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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
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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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