NCJ Number
121704
Journal
Criminal Justice Policy Review Volume: 2 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1987) Pages: 269-301
Date Published
1987
Length
33 pages
Annotation
The Federal government has failed to reduce the level of organized crime because it has defined organized crime as an alien conspiracy when, in fact, it is comprised of loosely-structured enterprises that successfully exploit symbiotic relationships with public officials and professionals.
Abstract
The faulty model of organized crime in America perceives the alien conspiracy as comprised of ethnically or culturally distinct groups that corrupt fundamentally sound political and economic institutions. In fact, organized criminals do not corrupt public officials so much as they provide ways for them to willingly partake of illicit markets. Ethnicity is not a useful way to understand the membership or operation of organized crime groups. A more effective method of reducing organized crime is to focus on key components of illicit industries and to limit the concentration of wealth and power among illicit entrepreneurs. 90 references. (Author abstract modified)