Crime Is Rampant

260 Words2 Pages
Crime is rampant in many of our cities and ranges in severity from "Jaywalking" to "Murder." Crime is referred to in many different ways. But, what is a realistic definition of "organized crime?" What are some examples of organized crime? Lastly, what are some similarities among various criminal organizations? Explain. Organized crime threatens many areas of the United States including the economy and national security (Finklea, 2009). Organized crime is when a group of people come together in a formalized structure to carry out criminal activities to obtain profit and gain social influence. Many times the money that is made by these groups comes with the group members using force, coercion, and intimidation. Organized crime would not exist without the support or assistance (sometimes blackmailed or forced) from officials, legitimate business people, and politicians (Lyman & Potter, 2007). Organized crime groups illicit goods and services. This can relate to gambling, narcotics, loan-sharking, prostitution outlets, extortion, and motor vehicle theft. Organized crime groups can be metropolitan, regional, national or international. In the economy today organized crime groups could weaken the economy further by such activities of cigarette trafficking and tax evasion scams. This can have a big impact on loss of tax revenue for state and federal governments (Finklea, 2009). Criminal organizations do have many similarities. In most cases there is a leader head and a chain of command. There is a clearly defined set of rules and a strong system of internal discipline. In many cases a strong ethnic or social identity is related to the organization as
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