Criminal | Social Networks Archives - Page 2 of 2

Afro-Lineal Organized Crime

February 10, 2019July 8, 2017 by admin

INTRODUCTION

The public, media, and even most law enforcement officials, have traditionally associated the term “organized crime” with Italian ethnic criminal syndicates, commonly called La Cosa Nostra (LCN) or the Mafia. To counter this narrow point of view, the State Commission of Investigation (SCI or Commission) has, for some time, emphasized that LCN, while a serious problem, represents only part of the organized underworld which preys on New Jersey and the rest of the country. Among the criminal groups which should receive more attention than they have in the past are those of African ethnic background. Such Afro-lineal organized crime -- composed exclusively or predominantly of persons of African ancestry -- includes criminal syndicates of African-Americans, Jamaicans, Nigerians and others. The neglect of this problem stems, in part, from the erroneous stereotype that African ethnic groups lack the stability to organize and are not capable of structuring a syndicate of any consequence. In addition, law enforcement resources are limited, and they have been devoted...

Criminal Networks | Canada

February 9, 2019July 8, 2017 by admin

Introduction

This report on criminal networks is divided into three parts dealing with the following elements:
Criminal organizations are both networks and businesses. This report, however, deals more with criminal networks than with businesses
Criminal organizations, when viewed as networks, have characteristics common to other social networks, but also have specific characteristics that largely relate to the fact that these organizations are criminal businesses
The self-protection measures undertaken by criminal networks, as well as the limiting of knowledge, make combatting the networks difficult. The fact remains, however, that strategic elements for this fight have been suggested by criminal network specialists.

Criminal Businesses and Networks

In his article on organized crime, McIllwain (1999) claims that three paradigms have been used to define and understand this phenomenon. The first paradigm suggests that organized crime consists of viable organizations, which reflects the institutional approach that was dominant in the 1960s. The second is opposite to this institutional approach, instead portraying organized
crime as being...

Criminal Groups and Transnational Illegal Markets

February 9, 2019July 8, 2017 by admin

Abstract

In the study of organised crime, the traditional view of criminal groups as centrally controlled organisations has been replaced by the notion of criminal networks. However, little use has been made of concepts and theories of social networks that have developed in other social sciences. This paper uses concepts from social network theory to describe and tentatively explain differences in social organisation between criminal groups that perform three types of transnational illegal activities: smuggling and large-scale heroine trading, trafficking in women, and trading stolen cars. Groups that operate in the large-scale heroin market tend to be close-knit, cohesive and ethnically homogenous. Groups active in the trafficking of women have a chain structure, while those that operate in the market for stolen cars are characterised by three clusters of offenders in a chain. Both groups are less cohesive than criminal groups in the large-scale heroin market. The differences in social organisation between the three types of illegal activities appear to be related to the legal...