Organised Crime Around the World - Essay Example

Organized Crime The increase of organized crime has taken place in an alarming rate in various parts of the world. Such incidents have threatened theoverall peace and opulence of a nation. The trends in the organized crimes have varied distinctively in different parts of the world. Organized crime has been facilitated by the growth of technological innovation. The trend in the global market which has given rise to the liberalization is also a major factor for the increase in such activities. The favorable conditions enable the criminals from different parts of the world to work together as a force and carry out their operation in an organized manner. The dictatorship of the organized crime is of a similar repulsive nature like the tyranny of the state (Gandhirajan, 2004, p.1). A study has been conducted to analyze the variations in the organized crime in different parts of the world with a strong emphasis on the reason for such variation of the organized crime. Organized crimes: Organized crime has different interpretation in different countries which fails to provide a standard definition of the term. However certain characteristics have found to be similar among the operation of organized crime in various parts of the world. The operations of organized crime are carried in a hierarchical structure. The positions in the hierarchy are generally assigned based on the skills or kinship. In most of the organized crimes use of illegal violence is the key and even some organized crimes includes murder. Most of the organized crimes are carried out for not achieving any political goals and represents a unique subculture (Mallory & Mallory, 2011, p.1). Another important characteristic of organized crimes which have been noted is the monopolistic behavior in their operation (Lampe, n. d). Organized crimes continue with their criminal activity for a longer period of time which makes it distinguishable from the other criminal activities. These features of organized crime make it distinct and unique among the variety of the criminal activities which are taking place in the different parts of the world The varied nature of organized crime includes illegal trafficking of drugs, arms, murder, robbery, money laundering and a huge range of illegal activities carried out by groups (Natarajan, 2010, p.233). The carrying of operation in an organized pattern poses considerable threat to the internal security of any nation and the security agencies round the world are trying their best to curb the activity of the organized crimes. Variation in Organized Crimes: Any activity whether legal or illegal has some definite motives behinds its operation. One of the fearful factors observed in the case of the organized crimes is its range of variation. The variation of the organized crimes can be attributed to the different set of causes which has given rise to such criminal activities in various parts of the world. Social and economic influences can be considered to be one of the causes of the organized crimes. Some of the groups adding to the force of organized crimes are found to have restricted access in achieving their socials goals. Because of the economic conditions they faced, the criminals were deprived of their social needs and in order to achieve them they unified and opted for the illegitimate ways for achieving their needs. The existence of unequal distribution of wealth in a society is a crucial factor which prevail disparity in the society and a part of the society restore to the illegal means of gaining wealth and comfort in their life (Shanty, 2008, p.35). Another popular cause for the growth of the organized crimes in certain part of the world can be traced to the mindset of the criminals. Some of the organized crimes conducted bring pleasure to the minds of the criminals. These sorts of organized crimes are generally conducted in pursuit of revenge towards the victim due to the wrongful act committed in the past by the victim, towards an individual or the community. However some organized crimes are also guided by the hedonistic tendency of the criminals where they commit such act only to maximize their worldly comfort. In such cases there is no presence of any external cause which motivates them to act in an illegal manner (Conte, 2010, p.10). The structural perspective also needs to be considered in analyzing the variation of the organized crime. The political environment in a country guides the social structure and certain behaviors are classified to be criminal activities in different parts of the world. This creates the formation of the illicit markets which leads to the prosecution of people for serving to the demands of the state. The capitalist ideology in America promotes people in violating the rights of other who pose threat towards the success and it is not held as an organized crime in America. However such measures adopted in other countries might be considered as an organized crime. Capitalist structure in a nation is also believed to promote the growth of the organized crimes (Albanese, 2010, p.93). Lack of governance in the private sector also contributes to the growth of the organized crimes and results in criminal activities of money laundering. It has been found that the organized crime of money laundering exists more in a country where there is limited regulation on the workings of the banks. The presence of a transparent banking system provides feasibility for the business in matters of obtaining loans whereas the absence of such systems compels the businessmen to obtain the money from illegal sources so that they can successfully conduct their business Such cases give rise to formation of organized crimes and the act of money laundering becomes popular among people (Buscaglia & Dijk, n. d, p.18). The difference in the wide variety of circumstances promotes the cause of organized crimes. The study of the reasons of the varied nature of organized crimes stresses on the fact that the social, economical and political condition gives rise to different nature of the organized crimes in various parts of the world. The various reasons also signify the fact that the eradication of the organized crimes will depend on the elimination of all the associated factors for development of organized crimes. Organized crimes in different parts of the world: Organized crimes have threatened the world over ages. The presence of organized crime groups is almost there in most of the countries in the world. Organized crime is present in Italy from the start of the 18th century with the formation of the Sicilian Mafia. However the transformation of the Sicilian Mafia into organized criminal group occurred in the year 1920. The organization came into notice in the year 1950 when Sicily faced a massive boom in the construction business. The Mafia group based in Sicily exploited the situation and gained millions of dollars. The Mafia group was also involved in the assaults of the Italian officials and killed considerable number of policemen, commissioners, and members of parliament in order to seek revenge (Italian Organized Crime, n. d). Examples of organized crimes are also evident in vast areas of the Western Africa. Organized crime developed in Africa mainly because of the political unrest in the country. The government of some African country like Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone failed to stabilize the economy as a result various groups evolved in the country that started the illegal trafficking of diamonds to earn substantial amount of money. The organized crime grew much popular in the region and various other crime activities started which include drug trafficking and trading of illegal weapons (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2005, pp.2-4). Russia was one of the serious victims of the Organized crimes. Organized crimes came into picture in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union. In 1988, the Soviet government legalized the free trade in the country and also introduced private entrepreneurship without any regulation of the markets. As a result of this step, it gave rise to the formation of the crude markets. With the fall of the Soviet economy, the organized crime grew massively and the social structure of Russia decayed (Washington, 1994, p.24). Many government officials were involved in the criminal activities and the extension of the organized crime was in progress. Later towards the end of the 1990, the Mafia’s owned most of the Russian banks and the organized crime had a businesslike approach (Finckenauer & Voronin, n.d, pp.1-7). However, the evolution of organized crime in USA was a result of the expansion of the various organized criminal groups from the other parts of the world. The Sicilian Mafia group from Italy was one of the largest contributors of organized crime in USA. The other organized groups from France, Russia and other nations also expanded its base in USA. The favorability of the market condition in USA encouraged the organized criminal groups from various parts of the world to carry on their operation from USA. The growth of organized crime in USA saw a considerable rise in the number of human trafficking, smuggling of drugs like cocaine, money laundering and numerous cases of murder. It also saw the rise of the Balkans group who posed massive threat as powerhouse of the organized crimes (Finklea, 2009, p.19). The federal government tried their best to disburse the organized crimes from the United States of America, but the extent in which it had spread, provided them a tough challenge to deal with. Conclusion: The study conducted above deals with the variety of the organized crimes in different parts of the world. The analysis of the organized crimes reflects the fact that organized crime vary around the world because of a range of factors. The primary reasons which are identified are the socioeconomic factors and the political factors. However certain groups also carry out their crimes on an organizational form to seek revenge against a particular section of the community. In the context of the organized crime which evolved in Italy it was found that the Sicilians Mafia killed many personnel who were in charge of the legal administration, for seeking avenge against them. However in case of Africa it was noticed that organized crime spread out in the form of illicit trafficking of diamonds and drugs because of the failure of the government to restore the economic environment in the region and the people were forced to get involved in the organized criminal activities to meet their needs. A different variety of organized crime was evident in Russia because of the political disturbance and organized crime spread out in the form of money laundering and the ownership of the banks by the Mafia’s. The critical evaluation of the study highlights that the varied nature of organized crime in different parts of the world is completely dependent on the set of conditions pertaining to the region and the causes for the development of such activities. 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