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Organized Crime John Anderson
CRIM 101 Introduction to
Criminology
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THE PROBLEM OF CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS
Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs
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Background
Hells Angels have been identified by Canadian Security Intelligence Services (CSIS) as exercising “enormous criminal clout”. 180 chapters worldwide Drug trafficking, money laundering,
prostitution Nanaimo’s HA chapter has 12 full patch
members and numerous “associates” and “hang-arounds”
Clubhouse seized in November 2007 under provincial Civil Forfeiture Office
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GENERAL FEATURES OF CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS
SECTION 1
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Structure of COs Insulated leadership
Orders can never be directly traced to leaders
Paramilitary structure Emblems or titles indicating rank &
status Internal enforcement elite (Nomads
or “the fixer”) Code of conduct with severe penalties
for “ratting out” or stealing from other members
May have counter-surveillance on police
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Structure of COs Long recruitment process
May have to commit serious crimes to prove they are not associated with police
Family members are “fast tracked” in the organization
Large pool of potential recruits May have to belong to particular ethnic
or cultural group (Vietnamese gangs, Indo-Canadian, Russian syndicates, etc.)
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Scope of Problem
One in six homicides is “gang related” (Stats Canada, 2006)
Over 300 street gangs identified in Canada, an estimated 11,000 gang members & associates.
$27 to $69 million is laundered annually.
Credit card fraud led to losses of $200 million in Canada in 2005. Debit card losses amounted to $70 million.
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Scope of Problem
Motor vehicle theft costs Canadians an estimated $1 billion a year. About one-third of vehicles are never
recovered The impact on the global economy of
counterfeit goods such as CDs and purses is an estimated $600 billion a year.
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Scope of Problem
Counterfeit & piracy market $533.05B
Drug trade estimated at $321.6 billion No. 1 purchasing country is USA ($290
B) No. 5 purchasing country is Canada
($32.2B) US Feds seized $1.6B in drug money
(2007) at US-Mexico border US Customs estimates they intercept
less than 10% of contraband goods and proceeds of crime
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CONDITIONS NECESSARY FOR ORGANIZED CRIME
SECTION 2
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Conditions Necessary for O/C
1. A law or laws which make products or services illegal to possess or use (e.g., Controlled Substances Act; prostitution)
Controlled Substances Act Criminalizes cultivation, possession and/or
trafficking in cannabis, heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, etc.
Copyright Act makes it an offence to make unauthorized copies of audio/visual media.
Consumer Protection Act levies
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Conditions Necessary for O/C
2. High demand by the public for contraband
According to the BC Centre for Addictions Research, one in five men have used cannabis in the past year (an approximation of “public demand”).
3. People motivated to provide contraband products and/or services
Canadian Security Intelligence Service: 900 gangs operating in Canada
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Conditions Necessary for O/C
4. Opportunities for crime: Globalization has increased the
volume of international trade Less than 5% of all container cargo
entering North America is inspected by authorities
Culture and media depicting the thrill of criminal organizations
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Conditions Necessary for O/C
5. An environment where the benefits of law-breaking are perceived to outweigh the risks Very high profits from little investment Global black market estimated at
$1.038 trillion
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ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES
SECTION 3
Organized Crime Lecture, Fall 2011 16
Enforcement Activities
Do laws and expenditures on policing lead to fewer
problems with the illicit drug trade?
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Supply and Demand
If nations are successful in illicit drug control, the price of drugs will increase
Scarcity leads to higher prices Abundance leads to lower prices All data in the next slides come from
the United Nations World Drug Report (2008)
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Worldwide Seizures Up
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Heroin prices down
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THE LEGAL REACTION TO ORGANIZED CRIME
SECTION 4
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Organized Crime (Criminal Organizations)
What is “organized crime” and why is the definition an issue?
1. If four teenagers conspire to break into a home and sell what they steal, are they a “criminal organization”?
2. If a corporation conspires to cheat consumers, are they “organized criminals”?
3. If members of the Catholic Church have systematically brutalized aboriginal youth in residential schools, were they acting as a CO?
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Criminal Organizations
467.1 A “criminal organization” means a group, however organized, that(a) is composed of three or more persons
in or outside Canada; and(b) has as one of its main purposes or
main activities the facilitation or commission of one or more serious offences that, if committed, would likely result in the direct or indirect receipt of a material benefit, including a financial benefit, by the group or by any of the persons who constitute the group.
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Criminal CodeDefinition of Criminal Organization
It is a crime to participate in a criminal organization but what or whom constitutes a “criminal organization”? Or… How do we know one when we see one? Criminal Code defines CO but does not
make it an offence to be a member of one. jfa
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(3) In determining whether an accused participates in or contributes to any activity of a criminal organization, the Court may consider, among other factors, whether the accused…
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(a) uses a name, word, symbol or other representation that identifies, or is associated with, the criminal organization;
(b) frequently associates with any of the persons who constitute the criminal organization;
(c) receives any benefit from the criminal organization; or
(d) repeatedly engages in activities at the instruction of any of the persons who constitute the criminal organization.
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Participating in a Criminal Organization
467.11 (1) Every person who, for the purpose of enhancing the ability of a criminal organization to facilitate or commit an indictable offence under this or any other Act of Parliament, knowingly, by act or omission, participates in or contributes to any activity of the criminal organization is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.
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SOLUTIONS TO ORGANIZED CRIME (DRUG TRADE)
SECTION 5
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Possible Solutions
BC Progress Report (2006) addressed the issue of organized crime in BC: 1. Legalize or decriminalize drug use.
Make it a health issue for medical professionals to treat.
Removes market from organized crime. 2. Maximum enforcement capacity,
build new prisons, longer sentences and greater police powers
3. Hybrid approach: 10 years of strict enforcement followed by decriminalization
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Civil Forfeiture
What is Civil Asset Forfeiture?Creation of a civil cause of action brought against illicitly acquired property.
Based upon civil law concepts dealing with unjust enrichment, property rights and compensation.Allows the government, using the civil court process, to seek the forfeiture of proceeds of unlawful activity.
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Civil Forfeiture
“Property” - What can be seized:
real property or tangible or intangible personal property, including cash
applies only to property or an interest in property located in British Columbia
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CONCLUSIONS
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Conclusions
Organized crime thrives on market opportunities through globalization and international demand for contraband
Policing/enforcement efforts have not shown to be very successful in curbing the activities of criminal organizations
Only two solutions: reduce supply or demand. Demand can be reduced by making drug use a medical condition to be treated by health-care.
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Resources
Links of Interest Annual Cannabis Use by Country Canadian Majority Would Legalize Cannabis (Angus Reid P
oll) Canadian Security Intelligence Service Havocscope.com: Black Markets Hells Angels World Legality of Cannabis Use by Country Organized Crime (Gov’t of Canada Website) National Ant-Drug Strategy Sonny Barger – Founder of Hells Angels United Nations: World Drug Report
The End
