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Book part
Publication date: 18 November 2020

Sasha Jesperson

Slowly, and driven by a growing recognition of the impact of organised crime on developing countries, as well as the allure developing countries represent to criminal groups…

Abstract

Slowly, and driven by a growing recognition of the impact of organised crime on developing countries, as well as the allure developing countries represent to criminal groups, development agencies have begun to engage with the problem of criminality. As a new actor in this area though, the linkage between development actors and other stakeholders – particularly those at the security end of the spectrum – is mired by a series of tensions. The explicit connection between crime and development in the Sustainable Development Goals increases the incentive, and urgency, for development actors to work through these tensions. However, the response often replicates the focus of security actors, such as building the capacity of law enforcement agencies to arrest criminals and seize illicit goods. This approach neglects the specific value that development offers in the response to organised crime. This chapter will map out the tensions that exist between security and development actors, and their impact on the response to organised crime. It will then consider what development can contribute to the response, drawing on examples from Libya and Mexico.

Details

The Emerald Handbook of Crime, Justice and Sustainable Development
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78769-355-5

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Book part
Publication date: 3 October 2019

Markus Wiesenberg

While the relevance and rationale of strategic communication in organized religion are prevalent in academic and professional literature, there exists a dearth of both theoretical…

Abstract

While the relevance and rationale of strategic communication in organized religion are prevalent in academic and professional literature, there exists a dearth of both theoretical concepts and empirical knowledge, especially from a European perspective. Therefore, this chapter examines how strategic communication can be modelled in organized religion with its specific characteristics and logics by building a framework for strategic communication in this field of research. The framework questions perspectives of strategic communication and communication management that only concentrate on entities like famous persons, groups, movements or organizations and less on belief systems, organized and less organized entities interacting with each other. Religious organizations follow other rationalities like companies or non-profit organizations. Therefore, theories of corporate communication or public relations do not fit within the realm of organized religion, whose mission goes far beyond the organization. Taking into account religious institutions in strategic communication, this chapter delivers new theoretical insights by demonstrating how strategic communication can contribute to the specific purposes of organized religion. Furthermore, the study indicates the specific challenges communication professionals working in the area of religion are confronted with. Finally, it offers practical solutions for the specific field of organized religion by evolving specific target horizons of organized religion. Activating and developing the communication function of more or less independent bodies are main tasks for communication professionals working in organized religion and other meta-organizations.

Details

Big Ideas in Public Relations Research and Practice
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-508-0

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Book part
Publication date: 22 May 2015

Martin Gallagher

This chapter outlines the co-operative possibilities that may occur between terrorists and organised criminals. It focuses specifically on the decision making processes of…

Abstract

Purpose

This chapter outlines the co-operative possibilities that may occur between terrorists and organised criminals. It focuses specifically on the decision making processes of organised criminals, outlining the factors that affect any decision they may make that involves a move to assist those engaged in terrorism, the ‘initial nexus’. It accomplishes this with specific reference to the perceived entrepreneurial aspects of organised crime, using the work of Baumol specifically, but also expanding the scope of the criminal’s considerations of ‘profit’ beyond simply financial gain.

Methodology/approach

A literature review and potential model of the decision making processes of organised criminals working within an initial nexus relationship is presented, supported by a range of opinions.

Findings

We suggest a number of factors that affect organised criminals decision making process when co-operating with terrorists for profit. These factors include: the nuances of criminal cultures, the use of calculated deception, cultural affinity and geographical distance from spheres of operation.

Research limitations/implications

In the main the chapter presents the decision making processes of organised criminal income generation through those involved in academia and law enforcement. However, there is an acknowledgement of the need to gather the views of those involved in organised crime, and an outline of potential methods of research to achieve this.

Practical implications

It highlights this under-researched area to both academic and law enforcement professionals. Suggestions regarding potential areas of policy focus to interrupt initial nexus relationships are made.

Social implications

Provides an insight into this under-researched area, and may affect the perception of criminal decision making processes for academics, law enforcement professionals and the public at large.

Originality/value

The model presented is a means by which the potential for more accurate assessment of criminal action and associated risk calculation can be predicted.

Details

Exploring Criminal and Illegal Enterprise: New Perspectives on Research, Policy & Practice
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-551-8

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Book part
Publication date: 25 March 2021

Robert Smith

There is an evolving literature on criminal entrepreneurship which situates it as a sub-topic of the organised crime literature and either mythologies and elevates the criminal…

Abstract

There is an evolving literature on criminal entrepreneurship which situates it as a sub-topic of the organised crime literature and either mythologies and elevates the criminal entrepreneur to Mafioso status or ascribes it to being an activity carried out by criminal cartels; or else it trivialises and minimises it as being ‘White-Collar Criminality’. In reality, entrepreneurship pervades everyday criminal life as it pervades the everyday practices of policing. In this chapter, the author acknowledges the existence of a ‘Crimino-Entrepreneurial Interface’ populated by a cast of criminal actors including the ubiquitous ‘Businessman Gangster’. These criminally entrepreneurial actors operate within a specific milieu or ‘Enterprise Model of Crime’ and operate alongside the legitimate ‘Entrepreneurial Business Community’. Within the two conjoined systems, there is a routine exchange of interactions either parasitical or symbiotic and these coalesce to form an ecosystem of enterprise crime in which it is not only the ubiquitous criminal entrepreneur who is present but a veritable cast of entrepreneurially motivated criminal actors. As well as the established business community there is a parallel, alternative community which is situated in the so-called ‘Criminal Areas’ where the traditional criminal fraternity carry out their nefarious entrepreneurial activities. Within such areas, an underclass exists which provides the criminal workforce for organised crime. The traditional criminal ecosystem is the natural habitat for the police, and it is around this activity that police are traditionally organised. A perpetual cycle of crime is set up which requires policing, but this leaves an unpoliced void which the entrepreneurial criminals exploit. It is necessary to understand the criminal places and spaces exploited by Organised Crime and what roles other criminal actors and facilitators play in the enterprise model. It is also necessary to understand the so-called ‘Perverse Model of Policing’ which distorts and magnifies the true scale of the problem and to appreciate how Serious and Organised Crime corrupt and infiltrate the legitimate ‘upperworld’ before one can understand the true scale of entrepreneurialism in policing and criminal contexts.

Details

Entrepreneurship in Policing and Criminal Contexts
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80071-056-6

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Article
Publication date: 16 February 2023

Sarat Kumar Jena

The purpose of this study is to provide a unique competitive advantage to businesses in providing a wide range of products to prospective customers. To the best of the author’s…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to provide a unique competitive advantage to businesses in providing a wide range of products to prospective customers. To the best of the author’s knowledge, there is no study to discuss the impact of customer-centric retailing on total supply chain profit under price competition between organized and unorganized retailers.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper considers a supply chain comprising of organized and unorganized retailers and a single manufacturer. This paper proposes three mathematical models considering a customer-centric approach in a competitive environment. Stackelberg game is used to examine how members of the chain interact, and Nash equilibrium was used to find optimal strategies for players under different customer-centric approaches.

Findings

The results show that the total supply chain profit is higher when both organized and unorganized retailers use a customer-centric approach independently instead of collaborating process. The result, in addition, establishes that when the dissatisfying cost exceeds a certain threshold (1.5), the total profit is higher for the organized customer-centric effort model compared to the other two models.

Originality/value

The main contribution of the study is to examine the effect of customer-centric retailing, considering dissatisfying costs on supply chains profit and individual decision-making under price competition between organized retailers and unorganized retailers. The authors developed different mathematical models in the different customer-centric approach.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 38 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

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Article
Publication date: 7 November 2008

Kristof Verfaillie and Tom Vander Beken

Contemporary policing and the control of (organised) crime involve priority setting, strategic planning and the use of strategic planning tools. The purpose of this paper is to…

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Abstract

Purpose

Contemporary policing and the control of (organised) crime involve priority setting, strategic planning and the use of strategic planning tools. The purpose of this paper is to make a contribution to the fast‐growing body of literature on intelligence‐led policing, and explore new concepts and methods to aid the strategic decision making of actors involved in policing organised crime.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper argues that priority setting and strategic planning in the field of organised crime is inherently characterised by uncertainty. The authors examine to what extent policymakers can plan and anticipate coming organised crime threats. It is argued that, while predicting such issues is impossible, policymakers can prepare for them. It is suggested that the field of scenario studies can provide tools that can support strategic planning and the assessment of security challenges in the field of organised crime control. A scenario study is presented on the vulnerability of economic sectors to illustrate and develop this claim.

Findings

Scenario studies do not predict the future of organised crime, nor do they replace information‐gathering methodologies and crime intelligence applications that support concrete criminal investigations. Scenario studies are sensitising tools that force strategic planners to examine the assumptions and knowledge base on which they base their decisions. To that end, scenario studies combine the analysis of law enforcement data and scientific analysis of organised crime with analysis of issues most vital to societies, regions, cities, etc. The analytical focus shifts from targeting concrete offenders to detecting opportunities and weaknesses in structural processes that may not always be visible to police organizations, but pose significant security risks if left unattended. The scenario study that is presented on the vulnerability of economic sectors in the EU illustrates that scenario studies can amend traditional crime intelligence in this manner.

Research limitations/implications

The paper is limited to a conceptual study and a concrete scenario study. Future research might shed more light on implementation/evaluation issues of scenario‐based planning.

Practical implications

The paper offers a conceptual and methodological framework for scenario‐based strategic planning.

Originality/value

The paper intends to advance the debate on organized crime assessments in light of the development towards intelligence‐led policing strategies. To that end, new concepts and a different methodological framework are suggested.

Details

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, vol. 31 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

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Article
Publication date: 8 May 2009

Peter A. Sproat

Politicians justified the introduction of the illiberal and liberal parts of the UK's anti‐money laundering and asset recovery regime by reference to the extra‐ordinary threat…

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Abstract

Purpose

Politicians justified the introduction of the illiberal and liberal parts of the UK's anti‐money laundering and asset recovery regime by reference to the extra‐ordinary threat posed by organised crime. This paper attempts to evaluate the extent to which the financial measures contained in the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) 2002 and the Serious and Organised Crime and Policing Act 2005 are actually used against this threat.

Design/methodology/approach

The objective is achieved by reference to four distinct datasets found on the use of these measures. The first consists of the regular, usually monthly, bulletins on the Proceeds of Crime produced by the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA). The second – which reveals the length of sentences given to those convicted of money laundering offences under the POCA – was gathered from the Financial Action Task Force, the Home Office and Justice Office in Scotland. The third consists of the value of the cases which had been, and which were being, dealt with by the ARA at the time the National Audit Office produced it's report on the institution. The fourth is the number of financial reporting orders which have been imposed upon criminals, follows the discovery of an earlier version whilst examining parliamentary records.

Findings

The triangulated results suggest that the POCA powers – originally used by use against organised crime – were used against this alleged threat only on a small minority and number of occasions.

Research limitations/implications

This infrequent use raises major questions of either the ability of the policing agencies including the Serious and Organised Crime Agency to take on organised crime and/or the credibility of those who exaggerated a threat of organised crime to justify the (often illiberal) powers.

Originality/value

This paper questions whether the POCA will achieve one of its original aims. It will interest politicians and practitioners concerned with the combating of organised crime and/or anti‐money laundering and asset recovery as well as criminologists and those interested in civil liberties.

Details

Journal of Money Laundering Control, vol. 12 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1368-5201

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Article
Publication date: 21 March 2016

Stuart Kirby, Brian Francis, Les Humphreys and Keith Soothill

Organised Crime is notoriously difficult to identify and measure, resulting in limited empirical evidence to inform policy makers and practitioners. The purpose of this paper is…

Abstract

Purpose

Organised Crime is notoriously difficult to identify and measure, resulting in limited empirical evidence to inform policy makers and practitioners. The purpose of this paper is to explore the feasibility of identifying a greater number of organised crime offenders, currently captured but invisible, within existing national general crime databases.

Design/methodology/approach

All 2.1 million recorded offenders, captured over a four-year period on the UK Police National Computer, were filtered across three criteria associated with organised crime (co-offending, commission of specific offences, three years imprisonment or more). The 4,109 “organized crime” offenders, identified by the process, were compared with “general” and “serious” offender control groups across a variety of personal and demographic variables.

Findings

Organised crime prosecutions are not random but concentrate in specific geographic areas and constitute 0.2 per cent of the offender population. Offenders can be differentiated from general crime offenders on such measures as: diversity of nationality and ethnicity, onset age, offence type and criminal recidivism.

Research limitations/implications

Using an offence-based methodology, rather than relying on offenders identified through police proactive investigations, can provide empirical information from existing data sets, across a diverse range of legislative areas and cultures. This allows academics to enhance their analysis of organised crime, generating richer evidence on which policy makers and practitioners can more effectively deliver preventative and disruptive tactics.

Originality/value

This is the first time an “offence based” methodology has been used to differentiate organised crime offenders from other offenders in a general crime database.

Details

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, vol. 39 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

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Article
Publication date: 22 January 2020

Alan Doig and Peter A. Sproat

The purpose of this paper is to research how local councils in England responded to a national initiative intended to address the risk of the involvement of organised crime in…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to research how local councils in England responded to a national initiative intended to address the risk of the involvement of organised crime in local government procurement fraud. In so doing, it considers definitional issues before undertaking original research to explore how councils responded and, through in-depth interviews with three councils, what initial explanations may explain the responses. It concludes that the national initiative was insufficiently thought-through, and that councils’ responses were significantly influenced by the relevance of the threat of organised crime, financial constraints and competing priorities.

Design/methodology/approach

The case study involves a literature review, an analysis of official documentation, a questionnaire to local councils in the north of England and semi-structured interviews with anti-fraud practitioners in three councils in the northeast of England. The approach is to provide an analysis of the implementation of a national initiative to promote a local government response to procurement fraud by organised crime.

Findings

On the basis of original research, the paper proposes that the national initiative was insufficiently thought-through, and that councils’ responses were influenced by the relevance of the threat of organised crime, financial constraints and competing priorities.

Research limitations/implications

The research looks at a national initiative and how local councils responded within the context of financial and other constraints. The research is limited in terms of the range of responses it sought, and that it only studied the experience of three local councils in detail. On the other hand, its findings support further research into the implementation of national initiatives in terms of practice on the ground.

Practical implications

The findings identify issues surrounding the design and implementation of national anti-fraud policies from the perspective of local government and will be of value to practitioners and academics interested in fraud, policing, organised crime, local government and policy making.

Originality/value

The paper is the first study in the UK on the local implementation of national strategies on procurement fraud and organised crime and raises positive and less-positive aspects of how far national strategies and intentions are addressed on the ground, with a focus on what factors may influence local implementation.

Details

Journal of Financial Crime, vol. 27 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1359-0790

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Article
Publication date: 4 August 2021

Mallam Isgogo Mohammed, Abbsinejad Hossein and Chukwudi C. Nwokolo

This study aims to examine organized crime, corruption and their challenges to the economic growth of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Organized crime and…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine organized crime, corruption and their challenges to the economic growth of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Organized crime and corruption can have a grossly negative impact on the economic growth process of every system, but the extent of damage they have needs to be measured to determine the policy implications to the region.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses the fixed effects model and the feasible generalized least square known also as the random-effects model with the pooled ordinary least square as a control on the defined objectives using secondary time series data that covers the period 2000 to 2019 for 11 countries in the ECOWAS region. The panel nature of the data set provides a rich degree of freedom with 220 (20 years for 11 countries – 20*11 = 220) observations.

Findings

Results show among others that organized crime does not have a significant impact on economic growth, whereas corruption significantly reduces economic growth.

Research limitations/implications

Unavailability of data affected the scope of the study in the areas of a number of countries selected and years chosen for the study. The implication is that it would have given the study better degrees of freedom.

Practical implications

The practical implication of this study has exposed corruption hinders economic growth in West Africa.

Social implications

The social implication of the study is that it has exposed that though the organized crime was a bad phenomenon it does not retard economic growth significantly in West Africa.

Originality/value

This study is original and of immense importance as its the first study to focus on organized crime and corruption’s influence on economic growth among West African states.

Details

Journal of Financial Crime, vol. 29 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1359-0790

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