Transnational Organized Crime / Edition 1

by Frank Madsen

Overview

With organized crime estimated to generate billions of dollars every year through illegal activities such as money laundering, smuggling of people and goods, extortion, robbery, fraud and insider trading, authorities are increasingly working together to combat this increasing threat to international security and stability.

In this book former police officer Frank Madsen provides a much needed, short and accessible introduction to transnational organized crime, explaining its history and the key current issues and clearly examining the economics and practices of crime in the era of globalization.

Key issues discussed include:

• the war on drugs
• anti-money laundering efforts
• the relationship between organized crime and terrorism
• development of ‘Internet based’ criminal activity
• international response to transnational organized crime.

Illustrated by a series of researched case studies from around the world, Transnational Organized Crime is essential reading for all students and researchers in International Relations, International Law and Criminology.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415464994
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	04/30/2009
Series:	Global Institutions
Pages:	190
Product dimensions:	5.44(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Frank G. Madsen is a researcher in transnational crime at the University of Cambridge. A former police officer with both the Danish police force and Interpol, his research interests include organized crime, corruption, trafficking in women and children, and environmental crime, in particular deforestation.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations xiii

Foreword xiv

Acknowledgements xvii

List of abbreviations xviii

Introduction 1

1 Taxonomy 5

2 History and development of the concept of organized crime 12

3 The transnational crimes 25

4 Transnational crime and terrorism 62

5 The economics of transnational organized crime 80

6 Initiatives against transnational crime 93

7 Critical issues and future trends 121

8 Conclusion 127

Annex 1 Number of drugs and substances under international control, 1912-95 131

Annex 2 Wholesale and retail prices, heroin, Europe and the United States, 1990-2006 132

Annex 3 Narcotics statistics, the United States. Federal costs 133

Annex 4 The drug user population 134

Annex 5 Worldwide seizures of drugs, excluding cannabis 135

Annex 6 Seizures of smuggled cigarettes, Europe, 1999 136

Annex 7 Plastic card fraud losses on U.K.-issued cards, 1997-2007 137

Annex 8 The Mafia Co. balance sheet 138

Notes 139

Annotated bibliography 158

Index 162