Organized crime is a category of transnational,

national, or local groupings of highly centralized

enterprises run by criminals who intend to
engage in illegal activity, most commonly for
money and profit.
A criminal organization or gang can also be
referred to as a mafia, mob, or crime syndicate;
the network, subculture and community of
criminals may be referred to as the underworld.
 Mob - a large crowd of people, especially one
that is disorderly and intent on causing
trouble or violence.
Mafia - any organized group using extortion
and other criminal methods.
extortion - the practice of obtaining
something, especially money, through force or
threats.
 Crime committed by groups engaged in planned and sustained
criminal activities.

The people and the groups involved in such criminal activities.

The goal of organized crime groups is to make money; members

also gain a sense of pride, power, and protection.

Members are extremely loyal and committed; they go through

initiation rituals, take oaths, and swear to secrecy.

Punishment for members who stray might be demotion to a lower

rank or, depending on their offense, death.
 INVESTIGATION OF ORGANIZED CRIME
Racketeering is any of several types of illegal
activities usually associated with organized
crime groups.
The mafia is made up of extended kinship
groups called Mafiosi and a member is called
Mafioso.
TYPES OF RACKETS/ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES

PROTECTION RACKETS - A protection racket is a scheme whereby a

group provides protection to businesses or other groups through
violence outside the sanction of the law.

LABOR RACKETS is illegally using unions or employee benefit plans

for personal profit. Organizations may bribe and coerce union
officials for control of workers' benefit plan funds. Labor costs go
up, and consumers and workers pay in the end.

DRUG TRAFFICKING generally refers to the sale and distribution of

illegal drugs.

FIREARM SMUGGLING is the illegal trafficking or smuggling of

contraband weapons or ammunition.
 ILLICIT TRAFFICKING OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN is the trade of humans, most
commonly for the purpose of sexual slavery, forced labor, or commercial sexual
exploitation for the trafficker or others.

SMUGGLING OF ILLEGAL MIGRANTS is the illegal transportation of objects,

substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a
prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other
regulations

ILLICIT TRAFFICKING OF MOTOR VEHICLE refers to vehicles that are stolen,

hijacked or fraudulently moved from one country to another for use or sale, either
in the country that the vehicle crosses into, or for transportation to a third country
where it is to be used or sold.

MONEY LAUNDERING - is the process of transforming the proceeds of crime and

corruption into ostensibly legitimate assets. The concealment of the origins of
illegally obtained money, typically by means of transfers involving foreign banks or
legitimate businesses.
11 Characteristics of organized crime
1. Team work: It involves association of a group of criminals which is
relatively permanent and may even last decades.
2. Hierarchical structure: It has a structure with grades of authority
from the lowest to the highest, involving a system of specifically
defined relationships with mutual obligations and privileges.
3. Planning: It involves advance arrangements for successfully
committing crimes, minimizing risks and insuring safety and
protection.
4. Centralized authority: It functions on the basis of centralized control
and authority which is vested either in the hands of one individual
or a few members.
5. Reserved fund: It maintains a reserve fund from profits which
serves as capital for criminal enterprises, seeking help of the police,
lawyers and even politicians, and for providing security to the
arrested members and their families.
6. Specialization: Some groups specialize in just one
crime while some others may be simultaneously
engaged in multiple crimes. Those groups which are
engaged in multiple crimes are more powerful and
influential.
7. Division of labor: Organized crime involves delegation
of duties and responsibilities and specialization of
functions.
8. Violence: It depends upon use of force and violence to
commit crimes and to maintain internal discipline and
restrain external competition.
9. Monopoly: It has expansive and monopolistic tendencies. Initially, organized
criminal gangs operate in a limited area, and are engaged in a limited type of crime
with a limited number of persons, but, gradually they expand into a wider range of
activities extended over large geographical areas, involving a large number of
carefully selected criminals. In whatever area they operate, they secure monopoly
in their criminal enterprises. They do not hesitate to use violence or threats of
violence to eliminate competition.
10. Protective measures: It arranges permanent protection against interference from
law-enforcement authorities and other agencies of government. The protective
measures include contacts with policemen, lawyers, doctors, politicians, judges,
and influential persons in society. Giving money in cash or in gifts, providing help
in elections, threatening their competitors, and arranging their (influential
persons) foreign trips are some of the methods used by these gangs to secure
protection and avoid arrest and conviction.
11. Conduct norms: It frames rules of conduct, policies of administration, and
methods of operation for members and for the operation of crime. This helps in
maintaining discipline, efficiency, loyalty, obedience, and mutual confidence.
Penalties are imposed for violating rules.
 There are several factors affecting Organized
Crime
Police
Prosecutors
Courts
Business
 SYMPTOMS OF ORGANIZED CRIME

Organized crime ultimately requires the collusion

of law enforcement however, this is where a
serious mistake in police estimates occur.
Before collusion comes complacency and apathy,
or in other terms, a feeling of contentment that
there is no organized crime in the community.
How many times have you heard organized
crime cannot exist without cooperation from law
enforcement and that doesnt exist. Initially, an
atmosphere of indifference is more deadly than
singular bribes.
 ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES OF THE
ORGANIZED CRIME
Organizational criminals typically use extortion, which
is the practice of obtaining something, especially
money, through force or threats to get what they want.
The organization also typically victimizes companies
and individuals by stealing cars (to either trade or take
apart and sell the parts), robbery, fraud, counterfeiting
money and rigging public projects.
These criminal organizations use violence regularly as a
way to obtain what they want. Bodily harm may come
to victims that do not comply or to members
themselves that do not take their roles seriously or
complete their assigned task successfully.
14 NOTORIOUS MAFIAS IN THE
WORLD
 Yakuza

Also known as Gokudo, these

Japanese and Korean organized crime
syndicates are almost mainstream.
They have office buildings, business
cards, and frequently show up in
gossip columns of newspapers.
Identifiable by their black suits and
the missing tips of their little fingers
(lopping them off to show contrition
to your boss is known as yubitsume),
Yakuza are often involved in politics
and corporate boards of directors.
They were also among the first to
respond with relief efforts after the
2011 tsunami.
 18th Street Gang

Also known as the Children's Army

because they recruited elementary
and middle school children, the 18th
Street Gang (or M-18) is one of the
largest gangs in the Northern
Hemisphere. They are said to have a
membership of more than 30,000 in
the US alone, with a home base in
Los Angeles. One of their rival
organizations is MS-13 (further down
this list), and they are known to have
connections to the Mexican cartels
and some smaller Central American
crime rings.
 Mungiki

A terrifying group that is part

terrorist organization and part
religion, Mungiki (which means
"multitude" in Kikuyu) favours
rejection of all Westernization and a
return to traditional values. While
they are currently active only in
Kenya, they run extortion rackets in
the slums of Nairobi and control the
taxi industry, beheading and
mutilating anyone who crosses
them...sometimes also lighting them
on fire. The police in Kenya often
treat Mungiki suspects to violent
retributive behaviour.
 Russian Mafia

Now officially the scariest

organized crime group, a
former FBI Special Agent called
the Russian Mafia the most
dangerous people on earth.
They may have as many as
300,000 members across 450
groups, and are well known for
having elaborate and
hierarchical tattoos. They
frequently use military tactics,
and their most common
activities are terrorism, organ
trafficking, and contract killing.
 Hells Angels
Considered an organized crime
syndicate by the US State
Department, the Hells Angels
Motorcycle Club is best known for
riding Harley Davidsons and having
an almost mythical history of crime
attributed to them. The official policy
of the club is that they are
motorcycle enthusiasts and any
crimes committed are the fault of
individual members, not club policy;
pop culture, such as the 1966 film
The Wild Angels, depicts them as
ruthless, violent criminals. Members
of the gang have been associated
with drug trafficking, sex work rings,
and extortion.
 Sicilian Mafia: La Cosa Nostra

Despite being a young mafia (it

started in the second half of the
19th century), the Sicilian and
American Cosa Nostra ("Our
Thing") rapidly became the most
feared organized crime group
wherever they settled. Strictly
family-based and hierarchical, the
group is very ritualized and has
elaborate initiation ceremonies
that are open only to Sicilian
men. They follow omert, a code
of silence and secrecy; failing to
do so results in execution.
 Albanian Mob
There are over 15 clans that
control the bulk of Albanian
organized crime. The highly
organized and rigid structure
of their mostly family-based
system has resulted in
Albanian mafia cells spreading
globally, with a focus on drug
trafficking, human trafficking,
and arms dealing. They are
quick to violence and one of
the godfathers, Daut
Kadriovski, has been identified
as the biggest heroin dealer in
Europe.
 Serbian Mafia
Composed of multiple groups in
Serbia and the Serbian diaspora,
the mafia was seen by many
Serbs as a way out of the crushing
economic aftermath of the
Yugoslav Wars. With active cells
in 20-30 countries, the
organization is best known for
drug trafficking and gun-running,
although several Serbian bosses
in Madrid made headlines in
2009 when they killed and ate a
recalcitrant member after
running him through a meat
grinder.
 Montreal Mafia: The Rizzutos
The Rizzuto family organized crime
syndicate is mostly based in
Montreal, but spreads across
southern Quebec and Ontario. They
built up connections to New York's
Bonanno family (part of the
notorious "Five Families" of the US
Cosa Nostra), which eventually led to
a vicious mafia war in Montreal in the
late 1970s. The senior levels of the
family were decimated first by a
police sting and then by numerous
assassinations, leaving a power
vacuum. The Rizzuto family owns
most of Montreal's construction
contracting.
 Mexican drug cartels

Although the Mexican drug trafficking

organizations have existed for decades, they
rose to greater power with the demise of the
Medellin and Cali Colombian cartels. Drug
trafficking now makes up approximately 63%
of Mexico's economy, and is responsible for
hundreds of thousands of deaths. The "war
on drugs" has resulted in dangerous and
violent retaliation from the cartels; more
than 20,000 people have disappeared, and
an investigation into mass graves found a
staggering 24,000 corpses. Rape, kidnap, and
torture are endemic, and cartel members are
often armed with military-grade weapons,
like rocket launchers and the ubiquitous AK-
47s.
 Mara Salvatrucha
Often shortened to MS-13,
this gang of mostly Central
Americans is based in Los
Angeles, although they have
spread to elsewhere in North
America and Mexico. They are
notoriously violent, and were
recruited by the Sinaloa cartel
to help with enforcement. The
gang is reported to have over
50,000 members, who are
distinguished by their large
tattoos, often on the face and
chest, and their distinctive
hand signs.
 Colombian drug cartels

Until 2011, Colombia was the world's

top cocaine producer, but a strong
anti-narcotic campaign has resulted
in the dismantling of many of the
most dangerous producers, such as
the Medellin and Cali cartels. At their
peak, these cartels hired engineering
experts from Russia and the US to
help with their trafficking. The
disappearance of the larger groups
left Colombia's organized crime
landscape fractured and vulnerable
to manipulation and attack by
guerrilla groups and both Colombian
and US governments.
 Chinese Triads
Triads are a loose name for
Chinese organized crime
groups, who received the
name from British authorities
as a reference to the triangular
symbol they use (the character
"hung" inside a triangle). The
US government estimates they
smuggle up to 100,000
undocumented people into
the country every year, and
they are also particularly
active in counterfeiting money.
The hub for Triad activity is
Hong Kong.
 D-Company

This group based in India, Pakistan,

and the UAE is led by Dawood
Ibrahim, an internationally wanted
man (and Bollywood star) whose
activities go from extortion up to
terrorist acts like the 1993 Bombay
bombings, which killed 257 people
and injured over 700. Ibrahim is said
to have ties to Al-Qaeda and the
Taliban, and D-Company is funded
with billions of dollars from
legitimate businesses (including real
estate and banking) as well as illegal
activities. Currently on the run,
Ibrahim is said to have undergone
extensive plastic surgery.
 Titles, Ranks And Positions

Associates
Associates are not actual members of the Mafia but rather anyone who teams up
with them on a criminal enterprise of some kind. They could be someone who
does business with the mob, including money-laundering bankers, crooked cops,
lawyers, politicians, drug dealers, etc. There are also the Italian newcomers who
have yet to be made, called cugines, and they play a minor role in the operation of
the Mafia. Associates are also fair game on the streets, they are not protected by
the organization. Anybody can be an associate in the mafia, however only Italians
and Sicilians can be made.

Soldiers
The lowest-ranking members of the hierarchy of the Mafia and La Cosa nostra are
the soldiers, the grunts of the organization who do the majority of the work,
making deliveries, picking up cash, and generally sticking out their neck in the
hope of making a name for themselves by demonstrating their loyalty to the
organization. Children as young as sixteen have been admitted.
 Caporegimes
The capo, or caporegime, is the captain or lieutenant of a division within the
Mafia. He heads a crew of soldiers and reports directly to a boss or underboss,
who hands down the instructions. He ranks much higher in the hierarchy of the
Mafia. He is also in charge of handling most money.

Consigliere
The consigliere, or chief advisor, is not officially part of the hierarchy of the Mafia,
but he plays one of the most important roles in a crime family. He is the close
trusted friend and confidant of the family boss. The function of the consigliere is a
throwback to medieval times, when a monarch placed his trust in an advisor
whom he could summon for strategic information and sound advice. The
consigliere is meant to offer unbiased information based on what he sees as best
for the family. Hes not supposed to factor emotional concerns, such as retaliation
and blood feuds, into his decisions. Unlike the underboss (see below), the
consigliere is not required to be a direct relative of the boss. Instead, he is chosen
solely for his abilities and the amount of knowledge he possesses. Generally, only
the boss and underboss have more authority than the consigliere in an organized
crime family.
 Underboss
The underboss, or capo bastone, is second-in-command in the hierarchy of the Mafia crime family.
His level of authority varies from family to family, but he is ready to stand in for the boss at any
given moment. In the violent and volatile world of the mob, the underboss can easily find himself
at the helm of the family so, for the most part, they are usually groomed for an eventual takeover,
particularly if the bosss health is failing or if it looks like hes headed for a stay in the joint. A family
may have two underbosses. An example of this was boss Carlo Gambino, who had Paul "Big Paul"
Castellano and Aniello "Mr. Neil" Dellacroce as underboss at the same time. However, one
underboss is far more common.

Boss
The boss, or capo famiglia, makes all the important decisions, much like a CEO of a company would.
Although each mob boss may run his outfit in a different way, they have one thing in common: they
are greatly respected and widely feared by their subordinates. All of the men in his outfit pay him a
tribute, so he is also usually an extremely wealthy man. More commonly, the word "Don" may
proceed his first or last name.
 God Father
It is a phrase used mainly by the media, public and the
law enforcement community to indicate a supremely
powerful crime boss in the Sicilian or American Mafia
who holds great influence over the whole organization.
The title was introduced to the U.S. public by the
Kefauver Commission (1950). It has seldom been given
to specific bosses because it could create tension
between different factions (otherwise known as
families) within the Mafia. Typically the title is awarded
de facto to the boss of the most powerful Mafia family.