Local contexts and the spatial distribution of criminal phenomena: A geographical analysis

Adopting a geographical approach, this chapter offers an overall view of the local system found in the region that provided the backdrop for our fieldwork, Campania, and two of its provinces in particular, Naples and Caserta, looking at the main socio-economic dynamics which can contribute to explaining the emergence of local criminal organisations. Indeed, there is no doubt that territorial dynamics affect and influence the behaviours of the actors operating in a certain context, nor that, at the same time, the territory is in turn shaped and transformed by them. Thus, the aim of this chapter is to highlight the main features and evolving dynamics characterising the areas where the major Camorra clans are currently based, taking into consideration, from a comparative perspective, a wider social and economic context (i.e. the other regions in southern Italy and the country as a whole) by using, among other things, the tools offered by Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques and map representations.