Essay on Organised Crime in India
Organised crime is crime based on a cooperative effort like an organised business. Lindesmith (“Organised Crime”, The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, September 1941: 19) has defined it as “crime that involves the cooperation of several persons or groups for its successful execution”.
According to Gordon Hawkins (Cf. Radzinowicz, et al, Crime and Justice, Vol. I, 1971: 374), organised crime involves: (a) association of a small group of criminals for the execution of a certain type of crime, (b) chalking out plans by which detection may be avoided, (c) development of a fund of money for organising criminal activities and providing protection to members, and (d) maintaining political connections by means of which immunity may be secured in case of detection.
Thorsten Sellin (1963: 12-19) has described organised crime as “an enterprise organised for the purpose of making economic gain through illegal activities”. Pick-pocketing, robbery, burglary, smuggling, drug trafficking, prostitution, gambling are some of the crimes which involve association of a few criminals working as a team.
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The motive for committing these crimes is profit. Numerically, organised crime does not involve a large proportion of criminals, but, for society it is considered to be a serious problem.