Taking crime out of crime business

It is one thing to assert that conventional market analysis is critically useful in understanding criminal enterprise. It is more challenging to suggest that corrupt and compromised legal regulation interacts with other critical market variables to maximise market advantage for crime business in a similar manner to legitimate regulatory forces in their protection and enhancement of legitimate business enterprise. The central argument of this paper is that crime business mirrors other business forms when considered in terms of critical market variables, and that in particular regulatory forces when inverted from their original purposes can influence market conditions in the same ways desired from the legitimate regulatory form. The main research direction deriving from the analysis of regulatory influences over specific criminal enterprises is how do certain critical market forces essentially facilitate criminal enterprise as a market phenomenon. This paper suggests how through comparatively analysing nominated critical market forces in the context of lucrative and recurrent criminal enterprises, common business decision-making may be predicted and thereby controlled beyond a law enforcement paradigm. In fact, the paper argues that when perverted law enforcement regulation operates as an inter-connecting market characteristic then it can have a similar influence over illegitimate enterprise that law enforcement may provide legitimate business.By establishing a richer and more enterprise-oriented understanding of crucial market variables, it becomes possible to refine control strategies at critical entry and exit points in the operation of clandestine crime businesses. The paper will challenge a comparative theorising of what makes crime business a good business, and how normative distinctions between illegitimate markets are made less convincing when positioned against an analysis of the interaction of critical market variables.     

Drugs and crime revisited

The relationship between drugs and crime is investigated, building on previous research by Huizinga, Menard, and Elliott and by Goldstein and his colleagues. The previous research is extended by examining the relationship between drugs and crime at different stages of the life course, adolescence and early adulthood; by extending the age range used in previous research by Huizinga and colleagues; and by examining the impact of adolescent substance use and illegal behavior on adult substance use and illegal behavior. The results are consistent with past research in finding that (1) for initiation, the “drug use causes crime” hypothesis is untenable because crime typically is initiated before substance use; (2) more serious forms of crime and substance use usually are initiated after minor forms of those behaviors, and rarely in the absence of such behaviors; and (3) once crime and substance use are initiated, each appears to increase the likelihood of continuity of the other or (equivalently) to reduce the likelihood of suspension. Beyond results from prior research, it also appears that (4) crime and drug use are more closely related in adolescence than in adulthood, and that (5) examination of the transition from adolescence to adulthood suggests that the most plausible conclusion is that drugs and crime are related by mutual causation: crime affects drug use and drug use affects crime.     

Socio-political change and crime

This article offers an epistimological approach to criminological inquiry that draws on political and economic perspectives to create a theoretical context for hate crimes and xenophobia in contemporary Germany. The paper concludes that criminology as a discipline may be inadequate to grasp the complexities of criminal interactions and that criminology must draw heavily on the perspectives of other disciplines. Ultimately, it may be more important to illicit ideas rather than attempt to know the truth. The author wishes to note that this paper draws on an earlier published work and was constructed post facto from his comments and presentation at the conference.     

Welfare and property crime

In 1996 the U.S. federal government enacted a welfare reform bill aimed at reducing public assistance to the poor. This legislation may have implications for future levels of property crime. In this study we examine whether differences in levels of AFDC assistance and rates of welfare participation among 406 large metropolitan counties affected variation in burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft. Regression analyses controlled for the potential effects of family structure, divorce, unemployment, and a number of other variables. The results confirmed links between welfare and property crime suggested by strain, social support, and a version of social disorganization theory. Both monetary assistance levels and participation rates were associated negatively with all property crimes.     

Local modernization and crime

This paper examines the impact of industrialization and urbanization on criminal behavior in Middletown during the period between 1845 and 1910. It was this period which demonstrated the most rapid growth and change in the community and which turned Middletown from a pioneer settlement to a modest industrial city. The authors test five hypotheses relating to the relationship of the modermization process to changes in the rates of crime. Data for this study were drawn from official records of the county and city courts with criminal jurisdiction.     

城市化与犯罪

本文作者结合具体情况，通过城市化与犯罪关系，社区犯罪，城市化进程中的犯罪原因，城市社区犯罪的化解等方面来求证城市化与犯罪空间有什么关系。     

Re-imagining crime prevention: controlling corporate crime?

While the discourses and practices of crime prevention are of increasing salience, few criminologists have sought the inclusion of corporate illegalities on such agendas. Relatedly, within criminology, there has been a diminished tendency to think in idealistic, utopian and emancipatory terms. This paper is one small attempt to think in precisely such terms.¹ But it is not an exercise in pure imagination. In particular, the paper makes extended reference to Finland, where recent experience suggests that corporate crime prevention may be feasible, under certain conditions, albeit subject to certain limitations. Thus we consider both the desirability and the feasibility of corporate crime prevention intruding upon the generally narrowly constructed terrain of ‘crime prevention’. We begin with a critique of some of the key aspects of crime prevention discourses – at both theoretical and practical levels – with a particular emphasis upon the extent to which these are both more appropriately and usefully applied to corporate crime prevention, before going on to discuss corporate crime prevention ‘in action’, through a focus upon recent developments in Finland. In a concluding section, we consider various aspects of both the desirability and feasibility of corporate crime prevention.     

A general theory of crime and computer crime: An empirical test

Computer crime has become a global issue and continues to rapidly grow; however, few studies had examined the applicability of a general theory of crime in explaining computer deviance. Using a panel of 2,751 Korean youths, the current study examined whether low self-control theory can be useful as a theoretical framework for explaining computer crime. The results indicated the applicability of low self-control theory in explaining both illegal download of software and illegal use of others’ personal identification online. Consistent with the theory's prediction, opportunity variables, especially hours of computer use, were found to be significant predictors of computer crime. The shortcomings of the current research and the directions for future research were discussed.     

Foot patrol and crime rates

This paper examines the effectiveness of proactive police patrolling as it pertains to crime reduction. While conventional squad car patrolling can be seen as proactive, it is generally a reactive form of police behavior. Foot patrols, due in part, to closer interaction with citizens, and closer proximity to potential crime scenes, more clearly represent the intent of proactive patrolling. Based upon data recorded by the police department in a city recently experimenting with foot patrols, this research addresses the issue of whether or not proactive foot patrolling has been successful in reducing crime, both violent and property offenses, in a downtown commercial area.     

Environmental crime and problem-solving courts

Environmental harms are by their nature complex and as such give rise to formal legal responses that range from simple regulatory intervention to multi-faceted court order. The purpose of this paper is to explore the emergence of environmental courts and the development of judicial and tribunal expertise in this specific area. A wide range of sanctions are now available and being actively applied by such bodies. Moreover, in many instances, the philosophical approach adopted by these courts is that of problem-solving. The combination of specialist expertise and innovative methods of intervention are progressively revolutionising judicial practice in regards to contemporary environmental issues.     

Transnational white-collar crime and risk

Research Summary Business transactions have increasingly been crossing national borders, thereby presenting greater opportunities for white-collar crime and for the externalization of risk. The global economic crisis, resulting in part from the subprime mortgage scandal, is a prime example of this potential. To develop theoretical perspectives and practical interventions to prevent and respond to the global financial crisis, we consider similar issues of risk and white-collar crime associated with global transactions in electronic waste (E-waste). Policy Implications Smart (or responsive) regulation is a promising approach for addressing both E-waste and the current economic crisis. This response includes crime prevention, third-party- and self-regulation, and the threat of strong state intervention. Future research should explore the extent to which smart regulation reduces specific forms of white-collar crime and risk, as well as whether these interventions generalize to other transnational problems.