What's in a Name? Shifting Identities of Traditional Organized Crime in Canada in the Transnational Fight against the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta

The Italian antimafia authorities have warned Canadian law enforcement about the risks and the growing concerns for the infiltration of clans of the Calabrian mafia, known as ‘ndrangheta, in Eastern Canada. The alarm linked to the rise of the ‘ndrangheta challenges the paradigms of traditional organized crime in Canada, because the ‘ndrangheta is presented as traditional but also innovative and more pervasive than other mafia-type groups. Through access to confidential investigations and interviews to key specialist law enforcement teams in Toronto and Montreal, this article investigates today's institutional perception of mafia – the ‘ndrangheta in particular – in Canada when compared to Italian conceptualizations. I will argue that the changes in narratives in Canada can be read in relation to changes in the Italian identity in the country, moving towards regionalization and specialist knowledge of ethnic differences

Interpol and advancement in international police cooperation on art crime

Interpol is probably the first manifestation of a coordinated international policing effort in the fight against cross-border crime and its roots can be traced to the late 19th century. While the potential of the protection system for cultural heritage (PSYCHE) project to improve the fight against art crime seems great, reality will probably reveal many of its limitations. The hope that PSYCHE will have an effect on the recovery of stolen works of art globally will most likely not be justified. Even according to Interpol and police practitioners involved in art crime investigations, the effect of the new initiative is rather focused on Europe and the EU in particular. However, including one of the largest European databases Leonardo, the Italian database on stolen works of art into the Interpol system will very likely enhance the chances of discovering art thefts and might even lead to the inclusion of further European databases. Interpol is probably the first manifestation of a coordinated international policing effort in the fight against cross-border crime and its roots can be traced to the late 19th century. While the potential of the protection system for cultural heritage (PSYCHE) project to improve the fight against art crime seems great, reality will probably reveal many of its limitations. The hope that PSYCHE will have an effect on the recovery of stolen works of art globally will most likely not be justified. Even according to Interpol and police practitioners involved in art crime investigations, the effect of the new initiative is rather focused on Europe and the EU in particular. However, including one of the largest European databases Leonardo, the Italian database on stolen works of art into the Interpol system will very likely enhance the chances of discovering art thefts and might even lead to the inclusion of further European databases

(In)security Crossing Borders: A comparison of police cooperation with Australia and the European Union

This volume explores issues of law enforcement cooperation across borders from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. The borders under examination include both macro-level cooperation between nation-states, as well as micro-level cooperation between different Executive agencies within a nation-state. The volume brings together leading academics, public policy makers, legal practitioners and law enforcement officials from Europe, Australia and the Asian-Pacific region, to shed new light on the pressing problems impeding cross-border policing and law enforcement globally and regionally. Problems common to all jurisdictions are discussed and innovative a best practicea (TM) solutions and models are considered. The book is structured in four parts: Police cooperation in the EU; in Australia; in the Asia-Pacific Region; and finally it considers issues of jurisdiction and due process/human rights issues, with a focus on regional cooperation strategies for countering human trafficking, organised crime and terrorism. The book would be of interest to both academic and practitioner communities in policing, criminology, international relations, and comparative and EU legal studies

Harmonisation and Regional Cooperation in Cross-Border Policing: Comparing European and Australian Frameworks

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Comparison of EU and Australian cross-border law enforcement strategies

Police cooperation strategies between member states of the European Union (EU) and between Australian federal, state and territory jurisdictions are an important aspect of their fight against cross-border crime. While the abolition of controlled borders is still a recent phenomenon in the EU, Australian states and territories effectively abolished border controls with the advent of Federation in 1901. Australian state police forces have therefore a long history of cooperating across borders, and thus certain aspects of cooperation in Australia may be usefully compared with cooperation between EU member states. In Australia, only within the last decade have agencies established a common police database and legal measures such as mutual recognition of warrants. It remains the case that most police cooperation strategies between Australian jurisdictions continue to rely on informal agency-to-agency agreements such as memoranda of understanding. The EU similarly has limited competence in this field, with member state cooperation limited to partial harmonisation of laws regulating police cooperation between EU member states. The most advanced cooperation strategies take place on bilateral or multilateral levels, and the impact of EU level policies on police practices remains limited. This thesis analyses the historical development of police cooperation strategies in both systems from a comparative, socio-legal perspective. It first outlines the development of police cooperation strategies in the EU and Australia since the late 19th century. A focus lies on the evolution of legal harmonisation since the 1950s - in particular harmonisation of criminal law and procedure and the establishment of common legal frameworks - and practitioner responses to these developments. While legal harmonisation in the EU is the result of interaction between regional practitioner initiatives and harmonised EU responses, Australian formal regional cooperation does not exist and the policing of its territory relies mainly on federal agencies. Inter-agency cooperation in Australia is a result of the harmonisation of criminal law and procedure and the application of mutual recognition, while the EU more prominently employs broad legal frameworks. However, with a view to their application in practice this thesis assesses the potential transfer of the different approaches to the other system. As legal harmonisation in Australia and the EU is relatively undeveloped, the analysis includes other strategies, such as education and training, common forums, institutions and agencies that could potentially compensate the lack of legal uniformity. These strategies have evolved to a similar extent in both systems and are considered a necessary accessory to legal harmonisation by practitioners. However, this does not hold true for two particular agencies, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Europol, which experience criticism in both systems. These agencies as well as selected regional cooperation initiatives and harmonised laws and legal frameworks are consequently examined in three case studies with a view to their potential applicability in the other system. The thesis highlights the importance of a combined approach between legal harmonisation, sociologically oriented strategies and regional cooperation initiatives to overcome cultural, structural, organisational, historical and many other differences between jurisdictions in both systems and consequently, identifies areas of further research

Women in International Policing: Replacing an “Old Boys Club”?

Globalisation has increased the importance of international police cooperation. While cross-border law enforcement can be traced back as far as the Nineteenth Century, police cooperation today—such as Joint Investigation Teams, International Liaison Officers, and Interpol—only came about in the Twentieth Century. It was developed to counter transnational organised crime, such as drug crime and immigration crime, as well as terrorism. But, another aspect of international policing is that of peacekeeping; that is, the deployment of national police to countries during or after conflict to maintain law and order where the local police do not have sufficient capacities. This paper examines how women have been elevated in this police cooperation role, particularly Interpol and international peacekeeping. The discussion focuses on whether there are indications that internationally related tasks and agencies provide a more accepting environment for female police officers as opposed to a national police force setting