Georgios A. Antonopoulos

Georgios Papanicolaou

For many people around the world, instances of what is described as organised crime may be part of their everyday experience; in their neighbourhoods, their streets, and the places they work and live. Policymakers, law enforcement, and the media rarely fail to bring up the issue when discussing the nature and seriousness of contemporary criminal threats, and the appropriate responses towards them. Many more people are familiar with the notion of organised crime, as the film and TV industry regularly draw on fictional and real figures and situations. Organised crime feels like a tangible, inescapable issue in today's world. In this Very Short introduction, Georgios A. Antonopoulos and Georgios Papanicolaou uncover the reality of organised crime in our world today. Shining a light on the people involved in organised crime, Antonopoulos and Papanicolaou question whether the term 'organised' is used to evoke the image, the operations, and power of a legitimate organisation, such as a corporation. Discussing whether there are particular crimes that the label 'organised crime' applies to, or if any crime can be organised, they also consider what happens when organised crime extends beyond borders. Using examples from across the globe, they analyse the different cultural traditions of organised crime, such as the Mafia, Yakuza, and Triads, and also the nature of organised crime, from arms trafficking and drug dealing to extortion. Finally they explore the methods and agencies in place to control and prevent organised crime. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Organised Crime: a Very Short Introduction

Alexandra Hall

This book provides a timely criminological investigation into the rapidly growing sale of fake medicines online. Some estimates suggest that the fake medicine trade has now overtaken marijuana and prostitution as the world's largest market for criminal traffickers. This increase has been particularly apparent in the context of various evolutionary phases in information and communications technologies, and the Internet now acts as the main avenue through which this criminal market is expanding. Thus far – despite growing concern and media attention – this extensive, extremely profitable, and ultimately life-threatening online market is yet to be fully explored. Drawing on the authors' own criminological investigation of both the supply and demand sides in the United Kingdom, this study offers the first in-depth and empirically-grounded analysis of the online trade in illicit medicines. Founded on rigorous research, and bolstering a rich area for debate, this book will be of particular interest for scholars of criminology and technology studies.

The Internet and the Transnational Market in Illicit Pharmaceuticals

Fake Meds Online

Dina Siegel

P. C. van Duyne

Klaus von Lampe

Jackie H. Harvey

Crime can be seen as an act of defiance against the rule of law, particularly if is committed with intent. This intension is often to make unlawful gains, whether by theft, corruption or taking part in illegal markets, which in Europe are most often cross-border in nature. This entails that criminal defiance is not just a national issue: theft or fraud can be committed locally, while handling the illicit proceeds may require a cross-border movement. Obviously not every state faces the same defiance, or prioritises the same defiance. That may induce stronger states, for example the USA in its 'war-on' policy, to exert pressure on smaller states to accept the same interpretation (and legislation) of criminal defiance. Such 'legislative imperialism' may itself be considered as defiant. Criminal defiance is risky: the authorities do not like to be seen as 'soft' and must visibly 'hit back'. So successful criminals must keep a low profile, though some crime groups, such as the criminal motor-cycle gangs, defy this principle by ostentatious conduct. Likewise, in the case of grand corruption in states where corruption has become endemic, we see criminal defiance, in the case of some eastern European countries the defiance by oligarchs, being a public matter. The 20th Cross-border Crime Colloquium, hosted in 2019 by the Willem Pompe Institute of Utrecht University, presents this peer-reviewed volume to which 32 authors from all over Europe have contributed. It covers a broad range of expertise and original research projects: from the UK, Germany and further to Russian Siberia and back to the frayed fringes of the Mediterranean shores where a host of migrant workers is ready to defy fate for a better life.

Criminal Defiance in Europe Beyond

This book covers organized crime groups, empirical studies of organized crime, criminal finances and money laundering, and crime prevention, gathering some of the most authoritative and well-known scholars in the field. The contributions to this book are new chapters written in honor of Professor Dick Hobbs, on the occasion of his retirement. They reflect his powerful influence on the study of organized crime, offering a novel perspective that located organized crime in its socio-economic context, studied through prolonged ethnographic engagement. Professor Hobbs has influenced a generation of criminology researchers engaged in studying organized crime groups, and this work provides a both a look back and this influence and directions for future research. It will be of interest to researchers in criminology and criminal justice, particularly with a focus on organized crime and financial crime, as well as those interested in corruption, crime prevention, and applications of ethnographic methods.

Georgios A. Antonopoulos

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