COMBATTING ORGANISED CRIME

UNIT 13 COMBATTING ORGANISED CRIME
Discuss with a partner.
1. What is organised crime?
2. How serious is the threat to democracy posed by organised crime?
3. Can organised crime be defeated through a government’s tough laws?
4) Which are the main activities of organised crime? And the main transnational gangs?
5) Can you give some examples of illicit drugs?
6) What are the most crucial aspects in effectively preventing corruption?
7) Which are the areas related to organised crime that demand the attention of
governments?

Exercise 1 Fighting Global Crime
Put the words given into the correct places in the following statements.
will perceptions provide insufficient temporary
backed faster implications heavily arises

1. Transnational crime has grown ______________than international law enforcement
capabilities.
2. Transnational crime thrives on ________________ alliances and shifting networks
between criminal entrepreneurs.
3. Law enforcement relies ______________on formal agreements between
governments and national police forces.
4. The effectiveness of bodies such as Interpol and the Europol depends on the political
______________ of participating nations.
5. There is no global police force and _____________ cooperation between national
crime fighters.
6. States want complete control of their security services and democracies worry about
the __________________ for civil liberties of global policing.
7. Inequalities in wealth – partly due to the opening of borders in Eastern Europe
_____________ opportunities for both amateur smugglers and organised crime.
8. Globalisation and technology have changed ________________ of territorial

control.
9. Criminals stealing money electronically may have no physical presence in the
country where the cash is stolen or deposited. The question _______________:
where was the crime committed and whose jurisdiction should apply?
10. U.N. conventions are helpful but do little to combat crime unless they are
______________ by credible international enforcement.

Exercise 2
Match the following verbs with their corresponding definitions:
1 – to thrive on (sth.) a) to start something such as a business, organisation or
institution
2 – to bring down b) to enter by force, especially to steal something
3 – to break into c) to find something or meet someone by accident
4 – to stumble on (sb./sth) d) to put someone in prison (or a mental hospital)
5 – to put away e) to be successful or happy in a particular situation, perhaps
even one that other people would not enjoy
6 - to set up f) to cause a government or politician to lose power; to reduce
the rate, level or amount of something



Discuss with a partner the aspects of fighting global crime outlined above.

Exercise 3 The Mafia – the original organised crime group!
Listen to the text and say whether the following statements are TRUE or FALSE or
NOT STATED
1. The name “mafia” is mainly associated with Italy but has become a general term for
organised gangsterism.
2. The Fascists under Mussolini supported the Mafia.
3. “Bootlegging” was the term given to illegal smuggling of migrants in to the USA.

4. Mafia control and power spread into the US armed forces, infiltrating the army
especially.
5. The Mafia was involved in many rackets but avoided drugs for moral reasons.
6. The FBI under J.Edgar Hoover recognised the threat to society from organised crime
at a very early stage.
7. The Mafia changed their operations from local rackets to national and transnational
activities.
8. The Mafia has always remained an exclusively Italian/Sicilian based partnership.

Activity 1
Translate into English
Mafia este o lume logică, raţională, funcţională şi implacabilă. Mult mai logică, mai
raţională şi mai implacabilă decât statul. Mafia este o articulaţie a puterii, o metamorfoză
a puterii, dar şi a patologie a puterii. Mafia este un sistem economic, o componentă
obligatorie a sistemului economic global. Mafia se dezvoltă datorită statului şi îşi
adaptează comportamentul în funcţie de acesta.

Activity 2
Comment on Louise Shelley’s assertion:
“Organised crime will be a defining issue of the 21
st
century as the Cold War was for the
20
th
century and colonialism was for the 19
th
century”. These ideas may help you.
Organised crime
vast profits/ instability/ human weakness/ speed of communication/
“white-collar criminals/ corrupt governments/ built on poverty/ exploit greed and power

Cold war
Control of information/ climate of fear/ mutual distrust/ image of the “enemy”/
“superpowers only”- other countries mainly onlookers
Colonialism
exploitation/ benefit to whom? / notion of dominance/ legacy of colonialism/ mentalities

Exercise 4
Fill in the gaps with one of the following words:

social phenomena
effects growth
policies network
weak global
civil issues



1. Transnational organized crime and corruption are now acknowledged as high-priority
..... that need more attention and creative solutions.
2. These growing phenomena present a formidable challenge to international law, …..
society and both political and business communities.
3. They have a negative impact on the global political economy, and disproportionately
negative .... on transitional and developing countries.
4. Those most severely impacted are the less privileged, particularly women, children,
small businesses, entrepreneurs and minorities, and those not part of the ..... of
corruption.
5. Other serious impacts are decreased trade and investment, policy distortion, less
transparency and accountability, and reduced funding for key ..........services at the
national and local level.
6. The net result of systemic crime and corruption is a .... civil society incapable of

supporting a market-based democratic form of government.
7. It also results in unsound budgetary ....... that under-invest in the fundamental needs
and rights of citizens, such as basic healthcare, property ownership, quality education,
public safety, a clean environment and fundamental human rights, including free speech
and a free press.
8. Systemic corruption often leads to ........ crime and corruption activities, which then
becomes a problem for the world community.
9. The transnational crime and corruption center (TraCCC) and United Research
Centers (URC) provide an international, multi-disciplinary forum in which to address
and attack the complex ........ relating to organized crime and corruption .
10. Each mutually-supporting activity of the Centers also promotes international
cooperation, economic ........, good governance, the rule of law and a vibrant civil
society.



Cigarette sellers in Kosovo





Exercise 5
Read the following excerpts on organized crime and decide which of the following
headlines is appropriate for each of them.

1. MONEY LAUNDERING 7. CRIME: CASH: “LEGITIMACY”
2. WHITE – COLLAR CRIMINALS 8. ANSWERING MARKET DEMAND
3. THE GLOBAL FLESH TRADE 9. THE NEW WORLD DISORDER
4. CAUGHT UP IN CORRUPTION 10. GANG STRUCTURE

5. REWARDS OF THE DRUGS TRADE
6. RIVALRY FOR THE TOP JOBS

A. “Where western governments worry about the insidious power of criminal gangs,
some countries with less developed democracies have governments which practise a
form of super-organized crime – looting the national wealth for the benefit of family and
friends. The line between gangsters and dictators may be hard to distinguish. And even
western politicians can sometimes get trapped in the organised crime net. The temptation
to turn a blind eye in return for massive financial reward is a human weakness not
restricted to poor undemocratic countries.

B. One of the striking features of modern organised crime is that some gangs continue to
operate effectively even when their leaders are killed or put in jail. This is an indication
of very sophisticated organisational structures. However, the notion of global crime
groups with formally constituted management “pyramids” is probably misguided.

C. Clearly, however, the loss of gang leaders may cause great disruption of activities,
especially if rival contenders begin killing each other for the top positions.

D. Organised crime offers such vast profits that new gangs appear as soon as old ones are
put away. The anomalies of the global marketplace - rich alongside poor; wide variations
in national laws and regulations and the price of goods (such as petrol, cigarettes and
alcohol); legal bans on goods or services in wide demand (such as drugs, gambling or
prostitution); and the wide availability of arms in the post-Cold War environment – offer
numerous opportunities to organised crime.

E. According to the UN, the drugs trade alone is reckoned to generate revenue of $ 400
billion a year. Such huge sums make it possible for the traffickers to bribe almost anyone
in their path. The nature of operations has changed too, with numerous gangs operating
across borders and using advanced technology (such as encrypted computers) to pursue

and conceal their activities. The weaponry available to some of these groups is of
paramilitary grade. No form of potential market is ignored, nothing is taboo.

F. “The scale of the profits from drug trafficking and other activities of organised crime
is such that it requires complex international banking arrangements. The proceeds of
most crime come in cash, whereas most commercial transactions are conducted by paper
(cheques, bank drafts etc.) or plastic card. Turning “dirty money” into clean money
(laundering) has thus become a major industry of its own.

G. Cash can be laundered by simply passing it through a legitimate cash-based activity
such as gambling (racecourses, casinos, etc.), sports stadia (turnstile receipts, food and
drink sales, etc.); or the entertainment business (restaurants, hotels, nightclubs etc.).


These money-laundering advantages do much to explain the popularity of cash
businesses with organised crime, especially since such businesses are often lucrative in
their own right.

H. The Internet has made the distribution of pornographic material a global industry,
offering the most bizarre sexual entertainment at the push of a few keys. Much of the
trade is linked to organised crime, which has a long history of peddling sex through
prostitution and pornography. Whereas the traditional sex industry operated with cash
and anonymity, Internet sales rely on credit cards and e-mails- thus giving sophisticated
gangs a pathway into new forms of exploitation through credit card extortion and
blackmail.
Many brothels are controlled by organised crime, especially in large cities. One of the
ugliest aspects of this business is the increasing number of young women who are forced
through poverty, drug addiction or physical intimidation to embark upon a life of
prostitution against their will.

I. The common theme of most criminal activities is the fulfilment of a strong market
demand which cannot be met by legitimate business – because it is unethical, illegal, or
too costly. Organised crime also searches for weaknesses in government or business
systems so that cash payments can be diverted. East European gangs, long stifled by
communism, have turned out to be especially good at this. For example, Russian
emigrants living in the USA devised lucrative scams in gasoline taxes and health care
payments – more sophisticated forms of organised crime than the traditional activities of
extortion, loan-sharking gambling and prostitution.

J. Society is much kinder to white-collar criminals who steal millions in financial fraud
than to bank robbers who threaten the cashier and run off with a few thousand. Physical
violence upsets the citizenry far more than corporate theft. A petty crook is scorned,
while a millionaire fraudster may consort with princes. These oddities of human ethics
have enabled some very big crooks to move in the corridors of power. As long as the
“dirty business” is kept out of sight, all is well.

Exercise 6 The Borderless World

Match the two halves of the sentences to make a continuous text.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
D

1. Rich countries have increasingly tougher controls on immigration …
2. Even well-intentioned governments can open new opportunities for organised crime
…
3. Differences in national taxes on cigarettes and alcohol ….
4. Smugglers provide 10% of the cigarettes sold in UK…
5. Once shopkeepers, pub or bar-owners begin to take cut-price supplies …
6. Even the world of medicine is affected by the tentacles of organised crime …
7. Controlling environmental pollution seems a positive feature of modern

government…
8. In New York, even until the mid 1990s …
9. In the developing world where the majority of the people are extremely poor …
10. Some gangsters even become “legitimate” politicians …