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  2. Organised Crime [CRI3104]

Faculty of Business and Law

School: Law and Justice

This unit information may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.

  • Unit Title

    Organised Crime

  • Unit Code

    CRI3104

  • Year

    2015

  • Enrolment Period

    1

  • Version

    1

  • Credit Points

    15

  • Full Year Unit

     N

  • Mode of Delivery

    On Campus
    Online

Description

This unit continues the students' development of theoretical and practical knowledge redirecting their attention to organised crime and the organised criminal. Students examine issues relating to the impact of organised crime on the local market and the global market. Situations unique to a West Australian context are compared and contrasted with national and international organised criminal networks. Students also consider the legislation, policing and regulation of organised crime. This unit also introduces students to the concept of commercial, white collar and corporate crime.

Prerequisite Rule

Students must pass 120 credit points

Equivalent Rule

Unit was previously coded JUS3131

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

  1. Analyse the relationship between organised crime and terrorism.
  2. Analyse the relationship between organised crime regulation, legislation and policing.
  3. Compare and contrast state, national and international organised crime networks, structures and operations.
  4. Critically discuss the business of organised crime.
  5. Critically discuss the different structures of organised crime networks.
  6. Examine legislation, regulation and self governance in the corporate crime arena.
  7. Examine the link between organised crime and corruption.
  8. Explain the costs and impact of commercial, corporate and white collar crime to society.
  9. Explain theories relating to organised crime.

Unit Content

  1. Definitions, problems and attributes of organised crime.
  2. Legislating and regulating commercial, corporate and white collar crimes.
  3. Examine the differences between hierarchical and familial structures in contrast to opportunistic and entrepreneurial type operations.
  4. The business of organised crime.
  5. The illicit drug trade.
  6. The nature and extent of state, national and international organised crime.
  7. Analysing the recent changes in terrorism and examining the similarities and inherent differences between terrorist and organised crime networks.
  8. Organised crime and the problem of corruption.
  9. Defining the differences between commercial, corporate and white collar crimes.
  10. Public perceptions and sentencing attitudes towards commercial crimes.

Additional Learning Experience Information

This unit is conducted in both the on-campus and off-campus modes. On-campus students are required to attend a three-hour seminar each week. The seminars are delivered by an instructor with relevant industry knowledge and experience. The seminars are designed to introduce students to the concepts, theories and issues relevant to organised crime in Australia and internationally. Problem-based seminar activities are used to allow students to apply their learning and improve their critical thinking skills and communication skills. Assessment methods provide students the opportunity to demonstrate and develop their content knowledge, critical thinking and written communication skills. Off-campus students are provided with an electronic recorded seminar each week. All information is delivered to off-campus students via Blackboard. The seminars are delivered by an instructor with relevant industry knowledge and experience. The seminars are designed to introduce students to the concepts, theories and issues relevant to organised crime in Australia and internationally. Problem-based online activities are used to allow students to apply their learning and improve their critical thinking skills and communication skills. Assessment methods provide students the opportunity to demonstrate and develop their content knowledge, critical thinking and written communication skills. Regular online access is essential.

Assessment

GS1 GRADING SCHEMA 1 Used for standard coursework units

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant Board of Examiners.

ON CAMPUS
TypeDescriptionValue
EssayEssay 120%
EssayEssay 240%
ExaminationFinal examination40%
ONLINE
TypeDescriptionValue
EssayEssay 120%
EssayEssay 240%
ExaminationFinal examination40%

Text References

  • ^ http://routledge-ny.com/books/search/author/jay_s_albanese/" title="search for all books by Jay S Albanese">Albanese, J. S., (2014). Organized Crime: From the Mob to Transnational Organized Crime, 7th Edition. Routledge
  • Buchanan, C., & Hartley, P. (1992). Criminal choice: The economic theory of crime and its implications for crime control. St Leonards: Centre for Independent Studies.
  • Dirkis, M., & Nicoll, G. (1996). Corporate and white collar crime. In Hazlehurst, K. (ed) Crime and Justice: An Australian textbook in criminology. North Ryde: LBC Information Services.
  • Canter, D., & Alison, L. (1999). The social psychology of crime: Group, teams and networks. Aldershot: Ashgate.
  • Clifford, M. (1998). Environmental crime: Enforcement, policy and social responsibility. Gaithersburg: Aspen Publishers.
  • Abadinsky, H. (2002). Organized crime (6th ed.). Wadsworth: Belmont.
  • Cunningham, N., Norberry, J., & McKillop, S. (eds). (1993). Environmental crime: Proceedings of a Conference held 1-3 September 1993, Hobart. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.
  • Maguire, M., Morgan, R., & Reiner, R. (eds). (1997). The oxford handbook of criminology (2nd ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press.
  • Lyman, M. & Potter, G. (2003). Organized crime (3rd ed.). Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.
  • Grabosky, P. (ed). (1992). Complex commercial fraud: Proceedings of a Conference held 20-23 August 1991. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.
  • Irwin, M. (2001). Policing organised crime. Paper Presented at the 4th national outlook symposium on crime in Australia, new crimes or new responses convened by the Australian institute of criminology and held in Canberra 21-22 June 2001. http://www.aic.gov.au/conferences/outlook4/Irwin.pdf

Journal References

  • The Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice.
  • Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology.

^ Mandatory reference

Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005)

For the purposes of considering a request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), inherent requirements for this subject are articulated in the Unit Description, Learning Outcomes and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the support for students with disabilities or medical conditions can be found at the Access and Inclusion website.

Academic Misconduct

Edith Cowan University has firm rules governing academic misconduct and there are substantial penalties that can be applied to students who are found in breach of these rules. Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

  • plagiarism;
  • unauthorised collaboration;
  • cheating in examinations;
  • theft of other students' work;

Additionally, any material submitted for assessment purposes must be work that has not been submitted previously, by any person, for any other unit at ECU or elsewhere.

The ECU rules and policies governing all academic activities, including misconduct, can be accessed through the ECU website.

CRI3104|1|1

Faculty of Business and Law

School: Law and Justice

This unit information may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.

  • Unit Title

    Organised Crime

  • Unit Code

    CRI3104

  • Year

    2015

  • Enrolment Period

    2

  • Version

    1

  • Credit Points

    15

  • Full Year Unit

     N

  • Mode of Delivery

    On Campus
    Online

Description

This unit continues the students' development of theoretical and practical knowledge redirecting their attention to organised crime and the organised criminal. Students examine issues relating to the impact of organised crime on the local market and the global market. Situations unique to a West Australian context are compared and contrasted with national and international organised criminal networks. Students also consider the legislation, policing and regulation of organised crime. This unit also introduces students to the concept of commercial, white collar and corporate crime.

Prerequisite Rule

Students must pass 120 credit points

Equivalent Rule

Unit was previously coded JUS3131

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

  1. Analyse the relationship between organised crime and terrorism.
  2. Analyse the relationship between organised crime regulation, legislation and policing.
  3. Compare and contrast state, national and international organised crime networks, structures and operations.
  4. Critically discuss the business of organised crime.
  5. Critically discuss the different structures of organised crime networks.
  6. Examine legislation, regulation and self governance in the corporate crime arena.
  7. Examine the link between organised crime and corruption.
  8. Explain the costs and impact of commercial, corporate and white collar crime to society.
  9. Explain theories relating to organised crime.

Unit Content

  1. Definitions, problems and attributes of organised crime.
  2. Legislating and regulating commercial, corporate and white collar crimes.
  3. Examine the differences between hierarchical and familial structures in contrast to opportunistic and entrepreneurial type operations.
  4. The business of organised crime.
  5. The illicit drug trade.
  6. The nature and extent of state, national and international organised crime.
  7. Analysing the recent changes in terrorism and examining the similarities and inherent differences between terrorist and organised crime networks.
  8. Organised crime and the problem of corruption.
  9. Defining the differences between commercial, corporate and white collar crimes.
  10. Public perceptions and sentencing attitudes towards commercial crimes.

Additional Learning Experience Information

This unit is conducted in both the on-campus and off-campus modes. On-campus students are required to attend a three-hour seminar each week. The seminars are delivered by an instructor with relevant industry knowledge and experience. The seminars are designed to introduce students to the concepts, theories and issues relevant to organised crime in Australia and internationally. Problem-based seminar activities are used to allow students to apply their learning and improve their critical thinking skills and communication skills. Assessment methods provide students the opportunity to demonstrate and develop their content knowledge, critical thinking and written communication skills. Off-campus students are provided with an electronic recorded seminar each week. All information is delivered to off-campus students via Blackboard. The seminars are delivered by an instructor with relevant industry knowledge and experience. The seminars are designed to introduce students to the concepts, theories and issues relevant to organised crime in Australia and internationally. Problem-based online activities are used to allow students to apply their learning and improve their critical thinking skills and communication skills. Assessment methods provide students the opportunity to demonstrate and develop their content knowledge, critical thinking and written communication skills. Regular online access is essential.

Assessment

GS1 GRADING SCHEMA 1 Used for standard coursework units

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant Board of Examiners.

ON CAMPUS
TypeDescriptionValue
EssayEssay 120%
EssayEssay 240%
ExaminationFinal examination40%
ONLINE
TypeDescriptionValue
EssayEssay 120%
EssayEssay 240%
ExaminationFinal examination40%

Text References

  • ^ http://routledge-ny.com/books/search/author/jay_s_albanese/" title="search for all books by Jay S Albanese">Albanese, J. S., (2014). Organized Crime: From the Mob to Transnational Organized Crime, 7th Edition. Routledge
  • Clifford, M. (1998). Environmental crime: Enforcement, policy and social responsibility. Gaithersburg: Aspen Publishers.
  • Maguire, M., Morgan, R., & Reiner, R. (eds). (1997). The oxford handbook of criminology (2nd ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press.
  • Lyman, M. & Potter, G. (2003). Organized crime (3rd ed.). Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.
  • Abadinsky, H. (2002). Organized crime (6th ed.). Wadsworth: Belmont.
  • Buchanan, C., & Hartley, P. (1992). Criminal choice: The economic theory of crime and its implications for crime control. St Leonards: Centre for Independent Studies.
  • Dirkis, M., & Nicoll, G. (1996). Corporate and white collar crime. In Hazlehurst, K. (ed) Crime and Justice: An Australian textbook in criminology. North Ryde: LBC Information Services.
  • Canter, D., & Alison, L. (1999). The social psychology of crime: Group, teams and networks. Aldershot: Ashgate.
  • Cunningham, N., Norberry, J., & McKillop, S. (eds). (1993). Environmental crime: Proceedings of a Conference held 1-3 September 1993, Hobart. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.
  • Grabosky, P. (ed). (1992). Complex commercial fraud: Proceedings of a Conference held 20-23 August 1991. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.
  • Irwin, M. (2001). Policing organised crime. Paper Presented at the 4th national outlook symposium on crime in Australia, new crimes or new responses convened by the Australian institute of criminology and held in Canberra 21-22 June 2001. http://www.aic.gov.au/conferences/outlook4/Irwin.pdf

Journal References

  • The Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice.
  • Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology.

^ Mandatory reference

Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005)

For the purposes of considering a request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), inherent requirements for this subject are articulated in the Unit Description, Learning Outcomes and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the support for students with disabilities or medical conditions can be found at the Access and Inclusion website.

Academic Misconduct

Edith Cowan University has firm rules governing academic misconduct and there are substantial penalties that can be applied to students who are found in breach of these rules. Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

  • plagiarism;
  • unauthorised collaboration;
  • cheating in examinations;
  • theft of other students' work;

Additionally, any material submitted for assessment purposes must be work that has not been submitted previously, by any person, for any other unit at ECU or elsewhere.

The ECU rules and policies governing all academic activities, including misconduct, can be accessed through the ECU website.

CRI3104|1|2