Two Words, One Answer.
organised
 Gangs of Britain: The Gripping True Stories of the Faces Who Run Britain's Organised Crime $16.95 Today's gangsters are a far cry from their earlier counterparts. The godfathers of old were seen by many as a stabilizing influence; their power inspired respect and they kept the underworld in check. Gangs of the 21st century have spread their brutality far and wide. The old crimes of prostitution and extortion are being dropped in favor of multi-million dollar drug deals, bringing gangsters more money and power than ever before. It is a cut-throat industry that is conducted in the shadows and driven solely by profit. Acclaimed true crime author Wensley Clarkson has met many of Britain's richest and most powerful gangs. In this fascinating and gripping account, he provides an extraordinary insight into the dark and glamorous underworld of British organized crime. His investigation leads to the shocking conclusion that crime is perhaps the third largest industry in the UK.  The Economics of Organised Crime $43.00 Organised crime in its many forms is one of the most important features of the late20th/early21st century world. Its extent, power, and impact increase year by year. In several parts of the world the distinction between organised criminals and the state means almost nothing. There is also an intimate connection between organised criminality on the one hand and both state intelligence services and terrorist organisations on the other. What is seldom realised is how new this is. The criminal gang is probably as old as civilisation but before the twentieth century that was as far as criminal organisation went. Now it has moved up several levels and crime is now organised as a business, on a transnational scale. It has, to adapt Peter Drucker, been "institutionalised". This book explains why this has happened. It is because of a change in the incentives facing criminals. To simplify the argument, historically the transactions costs of ensuring and enforcing cooperation among criminals have been too high to make it worthwhile. Criminals have also faced the problem that the short term incentive to betray their fellows has trumped the longer term incentive to cooperate with other criminals. This has been changed by a number of factors - communications and transport technology being significant - but as the book shows by far the most significant is government policy. Specifically, the policy of prohibiting the sale and manufacture of a number of "products" for which there is high demand such as arms, pornography, prostitution, gambling, and, above all, drugs. This changes the incentives and makes the pay off for cooperating so great that organised crime is the inevitable outcome. The essays make other points as well, notably the close similarities between organised criminal groups and governments/ruling classes (as St Augustine said, "All governments are in origin bands of robbers"). Some of the essays are quite technical and would be most useful to someone with an economics background but there is enough to make this book very informative for the layman as well. Truly an eye-opener. Now why do I think no one in Congress has read this book? |
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