NCJ Number
35797
Date Published
1971
Length
117 pages
Annotation
THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO IDENTIFY AND EXAMINE THE PREDICTIVE UTILITY OF SEVERAL CATEGORIES OF INDICES DIRECTED AT MONITORING PHENOMENA WHICH MAY BE AFFECTED BY CHANGES IN THE LEVEL OF ORGANIZED CRIMINAL ACTIVITY.
Abstract
THIS STUDY WAS UNDERTAKEN TO PROVIDE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS WITH A GENERAL APPROACH FOR THE SYSTEMATIC DEVELOPMENT OF INDICES TO EVALUATE AND GUIDE ORGANIZED CRIME CONTROL PROGRAMS. THIS REPORT ANALYZES ONE FORM OF EXTORTION, THE FORCED PLACEMENT OF COIN VENDING MACHINES. THE ANALYSIS FOCUSES UPON CHANGES IN LICENSING PATTERNS OF VENDING SERVICES BUSINESS AND ATTEMPTS TO ISOLATE THOSE CHANGES WHICH CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO SHIFTS IN ORGANIZED CRIMINAL ACTIVITY. IT WAS HYPOTHESIZED THAT SHIFTS IN THESE PATTERNS MIGHT INDICATE LICENSE TRANSFERS OR THE LICENSING OF NEW BUSINESSES PRELIMINARY TO EXTORTED PRICE INCREASES, SPECIFICALLY CHANGES IN THE LEVEL OF LICENSE CONCENTRATION. IDENTIFYING SHIFTS IN CONCENTRATION OVERTIME REQUIRES ANALYSIS OF MACHINE LICENSEES AS A PERCENTAGE OF THE TOTAL INDUSTRY AND OF THE NUMBER OF MACHINE LICENSES HELD IN GROUPS OF 'N' OR LESS AS A PERCENTAGE OF THE TOTAL NUMBER OF LICENSES. THIS ANALYSIS IS FIRST ILLUSTRATED THROUGH USE OF HYPOTHETICAL DATA. THE ACTUAL LICENSING PATTERNS OF JUKE BOXES IN A SPECIFIC CITY ARE THEN ANALYZED. ANALYSIS RESULTS ARE PLOTTED ON GRAPHS. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT THE ANALYSIS APPEARS TO BE SENSITIVE ENOUGH TO IDENTIFY EVENTS NOT CAUSED BY LEGITIMATE MARKET FORCES AND THAT LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS SHOULD MONITOR CHANGES IN LICENSING CONCENTRATIONS OF CERTAIN TYPES OF BUSINESSES AND BE PREPARED TO IDENTIFY THE REASONS FOR MAJOR SHIFTS IN CONCENTRATION. APPENDED IS GRAPHIC DATA ON THE CUMULATIVE DISTRIBUTIONS OF JUKE BOX LICENSES AND LICENSEES. FOR OTHER REPORTS IN THIS SERIES, SEE NCJ-35794-96 AND 98.