Organized crime
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225537104
2008-07-14T05:23:02Z
98.176.1.19
/* Notable criminal organizations */ FBI has listed ms13 as their most important organized crime target, it has crossborder organization etc, doesnt seem to belong in this sentence.
{{Unreferenced|date=September 2007}}'''Organized crime''' or '''criminal organizations''' are groups or operations run by [[crime|criminal]]s, most commonly for the purpose of generating a [[money|monetary]] [[profit]]. The ''[[Organized Crime Control Act]]'' ([[United States|U.S.]], 1970) defines organized crime as "The unlawful activities of ... a highly organized, disciplined association...".
Some criminal organizations, such as [[terrorism|terrorist organization]]s, are [[politics|politically]] [[motivation|motivated]]. [[Gang]]s sometimes become "disciplined" enough to be considered "organized". An organized gang or criminal set can also be referred to as a mob. The act of engaging in criminal activity as a structured group is referred to in the [[United States]] as [[Racket (crime)|racketeering]]. In the U.S., organized crime is often prosecuted federally under the [[Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act]] (RICO), Statute ([http://www.access.gpo.gov/uscode/title18/parti_chapter96_.html 18 U.S.C. Part I Chapter 96 §§ 1961-1968]).
==Origins and conceptual background==
"[[Piracy]] and [[banditry]] were to the pre-industrial world what organized crime is to modern society" (Paul Lunde, ''Organized Crime'', 2004). Today, crime is thought of as an urban phenomenon, but for most of human history it was the rural world that was crime-ridden. Pirates and bandits attacked trade routes, at times severely disrupting commerce, raising costs, insurance rates and prices to the consumer.
Organized crime is deeply linked to the moral problem of integrating subcivilized energy into civilized state building. The early Christian world was dubious about an unqualified legitimacy of nation-states. [[St. Augustine]] famously defined them as what would now be called [[kleptocracies]], states founded on theft: "If justice be disregarded, what are states but large bandit bands, and what are bandit bands but small states?" (De Civ. Dei iv, 4). A later North African writer, [[Ibn Khaldun]], observing the predatorial conquests of the Mongol leader [[Tamerlane]] in the 14th century, developed a theory of state formation based on the periodic conquest of civilized states by barbarians, who are quickly acculturated by urban life, lose their warlike qualities and succumb in turn to conquest by yet another wave of barbarians. As criminologist Paul Lunde states, "Barbarian conquerors, whether Vandals, Goths, Norsemen, Turks or Mongols are not normally thought of as organized crime groups, yet they share many features associated with successful criminal organizations. They were for the most part non-ideological, predominantly ethnically based, used violence and intimidation, and adhered to their own codes of law" (ibid.).
Although medieval [[Feudalism|feudal]] lords were not usually engaged in criminal activities (except for the irregular [[robber baron]]), their hierarchical courts, monopoly of violence, extension of protection to their serfs in exchange for labor and a percentage of harvests and durability are structurally similar to classic organized crime groups like the [[Mafia]]. In the modern world, it is difficult to distinguish some corrupt and lawless governments from organized crime gangs. These regimes, characteristic of some of the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union, use the state apparatus to control organized crime for their own ends.
==Organized crime dynamics==
In order for a criminal organization to prosper, some degree of support is required from the society in which it lives. Thus, it is often necessary to corrupt some of its respected members, most commonly achieved through [[bribery]], [[blackmail]], and the establishment of symbiotic relationships with legitimate businesses. [[judiciary|Judicial]] and police officers and legislators are especially targeted for control by organized crime via bribes.
Lacking much of the paperwork that is common to legitimate organizations, criminal organizations can usually evolve and reorganize much more quickly when the need arises. They are quick to capitalize on newly-opened markets, and quick to rebuild themselves under another guise when caught by authorities.
[[Globalization]] occurs in crime as much as it does in business. Criminal organizations easily cross boundaries between countries. This is especially true of organized groups that engage in [[Trafficking in human beings|human trafficking]].
The newest growth sectors for organized crime are [[identity theft]] and online [[extortion]]. These activities are troubling because they discourage consumers from using the [[Internet]] for [[e-commerce]]. E-commerce was supposed to level the playing ground between small and large businesses, but the growth of online organized crime is leading to the opposite effect; large businesses are able to afford more [[Bandwidth (computing)|bandwidth]] (to resist [[denial-of-service attack]]s) and superior [[security]]. Furthermore, organized crime using the Internet is much harder to trace down for the police (even though they increasingly deploy [[cybercop]]s) since police forces and [[list of law enforcement agencies|law enforcement agencies]] in general operate on a national level while the Internet makes it even more simple for criminal organizations to cross boundaries and even to operate completely remotely.
In the past criminal organizations have naturally limited themselves by their need to expand. This has put them in competition with each other. This competition, often leading to violence, uses valuable resources such as manpower (either killed or sent to prison), equipment and finances. In the United States, the [[Irish Mob]] boss of the [[Winter Hill Gang]] (in the 1980s) turned informant for the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI). He used this position to eliminate competition and consolidate power within the city of [[Boston]] which led to the imprisonment of several senior organized crime figures including [[Gennaro "Jerry" Anguilo]] underboss of the [[Patriarca crime family]]. Infighting sometimes occurs within an organization, such as the [[Castellamarese war]] of 1930-31 and the Boston Irish Mob Wars of the 1960s and 1970s.
Today criminal organizations are increasingly working together, realizing that it is better to work in cooperation rather than in competition with each other. This has led to the rise of global criminal organizations such as [[Mara Salvatrucha]]. The [[Sicilian Mafia]] in the U.S. have had links with organized crime groups in Italy such as the [[Camorra]], the [['Ndrangheta]] and the [[Sacra Corona Unita]]. The [[Sicilian Mafia]] has also been known to work with the Irish Mob ([[John Gotti]] of the [[Gambino crime family|Gambino family]] and [[James Coonan]] of [[the Westies]] are known to have worked together, with the westies operating as a contract hit squad for the Gambino family after they helped Coonan come to power), the Japanese [[Yakuza]] and the [[Russian Mafia]]. The FBI estimates that global organized crime makes $1 trillion per year.
This rise in cooperation between criminal organizations has meant that law enforcement agencies are increasingly having to work together. The FBI operates an organized crime section from its headquarters in Washington and is known to work with other national (e.g. [[Polizia di Stato]] and the [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police]]), federal (e.g., [[Drug Enforcement Administration]] and the [[United States Coast Guard]]), state (e.g., [[Massachusetts State Police]] Special Investigation Unit and the [[New York State Police]] Bureau of Criminal Investigation) and city (e.g., [[New York Police Department]] Organized Crime Unit and the [[Los Angeles Police Department]] Special Operations Division) law enforcement agencies.
==Notable criminal organizations==
Perhaps the best known criminal organizations are the Sicilian and American [[Mafia|Cosa Nostra]], most commonly known as the Mafia. The Neopolitan [[Camorra]], the Calabrian [['Ndrangheta]], and the Apulian [[Sacra Corona Unita]] are similar Italian organized crime groups. Other organized crime groups include, the [[Russian mafia]], the [[Japan]]ese [[Yakuza]], [[Mexican]] Drug Cartels, [[Colombian]] Drug Cartels, the [[Irish Mob]], the [[Indian Mafia]], the [[China|Chinese]] [[Triads]] and [[Tong (organization)|Tong]], the [[Jewish Mafia]], [[British Crime Syndicates]], the [[Albanian Mafia]], [[Jamaican]] [[Yardies]] or [[Jamaican Posse|Posses]], [[Nigerian Organized Crime]] and other Eastern European crime syndicates. On a lower level in the criminal food chain are many street gangs, such as the [[Bloods]] and the [[Crips]].
Criminal organizations may function both inside and outside of prison, such as the [[Mexican Mafia]], [[Folk Nation]], and the [[Brazil]]ian [[Primeiro Comando da Capital|PCC]]. Biker gangs such as the [[Hells Angels]] may also be involved in organized crime.
Terrorist and paramilitary organizations such as the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army]], [[Ulster Defence Association]], [[FARC]] and the [[PKK]] have been known to engage in organized crime to raise funds for their political activities.{{Fact|date=June 2008}}
World leaders throughout history who have been accused of running their country like a criminal organization include [[Adolf Hitler]], [[Joseph Stalin]],[[Idi Amin]], [[Mobutu Sese Seko]], [[Nicolae Ceauşescu]], [[Francisco Franco]], [[Hugo Banzer]], [[Kim Jong Il]], [[Slobodan Milošević]], [[Alberto Fujimori]] (in league with his advisor [[Vladimiro Montesinos]]), Senior General [[Than Shwe]] of Burma and various other [[dictator]]s and [[military dictatorship|military juntas]]. Corrupt political leaders may have links to existing organized crime groups, either domestic or international, or else may simply exercise power in a manner that duplicates the functioning and purpose of organized crime.
== Human rights law ==
Another use of the term "criminal organization" exists in [[human rights law]] and refers to an organization which has been found guilty of crimes against humanity. Once an organization has been determined to be a criminal organization, one must only demonstrate that an individual belonged to that organization to be punished and not that the individual actually individually committed illegal acts.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
This concept of the criminal organization came into being during the [[Nuremberg Trials]]. Several [[public sector]] organizations of [[Nazi Germany]] such as the [[Schutzstaffel|SS]] and [[Gestapo]] were judged to be criminal organizations, while other organizations such as the [[German Army High Command]] {{Dubious|date=March 2008}} were indicted but acquitted of charges.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
This conception of criminal organizations was, and continues to be, controversial, and has not been used in human rights law since the trials at Nuremberg.
== Ideological crime==
In addition to what is considered traditional organized crime involving direct crimes of fraud swindles, scams, racketeering and other [[RICO (law)|RICO]] predicate acts motivated for the accumulation of monetary gain, there is also non-traditional organized crime which is engaged in for political or ideological gain or acceptance. Such crime groups are often labeled [[terrorist organization]]s and include such groups as [[Al-Qaeda]] and the [[Irgun]].
==Typical activities==
Organized crime often victimize businesses through the use of [[extortion]] or theft and fraud activities like [[carjacking|hijacking]] cargo trucks, [[robbery|robbing]] goods, committing [[bankruptcy]] [[fraud]] (also known as "bust-out"), [[insurance fraud]] or [[stock]] fraud ([[inside trading]]). Organized crime groups also victimize individuals by [[car theft]] (either for dismantling at "[[Chop shop]]s" or for export), [[burglary]], [[credit card fraud]], and stock fraud ("[[pump and dump]]" scam). Some organized crime groups defraud national, state, or local governments by [[bid rigging|bid-rigging]] public projects, [[counterfeiting]] money, [[smuggling]] or manufacturing untaxed [[alcoholic beverage|alcohol]] (bootlegging) or [[cigarettes]] (buttlegging), and providing immigrant workers to avoid taxes. Organized crime groups seek out corrupt public officials in executive, law enforcement, and judicial roles so that their activities can avoid, or at least receive early warnings about, investigation and prosecution.<ref>{{cite web | title= In the real world of limited resources, we know that we can only detect, investigate and prosecute a small percentage of those officials who are corrupt." -- U.S. Attorney General John D. Ashcroft| url=http://www.state.gov/p/inl/rls/rm/may/3387.htm| accessmonthday=April 18 | accessyear=2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title= I remain convinced that there is no more important area in the fight against corruption than the challenge for us within the law enforcement and justice sectors to keep our own houses clean. -- U.S. Attorney General John D. Ashcroft| url=http://bvc.cgu.gov.br/bitstream/123456789/1619/1/Attorney+General+John+D.+Ashcroft%27s+Remarks+at+the+Second+Global+Forum+on+Fighting+Corruption.pdf
| accessmonthday=April 18 | accessyear=2008 }}</ref>
Organized crime groups also provide a range of illegal services and goods, such as [[loansharking]] of money at very high interest rates, [[bookmaking]] and [[gambling]], [[prostitution]], [[drug trafficking]], [[gunrunning]], providing [[hitman|murder for hire]], illegal dumping of [[toxic waste]], [[people smuggling]] and [[trafficking in human beings]] . Organized crime groups also do a range of business and labor racketeering activities, such as [[casino]] skimming, [[Insider trading]], setting up monopolies in industries such as garbage collecting and cement pouring, [[bid rigging]], getting "no-show" and "no-work" jobs, using non-union labor and pocketing the wage difference, [[money laundering]], [[political corruption]], and [[bullying]].
==Footnotes==
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==External links==
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/global_crime_report/radioseries/ BBC radio series on global crime (including audio files)]
*[http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/organized-crime/index.html UN Office on Drugs and Crime] - Sub-section dealing with organized crime worldwide
{{wikiquote}}
*[http://www.organized-crime.de Organized Crime Research] - Has a vast collection of definitions of organized crime, reviews of books on organized crime, research papers, and other material
*[http://www.lib.msu.edu/harris23/crimjust/orgcrime.htm Extensive page of links relating to organized crime]
*[http://www.janes.com/security/law_enforcement/news/jir/jir060717_1_n.shtml Hungary emerges as base for foreign organized crime groups] Jane's Intelligence Review, July 2006
*[http://www.janes.com/security/law_enforcement/news/jir/jir070116_1_n.shtml Organized crime killings shock Ireland]
[[Category:Crimes]]
[[Category:Illegal occupations]]
[[Category:Social issues]]
[[Category:Organized crime| ]]
[[ar:منظمة إجرامية]]
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[[et:Organiseeritud kuritegevus]]
[[es:Crimen organizado]]
[[fr:Crime organisé]]
[[hr:Organizirani kriminal]]
[[it:Organizzazione criminale]]
[[he:פשע מאורגן]]
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[[ja:組織犯罪]]
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[[ru:Организованная преступность]]
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[[sh:Organizovani kriminal]]
[[fi:Järjestäytynyt rikollisuus]]
[[sv:Organiserad brottslighet]]
[[vi:Tội phạm có tổ chức]]
[[tr:Organize suç]]
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