Organized Crime
ORGANIZED CRIME
Organized crime, by and large, maybe described as a level of crime mainly carried out by groups of individuals coming together for the one goal of carrying out criminal activities such as drug and gun trading, human trafficking among other heinous crimes in a coordinated and organized fashion. These crimes are usually coordinated nationally but often have international connections. The groups carrying out these organized activities are usually deeply entrenched in the social structure of the society in which they exist, and are often financially viable to the extent where they are able to influence public officials who can assist them in conducting their illicit activities, mainly politicians, legal officers and law enforcement officers, making it difficult for any society to get rid of.
Organized Crime is not a new phenomenon and by no stretch of the imagination, a western one. As a matter of fact, could be dated back well in the 1920s when the Russian Mafia used its connections in the communist party to establish a black market network, making them very influential and wealthy, giving rise to corruption of public officials; to the Al Capone mob of Chicago which infiltrated the local law enforcement agencies and gained access to well known judges and politicians.
In the Jamaican context, the groups are referred to as gangs and are said to be more likely aligned to one of the two major political parties. Jamaica has, over the last forty years, grappled with the issue of Crime and violence and how to control it. In the 1980s crime became of a more organized nature when “dons” aligned to political parties formed what are called Garrison communities over which they ruled. These dons ensured that persons in these communities voted for the preferred political parties. They became very influential and maintained a status quo which saw them becoming leaders who enforced authorities at will. They later recruited footmen who carried out
Organized crime, by and large, maybe described as a level of crime mainly carried out by groups of individuals coming together for the one goal of carrying out criminal activities such as drug and gun trading, human trafficking among other heinous crimes in a coordinated and organized fashion. These crimes are usually coordinated nationally but often have international connections. The groups carrying out these organized activities are usually deeply entrenched in the social structure of the society in which they exist, and are often financially viable to the extent where they are able to influence public officials who can assist them in conducting their illicit activities, mainly politicians, legal officers and law enforcement officers, making it difficult for any society to get rid of.
Organized Crime is not a new phenomenon and by no stretch of the imagination, a western one. As a matter of fact, could be dated back well in the 1920s when the Russian Mafia used its connections in the communist party to establish a black market network, making them very influential and wealthy, giving rise to corruption of public officials; to the Al Capone mob of Chicago which infiltrated the local law enforcement agencies and gained access to well known judges and politicians.
In the Jamaican context, the groups are referred to as gangs and are said to be more likely aligned to one of the two major political parties. Jamaica has, over the last forty years, grappled with the issue of Crime and violence and how to control it. In the 1980s crime became of a more organized nature when “dons” aligned to political parties formed what are called Garrison communities over which they ruled. These dons ensured that persons in these communities voted for the preferred political parties. They became very influential and maintained a status quo which saw them becoming leaders who enforced authorities at will. They later recruited footmen who carried out