Criminal Enterprises refer to collections of individuals who come together with a defined hierarchy and who engage in dangerous criminal activities. Various security agencies precisely define criminal enterprises and state significant examples that exist in multiple groups. Criminal gangs and organized crime syndicates are examples of such groups who major in crime execution. These two groups have been used interchangeably and confused in many legal concepts to mean the same thing. Nevertheless, organized crime syndicates are different from criminal gangs. Organized crime syndicates tend to be more sophisticated in their level of organization and execution of crime than gangs. On one hand, organized crime syndicates are more of large crime groups with sophisticated hierarchies, covering larger area spaces and dealing in high profile crimes like money laundering, high degree of cybercrime, and involvement in large scale narcotic business among others (Cressey, 2017). Criminal gangs, on the other hand, tend to be smaller versions of the organized crime syndicates whose composition comprise mostly of teens and who engage in less sophisticated crime. These two sets of groups are bound together with different intentions. Organized crime syndicates majorly exist for the reason of engaging in crime as a source of income. They engage in illegal activities to make money out of it. Organized crime syndicates also engage in illegal gambling activities, counterfeit business, human trafficking, and trafficking of illegal weapons, among other crimes. Gangs, on the other hand, tend to exist in the spirit of comradeship. In most cases, gangs only commit crimes in defense of their friends or in the quest to settle grudges with other gangs. For example, street gangs and prison gangs majorly exist to protect members from intimidation from other gangs. Gangs engage in crimes like street fights, inciting people to violence, drug abuse, and petty drug smuggling, among others.
References
Cressey, D. (2017). Theft of the nation: The structure and operations of organized crime in America . Routledge.
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