Organised Crime and Economic Criminality

Code:

C405

Acronym:

CORCE

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Criminology

Instance: 2019/2020 - 2S (since 10-02-2020 to 15-05-2020)

Active?	Yes
Course/CS Responsible:	Criminology

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
C	67	Oficial Study Plan LC	4	-	6	-

Teaching language

Suitable for English-speaking students

Objectives

This curricular unit (CU) is developed around two complementary axes - organized crime and economic crime.

With this CU we aim to present the main theoretical and empirical elements associated to both axes, providing students with the tools to make a critical discussion of the forms that these crimes take and the formal and informal reaction to them.

For this purpose, in an integrated way, students are exposed to:

- the fundamental concepts of organized crime and economic crime and their application in criminological discourse;

- the interdisciplinary nature of research on organized crime and white-collar crime;

- criminal justice policies and policing strategies against organized crime and economic crime;

- examples of organized crime and economic crime in external contexts and in Portugal;

- the specificities of white-collar and economic crime in relation to other forms of crime;

- the latest quantitative techniques for analyzing organized crime networks.

Learning outcomes and competences

After attending classes and studying the program of this curricular unit, in general terms, students are expected to be able to sustain a critical discussion about the forms taken by economic and financial criminality and organized crime, as well as about the formal and informal social reaction. In specific terms, it is intended that students:

- Be able to discuss forms of articulation, in the practices and theoretical and empirical investigation, between the two manifestations of crime.

- Regarding economic criminality, it is expected that students be able to:

• identify the existing conceptualizations on the phenomenon;
• apply the explanatory theories advanced by the most relevant literature;
• identify the victimization and associated damages;
• identify the methodological specificities in the empirical investigation around the phenomenon;
• develop critical analysis skills on the relation of these crimes to legitimate professional and economic activities.

- Regarding organized crime, it is expected that students be able to:

• discuss the problem of definition of organized crime;
• discuss the explanatory theories of organized crime, citing authors who have contributed to them;
• explain how the phenomenon has been dealt by academia in the last 150 years;
• mention the most recent contributions in the study of the phenomenon, namely the use of criminal networks analysis;
• explain the most important measures of centrality that allow to understand the role and importance of everyone in the network, and also to use software to analyze criminal networks.
• understand and discuss ways to identify and evaluate organized crime;
• critically identify how organized crime is represented in the legal framework;
• understand and explain the frameworks, strategies and instruments for preventive and repressive intervention on organized crime.

Working method

Presencial

Pre-requirements (prior knowledge) and co-requirements (common knowledge)

n.a.

Program

PART A - ECONOMIC CRIME

I – White-collar and economic crime

Conceptual and theoretical debates; the white-collar criminal; nature and features of white-collar crime; sources of data for researching white-collar crime; methodological challenges and results of empirical research about white-collar crime; victims of white-collar crime; individual and organizational responsibility in white-collar crime; some current examples.

 

II – Corporate and Organizational crime

The role of companies in society; harms caused by corporate crime; abuse of power and trust, and fraud; types of corporate and organizational crime; preventing and sanctioning corporate and organizational crime.

 

III – Occupational crime

Crimes committed during a legitimate occupation or profession; types of occupational crime; victimization and harms caused.

 

IV – Crimes of the States and corruption

Corruption in the exercise of political, judicial and public administration functions; Victimization of State crimes

 

V- Financial crimes

The financial system in the 21^st century; features of financial markets; types of crimes: insider trading, Ponzi schemes and frauds; harms and victimization of financial crimes.

 

PART B - ORGANIZED CRIME

 

I - Introduction

Organized crime in a word; social representations of organized crime; academia’s interest on the phenomenon; a first attempt to define organized crime

 

II - Organized crime structure

Organized crime – history and social and institutional focus; construction of the concept – structure and activities; definition and basic attributes of organized crime; current signals of organized crime; organized crime in Europe

 

III - Explanatory theories of organized crime

Introduction; anomie theory; differential association; subcultures and social disorganization; differential opportunity; social bonding; trust as the key for survival of an organized crime network

 

IV - How to know organized crime

The interception between social sciences and intelligence products; social, economic and political impacts; legal repercussions; assessment and predictability; the need to construct models and typologies; manifestations of organized crime

 

V - Criminal networks

Introduction; criminal networks and no criminal social networks; criminal networks analysis; applications with software

 

VI – The intervention on organized crime

Intervention strategies; the cycle of criminal investigation; the vector of international cooperation.

 

Mandatory literature

Abadinsky Howard 1941-; Organized crime. ISBN: 978-1-133-49107-1
Benson Michael L.; Understanding white-collar crime. ISBN: 978-0-415-70403-8
Cruz José Manuel Neves 1965- 340; Infrações económicas e financeiras. ISBN: 978-972-32-2170-1
Cruz José Manuel Neves 1965-; A^criminologia e as infrações económicas e financeiras
Cruz José Manuel Neves 1965-; A^biologia e o crime de colarinho branco
Friedrichs David O.; Trusted criminals. ISBN: 978-0-495-60082-4
Geis Gilbert; White-collar crime. ISBN: 0-02-911590-6
Lyman Michael D.; Organized crime. ISBN: 0-13-010020-X
Morselli Carlo 1969-; Inside criminal networks. ISBN: 978-1-4419-1861-1
Payne Brian K.; White-collar crime. ISBN: 978-1-4129-8749-3
Shapland Joanna 340; The^informal economy and connections with organised crime. ISBN: 978-90-8974-164-6
Simpson Sally S. 340; The^criminology of white-collar crime. ISBN: 978-0-387-09501-1
Slyke Shanna R. van 340; The^Oxford handbook of white-collar crime. ISBN: 978-0-19-992551-3
Van Erp Judith 340; The^routledge handbook of white-collar and corporate crime in Europe. ISBN: 978-0-415-72214-8
White, Rob; Heckenberg, Diane; Green criminology. ISBN: 9780415632102
Kevin Albertson; Crime and economics. ISBN: 978-1-84392-842-3
Klaus von Lampe; Organized crime. ISBN: 978-1-4522-0350-8

Complementary Bibliography

Antoine-Grégoire Jean-Louis; The^European Union and the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime. ISBN: 92-823-1628-9
Dan Ariely; Previsivelmente Irracional, Estrelapolar, 2008. ISBN: 9789898206183
Blanc Marc Lel 300; Tratado de criminologia empírica. ISBN: 978-972-796-293-8
Edwards Adam 340; Transnational organised crime. ISBN: 0-415-40339-1
Newburn Tim 340; Handbook of policing. ISBN: 978-1-84392-323-7
Santos Cláudia Maria Cruz; O^crime de colarinho branco. ISBN: 972-32-1009-6
Scherrer Amandine; G8 against trannational organized crime. ISBN: 978-0-7546-7544-0

Comments from the literature

Other references will be made available throghout the semester

Teaching methods and learning activities

Theoretical-practical classes: Presentation and analysis of the programmatic contents with the use of slides and inclusion of periods for discussion. Case study and applied content analysis of curricular unit.

 

Software

GEPHI

keywords

Social sciences > Criminology
Social sciences > Economics

Evaluation Type

Evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Exame	100,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Estudo autónomo	102,00
Frequência das aulas	60,00
Total:	162,00

Eligibility for exams

Cf. Knowledge evaluation regulation of this cycle of study.

Calculation formula of final grade

A minimum grade of 10/20 in the written final exam.

Examinations or Special Assignments

Cf. Knowledge evaluation regulation of this cycle of study.

Internship work/project

n.a.

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

Cf. Knowledge evaluation regulation of this cycle of study.

Classification improvement

Cf. Knowledge evaluation regulation of this cycle of study.