| CODE | CRI1005 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Organised Crime | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 01 - Year 1 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Criminology | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | Organised crimes are crimes committed by illicit entrepreneurship. The aim of these crimes is to make profits and gain through illlegal and legal activities. Organised crime produces those illicit goods and services that people want but that they cannot get access to. This activity is usually run on an international level. Organised crime groups that will be studied include the Mafia style families (such as the triads, the Yakuza and Cosa nostra), motor cycle gangs, ethnic organised crime groups and specialised organised groups. This study-unit will attempt to give an overview of the extent and organisation of organised crime groups. It will also address the issue of prevention, the response by Nation States as well as the international response to organised crime. Study-unit Aims: - Introducing students to the dimension of these types of crime categories; - Providing an in-depth understanding of each category; - Providing an understanding of the impact of these crime categories on society; - Familiarizing students to the response to these crimes by the states. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - To understand the difference between ordinary street crime and organized crime; - To know how these groups function; - To identify what makes an organised crime group; - To explain what could be done to prevent organised crime; - To understand the national and international response to organized crime. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Appreciate the extent of these type of crimes; - To locate the various organised crime groups; - To understand and interpret the social situations that lead to organised crime; - To comprehend the harm done to society; - To understand the theoretical underpinning for the creation of organised crime groups. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: - Azzopardi J., Formosa, S., Scicluna, S. & Willis, A., (Eds.) (2013). Key Issues in Criminology: JANUS III. Malta: University of Malta - Bueger, C., and Edmunds, T., (2020). Blue crime: Conceptualising transnational organised crime at sea. Marine policy, 2020, Vol.119, p.104067, Article 104067 - Di Nicola, A., (2022). Towards digital organized crime and digital sociology of organized crime. Trends in organized crime, 2022 (1084-4791), p.1-20 - Formosa, S., Scicluna, S. & Azzopardi J., (Eds.) (2013). Realities of Crime, Society and Landuse in the Mediterranean: JANUS I. Malta: University of Malta - Gounev, P and Riggiero, V. (2012) Corruption and Organized Crime in Europe: Illegal Partnerships. Routledge: Oxford - Scicluna, S., Formosa, S. & Azzopardi J., (Eds.) (2013). Indicators for Crime Prevention in the Mediterranean: JANUS II. Malta: University of Malta - Sergi, A., and Storti, L., (2021). Shaping space. A conceptual framework on the connections between organised crime groups and territories: An introduction to the special issue on ‘Spaces of Organised Crime’. Trends in organized crime, 2021, Vol.24 (2), p.137-151. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Independent Online Learning, Lectures and Seminar | ||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Saviour Formosa |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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