Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- List of Contributors
- Foreword
- Preface
- Introduction
- Part I International Criminology
- Part II Law, Punishment, and Crime Control Philosophies of the World
- Part III Transnational Crime
- 14 Drug Trafficking
- 15 Understanding Trafficking in Human Beings
- 16 International Trafficking of Stolen Vehicles
- 17 Transnational Firearms Trafficking
- 18 Trafficking Antiquities
- 19 The Illegal Cigarette Trade
- 20 Cybercrime
- 21 International Fraud
- 22 Money Laundering
- 23 Child Pornography
- 24 Maritime Crime
- 25 Transnational Environmental Crime
- 26 The Bhopal Gas Disaster and Corporate Criminal Negligence
- 27 Endangered Species Markets
- 28 Corruption
- 29 Tourist and Visitor Crime
- Part IV Organized Crime and Terrorism
- Part V International crime
- Part VI Delivering International Justice
- Part VII International Cooperation and Criminal Justice
- Part VIII International Research and Crime Statistics
- Part IX International research resources
- World Map
- Index
17 - Transnational Firearms Trafficking
Guns for Crime and Conflict
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 October 2014
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- List of Contributors
- Foreword
- Preface
- Introduction
- Part I International Criminology
- Part II Law, Punishment, and Crime Control Philosophies of the World
- Part III Transnational Crime
- 14 Drug Trafficking
- 15 Understanding Trafficking in Human Beings
- 16 International Trafficking of Stolen Vehicles
- 17 Transnational Firearms Trafficking
- 18 Trafficking Antiquities
- 19 The Illegal Cigarette Trade
- 20 Cybercrime
- 21 International Fraud
- 22 Money Laundering
- 23 Child Pornography
- 24 Maritime Crime
- 25 Transnational Environmental Crime
- 26 The Bhopal Gas Disaster and Corporate Criminal Negligence
- 27 Endangered Species Markets
- 28 Corruption
- 29 Tourist and Visitor Crime
- Part IV Organized Crime and Terrorism
- Part V International crime
- Part VI Delivering International Justice
- Part VII International Cooperation and Criminal Justice
- Part VIII International Research and Crime Statistics
- Part IX International research resources
- World Map
- Index
Summary
INTRODUCTION
The trafficking of firearms is unlike many of the other forms of trafficking discussed in this book because firearms are durable goods. Unlike drugs, rhino horn, or counterfeit pharmaceuticals, a well-maintained AK-47 will last indefinitely. As a result, there is little need for a continuous contraband flow. Trafficking tends to be episodic, often from an established stockpile to a region descending into crisis.
In addition, the modern pistol or assault rifle represents a “mature technology,” so current weapons holders do not need to regularly update their stock to remain competitive. There has been very little innovation in small arms design in the last fifty years – it appears there are few ways to make small arms more accurate or more deadly than they are today. Consequently, the number of new small arms purchased each year is only about 1 percent of those already in circulation. Even the world’s most innovative militaries only update their small arms every second decade or so.
As the global turnover in the licit arms industry is limited, the same is likely true for the illicit arms industry. Many still-functional weapons were distributed in developing countries during the Cold War and thereafter, and since the destruction of weapons has been limited in many parts of the world, there is little need to import new weapons into these regions today. Small Arms Survey, a Geneva-based arms monitoring group, estimated the global authorized trade in firearms has been estimated at approximately US$1.58 billion in 2006, with unrecorded but licit transactions making up another US$100 million or so. The most commonly cited estimate for the size of the illicit market is 10 percent to 20 percent of the licit market, which would be about US$170 million to US$320 million per annum. h is may sound like a lot of money, but it appears to be diffused among a large number of small players. It is also small compared to, for example, the value of drug markets, typically estimated to be in the tens of billions of dollars.
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- International Crime and Justice , pp. 133 - 140Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010
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