Recent factors that have contributed to the increasing threat of organised crime
Phil William’s (1991) writing has reflected a focussed consideration of the range of structural factors that seem to have contributed to the creation of a socio-political environment in which organised crime has gained a foothold. Consequently Williams will be used substantially in the following sections due to his comprehensive understanding of this.

Over the last 25 years, global developments have contributed to an increase in organised criminal activity, more than ever before. These global developments include the dramatic advances in transportation systems facilitating organised crime activities, especially the movement of drugs and weapons in and out of countries.
Communication and information systems, too, have been developed to such an extent that organised crime syndicates are able to network their activities to a greater extent than before. Information warfare entails the sabotage of national and global information systems. In this way organised crime moves into the arena of white-collar crime, as financial fraud and embezzlement become added to the list of organised criminal activity. The advancements in information infrastructures also allows organised criminal groups to engage in extortion, their capacity to harm information and communication infrastructures (through hacking) can be used as a potential bargaining tool for extortion or act as a deterrence to inhibit law enforcement successes. (Williams, 1997). (read full text…)