NCJ Number
226594
Journal
Criminology and Criminal Justice Volume: 8 Issue: 4 Dated: November 2008 Pages: 443-459
Date Published
November 2008
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This article reports the findings of a study commissioned by the British Home Office, which estimates the levels of organized crime against businesses in high crime residential neighborhoods.
Abstract
Findings suggest that although organized crime takes place, it represents only a small proportion of the crime experienced by businesses in parts of the United Kingdom. The impressions of the level and nature of organized crime in high crime neighborhoods, especially as it affects local businesses, differ depending on the data source. The organized crime (OC) survey suggests it was present, but only accounted for a small fraction of the overall crime experienced. Most of the large volume of crime that was suffered by businesses was believed to have been committed by offenders whose level of organization fell below the quite low threshold used in the research. It appeared that businesses were more often solicited as participants in organized crime activities than they were victims of it, although the research did not examine the rate at which they accepted the invitation received. Police intelligence and local community informants painted a different picture. The accounts were not always consistent, and often suggested different underlying dynamics of organized crime in the three areas; all would all indicate more serious organized crime than that which emerged from the survey. Tables, notes, and references