NCJ Number
92273
Date Published
1983
Length
18 pages
Annotation
Efforts to deal with organized crime must include both activities to improve our knowledge about such crime and its emerging forms and efforts to strengthen the Federal criminal laws relating to organized crime.
Abstract
Although organized crime affects every citizen every day, it generally stays hidden from public view. Although organized crime has existed in the United States since the late 17th century, Federal efforts to deal with it did not develop until the 1950's, starting with the hearings of a special Senate committee directed by Estes Kefauver. The lack of an effective Government response permitted the crime syndicates to grow and consolidate and let organized crime become more deeply involved in white-collar crime and in politics. Substantial Federal enforcement efforts began in the early 1960's, when the FBI began monitoring the activities of 400 of the Nation's leading organized crime figures. Later, President Johnson created a commission, whose recommendations regarding organized crime were incorporated into the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 and the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970. The creation in 1966 of the first Organized Crime Strike Force, consisting of attorneys and supervisory personnel from Federal investigative agencies, initiated another important program. The Strike Force program has continued to lead the fight against traditional organized crime. The Witness Security Program, created in 1971, has also proved useful. In the last 3 years, new approaches have been used to deal with the Nation's current main crime problem: drug trafficking. Task forces have been created to deal with this problem. The emergence of new crime cartels and the international nature of drug trafficking both require further efforts, particularly international cooperation. Greater public awareness and citizen participation are also needed as part of the efforts to deal with organized crime.