Organised crime, occupations and opportunity

European Journal of Criminology, 2008

2013

This study examines the criminal histories of offenders who become involved in organised crime. It is based on analysis of administrative data on criminal sanctions (court conviction, or caution / warning / reprimand) held on the Police National Computer (PNC) database. PNC data represents proven offending, which is unlikely to be a true reflection of actual offending behaviour Although a wide range of offences were identified indicating a link to organised crime (the ‘inclusion’ offences), the majority (73%) of offenders were selected on the basis of a conviction for a drugs-related offence (principally supply or importation). Around one in ten offenders 4

Criminal Justice, 2002

The concept of occupational crime—as one of the principal forms of white collar crime—has been quite familiar and widely invoked since the publication of Clinard and Quinney's influential Criminal Behavior Systems: A Typology. More recently, however, the term occupational crime has been applied to activities quite removed from the original meaning of white collar crime, and it has been used interchangeably with such terms as occupational deviance and workplace crime. In the interest of greater conceptual clarity within the field of white collar crime the argument is made here for restricting the term `occupational crime' to illegal and unethical activities committed for individual financial gain—or to avoid financial loss—in the context of a legitimate occupation. The term `occupational deviance' is better reserved for deviation from occupational norms (e.g. drinking on the job; sexual harassment), and the term `workplace crime' is better reserved for conventional fo...

This chapter has one main objective: to present a succinct overview of key debates and ideas associated with theory, research and practice in the area of white-collar and corporate crimes. First, we think about white-collar and corporate crimes in the 21st Century, contextualising these phenomena and reinforcing their criminological significance, despite their analysis remaining at the margins of mainstream discourse. Second, we revisit on-going conceptual debates, identifying central analytical features of white-collar and corporate crimes before going on to argue in favour of shifting attention towards understanding how white-collar crimes are organised and the conditions that shape this over time. Third, we look at ways of explaining these behaviours, ranging from consideration of individual propensities and rationality, through organisational context and culture, to wider social conditions. Fourth, we analyse current policing and regulation strategies. We conclude with a discussion of key themes in white-collar crime research and scholarship.

The organisation of …, 2006

International Journal of Criminology and Sociology, 2012

Typologies are intended to assist researchers in understanding complex social phenomena. This paper reviews the current literature on organised crime typologies and argues that the majority of organised crime typologies are reflected to some extent in a typology developed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in 2002. Organised crime typologies can be categorised into three groups: models that focus on the physical structure and operation of an OCG, the activities of OCGs and the social, cultural and historical conditions that facilitate organised crime activity. This paper will only discuss models that examine the physical structure and operation of an OCG; the UNODC typology is exclusively focused on structural elements. Typologies on organised crime structure have developed largely in isolation from each other and appear disparate. This paper will analyse the formation of each typology to establish their individual elements. It will then identify which typologies and their respective characteristics can be aligned with or distinguished from the UN typology. The value of this review is that it will enable greater uniformity and consistency in academic discussion on organised crime typologies.

The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, 1998

It has become commonplace to observe that the term 'organised crime' is frequently used but difficult to define. It is generally applied to describe a group of people who act together on a long-term basis to commit crimes for gain though, as A. K. Cohen (1977) observed, it is important to separate out the distinction between structures of association and structures of activity. Maltz (1976) proposed that 'organised crime' was identifiable by means of a list of distinguishing features, of which four were considered essential characteristics: violence, corruption, continuity, and variety in types of crime engaged in. However, smart people who avoid using violence and trade very competently and profitably in only one product-for example, ecstasy or cannabis production-thus cannot be described as organised criminals, which would doubtless please them if they thereby received less police attention and/or lighter sentences. Neither could professional full-time fraudsters (as discussed in the later article) be 'organised criminals'. In other words, one could sustain some distinction between people who make affluent livelihoods from crime-professional criminals-and those who do so according to Maltzist criteria-organised criminals. But it is far from certain whether this would satisfy what I regard as the true social definition of 'organised criminals': a set of people whom the police and other agencies of the State, regard or wish us to regard as 'really dangerous' to its essential integrity. The notion of organised crime as a continuing criminal enterprise is embodied in the popularly accepted (in Europe) definition employed by the German Federal police, the BundesKriminalAmt: Organised crime is the planned violation of the law for profit or to acquire power, which offences are each, or together, of a major significance, and are carried out by more than two participants who cooperate within a division of labour for a long or undetermined time span using a. commercial or commercial-like structures, or b. violence or other means of intimidation, or c. influence on politics, media, public administration, justice and the legitimate economy. This BKA definition provides a baseline to determine whether a criminal group ranks as 'organised crime'. Of course, there are shortcomings. The

Political decisions dictate the distribution of resources within our society (the economics of our society) which in turns impacts on the social welfare of every individual citizen within a nation. It is pertinent to first know the impact of Organised Crime (OC) within an economic contextthat is, what economists are dealing with in their definition of OC and the way in which economists address the issue. It is then important, having now outlined the more fundamental market and labour factors at play, to look at how each side of the political spectrum interprets OC and its impact on the nation and what response is generally given. Finally, one must look at the everyday social impacts that manifest due to both action and inaction in relation to OC. This includes more subsidiary, 'collateral' effects from OC thatwhilst varied and at times extensively under-represented in statisticsgreatly shapes our socio-economic environment. Organised crime became increasingly globalised throughout the 20th centrury, notably stemming from countries such as Sicily (the Mafia Cosa Nostra); China (Triads; Green Gang); Japan (Yakuza); Columbia and Mexico (various drug cartels); and Germany (Nazi regime / Aryan Brotherhood). These held much

2015

Co-funded by the Prevention of and Fight against Crime Programme of the European Union Project ARIEL has been carried out thanks to the contribution and support of a wide range of representatives of European institutions, LEAs, FIUs, AROs, academics and researchers. Special thanks go to Unit D2 Organised crime of the Directorate-General (DG) Home Affairs of the European Commission. The authors also thank (in alphabetical order):

*Apologies for cross-posting* Dear colleagues, We are seeking submissions for the 2017 ECPR-GSOC General Conference to be held at the University of Bath, UK, from 7 to 8 July, 2017. The theme is ‘Organised Crime Today- Networks, Routes and Criminal Partnerships’, and deadline for submission is 1 March. For more information, please contact [email protected] or visit the webpage http://www.sgoc2017.org/ ——— We invite panels and papers addressing different facets of organised crime which may include but not only: Gangs, organised crime and mafia Criminal logistics, organisation, and modus operandi. Criminal mobility Politics, corruption, and symbolic power Organised crime in prisons Organised crime and the European financial crisis Freezing, forfeiture, and social reuse of criminal assets Women and children in criminal and terrorist networks Public perceptions of organised crime International and European cooperation in the fight against organised crime Organised crime, social media and the internet Big data, crowdsourcing and computational methods Environmental crime Modern slavery