Seaport Vulnerability to Criminal Networks: A Case Study of the Port of New York and New Jersey

• In Event: Criminal Networks and Crime Control

Abstract

Criminal networks use the maritime transportation system to move narcotics, stolen vehicles, people, and illicit goods around the world to access new markets, supply existing ones, and generate greater proceeds for their activities. The harm from illicit criminal activity and dark markets can be measured in the billions of dollars as illicit goods, such as small arms and narcotics, proliferate through throughout the world. Understanding the vulnerabilities created at the loci points where illicit goods transit and how criminal networks access those spaces fills a significant gap to curb illicit flows. This presentation will focus on the Port of New York and New Jersey as a worst-case scenario in the United States for vulnerability to criminal network exploitation. The presentation uses a criminological Seaport Vulnerability Framework to frame the discussion in terms of the physical, administrative and logistical vulnerability of the port.

Author

• Leonid Lantsman, U.S. Department of State / Graduate Center- CUNY/John Jay College of Criminal Justice