NCJ Number
163478
Date Published
1995
Length
184 pages
Annotation
In addressing the discipline of sociology, this book contends that organized crime has been virtually ignored by sociologists since the 1920's.
Abstract
The difficult problem of defining organized crime lends support to the claim that sociologists have not adequately researched organized crime. Further, sociologists have avoided the study of organized crime because there is no consensus among sociologists and the law enforcement community as to what activities constitute organized crime. Three general models of organized crime have been proposed: (1) organized crime is an alien conspiracy transported to the United States by foreigners; (2) organized crime is a product of the urban environment in which gangsters carry out their criminal activities; and (3) organized crime is inherent in the social, political, and economic life of American society. The book defines organized crime to include racketeering and vice (bootlegging, illegal drugs, illegal gambling, usury, and prostitution), coordinated by two or more people on a continuous basis for economic gain and sustained through force and/or the corruption of public officials. Book chapters examine the social disorganization paradigm of crime and deviance, early organized crime in Chicago and the development of American sociology, organized crime as a topic of sociological interest, and the lack of academic focus on the study of organized crime. References and tables