scholarly journals COVID-19 as a Determinant of the Growth of Organized Crime

Author(s):  
Mariya Mikhaylovna Bondar ◽  
Sofiya Sergeyevna Zhukova

The paper is devoted to the analysis of new types of crimes that have appeared and are growing rapidly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is well known that organized crime quickly navigates the social envi-ronment and makes a profit from various life situa-tions, successfully using the shortcomings, gaps and conflicts in the current legislation, the latest technology achievements, etc. The authors of the paper emphasize that, despite the close researchers’ attention to the problem of organized crime, some topical issues require additional consideration, in-cluding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on both the methods used for committing crimes and the organized criminal groups. In the final part of the study, some recommendations are given on combat-ing organized crime, taking into account modern realities.

Crimen ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 325-345
Author(s):  
Kosara Stevanović

This paper is highlighting the main criminal networks that are trafficking cocaine in Europe, through the lenses of social embeddedness and criminal network theories. We will try to show that social ties between European and Latin American organized crime networks, as well as between different European crime networks, are the main reason for the staggering success of European criminal groups in cocaine trafficking in the 21st century. In the beginning, we lay out the social embeddedness theory and criminal network theory, and then we review the main criminal networks involved in cocaine trafficking in Europe and social ties between them, with special attention to Serbian and Montenegrin criminal networks. At the end of the article, we analyze what role does ethnicity, seen as social ties based on common language and tradition, play in cocaine trafficking in Europe.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 112
Author(s):  
Ina Rama

The paper aims to describe in general terms some features of the Albanian organized crime, considering its evolution over the years, either in terms of the way its groups are organized or in terms of the type and field of its activity.  Regarding he content of the paper, by the term of the “Albanian organized crime” should be considered, the organizations of Albanian speaking groups, which cross the borders of the Albanian state and extend to other Albanian territories. They apparently, show similar characteristics and forms concerning their organization as that among the Albanians citizens. The first part of the paper describes the features of the Albanian organized crime based on the characteristics related to the nature and culture of the country or typologies that have accompanied the behavior of Albanians towards illegal activities and that have distinguished them from other groups within the same category. The paper emphases the idea of ​​the important impact that has had the historical context in which the country has passed through, on the typology of this type of crime as well as, the influence of political and economic factors in the foundation and development of these criminal groups. The paper provides a description of the impact and importance of Albanian organized crime in the frame work of the organized crime that exists in Italy and in other countries of the region as well as, the impact that these groups have in relation to each other. In particular, the paper has addressed the typology and developments that have followed the Albanian organized crime over the years, in terms of criminal activity in the field of drug trafficking, providing data on the type of drugs that are cultivated and marketed in the country and also the role that this type of criminality has played in frame work of balkan route. The characteristics of organized crime in the area of arms trafficking are also addressed in a special way, reflecting some of its known features and specifics that comes as a result from consulting the open source data. The characteristics of organized crime are also summarized regarding the criminal activity carried out in the area of trafficking in human beings, especially those whose, as origin country is Albania. The paper closes with a citation of criminal activities which, although not yet dominant in the field of Albanian organized crime activity, have begun to be more and more present, becoming an important issue in the focus of foreign law enforcement agencies.   Received: 2 May 2021 / Accepted: 15 June 2021 / Published: 8 July 2021


Author(s):  
Nicholas Barnes

After nearly a hundred years of debate and analysis, the gang concept remains hotly contested within the social sciences. Once thought to be an exclusively American phenomenon, the study of gangs has become increasingly global over the last decade. Countries from every world region have observed the emergence of gangs and gang-like groups. In some places, gangs resemble their American counterparts, while in others they engage not only in petty crime and drug trafficking but in targeted assassinations, corruption of public officials, and racketeering as well. These activities make them less like the delinquent youth groups they were once conceived as and more akin to organized crime. In less stable and violent contexts, gangs have even been incorporated into ethnic militias, rebel groups, and paramilitaries or have taken on a more vigilante ethos by combating violence and providing some semblance of order. The remarkable proliferation of the gang form and the incredible variation in the phenomenon across the globe requires a reassessment of the gang concept. In the limited literature that focuses on the study of gangs cross-nationally, several conceptualizations have been proposed. Some scholars have attempted to separate smaller street gangs from a variety of other related phenomena: prison gangs, drug gangs, and organized crime. They have done so by crafting a more restrictive concept. However, while separating street gangs from other criminal groups may make sense in the American or European context, it applies less well to other parts of the globe where such organizational forms have become thoroughly integrated, thus blurring these traditional conceptual boundaries. At the same time, some scholars have advocated for a conceptual framework that captures the transformative nature of gangs and encompasses any and all types of gangs and gang-like groups. Such an evolutionary framework fails, however, to distinguish between gangs and a huge variety of criminal and political nonstate armed groups that share little in terms of their origins, motivations, or activities. It can be argued that the best conceptualization is a minimal one that incorporates gangs and many gang-like groups but avoids conceptual stretching to include virtually all nonstate armed groups. Ultimately, contemporary scholars of gangs within any national context must be increasingly attentive to the global dimensions of the gang organizational form and the various overlapping and multifaceted relationships they maintain with a variety of other nonstate armed groups.


1997 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Levi

After examining the growth of concern about organized crime, the article critically reviews the arguments advanced for focusing on the money trail as a strategy for combating it, suggesting that the amount of money laundered may be considerably less than that commonly assumed. It goes on to contrast the powerful imagery of ‘the new policing’ with the modesty of the impact of these measures on convictions and confiscated assets in Britain and Australia, and attempts to account for the low yield there compared with the US in terms of greater American concentration on financial and professional intermediaries and more draconian legislation. After discussing the debate over the involvement of the UK Security Service (MI5) in the ‘war against organized crime’ and technological developments in laundering detection, the article examines the tensions, (a) between high level policing on the one hand, and devolved police budgeting and community orientation on the other; and (b) in the attempt to regulate the social conscience of finance capital without making it impossible for them to make a profit.


Author(s):  
S. A. Frolov ◽  
M. A. Portnov

The article is devoted to the study of the impact of the RICO law (The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) on the fight against organized crime with the United States in the second half of the XX century. The main ways of influence of this legal act in the legal sphere of society were analyzed. The system of interaction and the structure of organized criminal groups has been investigated, historical information about the hunting of criminal groups before the adoption of the law and the results of combating organized crime after its introduction into legal action are also provided. First of all, the law focused on the top of the criminal gangs, and not on ordinary performers. The highest ranks influenced society through corruption schemes and influence in state bodies, thereby having a high aspect of countering mass crime in society.


Author(s):  
Raisa Perelyhina ◽  
Yurii Dmytryshak

Organized crime is one of the biggest problems of today’s states, with levels steadily increasing and engulfing more and more countries. Such crime is different from crimes that are committed unorganized or alone by their extreme danger to society. Organized crime influences important political and social processes in the state, interferes with the work of public authorities, which damages the efficiency of these bodies and reduces the level of trust in the state apparatus. In general, it can be argued that regardless of the specialization of criminal groups, organized crime is the most dangerous and complex anti-social phenomenon, it has no boundaries, and members of such a criminal group are located in different corners of the world and in the development of telecommunication, computer technologies, combating Organized crime requires new techniques In order to improve the fight against organized crime, Spain updates its legislation every year. This is due to the fact that criminal organizations are coming up with new methods and ways of carrying out their activities and pursuing their interests. Because of this, some old mafia techniques are simply not effective. The strategy has main objectives, it is the delimitation of criminal structures; reducing their activity; preventing the emergence of new criminal groups; reducing the impact on the public; counteracting the growing link between terrorism and organized crime. To do this, the strategy is built around ten lines of activity, seven vertical lines and three horizontal lines that intersect them. This strategy also notes for each area certain actions that will be a very useful tool for all public authorities aimed at ensuring the security of the country. The article analyzes the legislation of Spain in the field of combating organized crime, which highlights the main innovations in this legislation, which increase the efficiency of the work of public authorities in the fight against organized crime. The new strategy for the fight against organized crime is described, its main goals and directions of improvement are investigated. The peculiarities of combating organized crime in Spain, as well as the formulation of proposals for improvement of domestic legislation in the above, were investigated on the basis of the analysis of relevant legal acts.


2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 209-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benoît Testé ◽  
Samantha Perrin

The present research examines the social value attributed to endorsing the belief in a just world for self (BJW-S) and for others (BJW-O) in a Western society. We conducted four studies in which we asked participants to assess a target who endorsed BJW-S vs. BJW-O either strongly or weakly. Results showed that endorsement of BJW-S was socially valued and had a greater effect on social utility judgments than it did on social desirability judgments. In contrast, the main effect of endorsement of BJW-O was to reduce the target’s social desirability. The results also showed that the effect of BJW-S on social utility is mediated by the target’s perceived individualism, whereas the effect of BJW-S and BJW-O on social desirability is mediated by the target’s perceived collectivism.


Author(s):  
V. Kovpak ◽  
N. Trotsenko

<div><p><em>The article analyzes the peculiarities of the format of native advertising in the media space, its pragmatic potential (in particular, on the example of native content in the social network Facebook by the brand of the journalism department of ZNU), highlights the types and trends of native advertising. The following research methods were used to achieve the purpose of intelligence: descriptive (content content, including various examples), comparative (content presentation options) and typological (types, trends of native advertising, in particular, cross-media as an opportunity to submit content in different formats (video, audio, photos, text, infographics, etc.)), content analysis method using Internet services (using Popsters service). And the native code for analytics was the page of the journalism department of Zaporizhzhya National University on the social network Facebook. After all, the brand of the journalism department of Zaporozhye National University in 2019 celebrates its 15th anniversary. The brand vector is its value component and professional training with balanced distribution of theoretical and practical blocks (seven practices), student-centered (democratic interaction and high-level teacher-student dialogue) and integration into Ukrainian and world educational process (participation in grant programs).</em></p></div><p><em>And advertising on social networks is also a kind of native content, which does not appear in special blocks, and is organically inscribed on one page or another and unobtrusively offers, just remembering the product as if «to the word». Popsters service functionality, which evaluates an account (or linked accounts of one person) for 35 parameters, but the main three areas: reach or influence, or how many users evaluate, comment on the recording; true reach – the number of people affected; network score – an assessment of the audience’s response to the impact, or how far the network information diverges (how many share information on this page).</em></p><p><strong><em>Key words:</em></strong><em> nativeness, native advertising, branded content, special project, communication strategy.</em></p>


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