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Mexican drug trafficking organizations have experienced rapid attrition resulting in a continual need for personnel since 2006. However, the process by which these criminal organizations absorb new members remains obscure. In this article, we report on the social context of recruitment and motivational pathways into Mexican drug trafficking organizations through in-depth interviews with current and former cartel members (N = 79). We find that recruits are motivated by aspirations of financial success and notions of masculinity, but also influenced by attachment to social groups and jointly shared experiences that we term a collective trajectory. We argue that individual decisions to join criminal organizations are viewed in collective terms, or being connected with members of their immediate social group. We conclude with the applications of challenges of collective trajectory for sociological criminology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carlo Morselli's research inspired numerous scholars around the world to integrate criminal achievement indicators and social network data into their research programs. As a professor of criminology for over 20 years at the Université de Montréal, Morselli was part of a generation of scholars who acted as brokers between Canada's two official languages. This volume of the Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice brings together research inspired by his legacy. Morselli's interests were diverse; we selected manuscripts revolving around two major themes in his career: the development of criminal achievement as a conceptual and empirical framework, and the innovative use of social network data in new contexts of criminological interest, such as the role of social networks in individuals' relative optimism towards desistance, or in future victimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Italian antimafia authorities have warned Canadian law enforcement about the risks and the growing concerns for the infiltration of clans of the Calabrian mafia, known as 'ndrangheta, in Eastern Canada. The alarm linked to the rise of the 'ndrangheta challenges the paradigms of traditional organized crime in Canada, because the 'ndrangheta is presented as traditional but also innovative and more pervasive than other mafia-type groups. Through access to confidential investigations and interviews of key specialist law enforcement teams in Toronto and Montreal, this article investigates today's institutional perception of mafia – the 'ndrangheta in particular – in Canada when compared to Italian conceptualizations. I will argue that the changes in narratives in Canada can be read in relation to changes in the Italian identity in the country, moving towards regionalization and specialist knowledge of ethnic differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internal and regional conflicts, inequality, and government instability can intensify the traffic of human organs and tissue. This type of illegal market has financed criminal organizations, which are a menace to peace and national security. The international community has endorsed agreements and protocols to abate this crime; however, these initiatives lack a focus on security. Shortcomings in the fight against organ trafficking have favored the emergence of criminal organizations seeking to profit at the expense of the health of the less favored worldwide. International threats such as the Islamic State and other rebel groups use organ trafficking as a means to finance their activities. Greater legislative efforts are required to strengthen the programs developed by institutions such as Europol and Interpol to guarantee collective security, leading to the dismantling of criminal networks and providing assistance to victims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the coexistence of two seemingly disparate phenomena in the same urban environment, Pentecostalism and organised crime and violence. Both represent expressions of social living and identity formation in the outskirts of the metropolises. In these neighbourhoods, to be Pentecostal is a lifestyle choice that does not necessarily preclude participation in a criminal organisation called Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC; First Command of the Capital). The article first reviews studies dealing with the different ways in which religion and violence create interfaces in the daily lives of residents of the communities and then presents empirical observations of a Pentecostal community that has among its members one of the local leaders of the PCC. The study concludes that we are facing a new, unclassified Pentecostal phenomenon. This suggests the inadequacy or failure of the traditional concept of conversion in the face of the nature of religious affiliations in the outskirts of São Paulo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]