1. Week 13: Organized Crime Control In Practice: Criminal Law
And Enforcement Agencies in Canada

2. Chapter Outline Introduction & overview OC laws & legislation
OC enforcement in Canada: Responsibilities, jurisdictions, & agencies
The theory & practice of OC enforcement: A critical analysis
Future OC enforcement policy options
Conclusion to part IV

3. Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should have an understanding of:
The role of criminal laws in combatting OC
How the legal concept of conspiracy is central to OC laws
Laws & legislation in Canada relevant to OC control
Selective laws that have been adopted in the U.S. to combat OC
How Canadian criminal laws compare to those of the US
The structure of OC enforcement in Canada, including responsibilities, jurisdictions, & agencies involved

4. Learning Objectives (cont.)
Critiques of the traditional enforcement model
Factors that make the goal of containing—let alone eradicating—OC so difficult
The constraints placed on traditional enforcement strategies in free, democratic, common-law countries
Critiques & weaknesses of OC enforcement in Canada
Future OC enforcement policy options
Pros & cons of legalization of recreational drugs

5. Laws and Legislation Conspiracy Laws
Codified in both Canadian & American criminal law
Section 465 of the Canadian Criminal Code (CCC)
Definition: an agreement between two or more persons to commit a criminal act
Conspiracy laws provide valuable tools for prosecuting OC offenders:
targets multiple individuals
targets upper echelons of OC groups

6. Laws and Legislation: United States
Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act:
Makes it unlawful to acquire, operate or receive income from an enterprise through a “pattern” of racketeering activity
Pattern: at least two criminal offences in a 10-year period
Conviction under RICO results in penalties on top of those for the predicate offence (sentences served consecutively)
Up to 20 years & $250,000 fine
Allows the government or a citizen to file a civil suit requesting a court to forfeit assets, order sanctions, or provide injunctive relief against anyone involved in a "pattern of racketeering”
RICO criticized for being used too indiscriminately (against those not involved in OC)

7. Laws and Legislation: Canada
Some Relevant CCC offences:
Travel document offences (counterfeiting, fraudulent use of passports – Sections 57/58)
Weapons trafficking (Sections 99 to 101)
Corruption of government officials (Sections 118 to 125)
Illegal gaming & betting (Sections 201 to 209)
Prostitution-related offences (Sections 210 to 213)
Extortion (Section 346)
Criminal interest rate (Section 347)
Forgery (Sections 366 to 378)
Fraud (Sections 380 to 396)
Product piracy (Sections 406 to 414)
Counterfeit money (Section 448 to 462)
Possession of POC /Money laundering (Sections to 462.5)

8. Laws and Legislation: Canada
CCC Section (Participation in a Criminal Organization)
Creates definition of “criminal organization” in the CCC
Creates an indictable offence for:
participating in activities in a criminal organization
recruitment of members by a criminal organization
commission of an offence for a criminal organization
Instructing the commission of offence for a criminal organization
Conviction for any of the above results in sentence(s) in addition to sentence for predicate offence (served consecutively)
Sentences for S. 467 offences as much as 14 years

9. Laws and Legislation: Canada
Controlled Drugs and Substances Act
Lays out offences for the possession, use, manufacture, importation, & trafficking of prohibited & controlled drugs
Proscribes certain powers to a peace officer to carry out duties to enforce the statute such as search, seizure, & detention.
Includes proceeds of crime & money laundering offences
Allows police to seize/restrain cash & other assets deemed to be the proceeds of drug offences
Allows police & agents to commit criminal acts during undercover operations (e.g., selling, buying, transporting drugs)

10. Laws and Legislation: Canada
Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
Addresses illegal immigration: human smuggling & trafficking & illegal use of official travel documents
Creates a new offence for human smuggling & trafficking,
Penalties: fines of up to $1 million & life in prison
Creates new offence for the possession & laundering of proceeds from immigration offences
Bars access to Canada to offenders, security risks, organizers of criminal operations, or violators of human rights

11. Laws and Legislation: Canada
Income Tax Act – Offenders penalized for not paying taxes on (illegal) revenue
Customs Act – covers the smuggling of contraband & drugs into Canada
Competition Act includes offences related to deceptive telemarketing
allows the Crown to seize & forfeit any proceeds from the commission of telemarketing offences

12. Laws and Legislation: Canada
Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) & Terrorist Financing Act
Mandates financial institutions, casinos, currency exchange businesses, & others financial intermediaries to report:
1) large volume cash transactions or
2) any suspicious transaction (regardless of amount)
Cash above $10,000 crossing the Canadian border must be reported to Canada Customs
Establishes a Financial Intelligence Unit - Financial Transactions & Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) - to receive, analyze, and disseminate reported information

13. Laws and Legislation: Canada
Witness Protection Program Act - Establishes national program to protect witness
Extradition Act – Provides legal framework to deport individual to face charges in another country
Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Act – Empowers Canadian courts to issue orders to police to gather evidence requested by another country
including search warrants, to locate a person, & to enforce orders of seizure & confiscation

14. Canadian Agencies: RCMP
De facto lead agency in investigating OC in Canada
Border Enforcement - Enforces customs & immigration laws within Canada & along the unofficial border entry points
Commercial Crime – Investigates fraud, theft, breach of trust, secret commissions, fed. government fraud, corruption, computer & telecommunications crimes, securities fraud, & counterfeiting.
Drug Enforcement - Emphasis on large scale organized drug manufacturing, import, export, & trafficking

15. Canadian Agencies: RCMP (cont.)
Immigration, Passport & Citizenship Enforcement – Investigates immigration & passport offences
Financial Crime Enforcement – Investigates proceeds of crime & other financial crime offences
Criminal Intelligence Directorate - Centralizes & coordinate the RCMP’s criminal intelligence function
Technical Services - Provides technical & human resources for electronic & physical (including aerial) surveillance
International Operations - Provides direction & assistance to Canadian law enforcement agencies to detect & prevent international offences that may affect Canada
includes RCMP Liaison Officers posted in other countries

16. Canadian Agencies: CBSA
Canada Border Services Agency
Main OC enforcement: detect & interdict prohibited & restricted goods at official ports of entry
Key enforcement functions:
examinations
risk assessments & targeting
intelligence collection, analysis & dissemination
security screenings (of individuals)
Investigations
CBSA does not have the powers to lay criminal charges
any potential criminal cases are referred to the RCMP

17. Canadian Agencies: FINTRAC
Financial Transactions & Reports Analysis Centre of Canada
“Financial Intelligence Unit”
Central repository for information about (potential) money laundering activities across Canada
Receives & analyzes cash & suspicious transaction reports
Creates & disseminates intelligence information to law enforcement agencies
Monitors the compliance of private-sector financial intermediaries with transaction reporting laws & regulations

18. Canadian Agencies: CISC
Criminal Intelligence Service Canada
Made up of Canadian law enforcement agencies
Mandate: facilitate exchange of criminal intelligence info
Automated Criminal Intelligence Information System (ACIIS) includes data on OC groups & their activities
National database & toll-free hotline for information on OMGs

19. Canadian Agencies Provincial Governments
Most provincial enforcement agencies are part of inter-agency Combined Forces Special Enforcement Units
OPP operates the Biker Enforcement Unit
Some provinces operate their own provincial law enforcement agencies targeting OC & gangs:
OC Agency of B.C.
Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams

20. The Theory and Practice of OC Enforcement: A Critical Analysis
Society will never eradicate OC due to its inherent characteristics:
the continuing nature & resilience of organized criminal conspiracies
no shortage of emergent criminal groups
highly attractive profit potential
there will always be a demand for illegal goods & services

21. The Theory and Practice of OC Enforcement: A Critical Analysis
Critiques of the Criminal Justice Enforcement Model
Hampered by failed strategies (e.g., head-hunting or king pin)
Career criminals not easily deterred
Over-emphasis on supply reduction & not on demand reduction
Fails to address root causes of problem (e.g., criminogenic risk factors or demand for illegal drugs)
Enforcement is primarily reactive
Insufficient emphasis on proactive, preventative approaches
Inability to anticipate emerging trends & developments in organized & transnational crime

22. The Theory and Practice of OC Enforcement: A Critical Analysis
Critiques of OC Enforcement in Canada
Reluctance to recognize the existence of OC in Canada when it was proliferating
Enforcement is fractionalized; lack of co-operation, coordination, & information-sharing among criminal justice agencies
Inadequate laws & legislation
Too much focus on illegal commodities, services & individual offenders, at the expense of criminal organizations
Absence of a long-term, strategic national plan
Insufficient resources
RCMP members transferred to national security duties
Limited # of Crown prosecutors has led to serious charges being stayed
Insufficient use of regulatory, civil, & administrative sanctions

23. The Theory and Practice of OC Enforcement: A Critical Analysis
Unavoidable Constraints that Limit the Effectiveness of OC Enforcement
Constitutional constraints (Charter of Rights & Freedoms)
Jurisdictional limitations
Resource constraints

24. Future Policy Options Four broad options:
Increase OC enforcement resources
Expand the authority of OC law enforcement, (tougher, more intrusive laws)
Shift resources toward more preventative approaches
Decrease opportunities for OC and limit black markets (decriminalization & legalization)

25. Prohibition vs. Legalization
Arguments in favour of drug legalization:
Decrease the size of illegal markets
Would diminish OC control over manufacture & distribution of drugs (decrease in violence, corruption, etc.)
Taxes from the sale of legal drugs could be applied toward more socially productive ventures (e.g., health care)
Drug enforcement resources could be shifted to other areas of crime control (or to demand reduction & treatment)
Better regulation of drugs & drug use, leading to decreased overdoses
Slow the spread of infectious diseases

26. Prohibition vs. Legalization
Arguments Against Drug Legalization
Immoral to legalize such destructive vices
Will lead to an increase in drug use & abuse, especially among young people (due to wider availability)
Increased use & addictions lead to more negative effects on society
Does not guarantee that black markets will be eliminated
Will not eradicate OC
May force criminal organizations to engage in more predatory crimes to make up for lost income

27. Conclusion to Part IV
War against OC & drug trafficking has effectively been lost
OC enforcement is couched in less ambitious terms: “control,” “harm reduction,” or “containment.”
Yet even these more modest goals have not been achieved
The fentanyl epidemic is a cogent example this
Control is undermined by OC’s symbiotic relationship with society
Governments help create OC & black markets through criminalization
Black markets & OC are sustained by the consuming public

28. Conclusion to Part IV
Federal marijuana legalization policy should be assessed as to whether it achieves the objective of reducing black markets & OC involvement
If successful, such policies should be considered for other illegal drugs
Although this will not in itself eradicate OC
There needs to be a rethinking of how to control OC
Must entail a scientific approach that includes a better understanding of the causes, nature, scope, & impact of the problem in Canada
Policies that do not work or create undue harm must be abandoned