From Triads to snakeheads: organised crime and illegal migration within Britain's Chinese community

Silverstone, Daniel

doi:10.1080/17440572.2011.567831

Cited by 16 publications

(15 citation statements)

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“…However, both interviews with law enforcement personnel and recent academic literature confirm the declining influence of the Triads both in the UK and elsewhere (Chu, 2005;Huisman, 2008;Silverstone, 2011;Wang, 2013;Zhang andChin, 2003, 2008), even if in the popular imagination their influence persists. As Zhang and Chin (2008: 191) write of human smuggling networks:…”

Section: The Changing Nature Of Chinese Criminal Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Third, Chinese manufacturers are the key providers of synthetic drugs such as ketamine, mephedrone and synthetic cannabis, which have become increasingly popular in the UK (Power, 2013). Currently it is not clear what their level of involvement is within the cannabis cultivation industry, but research indicates that, as the number of cannabis factories within the UK has continued to grow, so has the role of Chinese crime groups (Silverstone, 2011;Wang, 2013).…”

Section: The Changing Nature Of Chinese Criminal Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is not to say that preformed organised crime groups have arrived from China in a strategic way (due to hostile policing or criminal expansion from the mainland) but rather that the majority of illegal migrants 3 become involved in criminal networks here, in response to their need for funds or work (Morselli et al, 2011;Silverstone, 2011). As recent research has made explicit, the pursuit and the subsequent acquisition of money are among the key drivers for these illegal migrants (Pharaoh et al, 2009;Silverstone, 2011). The desire to make money needs to be set against the complex social context within Fujian and Zhejiang but, for the purposes of this article, motivation can be reduced to a simple economic calculation.…”

Section: The Changing Nature Of Chinese Criminal Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition to this, almost all illegal migrants borrow money to fund the journey at commercial rates, which in this sample involved a mean interest rate of 15.6% and varied from 10% to 30%. Generally, faced with a rapidly rising debt, there is a commercial imperative to earn the money back as quickly as possible whilst taking as little risk as possible (Silverstone, 2011).…”

Section: The Changing Nature Of Chinese Criminal Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The lack of recent research hinders definitive judgement, but it seems that these changes have two key dimensions: the first is that the threat from locally based triads (secret societies) closely connected to Chinatowns with transnational links primarily to Hong Kong has diminished and been replaced by mainland Chinese networks which operate across the UK and have transnational links to mainland China (Dees, 2013;Silverstone, 2011;Wang, 2013). The second is that the types of criminality in which Chinese organised crime is involved have expanded.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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‘Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown’

Silverstone

Whittle

2016

The Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles

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Silverstone, DM and Whittle, J 'Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown': The policing of Chinese organised crime in the UK http://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/6578/ Article LJMU has developed LJMU Research Online for users to access the research output of the University more effectively. Copyright © and Moral Rights for the papers on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. Users may download and/or print one copy of any article(s) in LJMU Research Online to facilitate their private study or for non-commercial research. You may not engage in further distribution of the material or use it for any profit-making activities or any commercial gain.The version presented here may differ from the published version or from the version of the record. Please see the repository URL above for details on accessing the published version and note that access may require a subscription. London Metropolitan University, London, UK Abstract This article outlines the impact and changing nature of Chinese organised crime in the United Kingdom (UK). It reviews the conventional policing approaches to the problem in the UK and in China, and argues they are limited in their scope and could be substantially improved. It suggests this is possible by employing police specialists here and in-country. The evidence for the paper has been collected from interviews with the relevant law enforcement and government personnel in the UK and in China in 2010 and again in 2014-15. KeywordsThe policing of organised crime, Chinese organised crime Research relating to the threat posed by Chinese organised crime to the UK is scarce, but available evidence (what little there is) suggests that this threat is changing. The lack of recent research hinders definitive judgement, but it seems that these changes have two key dimensions: the first is that the threat from locally based triads (secret societies) closely connected to Chinatowns with transnational links primarily to Hong Kong has diminished and been replaced by mainland Chinese networks which operate across the UK and have transnational links to mainland China (Dees, 2013;Silverstone, 2011;Wang, 2013). The second is that the types of criminality in which Chinese organised crime is involved have expanded. These now range from serious and organised crime such as production and exportation (to the UK) of firearms and new psychoactive substances through to mundane but financially profitable activities of copyright

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Section: The Changing Nature Of Chinese Criminal Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Changing Nature Of Chinese Criminal Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%