Organized Crime and Policing - Assignment Example

Chapter Evaluation

What is the context of the chapter?

Chapter 8 is entitled “Organized crime and policing.” The chapter is mainly oriented towards exploring the social structure of organized crime and the related policies as a social problem. The chapter indicates the inadequate definition of crime using an example of a situation where a gang member scrawls their gang's initials postcode onto a wall within the rival region, and the gage member gets arrested by the police. During such an incident, the individual could be charged with vandalism and could end up being called a criminal. On the other side, if the same person drew a parody of the police on the same wall, they could be recognized to the extent of enjoying fame and fortune as they embark on a journey of artistic works.

The chapter fits well into the book, especially because it goes further to describe different aspects of social crimes. It describes some crimes related to the social constructs of society. These crimes include sexual crimes and also drug use and abuse. The chapter particularly sheds light on the legality of homosexuality. It also distinguishes between illegal and legal drugs, which is important in defining when a person has committed a social crime. The chapter also describes how social construction describes the social and historical procedures that define a criminal act. For instance, the approach of social construction shows that there is no fixed crime. It implies that crimes are based on social norms and values.

What question(s) does the chapter seek to answer?

The chapter seeks to answer the following questions:

• What is meant by organized crime?
• Do the government and other law enforcement agencies draw the green spots that point to large organized crime areas?
• Do the government and the law enforcement agencies promote the issue of organized crimes to justify their financing and their plea for other criminal justice powers?
• Is it true that the largest green spot should be in London while the approach of problem construction remains a secret?
• What are the impacts of organized crimes, and how can they be measured?
• How do women and children trafficking for labor and sexual exploitation relate to organized crime's social construction?

How is the methodology of social construction applied to the social problem at hand?

The methodology of social construction is used to establish the social and historical procedures that define a crime. The methodology indicates that a fixed crime does not exist (Silverstone, 140). Rather, a crime is defined based on the social values and societal norms within a particular community. By following the social construction approach, the process of establishing whether someone is a criminal involves tagging, define, identify, segregate, describe, emphasize, and make conscious and self-conscious decisions to commit a crime.

What are the arguments and viewpoints of the author?

The author has different definitional arguments of organized crimes. The first argument is based on three main aspects, namely the reference to the organization, its motive, and the involvement of serious offenses (Silverstone, 143). By reference to an organization, an organized crime must involve a group of people. The motive of organized crime is profit. An organized crime should also involve the perpetration of serious offenses. The second argument dilutes the need for group involvement in organized crimes. It states that a single person could perpetrate organized crime. However, the definition includes people outside the UK as criminals, such as fraudsters based in Belgium. The third argument is the most inclusive. Concerning organization, the argument states that organized crime could involve either an individual or a group of people. The argument also includes the possibility of a crime being committed once or being continuous. It also includes crimes whose main motive is not financial gain. The third argument does not restrict the location of the criminal. It also emphasizes that an organized crime should involve a serious offense.

Evaluation of the chapter

Strengths and weaknesses of the chapter

There are several strengths of the chapter. One of them is the in-depth research done while writing the chapter (Rothstein, 63). The author searched for more information relating to organized crimes from other previous publications. The author refers to references by authors such as Cressey (1972), Woodiwiss (2001), Turcotte and Tenti (2010), and Hobbs (2013), among others. Also, the chapter includes relevant information about different social crimes, as indicated in legal documents. For instance, it bases its information on traditional cigarette manufacturing on British American Tobacco (BAT). The author also bases the information in this chapter on other reports from ACPO and BBC News. The studies were done while developing the chapter increases the validity of the information included therein.

Additionally, the chapter, being part of the whole book, is reviewed. Reviewing a book implies that the information included in it has reached the minimum required standards (Kelly.et.al, 227). It also enhances the validity, reliability, and transferability of the information included in chapter 8. The strength also ensures that the book can be used by other future researchers while doing their studies.

Another notable strength in the chapter is the language used. The chapter has been developed with a simple but ideal language that makes it easily understandable by the reader. Using an easily understandable language makes the reader want to continue reading the chapter to understand the organized crimes and what they entail. For this reason, the author can easily communicate the intended information to the reader.

One weakness in the chapter is that it does not describe the methodology through which the included information was obtained. Hence, it is imperative to state that some information included is based on assumptions that the publications used were accurate. The only evident data sources in the chapter are secondary sources such as previously published books and legal departments' reports.

Another weakness in that the chapter does not establish a clear definition of organized crimes. The chapter mainly talks about different aspects of organized crime and the involved policies, while it does not clearly describe its main topic. Rather, it provided three different definitional arguments of the term. Thus, the reader could have some doubt on the information that the author has included in the chapter for the notion that even the author is not sure of the provided information.

The chapter fits in well with the book. Chapter 8 talks about organized crimes and related policing, while the book is about social problems in the UK. The information describes some social crimes and how they qualify being referred to as organized crimes. It bases its definition of social crimes on the approach of social construction. In this way, it studies the communities' social norms to establish actions that are social crimes. The crimes described in the chapter include the trafficking of women and children for labor and sexual exploitation and drug use and abuse. The chapter also relates the social issues such as unemployment and poverty to crime.

The information included in the chapter is also relevant in contemporary society. It sheds some light on the vices that are prevalent in the current society. With the information provided, today's readers can understand the different behavioral activities that violate their rights and hence term them as social crimes. For instance, women can realize their right to protection from trafficking for labor and sexual exploitation. Hence, they can seek justice whenever this right is violated.

The chapter also qualifies as a future reference for future research related to organized crimes and even social crimes. It explains the methodological approach of social construction as a good way of defining a social crime. Future researchers can acquire information about organized crimes in the chapter. I agree with the last definitional argument of organized crimes, especially because it does not limit the reader. Hence, future researchers can establish any organized crimes and how they affect social construction.

The chapter leaves some information gaps that create opportunities for future research. For instance, it explains uncertainty in the definition of crimes. A good example is a vandalism. If an individual draws some features related to a criminal gang on a wall, he could be charged with property vandalism. However, if the same person drew the police force's symbol on the same wall, he could be regarded as a patriotic citizen. Thus, policymakers need to define clearly when an action becomes a crime, while other times, it is not regarded as a crime.

The chapter also creates an opportunity for future research due to evaluating the future prevalence of social crimes. There is a need for a constant update on the progress of the crimes. This will be important in that it will indicate whether the right measures are being taken as far as curbing the social organized crimes is concerned (Jiang.et.al, 298). Future researchers should also establish a clear definition of organized crimes. The clarity is important in ensuring that the policies formulated are according to the different crimes in the world.

In conclusion, the chapter has included relevant information regarding social crimes. It is based on the methodological approach of social construction. This approach bases the definition of crimes on social norms and societal values. The chapter has shed light on some light on different crimes related to social construction, such as violation of sexual and labor rights amongst women and children. It has also described the legal and illegal aspects surrounding the manufacturing and using different drugs such as tobacco and cannabis. This chapter's strengths include that it is based on extensive research; it is reviewed to ensure quality standards and uses understandable language. The weaknesses include that it does describe the methodology used to acquire the information included in the chapter. The author also fails to define the meaning of organized crimes clearly.

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By reference to an organization, an organized crime must involve a group of people. The motive of organized crime is profit. An organized crime should also involve the perpetration of serious offenses. The second argument dilutes the need for group involvement in organized crimes. It states that a single person could perpetrate organized crime. However, the definition includes people outside the UK as criminals, such as fraudsters based in Belgium. The third argument is the most inclusive. Concerning organization, the argument states that organized crime could involve either an individual or a group of people. The argument also includes the possibility of a crime being committed once or being continuous. It also includes crimes whose main motive is not financial gain. The third argument does not restrict the location of the criminal. It also emphasizes that an organized crime should involve a serious offense.

Evaluation of the chapter

Strengths and weaknesses of the chapter

There are several strengths of the chapter. One of them is the in-depth research done while writing the chapter (Rothstein, 63). The author searched for more information relating to organized crimes from other previous publications. The author refers to references by authors such as Cressey (1972), Woodiwiss (2001), Turcotte and Tenti (2010), and Hobbs (2013), among others. Also, the chapter includes relevant information about different social crimes, as indicated in legal documents. For instance, it bases its information on traditional cigarette manufacturing on British American Tobacco (BAT). The author also bases the information in this chapter on other reports from ACPO and BBC News. The studies were done while developing the chapter increases the validity of the information included therein.

Additionally, the chapter, being part of the whole book, is reviewed. Reviewing a book implies that the information included in it has reached the minimum required standards (Kelly.et.al, 227). It also enhances the validity, reliability, and transferability of the information included in chapter 8. The strength also ensures that the book can be used by other future researchers while doing their studies.

Another notable strength in the chapter is the language used. The chapter has been developed with a simple but ideal language that makes it easily understandable by the reader. Using an easily understandable language makes the reader want to continue reading the chapter to understand the organized crimes and what they entail. For this reason, the author can easily communicate the intended information to the reader.

One weakness in the chapter is that it does not describe the methodology through which the included information was obtained. Hence, it is imperative to state that some information included is based on assumptions that the publications used were accurate. The only evident data sources in the chapter are secondary sources such as previously published books and legal departments' reports.

Another weakness in that the chapter does not establish a clear definition of organized crimes. The chapter mainly talks about different aspects of organized crime and the involved policies, while it does not clearly describe its main topic. Rather, it provided three different definitional arguments of the term. Thus, the reader could have some doubt on the information that the author has included in the chapter for the notion that even the author is not sure of the provided information.

The chapter fits in well with the book. Chapter 8 talks about organized crimes and related policing, while the book is about social problems in the UK. The information describes some social crimes and how they qualify being referred to as organized crimes. It bases its definition of social crimes on the approach of social construction. In this way, it studies the communities' social norms to establish actions that are social crimes. The crimes described in the chapter include the trafficking of women and children for labor and sexual exploitation and drug use and abuse. Read More