Crime's Global Reach (From Global Crime Connections: Dynamics and Control, P 1-31, 1993, Frank Pearce and Michael Woodiwiss, eds. -- See NCJ-164444)

• NCJ Number: 164445
• Author(s): M Woodiwiss
• Date Published: 1993
• Length: 31 pages
• Sale Source: University of Toronto Press
• Publication Type: Historical Overview
• Language: English
• Country: Canada

Annotation

In challenging the view that organized crime is a monolithic foreign import into America that has poisoned American society, this chapter argues that organized crime in America is multifaceted and has stemmed from America's legislative and law enforcement policies.

Abstract

The concept of the Mafia as synonymous with organized crime in America was a new variant of an old nativist and xenophobic theme. For over a century American politicians and opinion-makers had been blaming immigrants for all sorts of social problems as well as crime. Ethnic-conspiracy theories and stereotyping were an important part of the propaganda that accompanied America's early 20th-century moral crusade. This crusade put tens of thousands of Federal, State, and local laws on the statute books in an attempt to enforce morality by prohibitions on alcohol, gambling, prostitution, and drugs, plus strict censorship and a host of more trivial restrictions. The concept of regulating and controlling gambling, medicalizing drug addiction, or tolerating recreational drug or alcohol use was as unthinkable as licensing murder or robbery. Such policies became the fuel for profitmaking among organized criminal enterprises, the growth of law enforcement institutions, and the erosion of civil liberties. The demand for drugs in the United States fuels organized crime. Sources of raw material exist throughout the world, including the United States. Organizations, large and small, buy and process the raw materials and distribute the product through a host of retail outlets. Although some operations have lasted for decades, organization in the drug business is largely spontaneous, with anyone free to enter it at any level. There has never been an ethnically based monopoly in the drug business; there are many thousands of distribution and smuggling networks; decentralization characterizes the industry, with a high turnover of personnel. The potential for profit, made possible by demand and government policy, keep organized crime alive and prospering. 54 notes