Description
Book SynopsisElgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas.
Organised crime has become a major problem globally. Its negative impact on economies, societies, politics, human rights and security is profound: fraud, money-laundering, drug, arms and human trafficking, and collusion with both law enforcement and terrorists, for example, are all significant issues. Yet specialists disagree not only on the scale and nature of organised crime, but even on its definition. This Advanced Introduction to Organised Crime explores these disagreements, examines the nature and causes of contemporary organised crime, and offers constructive suggestions on how to counter it.
Key features include:
- Emphasis on the rapidly changing structures of organised crime, its increasingly transnational nature and sophisticated use of the internet.
- Psycho-social and cultural explanations, as well as system-related ones
- Explores the latest techniques for measuring organised crime
- Provides detailed analyses of six of the best known transnational organised crime syndicates
- Focuses on human trafficking to exemplify many of the key points
- Examines the many methods that can be used - not only by states and international organisations, but also by civil society and individuals - to combat organised crime.
Accessible and comprehensive, the Advanced Introduction to Organised Crime is an ideal resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students studying criminology, political science, international relations, law and sociology. Its profound insights are invaluable to practitioners, including law enforcement officers, investigative journalists and criminologists.
Trade ReviewBy calling his new book
Advanced Introduction to Organised Crime, Leslie Holmes indicates right from the outset that he is setting a different course in examining what some might regard as an already much examined subject. Echoing the comic strip character Pogo, who memorably said, ''We Have Met the Enemy and He Is Us!'' the author points out, in this insightful and informative analysis, that each and every individual must play a role in resisting organized crime. Toward this end, Holmes concludes, ''everyone's political will matters.'' This is a profoundly important observation. --Jim Finckenauer, Rutgers University
Table of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Definitional Aspects 2. The Impact of Organised Crime 3. Measuring Organised Crime 4. Major Structured TOC Groupings 5. Psycho-social and Cultural Causes 6. System-related Causes 7. Combating Organised Crime: The Role of States and IOs 8. Combating Organised Crime: The Role of other Agencies 9. Conclusions Index
