Organized Crime Wthin The Unit Essay -- essays research papers fc

Organized Crime Within the United States Organized crime is a widespread topic of concern among many Americans due to its popularity in the media and entertainment industry. The public is aware of its existence, yet is not fully aware of why and how this complex â€Å"underworld† exists. In order to fully understand this area of criminology, one must take into account the characteristics of organized crime, the variables that allow organized crime to thrive, its large-scale effects on society, and the measures that have been taken to extinguish organized crime. The roots of organized crime can be traced back to periods of vast amounts of immigration within the United States. Many of the immigrants sought wealth and prosperity upon their arrivals but inevitably found themselves to be members of the lower class. While some groups, such as the Jews, were able to climb the social ladder, other groups faced hostility and racism, hindering their acquisition of wealth. Their movement toward crime can be explained by Cloward and Ohlin’s Differential Opportunities Theory. This states that there are both legitimate and illegitimate means to achieve desired goals. In the immigrants’ case, they â€Å"want what American society offers and expects of all – success – yet they are prevented from legitimately achieving this goal because of opportunity blockage, that is poverty and discrimination† (O’Kane 27). In turn, the immigrants turned to a criminal subculture as means to attain their goals. They began violating an extreme amount of criminal statutes such as extortion, murder, bribery, fraud, narcotics, and labor racketeering. Thus far, the focus of this topic has been on early groups of organized criminals within the United States. The face of organized crime has changed within the past few decades, however, and is currently in a period of transition. Whereas the Italian-Americans were once the rulers of the underworld, African-American and Hispanic involvement has been on the increase. This cultural shift is significant because it alters the infrastructure of organized crime within the United States. Criminal groups form in different manners than in previous years. Within Italian-American organized crime, kinship is the primary segue into organized crime. Among African-Americans and Hispanics, however, there are two distinct types of linkages among criminals. First are causal... ...uently used by wealthy and large corporations, in order to monopolize† (Miller 1999). Although it appears as though many actions are being taken in an effort to extinguish organized crime, RICO illustrates that the government may have ulterior motives behind their efforts. If this is the case, the government must expect organized crime to increase according to the Differential Opportunities Theory. According to this theory, organized crime occurs when minority groups are unable to achieve the ‘American dream’ through legitimate means. By further oppressing these groups, the government places them back at square one where they will most likely continue to lead criminal lives. Thus the most effective manner to alleviate organized crime is to ensure that the aforementioned groups have access to legitimate means in achieving their goals. By making this effort, the government would have a greater chance of preventing the underclass’s development into the underworld. Works Cited Anechiarico, Frank. â€Å"Administrative Culture and Civil Society.† Administration & Society. 30.1 (1998): 13-22. Criminal Division. U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation. 2 March 2000.