Juvenile Delinquency in the Context of Organized Crime in Mexico: A Systematic Review.

In 2007, Mexico implemented a strategy to combat drug trafficking through military intervention, after which a significant increase in homicides, mainly among young men, was observed and linked to structural problems as well as organized crime, especially the recruitment of youth, with adolescents being particularly vulnerable. Through a systematic review of the literature from 2013 to 2022, we have compiled the reported factors influencing the recruitment of adolescents by organized crime in Mexico and conducted a metasynthesis of the data according to the multiple levels that affect adolescents: individual, family, community, cultural, and social. This research has shown that many of the factors reported are interrelated and need to be studied holistically. In addition, many of the factors are common to other forms of juvenile delinquency, but the main difference is the presence of organized crime itself in the community and culture.

Attitudes towards Italian Mafias Scale (AIMS): development and validation.

In two studies we aimed at developing the Attitude towards Italian Mafias Scale (AIMS). In study 1 (N = 292) we used an Exploratory Factor Analysis to reduce the number of the items and explore their latent constructs. In study 2 (N = 393) we performed a Confirmatory Factor Analysis on the resulting 18-item questionnaire, whose latent structure was best identified by a general factor Mafia Attitude and three specific factors related to Behaviors, Cognitions and Emotions-Cognitions towards mafias. Moreover, we showed that the AIMS has (i) discriminant validity compared to a measure of attitudes towards crime, (ii) predictive validity of donation behavior to an association against mafias, (iii) internal consistency, and (iv) invariance for people of the five deep-rooted mafia regions of Southern Italy and those from the rest of Italy. Finally, we observed a difference between the participants from the five deep-rooted mafia regions (i.e., Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Sicily) and the rest of Italy, with the former having surprisingly more negative attitudes towards mafias compared to the latter. The AIMS might help to reliably survey people's sentiment towards Italian mafias and promote targeted and effective law-related education interventions.

Extreme Violence and Weight-Related Outcomes in Mexican Adults.

Sociological research suggests that violent environments contribute to excess weight, a pressing health issue worldwide. However, this research has neglected extreme forms of violence, such as armed conflicts, a theoretically significant omission because armed conflict could reasonably lead to weight loss, not weight gain. I examine the weight-related, short-term consequences of the Mexican "War on Organized Crime." I combine body mass index (N = 3,341) and waist circumference (N = 3,509) measures from the Mexico Family Life Survey with a novel data set on aggressions, confrontations, and executions between 2009 and 2011 (CIDE-PPD database) and exploit variation in the timing of the outcome relative to violent events taking place in the same residential environment. I find a robust and large positive association between armed conflict events and weight gain in adults and suggestive evidence of the behavioral, emotional, and physiological/biochemical pathways connecting those variables.

The international regime of drug control may violate the human right to life and security.

Critics of the international regime of drug control have often pointed to its criminogenic effects, maintaining that drug criminalization gives rise to a profitable illicit drugs market which in turn sustains organized crime networks. Here I will expand upon this critique to argue that the violent crime resulting from the drug criminalization regime may constitute a violation of the human right to life and security. To support this argument, I will discuss the extent to which policy makers and the citizens who empower them may stand morally responsible for unintended but foreseeable consequences of the policies they implement. I will note that a north-south imbalance is at play: while the Global North has been the driving force behind the criminalization regime, the violent criminality entailed by the regime of drug control has impacted the Global South most strongly.

COVID-19 and organized crime: an introduction to the special issue.

This is an introduction to the articles submitted to the special issue of Trends in Organized Crime on 'COVID-19 and Organized Crime'. The aim of the special issue is to draw together a range of empirical studies from around the world to explore the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for both organized criminals and law enforcement agencies. The pandemic required organized criminals to adapt their practice in light of government restrictions, but it also created new profitable opportunities. At the same time, however, COVID-19 posed significant challenges for law enforcement.

Same but different? A qualitative analysis of the influence of COVID-19 on law enforcement and organized crime in Germany.

Criminological research on COVID-19 and its repercussions on crimes, criminals and law enforcement agencies is still in its infancy. This paper fills that void with regard to the influence of COVID-19 on organized crime and the work of law enforcement agencies' investigations of organized crime in Germany by presenting empirical findings from a nationwide qualitative interview study. Through the methodological combination of Grounded Theory and Situational Analysis, we find three central narratives (us vs. them, nationalization vs. internationalization, conservatism vs. innovation) that were provided by law enforcement personnel in terms of the way in which COVID-19 influenced both organized crime groups and their work in the investigation thereof. Following a reflexive approach, the implications of COVID-19 on the research process itself are also discussed.

Criminalización y juvenicidio de culturas juveniles asociadas a organizaciones delincuenciales: caso colombianos / Criminalization and youthcide of youth cultures associated with criminal organizations: the case of the Cholombianos / Criminalização e juvenicídio de culturas juvenis associadas a organizações criminosas: o caso Cholombianos

Resumen (analítico) El artículo propone caracterizar y comprender los procesos de inserción de jóvenes en las organizaciones delincuenciales, tomando el caso de una cultura juvenil del noreste mexicano: los cholombianos. Plantea un marco de referencia construido por la articulación de categorías como violencia posestructural, desciudadanización, construcción de pánicos morales, estigmatización territorial, criminalización y sujeción criminal, para debatir y ampliar la conceptualización sobre el juvenicidio en México. Para ello, se analizan casos documentados por antropólogos y periodistas de jóvenes de distintas clases sociales que participan o son vinculados con la delincuencia organizada. A partir de un análisis teórico conceptual, se realizan observaciones sobre cómo los grupos delincuenciales forjan fuentes de pertenencia, respeto e identidad, y cómo estos y los poderes públicos llevan a cabo acciones de desciudadanización que destruyen culturas juveniles como la de los cholombianos.

Abstract (analytical) This article aims to characterize and comprehend the processes of young people joining criminal organizations by using a case study of a youth culture in the northeastern region of Mexico, the Cholombianos. The authors propose a reference framework based on the articulation of categories such as post-structural violence, de-citizenization, fabrication of moral panic, territorial stigmatization, criminalization and criminal subjection to discuss and expand the conceptualization of youthcide in Mexico. To achieve this process, the authors analyze cases documented by anthropologists and journalists of young people from different social classes who participate in or are linked to organized crime. Using a conceptual theoretical analysis, the authors discuss how criminal groups fabricate senses of belonging, respect and identity and how they and public authorities carry out de-citizenization actions that destroy youth cultures like the Cholombianos.

Resumo (analítico) O artigo se propõe a caracterizar e compreender os processos de inserção de jovens em organizações criminosas, tomando o caso de uma cultura juvenil do nordeste mexicano, os cholombianos, propõe um quadro de referência construído pela articulação de categorias como violência pós-estrutural, descidadania, construção de pânicos morais, estigmatização territorial, criminalização e sujeição criminal, para debater e ampliar a conceituação do assassinato juvenil no México. Para isso, são analisados casos, documentados por antropólogos e jornalistas, de jovens de diferentes classes sociais que participam ou estão ligados ao crime organizado. A partir de uma análise teórica conceitual, são feitas observações sobre como grupos criminosos forjam fontes de pertencimento, respeito e identidade, como eles e o poder público realizam ações de descidadania que destroem culturas juvenis como a dos cholombianos.

Private security and national security: The case of Estonia.

Most studies of private security postulate exclusively internal, primarily economic, causes of the industry's growth and regulation. In contrast, based on the case of post-Soviet Estonia, we investigate how a state's external security environment influences private security. Estonia's tense relations with neighbouring Russia and related pursuit of EU and NATO membership have generated several policies through which private security evolved from a lawless, politically contested industry to a modest, lightly regulated one: (1) the exclusion of public police from private security and an effective campaign against organized crime that together enabled an autonomous and non-criminalized security industry to emerge, (2) free-trade policies that permitted western companies to acquire Estonian security firms, and (3) an 'all-of-nation' approach to national security that promotes comprehensive state-civil society security cooperation. Estonia thus clarifies how high politics shapes private security, while also revealing the factors that make the industry relatively uncontentious in most industrialized democracies.

Organ Trafficking: Why Do Healthcare Workers Engage in It?

Organ trafficking in all its various forms is an international crime which could be entirely eliminated if healthcare professionals refused to participate in or be complicit with it. Types of organ trafficking are defined and principal international declarations and resolutions concerning it are discussed. The evidence for the involvement of healthcare professionals is illustrated with examples from South Africa and China. The ways in which healthcare professionals directly or indirectly perpetuate illegal organ transplantation are then considered, including lack of awareness, the paucity of both undergraduate and postgraduate education on organ trafficking, turning a blind eye, advocacy of organ commercialism, and the lure of financial gain.

Towards digital organized crime and digital sociology of organized crime.

As technology has changed people's lives, criminal phenomena are also constantly evolving. Today's digital society is changing the activities of organized crime and organized crime groups. In the digital society, very different organized crime groups coexist with different organizational models: from online cybercrime to traditional organized crime groups to hybrid criminal groups in which humans and machines 'collaborate' in new and close ways in networks of human and non-human actors. These criminal groups commit very different organized crime activities, from the most technological to the most traditional, and move from online to offline. They use technology and interact with computers for a variety of purposes, and the distinction between the physical and virtual dimensions of organized crime is increasingly blurred. These radical developments do not seem to be accompanied by a new criminological theoretical interpretive framework, with a definition of organized crime that is able to account for the changes that digital society brings to organized crime and generate modern research hypotheses. This article proposes the concept of digital organized crime and the spectrum theory of digital organized crimes, to be embedded within a current, revised sociological theory of the organization of crime and deviance in digital society (a new theory of digital criminal organizing) and argues that the study of digital organized crime will increasingly require a digital sociology of organized crime. Criminologists are called upon to work in this direction.

Vulnerable and dominant: Bright and dark side personality traits and values of individuals in organized crime in Denmark.

In this paper, we build on a robust literature on push and pull factors to focus on the personality traits and values of individuals involved in organized crime. We distinguish organized crime from other kinds of criminal activity and recruit a unique sample of non-incarcerated individuals verified by the Danish National Police to be involved in organized crime. We use comprehensive standardized psychological assessments of their big five personality traits, maladaptive dark traits and core values and drivers to compare them to an adult norm group. Danish individuals involved in organized crime are much less emotionally stable (d = 1.84), ambitious and self-confident (d = 1.50), agreeable (d = 0.87) and conscientious (d = 0.65) than the norm group. At the same time, they have substantially higher scores on all but one of the 11 dark traits (Cohen's d ranging from 0.39 to 3.10). They are characterized by a high need for security (d = 1.14) as well as material (d = 0.96) and financial success (d = 0.81). While these patterns fit results previously found in the criminological literature, a latent class analysis reveals two separate groups. A subset of one third of our sample had somewhat less depressed scores on the big five and more moderate scores on the dark traits, indicating more adaptive personality structures. We consider this novel finding in terms of potential exits from a milieu of organized crime.

Uncovering the degree of criminal organization: Swedish street gangs and the role of mobility and co-offending networks.

In this study we investigate organized crime by studying the degree of criminal organization. We use population-level register data on criminal suspicions between 2011 and 2016 to analyze the territoriality of Swedish street gangs in terms of geographical mobility, their collaboration in crime through their co-offending network's clustering and community structure, and their crime versatility. Although Swedish street gangs exhibit varying degrees of geographical mobility and criminal collaboration, overall, they have limited reach along these dimensions, characterized by low clustering and limited crime specialization. Violence seems to become a necessary tool only when a gang reaches a certain degree of organization. By unbraiding criminal mobility and its association with other organizational elements such as criminal collaboration in different settings, we provide insights into the structure and dynamics of criminal organizations and contribute to a richer understanding and conceptualization of how crime is organized.

The perfect storm. An analysis of the processes that increase lethal violence in Mexico after 2006.

Research on 'the War on Drugs' in Mexico finds that military interventions increase lethal violence in the country. However, these studies fail to account for other processes that may be driving the behavior of lethal violence in the Mexican municipalities. We find confirmation that these rival processes influence the relative impact that military interventions have on lethal violence. In particular, we find that seasonality in violence, competition for scarce resources and PAN's governance in the municipalities are associated with higher levels of lethal violence, as measured by the young male homicide rate. We argue that the literature may have overestimated the effect that military interventions have in lethal violence in municipalities and that other drivers of violence should be taken into account to accurately measure the impact that military interventions have on lethal violence.

Eco-Crimes and Ecocide at Sea: Toward a New Blue Criminology.

This essay adopts an interdisciplinary approach to consider the meaning of "eco-crime" in the aquatic environment and draws on marine science, the study of criminal law and environmental law, and the criminology of environmental harms. It reviews examples of actions and behaviors of concern, such as offences committed by transnational organized crime and the legal and illegal over-exploitation of marine resources, and it discusses responses related to protection, prosecution and punishment, including proposals for an internationally accepted and enforced law of ecocide. One key element of the policy and practice of ending ecocide is the call to prioritize the adoption of technologies that are benign and renewable. Our essay concludes with a description of the "Almadraba" method of fishing to illustrate that there are ways in which the principles of sustainability and restoration can be applied in an ethical and just way in the context of modern fisheries.

Narcotraficantes en Chile. Análisis estadístico-descriptivo de sujetos detenidos por tráfico de drogas durante el periodo 2017-2021 / Drug traffickers in Chile. Statistical-descriptive analysis of subjects arrested for drug trafficking during the period 2017-2021 / Os traficantes de drogas no Chile. Análise estatística-descritiva dos sujeitos presos por tráfico de drogas durante o período 2017-2021

Desde tiempos remotos, la conducta delictiva ha sido una de las principales preocupaciones de la sociedad. En particular, el narcotráfico ha movilizado a las instituciones del Estado y también a investigadores provenientes de distintas áreas del saber; pese a ello ­en Chile­ esta manifestación del crimen organizado ha sido un fenómeno poco abordado y con escasa evidencia científica. Mediante el lenguaje de programación R se realizó un estudio estadístico descriptivo dirigido a caracterizar el perfil actual del narcotraficante en Chile, a partir de los factores sociocriminógenos presentes en una muestra de 28 397 sujetos, quienes fueron detenidos por tráfico de drogas durante el periodo 2017­2021. Los resultados obtenidos dan cuenta de la inexistencia de un perfil único, sin embargo, se estableció que se trata ­mayoritariamente­ de un hombre adulto, de estado civil soltero, que promedia los 32.5 años, sin un trabajo u oficio formal, con antecedentes policiales y una carrera delictiva caracterizada por la versatilidad criminal. También se discutió el rol de los extranjeros, las mujeres y los adolescentes dentro del narcotráfico, pues, aun cuando su frecuencia estadística es mayor que en otros delitos, su participación dentro de la estructura criminal sigue limitándose a los eslabones más bajos de la organización.

Since ancient times, criminal behavior has been one of society's main concerns. In particular, drug trafficking has mobilized state institutions and researchers from different areas of knowledge; however, in Chile, this manifestation of organized crime has been a phenomenon that has been little addressed and with little scientific evidence. Using the R programming language, a descriptive statistical study was conducted aimed at characterizing the current profile of the drug trafficker in Chile, based on the sociocriminogenic factors present in a sample of 28 397 subjects, who were arrested for drug trafficking during the period 2017-2021. The results obtained show the inexistence of a unique profile, however, it was established that it is -mostly- an adult male, of single marital status, averaging 32.5 years of age, without a formal job or trade, with a police record and a criminal career characterized by criminal versatility. The role of foreigners, women and adolescents in drug trafficking was also discussed, since, although their statistical frequency is higher than in other crimes, their participation in the criminal structure continues to be limited to the lowest links in the organization.

Desde os tempos antigos, o comportamento criminoso tem sido uma das principais preocupações da sociedade. Em particular, o tráfico de drogas mobilizou instituições estatais e pesquisadores de diferentes áreas do conhecimento; entretanto, no Chile, esta manifestação do crime organizado tem sido um fenômeno pouco abordado e com poucas evidências científicas. Usando a linguagem de programação R, foi realizado um estudo estatístico descritivo para caracterizar o perfil atual do traficante de drogas no Chile, baseado nos fatores sócio-criminógenos presentes em uma amostra de 28.397 indivíduos que foram presos por tráfico de drogas durante o período 2017-2021. Os resultados obtidos mostram que não existe um perfil único, no entanto, foi estabelecido que se trata principalmente de um homem adulto, solteiro, com idade média de 32,5 anos, sem um emprego ou ocupação formal, com antecedentes criminais e uma carreira criminosa caracterizada pela versatilidade criminal. O papel dos estrangeiros, mulheres e adolescentes no tráfico de drogas também foi discutido, pois, embora sua freqüência estatística seja maior do que em outros crimes, sua participação na estrutura criminal ainda está limitada aos elos mais baixos da organização.

Considering Fraud Vulnerability Associated with Credence-Based Products Such as Organic Food.

Organic foods carry a premium price. They are credence-based foods, i.e., it is difficult for consumers to evaluate the premium aspects of organic food under normal use. In global supply chains, organic food is purchased on institutional trust (certification, logos, standards) rather than on relational trust. Relying on institutional trust makes consumers vulnerable to criminals who intentionally label conventional product as organic or develop sophisticated organized crime networks to defraud businesses and consumers. The aim of this research is to explore cases of organic fraud that are emergent from academic and gray literature searches to identify ways to strengthen future capabilities to counter illicit activities in a globalized food environment. Each case is considered in terms of perpetrator motivations (differentiated as economic, cultural, and behaviorally orientated drivers), the mode of operation (simple or organized), the guardians involved/absent, and the business and supply chain level vulnerabilities the cases highlight. The study finds that institutional trust is particularly vulnerable to fraud. Supply chain guardians need to recognize this vulnerability and implement effective controls to reduce the likelihood of occurrence. However, in some cases considered in the study, the guardians themselves were complicit in the illicit behavior, further increasing consumer vulnerability. Future research needs to consider how additional controls can be implemented, without increasing supply chain friction that will impact on food trade and supply, that can ensure consumers are purchasing what they believe they are paying for.

Damaged hardmen: Organized crime and the half-life of deindustrialization.

Despite frequent associations, deindustrialization features rarely in studies of organized crime, and organized crime is at best a spectral presence in studies of deindustrialization. By developing an original application of Linkon's concept of the "half-life," we present an empirical case for the symbiotic relationship between former sites of industry and the emergence of criminal markets. Based on a detailed case-study in the west of Scotland, an area long associated with both industry and crime, the paper interrogates the environmental, social, and cultural after-effects of deindustrialization at a community level. Drawing on 55 interviews with residents and service-providers in Tunbrooke, an urban community where an enduring criminal market grew in the ruins of industry, the paper elaborates the complex landscapes of identity, vulnerability, and harm that are embedded in the symbiosis of crime and deindustrialization. Building on recent scholarship, the paper argues that organized crime in Tunbrooke is best understood as an instance of "residual culture" grafted onto a fragmented, volatile criminal marketplace where the stable props of territorial identity are unsettled. The analysis allows for an extension of both the study of deindustrialization and organized crime, appreciating the "enduring legacies" of closure on young people, communal identity, and social relations in the twenty-first century.

Druglords don't stay at home: COVID-19 pandemic and crime patterns in Mexico City.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on conventional crime and organized crime in Mexico City, Mexico. METHODS: Mexico City's Attorney General's Office reported crime data, covering domestic violence, burglary, robbery, vehicle theft, assault-battery, homicides, kidnapping, and extortion. We use an event study for the intertemporal variation across the 16 districts (municipalities) in Mexico City for 2019 and 2020. RESULTS: We find a sharp decrease on crimes related to domestic violence, burglary, and vehicle theft; a decrease during some weeks on crimes related to assault-battery and extortion, and no effects on crimes related to robbery, kidnapping, and homicides. CONCLUSIONS: While our results show a decline in conventional crime during the COVID- 19 pandemic, organized crime remains steady. These findings have policy implications for catastrophic events around the world, as well as possible national security issues in Mexico.

Collaboration between Law Enforcement Agencies in Combating Cybercrime: Implications of a Taiwanese Case Study about ATM Hacking.

An increasing number of cybercrimes has presented new global challenges to law enforcement agencies that traditionally operate within designated geographical jurisdictions and patrol territories. The borderless nature of cyberspace has brought substantial opportunities-both legal and illegal-to its users, and many local law enforcement agencies have encountered motivated offenders taking advantage of the globally connected Internet and causing damage locally and transnationally. This study examines a high-profile case of European criminals who hacked into a Taiwanese financial institution-First Commercial Bank (FCB)-and programmed its ATMs to "spit out" cash netting the thieves $2.6 million US dollars in 2016 summer. Before the incident of FCB, this European criminal group committed more than a hundred similar ATMs hackings, victimizing dozens of financial institutions across several European countries, and profiting over one billion Euros. FCB is the only case revealing specific details about the modus operandi of ATM hacking thus far, in addition to disclosing reactions from law enforcement. By analyzing qualitative data collected from different branches of law enforcement involved in the investigations, this unique case study underscores the importance of national-local law enforcement collaboration in fighting transnational cybercrime. Empirical implications are particularly valuable in the law enforcement context of "turf jealousies" when defending homeland security.