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Organized Crime: New Label, New Phenomenon or Policy Expedient?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 May 2025

Letizia Paoli
Letizia Paoli*
Affiliation:
Prof. Dr. Leuven Institute of Criminology. K.U. Leuven Faculty of Law, Belgium.
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Abstract

The perception of and the policies against organized crime have drastically changed since the mid-1980s in Europe and the rest of the world. Whereas organized crime was long considered a problem that affected only a few countries, in the past three decades there has been a growing concern Worldwide about this form of crime, which has fed and justified policy reform.

Given this huge and sudden shift, the article considers the extent to which organized crime can be best defined in terms of one of the three following definitions : (1) a new label attached to pre-existing illegal activities and actors that have remained substantially unchanged; (2) a new phenomenon : that is, the growing use of the expression ‘organized crime’ effectively points to the rise of fundamentally new actors or new ways of conducting illegal activities; (3) an expedient to promote and legitimize encompassing policy and institutional reforms and enhance international police and judicial cooperation.

After reviewing organized crime manifestations and policies in Europe and elsewhere, the article concludes that there is evidence to support all three definitions; however, there is no doubt that the first and third ones (organized crime as a new label and policy expedient, respectively) fit more closely than the second one (organized crime as a new phenomenon).

Résumé

Résumé

La perception du crime organisé et les politiques qui sont développées à son encontre ont changé radicalement depuis le milieu des années 1980 tant en Europe que dans le reste du monde. Alors que le crime organisé a longtemps été considéré comme un problème propre à certaines contrées, les trois dernières décennies ont vu croître dans le monde entier la préoccupation de cette forme de crime, alimentant et justifiant la volonté de changer la politique à son égard.

Face à ce changement important et soudain, l'auteur examine dans quelle mesure le crime organisé trouve le mieux sa définition dans les trois formules suivantes : (1) un nouveau label pour des activités illégales préexistantes et des acteurs qui n'ont pas substantiellement changé; (2) un phénomène nouveau : l'usage accru de l'expression “crime organisé” répondrait à l'augmentation d'acteurs fondamentalement nouveaux ou de nouvelles manières de mener des activités illégales; (3) un expédient pour promouvoir et légitimer des politiques et des réformes institutionnelles et favoriser la coopération internationale en matière policière et judiciaire.

Après avoir passé en revue les manifestations du crime organisé et les politiques développées en Europe et ailleurs, l'auteur de l'article conclut qu'aucune preuve n'étaye aucune des trois définitions, mais qu'il n'y a pas de doute que la première et la troisième (nouvelle étiquette, ou justification de politiques) rendent mieux compte de la réalité que la deuxième (phénomène nouveau).

Resumen

Resumen

La percepción del crimen organizado y de las políticas en contra del mismo han experimentado un cambio drástico desde mediados de los años ochenta tanto en Europa como en el resto del mundo. Durante mucho tiempo se consideró que el crimen organizado era un problema que solo afectaba a unos pocos países, pero en las tres últimas décadas el interés por este tipo de crimen ha ido creciendo en todo el mundo, alimentando y justificando así una reforma de esta política.

Dado este enorme y repentino cambio, el artículo considera cual de las tres definiciones que siguen a continuación, es la mejor para referirse al crimen organizado: (1) dar una nueva etiqueta a actividades ilegales ya existentes y a actores, aunque no hayan cambiado sustancialmente; (2) un nuevo fenómeno: el creciente uso de la expresión «crimen organizado» señala fundamentalmente el aumento de nuevos actores o nuevos modos de realizar actividades ilegales; (3) un recurso para promocionar y legitimizar reformas políticas e institucionales y promover la policía internacional y la cooperación judicial.

Después de revisar muestras y políticas de crimen organizado en Europa y otros lugares, el artículo concluye que hay evidencia para apoyar las tres definiciones. Sin embargo, no hay duda de que la primera y la tercera (crimen organizado como una nueva etiqueta, y un recurso politico, respectivamente) se ajustan mejor que la segunda (crimen organizado como un nuevo fenómeno).

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
International Annals of Criminology , Volume 46 , Issue 1-2 , 2008 , pp. 39 - 62
Copyright
Copyright © 2008 International Society for Criminology

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Footnotes

(1)

This article is an extended version of the keynote lecture delivered at the XV World Congress of Criminology on July 22, 2008, in Barcelona. I would like to thank warmly Tony Peters for inviting me to give that lecture and Cyrille Fijnaut for allowing me to draw extensively upon the chapters we originally wrote jointly for Organized Crime in Europe (Fijnaut and Paoli, 2004).

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