Criminal clans, families and structures

In this session, Mahmoud Jaraba will deliver a presentation on fighting “Clan crime” in Germany, offering a critical perspective based on his findings of over 6 years of ethnographic fieldwork in Germany. His presentation will deconstruct the term “clan crime” (Clankriminalität) and explain why police strategies are not so far effective in fighting family-based crime in Germany. After this intervention, Dina Siegel will present the outcomes of her study on criminal families in Israel, introducing new and old actors of organized crime in Israel and analysing the ongoing criminal war between powerful families, smuggling of drugs and weapons in this part of the Middle East, the growing wave of contract killings in the last years, and the reaction of law enforcement and secret services. Alexandre Kukhianidze will give a presentation on the topic of the mafia-style organized crime which is motivated by illegal profit; the professional organized crime. Olena Shostko will conclude this session with a presentation that will answer the question ‘Does organized crime in Ukraine really decline?’ which will explore why law enforcement failed to fight against organized crime and will discuss ways for improving the situation.