26 August 2011

Emerging Transnational (In)security Governance: A Statist-Transnationalist Approach

‘Emerging Transnational (In)security Governance provides a significant contribution to the social science literatures on terrorism, transnational organised crime, security governance, and the nexus between these topics. Written by a team of subject experts and edited by a highly respected scholar, Ersel Aydinli, the chapters in this study deliver thought-provoking and rigorous analysis of the current landscape of and future prospects for transnational security governance. The great strength of the study is that it relates existing mechanisms designed to facilitate domestic and transnational cooperation in the fight against crime to the urgent task of countering the threat of transnational terrorism. This is valuable reading for students and researchers of terrorism and transnational governance.’ - Alex Braithwaite, University College London, UK

‘This edited volume is unusually coherent in its intellectual setup and offers a bonanza of insights into various aspects of international and transnational security governance.’ - Joerg Friedrichs, University Lecturer in Politics, University of Oxford, UK
Product Description

This book presents a selection of edited essays written by leading international scholars engaging with practicing intelligence, military, and police officers and responding to their first-hand international security cooperation experiences. The resulting chapters provide original theoretical perspectives on evolving international security cooperation practices.

Beginning with the premise that intelligence cooperation-domestically between agencies, internationally between states, and transnationally among states, sub-state and non-state actors-is essential in order to successfully counter the evolving transnational nature of security threats, the authors explore the transnationalization in states' responses to a transnational security threat like 'global' terror. They assess whether early signs of a "statist transnationalism" for a new global security cooperation regime can be identified, and look at the use of extraordinary rendition and police liaisons as means for the development and growth of transnational security cooperation.

This book will be of interest to students and scholars of international relations, terrorism, security, policing and intelligence.

25 August 2011

FBI fights back against cybercrime

Tales of the NCFTA: the National Cyber-Forensic training Alliance

24 August 2011

Carlos Tevez: The billionaires' fight over his ownership revealed

No crimes committed, but a legal battle as to who owns how much of a footballer and some of this stuff is surely against FA rules...or is it?

23 August 2011

When algorithms control the world

As usual, "we" havent though through the consequence of a world run by algorithms. What are the crime opportunities here?

22 August 2011

Father and sons boiler room scam sent to prison

Father and two sons jailed for £27.5 million scam

Glasgow gangs chose route to peace in face of tough crackdown

I missed this article a couple of weeks ago. More on the programme to dismantle the Glasgow gangs

Glasgow gangs fade away as anti-violence campaign takes hold

Reasons why the Strathclyde candidate has a chance of becoming Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. The drive to dismantle the gangs of Glasgow.

The barra bravas: the violent Argentinian gangs controlling football

Football hooligans and drugs. A glimpse into organisational structures in criminal gangs associated with Argentinian football teams

Manchester's original gangsters

We've been here before. Giving young people something to do and a place to do it is the final suggestion of the article. The author wrote "The Gangs of Manchester" published 2008.

America's serious crime rate is plunging, but why?

Almost a discussion of different explanations of falling crime numbers in US cities.Nothing about organised crime or gangs, sadly, but the arguments are worth listing for contemporary PhD students....Honest!

20 August 2011

Nigerian women and sex trafficking

In two special Aljazeera reports, the tragedy of African women victim of sex trafficking is investigated, and in particular their situation in southern Italy, in the ghettos near Napoli.

18 August 2011

cocaine seized to 300 million euro

The Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza) has seized a huge amount of cocaine in La Spiezia (in the Liguria region of Northern Italy). The drug was hidden behind a false wall in a container from Colombia directed to Genoa via Gioia Tauro, a seaport heavily controlled by the 'Ndrangheta.

16 August 2011

Women in Ciudad Juàrez: victims and killers

One of the main Italian newspaper today offers an article on female homicides in Ciudad Juàrez and the increasing presence of female offenders.

15 August 2011

Drugs Central_ Al Jazeera

an al Jazeera site linking articles and broadcasts on Mexico and Central America

14 August 2011

Italy's Bloodiest Mafia: The Camorra

An investigation exposing how Italy's most ruthless organised crime syndicate has taken over one of the country's most beautiful cities, killing its citizens and poisoning its water, making massive amounts of money and effectively operating an alternative government.

'Italy's Bloodiest Mafia: The Camorra', documentary by the BBC, on air on the 8th of August on ABC1

Italy's 'Ndrangheta Mafia: A Powerful Ally for the Zetas

The rise of the Zetas as not just a Mexican menace but as a significant power in the international drug trade has been helped along by its growing links to a sprawling Italian mafia group known as the ‘Ndrangheta

Mafia leader found hiding in air-conditioned underground bunker

An alleged leader of Italy's feared 'Ndrangheta mafia was arrested by police after being found hiding in a hi-tech underground bunker accessible only via a remote-controlled trap door.

The 'Ndrangheta: profile

The 'Ndrangheta, based in Calabria in the far south of Italy, is now believed to be the most powerful of Italy's four mafia organisations.

13 August 2011

Facebook under attack

Hacker netwrok "Anonymous" say they are going to take it down on November 5th

Criminal Enclaves in Licit Economies: Exploring the Criminal Consequences of Shuttle Trade

CALL FOR PAPERS for the panel “Transnational Crime: Difficulties of Responding to the Evasive Beast” to be presented at 2012 International BISA-ISA conference in Edinburgh 2012. Deadline for the submission of abstracts is August 27, 2011. Abstracts should be sent to: yuliya.zabyelina@sis.unitn.it

Transnational Crime: Difficulties of Responding to the Evasive Beast.

The ways in which transnational crime and its countermeasures confront the traditional borders of crime control, national security, national politics and international relations have challenge the disciplinary boundaries of orthodox criminology, which has traditionally focused on matters internal to nation-states. This panel invites proposals that investigate challenges of responding to transnational criminal activities:

- THEORETICAL: alternative theoretical approach to understanding both the phenomena currently labeled transnational crime and state responses to them; orthodox and critical ways of labeling and responding to transnational activities. State institutional challenges of responding to transnational crime; world risk society.

- SECURITY: merging national security and police threats; national and “a-national” sites of law enforcement; transnational policing; balancing the paradoxical intersection of neo-liberal globalization and “tough” security policies; a “panopticon” state against crime; evaluating the private security market.

- SOCIAL: strategies of border management in terms of fighting illicit cross-border movements; border politics and border reconstruction; crime and social injuries: the problem of “illegalized” migrants and “criminalized” victims of human trafficking; established social divisions based on race, class, and gender by maintaining and extending countermeasures; “gated” communities.

- TECHNOLOGICAL: new technologies for better surveillance; criminal technological empowerment and methodological sophistication; responses to cyber crime.

11 August 2011

How Mexico's deadly gang tactics are spreading

Unpleasant stories about the Mexican drug cartels moving into the migrant trade. Its really a puff for a BBC radio programme, but it suggests that los/las Zetas are spreading their power beyond Mexico.

10 August 2011

Fuel smuggler's paradise: a day on the border between Libya and Tunisia

Remember this. the origins of organised crime in Libya and its links with Tunisia. Yet again, the West creates organised crime...Is it deliberate?

Shopping riots?

Weird stuff. Sort of cod sociology crossed with journalism. going to be a lot of analysis of the riots over the next few days.

Trafficked women trapped between Italian mafia and immigrant gangs

Film today [10th August 2011]on Al Jazeera

09 August 2011

Italian journalists and mafias

An interesting inquiry on the risks faced by journalists in Italy because of the mafias operating in the country. Here something shorter in english from Reporters Without Borders: http://en.rsf.org/report-italy,111.html

06 August 2011

Enter the Cyber-dragon

Operation Shady Rat...For some bizarre reason, security folk decided to use Vanity Fair to release their critique of alleged Chinese hacking.

05 August 2011

Guardians of Internet Security Are Targets

Broader article developing thoughts on McAfee's report yesterday. Points out that companies like mcAfee are themselves targets and that the computer security industry is having to raise its game.

04 August 2011

Mexico arrests 'deputy financier of Zetas drug cartel'

BBC piece on arrest of two leading figures of las Zetas cartel, former members of Mexican special forces. Article includes yet another map.

03 August 2011

Britain's biggest ever cocaine haul found

The Gouda gang strike again!
Note as usual, the value given is the "street value" after being cut with other chemicals...This would have been sold wholesale...not retail. The original link puts it at £300 million, but this becomes much more huge by the time the sub editors have had their way.

How does organised crime misuse EU funds

Better read this...critically, of course!

Camorra and the US strategy to combat TOC

Some Italian media have underlined how Camorra has been included in the recent US strategy to combat TOC as one of the more dangerous organizations threatening US national security and that sanctions program to block Camorra's property have been established.

Biggest series of cyber-attacks in history uncovered

McAfee are the source for this. My problem is always that when a company reveals this sort of activity, it has to be remembered that it has a product to sell. There was a 14 page report released by them on Wednesday that probably should be perused.

02 August 2011

Bootleg vodka causes headache for UK authorities

More on the illegal alcohol distilling trade

Photos of fraud suspects released

This is fairly rubbish. One of the individuals is responsible for £156 million of the alleged £200 million total...and there appears to be nobody from the City of London or any of our political parties...We have fraudsters. These arent they!