Week 1

Question 1

organized crime vs. mafia-like criminal organizations

Answer 1

The mafia is a form of organized crime, but not all criminal organizations are similar to the mafia

Criminal groups primarily organize to commit crimes, mafia groups also form connections with politics, manipulate institutions, and interfere in local economies

mafia members work in both legal and illegal realms

mafia does not deal drugs or demand money they wield influence over society

Question 2

theory 1: mafias do not move

Answer 2

resources tied to the territory are difficult to export

mafia is not exportable, except for investments

mafia as multinational entities

Question 3

theory 2: mafias are multinational criminal organizations

Answer 3

power perceives mafias as globalized entities - there would be no linguistic or economic barriers

Question 4

theory 3: mafias are driven to expand and adapt (supply and demand)

Answer 4

they move and adapt - if they move there is a reason
- intentional = the search for new resources
- unintentional = the forced cause can be linked to defeats in clashes with rival clans/police

protection
- the distinctive element of a mafia organization is the ability to provide protection
- 3 types of exchanges: business development, limitation of competition, enforcement

mafias rely on the market
- corruption serves as sand, not oil. benefiting the cartel and disadvantaging other entities

external relationship
- in an organization where human capital is low, by definition, you need to tap into external social capital

Question 5

settlement defintion

Answer 5

predominantly illegal activities and trades

Question 6

rooting definition

Answer 6

• occurs when mafias replicate the organizational model
• involves trading, protection of both illegal and legal markets

Question 7

conformation definition

Answer 7

• an element of the ecosystem, pragmatism, agency for extralegal services
• protection without overt violence

Question 8

Name

Answer 8

• the name is the brand that conveys the product
• the importance of recognizability
• a name is everything
• without it a gang is just a group of hooligans

Question 9

Reputation

Answer 9

• criminals who are part of a recognizable (by other criminals) organization are in a position to negotiate transactions
  
  • those without would not be able to accomplish
• they benefit from the value of a bad reputation
• they carry a more reliable form of justice where the legal system places onerous burdens on plaintiffs

Question 10

Rules and regulations

Answer 10

• like a legitimate organization, an organized crime group has a subset of rules and regulations that members are expected to follow

Question 11

Rituals, myths, and symbols

Answer 11

every social phenomenon needs rituals, myths, and symbols, often linked to the concept of invented tradition

Question 12

Organized structure

Answer 12

an organized crime group has a vertical power structure with at least three permanent ranks, not just a leader and followers - each with authorities over level beneath

Question 13

Limited or exclusive membership

Answer 13

• an organized crime group significantly limits membership
• qualifications may include ethnic background, kinship, race, or similar considerations
• those who meet the basic qualifications for membership require a sponsor, typically a ranking member, and must also prove qualified for membership by their behaviour

Question 14

Willingness to use illegal violence

Answer 14

organized crime intimidation:
- there are 4 types of gang intimidation:
- protection
- extortion
- selling items
- refusing to pay for food and services

Question 15

Parallel culture

Answer 15

• they embrace a parallel culture comparable to the mainstream one, which differs from a gang subculture
• create and maintain an autonomous pseudo-culture, with its own codes of conduct, requirements for membership, symbolism, pledges of allegiance, shared values, and special communication techniques.
• This creates a mystique, deflecting critiques of malfeasance and banditry away from the OC

Question 16

Social consensus

Answer 16

• they need to have social but also economic and political recognition
• favours are obligations

Question 17

Networking

Answer 17

• they can create a system, thanks to the strength of their internal ties and the flexibility of their external relations
• this system is based on a network of trust
• The importance of so-called facilitators
• the concept of the enemy within

Question 18

Governance

Answer 18

• they can govern a territory by controlling labour relations and management, resolving conflict resolution, and regulating legal and illegal markets
• from a phenomenon of social control, mafias become a service agency

Question 19

Perpetuity

Answer 19

an organized crime group constitutes a ongoing criminal conspiracy designed to persist through time beyond the life of its current membership

Question 20

Polycrime organization

Answer 20

polycrime organizations are capable of running with versatility and flexibility in many illegal operations - the difference between mafias and drug cartels

Question 21

Reinvestment of capitals

Answer 21

• they are not just limited to making money; they are also concerned with reinvesting it
• money laundering
• they need to justify wealth
• the search for regulatory tac and banking havens

Question 22

No political goals

Answer 22

• the goals of an organized crime group are money and power whose procurement is not limited by legal or moral concerns
• an organized crime group is not motivated by social doctrine, political beliefs, or ideological considerations
• although political involvement may be part of the group’s activities, the purpose is usually to gain protection or immunity from its illegal activities
• MONEY = POWER

Question 23

Bonding and bridging social capital

Answer 23

social capital is about the value of social networks, bonding similar people and bridging between diverse people with norms of reciprocity

Question 24

Definition of organized crime

Answer 24

• organize crime is a continuing criminal enterprise that rationally works to profit from illicit activities, often in great public demand
• its continuing existence is maintained through the use of force monopoly control, and the corruption or public officials
  
  • money is functional to power

Question 25

OC vs terrorist groups

Answer 25

- terrorist groups are ideological - methods and goals

Question 26

4 types of crime identified in most law systems

Answer 26

1. Offences against the person 2. Violent offences 3. Sexual offences 4. Offences against property

Question 27

Prohibition

Answer 27

- Despite prohibition many Americans ignored national ban and drank alcoholic beverages in speakeasies - Alcohol supplied by networks of bootleggers who were parts of organised crime gangs - Those responsible for prohibition claimed that alcohol damaged health and corrupted moral behaviour - but had hidden motives at play - thought immigrants would become more American if their drinking habits were changed - Prohibition enabled organized crime groups to establish themselves deeply in the social substratum of the US and Canada

Question 28

Evil among us

Answer 28

- Mafias were well connected within legitimate society, having established connections with people in positions of influence and power – an arrangement based on the reciprocal exchange of favors. - At one time, this system of collusion was called patronage - today we call it corruption, a quid-pro-quo system formed between the gangsters and city politicians, members of the police, and other upright citizens. - This is why the Mafia constitutes an “evil among us,”

Question 29

Criminal darwinism

Answer 29

All OCs are opportunistic, clever, and adaptive, revealing an instinct for survival that can be called “criminal Darwinism”

Question 30

Species of a broader genus

Answer 30

- All OCs see themselves as different from common delinquents operating like monopolistic businesses and corporations - They aim to obtain exclusive control over specific criminal marketplaces not only by using violence and intimidation but also by creating networks of trust outside the gangs - Their ultimate goal is power, not money, and they will do anything to get it, using all kinds of tactics, from violence to bribery and other corruption schemes.

Question 31

UN Convention on transnational organized crime defined OC as:

Answer 31

a group of three or more people who undertake serious criminal activities in concert and in some coordinated manner for the purpose of obtaining financial or other benefits.

Question 32

historicity of OC

Answer 32

If the criminal group exists for a period of time.

Question 33

features of OC

Answer 33

1. Membership: three or more 2. Gender; usually male 3. Goal; to commit serious crimes in concert with overall objective of attaining prestige and power 4. Perpetuity; pass on traditions and operational structure to subsequent generations of members 5. Corrupt alliances; form corrupt associations with government authorities police and other officials for mutual benefit 6. Culture; develop and pass on own cultural system - including communications, symbolic practices and codes of conduct 7. Allegiance; members take oaths of allegiance to leader and other group members 8. Strategic violence; violence is never random - carried out when necessary 9. Territorial control ; ensuring control over territorial crucial to sustaining organized criminal groups

Question 34

organized crime vs conventional crime

Answer 34

conventional: does not require membership in an organizational structure nor the adoption of codes of various kinds; it simply involves carrying out illegal activities revolving around money, usually perpetrated by individuals OC: While money is essential to the operations of OCs and is obtained as well with violence and fear tactics, their ultimate goal is power, not money

Question 35

Generic characterization of OC

Answer 35

1. no political goals 2. hierarchy 3. membership 4. subculutre 5. perpetuation 6. violence 7. monopolistic 8. rules

Question 36

terrorism

Answer 36

defined as the use of violence for political or religious purposes during peacetime

Question 37

terrorism vs OC

Answer 37

terrorist groups actually seek to undermine, overthrow, and even destroy governments and institutions; criminal organizations are instead motivated by a thirst for power and money, manipulating the porosity of society by corrupting officials, penetrating policy forums, and weakening institutions