Criminology

The explanation of organized crimes is derived from various different characteristics. It mainly comes from a groups lack of hierarchical structure, political objectives, and restricted membership. Organized crimes have a constitution incorporating an exceptional subculture, self-perpetuation, and willingness to use brutality and corruption. Organized crimes illustrate a specific division of labor governed by unique rules and regulations. A mafia, which is a secret organization initially originating from Sicily spreading throughout Italy and later to other countries including the United States, can be described through its world wide involvement in drug dealing, prostitution, gambling and racketeering. Mafia structure is composed of two different models.

Corporate model and the patrimonial model which includes the fear of compromised confrontation, decentralized, problematic, and limited control. A very important aspect of organized crime is respect which follows a chain of command. Members share profits with their leaders and are protected in return together with their families.

The mafia began in Sicily in the late medieval ages as an underground organization with an aim of overthrowing the rule established by foreign conquers. Members from small private armies who were being hired by landlords to protect their properties were drawn into this organization. The mafia spread in to the US through emigration. By 1900 the local economies of western Sicily were being controlled by mafia. Most of the mafia members were imprisoned by Benito Mussolini, but after the Second World War, they were released by allies and fled to other nations where they continued with their organized crime activities. Their initial activity was bootlegging which later developed to prostitution, narcotics and gambling. On of the largest US syndicated crime organization was the La Cosa Nostra. The Masseria mafia and the Maranzano mafia were the two struggling and fighting mafia groups that reigned in New York in 1930. The struggle of these two groups led to the emergence of the Castellammarese War which ended in 1931.

The involvement of organized crime and its influence in the government was as a result of so many things. A very good example is the Chicago mafia which began in 1873 with a gambling boss named Mike McDonald. Macdonald showed that gamblers and bar keepers as well as liquor interest can have political power, through effective leadership, to Chicago. He had control over all government officials through gambling and bribes. MacDonalds power with the globe newspaper influenced all elections in Chicago until 1907. All those who wanted to operate business outside the red light district had to pass through MacDonald. The mafia played a great role in election and reelection of mayors though they had violated all the campaign promises.

The 21st amendment came in to effect on 5th December 1933 and prohibition ended. This acted as a welcome back to liquor as well as tax cash from it. Mafia families no longer had the power to carry out illegal business in alcohol trade and organized crime was drastically declining. Many of the bootleggers had resorted to legal alcohol business.  Illegal businesses by the mafia families had to be taken elsewhere. Most of the mafia families depended on gambling, but others turned to illegitimate drugs in order to satisfy their financial needs. Once more the organized crime started to take root. Fierce rivalry occurred among the mafia families in struggle for power to control heroin trade in the 1970s. Most of them were however, imprisoned by the government in the 1980s. The mafia of 1990s has been associated with money laundering. The modern mafia has moved in to white collar crime activities as fraud in health insurance, illegitimate stock market deals, and sales of prepaid telephone cards.  Though the mafia is still around, it power has drastically reduced through imprisonment of its member.

The theory of Merton is referred to as the theory of social structure and anomie. It provides an explanation of the reasons why crimes are more concentrated on the lower class urban areas. As stated by Merton an equilibrium between social and culture are the aspects important for making an integrated community. The form that community malintegration takes after dissociation between valued cultural ends and legal societal means to those ends. According to Merton everyone in America, poor or rich, aims for a higher achievement as well as success. Competition exists in every corner of the society in America where worth is measured in terms of monetary gains. However, honest and convectional means should be used in acquiring this wealth. According to Merton, overemphasizing on success leads to weakening of the norms governing their achievement. Mertons theory was followed by Cohens theory. Cohen in his theory states that delinquent subculture plays a part in influencing the boys of lower class to be part of delinquent behavior. Both Cohen and Mertons theories agreed as they perceived blocked goals as the causative factor for deviance inducing strain. Cohens theory however, vary from that of Merton in that, it is the lack of ability to gain position and acceptance in conventional community rather than the inability to obtain material wealth that develops strain (Research Man, 2009).

According to Cohen middle class adolescents are assisted by their parent are therefore able to meet the standards as well as expectations set for the middle class. After meeting the expectations middle class youths gain recognition and status by adults as well as peers on the other hand lower class youths cannot meet the standards and expectations set by the middle class because they do not have the skills necessary for measuring up to middle classes yardsticks. This leads to status deprivation and frustration which eventually leads to the formation of a delinquent subculture. The gangs act as a perfect outlet for youths in the lower classes as they cannot meet the criteria for acceptability by the middle classes. Robert Agnews strain theory of crime is the most recent and its approach was fundamentally aimed at broadening the concept of strain further than the difference between expectations and aspirations. Agnew stated that crime and delinquency result as an adaptation to stress. He produced three types of deviance producing strain. Failure to attain positively valued goals is the first one and it contains three subtypes which are the gap between expectations and achievements, the difference between what is perceived by an individual as fair and just outcome, and the gap between expectations and aspirations. Removal of positively valued stimuli is the second type which is a persons experience with stressful life events. Confrontation with negative stimuli is the third type which means individuals confrontation with negative life events produced by others (Research Man, 2009).

As stated by May, (2010), John Gotti was born in a large poor family which counteracted against his humble upbringing later becoming the dapper don. His father had also committed murder in search of control of the Gambino family. Gotti said that his father never provided anything to the family. He learned how to fight at a very tender age. He was always filled with rage when he looked at the life of those he considered successful. He was raised in a community full of criminals, this made him to aspire to be like one of them rather than aspiring to become a successful person in life. All his education was acquired form the streets. He never had a formal education. He was considered troublesome by his tutors at school. He was a class bully and no form of disciplining could change his ways. He started participating in robbery at the neighborhood. He quit school at the age of 16 years to become a full member of Fulton-Rockaway Boys. This gang engaged in all forms of illegal activities.

There are many types of gangs in the United States and in other places. These gangs are categorized in various ways according to their degree of organization, location, nation, people and mode of transportation. Ethnicity of the members of the mafia is the other mode of categorization. Religious faith may also be used to classify the mafia in some countries. There are also neighborhood based gangs and entrepreneurial gangs.  Neighborhood based gangs are turf oriented and are a more traditional street type gang. Their main aim is to protect the neighborhood as well as maintain the social setting of the community. These gangs commit criminal acts for financial gains. They may even develop to entrepreneurial gangs.

The types of crime the members of a certain gang commit according to Carlie, may also be used it describe it. Drug gangs and street gangs are the two distinct types of gangs. Street gangs have a carefree type of lifestyle, large number of members, less cohesive, and loose leadership. They also do not have well defined roles, code of loyalty, and residential territories. They have a wider age range, it members may sell drugs and involve in inter-gang rivalries. Drug gangs ion the other hand commit crimes focused on drug business. They have a smaller number of members and are more cohesive. They have a central point of power and market defined roles. They have a well defined code of loyalty and market territories. Members of these gangs sell drugs and competition is controlled.

Drug gangs prefer those who are advanced in age and gave a narrow age range. Due to the large number of gangs in the United States, there are numerous names being used. There are also sets within larger gangs each with a different name. Sets within a larger gang exist and differ from one nation to the other as well as from one city to the other. These sets tend to name themselves according to the name of the street where their founder members reside. The gangster disciple emerged in the year 1960. They are part of the folk nation and quot. They were the first contemporary street gang that showed up in large numbers in Memphis. In the 80s they were the one who virtually ruled the streets. This gang utilized the six-point star as their symbol of identity. They also used a three-point devils pitch fork facing upwards.