Individuals In Organized Criminal Groups

Organized crime; is a group of individuals that work together to illicit profit through illegal and sometimes often violent methods1 and two of the most famous groups are the Mafia and the Irish Mob. The two groups can be traced as far back as the 1800’s and had originally formed together for their financial gain to improve their lives and to protect themselves against the corrupt police officers. However over the years they have developed this infamous reputation tying both groups together, when there are substantial differences between the two. For instance one is based in the country of Sicily and the other was formed right here in the United States. Both groups have different origins, histories, systems and traditions thus making both

This is mainly because of the services the organizations provide, the fear they cause, the indistinct information available about them, and their national level of organization. In order to gain influence in a community, criminal organizations will provide services that the people within that community might want, for a cost: immunity from any actions taken against organized crime. In return for helping fund a politician, help a police officer with the bills, or even help the average citizen or businessperson overcome a problem. The only requirement is that in exchange for that service, the person must be willing to ignore the organization’s illegal actions (Ruth 114). Organized crime also utilizes fear to control the community by selectively fulfilling threats to give the appearance of the ability to fulfill any threats that the organization makes. The organization’s use the appearance of absolute power to cause continued loyalty, adherence to extortion schemes and other activities, and to discourage witnesses, while the selective nature of fulfilling threats keeps law enforcement and the general public from taking notice of the organization. Organized crime also remains hidden from the public eye because the public and the government only focus on one aspect of organized crimes revenues, which allows the organizations to profit from a broad range of criminal activities even while the government or public attempt to stop the revenues from one source, making it very difficult for the government to stop organized crime from being a profitable business (Ruth 115). The criminal organizations have also followed in the footsteps of industrial corporations and have grown to encompass territory throughout the country. The

Organized crime can be narrowed down to five unique areas of criminal activity. The first being racketeering, an umbrella term, meant to describe when any group or groups conduct one or more of the other criminal activities. One of the most successful ways the federal government has been able to hinder the actions of hardcore criminals is through the formation of the RICO Act (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations). The second area of major criminal activity is vice, or vice operations. This has to do with victim-less crimes such as drugs, gambling, and prostitution. Again, these crimes are highly problematic because it is the public that decides whether or not they prosper. It’s all too easy to build a case against someone breaking a law by importing huge quantities of controlled substances across a border, but it becomes much more difficult to stem the sale or need for such drugs once they have reached their intended destinations.

Many could argue that organized crime takes place in our society because of the circumstances in which our society has chosen to exist. It could have been started because of rules, regulations, and laws that we have placed upon ourselves that not every person agrees with. It could be a problem because several of the people within our society choose to live differently because they feel they can. Whatever the logic behind the choice organized crime does exist in our society and has for quite some time. In this paper will take a look at the perspective of social organized crime. We will discuss and explain the term social institution and how it applies to organized crime. We will discuss empirical

The organized crime groups that I am most familiar with include terrorist groups, gangs, and mafias. As a result of living in a city in Florida, I have heard more about gangs compared to when I used to live in a rural town in Vermont. I’ve always heard about gang violence and the crime they commit, such as theft and murder (“Tampa Bay gangs,” n.d.). I also know that gangs can be represented by different colors, markings, and often members will have tattoos of the gang logo (“Tampa Bay gangs,” n.d.). Al Qaeda and ISIS are the two terrorist groups I have heard the most about because of how often the groups are committed crimes that are making national headlines. From the 9/11 terrorist attacks to the recent attach on Paris, terrorist groups are constantly committing crime and violence against society (Mallory, 2012). Lastly, I am not too familiar with the names of various mafias, I have only heard about the different types of crime they commit.

The term “Organized Crime” first appeared during the Prohibition Era. Bootlegging gangs, centered mostly throughout Chicago, rose up and created crime throughout society. Throughout history the definition of “Organized Crime” has greatly evolved into different understandings, but still contain the basic characteristics: More than one individual committing at least one crime that is punishable by incarceration. As crime rates increased, the ‘United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime’ formed in 2003. Within this document, Transnational Organized Crime is depicted as:

Organized crime groups have broadened their reach to other potential candidates, therefore staying ahead of law enforcement. They have embraced sophisticated arranged structural models, internationalized their operations, and developed more technologically savvy tactics. There is another alternate explanation for the invaluable position that is presently being appreciated by the structured crime organizations in the United States

There are at least two competing definitions: one that focuses on particular groups of people, and one that focuses on particular types of crime. Both definitions have some validity, and neither is sufficient to completely describe the global reality. Understanding the way that real-life organized crime situations fit these two definitions makes a big difference in the ways we might go about solving these problems. When most people say “organized crime”, it is often a shorthand way of referring to groups of people, usually “the mafia” and similar groups. Understood in this way, organized criminal activity is simply whatever these organized crime groups do. The people are consistent across time, although what they do may change: today maybe extortion, tomorrow maybe heroin trafficking, or check kiting, or procurement fraud, or all of the above. The emphasis is on the group, not the nature of the crime. This is an important distinction, because it implies a number of assumptions about the way that organized crime works. Law enforcement agencies use this definition almost as a matter of course, because the criminal justice system is designed to deal with specific offences committed by specific people. Police arrest suspects and seize their property, prosecutors secure convictions one-by-one, and only individual people can be sent to prison. When actors in such a system plan proactively, they are limited by the tools at hand, and this affects the way they conceptualize the

Membership within an organized crime group is not just offered to anybody. There are particular criteria’s that one must fit before being allowed to join the organization. Therefore the membership is based on some type of common traits (Layman, 2015). These common traits consist of similar ethnicity, common interests, shared skill or even similar criminal backgrounds. Once a particular common trait has been met, the member must prove their loyalty to the group. Membership within the

Organized crime is criminal activity conduct by a group. These organizations have 8 attributes to help them achieve their goals. The first attribute is the absences of a political goal. Secondly the group has a hierarchical from there is a boss, captain, lieutenant, and members. Next these organizations have limited or exclusive membership and only let in individuals known to the organization. Another attribute of the organized crime is that it constitutes a unique subculture of crime. A different attribute is that it perpetuates itself. Furthermore, organized crime is monopolistic they control whatever crime they decided and if someone else competes against them on their turf they will take care of the individual. In addition organizations involved in organized crime will usually exhibit a willingness to use violence. The final attribute is that organized crime organizations are governed by their own set of rules and regulations. These attributes are what allow organized crime groups to be self-sustaining.

Organized crime is a group of highly organized criminals who deal in illegal activity for profit around the globe. Organized crime is an international threat to the economic security of the United States and is a top priority for the FBI. The crimes that are committed by this organization can include human trafficking, dealing in stolen firearms and trafficking narcotics all to gain power, influence and monetary gains.

The chapter on Organized Crime by Frank Scarpitti sparked my interest because of the complexity of the phenomena in the United States and how it combines so many different social dynamics. In the chapter, Scarpitti examines the history of organized crime, the role it plays in society, explanations of organized crime and finally combating organized crime in the US. He explains organized crime as profit motivated, providing the public with illegal goods and services, it involves intensive planning and conspiracy among groups and contains violence and coercion, moreover, relies on political corruption to function.

Transnational organized crime has become a significant danger facing all countries, whether developed or developing nations. Despite this incredible danger to modern countries, organized crime is not a new phenomenon. History is filled with stories of past mafia groups-whether Italian, Russian, or American-but the risks during the mid-nineteenth century were lower and were concentrated in specific countries or regions.

Criminal gangs are there to rule, they have been there in every community for a long time. Gang's intentions are to commit crimes. Gang leaders oversee extortion, order killings or smuggle drugs. This paper studies gang formation, why individuals join gangs and the negative influence gangs have to the society and the economy. The study focuses on some of the prominent gangs in the world today; it explains the activities of the Russian mafia and other gangs. This paper explains power struggles within gangs and gives out recommendations to solve problems associated with gang operations. This paper puts into perspective a study on factors influencing gang membership; the study employs personal interviews as a method, causal research design and ordinal scale of measurement. Prisoners in California state prison are the sample population. Structured proxy question are used, and observation to study an individual's race. The study focuses male prison gang members. Findings from the study indicate that the less educated an individual is the likely for one join a gang, from the study it is evident that gang members feel disregarded when formulating policies, it is clear that race is not a factor to gang membership and that most of the gang members come from dysfunctional families.

What is organized crime, by definition according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), it is “an organized crime is any crime committed by a person occupying, in an established division of labor, a position designed for the commission of crimes providing that such division of labor includes at least one position for a corruptor, one position for a corruptee, and one position for an enforcer (Cressey 1969:319 Pg. 3)”. Each of the articles used within the context of this paper have this fact in common. The common link is that groups of individuals have made a commitment to engage in illegal activities as a way of life and sustainability. Another common factor is the globalization of crime. Crime