Policy Paper OC

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Adult Services Available, Buy Today,Get 50%OffThe Online Human trafficking industry in America on CraigslistStudent: Sanna M.Word count: 3.960Policy paper. Organised CrimeCriminology, Erasmus School of Law. Erasmus University

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Inti eduction: Sex trafficking and Organized CrimeHuman trafficking is net to be confused from human smuggling, bath forms respond to the need of -in particular - the poor, promising them a brighter future. Human smuggling is linked to illegalimmigration. The smugglers can have various reasons to help smuggle their clients to another - mostlyWestern - country, these variate from supporting refugees or helping our family members to misusingtheir position and violently demanding more money. While human smuggling always involves bordercrossing this is not always the case for human trafficking. Victims of human mafficking are exploitedfor money, they are abused and have a long-term relationship with the trafficker. With humansmuggling the relationship is short and is terminated once the clients reaches its destination (Kleemans& Smit, 2014: pp. 381). However, it is not always easy to distinguish between smuggling andtrafficking. For instance, some clients of human smuggling are exploited once they reach the countryof destination. Same logic goes for human mafficking, when the victim agrees to perform certain actsin exchange to be trafficked to another country, but once they arrive at the county of destination, theagreements are changed at the disadvantage of the victim (Kleemans & Smit, 2014: pp. 382).Human trafficking is part of organized crime, but what is organized crime? Organized crime has beena long contested concept;and the most important discussion here revolves around the what and thewho. The term Organized Crime was explicitly mentioned in 1986 in the US, which then encompassedgambling and prostitution, and so with the emphasis on the what. In the 20* century the focus shiftedtowardsthe professional criminal, in which the focus was on the who rather than the what. Morespecifically concerns were raised townrds the Italian mafia, through which the alien conspiracy modelwas bom. Even in the absence of research, the concept of Organized Crime was composed on theItalian Mafia type of organization, which then prevailed for at least three decades. The new definitionfocused on the Italian Mafia, mere specifically from Sicily, that was active in the profitable illegalindustries until die sixties. In the sixties the mafia based view no longer seemed useful, so the conceptof Organized Crime was tweaked, adding the lesser organized gangs and illegal businesses to thedefinition, shifting the attention back to the what While at ±e same time the mafia based view keptdominating in the US and internationally. In 1980, the US pressured other countries as well to includein the definition of Organized Crime, criminal organizationsthat were somehow- involved insupplying illicit goods.’services wherever there was a demandDuring the 90's however. the attentionin Organized Crime dissolved, but regained attention in 2008 (Paoli & Vander Beken, 2014: pp. 14-19). US nose embraces a far looser concept, in which the following goes: "there is no single structureunder which transnational criminals operate: they vary from hierarchical to dans, networks, cells, andmay evolve to other structures" (Paoli & Vander Beken, 2014: pp. 19).On the opposite side of the Atlantic the attention towards Organized Crime rose in the late 80's inGermany and the Netherlands. The fear existed towards the invasion of the Italian Mafia, which was atits height after the murder ofthe two judges, Falcone and Borsellini, by the Sicilian mafia, the CosaNostra. Except on the Italian Mafia, Germany and Netherlands also focused on the professionalcriminals within their own borders. After the fall of the Iron Curtain, also threats towards Criminalsfrom the East w’as included to the definition of Organized Crime. In the 90rs, the European Unionfinally adopted a definition consisting of 11 characteristics, in which at least 5 characteristics shouldbe present in order to call it Organized Crime. And furthermore the following four characteristics wereat least mandatory to be present: "collaboration of more than two people, "for a prolonged or indefiniteperiod of time," "operating on an international level" and "motivated by the pursuit of profit and;orpower" (Paoli en Vander Beken, 2014: pp. 22). Yet in reality, it remains difficult ta what OrganizedCrime really is, the police and policy makers state that any offenders involved in financial gain -whileengaging in illicit enterprise is by definition Organized Crime (Paoli & Vander Beken, 2014: 20-23).2

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Both America and Europe know a quite different development of Organized Crime, in America theattention on Organized Crime, has been quite serious from mid-20111century, while in Europe theattention took serious forms in late 20s1century. America seems to take the leading role in OrganizedCrime and has taken ±e responsibility upon itself to spread its tough approach towards OrganizedCrime in other countries, which some recall to as "Americanization" of International LawEnforcement (Beare & Woodiwiss, 2014: pp. 547). ’While in the EU with the definition rooted in theMaastricht Treaty and ±e Treaty of Amsterdam the responsibilities was on the individual memberstates. In the Treaty of Lisbon the responsibility shifted from the governmental pillar (third pillar) tothe first pillar, which comes down to a joint responsibility of members states to fight Organized Crime(Fijnaut, 2014b). America has been the leading nation in the fight against Organized Crimeandhasbeen attempting to spread its importance globally, since Organized Crime has no borders, thereforethis paper trill focus on America and the sex trafficking industry and the link with Organized Crime.Organtzad CrimeAmerica has taken many measures against Organized Crime in general, which consists of manysubjects, besides human trafficking. Examples indude drug trafficking, Columbia is the leading origincountry of drugs that is ±en exported abroad (Thoumi, 2014). This is an example of a failed country7inwhich by the absence of a formal state power the drug trade can flourish. Other examples in whichOrganized Crime flourished due to failing state and;or absence of state power include, the JapaneseYakuza (Hill, 2014), the Russian Mafia (Volkov, 2014), the Italian Mafia (La Cosa Nostra) (Paoli,2014) and even the banditry groups daring from the 17“ century7(Fijnaut, 2014a). The Yakuza forexample flourished after the Second World War, in a period with severe scarcity and a failing statecapacity (Hill, 2014: 234). This does not automatically imply ±at a failed states are the only onesdealing with Organized Crime. For example during the prohibition in America the mafia profited fromthe great infrastructure in America, while socially embedded within the communities .and respondingto the demand (van de Bunt e.a. 2014). Money laundering is relevant as well to mention here, since inmany forms of Organized Crime, money plays an important role (Levi, 2014). Especially in the drugtrafficking industry7, Pablo Escobar is one of notorious examples and known as the drug kingpin in theCocaine business (Tnomni, 2014: pp. 183). Another example of money laundering is hawala banking,which is in short a way to send money7abroad, tough underground banking (Siegel & vande Bunt,2014). Since this paper will focus on the role of Craigslist - which is an online classified website - inthe sex trafficking industry in America (Latonero, 2011: pp. iv), cybercrime will be discussed as well,more intensively in the case study paragraph.The next paragraph will discuss the research question and puzzle of this policy paper. Followed by thetheoretical model, winch will be used to frame ±e sex trafficking industry in America. Then the casestudy7will be discussed, in wThich the sex trafficking in general and in America will be discussed,followed by the sex trafficking trade chat was facilitated by the Craigslist. This policy paper willsubsequently discuss policy in America towards sex trafficking. Finally, this paper will end with aconclusion and a short discussion.Research question and puzzleWhen one thinks of human trafficking, or more specifically sex trafficking most will associate it withsomething that would not occur in western countries. Yet important to note here is that Sex traffickingdoes not stop at the borders, both female and male can be a victim, across several races (Zhang 2009:pp.178-179). Initial search for this paper for scholarly7articles, most papers were focused on thecountries of origin, like for example the Natasha trade. The Natasha trade is named after victimized3

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