Questo libro presenta una narrazione storica e sociologica dell’organizzazione mafiosa italiana c... more Questo libro presenta una narrazione storica e sociologica dell’organizzazione mafiosa italiana conosciuta come ‘ndrangheta. Il libro mette insieme vari studi sui diversi clan di ‘ndrangheta e i diversi modelli comportamentali che possono assumere, focalizzandosi primariamente sulle caratteristiche organizzative, sui legami con la comunita calabrese in Calabria e nel mondo, sul successo della loro mobilita e sul loro essere organizzazioni policriminali. Le autrici dimostrano come i clan di ‘ndrangheta abbiano un ruolo innovativo nell’ essere e fare mafia, grazie a una densissima rete di relazioni sia nel mondo legale che in quello illegale, un senso degli affari particolarmente acuto, una reputazione costruita sulla protezione dei legami di sangue e sulla violenza, e, non da ultima, una relazione simbiotica di camuffamento con la societa calabrese. Nel focalizzarsi sia sulle strutture che sulle attivita dei clan e con dati tratti primariamente da fonti giudiziarie, questo libro espl...
This chapter looks at the main revenue of the ‘ndrangheta—that is, drug trafficking. It describes... more This chapter looks at the main revenue of the ‘ndrangheta—that is, drug trafficking. It describes the main judicial operations that have tracked the presence of ‘ndrangheta members and brokers around the world. After describing the way the clans have entered drug markets since the 1970s, the focus shall be on the most contemporary Antimafia investigations. These investigations are crucial to understand not only the changing structure of the clans, but also their reach. This chapter will argue that the drug trade is profoundly linked to the control of the territory in Calabria and in particular of the port of Gioia Tauro. Finally, this chapter will look at the management of proceeds of crime by the clans, especially focusing on investigations on money laundering.
As qualified minority of Calabrian society, the ‘ndrangheta is today a mafia-type criminal system... more As qualified minority of Calabrian society, the ‘ndrangheta is today a mafia-type criminal system, supported by social prestige and embedded in society. As any other mafia, the clans of the ‘ndrangheta have growth in parallel to the evolution of their region. This chapter will look at the historical evolution of the clans and their relationships with the rest of the Calabrian society. The ‘ndrangheta clans share characteristics of other mafia-type organised crime groups whose power is enforced through violence and through the exploitation of cultural codes and social relationships in Calabria.
ABSTRACT This paper studies organized crime in three regions, the Veneto in Northern Italy, Liver... more ABSTRACT This paper studies organized crime in three regions, the Veneto in Northern Italy, Liverpool in England, and Chicago in the United States. Data were gathered from published reports, government documents, and field observation. Case studies were then compiled describing organized crime in each area. The findings suggest that various jurisdictions define organized crime differently. These different definitions correspond to the nature of organized crime in each locality. In spite of these differences, however, there is consensus about the use of the term mafia. Groups that are defined as mafias generally exercise some degree of political influence in their areas of operation. Additionally, criminal groups that began as adolescent gangs retain the gang classification even after they move into drug trafficking and other organized criminal activities. These findings suggest important distinctions between organized criminal groups and improve our understanding of the term organized crime.
International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice, 2014
ABSTRACT This paper discusses the opportunity to differentiate four different criminological type... more ABSTRACT This paper discusses the opportunity to differentiate four different criminological types of organised crime in Italy by drawing on a subset of case studies and interviews to law enforcement officers and experts collected for two on-going research projects. We hypothesise that, since these types exploit different social opportunity structures for their criminal activities, they have different capacities of adaptation and react differently when confronted with different kinds of innovations and changes. We test these four types against two significant phenomena that have been deeply impacting Italian society, among others, recently: the commercialization of the Internet and the economic and financial crisis that has hit Europe since late 2008. We conclude that these types offer a valid help to guide our understanding of what organised crime is today in Italy, as well as to assess the capacity of the existing legal framework to properly face all them. These criminological types could also serve as lenses to filter the different experiences of organised crime in other European countries, thus facilitating comparative research.
The Janus-faces of cross-border crime in Europe, 2018
In the past years the Italian Antimafia has repeatedly confirmed the involvement of mafia groups ... more In the past years the Italian Antimafia has repeatedly confirmed the involvement of mafia groups in the management of undocumented migrants and asylum seekers entering Italy unauthorized. Investigations, in different parts of the country have specifically looked at mafia interests in the administration of migrant accommodation and temporary assistance, usually through criminal businesses developed thanks to public funding which is spent in times of emergency. Relying on fieldwork in the iconic border island of Lampedusa and the analysis of judicial documents and public sources relative to the case of the island’s and other national migrants and asylum seekers reception and detention centres, this article investigates how the involvement of mafia groups is facilitated by the almost permanent migration emergency interesting Italy – and Europe – from almost two decades. By drawing on the three relatively different cases of Lampedusa, Crotone and Rome, here we show how mafias enter the complex European multi-level governance of migration and asylum and succeed in accessing the substantial financial resources allocated for it. As we demonstrate, criminal groups are facilitated when new public funding became available over emergencies, when thus controls on transparency and due diligence tend to be overruled. This is especially true because of mafias’ pervasive control of the territory which is maintained thanks to a system of informal, clientelistic relationships in the governance of the local. Yet, as we discuss here, this is even more the case when funding is made available by geographically and institutionally distant authorities such as the European ones in Brussels
In recent years organized crime has developed into an independent field of study and research, bo... more In recent years organized crime has developed into an independent field of study and research, borrow-ing frames, models and theories from criminology, sociology, history, economics, anthropology, and
This article explores proceedings by the Youth Tribunal of Reggio Calabria, Southern Italy, aimed... more This article explores proceedings by the Youth Tribunal of Reggio Calabria, Southern Italy, aimed at the protection of children in families where one or both parents are investigated for mafia offences. The findings show that preventing the transmission of mafia (‘ndrangheta) culture in the local context has become an essential part of child protection measures. This article will argue that when discussing child protection in criminal families, it is necessary (a) to question the nature of the bonds of these families with the socio-cultural context, and (b) to concretely assess the way this context wishes to affect the family’s criminality.
This book presents primary research conducted in Italy, USA, Australia and UK on countering strat... more This book presents primary research conducted in Italy, USA, Australia and UK on countering strategies against Italian mafia and local organized crime groups. Through interviews and document interpretation, the book wishes first, to interpret the interaction between institutional perceptions of these criminal threats and historical events that have shaped these perceptions the institutional. Second, the book combines analysis of policies and criminal law provisions to identify policing models against mafia and organized are constructed in each country within a comparative perspective. After presenting the policing models against mafia and organized crime in Italy, USA, Australia and UK separately, the author pushes the comparison further by identifying both conceptual and procedural convergences and divergences across the four models and within international frameworks. By looking at topics as varied as mafia mobility, money laundering, drug networks and gang violence, this book wis...
In the past decades, the Australian 'ndrangheta has been object of media attention, academic ... more In the past decades, the Australian 'ndrangheta has been object of media attention, academic inquiry and growing policing concern. In Australia, however, the phenomenon is not new. Next to contemporary manifestations of mafia clans and activities, there is an historical 'ndrangheta, with families and networks in specific areas of the country. Their activities peaked between the 1950s and the 1970s and their reputation still persists and populates mafia narratives. This article will analyse historical archives broadly related to a nebulous idea of the Italian mafia in Australia. These archival sources contain both institutional documents (from police forces, intelligence services and law enforcement agencies) and, to a lower extent, media sources ranging from 1940s to 1980s. The analysis will show how Australian authorities observed, approached and attempted to fight the mafia phenomenon-and specifically that of Calabrian origin-very early and with mixed results. This article...
This book presents an historical and sociological account of the Italian mafia-type organisation ... more This book presents an historical and sociological account of the Italian mafia-type organisation known as the ?ndrangheta. It draws together diverse perspectives on the various ?ndrangheta clans and their behavioural models, focusing specifically on their organisational skills, their bonds with Calabrian society and Calabrian communities around the world, their mobility, and their characterisation as poly-crime organisations. The authors demonstrate that ?ndrangheta clans have an innovative way of being and doing mafia work through a dense network of relationships both in the ?upperworld? and in the ?underworld?, a particularly acute sense of business, a reputation built on the protection of blood and family ties, and, last but not least, a symbiotic relationship and camouflage within Calabrian society. By focusing on both the structures and the activities of the clans and with findings based on judicial documents, this book explores why the ?ndrangheta is today labeled as ?the most...
Sergi, A. (2015) "Mafia and politics as concurrent governance actors. Revisiting political p... more Sergi, A. (2015) "Mafia and politics as concurrent governance actors. Revisiting political power and crime in Southern Italy", in Petrus C. van Duyne, Almir Maljević, Georgios A. Antonopoulos, Jackie Harvey, Klaus von Lampe (eds.), The relativity of wrongdoing: Corruption, organised crime, fraud and money laundering in perspective, Oisterwijk: Wolf Legal Publishers , pp. 43-70 This chapter focuses on the local side of the transnational criminal organisation known as the ‘ndrangheta, which is rooted in Calabria, Southern Italy. In line with studies on the local character of organised crime (Hobbs, 1998), the paper aims to look at the relationships between politics and ‘ndrangheta clans at the local level. This research shall present data, both from primary and secondary sources on some salient episodes of the political life in Reggio Calabria (capital city of the Calabria region). The reason of the focus on Reggio Calabria is due to the fact that Reggio’s City Council was dissolved for mafia infiltration in September 2012 , after an ad hoc Investigation Commission presented its findings on the status of the public administration of the city to the Minister of Interior. Through a narrative of facts, the case study aims to offer a clear example of how mafia power and political negligence intersect in Calabria. The main argument of this paper is that, in the territory where the ‘ndrangheta clans are most powerful, infiltration by criminal clans in the political process is rather through collusion, while political corruption is confirmed as an endemic characteristic of public life. Together, mafia clans and political elites are responsible for the (bad) governance of the city. Organised crime groups infiltrating and corrupting governments’ sectors or engaging in alternative forms of governance in post-conflict countries have been object of policy and research (Miraglia et al., 2012). As ‘alternative government’ it thrives in a weak state, such as developed after 1945 in Italy. After years of suppression by Mussolini the Sicilian mafia could surface again during the occupation of the island by the allied forces in 1943-44 and the unfolding relationship with the Italian state and the Sicilian clans after the Second World War. This also confirms what literature on the subject in Italy has been discussing for years: that the link among mafia clans, politicians, business class and professionals is facilitated by low ethical standards in public administration (Ruggiero, 2010; Sciarrone, 2011; Mete, 2013). What about other mafia-like criminal organisations, such as the ‘ndrangheta? As indicated in the first section, there are indications of a similar intertwining of organised criminal underworld and upperworld. The motivations to propose the present analysis are various. First, the strength and the structure of the Calabrian mafia are, for the authorities, still rooted in Calabria; the organisation would not be the same without the power and influence enjoyed in Calabria. Second, in Calabria the characteristics of the ‘ndrangheta clans are necessarily different from the features they present elsewhere where the clans might need to adjust to other, local structures and opportunities (Lavorgna and Sergi, 2014). However, because of the primary role of the Calabrian clans across Italy it is necessary to understand these differences. Third, in recent times, both politics and organised crime manifestations have been investigated in Calabria more than anywhere else in Italy. Departing from these investigations, the analysis hereby presented looks at the shared space between criminal clans and local politics.
The past years have seen an increase in legislations and policies to regulate manifestations of o... more The past years have seen an increase in legislations and policies to regulate manifestations of organised crime at both the national and transnational level, as if these two levels correspond to two different threats. This work will present the narrative used by public prosecutors when defining, re-defining and adjusting their conceptualisations of organised crime. Because the job of prosecutors is ideally placed between the interpretation of the law and the consideration for public interest, their conceptualisation of organised crime can influence the way policies meet criminal justice needs. This work is therefore exploring to what extent the conceptualisations of (transnational) organised crime in policies inform the work of practitioners at the prosecution stage. As laws are not prescriptions and are the result of evolving concepts and political negotiations, they leave latitude for interpretations, which are determined by working environment and own views of law enforcement off...
This article, based on discourse analysis of policy documents, departs from a critique of the jux... more This article, based on discourse analysis of policy documents, departs from a critique of the juxtaposition of the terms “serious” and “organised” in policies against organised crime in the UK. The conceptualisation of organised crime as national security threat supports our hypothesis that a similar critique can be applied to the emerging narrative of cyber-organised crime in the country. We argue that, whereby organised crime has become essentially “serious” as consequence of its characterisation as a national security threat, cybercrime is becoming “organised” in the policy narrative because of its seriousness. The seriousness and organisation of cybercrime justifies its inclusion within the national security agenda, thus accessing the procedural benefits of criminal intelligence assigned to national security threats. The implications associated to the evolution of such narratives in policy-making need to be assessed while policies are still developing.
In the past decade, the attention to the Calabrian mafia, the ‘ndrangheta, has been rekindled eve... more In the past decade, the attention to the Calabrian mafia, the ‘ndrangheta, has been rekindled everywhere in the world. On the one hand, Italian attention to the phenomenon has increased; on the other hand, the mobility of the Calabrian clans has been the object of scrutiny in view of the clan’s wealth and ability to commit transnational criminal activities. This has also fed the presumption that (alleged) offenders of Calabrian origins around the world must belong to, and replicate the structure of, the ‘ndrangheta clans, also down under. This contribution will be a reflection on the difficulties and the complexities of a journey into researching the ‘ndrangheta in Australia from a criminological–anthropological perspective, in consideration of—but in contrast with—the mythical figures associated with the Calabrian mafia and its illicit global markets. Some of the difficulties, as well as some of the mistakes that I have made in this research, because of the involuntary (and disorga...
Questo libro presenta una narrazione storica e sociologica dell’organizzazione mafiosa italiana c... more Questo libro presenta una narrazione storica e sociologica dell’organizzazione mafiosa italiana conosciuta come ‘ndrangheta. Il libro mette insieme vari studi sui diversi clan di ‘ndrangheta e i diversi modelli comportamentali che possono assumere, focalizzandosi primariamente sulle caratteristiche organizzative, sui legami con la comunita calabrese in Calabria e nel mondo, sul successo della loro mobilita e sul loro essere organizzazioni policriminali. Le autrici dimostrano come i clan di ‘ndrangheta abbiano un ruolo innovativo nell’ essere e fare mafia, grazie a una densissima rete di relazioni sia nel mondo legale che in quello illegale, un senso degli affari particolarmente acuto, una reputazione costruita sulla protezione dei legami di sangue e sulla violenza, e, non da ultima, una relazione simbiotica di camuffamento con la societa calabrese. Nel focalizzarsi sia sulle strutture che sulle attivita dei clan e con dati tratti primariamente da fonti giudiziarie, questo libro espl...
This chapter looks at the main revenue of the ‘ndrangheta—that is, drug trafficking. It describes... more This chapter looks at the main revenue of the ‘ndrangheta—that is, drug trafficking. It describes the main judicial operations that have tracked the presence of ‘ndrangheta members and brokers around the world. After describing the way the clans have entered drug markets since the 1970s, the focus shall be on the most contemporary Antimafia investigations. These investigations are crucial to understand not only the changing structure of the clans, but also their reach. This chapter will argue that the drug trade is profoundly linked to the control of the territory in Calabria and in particular of the port of Gioia Tauro. Finally, this chapter will look at the management of proceeds of crime by the clans, especially focusing on investigations on money laundering.
As qualified minority of Calabrian society, the ‘ndrangheta is today a mafia-type criminal system... more As qualified minority of Calabrian society, the ‘ndrangheta is today a mafia-type criminal system, supported by social prestige and embedded in society. As any other mafia, the clans of the ‘ndrangheta have growth in parallel to the evolution of their region. This chapter will look at the historical evolution of the clans and their relationships with the rest of the Calabrian society. The ‘ndrangheta clans share characteristics of other mafia-type organised crime groups whose power is enforced through violence and through the exploitation of cultural codes and social relationships in Calabria.
ABSTRACT This paper studies organized crime in three regions, the Veneto in Northern Italy, Liver... more ABSTRACT This paper studies organized crime in three regions, the Veneto in Northern Italy, Liverpool in England, and Chicago in the United States. Data were gathered from published reports, government documents, and field observation. Case studies were then compiled describing organized crime in each area. The findings suggest that various jurisdictions define organized crime differently. These different definitions correspond to the nature of organized crime in each locality. In spite of these differences, however, there is consensus about the use of the term mafia. Groups that are defined as mafias generally exercise some degree of political influence in their areas of operation. Additionally, criminal groups that began as adolescent gangs retain the gang classification even after they move into drug trafficking and other organized criminal activities. These findings suggest important distinctions between organized criminal groups and improve our understanding of the term organized crime.
International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice, 2014
ABSTRACT This paper discusses the opportunity to differentiate four different criminological type... more ABSTRACT This paper discusses the opportunity to differentiate four different criminological types of organised crime in Italy by drawing on a subset of case studies and interviews to law enforcement officers and experts collected for two on-going research projects. We hypothesise that, since these types exploit different social opportunity structures for their criminal activities, they have different capacities of adaptation and react differently when confronted with different kinds of innovations and changes. We test these four types against two significant phenomena that have been deeply impacting Italian society, among others, recently: the commercialization of the Internet and the economic and financial crisis that has hit Europe since late 2008. We conclude that these types offer a valid help to guide our understanding of what organised crime is today in Italy, as well as to assess the capacity of the existing legal framework to properly face all them. These criminological types could also serve as lenses to filter the different experiences of organised crime in other European countries, thus facilitating comparative research.
The Janus-faces of cross-border crime in Europe, 2018
In the past years the Italian Antimafia has repeatedly confirmed the involvement of mafia groups ... more In the past years the Italian Antimafia has repeatedly confirmed the involvement of mafia groups in the management of undocumented migrants and asylum seekers entering Italy unauthorized. Investigations, in different parts of the country have specifically looked at mafia interests in the administration of migrant accommodation and temporary assistance, usually through criminal businesses developed thanks to public funding which is spent in times of emergency. Relying on fieldwork in the iconic border island of Lampedusa and the analysis of judicial documents and public sources relative to the case of the island’s and other national migrants and asylum seekers reception and detention centres, this article investigates how the involvement of mafia groups is facilitated by the almost permanent migration emergency interesting Italy – and Europe – from almost two decades. By drawing on the three relatively different cases of Lampedusa, Crotone and Rome, here we show how mafias enter the complex European multi-level governance of migration and asylum and succeed in accessing the substantial financial resources allocated for it. As we demonstrate, criminal groups are facilitated when new public funding became available over emergencies, when thus controls on transparency and due diligence tend to be overruled. This is especially true because of mafias’ pervasive control of the territory which is maintained thanks to a system of informal, clientelistic relationships in the governance of the local. Yet, as we discuss here, this is even more the case when funding is made available by geographically and institutionally distant authorities such as the European ones in Brussels
In recent years organized crime has developed into an independent field of study and research, bo... more In recent years organized crime has developed into an independent field of study and research, borrow-ing frames, models and theories from criminology, sociology, history, economics, anthropology, and
This article explores proceedings by the Youth Tribunal of Reggio Calabria, Southern Italy, aimed... more This article explores proceedings by the Youth Tribunal of Reggio Calabria, Southern Italy, aimed at the protection of children in families where one or both parents are investigated for mafia offences. The findings show that preventing the transmission of mafia (‘ndrangheta) culture in the local context has become an essential part of child protection measures. This article will argue that when discussing child protection in criminal families, it is necessary (a) to question the nature of the bonds of these families with the socio-cultural context, and (b) to concretely assess the way this context wishes to affect the family’s criminality.
This book presents primary research conducted in Italy, USA, Australia and UK on countering strat... more This book presents primary research conducted in Italy, USA, Australia and UK on countering strategies against Italian mafia and local organized crime groups. Through interviews and document interpretation, the book wishes first, to interpret the interaction between institutional perceptions of these criminal threats and historical events that have shaped these perceptions the institutional. Second, the book combines analysis of policies and criminal law provisions to identify policing models against mafia and organized are constructed in each country within a comparative perspective. After presenting the policing models against mafia and organized crime in Italy, USA, Australia and UK separately, the author pushes the comparison further by identifying both conceptual and procedural convergences and divergences across the four models and within international frameworks. By looking at topics as varied as mafia mobility, money laundering, drug networks and gang violence, this book wis...
In the past decades, the Australian 'ndrangheta has been object of media attention, academic ... more In the past decades, the Australian 'ndrangheta has been object of media attention, academic inquiry and growing policing concern. In Australia, however, the phenomenon is not new. Next to contemporary manifestations of mafia clans and activities, there is an historical 'ndrangheta, with families and networks in specific areas of the country. Their activities peaked between the 1950s and the 1970s and their reputation still persists and populates mafia narratives. This article will analyse historical archives broadly related to a nebulous idea of the Italian mafia in Australia. These archival sources contain both institutional documents (from police forces, intelligence services and law enforcement agencies) and, to a lower extent, media sources ranging from 1940s to 1980s. The analysis will show how Australian authorities observed, approached and attempted to fight the mafia phenomenon-and specifically that of Calabrian origin-very early and with mixed results. This article...
This book presents an historical and sociological account of the Italian mafia-type organisation ... more This book presents an historical and sociological account of the Italian mafia-type organisation known as the ?ndrangheta. It draws together diverse perspectives on the various ?ndrangheta clans and their behavioural models, focusing specifically on their organisational skills, their bonds with Calabrian society and Calabrian communities around the world, their mobility, and their characterisation as poly-crime organisations. The authors demonstrate that ?ndrangheta clans have an innovative way of being and doing mafia work through a dense network of relationships both in the ?upperworld? and in the ?underworld?, a particularly acute sense of business, a reputation built on the protection of blood and family ties, and, last but not least, a symbiotic relationship and camouflage within Calabrian society. By focusing on both the structures and the activities of the clans and with findings based on judicial documents, this book explores why the ?ndrangheta is today labeled as ?the most...
Sergi, A. (2015) "Mafia and politics as concurrent governance actors. Revisiting political p... more Sergi, A. (2015) "Mafia and politics as concurrent governance actors. Revisiting political power and crime in Southern Italy", in Petrus C. van Duyne, Almir Maljević, Georgios A. Antonopoulos, Jackie Harvey, Klaus von Lampe (eds.), The relativity of wrongdoing: Corruption, organised crime, fraud and money laundering in perspective, Oisterwijk: Wolf Legal Publishers , pp. 43-70 This chapter focuses on the local side of the transnational criminal organisation known as the ‘ndrangheta, which is rooted in Calabria, Southern Italy. In line with studies on the local character of organised crime (Hobbs, 1998), the paper aims to look at the relationships between politics and ‘ndrangheta clans at the local level. This research shall present data, both from primary and secondary sources on some salient episodes of the political life in Reggio Calabria (capital city of the Calabria region). The reason of the focus on Reggio Calabria is due to the fact that Reggio’s City Council was dissolved for mafia infiltration in September 2012 , after an ad hoc Investigation Commission presented its findings on the status of the public administration of the city to the Minister of Interior. Through a narrative of facts, the case study aims to offer a clear example of how mafia power and political negligence intersect in Calabria. The main argument of this paper is that, in the territory where the ‘ndrangheta clans are most powerful, infiltration by criminal clans in the political process is rather through collusion, while political corruption is confirmed as an endemic characteristic of public life. Together, mafia clans and political elites are responsible for the (bad) governance of the city. Organised crime groups infiltrating and corrupting governments’ sectors or engaging in alternative forms of governance in post-conflict countries have been object of policy and research (Miraglia et al., 2012). As ‘alternative government’ it thrives in a weak state, such as developed after 1945 in Italy. After years of suppression by Mussolini the Sicilian mafia could surface again during the occupation of the island by the allied forces in 1943-44 and the unfolding relationship with the Italian state and the Sicilian clans after the Second World War. This also confirms what literature on the subject in Italy has been discussing for years: that the link among mafia clans, politicians, business class and professionals is facilitated by low ethical standards in public administration (Ruggiero, 2010; Sciarrone, 2011; Mete, 2013). What about other mafia-like criminal organisations, such as the ‘ndrangheta? As indicated in the first section, there are indications of a similar intertwining of organised criminal underworld and upperworld. The motivations to propose the present analysis are various. First, the strength and the structure of the Calabrian mafia are, for the authorities, still rooted in Calabria; the organisation would not be the same without the power and influence enjoyed in Calabria. Second, in Calabria the characteristics of the ‘ndrangheta clans are necessarily different from the features they present elsewhere where the clans might need to adjust to other, local structures and opportunities (Lavorgna and Sergi, 2014). However, because of the primary role of the Calabrian clans across Italy it is necessary to understand these differences. Third, in recent times, both politics and organised crime manifestations have been investigated in Calabria more than anywhere else in Italy. Departing from these investigations, the analysis hereby presented looks at the shared space between criminal clans and local politics.
The past years have seen an increase in legislations and policies to regulate manifestations of o... more The past years have seen an increase in legislations and policies to regulate manifestations of organised crime at both the national and transnational level, as if these two levels correspond to two different threats. This work will present the narrative used by public prosecutors when defining, re-defining and adjusting their conceptualisations of organised crime. Because the job of prosecutors is ideally placed between the interpretation of the law and the consideration for public interest, their conceptualisation of organised crime can influence the way policies meet criminal justice needs. This work is therefore exploring to what extent the conceptualisations of (transnational) organised crime in policies inform the work of practitioners at the prosecution stage. As laws are not prescriptions and are the result of evolving concepts and political negotiations, they leave latitude for interpretations, which are determined by working environment and own views of law enforcement off...
This article, based on discourse analysis of policy documents, departs from a critique of the jux... more This article, based on discourse analysis of policy documents, departs from a critique of the juxtaposition of the terms “serious” and “organised” in policies against organised crime in the UK. The conceptualisation of organised crime as national security threat supports our hypothesis that a similar critique can be applied to the emerging narrative of cyber-organised crime in the country. We argue that, whereby organised crime has become essentially “serious” as consequence of its characterisation as a national security threat, cybercrime is becoming “organised” in the policy narrative because of its seriousness. The seriousness and organisation of cybercrime justifies its inclusion within the national security agenda, thus accessing the procedural benefits of criminal intelligence assigned to national security threats. The implications associated to the evolution of such narratives in policy-making need to be assessed while policies are still developing.
In the past decade, the attention to the Calabrian mafia, the ‘ndrangheta, has been rekindled eve... more In the past decade, the attention to the Calabrian mafia, the ‘ndrangheta, has been rekindled everywhere in the world. On the one hand, Italian attention to the phenomenon has increased; on the other hand, the mobility of the Calabrian clans has been the object of scrutiny in view of the clan’s wealth and ability to commit transnational criminal activities. This has also fed the presumption that (alleged) offenders of Calabrian origins around the world must belong to, and replicate the structure of, the ‘ndrangheta clans, also down under. This contribution will be a reflection on the difficulties and the complexities of a journey into researching the ‘ndrangheta in Australia from a criminological–anthropological perspective, in consideration of—but in contrast with—the mythical figures associated with the Calabrian mafia and its illicit global markets. Some of the difficulties, as well as some of the mistakes that I have made in this research, because of the involuntary (and disorga...
Presentazione di Enzo Ciconte - Pellegrini editore, Cosenza, 2021
La “Santa Violenta” è stato uno dei primi testi sulla ’ndrangheta, pubblicato nel 1991, dopo la s... more La “Santa Violenta” è stato uno dei primi testi sulla ’ndrangheta, pubblicato nel 1991, dopo la stagione dei sequestri di persona e la cosiddetta “pax mafiosa”. Ripercorre con lucidità, empatia e spunti critici, quella che è stata la trasformazione della ’ndrangheta in Santa, un’organizzazione criminale che non si accontenta più dell’accumulazione di denaro, ma vuole usare quel denaro per conquistare fette di potere, politico ed economico, in Calabria e altrove. Questa trasformazione, ci racconta Pantaleone Sergi, è stata certamente violenta.
Trent’anni dopo, alla penna esperta di Pantaleone Sergi, che la storia della ’ndrangheta negli anni Settanta, Ottanta e Novanta l’ha narrata in diretta, si accompagna un’analisi critico-accademica di Anna Sergi, criminologa all’Università di Essex nel Regno Unito, e affermata ricercatrice del fenomeno mafioso e ’ndranghetista in Italia e all’estero. Anna Sergi, riprende l’eco della violenza mafiosa che La ‘Santa’ Violenta aveva raccontato e si chiede cosa sia cambiato trent’anni dopo. La Santa – e la ’ndrangheta - sono ancora riconoscibili con le caratteristiche degli anni Ottanta? Sono ancora violente? E se la Santa non è più violenta, cosa fa, cosa è diventata? Sorprendentemente, scrive Anna Sergi nel suo saggio “Dalla Santa Violenta alla Santa Contesa”, poco sembra cambiato in trent’anni di storia, dal 1991 al 2021, quando si parla di ’ndrangheta. Quattro motivi di contesa – da un punto di vista analitico – si possono rintracciare per definire il fenomeno mafioso in Calabria: l’unitarietà della ’ndrangheta, la violenza dei clan, la loro mobilità e l’essenza della Santa, come organizzazione cerniera con politica ed economia del territorio.
Queste pagine – la Santa Contesa e la Santa Violenta – lette in successione, ci ricordano quanto sia fondamentale preservare la memoria storica di certi anni per arricchire le analisi di oggi. Rileggere La ‘Santa’ Violenta oggi a distanza di trent’anni, entro le cornici contemporanee dell’analisi criminologica del fenomeno mafia, aiuta a ricordare quanto già sapevamo trent’anni fa, quanto non è stato capito, ciò che non è stato mai affrontato e quanto è stato inopportunamente o opportunamente dimenticato.
GLI AUTORI
ANNA SERGI – PhD in Sociologia presso il Centro di Criminologia dell’Università di Essex (Regno Unito), è Associate Professor in Criminologia nello stesso ateneo; Master in Diritto Penale al King College di Londra e Laurea in Giurisprudenza all’Università di Bologna, studia gli aspetti socio-giuridici della lotta al crimine organizzato in Inghilterra e i fenomeni di criminalità italiana all’estero. Abilitata in Italia alla II fascia di docenza in Sociologia generale e in Sociologia giuridica e politica. Tra le sue pubblicazioni recenti: "Corruption, Mafia Power and Italian Soccer" (2018), con Alberto Testa; "From Mafia to Organised Crime: A comparative analysis of policing models" (2017); e con Anita Lavorgna: "’Ndrangheta: the glocal dimensions of the most powerful Italian mafia" (2016).
PANTALEONE SERGI – Scrittore, storico, giornalista, già inviato speciale del quotidiano “La Repubblica”, fondatore e primo direttore del “Quotidiano della Calabria” (oggi “del Sud”), è stato presidente dell’Istituto calabrese di Storia dell’Antifascismo e dell’Italia Contemporanea (ICSAIC) e del Centro di Ricerca sulle Migrazioni. Deputato di Storia Patria della Calabria. Docente di Storia del Giornalismo e di tematiche sulla comunicazione all’Università della Calabria. Autore di "Gli anni dei Basilischi" sulla quinta mafia lucana, ha pubblicato volumi e saggi storici in Italia e all’estero. Il suo primo romanzo "Liberandisdomini", ha ricevuto tra gli altri il “Premio Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa”.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088KMMHC4 (E-book kindle or paperback)
This book is a policy-oriented... more https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088KMMHC4 (E-book kindle or paperback)
This book is a policy-oriented report-style publication, within a criminological framework and stemming out of an academic research, on seaports and organised crime. It is the first of its kind, as research in ports and organised crime oriented to policy and practice is, to date, scarce.
• Fresh primary data collected by the author in five different seaports (Genova, Melbourne, Montreal, New York and Liverpool) will offer a state-of-the-art outlook to the presence of organised crime in maritime ports. • A policy and practice-oriented text that will offer an approachable report on topics of organised crime, corruption and ports. •An easy-to-read text to consult that provides case studies and in-depth analysis of manifestations of organised crime in ports.
The clans of the ‘ndrangheta, from the Southern Italian region of Calabria, have become the wealt... more The clans of the ‘ndrangheta, from the Southern Italian region of Calabria, have become the wealthiest and most powerful Italian mafia groups, allegedly present in over 25 countries around the world, undisputed oligarchs of the cocaine market, and reliable criminal partners for other criminal groups around the world. Their presence in Europe, Canada, the USA, and Australia, mainly, has been certainly facilitated by the mass migration from Calabria in the past century while current criminal relationships are rekindled thanks to the availability of faster communication and means of travels. Moreover, the Calabrian region is exceptionally challenged in its development and in the implementation of innovation strategies, which is the cause and effect of the mafia presence. The ‘ndrangheta clans are poly-crime criminal networks and they engage in a variety of criminal and semi-legal activities, from illegal waste dumping to online gambling, from European Union (EU) fraud to the flower industry, and from money laundering to renewable energies. The purpose of this chapter is to present the ‘ndrangheta clans in today’s forms, by looking at some of their international activities and their sources of economic power by specifically focusing on the way the clans exploit local economy to foster their global reach.
This book presents primary research conducted in Italy, USA, Australia and the UK on countering strategies and institutional perceptions of Italian mafias and local organized crime groups. Through interviews and interpretation of original documents, this study firstly demonstrates the interaction between institutional understanding of the criminal threats and historical events that have shaped these perceptions. Secondly, it combines analysis of policies and criminal law provisions to identify how policing models which combat mafia and organised crime activities are organized and constructed in each country within a comparative perspective. After presenting the similarities between the four differing policing models, Sergi pushes the comparison further by identifying both conceptual and procedural convergences and divergences across both the four models and within international frameworks. By looking at topics as varied as mafia mobility, money laundering, drug networks and gang violence, this book ultimately seeks to reconsider the conceptualizations of both mafia and organized crime from a socio-behavioural and cultural perspective.
Available on SpringerLink and on Ebook - soon in hard cover!
http://www.springer.com/gp/book/978... more Available on SpringerLink and on Ebook - soon in hard cover! http://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783319535678
This book presents primary research conducted in Italy, USA, Australia and the UK on countering strategies and institutional perceptions of Italian mafias and local organized crime groups. Through interviews and interpretation of original documents, this study firstly demonstrates the interaction between institutional understanding of the criminal threats and historical events that have shaped these perceptions. Secondly, it combines analysis of policies and criminal law provisions to identify how policing models which combat mafia and organised crime activities are organized and constructed in each country within a comparative perspective. After presenting the similarities between the four differing policing models, Sergi pushes the comparison further by identifying both conceptual and procedural convergences and divergences across both the four models and within international frameworks. By looking at topics as varied as mafia mobility, money laundering, drug networks and gang violence, this book ultimately seeks to reconsider the conceptualizations of both mafia and organized crime from a socio-behavioural and cultural perspective.
This book presents primary research conducted in Italy, USA, Australia and the UK on countering strategies and institutional perceptions of Italian mafias and local organized crime groups. Through interviews and interpretation of original documents, this study firstly demonstrates the interaction between institutional understanding of the criminal threats and historical events that have shaped these perceptions. Secondly, it combines analysis of policies and criminal law provisions to identify how policing models which combat mafia and organised crime activities are organized and constructed in each country within a comparative perspective. After presenting the similarities between the four differing policing models, Sergi pushes the comparison further by identifying both conceptual and procedural convergences and divergences across both the four models and within international frameworks. By looking at topics as varied as mafia mobility, money laundering, drug networks and gang violence, this book ultimately seeks to reconsider the conceptualizations of both mafia and organized crime from a socio-behavioural and cultural perspective.
This book presents an historical and sociological account of the Italian mafia-type organisation ... more This book presents an historical and sociological account of the Italian mafia-type organisation known as the ‘ndrangheta. It draws together diverse perspectives on the various ‘ndrangheta clans and their behavioural models, focusing specifically on their organisational skills, their bonds with Calabrian society and Calabrian communities around the world, their mobility, and their characterisation as poly-crime organisations. The authors demonstrate that ‘ndrangheta clans have an innovative way of being and doing mafia work through a dense network of relationships both in the ‘upperworld’ and in the ‘underworld’, a particularly acute sense of business, a reputation built on the protection of blood and family ties, and, last but not least, a symbiotic relationship and camouflage within Calabrian society. By focusing on both the structures and the activities of the clans and with findings based on judicial documents, this book explores why the ‘ndrangheta is today labeled as “the most powerful Italian mafia”. It will be of great interest to upper-level students and scholars of organised crime and sociology.
This book presents an historical and sociological account of the Italian mafia-type organisation ... more This book presents an historical and sociological account of the Italian mafia-type organisation known as the ‘ndrangheta. It draws together diverse perspectives on the various ‘ndrangheta clans and their behavioural models, focusing specifically on their organisational skills, their bonds with Calabrian society and Calabrian communities around the world, their mobility, and their characterisation as poly-crime organisations. The authors demonstrate that ‘ndrangheta clans have an innovative way of being and doing mafia work through a dense network of relationships both in the ‘upperworld’ and in the ‘underworld’, a particularly acute sense of business, a reputation built on the protection of blood and family ties, and, last but not least, a symbiotic relationship and camouflage within Calabrian society. By focusing on both the structures and the activities of the clans and with findings based on judicial documents, this book explores why the ‘ndrangheta is today labeled as “the most powerful Italian mafia”. It will be of great interest to upper-level students and scholars of organised crime and sociology.
*Apologies for cross-posting*
Dear colleagues,
We are seeking submissions for the 2017 ECPR-GSO... more *Apologies for cross-posting*
Dear colleagues,
We are seeking submissions for the 2017 ECPR-GSOC General Conference to be held at the University of Bath, UK, from 7 to 8 July, 2017. The theme is ‘Organised Crime Today- Networks, Routes and Criminal Partnerships’, and deadline for submission is 1 March.
We invite panels and papers addressing different facets of organised crime which may include but not only:
Gangs, organised crime and mafia Criminal logistics, organisation, and modus operandi. Criminal mobility Politics, corruption, and symbolic power Organised crime in prisons Organised crime and the European financial crisis Freezing, forfeiture, and social reuse of criminal assets Women and children in criminal and terrorist networks Public perceptions of organised crime International and European cooperation in the fight against organised crime Organised crime, social media and the internet Big data, crowdsourcing and computational methods Environmental crime Modern slavery
The Secur.Ports workshop brought together 16 pratitioners and 9 researchers with expertise in the... more The Secur.Ports workshop brought together 16 pratitioners and 9 researchers with expertise in the field of port policing, port security, organised crime and border control. Funded by the British Academy, the workshop was organised by the University of Essex and Strategic Hub for Organised Crime Research (SHOC) at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), with the support of Ghent University and Research Foundation Flanders. The event featured contributors from seaports including Melbourne (Australia); Antwerp (Belgium); Rotterdam (The Netherlands); Genoa (Italy); Montreal (Canada); New York and New Jersey (USA); Liverpool (UK). Two EU-funded projects also contributed to the overall discussion, namely the PASSAnT project (for new port security technologies), led by the Belgian Network for Security, Iungos, the Belgian Vias Institute & the Dutch Institute of Technology and the WeCAPS project (Improving Port Security in Western and Central Africa), led by Expertise France. Participants were grouped into two 2-hour long sessions with all practitioners asked to present on two enforcement or security issues they deemed most relevant in their port of reference. Presentations were followed by a Q&A and researchers acted as thematic discussants, contextualising and analysing some of the emerging themes from each session. The following report is a short summary of these emerging themes.
A Conceptual Report for the Workshop:
MAFIAROUND: The fight against Italian mafias beyond Ita... more A Conceptual Report for the Workshop:
MAFIAROUND: The fight against Italian mafias beyond Italy
Thursday 29 and Friday 30 November 2018
RUSI, 61 Whitehall, London, SW1A 2ET
In partnership with the University of Essex and sponsored by the Impact Acceleration Fund – Economic and Social Research Council UK – with the support of the Italian Embassy, Attaché of the Guardia di Finanza (Fiscal Police) Office and the Strategic Hub for Organised Crime Research at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSI) - Strategic Hub for Organised Crime Research.
The EU has a limited competence in criminal matters. Since the Lisbon
Treaty, however, it can app... more The EU has a limited competence in criminal matters. Since the Lisbon Treaty, however, it can approximate definitions of criminal offences, particularly for the so-called ‘Euro Crimes’, which have a cross-border dimension (art. 83 TFEU). The EU focus on crime prevention, however, is not only limited to cross-border crimes like (often) organised crime (OC). From early 2000s, EU bodies have defined crime as (and set the focus of crime prevention on) behaviour that, without necessarily being a criminal offence, engenders fear of crime and insecurities – in the idea that disorder at the local level is interconnected with more serious forms of transnational crime and should therefore be fought against (Crawford, 2002). Drawing on the crime prevention and OC literature, relevant EU policy documents, and examples taken from the authors’ previous research, this paper will discuss the implications of an EU expanded realm of crime prevention to behaviour that is not necessarily serious or harmful – albeit considered as conducive to further transnational (organised) criminality (as in the case of incivilities) and/or committed by an organised crime group. It will also question whether a more harm-based approach ought to inform the EU crime prevention strategy and whether EU bodies should aim at influencing, at least – given their limited competence in criminal matters – through soft law mechanisms including the circulation of best practices, national ways of doing crime prevention.
This is an extended report compiled for GI-TOC
The full research and a shorter version of this r... more This is an extended report compiled for GI-TOC
The full research and a shorter version of this report is found at
Scaturro R. and W. Kemp (2022) Portholes. Exploring the maritime Balkan routes, The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime - https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/balkans-maritime-routes-ports-crime/ Copyright: the Author and GI-TOC
The COVID-19 pandemic has created opportunities and challenges for transnational organized crime ... more The COVID-19 pandemic has created opportunities and challenges for transnational organized crime groups, and mafias worldwide. This strategic note assesses the situation among the Italian mafias, including the Sicilian mafia, camorra, and ‘ndragheta.
Uploads
Papers by Anna Sergi
Trent’anni dopo, alla penna esperta di Pantaleone Sergi, che la storia della ’ndrangheta negli anni Settanta, Ottanta e Novanta l’ha narrata in diretta, si accompagna un’analisi critico-accademica di Anna Sergi, criminologa all’Università di Essex nel Regno Unito, e affermata ricercatrice del fenomeno mafioso e ’ndranghetista in Italia e all’estero. Anna Sergi, riprende l’eco della violenza mafiosa che La ‘Santa’ Violenta aveva raccontato e si chiede cosa sia cambiato trent’anni dopo. La Santa – e la ’ndrangheta - sono ancora riconoscibili con le caratteristiche degli anni Ottanta? Sono ancora violente? E se la Santa non è più violenta, cosa fa, cosa è diventata? Sorprendentemente, scrive Anna Sergi nel suo saggio “Dalla Santa Violenta alla Santa Contesa”, poco sembra cambiato in trent’anni di storia, dal 1991 al 2021, quando si parla di ’ndrangheta. Quattro motivi di contesa – da un punto di vista analitico – si possono rintracciare per definire il fenomeno mafioso in Calabria: l’unitarietà della ’ndrangheta, la violenza dei clan, la loro mobilità e l’essenza della Santa, come organizzazione cerniera con politica ed economia del territorio.
Queste pagine – la Santa Contesa e la Santa Violenta – lette in successione, ci ricordano quanto sia fondamentale preservare la memoria storica di certi anni per arricchire le analisi di oggi. Rileggere La ‘Santa’ Violenta oggi a distanza di trent’anni, entro le cornici contemporanee dell’analisi criminologica del fenomeno mafia, aiuta a ricordare quanto già sapevamo trent’anni fa, quanto non è stato capito, ciò che non è stato mai affrontato e quanto è stato inopportunamente o opportunamente dimenticato.
GLI AUTORI
ANNA SERGI – PhD in Sociologia presso il Centro di Criminologia dell’Università di Essex (Regno Unito), è Associate Professor in Criminologia nello stesso ateneo; Master in Diritto Penale al King College di Londra e Laurea in Giurisprudenza all’Università di Bologna, studia gli aspetti socio-giuridici della lotta al crimine organizzato in Inghilterra e i fenomeni di criminalità italiana all’estero. Abilitata in Italia alla II fascia di docenza in Sociologia generale e in Sociologia giuridica e politica. Tra le sue pubblicazioni recenti: "Corruption, Mafia Power and Italian Soccer" (2018), con Alberto Testa; "From Mafia to Organised Crime: A comparative analysis of policing models" (2017); e con Anita Lavorgna: "’Ndrangheta: the glocal dimensions of the most powerful Italian mafia" (2016).
PANTALEONE SERGI – Scrittore, storico, giornalista, già inviato speciale del quotidiano “La Repubblica”, fondatore e primo direttore del “Quotidiano della Calabria” (oggi “del Sud”), è stato presidente dell’Istituto calabrese di Storia dell’Antifascismo e dell’Italia Contemporanea (ICSAIC) e del Centro di Ricerca sulle Migrazioni. Deputato di Storia Patria della Calabria. Docente di Storia del Giornalismo e di tematiche sulla comunicazione all’Università della Calabria. Autore di "Gli anni dei Basilischi" sulla quinta mafia lucana, ha pubblicato volumi e saggi storici in Italia e all’estero. Il suo primo romanzo "Liberandisdomini", ha ricevuto tra gli altri il “Premio Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa”.
This book is a policy-oriented report-style publication, within a criminological framework and stemming out of an academic research, on seaports and organised crime. It is the first of its kind, as research in ports and organised crime oriented to policy and practice is, to date, scarce.
• Fresh primary data collected by the author in five different seaports (Genova, Melbourne, Montreal, New York and Liverpool) will offer a state-of-the-art outlook to the presence of organised crime in maritime ports.
• A policy and practice-oriented text that will offer an approachable report on topics of organised crime, corruption and ports.
•An easy-to-read text to consult that provides case studies and in-depth analysis of manifestations of organised crime in ports.
http://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783319535678
https://books.google.com.au/books?id=m4otDwAAQBAJ&dq=From+Mafia+to+Organised+Crime:+A+Comparative+Analysis+of+Policing+Models&source=gbs_navlinks_s
This book presents primary research conducted in Italy, USA, Australia and the UK on countering strategies and institutional perceptions of Italian mafias and local organized crime groups. Through interviews and interpretation of original documents, this study firstly demonstrates the interaction between institutional understanding of the criminal threats and historical events that have shaped these perceptions. Secondly, it combines analysis of policies and criminal law provisions to identify how policing models which combat mafia and organised crime activities are organized and constructed in each country within a comparative perspective.
After presenting the similarities between the four differing policing models, Sergi pushes the comparison further by identifying both conceptual and procedural convergences and divergences across both the four models and within international frameworks. By looking at topics as varied as mafia mobility, money laundering, drug networks and gang violence, this book ultimately seeks to reconsider the conceptualizations of both mafia and organized crime from a socio-behavioural and cultural perspective.
http://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783319535678
This book presents primary research conducted in Italy, USA, Australia and the UK on countering strategies and institutional perceptions of Italian mafias and local organized crime groups. Through interviews and interpretation of original documents, this study firstly demonstrates the interaction between institutional understanding of the criminal threats and historical events that have shaped these perceptions. Secondly, it combines analysis of policies and criminal law provisions to identify how policing models which combat mafia and organised crime activities are organized and constructed in each country within a comparative perspective.
After presenting the similarities between the four differing policing models, Sergi pushes the comparison further by identifying both conceptual and procedural convergences and divergences across both the four models and within international frameworks. By looking at topics as varied as mafia mobility, money laundering, drug networks and gang violence, this book ultimately seeks to reconsider the conceptualizations of both mafia and organized crime from a socio-behavioural and cultural perspective.
This book presents primary research conducted in Italy, USA, Australia and the UK on countering strategies and institutional perceptions of Italian mafias and local organized crime groups. Through interviews and interpretation of original documents, this study firstly demonstrates the interaction between institutional understanding of the criminal threats and historical events that have shaped these perceptions. Secondly, it combines analysis of policies and criminal law provisions to identify how policing models which combat mafia and organised crime activities are organized and constructed in each country within a comparative perspective.
After presenting the similarities between the four differing policing models, Sergi pushes the comparison further by identifying both conceptual and procedural convergences and divergences across both the four models and within international frameworks. By looking at topics as varied as mafia mobility, money laundering, drug networks and gang violence, this book ultimately seeks to reconsider the conceptualizations of both mafia and organized crime from a socio-behavioural and cultural perspective.
The authors demonstrate that ‘ndrangheta clans have an innovative way of being and doing mafia work through a dense network of relationships both in the ‘upperworld’ and in the ‘underworld’, a particularly acute sense of business, a reputation built on the protection of blood and family ties, and, last but not least, a symbiotic relationship and camouflage within Calabrian society. By focusing on both the structures and the activities of the clans and with findings based on judicial documents, this book explores why the ‘ndrangheta is today labeled as “the most powerful Italian mafia”. It will be of great interest to upper-level students and scholars of organised crime and sociology.
https://www.palgrave.com/gb/book/9783319325842
The authors demonstrate that ‘ndrangheta clans have an innovative way of being and doing mafia work through a dense network of relationships both in the ‘upperworld’ and in the ‘underworld’, a particularly acute sense of business, a reputation built on the protection of blood and family ties, and, last but not least, a symbiotic relationship and camouflage within Calabrian society. By focusing on both the structures and the activities of the clans and with findings based on judicial documents, this book explores why the ‘ndrangheta is today labeled as “the most powerful Italian mafia”. It will be of great interest to upper-level students and scholars of organised crime and sociology.
Dear colleagues,
We are seeking submissions for the 2017 ECPR-GSOC General Conference to be held at the University of Bath, UK, from 7 to 8 July, 2017. The theme is ‘Organised Crime Today- Networks, Routes and Criminal Partnerships’, and deadline for submission is 1 March.
For more information, please contact ecprsgocbath2017@gmail.com
or visit the webpage http://www.sgoc2017.org/
———
We invite panels and papers addressing different facets of organised crime which may include but not only:
Gangs, organised crime and mafia
Criminal logistics, organisation, and modus operandi.
Criminal mobility
Politics, corruption, and symbolic power
Organised crime in prisons
Organised crime and the European financial crisis
Freezing, forfeiture, and social reuse of criminal assets
Women and children in criminal and terrorist networks
Public perceptions of organised crime
International and European cooperation in the fight against organised crime
Organised crime, social media and the internet
Big data, crowdsourcing and computational methods
Environmental crime
Modern slavery
This report is authored by Dr Anna Sergi, University of Essex (asergi@essex.ac.uk), Alexandria Reid, Royal United Services Institute (alexandriar@rusi.org), Dr Luca Storti, University of Turin (luca.storti@unito.it) and Prof. Marleen Easton, Ghent University (marleen.easton@ugent.be).
MAFIAROUND: The fight against Italian mafias beyond Italy
Thursday 29 and Friday 30 November 2018
RUSI, 61 Whitehall, London, SW1A 2ET
In partnership with the University of Essex and sponsored by the Impact Acceleration Fund – Economic and Social Research Council UK – with the support of the Italian Embassy, Attaché of the Guardia di Finanza (Fiscal Police) Office and the Strategic Hub for Organised Crime Research at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSI) - Strategic Hub for Organised Crime Research.
Treaty, however, it can approximate definitions of criminal offences,
particularly for the so-called ‘Euro Crimes’, which have a cross-border
dimension (art. 83 TFEU). The EU focus on crime prevention, however, is
not only limited to cross-border crimes like (often) organised crime (OC).
From early 2000s, EU bodies have defined crime as (and set the focus of
crime prevention on) behaviour that, without necessarily being a criminal
offence, engenders fear of crime and insecurities – in the idea that disorder
at the local level is interconnected with more serious forms of transnational
crime and should therefore be fought against (Crawford, 2002).
Drawing on the crime prevention and OC literature, relevant EU policy
documents, and examples taken from the authors’ previous research, this
paper will discuss the implications of an EU expanded realm of crime
prevention to behaviour that is not necessarily serious or harmful – albeit
considered as conducive to further transnational (organised) criminality (as
in the case of incivilities) and/or committed by an organised crime group.
It will also question whether a more harm-based approach ought to inform
the EU crime prevention strategy and whether EU bodies should aim at
influencing, at least – given their limited competence in criminal matters
– through soft law mechanisms including the circulation of best practices,
national ways of doing crime prevention.
The full research and a shorter version of this report is found at
Scaturro R. and W. Kemp (2022) Portholes. Exploring the maritime Balkan routes, The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime - https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/balkans-maritime-routes-ports-crime/
Copyright: the Author and GI-TOC
DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.12830.00327