Interviewing serious offenders: Ms. Egghead meets Mr. Gumshoe

Abstract Organised crime, due to its intricate nature, is a very challenging as well as less accessible research field. Although difficult to conduct a methodical research on this topic, organised crime, nevertheless, offers a unique opportunity to utilise an interdisciplinary research methodology. This paper describes (multiple) triangulation as an appropriate method for researching the role of culture in the advancement of ethnic Albanian organised crime groups in Europe. Triangulation, for the purpose of the described project, has been used to obtain confirmation of findings through convergence of different perspectives. Interviewing offenders is one of the research methods more thoroughly explained in this paper. The paper too explores some advantages of snowball technique used for interviewing less accessible research subjects. It also discusses various dilemmas, security-related or not, researchers are faced with when intending to interview serious offenders. Keywords Organised crime group . Research methods . Multiple triangulation . Mafia . Albanian organised crime . Law enforcement . European crime group In recent years the concept of organised crime has generated considerable interest in academia, the media, politics and law enforcement. Nevertheless many have argued that it is a very irksome topic beyond objective measure. The reason for this ambiguity lies above all in the problems of doing sound and reliable empirical research on an 'entity' concealed in the sinister criminal underworld. It is not easy for law enforcement officers and researchers to investigate organised crime groups properly However, the reliance on police sources and the media has also a number of disadvantages and it is not unconditional. As Hence, it is obvious that the 'reality of organised crime' is not easy to discover because of the impediments to conduct methodical and reliable research. The situation is made even worse by the fact that writers looking to sell newspapers, books and lightweight academic publications unquestioningly accept poor empirical data. Sensationalist reporting has also helped generate a vast fascination with organised crime that has led to fantasy depictions of 'the Mafia.' This has affected serious research still further (Block 1978; Nowadays it is frequently accepted that globalisation has enabled organised crime groups to flourish, expand operations globally and cross national borders with impunity-thus the notion of transnational organised crime (Andelman 1994; The Council of Europ

Interviewing serious offenders: Ms Egghead meets Mr Gumshoe

Organised crime, due to its intricate nature, is a very challenging as well as less accessible research field. Although difficult to conduct a methodical research on this topic, organised crime, nevertheless, offers a unique opportunity to utilise an interdisciplinary research methodology. This paper describes (multiple) triangulation as an appropriate method for researching the role of culture in the advancement of ethnic Albanian organised crime groups in Europe. Triangulation, for the purpose of the described project, has been used to obtain confirmation of findings through convergence of different perspectives. Interviewing offenders is one of the research methods more thoroughly explained in this paper. The paper too explores some advantages of snowball technique used for interviewing less accessible research subjects. It also discusses various dilemmas, security-related or not, researchers are faced with when intending to interview serious offenders.status: publishe

Decline, change or denial: human trafficking activities and EU responses in the Balkan Triangle

From the late 1990s onwards, the western Balkan countries have been singled out as one of themain hotbeds of organised crime. As a result, EU policies towards the region have placed the fight against organised crime among their top priorities. Trafficking in persons—especially women and children—for the purpose of forced prostitution has been recognised as a major area of concern. However, in the past few years human trafficking from/via the Balkan Triangle (Albania, Kosovo, and Macedonia) seems to have decreased. This paper explores possible factors leading to this crime shift. It also evaluates to what extent EU top-down strategies have contributed to these developments. The paper is based on interviews with law enforcement officials, investigation of police files, and analysis of official crime statistics as well as internal police reports.status: publishe

Globalizing the Western Balkans: Transnational Crime, Fundamental Islam and Unholy Alliances

During the last couple of decades, the countries of the world have become increasingly interconnected into a single capitalist economic system. Globalization processes have facilitated the flow of goods and services. They have also led to new forms of exclusion, inequality and “culture conflict”. This paper elaborates on the nexus between transnational organized crime networks, fundamental Islamic movements and terrorist groups in the Balkan region, and argues that these movements for social, political and economic change are bi-products of globalization. After the fall of the Soviet Union, criminal-political formations expanded drastically in the newly emerging Balkan democracies. The weak government structures, the deteriorating domestic economy and the vulnerable government institutions made the Balkan region a safe haven for war profiteers, career criminals and fundamental Islamists. This paper gives a detailed overview of the origin, nature and expansion of several politicized illicit markets in the Balkans. It further elaborates on the birth of fundamental Islamic movements after communism. The complex interrelation between globalization, wars, organized crime and fundamental Islam is at the forefront of this paper

'Honourable' behaviour and the conceptualisation of violence in ethnic-based organised crime groups: an examination of the Albanian Kanun and the Code of the Chinese Triads

Within Albania and China and their respective diasporas, a history of extreme violence, both official and unofficial, is widely accepted but not easily understood from a Western perspective. Over the course of centuries both societies have experienced turmoil and in the 20th century spent decades under the disastrous communist dictatorships of Enver Hohxa (1944–1985) and Mao Zedong (1949–1976). Acts of organised/collective violence should be interpreted in their historical and cultural contexts. As both Albania and China underwent considerable internecine feuding, and all manners of deprivations and oppressions under the governance and proclamations of their various rulers, it may not be surprising that their subjects became inured to violence. Violence is neither meaningless nor peculiar to China/Albania. One explanation arises from the continuing purchase of ancient codes of ‘extreme violence’. This paper describes two ancient instruments justifying ‘excessive violence’ that have continued to exist even today and directly link them to the violent behaviour of contemporary Albanian and Chinese organised crime groups. The paper will explore the historico-cultural origins of Albanian and Chinese organised crime and their recent reputation as ‘ultra-violent’ actors. Specifically we examine the 15th century Albanian legal code known as the Kanun of Lek Dukagjini, and the 17th century code of the Chinese Hung Mun (Triad Society).status: publishe