Crime, Illegality and Social Structure: The Road Towards an Integrated Strategy

Date01 March 1998
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/eb027171
Pages59-66
Published date01 March 1998
AuthorMassimo Nardo
Subject MatterAccounting & finance
Journal of Money Laundering Control
Vol.
2 No. 1
Crime, Illegality and Social Structure: The Road
Towards an Integrated Strategy
Massimo Nardo
The last few years have seen a steady crescendo in
the panic over the threat of organised crime in
society. In fact, society is increasingly realising that
it is involved in a life and death situation, a war
whose battleground is continually expanding as
every clash uncovers new frontiers to be broken
down and new elements to be fought just like
the fight against some new and unknown disease
a struggle society cannot afford to lose.
The aim of this paper is to develop and investi-
gate various considerations regarding the general
strategies adopted by society in an attempt to
counter this threat effectively.
The wide-ranging spectrum of this multi-disci-
pline scenario a scenario rich in both socio-
logical and systemic content could mean the
legal system's basic activity needs to reflect, inter-
pret and organise all aspects of this human social
background, answering society's needs with legal
instruments and tools developed after analysis of
the fundamental problems.
The article will first of all attempt to outline a
method of interpretation of, and solution to, the
problems of spreading illegality. Obviously, how-
ever, this contribution cannot be more than a mere
overview of
a
far wider-reaching commitment a
commitment whose successful outcome will
require significant contributions from various
bodies concerned in the field of criminality.
AN EFFORT INVOLVING SOCIETY AS A
WHOLE
So far the fight against illegality has been left to
law-enforcement and judiciary institutions whose
bold stand has seen some success. Success which
has at times been of outstanding brilliance and
for which society should be duly grateful and
will undoubtedly lead to other improved measures
the moment full support and suitable resources are
dedicated to such initiatives. Nevertheless, these
successes alone are not sufficient to face such a
grave danger.1
A danger serious enough to threaten the very
integrity of social constitution is more than a mere
problem of opposing forces there has to be
some weak or vulnerable target the enemy finds
easy to strike, a target whose defences must be
strengthened.
Crucial questions arise. To what extent should
the development of crime be fought separately
from the wider (and more complex) phenomenon
of spreading illegality (illegal attitudes and
behaviour) in society? Does the problem involve
only certain distinct social structures (ie the eco-
nomy, the marketplace, public administration) or
is it more deeply rooted in society as a whole?
Does the answer lie in an enhanced and coherent
use of certain instruments, or society's perception
of
its
very structure and organisation?
Any effective strategy aimed at countering the
threat of pervading economic crime must look for
multidirectional answers answers which can
only come to the fore after interdisciplinary analy-
sis of illegal and criminal activity and research into
social behaviour, relations and structures which
will in turn reveal the profile of the system as a
whole.
AWARENESS OF THE SYSTEM
The world of organised crime is centred around a
black box whose effects are easily discernable (ie
the negative behaviour society tries to prevent and
restrain),2 yet of whose internal components and
regulatory functions society is entirely unaware.
These elements need to be studied following two
guiding principles.
Greater insight can be acquired by gathering
information from real cases under investigation,
although this knowledge is often fragmentary,
uncoordinated, ambiguous and even intentionally
distorted by the very fact that it finds its source in
criminal society.3
However, by integrating the results of such
investigations with a more theoretical knowledge
based on analyses of social phenomena and
behaviour patterns in the illegal environment,4 it is
possible to enrich the value of these elements.
The illegal underworld is indeed a fully inter-
active part of the social system which has to exploit
its features in order to live and work. In fact,
Page 59

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