Sociology of Crime: Abu Dhabi Organizaed Crime - Research Proposal Example

Introduction Since ages, the thrust of the theories of crime has been to facilitate an insight into the origins and genesis of crime and to cull out the reasons as to why the individuals and groups engage in crime, the societal reasons that foster crime and how the society and the state should go about so as to deter and reduce crime. Even a commonsensical perusal into the texts delineating the theories of crime highlight the fact that people may commit crime owing to varied reasons. An individual may commit crime either because of succumbing to social pressure, or because of lacking a clear sense of the right and the wrong, perhaps owing to some sort of mental illness, or because of the pressures emanating from a society that is primarily materialistic (Tonry, 2000, p. 150). Many a times the reasons behind a crime may be discernibly attributed to varied societal causes that nudge the individuals into getting into crime. Sometimes people do feel alienated from the society as in the case of young people and minorities, which forces them to commit crime to reassert their identity (Tonry, 2000, p. 150). Deviant behaviour is also many a times attributed to a youthful sense of rebellion, as in the case of teenagers. Many a time people commit crime because they seek acceptance from some social or political group that upholds deviant behaviour. Whatever may be the causes that give way to crime; societies have to deal with varied negative consequences emanating from crime like depopulation, especially in urban areas, damage to the community spirit and social trust, environmental poverty and marginalization of certain areas and regions owing to there being notorious for crime (Box, 1989). This paper intends to explain the organized crime in Abu Dhabi in the light of the Classical and Conflict School of Criminology. Organized Crime To put it simplistically, organized crime pertains to a very centralized enterprise being run by an international, national or local group of criminals, with the motive to indulge in criminal activities, mostly to accrue money or monetary benefits (Paoli, 2003, p. 6). Organized crime may engage in one or multiple criminal activities like prostitution and human trafficking, cyber crime, pornography, drugs, financial scams, money laundering, murder, etc. Realistically speaking, organized crime is a very complex term and varied experts have tried to explain the concept of organized crime in their own way. As per Abadinsky, organized crime primarily happens to be non-ideological in its nature and scope (Abadinsky, 2009). It consists of a number of people indulging in social interaction on a hierarchal basis (Abadinsky, 2009). The primary purpose of organized crime is to accrue profit and power by resorting to multiple illegal and legal activities (Abadinsky, 2009). The hierarchy in an organized crime may be either based on kinship or may be determined on the basis of certain technical proficiencies or skills (Abadinsky, 2009). Organized crime believes in competition and mostly intends to secure a monopoly in a well defined territory (Abadinsky, 2009). Organized crime syndicates do not hesitate from resorting to illegal means like bribing or violence to achieve pecuniary goals or to secure fear and discipline (Abadinsky, 2009). Membership in organized crime is mostly controlled although it may recruit certain non-members to achieve certain goals (Abadinsky, 2009). Organized crime organizations are managed on the basis of certain strict rules that may be understood or written and these rules are mostly enforced by resorting to strict measures that may include violence or murder (Abadinsky, 2009). Beirne and Messerschmidt link organized crime to certain societal needs and aspirations (Beirne & Messerschmidt, 1999). As per Beirne and Messerschmidt, the central purpose of any organized crime syndicate is to facilitate the availability of certain illegal services and goods in a society in which there exists a continual and considerable demand for such illegal services and goods (Beirne & Messerschmidt, 1999). Organized crime facilitates a social and hierarchal structure that streamlines the supply and availability of such illegal services and goods (Beirne & Messerschmidt, 1999). Organized crime may allude to a loose association of varied social constituents like politicians, criminals, businessmen, police personnel, that comes into existence to give way to illegal enterprises aimed at making a profit (Beirne & Messerschmidt, 1999). The structure of an organized crime syndicate is largely determined by the illegal activity in which it indulges or specializes in. Many a time organized crime may engage in legal businesses and white collar activities to hide or camouflage the illegal nature of its true business. There is no denying the fact that organized crime not only gives way to an environment of insecurity, distrust and intimidation in a society, but also is detrimental to the larger social and economic interests of any society. Organized Crime in UAE As the given paper tends to evaluate the scope of organized crime in the UAE from a Classical and Positivist perspective, it will be really imperative to have an insight into the organized crime scene in the UAE. Well, in a pragmatic context, the regular or petty crime in the UAE is relatively quite low as compared to many of the developed nations. Still, there is no denying the fact that UAE is fast emerging as a hub of the organized crime in the region. UAE being a major financial market and the commercial driver in the region is very vulnerable to money laundering (Giuffrida, 2010). The financial institutions and banks in the UAE are not that strictly regulated and hence the incidence of money laundering in the UAE is high (Giuffrida, 2010). As the UAE is quiet close to many drug producing nations in the Southwest Asia, the drug traffickers are increasingly using UAE as a drugs transhipment destination (Reinl, 2009). Drug trafficking has emerged to be one major problem in the UAE (Kotkin, 2008). Since the last couple of decades UAE has also been witnessing the trafficking of young boys and women (Kotkin, 2008). Human trafficking stands to be one major organized crime in the UAE. Young boys from the third world nations in Asia are trafficked in the UAE to be used as camel jockeys. Though the camel racing syndicates in the region are fast replacing human jockeys by robotic jockeys, still there is no denying the fact that many juvenile camel jockeys are forced to live in immensely inhumane conditions in the UAE. There is no denying the fact that women from the neighbouring destinations like Russia, Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Philippines, China, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, India, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Uganda, Ukraine, Somalia and Ethiopia are trafficked into the UAE by organized mafia for the purposes of sexual exploitation (Kotkin, 2008). UAE has borders that are quiet porous. Also the nation is proximate to war impacted regions like Iraq. These factors have far augmented the problem of human trafficking in the UAE. Going by the fact that many organized crime syndicates have adopted UAE as their headquarters, the quest for a monopoly and supremacy in the region has increased the count of violence related crimes like murder in the UAE. UAE is fast emerging as a thriving financial market that is ubiquitously digitized. So the incidence of cyber crime in the nation is also on the rise (Hope, Halime & George-Cosh, 2011). Going by the fact that UAE is increasingly attracting Western investors and companies, the threat of terrorist activities aimed at hitting the Western interests in the UAE is also very viable and realistic. This paper will attempt to explain the varied facets of organized crime in the UAE from a Classical and Positivist perspective. No doubt, both the theories of crime that are the Classical and the Conflict tend to have a different approach towards explaining crime and deterrence, so it will be pragmatic to first elucidate the salient features and assumptions of the Classical theory of criminology before exploiting it to explain the organized crime in the UAE. Classical Theory of Criminology As per the classical theory, most of the individuals are self seeking and hence are prone to committing crime (Hughes, 1998, p. 26). The society tends to have a consensus regarding the desirability of protecting personal property and life and the laws tend to represent a logical codification of this moral consensus (Hughes, 1998, p. 26). As per the Classists, most of the people happen to be rational in their approach to personal and social issues and have a discrete sense of the right and the wrong (Hughes, 1998, p. 27). Crime represents a rational deviance on the part of some individuals and groups which owing to their personal deficiencies and vested interests are not able to uphold the social consensus regarding crime in a society (Hughes, 1998, p. 27). As per the classical theorists, the purpose of punishment is to deter the individuals from committing any crime (Hughes, 1998, p. 28). The magnitude of punishment needs to be in proportion to the social interests hampered or jeopardized by a crime and it should not be such as to infringe upon the rights of the individual (Hughes, 1998, p. 28). The law should be minimal and its application and administration should be subject to well defined processes. The primary aim of any punishment is to reward the acts that further the objectives of a society and to deter the acts that harm the society (Hughes, 1998, p. 28). The application of the punishment should be uniform without being subject to any limitations or exceptions. Analysis of the Organized Crime in the UAE in a Classical Context The organized crime in the UAE has varied facets or genres and hence it will be pragmatic to analyze each facet singularly. In the context of the organized money laundering in the UAE, it needs to be seen in the light of the fact that UAE has an abundance of free trade zones (Shah, 2010). The irony is that these free trade zones are attracting much illicit activity. As per the classical theory, in order to check a specific crime, there need to exist a consensus amongst the people in a society to check and discourage that crime (Hughes, 1998). However, in the case of this particular crime, the government in the UAE in order to establish the nation as a viable financial hub has lax regulatory mechanisms and tax exemptions (Shah, 2010). Though these loose regulatory mechanisms exist to allow for the rapid movement of goods and facilitating foreign investments, the provisions that serve a social purpose are also attracting much illicit money laundering activity in the state (Shah, 2010). The money laundering syndicates operating in the UAE are very smart at exploiting the investor friendly consensus in the UAE to serve their purpose (Shah, 2010). As these syndicates camouflage themselves as genuine financial institutions, it is delaying the emergence of a social consensus in the UAE to come heavily on such activities. Commensurately, hitherto, the punishment envisaged for such syndicates has not been harsh so as to deter the money laundering activities in the UAE. However, the Classical theory holds that the emergence of laws against a crime in a society is subservient to the local social consensus. UAE stands to be an exception in the sense that aptly responding to international pressure, in the recent years UAE has enacted many stringent laws to curb money laundering. Here, the laws emerged not owing to any local consensus, but rather owing to a foreign pressure. There is no denying the fact that varied other crimes attributed to UAE like drugs, are a direct outcome of the friendly financial markets and tax exemptions in the UAE, which are delaying the emergence of a strong local consensus against the organized mafia and criminal syndicates. Free trade zones in an economic context do bolster the economic activity in a nation, but the very characteristics that make the genuine business flock to such a region, can also attract many illicit syndicates involved in drug trafficking and terrorist funding (Shah, 2010). The cargo arriving at the UAE is screened on a random basis without resorting to any viable risk assessment guidelines (Shah, 2010). Hence, no wonder the drug traffickers and arms smugglers find UAE a very favourable transit point. Besides, the burgeoning real estate activity in the UAE gives ample opportunity to the illicit syndicates operating in the UAE to launder their money earned through drugs, prostitution and human trafficking (Shah, 2010). The delay emergence of a social consensus in the UAE against such organized crime is understandable in the sense that the state is finding it difficult to balance its trade efficiencies and the need to retain low costs with the illicit activity that is burgeoning, courtesy a lax regulatory ecosystem. The UAE society is somewhat dithering from opting for a punitive approach towards organized crime as it may also hamper the genuine business (Shah, 2010). The bad thing is that the organized crime syndicates that have gained a ground in the UAE, owing to a lack of social consensus against them, are increasingly resorting to violence and murder to achieve a monopoly in the region. Hence, though the Classical theory of Criminology states that the crime could be checked by laws that are the codified representation of the local social consensus against crime, in the UAE this consensus has not emerged because such harsh laws against organized crime like money laundering and their associated crimes like drug trafficking and arms smuggling could hamper the economic environment in the UAE. The organized crime of human trafficking in the UAE could also be explained in that context. In a cultural context, camel racing is very popular in the UAE and since times immemorial it has been considered normal to use young boys as camel jockeys. Hence, clearly there exists no popular consensus against the trafficking of young boys in the region, going by which there are no harsh laws to deter human trafficking in the UAE. Hence, though the classical theory states that the emergence of laws in a society that act as a deterrent to crime is dependent on some sort of social consensus, the organized crime in the UAE is thriving because there exists no social consensus supporting the enacting of such laws, as it may hamper the economic interests of the nation. Conflict Theory The conflict theory highlights the fact that the societies are subject to change and social changes give way to conflict. Social changes and social conflicts could be traced in almost all the societies (Shelley, 1981). A society comprises of individuals affiliated to distinct social classes, each having its own distinctive interests (Shelley, 1981). Though varied social classes tend to participate in the process of social change, there is no certainty that the interests of the diverse social classes may coincide (Shelley, 1981). Lack of common interests brings the social classes in conflict with each other (Shelley, 1981). The social contribution of any distinct social class may be negative or positive from time to time (Jones, 2000, p. 107). During the course of social progress, some social classes may be omitted by the process of change (Jones, 2000, p. 107). As a result the inequalities generated during the process of social change give way to conflict (Jones, 2000, p. 107). The law is often used by the dominant classes in the society to oppress the weak (Jones, 2000, p. 107). Hence, as per the conflict theory, crime is the response of the socially marginalized sections of the society against the coercive actions of the dominant classes (Jones, 2000, p. 108). Indeed, it would be really interesting to analyze the organized crime in the UAE in the context of the beliefs and assumptions of the conflict theory. Analysis of the Organized Crime in the UAE in a Conflict Context An analysis of the organized crime in the UAE in a conflict context would be incomplete and partial without an insight into the socio-economic parameters governing the UAE society. UAE happens to be an open economy with a very high per capita income (CIA The World Factbook, 2012). The people in the UAE command a high standard of living. The government of UAE is making massive investments to create jobs and to upgrade the infrastructure (CIA The World Factbook, 2012). The free trade zones in the country extending foreign ownership and zero taxes are attracting immense foreign investment. The country was to a great extent hit by the recent economic meltdown and foreign recession. Almost 84 percent of the UAE’s population resides in the urban areas (CIA The World Factbook, 2012). Almost all the citizens of UAE have access to drinking water (CIA The World Factbook, 2012). 77.9 percent of the UAE’s population is literate (CIA The World Factbook, 2012). The unemployment rate amongst youth in the UAE is 12.1 percent (CIA The World Factbook, 2012). 19.5 percent of the population in the UAE lives below the poverty line (CIA The World Factbook, 2012) . The abovementioned socio-economic statistics provides ample material for analyzing the organized crime in the UAE in a Conflict context. There is no denying the fact that varied organized syndicates affiliated to diverse nationalities are exploiting the lax regulatory mechanisms to run organized crime. In a UAE specific context, the reasons for the participation of the UAE nationals in the organized crime could be traced to the high unemployment rate amongst the local youth and almost 20 percent of the population lying below the poverty line. Though the white collared organized crime like money laundering is predominantly in the hands of affluent segments of the society, the associated raw crimes like drug trafficking, human trafficking, prostitution and violence could safely rely for their human infrastructure needs on the unemployed UAE youth and the poor citizens. The sections of the UAE society who were left behind in the race for development could provide viable human fodder for running the organized crime machinery in the UAE. Conclusion Hence, if on the one side the Classical theory facilitates an understanding of the organized crime in the UAE in the light of the absence of the popular consensus to come out with harsh laws against the organized crime, the Conflict theory extends an insight as to why some sections of the UAE society participate and engage in organized crime. Both the theories throw light on different facets of the organized crime in the UAE. References Abadinsky, Howard. (2009). Organized Crime. New York: Wadsworth. Beirne, Piers & Messerschmidt, James. (1999). Criminology. New York: Westview Press. Box, Steven. (1989). Power, Crime and Mystification. London: Routledge. Giuffrida, Angela. (2010, December 1). Dubai Labours Under Money Laundering Image. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/02/business/global/02iht-m02blaunder.html?pagewanted=all Hope, Bradley, Halime, Farah & George-Cosh, David. (2011, February 9). Cyber Criminals Targeting the UAE say Officials. 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