Part III

PIRACY. This long forgotten phenomenon reappeared in the mid-1970s, manifesting itself in the illegal shipment of narcotics from South and Central America to the United States in yachts and fishing vessels, which criminals seized in the high seas or at a port after killing their owners or crew, whoever was on board. Several thousand vessels were seized in acts of piracy.

Today piracy also occurs in narrow navigable canals. Thousands of African, South-East Asian and Latin American thieves do not miss the opportunity to steal any valuables and cargoes from vessels lying at anchor or moving at a low speed. However, such theft is on the decline.

Piracy is South-East Asia is believed to be controlled by organized crime, often associated with the armed forces. Criminologists are inclined to infer that synchronized attacks on vessels in different parts of the world are not coinci­dental, and can be traced to a single center.

HIJACKING ON HIGHWAYS. One may be surprised that this type of crime is included in the UN classification, since the hijacking of a truck within a country would normally be defined as a theft. Hijacking frequently occurs when trucks travel enormous distances from Eastern to Western Europe or from Central Asian to Baltic countries. Unfortunately, the frequency of truck hijack­ing rises in proportion to the growth of trade turnover.

The exact scales of highway hijacking are not known since only four coun­tries have answered the UN questionnaire on this subject. This type of felony is bound to become a burning problem as state borders become more and more open, and as organized crime becomes more widespread, especially in Eastern Europe.

FRAUD IN INSURANCE. With insurance now a global industry, swin­dle in one country now affects all countries. Although the overall damage caused worldwide by this crime has not been estimated, we know, for example, that it causes Australia to lose around $1.7 billion annually, and the United States $100 billion.

Anxious to have a finger in the swindle pie, organized crime is seeking to bring together small businesses operating in different areas of insurance (for in­stance, in sea-borne cargoes insurance), or to penetrate the insurance industry itself.

COMPUTER-RELATED CRIME. As soon as governmental and commercial organizations started making intensive use of computers, the mafia reached out for computer networks. Although the exact extent to which these networks are exposed to criminal influences has not been established, we know that organized crime is making active use of all computer-related facilities.

ECOLOGICAL CRIME. The entire world population suffers from ecological crime, the perpetrators being mostly enterprises that act in collusion with environmental regulators. This became particularly manifest when pro­duction began to be transferred to developing countries, where controls are ei­ther almost non-existent, or depend on the whim of foreign manufacturers. The latter lavishly bribe government officials in these countries. When it comes to employment and gross domestic product growth, the poor nations prefer indus­trialization to a clean environment. The underworld has already seized a hefty portion of the business of transporting and burying health-hazard substances.

1. What is piracy in the modern world?

2. Where does hijacking on highways occur?

3. Why is hijacking becoming more and more burning problem?

4. Which criminal behavior is involved in computer-related crimes?

5. What does ecological crime deal with?