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War Markets: Corporate and Organized Criminals in Europe

NCJ Number
173442
Journal
Social and Legal Studies Volume: 5 Issue: 1 Dated: March 1996 Pages: 5-20
Author(s)
V Ruggiero
Date Published
1996
Length
16 pages
Annotation
The arms trade in Europe is examined with respect to the relationship between corporate crimes and organized crime, based on a review of the literature and an analysis of specific episodes.
Abstract
Many authors agree with Sutherland that white-collar crime is organized crime in that both types of crime are collusive in nature, are performed in formal structures, and enjoy the connivance of administrators and legislatures. However, Sutherland also specifies that this definition of white-collar crime excludes offenses committed by organized criminals who lack respectability and high social status. Since Sutherland's formulation, studies of corporate and organized crime have proceeded separately and formed two branches of criminology. However, in some cases, corporations and conventional organized criminals commit offenses together. Cases in European countries reveal how a division of roles between corporations and organized crime operates in legal, semilegal, and illegal arms sales. These cases demonstrate how the two types of criminality promote, co-opt, use, and sometimes compete with each other. Note and 75 references