...Social Organized Crime Perspective May 21, 2012 CJA 384 Social Organized Crime Perspective Organized crime is found in the United States of America today and the law enforcement agencies are trying to find a way to curb its existence. Even though there are illegal businesses associated with organized crime, they are mixed in with legal businesses to portray a legal front. It also can be called a social institution because it is led by a boss and follows a chain of command much like a pyramid. Empirical and speculative theories have been developed through the years in order for the law enforcement agencies to better understand organized crime and how to deal with it. This paper will examine a social institution as it applies to organized crime and the empirical and speculative theories most applicable when applied to organized crime and criminal behavior. Social Institutions Social institutions are groups of people who have the same purpose, goal, or objective, and band together for a common cause (Social Institutions, 2012). They operate differently, but within each social institution the purpose and goal is the same. Some authorities consider organized crime a social institution because the members within each group of leaders have the same purpose of committing illegal actions to obtain money and fame. They do this out of greed for power. The bureaucratic organization and the patron-client organization are examples of an organized crime social institution because...
Words: 902 - Pages: 4
...Social Organized Crime Perspective In some communities organized crime is as much of a social institution as other legitimate functions. Often, the impact of organized crime can be hidden and not readily apparent to community members. In other cases the community may come to accept the organized criminal group for the benefits they provide. Understanding how organized crime meshes into the social fabric of a community is important to understanding how to fight against it. Just as important to understanding the social implications is understanding theories as to why individuals become involved in criminal activities and how criminal organizations function. Social Institution as it Relates to Organized Crime The first thing that must be understood when discussing how organized crime relates to social institutions is to define what a social institution is. In general a social institution can be described as a group of people joined together to achieve a goal. Communities are bound together by different kinds of social institutions like schools, banks, religious centers, law enforcement, businesses, etc. (Carlie, M. 2002). Communities are not bound together by strict lines on a map, but through social activities. Social institutions within the community provide the necessary support for daily living. When a social institution fails to fill a particular social need the door is opened for another institution to step in. Sometimes these voids are left open for a legitimate...
Words: 1143 - Pages: 5
...Social Organized Crime Perspective One’s background, family, neighborhood, associates, and desire for money are reasons why one might become part of organized crime. Social institution will be defined and examine for its relationship to organized crime. Theories have been developed as to why there is organized crime. This paper will take a look at some of these theories and how they apply to organized crime and criminal behavior. Social Institution Social institution is a group of individuals joining or working together to obtain a common goal. These social organizations could be churches, schools, factories, and non-profit organizations. Organized crime can be looked at as a social organization due to the fact that in many instances the group uses members of the community to sell their product, furnish needed services, and be the consumer. An example of an organized crime organization that could be considered a social institution is gangs, prostitution rings, and drug rings. A social institution does not have to be a legitimate organization. Alien Conspiracy Theory One of the most common theories is the alien conspiracy theory. This theory explains the presence of organized crime is in the United States because it was brought here by immigrants (Lyman, 2007). The Sicilian and Russians are the two favorite. By placing the blame on outsiders or the influence of outsiders, people can make themselves believe that it is not their fault and organized crime...
Words: 831 - Pages: 4
...Social Organized Crime Perspective Fiona Williams CJA 384 February 10, 2014 Professor Edward Rafailovitc Social Organized Crime Perspective In society, the social structure of organized crime is determined by how the enterprise is organized, such as institutions, statuses, and roles. The framework of the social structure in organized crime is that the criminal organizations are governed by the concept of family, which is called a social institution. The concept of social institution has three key essential elements. These elements include defining social institution, explaining the relationship between social institutions and organized crime, and explaining how empirical and speculative theories are the most applicable when applied to organized crime and criminal behavior. The first element that is essential to social institutions is the definition of social institution. The concept of social institution is defined as “ a group or organization that has a particular purpose, goal, or task and accomplishes the successful completion of this goal, purpose, or task by influencing and persuading individuals in a community to participate, and assist with achieving this objective” (Limbaugh, 2010). This concept is linked to organized crime because it consists of three or more people in an organization committing illegal activities for the sole purpose of gaining profit or power. The second element that is significant to social institution is the relationship between social institutions...
Words: 909 - Pages: 4
...Social Organized Crime Perspective CJA/325 October 20, 2015 Larry Doyle Social Organized Crime Perspective Introduction The term social institution as it pertains to organized crime is a fascinating one. Here not only will it be explained but also how it is applied. Along with the theories that are most applicably applied to organized crime and behavior. These issues will help to dissect the reasoning and uses behind some the best known crime families. Social Organized Crime Perspective Organized crime throughout American history has seem to have a type of social institution embedded into its culture. Keep in mind it started out as a cultural advantage in parts of America. As America grew by immigrants flooding into its various coastlines and ports there were very little assimilations into the new world. Most people who came looking for better opportunities and escape religious or political persecution. Often they found it hard to find work in areas of the city that were not being developed by their own ethnicity. Immigrants came from Northern and Western Europe in the early 1890’s. As the 1900’s rolled around America saw more immigrants coming from Canada, Latin America as well as Eastern and Southern Europe (EyeWitnesstohistory, 2000). Since there were a lot of immigrants from all over coming to America it meant there were a lot different languages spoken. Many different cultures and multiple ethnicities missing their homeland and loved ones. People came to find...
Words: 910 - Pages: 4
... 1. What is the ethical issue or problem? Identify the issue succinctly. | Officers are sent out to a domestic violence call. When arriving on the scene officers witness a man walking away from a car and he appeared to have been drinking. Officers thought they seen the man putting keys in his pocket and thought maybe he had been driven and he ended up being the husband of the female caller. Once closer to the car one officer touches the hood and it is warm.The husband fails field sobriety test and the 911 dispatcher indicated that the woman said he had physically assaulted her. | 2. What are the most important facts? Which facts have the most bearing on the ethical decision presented? Include any important potential economic, social, or political pressures, and exclude inconsequential facts. | The fact that both officers seen the man having a hard time walking from the car to his home and also seeing him putting keys in his pocket lead them to believe that he had been drinking. There was only one car on the street in that area and the hood was still warm and the man saying he had not driven the car for over 4 hours. The officers seen that the husband was slurring his word while they were talking to him. In addition, the husband could not pass the field sobriety test that was given to him and then the preliminary alcohol-screening device indicates the husband’s blood alcohol level is .20, which is twice the legal limit. All of these things brought the officers to the...
Words: 1453 - Pages: 6
...Personal Perception of Organized Crime Kassandra Franklin CJA/384 May 9, 2013 Theresa Bunn Personal Perception of Organized Crime Organized Crime an organization in existence before the development of the criminal justice system the organization a “continuing and self-perpetuating criminal conspiracy with an organized setting, and fed with fear and corruption, and motivation of the excitement of greed” within the organization. The organization is a conspiratorial enterprises engaging in illicit activities as a mean of generating income known on the streets as “Black Money” developed like a pyramid shaped hierarchy, freely to employ violence and bribery to maintain the operations. The organization makes threats of grievous retribution that could result in murder to maintain internal and external control and contribution. Election Campaigns buy political patronage for immunity from exposure and prosecution. Activities within the operation include credit card fraud, transporting fire arms, illegal gambling, insurance fraud, kidnapping for ransom, drugs/narcotics trade, pornography, prostitution, racketeering, and vehicle theft. The organization involves international terrorism often related to “Cyber Technology” and covers almost every nation and segment of society. Organized crime is a modern and sophisticated method using credible organizations, including charities, and high-tech firms a front to move large sums of weapons, and money. The street name for such organizations...
Words: 844 - Pages: 4
...Social Organized Crime Perspective Paper Social institutions are social groups in which one grows up in, such as school which is a social institution. Schools shape and model the mind that makes the man or woman. it is one’s social environment in which a person grow-up into can force different choices to be made that one would not normally make. In relation to Organized Crime, it has been proven that one’s environment produces traits for example if a person has been exposed to an certain social group and environment for a long period of time one will pick up habits (good or bad), There are a number of arguments that exist within our society, one point states that our society needs to have rules and laws set in motion as well as those of unwritten codes and morals in place for all of those to abide by. In view of our society as the social institution that has recognize that institution have become affix that has helped to spawn the organized crime that also exists within it. “The Alien theory states that individuals tat where involved in organized crime in Italy had involvement in the criminal organizations known as the Sicilian Mafia or Costra Nostra. Once many Italians migrated to the United States” (Limbaugh, 2011) because Italy was at that time one of the most overcrowded countries in Europe, and many considered the thought of leaving Italy to escape low wages, high taxes, and “apprehension by law enforcement in their own country” (Limbaugh, 2011), by coming to America...
Words: 1066 - Pages: 5
...Social Organized Crime Perspective Paper Natalie Strauss CJA/384 09/24/13 Jessica Vesey “Social Institution is defined as an organizational system which functions to satisfy basic social needs by providing an ordered framework linking the individual to the larger culture” ("Tom Cravens.com", n.d.). This paper will provide more information as to how social institutions apply to organized crime, also which empirical and speculative theories are most applicable when applied to organized crime and criminal behavior. Social institutions can be applied to organized crime in various ways. Examining the Mafia, top leaders of the Mafia are referred to as “Bosses”, which sole responsibility is to control their family, find was to gain revenue, and meet with other bosses to discuss what is best for the family. Gangs can be applied to social institutions because the majority of the members were born into the gang life. Generation to generation, gangs recruit young males and females that are loyal and have the ability to work the streets. Both the Mafia and gangs have various traits in common, some of those traits are: They both control their own territory; all members must get an approval before any action takes place (murders, robberies). They all follow certain codes and by laws such as (no snitching), no dating each other’s wives or main women, no stealing from each other, and no conducting on the side deals for extra money. If any of these codes are death becomes the next option...
Words: 699 - Pages: 3
...Juvenile Justice Progress and Corrections Pedro J. Ramirez CJA/374 August 12, 2014 Victor Candelario - Vega Juvenile Justice Progress and Corrections In Henderson NV, Colleen M., who is 15, has been arrested for the homicide of her next door neighbor. Colleen was arrested on the probable cause that she through a liquid substance on the neighbor during an altercation over an ongoing dispute over Colleen’s dog. Colleen was transported to the Clark County Juvenile Hall for intake and booking on a homicide hold. During the intake process Colleen underwent an examination by a detention center nurse and was required to submit to a drug and alcohol screening. She was read her Miranda Rights, despite previously being informed of her right to remain silent and to have an advocate or legal representation to be present during any questioning. A Juvenile Assistant District Attorney will review the facts known and discovered at the time of initial intake, collected directly from Colleen during the interview, and any investigative findings that maybe discovered. The facts learned from Colleen and the detectives show that Colleen has had an ongoing and escalating feud with the victim regarding her dog. Colleen has not had any prior arrests or contacts with the law, despite possessing a disregard for authority, which was discovered through Colleen’s admission that she has run away from her Aunts home on more than one occasion. The lack of any evidence that Colleen intended to kill her...
Words: 839 - Pages: 4
...suspects are both upheld (like the right to a speedy trial and bail). Public-order advocates are there to make sure that the public (communities) are also protected from unacceptable behavior... Describe the American experience with crime during the last half century. What noteworthy criminal incidents or activities can you identify during that time, and what social and economic conditions might have produced them? The American experience with crime during the last half century has been especially influential in shaping the criminal justice system of today. Although crime waves have come and gone, some events during the past century stand out as especially significant, including a spurt of widespread organized criminal activity associated with the Prohibition years of the early twentieth century; the substantial increase in “traditional” crimes during the 1960s and 1970s; the threat to the American way of life represented by illicit drugs around the same time; and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 (Dworkin, 2005)., The American experience with crime during the last half century has been the main reason for the way our courts, law enforcement, and the criminal justice system operates the way that it does today. There have been many crime waves and other events that have played a key role in shaping the system as it is today. Some of...
Words: 3401 - Pages: 14
...origins and development of organized crime in the United States. It examines the structure and activities of organized criminal enterprises, considers different models that have been employed to describe organized crime groups, and explores theories that have been advanced to explain the phenomenon. Major investigations of organized crime and legal strategies that have been developed to combat it are also considered. Policies Faculty and students/learners will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents: University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view this document. Instructor policies: This document is posted in the Course Materials forum. University policies are subject to change. Be sure to read the policies at the beginning of each class. Policies may be slightly different depending on the modality in which you attend class. If you have recently changed modalities, read the policies governing your current class modality. Course Materials Lyman, M. D., & Potter, G. W. (2007). Organized crime (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall. Mallory, S. L. (2007). Understanding organized crime. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett. All electronic materials are available on the student website. Week One: Understanding Organized Crime | | Details | Due | Points | Objectives | 1.1 Define organized crime. 1.2 Compare the various...
Words: 1701 - Pages: 7
...Controlling Organized Crime Organized Crime’s Political and Corporate Alliances Week 5 Organized Crime Organized crime acts with clearly defined business criteria, planning their activities in accordance with the economic criteria of supply and demand, looking at the impact of research and action penalizing the state, a situation that allows them to regulate the upward or downward prices. Similarly, they structure their activity with the division of labor and specialization of labor. In Colombia for example it is absolutely clear; is merely observe the management model of organizations dedicated to drug trafficking, organized gangs of kidnappers, groups that launder money, multinational organizations, the trafficking, trade in precursors for the production of coca, posters gasoline, counterfeiters, etc. There is very little agreement about what is organized crime. The various perspectives with which he has been treated show that protein is a highly changeable phenomenon, complex, and therefore difficult to apprehend in theoretical concepts and, even more, in criminal law. Several factors combine to pay in this difficulty. First, it is a relatively new phenomenon, or at least perceived in its social dimension does very little in regard to Europe. Second, it is a more abstract traditional criminal phenomena such as drug trafficking offenses, money laundering, human trafficking, etc.; methods of operation; criminal liability; transnational activities, and their respective...
Words: 1830 - Pages: 8
...Course Materials Lyman, M. D., & Potter, G. W. (2007). Organized crime (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall. Mallory, S. L. (2007). Understanding organized crime. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett. All electronic materials are available on the student website. |Week One: Understanding Organized Crime | | |Details |Due |Points | |Objectives |1.1 Define organized crime. |Thurs | 2 | | |1.2 Compare the various models that explain the structure of organized crime |Sat | | | |groups. | | | | |1.3 Describe the attributes of organized crime and its common behavioral | | | | |categories. | | | |Readings |Read the Week One Read Me First. | | | | |Read Ch. 1 of Organized Crime. | | | | ...
Words: 2356 - Pages: 10
...Social Influence of Crime Stu Dent CJA/384 28 October 2012 T. Cher Social Influence of Crime Organized crime has been a research topic in criminal justice for many reasons. It appeals to researchers because of the variables that are involved in defining why organized crime exists and how it has been as successful as it has been. With all of this research comes a series of theories on how organized crime works and how society can benefit from understanding these concepts. Reviewing and defining a few of these theories will assist in understanding theories of organized crime. Among the foundation of organized crime is the idea that it is a social institution. Common examples of a social institution include schools, churches, sporting leagues and the work place. These are institutions that allow for social gathering and influence. However, a social institution can be defined as more than that. It does not have to be an actual building or infrastructure to physically gather in. Instead, a social institution is a set of social norms that establish the collective value of the society. It is not just the place to be social, but also the ideas that bond the group together and create that environment (Walker, 2011). In keeping with this idea, social institution has had a large impact on organized crime. In some ways, this social institution has created the environment for organized crime to grow and be successful. For example, the prohibition of alcohol in the early 1900s is...
Words: 944 - Pages: 4
