Organized crime is a social group with a certain structure and with members who organize to commit criminal actions. According to Organized Crime (2016), unlike the criminal who acts alone, individuals who are part of an organized crime gang must respond to the structure and fulfill a certain function. Organized crime is usually more complex tasks than common theft or theft. These organized crime groups engage in activities such as drug or weapons trafficking, white trafficking, smuggling or counterfeiting. It is common for these criminal organizations to be governed by a hierarchical order. The members of the lower layers must make merits to ascend and show their loyalty to the bosses.
The complexity of illegal markets of international scope is greater than ever: also known as transnational organized crime, it is a business that is based on the sale of products not covered by the Law, and generates billions of dollars per year. Far from worrying about issues related to security or ethics, these merchants move based on demand. It is correct to affirm that the majority of serious crimes of international scope, committed for clear profit are part of some transnational organized gang. Some of the activities that are most commonly associated with this area are the trafficking of people, drugs and weapons, the adulteration of products, money laundering, the sale of animals and more recently, attacks on computer systems of large companies. Organized crime threatens the safety of people and animals. This represents a space in which basic rights are not respected and goes against the correct cultural, economic, social, civil, and political development of countries around the world.
According to Reynolds & McKee (2010), one of the most worrying aspects of transnational organized crime is its ability to mutate to adapt to changing market trends, as if it were a virus that by all means avoids being targeted by natural selection. Since it does not respond to any legal or moral framework, this business does not fear drastic measures, provided that they guarantee the continuity of its profits. In order to avoid organized crime, it is necessary to develop an anti-corruption policy within the State. Exclude people with criminal convictions related to organized crime from bidding processes. Promote the collection and exchange between members of state that handle information about legal entities and legal entities. Allocate financial resources to different funds to prevent the transformation of urban centers into breeding grounds for the development of organized crime. Invest in the training of officials responsible for developing and implementing preventive policy measures against organized crime. Develop measures for the protection of certain vulnerable groups against the influence of organized crime (for example through codes of conduct).
References
Organized Crime. (2016, May 3). Retrieved from https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/organized-crime.
Reynolds, L., & McKee, M. (2010, November 15). Organised crime and the efforts to combat it: a concern for public health. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2996357/.