This book examines the role of religion and spirituality in desistance from crime and disengagement from gangs. Drawing upon in-depth interviews with male gang members and offenders as well as insights gathered from pastors, chaplains, coaches and personal mentors, the testimonials span three continents, focusing on the USA, Scotland, Denmark and Hong Kong. This volume offers unique empirical findings about the role that religion and spirituality can play in enabling some male gang members and offenders to transition into a new social sphere characterised by the presence of substitute forms of brotherhood and trust, and alternative forms of masculine status. The author presents critical insights into the potential relationship between religious and spiritual participation and the emergence of coping strategies to deal with the 'stigmata' that gang masculinity leaves behind. With its wide-ranging and multi-perspective approach, this book will be essential reading for students and scholars of gang culture, masculinity and spirituality, as well as policy makers and practitioners.

This book examines the use of social network analysis (SNA) in operational environments from the perspective of those who actually apply it. A rapidly growing body of literature suggests that SNA can reveal significant insights into the overall structure of criminal networks as well as the position of critical actors within such groups. This book draws on the existing SNA and intelligence literature, as well as qualitative interviews with crime intelligence analysts from two Australian state law enforcement agencies to understand its use by law enforcement agencies and the extent to which it can be used in practice. It includes a discussion of the challenges that analysts face when attempting to apply various network analysis techniques to criminal networks. Overall, it advances SNA as an investigative tool, and provides a significant contribution to the field that will be of interest to both researchers and practitioners interested in social network analysis, intelligence analysis and law enforcement.

'A masterclass in crime fiction' Jane E James The BRAND NEW thriller from bestselling author Ross Greenwood! When DI Barton is asked to investigate a seemingly innocuous fire that kills, he believes it's either children fooling around or a worrying racially-motivated crime. As he delves deeper into the case, he soon realises that there is a history of similar blazes spread out over many years, all within a close area. An idea suggested by pathologist Mortis makes Barton suspect he has the arsonist's motives wrong. When a night worker comes forward with a tip, Barton narrows down the suspects. But with all of them acting suspiciously, he knows for sure that one or more of them must be lying. And when a huge house blaze shocks everyone, Barton fears the killer has lost all control. Who is The Fire Killer? What will be next to burn? DI Barton is back as Ross Greenwood continues with his bestselling series, perfect for fans of Mark Billingham and Ian Rankin. Praise for Ross Greenwood: 'Move over Rebus and Morse; a new entry has joined the list of great crime investigators in the form of Detective Inspector John Barton. A rich cast of characters and an explosive plot kept me turning the pages until the final dramatic twist.' author Richard Burke 'Master of the psychological thriller genre Ross Greenwood once again proves his talent for creating engrossing and gritty novels that draw you right in and won't let go until you've reached the shocking ending.' Caroline Vincent at Bitsaboutbooks blog 'Ross Greenwood doesn't write cliches. What he has written here is a fast-paced, action-filled puzzle with believable characters that's spiced with a lot of humour.' author Kath Middleton

One Nation Under Blackmail is a damning indictment of the consequences resulting from the nearly century old relationship between both US and Israeli intelligence and the organized criminal network known as the National Crime Syndicate.

This book specifically explores how that nexus between intelligence and organized crime directly developed the sexual blackmail tactics and networks that would later enable the sexual blackmail operation and other crimes of deceased pedophile and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Other books on Jeffrey Epstein focus on the depraved nature of his crimes, his wealth, and his most famous/politically-connected friends and acquaintances. This book, in contrast, reveals the extent to which Epstein's activities were state-sponsored through an exploration of his intelligence connections.

Killing the Mob is the tenth book in Bill O'Reilly's #1 New York Times bestselling series of popular narrative histories, with sales of nearly 18 million copies worldwide, and over 320 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. O'Reilly and co-author Martin Dugard trace the brutal history of 20th Century organized crime in the United States, and expertly plumb the history of this nation's most notorious serial robbers, conmen, murderers, and especially, mob family bosses. Covering the period from the 1930s to the 1980s, O'Reilly and Dugard trace the prohibition-busting bank robbers of the Depression Era, such as John Dillinger, Bonnie & Clyde, Pretty Boy Floyd and Baby-Face Nelson. In addition, the authors highlight the creation of the Mafia Commission, the power struggles within the "Five Families," the growth of the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover, the mob battles to control Cuba, Las Vegas and Hollywood, as well as the personal war between the U.S. Attorney General Bobby Kennedy and legendary Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa. O'Reilly and Dugard turn these legendary criminals and their true-life escapades into a read that rivals the most riveting crime novel. With Killing the Mob, their hit series is primed for its greatest success yet

This book provides a comprehensive, global exploration of the scale, scope, threats, and drivers of wildlife trafficking from a criminological perspective. Building on the first edition, it takes into account the significant changes in the international context surrounding these issues since 2013. It provides new examples, updated statistics, and discusses the potential changes arising as a result of COVID-19 and the IPBES 2019 report. It also discusses the shift in trafficking 'hotspots' and the recent projects that have challenged responses to wildlife trafficking. It undertakes a distinctive exploration of who the victims and offenders of wildlife trafficking are as well as analysing the stakeholders who are involved in collaborative efforts to end this devastating green crime. It unpacks the security implications of wildlife trade and trafficking and possible responses and ways to combat it. It provides useful and timely information for social and environmental/life scientists, law enforcement, NGOs, and policy makers.

In MAFIA REPUBLIC, John Dickie, Professor of Italian Studies at University College, London and author of the international bestsellers COSA NOSTRA and MAFIA BROTHERHOODS, shows how the Italian mafias have grown in power and become more and more interconnected, with terrifying consequences. In 1946, Italy became a democratic Republic, thereby entering the family of modern western nations. But deep within Italy there lurked a forgotten curse: three major criminal brotherhoods, whose methods had been honed over a century of experience. As Italy grew, so did the mafias. Sicily's Cosa Nostra, the camorra from Naples, and the mysterious 'ndrangheta from Calabria stood ready to enter the wealthiest and bloodiest period of their long history. Italy made itself rich by making scooters, cars and handbags. The mafias carved out their own route to wealth through tobacco smuggling, construction, kidnapping and narcotics. And as criminal business grew exponentially, the mafias grew not just more powerful, but became more interconnected. By the 1980s, Southern Italy was on the edge of becoming a narco-state. The scene was set for a titanic confrontation between heroic representatives of the law, and mafiosi who could no longer tolerate any obstacle to their ambitions. This was a war for Italy's future as a civilized country. At its peak in 1992-93, the 'ndrangheta was beheading people in the street, and the Sicilian mafia murdered its greatest enemies, investigating magistrates Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, before embarking on a major terrorist bombing campaign on the Italian mainland. Today, the long shadow of mafia history still hangs over a nation wracked by debt, political paralysis, and widespread corruption. While police put their lives on the line every day, one of Silvio Berlusconi's ministers said that Italy had to 'learn to live with the mafia'; suspicions of mafia involvement still surround some of the country's most powerful media moguls and politicians. The latest investigations show that its reach is astonishing: it controls much of Europe's wholesale cocaine trade, and representatives from as far away as Germany, Canada and Australia come to Calabria to seek authorisation for their affairs. Just when it thought it had finally contained the mafia threat, Italy is now discovering that it harbours the most global criminal network of them all. The Financial Times described John Dickie's MAFIA BROTHERHOODS as 'Powered by the sort of muscular prose that one associates with great detective fiction' and in MAFIA REPUBLIC John Dickie again marries outstanding scholarship with compelling storytelling.

Organized crime in Mexico has been responsible for a worrying increase in violence in that country since Felipe Calderon assumed the presidency in 2006. The country's main criminal gangs are now a real challenge to the Mexican state. Government policies aimed at combating that threat have not been very successful to date. While it is certainly possible to exaggerate the threat posed by organized crime to the Mexican state, the real problems posed are serious enough. This book considers the issue from a variety of viewpoints. The essential argument is that the organized crime is best combated by institutional reforms directed at strengthening the rule of law and winning over public opinion rather than by a heavy reliance on armed force. Some such reforms have indeed taken place in Mexico, and are discussed in the book.

This edited collection provides an innovative and detailed analysis of the relationship between the financial crisis, risk and corruption. A large majority of the published research has concentrated on identifying the traditional factors that contributed towards the largest financial crisis since the Wall Street Crash and subsequent Great Depression. This original volume contests this, and provides the alternative view that white collar crime was also an underappreciated, and important factor. Divided into five parts: bribery and corruption; financial crime; market manipulation; technology and white collar crime; and the financial crisis, and based on contributions by a wide range of experts in the field, this book will be of great interest to policy makers and practitioners, researchers and students alike.

Domestic terrorism. Financial uncertainty. Troops abroad, fighting an unsuccessful and bloody war against guerrilla insurgents. A violent generation gap emerging between a discontented youth and their disapproving, angry elders. This was the early seventies in America, and it was against this backdrop that the kidnapping of nineteen-year-old Patty Hearst by the Symbionese Liberation Front - a rag-tag, cult-like group of political extremists and criminals - stole headlines across the world. Using new research and drawing on the formidable abilities that made The Run of His Life a global bestseller, Jeffrey Toobin uncovers the story of the kidnapping and its aftermath in vivid prose and forensic detail.

This book explores and explains how traditional and alternative media have framed the issues of gun trafficking into Mexico, drug-related violence, and spillover violence. It reveals how gun trafficking and drug-related violence are social problems for Mexico, while spillover violence is portrayed as a moral panic for the US. Readers will gain a better understanding of how the media portrays and frames the criminal activity that is occurring in Mexico and how it impacts the US. The book analyzes national newspapers from both sides of the US–Mexico border—The New York Times and El Universal—and draws on a theoretical framework of moral panics, social problems, and cultivation theory. It reveals six framing devices, "the blame game," "worthy and unworthy victims," "positive aspects," "negative aspects of gun trafficking," "indirect mention of gun trafficking," and "direct mention of gun trafficking," which are utilized by The New York Times and El Universal to discuss and frame the issue of gun trafficking into Mexico and its impact on Mexico’s border violence. Mexico’s Drug-Related Violence will be of great interest to students and scholars interested in the perception of media and crime, as well as those researching the topic of drug cartels and drug-related violence.

Hollywood Confidential is the first truly in-depth look at the sexy, humorous, violent, and tragic history of the mob in Hollywood from the 1920s, when Joe Kennedy decided to buy a motion picture company, to the 1980s when the last vestiges of mob influence were revealed through investigations of former Screen Actors Guild President Ronald Reagan and his union backers. The revelations continue into the 1980s when the major studios were no longer important, the independents were on the rise, and it was no longer possible to buy, bribe, or blackmail in a meaningful way. There were deals and bad guys, but the mob as it existed was finished in Hollywood.

SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING BENICIO DEL TORO, PRODUCED BY LEONARDO DICAPRIO Cuba, 1961. A failed invasion at The Bay of Pigs results in Fidel Castro tightening his hold over Cuba. Jose Miguel Battle Sr., a former cop and member of the counter-revolutionary group intent on overthrowing him, is captured. Miami, 1962. Jose Miguel Battle Sr. travels to the USA, chased from the island by revolution, and is renamed The Godfather. A 2,500 strong Cuban-American criminal alliance is established. Known on both sides of the law as 'The Corporation', its powerful members were fellow outcasts and enemies of Castro. A hero to many Cuban-Americans, The Godfather created a unit of trusted men who fought alongside him to reclaim their nation from the Marxist dictator. Gaining money, power and inluence by running gambling rackets, money- laundering, drug trafficking and murder, The Corporation never gave up the dream of killing Castro and reclaiming their homeland. This explosive biography reveals how an entire generation of political exiles, refugees, racketeers, corrupt cops, hitmen (and their wives and girlfriends) became caught up in this violent desire, and built a criminal empire surviving over 40 years. An epic tale of gangsters, drugs and violence, learn how The Corporation grew into one of the USA's most sordid and deadly organisations.

This book introduces 'convenience' as the key concept to explain financial crime by white-collar criminals. Based on a number of fraud examination- reports from the United States and Norway, the book documents empirical evidence of convenience among white-collar criminals. It advances our understanding of white-collar crime by drawing attention to private investigation reports by fraud examiners and financial crime specialists, who are in the growing business of fraud investigations. Reports of investigations have never before been researched in terms of white-collar criminals nor crime convenience. Reports of investigations by auditing and law firms represent a valuable empirical basis - in addition to court documents and other sources of information about financial crime. A methodical and well-researched study, this book will be of particular interest to scholars of criminological theory and law - in addition to ethics courses in business schools.

Drawing on extensive life-history interviews with serious violent offenders, this book offers a unique socio-historical analysis of gang membership and gang evolution in Glasgow, Scotland's largest city. The book chronicles the lives of young men in and around Glasgow from early childhood to present day and examines the lived experience of family, friendship, community, and crime. It demonstrates how street reputations are won and lost and how gang membership is not a single event but an experiential process of offending, victimisation, consensus, and conflict. The book follows the young men's descent into knife crime and street violence and the impact of imprisonment on their life chances. Detailed narratives capture how they individually and collectively transitioned from street violence to profit-driven organised crime, before eventually disengaging from gangs and desisting from offending. The book concludes with an in-depth discussion of the evolution of gangs and organised crime in the 21st century and in the inner-workings of Scotland's marketplace for illegal goods and services, with implications for police, practitioners, and policymakers. A page-turner from start to finish, Scotlands' Gang Members is a truly unique contribution to knowledge about gangs and crime, written to high academic standards but readable and accessible to all.

Leading scholars and policy analysts from around the Americas come together to untangle the factors that have fuelled the implementation of mano dura politics, their rising popularity, and impacts across nine widely heterogeneous countries in Latin America. Beginning with a discussion on the concept of mano dura, the editors move to survey various theoretical approaches to punitivism, and later review of the empirical research evaluating different drivers behind the adoption of tough on crime policies. Since hard-line initiatives often have consequences beyond the general goal of reducing violence, they then analyze the impacts of these policing strategies on crime rates and different democratic institutions. Country chapters on Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, and Argentina follow a common thematic structure to answer the following questions: What are some of the trends in gangs, organized crime, and violence? How have governments responded to combat crime and violence? What factors have fuelled the implementation of mano dura policies? Why are mano dura policies popular? What have the consequences of these policies been? Mano Dura Policies in Latin America is essential reading to students of Latin American studies, political science, public policy, and criminal justice. It will also interest scholars working on drug trafficking, organized crime, and violence in Latin America.

In this vivid account, Ron Chepesiuk tells the story of the organised crime in Harlem through in-depth profiles of the major gangs and motley gangsters whose exploits made them legends.

This book presents an historical and sociological account of the Italian mafia-type organisation known as the 'ndrangheta. It draws together diverse perspectives on the various 'ndrangheta clans and their behavioural models, focusing specifically on their organisational skills, their bonds with Calabrian society and Calabrian communities around the world, their mobility, and their characterisation as poly-crime organisations. The authors demonstrate that 'ndrangheta clans have an innovative way of being and doing mafia work through a dense network of relationships both in the 'upperworld' and in the 'underworld', a particularly acute sense of business, a reputation built on the protection of blood and family ties, and, last but not least, a symbiotic relationship and camouflage within Calabrian society. By focusing on both the structures and the activities of the clans and with findings based on judicial documents, this book explores why the 'ndrangheta is today labeled as "the most powerful Italian mafia". It will be of great interest to upper-level students and scholars of organised crime and sociology.

In the mid-1970s, there were a series of gangland murders, committed by unknown killers, often wielding .22-caliber revolvers. At first these murders seemed unconnected, but law enforcement started noticing links to organized crime and by 1978, federal authorities were involved in the investigations. The FBI compiled a list of 25 gangland figures killed, from potential witnesses and low-level associates, to made men. All shot with a .22 between 1975 and 1978, all from the same batch of guns purchased in Florida, some even the same weapon. The main suspects were members of the East Harlem Purple Gang. Starting on the fringes they quickly became a violent offshoot syndicate of the Mafia, some even became high-ranking members of the Genovese, Bonanno, and Lucchese families. Often serving as freelance hitmen, kidnappers, and drug traffickers, their exploits quickly crossed into mythology. The Purple Gang became an almost obsession with the media. Accounts of the Gang's activities popped up in the newspapers across the country in the late 1970s. They were the shadow army of the underworld and every law enforcement agency's favorite suspect. They were accused of being behind all the major mob hits through the early 1980s and became the ultimate boogeyman in the era of mob upheaval and a flailing New York City mired in crime and financial woes. Digging through the mystery and mythos, Scott Deitche brings the gritty City of the late 1970s and early 1980s back to life in this in-depth account of the Purple Gang, the real members, their operations, and where some of the major players are today.

During the 1990's Boston was a world leader in arts, culture, higher education, and medicine. It was also a world leader in organized crime. In this exciting account, former FBI supervisory special agent David Nadolski tells the story of an unlikely alliance between two diametrically opposed people-the con and the FBI agent. While investigating a break-in at the Stone Library in Quincy, MA that houses the personal book collection of John Quincy Adams, the FBI gets a call from prison inmate, Anthony (Tony) Romano, requesting to meet with the case agent on the burglary. Romano provides a helpful tip that leads to the apprehension of the thief and the recovery of four priceless, historically significant books. Recognizing Tony's potential as an informant, Nadolski begins to cultivate a relationship in hopes of recruiting Romano as a criminal informant. Nadolski recruits Romano to play a very dangerous game-infiltrate the Merlino gang, controlled by Carmello Merlino, a career criminal who specialized in bank robberies, armored car robberies, and home invasions. The Merlino gang also became suspects in the largest art theft in history which took place at the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum in Boston and remains unsolved to this day. Romano, a former armed robber, agrees. With sights set on the Loomis Fargo Armored Car Company money vault, located south of Boston, the Merlino gang gets to work. Little did they know, Romano, at great personal risk, was a wearing a wire and recording their planning sessions. After two years of being joined at the hip and learning to trust each other unconditionally, special agent Nadolski and Romano run a successful criminal investigation and undercover sting operation to catch four dangerous criminals poised to launch one of the biggest armed robberies of the twentieth century.

Unlike much of the existing literature on organised crime, this book is less focused on the problem per se as it is on understanding its implications. The latter, especially in fragile and conflict regions, amount to strategic challenges for the state. Whereas most commentators would agree that criminal activities are harmful, this volume addresses the questions of 'how?', 'for whom?' and, controversially, 'are they always harmful?' The volume is authored by experts with multi-year experience analysing criminal and other non-state activities. They do so through different lenses - conflict and security, development, and technology - engaging academics, practitioners and policy makers. They offer a comprehensive integrated response to the challenges of transnational organised crime beyond traditional law-enforcement driven recommendations.

This edited collection provides an original and comprehensive take on retail crime and its prevention, by combining international data and multidisciplinary perspectives from criminologists, economists, geographers, police officers and other experts. Drawing on environmental criminology theory and situational crime prevention, it focusses on crime and safety in retail environments but also the interplay between individuals, products and settings such as stores, commercial streets and shopping malls, as well as the wider context of situational conditions of the supply chain in which crime occurs. Chapters offer state-of-the-art research on retail crime from a range of countries such as Australia, Brazil, Israel, Italy, Sweden, the UK and the USA. This methodological and well-researched study is devoted to both academics and practitioners from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds whose common interest is to prevent retail crime and overall retail loss. The chapters 'Crime in a Scandinavian Shopping Centre' and 'Perceived Safety in a Shopping Centre' are published open access under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com.

From the Sunday Times bestselling author, Carl Chinn The Peaky Blinders as we know them, thanks to the hit TV series, are infused with drama and dread. Fashionably dressed, the charismatic but deeply flawed Shelby family have become cult anti-heroes. Well-known social historian, broadcaster and author, Carl Chinn, revealed the true story of the notorious gang in his bestselling Peaky Blinders: The Real Story and now in this follow-up book, he explores the legacy they created in Birmingham and beyond. What happened to them and their gangland rivals? In Peaky Blinders: The Legacy we revisit the world of Billy Kimber's Peaky Blinders, exploring their legacy throughout the 1920s and 30s, and how their burgeoning empires spread across the UK. Delve into the street wars across the country, the impact of the declaration of War on Gangs by the Home Secretary after The Racecourse War in 1921, and how the blackmailing of bookmakers gave way to new and daring opportunities for the likes of Sabini, Alfie Solomon and some new faces in the murky gangland underworld. Drawing on Carl's inimitable research, interviews and original sources, find out just what happened to this incredible cast of characters, revealing the true legacy of the Peaky Blinders.

Terrorism has become an everyday reality in most contemporary societies. In a context of heightened fear can juries be trusted to remain impartial when confronted by defendants charged with terrorism? Do they scrutinize prosecution cases carefully, or does emotion trump reason once the spectre of terrorism is invoked? This book examines these questions from a range of disciplinary perspectives. The authors look at the how jurors in terrorism trials are likely to respond to gruesome evidence, including beheading videos. The 'CSI effect' is examined as a possible response to forensic evidence, and jurors with different learning preferences are compared. Virtual interactive environments, built like computer games, may be created to provide animated reconstructions of the prosecution or defence case. This book reports on how to create such presentations, culminating in the analysis of a live simulated trial using interactive visual displays followed by jury deliberations. The team of international, transdisciplinary experts draw conclusions of global legal and political significance, and contribute to the growing scholarship on comparative counter-terrorism law. The book will be of great interest to scholars, students and practitioners of law, criminal justice, forensic science and psychology.