Organized crime Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Organized crime - Essay Example Nevertheless, there are certain features that characterize organized crime, which are used in investigating if a crime is organized. Organized crime involves an act of violation of law that had been pre-arranged. The planned criminal activity is for the purposes of making profit, and it entails use of threat, violence, and intimidation. Additionally, a lot of corruption evolves as the involved persons attempt to escape from arrest and prosecution. Cressey and Abadinsky have researched a lot on organized crime. However, their definition and understanding of organized crime differs. Cressey argues that organized crime makes available illicit goods as well as services to the society. He thus asserts that organized crime is part of the legitimate society though it provides illegitimate goods or services. Abadinsky claims that organized crimes are meant to provide goods and services required by the society. His description of organized crime emphasizes on the attributes that make a crime to be considered as an organized one. This essay focuses on Cressey’s and Abadinsky definitions of organized crime. Additionally, the essay will compare the two definitions. Howard Abadinsky defines organized crime as a non-ideological enterprise that encompasses individuals with close social ties, is planned on hierarchical foundation, with not less than three ranks and is aimed at acquiring power profits in addition to power. The enterprise attains the above by engaging in illegal as well as legal activities. The persons in the different ranks have different roles to play, which are assigned depending on one’s skills. Abadinsky asserts that the group does not have to share kinship ties to engage in organized crime. Abadinsky adds that, the members strive to make the enterprise part of their goals and are willing to use violence or corruption to attain their goals. Abadinsky argues that organized crime has no political goals and the membership is limited (Abadinsky 1- 6). On the other hand, Donald Cressey defines an organized crime as a crime that occupies a position in a social system and is planned to capitalize on profits through providing products and services that are legally forbidden but demanded by members of the society. Cressey argues that the main attributes that characterize organized crime include set up agreements, rules, and regulations that the members of the group perpetuating the crime must follow. As opposed to Abadinsky who asserts that some of the activities performed by organized crime groups are legal, Cressey argues that most of the activities performed by organized crime groups have antilegal attitude and do not comply with the code of conduct. Cressey posits that the enforcer, corruptor, as well as the corrupted persons in an organized crime are important in coordination of organized crime (Cressey and Finckenauer 70-73). Abadinsky categorized organized crime into two. He named the two categories as bureaucratic or corpo rate and the patrimonial or patron. Additionally, Abadinsky came up with certain attributes that define either of the two types of organized crime. The attributes include lack or ideological motive, occurs over an extended period, entails use of tactics or strategies, which have been planned over a long period. Another attribute is that organized crime is directed by rules in addition to code of ethics shared by the perpetrators. An additional attribute of organized crime is that it is aimed at creating monopoly on certain goods and