The City that knew too much

THE CITY HAS TWO MAPSEvery city has an official map.It shows roads, neighborhoods, railway lines, airports, ports, markets, commercial districts, residential areas, hospitals, schools, government offices and other recognized institutions.But there is another map.It cannot easily be found on a wall.It exists in relationships.One person knows a driver. The driver knows a broker. The broker knows a businessman. The businessman knows a property owner. Someone else controls information. Another person moves money. A different person knows where a document can be obtained. Someone has access to a particular building. Someone else knows whom to call when a problem appears.These relationships may be completely legitimate.Some may not be.The challenge for an investigator is determining the difference.That is where the anatomy of crime begins.Crime is frequently understood through its most visible event: a robbery, murder, kidnapping, fraud, extortion demand, cyber-attack, illegal transaction or violent confrontation.But the event is often only the final visible point of a much longer chain.Before an offence occurs, there may be recruitment.Before recruitment, there may be contact.Before contact, there may be opportunity.Behind opportunity may be information.Behind information may be money.Behind money may be a business relationship, a property transaction, a debt, an investment, a hidden ownership structure or another financial connection.The deeper an investigator goes, the less the case may resemble the original headline.This is why the central subject of this book is not simply the criminal.It is the ecosystem.