ORGANIZED CRIME IN CHICAGO - PART 3 OF THE ILLINOIS CRIME SURVEY, 1929

• NCJ Number: 1856
• Author(s): J LANDESCO
• Date Published: 1968
• Length: 293 pages
• Sale Source: University of Chicago Press
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

CRIMINAL ACTIVITY IN THE SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF CHICAGO DURING THE 1920'S IS STUDIED.

Abstract

THIS IS A PART OF THE 1100 PAGE ILLINOIS CRIME REPORT PUBLISHED IN 1929. IN DESCRIBING THE TRANSITION FROM THE VICE LORDS AND GAMBLERS OF THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY TO THE BOOTLEGGERS AND RACKETEERS OF THE 1920'S, LANDESCO STRESSES BOTH CONTINUITY AND CHANGE IN CRIMINAL LEADERSHIP AND ORGANIZATION. AS A SOCIOLOGIST, HE PERCEIVES CRIME TO BE ROOTED IN THE SOCIAL ORGANIZATION AND SOCIAL DISORGANIZATION OF URBAN LIFE. HENCE, HE BELIEVES THAT THE GANGSTER IS A PRODUCT OF HIS SURROUNDINGS IN THE SAME WAY IN WHICH THE GOOD CITIZEN IS PART OF HIS ENVIRONMENT. LANDESCO DESCRIBES THE DIVERSE AND INTRICATE WAYS BY WHICH THE GANGSTER WAS BOUND TO THE ETHNIC LIFE, POLITICAL PROCESSES, AND OTHER ASPECTS OF THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT. ABSTRACT BY MARK H. HALLER.