Organized Crime and Crime

Personal Perceptions on Organized Crimes

Organized crime, in reality, is a complex mix of largely clandestine social aspects of life which are also highly diverse. It is, therefore, not possible to define them as an identifiable entity. It takes both linguistic effort and cognitive input to enable us to view the phenomena as connected. Consequently, it is better to delve into the organized crime problem, not as an exclusively empirical issue. Checking the historical aspects of organized crime is likely to provide insights into its depth and extent. It will also demystify the phrase "organized crime" and provide insights into the political and social aspects that inform and shape views on organized crime (Von Lampe, 2011).

Assumptions about organized crime

The practice of organized crime is driven by a number of assumptions. Firstly, it is believed that awareness and responsibility levels will be reduced significantly as opposed to a situation where there is a target that can be discerned with ease. The offender in such a set up is motivated and assumed to be a reasoning one who in their pursuit of daily crime activities can observe and analyze situations and decide, based on the insights derived from such analysis. There is a common assumption that the presence of other people somehow prevents the execution of a crime. Be that as it may, but the assumption does not hold in situations where an organized crime group has control over a defined geographical location. In such scenarios, supervision mechanisms work against those opposed to crime (Von Lampe, 2011).

Organized Crime Definition

The activities and members of a group can be used to define organized crime. While it is true that organized crime may branch into many forms of execution. The defining principle is defined by the presence of some form of organization. According to Marx Weber, an organization is a group of people with a common cooperative mission to achieve goals and objectives. He examined and identified several elements that constitute an organization and thus, the effective functioning of a bureaucracy even in organized crime groups

• A command unit; someone to whom another is responsible

• Definition principle; clearly defined responsibility and authority

• Control scope: a limited number supervised by one individual

• Main objective; a defined goal and purpose of the organization's existence such as peddling drugs, hired murder, extortion, gambling etc.

• A pyramid structure; there is a flow of orders down the pyramid from the top echelon. The top decides

• Specialization; each member has their specialty in the organized crime group

• Rules; there is due process to join the group and rules about never talking to the police: "omerta" (Mallory, 2007)

Just like it is with legitimate organizations, there are no two organized crime groups that are homogenous. There is a lot of diversity. The criminal organizations also need management and supervision to achieve their goal to make a profit. The aspect of personnel is just as critical. Criminal organizations are also bureaucratic and have autocratic leaders that mete out punishments to those who fail and reward the ones that succeed. Members of organized crime also have an inherent need for recognition, self-esteem, and power (Mallory, 2007).

Characteristics of Organized Crime Groups

There are certain common characteristics among all types of organized crime groups

• Such groups excel in supplying illegal services and goods which are demanded by a large number of people in the population and don't hesitate to pay for them. For instance, 15 million Americans were reported to have used illegal drugs; most of which (75%) was marijuana