Organised crime (threat) as a policy challenge

ǂa ǂtautology

Abstract

Purpose: To analyse some of the key concepts and beliefs related to the risk of organised crime and compare it to the empirical state of affairs, particularly related to criminal finances. Design/Methods/Approach: Analysis of criminal files and databases. Findings: In the past two decades, since the fall of the Berlin Wall, ‘organised crime’ has been proclaimed a threat to society. However, who is threatening with what, while the phenomenon (if there is anything like that) is ill defined? It looks like policy makers are trapped in a kind of tautology, unless there is also a non-threatening organised crime. The threat assessments, which are composed by national governments and Europol are plagued by fuzzy concepts about threats, risks and risk formula which share that characteristic. The formula and concepts used thus far appear to have resisted operationalisation due to the lack of proper definitions to be usefully applied. Inherent to these unsolved problems is the causality issue. Who causes what harm? To approximate an answer to this question the author takes the laundering of crime-money as a proxy variable. What harm does laundering do to the financial system, thereby exerting a threat. Inspection of the scarce data shows that this threat cannot be substantiated, either to the real estate (usually considered menaced) or the financial system (per definition threatened). Either the problem is not big at all or the authorities have not taken their responsibility to provide a proper knowledge basis. The author pleads to break out of this tautological threat rhetoric and to replace this by a proper analysis and a responsible methodology. Research limitations/implications: The data are limited to what has come to light during criminal investigations. However, they are not contested. Practical implications: The research made plainly clear that claims about the risk of crime-money are not substantiated by empirical facts Originality/Value: This kind of research has not been carried out thus far.

Keywords

organizirana kriminaliteta;transnacionalna kriminaliteta;preprečevanje;

Data

Language:	English
Year of publishing:	2010
Typology:	1.02 - Review Article
Organization:	UM FVV - Faculty of Criminal Justice
UDC:	343.341
COBISS:	2020586
ISSN:	1580-0253
Parent publication:	Varstvoslovje
Views:	426
Downloads:	30
Average score:	0 (0 votes)
Metadata:

Other data

Secondary language:	English
Secondary keywords:	organizirana kriminaliteta;transnacionalna kriminaliteta;preprečevanje;
Type (COBISS):	Scientific work
Pages:	str. 355-366
Volume:	ǂLetn. ǂ12
Issue:	ǂšt. ǂ4
Chronology:	2010
ID:	11665020