Countering the Australian ‘ndrangheta: The criminalisation of mafia behaviour in Australia between national and comparative criminal law
| Published date | 01 September 2017 |
| Author | Anna Sergi |
| Date | 01 September 2017 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0004865816652367 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Australian & New Zealand
Journal of Criminology
2017, Vol. 50(3) 321–340
!The Author(s) 2016
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DOI: 10.1177/0004865816652367
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Article
Countering the Australian
‘ndrangheta: The
criminalisation of mafia
behaviour in Australia
between national and
comparative criminal law
Anna Sergi
University of Essex, UK
Abstract
Mafia-type criminal groups belonging to, or originated from, the Calabrian ‘ndrangheta from
Southern Italy, have been object of recentacademic research and media attention in Australia.
The Australian ‘ndrangheta, as qualified form of organised crime, poses new challenges for law
enforcement in the country. This paper briefly looks at the strategies to fight organised crime
in Australia, with specific focus on anti-association laws. By using a comparative approach, the
paper will look at the criminalisation of mafias as qualified forms of organised crime in other
two jurisdictions, Italy and the USA, to advocate for an effective mafia criminalisation in
Australia. In conclusion, this paper will argue that, in order to also fight mafia phenomena,
criminal law in Australia should focus on behaviours of organised crime groups rather than
only on the criminalisation of proscribed associations and their illegal activities.
Keywords
Anti-mafia, Australian ‘ndrangheta, comparative criminal justice, criminal enterprise, Italian
Anti-mafia, mafia, policing organised crime, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations
Act, unlawful associations
Introduction
In recent years, both academic research (Bennetts, 2016a; Sergi, 2012, 2013, 2015a;
Spagnolo, 2010) and media (Branley, 2015; McKenzie & Baker, 2009; McKenzie,
Hichens, & Toft, 2015) have looked with concern at the apparent growth of influence
and power of mafia groups, of Italian origins, in certain areas of Australia. The groups
in question are clans belonging to – or modelled upon – the ‘ndrangheta – a mafia-type
Corresponding author:
Anna Sergi, Department of Sociology, Centre for Criminology, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester
CO43SQ, UK.
Email: asergi@essex.ac.uk
criminal organisation from the toe of the Italian peninsula, in the region of Calabria.
Thanks to an established migration from the Calabrian region to Australia since the
early decades of the XX century, affiliates of this criminal group appear well established
in Australia (Sergi, 2015a). It has been argued that the mafia-type clans collectively
indicated as the ‘ndrangheta (historically known as the Honoured Society) are not
only ‘rational criminal organisations’, but also involve ‘a set of behaviours, a subculture,
embedded in the local culture and kinship ties’ (Sergi, 2015c, p. 43); the phenomenon,
therefore, goes beyond criminal grounds and ‘organised crime’ labels and as such poses
new problems to law enforcement.
This paper will first present a theoretical approach that sees mafia groups as both
criminal organisations and ‘behavioural models’ of deviance. Second, this paper will
present the Calabrian ‘ndrangheta and the Australian ‘ndrangheta. The paper will then
move towards an analysis of the criminalisation of organised crime in Australian
jurisdictions. Afterwards, it will present responses to Italian mafias in two other
jurisdictions: Italy – with its peculiar criminalisation of the Italian mafia phenomenon –
and the USA – which criminalised illegal enterprises with specific references to Sicilian
Cosa Nostra. This work advocates for a shift from an understanding of mafias
(any mafia) as criminal organisations engaging in illegal conducts towards an
understanding of mafias as ‘behavioural phenomena’ criminal in nature, but also
embedded in culture. Such a shift is beneficial also in Australia to use criminal law
more effectively towards different types of organised crime groups, including ‘ndran-
gheta clans.
For a conceptualisation of the mafia behaviour: The Calabrian ‘ndrangheta
With the term ‘mafia’, scholars indicate a qualified form of organised crime. In addition
to committing serious, violent and other ‘organised’ criminal activities, mafia groups are
also typically supported by social prestige and are accepted and/or tolerated by their
own communities (Sciarrone & Storti, 2014). Certainly, mafia groups represent the
prototypical criminal structure that from the illegal world steps into the legal world of
politics and finance (Arlacchi, 1986; Paoli, 2002; Von Lampe, 2008). On the other side,
and this is especially true for Italian criminal groups, mafia clans are also social forces,
with the ability to handle social capital (Sciarrone, 2011) and realise strategic goals
(Dalla Chiesa, 2010).
The conceptualisation of mafias is constantly evolving. Also in Italy, the current
debate on the legal definition of mafias embraces contemporary manifestations of
mafia power in other territories, far from Southern Italy (Dalla Chiesa, 2015;
Sciarrone, 2014). We can identify three main aspects for a contemporary conceptualisa-
tion of mafias, particularly relevant also to the Australian scenario. Crucially, mafia
groups, which exhibit these traits, do not necessarily have to be Italian. Arguably, any
criminal group anywhere in the world can behave as a mafia group within this frame-
work; culture, including criminal culture, does not have to be linked to ethnic traits
(Christopher et al., 2014).
1. Mafias are considered as unlawful associations having their own criminal identity.
Through this identity they seek to acquire power infiltrating the legal world.
322 Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology 50(3)
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