Assignment 3

Create a Successful Transnational Crime Venture

Due Date: Week 5: Friday June 8 (this gives other students time to review and counterattack your plan)

Purpose:

In this exercise students are asked to plan a criminal venture, using the "models" we have studied in this class, yet creatively locating a "market" that may have been as yet untapped and employing novel methods of carrying out the activity. The organization's crime strategies must be geared to successfully avoiding international law enforcement intervention. It is best to limit your venture to two countries--one you plan to use as a base of operations and the other to exploit (otherwise part 4 becomes quite difficult to complete).

One of the ways law enforcement attempts to stop transnational crime is to anticipate what criminals are planning. For example, in order to locate labs that produce meth-amphetamines, police are trained to investigate the purchase of large quantities of chemical precursors. Only by knowing what these precursors are, can police trace the use of these chemicals for illegal purposes.

Directions:

Write a plan for a criminal activity using the criteria in the definition of transnational crime generated earlier in the course. Your plan must contain all four sections listed below. Expected length is 10 pages.

1. Options:

a. Choose an activity that is currently illegal or criminal. (e.g., drug trafficking, smuggling aliens, etc.)
Or
b. Design an activity that is not yet classified as a transnational crime, but may be classified as such if you are successful. The activity may arouse moral entrepreneurs, or create enough harm to be alarm politicians. (e.g., activities that impact negatively on the environment, Internet activities such as sharing music)

Briefly describe what you intend to do.

Describe how the criminal activity fits the transnational crime paradigm implied in the definition we have been building toward over the semester.

2. Why are you doing this?

What is your motivation for becoming involved in this activity?

	idealistic
	political
	financial
	other or a combination of the above

Explain what you hope to gain and what impact(s) your activity will have.

** Don't forget to discuss both motivation and impact. Impact can be similar to the "market share" of a business plan or described in a more psychological sense if "terror" or "fear" is the intended outcome, etc.

3. How will you carry this out?

What are the logistics involved in setting up your activity?

	describe the market(s) for your product(s) and/or services
	mode of delivery. How will you export/import your product/services?
	materials necessary to accomplish the crime. Include raw materials, equipment, and staff.
	avoiding detection and prosecution. How will you avoid ordinary law enforcement efforts to stop your plan?

Cite laws or regulations in targeted countries that govern the specified activity based upon the countries targeted.

Once you have identified where you will produce the product and where you intend to export, search the laws of those countries to identify whether your activity is illegal, what penalties currently apply, etc. Which branch(es) of law enforcement are involved in trying to combat your activity? How successful or unsuccessful have those agencies been?

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This page was last modified September 07, 2006
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