Controlling Organized Crime

Abstract

Organized crime is defined as a group of individuals composed of numerous ethnicities and transnational groups who work and operate together, apart, or in combination with legitimate businesses and political entities. Organized crime has been a rising concern since at least the beginning of the 20th century. It all began when different groups of immigrants fled their native countries of origin in order to find new life in a new country. A large amount of these immigrants used organized crime to better their income as well as rise in social classes, but for the most part, these groups operate solely with one main focus: monetary gain. Organized crime has flourished over the years making new business ventures for these individuals to profit from extending lending hands from transitional crimes and political machines (Lyman, 2007). Organized crime consists of numerous different aspects and issues that all need to be determined before there can be a possible solution for controlling them.

Organized crime is the cause of many problems. The first problem at hand is financial. A large amount of money is lost to these organized crimes each year. This is done several ways. For example; millions of dollars of tax revenue money go uncollected each year from organized crime that chose to launder their money, this also is the cause for higher tax rates for law-abiding citizens. Money can also be lost through law enforcement, criminal prosecution and imprisonment expenses that can cause economic issues on the community (Mallory, 2007). Other problems also include the trafficking of drugs, firearms and even persons. In addition to that, organized crime groups also exploit human mobility in order to smuggle migrants. The large amounts of money involved can also be used in order to purchase votes and directly impact public processes by 'buying' elections through corruption. This type of corruption typically brings large earnings for its perpetrators and can also produce in high risks for individuals who fall victim to them. Every year, numerous individuals lose their lives at the hand of criminals involved in organized crime, succumbing to drug-related health problems or injuries inflicted by firearms, or losing their lives as a result of the unscrupulous methods and motives of human traffickers and smugglers of migrants (Unodc, 2013).