Personal Perception of Organized Crime

Personal Perception of Organized Crime

CJA/384

May 20, 2013

Sherryl Roten- West

Personal Perception of Organized Crime

Many, if not most, of society gathers their knowledge of crime, both organized and not, from the media and television programs. Most of the media and television used for entertainment purposes highlight only what will catch the interest and attention of the viewer. With that being said, many of the details are omitted, leaving people with a minimal and inaccurate knowledge of criminal activity. Personally, crime and justice have always been of interest. Most of my knowledge has come from non-fiction books, biographies, and research.

A personal perception of organized crime is a group of people who are involved in varying criminal activities. Within a controlled but formal organization criminal activities, such as illegal gambling and prostitution among others, regularly take place for some kind of financial profit or gain. These enterprises run much like a legit business but do so through illicit activity.

Operations of organized crime are maintained through the means of violence and bribery. Control within the organization is maintained with grave threats such as murder which can also be used to maintain external control. These organizations contribute to political patronage to avoid any kind of prosecution.

Organized Crime, Fourth Edition

According to the text book, there are varying definitions and descriptions of organized crime. One such description is that there is no single or dominant crime organization but rather several ethnic and transitional groups that work together with legit business and political parties.

In the United Kingdom, the National Criminal Intelligence Service, known from here as the NCIS, says that criminal activity that has the following attributes classifies as organized crime, (Lyman, D /Potter G. 2007). These four attributes are that to be classified as an organization the group must contain a minimum of three people, the criminal activity the group participates in is ongoing and indefinite, the group is motivated of profit or gain of power and the group engages in serious criminal offenses.