Journal of Economic Criminology最新文献

{"title":"Illicit drug trafficking via postal services: A scoping review of economic-criminological context and estimation methods","authors":"Agnese Raimondi ,&nbsp;Julien Chopin ,&nbsp;Stefano Caneppele ,&nbsp;Toni Männistö ,&nbsp;Ari-Pekka Hameri ,&nbsp;Juha Hintsa","doi":"10.1016/j.jeconc.2025.100140","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jeconc.2025.100140","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Efficient and interconnected logistics networks, like postal services, provide powerful tools for criminal groups to organize cross-border drug trafficking by exploiting legitimate infrastructure. Despite postal services becoming inadvertent facilitators in smuggling, focused research on this logistical channel is scarce and scattered due to its multidisciplinary, cross-country nature. This paper conducts a systematic scoping review to explore three primary questions: (1) how drug trafficking through postal services is conceptualized, (2) the estimated volume of these illicit flows, and (3) the methodologies employed to determine these estimates. Our scoping review, which covers studies from 2006 to 2024, identified 49 relevant articles. The findings indicate that the inherent characteristics of the postal system limit its detection capacity, thereby increasing its appeal for smuggling activities. With criminals thus increasingly shifting to online operations and postal remote shipments, cross-border enforcement agencies need to enhance their awareness of the cross-border illicit trade dimension and their responsiveness to the phenomenon, as well as deepen their digital readiness and ensure digital-based coordinated intelligence. This study emphasizes that the fragmentation of knowledge, combined with the multitude of players involved in monitoring and enforcement activities, demands tight transnational cooperation to ensure enforcement effectiveness and prevent digital asymmetries.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100775,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Criminology","volume":"7 ","pages":"Article 100140"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143552702","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Unveiling sentiments of the cullen commission: Exploring AML compliance and regulation through deep learning techniques","authors":"Mark E. Lokanan","doi":"10.1016/j.jeconc.2025.100138","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jeconc.2025.100138","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper examines the role of anti-money laundering (AML) regulations and compliance in combating money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) in Canada. AML regulations establish guidelines for financial institutions to identify, prevent, and report suspicious activities. However, tensions often arise between AML compliance and regulation due to the challenges associated with implementing and adhering to AML regulations. This paper aims to investigate the sentiments expressed by individuals involved in AML compliance and regulation regarding the effectiveness of AML measures in the Canadian financial sector. The paper uses advanced deep learning (DL) methods like convolutional neural networks (CNN), recurrent neural networks with long short-term memory (RNN+LSTM), and pre-trained models like GloVe and BERT to explore emotions in the context of AML compliance and regulation. The findings indicate that DL models excel at accurately classifying sentiments from testimonies related to AML compliance and regulation. However, there are challenges in accurately capturing negative sentiments, which reflect the complexities and nuances associated with expressing criticisms about regulatory standards. The study emphasizes the importance of understanding the interplay between rational decision-making in compliance and the inherent conflicts with regulation. This article also highlights how DL models can potentially enhance sentiment analysis in the AML enterprise, enabling analysts to make decisions and policies based on financial intelligence. Nevertheless, DL models are not always easy to comprehend. Further research is needed to enhance the understandability and scalability of DL models when analyzing different AML datasets.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100775,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Criminology","volume":"7 ","pages":"Article 100138"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143510252","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Using global security assemblages to combat transnational organized crime","authors":"Brian R. Johnson","doi":"10.1016/j.jeconc.2025.100134","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jeconc.2025.100134","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Traditional 20th century public responses to Transnational Organized Crime (TOC) were oftentimes singular, siloed, and exclusive; state entities and resources were used to detect, deter, and combat the issue. The expansion and emergence of new types of organized crime in the 21st century has made these traditional responses an ineffective and myopic policy choice. Now, contemporary 21st century approaches to combatting organized crime will increasingly rely upon assemblage thinking and the use of global security assemblages (GSAs), where public sector agencies collaborate with the private sector to address TOC. This approach will also require an innovative approach to understating GSAs through assemblage thinking and modifying the concept of capable guardians within routine activities theory.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100775,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Criminology","volume":"7 ","pages":"Article 100134"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143480675","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cybercrime in criminology; A systematic review of criminological theories, methods, and concepts","authors":"Gift Onwuadiamu","doi":"10.1016/j.jeconc.2025.100136","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jeconc.2025.100136","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As the incidences of traditional crime rates have begun to decline, there has been a surge and shift in the kinds of criminal activities perpetuated by individuals. The recent shift in criminal activities includes organized crime, white-collar crime, and cybercrime.The increased use and access to digital space have influenced the prevalence of cyber-criminal behavior over time. This issue has led scholars in allied fields such as computer science, psychology, law, and economics, to understand the prevalence, causes, and impact of cybercrime. In the last decades, the field of criminology has used its concepts and theories to explain the issues of cybercrime. This study uses the PRISMA systematic review model to examine criminological studies in cybercrime,identifying approaches in conceptualization, operationalization, use of data and analysis, and the application of this subject, etc. This systematic review will advance the growing field of cybercrime and will help the criminological scholarship in understanding the gaps that exist and help policymakers keep up with development and implement evidence-based solutions in tackling cybercrime.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100775,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Criminology","volume":"8 ","pages":"Article 100136"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143609987","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Who constitute the VASPs in DeFi? A case study on money laundering via cross-chain bridge from the 2022 harmony hack","authors":"Yuyun Ma","doi":"10.1016/j.jeconc.2025.100131","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jeconc.2025.100131","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":100775,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Criminology","volume":"7 ","pages":"Article 100131"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143487386","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Economic inequality and the monetary reward in a robbery","authors":"Stewart J. D'Alessio ,&nbsp;Lisa Stolzenberg ,&nbsp;Jamie L. Flexon","doi":"10.1016/j.jeconc.2025.100139","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jeconc.2025.100139","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The relationship between economic inequality and violent crime is usually equated with rational choice or strain theory, although adjudicating between these two distinct perspectives is exceedingly burdensome because their respective predictions are analogous. Multilevel data for 66 cities located across the U.S. are analyzed to evaluate whether economic inequality influences the financial reward (cash/property) derived from a robbery. While rational choice theory proffers that economic inequality increases the monetary reward in a robbery because of the greater availability of lucrative targets to victimize, strain theory makes no such prediction. Results cast doubt on rational choice theory because economic inequality fails to predict the financial reward acquired in a robbery. However, an offender’s monetary reward in cities plagued by economic inequality is observed to be more substantive when a firearm is employed during the commission of a robbery. This latter finding suggests that robbers may be employing firearms in cities plagued by economic inequality to victimize potentially wealthy targets who are likely better protected.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100775,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Criminology","volume":"7 ","pages":"Article 100139"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143487387","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"How frontline states tackle sanctions against Russia: Implementation and enforcement dynamics in Poland and the Baltics","authors":"Katarzyna J. McNaughton ,&nbsp;Marcin Łukowski","doi":"10.1016/j.jeconc.2025.100130","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jeconc.2025.100130","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, reshaped the EU’s security landscape, prompting sanctions aimed at weakening Russia’s war capabilities. These sanctions also redefined the roles of public authorities and the private sector, introducing new challenges in a shifting geopolitical context.</div><div>Public authorities, including financial intelligence units, customs, state security agencies, law-enforcement agencies, etc., must identify, prevent, and investigate sanctions evasion and circumvention. This requires robust legal frameworks, adequate resources, and expertise in sanctions evasion typologies. Similarly, businesses and financial institutions operate in legal ambiguity, often asking, <em>“Who am I dealing with in this transaction?”,</em> as they navigate complex compliance requirements.</div><div>Both the public and private sectors need a strong framework for domestic and cross-border sharing of financial intelligence, trade data, and knowledge of sanctions evasion typologies, as well as insight into the corporate structures of sanctioned entities. However, the EU's decentralized approach of independently designed national enforcement models may hamper cooperation and cross-border financial intelligence sharing.</div><div>This paper examines how Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia that are post-Warsaw Pact EU countries bordering Russia, implement and enforce those sanctions. It explores who \"does what\" and whether national authorities are adapting their <em>modi operandi</em> to enforce sanctions effectively.</div><div>The findings reveal distinct national approaches. Latvia’s FIU became Europe’s first sanctions authority, integrating intelligence and enforcement functions. Estonia’s FIU plays a significant role but shares responsibilities with other agencies. Lithuania’s FIU adopts a collaborative model, leveraging a public-private partnership with the Center of Excellence in Anti-Money Laundering. Poland has a fragmented enforcement structure and regulatory framework but is unique in implementing its own autonomous sanctions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100775,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Criminology","volume":"8 ","pages":"Article 100130"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143548764","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Afraid of the unknown: Crypto literacy and fear of online fraud","authors":"Timothy A. Engle ,&nbsp;Cooper A. Maher ,&nbsp;Michael Jones","doi":"10.1016/j.jeconc.2025.100135","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jeconc.2025.100135","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The proliferation of cryptocurrency throughout society has led to widespread usage within criminal offending. Despite this, limited research has investigated fear of cryptocurrency-based victimization, or the role that financial or cryptocurrency literacy play in influencing such fears. This study examines the influence in which financial and cryptocurrency literacy plays in both personal and altruistic fear of financial and cryptoeconomic crimes. Using a sample of college undergraduates (n = 433), and employing a validated scale of cryptocurrency literacy, results indicate that cryptocurrency literacy is not significantly associated with all modalities of fear of crime investigated, with the exception of altruistic fear of non-cryptocurrency financial crimes. Conversely, general financial literacy was negatively associated with personal fear of both financial crimes and non- cryptoeconomic financial crimes. Findings are discussed in light of research and policy implication as well as limitations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100775,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Criminology","volume":"7 ","pages":"Article 100135"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143465364","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Corruption as the cause, not the effect, of organized crime?","authors":"Jay S. Albanese","doi":"10.1016/j.jeconc.2025.100137","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jeconc.2025.100137","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This analysis uses known corruption cases, serious enough to be prosecuted by governments, to develop an empirical description of the nature of corruption and its connections to organized crime. More than 200 cases from the U.S. covering an entire year are compared with nearly 300 corruption cases submitted by Member States of the United Nations to its electronic resources portal (SHERLOC). SHERLOC makes available resources from all 193 UN Member States, non-member observer States of the United Nations, the European Union, and non-member parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. The SHERLOC cases come from 50 countries, representing more than a quarter of the nations in the world. The objective of this analysis is to examine similarities and differences in corrupt conduct, its purpose or motivation, the number of offenders involved, transnational involvement, and organized crime connections. The circumstances of these cases suggest that corruption works as an enabler or facilitator of multiple forms of organized crime, rather than the effect.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100775,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Criminology","volume":"7 ","pages":"Article 100137"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143474697","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Following the Money: Evaluating Evidence Gathering Using Financial Investigation in the World of Covert Human Intelligence Source Handling","authors":"Craig Hughes ,&nbsp;David Kennedy ,&nbsp;David Hicks","doi":"10.1016/j.jeconc.2025.100133","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jeconc.2025.100133","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This research examines the possibilities for covert human intelligence sources (CHIS) handlers to gather financial intelligence against organised crime groups (OCGs). The focus will be on the financial footprint left by individual offenders and criminal enterprises for the purpose of targeting one form of the proceeds of crime, cash. The paper considers the practical utility of financial investigation techniques for routine use outside of the specialist area of asset recovery and confiscation. This is intended to provide balance with the traditional CHIS focus on commodities such as drugs, stolen goods, and firearms or evidence of serious offending such as murder or terrorism. After discussing existing policy, practice and research, the core method used in the paper involves primary research gathered by way of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to all United Kingdom (UK) police forces. Analysis and discussion of that data illustrates that a substantial majority of forces varying exemptions cited under the FOI rules The authors assess the received data and information and offer further critical analysis of the force rationales for non-disclosure. Currently, the situation concerning the use of financial investigation techniques and CHIS remains unanswered. Financial gain is a strategic priority for OCGs and most offenders but, strangely, financial investigation is not a strategic priority for intelligence-led and evidence-based UK policing.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100775,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Criminology","volume":"7 ","pages":"Article 100133"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143465365","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}