Introduction

The reason people engage in crime is the most fundamental issue in the study of
criminology. Many studies have been undertaken to explain and understand the
existence of crime. The historical record shows that crime exists in all societies, but
levels of crime vary dramatically both within and among nations. Furthermore, levels of
crime can and do change over time. This observation has two relevant implications: first,
there is room for improvement from any existing situation, and second, there are many
examples of crime increases and reductions from around the world to study.

Comparatively to other aspects of organized crime, little attention has been paid to its
causes and facilitating factors. The causes are those underlying events, structures and
conditions that have existed over a period of time and that are necessary for organized
crime to shape up and manifest itself. As for facilitating factors, these are the factors that
encourage the expansion of organized criminal activities. For example, literature on
Central Asia often cites the existence of tribes and clans, or strong social cohesion, as a
facilitating factor to organized crime (UNODC, 2007). These studies maintain that the
strong social cohesion would make it easier for people to engage in organized criminal
activities. Nonetheless, such facilitating factors are clearly not enough to explain why
people engage in organized criminal activities. There is a third group of factors that play
an important role in creating and facilitating organized crime: the so-called "mobilizing
factors". They predominantly concern the motivations of the key stakeholders and thus
are the set of highly personal reasons and causes for which people engage in criminal
activities. They are considered transversally throughout this Module.

This Module provides an overview of the different approaches adopted in criminology to

the causes and facilitating factors of organized crime, as well as distinguish the strength
and weaknesses of the related explanations. Considering the variety of activities carried
out by organized criminal groups as well as the existence of different types of them with
a very diverse membership base, it is likely that more than one explanation is needed to
shed light on the causes and facilitating factors of organized crime.

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Topics covered

● Positivist perspectives in criminology

● Blocked opportunity

● Hedonism

● Routine activity theory

● State failure

● Criminogenic asymmetry

● Ethical explanation of criminal conduct

● Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Learning outcomes

● Understand a typology of different approaches to the causes of organized crime.

● Assess the application of this typology in different situations.

● Distinguish the strengths and weaknesses among the different explanations of

organized crime in various contexts.

Key issues

Organized crime is distinguished from most other types of crime in that it often
represents a career choice. Many of those who engage in organized criminal activities
are long-time offenders. This is not the case with many other kinds of criminal behaviour,
such as juvenile delinquency, where very few are frequent or serious offenders. In fact,
as expressed in the United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile
Delinquency (The Riyadh Guidelines), juvenile delinquency "is often part of the
maturation and growth process and tends to disappear spontaneously in most
individuals with the transition to adulthood" (UNGA, 1990).

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Thus, whereas most criminal behaviour is spontaneous or involves little planning,
organized crime implies organization and rationality in order for it to be profitable and
survive over the long term. This element of durability is part of the very nature of
organized criminal groups and often makes participation in such a group a distinctive
criminal choice.

As analysed in Module 1, the Organized Crime Convention includes as part of its

definition of an organized criminal group the goal of its participants, which is "to obtain,
directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit" in the commission of crimes.
Profit is thus the ultimate objective of organized criminal groups. Nonetheless, this does
not fully explain why participants in organized criminal groups use criminal planning and
ongoing schemes over a period of time to commit crimes on a systematic basis.

There have been many explanations offered for criminal conduct, although very few
theories of criminal behaviour specifically address the unique features of organized
crime: the career criminal pattern and the organized nature of the criminal acts. This
Module organizes these theories into a four-part typology of existing explanations of
crime: positivist, classical, structural, and ethical. Case studies are used to show how
these explanations can apply to individual instances of organized crime.

Positivism: environmental influences

The positivist perspective in criminology looks to internal or external influences on

individuals as the primary cause of criminal behaviour. Most attempts to explain crime
over the last century have examined social factors as causes. The assumption of these
efforts is that changing underlying social conditions will reduce or prevent criminal
behaviour (Akers, Sellers, Jennings, 2016; Matthew and Dulisse, 2014; Williams III and
McShane, 2017).

This explanation, based on opportunity structures, posits that crime results from a lack of
access to legitimate means (i.e., "blocked opportunity") for achieving social goals (e.g.,

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having a good job, or generally achieving economic success) (Cloward and Ohlin, 1960).
Therefore, some neighbourhoods at the poorer ends of social and economic conditions
provide greater opportunity for illicit activity than others.

Three types of criminal subcultures develop when young people withdraw legitimacy
from accepted social goals because they lack the means to achieve them (e.g., unequal
employment opportunities or the inability to obtain advanced education or training). The
three subcultures are: criminal, conflict, and retreatist. The criminal subculture occurs
when these young people associate and become accepted as adult criminals. The
conflict subculture involves violent gangs in which status is obtained through intimidation
and battles over territory. The retreatist subculture is comprised of those who lack either
the opportunity or the abilities to gain acceptance in the criminal or conflict subcultures;
these individuals may become drop-outs or drug addicts.

The criminal subculture has the clearest connection to organized crime. In these
situations, a young person becomes an apprentice criminal who develops relationships
with career criminals and members of organized criminal groups. According to this
theory, participation in an organized criminal group is thus prompted by blocked
opportunities for success in legitimate society.

Blocked opportunity and crime

Blocked opportunity does not lead directly to a life of crime, because there must also
exist opportunities to form relationships with the criminal subculture, as well as the
personal ability to gain status in this milieu. Therefore, a merging of age groups and
common values that accept and encourage the commission of crimes is necessary
for young people to become part of the adult criminal subculture (Albanese, 2015).

There are sociological theories of crime to explain how a young person becomes an
adult criminal. Each focuses on different social factors that affect the person. These

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theories focus on "delinquent traditions" found in some neighbourhoods, "learning"
through others that crime is acceptable, or "neutralizing" the guilt felt about their criminal
conduct by rationalizing it (Matza, 1964; Shaw and McKay, 1960; Sutherland, 1939).

Of course, other factors can increase opportunities for organized crime. For instance,
globalized trade, the ease of movement around the world as well as technological
advancement also create new opportunities for exploitation (an example is the online
sexual exploitation of children) and the diversification of activities (e.g. new routes to
smuggle migrants, novel ways to traffic and sell cultural property or wildlife specimen,
and launder money as well as innovative methods to falsify medical products or produce
counterfeit products and technologies). The opportunity theory described above attempts
to provide specific reasons why and explain how individuals go about exploiting these
opportunities when they are presented.

A shortcoming of positivist explanations of organized crime is that they focus on external

(or psychological) influences on behaviour. Despite all influences in a person's life, and
opportunities to commit a crime, the individual still has to make the ultimate decision to
violate the law. Bad neighbourhoods, poor family support and the presence of organized
criminal groups make it difficult to become a law-abiding adult, yet many people who
grow up in these contexts are. There are many factors influencing the choice of people
to commit crimes, but these influences do not determine the decision to exploit
opportunities in criminal ways. In conclusion, the positivist explanations illustrate which
conditions make a criminal lifestyle an easy choice, but they do not explain why many
people succeed against the odds and their environment.

Classical: pain-pleasure decisions

The classical view in criminology explains crime as a free-will decision to make a

criminal choice. This choice is made by applying the pain-pleasure principle: people act
in ways that maximize pleasure and minimize pain. Classicists believe that people are
hedonistic and will seek pleasure at every opportunity and avoid pain. The way to

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prevent crime, according to classicism, is by deterrence-the risk of apprehension and
punishment (Beccaria, 1764; Roshier, 1989; Valasik, 2014).

Applying classicism to criminal conduct, when the potential pain associated with crime
(the likelihood of apprehension) is greater in the mind of the offender than the pleasure
(gain) to be derived from the crime, the crime is prevented. This explanation fails to
explain why crime persists even in those countries where governments add new laws,
increase penalties, and make efforts to improve law enforcement.

One type of classical approach focuses on "routine activities" or "situational crime

prevention." This perspective concentrates on "criminal settings" (i.e., environments
conducive to organized crime activity) rather than on the motivations of individuals or
groups of people. By focusing on the circumstances of crime, this perspective examines
the availability of opportunities to commit specific crimes and aims at reducing them
through, for instance, improved urban renewal and environmental design. This approach
is based on the principle of routine activities, or, in other words, on the assumption that
levels of organized crime are determined by several facilitating factors, such as:
availability of attractive targets and opportunities, a low level of supervision, and low risk
of apprehension. Rather than focusing on distant causes of crime (e.g., poverty, poor
education, peer groups), the focus is shifted to practical ways to reduce the opportunities
for crime or to minimize their harm (Bullock, Clarke and Tilley, 2010; Eckblom, 2003).
The situational crime prevention approach is also considered in Module 13.

Situational crime prevention of organized crime

There is evidence that situational crime prevention can be useful in reducing some
activities of organized criminal groups by limiting criminal opportunities and
minimizing harm (Felson, 2006). The situational crime prevention perspective has
been used to try to account for the manufacture of methamphetamine, automobile
theft, open-air drug markets, products counterfeiting and other crimes. (Bullock,
Clarke and Tilley, 2010; von Lampe, 2011; Zabyelina, 2016). These empirical efforts

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 have shown some support for the situational perspective in preventing organized illicit
activity.

Situational crime prevention requires that crime prevention techniques be directed at five
areas:

1. Increasing the effort for offenders (e.g., target hardening, controlling crime
facilitators).

2. Increasing the risks (e.g., surveillance of offenders and victims, screening

entrances and exits).

3. Reducing the rewards (e.g., removing targets, controlling markets).

4. Reducing provocations (e.g., reducing temptations, avoiding disputes); and

5. Removing excuses (e.g., setting clear rules, alerting conscience). (Clarke, 2005)

The exact methods needed to achieve these goals depend on the particular crime and
its underlying preparatory behaviours, although empirical efforts reveal that it is
sometimes difficult to isolate the methods of crime prevention that will have an impact on
organized crime activity (Bullock, Clarke and Tilley, 2010).

Another influential classical explanation is the "general theory of crime" intended to

explain all kinds of crime, including organized crime. This explanation sees crime
emanating from the human tendency "to pursue short-term gratification," rather than
consider the long-term consequences. Short-term gratification usually implies
impulsiveness, aggression, and lack of empathy for others (Gottfredson and Hirschi,
1990).

A notable shortcoming with the classical approach in criminology is overstating the

impact of penalties on human conduct. Deterrence is a weak influencer in criminal
justice, because the odds of apprehension are generally low. In addition, the tendency of

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some to act on the base of short-term gratification must be caused by some factors that
would need to be further investigated. There are questions that are hardly answered
when trying to explain criminal conducts through classicism. For instance: why do many
people choose not to engage in crime, despite the low risk of apprehension? A study of
several hundred organized crime offenders in Europe found that "internal drives are the
hardest element to capture, particularly when offenders seem to be motivated internally
(i.e., they were not talked into committing a crime by others)" (van Koppen, 2013). At the
same time, there are other drives and factors that this approach underestimates or fails
to consider and that clearly have a relevant impact on a person's decision to commit a
crime.

 Structural factors and organized crime

The structural approach towards explaining organized crime focuses less on individual
behaviour and emphasizes the role played by broader systemic factors, such as
sociological, legal, economic, and political attributes of the international system. These
factors may not necessarily cause crime, but they create the conditions in which
organized criminal activity flourishes.

Weak States and organized crime

Weak and failing States as well as conflict regions have traditionally been considered
as crime-facilitative environments. Organized crime emerges out of the power
vacuum that is created by the absence of enforcement and good governance. Failed
States have weak institutions and high levels of corruption, which can be both a
symptom and cause of organized criminal activity. The incapability of state institutions
allows criminal organizations to operate more or less freely and corruption attracts
organized crime, as corrupt institutions are highly susceptible to influence. Therefore,
organized criminal groups can take advantage of the governance void in weak States,
as well as the lack of law and order, and use the State to further their interests.

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The incapacity of States to control national borders is also closely connected to the
ability of the government to ensure its presence in remote areas of the State.
Abandoned, economically marginal and sparsely populated areas are thus more
susceptible to turn into criminal havens. The conditions that impede economic
development and diminish the State's incentives to develop the infrastructure necessary
to maintain a robust presence lead to the emergence of shadow economies and black
markets. Systematically corrupt police, judges, licensing agencies, and other State
institutions result in the State structures operating as a criminal enterprise in demanding
bribes, illicit fees, and compliance from citizens and businesses. In some situations,
these institutions also receive bribes from organized criminal groups to protect existing
illegal activities (please, see Module 4 for an explanation of the concepts of corruption,
bribery and generally, methods used by organized criminal groups to infiltrate business
and government).

State failure and State transition can result in the inability of the government to deliver
key political goods and services. Economic failure, such as high unemployment, low
standards of living, and reliance on underground markets, stimulates criminal
organizations to supply goods, services and jobs. The more the State is absent or
deficient in the provision of legal employment and public goods, the more communities
are susceptible to becoming dependent on and supporters of criminal organizations
(Felbab-Brown, 2012). From this perspective, organized criminal groups can accumulate
political capital and broad public support. This makes them capable of acting as quasi-
States.

A study of 59 countries found both State and economic failure to result in these
outcomes and highlighted that a corrupt judiciary and the existence of black market
activities emerged as the strongest political and economic correlates of organized crime
(Sung, 2004). Of course, organized crime has also thrived in circumstances
characterized by strong government structures, but the important feature is the extent to

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which the operation of government agencies reflects the interests of the public versus
the private interests of corrupt officials or organized criminal groups.

In addition to State failure, the structure of the international system in itself can be seen
as a contributing factor to the formation of criminal opportunities for organized crime.
Some scholars contend that transnational crime is driven by structural differences
between countries. From this perspective, inequalities of various kinds, the so-called
"criminogenic asymmetries," embedded in the international system, create
circumstances that criminal organizations are able to capitalize on (Passas, 2001;
Zabyelina, 2014). From this perspective it can be argued that if one country makes a
particular conduct legal whereas another government criminalized it, transnational
organized crime can take advantage of the discrepancies between competing legal
jurisdictions. These discrepancies are viewed as mechanisms by which illicit markets are
created and trafficking routes developed (Block and Chambliss, 1981). For instance,
because of the absence of effective enforcement of laws against the illicit organ trade
and public tolerance of these practices, certain countries have attracted transplant
tourists seeking organ donors. Likewise, cross-border illegal waste disposal is driven in
part by different standards in environmental protection.

Table. 6.1.  Structural factors assumed to create opportunities for organized crime

Asymmetry of controls   The difference in ability of States to

implement border controls and enforce laws.

Asymmetry of resources The disparity of allocation of natural and

human resources in the international system.

Asymmetry of prices The disparity between States in terms of the

distribution of economic assets and income.

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 Asymmetry of The disparity between investments of States
investments in domestic crime prevention and criminal
justice vs. reinforcing international legal,
institutional and operational capacities (the
former being considerably higher than the
latter).

Legal asymmetries Disharmonization of legal systems and laws.

In light of the structural predisposition of the international system to make illicit markets
profitable, there has been explicit acknowledgment of the fact that the fight against
organized crime should be part of any comprehensive and effective strategy aimed at
achieving the "qualitative" dimensions of development, such as human rights, access to
justice, good governance, rule of law and security. These key dimensions of
development are at the very core of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Sustainable Development Goals

The 17 SDGs of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development were adopted by

world leaders in September 2015 and came into force on 1 January 2016. The SDGs
build on the success of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and aim to go
further to end all forms of poverty. The new Goals are unique in that they call for
action by all countries, poor, rich and middle-income to promote prosperity while
protecting the planet. They recognize that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with
strategies that build economic growth and addresses a range of social needs
including education, health, social protection, and job opportunities, while tackling
climate change and environmental protection. While the SDGs are not legally binding,
governments are expected to take ownership and establish national frameworks for

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 the achievement of the 17 Goals.

Countering organized crime is explicitly referenced as a critical target in Goal 16, but the
repeated references throughout the 17 Goals to the many manifestations of organized
crime-from labour exploitation to poaching and trafficking of protected species of flora
and fauna-evidence the fact that organized crime has become one of the key areas of
developmental focus of the United Nations.

The SDGs and organized crime

While the SDGs are interconnected and often the key to success on one goal will
involve tackling issues more commonly associated with another, UNODC particularly
contributes to the achievement of Goal 16 focused on peace, justice and strong
institutions and other related Goals. The figure below shows the main Goals UNODC
aims to assist Member States to achieve.

Figure 6.1.  UNODC and the SDGs

Addressing organized crime requires a systemic and integrated approach focused on

harmonization of laws and enforcement of regulatory frameworks, human rights
protection, building of sustainable communities and raising social awareness. A systemic

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approach is required because of the interlinkages with major global risks such as
corruption (both a driver and consequence of criminal behaviour), fragile states (massive
illicit trade often being a cause and nearly always an important consequence), or
economic disparities (which contribute to and are exacerbated by a lack of security and
the rule of law) (UNODC position paper; Model United Nations Resource Guide, 2018).

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development affirms explicitly that "there can be no
sustainable development without peace and no peace without sustainable development",
thus recognizing that reducing crime, conflict, violence and discrimination are key
elements of people's well-being.

Ethical perspective: moral failure in decision-making

The ethical perspective sees crime as the result of a moral failure in making decisions.
Crime takes place when a person fails to appreciate the wrongfulness of an act or its
impact on the victim. The ethical explanation of crime appreciates that external factors
have a role to play in influencing some people toward criminal conduct, but these factors
do not cause the conduct by themselves.

The ethical perspective also agrees that a free-will decision underlies criminal behaviour,
but contrary to what is asserted by the classical approach, the inherent tendency to
engage in crime is not controlled by the risk of apprehension. Instead, the presence or
absence of ethical principles informs one's decisions.

The ethical perspective on crime causation

The ethical view sees crime as placing one's own self-interest above the interests of
others. Any short-term gain for the offender obtained from a crime is outweighed by
understanding the wrongfulness of the conduct and the harm it causes to the victim or
community. From an ethical standpoint, therefore, a person refrains from criminal
behaviour because, all factors considered, it does not bring pleasure. Ethical
decision-making and reinforcement from an early age would help inculcate the notion

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 of personal and social responsibility for one's own behaviour, and a greater
appreciation of the harm caused. Such appreciation is often found to be missing in
many cases of organized crime and corruption (Glor and Greene, 2003; OECD,
UNODC and World Bank, 2013).

According to the ethical perspective, crime occurs when criminal acts bring pleasure
rather than guilt or shame (Albanese, 2016). Ethicists argue that people often do not
make decisions in ethical terms because ethical principles and their application to
decision-making are often not part of the educational process, or are not modelled by
parents or family members. Lacking education and experience in making ethical
decisions, people often do what comes naturally and thus make decisions based on self-
interest, failing to understand or appreciate the legitimate interests of others or the
community at large (Narvaez, 2006).

Perspectives on crime causes and facilitating factors

Any one explanation of the causes and facilitating factors of organized crime considered
in a vacuum is hardly exhaustive. Nonetheless, a combination of the factors they
consider can provide a very useful and exhaustive picture of these elements. This
conclusion is supported by a number of research and interview-based studies on the
topic.

Causes and facilitating factors of women and girls' participation in organized criminal
groups: the example of Cape Town

Based on interviews with more than 30 female gang members in Cape Town, South
Africa, a study identified factors that facilitated gang membership amongst these
females, ranging from those in their teens to the middle-aged. It is important to note
that the findings of this study are not necessarily representative of wider female

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 involvement in organized crime. However, it does help to understand and highlight
the experiences of women involved in the Cape Town gang milieu (Shaw and
Skywalker, 2017).

The interviews revealed several themes that may, in part, be understood as causes
or facilitative factors of joining the gangs:

1. Feeling of belonging and family:  Many of the females interviewed noted that
they joined the gang scene because it provided them with a sense of
belonging that they felt was missing from their often violent and dysfunctional
biological family life. Being part of these gang families also provided the
women with security, such as protection, and resources (e.g., money, clothes,
and jewellery). Many of these females joined the gangs through romantic
relationships with existing male gang members.

2. Protection: A common reason for joining the gangs mentioned by the women
was that the gangs offered them protection. Being part of the gang "families"
provided them with security in an often dangerous environment, in which
women were particularly vulnerable to sexual and domestic violence.
However, many women noted that they were still subject to such violence from
within the gang (e.g. their partners who were gang members).

3. Resources: The gangs also offered these women resources they would

otherwise be unable to afford or access, such as jewellery, cars, and clothing.
Access to these goods was often through the women's boyfriends and gang
bosses.

4. "The path of least resistance": Some women reported that joining a gang was
easier than resisting-it was the path of least resistance. Joining the gang also
provided them with "immediate rewards" as a result.

5. Under- and unemployment in the licit economy:  Several of the women noted

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 that the gangs offered more exciting opportunities with larger rewards
compared to the jobs available to them in the licit economy. The few ordinary
employment opportunities the women found, often in the retail sector, were
described as "boring and poorly paid".

6. Substance abuse: According to some women interviewed, they saw joining

gangs as one of the only option left to them because of their struggle with
substance abuse. Their addictions made it difficult to find steady and licit
employment and made them particularly vulnerable to violence. Gangs offered
not only protection (to a certain extent), but access to substances as well.

Figure 6.2 illustrates how criminal conduct can emanate from different kinds of causal
influences as explained by the ethical, classical, positivist and structural approaches. It
can be seen how these different kinds of influences can be present for different
individuals in different situations.

Figure 6.2.  Perspectives on Crime Causes and Facilitating Factors

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Summary

This Module presented a four-part typology of explanations of the cause and facilitating
factors for organized crime: positivistic, classical, structural, and ethical. A single
explanation cannot account for the different motivations of all offenders, yet some
explanations offer important insights into criminal decision-making and, as Figure 6.2
shows, a combination of explanations on the causes and facilitating factors of organized
crime provides clear direction regarding how criminal decisions are made and how they
might be prevented in the future. 

References

● Akers, Ronald L., Christine S. Sellers, Wesley G. Jennings (2016). Criminological

Theories: Introduction, Evaluation, and Application , 7th ed. Oxford University
Press.

● Albanese, Jay S. (2016). Professional Ethics in Criminal Justice: Being Ethical

When No One is Looking, 4th ed. Prentice Hall.

● Beccaria, Cesare (1764). On Crimes and Punishments. Bobbs-Merrill.

● Block, Alan A. and William J. Chambliss (1981). Organizing Crime. Elsevier.

● Bullock, K., R.V. Clarke, and N. Tilley (2010). Situational Prevention of Organised

Crimes. Willan Publishing.

● Clarke, R.V. (2005). Seven Misconceptions of Situational Crime Prevention. In N.

Tilley, ed. Handbook of Crime Prevention and Community Safety . Willan
Publishing.

● Cloward, Richard A. and Lloyd E. Ohlin (1960). Delinquency and Opportunity: A

Theory of Delinquent Gangs. New York: Free Press.

● Durkheim, Emile (1964). The Rules of Sociological Method. (1895) New York:

Free Press, 65.

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 ● Eckblom, Paul (2003). Organised Crime and the Conjunction of Criminal
Opportunity Framework. In Transnational Organised Crime: Perspectives on
Global Security. A. Edwards and P. Gill, eds. Routledge. 242-63.

● Felbab-Brown, Vanda (2017). Organized Crime, Illicit Economies, Civil Violence

& International Order: More Complex Than You Think.  Daedalus, vol. 146, 98-
111.

● Felson, Marcus (2006). The Ecosystem for Organized Crime. Helsinki: European

Institute for Crime Prevention and Control.

● Glor, Eleanor D. and Ian Greene (2003). The Government of Canada's Approach
to Ethics: The Evolution of Ethical Government. Public Integrity, vol. 5, 39-85.

● Gottfredson, Michael and Travis Hirschi (1990). A General Theory of Crime.

Stanford University Press.

● Gounev, Philip and Vincenzo Ruggiero, eds. (2012). Corruption and Organized

Crime in Europe: Illegal Partnerships. Routledge.

● Hobbs, Dick (2013). Lush life: Constructing Organized Crime in the UK . Oxford

University Press.

● Logan. Matthew W. and Brandon Dulisse (2014). Positive Criminology. In J.

Albanese, ed. Encyclopedia of Criminology & Criminal Justice . Wiley.

● Maas, Peter (1997). Underboss. Pocket Books.

● Matza, David (1964). Delinquency and Drift. Wiley.

● Narvaez, Darcia (2006). Integrative Ethical Education. In M. Killen & J. Smetana,

eds. Handbook of Moral Development. Erlbaum.

● Nucci, Larry, Darcia Narvaez, and Tobias Krettenauer, eds. (2014). Handbook of

Moral and Character Education, 2d ed. Routledge.

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 ● OECD, UNODC, and World Bank (2013). Anti-Corruption Ethics and Compliance
Handbook for Business .

● Passas, Nikos (2001). Globalization and Transnational Organized Crime: Effects

of Criminogenic Asymmetries. In P. Williams and D. Vlassis, eds., Combating
Transnational Organized Crime: Concepts, Activities and Responses , London:
Frank Cass.

● Pileggi, Nicholas (1985). Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family. Simon and Schuster.

● Roshier, B. (1989). Controlling Crime: The Classical Perspective in Criminology .

Lyceum Books.

● Shaw, Clifford R. and Henry D. McKay (1960). Juvenile Delinquency and Urban

Areas. (1932) University of Chicago Press.

● Shaw, M. and Skywalker, L.L. (2017). Gangs, violence and the role of women
and girls: Emerging themes and policy and programme options drawn from
interviews with female gang members in Cape Town  . The Global Initiative
against Transnational Organized Crime.

● Sutherland, Edwin H. (1939). Principles of Criminology. Lippincott.

● United Nations General Assembly (1990). United Nations Guidelines for the

Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (The Riyadh Guidelines).  A/RES/45/112.

● United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2004). United Nations Convention

against Transnational Organized Crime . Vienna: UNODC.

● United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2007). An Assessment of

Transnational Organized Crime in Central Asia. New York: UNODC.

● United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2018). Model United Nations

Resource Guide. Crime prevention, criminal justice, the rule of law and the
Sustainable Development Goals. Vienna: UNDOC.

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 ● United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (n.d.). UNODC position paper:
Security, the Rule of Law and the post-2015 Development Agenda .

● van Koppen, M. Vere (2013). Involvement Mechanisms for Organized

Crime. Crime, Law and Social Change, vol. 59, 19.

● Valasik, Matthew (2014). Classical Criminology. In J. Albanese, ed. Encyclopedia

of Criminology & Criminal Justice . Wiley.

● von Lampe, Klaus (2011). The Application of the Framework of Situational Crime
Prevention to Organized Crime. Criminology & Criminal Justice, vol. 11, 145-163.

● Williams III, Franklin P. and Marilyn D. McShane (2017). Criminological Theory,

7th ed. Pearson.

● Woodiwiss, Michael (2017). Double Crossed: The Failure of Organized Crime

Control. University of Chicago Press.

● Zabyelina, Yuliya (2014). The 'Fishy' Business: A Qualitative Analysis of the Illicit
Market in Black Caviar. Trends in Organized Crime, vol. 17(3), 181-198.

● Zabyelina, Yuliya (2016). Can Criminals Create Opportunities for Crime?

Malvertising and Illegal Online Medicine Trade. Global Crime, vol. 17, 1-18.          

Core reading

Academic Literature

● Eckblom, Paul (2003). Organised Crime and the Conjunction of Criminal

Opportunity Framework. In Transnational Organised Crime: Perspectives on
Global Security. A. Edwards and P. Gill, eds. Routledge. 242-63.

● Felbab-Brown, Vanda (2017). Organized Crime, Illicit Economies, Civil Violence

& International Order: More Complex Than You Think.  Daedalus, vol. 146, 98-
111.

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 ● Zabyelina, Yuliya (2014). The 'Fishy' Business: A Qualitative Analysis of the Illicit
Market in Black Caviar. Trends in Organized Crime, vol. 17(3), 181-198.

Reports

● Locke, Rachel (2012). Organized Crime, Conflict, and Fragility: A New Approach .

New York: International Peace Institute.

● United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (n.d.). Security, the Rule of Law and
the post-2015 Development Agenda. UNODC Position Paper.

Advanced reading

● Akers, Ronald L., Christine S. Sellers, Wesley G. Jennings (2016). Criminological

Theories: Introduction, Evaluation, and Application , 7th ed. Oxford University
Press.

● Bullock, K., R.V. Clarke, and N. Tilley (2010). Situational Prevention of Organised

Crimes. Willan Publishing.

● Cloward, Richard A. and Lloyd E. Ohlin (1960). Delinquency and Opportunity: A

Theory of Delinquent Gangs. New York: Free Press.

● Hobbs, Dick (2013). Lush life: Constructing Organized Crime in the UK . Oxford

University Press.

● Passas, Nikos (2001). Globalization and Transnational Organized Crime: Effects

of Criminogenic Asymmetries. In P. Williams and D. Vlassis, eds., Combating
Transnational Organized Crime: Concepts, Activities and Responses , London:
Frank Cass.

● Valasik, Matthew (2014). Classical Criminology. In J. Albanese, ed. Encyclopedia

of Criminology & Criminal Justice . Wiley.

● Zabyelina, Yuliya G. (2016). Can Criminals Create Opportunities for Crime?

Malvertising and Illegal Online Medicine Trade. Global Crime, vol. 17, 1-18.

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