Crime and Justice in Cambodia

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of crime and the criminal justice system in Cambodia. After a brief review of the history and politics of the country the chapter examines the major crime categories, patterns, and statistics. The number of crimes recorded by the police for each category between 1998 and 2009 and the trends in homicide rates between 1992 and 2009 are presented. Official crime statistics are compared with results from two sweeps of the United Nations International Crime Victim Survey. Next the criminal justice system is investigated. The lack of independence and the endemic corruption in the three branches of the system are highlighted. The role, structure, and functioning of the police and judiciary are explored with a focus on courts and procedures, the rights of the accused, prosecution and case investigation, as well as punishment for serious crimes such as murder, rape, robbery, and drug trafficking. The chapter also reviews common practices and problems in the correctional system and presents trends in prison population between 1995 and 2008. Show more