Organised Crime

Organised Crime provides a broadly based introduction to an increasingly important subject. This book explores all facets of organized crime, including the conceptual difficulties attached to it, specific types of activity, the growth of organized crime in different jurisdictions, its internationalization, and the ways in which the international community and law enforcement agencies have tried to tackle the problem. The book contains case studies illustrating the growth of organized crime at national, international, and transnational levels. It provides a wide-ranging introduction to contemporary debate on an increasingly pressing problem. The text has four main themes: exploring the nature and dynamics of organized crime, highlighting the theoretical work that underpins the analysis of criminal gangs and groups; focusing on key areas of activity of organized criminal groups, in particular drug trafficking, economic crime, and people smuggling; discussing the rise of organized crime i

This book aims to provide an accessible introduction to the study of organised crime - about those who commit it, the effect it has on individuals, businesses and states, and the ways in which states and the international community have sought to contain it. It explores all facets of what has become one of the key problems facing governments, policy makers and law enforcement agencies in the early twenty-first century. Organised Crime has four predominant themes: the nature and central concepts of organised crime the specific activities with which it is associated its origins and growth nationally, regionally and globally the efforts by the international community and law enforcement agencies to contain, regulate and control the risks that it poses. The book contains a number of detailed case studies illustrating the growth of organised crime at national, international and transnational levels, ranging from the mafia, criminal gangs in the UK through to the new wave of organised crime in Russia and the post-Soviet states. It will be essential reading for both students and practitioners in the police and other law enforcement agencies who have a concern with organised crime worldwide.

Preface. Introduction 1. Mapping rough terrain: the contested concept of organised crime 2. The gang as a violent way of life 3. Dirty business: the political economy of organised crime 4. The magic roundabout: traffic in the global village 5. Organised crime: its 'traditional' forms 6. Land of opportunity: organised crime in the US 7. New waves 8. Home firms: the British experience 9. Tackling organised crime: possibly together. Conclusion

Alan Wright was formerly a police officer with the Metropolitan Police, where he worked on the Kray case and on other gang crime and homicide cases. He later lectured at the Institute of Criminal Justice Studies, University of Portsmouth, and is currently an Honorary Research Fellow at Keele University. He is the author of Policing: an introduction to concepts and practice (Willan Publishing, 2002).