Organized crime relies heavily on supply and demand laws, a move that presents a series of problems to law enforcement agencies to contain the drug syndicates. The essay’s theme is to show various strategies that have been put in place to help combat organized crime, which has proved to be a worldwide issue. Based on criminal activities’ changing nature, organized crime will always adapt to the evolving environment, which guarantees sustainability to illegal activities. The reduction of the sustainability of organized crime activities has led to new ways to hinder their operational capacity.
Fijnaut, C., and Paoli, L. (2006). Organized Crime and Its Control Policies. European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law, and Justice Studies. Vol. 14 (307-327).
The erosion of national borders in Europe led to the infiltration of legitimate economies and politics, embedding themselves at society’s heart. European Union and Council of Europe put in place treaties and select units such as INTERPOL to curb organized crime influence (Fijnaut and Paoli, 2006). However, the treaties are uniformly based on the internationalization of policies to all EU member countries. Organized crime gangs differentiate their trade depending on each country; thus, by having similar policies relating to cross border cooperation, some countries are more susceptible to continued organized crimes. Each country should differentiate preventive measures depending on the problems they face. Organized crime manifests itself locally; thus, local authorities should be given leeway to contribute to policy development instead of bureaucrats.
Blakey, G. R. (2006). RICO: The Genesis of an Idea. Trends in Organized Crime Vol: 9(8-34).
There have been policies enacted in Europe and the United States, such as Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), which describes 35 offenses committed by organized crime gangs at the state and federal levels (Blakey, 2006). The Act was enacted to protect legitimate business owners from illegitimate partners. However, the inclusion of treble damages and civil RICO’s broad language has created an opportunity for abuse by private enterprises. RICO causes of action have general rules of discovery; thus, private entities use the Act to mount frivolous cases against enterprises instead of trying organized crimes. The RICO Act scope includes the income derived from racketeering activities to further economic status and to conspire to commit the offense; thus, the use of the Act by private enterprises undermines the fight against organized crimes due to the many civil cases arising.
The social embeddedness of crime has proved to be a typical study because of its distractive nature that hinders law enforcement from preventing crime and disorder. The continued fight against organized crimes should focus primarily on income-generating avenues, feature preventive measures specific to each country and collaborate with local authorities.
