scholarly journals Disarmament is the New War, Gold is the New Opium, and Ecohealth is the Historic Victim

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 117863021986224 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Villar ◽  
David J Schaeffer
Keyword(s):  
Organized Crime ◽  
Gold Mining ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
Gold Production ◽  
Illegal Mining ◽  
Criminal Organizations ◽  
Alluvial Gold ◽  
Main Driver ◽  
Organized Crime Groups

In Colombia, the convergence of drug trafficking, illegal armed groups, and gold production and trade threatens peace and stability in the post-FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) era, as had the narcotics trade previously. Armed groups and criminal organizations have increased and consolidated their influence over illegal mining and may be diverting US$5 billion from Colombia’s annual economy. As of 2014, 46% of the total area (78 939 ha) exploited for alluvial gold was in the Afro-Colombian Pacific States, in which unregulated mining was the main driver of deforestation. The informal job market represents 49% of the workforce and absent other economic alternatives, this workforce of ex-guerrillas, organized crime groups and corrupt officials will sustain the black markets that permeate gold mining. Human health consequences of unregulated gold mining are largely unrecognized, but include the spread of malaria and other insect-borne diseases, and we suggest diseases such as babesiosis.

BASIC PROSTITUTION ORGANIZATIONS TYPES

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 2091-2100
Author(s):  
Venelin Terziev ◽  
Hristo Bonev
Keyword(s):  
Human Trafficking ◽  
Organized Crime ◽  
Sexual Exploitation ◽  
Hierarchical Structures ◽  
System Management ◽  
Criminal Organizations ◽  
Organized Crime Groups ◽  
Sexual Services

This article outlines the three main prostitution organization types as well as hierarchical structures in criminal organizations dealing with human trafficking, prostitution and sexual exploitation. Several major categories of personages are directly involved in organized crime groups. The main indicators for assessing the prostitution prevention are defined and the principles for system management and management are justified. The three factors of prostitution management - psychological, social and financial - are outlined. An evaluation of the prostitution market has been carried out and the functions of the domestic and external markets for paid sex are described. The data provided gives us a reason to assume that the consumption of sexual services is increasing.

scholarly journals The convergence of environmental crime with other serious crimes: Subtypes within the environmental crime continuum

2020 ◽  
pp. 147737082090458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daan P. van Uhm ◽  
Rick C.C. Nijman
Keyword(s):  
Natural Resources ◽  
Organized Crime ◽  
Environmental Crime ◽  
Cluster Solution ◽  
Illegal Trade ◽  
Tropical Timber ◽  
Criminal Organizations ◽  
Organized Crime Groups ◽  
Criminal Groups ◽  
High Degree

The rising global scarcity of natural resources increasingly attracts transnational criminal organizations. Organized crime syndicates diversify into the lucrative business of tropical timber, endangered species, and natural minerals, alongside their traditional activities. The developing interconnectedness between environmental crime and other serious crimes shows that traditional lines of separation are no longer appropriate for understanding and dealing with the increasing complexities of organized crime. Therefore, this article aims to analyse the nexus between environmental crime and other serious crimes through cluster analyses to identify subtypes of organized crime groups that have diversified into the illegal trade in natural resources. The two-step cluster algorithm found a cluster solution with three distinct clusters of subtypes of criminal groups that diversified into the illegal trade in natural resources in various ways: first, the Green Organized Crime cluster, with a high degree of diversification and domination; second, the Green Opportunistic Crime cluster, with flexible and fluid groups that partially diversify their criminal activities; and, third, the low-level diversifiers of the Green Camouflaged Crime cluster, shadowing their illegal businesses with legitimate companies. The three clusters can be related to specific stages within the environmental crime continuum, albeit with nuances.

Illegal Gold Mining and Violence in Colombia

2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolás Idrobo ◽  
Daniel Mejía ◽  
Ana María Tribin
Keyword(s):  
National Parks ◽  
Gold Mining ◽  
Causal Effect ◽  
Gold Rush ◽  
Mining Activities ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
Forced Displacement ◽  
Illegal Mining ◽  
International Price ◽  
Indigenous Reserves

AbstractThe increase in the international price of commodities after the international financial crisis in 2008 produced a gold rush in the Colombian economy, making legal and illegal mining a very profitable and attractive business. The increase in the illegal exploitation of metals like gold has exacerbated violence in municipalities with an abundance of such minerals. Gold is believed to be a new engine in the Colombian conflict. This paper documents the phenomenon and quantifies the causal impact that the gold boom has had on indicators of violence such as homicides, forced displacement and massacres. We use the location of national parks, indigenous reserves and geochemical anomalies associated with the presence of gold mines as instruments for illegal mining in order to disentangle the causal effect of illegal mining on violence. By law, it is very difficult to get licenses for the extraction of gold in parks and indigenous reserves, and this might be a factor increasing the prevalence of illegal mining activities in municipalities with these features. In order to have time variation in our instruments, we interact geographical features associated with the presence of gold and illegal gold mining (which vary only at the municipal level) with the international price of gold. Our estimates indicate that the rise of illegal gold mining has caused a statistically significant increase in violence, as measured with the homicide rate and the victims of massacres. However, we do not find a significant causal effect of illegal gold mining on forced displacement. Our interpretation is that the increase in the profitability of illegal mining activities has sparked a dispute over territorial control between illegal armed groups in order to monopolize the extraction of the precious minerals. Nevertheless, illegal mining is a labor intensive activity, and this may have counteracted the incentives of illegal armed groups to displace local populations from their land.

scholarly journals How Conflict and Displacement Fuel Human Trafficking and Abuse of Vulnerable Groups. The Case of Colombia and Opportunities for Real Action and Innovative Solutions.

2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luz Estella Nagle
Keyword(s):  
Human Trafficking ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Organized Crime ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Forced Labor ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
Mining Operations ◽  
Illegal Mining ◽  
Women And Children ◽  
Trafficking Victims

Disaffected, impoverished, and displaced people in weak and failing states are particularly vulnerable. Human trafficking exploits social and political turmoil caused by natural disasters, economic crisis, and armed conflict. The exploitation and forced servitude of millions of trafficking victims take many forms. Women and children are trafficked into becoming child soldiers and concubines of illegal armed groups, men, women and children are trafficked into forced labor and sexual slavery, forced to sell drugs, steal, and beg money for the criminals controlling them, and thousands are coerced or forced into a growing black market trade in human body parts. The growth in illegal mining operations by illegal armed groups and organized crime is also fueling conditions of forced labor. Trafficking victims are dehumanized and suffer grave physical and mental illness and often die at the hands of their captors and exploiters. Colombia is particularly afflicted by the scourge of human trafficking. All the elements of modern-day slavery and human exploitation are present in this Latin American state that is struggling to overcome decades of internal armed conflict, social fragmentation, poverty, and the constant debilitating presence of organized crime and corruption. Women’s Link Worldwide recently reported that human trafficking is not viewed as an internal problem among Colombian officials, despite estimates that more than 70,000 people are trafficked within Colombia each year. This article examines human trafficking in its many forms in Colombia, the parties involved in trafficking, and the State’s response or lack of response to human trafficking. The article also presents innovations that might be effective for combating human trafficking, and proposes that Colombia can serve as an effective model for other countries to address this growing domestic and international human rights catastrophe.

Peace deals will not reduce illegal mining in Colombia

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Financial Support ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Gold Mining ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Illegal Mining ◽  
Legal Challenges ◽  
The Government ◽  
Trump Administration

Subject Illegal mining. Significance The army this month announced the capture of two suspected members of the Clan del Golfo crime group (otherwise known as the Urabenos) in Buritica, Antioquia. The group is thought to be attempting to revive illegal mining in the area, which the government has targeted as part of a recent drive to tackle the crime. Despite increased security efforts nationwide, and the demobilisation of rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), however, little immediate improvement is anticipated. Impacts Gold mining firms are particularly at risk of illegal miners and will invest heavily in security. Gaining project licences may become more difficult if communities associate mining with destructive, unregulated operations. Environmental activism may contribute to the spread of illicit mining as permits for large-scale projects face mounting legal challenges. Security funding could come under further strain should the Trump administration curtail US financial support to Colombia.

Transnational Cybercrime

2020 ◽  
pp. 108-128
Author(s):  
Barbara Jane Holland
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Organized Crime ◽  
Drug Trafficking ◽  
Transnational Crime ◽  
Financial Information ◽  
Criminal Networks ◽  
Criminal Organizations ◽  
Individual Segment ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Organized Crime Groups

Organized crime groups are involved in all kinds of transnational crimes. Lawbreakers can victimize people in other countries through international scams and cyber theft of financial information. Moreover, much of the harm from transnational crimes stems from activities of formal criminal organizations or criminal networks that connect individuals and organizations who undertake specific criminal acts together. According to the United Nations, annual proceeds from transnationally organized crime activities amount to more than $870 billion dollars with drug trafficking producing the largest individual segment of that total amount. One of the most difficult forms of transnational crime to combat is cybercrime. This article will review transnational cybercrime and it's technology.

scholarly journals The Power Shift from Government to Organized Crime in Kyrgyzstan

2021 ◽  
pp. 139-155
Author(s):  
Erlan Bakiev
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Organized Crime ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Small Business Owners ◽  
Power Shift ◽  
Criminal Organizations ◽  
Organized Crime Groups ◽  
Internet And Social Media

AbstractOrganized crime (OC) groups in Kyrgyzstan have reached a level where they are competing with governmental authorities and institutions. Leaders of OC groups can assign members of their groups into law enforcement positions and parliament. It is safe to claim that the absence of rule of law and legal gaps encourage organized crime groups to flourish. From an economic point of view, privatization and capitalization of the economic system in the process of democratization have been in the interest and favor of the development of criminal organizations. Organized crime gangs can easily fill their chests by benefiting from the legal gaps. For instance, all the jewelry store owners at the major markets in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan pay fees to an OC gang for their safety and security. Small business owners have been taken under control by organized crime to resolve economic disputes or just because they are in their area of control. Moreover, gangs and groups operating in the South Kyrgyzstan, as well as in Talas and Bishkek, deal with drug trafficking. The cultural aspect of this issue focuses on the importance of the clan ties and network connections in Kyrgyzstan and its use by organized crime. The networking used by the OC also includes utilization of the Internet and social media, consequently it became difficult to counter them during the process of globalization and the whole of society being integrated with the internet and social media, the fight against organized crime has become more difficult. Challenging existing socio-cultural structures, to increase law enforcement and combat clan-based subculture and informal law practices, such as the “thieves” “laws” and “brotherhood hierarchies” of organized crime, have been an almost impossible endeavor over the past 30 years. Consequently, breaking the network of OC and destroying its nationwide functions is a challenge, not only in Kyrgyzstan but in many post-soviet countries.

scholarly journals A Policy-oriented Agent-based Model of Recruitment into Organized Crime

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gian Maria Campedelli ◽  
Francesco Calderoni ◽  
Mario Paolucci ◽  
Tommaso Comunale ◽  
Daniele Vilone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Organized Crime ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Agent Based Model ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Power And Control ◽  
Criminal Organizations ◽  
Different Dimensions ◽  
Organized Crime Groups ◽  
And Control

Criminal organizations exploit their presence on territories and local communities to recruit new workforce in order to carry out their criminal activities and business. The ability to attract individuals is crucial for maintaining power and control over the territories in which these groups are settled. This study proposes the formalization, development and analysis of an agent-based model (ABM) that simulates a neighborhood of Palermo (Sicily) with the aim to understand the pathways that lead individuals to recruitment into organized crime groups (OCGs). Using empirical data on social, economic and criminal conditions of the area under analysis, we use a multi-layer network approach to simulate this scenario. As the final goal, we test different policies to counter recruitment into OCGs. These scenarios are based on two different dimensions of prevention and intervention: (i) primary and secondary socialization and (ii) law enforcement targeting strategies.

scholarly journals Taliban insurgency and transnational organized crime nexus

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 266
Author(s):  
Mohammad Ayub Mirdad
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Organized Crime ◽  
Continuum Theory ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Border Control ◽  
Transnational Organized Crime ◽  
Illegal Mining ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Terrorist Groups ◽  
Organized Crime Groups

Afghanistan has been demolished by more than three decades of the ongoing war since the war against the Soviet Union started in 1979. The Afghanistan-Pakistan region provides a geographically secure location and a space of opportunity for organized crime and terrorist groups. This paper aims at exploring the Taliban nexus with organized crime groups in Afghanistan and the region through Makarenko’s crime-terror continuum theory. The method of this study is qualitative through the descriptive-analytical approach. The growing connection between insurgents and organized crime poses essential challenges to the region. Each group has developed both criminal and terrorist elements while not relinquishing its original organizing principle. Afghanistan is a war-torn country and weak governance, terrorism, narcotics, illegal mining, poor border control, and widespread corruption provide the perfect opportunity for convergence of the Taliban with organized criminal and insurgent groups in the region. The Taliban and organized crime groups are involved in kidnapping for ransom, drug trade, extortion, and exploitation of natural resources. The finding indicates that, although the objectives of the insurgent and organized crime organizations differ widely, these enabling variables are also suitable for organized crime organizations. The primary objective of organized crime is to gain profit, and the objective of the insurgent is to contest the state power and promote political change through violence. The economic sources are the primary main reason why the two organizations converge.

scholarly journals The participation of criminals in a hybrid war: a look through the prism of Ukrainian realities

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Organized Crime ◽  
Social Order ◽  
Intelligence Services ◽  
Criminal Organizations ◽  
Informal Interview ◽  
Occupied Territories ◽  
Hybrid War ◽  
Organized Crime Groups ◽  
Sociological Studies

The article considers the participation of criminals in the Russian-Ukrainian hybrid war. The publications of Western and national scientists are analyzed according to the problem chosen by the author. The lack of theoretical and empirical sociological studies on the involvement of criminality in the hybrid war is emphasized. It describes the empirical basis of the article, which presented the results of the author’s research conducted with the help of such methods as observation, informal interview and document analysis. The characteristics of domestic criminality are given, particularly in such forms as traditional unorganized criminality (persons committing any general and professional crimes), group criminality (group crime, including crimes committed by quasi-groups - unstable social groups), organized criminality (activities of organized crime groups, criminal organizations). The criminal potential of the Donbass as a resource of hybrid war is considered. The ways of involving criminality in participating in hybrid war are analyzed, in particular such ways as: recruiting through material incentives, recruiting through “mobilization”, engaging by choosing between two alternatives: imprisonment or participation in war, etc. The involvement of criminality in war and on its own initiative is considered. Particular attention is paid to the influence of Russian intelligence services on organized crime, in particular, the «thieves in law» with a view to their involvement in the hybrid war. It emphasizes the fact that most penitentiary institutions in the region remained in the temporarily occupied territories whose prisoners are the potential human resource of the hybrid war. The forms of participation of criminals in hybrid war are analyzed: participation in mass anti-government actions to destabilize the situation in the country, in combat actions, sabotage, terrorist attacks, etc. The role of criminality in worsening the criminogenic situation in Ukrainian society in the conditions of hybrid war is noted. The testimony of participants in events on both sides of the conflict regarding the involvement of criminality in the hybrid war is presented. The features of the fight against criminality in temporarily occupied territories are revealed in the conditions of transition from managed chaos to conditional social order.

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