Introduction
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigations, organized crime is any organization having some sort of formal structure with the main objective of making a profit through illegal activities. The groups typically maintain their position in society through the uses of violence, bribery, and extortion and have significant impacts on the development and security of a nation. It is therefore very critical to control organized crime so as to reduce its local, national, and regional impacts.
Problems Created and Relationships Established by Organized Crime
In recent years, organized crime has shown increased capability in adapting to rapid changes in the economic, political, and social spheres (Mezoul, 2012). There has been significant growth in the activities of criminal organizations that includes illegal drug, weapons, people, and natural resources trafficking. The revenues obtained from the illegal activities are then reinvested in the legal economy. This enables the criminal organizations to launder their profits from crime, diversify their activities, and increase their sources of funding. This makes it difficult for federal governments to differentiate legal from illegal money, allowing the criminal groups to infiltrate the licit economy and distort competition.
A large amount of profits turned by organized crimes enables them to impact public processes such as buying of elections through bribing of corrupt government officials. This action yields high profits for those involved but results in weak governance. Governments’ resources end up getting diverted from vital sectors such as development that consequently results in poverty and loss of confidence in public institutions.
Criminal organizations feed on the socio-economic difference and are also fed by it. Most victims of human trafficking and smuggling come from poor backgrounds. Criminal groups also join with poor farmers from developing nations to grow illicit crops because the farmers are not given any viable alternative by their governments. It is also in poor communities where criminal organizations recruit people to work for them.
Legal Limitations of Combating Organized Crime
Prosecution of organized crime in the United States raises two serious procedural matters of concern. The first involves the application of the Fourth Amendment regarding concerning the search and seizure provision. The Fourth Amendment protects people against unlawful searches and seizures by governmental agencies. As such, this any evidence obtained against the amendment cannot be used in a federal or state court of law (Marcus, 2015). Many criminals have found refuge in the Fourth Amendment conducting illegal activities in their private premises. Anytime they are aware that the police are investigating them they move any incriminating evidence to other locations. Since acquiring a search warrant sometimes may take time, the police should be allowed to search any premises without a warrant as long as they have reasonable cause of doing so.
The second concern is the forfeiture procedure of property used in the commission of a crime. The law states that such property is subject to seizure by the state or federal government without any compensation regardless of whether the property was obtained legally. The major concern about this law is that the government must protect any innocent person who was not responsible or did not have any knowledge of the crime. This has encouraged criminals to hold property with other individuals who are not involved in criminal activities. To make the law effective, properties of innocent people who are not responsible for the crimes should also be seized. The only protection the people should receive is protection against prosecution.
Solution to Controlling of Organized Crime
Organized crime cuts across geographical borders exploiting our economy domestically and internationally. Nations all over the world have seen the need to work together to combat the threats presented by international organized crime. This has led to the formation of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime consisting of 137 nations including the United States. The United States is leading the efforts to enhance joint investigations and share information with other foreign authorities (United States Department of Justice, 2008). To effectively deal with the threat of international organized crime, the United State law enforcements should take advantage of the established relationships and foreign authorities to collaborate in the domestic and foreign prosecution of organized crime cases.
References
Marcus, P. (2015). The challenge of prosecuting organized crime in the United States: Procedural issues. Retrieved from http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1247&context=facpubs
Mezoui, H. (2012). Drugs and crime as a threat to development. Retrieved June 8, 2016, from General Assembly of the United Nations, http://www.un.org/en/ga/president/66/Issues/drugs/drugs-crime.shtml
United States Department Of Justice. (2008). Strategy to Combat International Organized Crime. Retrieved from https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/ag/legacy/2008/04/23/ioc-strategy-public-overview.pdf
