includes detailed discussions on the difficulties in defining and researching organised crime, criminological theories, various crime groups (Italian Mafia, Russian Mafia, Chinese Triads, etc.), the global impact of organised crime, and how legal and illegal spheres interrelate.
Key topics cover...
Week One
Difficulty in Researching OC (Hobbs & Antonopoulos)
Lack of definitional consensus bc it is a politically constructed concept so researchers
are vulnerable to shifts in politically motivated renditions
Hidden nature of activities and state controlled data issues of biased + incomplete
data + interviews are not always truthful
Definition of Organised Crime
20th century: immigrants entering USA led to an ethnic definition
o ‘Organized crime is Italian Mafia’ (cressey)
FBI: financial motive
o ‘a continuing criminal conspiracy with organized structure, fed by fear and
corruption and motivated by greed’.
INTERPOL: financial and political motive
o ‘a systematically prepared and planned committing of serious criminal acts
with a view to gain financial profits and power’
German Police: any business? (universities included?)
o ‘any business or business-like structure, which tries to influence politics,
media, public administration and economy’.
International vs transnational OC:
o International crime: acts prohibited by international criminal law
o Transnational crime: cross-border crime – jeopardises legally protected interests in
more than one national jurisdiction and is criminalised in at least one of the states
Transnational organised crime: ‘…a structured group of three or more persons,
existing for a period of time and acting in concert with the aim of committing one or
more serious crimes or offenses in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or
other material benefit’ (Palermo Protocol, UN 2000 Art 2a)
o issues: vague, what are ‘serious crimes’ etc.
,Types of Groups:
Rigid hierarchy: single boss, strong internal discipline, several divisions
Devolved hierarchy: regional structures, own hierarchy and autonomy
Hierarchical conglomerate: umbrella association of separate criminal groups
Core criminal group: a horizontal structure of core individuals who work for the
same organization
criminal network: individuals engage in criminal activity in shifting alliances
according to skills they possess to carry out the illicit activity
Criminological Theories
Alien conspiracy: theory blames outsiders and outside influences for the prevalence
of organized crime in ‘healthy and rich’ Western society
o Ethnicity trap: use of ethnicity fails to explain the existence of the activity
itself and often comes to ethnic stereotypes (Albanese, 2004)
Rational Choice Theory: individuals are free agents that can make rational choices
weighing risks (likelihood and severity of punishment) vs benefits (economic/etc.)
o policies from this approach deal harshly + quickly with offenders to deter
them
Relative deprivation/strain: results from the discrepancy between social aspiration
and factual opportunities
Biological/racial theories: biological inclinations OC (Herrnstein and Murray,
1994)
o Unpopular today
Criminal Emigration Theories: link between OC and country of origin (e.g.
smuggling activities)
Cultural theories: criminals bring their cultural luggage to a new country
Learning theories: stresses
General deterrence theory: crime can be thwarted by the threat of punishment; if
people fear that they will be arrested, they will not commit the criminal act
Specific deterrence theory: penalties for criminal acts should be sufficiently severe
that convicted criminals will never repeat their acts
Social disorganisation theory:
, Anomie: breakdown of social norms that often accompanies rapid social change
(Durkheim) explains criminality
Strain: gap in cultural goals (material wealth/status) and the structural means to
achieve this (education/employment) then crime occurs bc of increased frustration and
resentment encourages illegitimate/illegal means to secure success
Relative deprivation: inequality between rich/poor communities creates hostility
poor commit crimes
Social control theory: Where social bonds are broken/weak, people engage in
violence
Link between ethnicity and organised crime:
o Criminal export model: where criminal organisations send members to
establish posts in new countries – independent from migrant communities (e.g.
Chinese triads in Asia)
Columbian OC sending members to NL
o 2 generation model: where OC is a product of immigrants (large
nd
communities + enough young people who want to become rich)
Example:
Albanian presence in Italy/Germany (post Yugoslavian war)
Italian mafia in US 1930s
o Mutual dependence model: combination of above 2 models – OC follows
emigration and makes use of migrants
Example:
Turkish mafia sending members to Netherlands + using
existing communities to facilitate heroin trade
Moroccan mafia (post WW2 to rebuild country) + hash coming
from Morocco
Principles of OC:
Secrecy:
o Outside: to conceal illicit activites from legal punishment
o Inside: to protect contacts/clients/partners/etc. from competition
o Purpose: self-interest (money)
o ‘Irony of secrecy’ (Adler 1970): conflict between purposive (rational) and
impulsive (hedonistic/emotional) behaviour
, Trust: non-contractual business relations – so why do they trust each other?
o Stems from reputation, family ties (provides a guarantor), satisfaction with
profits + semi-autonomous mechanisms
o Semi-autonomous mechanisms:
Self-regulation system
Inner codes of behaviour/rules
Trust relationship
Inner arbitrary system
Violence:
o reasons to use violence
Fight competition and establish a monopoly
Settle conflicts between rival parties
Guarantee loyalty and respect for prevailing norms and codes of
behaviour
o Often a last resort, why?:
Avoid attention of police
Creates a negative image of ‘out of control’
Various Criminal Organisations
Chinese:
Chinese tongs: Chinese Tongs emerged in the 19th century as a reaction of racists
attacks of Americans on Chinese immigrants. They worked as security groups, but
there was a lot of competition across the groups. At the end of the 1990s, they started
to get involved with Chinese Triads (transnational OC). They assisted with human
smuggling and opium distribution locally (local OC)
Japanese Yakuza:
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