Clan Crime and Criminal Families

This book provides a comprehensive analysis of clan crime and criminal families, with a particular focus on Europe. It examines the phenomenon through anthropological, criminological, and socio-political perspectives, with particular attention to kinship, migration, media framing, gender, intergenerational transmission, and institutional responses. Rather than treating ‘clans’ as fixed or culturally homogeneous entities, it explores the conditions under which kinship-based networks may become involved in criminal activities. It covers a range of topics, including: the concepts of families, clans, and tribes; the emergence of ‘clan crime’ in European media and political discourse; migration, marginalisation, and criminal opportunities; kinship, loyalty, secrecy, and conflict regulation in criminal clans; women’s roles and the intergenerational continuity of crime; interventions and policies to prevent and tackle serious and organised crime in kinship-based networks across Europe. Ideal for academics, policymakers, law enforcement professionals, and social services practitioners, this volume provides a nuanced and empirically grounded account of clan- and family-based crime in contemporary Europe.