Suchergebnisse

Exploring the history of smuggling around the world, Alan L. Karras traces all aspects of this pervasive and enduring crime. Through a compelling set of cases drawn from a rich array of historical and contemporary sources, Karras shows how smuggling of every conceivable good has flourished in every place, at every time. The author also sets smugglers_the ultimate free traders_in the context of the global political economy, where they are tightly woven into an uneasy relationship among governments, taxation, and corruption. Bringing smugglers and smuggling to life, this book provides a fascinat

The present article focuses on deep diving into the following four main aspects:1.Crime forms evolution versus societal developments; 2. Distinctions between cybercriminals and criminals and associations related to digitalisation of crime;3. Software applications and tools enabling or; ganized crime group members to commit various crimes, including migrant smuggling; 4. Impact of technology on crime and possible developments.

The Australian government has become increasingly frustrated at the inability to prevent people smugglers from transporting asylum seekers to Australia, despite increasing law enforcement measures. Yet research on people smuggling networks remain dispersed and fail to take into account recent developments on people smugglers and their activities. This report thus addresses a need to re-examine people smuggling networks that target Australia as the destination country. There are various conceptual frameworks used to examine transnational organised crime as well as people smuggling networks. However, only certain elements of each framework 'fit' the Australian context. This gives credence to the argument that people smuggling networks are constantly developing and stereotypes of smuggling networks are unhelpful. As such, this report draws from elements of these networks and applies them to empirical research on people smuggling activities. In addition these elements are applied to profiles that have been created of individual smugglers as well as information from media reports and government documents. Research on people smuggling networks have established that they are highly adaptable and resilient and this is further strengthened by the profiles of smugglers. These profiles also suggest that roles traditionally assigned to specific actors within these smuggling networks do not fit in the Australian context. People smuggling networks also show flexibility in the way they respond to law enforcement measures and routes used to enter into Australia. Nevertheless, the profiles and research findings indicate that people smugglers show flexibility in the former. While there is a wide range of actors involved in people smuggling operations, there is a level of hierarchy distinguishing local Indonesian smuggling groups and the coordinators of smuggling networks. However, the real 'untouchable' actors seem to be corrupt public officials and traditional financiers of smuggling operations. Nevertheless, there is a lack of information on whether the latter exist in an Australian context. Furthermore, despite strong evidence suggesting that top smugglers are Australian residents, the research findings indicate otherwise. Ethnicity also plays an important role in people smuggling networks. It cannot be separated from other features of smuggling networks. Moreover, understanding the way in which Chinese smuggling networks operate can assist in understanding how smuggling networks operate in other regions. Though the research findings reflect the importance of ethnicity, they suggest that there is a stronger regional connection between smugglers and the people they smuggle. Lastly, the diversified pattern of criminal organisations has ted many to conclude that people smuggling networks are no different. There are numerous ways in which smuggling networks can transform to a trafficking situation, and there are various scenarios where people smuggling can be linked to drug trafficking as well as terrorist activities. However, the research findings only indicate a link between smuggling and potential drug trafficking organisations. Future research thus needs to focus on examining whether these connections exist, and finding ways to prevent the development of these links in the future.

Builds upon Giorgio Agamben's (1998) ideas about the need for sovereignties to have the ability to suspend law & create juridical zones of exception to explore Balkan cigarette smuggling in a historical & global context. The multibillion dollar business not only robs states of potential tax revenues, but cigarette smuggling has become an integral part of the symbiotic relationship between statehood & illicit trade in the world economy. It is maintained that the "game" of smuggling depends on the existence of political or juridical constituted transit zones where state laws are temporarily suspended. The history of contraband trade in the Balkans is traced. Unlike the West, cigarette consumption has increased in developing countries, which have created islands of sovereignty & tax exemption that allow illicit commerce to prosper. Similarities between Balkan operations & cigarette-smuggling schemes around the world are pointed out. It is concluded that the Balkans serve as a large, semiregulated territory "where products that would otherwise have difficulty entering European or Western markets get recycled." The policy implications are discussed. 2 Maps. J. Lindroth

Rikers Island is New York City's primary jail complex, with a daily inmate population of approximately 10,000. The 400-acre complex consists of ten different jails that can hold up to 15,000 inmates in total. Rikers has come under criticism as a rise in violent attacks, between inmates and against corrections officers, has drawn public attention to perceived systemic corruption, abuses, and a culture of violence within the complex.

"When Edwin Sutherland introduced the concept of white-collar crime, he referred to the respectable businessmen of his day who had, in the course of their occupations, violated the law whenever it was advantageous to do so. Yet since the founding of the American Republic, numerous otherwise respectable individuals had been involved in white-collar criminality. Using organized smuggling as an exemplar, this narrative history of American smuggling establishes that white-collar crime has always been an integral part of American history when conditions were favorable to violating the law. This dark side of the American Dream originally exposed itself in colonial times with elite merchants of communities such as Boston trafficking contraband into the colonies. It again came to the forefront during the Embargo of 1809 and continued through the War of 1812, the Civil War, nineteenth century filibustering, the Mexican Revolution and Prohibition. The author also shows that the years of illegal opium trade with China by American merchants served as precursor to the later smuggling of opium into the United States. The author confirms that each period of smuggling was a link in the continuing chain of white-collar crime in the 150 years prior to Sutherland's assertion of corporate criminality"--

The purpose of this report is to critically analyse and provide recommendations for Australia's detection and legal enforcement framework regarding wildlife smuggling. This will be . done by comparing the framework in Australia with the framework in the UK. This comparison is important because it will allow us to know if Australia's current framework is as effective as it should be. The UK was chosen as a suitable country to compare with Australia because the UK is a country which is well known for its effective Customs agency and stringent penalties regarding wildlife trafficking. Furthermore, the UK, like Australia, it is an island. This means that wildlife smuggling may not occur through land borders and may only occur through sea and airports. This inevitably means that the UK's border protection focus, like Australia, is on its sea and airports. In chapter 1, the report outlines the detection system in Australia. This chapter looks at the role of the Australian Customs Service in combating wildlife trafficking. It high lights the effectiveness of some of the wildlife detection methods utilised by Customs. Methods such as x-rays, detector dogs, intelligence and the Custom hotline are discussed in detail. Furthermore, the chapter concludes by analysing the effectiveness of the system and some of the problems that Australian Customs faces in the fight against wildlife trafficking. It was found that Customs already has a high rate of success in detecting wildlife but still face a shortage of resources to improve their operations. Chapter 2 focuses on the legal framework, prosecution and sentencing of wildlife smugglers. It firstly explores the CITES framework and how this controls the trade of endangered species of plants and animals around the world. The chapter then explores how CITES is implemented in Australia and the sentences available for a breach of the EPBC Act. It was found that the maximum sentence for wildlife smuggling was a fine of$ 110,000 and 10 years imprisonment. The chapter then discuses some of the problems with Australia's current legal framework such as the low level of prosecutions and the low penalties imposed by courts despite stringent maximum penalties. The third chapter turns to focus on the UK and explores the system in the UK. The focus is on the methods used by the UKBA to detect concealed wildlife in the UK's airports. Some of the methods discussed in this chapter include the training received by UKBA officers who deal exclusively with wildlife trafficking and the partnerships that the UKBA have with other agencies in the UK and internationally. This is then followed by an analysis of the effectiveness of and some of the issues with the system in the UK. This analysis shows that, even though it is very difficult to provide accurate estimates, it is thought that the UK has been very successful in detecting hidden wildlife. The chapter also found that the UK faces the same problem as Australia in the lack of adequate resources for their Customs agencies. II Chapter 4 discusses the UK's legal framework used to prosecute and sentence wildlife smugglers. It outlines the UK's implementation of CITES through the European Council's Regulations and through the CEMA, COTES and the WCA Acts. The report then turns to discuss some of the problems that have arisen in the UK. Here it was found that the UK also suffers from some of the same problems as Australia. The prosecution levels are low and up until2002, the fines imposed for these offences were inadequate and have allowed smugglers to continue to profit from this trade. The final chapter aims to provide general recommendations for the improvement of the current system in Australia. It does this by recapping the problems and issues that were seen in the previous chapters and then offering possible solution and recommendations for each issue. With respect to the detection of wildlife smuggling, even though Australian Customs are already extremely successful, the report recommends that more resources be devoted to Australian Customs so that they have adequate staff and equipment to monitor more passengers, luggage and containers. Another suggestion for Australian Customs is that they designate or create a group of officers to educate and assist other officers with wildlife trafficking offences, similar to the UKBA CITES Team. Recommendations proposed to tackle low level of prosecutions are amendments to the EPBC to lower the evidential requirement to prove 'intention' for wildlife import and export offences. With respect to the low fines given, the report recommends that the legislation creating the penalties be amended. The government may look into increasing the range of fines available or fining 3 times the value of the goods similar to what is available in the UK. Furthermore, proper authorities should also publish a sentencing guideline for magistrates to consider when sentencing wildlife criminals. Finally t his report believes that the root cause of the some of the deficiencies in the enforcement of wildlife trafficking in Australia come from within the Australian community. It is because the Australian people as a whole believe that wildlife crimes is not important, that resources are being allocated to other areas and that the judiciary does not perceive wildlife trafficking as a serious crime. Accordingly, this report further recommends that the government alongside other wildlife organisations educate and highlight the importance of Australia's animals and crimes against them.