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Organized Crime
Analyzing Illegal Activities, Criminal Structures, and Extra-legal Governance

  • Klaus von Lampe - John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York

Courses:
Gangs | Organized Crime

August 2015 | 488 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
2016 Outstanding Publication Award (The International Association for the Study of Organized Crime)

Organized Crime: Analyzing Illegal Activities, Criminal Structures, and Extra-legal Governance
provides a systematic overview of the processes and structures commonly labeled “organized crime,” drawing on the pertinent empirical and theoretical literature primarily from North America, Europe, and Australia. The main emphasis is placed on a comprehensive classificatory scheme that highlights underlying patterns and dynamics, rather than particular historical manifestations of organized crime. Esteemed author Klaus von Lampe strategically breaks the book down into three key dimensions: (1) illegal activities, (2) patterns of interpersonal relations that are directly or indirectly supporting these illegal activities, and (3) overarching illegal power structures that regulate and control these illegal activities and also extend their influence into the legal spheres of society. Within this framework, numerous case studies and topical issues from a variety of countries illustrate meaningful application of the conceptual and theoretical discussion.

 
Preface
 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Author
 
Part I: Organized Crime as a Construct and as an Object of Study
 
Chapter 1: Introduction - The Study of Organized Crime
Phenomena Associated With Organized Crime

 
Conceptual Confusion

 
What Is the Object of Study in the Study of Organized Crime?

 
 
Chapter 2: The Concept of Organized Crime
The Conceptual History of Organized Crime

 
The Reception of the American Concept of Organized Crime in Other Countries

 
Lessons to Be Learned From the Conceptual History of Organized Crime

 
Overview of Definitions of Organized Crime

 
Outline of a Conceptual Framework for the Study of Organized Crime

 
The Concept of Organized Crime: Summary and Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 3: Organized Crime Research
The Study of Organized Crime as an Academic Subdiscipline

 
The History of the Study of Organized Crime

 
The Main Lines of Contemporary Research

 
Challenges to the Study of Organized Crime

 
Research on Organized Crime: Summary and Conclusion

 
 
PART II: Empirical Manifestations of Organized Crime
Introduction to Part II

 
 
Chapter 4: Organized Criminal Activities
Why Study Organized Criminal Activities Separate From Criminal Organizations?

 
Outline of This Chapter

 
Case Study: Cocaine Trafficking

 
Case Study: The Trafficking in Stolen Motor Vehicles

 
Conceptualizations of Organized Criminal Activities

 
The Main Types of Organized Criminal Activities

 
Illegal Markets

 
The Conceptualization of Particular Organized Criminal Activities

 
Organized Criminal Activities: Summary and Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 5: Criminal Structures – An Overview
Introduction

 
Case Study: Pedophile Networks

 
Existing Classifications of Criminal Organizations

 
The Three Basic Types of Criminal Structures

 
The Basic Forms of Criminal Structures: Markets, Networks, and Hierarchies

 
The Conceptualization of Criminal Networks

 
The Emergence and Persistence of Criminal Network Ties

 
Criminal Structures: Summary and Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 6: Illegal Entrepreneurial Structures
Introduction

 
Case Study: The Lavin Enterprise

 
The Illegal Firm

 
Conceptualizing Illegal Entrepreneurial Structures

 
Explaining the Structure of Illegal Firms

 
Illegal Entrepreneurial Structures: Summary and Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 7: Associational Structures
Introduction

 
Case Studies of Associations of Criminals

 
Variations Across Illegal Associational Structures

 
The Core Functions of Associational Structures

 
Delineating Associational Structures from Entrepreneurial Structures and from Quasi-Governmental Structures

 
Associational Structures: Summary and Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 8: Illegal-Market Monopolies and Quasi-Governmental Structures
Introduction

 
Case Study: The American Cosa Nostra

 
Illegal-Market Monopolies and Quasi-Governmental Structures

 
Monopolies in Illegal Markets

 
Quasi-Governmental Structures

 
Delineating Illegal-Market Monopolies and Quasi-Governmental Structures

 
Illegal-Market Monopolies and Monopolies of Violence: Summary and Conclusion

 
 
Part III: Organized Crime and Society
 
Chapter 9: The Social Embeddedness of Organized Crime
Introduction

 
The Social Embeddedness of Organized Crime: Illegal Goods and Services

 
The Social Embeddedness of Organized Criminals

 
The Social Embeddedness of Organized Crime: Summary and Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 10: Organized Crime and Legitimate Business
Introduction

 
Conceptualizations of Organized Crime and Legitimate Business Along the Dimensions of Activities, Structures, and Governance

 
Organized Criminals and Legitimate Business

 
Racketeering: Criminal Control Over Business Sectors

 
Business Sectors Vulnerable to Criminal Influence

 
Organized Crime and Legitimate Business: Summary and Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 11: Organized Crime and Government
Introduction

 
Conceptualizations of Organized Crime and Government: Activities, Structures, and Governance

 
The Relationship Between Organized Crime and Government as Two Separate Entities

 
Organized Crime within Government

 
The Relationship Between Organized Crime and Government: Summary and Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 12: Transnational Organized Crime
Introduction

 
Transnational Criminal Activities

 
Cross-Border Mobility and Cross-Border Networking of Criminals

 
Transnational Criminal Structures

 
The Cyberization of Organized Crime and the Organization of Cybercrime

 
Transnational Organized Crime and Organized Cybercrime: Summary and Conclusion

 
Note

 
 
PART IV: The Big Picture and the Arsenal of Countermeasures
Introduction to Part IV

 
 
Chapter 13: The Big Picture of Organized Crime
Introduction

 
The Range of Phenomena That Fall Under the Umbrella Concept of Organized Crime

 
Modelling Organized Crime

 
Typologies of Organized Crime

 
Trajectories in the Development of Organized Crime

 
The Big Picture of Organized Crime: Summary and Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 14: Countermeasures Against Organized Crime
Introduction

 
Substantive Criminal Law as an Instrument Against Organized Crime

 
Investigative Tools and Institutional Innovations as Instruments Against Organized Crime

 
Non-Criminal Justice Approaches to Combating ‘Organized Crime’

 
Combating Organized Crime: Summary and Conclusion

 
 
Bibliography
 
Index

" It is without question, the most comprehensive and robust treatment of organized crime research, theories and perspectives that has been published to date."

Frederick T. Martens
Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Books

"This book makes an important contribution to the academic literature. It moves well beyond the usual examination of "mafia" groups that has dominated the organized crime literature for years."

Robert Lombardo
Trends in Organized Crime

"(...) the reading is engaging, due to the concise expression and the short length of the chapters that permit the best absorption of elaborate concepts (...) although the topic itself is complex and eludes exhaustive presentation, von Lampe uses his extensive knowledge to present the pivotal developments in the field of organised crime (...)"

Elena Sciandra
Global Crime

"This is a major contribution to the literature. I like it enormously, and although I do not use a single text I recommend to my transnational organized crime class that if they buy one book it should be 'Organized Crime: Analyzing illegal activities, criminal structures, and extra-legal governance."

Phil Williams
University of Pittsburgh

"Organized Crime: Analyzing illegal activities, criminal structures, and extra-legal governance is by far the most comprehensive and thoughtful treatment of the subject matter I've ever come across and I don't see this changing easily in the foreseeable future either."

 

Georgios Antonopoulos & Georgios Papanicolaou
Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice
Key features

KEY FEATURES:   

  • A coherent conceptual framework helps readers overcome the existing conceptual confusion  that arises in studying organized crime.
  • Numerous graphs and tables clarify and summarize key concepts and classifications so readers gain an understanding of patterns irrespective of the geographical and historical context.
  • In-depth case studies bring the concept and theories to life by highlighting salient issues that demonstrate relevant application of the principles in organized crime.
  • Discussion questions at the end of each chapter encourage readers to reflect and develop essential critical thinking skills.
  • Research topics inspire students to conduct their own small research projects and deepen their understanding of the conceptual framework presented in the book.

Sample Materials & Chapters

Chapter 7

Chapter 8


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