Organized Crime Activities Research Articles

Russian Organised Crime in Catalonia and Its Prevalence

Russian organized crime is active at the transnational level, where crimes could be committed on the territories of different countries. Spain, due to it specific features, is a rather attractive ground for illegal activities of many criminal organizations, including groups formed by citizens of the ex-USSR states. Organized crime in Spain is not distributed evenly throughout its territory, but is rather concentrated in most socially and economically developed areas, and the autonomous community of Catalonia is now holding the second place by the number of officially registered crimes. Its developed infrastructure makes it possible for organized crime, including Russian organized crime, to increase its activities in this autonomous community. The author notes that Spanish criminology faces certain difficulties, some of them methodological in nature, when studying the activities of Russian organized crime in Spain. This circumstance does not make it possible to fully implement research findings regarding its criminal nature. The author presents general characteristics of Russian criminal groups. They are shown to have a high degree of organization, and specific types of criminal activities connected with their antisocial orientation are described. It is rather often that Russian criminal organizations attract a great deal of mass media attention, which creates the impression that they are wide-spread. In Spain, any criminal organization created by citizens of the ex-USSR states is defined as «Russian mafia». However, in spite of considerable media coverage, the degree of Russian organized crime’s presence on the territory of Catalonia should not be overstated. Using the analysis of official data from the Catalan Department of the Interior, the author concludes that Russian organized crime does not hold a dominant position in the overall structure of organized crime in the region as its specific weight does not exceed 2 %.

Cross-jurisdictional review of Australian legislation governing outlaw motorcycle gangs

This paper presents a review of the key Australian legislation passed between 2009 and 2019 targeting outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMCGs). It identifies the key similarities and differences across the reforms and provides examples of the legislation being used to disrupt serious and organised crime activity by OMCGs. It also presents some of the barriers to effective enforcement of the legislation. There is limited information about the use and effectiveness of the legislation. The paper considers some of the objections raised in respect of these measures and suggests future directions for responding to OMCG-related crime.

The Permeating Effects of Violence on Health Services and Health in Mexico.

Mexico's violence related to organized crime activity has grown to epidemic levels in the last 12 years. We interviewed 22 Mexican health care providers from five states to examine how violence impacts health care services and health. We transcribed and analyzed semi-structured interviews using framework analysis. Our findings describe the ways in which community violence in Mexico permeates health care services, impacting health care providers, and the health of patients. We developed a model to reflect our main themes that illustrate how violence permeates health care services over geographic space and time. We identified three thematic categories: (a) the impact of violence on health care facilities and service provision, (b) the impact of violence on providers, and (c) the impact of violence on the health of the community. Our model articulates a dynamic process of the spread and permeation of violence. Prior literature focuses on the impact of violence as an occupational hazard and the effect of war or civil conflict on health care services. We extend this literature by documenting the impacts of widespread violence on Mexican health care services and providers. We discuss how violence impacts services, providers, and health in a country that is not officially at war. We compare our findings to previous literature on occupational violence in health professions and the impacts on health services in official war zones. Finally, we highlight the implications for health care practice and policy. We suggest that violence should be considered throughout the care continuum in Mexico and make the case for violence as a structural contributor to health and health disparities in Mexico. We suggest additional research on this under-investigated topic.

Políticas cooperativas de segurança e combate ao crime organizado na Tríplice Fronteira

ABSTRACT This article is an analysis of the cooperative security initiatives developed by Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay in the period beginning in 1996, with the establishment of the “Agreement on Security and Ease of Transit of the Tri-border Area,” until 2016. For this purpose, a brief historical background on the transnationalization of organized crime in the region of the tri-border area was made, and in the following section, an analysis of the main policies, agreements and security actions of these countries, considering mainly those aimed at reducing organized crime activities in border regions. From this analysis, it was possible to understand which factors influenced the decision-making of these countries, such as the strong U.S. presence and antiterrorist discourse, the mutual mistrust generated by cases of corruption in police institutions and border control, and social weaknesses still present on the tri-border area. It was also discussed who were the main parastatal actors involved in the process of elaborating the cooperative actions.

The financial management of cocaine trafficking in Italy

Drawing on a set of empirical data, including in-depth interviews with law enforcers and public prosecutors, the article provides preliminary and detailed information on the structure, social organization of actors and financial management of cocaine trafficking in Italy. The article aims to increase knowledge on the financing mechanisms of organized crime activities and uses the Italian cocaine market as a case example. The findings suggest that the national market is fragmented into an interplay of actors who belong to upper, middle or low segments, depending on the level of the trafficking operations (that is, large, medium, small scale), that join as criminal networks to lower risks and maximize profits. These networks are mainly based on family, kinship or ethnic ties or relations built in other social/work settings. Cocaine trafficking operations are financed by both legal and illegal capital whose boundaries are blurred especially when organized crime groups are involved. Settlement of payments in cocaine trafficking operations reflects the level of trust between buyers and suppliers, with credit arrangements often set in longstanding business relationships or, at the other extreme, at the retail level to test clients’ reliability. The findings also add knowledge to existing research, improve the understanding and representation of organized crime, and contribute to enhance prevention and control activities of law enforcers, prosecutors and policy makers at the European and international level.

Underestimating the illegal wildlife trade: A ton or a tonne of pangolins?

Analysing seizure data is an important part of understanding the scale of the global wildlife trade and is essential when attempting to detect trends in organised crime activities, success of enforcement efforts and species conservation status. Confusion over the Imperial and metric systems with regards to the units of measurement ton and tonne due to careless reporting or an impression that difference between the two is an issue of American vs British spelling has led to considerable mis-reporting and underestimating of the volumes of pangolins involved in the illegal international wildlife trade. Here we highlight this issue and call upon conservationists, media communications officers and journalists to be more careful and accurate when reporting on tons or tonnes of wildlife in trade.

An exploration of organized crime in Italian ports from an institutional perspective. Presence and activities

The article will present the results of a qualitative research into organized crime in the Italian port system. It is a pioneering attempt to assess an extensive and diachronic perspective on the presence and activities of organized crime groups into the Italian seaports in order to provide a systematic analytical map through the analysis of institutional law enforcement reports. The article attempts to shed light on an overlooked topic, analytically relevant insofar as it examines OCGs’s activities in a specific and particular space representing an opportunity to obtain profits and social connections. Moreover, it analyses OCGs tendency to be involved in legal and illegal businesses, their ability to persist in space and time, and their skills in moving abroad.The results show that organized crime activities are permanent and largely widespread in the main harbours all over the country, particularly in Ancona, Cagliari, Genova and Gioia Tauro; organized crime groups operate mostly in illegal business and in particular in illicit trafficking of drugs, cigarettes and counterfeit goods; the Italian mafia ‘ndrangheta seems to be able to persist in space and time within several seaports. The study shows that simultaneous processes of specialization in illegal markets and diversification in seaports are ongoing.

The Concept of an Innovative Model of Combating Organized Crime: Background and Opportunities

An intensive digitization of all social processes (including criminogenic ones) demanded such a degree of rapidity, effectiveness, efficiency and relevance for the decisions taken by modern states that could not be provided using the dominant model of state policy for combating crime. This new civilizational challenge is especially evident for the problem of counteracting organized crime. The authors conclude that the contemporary model of criminal policy against organized crime, whose main idea is a constant strengthening of liability for organized criminal activities, is undergoing a crisis. An indicator of this crisis is a recent amendment of Art. 210 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation by a norm that considerably limits criminal prosecution of owners, participants, beneficiaries and managers of judicial persons (or their divisions) for organizing a criminal group or participating in it if the corresponding judicial persons were not originally created with the purpose of committing grave or very grave crimes. The same norm limits criminal prosecution of the above-mentioned categories of physical persons if the latter did not possess direct knowledge of the criminal purposes for which such judicial persons were created. The authors believe that the crisis of the current model of combating organized crime is also proven by a lack of any significant correlation between the changes in the criminal legislation on liability for organized criminal activities during the last 24 years and changes in the intensity of the practice of its enforcement. This conclusion, according to the authors, makes it possible to infer that goals that the lawmakers set while trying to improve the effectiveness of combating organized crime were probably not achieved. The authors claim that the key causes of the unproductive reaction of lawmakers and law enforcers to the growing activities of organized crime, including its influence on the general state of law and order and the economic security of the state, include a selective post factum reaction to the growth of specific manifestations of organized crimes based on the intuitive trial and error approach. The authors suggest using the following ideas for the concept of an innovative model of influencing organized crime: it is necessary to use mathematical modeling of the planned amendments to criminal or other connected legislation and their influence both on the system of legal norms of the amended act and the system of legal norms as a whole, on the practice of law enforcement and criminal activity; the state should react to all the specific reasons for the initiation of criminal cases on organized criminal activities using automated systems of collecting, processing and evaluating information, making predictions of the changes in the intensity of organized criminal behavior; the causes and conditions of specific organized criminal infringements should be revealed and measures should be taken to eliminate them.

Economic impact of organised crime to state security

Organised crime is changing and becoming increasingly diverse in its methods, group structures and impact on society. This article aims to research, on the one hand, the impact of organized crime on state’s economy, on the other hand – to analyse the possible legal and economic measures tackling and preventing organized crime activities. The article contains results of the analysis of international, regional and national legal acts and the secondary analysis of statistical data of European Union agencies and international organizations. The author used a variety of methods: from selection and analysis of primary and secondary sources to descriptive, comparative and synthesis methods. Such analysis required multitudinous, broad and diverse base of empirical data, which were collected from the international, regional, national organizations and agencies, as well as scientific, operational and theoretical reports related to the issue of organised crime and impact of this phenomenon to the state and the society.

LA FRONTERA SUR DE MÉXICO: PROBLEMAS Y DESAFÍOS DE SEGURIDAD NACIONAL Y SUS DIFERENTES DIMENSIONES

La frontera sur de México presenta grandes desafíos y oportunidades. Es un área de convivencia tradicional y dinámica de frontera diaria. A pesar de no presentar un enemigo tradicional se puede decir; sin embargo, que, a causa de los intereses de los Estados Unidos en la región respecto al control de las actividades del crimen organizado, especialmente las relacionadas con el narcotráfico; así como el tránsito de inmigrantes indocumentados, es que la frontera sur siempre ha formado parte de la agenda de Seguridad Nacional de México. Este documento propone que solo desde un enfoque multidimensional e integral es posible gestionar una frontera que tenga en cuenta a las personas como seres humanos, más allá de su ciudadanía.

The Effects of Organized Crime on Distressed Firms

This study captures the presence of organized crime groups in the Italian territories and examines their relationship to firms that are in a condition of financial distress. At the end of the nineteenth century the first criminal groups emerged in the South of Italy as a response to the demand for private protection by local landlords. Using firm-level data and detailed information on organized crime activities, this paper tests the hypothesis that organized crime groups support financially distressed companies by supplying them with private protection in the form of access to credit. The results show a higher concentration of distressed firms in regions with a high presence of organized crime groups. The relationship is further tested by the introduction of a novel instrument that exploits unique data on episodes of family-related homicides that have been investigated since the 1990s.

Measuring (Transnational) Organized Crime as an Indicator of Global Justice

Organized crime impacts on societies, and it is one of the main threats to global justice. Assessment of the presence and activities of organized crime is therefore crucial for the design of effective policies and actions. Several methodological approaches have been proposed to address the two main challenges implied by this effort: (1) the complexity of defining what organized crime is; and (2) the collection and generation of reliable data to estimate it. Moreover, organized crime groups increasingly engage in illicit activities that extend beyond their traditional territories and the borders of a single state. This expansion is facilitated by the ever-growing economic and social connections among people and countries. This poses serious threats to countries and their citizens by generating direct and indirect economic damage, affecting social structures, and hindering the development and stability of states. This paper discusses the latest methodological advances in measurement of OC within a country or a region. It then describes a strategy for assessing OC presence based on the estimation of the transnational illicit markets and the role of countries in those illicit networks. Examples from the current research studies are provided.

In Their Own Words: Children and the Facilitation of Migrant Journeys on the U.S.-Mexico Border

ABSTRACTThis study follows a group of 18 young people living the US-Mexico border city of Juarez who participate in assisting migrants to cross into the US clandestinely. As young mobility facilitators, the children are quick to adapt to market conditions and connect their social resources and knowledge of the geography to eke out a living. However, their experiences are also reflective of a complex series of community building and self-fulfillment dynamics not documented in the literature of the practice known by the state as migrant smuggling. Relying on data collected by the children themselves, we argue that increased securitization and border hardening have brought about income-generating practices to people living along the U.S.-Mexico border. But that rather than these being solely tied to the activities of transnational organized crime (namely, drug trafficking organizations) said practices constitute community-based responses to the increasing marginalization and inequality afflicting Mexico’s Northern border region. Findings in this study challenge mainstream perceptions concerning migrant smuggling dynamics, and open new possibilities in our understanding of the motivations and lives of the people behind migrant journeys.

Tactics of detection and documentation of operating subsits of illegal migration as one of the organized crime activities

In accordance with the purpose of the research, the article formulates recommendations for improving the tactics of detecting and documenting operational units of illegal migration related to organized (transnational) crime. A number of theoretical propositions and practical recommendations of theoretical and practical importance are substantiated, in particular:The spread of organized (transnational) crime in the area of illegal migration is primarily due to the extra profits (huge costs) from the organization of channels of illegal migration.Economic, social, cultural, political and economic factors are decisive factors affecting illegal migration processes, and the corrupt law enforcement and governmental links with organized (transnational) crime provide unimpeded conditions for such crime to be committed. with illegal migration.The increase in the number of illegal migrants, above all, directly influences the dynamics of growth in the level of certain types of offenses. At the same time, the analysis of scientific research shows that an illegal migrant should be considered (identified) not only from the perspective of the offender but also from the perspective of the victim. Moreover, the analysis of the background indicates that illegal migrants are potential victims of trafficking in human beings. In view of the above, it can be concluded that these crimes are interconnected, as illegal migration to some extent affects the dynamics of the spread of crimes related to trafficking in human beings.When choosing the most successful tactic for detecting and documenting the organization of organized (transnational) crime of smuggling persons across the state border or committing crimes related to trafficking in human beings, an employee of the operational unit for the rational use of forces, means, methods and forms of operative activities should have knowledge of the specific features that distinguish illegal migration from trafficking in human beings (68.3 % of respondents said this).It offers its own classification of levels of hierarchical structure of organized (transnational) crime, which specializes in illegal smuggling of illegal migrants, in particular: organizer (leader) of organized crime group of higher level; regional (local) organizers (leaders) of middle or lower levels of organized crime; the recruitment of illegal migrants; conductors (carriers).

Law enforcement corruption along the U.S. borders

The purpose of the study is to provide an empirical characterization of law enforcement corruption along the U.S. borders. Data were analyzed on 156 criminal cases of officers and agents employed by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Results from the present work advance the understanding of the significantly under-studied topic of border law enforcement corruption in the U.S. context. The majority of the cases were related to organized crime activities. In terms of sex, age, and location, there were significant differences between CBP’s two main workforce components, corrupt customs officers, responsible for customs operations at the country’s official entry points, and border patrol agents, who patrol the border between ports of entry. Both types of employees working along the southern border of the U.S. with very short histories of service were more likely to be involved in drug-related corruption than their senior counterparts who were instead prone to immigration-related corruption.

Анализ на системата за управление на проституцията и нейната връзка със сигурността на България (Analysis of the Management System of Prostitution and Its Relation to the Security of Bulgaria)

Bulgarian Abstract: Много са измеренията на проблема проституция – или предлагането на секс срещу пари. Този проблем генерира не само етична алтернатива, но и въпроси, свързани с безопасността на проституиращите (без оглед на тяхната възраст и пола им), с нарушаването на човешките им права, с връзката им с организираната престъпност. Лицата, предлагащи платен секс, често са определяни като рискова група по отношение на употребата на наркотици, посегателствата срещу личността и разпространението на социално значими заболявания, каквито са венерическите. Проституцията често се определя като модерна форма на робство и се свързва с трафика на хора, което е едно от най-тежките престъпления в световен мащаб. Акцентът на борбата в България срещу тази сексуална експлоатация обикновено се поставя върху международния трафик на хора. Най-често усилията на правоохранителните органи се насочват към разкриване и противодействие на трафикантите, действащи на територията на чужди държави. Не се проследяват обаче криминалните мрежи, с които те са свързани в България. Направените анализи показват, че в повечето случаи проституцията у нас прелива в международен трафик на „бели робини”. И това е естествено, тъй като – водена от възможностите за значително по-високи доходи в чужбина – организираната престъпност се е ориентирала към износа на проституция. Паралелно с това престъпните групи развиват и поддържат богата вътрешна мрежа от проститутки и сводници. English Abstract: In modern society the problem of prostitution raises unless ethical questions and questions, related to the safety of prostitutes, the violation of their human rights, the activities of organized crime and the security of Bulgaria. Legislation in this area does not provide an adequate basis for effectively combating against prosperous of prostitution. This study focuses on the historical preconditions and reasons for the development of the prostitution as a common and multifaceted phenomenon. The trends and attitudes of the problem are monitored through the main psychological approaches. The social, the sociological and the legal aspects of the phenomenon are also considered. In the conducted experimental study, the impact of various factors on the psychological differentiation and functioning of prostitutes is monitored. As a consequence, the issue of the security of the individual and the whole Bulgarian society arises. International experience and possibilities to apply it in the Bulgarian institutions have been studied. The analysis of the prostitution management system has revealed some typical dependencies between the public significance of prostitution, its quantitative and qualitative features, officially announced goals of the state policy towards it, the adopted legislation and its relation with the national security of Bulgaria. These dependencies give rise to recommendations that would make it easier for the legislature to restrict prostitution in Bulgaria.

CONCEPT OF CONSEQUENCES OF CRIME, THEIR PROPERTIES AND CRIMINALISTIC VALUES FOR THE INVESTIGATION OF ORGANIZED CRIME ACTIVITY IN THE FIELD OF TAXATION

The article deals with theoretical approaches to the definition of the concept of traces of a crime, their forensic meaning and properties. It is determined that one of the most important elements of revealing the mechanism of criminal activity is a forensic description of crimes. It reflects the features of the method, as well as the signs of other elements of the structure of criminal activity. In view of this, in the structure of forensic characterization of tax crimes committed by an organized criminal group, we have formulated the features of this class of crime, its traces at certain stages of organized crime, which allows you to establish the basic element of forensic characteristics – the way of committing a crime, as well as place, time it committing and direct participants in organized crime activities. Key words: traces of crimes, forensic characteristic, organized criminal activity, taxation.

SERBIAN LAUNDROMAT

Laundromat is a complex system for laundering money stolen from the government by corrupt politicians or earned through organized crime activity. It was designed to not only move money from Serbian shell companies into EU banks through many countries, but it had the added feature of getting corrupt or uncaring judges and sequesters on the secret funds in those countries to legitimize the funds. Serbian Laundromat works on the principle "good morning to all four sides of the World", also exploiting the "neutrality" on the origin and amount of money that comes from abroad or being collected from own people (placement), put abroad (layering) and returned back as "foreign" investment (integration). Some Case Studies has been done on the institutional response to the corruption challenge (that missing in Serbia).

Corrupción y captura del Estado: la responsabilidad penal de los servidores públicos que toman parte en el crimen organizado

Una de las características inherentes al crimen organizado es un mayor o menor grado de captura del Estado por corrupción, pues la penetración de las instituciones estatales le reporta a la agrupación una reducida probabilidad de ser eliminada, y una elevada facilidad para asegurar el éxito de las operaciones delincuenciales. Igualmente, en el mundo del crimen organizado, puede suceder que los servidores públicos hagan parte de las agrupaciones. En ambas tipologías de participación de servidores públicos en las actividades del crimen organizado cabe preguntarse sobre las formas de responsabilidad penal en que incurren los funcionarios que tomen parte en tales conductas. Así, el principal hallazgo de la investigación es que las posibilidades de responsabilidad pueden agruparse en tres universos de casos: los que son dependientes de la calidad de servidor público del agente, aquellos con independencia de esa cualificación, y el evento especial del delito de concierto para delinquir, que es transversal a las dos esferas de casos.

FALSIFICATION OF MEDICAL PRODUCTS: CRIMINAL LAW MECHANISM COMBATING THREATS TO PUBLIC HEALTH

Introduction: Every civilized state has the duty to its citizens to create an effective health care system, a necessary component of which is the use of safe and high-quality medical products. This duty is based both on the standards of international law and national constitutional norms and principles. The spread of falsified medical products poses a global threat to public health, can lead to death or cause significant harm to human health. Given the extreme risk of such acts, there is a need to create and operate an effective criminal law mechanism to combat such acts. The aim: The purpose of the article is to study the existing criminal law mechanism to combat the falsification of medical products at the international, regional and national levels (Poland and Ukraine as an example), as well as to develop proposals for improving of such a mechanism. Materials and methods: This study is based on the empirical and analytical data of the WHO, the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, the Council of Europe Convention on the counterfeiting of medical products and similar crimes involving threats to public health (The Medicrime Convention), criminal legislation of Ukraine and Poland, General Prosecutor's Office data on the criminal liability of those who committed falsification of medicines. Totally 28 laws and papers, 25 court judgments were analyzed. Dialectical, comparative, analytic, synthetic and system analyses research methods were used, also for interpretation purposes. Results:Falsification of medical products worldwide is characterized by high prevalence and is one of the highly profitable activities of transnational organized crime. Therefore, an effective counteraction to these crimes is impossible through isolated actions by one separate State and requires the establishment of a multi-level integrated mechanism to combat this phenomenon. The criminal law mechanism, as a necessary component of abovementioned mechanism, should be established at the international, regional and national levels. An analysis of the situation in Poland and Ukraine showed that the falsification of medical products is quite common in these countries, but national criminal legislation and practice of its implementation needs improvement. Conclusions: There is a need to create and implement an effective criminal law mechanism (at international, regional and national levels) to combat the spread of falsified medical products. At the international level, in order to increase the effectiveness of this mechanism, we fully support the EU initiative to amend the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, which would establish additional liability for the falsification of medicines. Improving the criminal law mechanism to combat the falsification of medical products at the European regional level requires intensifying of The Medicrime Convention ratification process and full implementation of rules on criminal liability for falsifying medical products into national criminal legislation. At the national level, it is necessary to improve both the criminal legislation and the practice of its implementation, to intensify the activity of law enforcement agencies to combat these crimes, to ensure a fair trial and effective criminal penalties for those who have committed a crime of falsifying medical products.