NCJ Number
242605
Date Published
2012
Length
377 pages
Annotation
This report, prepared by the Dutch Ministry of Justice, presents the findings of the fourth data sweep of the Organized Crime Monitor.
Abstract
This report presents the findings of a data sweep of the Organized Crime Monitor, an instrument used by the Dutch Ministry of Justice to utilize knowledge collected during large-scale criminal investigations to gain insight into the workings and nature of organized crime in the Netherlands. The findings in the report cover the following areas: racketeering versus transit crime; differences between pyramid-shaped criminal organizations and criminal networks; the connection between professions and organized crime; criminal careers in organized crime; local embeddedness in organized crime; investigation of organized crime; the role violence plays in organized crime; the dependency of organized crime on the physical environment; contact points between organized crime groups and legitimate business groups; and the earning, distribution, and spending of criminal income. Data for this report were obtained from the analysis of closed Dutch police investigations of criminal groups, beginning in 1996. The data collection process included interviews with police officers and/or public prosecutors, and analysis and summarization of information in the police files. The final section of the report examines how the Dutch government deals with organized crime as it has shifted its focus from the situational causes of organized crime to environmental factors that make the occurrence of crime possible. Dutch policy also focuses on dispossession of criminal financial gain in order to combat organized crime. The report discusses how criminal justice investigations can be used to improve these different approaches to fighting organized crime in the Netherlands. Figure, tables, references, and appendixes