James Finckenauer
Distinguished Professor Emeritus And Professorial Fellow, Rutgers University
Key Findings
- Organized crime consists of ideology (or lack of), structure/hierarchy, continuity, violence/threat of force, restricted membership/bonding, illegal enterprise, use of legitimate businesses, and corruption.
- Organized crime is different from terrorist groups as is not acting on political or religious beliefs.
- The mafia was noted to be a separate sub-group of organized crime.
- Organized crime has a level of sophistication, structure, self-identification, and a reputation or authority about them that other criminal networks lack.
Description
In the essay, “Problems of Definition: What is Organized Crime?”, Finckenauer examines the perceptions and definitions of organized crime, which has made it difficult to research, share information, and create policy on the topic without a stable definition. Finckenauer notes that many of these inconsistencies in perception and definition stem from media portrayals of organized crime. Governmental organizations have long had difficulties conceptualizing the “organized” aspect of crime. Finckenauer’s framework for organized crime consists of ideology (or lack of), structure/hierarchy, continuity, violence/threat of force, restricted membership/bonding, illegal enterprise, use of legitimate businesses, and corruption. Another distinction Finckenauer makes is that organized crime is different from terrorist groups as is not acting on political or religious beliefs. There are also many terms such as “mafia” that are associated with organized crime, which may be regionally based. Another distinction is made between organized crime and crime that is organized. Organized crime has a level of sophistication, structure, self-identification, and a reputation or authority about them that other criminal networks lack. In conclusion, Finckenauer notes that this issue of defining organized crime is only growing as a new form transcending country borders, but it will also need definition to study and combat.