Organized Crime

The Impossible Mission: Global Justice Movement Against Transnational Organized Crime

by Baris Cayli

Cayli, Baris (2012) ''The Impossible Mission: Global Justice Movement against Transnational Organized Crime'' New Global Studies Vol:6 No:1

This article argues that the best counterattack against globally oriented transnational organized crime (TOC) is by a... more This article argues that the best counterattack against globally oriented transnational organized crime (TOC) is by a global response. The contribution of participating states and the creation of a collective identity against TOC are both necessary. This creation would be more effective through transnational social movements. Therefore, activating the global justice movement (GJM) against TOC would be a significant achievement. This has not yet taken place for both structural and ideological reasons which are on the surface quite rational. If GJM activists create a more unified movement, however, and adhere more strictly to non-violence as have other social movements like the Libera anti-Mafia association of Italy and Flare Network of Europe, there is potential for convergence.

Wahlen im Schatten des organisierten Verbrechens. Mexiko zwischen State-Capture und Staatsversagen

by Günther Maihold

Making the second step before the first - Assessing organized crime: the case of Germany

by Klaus von Lampe

Published in Crime, Law and Social Change, 42(4+5), 2005, 227-259

The debate on organized crime has shifted from the question of “myth or reality?” to efforts to come to an assessment... more The debate on organized crime has shifted from the question of “myth or reality?” to efforts to come to an assessment of the nature and extent of organized crime. This paper discusses the possibilities and limits of such an endeavor in the case of Germany. A meaningful assessment requires linking the concept of organized crime to clearly defined empirical referents, having a thorough understanding of their dynamics and interrelations, and obtaining valid and reliable data. It is argued that these requirements cannot be met given the present paucity in theory and data. From the available aggregate data contained in the official crime statistics and annual situation reports on organized crime drawn up by the federal police agency BKA no overall trends are discernible. Where trends are identifiable, they mostly pertain not to patterns of criminal cooperation but to contextual factors. In contrast, the analysis of individual cases may serve to shed some light on the situation of organized crime, provided they are put in perspective with a differentiated conceptualization. A fourfold typology of criminal networks based on differences in the social embeddedness of criminal actors suggests that the seriousness of the problem may depend on the likelihood of the manipulation of relevant decision-making processes. Germany is not characterized by alliances between underworld and upperworld, but the existence of criminal networks within the upperworld gives grounds for concern.

The Application of the Framework of Situational Crime Prevention to ‘Organized Crime’

by Klaus von Lampe

Published in Criminology & Criminal Justice, 11(2), 2011, 145-163

This essay and review examines to what extent the conceptual framework of Situational Crime Prevention can be... more This essay and review examines to what extent the conceptual framework of Situational Crime Prevention can be meaningfully applied to the phenomena variously labelled ‘organized crime’. Several approaches are identified which in different respects imply modifications to the situational framework in order to accommodate assumed specificities of ‘organized crime’, including ‘organized’ criminal activities transcending space and time, and ‘organized’ criminals being capable of selecting and shaping crime settings. It is argued that while a situational approach to the study of ‘organized crime’ is useful in some respects, in other respects the conceptual framework of Situational Crime Prevention needs to be modified to a point where its universal applicability is called into question.

Management, Membership and Incentives: An Exchange Theory of Violent Behavior

by John Porten

This paper seeks to explain variation in the violent conduct of the output of violence by the Vice Lords, an American... more This paper seeks to explain variation in the violent conduct of the output of violence by the Vice Lords, an American street gang. The paper concludes that two constituencies within the Vice Lord organization were in competition to use the organization’s resources to maximize distinct benefits preferred by each. The Vice Lord membership preferred to allocate resources to produce violence, because violence meant protection. The Vice Lord management realized financial and social benefits, and preferred to forego expensive violent tactics when possible, reallocating those resources to their own ends.

This theory derives from a perspective rarely used in the study of violent, non-state actors. It considers the organization as a bounded ecology onto itself; with interior competitive pressures and cleavages. Internal constituencies have divergent preferences for resource allocation. The function of an organization determines which constituencies exist and how their interests diverge. The balance of the interest preferences determines the amount of violence a non-state actor will commit.

Gang member undergrads: What are gang members doing in our colleges and universities?

by Carter Smith

Keywords: gang activity in college, street gangs in university, percent of students having gang association, gangs in college, gangs in universities, college gangs.

Abstract: With the growing presence of criminal street gang members in the United States, communities everywhere are... more Abstract: With the growing presence of criminal street gang members in the United States, communities everywhere are experiencing the damaging impact of their criminal behavior. A 2011 report by the National Gang Intelligence Center reported the number of gang members in the United States was conservatively estimated at 1.4 million. As these gang members evolve, are they using our nation’s colleges and universities to educate themselves? How will that affect our communities? This paper reports results of a survey of college students and campus police regarding their perception of the presence of gang members on their campus. Less than one in four students agreed there was a gang problem in the community around their campus, while two of three of the police respondents agreed with the statement.  Students and police agreed in similar percentages that there was a gang problem within the campus community.  At least half of both students and police thought gang members were responsible for less than 10% of crime on campus. About two of three students and police reported less than 10% of the students were active gang members. The Bloods, Crips, and Gangster Disciples were the top three gangs in the campus community for both groups. Drugs crimes, Assaults, assorted Weapons crimes, Robberies and Sexual Assaults were reported as gang-related crimes.

El crimen organizado en Europa: una grave amenaza para la seguridad y el orden público

by Francisco José Rodrigo Luelmo

"Archivos de Criminología, Criminalística y Seguridad Privada", Vol. II, Estado de Nuevo León (México), enero-junio de 2009

The organized crime is one of the most important threats for the international and states’ security, because of the... more The organized crime is one of the most important threats for the international and states’ security, because of the enormous variety of punishable activities which practices, but also because of its global spreading. Its existence has worried some organizations such as United Nations and European Union, which have tried to define it in order to improve the judicial and police efficiency in the fight against this threat. Europe is a space very affected by the organized crime, with mafias (e.g., in Italy and Russia) and drugs-traffickers. So, this criminal phenomenon risks the citizen’s integrity and the respect for the rule of law in Europe and in the rest of the world.

El crimen organizado es una de las amenazas más graves para la seguridad internacional y de los Estados por la multitud de actividades delictivas que practica, pero también por su mundialización. Su existencia ha preocupado a organizaciones como Naciones Unidas y la Unión Europea, que lo han intentado definir para mejorar la eficacia jurídico-policial en la lucha contra este riesgo. Europa es un espacio muy afectado por el crimen organizado, en forma de mafias (por ejemplo, en Italia y Rusia) y narcotraficantes de droga. Se trata, pues, de un fenómeno criminal que pone en riesgo la integridad de los ciudadanos y el respeto al Estado de Derecho en Europa y en el resto del mundo.

Organising the nicotine racket: Patterns of cooperation in the cigarette black market in Germany

by Klaus von Lampe

Published in: Petrus C. van Duyne, Klaus von Lampe, James L. Newell (eds.), Criminal Finances and Organising Crime in Europe, Nijmegen: Wolf Legal Publishers, 2003, 41-65

This chapter discusses the potential for a better understanding of variations in the patterns of criminal cooperation,... more This chapter discusses the potential for a better understanding of variations in the patterns of criminal cooperation, taking the illegal cigarette market as an example. The first section explains why the market for contraband cigarettes has been chosen for a case study of organised crime. In the second section, a general classificatory scheme is proposed for analysing criminal structures, while in the third section, this classificatory scheme is applied to the illegal cigarette market.

The Trafficking in Untaxed Cigarettes in Germany: A case study of the social embeddedness of illegal markets

by Klaus von Lampe

Published in: Petrus C. van Duyne, Klaus von Lampe, Nikos Passas (eds.), Upperworld and Underworld in Cross-Border Crime, Nijmegen: Wolf Legal Publishers, 2002, 141-161

This paper describes the development of the illegal cigarette market in Germany, outlining its basic characteristics... more This paper describes the development of the illegal cigarette market in Germany, outlining its basic characteristics and the conditions that have contributed to its emergence and continued existence. Data were obtained from various sources, including media reports, government documents, interviews conducted with law enforcement officials, informants, and a representative of the German association of cigarette manufacturers.

Criminally exploitable ties: a network approach to organised crime

by Klaus von Lampe

Published in: Emilio C. Viano, José Magallanes, Laurent Bidel (eds.), Transnational Organized Crime: Myth, Power and Profit, Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2003, 9-22

The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the relevance of the network perspective within a broader frame of reference... more The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the relevance of the network perspective within a broader frame of reference encompassing three levels of complexity: the level of individual crime networks and criminal organizations. the level of illegal monopolies. and the level of intertWining illegal and legal structures.
On each of these levels I attempt to briefly review the pertinent literature and to speculate with more or less empirical and theoretical backing on how criminal structures are determined by the underlying dyadic relations between criminal actors.

Organized Crime and Trust: On the conceptualization and empirical relevance of trust in the context of criminal networks

by Klaus von Lampe

Co-author: Per Ole Johansen
Published in 'Global Crime', 6(2), 2004, 159-184

Organised crime networks are often characterised as being held together by bonds of trust, but the conventional wisdom... more Organised crime networks are often characterised as being held together by bonds of trust, but the conventional wisdom regarding the relation between trust and organised crime lacks a comprehensive theoretical and empirical underpinning. The purpose of this paper is to explore where deeper research on this issue may lead and how it can potentially contribute to a better understanding of organised crime in general.
Drawing on the general sociological literature, it provides a preliminary conceptualisation of trust in the context of organised crime centred around a fourfold typology along the micro-macro dimension. The authors use anecdotal evidence from their research on illegal markets for highly taxed goods in Norway and
Germany to illustrate that there are different types of trust, that there are different consequences of the violation of trust, and, finally, that there are criminal relations not based on trust at all.

Wolf, Sonja. “Policing Crime in El Salvador.”

by Sonja Wolf

NACLA Report on the Americas 45.1 (Spring 2012): 43-54.

Mersey heat - Gang culture in Liverpool

by Anna Sergi

Published in Jane's Intelligence Review, January 2012

Its unique characteristics mean that Liverpool remains a magnet for drug-related
crime and trafficking. Anna... more Its unique characteristics mean that Liverpool remains a magnet for drug-related
crime and trafficking. Anna Sergi looks at the history of gangs in the city from the
1960s to the present day, and assesses the police response and security risk.

Crime stoppers - UK overhauls organised crime policing

by Anna Sergi

Published on Jane's Intelligence Review, December 2011

As the UK government plans to launch a new agency dedicated to fighting organised
crime, Anna Sergi questions... more As the UK government plans to launch a new agency dedicated to fighting organised
crime, Anna Sergi questions whether the inadmissibility of telecommunication
intercepts as evidence in UK courts will continue to hinder investigations.

TvMR_2007_3_-_Georganiseerde_misdaad_in_de_Braziliaanse_deelstaat_EspiritoSanto

by Paulo de Tarso Lugon Arantes

Organized Crime and the Jamaican State: Beyond the Image of a Tourist Destination in a Moment of Violence

by Anne Galvin

Not a Process of Enlightenment: The Conceptual History of Organized Crime in Germany and the United States of America

by Klaus von Lampe

Published in 'Forum on Crime and Society', 1(2), 2001, 99-116

This study explores the conceptual history of organized crime in Germany and the United States of America during the... more This study explores the conceptual history of organized crime in Germany and the United States of America during the twentieth century. Data were obtained from a content analysis of various publications, including The New York Times Index and the German news magazine Der Spiegel from 1896 and from 1960, respectively, until 1995.

Criminal networks and trust

by Klaus von Lampe

Co-author: Per Ole Johansen
Paper presented at the 3rd annual meeting of the European Society of Criminology (ESC) Helsinki, Finland, 29 August 2003.

Drawing on the general sociological literature, this paper provides a preliminary conceptualization of trust in the... more Drawing on the general sociological literature, this paper provides a preliminary conceptualization of trust in the context of organized crime centered on a fourfold typology along the micro-macro dimension, and we present some anecdotal evidence from our research on illegal markets for highly taxed goods in Norway and Germany to illustrate that there are different types of trust, that there are different consequences of the violation of trust, and, finally, that there are criminal relations that are not based on trust at all.

Explaining the emergence of the cigarette black market in Germany

by Klaus von Lampe

Published in: Petrus C. van Duyne, Klaus von Lampe, Maarten van Dijck, James Newell (eds.), The Organised Crime Economy: Managing Crime Markets in Europe, Nijmegen: Wolf Legal Publishers, 2005, 209-229

This study explores the emergence of the cigarette black market in Germany using official statistics, unpublished law... more This study explores the emergence of the cigarette black market in Germany using official statistics, unpublished law enforcement statistics, and a larger sample of criminal files (n=47). These data show some peculiarities in the temporal and spatial distribution of cigarette trafficking in Germany, and shed some light on the offenders and offender groups involved in black market activities. The evidence collected raises doubts about many assumptions concerning the root causes of cigarette smuggling on a grand scale. Specifically, it is argued that high levels of taxation, cross-border price differences and the involvement of crime syndicates are not adequate or sufficient explanations.

Organized crime in Europe

by Klaus von Lampe

Published in: Philip Reichel (ed.), Handbook of Transnational Crime & Justice, Thousand Oaks, CA, et al.: Sage Publications, 2005, 403-424