keywords: War, Inflation, geopolitical, GDP. 43 1. MEASUREMENT OF GEOPOLITICAL RISKS A key challenge to understanding and quantifying the effects of heightened geopolitical tensions pertains to their measurement. Our first measure is the Caldara-Iacoviello geopolitical risk (GPR) index, constructed using searches of newspaper articles that mention adverse geopolitical events and associated risks. The GPR index tracks references to wars, terrorist attacks, and any tensions among states and political actors that affect the course of international relations.2 The index starts in 1900 and is based on automated text searches of the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and, for recent years, seven additional newspapers from the U.S., U.K., and Canada. Figure 1 plots the GPR index since 1970: spikes in the index are associated with wars, risks of war, and major terrorist events. Of note, the index spiked in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine—in March 2022, readings of the index reached one of the highest values in the past 50 years, comparable with similar peaks during the Gulf and Iraq Wars. Figure 1. The Geopolitical Risk Index Note: The figure plots the Caldara-Iacoviello geopolitical risk (GPR) index from January 1970 through May 2022. The index is constructed by merging the historical GPR index from 1970 through 1984, with the recent GPR index from 1985. The index is normalized to average 100 throughout the 1985-2019 period. Spikes are labeled with significant geopolitical events. *Preliminary Reading. Source: Federal Reserve Board staff calculations based on Dario Caldara and Matteo Iacoviello (2022), “Measuring Geopolitical Risk,” American Economic Review. The two building blocks of the overall GPR index are the geopolitical threats (GPT) index, which captures concerns about scope, duration, and ramifications of geopolitical tensions and conflicts, and the geopolitical acts (GPA) index, which captures events such as the start and the actual unfolding 2 For a more detailed description, see Caldara, Dario, and Matteo Iacoviello (2022), "Measuring Geopolitical Risk," American Economic Review, vol. 112 (April), pp. 1194–225 44 of wars.3 As shown in the left panel of Figure 2, the GPT index, which surged between January and March, declined in April and May, consistent with the view that extreme outcomes of the war, such as direct involvement of more countries, are perhaps perceived as less likely. The GPA index also spiked in the aftermath of the invasion and is retracting, albeit more slowly. Figure 2. Recent Geopolitical Concerns Note: The left panel plots recent movements in the GPR index and its two sub-components, the geopolitical threats (GPT) and geopolitical acts (GPA) indexes. The right panel plots the evolution in the share of globally listed firms’ earnings calls that mention concerns over the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Both panels extend from October 2021 to May 2022. *Preliminary Reading. Source: Federal Reserve Board staff calculations; S&P Global market intelligence. We complement information from the GPR index with a second, alternative measure of geopolitical risks constructed by searching the transcripts of the earnings call of globally listed firms for mentions of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.4 Concerns about the conflict have been pervasive in earnings conference calls across the globe, with 40 percent of all earnings calls held in April 2022 explicitly mentioning the conflict. As the right panel of Figure 2 shows, the geopolitical risk measure based on earnings 3 The GPT index searches phrases in newspaper articles that are related to war, military, nuclear, and terrorist threats. The GPA index searches phrases referring to the beginning or the escalation of wars or to the occurrence of terrorist events. 4 At the firm level, we construct geopolitical concerns related to the current conflict by counting mentions of war-related words (such as "war" or "invasion") together with "Russia" or "Ukraine." Analogous, broader measures of firm-level geopolitical concerns (based on searches that do not necessarily include the words "Russia" or "Ukraine") show a similar pattern 45 calls shares very similar dynamics to the newspaper-based indexes, lending support to the notion that the newspaper-based GPR indexes are capturing information that is relevant to firms and investors. 2. QUANTIFYING THE EFFECTS OF HIGHER GEOPOLITICAL RISKS ON GDP AND INFLATION Historically, periods of elevated geopolitical risks have been associated with sizable negative effects on global economic activity.5 Wars destroy human and physical capital, shift resources to less efficient uses, divert international trade and capital flows, and disrupt global supply chains. Additionally, changing perceptions about the range of outcomes of adverse geopolitical events may further weigh on economic activity by delaying firms' investment and hiring, eroding consumer confidence, and tightening financial conditions. Our numerical measure of geopolitical risk allows us to quantify the effects of its recent spike on global economic activity. To this end, we estimate a structural vector autoregression (VAR) model and use the estimated model to quantify the effects over time of the recent spike in geopolitical tensions. The model includes monthly measures of world GDP, world inflation, global stock prices, real oil prices, the broad real dollar, commodity prices, global consumer confidence, and the geopolitical threats (GPT) and geopolitical acts (GPA) indexes.6 The VAR model uses data from January 1974 through April 2022 and includes three lags.7 We assume that changes in the GPT and GPA indexes drive all within-month fluctuations in the other economic variables, so that any contemporaneous correlation between geopolitical risks and financial variables, say, is assumed to reflect the effect of geopolitical risks on financial variables, rather than the other way around. But with a lag, each variable can affect all variables. Figure 3 uses a historical decomposition of the estimated VAR results to simulate the effects over time on global GDP and inflation of the heightened geopolitical risks since January 2022. The rise in geopolitical risks observed thus far this year produce a drag on world GDP that builds throughout 2022, cumulating to a negative impact of around 1.7 percent on the level of global output. Similarly, the rise in geopolitical risks boosts prices, causing an 5 Caldara and Iacoviello (2022) show that, across countries and over time, higher geopolitical risks are associated with higher probability of economic disasters, lower expected GDP growth, and higher downside risks to GDP growth 6 We measure stock prices with the FTSE World Dollar index, commodity prices with the S&P Goldman Sachs Commodity Index, confidence with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development's Consumer Confidence Index, and oil prices with the West Texas Intermediate Index. Inflation is from Global Financial Data. Monthly GDP is based on purchasing power parity and is constructed using the methodology described in Cuba-Borda, Mechanick and Raffo (2018). 7 Caldara and Iacoviello (2022) estimate a quarterly VAR model of the US economy to look at the dynamic effects of geopolitical risks. Our VAR here extends their work by using a longer sample (we start in 1970 instead of 1985), using monthly data, and looking at global rather than US effects, with a focus on inflation. 46 increase in global inflation of 1.3 percentage points by the second half of 2022, after which the effects begin to subside. Figure 3. Effects of the Recent Increase in Geopolitical Risk Note: The figure plots the response over time of world GDP (left panel) and world inflation (right panel) to a rise in geopolitical risks sized to mimic the increase that occurred between January and April 2022. The solid red lines in the figure plot the central estimates. The dashed blue lines denote the 70 percent confidence intervals. The variables are plotted from January 2022 to December 2023 in deviation from a no-war baseline. Source: Federal Reserve Board staff calculations. How are geopolitical risks transmitted to the global economy? With various channels controlled for, the structural VAR estimates leave us wellpositioned to answer this question. Figure 4 presents a more detailed picture of the way the global economy responds to a geopolitical risk shock. The effects of elevated geopolitical risks in 2022 are associated with declining consumer confidence and stock prices, factors that weaken aggregate demand. The exchange value of the dollar appreciates, in line with the evidence that spikes in global uncertainty and adverse risk sentiment can trigger flight-tosafety international capital flows (Forbes and Warnock, 2012). Commodity prices and oil prices increase, putting downward pressure on global activity and upward pressure on inflation. 47 Figure 4. Transmission Mechanisms of Higher Geopolitical Risk on Macroeconomic Variables Note: The figure plots the maximum impact in the first year of a rise in geopolitical risks sized to mimic the increase that occurred between January and April 2022. For each variable, the red dots plot the central estimates of the maximum impact in the first year. The blue bars denote 70 percent confidence intervals. The effect is measured in percent deviation from a no-war baseline for all variables except inflation, for which it is measured in percentage points. Source: Federal Reserve Board staff calculations. 3. COUNTRY AND INDUSTRY EXPOSURE TO THE CONFLICT The regional nature of many geopolitical risks suggests that their economic repercussions may not be distributed evenly around the globe. We gauge the exposure of a country to the current conflict by calculating the share of firms that mention the Russian invasion of Ukraine in their quarterly earnings calls, based on the country where the firm is headquartered.8 Figure 5 visualizes country exposure in a map of the world, with warmer colors denoting higher exposure. Countries in Europe, and especially those that are in proximity to the conflict, are the most exposed. Roughly 80 percent of firms in Finland and Poland, countries sharing a border with Russia or Ukraine, are concerned about the war. For Germany, a country with high 8 Caldara and Iacoviello (2022) show that high firm-level geopolitical risk—calculated using similar textual analysis techniques described in this note—reduces firm-level investment. 48 exposure to the conflict through the import of energy from Russia, the fraction of firms mentioning the conflict is 75 percent. The rest of the world does not appear to be exposed as intensely.9 All told, this evidence is suggestive of the risk that European countries may suffer relatively more from the economic fallout from the conflict. Figure 5. Firm- level Geopolitical Concerns by Country in 2022 Note: This chart depicts the exposure of a country to the Russia-Ukraine war, calculated using the share of firms’ earnings calls mentioning the Russia– Ukraine war, based on the country where the firm is headquartered. Earnings calls’ share is calculated for countries with at least 10 earnings calls between March 1, 2022, and May 13, 2022. Countries with no earnings calls or with less than 10 earnings calls are shown in gray. White indicates that no firm mentions concerns related to the conflict, while deep red indicates 100 percent of firms mentioning concerns related to the conflict. Source: Federal Reserve Board staff calculations; S&P Global market intelligence The economic effects of the conflict are also likely to be heterogeneous by type of industry. Figure 6 calculates the share of firms that mention the Russian invasion of Ukraine in their quarterly earnings calls based on their industry of operation. The effect of the current conflict appears more concentrated in goods-producing industries that reportedly had been experiencing bottlenecks even before the Russian invasion, with an incidence of around 80 percent among European automobile companies. Meanwhile, industries that are less affected by supply disruptions - such as services - are less likely to express concerns over the war. 9 Recent work by Federle et al. (2022) highlights the spatial dimension of the economic spillovers from the Ukraine war. They identify a 'proximity penalty' in equity returns: the closer a country is to Ukraine, the more pronounced the decline in its equity market around the time the war started. 49 Figure 6. Firm- level Geopolitical Concerns by Industry in 2022 Note: This chart illustrates the share of firms’ earnings calls mentioning the Russia–Ukraine war between March 1, 2022, and May 13, 2022, based on firms’ industry of operation and geographic location. Industry classifications are based on the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS). Note: Russian and Ukrainian firms are excluded from the Europe region. Aggregation from the GICS is as follows: Automobile includes Automobile & Components. Capital & consumer goods include Capital Goods, Consumer Durables & Apparel, Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment, Software & Services, and Technology Hardware & Equipment. Energy & Food includes Energy, Food & Staples Retailing, Food, Beverage & Tobacco, Household & Personal Products, and Materials. Services include Banks, Commercial & Professional Services, Diversified Financials, Health Care Equipment & Services, Insurance, Media & Entertainment, Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences, Retailing, and Telecommunication Services. Source: Federal Reserve Board staff calculations; S&P Global market intelligence. 4. CONCLUSION The increased geopolitical risks induced by the Russian invasion of Ukraine will weigh adversely on global economic conditions throughout 2022. Such effects are estimated in our model to reduce GDP and boost inflation significantly, exacerbating the policy trade-offs facing central banks around the world. While sizeable, these effects do not appear to be large enough to derail the global recovery from the pandemic. However, the future of the war is highly uncertain, and unforeseen developments in the conflict could generate further changes to geopolitical risk and worsen its economic effects. 50 5. REFERENCES 1. Anayi, Lena, Nicholas Bloom, Philip Bunn, Paul Mizen, Gregory Thwaites, and Ivan Yotzov (2022), "The impact of the war in Ukraine on economic uncertainty", VoxEU.org, 16 April. 2. Caldara, Dario, and Matteo Iacoviello (2022), "Measuring Geopolitical Risk," American Economic Review, vol. 112 (April), pp. 1194–225. 3. Cuba-Borda, Pablo, Alexander Mechanick, and Andrea Raffo (2018), "Monitoring the World Economy: A Global Conditions Index," IFDP Notes, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, June 15. 4. Federle, Jonathan, Andre Meier, Gernot Müller, and Victor Sehn (2022), "Proximity to War: The stock market response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine", CEPR Discussion Paper 17185. 5. Forbes, Kristin J. and Francis E. Warnock (2012), "Capital flow waves: Surges, stops, flight, and retrenchment," Journal of International Economics, vol 88 (2), pp. 235-251. 51 52 UDK: 930.85:343.3/.7 (497.7) DOI: 10.20544/IYFS.42.1.22.P05 CRIMINAL - LEGAL PROTECTION OF THE CULTURAL HERITAGE IN THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA Cvetanka Cureva - Aleksovska Ministry of Internal Affairs [email protected] Svetlana Nikoloska PhD Full professor, Faculty of Security – Skopje [email protected] Abstract Cultural heritage in the Republic of North Macedonia is one of the fundamental values on the basis of which the cultural identity of Macedonian citizens is built, maintained and continued, regardless of their ethnic and religious affiliation. For this reason, the protection of the cultural heritage is inevitably imposed as a public and national interest of the Republic of North Macedonia, especially criminal-legal protection where the most serious injuries and abuses of the cultural heritage are incriminated. The subject of this paper is a normative analysis of the penal-legal provisions of the Criminal Code, but also an analysis of a case from practice with the aim of obtaining knowledge about the emerging forms of misuse of cultural heritage. Keywords: cultural heritage, criminal-legal protection, cultural identity. 1. INTRODUCTION The issue of cultural heritage protection is a serious scientific problem. The entire history of humanity warns that a more perspective attitude towards cultural heritage should be built, which represents the source of the spiritual life of man and society and is the sublimation of the historical processes through which culture and civilization in general developed. The cultural heritage of a nation is part of the world’s cultural heritage and represents a value of general civilizational significance. But at the same time, it also expresses the cultural achievements of the people in the past. In that sense, cultural heritage as a legitimation-protective sign of cultural uniqueness is a source of awareness of us as individuals and of the historical conditions in which we have lived, survived and developed. From that new point, the cultural heritage of the Republic of North Macedonia 53 obviously represents a rich investment in the general treasury of human civilization. With its cultural heritage and positive attitude towards its protection, the Republic of North Macedonia secured an indisputable cultural identification and an honorable place in the great family of nations. Cultural heritage is the spiritual guide of the people and the basis of their national and cultural identity. (Todorovski, 1999) Cultural values, and above all, spiritual principles, created in the past, are proof of our centuries-old existence, our historical identity, the self-importance and specificity of social, political, national and cultural being, a source of our indestructibility, and a guarantee for the future of the nation. 2. CONSTITUTIONAL AND LEGAL TERMINOLOGY OF CULTURAL HERITAGE IN THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA The constitutional terminology of 1991 comes much closer to the correct solution for the generic term for goods of cultural, historical, artistic, scientific and other similar importance. Thus, the Constitution of the Republic of North Macedonia from 1991 talks about objects and objects of particular cultural and historical importance and about historical and artistic wealth. In addition, in Article 56 of the Constitution, the concept of goods (which make up that wealth) is also used. (Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia No. 1/92, 31/98, 91/01, 84/03, 107/05, 3/09, 49/11, 6/19, 36/19) With the amendments to the Constitution of 2001, the “responsibility of the future generations for the preservation and development of everything that is valuable from the rich cultural heritage“ is emphasized. (Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia No. 91/01) Article 56 of the Constitution states that the objects which are defined by law as goods of particular cultural and historical importance to the Macedonian people and communities are goods of general interest of the Republic of North Macedonia that enjoy special protection. All other goods with historical and artistic significance, regardless of their legal regime, are under guaranteed protection. This provides a base for the categorization of goods subject to protection, implying a higher category for which special protection is provided and a lower category for which guaranteed protection is provided. Goods for which special protection is provided are understood as movable and immovable objects, mainly material goods that are of general interest to the Republic of North Macedonia. On the other hand, goods that enjoy guaranteed protection according to the Constitution include those that represent the historical and artistic wealth of the Macedonian people and ethnic communities, which include both material and immaterial goods. Namely, through the status of goods of general interest for the Republic, reserved exclusively for material goods for which special protection is provided, the constitutional model itself reduces and limits the protection of immaterial goods to the rank of guaranteed protection. Hence, the constitutional solution in question requires appropriate corrections. (Ristov, 2008) 54 The constitutional amendments up to 2001 emphasize the national historical and artistic wealth in the political-legal and ethnic sense, thus giving a guarantee for the protection of the historical and artistic wealth as a whole, of each ethnic community in particular and the goods in their possession. (Official Gazette of the of the Republic of Macedonia No. 91/01) Hence, with the amendments to the Law on Culture from 2003, the protection of the cultural wealth of all citizens as a whole and of all ethnic communities, in particular, has been emphasized. At the level of legal regulation, in the Macedonian state, the issue of the name of the generic term for the object of protection has been relevant since the period of its creation. In the Law on Culture (Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia No. 31/98, 49/03, 82/05, 24/07, 116/10, 47/11, 51/11, 136/12, 23/13 187/13, 44/14, 61/15, 154/15, 39/16 and 11/18) the term ”cultural treasure“ is used, and in the Law on the Protection of Cultural Heritage (Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia No. 20/04, 115/07, 18/11, 148/11, 23/13, 137/13, 164/13, 38/14, 44/14, 199/14, 104/15, 154/15, 192/15, 39/16 and 11/18), for the sake of correct terminological and conceptual identification, the standard international expression cultural heritage (English: cultural heritage, French: patrimonie culturel, Spanish: patrimonio cultural) is used as a key generic term. The expressions immovable cultural heritage, movable cultural heritage and spiritual cultural heritage are used as derived generic terms. The very expression of cultural heritage, known and accepted in spoken and standard language, is already a part of the Preamble of the Constitution of the Republic of North Macedonia. (Ristov, 2006) In Article 2 of the Law on Protection of Cultural Heritage, the following definition of cultural heritage is given: ”Cultural heritage in the sense of this law is divided in two categories: tangible and intangible assets that, as an expression or testimony of human creativity in the past and present or as joint works of man and nature, due to their archaeological, ethnological, historical, artistic, architectural, urban, environmental, technical, sociological and other scientific or cultural values, properties, contents or functions, have cultural and historical significance and their protection and use are under a legal regime in accordance with this and other laws". 3. CRIMINALS FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE CULTURAL HERITAGE SET FORTH IN THE CRIMINAL CODE OF THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA According to the official definition from Article 7 of the Criminal Code (Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia No. 37/96, 80/99, 4/02, 43/03, 19/04, 81/05, 73/06, 7/08, 139/08, 114/09, 51/11, 135/11, 185/11, 142/11, 166/12, 55/13, 82/13, 14/14, 27/14, 28/14, 132/14, 160/14, 199/14, 196/15, 226/15, 97/17 и 248/18), a crime is an illegal act that is defined by law as a crime and whose features are defined by law. In theory, however, there are a number of different definitions for the term crime. One of them, 55 accepted in the educational system, perceives the crime as a socially dangerous behavior of man, for which the legislator foresees it as a crime, predicting punishment or other criminal sanction for its guilty perpetrator. (Marjanovic, 1998) The criminal-legal protection of cultural heritage is an instrument of coercion for the realization of the objectives of the protection. As such, it has no primacy. However, it remains the last resort for the state's response in cases of non-compliance with the prescribed legal regime, especially when it comes to endangering or violating protected goods. At the same time, goods with the status of cultural heritage or another status of protected goods are provided with indirect protection precisely through the threat of punishment, as a last resort. (Ristov, 2006) In that sense, the ultimate goal of punishment is to prevent crimes from being committed. Namely, the original text of the Criminal Code from 1996 contained a separate chapter XXIV – Criminal offenses against cultural monuments, archive material and natural rarities, in which four separate criminal offenses were systematized. With the Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Criminal Code of 2004 (Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia No. 19/04), the title of the chapter in question has been changed and reads: Criminal offenses against cultural heritage and natural rarities. This amendment resulted from the need to harmonize the Criminal Code in the part of the matter that regulates criminal-legal protection for acts against cultural heritage with the original regulations on cultural heritage. In that sense, the then amendments and additions to the Criminal Code with the original regulations on cultural heritage were made in several directions. First of all, in certain articles of the Criminal Code terminological adjustments to the Law on the Protection of Cultural Heritage were made, in the sense that the term "cultural monument" was replaced by the terms ”cultural heritage“ and ”goods under temporary protection“. Terminological alignment was also done in other provisions of the entire text of the Code that are subject to cultural heritage. In addition, in accordance with the obligations undertaken by the ratified conventions in the field of cultural heritage protection and the general prohibitions contained in the parent law, in chapter XXIV of the Criminal Code, with several amendments and additions, the first two new criminal offenses were added, and then another related with the illegal trade in cultural heritage objects and goods. Thus, in this chapter of the Criminal Code, a total of seven criminal acts in the area of cultural possession are systematized, namely: (1) Damage or destruction of goods under temporary protection or cultural heritage or natural rarities (Article 264); (2) Appropriation of goods under temporary protection or cultural heritage or natural rarities (Article 265); (3) Taking out, that is, exporting goods under temporary protection or cultural heritage or natural rarities abroad (Article 266); (4) Alienation of cultural heritage of particular importance in state ownership (Article 266-a); (5) Entry of illegally obtained goods under temporary protection, cultural heritage and natural rarities (Article 266 - b); (6) Unauthorized trade in goods 56 under temporary protection, cultural heritage and natural rarity (Article 266 c) and Destruction or concealment of unprocessed archival material (Article 267). The Criminal Code of 1996, unlike all previous criminal laws, provides criminal-legal protection of cultural heritage by prescribing other criminal acts that refer to that category of legal value. In fact, in most cases, these are qualified forms of certain crimes, classified in other appropriate chapters of the Criminal Code. Such are, for example: Usurpation of real estate (Article 225); Aggravated theft (236); Evasion (Article 239); Damage to other people's objects (Article 243); Concealment (Article 261), War crime against the civilian population (Article 404); Destruction of cultural and historical monuments (Article 414) and Abuse of international symbols (Article 414). These crimes are general, have a wider scope in terms of the object of the action and refer to a different object of protection. In all of them, regardless of whether it is a basic or qualified form of the crime, among other things, the object of the incriminated action is the legal categories of goods under temporary protection and cultural heritage. The systematization of criminal acts in the field of protection of cultural and historical monuments and archaeological material aims at setting up a comprehensive system of protection of an important sphere and highlighting the group object of protection. A group object of protection represents the interest in the preservation and protection of the cultural and historical heritage, as well as certain natural rarities and treasures, not in their meaning of material goods, but in their meaning of special features of the national culture and of certain natural geo-environment. The protection of cultural heritage is of public interest and is carried out compulsorily throughout the whole territory through research, identification, valorization, revaluation, categorization, proclamation, registration and marking of cultural heritage, its keeping, respect, nurturing and maintenance, conservation, destruction, dislocation and revitalization, as well as prevention, supervision, restitution, presentation, popularization and any form of direct and indirect preservation of cultural heritage that is carried out in the public interest. Regarding the protection of the cultural heritage from illegal actions, it is achieved by taking measures aimed at effective protection against illegal excavations, intentional damage and destruction, theft, appropriation, concealment, illegal trade, smuggling and other illegal actions. These security measures are taken by the authorities and public institutions for protection, as well as by the owners of the protected goods, through preventive measures that will reduce the possibilities of the risk of illegal actions, and if the risk is realized, then through countermeasures that will reduce losses or harmful consequences of illegal actions. Hence there is a need for cooperation of the Administration for the Protection of Cultural Heritage and other authorities, public institutions for the protection of the owners of protected goods, with other competent authorities in the field of security. (Krstevska, 2010) With the incriminations for the protection of the cultural heritage, the cultural and geospatial value and purpose are protected, while their material 57 and market value is the object of protection of other incriminations against the property such as: theft, aggravated theft, evasion, damage to other people's objects where it is especially emphasized that the goods are protected under temporary protection or cultural heritage (Paleolithic) until today, therefore it is said to be one of the most culturally powerful times in the world. The very expression of cultural heritage is used as a general name for all material and spiritual values and goods left by the ancestors to future generations. (Nikoloska, 2015) As mentioned above, Chapter XXIV of the Criminal Code systematizes a total of six criminal acts in the field of cultural heritage. This group of special crimes against cultural possession is characterized by the fact that its group object of protection is the public interest in preserving cultural heritage as a fundamental value and a special feature of national history and culture. Namely, we are talking about crimes that are directed against culture in general, understood as good, that is, a legal value of the highest civilizational rank, bearing in mind that precisely cultural heritage is an extremely significant component of culture as a universal human value. In other words, these crimes do not represent an attack on the cultural heritage as property, that is property, but as property with a certain civilizational significance. In them, the motive of self-interest, although present, is not as pronounced as it is, for example, in crimes against property. (Kambovski & Tupančeski, 2011) The object of attack or the object of the illegal activity is different, thus the domain of criminal-legal protection varies in relation to cultural heritage as a common object of protection. The special object of protection is determined analogously to the prescribed general prohibitions in the parent law, where illegal actions against specific assets of the cultural heritage are determined. In criminal law, there is a clear distinction between the terms object of action and object of protection. But in monument law, the object of protection is not an object in the material sense, but a value category. With the amendments and additions to the Criminal Code from 2004, the terminological alignment of the already existing criminal acts from this chapter with the Law on Protection of Cultural Heritage was carried out. On the other hand, with the amendments and additions to the Criminal Code from 2009, the punishments provided for the perpetrators of these crimes are increased, which once again shows that the legislator in this way highlights the great importance of cultural heritage and natural rarities. 3.1. Damage or destruction of goods under temporary protection or cultural heritage or natural rarities Art. 264 The criminal offense provided for in this article of the Criminal Code is based on the incrimination provided for in the Law on Protection of Cultural Heritage, where in Article 50 paragraph 1 a general prohibition is 58 prescribed for the destruction of cultural heritage, reserved archaeological zone and goods under temporary protection. This crime aims to prosecute the perpetrators of criminal activities that are related to illegal archaeological excavations, or popularly called wild excavations of archaeological sites by unauthorized persons or ”wild diggers“ in order to find valuable objects, not materially valuable, but historically valuable. These items are in demand by domestic collectors, but also by foreign collectors. The Macedonian legislator incriminates as illegal the actions of a perpetrator who damages or destroys movable property, an archaeological site or other immovable property under temporary protection, cultural heritage or natural rarity. The perpetrators will be punished with imprisonment from one to ten years if they perform, without permission from a competent authority, conservation or restoration work, or without a permit or in violation of the ban carry out archaeological excavations or research or other research works on goods under temporary protection or cultural heritage or natural rarity, and they knew or were obliged and could have known that it was such a good, then they will be punished with imprisonment from three to ten years, and if, due to the specified actions, the good under temporary protection, cultural heritage or natural rarity is damaged or destroyed, a prison sentence of five to ten years. Liability is also provided for legal entities. In the Republic of North Macedonia for many years, there has been a rumor in the media about the existence of ”wild diggers“ of gold, valuable objects, for which they possess maps and appropriate means for detecting gold, silver or other metals whose target or place of search are the existing archaeological sites. In our country, as in other countries in the world, cultural heritage is protected by law, and the procedures of archaeological excavations, restoration and conservation are defined for the objects that have been discovered and they are registered in appropriate registers. The object of the action is protected property from the categories of movable property, archaeological site, or other immovable property under temporary protection, cultural heritage or natural rarity, which terms are defined in the Law on Protection of Cultural Heritage. These are goods that belong to the material culture (archaeological artifacts, buildings declared as cultural heritage, specimens of plant life that have the property of natural rarity, etc.). Regarding the act of execution, this crime is determined by its consequence, that is, damage or destruction of the protected goods. The crime can be committed by any action, which means that the act of execution is not an essential feature of the crime. This implies that the action can be carried out in the regular work of archaeologists and other experts, but also during illegal digging or during the execution of certain agricultural or construction works. The manner of damage would only be a circumstance that would be taken into account when determining the penalty. The term damage means the occurrence of any physical change in the form, appearance, content or other change that would violate the integrity of the protected asset. There are cases of the so-called permitted damages, when, 59 for example, certain parts of the real estate are removed, moved or become chattels, or certain operations during research or conservation. Destruction, on the other hand, is when the resulting physical change in appearance, shape and content is of such a degree that the good cannot be identified or has lost its value and meaning, which were essential for determining the same as a protected good. (Ristov, 2008) Unlike the qualified form, the perpetrator can be any person, that is, regardless of whether the person took the actions with or without the permission of a competent authority. The subjective being of the work is exhausted by intention. There should be an awareness of the existence of the essential features of the work. The perpetrator should know (possible intent) that it is about destroying an object that has such property. (Kambovski & Tupanceski, 2011) In relation to other crimes, this crime is usually committed during illegal excavations for the purpose of appropriating the found objects. There is a stack of this crime with the crime of „appropriation“, although in practice it is difficult to prove the existence of a connection between the two crimes. 3.2. Appropriation of goods under temporary protection or cultural heritage or natural rarities Art. 265 The appropriation of goods under temporary protection or cultural heritage or natural rarities is a criminal offense when a perpetrator who during archaeological excavations, archival research, geological - paleontological and mineralogical - petrographic research, excavations or in another way appropriates excavations, material or found object that represents a good of temporary protection or cultural heritage or natural rarity, will be punished with imprisonment from one to ten years, if the offense is committed by the holder of the permit or the head of research the prison sentence is of at least four years. It refers to the appropriation of objects that are discovered during planned and legal excavations and objects that are appropriated by persons who are legally engaged in excavations and have a responsibility provided by law for reporting, providing objects that were found during the performance of their work permitted by law, planned and which has been realized or is in the process of being realized. Appropriation can be done by persons responsible for the excavations, or by any other persons who are engaged in the excavations, or by third parties who take advantage of carelessness, lack of security of objects from excavations, and they appropriate them. Very often, these criminal behaviors are referred to as theft by law enforcement authorities, if the perpetrator is a natural person who is not engaged or in charge of the excavations. If criminal behavior is committed by the persons in charge, the cases are handled as abuse of official position and authority. In the Macedonian criminal practice in recent years and in the recent past, there have been cases of misappropriation of valuable archaeological objects from ongoing excavations at archaeological sites, the perpetrators are officials and they are suspected, and some have already been convicted of abuse of official 60 position and authority. It is for this reason that this article has been supplemented with criminal behaviors that refer to perpetrators with status properties such as research managers or permit issuers. The act of execution is the appropriation and possession of the thing. At the same time, appropriation does not mean that the perpetrator acquires ownership of the object, but reflects their will to act with the object as if they were their owner: selling, destroying, refusing to return it or sell it, etc. From aggravated theft, this offense differs since the appropriation is carried out on archaeological excavations, archival research, geological-paleontological and mineralogical-petrographic research, or in another way. The existence of the work is achieved when, with the intention of obtaining an illegal property benefit, an archaeological object is appropriated, regardless of the method of its acquisition, through excavation, purchase or in another way. (Kambovski & Tupanchevski, 2011) The object of the action is an excavation, material or found object that represents a good under temporary protection or cultural heritage. This is in accordance with the provisions of the parent law according to which any archaeological movable object found in the ground or underwater is the state property of the Republic of North Macedonia. Movable archaeological objects and other excavations acquire the status of goods under temporary protection by force of law. In case of an accidental discovery, the inventor has the obligation to report it to competent institutions. If it is a good that is reasonably assumed to be cultural heritage, the state will confiscate it and reward the finder for his conscientiousness. If he does not report the accidental discovery, he will commit the crime of ”appropriation“. If this is done by an official in the course of his regular work, there will be a crime of ”evasion“. The act can be carried out during archaeological excavations, archival research, geological-paleontological, mineralogical-petrographic research and excavations, construction or agricultural excavations or other research works. Appropriation in another way implies that the legislator has left room for other actions to be brought under this incrimination. Actions such as illegal excavations, accidental discoveries, reconnaissance and the like can be initiated here. Responsibility requires awareness that the object is well under temporary protection or cultural heritage and that the appropriation is illegal. With the amendments to the Criminal Code of 2009, paragraph 2 was deleted. Namely, previously, the existence of this work also consisted in the appropriation of an archaeological object with the intention of obtaining an illegal property benefit. It was also the only provision in which the existence of an intention to acquire an illegal property benefit was expressly required as a separate subjective element. However, with the amendments and additions to the Criminal Code of 2014, a new paragraph 2 was again added which qualifies the crime, i.e.: ”if the crime is committed by the holder of the permit or the head of research, they will be punished with a prison sentence of at least four years “. The value of the object is irrelevant because it is not 61 about the market value, but the cultural, historical, artistic and spiritual value of the object. Relationship with other crimes: This crime is in a real stack with the previous incrimination. If the person further alienates the unlawfully appropriated object, there will be a stack with the crime of ”illegal trade“, that is, if it is a good that is of particular importance, there will be a stack with the crime of ”alienation of cultural heritage of particular importance in state ownership (Article 266 -a)“. The one who would buy or otherwise receive the object would have committed the crime of ”concealment“. 3.3. Taking out, that is, exporting goods under temporary protection or cultural heritage or natural rarities abroad Art. 266 This incrimination got its name with the amendments to the Criminal Code of 2004. Exporting, i.e. exporting abroad goods under temporary protection or cultural heritage or natural rarities, is a criminal offense when the perpetrator without permission from a competent authority brings, i.e. exports abroad goods under temporary protection or cultural heritage or an object that is a natural rarity, shall be punished with imprisonment from three to ten years, if the crime is committed against property under temporary protection or cultural heritage, and if it is an archaeological, ethnological, artistic, historical object or an iconographic work that is a significant good or a good of particular importance for the Republic of North Macedonia, the prison sentence is at least four years, and it is foreseen sanction for legal entities as a fine. The smuggling of objects that have cultural and historical value is a known criminal activity in almost all countries in the world, but also in the Republic of North Macedonia, which has a rich cultural tradition, where there are valuable cultural objects that have been found at numerous archaeological sites, objects that reflect the centuries-old Macedonian culture and literacy. The goal of the perpetrators of this crime is to find valuable objects, to find interested buyers from abroad (because they ”pay big“) and to realize their criminal plan. North Macedonia is surrounded by a neighborhood that desires cultural heritage to show belonging to a certain territory, appropriating our history, our culture, our literacy (meaning the origin of literacy), identifying with that history, that culture and appropriating it as one's own goal not only to individuals but also to states that approve financial means for the purchase of valuable cultural and historical objects from North Macedonia and presenting them as theirs by exhibiting them in their museums and other cultural institutions. How well the Republic of North Macedonia manages to protect the cultural heritage is a matter for the state authorities and institutions in the field of culture, but also for the security authorities, how much they will invest in discovering, elucidating and proving the crime of smuggling cultural values and goods. Well-trained police and customs officers at border crossings are a prerequisite for preventing the smuggling of items from our cultural history 62 and tradition, the extent to which the police will work in the ”field“ and gain knowledge about this and other crimes, again depend on their education, professionalism and good position in terms of cooperation and coordination with other competent state authorities and institutions. When it comes to the smuggling of cultural heritage, we also mean organization and corruption. More attention should be paid to this by the state authorities, and they should also raise awareness among citizens about reporting to the police cases or persons involved in a crime with elements of mining, appropriation and smuggling of valuables and goods from the Macedonian cultural heritage or objects that are registered as natural rarities. The connection of the mentioned crimes is common, because, if there is no one to excavate or appropriate an object of cultural heritage, if there is no one to buy or smuggle it to buyers abroad, there will be no crime. And, there is a crime and this is shown by the Macedonian police criminal practice from discovered and solved cases, and the dark number of undetected crimes is always present and problematic. The nature of the offense reads: ”Whoever, without permission from a competent authority, will export abroad a good under temporary protection or cultural heritage or an object that represents a natural rarity.“ The act of enforcement is the export of the subject property abroad without the permission of a state authority. Taking abroad is understood as the temporary assignment of the subject to the jurisdiction of another country. The object of the action is a movable object that represents a good under temporary protection or cultural heritage or natural rarity. An essential feature of this crime is that the action was taken without permission from a competent state authority. Permit means approval for export abroad issued by the Administration for the Protection of Cultural Heritage in accordance with Article 96 of the Law on the Protection of Cultural Heritage. Pursuant to Article 96 of the Law on the Protection of Cultural Heritage, movable cultural heritage and other protected movable property can be temporarily taken abroad for exhibition, conservation, expertise and in other justified cases if it is duly approved by the Administration. Such approval shall state the deadline for the return of the protected good to the country, which, if not respected or the approval is not extended, is considered that the good has been illegally exported. The subjective being is exhausted by the intention, that is, awareness is required that an object representing a protected cultural heritage or an asset under temporary protection is being presented without the permission of the state. In relation to the rest of the criminal acts from this chapter of the Criminal Code, there would be a stack with the acts of appropriation or concealment, if the goods were illegally appropriated or acquired on any basis even though their illegal origin was known, and they are taken out of the state. The intention to alienate national cultural heritage abroad would only be aggravating circumstances when determining the punishment. 63 3.4. Alienation of cultural heritage of particular importance in state ownership Art. 266 – a This crime is provided by the amendments to the Criminal Code of 2004. The basis of this incrimination is found in Article 51 of the Law on Protection of Cultural Heritage, which stipulates: ”Cultural heritage of particular importance may not be alienated.“ Alienation of cultural heritage of special importance in state ownership is a criminal offense when the perpetrator sells, gives away, or in another way permanently alienates cultural heritage of special importance in state ownership, and, if there are no signs of another serious crime, he will be punished with imprisonment of three up to ten years. This is a criminal offense that applies specifically to already existing objects that are located in Macedonian museums or other institutions or are kept as exhibits in residential state buildings, and they will be sold or given away to a person without prior approval by a competent state authority. This is an act that protects the cultural heritage owned by the state and protects it from persons who enrich themselves at the expense of the state, and the objects are at their disposal, but not their alienation. The object of the action is exclusively cultural heritage owned by the state, and not owned by natural or legal persons or local self-government units. These are all archaeological goods found in land or water that are reasonably assumed to represent cultural heritage and those goods which have been renounced by the owner or remained unknown for ten years in the case of immovable property or three years in the case of movable property. In contrast to this legal solution, another condition was previously required, that the state-owned property be declared a cultural heritage of particular importance. So now, with the new solution, this incrimination covers stateowned cultural heritage in general. The enforcement action is alternatively given, listing the most common types of alienation – selling and gifting, as well as other ways of alienation. The basic condition for the work to exist is that the good is in state ownership. 3.5. Entry of illegally obtained goods under temporary protection, cultural heritage and natural rarities Article 266 – b This crime is provided by the amendments to the Criminal Code of 2004. The basis of this incrimination is found in Article 53 of the Law on Protection of Cultural Heritage, where the general ban on the importation of stolen cultural heritage is prescribed. In fact, the prescription of this incrimination is an obligation imposed by the ratified Convention on measures to prohibit and prevent illegal import, export and transfer of ownership of cultural goods. 64 With the amendments to the Criminal Code of 2014, the previous title of the crime: ”Prohibition on the importation of stolen cultural heritage“, was replaced by the current title: ”Importation of illegally obtained goods under temporary protection, cultural heritage and natural rarities“. Bringing illegally acquired goods under temporary protection, cultural heritage or natural rarities is a criminal offense when the perpetrator brings into the Republic of North Macedonia movable property under temporary protection, cultural heritage, and natural rarities that he knows about or was obliged or could have known that they were illegally acquired in the territory of another state, and will be punished with imprisonment from three to ten years. International cooperation for the protection of the cultural heritage of the states is provided by numerous international conventions and international, regional and bilateral agreements between the states. The protection of states is not only against the export or smuggling of cultural wealth but also solidarity action and detection of importation or importation in an illegal way of objects that are cultural heritage declared in another state. These are items from museums, religious or other facilities. This is a crime that is detected through the international exchange of data, especially for objects that have been reported as stolen, and a search for stolen objects has been announced through Interpol, and the police officers and customs services at the border areas are officially notified of any search for objects and have an official duty to pay attention to the search and seizure of passengers, baggage and means of transport for finding and confiscating those items. Or if they find objects that are imported with false documentation customs fraud, one is shown next to the documentation, and during the examination of the transport vehicles they doubt the origin and originality of certain objects, they have legal powers to temporarily confiscate the objects, expert examination and determination of the existence of crime or not. When there are elements of a committed crime, activities such as securing the perpetrator and bringing him before a criminal court are undertaken. In order for the essence of the work to be fulfilled, the essential characteristics of the work must be fulfilled:  The object of the action is a movable asset that has been declared as an asset under temporary protection or cultural heritage in the state. The addition of goods under temporary protection is a novelty in the new legal solution.  The act of enforcement is the entry of movable cultural heritage or goods under temporary protection from the territory of another state.  So the person who brings in the stolen cultural heritage or good under temporary protection, and who knew, could have known or was obliged to know what good was in question, is punished.  The subjective element is exhausted by the existence of intention for the specified features of the work. 65 3.6. Unauthorized trade in goods under temporary protection, cultural heritage and natural rarity Art. 266 – v This criminal offense was introduced with the amendments to the Criminal Code of 2014, and the need for this incrimination was particularly highlighted by the discovered cases of organized crime with cultural heritage in our country. This crime is provided by the amendments to the Criminal Code of 2004. The basis of this incrimination is found in Article 51 of the Law on Protection of Cultural Heritage, which stipulates: ”Cultural heritage of particular importance may not be alienated.“ Unauthorized trade in goods under temporary protection, cultural heritage and natural rarities is a criminal offense when the perpetrator buys, sells, pledges or exchanges objects that represent goods under temporary protection, cultural inheritance and natural rarities, the circulation of which is prohibited or restricted, and will be punished by a fine or by imprisonment from one to five years, and if the crime was committed with the aim of exporting the objects abroad or the crime was committed as part of a group, gang or other association or the perpetrator organized a network of resellers or middlemen, a fine or a prison sentence of one to ten years is foreseen. Confiscation of objects subject to unauthorized trade and criminal liability for legal entities is foreseen. This is a new crime aimed at suppressing illegal trade, that is, smuggling of cultural heritage and natural rarities, especially on an international level. 3.7. Destruction or concealment of unprocessed archival material Art. 267 The object of this incrimination is the unprocessed archival material, that is, the documented material from which archival material should be selected. According to Article 2 of the Law on Archival Material, archival material is the entire original and reproduced documented material of lasting value that is important for the state, science, culture and other needs. Documented archival material as a source of archival material is all original and reproduced material and books, card files and other records for that material that were created in the work of state authorities, courts, units of local self-government and the City of Skopje, enterprises and other legal entities (including political parties, associations of citizens and social organizations), as well as natural persons and individuals who perform a certain activity, as long as it is important for the current work and as long as archival material is not selected from it. Destruction or concealment of unprocessed archival material is a criminal offense when a perpetrator destroys or conceals documentary material before the archival material is selected from them so that it cannot 66 serve as a source of archival material, provided for by a fine and imprisonment from one to three years. By this we mean archival material that was found in the old archives and that is evidence of some time, of some activities, creations of some past time, time of history. History is the root of existence and the preservation of historical archival materials is in the interest of every country, including ours, and that is why there are legal provisions for handling and securing archival materials. It is mostly about photos, documents, records, etc. from the work of state bodies, institutions, historical figures from the fields of culture, education, security, etc. 4. DATA ON PERSONS AGAINST WHOM CRIMINAL COMPLAINTS HAVE BEEN FILED, ACCUSED AND CONVICTED PERSONS FOR CRIMINAL OFFENSES AGAINST CULTURAL HERITAGE AND NATURAL RARITIES 2017-2021 YEAR REPORTED ACCUSED CONDEMNED SANCTIONS 2017 9 1 10 2018 16 1 9 2019 13 4 3 2020 7 3 3 2021 15 5 4 2-prison 8-conditional penalties 4 - prison 5 - conditional penalties 1- prison 2 – conditional penalties 1- prison 2 – conditional penalties 3- prison 1- conditional penalties Table No. 1 Data on persons against whom criminal complaints have been filed, accused and convicted persons for criminal offenses against cultural heritage and natural rarities 2017-2021 From the data insight, it is noticeable that there is a large number of crimes committed in this area, and minimal sanctions as a reflection of the weak repressive and preventive penal policy. By analyzing the national regulation, the problem can be seen in the legal gaps and contradictions of the norms themselves, which reflects on the correct practical application of the penal provisions. Hence, there is doubt about the real effort of the institutions 67 to solve the problems in this field, and thus the poorly developed public awareness about the great importance of cultural heritage itself. The most prevalent crime is damage or destruction, and after that, the export of cultural heritage abroad. The largest percentage is due to the damage and destruction of cultural heritage during illegal mining. (Аnnual reports of State Statistics Office of the Republic of Macedonia, 2017 – 2021) 5. ”PHALANGA“ COURT CASE Since the independence of the Republic of North Macedonia in 1991, the most serious case of organized crime with cultural heritage that received a judicial resolution is the case called ”PHALANGA“. Namely, it is a unique case of organized crime with cultural heritage. For the first time in the history of the Macedonian judiciary, the defendants, lawyers, journalists and the public could hear a detailed analysis and presentation of the evidence, including the special investigative measures and transcripts of telephone conversations, text messages, Skype conversations and recorded video material. With the application of special investigative measures, several cases of offering for sale, and concealment of objects, illegal excavation and illegal export of objects of archaeological value outside the borders of the Republic of North Macedonia have been documented. 58 searches were carried out in homes and other premises owned by 51 suspects, as well as examinations in several vehicles used by the suspects. During the searches, a large number of archaeological and ethnological objects were found, namely: over 3000 coins originating from different historical periods, more than 20 different figures of different sizes made of stone, bronze, copper and marble, a large number of ceramic, copper and brass vessels, over 160 pieces of various jewelry (bracelets, rings, pendants, medallions), over 300 metal, stone and ceramic parts of objects, metal axes, several marble pedestals and plates, metal spears, more than 10 icons and other objects. Also, during the searches, old guns and sabers, about 20 metal detectors, 14 probes and other devices (night visors, drills, etc.) used by members of the group for illegal excavation of archaeological objects on recorded archaeological sites were found and confiscated from localities on the territory of the Republic of Macedonia, then a larger number of maps, photographs showing various coins, icons and other archaeological objects, which they used to offer the objects for sale. Weapons, ammunition and a hand grenade were found with some of the members of the group. Based on the evidence provided by the application of special investigative measures and the material evidence provided during the searches, a criminal complaint was submitted against 29 members of the organized criminal group by the Department for Suppression of Organized and Serious Crime in the Ministry of Internal Affairs to the Public Prosecutor's Office for the Prosecution of Organized Crime and Corruption. 68 The members of the organized criminal group have been reported due to the existence of reasonable suspicion that they have committed the following criminal acts: ”Criminal association“, ”Aggravated Theft“, ”Damage or destruction of cultural heritage“, ”Appropriation of cultural heritage“ and ”Export of cultural heritage abroad“. Also, two police officers have been reported for the crime of ”Abuse of official position and authority“. After the indictment of the Basic Public Prosecutor's Office for the prosecution of organized crime and corruption was submitted to the Basic Court Skopje 1 - Skopje - Department for Organized Crime, and after the procedure, this court as a first instance criminal court with the president of the criminal council - judge ZD, adopts first-instance judgment V.KOK.No.54/10, which declares 22 persons guilty of several crimes committed in a row, common to all of them is the criminal offense ”Criminal Association“, as well as committed other crimes: ”Concealment“, ”Aggravated theft“, ”Abuse of official position and authority“, ”Exporting, i.e. exporting abroad goods under temporary protection or cultural heritage or natural rarities“, ”Expropriation of goods under temporary protection or cultural heritage or natural rarities“, ”Damage or destruction of goods under temporary protection or cultural heritage or natural rarities“. The highest sentence imposed in the case was 7 years in prison, and a total of 21 defendants were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 6 to 2 years, and one defendant was sentenced to a suspended sentence. In addition to the main prison sentence, items that were used to commit crimes were confiscated from the accused. The first-instance verdict was confirmed by the Verdict of the Court of Appeal in Skopje KOKŽ/no.20/12. (https://akademik.mk/presuda-zafalanga ) 6. CONCLUSION Having the Law on Protection of Cultural Heritage, as well as the provisions of the Criminal Code dedicated to the criminal-legal protection of cultural heritage, as a solid basis for organizing and implementing an efficient strategy for the protection of cultural heritage, it is necessary to establish a functional institutional framework, which will have as its main goal the education of citizens, which is so little talked about but means so much. It seems that low public awareness is the basis for the emergence of various criminal acts on the one hand and the inefficiency of the authorities on the other hand. Considering the social circumstances in our country, a much stronger and louder campaign is needed for what the cultural heritage actually represents, what is its meaning, what are the consequences of its devastation, vandalization and disappearance. Therefore, raising and developing protector awareness is a priority measure that will be implemented through the programs and plans of educational institutions. The more awareness there is of the importance of cultural heritage and the more crime directed against it is 69 perceived as a serious factor threatening cultural and national identity, the more the awareness of the value of prevention and its importance grows. 7. REFERENCES 1. Amendment IV to the Constitution of the Republic of North Macedonia, Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia no. 91/01. 2. Amendment IX to the Constitution of the Republic of North Macedonia, Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia No. 91/01. 3. Аnnual reports of State Statistics Office of the Republic of Macedonia, year 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. 4. Kambovski V. & Tupanceski N, Criminal Law - Special Part, Fifth, amended and supplemented edition, Faculty of Law „Justinian Prvi“ Skopje, 2011. 5. Krstevska K., Legal framework of crimes against cultural heritage, Proceedings „Protection of cultural heritage in the Republic of Macedonia“, Faculty of Security, Skopje, 2010. 6. Criminal Code, Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia No. 37/96, 80/99, 4/02, 43/03, 19/04, 81/05, 73/06, 7/08, 139/08, 114/09, 51/11, 135/11, 185/11, 142/11, 166/12, 55/13, 82/13, 14/14, 27/14, 28/14, 132/14, 160/14, 199/14, 196/15, 226/15, 97/17, 248/18). 7. Constitution of the Republic of North Macedonia, Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia no. 1/92, 31/98, 91/01, 84/03, 107/05, 3/09, 49/11, 6/19, 36/19). 8. Law on Protection of Cultural Heritage, Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia No. 20/04, 71/04, 115/07, 18/11, 148/11, 23/13, 137/13. 164/13, 38/14, 44/14, 199/14, 104/15, 154/15, 192/15, 39/16, 11/18 и 20/19. 9. Law on Culture, Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia No. 31/98, 49/03, 82/05, 24/07, 116/10, 47/11, 51/11, 136/12, 23/13 187/13, 44/ 14, 61/15, 154/15, 39/16 and 11/18. 10. Nikoloska S., Methodology of research on general criminality, Van Gogh, Skopje, 2015. 11. Marjanović G., Macedonian Criminal Law - General Section, Skopje, Prosvetno delo, Skopje, 1998. 12. Ristov J., Legal regime of archaeological research and accidental discoveries, National Institution - Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments and Bitola Museum, Bitola, 2006. 13. Ristov J., Instruments for the protection of cultural heritage, Skopje, 2008. 14. Todorovski G., Macedonia, age-old and undeniable, Macedonia-cultural heritage, Misla, Skopje, 1999. 15. https://akademik.mk/presuda-za-falanga 70 UDK: 343.91-053.6(497.7) DOI: 10.20544/IYFS.42.1.22.P06 PHENOMENOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF JUVENILE CRIMINALITY IN THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA10 Slavica Dimitrievska, M.A., PhD Candidate, Faculty of Security – Skopje, [email protected] Abstract This analysis aims to present the extent, structure, dynamics and emerging forms of juvenile criminality i.e. its phenomenological characteristics, so as its scope in relation to adult criminality. The paper is inspired and partially follows the form of an older scientific paper prepared by the late prof. d-r. Violeta Chacheva, published in 2006 in the Yearbook of the Police Academy - Skopje, “Juvenile Justice, From Idea to Practice”, where she presents the situation with juvenile criminality in the period from 1981 to 2006, as well as the phenomenological characteristics of this ubiquitous occurrence. On the other hand, the analysis represents an attempt of the author to give a concluding and clear overview of the situation with juvenile criminality in Macedonia seen through the prism of the public11 and the official statistics. Before going into details of the topic of this paper, we will briefly give an introduction to criminology as a complex, interdisciplinary, yet independent science, its phenomenological and etiological characteristics, necessary to be understood for the purpose of creating an effective policy for prevention, protection and handling. Keywords: juveniles, juvenile criminality, dynamics, emerging forms. 1. INTRODUCTION Criminology is the science of criminality as a real social phenomenon.12 It is a science that studies the characteristics of the crime, its 10 Apart from the title, throughout this paper the name of the country shall be referred as Macedonia. The author is a self-paying PhD candidate thus she has no obligations to use the new, full name of the state, especially since the data subject of elaboration hereby are referring to years prior to the adoption of the new name of Macedonia. 11 See research paper: Dimitrievska, S. (2021), Public perception of juvenile criminality in RS Macedonia, Faculty of Security - Skopje, University of St. Kliment Ohridski - Bitola 12 Arnaudovski, Lj. (2007), Criminology, Shtip, 2nd August S 71 extent, structure, dynamics and emerging forms, so as the reasons and conditions for its emergence for the purpose of a successful social reaction as an ultimate goal.13 Criminology has been studied and interpreted by various scientific profiles, lawyers, sociologists, psychologists, philosophers, each and every one among them with a different understanding of it. Still, no matter how it can be understood, one can freely say that criminology is an independent, theoretical-empirical, interdisciplinary scientific discipline that studies the phenomenology of antisocial relations as unique occurrences with the aim of exposing and suppressing them.14 The extent of criminality means the total number of committed crimes and other offenses covered by the term criminality and delinquency in a certain time and space.15 As far as the timeframe covered, usually it is assessed on an annual basis, but for the purpose of monitoring the dynamics and the comparative overview, a longer period of time is mostly taken, e.g. five, ten years, or more. When it comes to territorial coverage, typically the territory of the entire country is considered, or sometimes certain geographical, territorial unit/s. The extent of criminality understands the number of crimes committed and the number of perpetrators. The extent can also be determined in relation to the number of convicted perpetrators, thus giving a clearer and more specific picture of the dynamics of criminality, so as the number of reported, accused and convicted persons, all this for the purpose of enquiring the criminal-legislative response to this phenomenon. The extent of criminality can also be determined through absolute and relative numbers and indicators. The first ones present the number of committed crimes and the perpetrators, while the latter ones define the extent of criminality in relation to the previous year or another social phenomenon expressed through index points. In this concrete statistical analysis, the author used the official records, i.e. statistical data available from the State Statistical Office. Until 2018 the data were available in a form of annual reports, as of 2019 a specialized data analysis for the individual search was installed, a so-called Maxstat database.16 When analyzing criminality, one should not forget the socalled "grey number (area)", representing the crime inaccessible to law enforcement authorities. 13 Stanojoska, A., Aslimoski, P. (2019), Criminology, University of St. Kliment Ohridski - Bitola, Faculty of Law - Kichevo, Kosta Abrash - Ohrid 14 Nikolic-Ristanović, V., Kostantinović-Vilic, Slobodanka, (2018) Criminology, Publishing-Graphic Enterprise, Prometheus, Belgrade 15 Arnaudovski, Lj. (2007), Criminology, Shtip, 2nd August S 16 See more: www.makstat.stat.gov.mk 72 2. JUVENILE CRIMINALITY When it comes to juvenile criminality, the term is taken as a separate category because it considers all the specificities of the perpetrator i.e. juvenile, and is related to the biological, psycho-social, criminal and political peculiarities that juveniles have in the legal system. In other words, juveniles as perpetrators occupy a special place in criminology as a science due to the fact that when assessing their crime all circumstances, environmental and personal, in which the juvenile lived, his/her individual specifics, maturity and capacity to understand the crime committed, the supervision of the parents/guardians are taken into consideration. Bearing in mind that, as broad and generic as it could be, includes various forms of anti-social behavior which is why it can be viewed from various aspects: criminological, social, legal, pedagogical and psychological aspects. Thus, the broader sense comprises all forms and manifestations of deviant and antisocial behavior, but the narrower definition is reserved only for the violation of legal norms or more specifically, a violation of criminallegislative norms. The use of the term itself aims to describe the specifics of the phenomenon but also the gravity of the act itself and the problem that arises in relation to the perpetrator, the juvenile. However, the very fact that the crime is committed by a minor, makes it impossible to define it in a simplified way and consequently opens up a whole spectrum of sub-issues that are closely related to other scientific fields, sociological, psychological, pedagogical, economic, etc. Having said that, the legislator leaned towards the premise that special treatment should be determined for juvenile perpetrators of crimes so as adequate punishments. An optimal model that reconciles both is the socalled model of "four D" (diversion, de-juridiciarisation, deinstitutionalization and due process), i.e. avoidance of criminal proceedings, de-juridisation, de-institutionalization, so as procedural guarantees in criminal proceedings.17 3. EXTENT AND DYNAMICS OF JUVENILE CRIMINALITY When it comes to the extent and prevalence of juvenile criminality, we are referring to the presence of this phenomenon through actual, recorded or statistically determined data. In Macedonia, such statistical data may be obtained from the State Statistical Office, where records are kept according to the number of perpetrators but not the crimes committed. So, in order to get a clear idea of the extent of juvenile crime, that is, how frequent this social phenomenon is in our society, we will analyze the available data in the period 2008/2009 to 2021, and will determine the basic 17 Kambovski, V. (2006), Theoretical foundations of the new legal model of juvenile justice, Macedonian Review of Criminal Law and Criminology, year 13, no. 3 73 index, the number of perpetrators by gender, the representation in relation to adult’ perpetrators, as well as the most frequently committed crimes by juveniles. Table No. 118: Reported, accused, convicted juveniles 2008-2021 Basic index – reported 100 112,1 Accused 981 1030 Basic index – accused 100 104,9 Convicted 715 748 Basic index – convicted 100 104,6 2009 Reported juveniles 1355 1519 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 1244 1163 1001 1005 972 772 91,8 85,8 73,8 74,1 71,7 56,9 750 1002 778 657 712 465 76,4 102,1 79,3 66,9 72,5 47,4 547 722 556 473 461 348 76,5 100,9 77,7 66,1 64,4 48,6 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 587 578 554 525 610 589 43,3 42,6 40,8 38,7 45 43,4 702 554 403 470 481 553 71,5 56,4 41 47,9 49 56,4 468 368 330 304 350 382 65,4 51.4 46,1 42,5 48,9 53,4 2008 The basic index helps us assess the dynamics of criminality among juveniles, that is, to see how it develops over years (in this concrete analysis over a period of 13 years). As a base or starting year, we take the most distant or initial year, in this particular case it is 2008 with 100 base index points. With the exception of the following year, 2009, when there was an increase in juvenile criminality of 112.1 index points in relation to reported juvenile perpetrators or 104.9 index points for accused and an almost similar result of 104.6 for convicted juveniles, already in the following years, with the exception of 2011 (when the index points in relation to accused and convicted juveniles are also high, 102.1 for accused and 100.9 for convicted), one can see a gradual decline for the period from 2016 to 2020 with an exceptional 61.3 points in 2019 or 55 index points in 2020 in relation to the reported juvenile perpetrators i.e. 52.9 for accused and 57.5 for convicted juveniles for 2019 and 51 index points for accused, i.e. 51.1 among convicted juveniles for 2020. Is this decrease in criminality among juveniles in these years due to the 18 State Statistical Office, Makstat database https://makstat.stat.gov.mk/PXWeb/pxweb/mk/MakStat/MakStat__Sudstvo__Obvinet iOsudeniDecaStoriteli/500_SK4_Mk_T24_ml.px/table/tableViewLayout2/?rxid=46ee 0f64-2992-4b45-a2d9-cb4e5f7ec5ef (accessed on 19.07.2022) 74 efficient and timely reaction of the relevant law enforcement institutions or is it an ineffective and untimely response on their part, taking into account the perception of citizens that the institutions responsible for law enforcement were considered ineffective19, that is something that should be explored in a subsequent research paper. However, already in 2021, growth in juvenile crime has been recorded by several basic index points. In addition, the representation of accused and convicted juveniles in relation to the number of registered juveniles was also assessed. Although we have a relatively high percentage of charges filed (from 60.2% in 2010 and 2015, to a high 119.6% in 2016 when the number of reported juveniles was lower compared to the number of accused), still the percentage of convicted juveniles is remarkably low and ranges between 44% in 2010, up to 64.8% in 2021 when again it records an increase after a slight decrease in the number of convicted juveniles in the previous three years. Table No. 2: Representation in the percentage of accused and convicted juveniles in comparison to reported ones Reported Accused % Convicted % 2008 1355 981 72,4 715 52,8 2009 1519 1030 67,8 49,2 2010 1244 750 60,2 748 547 2011 1163 86,2 722 62 2012 1001 77,7 556 55,5 2013 1005 657 65,4 473 48,7 2014 972 712 73,3 461 47,4 2015 772 465 60,2 348 45 2016 587 702 119,6 468 79,7 2017 578 554 95,8 368 63,7 2018 554 403 72,7 330 59,6 2019 525 89,5 304 58 2020 610 78,8 350 57,4 2021 589 93,9 382 64,8 1002 778 470 481 553 44 The situation with criminality among adult perpetrators is similar. Namely, if in the period from 2008 to 2015 we have a high base index of reported, accused and convicted perpetrators of crimes, already in the following years a significant decline can be observed, which as a phenomenon needs to be further explored so that one could see what were the reasons behind this apparently positive development in the society. However, as it was 19 Dimitrievska, S. (2021), International Scientific Conference Yearbook, 30 Years Independent Macedonian State, Faculty of Security - Skopje, University St. Kliment Ohridski - Bitola, p. 211-219 75 the case with the juveniles, in 2021 again a slight raise of almost 14 index points is noted in comparison to the previous years. Table No. 320: Reported, accused and convicted adult perpetrators 20082021 2008 Reported 26409 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 30404 30004 31284 31860 34436 37164 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 26069 20502 20582 19779 20106 13704 2021 19738 Basic index 100 115,1 113,6 118,4 120,6 130,3 140,7 98,7 77,6 77,9 74,9 76,1 51,9 74,7 Basic index 100 105,2 Accused 11310 11905 11239 12219 11311 12297 13699 99,3 108 100 108,7 121,1 105,6 11951 9320 7423 6829 5370 6965 82,4 65,6 60,3 47,4 61,5 75,8 8580 Basic index Convicted 9503 9801 9169 9810 9042 9539 11683 10312 8172 6273 5857 4712 6351 7634 100 103,1 96,4 103,2 95,1 100,3 122,9 108,5 85,9 66 61,6 49,5 66,8 80,3 4. EMERGING FORMS OF JUVENILE CRIMINALITY When it comes to the gender dimension of juvenile criminality, the available data tell us that the representation of girls is much lower compared to boys. Many reasons are behind this, starting with the biopsychological features that stand out during puberty, early adolescence, to a different perception of society towards the two sexes, girls vs boys, the stereotypes about the generally accepted behavior of girls as decent, obedient unlike the one of the boys who are brought up to be "men", to show courage, determination and even aggressiveness. 20 State Statistical Office (2017), Perpetrators of criminal acts in 2017, https://www.stat.gov.mk/Publikacii/2.4.18.07.pdf (accessed on 18.07.2022) 76 Table No. 421: Reported, accused and convicted juveniles per gender 2009-2021 2009 Total Boys Girls % Boys Reported 1519 1459 60 96 4 Base index boys 100 Accused 1030 - - Convicted 748 709 39 94,8 5,2 100 100 2010 Total Boys Girls Reported 1244 1218 26 98 2,1 83,4 43,3 Accused 750 - - Convicted 547 527 20 96,3 3,7 74,3 51,2 2011 Total Boys Girls Reported 1163 1137 26 97,8 2,2 77,9 43,3 Accused 1002 - - Convicted 722 700 22 97 3 47,9 56,4 2012 Total Boys Girls Reported 1001 974 27 97,3 2,7 66,7 45 Accused 778 - - Convicted 556 547 9 98,4 1,6 37,4 23 2013 Total Boys Girls Reported 1005 976 29 97,1 3 66,8 48,3 Accused 657 - - Convicted 473 449 24 95 5 30,7 61,5 2014 Total Boys Girls Reported 972 916 56 94,2 5,7 62,7 93,3 Accused 712 - - Convicted 461 445 16 96,5 3,5 62,7 41 2015 Total Boys Girls Reported 772 735 37 95,2 4,8 50,3 61,6 Accused 465 - - Convicted 348 326 22 93,7 6,3 45,9 56,4 2016 Total Boys Girls Reported 587 552 35 94 6 37,8 58,3 21 % Girls Base index Girls 100 State Statistical Office, Makstat database https://makstat.stat.gov.mk/PXWeb/pxweb/mk/MakStat/MakStat__Sudstvo__Obvinet iOsudeniDecaStoriteli/525_SK4_Mk_T36_ml.px/table/tableViewLayout2/?rxid=46ee 0f64-2992-4b45-a2d9-cb4e5f7ec5ef (access on 19.07.2022) 77 Accused 702 - - Convicted 468 439 29 2017 Total Boys Girls Reported 578 552 26 Accused 554 - - Convicted 368 354 14 2018 Total Boys Girls Reported 554 537 17 93,8 6,2 61,9 74,3 95,5 4,5 37,8 43,3 96,2 3,8 49,9 35,8 97 3 36,8 28,3 100 Accused 403 383 20 95 5 100 Convicted 330 313 17 94,8 5,1 44,1 43,5 2019 Total Boys Girls Reported 525 495 30 94,3 5,7 33,9 50 Accused 470 447 23 95,1 5 116,7 115 Convicted 304 287 17 94,4 5,6 40,4 43,5 2020 Total Boys Girls Reported 610 575 35 94,3 5,7 39,4 58,3 90 Accused 481 463 18 96,3 3,7 120,8 Convicted 350 333 17 95,1 5 46,9 43,5 2021 Total Boys Girls Reported 589 531 58 90 10 36,4 9,7 Accused 553 509 44 92 8 132,9 220 Convicted 382 352 30 92 8 49,6 176,5 The tabular presentation hereby confirms the earlier stated, the number of girls in relation to the boys is much lower, however unlike the boys whose numbers have been declining over the years, for ex. in 2009 there were 1459 reported boys, approximately half of them convicted (709), but in 2021, the number of reported boys was 531, while as the convicted 352. Hence, when it comes to the girls, their number is rather steady. Still, although the statistics in relation to the girls is significantly lower, some observations inform of warring fact that when girls resort to committing crimes, they do it more aggressively and recklessly which makes the resocialization process more difficult and longer.22 22 Arnaudovski, Lj. Velkova, T. (2017), Social Pathology, Second Revised and Supplemented Edition, 2nd August, Shtip 78 Table No. 5: Convicted boys and girls 2009-2021 Total convicted Boys Girls 2009 748 709 39 2010 547 527 20 2011 722 700 22 2012 556 547 9 2013 473 449 24 2014 461 445 16 2015 348 326 22 2016 468 439 29 2017 368 354 14 2018 330 313 17 2019 2020 2021 304 350 382 287 333 352 17 17 30 The gender prevalence was determined in other studies too. For instance, in a research conducted by the Faculty of Security in 2018 named “Marginalization and deviance of young people in conflict with the law placed in correctional and penitentiary institutions (2019)”23 tackling juveniles who are serving prison terms in the Juvenile Prison Ohrid, so as juveniles with educational and correctional measures (located in the same facility in that time), it was ascertained that the population of juveniles deprived of liberty is only male. One year later in 2019, in the master's thesis written by the author of this paper, “Treatment of juveniles in prison (2020)”24, it was also concluded that the juveniles deprived of liberty and send to prison are exclusively male. Last year (2021), the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM), as part of its regular, unannounced visits to places of deprivation of liberty, visited the Juvenile Prison Ohrid and the Correctional-educational facility Tetovo (Volkovija), during the visit they concluded that juveniles placed in these two facilities were only male. Later that year, the National Preventive Mechanism made an unannounced visit to the Penitentiary-correctional facility Idrizovo where 23 Stefanovska, V. Bacanovic, O., Batic, D., Peovska, N. (2019) Marginalization and deviance of young people in conflict with the law in correctional and penitentiary institutions, Faculty of Security, University of St. Kliment Ohridski-Bitola 24 Dimitrievska, S. (2020), Dealing with juveniles sent to prison, master's thesis, Faculty of Philosophy, University of St. Cyril and Methodius - Skopje 79 among others, the team detected 3 girls between 14 and 16 years of age on educational-correctional measure. Such installment of female juveniles on educational-correctional measure in an adult penitentiary-correctional facility presents a serious issue that demands a serious approach considering the nature of such facility, the material conditions there, the population in the facility, but above all the lack of education and other appropriate treatments that represent the essence of the educational-corrective measure as such, education, socialization and resocialization of juveniles in conflict with the law.25 4.2. Age of juvenile perpetrators The age when a person commits a crime for the first time is of particular importance, it is assumed that the earlier the person starts, the greater the possibility of committing a crime again and growing into an adult perpetrator. The available data indicate that the number of juveniles in conflict with the law between 16 to 18 years of age is significantly higher than that of juveniles between 14 to 16 years. This is especially evident in the period 2018-2021 when among juveniles aged 14 to 16 there is a decrease in convictions, while in respect of juveniles aged 16 to 18 years there is a steady percentage ranging from 69.6% to 75.7%. Table No. 626: Convicted juveniles according to their age 2017-2021 Year 2017 2018 2019 2020 Total No. 368 330 300 350 % 100 100 100 100 Juveniles 14—16г No. % 112 30,4 73 22,1 82 27,3 80 22,8 Juveniles 16-18г No. % 256 69,6 257 77,9 218 72,7 270 77,2 2021 382 100 93 289 24,3 75,7 4.3. Recidivism The analysis paid due respect to recidivism too, a criminal term referring to committing the same or another type of crime again. The elements of recidivism are previous conviction, a motive for committing a crime, and time distance between the earlier crime and the newly committed. Furthermore, from the point of view of criminal law, there is a general recidivism, where the perpetrator after serving the sentence for one criminal 25 See more: Ombudsman-National Preventive Mechanism https://ombudsman.mk/CMS/Upload/NarodenPravobranitel/upload/NPMdokumenti/2021/NPM%20Godisen%20izvestaj-2021.pdf 26 State Statistical Office – Makstat database https://makstat.stat.gov.mk/PXWeb/pxweb/mk/MakStat/MakStat__Sudstvo__Obvinet iOsudeniDecaStoriteli/625_SK4_Mk_T34_ml.px/table/tableViewLayout2/?rxid=46ee 0f64-2992-4b45-a2d9-cb4e5f7ec5ef (accessed on 03.08.2022) 80 act commits another one, different by nature from the earlier one, so as a special recidivism when the same type of crime is committed again. The data presented in the table below note that most of the juveniles are recidivists for different types of crime. Table No.727: Reported juveniles according to earlier conviction and the type of the crime 2018-2021 Total 2018 2019 2020 2021 Total Total Total Total Earlier convicted 554 525 610 589 Same criminal acts 41 58 44 60 Different criminal acts For same and different criminal acts 506 465 566 529 7 2 - - 4.4. Most frequent crimes committed by juveniles The available statistics point that juveniles usually commit crimes against property, which in the period from 2008 to 2013 have a relatively high representation in comparison to the other groups of crimes (73.9%), but as of 2014 they gradually decrease, so as they drop in 2020 to 43.7% but in 2021 again to mark a slight growth. However, it must be emphasized that the total number of registered crimes among juveniles has been declining in recent years, thus, if in 2008 a total of 715 crimes were registered, already in 2020 the number of such crimes is 350 i.e. 382 crimes in 2021, expressed in percentage it represents a significant decrease of 53.4%. Table No.828: Convicted juveniles according to group of criminal acts 2008-2021 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Total 715 748 547 722 556 473 461 348 468 368 330 304 350 382 Crim.acts against the 44 life and body 49 59 79 43 39 27 47 43 70 29 44 38 39 25 State Statistical Office, Makstat - database https://makstat.stat.gov.mk/PXWeb/pxweb/mk/MakStat/MakStat__Sudstvo__Prijave niDecaStoriteli/504_SK3_Mk_T10_ml.px/table/tableViewLayout2/?rxid=46ee0f642992-4b45-a2d9-cb4e5f7ec5ef (accessed on 03.08.2022) 28 State Statistical Office, Мakstat database https://makstat.stat.gov.mk/PXWeb/pxweb/mk/MakStat/MakStat__Sudstvo__Obvinet iOsudeniDecaStoriteli/575_SK4_Mk_T41_ml.px/table/tableViewLayout2/?rxid=46ee 0f64-2992-4b45-a2d9-cb4e5f7ec5ef (access on 27.07.2022) 81 Crim.acts against human rights and freedoms Crim.acts against the honor Crim.acts against sex. freedom and moral Crim.acts against human’health Crim.acts against marriage and youth Crim.acts against public finances, paid turnover and economy Crim.acts against property Crim.acts against general safety of people and property Crim.acts against safety in public traffic Crim.acts against legal traffic Crim.acts against public order Other crim. acts 2 4 1 5 1 5 - 2 7 2 2 3 4 4 - 1 - 2 - - - 1 - - - - - - 16 14 7 12 8 5 14 13 7 2 2 2 5 9 5 6 7 15 7 12 4 7 13 7 10 18 66 94 - - 1 1 - 1 1 - 2 - - - 1 2 6 4 13 7 9 3 3 5 4 1 2 1 - 3 529 547 403 513 409 353 267 198 257 251 188 181 153 164 7 2 1 6 4 4 6 2 2 2 2 3 2 3 50 46 35 39 26 24 14 28 22 32 25 24 28 28 37 20 1 1 1 - - 1 1 2 1 1 3 1 16 45 16 35 43 25 100 42 79 37 53 29 48 45 3 10 3 7 5 2 4 3 - 26 1 - 5 6 If we look into the criminal group and pinpoint which of the crimes have been mostly committed by juveniles, we will notice that the crime 82 "Aggravated theft" leads with a constant percentage of about 60% of the total registered crimes in the group "Criminal acts against property", followed by "Theft" with an average of 17%, as well as "Robbery" and "Seizure of a motor vehicle" with an average of about 10% of total registered crimes. Table No.929: Convicted juveniles according to criminal act 2017-2021 2017 2018 % Crim.act sa against property Robbery theft 251 2019 % 2020 % 188 181 2021 % % 153 164 2 0,79 1 0,53 - - 1 0,65 - - 46 18,3 33 17,5 29 16 32 21 27 16,4 165 65,7 120 63,8 111 61,3 93 60,7 99 60,3 Robbery 26 10,3 12 6,38 19 10,5 10 6,53 16 9,75 Evasion Seizure of a motor vehicle Extortio n Conceal ment Other crimes against property - - 1 0,53 - - 1 0,65 - - 9 3,58 10 5,31 16 8,83 7 4,57 16 9,75 1 0,39 - - - - 2 30,6 - - 2 0,79 7 3,72 - - 2 30,6 1 0,60 - - 4 2,12 6 3,31 5 3,26 5 3,04 Theft Aggrava ted theft 4.5. Place of the committed crime Particular attention attracts the place where juveniles mostly commit crimes. Dynamics of life, rapid technological development, intensified migrations to the cities make the rural places slowly die out. That situation is pictured in the table below indicating a higher number of crimes committed by juveniles in the urban areas, cities rather than the provincial, smaller ones. However, certain authors (Arnaudovski, Lj. Velkova, T. 2017) lean towards the theory that juveniles commit their first crime in rural areas, while 29 State Statistical Office, Makstat database http://makstat.stat.gov.mk/PXWeb/pxweb/mk/MakStat/MakStat__Sudstvo__Obvineti OsudeniDecaStoriteli/575_SK4_Mk_T41_ml.px/table/tableViewLayout2/?rxid=fe68d d16-d46c-41e6-a31b-046b6041db21 (accessed on 04.08.2022) 83 recidivism occurs in urban ones. Of course, this theory deserves a more indepth answer, and consequently additional research. Table No.1030: Convicted juveniles according to the place of the committed crime per year 2008-2020 2008 ‘09 ‘10 ‘11 ‘12 ‘13 ‘14 ‘15 ‘16 ‘17 ‘18 ‘19 2020 Gazi Baba Gjorche Petrov 56 57 25 44 36 23 50 9 39 20 11 6 14 12 15 5 8 - - 2 3 13 4 8 2 10 Karposh 24 64 30 47 56 23 48 11 33 29 19 12 15 Kisela Voda 50 66 28 47 85 30 52 25 38 9 8 19 4 Centar 107 104 29 48 38 33 40 15 73 32 23 18 27 Chair 54 66 31 38 40 44 37 11 41 18 5 8 20 Shuto Orizari 3 1 2 9 2 - - - 4 5 - - 5 Aerodrom 6 26 7 10 10 - 12 3 17 5 7 6 11 Butel 11 3 1 1 - - 5 16 3 2 1 2 Saray 7 11 4 4 - 1 - - 6 5 3 5 4 Arachinovo 2 1 - 1 - - - - - - - 1 2 Debarca 2 - - - - - - - - 1 - - - Berovo 1 - 9 5 5 4 4 2 2 1 4 - 1 Bitola 13 21 27 25 5 5 4 2 - 1 7 1 1 4 4 6 2 1 1 - - - - - Bogdanci Bogovinje 1 - - - - 1 2 1 3 3 7 2 - Bosilovo 3 1 6 1 2 4 - 2 3 - 2 - 9 Brvenica 1 - - - - 5 2 3 - 4 - Vasilevo 2 4 9 1 2 2 2 4 11 Valandovo 2 7 7 - Vevchani 2 - - Veles 45 53 Vinica 7 Vrapchishte 3 16 1 2 - 1 2 1 - - - 1 - - - - - - - - - - 28 44 30 31 22 6 16 7 18 19 11 - 19 10 16 5 1 6 2 3 1 - 2 - - - 8 - - - 1 2 8 7 7 1 Gevgelija 2 12 6 3 9 10 4 2 8 - 7 6 1 Gostivar - 2 - - - 2 - 38 12 50 16 35 24 Gradsko 5 2 1 1 1 3 5 4 - - - - 1 Debar - - - - - - - 11 3 11 7 9 2 30 State Statistical Office, Makstat database https://makstat.stat.gov.mk/PXWeb/pxweb/mk/MakStat/MakStat__Sudstvo__Obvinet iOsudeniDecaStoriteli/650_SK4_Op_T35_ml.px/table/tableViewLayout2/?rxid=46ee 0f64-2992-4b45-a2d9-cb4e5f7ec5ef (accessed on 27.07.2022) 84 Debarca - - - 3 - - - - - - - - - Delchevo 12 - 7 6 5 6 6 2 1 2 - 2 2 Demir Kapija 3 5 2 - - - Demir Hisar 2 - 1 - - - 7 5 - - - Dolneni 1 - - - 4 2 - 1 7 Dojran 1 2 2 1 1 1 - - - - - - - Zhelino - - - - 1 5 1 1 1 11 3 2 2 Zrnovci - - 3 - - 1 1 1 2 1 - - - Ilinden 1 3 3 4 - - - - - 1 2 1 2 Jegunovce 2 - - - - - - - - 1 5 2 - Kavadarci 18 34 42 43 25 19 23 24 12 8 10 9 9 Karbinci 2 - 2 - - - - - - 3 - 2 1 Kichevo - - - - - - - 18 1 15 13 14 8 - - 1 1 1 2 - - - - - Kochani 10 - 31 21 9 19 8 13 9 3 8 - 8 Kratovo 2 - - - - - - - - - - - - Krivogashtani Kriva Palanka 1 - - - - - - - - 2 - 2 - - - - - 2 1 - - - - - - Krushevo - - - 3 - - - 4 - 3 - 1 1 Kumanovo 15 4 - - - - 3 1 2 - - - 3 Lozovo 2 - - - - - - 1 - - 1 - - - 1 - 5 3 - - - - - - - - - - 2 2 2 - 4 - - 3 1 - 4 - - - - Mogila - - 1 - - - - - - - - - - Negotino 16 25 18 5 17 14 8 16 10 2 1 5 2 Novo Selo - 14 10 - 3 8 1 3 - - - 1 - Ohrid 12 11 3 36 1 14 4 3 12 4 19 1 12 Petrovec 9 - - 1 - - - 3 1 - - 2 - Pehchevo 1 - 1 - - 1 - - - 1 1 1 1 Plasnica - - - - 1 - - - 2 - - - Prilep 19 25 6 33 10 - - 32 8 7 - 16 29 Probishtip 14 11 11 - 1 2 14 1 2 3 2 - 8 Radovish 9 23 33 17 24 10 11 2 10 3 2 8 8 Konche Mavrovo Rostucha Makedonski Brod Makedonska Kamenica i 1 2 - 2 85 Rosoman 3 2 1 - 1 4 1 - 1 - - - Sveti Nikole 38 2 1 - 6 9 7 3 13 4 2 4 9 Sopishte 1 - - - - - - 1 - - - 3 - Strumica 11 25 37 33 19 19 17 10 10 3 15 8 30 Struga 23 - 24 19 1 1 - - - 1 - Studenichani 7 - - - - - 1 - - - 2 - - Tearce 3 - - 1 - 1 - - - 3 12 - 1 Tetovo 4 1 4 130 19 69 40 11 14 36 45 31 - Centar Zhupa - - - - - - - 1 - - - - 1 Chashka Cheshinovo Obleshevo Chucher Sandevo 1 6 3 3 5 4 5 3 1 5 - - - - 2 - 4 1 1 1 1 2 - - - - - 1 - - - - - - - - Shtip 45 35 19 - 35 19 15 16 14 22 16 13 22 Abroad - - - 5 18 1 3 4 - - - - - The tabular display of the statistical data by municipality confirms the assumption (hypothesis) that juvenile criminality is more prevalent in urban rather than rural areas, which is far more prevalent in the larger cities than in the smaller municipalities. So, the municipalities of the City of Skopje lead the way, followed by the cities of Prilep, Gostivar, Strumica, Shtip. The table also gives us an overview of the situation over the years, so if there were only 4 convicted juveniles in Tetovo in 2008, as many as 130 were convicted in 2011, but in the last year of the statistical survey (2020), there was not a single convicted juvenile. Such oscillations should be further examined. 5. CONCLUSION The given information in the above sections points to the following conclusions: Although the perception of citizens indicates an increased volume of juvenile criminality, the statistical data speak of a different situation. In recent years, a decline has been noted, this situation is also reflected in the portion juvenile crime makes in the general crime committed by adults, where the share of juveniles is insignificant and in percentage ranges between 3.4% and 7.6%. However, although at first glance it seems relatively insignificant, the dynamics with which criminality among juveniles moves is identical to the criminality among adults, thus leaning towards the same or similar genesis of occurrence of both crimes. When it comes to the gender of juvenile perpetrators who are inclined to crime, the data confirmed that boys are more inclined to it with a 86 percentage ranging between 90% and 98.4% of the total crime committed by juveniles, with a representation of 69.6%-77.9% among juveniles in conflict with the law between 16 and 18 years, and between 22.1%-30.4% among younger juveniles between 14 and 16 years of age. Regarding the groups of crimes, “Crimes against property” are on top of the list, among them "Aggravated theft" (60.3%-65.7%) and "Theft" (16.4%-21%) are mostly committed, followed by “Crimes against public order” and “Crimes against the life and body”. When we talk about recidivism, general recidivism is far more common than special one. As for the place where the crimes are mainly committed, it seems that the urban areas prevail, which is understandable if we have in mind that the concentration of people, capital, resources are more present there. Although this statistical analysis answered some of the questions raised in the research conducted by the author last year (2021), it does not mean that these results round up the mystery raised about the presence of juvenile criminality in our society. On the contrary, like any research, this one just makes an attempt to answer some questions, but as it is the case with every scientific work, answering one question opens a new one. Finally, although the perception of citizens assumed a pervasive amount of crime committed by juveniles in society, the official records do not confirm that, however that should not liberate us as a society to live peacefully by undermining this social phenomenon, rather the opposite. The general public perception might be due to the existence of the so-called dark or gray number of crimes committed by juveniles which must not be ignored. Thus, this statistical analysis, along with the author's previous survey, confirms that the problem does exist, it is well recognized by the public and the institutions which is why a systemic approach must be considered, a comprehensive action by the competent authorities and the community in order to address this very important and serious issue with a single aim, to deliver the best possible efforts for its suppression but above all prevention. 6. REFERENCES 1. Arnaudovski, Lj. (2007), Criminology, Shtip, 2nd August S 2. Arnaudovski, Lj. Velkova, T. (2017), Social Pathology, Second Revised and Supplemented Edition, 2nd August, Shtip 3. Arnaudovski, LJ, Gruevska-Drakulevski, A. (2013), Penology, Faculty of Law "Justinian the First" - Skopje, University "St. Cyril and Methodius" Skopje 4. Dimitrievska, S. (2020), Treatment of juveniles in prison, master's thesis, Faculty of Philosophy, University of St. Cyril and Methodius - Skopje 5. Dimitrievska, S. (2021), International Scientific Conference Yearbook, 30 years of independent Macedonian state, Faculty of Security - Skopje, University of St. Kliment Ohridski - Bitola, p. 211-219 6. State Statistical Office, Makstat database 87 https://makstat.stat.gov.mk/PXWeb/pxweb/en/MakStat/?rxid=46ee0f64-29924b45-a2d9-cb4e5f7ec5ef 7. Kambovski, V. (2006), Theoretical foundations of the new legal model of juvenile justice, Macedonian Review of Criminal Law and Criminology, year 13, no. 3 8. Juvenile Justice, from Idea to Practice (2006), Yearbook - Police Academy - Skopje, p. 98-117 9. Mircheva, S. Gender perspectives on criminality – in press 10. Mojanoski Cane T. (2015), Methodology of security sciences, Ohrid Kosta Abrash 11. Nikolic-Ristanović, V., Kostantinović-Vilic, Slobodanka, (2018) Criminology, Publishing-Graphic Enterprise, Prometheus, Belgrade 12. Ombudsman – National Preventive Mechanism https://ombudsman.mk/CMS/Upload/NarodenPravobranitel/upload/NPMdokumenti/2021/NPM%20Godisen%20izvestaj-2021.pdf 13. Stefanovska, V. Bacanovic, O., Batic, D., Peovska, N. (2019) Marginalization and deviance of young people in conflict with the law in correctional and penal institutions, Faculty of Security, University of St. Kliment Ohridski-Bitola 14. Stanojoska, A., Aslimoski, P. (2019), Criminology, University of St. Kliment Ohridski - Bitola, Faculty of Law - Kichevo, Kosta Abrash – Ohrid 88 UDK: 316.774:351.74 316.774:343.9 DOI: 10.20544/IYFS.42.1.22.P07 THE MEDIA PORTRAIT OF THE POLICE Julija Popovska- Aleksandrovska LL.M. Criminal Intelligence and Analysis Department Ministry of Interior of the Republic of North Macedonia Abstract Understanding the different needs of groups, events and matters that should be presented through the media contribute to thinking about the news as a socially constructed presentation of reality and an arena in which the public's problems are measured and given due attention. The framework, in which the media act, either enforces or undermines the perception of the Police in public. On one hand, whether in fiction or reality, televised forms of media often raise police officers to superhero status. On the other hand, the media expose police brutality, racism, corruption and mistakes in criminal investigations. For many, the good persuasiveness and widespread of the news that the media emit is reason enough to consider their value as image builders for the Police, and also as a factor in increasing the public's fear of crime and creation of a false belief that we are living in a world in which cruelty and crime are constantly increasing. In this regard, the media have the power to profile the relationship between the public and the Police. Keywords: Police, media, public opinion, relationship between the public and the Police. 1. INTRODUCTION The construction of news in the media opens many aspects of treating the topic: How are certain questions about the Police raised in the media at a certain point as public interest, and then fall into oblivion? How do the media profile public opinion on these issues? How can we explain the difference in the amount of media news coverage these issues receive? According to Gurevitch and Levy (Gurevitch and Levy, 1985), the media are considered as main arena in which “certain social groups, institutions and ideologies are fighting to define and construct the social reality”. Journalists are only "managers" in that arena.31 In that way, media organizations play a vital role in the social construction of public opinion on certain issues. Like other political institutions, news organizations limit which issues are covered and who participates in constructing them. Lawrence Regina G. (2000), „The Politics of force- Media and the Construction of Police Brutality“, University of California Press, London, p.4 31 89 While many studies of social construction of public issues focus on how issues recognized as problems confer power, certain studies, such as that of Berger and Luckmann (Berger and Luckmann 1967), propose that problem avoidance confers power, and also with existence of the critical examination of public social conditions in the media can be sought and achieved greater, governmental activity and responsibility. Which problems are highlighted or isolated depends on how the media simultaneously empower and deny the power of different groups' perspectives on reality. Different groups of people often “take reality for granted”, and the media have the power, through its role, to create the public opinion - to enable the realities of certain people to become authoritative and widely shared, while the realities of others remain isolated and marginalized.32 2. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE POLICE IMAGE IN THE MEDIA One of the main features of modern society is the scope in which media technology enables media to be a reflexive monitor of public behaviour, thus amending patterns of social life. The reflection is a process in which the social actors change their behaviour in the public, according to the information they get for their previous public behaviour. Police officers wear uniforms or specific emblems and are easily visible in the public, and the possibility of the media to portray police competences and powers through the information they convey, contributes to the reflection of public opinion on the Police. Certainly journalists, cameras, media teams and news editors have a significant role in creating the public image of the Police. Operating under their "seventh power" mandate, members of the news and broadcast media often bring "behind the scenes" behavior or scene to the front lines. From time to time, the media can project personal interpretations of policing to the public, or they can unintentionally suggest that certain performances, actions in the conduct of the Police in the public, form a norm that will be adopted. Data from the survey entitled as "Policing in London" confirms that for as many as 80% of respondents, the media are the primary source of information about the Police.33 Daily reporting in the media about how the Police act in certain cases, how they communicate with the community and how they carry out certain tasks creates public opinion. Although the basic function of the police is to preserve security, detect crime and establish public order and peace, a central aspect of their legitimacy, shown through the media, relates to the opinion that the Police should be the ones who care, not the ones who control. If one looks back at the image of the Police in the media, through a historical review, one can clearly see the influence of the interpretation of the 32 Ibid, p.5 Colbran Marianne (2014), „Media Representations of Police and Crime, Shaping a Police Televison Drama, Centre For Criminology“, Univestity of Oxford, UK, p.7; 33 90 Police by the media and television. Colbran`s research34 on the picture of the Police in the public in Great Britain, from the second half of the last century, shows that public opinion about the Police changes, according to how it was portrayed and treated in the media. In the 1950s, police officers were perceived by the public as dealing with a number of issues that were prominent, and of public concern and as part of the communities they patrolled and served. The seventies brought a change in public opinion towards greater expectations and greater responsibility from the Police, first of all, with the establishment of specialized units that were supposed to detect organized crime and prevent armed robberies. In this decade, it is evident that there is an emergence of public opinion about the existence of police officers who do not respect the law themselves, especially when using powers and procedures for proving crimes and bringing perpetrators to court. This is a period in which the public believes that the Police are abusing their power. The existence of strong moral values and emphasizing the role of women in the Police is a feature of the media representation of the Police in the eighties and nineties. In the stated period, important investments are made in the Police, the crime rate continues to grow, and, however, crime prevention with the active participation of the public is becoming the central policy of the authorities. It is a period in which the image of the Police changes again towards "the ones who care", by showing respect for police procedures and the influence of the female perspective. The period after the nineties and the first years of this century are characterized by a greater political and criticizing approach in portraying the police in the media. This is a time when the media once again paint a picture of the morale of police officers at all levels of the police hierarchy, both those who work on the street, as well as for police managers and their political supervisors. This period is also characterized by significant changes in the power of the Police and their accountability, which changes through amendments in laws and criminal law, that establish a balance between the power that the police have when taking measures from their powers, such as stopping, searching, deprivation of liberty, detention and investigations with the rights of suspects. Another important aspect that influences the image of the Police in the media has appeared in the last 30 years, and that is the highlighting of the rights of victims, which has become a sphere of interest of the media, nationally and internationally. The change was brought about by the United Nations Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power (1985)35, which established standards for the treatment of victims by the Police and prosecutors, and lobbying by certain groups and associations for victims' rights led to an increase in the role of victims in the Colbran Marianne (2014), „Media Representations of Police and Crime, Shaping a Police Television Drama, Centre For Criminology“, Univestity of Oxford, UK, p. 8; 35 See more at https://www.unodc.org/pdf/compendium/compendium_2006_part_03_02.pdf 34 91 response of states to crime.36 The change is such that even certain newly enacted laws are named after individual victims. In parallel with such changes, it has become a trend for victims to be the focus of media news, while at the same time, they are portrayed as the center of the criminal justice system. This trend redirected the actions of the Police and their procedures, that is, it led to a situation in which the effect of the loss and the mourning of the victims' families play a major role in the narrative part of the news in the media, at the expense of the investigation. 2.1 Constructing news about the police in the media It is clear that there are differences between news and fiction, and a corresponding definition is given in the Oxford Dictionary, where news is defined as "newly received or notable information about the events" and fiction is "prose literature describing imaginary events or people" - but there are also many similarities with the events.37 As Ericson claims (Ericson, 1987) when it is about fiction that the news is a construction. As crime writers, journalists tell stories, as opposed to a simple reflection of reality or gathering facts, and the news process does not involve reporting an obvious reality. Much like the work of a writer in the fiction genre, a story of fiction involves the use of organizational resources and professional routines of the craft to construct the news. By understanding the process of constructing news, one will also understand the processes of constructing fiction, and therefore, it is good to provide a theoretical explanation of the construction of police and crime news in the media. In view of the studies related to the construction of news, Devereux (Devereux, 2003) claims that three main perspectives prevail: political economy, critical theory and liberal-pluralist.38 The political economy approach, Hesmondhalgh, Murdock and Golding (Hesmondhalgh 2005; 2006; Murdock and Golding 2005), emphasizes the importance of economic pressures such as media ownership, advertising and market structure as influences that shape the content of media texts. Critical theory or the neoMarxist approach examines the extent to which media professionals consciously or unconsciously engage in the reproduction of dominant ideologies or ideas and values that are favorable to political and economic powerful in society - Elliot and Devereux (Elliot 1972; Devereux 2003). In contrast, the liberal pluralist approach emphasizes the autonomy of media professionals and emphasizes that, as a result, media content conveys a vast 36 See more at https://www.unodc.org/pdf/compendium/compendium_2006_part_03_02.pdf visited on 25.10.2019; 37 Colbran, Мarrien (2014), Media Representations of Police and Crime, Shaping the Police Television Drama, Centre for Criminology, University of Oxford, стр.19 38 Ibid, p.19 92 array of messages, some of which are favorable in a society where changes are not needed and sought, and others are not - Devereux (Devereux 2003). One of the earliest studies of the construction of the news about Police and crime in Great Britain is entitled 'Police Management of the Crisis', conducted by Hall et al. 1978, and in which the authors claim that time pressures and the need, where it is possible for statements in the media to be grounded in "objective" and "authoritative" statements from "accredited" sources, lead to a systematically structured over-access to the media by those in powerful and privileged institutional positions.39 The same suggest that this structured preference, given to the opinions of the powerful, leads to such spokespeople becoming the "primary definers" of topics and their interpretation of events or topics setting the terms of reference for subsequent debates and discussions. Nevertheless, the authors also comment that the media are institutionally different from other agencies of the state, so they do not automatically take the lead from the state and that they often try to find out things that the primary definers prefer to keep silent about. However, they conclude that the media's prevailing tendency is toward reproduction, despite all its contradictions, and that tendency is embedded in the structures and processes of production of news. 2.2. Media and journalistic strategies for constructing news The economic context in which the news is constructed, the limited time in which the news must be reproduced, the conventional wisdom of professional journalism, the largely shared and complementary expectations of editors, sources, colleagues, and readers, all work to create the same kind of product. In that regard, Chibnall (Chibnall 1977) will emphasize that today's news is processed according to the expectations shaped by yesterday's news, by constantly strengthening the "taken for granted" frames of constructing and transmitting information. In another study based on interviews, Schlesinger and Tumber (Schlesinger and Tumber 1994) examine both the practices of crime and policing specialized journalists and what they call the media strategies of the sources these journalists work with in constructing the news. In the same direction, Mawby (Mawby 1999) suggests that the concept of the police as a "primary definer" should be reconsidered. Using a large number of case studies, he opposes the idea that the Police and other authoritative sources always set the news agenda. However, a more recent study by the same author suggests that the increase in police corporate communications, along with the organizational changes in the media, may have an impact on journalists' 39 Hohl, Katrin (2011),The role of mass media and police communication in trust in the police: New approaches to the analysis of survey and media data, A thesis submitted to the Methodology Institute of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London; 93 ability to provide independent critical reporting on policing and crime, Mawby (Mawby 2010). In constructing police news, sources edit their reports and verbal statements for use by journalists. On the other hand, editors choose only some issues to cover and assign them to journalists with a specific point of view, so that only limited sources are used, limited questions are asked, and limited answers are formulated. The journalists themselves edit in the process of visualizing their stories and in the selection of sources and appropriate wording. The editor, on the other hand, works only on the text presented to him, a text that has been substantially modified by the previously included sources and journalists who prepared it. So, it seems that journalists, in order to construct news, similarly to fiction writers, do not reflect reality or gather facts, but they interpret reality and tell stories. News production is a matter of systemic relations between journalists and their sources, a product of the cultural and social organization of work on the news, not of the world events. The result is, as Erikson and his colleagues claim, not the whole truth, but the truth reduced to the genre capacities of the medium or the broadcast news (Ericson et al. 1987).40 One can mention another aspect of broadcasting news in the media that influences the Police image and the public trust, and that is the representation of crime, crime perpetrators and victims. On this issue, Reiner (2010) will point out that there is a significant difference in how crime and perpetrators are portrayed by the media and the picture shown through official statistics and victim status reports.41 Three main divergences in differences can be highlighted. The first is the sensationalist approach of the media when reporting on serious crimes, especially murders or those crimes that include sexual elements, which is also confirmed within the framework of research by Garofalo, Sparks and Lichter (Garofalo 1981, Sparks 1992, Licher 1994), with the conclusion that as many as two-thirds of the main news in the media refer to murders, assaults or armed robberies. The second is the way in which the media portrays the profile of the perpetrators of the crimes and which does not correspond to the official statistical data, so according to the results of the research of Mason, Lichter and Rainer (Mason 1992, Lichter 1994, Rainer 2001), the media portrayed them the perpetrators as persons with mostly high status in society, middle-aged men, white people, while according to official data the perpetrators are mostly young, members of marginal socio-economic groups. The sooner the frequency of the two factors – the actual reporting by the media and the official reporting on the work of the Police will increase in the news, the sooner a more honest portrait of the police will begin to be present in the public. As a form of a governmental institution, the Police are affected by their image in the mass media, much more than other state 40 Ibid, p.22 Colbran, Мarrien (2014), Media Representations of Police and Crime, Shaping the Police Television Drama, Centre for Criminology, University of Oxford, p.9 41 94 agencies. How this image is created can be imputed to a large number of factors, nevertheless, it remains the result of an interactive process that goes on between the agenda of the media, the political agenda and the public agenda. 3. THE MEDIA PORTRAIT OF THE POLICE AND POLICING 3.1 Events related to policing The public is strongly interested in crime and the events that happen on a daily basis and that are related to the work of the Police, and hence, public trust in the Police becomes a central theme in policing. The extensive public trust in the Police has moral and political significance, contributes to compliance with the law, and is essential to police effectiveness. The presentation of crime and the Police in the media guarantees not only the safety of the public but also refers to the presentation of expected results in the mass media that are related to controlling and preventing threats from crime and criminal acts. The Police must have a positive reputation among the media and be able to influence public opinion and citizens. Reports related to police activities and police procedures presented in the mass media play a key role in developing people's attitudes toward the police organization. The media are an important element in the modern societies, since they represent the means for public control of institutions and individuals with power, and they cannot afford to be perceived as a simple propaganda tool to manipulate public opinion. They have a strong impact on public opinion, they exist to satisfy the public's interest in being informed, regardless of whether it is a criminal event that causes attention or certain information related to security, i.e. the topics through which the work of the Police is presented. The media market in North Macedonia has a large number of media (especially electronic), which is usually defined as a pluralisation and variety of media. But this does not say much about the media development, plurality, variety, ownership transparency and professionalism. The objective and professional information of the media about the Police is a factor that affects the public confidence. The events related to the work of the Police are mainly dynamic and change from minute to minute. Electronic media have the opportunity to follow such dynamics very quickly - through pictures, speech or from the scene with real time calls. How the media come to the information they present, is important in terms of the reliability and credibility of the sources and of course, the accuracy of the information itself and the choice of topics that will be represented and presented as news. The data arising from the analysis of the percentage representation of the sources of information, carried out by Stefanovska (2015), show that the media, in over 80%, use routine sources of 95 information, in 10% informal sources (civil organizations, stakeholders), while in less than 10% ( from 5 to 7 %) so called innovative channels (journalist as researcher, interview with experts)42. Hence, it follows that the frequent reliance on official sources narrows the space for debate, and the media text only conveys the information obtained from the source of information. The conclusion coming from the same research is that in the print media there is a disproportionate relationship between the representation of the violent and property crime, which means that although those acts, compared to property crimes, occur less, their presentation in part of the media is greater. The situation is similar in other media in the country. The media's interest in certain types of crimes and the greater representation of news and information about these crimes direct the activities of the Police towards the detection of that crime and its disclosure in the media through public announcements, daily bulletins or other means of communication. 4. EMPIRICAL RESEARCH OF CERTAIN ELECTRONIC MEDIA IN NORTH MACEDONIA In the period from November 2019 to February 2020, research was conducted through content analysis, quantitative and qualitative, of a total of 297 reports published on the web portals of four televisions that have national coverage, namely: “Macedonian Radio-Television”, “Sitel”, “Telma” and “Alsat”. The research analysis results for the purpose of this study will be done through the source of information and types of sources of information in the reports, the section in which reports were published, content features of the reports and possible evaluations about the Police and their work that were contained in the reports and the titles of the reports. The research leads to the conclusion that among the examined televisions there is a tendency to indicate the source of information, i.e. in 68.7% of all the examined reports the authors have indicated the sources, but still, there is a significant percentage of reports - 29% where this is not the case. This percentage of reports where the source of information is not indicated may mean that the writers of the reports often "borrow" news or download news from other sources, where the original source was also not indicated, and it may also mean that they do not always have a credible source that it is worth mentioning, so it will not be listed. However, two of the televisions participate with a higher percentage of news where the source is indicated - "Sitel" with 54.4% of reports in which the source of information is indicated and "Telma" with 22%. Stefanovska, V. (2015), „ Media portrait of the criminality in the daily newspapers in the Republic of Macedonia” (Research report), University of „St. Kliment Ohridski“ – Bitola, Faculty of Security- Skopje, p. 68 42 96 When it comes to the types of sources of information, it can be noticed that the Ministry of Interior is the main source of information, which indicates the fact that the media regularly follow the public announcements of the Police, which has its own portal, briefings and statements to the media. In as many as 55.6% of all reports, the source is the Police. On the other hand, the percentage of reports in which eyewitnesses appear as a source of information is very small - 3.4%, experts - 3%, in which the journalist is a source of information through their own ways of informing or communicating with people who have information about the report – 8.3%, political entities (parties, state institutions) – 2%, representatives of the judiciary – 2% or nongovernmental organizations – 1%. Such a result supports the conclusion that television newsrooms policy, that follow the work of the Police, almost does not reinforce and finance research and research stories, but rather has an approach of transmitting the already published information, as we have already ascertained, most of the time from the Police itself. Also, it seems that journalists are not keen on checking the facts or information, looking for more aspects of the news itself, the information that would come out, would be confirmed or denied by experts, nor do they follow the possible further development of the stories during the criminal procedure - through statements and information received from prosecution and judiciary. The very small percentage of representation of eyewitnesses as sources of information could indicate that the public (citizens having information from the scene itself) is not ready to cooperate with journalists when it comes to a criminal or security event, and the small number of sources from non-governmental organizations show that journalists do not sufficiently respect and appreciate them as a suitable corrective to the work of the Police and as relevant and professional for evaluating the situations related to the events reported on. However, this picture in the analysis of the total data is disarranged to a certain extent if the image of televisions is analyzed individually. The research indicates that at "Sitel" television there is an appropriate percentage representation of several sources of information, so the journalist was the source of information for 62.5% of the reports, representatives of the judiciary and political entities were the sources in 50% of the reports, eyewitnesses as a source were represented by 40% and representatives of non-governmental organizations by 33%. However, one can also note that the high representation of the journalist as a source of information at the mentioned television also indicates leaving “room” for personal interpretations, creating breaking stories, incomplete checking of facts or describing an inaccurate, undetermined reality. Another television has representation of several sources of information in a significant percentage, and that is "Telma" television. Here, representatives of non-governmental organizations are the source in 66.7% of the reports, eyewitnesses are represented by 40%, political entities by 33.3%, 97 the journalist was the source of information in 20.8% of the reports, and representatives of the judiciary in 16.7%. The research survey also included the content features of the reports, the first of which refers to the representation of the topics being treated. The analysis of these results shows that televisions mainly show and consider the topics related to the crime situation to which 60.9% of all programs refer, and the topics related to the efficiency of the Police occupy a significant percentage - 25.3%, which indicates that the media believe that the public should be familiar with how successfully the Police perform their work. If we refer to the representation of the topics on certain televisions, it is different from the overall picture that is obtained from the total number of reports and is as follows: at "Sitel" television, the most represented editorials are about the efficiency of the Police - 58.7%, followed by contributions on internal relations in the Police – 20%. In the contributions of "Telma" television, the most represented are those about possible corruption in the Police - 50% and internal relations in the Police - 40%, while the editors of "Alsat M" television estimated that the most present topics should be about the cooperation of citizens with the Police - 25% and the efficiency of the Police, with 21.3% of published reports. At "Macedonian Radio-Television" the most represented topics are the relationship between the Police and the citizens - 50% and internal relations within the Police - 20%. Aiming at measuring the possible evaluations of the Police and their work that would be contained in the articles and the headlines of the articles, the research also contained three questions related exactly to this: does the journalist give a value assessment of the Police, does the report contain statements, views, opinions of other persons for the Police that contain a value assessment for the Police and if the headline is in any way related to the Police, whether it contains a value assessment for the Police. Here, the research showed that the percentage of reports that do not contain evaluations about the police is very high (for both questions – journalists 99.3%; statements of other persons 97%). Also, the majority of headlines – 81.5% did not contain the word police. If one analyzes the assessments of the Police in the percentage of reports in which they are included, it is evident that in the evaluations given by journalists, the percentage with a positive evaluation is higher - 4.7%, than the one with a negative evaluation - 1%, and the representation of the positive value assessment is higher in the statements from other people - 1.3%, against the negative value assessment - 1%. The same is related to the headlines mentioning the Police - 3% positive and 0.3% negative evaluation of the Police. Such an image of a dominant positive assessment of the Police is also present in television, i.e. when asked whether the journalist gives a value assessment of the Police, the percentage of representation of the positive assessment at "Sitel" is 57.1, at "Telma" is 35.7, and for "Alsat M" it is 7.1, while the negative evaluation is almost not present (only three reports at "Telma" have a negative assessment for the Police given by the journalist). In 98 those reports that contain statements and views of other people about the Police with a value assessment, the analysis showed a completely opposite situation. The negative assessment of the Police dominates here - at "Telma" in 66.7% of the reports and at "Alsat M" in 33.3% of the reports, while there is a positive evaluation in only four reports with "Sitel". 5. CONCLUSION How the media portrays the Police has an important role in the relationship between the Police and the public, because there should be cooperation between them, so that the public would perceive the Police as a legitimate authority that is respected and would have confidence in it. A public that does not trust the Police will not place its safety in the hands of the police service and will not trust it as a guardian of values and public order. The media's effect on the image of the Police influences the public to maintain fear and skepticism of law enforcement, creating mutual distrust between citizens and the Police. Media that directly emphasize acts of aggression undertaken by the Police in the course of their work impose intense scrutiny on the Police. The media's job is to report the facts of a story, but when a highly controversial story breaks in the news that may involve violence, it can be easy for journalists to pick sides, to report opinion rather than fact. The quantitative analysis of the portals presented above points to the conclusion that private televisions show more interest in following and broadcasting about the Police and crime, and also consider the Police and their work to be of public interest and give adequate space and representation to this topic on their portals. With this approach, these televisions influence the public in forming its opinion about the Police and the trust towards it. Regular editorials keep the public's attention towards the Police and police work, and depending on how it is portrayed through the various topics that are published (positively or negatively), the public accordingly forms its opinion and its trust. Crime has the highest representation in the topics of the reviews related to the Police, but a significant percentage is also occupied by topics related to the efficiency of the Police, which indicates that the media believe that the public should be familiar with how successfully the Police perform their work, and the most common source for the information presented on media portals are the officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs or publicly published announcements and other news by the Police. It is obvious that the Ministry is the transparent institution that takes care of its image in the public, and this allows it to influence the establishment of trust, which would not be the case if unofficial sources or unverified facts were used in the creation of the news. 99 6. REFERENCES 1. Colbran, Мarianne (2014), Media Representations of Police and Crime, Shaping the Police Television Drama, Centre for Criminology, University of Oxford; 2. Hohl, Katrin (2011), The role of mass media and police communication in trust in the police: New approaches to the analysis of survey and media data, A thesis submitted to the Methodology Institute of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London; 3. Lawrence, Regina G. (2000), The Politics of Force, Media and the Construction of Police Brutality, University of California; 4. Stefanovska, Vesna (2015), Media portrait of criminality in daily newspapers in the Republic of Macedonia, "St. Kliment Ohridski" University - Bitola, Faculty of Security - Skopje; 5. United Nations, Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power, https://www.unodc.org/pdf/compendium/compendium_2006_part_03 _02.pdf visited on 25.10.2019 100