In contrast to a globalizing approach to "transnational organized crime," this edited volume studies socio-historical environments in which mafia-esque violence has found a fertile ground for growth and development within the political arena. The various chapters explore empirical data showing how politico-criminal configurations emerge, are formed and allow for interactions between powerful official stakeholders and "professionals of the use of force." Links between military know-how and political power in Indonesia, Pakistan and Turkey; the conversion of "violent entrepreneurs" into the Russian or Bulgarian political arena; the political racketeering activities of leaders of armed nationalist movements in Corsica; interactions between the Calabrese mafia and business; investment by the Belizean government in illegal activities; or else, monetary "illegalism" in the Somalia conflict... The various chapters of this book encourage a comparative approach to the study of mafia violence in the making and running of State power.

Since the Second World War, art crime has shifted from a relatively innocuous, often ideological crime, into a major international problem, considered by some to be the third-highest grossing criminal trade worldwide. This rich volume features essays on art crime by the most respected and knowledgeable experts in this interdisciplinary subject.

Based on extensive research and collaboration across Europe, this book provides a comprehensive analysis of burning issues in the debate on trafficking in women. Practitioners, academics and policy-makers contribute up-to-date information and policy recommendations. The book is an invaluable contribution providing an innovative multidisciplinary approach to trafficking, including chapters on international and national law, policy models, NGO support, the role of economics and the need for a long-term prevention strategy.

This book uses a multi-methods study of incarcerated youths to examine the pathways to gang involvement, the drug distribution system and hierarchy within gangs, levels of traumatic stress and depression among gang-involved youths, and other mechanisms of control and retention within the system of gangs.Based on a study of young inmates in Norway, with international backgrounds including Africa, Pakistan, Middle East and Western Europe, the findings explained in this book are broadly applicable. It aims to create a picture of the entire system of gang membership, while revealing a research framework that could be applied to other studies. Gang members were found in high levels to be suffering from depression and traumatic stress, and were often heavily indebted (financially and otherwise) to persons in the outside world. Owing money, violence and other threats, all make it difficult to leave the system, despite the pains they suffer within it. In order understand young peoples' life within the system, and its hold on them, and in order to reduce its continuation and growth, this important analysis helps researchers and policy makers, particularly those interested in juvenile justice, youth gangs, and drug trafficking understand its logic and identify its weak points and possible ways out. "

This book explores current and emerging trends in policy, strategy, and practice related to cyber operations conducted by states and non-state actors. The book examines in depth the nature and dynamics of conflicts in the cyberspace, the geopolitics of cyber conflicts, defence strategy and practice, cyber intelligence and information security.

In this book academic and police officer Erik van de Sandt researches the security practices of cyber criminals. While their protective practices are not necessarily deemed criminal by law, the countermeasures of cyber criminals frequently deviate from prescribed bona fide cyber security standards. This book is the first to present a full picture on these deviant security practices, based on unique access to confidential police sources related to some of the world's most serious and organized cyber criminals. The findings of this socio-technical-legal research prove that deviant security is an academic field of study on its own, and will help a non-technical audience to understand cyber security and the challenges of investigating cyber crime.

OUT OF PRINT! This well-researched and informative book paves the way for policymakers to develop that will and take that necessary action. With a convincingly detailed demonstration that narco-terrorism is a thriving reality, citing, for example, facilities that combine guerilla training and drug processing, and documenting meetings between political leaders and drug lords, the author lays out a powerful program that coordinates strong legal, political, military, and social education initiatives which, taken together, will at last allow us to contain this growing menace. Published under the Transnational Publishers imprint.

The Sicilian Mafia, or Cosa Nostra, is one of the most intriguing criminal phenomena in the world. It is an unparalleled organised criminal grouping that over almost two centuries has been able not only to successfully permeate licit and illicit economy, politics and civil society, but also to influence and exercise authoritative power over both the underworld and the upper-world. This criminal phenomenon has been a captivating conundrum for scholars of different disciplines who have tried to explain with various paradigms the reasons behind the emergence and consolidation of the mafia. Challenging the Mafia Mystique provides an analysis of the changes the Sicilian mafia has undergone, from legitimisation to denunciation. Rino Coluccello highlights how, from the very emergence of the organised criminal groups in Sicily, a culture existed that was protective and tolerant of the mafia. He argues that the various conceptualisations of the mafia that dominated the public and scientific debate in the nineteenth and more than half of the twentieth century created a mystique, which legitimised the mafia and contributed to their success. This book will be of great interest to scholars and students of organised crime, Italian politics and Italian literature.

This book identifies and examines the novel ways in which money is laundered internationally through illegal activities on the internet, focusing on sales, payments, social media, online gaming, and tax misapplication. Technology-enhanced methods that enable money laundering are now a significant portion of malicious cyber activities and deterring its commission is a high order priority. Although powered by modern tools, investigators, prosecutors, judges and regulatory agencies in most countries are not equipped to accurately detect, investigate and prosecute this type of criminal activity. It makes a case for broader institutional and regulatory improvement, formulating a basis for detecting evolving money laundering schemes with multiple focuses on sales, payments, social media, online gaming, and tax misapplication. Revealing the newest techniques used by criminals, currently neglected by law enforcement in most countries, and discusses the best approaches to combat these crimes, this book will be useful as a guide for law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, and others involved in efforts to curb online crimes.

This volume examines the dynamics and control of organized and corporate crime in their national and international contexts. Global developments since World War II have combined to produce social, economic and political environments which have increased both the profitability and destructive impact of systematic illegal activity. The articles contained in this book challenge the simplistic assumption that crime is caused by bad individuals, acting alone or conspiring together, and that crime can be adequately dealt with by increasing conventional police activity. This assumption does not follow available empirical data.

Bringing together leading academics and practitioners from across the globe, this unique collection explores the emerging field of heritage crime studies. Moving beyond the traditional focus on illicit antiquities, the volume identifies the diversity of crimes that affect heritage and outlines various approaches to prevention.

Through an investigation of Cosa Nostra's activities, reveals the role of organized crime in the urban power structure Cosa Nostra. Organized crime. The Mob. Call it what you like, no other crime group has infiltrated labor unions and manipulated legitimate industries like Italian organized crime families. One cannot understand the history and political economy of New York City-or most other major American cities-in the 20th century without focusing on the role of organized crime in the urban power structure. Gotham Unbound demonstrates the remarkable range of Cosa Nostra's activities and influence and convincingly argues that 20th century organized crime has been no minor annoyance at the periphery of society but a major force in the core economy, acting as a power broker, even as an alternative government in many sectors of the urban economy. James B. Jacobs presents the first comprehensive account of the ways in which the Cosa Nostra infiltrated key sectors of New York City's legitimate economic life and how this came over the years to be accepted as inevitable, in some cases even beneficial. The first half of Gotham Unbound is devoted to the ways organized crime became entrenched in six economic sectors and institutions of the city-the garment district, Fulton Fish Market, freight at JFK airport, construction, the Jacob Javits Convention Center, and the waste-hauling industry. The second half compellingly documents the campaign to purge the mob from unions, industries, and economic sectors, focusing on the unrelenting law enforcement efforts and the central role of Rudolph Giuliani's mayoral administration in devising innovative regulatory strategies to combat the mob.

'Bold, addictive and brilliant.' Stylist, best fiction 2021 A Times Bestseller A Times & Sunday Times Best Crime Books of 2021 A Waterstones Best Crime & Thriller of 2021 Be twice as good as men and four times as good as white men. Jia Khan has always lived like this. Successful London lawyer Jia Khan is a long way from the Northern streets she knew as a child, where her father, Akbar Khan, led the Pakistani community and ran the local organised crime syndicate. Often his Jirga rule - the old way - was violent and bloody, but it was always justice of a kind. Now, with her father murdered, Jia must return to take his place. Justice needs to be restored, and Jia is about to discover that justice always comes at a cost. 'A fascinating glimpse into a world rarely portrayed in fiction.' Guardian, best crime and thrillers 'A once-in-a-generation crime thriller.' A.A.Dhand, author of Streets of Darkness

The recent dramatic wave of terrorist attacks has further focussed worldwide attention on the money laundering phenomena. The objective of this book is to offer the first systematic analysis of the economics of money laundering and its connection with terrorism finance. The authors first present the general principles of money laundering. They go on to illustrate an institutional and empirical framework that is useful in evaluating the causes and effects of money laundering phenomena in the banking and financial markets. They also analyse the design of the national and international policies aimed at combating them. The book focuses on several crucial issues and offers an analysis of each, including: * modelling the behaviour and process of making dirty money appear clean, hiding the originally criminal or illegal source of the economic activity * demonstrating how the financing of terrorism resembles money laundering in some respects and differs from it in others * explaining how the banking and financial industry can play a pivotal role for the development of the criminal sector as a preferential vehicle for money laundering * showing how schemes of international economics and of tax competition can be applied to black finance issues, claiming that competition for criminal money can lead to a race to the bottom * building up indicators of money laundering attractiveness among developed and emerging countries, with a particular attention on the role of the Offshore centres * dealing with anti-money laundering and counter terrorism finance (AML-CTF) enforcement problems, with a focus on Europe and the USA. Black Finance will be a valuable and accessible tool for scholars and academics, principally in economics, though also in politics and law, as well as for regulators and supervisory institutions. All royalties from this book to go to The Collegiate Foundation for Life

This reference text explains what modern piracy is, where and why it happens, and what measures are being taken to combat it. While piracy today typically occurs in specific areas-such as Somalia and Southeast Asia-a single pirate attack can involve and affect many different countries. For example, a supertanker traveling in the South China Sea might be owned by a Saudi Arabian oil company, built in South Korea, registered in Liberia, captained by an Italian, and crewed by Filipinos. And, as reports of attacks on commercial vessels and cruise liners become more common, the topic of modern piracy receives ever-increasing international scrutiny. This chapter-based reference handbook examines modern piracy from the mid-1970s to today. The subject is addressed from a global perspective, covering both the causes and consequences of present-day piracy and evaluating its impact on a number of related issues, including international law, commercial shipping, and terrorism. Documents important resolutions and laws from the United Nations and European Union as well as U.S. policy statements regarding piracy Features charts and tables that provide at-a-glance statistical information on pirate attacks, as well as data on factors that contribute to piracy A resources chapter provides an annotated print and electronic bibliography organized by subject (e.g., international law, Somalia and the Horn of Africa, and the Mersk Alabama incident) Presents a glossary of short definitions of unfamiliar terms

"This volume investigates the role of the transnational terrorist and criminal organizations in the peace-building processes, with a particular focus on the Western Balkan region. Conducted within the framework of human security analysis, the research focuses on the security of the human being"--

This study is based on five years of ethnographic fieldwork with Colombian drug traffickers (traquetos) in The Netherlands and Colombia. The author has uncovered the social world of traquetos: how and why they get involved in illicit activities, the nature of their work, and how they organize their businesses. This book will be valued by criminologists, social scientists, drug researchers, policymakers, organized crime scholars, and by those interested in Colombia, Latino immigrants issues, and the cocaine business.

Honorable Mention, 2018 Distinguished Book Award presented by the American Sociological Association's Sociology of Sexualities Section The first inside look at gay gang members. Many people believe that gangs are made up of violent thugs who are in and out of jail, and who are hyper-masculine and heterosexual. In The Gang's All Queer, Vanessa Panfil introduces us to a different world. Meet gay gang members - sometimes referred to in popular culture as "homo thugs" - whose gay identity complicates criminology's portrayal and representation of gangs, gang members, and gang life. In vivid detail, Panfil provides an in-depth understanding of how gay gang members construct and negotiate both masculine and gay identities through crime and gang membership. The Gang's All Queer draws from interviews with over 50 gay gang- and crime-involved young men in Columbus, Ohio, the majority of whom are men of color in their late teens and early twenties, as well as on-the-ground ethnographic fieldwork with men who are in gay, hybrid, and straight gangs. Panfil provides an eye-opening portrait of how even members of straight gangs are connected to a same-sex oriented underground world. Most of these young men still present a traditionally masculine persona and voice deeply-held affection for their fellow gang members. They also fight with their enemies, many of whom are in rival gay gangs. Most come from impoverished, 'rough' neighborhoods, and seek to defy negative stereotypes of gay and Black men as deadbeats, though sometimes through illegal activity. Some are still closeted to their fellow gang members and families, yet others fight to defend members of the gay community, even those who they deem to be "fags," despite distaste for these flamboyant members of the community. And some perform in drag shows or sell sex to survive. The Gang's All Queer poignantly illustrates how these men both respond to and resist societal marginalization. Timely, powerful, and engaging, this book will challenge us to think differently about gangs, gay men, and urban life.

This is the true-crime bestseller that was the basis for Martin Scorsese's film masterpiece GoodFellas, which brought to life the violence, the excess, the families, the wives and girlfriends, the drugs, the payoffs, the paybacks, the jail time, and the Feds...with Henry Hill's crackling narration drawn straight out of Wiseguy and overseeing all the unforgettable action. "Nonstop...absolutely engrossing" (The New York Times Book Review).

Read it and experience the secret life inside the mob--from one who's lived it.