ORGANISED CRIME 2
They identified 11 criteria, the first four of which must all be present for something to be defi ned as ‘organised crime’, as must at least two of the seven others:
1 Collaboration of more than two people.
2 Taking place over a prolonged or indefinite period of time.
3 Suspected of the commission of serious criminal offences.
4 Having as its central goal, the pursuit of profit and/or power.
5 Having a specialised division of labour.
6 Utilising a system of discipline and control.
7 Using violence and other means of intimidation.
8 Having a commercial or business-like structure.
9 Involved in money laundering.
10 Operating internationally, across national borders.
11 Exerting infl uence over politics, judicial bodies, media, the economy.
How helpful is this? Levi (2002) notes that many of the optional criteria are fairly easy to satisfy: there are few major forms of criminal activity, for example, that can take place without there being some money laundering, or some form of division of labour among the participants.
As such, it is certainly not a foolproof way of enabling us to distinguish ‘organised’ criminal activities from the rest of criminal activity. Nevertheless, it provides a reasonably reliable indicator of what is often taken to be the central characteristics of the forms of criminal activity that we will discuss in this chapter.
‘Organised crime’ is sometimes referred to as ‘syndicated crime’ (particularly in America) because, in part, it refers to what is held to be the activities of criminal syndicates. Thus, for example, there is a sizeable body of work focusing on forms of gangsterism associated with particular ethnic groups – the Italian Mafia, Japanese Yakuza, Chinese Triads and so forth.
This is the model of organised crime best known to popular culture through the activities of the Corleone family in the Godfather fi lms and, more recently, in the television portrayal of New Jersey-based racketeering in The Sopranos.
This picture of organised crime – essentially a stereotype developed in the United States to describe what was believed to be the nature of such activities in America in the early to mid-twentieth century – has come to dominate both criminological and popular understandings in this area.
We will spend some time in this chapter looking at both the history of this particular paradigm for understanding organised crime, as well as looking at its limitations.
There is relatively little suggestion that this model of organised crime was ever terribly applicable to Mandatory criteria Optional criteria
- Organized group: A criminal racket involves a group of three or more individuals acting in concert, with a hierarchy and chain of command.
- Pattern of illegal activity: It is not a one-off crime but a continuous criminal operation designed to generate profit.
- Use of intimidation and violence: Criminals use threats, bribery, coercion, and violence to overcome obstacles and enforce their will.
- Extortion and protection rackets: A common example is a "protection racket," where criminals extort money from businesses in exchange for protection from harm (often from the criminals themselves).
- Deceptive practices: Racketeers can also deceive people or cheat them by selling worthless goods or engaging in fraud.
- Profitable and ongoing: The ultimate goal is to earn a large and continuous amount of money through illegal activities.
- A form of organized crime: A criminal racket is a specific type of organized crime characterized by its systematic and profitable nature.
- Focus of law enforcement: Laws like the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act were specifically created to prosecute individuals who engage in a pattern of racketeering activity.
- Impact on society: Racketeering can have a significant impact beyond financial losses, potentially creating barriers to sustainable development and corrupting legitimate businesses and institutions.
- Evolution of criminal activity: The concept has evolved to include modern forms of crime, such as online gambling rings and cybercrimes, which are now considered rackets.
- Kidnapping and abduction
- Extortion
- Contract killing
- Robbery and theft (including vehicle and chain snatching)
- Land grabbing
- Fraud and economic offenses
- Continuous criminal activity: These crimes are not random acts but part of a continuing enterprise, involving a group or gang working together.
- One-way transaction: The criminals receive the entire benefit without providing any service or advantage to the victim.
- Financial gain: The primary motive is to make money through illicit activities.
- Victim suffers total loss: The victim does not receive any material gain or advantage and is completely disadvantaged by the criminal act.
- Examples of crimes: Common examples include robbery, dacoity, kidnapping, extortion, pick-pocketing, vehicle theft, and certain cybercrimes or trafficking activities.
- Emergence of terrorism: Modern terrorism, including political or narco-terrorism, is also increasingly being categorized as a form of organized predatory crime due to its violent nature and lack of service to the victim.
eature | Criminal Racket | Crime Syndicate |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A specific, ongoing, and coordinated pattern of criminal activity, often involving extortion and intimidation, to extract money from others. | A large, organized, and structured criminal group or association that engages in a variety of illegal activities. |
| Primary Activity | Systematically extorting money or other benefits from legitimate businesses, for example, through protection rackets. | A wide range of criminal enterprises, such as drug and weapons trafficking, gambling, loan sharking, and extortion. |
| Relationship to Victim | Often involves a service that is "provided" to the victim (e.g., protection from other criminals), even though the service is the crime itself. | The relationship is more about the supply of illegal goods and services. |
| Relationship to Syndicate | A racket is often one of the activities that a crime syndicate performs. A syndicate may have a specific racket operation as part of its larger criminal enterprise. | A crime syndicate is the organization itself. The term describes the structure and hierarchy of a large organized crime group. |
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