NCJ Number
145576
Date Published
1992
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This document contains conclusions and recommendations of the International Seminar on Organized Crime, Suzdal, October 21-25 1990.
Abstract
The International Seminar on Organized Crime was attended by law enforcement officials and experts from 15 countries, the United Nations Secretariat, the Helsinki Institute on Crime Prevention and Control, the International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO/Interpol), and the Office of International Criminal Justice of the University of Illinois. Organized crime produces evils in three major areas: (1) Social. Adverse effects of illegal drugs on individuals' behavior and health, growth of violence involving firearms, fear of crime, manipulation and control of organizations such as labor unions, increased cost of goods and services; (2) Political. Infiltration into and influence over political parties and the apparatus of government, corruption of politicians and state officials, which often leads to a loss of public confidence in the government and the political process and a breakdown of consensus within society; (3) Economic. It is not possible to identify accurately or even to estimate all the economic consequences of organized crime. Seminar recommendations to countries fighting organized crime included the following: (1) Penal statutes should provide a means of establishing the criminal liability of both the actual perpetrators of a crime and the leaders of criminal entities; (2) To effectively counteract the laundering of proceeds of crime adopt norms for banking and financial institutions and establish criminal liability to enable them to comply with the provisions of the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, 1988; (3) Create an obligation to report to competent bodies every financial transaction in excess of a stipulated amount or every suspicious transaction; (4) Banks should maintain records of the identity of their clients and cooperate with law enforcement agencies whenever there are suspicious transactions; and (5) Consider sanctions other than incarceration or fines to deter organized criminality. In addition to these recommendations, there are others of a more general nature in sections on Procedural Legislation, Law Enforcement Methods, Organizational Structures, and International Cooperation. The prevention and control of organized crime requires broad cooperation among law enforcement authorities, the business community, civic organizations and the community as a whole. Footnotes