Ch 11- transnational organized crime

Comparative Criminal Justice 5th Edition Chapter 11: Transnational Organized Crime Adrianna Hughes University of Scranton Learning Objectives: Chapter 11 Define organized crime Discuss the types of organizes crimes and their contemporary forms Explain variations in organized criminal activity in different parts of the world Compare different government responses to organized criminal activity and their effectiveness Recognize the central role of corruption in facilitating organized criminal activity Understand the importance of transnational organized crime in the modern world Comparative Criminal Justice Systems 5th Edition What is Organized Crime Comparative Criminal Justice Systems 5th Edition Organized Crime- continuing criminal enterprise that rationally works to profit from illicit activities that are often in great public demand Organized crime is a continuing criminal enterprise that rationally works to profit from illicit activities that are often in great public demand. It emanates from a continuing enterprise; its crimes are rationally planned; it requires force, threats, monopoly control, or corruption to insulate itself from prosecution; and often caters to public demand for illicit goods and services There are fewer consensuses that organized crime has exclusive membership, has ideological objectives, is specialized in criminal activity, or operates under a code of secrecy. What is Organized Crime Comparative Criminal Justice Systems 5th Edition Type: Provision of illicit goods and services Nature of activity- gambling, lending money, sex, narcotics, stolen property Contemporary example- Theft of intellectual property Harms: These are consensual activities, with no inherent violence in the activity itself, but it causes economic harm to the larger society Comparative Criminal Justice Systems 5th Edition Type: Infiltration of legitimate business or government Nature of activity- coercive use of legal businesses or government agencies for the purposes of exploitation Contemporary example- Business and consumer fraud Harms- These activities are usually nonconsensual activities that are enforced through threats, extortion, and violence and overall cause economic harm What is Organized Crime Comparative Criminal Justice Systems 5th Edition What is Organized Crime Enterprise Syndicates- provide goods and services, while power syndicates seek control and wealth through extortion or “protection” and other types of crime that provide no real services. Enterprise syndicates have parallels to corporations, with specialist employees and capital investment. Power syndicates-seek control and wealth through extortion or “protection” and other types of crime that provide no real services not as common because todays criminals find that the real profit to be made is in the provision of illicit services. What is Organized Crime Ethnicity trap- refers to the habit of using ethnicity to explain organized crime, when in actuality organized crime is committed by a wide variety of individuals 5 types of structure and organization found within criminal groups 1. Rigid hierarchy- single boss with strong internal discipline within several distinctions 2. Developed hierarchy- regional structures, each with its own hierarchy and degree of autonomy 3. Hierarchical conglomerate- a loose or umbrella association of otherwise separate organized crime groups 4. Core criminal group- a horizontal structure of core individuals who describe themselves as working for the same organization 5. Organized criminal network- individuals engage in criminal activity in shifting alliances; rather than being affiliated with a particular criminal group, they associate with carious groups according to skills they possess to carry out the illicit activity Comparative Criminal Justice Systems 5th Edition Human Trafficking Human Trafficking- involves moving victims, using fraud, or coercion to make them forced laborers or sexual slaves Three methods of controlling human trafficking victims 1.Restriction of movement Confiscating passports, visas, and identification documents Constantly accompanying the victim, insisting on answering on behalf of the victim, or translating all conversations Isolating the victim by not disclosing his or her location or address Requiring the victim to live and work in the same location Comparative Criminal Justice Systems 5th Edition Human Trafficking 2. Harmful living conditions Restricting access to food and appropriate clothing Forbidding access to appropriate medical care Not allowing time off or sufficient time to sleep 3. Harmful working conditions In exchange for work opportunity, charging a large fee hat is difficult or impossible to pay off Requiring unusually long work hours with few or no breaks Restricting the number of days off Providing little to no pay or irregular pay Comparative Criminal Justice Systems 5th Edition Human Trafficking Comparative Criminal Justice Systems 5th Edition The United States evaluates the world trafficking situation annually as mandated by its Trafficking in Persons Act(TVPA) Countries are ranked into three tiers based on observations made by the U.S. State Department Tier 1- Indicates that a government has acknowledged the existence of human trafficking, has made efforts to address the problem, and meets the TVPA’s minimum standards Tier 2- Countries whose governments do not fully comply with the TVPA’s minimum standards but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards Tier 3- Countries whose governments do not fully comply with the TVPA’s minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so Countries in tier 3 can suffer sanctions that include the withholding of non-humanitarian foreign assistance. Example: Cuba Cybercrime Cybercrime- the misuse of computers and the Internet to carry out criminal activity Fraud is the most common example Ex: lottery scams, bank account, identity theft Cybercrime also includes threats, extortion, stolen property transfers, etc. Objective: usually explicit financial gain Internet Crime Complaint Center (ICCC)- logs complaints from victims about crimes committed using the internet Comparative Criminal Justice Systems 5th Edition Cybercrime Top Five crimes reported to the Internet Fraud Complaint Center 1. FBI-related scams- scams in which a criminal poses as the FBI to defraud victims 2. Identity theft- unauthorized use of a victims personal identifying information to commit fraud or other crimes 3. Advance fee fraud- criminals convince victims to pay a fee to receive something of value but do not deliver anything of value to them 4. Non-auction/ non-delivery of merchandise- purchaser does not receive items purchased 5. Overpayment fraud- an incident in which the complainant receives an invalid monetary instrument with instructions to deposit it in a bank account and send excess funds or a percentage of the deposited money back to the sender Comparative Criminal Justice Systems 5th Edition Organized Crime in Selected World Regions Comparative Criminal Justice Systems 5th Edition Europe Longstanding traditions of smuggling and underground economies have combined with the new ease of travel, expanded communication, and a common currency to create a serious organized crime problem Many non-European groups operate in Europe because it is a highly developed continent and therefore has both high demand and money to patronize illegal goods and services Organized Crime in Selected World Regions Comparative Criminal Justice Systems 5th Edition Asia Organized crime is less documented in most other world regions compared to Europe “Stans” countries- Kazakhstan, Tajikistan Developing countries Problems: drug and human trafficking, arms smuggling, corruption, money laundering Other World Regions Organized crime believed to be responsible for $8 billion in “dirty money” that flows through South Africa’s borders each year Central Africa- current instability is connected to trafficking in minerals and other forms of contraband Corruption Comparative Criminal Justice Systems 5th Edition Corruption and organized crime are linked. They rely on each other to maintain their power, influence, and profitability. Corruption -abuse of a position of power for illegitimate private gain. It is defined under law in various ways, including conflict of interest, embezzlement, bribery, political corruption, nepotism, or extortion Many factors contribute to corruption. They include a weak government that is poorly managed and cannot enforce its own rules, weak accountability in government agencies, low pay of civil servants, corruption in the criminal justice system, and the influence of organized crime. Corruption Comparative Criminal Justice Systems 5th Edition Four Initiatives implemented by the United Nations to reduce corruption Providing technical assistance to member states in strengthening their legal and institutional anticorruption framework Supporting and servicing international groups of Chief Justices on strengthening judicial integrity Developing and disseminating anticorruption policies and tools Enhancing interagency anticorruption coordination Corruption Efforts to measure the extent of corruption have increased in recent years. The Corruption Perception Index (CPI) produced by Transparency International Examines the perceptions of businesspersons and analysts both inside and out of 180 countries worldwide Indicator of high level corruption International Crime Victimization Survey World Economic Forum’s Survey- provides an estimate of businesses victimized by organized crime Showed organized crime is more prevalent in less affluent countries Comparative Criminal Justice Systems 5th Edition Corruption Controlling corruption has clear implications for controlling organized crime United Nations Convention against Corruption Ratified by 160 nations Focus on prevention, criminalization, international cooperation, and asset recovery Prevention measures include binding safeguards to promote transparency in government procurement, recruitment or personnel based on merit, and efforts to raise public awareness Requires countries to establish offenses that cover a wide range of acts of corruption Comparative Criminal Justice Systems 5th Edition Comparative Criminal Justice Systems 5th Edition Responses to Organized Crime Transnational organized crime can only be challenged effectively when governments cooperate against it Multinational cooperation is increasingly important as organized crimes become more sophisticated Ex. U.S. indictment that described a sophisticated heroin trafficking enterprise that linked conspirators in Pakistan, Thailand, Canada, California, and the Washington DC Area Payments for shipments were made through an underground paperless baking system called hawala Responses to Organized Crime Comparative Criminal Justice Systems 5th Edition United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime Best example of international cooperation against organized crime First international instrument of its kind By ratifying the document, countries commit themselves to adopting a series of measures that include criminalizing participation in a criminal group, money laundering laws, extradition laws, mutual legal assistance, specific victim protection measures, and law enforcement provisions Has been ratified by 168 countries Responses to Organized Crime The convention is an important first step toward legally binding agreements among nations to tackle problems of transnational consequence Some of the most significant cases in history of organized crime were made only with international cooperation Ex. Cali Cartel- one of the largest cocaine- trafficking organizations in history Another important element in defending against organized crime: a public that is intolerant of the phenomenon and its impact on their lives Ex. Japan Comparative Criminal Justice Systems 5th Edition Comparative Criminal Justice Systems 5th Edition Current Event Read the following article and answer the following questions? What are the implications of this new law in Japan? Why was it created? What are the concerns about the legislation? http://archives.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/08/16/japan.police.idg/index.html Comparative Criminal Justice Systems 5th Edition Current Event Read the following article and define corruption and discuss China’s past responses to corruption and organized crime. What types of new responses are being implemented that are discussed in the article? http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/06/world/asia/florcruz-china-corruption/index.html?iref=allsearch Comparative Criminal Justice Systems 5th Edition Current Event After reading the article discuss the specific type of organized crime that is discussed. What has been the response to this issue? In what ways is international cooperation essential to deal with this type of issue? http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/12/opinion/roberts-wildlife-trafficking/index.html?iref=allsearch