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OrganizedCrimes2.docxRunning Head: ORGANIZED CRIMES AND TERRORISM 1
ORGANIZED CRIMES AND TERRORISM 2
Organized Crimes and Terrorism
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Introduction/definition of Organized Crime
Organized crime is a multifaceted criminal syndicate that plans illicit activities and executes intending to profit from unlawful deals that are publicly demanded (Fijnaut, 2016). The presence of these syndicate is maintained by bribing officials serving in the public sector, intimidating person anti-crime agencies, and using force to protect their actions.
History of Organized crimes in the US
The history of organized crimes in American can be dated from the 17th century (Fijnaut, 2014). During this era, crimes of orderly nature had not developed like they are today. It majorly included pirates who organized themselves in the hijacking, stealing and looting merchant vessels in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans whose coastal lines extends to major countries in North America. These also undertook large scale trades in stolen valuable items such a gold ornament. Most observers and scholars locate the origins of organized crimes in urban centres from the beginning of the 19th century. Existing and emerging urban centres attracted a reliable population that provided adequate conditions for criminal activities to flourish (Fijnaut, 2016). The dense population size provided customers for stolen goods and victims; this enhanced the growth and development of organized crimes. Examples of organized crimes in the early 19th century included; prostitution in brothels, selling stolen properties, illegal gambling, loan shacking, extortion, and drug trafficking, and copyright infringements (Roibu, 2015). Some of these crimes diminished with time, but the majority has metamorphosized into more complex organized crimes that have been enhanced by a change in the global economy and improved ICT (information communications technology). In the 21st century, organized crimes have grown in complexity, numbers, and operating beyond the American borders (FBI, 2020). As of the year 2020, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigates Transnational Organized crimes (TOC) that are rapidly growing in the US and other parts of the world. These new era criminal syndicates have not to structure under which they operate since they keep evolving (FBI, 2020). They always aim to obtain power or influence top powerful government officials, and most importantly, they work for financial gains.
Example of Organized Crimes Syndicates in the US
In the united states, these organized criminal groups include; Italian-American mafia, an affiliate of the La Cosa Nostra with other affiliate organizations. These affiliates include; Bonannoare, Lucchese, Colombo, Genovese, and Gambino Crime family (five families) that primarily operate within New York (Poppi et al., 2018). The gang leader of the Lucchese crime family is Mathew Madonna. Joseph Cammarano Jr heads Bonannoare. The boss of the larger La Cosa Nostra is Mateo Dinallo, who has been on the run, and police have not been able to capture him (FBI, 2020). Rivals of La Cosa Nostra include Stidda and their allies, such as Unione Corse and Camorra (Poppi et al., 2018). Currently, these organized criminal groups commit crimes such as; human trafficking, smuggling immigrants, drug trafficking, smuggling of ancient cultural properties, and properties (Beittel, 2020). Also, there is an array of; counterfeits goods, money laundering, wildlife smuggling, firearms trafficking, cyber-crimes, and illegal gambling (Beittel, 2020). Drug trafficking in the US is a significant threat to the young population. This crime is majorly committed by organized groups such as; Sinaloa Cartels, Gulf cartels, Tijuana/Arellano Felix organization (AFO), among others. The leader of Sinaloa Cartels was Joaquin Guzman, famously know as Guzman (Beittel, 2020). He is currently serving a life sentence after his arrest in 2019.
The growth and development of the TOC syndicates have been fuelled by the technological advance of the 21st century (Roibu, 2015). TOC uses internet-based technology to commit cyber-related crimes such as; fee fraud schemes, phishing, internet auction fraud, and social engineering. Through the use of offshore servers and the internet, they have globally extended their malicious cybercrime activities.
Threats Posed by Organized Crimes
Organized crimes are a threat to the US government since its influence has penetrated the states (Paoli, 2014). This has weakened some institutions' autonomy due to corrupt government officials who work for criminal groups. They are also a threat to the US economy since they distort and exploit legitimate market (Roibu, 2015). Such risks can lead to the closure of legitimately operating businesses and, in a worse case, they can jeopardize the World financial stability. Also, they are a source of funding for terror-related activities. Additionally, this criminal group has led to the expansion of drug trafficking in the US (FBI, 2020). Drugs pose a significant danger to the US young population. Drugs such as cocaine, heroin, and opioids. According to the Centres for Disease Control (CDC), opioids markets have been expanded in the US due to organized crimes. In 2019, CDC reported 70 percent of overdose-related deaths from opioids abuse. Finally, violence and homicides rates are still abundant due to the prevalence of organized crimes. Gangs use violence to manipulate and instil fear among their rivals and investigative government agencies (FBI, 2020). Homicides have increased as some organized criminal groups use it to warn those perusing them, and other cases resulting from drug abuse.
Conclusion/Recommendations
Organized crimes continue to be a major threat to the stability of the United States. These threat leads to a loss of tax and inflates the cost of consumers goods. The menace of organized crimes on drug trafficking can't go untold. The damage to the young generation is impacting a lot to the healthcare system. The government has put measures to neutralized threats posed by organized criminals, for example, by arresting gang leaders. However, much need to be done in dealing with those gangs. Governments authorities in charge of combating these crimes like the FBI and DEA need to strengthen. For example, they should increase their salaries and cultivate a culture of patriotism during training. Additionally, they should be equipped with more advanced technological equipment to combat the rising cases of cyber-crimes.
Terrorism
Introduction
Terrorism is a planned use of violence to cause and instil a climate of fear and worry about a specific population and thereby send a particular message (Schlegelmilch et al., 2917). Acts of terror have been perpetrated by organized criminal groups, political groups, religious affiliations, and state institutions such as; police, intelligence services, and militaries (Schlegelmilch et al., 2917). Terror attacks that spread fear amid violence on an innocent population put pressure on third parties, such as the government, to take another course of action in terms of policies or positions. Terrorists are motivated by four main goals: nationalism, exclusionism, socialism, and religious extremism. To command the much-needed fear in the public domain, terrorists engage in attacks such as; hostage-taking, hijacking, mass shooting, car bombing, and most commonly used is suicide bombing (Schlegelmilch et al., 2917). The attacks are executed in places where people gather in large numbers to increase casualties' rates that will increase the shock value.
History of Terrorism in the US
History of terrorism in the US can be dated back to 1978 when a man famously referred to as "The Unabomber" executed a series of attacks between 1978 and 1995 killing three and injuring 23 others using a string of bombing that he used to email (Chaliand et al., 2016). This attack was among the first cases of domestic terrorism in the US. In 1993, six people were killed and 1000 injured after a terror attack occurred through bombing on the second subterranean level of Vita Hotels packing in New York (Chaliand et al., 2016). In 1995 a fatal shooting left 168 citizens dead and approximately 700 with serious injuries. The terrorist bombed Alfred Federal Building in Oklahoma City. On September11, 2001, a series of the deadliest external terror attacks were carried on US soil claiming the lives of 2977 people (Chaliand et al., 2016). In 2013, the twin bomb exploded during the Boston Marathon, killing three peoples and approximately injuring 265 citizens (Chaliand et al., 2016). In 2015 another domestic attack was carried out by radicalized couples who opened fire on a holiday party in California, killing 14 citizens. Another shooting spree followed it in a gay club. In this incident, 49 peoples were killed by an American marking another event of domestic terrorism. In 2017, a person was killed and 19 injured during a counter-protest after being slammed by a speeding car. In the same year, eight people got killed, and others wounded after a man drove on a bicycle path in New York (Chaliand et al., 2016). Finally, a recent case of domestic terrorism occurred in 2019 after 22 people were killed in Texas following a mass shooting at a Walmart store. In another incident, a young man opens fire on the naval air station in Florida, killing three US sailors (Mullins, 2015). Following the increased events of domestic terrorism, US President Donald Trump signed into law a joint resolution condemning domestic terror attack in 2017.
Financiers and Sympathizers
Terrorism activities don't just occur; they are well-financed, planned, and executed (Mullins, 2015). Most of the attacks occurring in the US, both domestic and external, have been financed by al Muslim terror groups such as the Taliban and the Al Qaeda network. These groups have been against the dominance and influence of the US (Mullins, 2015). Al Qaeda is a radical ideological movement in the Islamic states that have organized terror attacks across the globe. In some cases, the Transnational Organized Crimes (TOC) leaders have financed terrorism activities with little impact.
Conclusion/Recommendations
Terrorism activities have impacted the American economy with a large magnitude. A lot of budgets have been allocated to improve security and to counter planned attacks. These attacks have disrupted institutions of learning, churches, and families once members are killed in the attacks. Terrorism has caused psychological trauma on victims, with some succumbing to heart attacks.
The Us government needs to evaluate its strategies on counter-terrorism by involving other countries in the world since terrorism is increasingly becoming a global problem. A counter-terrorism strategy should mostly include Muslim countries from which theses terrorists operate from. This will ensure that terrorist's safe havens are identified and neutralized. Finally, all the security elements in the US must work together to combat this common enemy. The sharing of resources and information should be on a mutual basis for success to be achieved.
References
Albanese, J. S. (2014). Organized crime: From the mob to transnational organized crime. Routledge.
Chaliand, G., & Blin, A. (Eds.). (2016). The history of terrorism: From antiquity to ISIS. Univ of California Press.
Fijnaut, C. (2014). Searching for organized crime in history. The Oxford handbook of organized crime, 53-95.
Fijnaut, C. (2016). Organized crime: a comparison between the United States of America and Western Europe. In the Containment of Organised Crime and Terrorism (pp. 153-174). Brill Nijhoff.
Fijnaut, C. (2016). Organized crime: a comparison between the United States of America and Western Europe. In the Containment of Organised Crime and Terrorism (pp. 153-174). Brill Nijhoff.
FBI. (2020, July 10). Transnational Organized Crime. Retrieved from What We Ivestigate: https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/organized-crime
Mullins, S. J. (2015). 'Home-grown'Jihad: Understanding Islamist Terrorism In The Us And Uk. World Scientific.
Paoli, L. (Ed.). (2014). The Oxford handbook of organized crime. Oxford Handbooks.
Poppi, F. I. M., Travaglino, G. A., & Di Piazza, S. (2018). Talis pater, talis filius: the role of discursive strategies, thematic narratives and ideology in Cosa Nostra. Critical Discourse Studies, 15(5), 540-560.
Roibu, M. (2015). Organized Crime in the United States and its Modern Challenges. JE-Eur. Crim. L., 88.
Schlegelmilch, J., Petkova, E., Martinez, S., & Redlener, I. (2017). Acts of terrorism and mass violence targeting schools: Analysis and implications for preparedness in the USA. Journal of business continuity & emergency planning, 10(3), 280-289.
