Date of Award

2015

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

Second Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Alcock, Frank

Keywords

Germany, Organized Crime, Law Enforcement, Europe

Area of Concentration

German Studies

Abstract

This thesis examines the organizational structure of the transnational organized crime groups found in the Federal Republic of Germany. My study of these structures focuses on the changes found in German, Turkish, Italian, Polish, and Dutch dominated groups by observing data provided by the Federal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt) in their Annual Situation Reports (Bundeslagebild) from 2000 to 2013. Transnational organized crime is an ever growing phenomenon. In light of this, it is important to understand factors which shape criminal organizations into the forms seen today and apply that understanding to methods adopted by law enforcement in Europe and around the world. I present four possible factors that could shape organized crime as a whole and then applied them to the organized crime scene in Germany: cultural aspects, geographic location of the task environment, type of criminal activities, and variation over time. The final chapter examines German law enforcement responses to organized crime. The chapter also observes European initiatives and cooperation against organized crime. Finally, the chapter closes by looking at law enforcement responses in the Netherlands and Italy in order to compare police methodology to Germany.

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