The scene of organized crime has long since changed after the reign of Italian and Sicilian mafia,

Any ongoing organization, association, or group of three or more persons . . . having as one of its primary activities the commission of one or more of the criminal acts enumerated in paragraphs (1) to (25), inclusive, or (31) to (33), inclusive, of subdivision (e), having a common name or common identifying sign or symbol, and whose members individually or collectively engage in or have engaged in a pattern of criminal gang activity. (Ludeke, 2007).

MAFIA - "a secret association having for its object the illicit control of any enterprise, legitimate or illegitimate, which it decides to infiltrate" (Allen 6).

During the early 1900s, specifically the 1920s, organizations involved in sophisticated crime arose and lived on for decades, influencing American progress and culture. These organizations came to be known as the American Mafia, the Italian Mafia, or the Italian Mob. These “families”, as they were called, sprung up in large cities all across the United States. The mob progressed quickly in America, developing from the simplest of crimes to methodical, organized illegal activity. The method of structure and the emphasis of loyalty and secrecy made insiders of the mob very susceptible to exploitation by the local police and federal government agencies, many instances of which were eventually revealed to the public. The mafia, while still around today, fell in prominence and importance in the eyes of the American government and its people. The major time frame of relevance for the American Mafia is about 1920-2001.

The characteristics defined above provide a basis for deciding if a specific group of criminals represent organized crime. This type of information is essential because organized crime has be handled in a different way from those of traditional offenders. Researchers can do a more comprehensive understanding could be acquired from the many empirical and speculative theories that contribute in the clarification of organized crime; this writer would it to be known that there is not one theory that can be applicable to the various groups of organized crime or its participants (Mallory & Mallory, 2012).

Organized crime is an outcome of prohibition in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century. The government was trying to uphold the Volstead Act of 1920, but bootlegging rings continued to grow nationally as well as internationally. The Wickersham Commission of 1930 led to a crackdown on political corruption and began a repetitive prohibition period in which organized crime leaders had a new way to commit crimes and come up with a profit in the end. In the 1930's Lucku Luciano and Louis Leoke Buchalter created a crime group they called the Syndicate which was made up of criminals all across the country and punished anyone who violated their ways. Luciano ended up convicted, Buchalter was executed, and Murder INC was broken down,

A good way of studying the types of organized crimes in the US is by examining organized crime groups that are very prominent in the US. Threats of organized crimes originate from various criminal organizations which include but not limited to Italian, Asian, Middle Eastern, Balkan and African

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 FBI defines organized crime as any group having some manner of a formalized structure and whose primary objective is to obtain money through illegal and immoral activities (fbi.gov). At one point in time only the mafia and other various crime organizations were thought to participate organized crime, but now there is a new crime organization on the rise.

The United States of America is no stranger to corruption and extortion. Gang violence, the mafia, murder for pay and the marijuana industry in un-legalized states are a few examples of organized crime that happen in current day America. There are many different forms and types of organized crime today but where did they arise from? The rise and growth of organized crime in America can be attributed to government intervention in the social lives of the people, the Great Depression, and the jurisdictional limitations set on the authorities at local, state, and federal levels.

Preventing people from partaking in such activity. Protecting, by increasing the protection against organised and serious crimes and preparing to reduce the impact of this criminal activity when and where it takes place. Organised crime occurring in the UK or overseas undermines the good governance and stability of other counties strategic significance to the national security. Like any other threats to the national security, organised and serious crimes need a response through the whole of the government, and the collaboration and contribution with the private sector, the public and many other countries (Home Office, 2013). The challenges that organised crimes have, according to the Home Office 2012, there are 5,500 organised crime groups in the UK and approximately 37,000 criminals. There are political will which is lacking for the sake of short term stability, such as surrendering sovereignty to foreigners admitting a problem. There is an increase of ‘technical crime’ modifies the law enforcement skills sets and sourcing of the expertise. Also, around half of the organised crime groups in the U.S are highly involved in drug related crime (Home Office, 2013), and furthermore, to look at organised crime as a business rather than a criminal offence. Organised crime differs to other criminal activities, because usually what tends to be a “normal” criminal activities happen for their own motivational goals (working on their own) and organised crime is treated as a business. However, any form of crime committed, no matter how big or small, it is still a

When people think of organized crime they think of the Italian mob and the Russian mafia. They are the ones that they see in movies and on television, and the ones that they hear about the most. However, they were created a couple centuries after their Asian counterparts, the Yakuza in Japan, and the Triads in China. These Asian syndicates were founded in the sixteenth and seventeenth century and consisted of merchants and other people in what was basically the middle class. They were just groups of poorer people who were just looking for protection or were trying to help other people. The first organized crime syndicates were a kind of Robin Hood, they helped the poor. They weren’t big or powerful, and they didn’t have large numbers. The

The problem of classifying gangs has interested both sociologists and law enforcement. For the purpose of law enforcement, a gang is generally defined as an organized group among the members of which there is well-designed communication. This paper evaluates classification schemes from current research for gangs. The objective is to discover the issues and problems in creating classifications for gangs including a definition which delineates what constitutes a gang and differentiates it from other social and sports groups. The paper also compares approaches to classifications of gangs and evaluates how these classifications provide specific insights or information about gangs in a community.

The definition of organized crime is faced with only attempts to generally accept one firm definition. For the purpose of this paper, organized crime shall be defined by the FBI as “any group having some manner of a formalized structure and whose primary objective is to obtain money through illegal activity” (2014). No exception was made in defining white collar crime. However, in essence lying, stealing, and cheating make up what is known as white collar crime. Coined by Sutherland in 1939 is now only an umbrella term for many typologies of frauds committed by businesses and government professionals (FBI.gov, 2014). The gaining of incomes that comes from illegal activities would need to appear legal, through money laundering. These criminals

While there is no one definition, criminologists have agreed to define gangs via six characteristics that are expected to make up a gang. A self-formed association of peers is the first characteristic of a gang, it includes a group of peers who choose to form up to acquire what they otherwise couldn’t without the gangs’ formation. Secondly, gangs are bound by mutual interests that they strive for together. Third, well-developed lines of authority and other organizational features with clear distinctions between leaders and members and their different roles. Next, is working together as a group to achieve a specific purpose and be successful without being caught. Penultimately, gangs involve criminal activity, committing crimes and engaging in delinquency. Lastly, gangs control a particular territory as their own as a way to show dominance and increase in power.

In the case of drug smuggling groups, their hierarchial structure is defined more as a structure of connected nodes (Cromwell, p. 255), with no real chain of command or verticle levels of authority. This has been noted to give the drug smuggling groups independence allowing them to be extremely flexible networks that can "change tactics quickly" and are "insulated from those earlier or later in the smuggling transaction chain." (Cromwell, p.255) If a group of police officers attempted to stop this type of organized crime with tactics based on a model of verticle hierarchy, they would undoubtably fail. This is but one example of organized crime being the opposite of it's literal definition, organized.