1. Avinash Rajput
Criminology 2nd Semester
Lok Nayak Jayprakesh Narayana National Institute of Criminology and Forensic Science
Ministry of Home Affairs
ORGANIZED CRIME

2. DEFINITION OF ORGANIZED
CRIME

Organized crime is both a social system and a social world. The system is
composed of relationships binding professional criminals, politicians, law
enforcers, and various entrepreneurs.
Block, Alan A. 1983

Any group having a corporate structure whose primary objective is to obtain
money through illegal activities, often surviving on fear and corruption.
Paul Nesbitt (Interpol)1993

"organized crime" means any continuing unlawful activity by an individual, singly
or jointly, either as a member of an organized crime syndicate or on behalf of
such syndicate, by use of violence or threat of violence or intimidation or
coercion, or other unlawful means, with the objective of gaining pecuniary
benefits, or gaining undue economic or other advantage for himself or any
person or promoting insurgency;
MCOCA 1996

3. CHARACTERISTICS OF
ORGANIZED CRIME
Team Work.
 Hierarchical Structure.
 Planning.
 Division of Labour.
 Violence.
 Effective control of its members.
 Not limited to illicit services.


4. ACTIVITIES OF ORGANIZED
CRIME









Narcotics distribution.
Gambling.
Prostitution.
Illegal Sale or Distribution of Firearms.
Money Laundering.
Kidnapping.
Human Trafficking.
Bank Robberies.
Blackmailing.

5. TYPES OF ORGANIZED CRIME
Gang Criminality.
 Racketeering.
 Syndicated Crime.


6. GANG CRIMINALITY
The Gangs are operate on a large scale.
 Hard criminals are the member of this.
 They don’t hesitate to kill or use of voilance.
 They use modern arms.
 These
criminals are disciplined but
dangerous.


7. RACKETEERING
It includes dishonest way of getting money.
 They live on othermen’s money.
 Racketeers don’t like gang criminals.
 They give regular fixed money to their
bosses.
 They take protection money from the
businessmen.


8. SYNDICATED CRIME
The syndicates create their own busness
prosedure.
 They avoid using violence.
 Society knows these syndicate members as
respectable citizens and high status persons.
 They operates in big metropolition areas.
 The leaders gather at fixed place to discuss
problums.


9. STRUCTURE OF ORGANIZED
CRIME





At the top of the family is the boss.
Beneath the boss is a counselor and an
under-boss.
Beneath the under-boss are the lieutenants.
Below the lieutenants.
Membership in the family entitles the
member to run his own rackets using the
family’s connections and status.

10. CONT…


Corporate model: A formal hierarchy in
which the day-to-day activities of the
organization are planned and coordinated at
the top and carried out by subordinates.
The feudal model of the LCN (La Cosa
Nostra: Commonly referred to as the Mafia)
views it as a loose connection of criminal
groups held together by kinship and
patronage .

11. Figure 16.1 Hierarchical Structure of a Typical Organized Crime Family
HIERACHICAL STRUCTURE OF
AMERICAN MAFIA FAMILY NETWORK
BOSS
Counselor
Underboss
Lieutenant
Soldiers
lieutenant
lieutenant
Soldiers
Lieutenant
Soldiers
Soldiers
Associates

12. STANDARD HIERARCHY

13. PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAITS
Antisocial Personality (or Sociopath)
 Dependent Personality


14. ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITY
2-3% of population (80% male; primarily
urban settings)
 Genetic and Environmental influences
Core Clinical Features
 Pathological deceptions and manipulations
Underdeveloped autonomic nervous system
Intolerant to frustration (delay of
gratification)


15. CONT…

Disregard for the rights of others (little or no
remorse) Difficulty learning from experience
(absence of internal guilt) Unstable work and
personal relations (exploitation) Repeated
brushes with law (abuse alcohol or drugs)

16. DEPENDENT PERSONALITY
Fear of Abandonment or Separation
(Clinging Behavior) Needs others to assume
responsibilities for major life areas Difficulty
expressing disagreement Excessive efforts to
obtain nurturance (volunteering) Outcomes
 Resentment (inability to control frustration
and anger)


17. DIFFERENT LEVELS OF RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN O.C. AND CORRUPTION
1st Level: Bribery
 2nd Level: Continuos Acts of Bribery (“On
payroll”)
 3rd
Level: Infiltration into Government
Agencies
 4th Level: Infiltrating the Government (Higher
level)
 5th Level: Infiltrating the Political Arena


18. 1ST LEVEL: BRIBERY
The bribe is offered or solicited for a single
act
 For example: to obtain a passport, licenses
or to get information designed to enable
Criminal advantage.


19. BENEFITS OF THE BRIBERY
ACTS
The O.C. Groups obtains an advantage
 False identities and documents
 Advance information about police activity
 Manipulation of official records
 Disappearing evidence
 Access to jury identities


20. 2ND LEVEL: CONTINUOS ACTS
OF BRIBERY (“ON THE PAYROLL”)
Bribe payments are ongoing.
 Ensures a continuous flow of information and
protection from police intrusion into criminal
activities.


21. BENEFITS OF THE
CONTINUOS BRIBERY ACTS
O.C. Groups obtain constant access to
confidential information allowing them to
maintain patterns of illegal activity
 The O.C. Groups remain “one step ahead” of
Police


22. MEASURES TO AVOID THE
BRIBERY ACTS
Strength the socio-economic status of public
officers with fair and competitive salaries
 Implement strong penalties for breaches of
public duties
 Encourage “whistle-blowers”
 Train
and assign Integrity Officers to
corruption-prone government operations
 Reduce individual discretion


23. 3RD LEVEL: INFILTRATION INTO
GOVERNMENT AGENCIES
infiltration is sporadic within lower ranking
official positions.
 OC members and friends gain employment
in law enforcement agencies,judiciary
Prosecutor’s Office and other operations.


24. HOW IS INFILTRATION
ACCOMPLISHED?
1) Applying for Job Vacancies
 The O.C. group supports one or more
members or friends to participate and apply
for job vacancies with the Government.
2) “Buying” the Job
 The O.C. group bribes or blackmails officials
to place its members and friends in the
government post

25. 4TH LEVEL: INFILTRATING THE
GOVERNMENT (HIGHER LEVEL)
This infiltration can encompass entire
branches or higher ranking officers.
 Top
Officials
in
Law
Enforcement, Prosecutor’s Office and other
sensitive government offices.


26. METHODS USED TO INFILTRATE THE
HIGHER LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT
1) Placement of Corrupted Officers into
Higher Office
 The O.C. group use bribery and blackmail to
support Officers previously corrupted by their
organization to higher ranks with broader
access to information. This “support” is
repaid to OC with increased protection and
access to more useful secret police
information

27. CONT…
2) Control of the Chief of Section/Region
 Bribery, blackmail and coercion is used to
control the chief decision-maker of an entire
branch of government.OC can continue
operating with very little risk of discovery or
successful prosecution.

28. MEASURES TO AVOID THE
INFILTRATION OF O.C. GROUPS
Transparency in the hiring process including
public notification of potential candidates.
 Strengthening promotional testing and strict
secrecy of test questions
 Vetting
process thorough background
investigations and polygraph test (updated
financial statements, family ties, etc.)
 Public disclosure of assets

29. 5TH LEVEL: INFILTRATING
THE POLITICAL ARENA
O C Groups
 Congressmen
Politicians(Mayors, Governors)
 Law Enforcement(Security)

Ministers

30. HOW IS POLITICAL INFILTRATION
ACCOMPLISHED?
Participating in Political Campaigns (giving
money, media support and others)
 Buying votes for candidates and corrupting
the democratic election process
 Lobbying other politicians for support using
bribery and blackmail
 Exploiting O.C. Members’ family links
 Creating “debts” for politicians to “repay” later
by using blackmail and extortion


31. BENEFITS OF POLITICAL
INFILTRATION
“Friendly” prosecutors and judges more
easily ignore criminal activity
 O.C. Groups can gain public support by
performing or supporting “civic” functions
 O.C. criminal activity can be masked or
overlooked by favorable public perception
 Impartial juries are more difficult to empanel
 Perceived alliances with elected political
figures tends to legitimize O.C.


32. MEASURES TO AVOID THE POLITICAL
INFILTRATION OF O.C. GROUPS
The State have to increase the financial
support of the political parties, during political
campaigns
 Strengthening
the
Laws
of
Media
concentrations, combating monopoly
 Increasing the transparency of contributions
 Knowing better the previous profiles of the
Politicians
