ABSTRACT
Organized crime is different from crime committed by individuals or by random street cliques and gangs. The distinguishing feature is organization, which specifies the chain of command in the crime group. Organized crime groups also typically have codes of conduct, specific symbols for themselves, initiation rituals, and styles of in-group communication that set them apart from mere criminals and from the mainstream world. They are self-styled “cultural” enclaves that inspire a sense of belonging from the organizational, symbolic, and ritualistic codes that they have concocted to distinguish themselves. This chapter provides an overview of organized crime, distinguishing between traditional, classical, or historical crime groups and neophyte or emergent ones. The Italian-based criminal organizations, such as the Mafia, the ‘Ndrangheta and the Camorra; the Japanese Yakuza; and the Chinese Triads are among the best known of the traditional crime groups, while the Vory v Zakone and the Hells Angels are examples of neophyte ones. All of the gangs aim to acquire control or power over territories, which constitute the main source of their money and which guarantee more power in a vicious circle that is of great advantage to them.
