Organized Crime in Poland - Criminological and Legal Dilemmas

Zdigitalizowano i udostępniono w ramach projektu pn. Rozbudowa otwartych zasobów naukowych Repozytorium Uniwersytetu w Białymstoku, dofinansowanego z programu „Społeczna odpowiedzialność nauki” Ministra Edukacji i Nauki na podstawie umowy SONB/SP/512497/2021The article shows organized crime as a problem that requires difficult choices between various options in understanding, studying, and countering of this non-traditional category of crime. The author highlights the lack of a single definition of the term “organized crime” in criminology and in criminal law, which affects assessments of organized crime and selection of measures aimed at preventing and combating it. The article demonstrates the need to study organized crime using different criminological methods in order to determine its credible and real outlook. The author focuses on the role of the state and the society in countering organized crime and notes that both entities must be willing to influence it. The state plays a critical role as it has adequate legal instruments for countering organized crime. It should be noted that many dilemmas will be resolved after a transparent system of measures, both legal and criminological, aimed at countering organized crime is created.Dr hab. Katarzyna Laskowska graduated Faculty of Law in 1993. She defended her Ph.D. thesis in 1998. In 2007 she has qualified as assistant professor. Dr hab. Katarzyna Laskowska is working at the Faculty of Law University in Białystok (Poland), at the Department of Criminal Law - the Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology. She is an author of over 40 publications, including 2 monographs. Her scientific interests cover the issues of contemporary criminality in Poland and former Soviet Union countries, with special emphasis on organized crime, as well as different types of social disorders. She was a Thomas Berberich Fundation’s scholarship holder in Bonn.Faculty of Law University in Białystok (Poland), the Department of Criminal Law - the Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology31533