Objectives: This study tests whether mafias, as archetypical criminal organizations that exert control over local communities, protect their territories against ordinary criminality. Our hypothesis is that mafias have both the incentives and the capacities to supply security governance to specific territories. This is a distinctive feature of mafias that deserves to be considered. Method: To understand whether mafias’ territorial control is associated with lower levels of ordinary criminality, we conduct a panel data analysis on 110 Italian provinces (2004 to 2015). System generalized method of moment and Driscoll–Kraay standard errors are performed to test our hypothesis. This study exploits an aggregated measure of thefts, robberies, and assaults as dependent variable. A standardized index derived from the number of active mafia groups in a province is our proxy of mafia control. Results: The article statistically shows that mafias limit ordinary criminality, whereas less stable and unstructured criminal groups do not. Conclusions: The results indicate that crime prevention and the maintenance of public order should be considered among the pillars of mafia’s governance. By controlling and reducing ordinary crimes, mafias overcome the role of law enforcement and institutional justice increasing consensus among the population. Consequently, the state may better contrast mafias by becoming a stronger supplier of security.

中文翻译：

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安全治理：黑手党对普通犯罪的控制

目的：本研究测试了黑手党作为对当地社区施加控制的原型犯罪组织，是否保护其领土免受普通犯罪的侵害。我们的假设是，黑手党既有动机也有能力向特定领土提供安全治理。这是黑手党的一个鲜明特征，值得考虑。方法：为了了解黑手党的领土控制是否与较低水平的普通犯罪有关，我们对意大利的110个省（2004年至2015年）进行了面板数据分析。用系统广义矩法和Driscoll-Kraay标准误差来检验我们的假设。这项研究采用了对盗窃，抢劫和攻击的综合度量作为因变量。从一个省中活跃的黑手党团体的数量得出的标准化指标是我们控制黑手党的代名词。结果：该文章从统计学上显示，黑手党限制了普通犯罪，而稳定程度较低和没有组织的犯罪集团则没有。结论：结果表明，预防犯罪和维持公共秩序应被视为黑手党治理的支柱。通过控制和减少普通犯罪，黑手党克服了执法和机构正义的作用，增进了民众的共识。因此，国家可以通过成为更强大的安全提供者来更好地与黑手党形成对比。结果表明，预防犯罪和维护公共秩序应被视为黑手党治理的支柱之一。通过控制和减少普通犯罪，黑手党克服了执法和机构正义的作用，增进了民众的共识。因此，国家可以通过成为更强大的安全提供者来更好地与黑手党形成对比。结果表明，预防犯罪和维护公共秩序应被视为黑手党治理的支柱。通过控制和减少普通犯罪，黑手党克服了执法和机构正义的作用，增进了民众的共识。因此，国家可以通过成为更强大的安全提供者来更好地与黑手党形成对比。