NCJ Number
154449
Date Published
1992
Length
173 pages
Annotation
This book examines the nature and patterns of "multinational systemic crime," which is crime by various kinds of organizations that operate across national boundaries and in two or more countries simultaneously.
Abstract
This concept is a collective term that refers to a variety of criminal behavior systems, of which four are considered in this book: terrorism, espionage, drug-trafficking, and arms- trafficking. The authors first relate multinational systemic crime to the other major forms of crime studied by criminology and criminal justice. Two chapters then describe the four types of multinational crime that are the focus of the study and comment on the place criminology and criminal justice occupy in the literature about these types of crime. Another chapter comments on three observations that are significant in the study of multinational crime: the apparent frequent interrelationship of such crimes on the international scene; the role of values, interests, and power in the study of such crimes and in policy formulations to control them; and the special role likely to be played by "national security" interests in limiting access to data needed for the study of some forms of multinational crime. One chapter identifies several problems in theory construction and policy development with respect to multinational systemic crime; also specified are some conceptual and methodological principles from the study of criminal organizations, from interactionist theory, and from conflict theory that appear useful for the study of such crime. The concluding chapter describes three global regions that are significant for understanding much multinational systemic crime: the Golden Triangle of Southeast Asia; the Andean region of Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru; and the Middle East. 189 references and author and subject indexes