16: Organized crime

Question 1

Definition of organized crime

Answer 1

• Broadly speaking, criminal activity is “organized” if it is perpetrated by a group of people who conspire together on a secretive basis with the goal of obtaining a financial or other material benefit.
• Criminal Intelligence Service Canada (CISC): “a crime committed by any group of at least three people that involves the commission of a serious offence in pursuit of profit”
• More than any other type of crime, organized crime is a social construct that strongly reflects policy choices and beliefs.
• Organized crime is “big business on the dark side” - Brandon Odsen

Question 2

Characteristics of Organized Crime - 4 core characteristics

Answer 2

1. Structural
2. Institutional
3. Commercial
4. Behavioural

Question 3

Alien conspiracy theory

Answer 3

No scientific grounds, developed to explain the origins and scope of Italian organized crime and later other ethnical crime groups (such as Chinese triads, Colombian cartels and Russian gangs). Organized crime in North America is seen as a result of the importation of secret criminal codes rooted in foreign cultures.

Question 4

Ethnic succession theory

Answer 4

Strain theory forms the basis of this theory on crime, as it is believed that organized crime comes from the strain of minority groups (racism, discrimination etc) - the fact that it is more difficult for people in these groups to attain the goals that the western society sets for its citizens.

Question 5

Economic theories

Answer 5

Views organized crime as a rational system that operates according to the laws of supply and demand. Just a natural part of society. Criminal organizations supply drugs and other goods that have been declared illegal by the state..

Question 6

Bureaucratic/Hierarchical Model

Answer 6

Views criminal groups as tightly structured and controlled. First applied to mafia, though many experts would not apply this model to the mafia. May be applied to cartels.

Question 7

Kinship model

Answer 7

Ianni and Reuss-Ianni – suggests the mafia is not bureaucratic, bit primarily shaped by culture and traditions, and structured around kin-relations. They found that members of the mafia were sustained by kinship, not criminal activities or a secret society.

Question 8

LO 1:

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Answer 8

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