Portrayal of Criminal Networks in Law & Order: Organized Crime

Network Structures & Organization

• Hierarchical (Bureaucratic) Model:
  • Resembles legal organizations (armies, corporations) (Diviák, 2020).
  • Rigid structure with powerful leaders at the top (Diviák, 2020).
  • Often depicted in popular culture, but may not accurately reflect real-world organized crime (Diviák, 2020).
• Network Model:
  • More fluid and adaptable than hierarchical models.
  • Focuses on relationships and connections between individuals and groups.
  • Allows for empirical investigation of organized crime structures (Diviák, 2020).
• Embeddedness:
  • Criminal networks are often embedded within legitimate social and economic structures (Stephenson, 2017).
  • This embeddedness can facilitate criminal activity and make it more difficult to detect and disrupt.
  • 'R' defines the embeddedness into organized crime and models the probability of recruitment (Campedelli et al., 2020).

Criminal Activities Portrayed

• Trafficking & Smuggling:
  • Drugs, weapons, and other illegal commodities (Diviák, 2020).
  • Transnational maritime crimes, particularly in areas with weak governance (Badar & Higgins, 2023).
• Corruption:
  • Bribery, extortion, and other forms of corruption (Diviák, 2020).
  • Involvement of state actors in criminal activities (Stephenson, 2017).
• Mafias:
  • Traditional organized crime groups with hierarchical structures and codes of conduct (Diviák, 2020).
• Terrorism:
  • Ideological and religious varieties of terrorism (Diviák, 2020).
  • Terrorist groups can be considered criminal groups (Diviák, 2020).
• Prostitution:
  • Organized prostitution networks, sometimes run with the participation of law enforcement (Stephenson, 2017).

Actors & Recruitment

• Diverse Actors:
  • Individuals from various backgrounds and social strata.
  • State actors, including law enforcement and government officials (Stephenson, 2017).
• Recruitment Process:
  • Often involves committing a crime with existing members of the organized crime group (Campedelli et al., 2020).
  • Social proximity and peer influence play a significant role (Campedelli et al., 2020).
  • Agent-based models can simulate recruitment dynamics (Campedelli et al., 2020).
• Social Factors:
  • Differential association theory suggests that criminal behavior is learned through interactions with others (Campedelli et al., 2020).
  • Social and economic factors can contribute to vulnerability to recruitment.

State-Crime Relationships

• Reciprocal Assimilation:
  • State and organized crime can become intertwined, with reciprocal assimilation between them (Stephenson, 2017).
  • This can lead to overlapping systems of power and concurrent governance (Stephenson, 2017).
• Collaboration:
  • Criminal actors can collaborate with the state in territorial systems of regulation (Stephenson, 2017).
  • Cooperation in elections, sharing economic interests, and creating overlapping systems of power (Stephenson, 2017).
• Corruption & Infiltration:
  • Organized crime can infiltrate and subvert state institutions through corruption (Stephenson, 2017).
• Dual Career Structures:
  • Members of criminal groups may hold positions of authority in both criminal and state formations (Stephenson, 2017).

Law Enforcement & Countermeasures

• Challenges:
  • The adaptable nature of criminal networks makes them difficult to combat.
  • Lack of international cooperation in criminal matters (Badar & Higgins, 2023).
• Strategies:
  • Focus on disrupting network structures and relationships.
  • Targeting key actors and facilitators.
  • Enhancing international cooperation through agreements and judicial networks (Badar & Higgins, 2023).
  • Critically evaluating law enforcement approaches (Diviák, 2020).

Definitions of Organized Crime

• UN Definition:
  • Involves three or more people committing criminal offenses over a sustained period (Diviák, 2020).
  • Broad definition allowing study of various activities and groups (Diviák, 2020).
• Multiple Definitions:
  • Over two hundred definitions exist based on different jurisdictions or scientific approaches (Diviák, 2020).