Study by Wolfson JRF on organised crime groups published in ‘Nature’ journal

A new study by Postdoc Fellow Dr Fanqi Zeng suggests that some organised crime groups govern their local community, and in doing so, actually reduce the overall levels of crime.

Published in the Nature journal earlier this month, the research shows that these groups often exercise a degree of authority over communities, by imposing restrictions on people’s behaviour, enforcing agreements, solving disputes – in some cases, essentially taking over state functions.

During the study, Dr Zeng analysed data from interviews with local officials and police calls between 2012 and 2019, in two similar working-class neighbourhoods in Nottingham: Bestwood and Bulwell. The only difference is that one of the areas has been the home of an entrenched, governance-type organised crime group for decades. The study found that certain types of crime were significantly lower in this neighbourhood – including anti-social behaviour, burglary, civil disputes, criminal damage and violence – suggesting the presence of the organised crime group reduced expressive crime and crimes that affect the business community.

Dr Fanqi Zeng highlighted the implications of the paper: “Our work calls for a revision of traditional theories, such as the weak-state explanation, regarding the emergence of criminal governance in cities. The emergence of such a governance-type organised criminal group in an English city that is neither impoverished nor primarily composed of immigrants presents a puzzle that needs to be addressed.”

While many studies of organised crime have in the past focused on traditional mafia territories, Dr Zeng’s work provides evidence that the phenomenon of criminal governance over communities can be seen in the UK too, where the main actors are white and British-born, and where the state is not weak or emerging from many years of civil war.

The findings confirm that governance-type organised crime can emerge in non-immigrant, less affluent communities, challenging traditional explanations of criminal governance.

Original Publication

Varese, F. and Zeng, F. (2024). The relationship between social order and crime in Nottingham, England. Nature Cities.