SELECTED ISSUES: ORGANIZED CRIME
LECTURE 0: INTRODUCTION
Friday 9u-12/13u -> Aud P Rozier
Exam:
• Oral at his office
• One question like: “what is..”
o If you don’t know, just say so and you will get another
question
• One question about the core readings
• “almost no one failed the exam”
Assignment:
• Based on the Global Organized Crime Index of Global Initiative
• Output:
• Develop a podcast
• Submit a full written version of the podcast script, including references
• 21 november 2025 – 5 PM
• Discussing in lecture “feedback & discussion”: 12 december 2025
o Listen to other podcasts and prepare at least one question as input for discussion
LECTURE 1: CONCEPT AND DEFINITION
“The drugs market is expanding” => Not true!! The drug market is an international issue which
doesn’t expand. It’s everywhere. It depends on how the government of the city reacts to it whether
the problem can be felt by the citizens.
“Drugs is a huge problem in Antwerp and Brussels” => True, but not completely. The problem is not
only located in those two cities. Drugs is also a huge problem in Ghent, but the council doesn’t not
pay much attention to it. For that reason it seems like the problem isn’t that big. => If you don’t look
for the problem, there is no problem. -> international crime like drug trafficking does not end at the
borders of these two cities.
International Crime is high on the political agenda, Belgium is an important factor in IC. Our country
is frequently a part in the IC.
IC = Social construct -> Not build by nature, but invented by people. Although it is a large problem,
there is no legal definition. Because of the different countries with different countries, a definition is
hard. -> No definition makes it hard to handle and react correctly. Therefor a few criteria are listed.
INTRODUCTION
Main Points:
• Law enforcement is more than merely enforcing a rule/legal act.
o Phenomenon -> legislation -> enforcement
o OC can create new laws => Change laws for the benefit of the police due to OC.
, ▪ E.g.: Police can use military weapons, social media, informants,.. as a way to
infiltrate. -> Use the techniques used in OC to combat it. => Do we want a
policing system using OC-techniques? -> BOM-laws => Small string between
legality and illegality!
• The concept of organized crime is a social construct
o Not a crime but a criminal phenomenon
▪ OC is not seen in nature, most other crimes are.
▪ OC is ‘introduced’ as an issue after experiencing treats
• E.g: People wouldn’t attend school and jobs anymore. Participating
in the OC would make more money. => Has an effect on the society
• E.g: fear of groups from a specific ethnicity. => It is always connected
with ethnicity, it are always the others who are the treat! (mocro-
maffia , Albanian mafia, Italian mafia,… but never the white guys)
o “everything was better before the ‘others’ came along
▪ Used to create legitimacy
o Crimes VS offenders
▪ OC is NOT a crime as such!
• Human trafficking is a crime which can be OC, but not necessarily.
OC is not a crime
• Being member of a criminal association = crime
• Except for Italy, there OC is a crime
▪ If OC start to replace or complements the state, there is a problem! -> state
is rule of law, but if the OC takes over, what value does the rule of law have?
• The competition with the government is what determines/defines
the OC
• Enforcement and policies difficult without a clear view on the problem: usefulness of the
concept “organized”?
o Many different interpretations on what OC is
▪ Threat to rule of law >< structured way to commit crime >< impact of the
crime >< organized by person of group >< seriousness of crime >< …
▪ Everything could be seen as an OC depending on how you interpretate
CONCEPT OF ORGANIZED CRIME
• Early 20 century
o Political legitimacy
o Scientific legitimacy
• Controversial concept inconsistenly incorporating two notions:
o Provision of illegal goods and services
o Criminal organization
• Temporal mismatch
o United state: peak in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s
o Europe : much later
• Past 9/11
o Lost some momentum bus still high on the agenda
,HISTORY OF THE CONCEPT
THE AMERICAN ROOTS
• Probably first used in 1896
o Protected gambling and prostitution
o Illegal business dealings involving politicians, police officers, lawyers,..
▪ People of high respectability participated and got involved in gambling and
prostitution. -> they became vulnerable, also for blackmailing. -> had an
effect on the rule of law
• 1920-1930
o Development of illegal markets due to prohibition (drooglegging)
▪ If it is forbidden, an underground market will be created. Violence and
endangerment causes higher prices. -> Makes new illegal entrepreneurs
who brew alcohol which effect the legal economy market.
o Serious efforts to define and discuss OC by both academics and commentators
o No specific reference to separate associations of gangsters
o Often synonymous with Racketeering1
▪ Bring a lot of violence along -> people want to keep and protect their job
and their ‘business’
• The Gang
o First full scale treatment of OC -> first time OC was considered
o No hard structures
o Links with the upper world
o Indispensable functions played by certain specialized by persons/groups including
doctors, lawyers, politicians, etc.
• Between 1929 – 1931
o First federal government attempt to study OC (Wickersham commission)
▪ Investigation on how police controlled the prohibition -> they didn’t: law
was impossible to enforce while the prohibition gave the perfect
opportunity for OC, violence and corruption -> OC was deeply intertwined
with politics and the police, which made the enforcement difficult.
o What = more important than who
▪ What is the problem? What is the OC?
• After Second WW
o Wickersham approach abandoned -> Less focus on what was happening
o Who = more important than what
▪ Set of illegal entrepreneurs: who are they?
o From late 1940’s onward, focus on foreign career criminals constituting well-
structured and powerful criminal organisations representing a threat to the integrity
of American society and politics
1
the act of participating in an illegal, coordinated scheme to make a profit through ongoing criminal activities
like extortion, fraud, bribery, threats, or violence
Unfair, threatening behavior over and over to make money: cheating people with fake deals, treats and
violence to control a business,…
, ▪ Many immigrants migrated to USA, they were sent to Ellis Island. It had an
effect on the society. “They have their own community and are taking over
the American society” “they are bringing a new kind of OC along” -> there
was a shift from what to who and more specific which minority is doing the
OC? => in the 40’s the “OC-minority” were the Italians.
▪ Alien, parasitical corporation
• New organization-based approach (Alien conspiracy) clearly enunciated by Kefauver Senate
Investigation Committee (1950)
▪ Alien Conspiracy -> theory that OC wasn’t an American problem but an issue
cost by Italian immigrants -> American OC is caused by Sicilian mob -> La
Costa Nostra is a secret hierarchic organization which infiltrated into the
American society.
o Italian Maffia centred view of OC
o Remained official standpoint for almost three decades
o Need for increased federal involvement in enforcement of gambling and drug laws
o Federal Narcotic Bureau as major “moral entrepreneur” of organization-based
understanding of OC
• Joe Valachi – 1963
o Testifies before the Senate Permanent subcommittee on Investigations
▪ Broke the “omerta-rule” and wanted protected because of fear. He told
things about the Italian Mob which weren’t true
o Enormous public impact
▪ Because the interview was televised -> everything the American society
suspected about the Italian mob was confirmed by Valachi, even though not
everything he confirmed to was true.
o Merger of the two conceps of OC and mafia fully accomplished
• 1950-1960
o Consolidation of the mafia-centred concept of OC
o Focus on NY City, but how ‘true’ and ‘general’ was this picture?
▪ Was the Italian Mob really the (only) problem?
o Proposal to specifically outlaw membershop of La Cosa Nostra rejected
o Uneasiness with mafia paradigm demonstrated by many law-enforcement officials
at state and local levels + members of Federal Organized Crime Strike Forces,
established late 1960’s and early 1970’s
• 1970 (RICO Act US Senate)
o = Racketeer Influenced and Corrupted organizations act (acronym)
o Definition of OC in much broader terms than Cosa Nostra only to include less
structured and illicit enterprises
▪ More people who participate the OC -> If you know about it, but didn’t do
anything, you also accomplished.
▪ Give stronger tools to fight OC
• However: Myth of powerful and centralized mafia organizations long continued to be
claimed whenever police budgets had to be raised or new legislation had to passed
o New legislation -> increased power -> police can wiretape, eavesdropping,
informants,…
LECTURE 0: INTRODUCTION
Friday 9u-12/13u -> Aud P Rozier
Exam:
• Oral at his office
• One question like: “what is..”
o If you don’t know, just say so and you will get another
question
• One question about the core readings
• “almost no one failed the exam”
Assignment:
• Based on the Global Organized Crime Index of Global Initiative
• Output:
• Develop a podcast
• Submit a full written version of the podcast script, including references
• 21 november 2025 – 5 PM
• Discussing in lecture “feedback & discussion”: 12 december 2025
o Listen to other podcasts and prepare at least one question as input for discussion
LECTURE 1: CONCEPT AND DEFINITION
“The drugs market is expanding” => Not true!! The drug market is an international issue which
doesn’t expand. It’s everywhere. It depends on how the government of the city reacts to it whether
the problem can be felt by the citizens.
“Drugs is a huge problem in Antwerp and Brussels” => True, but not completely. The problem is not
only located in those two cities. Drugs is also a huge problem in Ghent, but the council doesn’t not
pay much attention to it. For that reason it seems like the problem isn’t that big. => If you don’t look
for the problem, there is no problem. -> international crime like drug trafficking does not end at the
borders of these two cities.
International Crime is high on the political agenda, Belgium is an important factor in IC. Our country
is frequently a part in the IC.
IC = Social construct -> Not build by nature, but invented by people. Although it is a large problem,
there is no legal definition. Because of the different countries with different countries, a definition is
hard. -> No definition makes it hard to handle and react correctly. Therefor a few criteria are listed.
INTRODUCTION
Main Points:
• Law enforcement is more than merely enforcing a rule/legal act.
o Phenomenon -> legislation -> enforcement
o OC can create new laws => Change laws for the benefit of the police due to OC.
, ▪ E.g.: Police can use military weapons, social media, informants,.. as a way to
infiltrate. -> Use the techniques used in OC to combat it. => Do we want a
policing system using OC-techniques? -> BOM-laws => Small string between
legality and illegality!
• The concept of organized crime is a social construct
o Not a crime but a criminal phenomenon
▪ OC is not seen in nature, most other crimes are.
▪ OC is ‘introduced’ as an issue after experiencing treats
• E.g: People wouldn’t attend school and jobs anymore. Participating
in the OC would make more money. => Has an effect on the society
• E.g: fear of groups from a specific ethnicity. => It is always connected
with ethnicity, it are always the others who are the treat! (mocro-
maffia , Albanian mafia, Italian mafia,… but never the white guys)
o “everything was better before the ‘others’ came along
▪ Used to create legitimacy
o Crimes VS offenders
▪ OC is NOT a crime as such!
• Human trafficking is a crime which can be OC, but not necessarily.
OC is not a crime
• Being member of a criminal association = crime
• Except for Italy, there OC is a crime
▪ If OC start to replace or complements the state, there is a problem! -> state
is rule of law, but if the OC takes over, what value does the rule of law have?
• The competition with the government is what determines/defines
the OC
• Enforcement and policies difficult without a clear view on the problem: usefulness of the
concept “organized”?
o Many different interpretations on what OC is
▪ Threat to rule of law >< structured way to commit crime >< impact of the
crime >< organized by person of group >< seriousness of crime >< …
▪ Everything could be seen as an OC depending on how you interpretate
CONCEPT OF ORGANIZED CRIME
• Early 20 century
o Political legitimacy
o Scientific legitimacy
• Controversial concept inconsistenly incorporating two notions:
o Provision of illegal goods and services
o Criminal organization
• Temporal mismatch
o United state: peak in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s
o Europe : much later
• Past 9/11
o Lost some momentum bus still high on the agenda
,HISTORY OF THE CONCEPT
THE AMERICAN ROOTS
• Probably first used in 1896
o Protected gambling and prostitution
o Illegal business dealings involving politicians, police officers, lawyers,..
▪ People of high respectability participated and got involved in gambling and
prostitution. -> they became vulnerable, also for blackmailing. -> had an
effect on the rule of law
• 1920-1930
o Development of illegal markets due to prohibition (drooglegging)
▪ If it is forbidden, an underground market will be created. Violence and
endangerment causes higher prices. -> Makes new illegal entrepreneurs
who brew alcohol which effect the legal economy market.
o Serious efforts to define and discuss OC by both academics and commentators
o No specific reference to separate associations of gangsters
o Often synonymous with Racketeering1
▪ Bring a lot of violence along -> people want to keep and protect their job
and their ‘business’
• The Gang
o First full scale treatment of OC -> first time OC was considered
o No hard structures
o Links with the upper world
o Indispensable functions played by certain specialized by persons/groups including
doctors, lawyers, politicians, etc.
• Between 1929 – 1931
o First federal government attempt to study OC (Wickersham commission)
▪ Investigation on how police controlled the prohibition -> they didn’t: law
was impossible to enforce while the prohibition gave the perfect
opportunity for OC, violence and corruption -> OC was deeply intertwined
with politics and the police, which made the enforcement difficult.
o What = more important than who
▪ What is the problem? What is the OC?
• After Second WW
o Wickersham approach abandoned -> Less focus on what was happening
o Who = more important than what
▪ Set of illegal entrepreneurs: who are they?
o From late 1940’s onward, focus on foreign career criminals constituting well-
structured and powerful criminal organisations representing a threat to the integrity
of American society and politics
1
the act of participating in an illegal, coordinated scheme to make a profit through ongoing criminal activities
like extortion, fraud, bribery, threats, or violence
Unfair, threatening behavior over and over to make money: cheating people with fake deals, treats and
violence to control a business,…
, ▪ Many immigrants migrated to USA, they were sent to Ellis Island. It had an
effect on the society. “They have their own community and are taking over
the American society” “they are bringing a new kind of OC along” -> there
was a shift from what to who and more specific which minority is doing the
OC? => in the 40’s the “OC-minority” were the Italians.
▪ Alien, parasitical corporation
• New organization-based approach (Alien conspiracy) clearly enunciated by Kefauver Senate
Investigation Committee (1950)
▪ Alien Conspiracy -> theory that OC wasn’t an American problem but an issue
cost by Italian immigrants -> American OC is caused by Sicilian mob -> La
Costa Nostra is a secret hierarchic organization which infiltrated into the
American society.
o Italian Maffia centred view of OC
o Remained official standpoint for almost three decades
o Need for increased federal involvement in enforcement of gambling and drug laws
o Federal Narcotic Bureau as major “moral entrepreneur” of organization-based
understanding of OC
• Joe Valachi – 1963
o Testifies before the Senate Permanent subcommittee on Investigations
▪ Broke the “omerta-rule” and wanted protected because of fear. He told
things about the Italian Mob which weren’t true
o Enormous public impact
▪ Because the interview was televised -> everything the American society
suspected about the Italian mob was confirmed by Valachi, even though not
everything he confirmed to was true.
o Merger of the two conceps of OC and mafia fully accomplished
• 1950-1960
o Consolidation of the mafia-centred concept of OC
o Focus on NY City, but how ‘true’ and ‘general’ was this picture?
▪ Was the Italian Mob really the (only) problem?
o Proposal to specifically outlaw membershop of La Cosa Nostra rejected
o Uneasiness with mafia paradigm demonstrated by many law-enforcement officials
at state and local levels + members of Federal Organized Crime Strike Forces,
established late 1960’s and early 1970’s
• 1970 (RICO Act US Senate)
o = Racketeer Influenced and Corrupted organizations act (acronym)
o Definition of OC in much broader terms than Cosa Nostra only to include less
structured and illicit enterprises
▪ More people who participate the OC -> If you know about it, but didn’t do
anything, you also accomplished.
▪ Give stronger tools to fight OC
• However: Myth of powerful and centralized mafia organizations long continued to be
claimed whenever police budgets had to be raised or new legislation had to passed
o New legislation -> increased power -> police can wiretape, eavesdropping,
informants,…
