Law and You > Criminal Laws > Criminology > Characteristics of Organized Crimes
Organized crime is defined as “those involved, normally working with others, in continuing serious criminal activities for a substantial profit, elsewhere”. The organized crime involves extortion, collection of protection money from rich businessmen, contract killing, kidnapping, film financing, human trafficking, human organ trafficking, drug trafficking, narcotics trafficking, smuggling and illicit trade in Arms and Ammunition. In this article, we shall study the characteristics of organized crimes. They are as follows:
Continuity:
The criminal group operate beyond the lifetime of individual members and is structured to survive changes in leadership. The gang remains continuously involved in criminal activity. These groups are not formed on a temporary basis. But, the groups are into existence for a long time. Similarly, an exploratory research shows that children of organized crime offenders appear to be at much greater risk of following in their parents’ footsteps than children of ‘general’ offenders.
Structure:
The criminal group is structured as a collection of hierarchically arranged interdependent persons devoted to the accomplishment of a particular function. They are distinguishable as the ranks are based on power and authority. United Nation Convention against Transnational Organized Crime also (Article 2) provides that structured group shall mean a group that is not randomly formed for the immediate commission of an offence and that does not need to have formally defined roles for its members, continuity of its membership is important.
Corporate structure:
Organized crime functions like corporation. They appoint a leader who is assisted by other members in hierarchical structure. Members are appointed on the basis of skill, relationship with existing members etc. Group continuously remains engaged in committing a crime. Thus organized crime has a structure with grades of authority from the lowest to the highest, involving a system of specifically defined relationships with mutual obligations and privileges. Organized crime has a boss, advisors who work closely with the boss and assign tasks to different crews, captains who run the different crews, soldiers who carry out the physical work and act out tasks from collecting money to killing people, and men with special skills.
Centralized authority:
Organized crime functions on the basis of centralized control and authority which is vested either in the hands of one individual or a few members. Everybody respects the leader of the group. No member of the group defies the orders of the leader. For members, the organization comes before themselves and their family members.
Membership:
The membership of the core criminal group is restricted and based on common traits such as ethnicity, criminal background or common interests. Potential members are subjected to immense scrutiny and are required to prove their worth and loyalty to the criminal group. Rules of membership include secrecy, a willingness to commit any act for the group and intent to protect the group. In return for loyalty, the member receives economic benefits, certain prestige and protection from law enforcement agencies.
Team Work:
Organized crime involves association of a group of criminals which is relatively permanent and may even last decades. Members respect each other the most, behave honestly with each other, and never harm each other in any way. The members are obliged to each other and provides reciprocal services to each other. For members, the organization comes before themselves and their family members.
Criminality:
The criminal group relies on continuing criminal activity to generate income. Thus, continuing criminal conspiracy is inherent in organized crime. Some activities such as supplying illegal goods and services directly produce revenue, while others including murder, intimidation and bribery contribute to the group‘s ability to earn money and enhance its power. The criminal group may be in legitimate as well as illegitimate business activity at the same time.
Planning:
The organized crime involves advance arrangements for successfully committing crimes, minimizing risks and ensuring safety and protection. The members of group work like professionals whose duties and responsibilities are predefined.
Secrecy:
In organized crime group high secrecy is maintained. Only people holding higher posts know what crime has to be committed, sometimes even criminal working at the grass-root level does not know who the boss is. Head of the organization issue order to the person and second in command who in turn may instruct others to commit the crime. There is possibility that the members are unaware of other members in the group.
Specialization:
Some groups specialize in just one crime while some others may be simultaneously engaged in multiple crimes. Those groups which are engaged in multiple crimes are more powerful and influential.
Division of labour:
The organised crime involves delegation of duties and responsibilities and specialization of functions. There is a division of labour among members based on their skills. The members work like professionals whose duties and responsibilities are predefined. Organized criminal groups and their protectors rely on skilled individuals or specialist support to assist in the attainment of group‘s goal. The specialist assists the criminal groups on an ad-hoc basis and not permanently. They are non-the-less considered part of the organized crime. The specialist includes pilots, chemists, arsonists, hijackers, shooters etc.
Violence:
Organized crime depends upon the use of force and violence to commit crimes and to maintain internal discipline and restrain external competition. Violence and the threat of violence are an integral part of a criminal group. The violence or threat of it is used against the members of the group to keep them in line as also against the outsiders to protect the economic interests of the group. Members are expected to commit, condone or authorize violence.
Power/Profit goal:
The goal of organized crime groups is to make money; members also gain a sense of pride, power, and protection. The political power is achieved through the corruption of public officials, including legislators and political executive. Sometimes, such group may also penetrate the legitimate economy, through construction, financing business or in the case of the Mafia, assume quasi-governmental roles.
Monopoly:
Organized crime has expansive and monopolistic tendencies. Initially, organized criminal gangs operate in a limited area, and are engaged in a limited type of crime with a limited number of persons, but, gradually they expand into a wider range of activities extended over large geographical areas, involving a large number of carefully selected criminals. They secure monopoly in their criminal enterprises using violence or threats of violence to eliminate competition.
Protectors:
Organized crime arranges permanent protection against interference from law-enforcement authorities and other agencies of government. The protective measures include contacts with policemen, lawyers, doctors, politicians, judges, and influential persons in society. There are corrupt public officials, politicians, attorneys and businessmen who individually or collectively protect the criminal group through abuses of status and or privilege and violation of the law. Corruption is the central tool of the criminal protectors. A criminal group relies on a network of corrupt officials to protect the group from the Criminal Justice System. Corruption involves giving money in cash or in gifts, providing help in elections, threatening their competitors, providing helicopters, and arranging their foreign trips.
Conspiracy:
Organized crime is conspiratorial in nature. Members of syndicate indulge in criminal activity after having a consensus of its members. It is committed through planning and coordination of individual efforts with the prior meeting of minds. Conspiracy is hatched in all the criminal activities. As a matter of principle, in prior planning, all the members should be involved in conspiracy. But, in reality only people holding higher posts know what crime has to be committed, sometimes even criminal working at the grass-root level does not know who is the boss. Head of the organization issue order to the person and second in command who in turn may instruct others to commit the crime.
Reserved fund:
Organized crime group maintains a reserve fund from profits which serves as capital for criminal enterprises, seeking the help of the police, lawyers and even politicians, and for providing security to the arrested members and their families.
Above characteristics of organized crime are useful in deciding policy to conquer organized crime.