Organised Crime and the Law presents an overview of the laws and policies adopted to address the phenomenon of organised crime in the United Kingdom and Ireland, assessing the changes to these justice systems, in terms of the prevention, investigation, prosecution and punishment of such criminality. While the notion of organised crime is a contested one, States' legal responses treat it and its constituent offences as unproblematic in a definitional sense. This book advances a systematic doctrinal critique of these domestic criminal laws,laws of evidence and civil processes. Organised Crime and the Law focuses on the tension between due process and crime control, the demands of public protection and risk aversion, and other adaptations. In particular, it identifies parallels and points of divergence between the different jurisdictions in the UK and Ireland, bearing in mind the shared history of subversive threats and counter-terrorism policies. It also examines the extent to which policy transfer is evident in the UK and Ireland in terms of emulating the United States in reacting to organised crime.

This text provides a broadly based introduction to the increasingly important subject of organised crime. It explores all facets of organised crime, and contains case studies illustrating the growth of organised crime at national, international and transnational levels.

Organised Crime and Law Enforcement: A Network Perspective examines organised crime and law enforcement through the conceptual lens of networks. The book takes stock of the many ways in which network theories and concepts, including social network analysis, can apply to studying both organised crime and law enforcement responses to organised crime. It is the first attempt to bring these diverse network perspectives and distinct fields of research together. The book is organised into two parts. The first part uses network perspectives to advance our understanding of the interconnected social structure of organised criminal groups, to expose their strengths and vulnerabilities, and to illuminate factors that enable such groups to undertake complex criminal activities. The second part uses a network lens to examine the challenges that organised criminal groups present for a wide range of law enforcement agencies, and the utility of network theories and concepts in understanding and informing their responses to organised crime. Written in a clear and direct style, the book will appeal to scholars and practitioners of criminology, sociology, law enforcement, and all those interested in learning more about theories of organised crime and its relationship with law enforcement.

Analyzing the structures of transnational organized crime, this book considers whether traditional mechanisms and national jurisdictions can tackle this increasing menace. Highlighting the strengths and weaknesses in the present methods of control, the book discusses the possibilities of developing more effective national and international strategies, the creation of non-legal mechanisms outside the traditional criminal justice system and the implications of 'disruption strategies'. The roles of law enforcement officers, tax investigators, financial intelligence officers, compliance officers, lawyers and accountants - in enforcing both civil and criminal sanctions on organized crime - are also considered.

This book is the outcome of a six-month research contract undertaken by Ghent University's Research Group Drug Policy, Criminal Policy and International Crime for the Belgian Minister of Justice. Since 1996 the Belgian Government has produced Annual Reports on Organised Crime, and while currently this takes the form of a typically descriptive situation report there has always been the intention to further develop the methodology underwriting the report. It has been envisaged that such methodological development will rely upon the use of supplementary non-police data -both qualitative and quantitative - supporting the utilisation of more sophisticated analytical tools. Proceeding from earlier work undertaken by this research group for the Belgian Federal Police's Organised Crime Unit, this book is an elaboration of the ideas found in Measuring Organised Crime in Belgium: A Risk-Based Methodology (in which a method for determining the impact of organised crime in Belgium is proposed) for application in the context of the Annual Reports.Thus, the substance of this book is a discursive analysis of the issues surrounding a risk-based Annual Report on Organised Crime.As the result of applied research, Reporting on Organised Crime offers concrete recommendations and solutions for the analysis of organised crime and its reporting at the strategic level.

This insightful Research Agenda explores the varied manifestations of organised crime, both on the street and through transnational enterprises, and reveals its impact on the integrity of the financial system. Leading academics identify measures which would disrupt and discourage these threats, however sophisticated, and consider avenues for future research.

Whilst the nature of organised crime may keep changing with the effects of globalisation, technological developments and European integration, its impact remains the same in terms of undermining democracy, human rights and the rule of law. The "Octopus Programme" is a technical co-operation programme against corruption and organised crime initiated by the Council of Europe in 1996. This publication reviews the organised crime situation in Europe in 2004, in order to help member states ensure that counter-measures are based on a thorough knowledge of trends and good practice. It includes a chapter on the challenge of cybercrime, with an analysis of the different forms of cybercrime, its links to organised crime and terrorism, and its socio-economic impacts.