NCJ Number
178709
Date Published
1999
Length
614 pages
Annotation
A preparatory colloquium on "Criminal Justice Systems Facing the Challenge of Organized Crime" includes papers on the general nature of organized crime and its international challenge, as well as individual papers on how organized crime is being manifested and countered in particular countries throughout the world.
Abstract
An introductory paper advises that developing countries, particularly those undergoing economic transformation, are targeted by organized crime because of vulnerable financial institutions and transactions as well as unsophisticated laws and law enforcement. Nations therefore must help one another to develop appropriate strategies for combating organized crime in various arenas of crime. Suggestions for international cooperation are offered in the introductory paper. A general report discusses the definition of organized crime; the use of law to combat organized crime, with examples from various countries; the dangers posed by an ill-conceived "war" on organized crime; and crimes typically committed by organized crime groups. National reports on the nature of organized crime in particular countries and the means being used to combat it cover the following countries: Germany, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Egypt, Spain, the United States, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Slovenia. Colloquium resolutions are included.