...Controlling Organized Crime Paper Tracy L. Chambers CJA/384 February 05, 2012 Instructor Leroy Hendrix, MS Abstract Many concerns encircle organized crime. The concern of differing viewpoints on defining organized crime; the concerns with the ‘who’ and ‘why’ involved in organized crime; the criminal activity performed by such enterprises and how the phenomenon of organized crime can be controlled. Despite the fact there is much collusion from society in the support of the illicit goods and services provided by organized crime, society still looks upon law enforcement to control these enterprises. Organized crime may never be stopped in its entirety, but it must be controlled because of the lasting effect it has on American society. Controlling Organized Crime Paper Problems Presented and Relationships Established One problem presented is the absence of agreement on the term ‘organized crime’, which contributes much confusion and difficulty in identifying such crime groups. Some law enforcement agencies have defined organized crime as possessing four major components, which include a group of more than three individuals; the criminal activity is continual and indefinite; a desire for profit and power is the motivator, and the group commits serious criminal offenses (Lyman & Potter, 2007). However, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has defined organized crime “as a continuing criminal conspiracy with an organized structure that is successful because of its use...
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...Using material from Item and elsewhere, asses the different Marxist view of the relationship between crime and social class (21marks) Marxist believes that in a capitalist society inequality and exploitation of the working class is inevitable. When assessing the relationship between crime and social class Marxist believe because of this exploitation crime inevitable. However there are two main views to this theory traditional and neo Marxist which believes in the same functions of crime (that is inevitable) however has conflicting views on how this occurs. Traditional Marxist believe capitalist society explains crime in 3 main functions criminogenic capitalism, the state and law making, and the ideological functions of crime. Criminogenic capitalism explains that the working class have no other option but to commit crime this may be because; they live in poverty so have no choice but to commit crime, lack of control over their lives therefore due to frustration commit non ulitarian crime such as vandalism, or Ulitarian crime may be the only way they can obtain goods that are advertised in capitalist culture. Traditional Marxism state it is not only working class that commit crime they state that a capitalist society encourages greed therefore promotes white collar crime such as corporate crime. From this the relationship between crime and social class is fairly equal as they both are victims of a capitalistic society. Gordon explains this as a ration response to the capitalist...
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...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. | | | | ...
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...Controlling Organized Crime Lanika Alexander CJA/384 January 20, 2013 David Thomas Controlling Organized Crime The control of organized crime is an ongoing problem for law enforcement officials. Members in organized crime groups are becoming more sophisticated in the manner in which they commit crimes. Even though law enforcement officials have accumulated significant amounts of information in regards to the way in which organized crime groups are structured, the methods of operation, the history and activities of the groups there is still gaps in the information needed to combat these groups sufficiently. Laws and different legal limitations stand in the way of law enforcement officials as well in the fight against organized crime groups. The prosecution of organized crime groups will have to be evaluated to determine a more efficient route in removing these criminals from the community. To combat organized crime group’s law enforcement needs to better understand why these groups exist. Two theories are relevant to understanding the behaviors of those associated with these groups. The rational choice theory is the theory that suggests that people are free agents which possess the ability to make rational choices in almost all aspects of his or her life. Organized crime members are viewed as people who have free will and the capability to make rational choices in regard to his or her involvement in crime and wrongdoings. With this theory in mind people who...
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...Controlling Organized Crime CJA384 Controlling Organized Crime Since the 1990’s, organized crime has become a problem among U.S. citizens. The Mafia was the earliest group to show its strengths of power and manipulation among citizens and business of New York City. From the time of the Mafia’s rise, other criminal organizations have surfaced using their power to corrupt personal within business for the gain of finance and political strength. In today society, one of the main question when it comes to these groups is how can criminal organizations be controlled? This paper will identify the problems presented and the various relationships established by organized crime. It will describe the legal limitations associated with combating organized crime, including a critique of major federal laws and strategies that support this effort. This paper will end with a suggestion of a realistic solution to control organized crime by discussing and evaluating the effectiveness of organized crime prosecutions. Problems Presented and Relationships Established It needs to be remember that organized crime is defined as any crime that threatens peace and human security, violates human rights and undermines economic, social, cultural, political and civil development of societies around the world (United Nations Office on Drug and Crime, n.d.). The above definition was provided by the United Nations Office of Drug and Crime and that is just one of the many law enforcement groups that have...
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...I will be introducing you to stalking from the State and Federal perspective and the penalties that are involved for committing this crime. Stalking is a crime of terror with a beginning, but seemingly no end. It's a crime of fear that leaves no physical cuts or bruises at least not unless the stalker becomes desperate and acts out in violence, which is often the case. According to a nineteen hundred and ninety three and nineteen ninety four U.S. Department of Justice study, women are the victims in ninety percent of the cases nationwide and one in twenty of them will be stalked sometime in their life.( National Center for Victims of Crime )Thirty eight percent of stalking victims are single women between twenty and forty five years old, but teens and older people can be targets too. More and more of them are being caught up in terrifying web of obsession, a terrifying pursuit of the victim. (National Center for Victims of Crime) The difference between harassment and stalking is a distinction of the law. Stalking occurs when harassing behavior is repeated, is threatening, is purposefully directed at a specific person, and would cause a reasonable person to fear bodily injury or death for themselves or a family member(AARDVARC) Sometimes, it's just surveillance; everyplace you go, the stalker is there. Without a doubt it's emotional terrorism. The victim can't get away. Then there are telephone calls twenty to fifty a day, notes on the windshield, or they're in the grocery...
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...Law Enforcement Today Paper Law Enforcement Today Law enforcement is something that is needed in our country. As time has passed, crime rates have gone up. New types of crimes are created by just about anything. Let’s take a look at an example of a new crime starting up. People who are driving and texting is now becoming a crime. This may seem like something minor, but it can lead to something horrible, like the cause to a fatal accident. The driver who was busy texting his buddy that he was on the way to the bar could of caused him to get to close to another car and crash into it, causing vehicle damages and even death. With technology advancing, crime has gone up with it as well. Now people commit crime online by stealing credit card numbers and even a person’s identity. Our law enforcement agencies now have to stay on top of things in today’s world, because if they don’t, the bad guys will win. Our law enforcement agencies are made up of local, state, and federal. They interact with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to ensure success with enforcing the law and keeping communities safe. They might not have the best relationship but there can be ways to improve that. Many people do not really understand the importance of law enforcement until they desperately need them to help in their time of need. Some of the things that we do not understand are that the law enforcement officers face many challenges in today’s society. Our officers have to go through...
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...which social relationships become disorganized; social organizations can also refer to behaviors and institutions. In every society, community or institution (e.g. learning institutions), every member has a certain role to play in accordance to the status assigned. When members fail to execute their roles according to the social laws in place, or neglect their responsibilities in the society, there becomes disorder, which eventually becomes social disorganization. Because of this type of disorganization, members fail to agree on certain issues affecting their societies or institutions; causing the relationship between these two are broken. Clearly due to the disunity and lack of respect for one another, as a result of social disorganization, crimes become apart of society. The question becomes what is the possible relationship between social disorganization and organized crime. Relationship between social disorganization and organized crimes In establishing the relationship between social disorganization and organized crimes, it is important to define and understand both social disorganization and organized crime. As the name suggests, organized crime refers to crimes carried out by structured or centralized groupings in a society. Some of these groupings have a name and a leader. Reasons for carrying out crimes may be monetary or political reasons; in social disorganization there is violation of the societal laws, consequently...
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...The Basic Elements of a Crime Kaplan University The Basic Elements of a Crime Citizens and residents of the United States must follow the laws put into place by our justice system. If citizens do not uphold the law the United States’ criminal justice system will intervene to punish individual/s for the wrongful offenses that were intentionally performed. In this paper I will give a brief overview of criminal law, the distinction between mens rea and actus reus, the concurrence of mens rea and actus reus finishing with “The Simmons Criminal Matter” case file. Criminal Law Criminal law consists of prosecution by the federal or state government, through a prosecutor initiating a suit, upon an individual or individuals for a wrongful offense that was deemed as a crime and was intentionally performed. The individual or individuals charged with the commission of a crime may be incarcerated, fined or both. “A crime is a social wrong or social evil punishable under the law also known as a criminal statute.” (Hames and Ekern, 2010) Most crimes in the United States are established by local, state and federal governments. Crimes include common law, felonies which are more serious offenses and misdemeanors the less serious offenses. No offense can me deemed as a crime if it has not been previously established as such either by statute set in place by the government or common law. All statues defining criminal intent can be broken down into three basic elements: mens rea also known...
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...Marxist views of the relationship between crime and social class There are three different Marxist views on the relationship between crime and social class. The first is the traditional Marxist view. They focus of the bourgeoisie imposing their values onto the proletariat as they are in the powerful positions. The factors include the law creation. The law and laws are created by the government. People in the government are typically either part of the bourgeoisie or they are influenced by them. This means that the bourgeoisie re more likely to put in place laws that will benefit them and oppress the proletariat. The values of the bourgeoisie are passed through a number of agencies, including education, religion, and the mass media. These values are commonly referred to as Hegemony. These values are based within the democracy. However they are initially ‘forced’ on people. It is the beliefs of the ruling elite. Despite the laws favouring the ruling classes they actually favour the majority if enforced properly. However even the interpretation and enforcement of law is biased and the police tend to arrest and punish the working classes but not the ruling classes. However, Not all capitalist societies have high crime rates for example, Japan and Switzerland have lower than the USA. Justice systems sometime acts against the interests of the ruling class this can be seen in the prosecution of corporate crime. This view also ignores intra-class crime, where two of more classes...
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...its people, they’re not sending their best . . . They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems to us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people”(Green). Also by bringing up that the United States needs better border security, the President used suggestions to build a wall along the southern borders in his campaign and has used rhetoric instead of evidence (Green). The president is so against the sanctuary cities and state, that he has even gone as far as having the Justice Department sue the state of California over it becoming a sanctuary state, because it is not following federal laws. While a sanctuary state is believed to be a safe haven for all undocumented immigrants, those that have commit serious and violent crimes are subject...
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...The essence of law enforcement is protecting and serving the public. However, public agencies across the nation have been vehemently scrutinized for the inequality of service and less than equal protection. To effectively manage today’s law enforcement organization, leaders must possess the skills to not only address the social and criminal justice issues, but also the skills to lead groups and organizations in the 21st Century. Conflating the deliverables throughout this program, the course work selected reflects critical issues in modern law enforcement, community assessment through data analysis, and the application of technology in law enforcement. As law enforcement leaders look to reestablish trusts and improve the police-community relationship, an in-depth understanding of crime data and...
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...important to define crime, its relationship to the law, and the two most common models of how society determines which acts are criminal. Also is important to describe the government structure as it applies to the criminal justice system. Furthermore, identifying the choice theories and their assumptions in regards to crime is important. As well as describing the components of the criminal justice system and the criminal justice process. In addition, identifying the goals of the criminal justice system is essential when talking about criminal justice, and addressing thoughts on whether the criminal justice system is really a system. Defining a crime and its relationship to the law is an important component when talking about criminal justice. In fact, according to University of Phoenix, CJi Interactive, crime can be defined as “conduct in violation of the criminal law of the state, the federal government, or local jurisdiction, for which there is no legally acceptable justification or excuse.” Meaning, that every crime depends on the location of the person who broke the law, which the same suggest that a person’s behavior may not be consider a crime depending on the status of the person who committed the crime, and even why this person broke the law. Consequently, society determines which are criminal acts depending on the behavior or the person. Which, according to CJ interactive “crime should include many behaviors that are not defined by laws or the political process...
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...Crime relationship to the law The "Dictionary.com" (2014) website defines the word crime as “an action or an instance of negligence that is deemed injurious to the public welfare or morals or to the interests of the state and that is legally prohibited. Law can be defined as a set of rule for society to abide by for safety. Committing a crime is a disobedient act of the law which is their relationship. Government structure as it applies to criminal justice According to "The National Center for Victims of a Crime" (2012), the criminal justice system is the set of agencies and processes recognized by governments to control crime and impose penalties on those who violate the law. There are multiple criminal justice system in the United States. The criminal justice system works in each area depends on the jurisdiction that is in charge ("The National Center for Victims of a Crime", 2012). There are two main systems that most individuals are aware of knowing. The first system is the state. The state handles crimes committed with in that state and no other. The second is the federal. The federal criminal justice system handles crimes committed on federal grounds or in multiple states ("The National Center for Victims of a Crime", 2012). Theories and Assumptions in regards to a Crime Rational cause, sociological positivism, biological positivism, and psychological positivism are the four choice theories for crime.” Rational cause is the basis of the theory explains offender...
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...Preventing Crime Crime Prevention and safety is always an issue when it comes to a community. It’s something that individual learn from observing others, reading, and learning from mistakes of others are some of the reasons we post and talk about near misses and direct hits that each of use have encountered (Safety Toolbox Talks, n.d). There are several ways to plan for crime prevention, but the best way is by the community being the eyes and ears of law enforcement. Crime prevention uses many different programs and strategies to foresee, distinguish, consider and tackle misdeeds and the variables which play a role in crime (Bureau of Justice Assistance, (n.d.). There are different target levels of crime prevention including families, communities, individuals, and certain locations. Individual level of crime prevention usually deals with preventing persons from ever committing crimes. It’s more as an avoidance tactic. Community crime prevention usually deals with changes in how a community functions and what they are doing to prevent crime. In order to maintain public safety and low-crime rates, Detroit is eager to get the community involved through community-based programs. Neighborhood Watches are the best way to prevent crime. A neighborhood watch program creates a renowned system of communication connecting law enforcement and neighborhoods concerning crime related predicaments (The City of Detroit, n.d.). Over the last several decades, the neighborhood watch has...
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