Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE CRI1005

 
TITLE Organised Crime

 
UM LEVEL 01 - Year 1 in Modular Undergraduate Course

 
MQF LEVEL 5

 
ECTS CREDITS 4

 
DEPARTMENT Criminology

 
DESCRIPTION Organised crimes are crimes committed by illicit entrepreneurship. The aim of these crimes is to make profits and gain through illlegal and legal activities. Organised crime produces those illicit goods and services that people want but that they cannot get access to. This activity is usually run on an international level. Organised crime groups that will be studied include the Mafia style families (such as the triads, the Yakuza and Cosa nostra), motor cycle gangs, ethnic organised crime groups and specialised organised groups. This study-unit will attempt to give an overview of the extent and organisation of organised crime groups. It will also address the issue of prevention, the response by Nation States as well as the international response to organised crime.

Study-unit Aims:
- Introducing students to the dimension of these types of crime categories;
- Providing an in-depth understanding of each category;
- Providing an understanding of the impact of these crime categories on society;
- Familiarizing students to the response to these crimes by the states.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding:

By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:
- To understand the difference between ordinary street crime and organized crime;
- To know how these groups function;
- To identify what makes an organised crime group;
- To explain what could be done to prevent organised crime;
- To understand the national and international response to organized crime.

2. Skills:

By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:
- Appreciate the extent of these type of crimes;
- To locate the various organised crime groups;
- To understand and interpret the social situations that lead to organised crime;
- To comprehend the harm done to society;
- To understand the theoretical underpinning for the creation of organised crime groups.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

- Abidinsky, H (2009). Organized crime. USA: Wadsworth.
- Albanese, J.S., Das, D.K. and A. Verma (2003). Organised crime: World perspective. Prentice Hall: New Jersey.
- Jamieson, A., (2000). The antimafia. MacMillan Press Ltd: UK.
- Lyman, M D., (2007) Organized crime. (4th Edition) Prentice Hall: New Jersey.
- Gounev, P and Riggiero, V. (2012) Corruption and Organized Crime in Europe: Illegal Partnerships. Routledge: Oxford.

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Independent Online Learning, Lectures and Seminar

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Assessment Due Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Presentation (30 Minutes) SEM2 No 40%
Seminar Paper SEM2 Yes 60%

 
LECTURER/S Robert Aloisio
Jonathan Camilleri
Claudine Cassar
Saviour Formosa (Co-ord.)
Clayton Xuereb
Antonio Zerafa

 

 
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints.
Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

https://www.um.edu.mt/course/studyunit