CRIM 1650 Lecture : ORGANIZED CRIME NOTES.docx

• School: York University
• Department: Criminology
• Course: CRIM 1650
• Professor: James Williams

Document Summary

Organized crime: the myth of an underworld empire. 1951 marked the beginning of the media fixation over mafias . Definition of organized crime according to president"s commission on law enforcement and the. Organized crime is a society that seeks to operate outside the control of the american people and their governments. It involves thousands of criminals, working within structures as complex as those of any large corporation, subject to laws more rigidly enforced than those of legitimate governments. Its actions are not impulsive but rather the result of intricate conspiracies carried on over many years and aimed at gaining control over whole fields of activity in order to amass huge profits In 1967, the mafia paradigm was given more form as policy makers identified mafia groups as. 24 groups operating criminal cartels in large cities across the nation. Their membership exclusively italianin frequent communication with each othertheir smooth functioning insured by a national body of overseers. (115-116)