1) terrorism (...) crimes or offences for financial gain or material benefit. The attributes of the criminal organizations that make the crimes they commit organized crime include criminal sophistication, structure, self-identification, and the authority of reputation, as well as their size and continuity. have a dampening effect on research by closing off other lines Organized crime is any enterprise or group of persons engaged in a continuing illegal activity which has as its primary purpose the generation of profits. Second, organized crime attempts to establish a monopoly within a specific geographic area. (Gaines and Miller, 2005: 9), Gilbert, James N.(back to index) Amir, Menachem (1995), Organized Crime and Violence, Studies on Crime and Crime Prevention 4(1), 86-104. Organized crime is considered to be a changing and flexible phenomenon. policies or high tariffs; invited On Defining "Organized Crime": The Development of a Definition and a Typology, Crime & Delinquency, 22(3), 338-346. Organized crime networks are billion-dollar businesses operating in many crime areas. to an illicit business as the position of negotiator is to a labor Working paper prepared by the Secretariat for the Fifth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (Toronto, Canada, 1-12 September 1975). It is the presence of these diverse figures holding varying degrees of professionalism and skills which should be regarded as a significant hallmark of organized crime. Such groups may be small, but they typically involve a sizable number of individuals in the planning and execution of illegal acts. 4. Roberson, Cliff (1994), Introduction to Criminal Justice, Placerville, CA: Copperhouse. Michael D. Maltz, Defining Organized Crime, in: Robert We distinguish between ... organized crime is the more familiar expression for the illegal activities of syndicate criminals. Dobovsek, Bojan (2008). (New Mexico's Governor's Criminal Histories: An Introduction, in: M. Galeotti (ed. offer services or manufacture goods in a manner or benefit activity which is prohibited Not surprisingly, these efforts have proved futile as such a definition would require a thorough understanding of the wide range of potentially relevant phenomena and the interplay between them that is currently not available. Part of their difficulty stems from their wasteful, inefficient, and unsystematic way of going about their criminal activity. to document fully the national scope of these groups, and FBI A mafia group is a particular type of organized crime that Rather, the question is: "What insights may be obtained from history, economics, sociology, psychology-even philosophy and theology-that would facilitate efforts to understand why the phenomena we categorize as organized crime occur, and what forces trigger their occurrence?" Related to the general definition, critically important are the distinctions between key concepts such as organized crime and crimes that are organized, between organized crime and mafia, between criminal organizations and other types of criminal groups, and between organized crime and transnational crime. The criminal group has to involve the collaboration of more than two people; of organised crime and provides a (Cressey, Thus, the six characteristics of the criminal group are continuity, structure, defined membership, criminality, violence, and power as its goal. The operations of two or more persons who combine to obtain financial advantages or special privileges by such unlawful means as terrorism, fraud, corruption of public officers or by a combination of such methods. raised that its commission is evidence of existence of a criminal racket They are not dependent on the continued participation of any single individual. The Statewide Intelligence Systems Program, Bureau of Justice Assistance. It can be used to refer to the crimes committed by organized criminal groups--gambling, narcotics, loan-sharking, theft and fencing, and the like. Organized criminal activity within particular cultural groups may be difficult to detect without in-depth understanding of the culture. commit. continual, inconspicuous and or common life experiences, specialized which the business has become permeated. (Thomas & Hepburn 1983: 313), U.S. Attorney General 1959(back to index) (Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, last visited 20100516), Israel: Menachem Amir(back to index) Criminal groups undermine state authority and the rule of law by fuelling corruption, compromising elections, and hurting the legitimate economy. (United Nations, 1990: 5) (f) Terrorist acts; (von Lampe, 2009: 165-166), The review of the various definitions of organized crime leads back to the question of how to deal with the existing conceptual confusion from a social science perspective. ), Handbook of Organized Crime in the United States, of individuals performing a criminal act in the presence of one an organized crime is any crime committed by a person occupying criminal group, with the aim of committing heavy crimes in order to acquire proceeds or power, and when, besides this, at least three of the following conditions have been met: (U.S. Department of Labor, 2001: 48), U.S. House of Representatives(back to index) Organized Crime, in: Eugene McLaughlin and John Muncie, The Sage Dictionary of Criminology, 2nd ed., London: Sage. 2. The organizational structure is a criminal enterprise, established with the aims of gaining as much money as possible and strengthening and expanding its power. (Criminal Intelligence Service Canada, 2014), Canada: Denyer Willis, Graham(back to index) An illegal pattern of activity conducted by a consortium of people and/or organizations, acting in concert, to carry out fraud, theft, extortion, intimidation, and a host of other offenses in a syndicated fashion. These groups, numerous and varied, may be based upon the ethnic 1st Sess, 103 (1961) Ianni, Francis A.J. Organized crime is known for its diversity, flexibility and capability to quickly what may be considered the area of organized crime in New Mexico. 8.) whose duty it is to maintain organizational integration by making the latter includes the former, but organized They represent, in virtually every instance, an extension of a legitimate market spectrum into areas normally proscribed. The people (2013). 319), The efforts to define organized crime in explicit A complex pattern of activity which includes the commission of statutorily defined offenses, in particular the provision of illegal goods and servies but also carefully planned and coordinated instances of fraud, theft, and extortion, and which is uniquely characterized by the planned use of both legitimate and criminal professional expertise, and the use for criminal purposes of organizational features of legitimate business, including availability of large capital resources, disciplined management, division of labor, and focus upon maximum profit; also, the persons engaged in such a pattern of activity. including some form of leadership. Organization brings with it planning, leadership, division of labor, co-operation, and a form of social structure that gives personal status and a place where the indivudal belongs in the world of his associates. With organized crime I will mean a repetitive string of actions performed by several individuals wherein at least one action is criminal and at least one of the actions presuppose the use or threat of force in order to implement the action string. (Conklin, 2010: 73), Cressey, Donald R.(back to index) Seeking money and power (back to index) Hess, Kären (2009). The question is not: "What is organized crime?" (1952). Fourth, the success of organized crime over an extended period is dependent on the corruption of politicians and law enforcement officials. A more specific criminological definition would refer to groups that (1) utilize violence or threats of violence, (2) provide illicit goods that are in public demand, and (3) assure immunity for their operators through corruption and enforcement. Task Force Report: Organized Crime, Annotations and Consultants' In Series 5, John Corbett (in reality an wayward undercover police officer) and Lisa McQueen appeared to hold senior positions in the group, along with an unknown corrupt police officer known only as H. However, after the death of Corbett and arrest of McQueen, the current leader is unknown. Counterfeiting Currency of 20 April 1929; (Gilinskiy, 2006: 278), Serbia: Criminal Procedure Code(back to index) Organized crime is a continuous nonideological (Queensland Crime and Misconduct Act 2001; Part 8 Criminal Code and Other Legislation (Misconduct, Breaches of Discipline and Public and to indicate that the criminal activity involved is structured It seeks not merely influence, but exclusive influence. Organised crime is the recurrent (systematic) perpetration of target-oriented, coordinated serious criminal activity (and activities supporting this activity), whose involved entities are criminal groups or organisations (mostly with a multi-level vertical organisational structure) and whose main aim is to achieve the maximum illegal profits while minimising risk. (Organised Crime Task Force, 2016: 2), United Kingdom: Scottish Government (2009)(back to index) their activities through a pattern of graft and corruption. The primary issue remains: What theoretical base will provide the best approach to either white-collar or organized crime, or both? The Oriental groups (Triad, Yakusa), on Samurai or noble resistance to invaders. Order, Law, and On the contrary, some illegal markets are difficult to monopolize and police. 1 A substantial number of members. part of the American social system that brings together a public Normally, but not always, techniques of bribery, intimidation, and violence are used and hegemony over services sought (Rhodes 1984, 4). Organized crime definition is - a group of professional criminals who work together as part of a powerful and secret organization. The buffer is the criminal group's protection from the criminal justice system. Paul: West Publishing. Subcommittee No. How to use organized crime in a sentence. (Berg, 2008: 392), Best and Luckenbill identity of each other. 5 of the Committee on the Judiciary, 91st Congress, 28. weight and scope of power to inhibit public control (Lasswell/McKenna Weenink, A.W., Huisman, S., & van der Laan, F.J. (2004), Crime without frontiers: Crime Pattern Analysis Eastern Europe, 2002-2003, Driebergen, Netherlands: Korps Landelijke Politiediensten. For instance, the sale of cigarettes to those below the legal age does not lend itself to monopoly. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 'Honor' (Boissevain, 1978). in this way, is as old as the first systems of law and government Organized crime will be (3) A persistence of this conspiracy through time The methodical perpetration of offences taht, each separately or collectively, have a considerable impact, for reasons of profit or power; - Patterns of operation that are interjurisdictional, often international of catering to our vices-gambling, drinking, sex, narcotics-which (Dobovsek, 2008: 680), Slovenia: Valencic & Mozetic, 2006(back to index) Their purposes Its power for evil is infinitely greater. (back to index) b. make an appeal to violence and/or other means of intimidation and/or; ), The Economics of Crime and Punishment, Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute, 155-166. Some authors have also contended that a terrorist group’s (incidental) use of organised crime goes far beyond a mere pragmatic means to achieve funds, but is instead indicative of a metamorphic scale that exists between the two phenomena. Queensland Crime Commission and Queensland Police Service (1999), Project KRYSTAL: A Strategic Assessment of Organised Crime in Queensland, Milton/Brisbane. So what is organized crime? To clarify this point, it may help to talk about the weather for a moment. gov; (7) insularity of leadership from criminal acts; and (8) (back to index) Lebeya, Seswantsho Godfrey (2014). 4.) (Block, 1983: 57), Block and Chambliss(back to index) Organized crime is an industry that is dependent upon effective coordination of its two components, the "criminal group" and the "buffer". (1981), (Special Crime Study In the following discussion, organized crime is defined as the functioning of stable, hierarchical associations, engaged in crime as a form of business, and setting up a system of protection against public control by means of corruption. I mean by 'illicit enterprise' the extension of legitimate market activities into areas normally proscribed, for the pursuit of profit and in response to latent illicit demand. by any means - fair and foul, legal and illegal. possessing a variety of characteristics, as opposed to a rigid They are distinguished from the common (unorganized) crimes by characteristics such as (1) non-random nature of criminal behavior, (2) coordinated activities of hundreds or thousands of operatives, (3) diversification of activity (production, supply, retail), (4) regional, national, or transnational scale of operations, (5) large volume of turnover (running into billions of dollars in some cases), (6) pursuit of both profit and power, and (7) usually an identifiable leadership. (a) indictable offences punishable on conviction by a term A definition of "organised a group around its economic enterprises, existing criminal economic activities Structures: Organized crime groups have well-established structures frequently based on ancient local traditions. A major factor that distinguishes organized crime members from other, more numerous criminals is their elaborate planning and lack of impulsiveness in committing crimes. Measuring Organised Crime in Belgium, Antwerpen/Apeldoorn: Maklu. Victim and criminal are linked in a symbiotic relationship. organized crime as a system of power and interaction, not as an (d) a purpose to obtain profit, gain, power or influence. organized crime, following Block and Chambliss ( 1981 ), as the Lupsha, Peter(back to index) Their separate strengths derive from the same fundamental considerations that govern entrepreneurship in the legitimate marketplace. Organised crime is the planned commission of criminal offences determined by the pursuit of profit and power which, individually or as a whole, are of considerable importance and involve more than two persons, each with his/her own assigned tasks, who collaborate for a prolonged or indefinite period of time associated with the procedures employed in investigating the phenomenon, reality professional criminals in which case they hold two roles. groups. "...[For] purposes of discussion in this report, Defining Organised Crime: A Comparative Analysis, Doctoral Dissertation, University of South Africa. It is these secondary firms which actually deal with the public. traits. "Organized crime" is defined as any organized group that has its leadership insulated from direct involvement in criminal acts and ensures organizational integrity in the event of a loss of leadership. However, the structure of a syndicate depends on its specific illegal activity. a 'firm', and secondly, such a firm is to be the economic objective of the illegal enterprise, and ethnic phrase 'organized crime' is literal and short - organized crime is systematic for advancing, securing and controlling 347, May 1963, 12 - 19. ...Interaction is a key concept here: a mere aggregation Black, Christopher, Tom Vander Beken and Brice De Ruyver (2000). York. anyone race, ethnic group, class, profession, or gender, many studies The enterprise model allows valuable insights, not least when - as in our case - an illegal market is chosen as the object of study. social interaction, with some restrictions (Sellin 1963, 13), Shieh, Shawn(back to index) These criminal organizations have varying capacities to inflict economic, physical, psychological, and societal harm. South African Police Service, Input for the Justice Portfolio Committee on the Organized Crime Bill, 1998, (http://www.pmg.org.za/docs/1998/980929saps.htm). on a vast continuum allowing for freedom of analyzing and defining Secret: The "Law of Society" (Omerta) is very strongly enforced and punishment for transgression is death, executed without pity. Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment (Block, 1983: vii) sectors in one or more jurisdictions. 1)), Kenney and Finckenauer(back to index) It seemed would justify placing all these diverse phenomena in one theoretical Porteous, Samuel (1998), Organized Crime Impact Study: Highlights, Public Works and Government Services of Canada. against members of the organization, the victims, and, often, They arise with any study that sails under the flag of organised crime research, and have to do with the difficulties of translating 'organised crime' from a heterogeneous socio-cultural and political construct into a scientific concept. - the aspects of the social universe that are subsumed under the umbrella concept of organised crime should not be treated as static. organised crime means criminal activity that involves— Control of Organized Crime in the United States, May 20, 21, 27; Organizing Crime, New York/Oxford. Recognizing economic or "white collar" crime as a significant OC activity acknowledges that organized criminal activity is not confined to traditional "Mafia" or visible and ethnic minorities. that demands certain goods and services that are defined as illegal, organized crime is not the sum total of (adopted by the Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation (SARPCCO) at its 14th Annual General Meeting in 2009, reported by S.G. Lebeya), Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation (Desroches, 2007: 831), Canada: Government of Canada(back to index) crime was defined by fiat as, ‘crime that involves three or more people who of the crimes involved (crimes in which there is a perpetrator in Gastrow, 2001, ch. have preferred to focus not on the aggregation of individuals Sess; RCW 43.43.852), West's Encyclopedia of American Law (1998) Such groups maintain their position through the use of actual or threatened violence, corrupt public officials, graft, or extortion, and generally have a significant impact on the people in their locales, region, or the country as a whole. b) by using force or other means of intimidation or Organized crime is not synonymous with the Mafia (back to index) United Kingdom: National Crime Agency (NCA)(back to index) activities involving the management and coordination of racketeering A Family Business: Kinship and Social Control in Organized Crime, New York: Russell Sage Foundation. invincible organization with mystical powers. 1, Honolulu, August 1978, 98-101. Block, Alan (1983), East Side-West Side: Organizing Crime in New York, 1930-1950, 2nd ed., New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers. Organised crime groups. organized-crime group definition in the English Cobuild dictionary for learners, organized-crime group meaning explained, see also 'organized crime',organized',organizer',organize', English vocabulary Hunter, Ronald D., & Dantzker, Mark L. (2002). The Criminal Justice System: An Analytical Approach, Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. (El-Aboudy 2002), France: Andre Bossard(back to index) and is a racket only because of the violence and corruption with we suggest that the description of a criminal group be based upon illegal activities and which, when they operate legitimate ventures, Maltz, Michael D. (1976). (2001). Best, Joel, & Luckenbill, David F. (1994). (Andvig, 2012, 12-13), Poland: Proposal for UN Convention, 1996(back to index) and regulation of, markets for economic Bailey, John, Chabat,Jorge (2001), Public Security and Democratic Governance: Challenges to Mexico and the United States, Report to Task Force, February 2001 (http://www.georgetown.edu/sfs/programs/clas/mexico/grants/taskforcereport.htm). An OCG seeks 'to govern' the underworld, as argued by Thomas Schelling. (back to index) Groups like this shield themselves from the authorities via concealment, intimidation, blackmail and corruption. is committed in combination or from whose nature, a presumption may be that economic or business structures are used in the activities; Clarke, N. Tilley (eds. speaking, crime can be categorized in two major compartments: A highly structured, disciplined, self-perpetuating association of people, usually bound by ethnic ties, who conspire to commit crimes for profit and use fear and corruption to protect their activities from criminal prosecution. it can become a basis for organized such as prostitution, interstate theft, or illegal gambling, that positions, such groups can operate without them for long periods This chapter takes organized crime very simply to be a continuation of business by criminal means. The concept of organized crime has constantly been redefined and contains all sorts of implicit ideologies and myths, ranging from the 'Mr Big' to the 'alien conspiracy theory'. (Ianni & Reuss-Ianni, 1972: 61), Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR)(back to index) which operate on an international basis. Criminal Investigation, 7th ed., Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson PrenticeHall. The crooked sheriff who aids the outlaws is as much of a stock character as the fearless 'law man' who makes justice triumph. (Zaluar, 2001: 377), Canada: Beare, Margaret(back to index) There also Organized Crime = any structurally coordinated and Selmini, Rossella (2020), Women in Organized Crime. It is even questionable whether a scientific definition is attainable at all (van Duyne et al., 2001). Vold, George B. For purposes of this discussion, we shall define U.S. Comptroller General (1981), Stronger Federal coercion, compensation and persuasion Gilinskiy, Yakov (2006). specific reference to the attitudes and values of the criminals Reuter, Peter (1994), Research on American Organized Crime, in: R. J. Kelly, K.-L. Chin, R. Schatzberg (eds. to assure immunity for its operations. In any case, there is no doubt that one is dealing with a set of activities spread in networks that have components of economic endeavour, that is, it needs repetitive activities, (though without the discipline, regularity and rights of regular work), a goal of which is profit (easier and higher the better at the wholesale networks), using variable methods and currencies for exchanges typical of underground relationships. structure, with some form of leadership, utilizing certain modes Violence and threat of violence can be used by organised criminals in some cases, however, the main aim is financial gain. c. exert influence on politics, the media, public administration, the judicial or the business world. 1. 53 (4), December, 399 - 425. (Combating Organized Crime 1966, 19), Poff, Richard(back to index) ), Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment, Vol. 17), U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General(back to index) However, on a broader scale, organized crime simply refers to those criminals who organize their various illegal activities, as opposed to those who commit crimes on a random basis. - illegal goods: goods that are illegal as such; the production of, trade in and sometimes also possession of such goods are punishable offences; think of for example narcotic substances and forged brand cigarettes. Transnational Crime and Criminal Law, Chicago: Office of International Criminal Justice. of defrauding creditors. c) by exerting influence on politics, the media, public administration, judicial authorities or the business sector. see Robert G. Blakey, Ronald Goldstock & Charles H. Rogovin, enterprises that transform it into The Causes of Organized Crime: Do Criminals Organize Around Opportunities for Crime or Do Criminal Opportunities Create New Offenders?, Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 16 (4), 409-423. - an activity possessing certain attributes and characteristics. Corruption and influence peddling operations may be highly sophisticated and hidden from public view. A theoretical Examination of Organizing Crime, in: Contemporary Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2017). firstly, that organized crime is an us because our desires and our morals are so often in opposition. Homer, Frederic D.(back to index) agents and politicians involved in criminal conspiracies are in 3. Organised crime group activities can be curbed through, amongst other methods, the application of FICA. Cejp, Martin (2008). Many people see organized crime as the notorious mafias of New York or Los Angeles; this definition is correct but leaves out a very large aspect of the definition. Bovenkerk, Frank (2011). evolve into an organized crime, although sounds like two or more homosexuals practicing their trade in 339-383). or that, through planning and coordination of individual efforts, and the seeking of a high degree of political or economic security, geographical part of the Nation. Albini, Joseph (1971), The American Mafia: Genesis Other criminal organizations, operating as outsiders, are more likely to rely on violence to facilitate their illegal operations. Governor's Organized Crime Prevention Commission of criminal activity and to infiltrate the legitimate economy, in particular by: Abadinsky, Howard (2008). It should attempt to exert influence on politics, the media, public administration, judicial authorities or the economy (corruption). (Cressey, (...) Task Force on Organized Crime (1967), The President's (Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department website), Salerno and Tompkins(back to index) In the Introduction I suggested that organized crime As I have argued elsewhere (von Lampe, 2002a), three notions should guide the study of organised crime: Instead the more dangerous criminal elements draw most of their revenues from various forms of gambling, the sale and distribution of narcotics, prostitution, various forms of business and labor racketeering, black-market practices, bootlegging into dry areas, etc. in some activity which will produce large profits. Preventing and fighting them is a top EU priority. Beare, Margaret (1996). (Cressey, 1972: 89), Demleitner, Nora V.(back to index) Galeotti, Mark (2009). (Smith, 1982: 33), Swain, Tylor(back to index) Comparable insights have not yet been produced in the study of organized crime about the interplay of such factors as the individual characteristics of organized criminals, the logistical requirements of particular criminal activities, or the structural features of criminal organizations. who join together to perform specific criminal acts or on particular The illegal Sector of Capital: or episodic thing; but a patterned and structured activity; (2) Syndicates, too, are of different types. in Bresler, 1993: 319), Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation that bind the members together (Ianni, of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others of 2 December 1949; Organised Crime in the UK: 1. in accordance with a “mafia principle” is not limited only to mafias in a traditional or conventional sense. Organized crime refers to institutionalized forms of criminal activity, in which many of the characteristics of orthodox organizations appear but the activities engaged in are systematically illegal. Thomas, Charles W., & Hepburn, John R. (1983), Crime, Criminal Law, and Criminology, Dubuque, IA: WM. Often, but not always, the term organized crime refers to a particular organized crime syndicate, variously known as the Mafia or La Cosa Nostra, and it is in this sense that the committee has used the phrase. Schelling, Thomas C. (1971), What is the Business of Organized Crime?, Journal of Public Law, Vol. 159-160), u-s-history.com(back to index) (http://www.futuredirections.org.au/admin/uploaded_pdf/1266994045-FDIStrategicAnalysisPaper-27January2010.pdf), Bundeskriminalamt, Organised Crime Situation Report 2003 Federal Republic of Germany: Summary, Wiesbaden, GER: Bundeskriminalamt, 2004. Falcone, David N. (2005). and coordination of racketeering (organized extortion) and the organized crime groups and individuals whose expertise, infrastructure, influence In cities which have not been well organized, the attempt by one mobster to take over the territory or racket from another mobster inevitably breeds trouble, for modern gangs and criminal syndicates relay on 'muscle' and murder to a far greater degree than formerly to eliminate competitors, compel cooperation from reluctant victims, silence informers, and to enforce gangland edicts. It has to be suspected of involvement in serious criminal offences; highjacking, fraud and about what is called organized crime. (presumably For the purpose of this study, therefore, the working definition of organized crime is: appears to be some consensus that organized crime tends to be Many people see organized crime as the notorious mafias of New York or Los Angeles; this definition is correct but leaves out a very large aspect of the definition. Confusion over the nature of the threat in turn acts as a barrier to developing more effective countermeasures. (2003)(back to index) (Vold, 1958: 240), Washington State, chapter 202, Laws of 1973, 1st Ex. monster of organized crime, this article employs a marketbased, (Gilbert, 2007: 418), Godson, Roy(back to index) Submitted via e-mail by bspudic), Czech Republic: Martin Cejp/IKSP(back to index)