Controlling Organized Crime

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There are many issues surrounding organized crime. There is the matter of defining organized crime; the questions concerning who and why those become involved in organized crime; the crimes perpetrated by these criminal enterprises, and lastly how this phenomenon of organized crime can be controlled. Although there is tremendous complicity of the public through their support for many of these illegal goods and services, society expects law enforcement to control organized crime. Some believe organized crime can not be stopped, but it should be controlled because of the impact organized crime has on international business and American society. There is a lack of agreement around the term, organized crime, and this creates difficulties when trying to understand the behaviors and characteristics of organized crime groups. As von Lampe (2011) suggests, there are a number of elements that have been identified by law enforcement agencies and researchers as indicative of organized crime. 1) There are no political goals; 2) There is hierarchical; 3) There is a limited or exclusive membership; 4) represents a unique subculture; 5) It perpetuates itself; 6) Exhibits a willingness to use illegal violence; 7) is monopolistic, and lastly, organized crime is governed by explicit rules and regulations (para. 2). These attributes provide a foundation for determining if a particular group of criminals represent organized crime and, therefore, needs to be approached differently from the way one would approach terrorists or groups of predictable criminals (von Lampe, 2011). A greater understanding of organized crime might be derived from various empirical and speculative theories that explain different aspects of organized crime, but there is no one theory that will be relevant to all organized crime and its participants (Mallory, 2007). There are a multitude of issues presented

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