Organized Crime

Question 1

4 categories of Organized Crime

Answer 1

Structural/organizational, Institutional, Commercial and Behavioural.

Question 2

3 Categories of Italian-Based mafia

Answer 2

The Sicillian Mafia, The ‘ndrangheta, and the Canadian arm of Italian-American crime families often referred to as La cosa Nostra

Question 3

2 categories of the Theories of Organized Crime

Answer 3

Those that try to identify and analyze the causes of organized crime: Etiological theories, and those that attempt to understand the structure of criminal conspiracies: Structural theories.

Question 4

Etiological theories

Answer 4

Alien Conspiracy Theory, Ethnic Succession Theory, Economic Theories

Question 5

Structural Theories

Answer 5

The Bureaucratic/Hierarchical model, Kinship Model, Patron-Client model, Network Model

Question 6

Characteristics of Organized Crime

Answer 6

• illegal activities are conspiratorial
• they commit or threaten acts of violence
• conduct activities in a methodical, systematic, secret fashion
• intricate organizational structures insulate their leadership
• attempt to gain influence through corruption and graft
• economic gain is primary goal: legitimate and illegitimate businesses

Question 7

Vory v zakone

Answer 7

Thieve in the law, high ranking well respected organized crime figure in Old World Soviet underworld

Question 8

Structural/Organizational Organized Crime

Answer 8

2+ involved
Conspire together to commit serious illegal acts
Systemic pattern to the relationship of offenders
Assigned tasks/specializations or division of labour
Insulation against law enforcement and prosecution
Specialized channels and modes of communicating
Multi-jurisdictional/transnational in scope

Question 9

Institutional Organized Crime

Answer 9

Continuing enterprise
Sophistication- importation, manufacture, fraud etc…
Not motivated by politics, religion or desire to change society
Career criminals
Limited or exclusive membership
Recruitment
Secrecy

Question 10

Commercial organized crime

Answer 10

Illegal activities for other material benefit
Consensual and predatory crimes
Legal commercial activities - disguise money laundering
Goods and services - drugs, contraband, counterfeit, gambling etc…
Tactics to support commercial activities
Multiple enterprises
Constant demand for goods and services

Question 11

Behavioural organized crime

Answer 11

Rationality of offenders
Contempt for civil society
Rules, regulations and codes
Discipline based on loyalty and honour codes

Question 12

Define: Criminal Organization

Answer 12

• composed of 3 or more persons in our outside Canada
• has one its main activities as the facilitation or commission of one or more serious offences that, if committed, would result in financial benefit

Question 13

11 fundamental traits of a criminal organization according to EUROPOL

Answer 13

1: collaboration of 2 or more people
2: each with own appointed tasks
3: for a prolonged or indefinite period of time
4: using some form of discipline or control
5: suspected of the commission of a serious criminal offence
6: operating at an international level
7: using violence or other means of intimidation
8: using commercial or business like structures
9: engaged in money laundering
10: exerting influence on politics, media, public administration, judicial authorities or economy
11: determined by pursuit of profit and or power

Question 14

Consensual crimes

Answer 14

Drug smuggling/trafficking, gambling, migrant smuggling, loansharking, prostitution, money laundering

Question 15

Predatory/consensual crimes

Answer 15

Vehicle theft, environment crimes, counterfeiting and piracy, corruption of govt, illegal trade in wildlife & organs and tissue, illegal trafficking in arms, ammo and explosives, trafficking in nuclear & radioactive substances, illegal trade in stolen artifacts, jewellery and art, trafficking endangered plant species

Question 16

Predatory crimes

Answer 16

Human trafficking, extortion, murder and grievous bodily injury, business and labour racketeering, kidnapping, consumer fraud, government fraud, theft, corporate fraud and stock market manipulation

Question 17

Italian Mafia

Answer 17

3 categories: Sicilian, ‘ndrangheta, and Canadian arm of Italian-American crime families (la cosa nostra)
In North America since 19th century
Formal network covering my of North America
Hierarchical, pyramid structure
Strict code of conduct
“Wise guy”- anybody who follows commonly accepted rules and laws of civil society is a sucker

Question 18

10 Mafiosi Commandments

Answer 18

1. ) no one can present himself directly to another of our friends must be a 3rd person
2. ) Never look at wives of friends
3. ) never be seen with cops
4. ) don’t go to pubs and clubs
5. ) always be available for cosa nostra
6. ) appointments must be respected
7. ) wives must be treated with respect
8. ) when asked for info, the answer must be the truth
9. ) money cannot be appropriated if it belongs to others or other families
10. ) people who can’t be apart of cosa nostra are anyone with a close relative in police, 2 timing relative, anyone who behaves badly

Question 19

Characteristics of Biker gangs

Answer 19

Use of force and violence to survive and thrive
Hierarchical structure
Committing crimes is left to new recruits
Show off colours in public
Require American made bikes - Harley Davidson
Difficult to infiltrate

Question 20

Categories of Triads

Answer 20

1. ) localized street gangs of youths and adults
2. ) Chinese triads
3. ) non triad Chinese criminal networks
4. ) loose network of criminals from China (big circle boys)
5. ) Vietnamese crime groups
6. ) Indo-Canadian crime groups

Question 21

Ways to control organized crime

Answer 21

• legalization of illicit goods and services
• police investigation
• national criminal laws and procedures
• international cooperation

Question 22

Alien conspiracy theory

Answer 22

Organized crime groups are the result of importation of secret criminal societies that are rooted in foreign culture.
- not created by scholars but by us senate in 1950

Question 23

Ethnic succession theory

Answer 23

Root of causes of organized criminality in the broader social, political, cultural and economical environment of North America
- when a subsequent immigrant group fills the criminal void in their attempt to climb the ladder of success

Question 24

Economic theories

Answer 24

Crime as a rational system that operates according to the laws of supply and demand

Question 25

Public policy impetus

Answer 25

The government decided whether goods or services that people desire are to be made available in legal or illegal markets

Question 26

Bureaucratic/Hierarchical model

Answer 26

Views criminal groups as highly structured and tightly controlled hierarchical organizations with centralized control

Question 27

Kinship model

Answer 27

Structures that parallel families interconnected by blood or marriage and in some cases just shared ethnicity

Question 28

Patron client model

Answer 28

The Italian American mafia family involved a loose system of power and business relationships and thus require a middleman who becomes a patron to others (capo/don)

Question 29

Network model

Answer 29

Does not view organized crime as a monolithic, self contained organization but as a loosely knit fluid network of like minded independent criminal entrepreneurs none of whom has any authority over the other