This book aims to provide an accessible introduction to the study of
organised crime - about those who commit it, the effect it has on
individuals, businesses and states, and the ways in which states and the
international community have sought to contain it. It explores all
facets of what has become one of the key problems facing governments,
policy makers and law enforcement agencies in the early twenty-first
century.
Organised Crime has four predominant themes: the nature and central
concepts of organised crime the specific activities with which it is
associated its origins and growth nationally, regionally and globally
the efforts by the international community and law enforcement agencies
to contain, regulate and control the risks that it poses. The book
contains a number of detailed case studies illustrating the growth of
organised crime at national, international and transnational levels,
ranging from the mafia, criminal gangs in the UK through to the new wave
of organised crime in Russia and the post-Soviet states.
It will be essential reading for both students and practitioners in the
police and other law enforcement agencies who have a concern with
organised crime worldwide.