INVESTIGATIVE PROCESSES
CJI 550
LECTURE
Special Investigations
Introduction
This week’s readings examine special investigations, which include white collar crime,
drug trafficking, organized crime, high technology or cyber crime, cults, and terrorism. These
crimes require special investigative techniques, such as undercover operations and the use of the
Enterprise Theory of Investigation.
White-collar crime is often related to corporate crime, such as the recent Enron and
WorldCom Scandals; however, it is also associated with healthcare, telemarketing, bank and
securities, contract, and residential moving. Organized crime is usually associated with centrally
controlled organized criminal organizations, such as Italian, Italian-American, and Colombian
criminal groups; however, lesser known decentralized criminal organizations are making inroads.
For example, Russian and Israeli criminal groups are threatening to take control of racquets like
drugs, money laundering, and many extortion-related schemes, which were once the exclusive
realm of the centralized organized criminal groups.
Drug trafficking still remains a very lucrative and corrupting influence in the United
States. Although there have been some success in curbing the influx of illegal drugs through
enforcement and educational programs, the amazing amount of wealth, resources, and cunning of
drug traffickers is sometimes beyond the capability of the government to control. As a result, the
government has begun to cut into the profits of the illegal drug trade through the aggressive
application of assets forfeiture. For example, many law enforcement agencies assign officers to
DEA task forces for the purpose of obtaining forfeited assets and currency through drug
investigations, which are used to supplement their operating budgets.
High-technology crime affects significant assets and has the potential to be extremely
costly and dangerous, especially with regards to infrastructural components such as air traffic
control, nuclear facilities, power grids, satellites, and banking systems. Over the past decade,
computer hackers have become very sophisticated and many are being paid by other organized
crime and terrorists groups to manipulate these assets for profit and control. Because these types
of high-tech crime are fairly anonymous, they are very difficult and expensive to solve.
Terrorism has eclipsed nearly all other investigative priorities since the 9-11 terrorist
attacks in New York and Washington, DC. These investigations are very complex, due, in part,
to the secret nature of terrorist activities, the fluidity of their operations, their ability to embed
themselves among us, the lack of centralized control and stated national affiliations, their
willingness to die for their “cause,” and their uncooperative nature when caught.
Enterprise Theory of Investigation
Special investigations such as drugs, organized crime, cyber-crime, and terrorism require
a different approach than more traditional crimes such as murder, robbery, and arson.
Copyright 2017 Gregory M. Vecchi
INVESTIGATIVE PROCESSES
CJI 550
Traditional investigations are focused on individuals, who, for the most part, are principally
responsible for the crime. Once they are caught, prosecuted, and incarcerated, the crime stops.
Shoplifting and assault are examples of less complex individual-focused cases, whereas serial
rapes and murders and the recent Washington, DC sniper case are examples of more complex
individual-focused investigations. With special investigations, the focus needs to shift from
being solely on individuals to their collective “enterprise” as a whole (the “enterprise”
representing a specific racquet—drugs, extortion, data acquisition or destruction, terrorism, etc.)
because removing any one person will not stop further crimes from being committed by the
remaining network. Therefore, the goal is to disrupt, dismantle, and incapacitate the entire
network. Drug trafficking is the most common example of this, where continually arresting
street dealers and raiding crack houses only result in someone else taking their places. Terrorism
has similar characteristics with the additional disturbing trait of individuals lining up to die in
service to their organizations’ ideologies and objectives.
Most criminal organizations are in business to make money, whether it is accomplished
through selling illegal drugs or stolen property, laundering other people’s money, extortion, or a
myriad of other racquets. Even terrorist organizations are in the business of making money in
order to finance their ideological or political ambitions and objectives, as well as pocket some
along the way. The command and control of these organizations are efficient and resistant to
traditional law enforcement techniques because they have learned to delegate the authority to
multiple people and the highest leaders of the organization provide direction but rarely do any of
the “dirty work.” Due to these characteristics, the Enterprise Theory of Investigation focuses on
targeting the communication apparatus of the organization and following the money. In other
words, the focus is on developing human intelligence and conducting covert operations in order
to capture communications between members of the organization and identifying and seizing its
assets.
As previously mentioned, the goal is to disrupt, dismantle, and incapacitate the entire
criminal organization. Therefore, the investigator should penetrate the organization at the
highest level possible and use techniques that identify and expose its leadership to prosecution
and its assets to forfeiture. The investigator should also strive to move up and down all echelons
of the organization in order to ensure maximization of prosecution and assets forfeiture.
Prosecuting these types of criminal organizations require the use of conspiracy laws and
special laws such as the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, the
Continuing Criminal Enterprise (CCE) Act, and the Patriot Act. These laws allow the
prosecution of individuals who are culpable in criminal behavior based only on their
conversations with others who actually commit the crimes, which allows prosecution of those
who only give the orders. For example, if Robert ordered Bill to murder Ted and Bill carried it
out, both Robert and Bill could be charged with Ted’s murder. Without special laws like
conspiracy, Robert could never be charged.
The conduct of these investigations is almost always covert in nature because the
suspects know they are committing crimes and they try to avoid any contact with law
enforcement. As such, it is necessary to use covert and undercover techniques, as well as overt
techniques. Covert techniques involve the gathering of criminal intelligence and evidence by
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Copyright 2017 Gregory M. Vecchi
INVESTIGATIVE PROCESSES
CJI 550
using special techniques such as pen registers and wiretaps. Undercover techniques involve
collecting criminal intelligence through the use of undercover informants, agents/officers,
consensual monitoring, and surveillance. Over techniques are usually the last methods use for
collecting criminal intelligence and evidence through the use of grand juries, interviews,
interrogations, and search warrants.
Conclusion
Special investigations concerning violations such as drugs, organized crime, cyber crime,
and terrorism require the investigator to focus on the entire network of individuals who make up
the organization, rather than focusing on individual criminal behavior. Through the use of
conspiracy-based statutes and covert/undercover techniques, the investigator targets the
communication apparatus of the organization and its assets in order to disrupt, dismantle, and
ultimately incapacitate the organization. This allows multiple prosecutions of the organization’s
members as well as forfeiture of its assets.
Bibliography
Criminology Today. (1995-2002). Drug abuse and crime. (chap. 13). Retrieved
from http://cwx.prenhall.com/crim2day/chapter13/
Criminology Today. (1995-2002). Technology and crime. (chap. 14). Retrieved
from http://cwx.prenhall.com/crim2day/chapter14/
Department of the Army. (1985). Law enforcement investigations. Washington, DC: Author.
Dyson, W. E. (2001). Terrorism: An investigator’s handbook. Cincinnati, OH: Anderson
Publishing.
Fisher, B. A. J. (2004). Techniques of crime scene investigation (7th ed.). Boca Raton, FL: CRC
Press.
Lyman, M. D. (2002). Criminal investigation: The art and science (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River,
NJ: Prentice Hall.
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