Book Review: Angela Veng Mei Leong The Disruption of International Organised Crime—An Analysis of Legal and Non-legal Strategies Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing Ltd, 2007. £55.00 ISBN 13 978—0—754—67066—7
| Published date | 01 November 2008 |
| Date | 01 November 2008 |
| Author | Rachel Southworth |
| DOI | 10.1177/17488958080080040602 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Oxford Handbook, fourth edition—but the book does fill an important gap
in the market and complements the growing number of works on state
crime and on corporate workplace crimes.
References
De Grazia, J. (2008) Review of the Serious Fraud Office: Final Report. Online:
http://www.attorneygeneral.gov.uk/attachments/JdeGrazia%20Final%20Re
view%20of%20SFO.pdf
Levi, M. and J. Burrows (2008) ‘Measuring the Impact of Fraud in the UK:
A Conceptual and Empirical Journey’, British Journal of Criminology 48(3):
293–318.
Levi, M., J. Burrows, M. Fleming and M. Hopkins (with the assistance of
K. Matthews) (2007) The Nature, Extent and Economic Impact of Fraud in the
UK. London: Association of Chief Police Officers. Online: http://www.acpo.
police.uk/asp/policies/Data/Fraud%20in%20the%20UK.pdf
Maguire, M., R. Morgan and R. Reiner (2007) The Oxford Handbook of
Criminology: 4th edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Angela Veng Mei Leong
The Disruption of International Organised Crime—An Analysis of Legal and
Non-legal Strategies
Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing Ltd, 2007. £55.00 ISBN 139780754670667
•Reviewed by Rachel Southworth, Cardiff University, UK
This book analyses the legal and practical strategies implemented by
national jurisdictions in response to the threat posed by transnational
organized crime, mainly focusing on the UK and USA. It takes for granted
the conventional wisdom in enforcement circles that the threat is ever-
increasing as a result of globalization and technological innovation, and
recommends that new anti-organized crime mechanisms are required at
both the national and international level. In recognition of the institutional
and political objectives to understand, reduce, and if possible prevent the
structures of organized crime, Leong’s analysis focuses predominantly upon
the strengths and weaknesses of traditional and existing control mechan-
isms and emphasizes the value of ‘disruption strategies’ against criminal
funding.
In addressing the ineffective use of the UK’s criminal justice system to date
when dealing with the ‘menace’ of organized crime (a rhetoric associated
with the legal-pragmatic perspective), Leong presents a compelling argument
that criminal law is no longer the sole route to waging the ‘war against
organized crime’, with civil recovery (that is, proceedings against alleged
proceeds of criminality independent of conviction or even prosecution) now
Criminology & Criminal Justice 8(4)510
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