Social Organized Crime - Essay Example

Social Organized Crime Perspective Paper Social Organized Crime Perspective Paper Goes Here al Affiliation Goes Here Organized gangs in U.S.A are virtually running a parallel government from the underworld. Money laundered by these gangs has great impact on the U.S economy. Further, they are also creating serious law and order issues and U.S administration is fighting back to tumult its stronghold foundation. This essay analyses how organized crime gangs in U.S.A have developed itself as a social institution which the U.S government is exerting much pressure to rout its existence. Social Organized Crime Perspective Paper Introduction The main function of organized crime activity is the provision of illegal goods and services, loan sharking, gambling, narcotics and other kinds of vice to gullible members of the society (Task Force on Organized Crime, 1967). Thus, organized crime (OC) is a fundamentally a kind of business enterprise and often includes activities that are neither “products” nor “services” but are obviously bloodsucking. In early days, organized crime in U.S.A was associated with the financial piracy of the Robber Barons, the corrupt political activists and nativism of urban America (Abadinsky, n.d.). Organized gangs favored gambling profession than drug trafficking as penalties are relatively light for these crimes. Loan Sharking is another area which are being professed by the gangs in U.S.A. Organized gangs not normally involve in direct burglary, theft or robbery but they are interested in financing swindles and frauds and will be acting as storehouse for stolen merchandize (Abadinsky, n.d.). The drug world is controlled with sophisticated arms and dangerous organized gangs which employ large cartels and also there existed street-level operatives who possessed dangerous arms. This essay analyses how organized crime gangs in U.S.A have developed itself as a social institution which the U.S government is exerting much pressure to rout its existence. Analysis In U.S.A, gangsters were at the bottom of a highly stratified social milieu till the introduction of prohibition. However, once the prohibition was introduced, there was an unparalleled level of criminal violence unleashed by the gangs. Prohibition served as a catalyst for organizing crime in an unparalleled style in U.S.A. Thus, the outlawing of alcoholic beverages allowed coarse street criminals to become ‘beer barons’ who virtually dominated large belts of urban America. Thus, confidence of law enforcement was diminished as the physical protection from rival associations and armed robbers gained more significance. The introduction of prohibition had actually turned many gangs into empires (Logan, 1970). Moreover, prohibition facilitated the change of power from politicians to mighty gangs (Pietrusza, 2003). Further, prohibition resulted in syndication of organized gangs and after the prohibition ended, it helped the gangster not only to wield control over major national unions but also the establishment of modern Las Vegas. Thus, after the World War II, both Irish and Jewish presence in crime gangs was over as they embraced to the national politics whereas Italians and American Mafia spread their operations all over the U.S.A. (Abadinsky, n.d.). It is alleged that about $750 million worth of heroin is being consumed in New York through Mafia controlled distribution channel. It is reported that $20 billion which is laundered is remitted annually to Palermo, in Italy by the Mafia group. In USA, Mafia is termed as IOC or Italian organized crime and is the criminal alliance of ten major families each having controlling interest in distinct areas of US and Canada. These mafia gangs mainly controlled business like gambling, prostitution and extortion. The mafia group in US is engaged in the corruption, union control, drug trafficking, illegal gambling, and loan sharking, takeover of legitimate business and stock market manipulations. The US mafia has witnessed hard hit in recent years and is being continuously raided by the law enforcement agencies in US and Canada. Further the monopoly enjoyed by the Mafia’s is being intimidated by the Colombian Cartels, the East Asian tongs and Russian mafias. Despite of this, the New York mafia, especially Genovese family is still strong with an estimated 1500 made members. The “Great Experiment” was in fact accelerated the organized crimes into aggressive forms and to bloom as a significant setup in American society. The interlacing of Prohibition and urban machine politics offered Jewish, Irish and Italian immigrants matchless opportunity to be the top echelons of the society. As in the case of African Americans, prisons and the prison associations form the most significant foundation for creating the social relationships that form the fundamental for partnerships in organized crimes (Francis Ianni, 1974). Further, there were existence of African American super gangs like Chicago’s Gangster Disciples and their rivalry group the El Rukns, Bloods and Crips gangs in U.S.A. (Abadinsky, n.d.) Social Institutionalizing of Organized Crime Gangs The main purpose of social organizations is to contribute to the upliftment of civil society which have already been either co-opted or neutralized by criminal organizations. Nowadays, criminal organizations are abusing societies, unions, associations and funds. This helps the criminal gangs to clean their dirty money, to create necessary safeguard for their criminal associations. For instance, Russian godfathers are attempted to disguise as saviors of the homeland and political channels for encouragement of representatives of criminal structures to organs of government power are secured. Further, organized gangs have superseded many of the functions of the government and presently symbolize the only fully functioning social institution. For example, organized crime gangs now offer many of the services that a government has to offer to its citizens like protection of commercial business, mediation in disputes and employment for citizens. Further, in the present day, business requires the help of mafia to collect their outstanding and to find solutions to their disputes with competitors and suppliers. State law enforcement services are being now replaced by the private security run organized crimes. For instance, in Russia, businessmen are ready to pay protection fee as a cost of doing business more efficiently and the development of Russian organized crime can be attributed as a consequence of the government’s social policy. In fact, in Russia, the organized crime has replaced a largely dysfunctional state. Empirical and Speculation research on Organized Crime Gangs Unfortunately, empirical research literature on organized crime in U.S.A is very limited. A study of organized crime was carried out in Chicago by John Landesco as part of the Illinois Crime Survey. In 1930, William Foot Whyte carried out a research study of an Italian ghetto in Boston. A number of consultant papers were published by the President’s Crime Commission and these were cited by two authors namely John Gardiner and Donald Cressey in their books. The operations of Italian mafia in New York were detailed by William Chambliss. By using the federal agency files, Alan Block offers a history of organized crime in New York. The functioning of illegal markets in New York and relationship of organized crime to these markets were detailed by Reuter by using police files (Kelly, Chin & Schatzberg, 1994). The speculative theory of organized crime deals with s speculative forecast of organized crime and crime-control projections. Majority of theories right from Jesus-having-a-wife to the Kenney assassination books offer the title of speculative works. Further, there exists a speculative thesis that new form of organized criminal terrorists is likely to support, actively participate in terrorist activity so as to promote their own personal interest thereby attempting to more power and wealth (Schmid, 2008) Conclusion Organized crime fighting is more than a mater of law enforcement and the economic, political and human rights aspects are more nucleus. The struggle against organized crime demands the establishment of a non-contradictory legal basis for economic relations and to offer judicial protections for all kinds of properties. Corruption and Robber barons should not be regarded as necessary evils in any country and in any market economy (Williams, 1989). References Abadinsky, H. (n.d.). Organized Crime (8th ed.). New York: Cengage Learning. Kelly, R.J., Chin, Ko-Inn & Schartzberg, R. (1994). Handbook of Organized Crimes in the United States. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group. Schmid, A.P. (2008). Forum on Crime and Society. New York: For Dummies. Williams, P. (1989). Russian Organized Crime: the New Threat? New York: Routledge. Read More