Organized Crime Model

Organized crime is defined as when a group of people gets together to commit a criminal act that can include business, regular ever day crime, or political crime (Hagen, 2013). In understanding these groups there are 3 models; the conspiracy theory, local organized crime, and organized crime that is a business (Hagen, 2013).

The first paradigm or model is the conspiracy theory also known as the Cosa Nostra theory or Cressey Model (Hagen, 2013). It is thought that there is a group of 24 Sicilian and Italian families in the United States that make up the crime syndicate that we commonly know or refer to as the “mafia”. In numbers these families could be as big as 700 people or as little as 20 (Hagen, 2013). The structure of the group resembles

For example, if a motorcycle gang is highly organized, has a hierarchy, restricts membership, conducts their activities in secret they might very well attract the attention of the authorities though they might not be criminally involved. The fact that the organized crime groups often take part in legitimate activities like employment, might enable them to fall off the radar of law enforcement. If organized crime groups weren’t looked at on a continuum I think there would be the chance that many would not meet all the criteria and fall through the cracks of the justice system and maybe not receive the just punishments that they deserved. The other importance of viewing these groups on a continuum is that they change and evolve over time. A group of individuals may start out on the street corner just as individuals looking for trouble and over time add people to their group, create a hierarchy, structure and plan their criminal acts, make money for the group, etc. It’s important that law enforcement sees the big picture of organized crime and doesn’t restrict themselves to focusing on the

This act made it illegal to take money gained in illegal ways (from racketeering) to be used in legal business (Hagen, 2013). This meant that if a person in the mafia ran a legitimate business with money made illegally the United States government could take it. The act also had stronger punishments for someone who had committed murder using arson or a bomb, it also protected witnesses during trials against organized crime groups (Crime Control Act of 1970,