This research explores why young men participate in organised crime in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. From an ecological perspective, decisions are the result of a combination of factors at the macro, micro, and individual levels. The research explores factors at each of these levels, particularly the role of unfulfilled aspirations, the family and community environments, as well as different dimensions of poverty. In doing so, it uses an original survey covering a sample of 180 delinquent young men aged 12 to 29, who were in prison for organised criminal activity, and a sample of 180 non-delinquents with the same age, social background, and geographical origin in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Twenty in-depth interviews were also carried out with a sub-sample of delinquents. To my knowledge, this is the first study to use a quasi-experimental approach to understand why young men in Mexico participate in organised crime that considers their aspirations and measures multidimensional poverty amongst a population that is commonly excluded from census data. The thesis draws on several theoretical frameworks from the fields of criminology and sociology, including anomie and attachment theories. The findings lend support to the importance of aspirations at the individual level. Opportunity constraints predict criminal participation and delinquents tend to place greater value on material items than their non-delinquent counterparts, which calls for the co-creation and management of aspirations of former delinquents and at-risk youth with the aid of counsellors. In the family environment, being raised in a single parent household was a significant predictor of participation in organised crime. As these households are often headed by women, greater support for working mothers is pressing, as work in the assembly plants in Juárez (the prime source of employment) is not accompanied with childcare. More involved fathers who constitute positive role models are necessary to mitigate the risks of criminal participation. In the community environment, regularly spending time in a gang significantly predicted organised crime participation. Although gangs constitute a gateway, they do not unequivocally lead to organised crime. This calls for an adequate assessment of gangs, a phenomenon that is still poorly understood in Mexico. At the macro level, the findings reveal that those who are more income deprived have a lower probability of having participated in crime, suggesting that participation reduces income poverty marginally. However, a higher proportion of delinquent participants are vulnerable due to deprivation in several social indicators and most delinquent participants are still multidimensionally poor, despite their participation in organised crime. This indicates that participating in crime does not constitute an effective or sustained pathway out of poverty, a message that should be communicated to at-risk youth. A more robust poverty and inequality reduction program accompanied by fiscal reform and higher minimum wages are also among the key policy recommendations.

The responses by the American, French, and British governments, in efforts to secure the release of their citizens taken hostage in Lebanon, have demonstrated the difficulty for Western states in reconciling their firmly-held principles of no-negotiations and no-concessions in dealing with either the Hizb'allah or its patrons with the actual and practical realities governing any resolution to the hostage-situations in Lebanon, This case-study on the dynamics of the Hizb'allah and its interaction with Iran and Syria provides a basis for the evaluation of the effectiveness of Western government responses to the hostage-crisis in Lebanon using crisis management techniques. This study shows that the abduction of Western citizens by Hizb'allah was motivated either by internal organisational requirements or in alignment with Syrian and Iranian interests, and that mechanisms for the resolution of the hostage-crisis were subject to continuous interaction between Hizb'allah, Iran, and Syria influenced by internal Lebanese, regional, and international events. The Western responses to the hostage-crisis showed limited effectiveness as the crisis management techniques were poorly adjusted in timing and direction to the actual crisis environment. With the exception of the French response, the overall employment of Western crisis management techniques showed disregard for the opportunities and constraints in the fluctuating relationship between Syria and Iran as well as the political environment within Lebanon which the Hizb'allah operates and exists. This was clear by their failure to rely on either Iran or Syria as the only channel in negotiations over hostages without regard to their individual ability to exert its influence over the movement in accordance with shifts in their ties to Hizb'allah's command leadership between 1987-1991 and to the status of the Iranian-Syrian relationship over time, as displayed by the friction between 1986-92. This study provides a new approach in the study of terrorism by merging a case-study of the dynamics of the hostage-crisis with an evaluation of Western responses through crisis management techniques in order to more closely resolve the dilemma of the fulfillment of these states' duty to protect their citizens taken hostage abroad, without major sacrifices in the conduct of foreign policy.

By relying mainly on court cases and interviews with pentiti (people who turned state's evidence), this thesis shows that the role of women in the Italian mafia has significantly changed since 1945. Beyond performing their traditional role, including transmitting mafia values, encouraging vendetta, guaranteeing men's honour and participating in arranged marriages, women started to be involved in criminal activities. Through an historical approach, this thesis demonstrates that changes in the mafia in terms of businesses and structure, and changes in Italian women's conditions have been contributory factors to the above process. This thesis identifies those historical conjunctures where the supply and demand of female labour met within the last thirty years. Since the 1970s, the expansion of drug trafficking and the subsequent accumulation of vast sums of money to be recycled led the mafia to employ women who were also trustworthy and above suspicion. The mafia's need to involve women occurred also in the early 1980s and in the early-mid 1990s when the state improved its battle against the mafia. As many mafia bosses were imprisoned or went underground women assumed temporary leadership positions. The mafia's need for workers was concomitant with the changes in women's conditions in the legal world, resulting in the gradual dissolution of gender barriers and the growth of female education, which made women more likely to be employed by organised crime. This thesis argues that the new female participation in the mafia was not the result of a concession of equality within the mafia labour market. General indicators, such as the persistence of patriarchal relations and women's economic dependence, temporary allocation of power to women during periods of emergency, use of female labour in low profile jobs, and exclusion of women from career opportunities, suggest that the increasing public presence of women in the mafia, beyond mere supportive and private roles, was the result of a process of female `pseudo-emancipation'. On the contrary, women who turned state's evidence were examples of female liberation since they chose to reject the male dominated mafia system.

The thesis is a study of how Chinese illegal tiger parts trading networks are organized. In particular, this thesis tests in a qualitative manner the causal relationship between three independent variables and the network organizations of these markets. The three independent variables are “ethnicity”, “level of enforcement” and “proximity to the source country”. The thesis also discusses the dynamics of the illegal transactions of tiger parts products. Legitimate meditators or dispute resolutions mechanisms are lacking in the underworld so the risks, which the parties undertake during trading, are far higher. This thesis explores how illegal transactions are enforced, carried out and honored in this trade. In order to map the organization of the tiger trade, I conducted fieldwork in three trading hubs across China: Lhasa. Kunming and Xining. I discovered five tiger parts trading networks, three of which specialized in the trading of tiger skins and two in tiger bones. Within these networks, the level of perceived but not the actual level of risk influences the decisions of the actors in the network. Entry into the network is easy when the perceived level of enforcement is low. In these settings, there is no ethnic restriction for entering the network; the supplier is willing to trade with anyone with a trustworthy reputation. On the other hand, accessibility to the network is strictly controlled when actors perceive a high level of enforcement in their operating environment. Under this setting, the organization of the network becomes more exclusive and ethnically homogenous, as shown in the Tibetan tiger skin-trading network in Lhasa and the tiger bone-trading network in Kunming. The proximity of the tiger source country to the re-distribution sites (fieldwork cities) also influences the organization of the networks. When the level of enforcement is low and the tiger source country is far away from the re-distribution sites, a monetary deposit is required in order to show that the buyer is serious about his/her request, as shown by the tiger skin-trading network in Kunming.

This thesis investigates the practices and compositions of gangs in Greater Manchester, England. Primarily drawing from qualitative data gathered in two adult, men's prisons, it explores gang members' activities, how these practices develop on 'the street', and how they are later affected by imprisonment. The thesis also explores the links between race, geographical area and gang affiliation, analysing how a gang member's racial background and area of origin may relate to his gang. The results show the strong influence of gangs at the sample prisons, and how gangs affect the ways in which prisoners negotiate the carceral space: violent practices, gang allegiances and rivalries developed on 'the street' are regularly transplanted into prison. These high levels of gang 'importation' into the sample prisons result in the social and cultural significance of street gangs often penetrating prison walls. Area of origin and shared racial background are strong unifying 'banners' under which many prison gangs operate, and violence is an integral part of life in 'the gang'. However, reflecting the academic literature, gang members often contest the terminology around 'gangs', showing the polarized discourse around these topics. The thesis attempts to resolve some of these debates by presenting a comprehensive gang typology shaped by theory and prisoners' testimonies.

The suppression of transnational organised crime has continued to rise on the agenda of the international community and is today an affirmed goal of most states. To increase the effectiveness of suppression, it is necessary for states to cooperate across borders in criminal investigations. The legal regime by which this is done is called mutual legal assistance, MLA, and is one of the most practically important developments in public international law over recent decades. The development however has led to several unanswered questions regarding the position of the individual in the procedure. Those are manifested in three main areas, namely; the requirements for employment of MLA; the application of exceptions and; human rights protection.   This thesis elaborates on and analyses the balance between effectiveness in formal international law enforcement and the protection of fundamental rights in such procedures in the three main ambiguous areas.   The analysis points to the importance of the principle of reciprocity for effective cooperation and argues that the conditions for MLA should not be altered. It argues that the number of exceptions shall be kept at a minimum. However, the efforts to abolish the exception for offences of a political nature should be halted or at least approached with more caution. This is true also of when concerning terrorism offences.   The analysis shows that the protection available to the person whom the MLA request concerns is inadequate. There is an urgent need to reform the system in that respect, in particular by opening channels of complaint.   The final conclusion is that, in light of the unquestionable importance of MLA in the suppression of transnational organised crime, it is possible to make limited reform in the areas of human rights and the guarantee of a right to a fair trial without jeopardising the necessary effectiveness of the system.

Organised crime is a worldwide phenomenon, which also affects South Africa. In many instances organised crime is transnational. Consequently, South Africa had to develop legislation in order adequately to deal with organised syndicates and associations of criminals, and bring its legal system in line with international standards aimed at combating transnational organised crime. In the United States of America organised crime, and any conduct that meets a “pattern of racketeering”, are prosecuted under the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act 18 USCA 1961-1968. This legislation played a significant role when racketeering offences were formulated in the South African Act. The Prevention of Organised Crime Act 121 of 1998 inter alia includes aspects such as racketeering, money laundering, gangs and the civil recovery of property. It also deals with conduct of individual wrongdoing and crimes that cannot be categorised as organised crime. This study focuses on problematic aspects with regard to racketeering offences in Chapter 2 of the Act that are probably going to labour the Constitutional Court and/or the Supreme Court of Appeal in the near future. One of the problematic aspects of Chapter 2 of the Act is that it does not include a definition of “racketeering”. It only describes the different types of conduct which may lead to a successful prosecution on racketeering offences. The legislation also introduces new concepts, such as “enterprise” and “pattern of racketeering activity”. Therefore, in order to determine whether the State will succeed in prosecuting an accused with racketeering offences, it must be established what is meant by the terms of being part of an “enterprise” and what a “pattern of racketeering activity” entails. Also of importance is the requirement that two or more offences referred to in Schedule 1 of the Act must have been committed for a successful prosecution. Although the South African courts have considered this aspect there is still room for discussion as to whether an accused must have previously been convicted of two or more criminal offences referred to in Schedule 1 for a conviction on racketeering offences, or whether the commission of one offence will suffice. The offence of racketeering does not only consist of the commission of an act in itself. The membership or association with a legal or illegal organisation also plays a vital role to determine culpability. This study looks at the possible role (s) that an accused may fulfil when he is involved as a member of an organisation involved with racketeering offences. Another aspect that needs to be clarified is the requirement relating to fault. The element of unlawfulness is also problematic when an accused did not foresee the possibility of unlawfulness of his actions. Close consideration is given to the requirements for culpability and whether mere negligence on the part of a role player is sufficient as a form of mens rea for a successful prosecution or not. The element of unlawfulness is also discussed. Ordinary citizens may raise the issue that they did not know that the commission of two or more offences mentioned in Schedule 1, may lead to the prosecution of a racketeering offence. Therefore, it is crucial to determine whether a role player must have the necessary knowledge of unlawfulness to commit the racketeering offences. The fact that the Act has been introduced in the South African legal system to criminalise racketeering offences does not exclude the scenario that each case must be decided on its own particular set of facts. It is clear from the research presented that there must be one or other link between the accused person, the “enterprise” and the “pattern of racketeering activities” for a successful prosecution on a racketeering offence. This study seeks to provide assistance to legal practitioners when their clients are faced with prosecution on a racketeering offence. The study also discusses the real risk of a possible duplication of convictions. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Procedural Law / unrestricted

Risk assessment of organised crime groups can assess different types of risk at a group- or individual-level. Operational definitions of key concepts, units of analysis and type of data are a few issues prevalent in risk assessment (RA) instruments when assessing risk in gangs on a group-level. Do these methodological issues also affect risk assessment in OCG members on an individual level? This review will also focus on how risk assessment instruments are used when assessing individual risk in gang members. The review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Five databases were included in the review. The abstract screening process yielded 47 studies suitable for full-text screening. Only 8 studies qualified for inclusion after applying the eligibility criteria. A narrative synthesis revealed that risk assessment in OCG members were focused on an adolescent population within a mainly western cultural setting. The RA tools were mostly used in custody settings but also took place in the community and in schools. Variations on RA instruments based on Level of Service Inventory (Andrews & Bonta, 2010) were the most common ones, but other frameworks and models assessing risk were also used. Similar methodological issues were observed on an individual-risk assessment level as on a group level, resulting in a negative impact on validity of RA instruments when used on OCG members.

Based upon two years of ethnographic fieldwork in London, England, which incorporated nearly 200 interviews with gang members, gang associates, and police officers, among others, this thesis addresses three questions presently unresolved in the street gangs literature: What is the business of gangs? How are gangs organised? And how do gangs recruit? With regard the business of gangs, this thesis illustrates how recreation, crime, enterprise, and extra-legal governance represent sequential stages in the evolutionary cycle of London’s street gangs. Gang member testimony emphasises how gangs typically begin life as neighbourhood-based peer groups, but also how, in response to external threats and financial commitments, gangs grow to incorporate street-level drugs distribution businesses that very much resemble the multi-level marketing structure of direct-sales companies. People join gangs to make money, achieve status, and obtain protection. Gangs engage in turf wars, acquire violent resources, and develop hierarchical structures in order to maintain provision of these desirable goods and services. Gang organisation, in turn, becomes a function of gang business. To better understand the nature and extent of gang organisation, this thesis moves on to discuss the presence of subgroups, hierarchy and leadership, pecuniary and non-pecuniary incentives, rules, responsibilities, and restrictions, and consequences for absconding within gangs. It further presents how, in order to convey reputation and achieve intimidation, gangs seek association with elements of popular culture that help promote their image. Finally, through the novel application of signalling theory to the gang recruitment process, this thesis demonstrates how gangs face a primary trust dilemma in their uncertainty over the quality of recruits. Given that none of the trust-warranting properties for gang membership can be readily discovered from observation, gangs look for observable signs correlated with these properties. Gangs face a secondary trust dilemma in their uncertainty over the reliability of signs because certain agents (e.g., police informants, rival gang members, and adventure-seekers) have incentives to mimic them. To overcome their informational asymmetry gangs thus screen for signs that are too costly for mimics to fake but affordable for the genuine article. The thesis concludes with a discussion of gang desistance and intervention in the context of escalating youth violence in London.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Criminology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2015 / The research concerned with the aim of this study, was to assess the appli-cation of intelligence-driven investigation in combating organised motor vehicle theft. The strategic intelligence plan, information sharing and understanding of or-ganised vehicle theft, are some of approaches which will assist in dealing with the challenge of the illegal sale of vehicles and vehicle parts. There is indeed a need to address police corruption, if the battle against vehicle theft is to be realised. The objectives of this study were the following: to explain the strategic intelli-gence plan for investigating motor vehicle theft; to evaluate whether investiga-tions of organised motor vehicle theft in Thohoyandou cluster are intelligence-driven; to assess if the cluster uses intelligence offender profiling in investi-gations; to explore how intelligence-driven investigation assists in information sharing; and, to make recommendations for the improvement of intelligence-driven vehicle theft investigation. The researcher wanted to apply new research knowledge, in order to develop good practice in the field. This has been done by recommending new proced-ures to enhance performance and to improve the ways and means of combating organised vehicle theft. KEY TERMS Intelligence-driven investigation; strategic intelligence; intelligence cycle; crime investigations; modus operandi; offender profiling; organised crime; systems theory; motor vehicle theft; information sharing.