Organized crime in the global context: emerging threats and effective responses

Abstract

The research paper outlines several issues related to the impact that the organized crime nowadays has on global community. Various issues of “group” criminality, its goals and motivations are discussed at length. The difficulty of precisely defining such phenomenon is explored. Two major pieces of international legislation, the United Nations Convention against Organized Crime and the EU Council Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA of 24 October 2008, are discussed in order to reveal some key parameters for introducing national criminal law provisions against organized crime. By using comparative and other research methods, American, Mexican and Ukrainian approaches to outlining issues of organized crime and responding to them are explained. As a role model, historical roots, structural model and impact of Mafia-type organizations in the United States have been outlined. Also, successful impact of the U.S. Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act on such types of criminal activity has been revealed. Finally, the structure of criminal community in Ukraine as a typical form of organized crime in this country has been described through the legal analyses of its five key elements.