Week 3: Growth of Criminal Organizations

Now that you have examined the scope and activity of gangs and organized crime groups, you can step back and ask the “why” questions. Why do criminal organizations not only exist but thrive in the United States today? Why do individuals join these organizations in the first place?

Theories are helpful in beginning to answer these questions. Macro-level sociological theories point to factors of environment, geography, race, ethnicity, and social class to explain how criminal organizations succeed in certain locations. Micro-level psychological theories take a more focused approach, addressing human development and individual factors that make a person at greater risk of joining a gang or criminal organization.

This week, you engage with both micro- and macro-level perspectives, comparing the theories and determining how well they account for criminal organizations in your community.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

· Analyze motivations for joining criminal organizations

· Compare theories of criminal organizations

· Evaluate the degree to which theories of criminal organizations account for their growth patterns and trends

Learning Resources

Note: To access this week’s library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of your Syllabus.

Required Readings

Howell, J. C., & Griffiths, E. (2018). Gangs in America’s communities (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

· Chapter 4, “General Macro-Level Theories and Modern-Day Applications” (pp. 81–110)

· Chapter 5, “Micro-Level Theories: Developmental Life-Course Pathways and Other Micro-Level Explanations for Gang Involvement” (pp. 111–158)

· Chapter 7, “National Gang Problem Trends: 1996–2012” (pp. 183–218)

Harbeck, K. M. (2017). Crime theory: Organized crime. In Salem Press encyclopedia. Ipswich, MA: Salem Press.

Roelofse, C. (2015). Encroachment: A theoretical explanation of organized crime, business and governance. Internal Security, 7(1), 123–141. doi:10.5604/20805268.1192774

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. (2018e, May). Module 6: Causes and facilitating factors of organized crime. Retrieved from https://www.unodc.org/e4j/en/organized-crime/module-6/index.html

Required Media

National Gang Center. (n.d.-c). Why youth join gangs [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgangcenter.gov/Video

THIS IS DUE WEDNESDAY THIS TIME 1/27/21 BY 10 PM

Assignment: Theories of Criminal Organizations

Today there is increased interest—and a greater body of published research than ever before—regarding the existence and activities of organized crime groups and gangs. At the heart of this issue is the question: who joins these groups and why? There are two generally accepted theoretical perspectives that explain gang and organized crime membership—one that includes theories focusing on psychological factors and one that includes theories focusing on sociological factors. Exploring each theoretical perspective is critical to understand potential reasons for the development and proliferation of gangs and organized crime groups.

In this Assignment, you examine specific theories that explain why someone would be motivated to join a criminal organization. You also compare the psychological and sociological perspectives of criminal organizations.

By Day 3

Submit a 500- to 750-word paper that addresses the following:

· What are the motivations for joining a criminal organization? Use theories to support your response.

· What are the similarities and differences between micro-level psychological perspectives and macro-level sociological perspectives of criminal organizations?

· Based on your comparison of the two groups of theories, what conclusions can you draw about why people join criminal organizations? What are the implications for criminal justice interventions against criminal organizations?

Be sure to reference the course readings to support your responses.

THIS IS DUE SATURDAY 1/30/21

Discussion: Application of Theory—Growth Patterns and Trends of Criminal Organizations

Criminal organizations are expected to grow well into the foreseeable future, particularly if harsh community, social, and economic conditions persist. For example, a lack of viable employment can often be the catalyst to join a criminal organization that offers more attractive, long-term options to make money through illegal activities. Technology is another contributing factor to the growth of criminal organizations. Criminal organizations may use social networking sites to recruit new members and the Internet for identity theft, fraud, and dark web transactions. Furthermore, criminal organizations are making more money than ever in illegal drug trade by trafficking synthetic and prescription drugs that can be produced cheaply anywhere in the world and sold throughout the United States.

In the Assignment this week, you examined theories of criminal organizations. Now you discuss the degree to which a specific theory accounts for growth patterns and trends of the criminal organization(s) in your city, state, or region.

By Day 5

Post a response that addresses the following:

· Briefly describe the theory to which you were assigned.

· To what degree does the theory sufficiently account for growth patterns and trends of criminal organizations in your city, state, or region?