Organized Crime - What You Need to Know

There is an explicit difference between organized crime and terrorism. Organized crime can be described as a group of individuals having a characteristic organized structure whose members have a common goal of obtaining money by engaging in illegal activities. Majorly, organized crime groups achieve their core objective through real or threatened violence and extortion. Corrupt government officials aid such groups to achieve their agenda (Abadinsky, 2016). It is important to note that organized crime groups are not limited to a single geographic region but can be spread across several countries and continents. Organized crime is not the same as terrorism, although in some cases, a terrorist group can have links to an organized crime outfit. Fundamentally, terrorism can be described as criminally using violence and coercion, particularly against civilians with underlying political agendas. Although the definition of organized crime differs from that of terrorism, the two unlawful phenomena have similarities. Both organized crime and terrorism are often organized along compartmentalized lines. For example, the drug cartels in Colombia and terrorist group al-Qaeda use sponsorships and apprenticeships. Also, both organized crimes and terrorist groups must launder their financial assets for their operations to run smoothly. However, means and end define the differences between terrorist groups and organized crime organizations. While the two groups engage in criminal activities, terrorist organizations have significant political goals, such as imposing their worldviews. Organized crime groups are not motivated by any ideology and prefer to conduct their activities secretly, which is not the case for terrorist outfits (Abadinsky, 2016). For example, al-Qaeda’s political motivation is to fight the US due to its interference in countries such as Somalia. 

Organized crime behavior has several unique characteristics that define the groups’ operations. However, the two most significant traits are the lack of political goals and their hierarchical nature. The activities of organized crime are not propelled by any political goals, but only financial gains and power parallel to legitimate governments (Abadinsky, 2016). One must realize that organized crime groups' behaviors are not limited by any legal or moral constraints. Members of organized crime groups are not inspired by social, political, or ideological principles, although they may participate in certain political endeavors. Second, organized crime groups have a vertical power structure with about three permanent authority levels (Abadinsky, 2016). The power in each of the defined ranks is not dependent on the person occupying the position, but it is inherent to that specific authority level. However, power-sharing can be flexible depending on the nature of activities of a given organized crime group. The absence of political goals and the hierarchical power structure of organized crime gives these groups a unique image that differs from that of terrorist groups. 

Organized crime groups can have a wide range of structures, including bureaucratic and criminal networks. The bureaucratic structure of organized crime groups is necessary for the effective execution of tasks. A group with a bureaucratic structure has an intricate hierarchy, comprehensive division of labor, and far-reaching rules, among other attributes. Such a group also communicates in a highly structured manner via a chain of commands (Abadinsky, 2016). Therefore, one acknowledges that a hierarchical structure is important for having sufficient control mechanisms and their execution. For instance, as a drug cartel grows in size, embezzlement cases may arise, and indiscipline may become common, which can attract law enforcement agencies. Differently, a criminal network is defined by the subcultural environment, which can be an underworld whose constituents range from criminals to people with marginal employments (Abadinsky, 2016). For example, one will find people who are not routinely engaged in crime but are not averse to criminal opportunities and others who are superficially legitimate but enjoy being in the company of actual criminals. From an enterprise viewpoint, organized criminal organizations thrive in a similar manner to legal businesses (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2018). For example, criminal groups respond to the needs and demands of suppliers, clients, regulators, and competitors. The two types of businesses differ in that organized crime groups deal in illicit products and services while authorized business deal in legal goods and services. 

References 

Abadinsky, H. (2016).  Organized crime . Cengage Learning. 

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. (2018). Module 7: Models of Organized Criminal Groups . https://www.unodc.org/e4j/en/organized-crime/module-7/key-issues/enterprise-or-business-model.html#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20enterprise%20perspective,%2C%20customers%2C%20regulators%20and%20competitors.