Organized Crime: An Ethnographic study of the monitoring and disrupting of those designated as high-level ‘organized criminals’ within the Metropolitan Police

Abstract

This is an ethnographic study conducted over an 18-month period by the researcher who is a serving detective constable, working as part of a project aimed at reducing ‘top tier’ organized criminal behaviour in the MPS. The research was an exploration of how organized criminals are defined, particularly during disruption panels aimed at measuring law enforcement successes. The study examines the process by which ancillary orders are obtained at court; tools designed to restrict organized criminal activity. The study aimed to critically assess the wider monitoring process, looking at whether disruptions to offenders’ activities can be seen as durable or effective; whether ‘Lifetime Offender Management’ is successful in implementing changes in their offending behaviour. This has been set against a backdrop of literature which provides a historical context of how organized crime has come to be defined in a hierarchical fashion, that is overly focused on individuals rather than activities. It discusses how unhelpful this is as a paradigm against which to compare British organized crime. The study highlights more appropriate ‘business models’ of organized criminal offending. Within this, comparisons are made with regard to different criminals’ varying ability to launder money, versus those that operate on a more hand to mouth level. A critical look is taken at the way the disruption panels fail to make any distinction between these behaviours, as well as the way police culture informs the process of labelling organized criminals. This is by virtue of its adherence to anachronistic and outmoded models of organized criminal offending, resulting in an undue focus on certain offences and a failure to appreciate the evolving nature of the field. A gap in the literature and research is highlighted when it comes to organized crime prevention, particularly where ‘disruptions’ are concerned, presenting increased opportunities for this type of research.