College 1: from mafia to transnational organized crime
The difficulty around researching organized crime is the lack of any definitional consensus, rendering
the researchers vulnerable to shifts in politically motivated renditions.
- Crime can only be understood by comprehending the socio-economic context in which it is
enacted and historical research using police and judicial reports etc.
Evolution of the definition of organized crime:
- In the 20th century, a lot of immigrants came to the USA. American authorities tried to
pinpoint organized crime and they came up with an ethnic definition
o Cressey (1966) = organized crime is Italian Maffia.
- Afterwards the FBI came up with another definition based on economics.
o FBI = conspiracy structure, fed by fear and corruption and motivated by greed.
- Interpol came up with an definition based on economics but also power.
o Interpol = organized crime is systematically prepared and planned committing of
serious criminal acts with a view to gain financial profits and power.
- German police came up with a vague description based on business. However, this means
that an university could also be organized crime.
o German police = organized crime can be any business or business-like structure,
which tries to influence politics, media, public administration and the economy.
There are two official definitions of the difference between international and transnational organized
crime:
- International crimes are acts prohibited by international criminal law (criminal law definition)
- Transnational crime is cross border crime. It jeopardizes the legally protected interests in
more than one national jurisdiction and is criminalized in at least one of the states
(criminology definition).
The most problematic definition is made by politicians:
- 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.
This is problematic because what is a serious crime? Wat is a long period of time? Why three or more
people? Cybercrime is usually done by one person but is also considered organized crime however,
with this definition it would not be.
Types of criminal groups:
- Rigid hierarchy
o Single boss, strong disciplined, several divisions.
- Devolved hierarchy
o Regional structures with every area their own boss, autonomy and hierarchy.
- Hierarchical conglomerate
o Umbrella organization with lots of small structures communicating with each other
through a main godfather.
- Core criminal group
o Horizontal structure. One boss and individuals who work for the same organization.
- A criminal network
o Individuals who work in shifting alliances according to skills they possess to carry out
the illicit activity.
A pyramid consists of a leader and different ranks and tasks.
1
,A network is more fluid and can migrate easier to other countries. it consists of financers and
organizers who are employed for certain activities. Brokers who bring people in contact with each
other and family/friends who never betray you.
Criminological theories:
- Alien conspiracy theory = blames outsiders and outside influence for all evil in the healthy
and rich western society
o Ethnicity trap = the use of ethnicity fails to explain the existence of criminal activity
and often comes with ethnic stereotypes. When only looking at ethnicity, you ignore
the root causes or the criminal activity itself.
o Sicilian immigrants are the root of organized crime in the US (Italian mafia)
- Relative deprivation/strain theory = discrepancy between the social aspirations and factual
opportunities.
o A theory on why people commit to organized crime.
- Biological theories = very racial. Some ethnic groups are more inclined to become organized
criminals because of biological traits.
o Herrnstein and Murray
- Criminal emigration theories = there is a link between organized crime and the country of
origin regarding migrants. There is a reputation based on stereotypes.
- Cultural theories = criminals bring their cultural luggage to a new country.
Rational choice theory perceives people as free agents who are able to make rational choices in
virtually all aspects of their live. Policies stemming from this approach dictate dealing harshly and
quickly with offenders in an effort to deter them from making such choices again. Punishment is
based on pleasure-pain principle. Rational choice suggests that people who commit crimes do so
after considering the risks of detection and punishment for the crimes (risk assessment), as well as
the rewards of completing these acts successfully.
General deterrence theory hold that crime can be thwarted by the threat of punishment. If people
fear that they will be arrested, they will choose not to commit the criminal act.
- E.g. capital punishment.
Special deterrence theory holds that penalties for criminal acts should be sufficiently severe that
convicted criminals will never repeat their acts.
Three models linking ethnicity to organized crime:
1. Criminal export model = criminals establishing posts in other countries and creating new
markets and clients, but having no connection to migrant communities in the host country.
simply expansion of the organization.
2. Second generation model = children of migrants become criminals because they see
opportunities. OC is a product of immigrants in a new country.
a. One condition for this to happen is large communities with enough young people
who want to become rich.
3. Mutual dependence model = crime bosses penetrate migrant communities and make use of
their criminal activity. Combination of the former two.
Chinese Tongs emerged in the 19th century as a reaction of racists attacks of Americans on Chinese
immigrants. They worked as security groups, but there was a lot of competition across the groups. At
the end of the 1990s, they started to get involved with Chinese Triads (transnational OC). They
assisted with human smuggling and opium distribution locally (local OC)
2
, Yakuza started as card players and petty criminals. Their history is very involved with the Asian culture
and symbols. They work all around Asia so transnational OC. After WW2, they penetrated politics and
legal businesses.
- Structure = boss captain soldier
Nigerian organized crime groups were a result of a crisis and they looked for opportunities to support
themselves so they started migrating to other countries (transnational OC)
Afro-American Mafia does not exist anymore but they extorted other criminals, especially small time
pimps and gamblers. They were local OC
Principles of organized crime:
- Secrecy = to the outside world to conceal their activity. To the inside, to protect contacts and
exclude competition. Also for self-interest to make more money yourself
o Irony of secrecy (Adler 1970) = there is a conflict between you wanting to show your
wealth and reputation, but you also want to hide your activity from the outside
world. It is rational versus hedonistic behavior and there is no solution to this
paradox.
- Trust = there are only verbal contracts based on trust (non-contractual business relations)
and if you prove yourself unworthy, your reputation is spoiled. Money is always a reason to
work with someone. Another way of earning trust is getting to know someone’s family. It
works as a guarantee.
o OC is a semi-autonomous field with a self-regulation system including inner codes of
rules, trust relationships and an inner arbitrary system.
- Violence = the last resort for OC because it attract attention of authorities and gives you a
bad reputation of being ‘out of control’. However, there are three reasons for violence
o To fight competition and establish monopoly. Everything is about profit.
o To settle the conflicts between the rival parties.
o To guarantee loyalty and respect for prevailing norms and codes of behavior.
College 2: crimes of the powerful.
Globalization has multiplied cross-border links. Criminal enterprises have also become global. At the
same time, criminal enterprises have shown that they can exploit the weaknesses of the existing
regulatory patchwork.
Crimes of the powerful are crimes and harmful acts committed by powerful people of high status for
personal or organizational gain.
- White collar crime = crime by leading entities
- Corporate crime = used to be white collar crime
- Organized crime = crime by gangsters
- State crime = crimes by the state.
The key to crimes of the powerful is the huge difference in power between the offender and the
victim.
There is a triangle of crime which shows the relationship between three actors which help each other,
but also feed off each other. HELP EACH OTHER MAKING MONEY.
3
The difficulty around researching organized crime is the lack of any definitional consensus, rendering
the researchers vulnerable to shifts in politically motivated renditions.
- Crime can only be understood by comprehending the socio-economic context in which it is
enacted and historical research using police and judicial reports etc.
Evolution of the definition of organized crime:
- In the 20th century, a lot of immigrants came to the USA. American authorities tried to
pinpoint organized crime and they came up with an ethnic definition
o Cressey (1966) = organized crime is Italian Maffia.
- Afterwards the FBI came up with another definition based on economics.
o FBI = conspiracy structure, fed by fear and corruption and motivated by greed.
- Interpol came up with an definition based on economics but also power.
o Interpol = organized crime is systematically prepared and planned committing of
serious criminal acts with a view to gain financial profits and power.
- German police came up with a vague description based on business. However, this means
that an university could also be organized crime.
o German police = organized crime can be any business or business-like structure,
which tries to influence politics, media, public administration and the economy.
There are two official definitions of the difference between international and transnational organized
crime:
- International crimes are acts prohibited by international criminal law (criminal law definition)
- Transnational crime is cross border crime. It jeopardizes the legally protected interests in
more than one national jurisdiction and is criminalized in at least one of the states
(criminology definition).
The most problematic definition is made by politicians:
- 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.
This is problematic because what is a serious crime? Wat is a long period of time? Why three or more
people? Cybercrime is usually done by one person but is also considered organized crime however,
with this definition it would not be.
Types of criminal groups:
- Rigid hierarchy
o Single boss, strong disciplined, several divisions.
- Devolved hierarchy
o Regional structures with every area their own boss, autonomy and hierarchy.
- Hierarchical conglomerate
o Umbrella organization with lots of small structures communicating with each other
through a main godfather.
- Core criminal group
o Horizontal structure. One boss and individuals who work for the same organization.
- A criminal network
o Individuals who work in shifting alliances according to skills they possess to carry out
the illicit activity.
A pyramid consists of a leader and different ranks and tasks.
1
,A network is more fluid and can migrate easier to other countries. it consists of financers and
organizers who are employed for certain activities. Brokers who bring people in contact with each
other and family/friends who never betray you.
Criminological theories:
- Alien conspiracy theory = blames outsiders and outside influence for all evil in the healthy
and rich western society
o Ethnicity trap = the use of ethnicity fails to explain the existence of criminal activity
and often comes with ethnic stereotypes. When only looking at ethnicity, you ignore
the root causes or the criminal activity itself.
o Sicilian immigrants are the root of organized crime in the US (Italian mafia)
- Relative deprivation/strain theory = discrepancy between the social aspirations and factual
opportunities.
o A theory on why people commit to organized crime.
- Biological theories = very racial. Some ethnic groups are more inclined to become organized
criminals because of biological traits.
o Herrnstein and Murray
- Criminal emigration theories = there is a link between organized crime and the country of
origin regarding migrants. There is a reputation based on stereotypes.
- Cultural theories = criminals bring their cultural luggage to a new country.
Rational choice theory perceives people as free agents who are able to make rational choices in
virtually all aspects of their live. Policies stemming from this approach dictate dealing harshly and
quickly with offenders in an effort to deter them from making such choices again. Punishment is
based on pleasure-pain principle. Rational choice suggests that people who commit crimes do so
after considering the risks of detection and punishment for the crimes (risk assessment), as well as
the rewards of completing these acts successfully.
General deterrence theory hold that crime can be thwarted by the threat of punishment. If people
fear that they will be arrested, they will choose not to commit the criminal act.
- E.g. capital punishment.
Special deterrence theory holds that penalties for criminal acts should be sufficiently severe that
convicted criminals will never repeat their acts.
Three models linking ethnicity to organized crime:
1. Criminal export model = criminals establishing posts in other countries and creating new
markets and clients, but having no connection to migrant communities in the host country.
simply expansion of the organization.
2. Second generation model = children of migrants become criminals because they see
opportunities. OC is a product of immigrants in a new country.
a. One condition for this to happen is large communities with enough young people
who want to become rich.
3. Mutual dependence model = crime bosses penetrate migrant communities and make use of
their criminal activity. Combination of the former two.
Chinese Tongs emerged in the 19th century as a reaction of racists attacks of Americans on Chinese
immigrants. They worked as security groups, but there was a lot of competition across the groups. At
the end of the 1990s, they started to get involved with Chinese Triads (transnational OC). They
assisted with human smuggling and opium distribution locally (local OC)
2
, Yakuza started as card players and petty criminals. Their history is very involved with the Asian culture
and symbols. They work all around Asia so transnational OC. After WW2, they penetrated politics and
legal businesses.
- Structure = boss captain soldier
Nigerian organized crime groups were a result of a crisis and they looked for opportunities to support
themselves so they started migrating to other countries (transnational OC)
Afro-American Mafia does not exist anymore but they extorted other criminals, especially small time
pimps and gamblers. They were local OC
Principles of organized crime:
- Secrecy = to the outside world to conceal their activity. To the inside, to protect contacts and
exclude competition. Also for self-interest to make more money yourself
o Irony of secrecy (Adler 1970) = there is a conflict between you wanting to show your
wealth and reputation, but you also want to hide your activity from the outside
world. It is rational versus hedonistic behavior and there is no solution to this
paradox.
- Trust = there are only verbal contracts based on trust (non-contractual business relations)
and if you prove yourself unworthy, your reputation is spoiled. Money is always a reason to
work with someone. Another way of earning trust is getting to know someone’s family. It
works as a guarantee.
o OC is a semi-autonomous field with a self-regulation system including inner codes of
rules, trust relationships and an inner arbitrary system.
- Violence = the last resort for OC because it attract attention of authorities and gives you a
bad reputation of being ‘out of control’. However, there are three reasons for violence
o To fight competition and establish monopoly. Everything is about profit.
o To settle the conflicts between the rival parties.
o To guarantee loyalty and respect for prevailing norms and codes of behavior.
College 2: crimes of the powerful.
Globalization has multiplied cross-border links. Criminal enterprises have also become global. At the
same time, criminal enterprises have shown that they can exploit the weaknesses of the existing
regulatory patchwork.
Crimes of the powerful are crimes and harmful acts committed by powerful people of high status for
personal or organizational gain.
- White collar crime = crime by leading entities
- Corporate crime = used to be white collar crime
- Organized crime = crime by gangsters
- State crime = crimes by the state.
The key to crimes of the powerful is the huge difference in power between the offender and the
victim.
There is a triangle of crime which shows the relationship between three actors which help each other,
but also feed off each other. HELP EACH OTHER MAKING MONEY.
3
