NCJ Number
92816
Date Published
1983
Length
14 pages
Annotation
The process model of syndication, based on the results of this study, is a superior explanatory conception of criminal syndication in Trinidad.
Abstract
This case study of syndicated crime in the Caribbean explores the applicability of two competing models of organized crime networks. The structuralist model suggests that criminal organizations are highly structured and rigid. The process model suggests that organized crime networks reflect interaction and exchange processes inherent in social life. The methodology involved reconstructing data from recollections and notes taken while the researcher was a participant observer in Port O'Spain, Trinidad. The hypothesis states that organized criminal activity like that witnessed is best understood as a loosely structured network of patrol-client relationships. The study found that the group observed, called the Ras Boys, was involved in the open and legitimate activity of the community. They earned respect by providing security, arbitrating disputes, and otherwise protecting the community. They also catered to the illegal needs of their fellows by providing gambling, intoxicants, contraband, and stolen merchandise. The social behaviors described in the structuralist model are lacking here. The process model is the more accurate way of describing the highly variable relationships of the Ras Boys. Thirteen references and a table are provided.