The Displacement and Convergence of Transnational Crime Flows

This chapter delineates the concepts of displacement and convergence of transnational crimes. Extant theorizing on crime displacement has typically focused on micro-level dynamics (individual/situational), while macro-level (regional/national/transnational) analyses have thus far developed in a largely fragmented manner via various studies of specific transnational crime types. Similarly, empirical studies on displacement have also rarely gone beyond urban crimes and small-scale geographical units, such as single street blocks, shopping centers, or parking lots. The related concept of crime convergence, which refers to the merging of crimes, at a particular place or time, and also with respect to specific targets, offenses, tactics, or offenders, following a change in the penal laws or law enforcement activities, has received even less attention in analyses of transnational crimes. Nevertheless, the underlying rationale for the idea of crime displacement and convergence is potentially equally applicable to crimes which transcend national borders. This chapter explains why and how the concepts of crime displacement and convergence can be expedient tools, both for understanding transnational crime and for designing prevention policies, insofar as they allow for a deeper consideration of the potential consequences of various preventive measures.