Lecture 1 – From mafia to transnational organized crime
Definition of organized crime
- FBI: organized crime enterprise is a continuing criminal conspiracy with organized structure,
fed by fear and corruption and motivated by greed
- INTERPOL: organized crime is a systematically prepared and planned committing of serious
criminal acts with a view to gain financial profits and power
International and transnational organized crime
- International crimes are acts prohibited by international criminal law on basis of the 1994
draft code, multilateral treaties or customary practice by all nations
- Cross Border Crime is conduct, which jeopardizes the legally protected interests in more than
one national jurisdiction and which is criminalized in at least one of the states/jurisdictions
concerned (Passas, 2002)
Transnational organized crime
- A structured group of three or more persons existing for a period of time and acting in
concert with the aim of committing one or more serious crimes or offenses in order to obtain,
directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit (UN 2000)
Transnational criminal groups
- Rigid hierarchy: single boss, strong internal discipline, several divisions
- Devolved hierarchy: regional structures, own hierarchy and autonomy
- Hierarchical conglomerate: umbrella association of separate criminal groups
- Core criminal group: a horizontal structure of core individuals who work for the same
organization
- Organized criminal network: individuals engage in criminal activity in shifting alliances
according to skills they possess to carry out the illicit activity
,Structure of criminal groups
- Pyramid
o Godfather (leader)
o Different ranks and tasks
- Networks
o Central role: financers and organizers
o Transporters and underground bankers
o Brokers (criminal mediators)
o Family and friends contacts
Criminological theories
- Alien conspiracy: this theory blames outsiders and outside influences for the prevalence of
organized crime in healthy and rich Western society. Examples: Albanian, Russian and Turkish
mafia in Europe, mobile banditry
- Ethnicity and organized crime: ethnicity trap, the use of ethnicity fails to explain the existence
of the activity itself and often comes to ethnic stereotypes
- Relative deprivation or strain: organized crime is explained as a result of a discrepancy
between the social aspirations and factual opportunities. Examples: Italian mafia in the US
- Biological theories: racial theories, organized crime as a reason of biological inclinations
- Criminal emigration theories: link between organized crime and the country of origin
(smuggling activities)
- Cultural theories: criminals bring their own luggage to a new country (transplantation of
organized crime)
Three models of the link between ethnicity and organize crime:
1. Criminal export model
Criminal organization sends its members to establish posts in new countries, OC is
independent from migrant communities (Chinese Triads)
2. Second generation model
OC is a product of immigrants in a new country. Condition: large communities, enough young
people who want to become rich (Russian mafia in Germany)
3. Mutual dependence model
Combination of two previous models: OC follows the emigration and make use of migrants
for criminal activities (Turkish mafia in the Netherlands)
Principles of organized crime: secrecy, trust and violence
Secrecy
- Outside (to conceal illicit activities from legal punishments)
- Inside (to protect contact, clients, partners etc. from the competition)
- Secrecy: for self-interest to make money
- Irony of secrecy (Adler 1970): conflict between purposive (rational) and impulsive
(hedonistic) behavior
Trust
- Non-contractual business relations
- Why do criminals trust each other?
o Reputation (face to face relationship knowledge)
o Family ties (guarantee)
o Satisfaction with profits
, OC: semi-autonomous field
- Non-governmental and unofficial obligatory settings:
o Self-regulation system
o Inner codes of behavior/rules
o Trust relationships
o Inner arbitrary system
How and why do criminal organizations use violence?
Thomas Naylor: What differentiates the violence associated with OC is that it is structured and
directed and its objective is not facilitate a once and for all transfer of resources, but to enhance the
OC groups position in an ongoing market-place
Three reasons to use violence:
- To fight the competition and establish monopoly
- To settle the conflicts between the rival parties
- To guarantee loyalty and respect for prevailing norms and codes of behavior
No violence
Violence is the last resort by the OC:
- Attention of police
- Negative image of ‘out of control’
- Bugsy Siegel: ‘we only kill each other’
Traditional world-wide activities of organized crime:
- Illegal gambling
- Prostitution
- Drugs (from production to retail)
- Illegal firearms
- Extortion
- Money laundering
Modern activities of organized crime:
- Trafficking in human beings
- Smuggling of human beings
- Trafficking in body parts
- Vehicles theft
- Fraud
- Cybercrime
- Terrorism
- Trafficking in diamonds and timber
- Trafficking in art
Lecture 2 – Crime at the Edge: interrelations between legal and illegal networks
Crimes of the powerful
- Crimes and harmful acts committed by powerful people of high social status for personal or
organizational gain
- Excludes some mild forms of occupational (white collar) crime (individual, powerless
offenders against powerful victims)
- Includes other forms of crime as patriarchal interpersonal violence or hate crimes
- Includes serious forms of organized crime
Definition of organized crime
- FBI: organized crime enterprise is a continuing criminal conspiracy with organized structure,
fed by fear and corruption and motivated by greed
- INTERPOL: organized crime is a systematically prepared and planned committing of serious
criminal acts with a view to gain financial profits and power
International and transnational organized crime
- International crimes are acts prohibited by international criminal law on basis of the 1994
draft code, multilateral treaties or customary practice by all nations
- Cross Border Crime is conduct, which jeopardizes the legally protected interests in more than
one national jurisdiction and which is criminalized in at least one of the states/jurisdictions
concerned (Passas, 2002)
Transnational organized crime
- A structured group of three or more persons existing for a period of time and acting in
concert with the aim of committing one or more serious crimes or offenses in order to obtain,
directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit (UN 2000)
Transnational criminal groups
- Rigid hierarchy: single boss, strong internal discipline, several divisions
- Devolved hierarchy: regional structures, own hierarchy and autonomy
- Hierarchical conglomerate: umbrella association of separate criminal groups
- Core criminal group: a horizontal structure of core individuals who work for the same
organization
- Organized criminal network: individuals engage in criminal activity in shifting alliances
according to skills they possess to carry out the illicit activity
,Structure of criminal groups
- Pyramid
o Godfather (leader)
o Different ranks and tasks
- Networks
o Central role: financers and organizers
o Transporters and underground bankers
o Brokers (criminal mediators)
o Family and friends contacts
Criminological theories
- Alien conspiracy: this theory blames outsiders and outside influences for the prevalence of
organized crime in healthy and rich Western society. Examples: Albanian, Russian and Turkish
mafia in Europe, mobile banditry
- Ethnicity and organized crime: ethnicity trap, the use of ethnicity fails to explain the existence
of the activity itself and often comes to ethnic stereotypes
- Relative deprivation or strain: organized crime is explained as a result of a discrepancy
between the social aspirations and factual opportunities. Examples: Italian mafia in the US
- Biological theories: racial theories, organized crime as a reason of biological inclinations
- Criminal emigration theories: link between organized crime and the country of origin
(smuggling activities)
- Cultural theories: criminals bring their own luggage to a new country (transplantation of
organized crime)
Three models of the link between ethnicity and organize crime:
1. Criminal export model
Criminal organization sends its members to establish posts in new countries, OC is
independent from migrant communities (Chinese Triads)
2. Second generation model
OC is a product of immigrants in a new country. Condition: large communities, enough young
people who want to become rich (Russian mafia in Germany)
3. Mutual dependence model
Combination of two previous models: OC follows the emigration and make use of migrants
for criminal activities (Turkish mafia in the Netherlands)
Principles of organized crime: secrecy, trust and violence
Secrecy
- Outside (to conceal illicit activities from legal punishments)
- Inside (to protect contact, clients, partners etc. from the competition)
- Secrecy: for self-interest to make money
- Irony of secrecy (Adler 1970): conflict between purposive (rational) and impulsive
(hedonistic) behavior
Trust
- Non-contractual business relations
- Why do criminals trust each other?
o Reputation (face to face relationship knowledge)
o Family ties (guarantee)
o Satisfaction with profits
, OC: semi-autonomous field
- Non-governmental and unofficial obligatory settings:
o Self-regulation system
o Inner codes of behavior/rules
o Trust relationships
o Inner arbitrary system
How and why do criminal organizations use violence?
Thomas Naylor: What differentiates the violence associated with OC is that it is structured and
directed and its objective is not facilitate a once and for all transfer of resources, but to enhance the
OC groups position in an ongoing market-place
Three reasons to use violence:
- To fight the competition and establish monopoly
- To settle the conflicts between the rival parties
- To guarantee loyalty and respect for prevailing norms and codes of behavior
No violence
Violence is the last resort by the OC:
- Attention of police
- Negative image of ‘out of control’
- Bugsy Siegel: ‘we only kill each other’
Traditional world-wide activities of organized crime:
- Illegal gambling
- Prostitution
- Drugs (from production to retail)
- Illegal firearms
- Extortion
- Money laundering
Modern activities of organized crime:
- Trafficking in human beings
- Smuggling of human beings
- Trafficking in body parts
- Vehicles theft
- Fraud
- Cybercrime
- Terrorism
- Trafficking in diamonds and timber
- Trafficking in art
Lecture 2 – Crime at the Edge: interrelations between legal and illegal networks
Crimes of the powerful
- Crimes and harmful acts committed by powerful people of high social status for personal or
organizational gain
- Excludes some mild forms of occupational (white collar) crime (individual, powerless
offenders against powerful victims)
- Includes other forms of crime as patriarchal interpersonal violence or hate crimes
- Includes serious forms of organized crime
