Author: Adrian Leiva
Leiva, Adrian, 2020 “I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse” Examining the involvement process into organised criminal groups within Australia, Flinders University, College of Business, Government and Law
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Academic research on organised criminal groups is multifaceted, yet our scholarly understanding of the involvement process into organised criminal groups remains limited. Existing research has explored the involvement mechanisms into specific criminal activities (e.g. drug trafficking) and certain criminal groups (e.g. outlaw motorcycle gangs), while also highlighting the importance of trust and ties between offenders. However, there is no existing conceptual framework which can support academic inquiry into this aspect of organised crime. This study examined the involvement process into organised criminal groups within Australia by testing existing knowledge using data obtained from interviews with key police informants and sentencing cases in three Australian states: New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria.
The outcomes of the study indicated that the involvement process conceptual framework consists of three key steps: involvement pathways, establishment of ties and continued engagement or disengagement. While there were distinct similarities between existing knowledge and the data, the study provided the first examination of the involvement process into organised criminal groups within an Australian context. Strategies and initiatives for involvement prevention and disengagement were suggested based on the results of the study and the unique Australian criminal landscape. Based on the findings, the researcher recommended replicating the study in different contexts in order to contribute to the proposed conceptual framework, as well as building a cohesive and comprehensive understanding of the involvement process into organised criminal groups.
Keywords: Organised crime, organised criminal groups, involvement process, recruitment, Australia, offender characteristics, ties, trust, kinship ties, violence and threats, law enforcement, sentencing cases, disengagement, involvement prevention, disengagement strategies
Subject: Criminal Justice thesis
Thesis type: Doctor of Philosophy
Completed: 2020
School: College of Business, Government and Law
Supervisor: Dr David Bright