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Date: November 22, 2024 Fri
Time: 11:35 am
Time: 11:35 am
Results for criminal organizations
8 results foundAuthor: Woodiwiss, Michael Title: The Global Fix: The Construction of a Global Enforcement Regime Summary: This briefing tracks the history of the concept of organized crime and its metamorphosis into a transnational phenomenon allegedly posing a serious threat to global world order. It shows how the United States has dominated the construction of a global enforcement regime by interlinking concepts of drugs prohibition and combating organized crime. It states that the limited and blame-shifting approach to organized crime pioneered by the United States has steered attention away from corporate criminal activities towards conspiracies of criminal organizations. Details: Amsterdam: Transnational Institute, 2005. 31p. Source: TNI Briefing Series; no. 2005/3; Crime and Globalisation Programme Year: 2005 Country: International URL: Shelf Number: 114636 Keywords: Criminal OrganizationsOrganized Crime |
Author: Kego, Walter Title: Internationally Organized Crime: The Escalation of Crime within the Global Economy Summary: International organized crime is growing in significance, not just in some countries, but on a worldwide scale with an increasing number of people affected. The trade in narcotics is the principal source of revenue for international criminal organizations. The countries for production, transit, and consumption are all integrated in complex networks, which are characterized by economic gain, violence, and corruption. Nation-states and boundaries are not much of an obstacle in thwarting these criminal networks. Moreover, the criminal organizations are apt at altering their structure to make themselves more flexible and consequently more difficult to penetrate by law enforcement agencies. Details: Stockholm: Institute for Security and Development Policy, 2009. 17p. Source: Internet Resource; Policy Paper Year: 2009 Country: International URL: Shelf Number: 118775 Keywords: Criminal OrganizationsDrug TraffickingIllicit DrugsOrganized Crime |
Author: Shaffer, Gregory C. Title: Criminalizing Cartels: A Global Trend? Summary: Countries in virtually every region of the world are criminalizing cartel offenses. Many have initiated prosecutions, several have secured convictions, and a few have imposed jail time. Yet outside the United States the enforcement record is hardly uniform, and the debate about cartel criminalization is far from resolved. This situation raises a host of questions. What spurred the trend toward cartel criminalization? Have the changes been driven primarily by criminalization evangelists such as the United States Department of Justice, whether working bilaterally or through transnational networks? Are organic, bottom-up, national processes also at work, suggesting changing moral sensibilities regarding cartel conduct? To what extent have formal legal changes been accompanied by enhanced enforcement? This Essay tackles these questions through a review of criminalization and enforcement developments in the United States, Europe, and around the world. While the emerging legal landscape of anti-cartel activity is complex and varies significantly by jurisdiction, the clear trend is toward increased criminalization, as well as more robust enforcement, including collaboration among national antitrust authorities through informal transgovernmental networks. The trends, however, are not uniform, and the implementation of formal legal changes is an open question in light of divergent institutional contexts and social attitudes regarding cartels. Details: Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota School of Law, 2011. 34p. Source: Internet Resource: Minnesota Legal Studies Research Paper No. 11-26: Accessed September 3, 2011 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1865971 Year: 2011 Country: International URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1865971 Shelf Number: 122639 Keywords: Criminal CartelsCriminal NetworksCriminal Organizations |
Author: Morselli, Carlo Title: The Factors That Shape Organized Crime Summary: Organized crime has received considerable attention among policy-makers and law enforcement agencies in recent decades. This development is, in part, due to the disproportionate harms produced by the illicit activities of criminal organizations and networks, as opposed to individuals and small groups. High-profile wars between rival groups, such as that between the Hells Angels and Rock Machine occurring in Quebec during the 1990s, have also contributed to the growing concern about organized crime. In addition, an increasing volume of violence, especially homicide, in Canada appears to be gang-related. In response to the increases in organized crime, federal, provincial and territorial governments want to further understand the nature of organized crime, by building upon existing research that would allow decision-makers to implement approaches to combat organized crime that were based on empirical evidence. There continues to be substantial gaps in the empirical data, impeding the development of appropriate policy responses to criminal activities that may be associated with organized crime. One area that has been of particular interest is the structure of organized crime groups and the factors that contribute to varying structures. The literature reviewed indicated that the structure of organized crime varies in terms of their flexibility and adaptability. Studies of organized crime groups increasingly show that social networks are critical to their understanding and that there are many small, loosely structured networks. The assumption of using social network analysis is that the connections between individuals and groups are crucial determinants of the performance and sustainability of criminal organizations. The social network approach may also be applied at different levels of analysis, thus offering a more complete understanding and approach for containing organized crime. Such applications have been well documented at the individual level, as criminal career research has demonstrated. In this particular project, the network approach was used to identify those variables that have the greatest impact upon criminal organizations and the linkages between them. The framework for this project complements the recent work by the Australian Federal Police who have established the Target Enforcement Prioritization Index (TEPI). The TEPI is designed along a matrix (or quadrant) framework in which decision makers are able to contemplate the level of risk associated with a target and the level of success that enforcement may have if targeting such a threat. The AFP experience with the TEPI is an initial guide for the present report in that it provides an understanding of how specific features of individuals, groups, and environments may be used to assess the scope and structure of organized crime in a given setting. The focus on this project was to review the literature pertaining to the structure of criminal organizations and networks in order to ultimately identify the relevant variables that can then be applied to the development of analytical models. The identification of variables affecting the structures of and linkages between organizations will then serve as the basis for future statistical modeling that will enhance the understanding of these organizations/networks and inform strategies to disrupt them. The information provided in this report will help police and policy-makers to understand how specific features of individuals, groups and environments may help in the assessment of the scope and structure of organized crime in a particular setting. The analytical report created in this project includes: A catalogue of relevant individual, group, and environmental level variables; Justification from previous research or theory for the inclusion of each variable, with regard to how and why it is relevant to criminal organizational structures and linkages; The levels of measurement applicable to each variable; Sources for the data necessary to measure each variable; The explanatory power of each variable, given the evidence; and A discussion of the overall dataset and the implications for modeling and analytical purposes The report assesses a number of individual, group/organization, and environmental level variables that may influence how individuals or groups structure their criminal operations in a variety of criminal market and legitimate settings. In as much as possible, we categorize such factors along individual, group, and environmental levels of measurement. In many cases, however, a factor transcends more than one level of analysis, forcing us to address the issue more broadly. The report focused on the following themes: Formal Organizational Membership and Trust Personality Financial and Material Resources Violence Technological and Private Protection Capacities Language Skills, Ethnic Composition, and Social Embeddedness Crime Mobility, Diversity, and Continuity Upperworld Conditions and Facilitators Criminogenic Opportunities Target Priority Furthermore, an inventory of the variables found to explain the structure of crime in organized crime, criminal market, and criminal network research has been assembled in a separate catalogue (refer to the Appendix). This catalogue is meant to facilitate the work of law-enforcement and policy officials who are in constant search of new avenues of inquiry to a wide array of problems addressed in this report. The catalogue is designed as an outline of the more elaborate research review. It provides details on the variable’s level of measurement, essential coding, impact on the structural features of criminal groups, explanatory power, and possible data sources that may be used to gather factual data for practical purposes. Details: Ottawa: Public Safety Canada, 2010. 82p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 5, 2012 at: http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2012/sp-ps/PS4-89-2010-eng.pdf Year: 2010 Country: International URL: http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2012/sp-ps/PS4-89-2010-eng.pdf Shelf Number: 124849 Keywords: Criminal OrganizationsGangsOrganized CrimeSocial Network Analysis |
Author: Stys, Yvonne Title: Conditional Release of Federal Offenders Convicted of Criminal Organization Offences Summary: Past research on criminal organization offenders has typically centred on the nature of the offences committed and profiling those offenders. This study extended the extant knowledge of criminal organization offenders by updating past profiles, focusing on community outcomes while on conditional or statutory release, and identifying risk factors related to re-offending for these offenders. Overall, 451 offenders were identified in the Correctional Service of Canada’s (CSC) Offender Management System (OMS) as being convicted of a criminal organization offence, as outlined in Sections 467.11 to 467.13 of the Criminal Code of Canada (CCC), between April 25, 1997 and March 31, 2009. This included 418 non-Aboriginal males, 19 Aboriginal males, and 14 women offenders, with an average sentence length of 5.2 years. Most offenders convicted of a criminal organization offence had some prior involvement with the criminal justice system, with 21.5% having served a previous adult term in a federal penitentiary. Along with their current criminal organization conviction, offenders were most commonly also convicted of drug offences (59.6%) or attempted murder (8.2%). Examination of criminogenic risk, need and reintegration potential found that the typical criminal organization offender was assessed as being “medium” risk (58.1%) and “high” need (45.9%), with “high” reintegration potential (68.8%). Domain-level analyses of need illustrated that criminal organization offenders were significantly more likely to have some or considerable need in the areas of criminal attitudes and criminal associates than a matched sample of CSC offenders. Of the 451 offenders who were convicted of a criminal organization offence, 332 (73.6%) had been released to the community. The majority were released on day parole (51.8%) or statutory release (44.9%). Most (76.4%) had been employed at some point during release, and 14.8% of those released were participating in some sort of community intervention program, with the most common programs including education, Counter-Point, and living skills programs. Of those who were released, 12.7 % (42) were re-admitted to a federal institution. Most had their release revoked without a new offence (76.2%), while 14.3% (n=6) were convicted of a new offence. Survival analyses conducted to determine the risk of failure upon release found that those convicted of criminal organization offences were significantly less likely than the matched group to be returned to custody. Risk factors found to be especially predictive of readmission or re-conviction included age at release and type of release, with younger offenders and those on statutory release more likely to fail than those released at an older age or released on day or full parole. Details: Ottawa: Correctional Service of Canada, 2010. 47p. Source: Internet Resource: Research Report 2010 No R-227: Accessed April 16, 2012 at: http://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/text/rsrch/reports/r227/r227-eng.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Canada URL: http://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/text/rsrch/reports/r227/r227-eng.pdf Shelf Number: 124986 Keywords: Conditional Release (Canada)Criminal OrganizationsDay ParoleGangsOrganized CrimeParolePunishmentRecidivism |
Author: Williams, Phil Title: Drug Trafficking, Violence, and Instability Summary: The rationale for this series is a reflection of the ways in which the world of armed groups has changed and is continuing to change, and the impact of these changes on threats and challenges to national and global security. Although challenges posed by various kinds of violent armed groups initially appear highly diverse and unrelated to one another, in fact they all reflect the increasing connections between security and governance—and, in particular, the relationship between poor governance and violent armed groups. The growth in the number of states with capacity gaps, functional holes, and legitimacy deficits helps to explain the resurgence of a new medievalism, and the rise of illegal quasi-governments in localized areas. The irony is that after several decades in which the number of sovereign states represented in the United Nations (UN) has increased significantly, relatively few of these states can truly claim a monopoly on force within their territorial borders. Violent challengers to the Westphalian state have taken different forms in different parts of the world. These forms include tribal and ethnic groups, warlords, drug trafficking organizations, youth gangs, terrorists, militias, insurgents, and transnational criminal organizations. In many cases, these groups are overtly challenging the state; in others they are cooperating and colluding with state structures while subtly undermining them; in yet others, the state is a passive bystander while violent armed groups are fighting one another. The mix is different, the combinations vary, and the perpetrators of violence have different motives, methods, and targets. In spite of their divergent forms, however, nonstate violent actors share certain viii qualities and characteristics. As Roy Godson and Richard Shultz have pointed out, “As surprising as it may seem, pirate attacks off Somalia, militias in Lebanon, and criminal armies in Mexico are part of a global pattern and not anomalies.” Indeed, these violent armed groups or, as they are sometimes called, violent nonstate actors (VNSAs) represent a common challenge to national and international security, a challenge that is far greater than the sum of the individual groups, and that is likely to grow rather than diminish over the next several decades. Although the U.S. military—especially the Air Force and the Navy—still place considerable emphasis on the potential emergence of peer competitors among foreign armed forces, more immediate challenges have emanated not from states but from various kinds of VNSAs. This monograph, “Drug Trafficking, Violence, and Instability,” focuses on the complex relationship between human security, crime, illicit economies, and law enforcement. It also seeks to disentangle the linkages between insurgency on the one hand and drug trafficking and organized crime on the other, suggesting that criminal activities help sustain an insurgency, but also carry certain risks for the insurgency. Subsequent monographs will focus on specific areas where violent armed groups operate, or they will delve into specifics about some of those groups. Some works will be descriptive or historical, while others are more analytical, but together they will clarify the security challenges that, arguably, are the most important now faced by the United States and the rest of the world. The series will include monographs on Mexico, the Caribbean, and various kinds of violent armed groups. Details: Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh, Matthew B. Ridgway Center for International Securities Studies; Carlisle, PA: U.S. Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, 2012. 88p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 10, 2012 at: http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/PUB1101.pdf Year: 2012 Country: International URL: http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/PUB1101.pdf Shelf Number: 125243 Keywords: Criminal OrganizationsDrug TraffickingOrganized CrimeTerroristsViolenceViolent CrimeYouth Gangs |
Author: Albanese, Jay S. Title: Assessing Risk, Harm, and Threat to Target Resources against Organized Crime: A Method to Identify the Nature and Severity of the Professional Activity of Organized Crime and its Impacts (Economic, Social, Political) Summary: The risk, harms, and threat posed by organized crime are a central concern of governments and citizens around the world. Methods to identify, rank, and combat organized crime activity are drawing greater attention in recent years as both domestic and international organized crime activities threaten legitimate economies, governments, and public safety. In response to calls for proactive work to better understand, anticipate, and respond to organized crime, methods are being developed to calibrate the comparative risk of different crime groups and different types of legal and illegal markets at risk for infiltration. Many international efforts are in their early stages, and lack a transparent approach or method, so an effort is made here to develop a more precise empirical, theoretically-based approach to risk assessment which has relevance across jurisdictions. The result reported here is a proposed methodology that offers both law enforcement and prevention efforts a basis for targeting resources using an objective rationale and risk model. In this way, the precise nature of different organized crime-related risks will be identified empirically, and which can be defended to skeptics, and permit the allocation of scarce resources to those organized crime problems found to pose the greatest risk. Furthermore, periodic application of this risk assessment method can be used to gauge the success of organized crime interdiction and prevention efforts over time. This working paper will move forward existing research and practical assessment efforts on organized crime both within (domestic) and also among countries (international) by offering a transparent approach not confined to any particular location. But first it is necessary to be clear about the precise issues to be assessed: what is organized crime, risk, harm, and threat - the four central elements to this effort. Details: Santiago, Chile: Global Consortium on Security Transformation (GCST), 2012. 20p. Source: GCST Working Paper Series No. 12: Library Resource: Don M. Gottfredson Library of Criminal Justice, Rutgers Newark Law Library, Acc. # 126642 Year: 2012 Country: International URL: Shelf Number: 126642 Keywords: Costs of CrimeCrime PreventionCriminal OrganizationsOrganized CrimeRisk Assessment |
Author: Glasser, Uwe Title: Estimating Possible Criminal Organizations from Co-offending Data Summary: A method of data mining regular police records to identify possible criminal organizations has been developed. Between 2001 and 2006, offending related to 236 possible criminal organizations was reported to RCMP "E" Division, with 39 of the groups being particularly serious. This study combined computational mathematical analysis, social network analysis methods, and data mining techniques in a unique way to automatically identify traces of possible criminal organizations in operational police records. Under Canadian law organized crime groups, such as gangs, are termed "criminal organizations." The minimum requirements characterizing a criminal organization are that it consists of three or more people; that there is the commission of a serious criminal offence that can result in a material benefit; and that group offending happen more than once. The dataset that was used in the study was extracted from the Police Information and Retrieval System of RCMP "E" Division. (RCMP "E" Division covers most of British Columbia, not including some urban areas in the Lower Mainland like Vancouver and the Victoria area.) The massive dataset of more than 4 million records covered all reported offences and all persons associated with a crime, from complaint to charge, from mid-2001 to mid-2006, for the policing jurisdiction. Using social network analysis methods, the research first identified groups of people that the police-reported data indicated had co-offended with one another. (A "co-offence" is when one or more offenders are associated with a crime incident.) The level of activity, seriousness of criminality, and material benefit associated with the offending for these co-offending groups was then calculated and compared between years. Two different methods were used to determine the level of criminality for a co-offending group. This identified which co-offending groups demonstrated the minimum characteristics of a possible criminal organization and which demonstrated the characteristics of a particularly serious criminal organization. The research then examined how group membership and the structure of these groups changed over time. The analysis identified more than 18,000 groupings of co-offenders in the crimes that came to police attention. Of these 18,000 groupings, approximately 300 groups were active over a period of time. Of the 300 groups active over a period of time, 236 committed at least one serious offence. These 236 groups represent possible criminal organizations, as they met the minimum quantitative criteria under law for a criminal organization. When only co-offending groups that were active over a period of time which consistently committed crimes that were of above average seriousness were considered, 39 possible criminal organizations of particular seriousness were identified. Most of the more serious criminal organizations that were identified were also very active over a number of years, indicating their greater stability and intensity of offending compared to the other possible criminal organizations. Similarly, if a group was more criminally active, its members were more likely to have committed serious crimes. Estimating Possible Criminal Organizations from Co-offending Data PUBLIC SAFETY CANADA - Most of the possible criminal organizations were quite small, with an average core group's size being between six and seven individuals. The particularly serious possible criminal organizations had an even smaller average size, of just less than five. The less serious possible criminal organizations tended to have more peripheral members and a less tightly connected core group. This type of analysis may eventually provide a useful tool for operational policing in the real-time identification of individuals possibly associated with a criminal organization, as well as serve as an alternative source of information in intelligence gathering and verification. Intelligence and further criminal analysis is required to properly use this type of information in the investigation of, and reporting on, organized crime because there are a number of caveats regarding these possible criminal organizations that have been identified. Further work would be required to determine if the possible criminal organizations identified were component parts of larger organized crime groups. It is possible that not all individuals in a criminal organization are included in the identified networks because only police-reported crime information was analyzed. Individuals operating in the background or who are more able to escape police interventions, who may be more likely to direct the activities of others, would not be captured with this type of methodology. Details: Ottawa: Public Safety Canada, 2012. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 13, 2013 at: http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2012/sp-ps/PS14-7-2012-eng.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Canada URL: http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2012/sp-ps/PS14-7-2012-eng.pdf Shelf Number: 127602 Keywords: Co-offendingCriminal OrganizationsGangsOrganized Crime (Canada) |