1. This book is multi-disciplinary and will be of interests to criminologists, legal scholars, and those engaged with security, intelligence, and terrorism studies. 2. This is the first book to offer a network perspective on organised crime and law enforcement.

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 covers a wide range of activities, including drug trafficking, illegal trafficking of people, and fraud. The existence of a land border does not impede these operations; instead in many cases it is used to their advantage. In response, law enforcement strategies must include a transnational, multi-agency approach. This book critically analyses the extent to which Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have been successful in implementing effective action against transnational organised crime. It explores the adoption of key law enforcement strategies and measures in these jurisdictions, and evaluates how regional (EU law) and international (UN Convention) standards have been implemented at the national level. Drawing on interviews with over 90 stakeholders including the Department of Justice Northern Ireland, the Department of Justice and Equality in Ireland, the Police Service of Northern Ireland and An Garda Síochána, Tom Obokata and Brian Payne discuss the factors affecting the effective prevention and suppression of organised crime, particularly in relation to cross-border cooperation. In exploring challenges of transnational crime and cooperation, this book will be of great use to students and researchers in international and transnational criminal law, criminology, and crime prevention.

Since the end of the Cold War, states have become increasingly engaged in the suppression of transnational organised crime. The existence of the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and its Protocols demonstrates the necessity to comprehend this subject in a systematic way. Synthesizing the various sources of law that form this area of growing academic and practical importance, International Law and Transnational Organised Crime provides readers with a thorough understanding of the key concepts and legal instruments in international law governing transnational organised crime. The volume analyses transnational organised crime in consideration of the most relevant subareas of international law, such as international human rights and the law of armed conflict. Written by internationally recognized scholars in international and criminal law as well as respected high-level practitioners, this book is a useful tool for lawyers, public agents, and academics seeking straightforward and comprehensive access to a complex and significant topic.

As the threats posed by organised crime and terrorism persist, law enforcement authorities remain under pressure to suppress the movement, or flows, of people and objects that are deemed dangerous. This collection provides a broad overview of the challenges and trends of the policing of flows. How these threats are constructed and addressed by governments and law enforcement agencies is the unifying thread of the book. The concept of flows is interpreted broadly so as to include the trafficking of illicit substances, trade in antiquities, and legal and illegal migration, including cross-border travel by members of organised crime groups or ‘foreign fighters’. The book focuses especially on the responses of governments and law enforcement agencies to the changing nature and intensity of flows. The contributors comprise a mix of lawyers, sociologists, historians and criminologists who address both formal legal and practical, on-the-ground approaches to the policing of flows. The volume invites reflection on whether the existing tool kit of governments and law enforcement agencies is adequate in this changing environment and how it could be modernised, for example, by increased reliance on technology or by reappraising the role of the private sector. As such, the book will be useful not only for academics and practitioners who work on security-related matters, but also more generally to those who are interested in what the near-term future of policing is likely to look like and how the balance between law enforcement on the one hand and human rights and civil liberties on the other can be achieved.

"This book studies the causes and consequences of organized crime drawing on research from around the world including the countries of Colombia, China, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Sweden and the United States. It also includes a discussion of transnational crime and several other key theoretical topics. One important issue examined in this text is the difference between the terms organized crime, international organized crime and transnational organized crime, an often-confusing subject. As the title indicates, one of the goals of this volume is to identify the causes of organized crime. Working independently, the contributing authors have identified similar characteristics as the causes of organized crime no matter the country, culture or time period. For those teaching organized crime at the university level, this book will be a valuable resource. It provides both an in-depth and analytical look at the world's most powerful and persistent criminal organizations. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, this book contains both qualitative and quantitative research. The works are all original, there are no reprinted chapters in this volume. This text not only provides historical background on the world's most powerful criminal organizations, but also challenges common assumptions about the organization of these infamous groups. This is no 'guns and garlic' book but contains in-depth sociological analyses of current trends in organized crime, one that should be of interest to government officials and those responsible for setting public policy. While this book will be of interest to the serious student, non-academics and casual readers alike will also be interested in the work presented here. It provides a fascinating look at a serious social problem, one that is forever evolving and will continue to challenge the international community"--