Organized Crime and Violence in Local Communities: A Study of an ‘Ordinary’ Setting in the United Kingdom

Paolo Campana, Cecilia Meneghini and Alyssa Knisley

The British Journal of Criminology, 2026, vol. 66, issue 1, 148-167

Abstract: This study investigates the impact of organized crime (OC) on community-level violence outside settings traditionally associated with OC. Leveraging a large-scale police crime incident dataset from Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, it shows that OC has a dual effect of violence-enhancer and violence-suppressor: higher OC presence is associated with higher rates of violence; however, a greater prevalence of OC members among the offenders’ population is associated with a decrease in overall violence. This reflects the role of OC in generating higher-risk environments while providing order in illegal markets. Crucially, this dual effect can be identified also in non-traditional OC settings, suggesting that the dangerousness of such organizations should not be underestimated even in ‘ordinary’ settings and highlighting the need for early interventions.

Keywords: organized crime; gangs; violence; illegal markets; drugs; local communities (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:crimin:v:66:y:2026:i:1:p:148-167.

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