Globlal Organized Crime, ISIS and Criminal Justice
The impact of globalization has not just been felt around the planet in economic, political and social terms: it has also been felt in the sector of criminology. The current crimes and criminal issues that impact the criminal justice system on a global basis are, in other words, not as isolated or unconnected as they were a century ago. Today's world is connected in complex ways, especially thanks to the ease of communication that the digital era has provided. In places where the digital divide exists, crimes and criminal issues are more unique and remote (examples include genocide, such as that conducted by Boko Haram for instance in Africa). But in countries where there is no digital divide, the crimes and criminal issues that impact the criminal justice system range from counterfeiting to human trafficking to various forms of cyber crime and terrorist-related crime. Crime is much more organized and expansive thanks to the communications possibilities now available -- and one major way in which this is seen is the rise of ISIS in the Middle East, which has its own propaganda offices for distributing its own publications, and which uses social media to cultivate cells and recruit young persons to its cause throughout the world. Thus, this paper will identify the role that global organized crime plays in impacting the criminal justice system and what worldwide criminal justice systems are doing to address these issues.
Global organized crime takes numerous forms. Some of it can be deadly and costly to human lives, such as terrorism and human trafficking; in other cases, it can simply target the profits made by luxury brand corporations or fine art collectors. Counterfeiting, for instance, is a major operation around the globe and much of it has roots in China, where counterfeiters are able to create knock-offs of luxury brand products and ship them to retailers around the globe. In recent years, China has undertaken some measures within its own criminal justice system to address the issue of counterfeiting within its borders, as major multinationals have stepped up complaints about their intellectual property being stolen, manipulated, and reproduced without their consent (Baksi, 2015). For example,
"In 2014 its administrative authorities handled 67,500 trade mark infringement cases with a value of 100 million renminbi (£10.3 million), destroyed 1,007 infringing sites and transferred 355 criminal cases to the prosecutors ... A new trade mark law, which came into force in May 2014, introduced more severe punishments for repeated infringements and raised the amount of statutory damages from 500,000 renminbi (£51,501) to 3 million (£300,000)" (Baksi, 2015).
Yet, criminal justice systems can only do so much, as protecting intellectual property is not as easy as corporations would like it to be. Brand identity can easily be stolen and used by counterfeiters and courts have been reluctant to punish (Sorin, 2015). Moreover, much of the way in which this global system of organized crime is able to take place depends upon access to and utilization of the Internet. The Internet is a major means for counterfeiters seeking to expand their reach: "70% of luxury brand owners consider loss of revenue from counterfeit goods to be the biggest challenge facing them on the Internet today" (Counting the Cost of Counterfeiting, 2015, p. 13).
However, counterfeiting is only one of the less deadly forms of global crime. Terrorism is another aspect of organized global crime that is just as pervasive and far more deadly, as recent terror attacks throughout Europe and America have shown. The suspected perpetrators of these attacks are linked to ISIS in the Middle East, and the ability of these terror cells to recruit and carry out deadly bombings in cities like Brussels and Paris is a sign that the organization that supports these cells is sophisticated, thorough, efficient, and capable of going undetected by criminal justice systems throughout the world. Prosecuting those whom the world's police and law enforcement agencies cannot even find to arrest is especially difficult.
Indeed, the recent terror attack in Brussels has resulted in a major crackdown effort on the part of coordinating criminal justice systems in the West. Intelligence agencies are working together to identify and apprehend suspects in the wake of this most recent attack linked to ISIS. Around the world, there is near unanimous support from governments in the fight against this organized crime unit.
As Burke (2016) for the London...
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