NCJ Number
227257
Journal
Global Crime Volume: 10 Issue: 1-2 Dated: February-May 2009 Pages: 6-23
Date Published
February 2009
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This study examined the Criminal Codes in both Canada and the United States in terms of punishment for criminal organizations.
Abstract
Findings suggest that criminal organizations should be defined according to their presence in illegal markets and not according to the structure of their network. Criminal organization come in all forms and so are not all large-scale or structured like a business; however, there does not appear to be any reason to treat those differently than independent criminals. Whether a criminal organization should receive enhanced sentencing should hinge on the attainment of market power, no matter how structured the organization is, even if market power was not an initial goal of the criminal group. Also examined was the economic theory of punishments and the finding that a punishment should depend on the social harm imposed and the probability of conviction highlighted. How criminal organizations may differ from independent criminals was also analyzed. Also considered and discussed is how the differences can be used to construct a definition of a criminal organization. Figures and appendix