CRIM 101 Introduction to
Criminology
Organized Crime
John Anderson
Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs
THE PROBLEM OF CRIMINAL
ORGANIZATIONS
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Background

Hells Angels have been identified by Canadian
Security Intelligence Services (CSIS) as
exercising “enormous criminal clout”.
180 chapters worldwide
 Drug trafficking, money laundering, prostitution
 Nanaimo’s HA chapter has 12 full patch members
and numerous “associates” and “hang-arounds”
 Clubhouse seized in November 2007 under
provincial Civil Forfeiture Office
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SECTION 1
GENERAL FEATURES OF
CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS
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Structure of COs
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Insulated leadership
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Paramilitary structure
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Orders can never be directly traced to leaders
Emblems or titles indicating rank & status
Internal enforcement elite (Nomads or “the
fixer”)
Code of conduct with severe penalties for “ratting
out” or stealing from other members
 May have counter-surveillance on police

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Structure of COs

Long recruitment process
May have to commit serious crimes to prove they
are not associated with police
 Family members are “fast tracked” in the
organization
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Large pool of potential recruits
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May have to belong to particular ethnic or cultural
group (Vietnamese gangs, Indo-Canadian, Russian
syndicates, etc.)
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Scope of Problem
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One in six homicides is “gang related” (Stats
Canada, 2006)
Over 300 street gangs identified in Canada, an
estimated 11,000 gang members & associates.
$27 to $69 million is laundered annually.
Credit card fraud led to losses of $200 million in
Canada in 2005. Debit card losses amounted to
$70 million.
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Scope of Problem

Motor vehicle theft costs Canadians an
estimated $1 billion a year.
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About one-third of vehicles are never recovered
The impact on the global economy of
counterfeit goods such as CDs and purses is an
estimated $600 billion a year.
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Scope of Problem
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Counterfeit & piracy market $533.05B
Drug trade estimated at $321.6 billion
No. 1 purchasing country is USA ($290 B)
 No. 5 purchasing country is Canada ($32.2B)
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US Feds seized $1.6B in drug money (2007) at
US-Mexico border
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US Customs estimates they intercept less than 10%
of contraband goods and proceeds of crime
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SECTION 2
CONDITIONS NECESSARY
FOR ORGANIZED CRIME
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Conditions Necessary for O/C
1. A law or laws which make products or services
illegal to possess or use (e.g., Controlled
Substances Act; prostitution)
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Controlled Substances Act
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Criminalizes cultivation, possession and/or trafficking in
cannabis, heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, etc.
Copyright Act makes it an offence to make unauthorized
copies of audio/visual media.
Consumer Protection Act levies
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Conditions Necessary for O/C
2. High demand by the public for contraband

According to the BC Centre for Addictions
Research, one in five men have used cannabis in
the past year (an approximation of “public
demand”).
3. People motivated to provide contraband
products and/or services

Canadian Security Intelligence Service: 900 gangs
operating in Canada
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Conditions Necessary for O/C
4. Opportunities for crime:
 Globalization has increased the volume of
international trade
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Less than 5% of all container cargo entering North
America is inspected by authorities
Culture and media depicting the thrill of
criminal organizations
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Conditions Necessary for O/C
5. An environment where the benefits of lawbreaking are perceived to outweigh the risks
Very high profits from little investment
 Global black market estimated at $1.038 trillion

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SECTION 3
ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES
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Enforcement Activities
Do laws and expenditures on policing
lead to fewer problems with the illicit
drug trade?
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Supply and Demand
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If nations are successful in illicit drug control,
the price of drugs will increase
Scarcity leads to higher prices
Abundance leads to lower prices
All data in the next slides come from the United
Nations World Drug Report (2008)
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Worldwide Seizures Up
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Heroin prices down
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Source: Washington Office on Latin America (http://www.wola.org/)
SECTION 4
THE LEGAL REACTION TO
ORGANIZED CRIME
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Organized Crime

(Criminal Organizations)
What is “organized crime” and why is the
definition an issue?
1. If four teenagers conspire to break into a home and
sell what they steal, are they a “criminal
organization”?
2. If a corporation conspires to cheat consumers, are
they “organized criminals”?
3. If members of the Catholic Church have
systematically brutalized aboriginal youth in
residential schools, were they acting as a CO?
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Criminal Organizations
467.1 A “criminal organization” means a group,
however organized, that
(a) is composed of three or more persons in or outside
Canada; and
(b) has as one of its main purposes or main activities
the facilitation or commission of one or more
serious offences that, if committed, would likely
result in the direct or indirect receipt of a material
benefit, including a financial benefit, by the group or
by any of the persons who constitute the group.
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Criminal Code
Definition of Criminal Organization

It is a crime to participate in a criminal
organization but what or whom constitutes a
“criminal organization”? Or…
How do we know one when we see one?
 Criminal Code defines CO but does not make it an
offence to be a member of one. jfa

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(3) In determining
whether an accused
participates in or
contributes to any
activity of a criminal
organization, the Court
may consider, among
other factors, whether
the accused…
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(a) uses a name, word, symbol or other
representation that identifies, or is associated with,
the criminal organization;
(b) frequently associates with any of the persons
who constitute the criminal organization;
(c) receives any benefit from the criminal
organization; or
(d) repeatedly engages in activities at the
instruction of any of the persons who constitute
the criminal organization.
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Participating in a Criminal
Organization
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467.11 (1) Every person who, for the purpose
of enhancing the ability of a criminal
organization to facilitate or commit an
indictable offence under this or any other Act
of Parliament, knowingly, by act or omission,
participates in or contributes to any activity of
the criminal organization is guilty of an
indictable offence and liable to imprisonment
for a term not exceeding five years.
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SECTION 5
SOLUTIONS TO ORGANIZED
CRIME (DRUG TRADE)
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Possible Solutions
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BC Progress Report (2006) addressed the issue
of organized crime in BC:
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1. Legalize or decriminalize drug use. Make it a
health issue for medical professionals to treat.
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Removes market from organized crime.
2. Maximum enforcement capacity, build new
prisons, longer sentences and greater police powers
 3. Hybrid approach: 10 years of strict enforcement
followed by decriminalization
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Civil Forfeiture
What is Civil Asset Forfeiture?
Creation of a civil cause of action brought
against illicitly acquired property.
Based upon civil law concepts dealing with unjust
enrichment, property rights and compensation.
Allows the government, using the civil court process,
to seek the forfeiture of proceeds of unlawful
activity.
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Civil Forfeiture
“Property” - What can be seized:
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real property or tangible or intangible
personal property, including cash
applies only to property or an interest
in property located in British
Columbia
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CONCLUSIONS
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Conclusions
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Organized crime thrives on market
opportunities through globalization and
international demand for contraband
Policing/enforcement efforts have not shown to
be very successful in curbing the activities of
criminal organizations
Only two solutions: reduce supply or demand.
Demand can be reduced by making drug use a
medical condition to be treated by health-care.
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Resources
Links of Interest
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Annual Cannabis Use by Country
Canadian Majority Would Legalize Cannabis (Angus Reid Poll)
Canadian Security Intelligence Service
Havocscope.com: Black Markets
Hells Angels World
Legality of Cannabis Use by Country
Organized Crime (Gov’t of Canada Website)
National Ant-Drug Strategy
Sonny Barger – Founder of Hells Angels
United Nations: World Drug Report
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The End