CHAPTER 1: DISCOVERY OF ORGANISED CRIME
INTRODUCTION
There are 3 main points:
1) Law enforcement is more than merely enforcing a
rule / legal act: also building rules and legal acts
2) The concept of organised crime is a social
construct: not seen in nature between animals -> ex.
When you live in a poverty neighborhood and you don’t
have a job, the chance is higher that you will go in to the
organised crime
— Organised crime is not a crime (because there is no
real definition), but a criminal phenomenon
3) Enforcement and policies difficult without a clear
view on the problem: important of researching what
organised crime is on order to make policy
HISTORY OF THE CONCEPT – THE AMERICAN ROOTS
1896 – probably first used
Was about protected gambling and prostitution
Illegal business dealings involving politicians, police
officers, lawyers, …
1920s and 1930s
Development of illegal markets due to prohibition -> efforts
by academics and commentators to define organised crime
- Often a synonymous with racketeering
Racketeering = extortion, predatory, activities and provision
of illegal goods and services such as illegal gambling,
counterfeit documents and trafficking in drugs and liquor
1927 – Frederic Trasher ‘The Gang’
‘Gangs are to a large extent isolated from the wider culture of
the larger community by the processes of competition and
conflict which have results in the selection of its population’
Between 1929 and 1931
First federal government attempt to study organized crime
What > who
After World War II
Who > what
- Because their was a focus on foreign career criminals
(based on immigration of Italians after WO II)
1950: Kefauver Senate Investigation Committee
An Italian mafia-centered view of organised crime
- Ex. La Cosa Nostra
- Standpoint for almost three decades
- Kefauver showed that there is a need for increased
federal involvement in enforcement of gambling and
drug laws
1
,1963: Joe Valachi
Joe Valachi = a member of the Italian mafia
that received ‘the kiss of death’
- Testified before the Senate Permanent
Subcommittee on Investigations -> told
the police what they wanted to hear
Enormous impact: books and movies + new legislation
Merger of the two concepts of ‘organized crime’ and
‘mafia’ is fully accomplished
1950s and 1960s
Consolidation of mafia-centered concept
- But: only focus on NY city -> is this a general picture?
1970s: US RICO act
RICO = Racketeer Influences and Corrupted
Organisations act
- = if you as a person are friendly with a person that has
committed an act of organised crime, you too will be
prosecuted for organised
Definition of organised crime -> became much
broader: including less structured gangs and illicit
enterprises (example outlaws and motorcycle clubs)
HISTORY OF THE CONCEPT – THE RISE OF THE ILLEGAL
ENTERPRISE PARADAGM
Past 1960s
Attention shifted from ‘who’ back to ‘what -> no more
focus on Italian people, more on the supply of illegal products
and services -> financial profit is key
Later
Export of the concept of organised crime as an instrument to
increase international cooperation in the fight against drugs
and to transfer law enforcement techniques to other
countries
- Ex. ‘The export of criminal justice by Ethan Nadelman –
convincing other countries to tackle organised crime
- Ex. ‘McDonaldisaiton of organised crime’ by Peter
Luspha – the standardisation of crime and drugs like
McDonalds
Law infocement problems concerning drugs
- Ex. François: he used police funds illegally to spy and
have informatics (like RICO) and lost them, to cover this
up he started selling drugs
1980: the illegal enterprise
The illegal enterprise is a side-effect of organized crime
1990s and onwards
Organised crime disappeared from US agenda -> appears more
in Europe
2
,In the 2020s
Increased policy attention in the US and EU
HISTORY OF THE CONCEPT – EUROPE
Spain and Italy: only countries where organised crime is
understood
Since mid 1970s (apart from Italy and Spain): emphasis on
illegal market activists unchallenged ever since + organized
crime as a successful policy terms
Early 1980s:
- First studies on organized crimes in Europe
HISTORY OF THE CONCEPT – TRANSNATIONAL ORGANISED
CRIME
Since late 1980s
More attention to transnational organised crime
- Ex. Council of Europe, Schengen parties and European
Communities
- Focus on ‘cross-border crime’
1990s
Transnational organised crime is fully institutionalized by UN
1994
World Ministerial Conference
DEFINING ORGANISED CRIME
The problem of definition
A proper definition determines:
- Laws
- Investigations and prosecutions
- Research
- Mutual legal assistance across national borders
- Degree of the public’s support for policies and resources
to combat it
James O Finckenaur: eight dimensions and
characteristics as a framework
1) Ideology: normally there is no ideology,
but sometimes there is a link with
terrorism
2) Structure / organised hierarchy: leaders and followers in
some rank order of authority
3) Continuity
4) Violence / use (or threat) of force
5) Restricted membership: ex based on ethnicity, kinship,
race, or criminal background -> now: more opportunity-
based
6) Illegal enterprises: making profit as primary goal
7) Penetration of legitimate businesses
8) Corruption
BUT: many of the above characteristics re-appear in
legal and official definitions of organized crime
BUT: the dimensions are for discussion
3
, Some offences are
organised
- Ex. White collar crime -> the difference is that white
collar crime can be done by one person while organized
crime is by two or more
- Ex. Terrorism -> overlap with organized crime is possible
But: organized crime has financial en material motive,
power and control can be a secondary motive
Crime-terror nexus
There are 3 types of combinations
1) No relationship between crime and terror
2) An alliances and operational relationships: exchange
operational support
3) Convergence (samenwerking): becoming a a single
entity
Legal definitions in the US
Robert Blakey – legal definitions often constitutionally vague or
indefinite
1968: Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act
- Only definition contained in US statue
4
INTRODUCTION
There are 3 main points:
1) Law enforcement is more than merely enforcing a
rule / legal act: also building rules and legal acts
2) The concept of organised crime is a social
construct: not seen in nature between animals -> ex.
When you live in a poverty neighborhood and you don’t
have a job, the chance is higher that you will go in to the
organised crime
— Organised crime is not a crime (because there is no
real definition), but a criminal phenomenon
3) Enforcement and policies difficult without a clear
view on the problem: important of researching what
organised crime is on order to make policy
HISTORY OF THE CONCEPT – THE AMERICAN ROOTS
1896 – probably first used
Was about protected gambling and prostitution
Illegal business dealings involving politicians, police
officers, lawyers, …
1920s and 1930s
Development of illegal markets due to prohibition -> efforts
by academics and commentators to define organised crime
- Often a synonymous with racketeering
Racketeering = extortion, predatory, activities and provision
of illegal goods and services such as illegal gambling,
counterfeit documents and trafficking in drugs and liquor
1927 – Frederic Trasher ‘The Gang’
‘Gangs are to a large extent isolated from the wider culture of
the larger community by the processes of competition and
conflict which have results in the selection of its population’
Between 1929 and 1931
First federal government attempt to study organized crime
What > who
After World War II
Who > what
- Because their was a focus on foreign career criminals
(based on immigration of Italians after WO II)
1950: Kefauver Senate Investigation Committee
An Italian mafia-centered view of organised crime
- Ex. La Cosa Nostra
- Standpoint for almost three decades
- Kefauver showed that there is a need for increased
federal involvement in enforcement of gambling and
drug laws
1
,1963: Joe Valachi
Joe Valachi = a member of the Italian mafia
that received ‘the kiss of death’
- Testified before the Senate Permanent
Subcommittee on Investigations -> told
the police what they wanted to hear
Enormous impact: books and movies + new legislation
Merger of the two concepts of ‘organized crime’ and
‘mafia’ is fully accomplished
1950s and 1960s
Consolidation of mafia-centered concept
- But: only focus on NY city -> is this a general picture?
1970s: US RICO act
RICO = Racketeer Influences and Corrupted
Organisations act
- = if you as a person are friendly with a person that has
committed an act of organised crime, you too will be
prosecuted for organised
Definition of organised crime -> became much
broader: including less structured gangs and illicit
enterprises (example outlaws and motorcycle clubs)
HISTORY OF THE CONCEPT – THE RISE OF THE ILLEGAL
ENTERPRISE PARADAGM
Past 1960s
Attention shifted from ‘who’ back to ‘what -> no more
focus on Italian people, more on the supply of illegal products
and services -> financial profit is key
Later
Export of the concept of organised crime as an instrument to
increase international cooperation in the fight against drugs
and to transfer law enforcement techniques to other
countries
- Ex. ‘The export of criminal justice by Ethan Nadelman –
convincing other countries to tackle organised crime
- Ex. ‘McDonaldisaiton of organised crime’ by Peter
Luspha – the standardisation of crime and drugs like
McDonalds
Law infocement problems concerning drugs
- Ex. François: he used police funds illegally to spy and
have informatics (like RICO) and lost them, to cover this
up he started selling drugs
1980: the illegal enterprise
The illegal enterprise is a side-effect of organized crime
1990s and onwards
Organised crime disappeared from US agenda -> appears more
in Europe
2
,In the 2020s
Increased policy attention in the US and EU
HISTORY OF THE CONCEPT – EUROPE
Spain and Italy: only countries where organised crime is
understood
Since mid 1970s (apart from Italy and Spain): emphasis on
illegal market activists unchallenged ever since + organized
crime as a successful policy terms
Early 1980s:
- First studies on organized crimes in Europe
HISTORY OF THE CONCEPT – TRANSNATIONAL ORGANISED
CRIME
Since late 1980s
More attention to transnational organised crime
- Ex. Council of Europe, Schengen parties and European
Communities
- Focus on ‘cross-border crime’
1990s
Transnational organised crime is fully institutionalized by UN
1994
World Ministerial Conference
DEFINING ORGANISED CRIME
The problem of definition
A proper definition determines:
- Laws
- Investigations and prosecutions
- Research
- Mutual legal assistance across national borders
- Degree of the public’s support for policies and resources
to combat it
James O Finckenaur: eight dimensions and
characteristics as a framework
1) Ideology: normally there is no ideology,
but sometimes there is a link with
terrorism
2) Structure / organised hierarchy: leaders and followers in
some rank order of authority
3) Continuity
4) Violence / use (or threat) of force
5) Restricted membership: ex based on ethnicity, kinship,
race, or criminal background -> now: more opportunity-
based
6) Illegal enterprises: making profit as primary goal
7) Penetration of legitimate businesses
8) Corruption
BUT: many of the above characteristics re-appear in
legal and official definitions of organized crime
BUT: the dimensions are for discussion
3
, Some offences are
organised
- Ex. White collar crime -> the difference is that white
collar crime can be done by one person while organized
crime is by two or more
- Ex. Terrorism -> overlap with organized crime is possible
But: organized crime has financial en material motive,
power and control can be a secondary motive
Crime-terror nexus
There are 3 types of combinations
1) No relationship between crime and terror
2) An alliances and operational relationships: exchange
operational support
3) Convergence (samenwerking): becoming a a single
entity
Legal definitions in the US
Robert Blakey – legal definitions often constitutionally vague or
indefinite
1968: Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act
- Only definition contained in US statue
4
