Problems associated with organized crimes

Organized Crimes
Name
Institution
Thesis
Organized crime is increasingly becoming a problem among the United States citizens. The Mafia was among the earliest group to show its might and manipulation among the people and businesses of New York City. Other criminal organizations surfaced after the Mafia and have been using their power to corrupt personnel within the business fraternity to gain political and financial strength. Smaller organized criminal syndicates have been tormenting and terrorizing citizens in the society. The big question right now, is how these organized crimes can be controlled? This paper will look at the problems and issues presented, and their relationships established and recognized with the organized crimes. It will also describe and highlight the legal challenges that are associated when combating such crimes, including a critique of vital federal strategies and laws that support fight against these crimes. In conclusion, there will be a suggestion of realistic means and solutions to combat organized crimes by clearly articulating and evaluating the effectiveness of such crime prosecutions.
Problems associated with organized crimes
According to United Nations Office on Drug and Crime, organized crime is defined as "any crime that threatens the peace and human security, violates human rights and undermines economic, social, cultural, political and civil development of societies around the world." The criminal syndicates work to collect money illegally by instilling fear in the society and employing corruption to realize their goals. These criminal organizations are of four types; criminal syndicates, criminal gangs, political criminal machine and the criminal rackets (Mallory, 2012). The criminal syndicates focus on a large population offering services like sex, drugs, among others. The criminal gangs focusses on kidnapping, armed robbery and drug trafficking. They prey on helpless business owners and the elderly. Political criminals manipulate the politicians to have the political power so that they can carry out their duties smoothly. The criminal rackets are involved in massive corruption and evasion of income taxes.
Organized crimes weaken the economy with their illegal activities such as tax evasion scams and cigarette trafficking that ultimately results in a loss revenue for federal and state governments. Their fraudulent activities in spheres of strategic commodities, insurance, credit, investments, security and stocks could weaken the housing and financial markets (Lombardo, 2012).
The organized crimes involve money laundering which is detrimental to the economy if not monitored correctly. The ill-gotten money is laundered through various method then released to the public as "clean money." With the increased globalization, this crime is on the rise, and it’s becoming hard to combat (United States, 2012). Money laundering is a federal crime, and the federal government has enacted laws to combat these crimes.
Counterfeiting and piracy have become rampant due to the organized crimes. There is massive evidence indicating that organizations are increasingly becoming involved in the production and distribution of pirated and counterfeit goods. They normally target the music and video industries, luxury goods, clothing companies and the tobacco industry. The federal government has taken measures to combat these crimes. In March 2004, the justice department created an intellectual task force to combat counterfeiting and property piracy by the organized crimes. The organized criminals are also involved in counterfei...