A comparison of the Russian and Canadian experiences with defining “organized crime”

The dangers stemming from organized crime have been widely acknowledged in the academic literature, government reports, as well as in popular discourse. This article focuses on the legislative efforts to define “organized crime” undertaken in Russia and Canada. Neither country has yet devised a satisfactory legislative definition of the varied phenomenon that is organized crime. Definitions in both jurisdictions are problematic due to their sweeping scope and insufficient delineation of a zone of risk for the accused as well as law enforcement officials. However, striking a proper balance between security concerns and human and civil rights in both countries will be problematic due to constant political pressure to “get tough on crime” as well as due to the amorphous nature of the phenomenon of organized crime.

Black Mist and White Collars: Economic Crime in the United States and Japan

Comparative studies of crime have persistently challenged and daunted criminology scholars. For criminologists studying Japan, interest has traditionally been focused on the country’s much-heralded low crime rate. The current study examines white-collar lawbreaking in both the United States and Japan, focusing on similarities and differences in culture, law, criminal justice system response, corporate governance, and regulation. The study concludes that if Japan’s low crime rate is an enigma to criminologists, then its ample amounts of white-collar and corporate crime appear that much more puzzling. Given that the depth of the problem of white-collar crime goes far beyond adjudicated cases, Japan’s remarkably low rate of common crime is likely eclipsed by its rate of white-collar and corporate crime. The study concludes that the different legal and cultural contexts of the “law in inaction” go far in explaining the official nonrecognition of white-collar and corporate crime in both the United States and Japan.

From data to disruption

Organized crime groups and law enforcement agencies are caught in complex system similar to a continuous game of cat-and-mouse, in which the latter frequently remains two or more steps behind. Law enforcement agencies are therefore seeking for more proactive strategies in targeting these criminal network structures more effectively. This starts with a better understanding of the way they operate and adapt over time. A key element to developing this understanding remained largely unexploited: big data and big data analytics. This provides novel insight into how criminal cooperations on a micro- and meso level are embedded in small-world criminal macro-networks and how this fosters its resillience against disruption. This paper discusses the opportunities and the limitations of this data-driven approach and its implications for both law enforcement practice and scientific research.     

Crime: The amount and disparity of sentencing – A comparison of corporate and occupational white collar criminals

Research carried out previously, aimed at examining differences in the length of the sentencing and type of offence, have typically compared white collar and street criminality. The main aim of the current study is to examine the differences in sentence length for white collar occupational and corporate offenders from street crime offenses and to identify which factors eventually could explain such differences. The crime amount was smaller in occupational convictions despite the fact that the average crime amount was significantly less in this group compared to the crime amount among corporate criminals. Socioeconomic status and company size were not found to be associated with the length of the sentence. We discuss whether the difference in length of the sentence could be explained by the fact that occupational crime is committed for the criminals' own purposes or enrichment, while this is often not the case among corporate criminals.     

Introduction to Social Network Analysis (SNA) as an investigative tool

Social behavior is brought about mainly through social ties and connections. Our contacts with other people shape our view of the world, reinforce our identity, and the interactions provide us with all kinds of opportunities and resources to get things done. The social capital associated with networks is also one of the primary ways facilitating crime. Therefore, the systematic analysis of criminal networks is considered a viable means to gain a more thorough understanding of criminal behavior. This paper is a general introduction to social network analysis (SNA) as an analytical tool for the study of adversary networks. The paper reviews some theoretical and key concepts, highlights functional applications, and presents a tentative protocol for data handling and coding. The discussion deals with some methodological issues, challenges and future developments in the field.

China’s Implementation of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime

Seven years since signing and four years into its implementation, how well is China living up to the terms and spirit of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC)? This paper reviews China’s compliance with UNTOC’s requirements concerning domestic criminal law and concludes that current P.R.C. law is substantially in conformity with UNTOC, though further legislative action is necessary to achieve full compliance. Looking beyond the law on the books, China continues to be a staunch supporter of international cooperation, as called for by UNTOC. Yet UNTOC has received scant attention in China compared with other multilateral instruments in the criminal justice realm. The timeline of reform begs the question whether UNTOC is responsible for goading China into taking any concrete legislative action. This paper posits that, in the absence of UNTOC, China’s domestic law would look exactly the same today.     

Look who’s talking: interviewing Russian criminals

This paper reflects on the mistakes, the lessons learned and the successes of interviewing Russian entrepreneurs known to devote at least some, if not all, of their operations to illegal business.     

Mortgage fraud and organized crime in Canada: strategic intelligence brief

Natasha Tusikov, Acting Manager, National Research and Methodology Development Unit, Criminal Intelligence Service Canada - Central Bureau, Intelligence Analysis and Knowledge Development Branch, November 2007     

Measuring the impact of law enforcement on organized crime

This article explores the possibility of measuring the impact of law enforcement on organized crime in a reliable and accountable manner, both in general terms and with a practical focus on the Canadian context. In considering measures to combat organized crime, a focus on process measurement has obscured the more substantial question of progress as regards the dependent variable itself: the bottom line of reducing the impact of organized criminal behaviour. While outcome measures are more challenging to identify than process measures, this fact alone does not minimize the need to demonstrate the connection between organized crime enforcement and its presumed outcomes to a greater degree of certainty. To date, this has not been realized to any significant degree, as revealed by a review of existing international approaches to measuring the impact of enforcement activity. The article argues that a multidisciplinary focus on community level indicators of crime, if initially less accessible than process measures of impact on organized crime groups, offers promise as a measurement of absolute and relative impact of state investment in enforcement.

Methodological aspects of the Dutch National Threat Assessment

This paper discusses issues related to measuring organized crime as they have become manifest in the Dutch contribution to the EU Organised Crime Threat Assessment (OCTA). It intends to convey to a wider academic community certain issues of definition, methodology and accountability, understanding the NTA process in terms of the communication of risks in a context of competitive defining institutions.

DIFFUSION OF FRAUD: INTERMEDIATE ECONOMIC CRIME AND INVESTOR DYNAMICS*

Criminologists have studied the spread of fraudulent practices and techniques among perpetrators. This article attempts to contribute to the field by looking at the other side of diffusion, examining the spread of fraud among investors in a case of “intermediate fraud.” Intermediate fraud occurs when fraudulent acts are committed in or by a legitimate business. Using comprehensive archival, interview, and survey data, we analyze a business that exhibited a two‐stage pattern of intermediate fraud: It was created and operated as a legitimate business in the first stage, and then economic crimes were increasingly committed in the second stage. We use diffusion theory to guide our analysis, investigating the ways in which five factors—product attributes, buyer attributes and behavior, seller attributes and behavior, structure of the social network, and method of propagation—influence the adoption and diffusion of investments in oil and gas wells among a population of investors. The case of intermediate fraud is interesting because the factors that contributed to the success of the business in its legitimate stage are the same factors that contributed to the success of the fraud in its illegitimate stage.     

Clans,politics and organized crime in Central Asia

This paper investigates the role of transnational organized crime in the democratisation process in the Central Asian area. It examines the inherent connections that exist between the leading tribal families, political elites and organized crime, and explores how criminal networks have proliferated in society and consequently in politics. The complete absence of a ruling élite and striking economic issues left unsolved were the legacy that Soviet rule would leave to the newly independent Central Asian Republics. After the fall of the former Soviet Union other, more profitable forms of transnational organized crime flourished. According to the official statistics of the UNODC and the American State Department, 92% of the world’s heroin is produced in Afghanistan. Of this, around 65% is smuggled into Europe and America along the Silk Road, and therefore through the five Central Asian Republics and Russia. High levels of corruption in Central Asia heavily affect political and economic life. The economies of the region have progressively become dominated by criminal activity with smuggling, trafficking and other activities linked to transnational organized crime as the major source of income. Central Asia’s strategic location makes this a global security concern.

Mafia markers: assessing organized crime and its impact upon societies

This study develops a causal model of the independent effect of organized crime, rule of law, and corruption on national wealth. To measure the level of organized crime a Composite Organized Crime Index (COCI) is constructed combining data on the perceived prevalence of organized crime, unsolved homicides, grand corruption, money-laundering and the extent of the black economy, drawing on the World Economic Forum’s annual surveys among CEOs of larger companies, the Merchant International Group’s assessments of investment risks in 150 countries, studies by the World Bank Institute, and official crime statistics. The findings of the explorative analysis show that a political strategy of tolerating activities of local criminal groups in the hope of beneficial effects on the wealth of a nation is unlikely to bring the expected results. Although some types of organized crime may bring in significant revenues, tolerating Mafia-type activities implies letting the Trojan horse of racketeering and grand corruption into the walls of government.

帮会文化与有组织犯罪

帮会文化是反映帮会生存方式、活动方式、行为准则、伦理关系、帮内规矩、价值观念的文化。它与有组织犯罪有着不可分割的内在联系 ,在有组织犯罪形成发展中起着精神动力的作用。就其实质而言 ,黑社会性质犯罪组织完全是一种现代化了的帮会 ,是帮会文化哺育出来的一个毒瘤。因此 ,彻底批判帮会文化 ,肃清其流毒 ,并切实加强先进文化建设 ,是扼制有组织犯罪的根本之策