Personal Perception of Organized Crime, Essay Example

Organized crime can be defined as a law-breaking act by grouping of well planned enterprises run by criminals and engaging in illegal activities for monetary gain (Albanese, 1998). Such criminals form well managed organizations like the terrorist organizations, some of which may be politically motivated. Criminal organizations can also be referred to as gangs or mobs. In United States, such an act of carrying out criminal activities as well organized groups is called racketeering (Albanese, 1998). This paper analyzes this burning issue of organized crime and gives a personal perception on the matter. It is presumed that although organized crime is deep rooted, it roots can be traced.

Nowadays, people view organized crime as an urban phenomenon but going back to history it was the rural world that was crime-prone. Bandits, pirates, and highwaymen ambushed trade routes and roads affecting commerce severely. In fact piracy and banditry in the pre-industrial era can be equated to the modern society’s organized crime (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990). This begs the question how such barbarism has flourished and transformed to present day organized crime.

The answer is simple. For a criminal organization to thrive, it requires some degree of support from the society in which it operates from. Such an organization gets this much needed support by corrupting some influential people (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990). Corruption comes inform of blackmail, bribery, or establishment of mutual relationships with genuine businesses. In most cases these criminals target police officers, judicial officers, and legislators through bribes. On the other hand, organized crime cannot thrive in absence of ready market for their goods and services. Their services and goods are on demand by some people and this has complicated efforts to curb it (Sullivan, 2002).

Organized crime can also be favored by other factors such as when a central government and civil society loose track becoming disorganized, malfunctioned, weak, or untrustworthy. Often, this is witnessed in times of economic, social, or political turmoil, or during a transition, particularly if there are no strong established institutions of law (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990). For instance, when the Soviet Union collapsed and Revolutions erupted in 1989 in Eastern Europe, the Communist Bloc fell and new systems of democracy together with free market capitalism sprung up creating a good breeding ground for organized criminal activities.

Organized crime can also thrive better in ethnic minority communities or marginalized groups whose members lack trust in local governments or their agents (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990). This aspect of lacking trust serves a duo role. It insulates the criminals from the risk of being netted and at the same encourages such communities in trusting the criminal organizations for dispute settling and protection. These groups start as vigilante groups and latter transform into organized criminal gangs. Organized crime can also be favored by factors such as existence of a black market or lack of proper regulations governing formation of organizations (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990). Black market provides a good and safe market for their illegal goods whereas lack of proper policies fails to recognize them as they flourish. In a certain aspect, the current growth in technology that has seen widespread use of internet and other communication gadgets has also promoted organized crime in the sense that they can organize their activities faster, effectively, and without fear of being easily netted.

Organized crime can generally be characterized by several things. First, they often victimize businesses, individuals and even national states through their unlawful acts such as extortion, theft, fraud, hijacking, counterfeiting money, smuggling, to mention but a few (Carter, 1994). Second, organized criminal groups thrive mainly by corrupting public officials in judicial, law enforcement, and executive roles. These officials protect them or give them early warnings about prosecution and investigation. Third, organized crimes mainly engage in provision of illegal services and goods (Carter, 1994). In summary it can be said that organized crime is predatory, conspiratorial, and its principal goal is money-making.

Much can be said about organized crime especially what makes it thrive better. Corrupt officers and unstable governments can be blamed but I tend to lay my blame on the society. The society has failed to instill moral values to children and it is these children who grow up with poor moral background who often end up engaging in crime. Nowadays, parents are so busy developing their careers or managing businesses that they have no time to advice their children. They leave the children to learn on their own and due to curiosity some get involved in substance abuse, petty crimes to find money for buying such substances graduating slowly to more complex organized crime. The society has also failed by playing a dormant role in eradicating organized crimes leaving the matter to the law enforcement. These criminals live among us and we can join hands and expose them. Moreover, people should stop seeking their services. On the other hand, the society has failed to discourage other social ills creeping in it such as corruption and ethnicity which have been seen to favor organized crime. Lastly, the society has ignored emergence of petty crimes whereas it is a known fact that these petty crimes have the potential of becoming complex organized crimes.

Organized crime is a matter that seems to have blown out of its proportions. It dates back from the ancient times and no era can claim to have done away with it. Currently, the matter is more serious with the emergence of sophisticated technology since such gangs are also advancing with it. Though causes of organized crime have been attributed to several factors, the society is largely to be blamed. It has failed to instill moral ethics to children, played a dormant role on the matter, and worse still promoted the vice by depending on goods and services provided by these criminals. If the society improved on this, the issue of organized crime can be a thing of the past.

References

Albanese, J. (1998). Organized crime in America. Cincinnati, Ohio: Anderson

Carter, D. L. (1994). International organized crime: Emerging trends in entrepreneurial crime. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 10 (4): 239–266

Gottfredson, M. &  Hirschi, T. (1990). A general theory of crime. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press

Sullivan, R. (2002). Mobsters and gangsters: Organized crime in America. New York: Life Books