I've decided to type up a sort of handy dandy cheat sheet guide concerning organized crime . This guide may prove especially useful to any new members of this forum who aren't particularly familiar with the subject of organized crime . So without further ado here it goes :

Organized crime is crime that is carried out by criminal organizations . The term can also be used to refer to criminal organizations in general . While the definition of what constitutes a criminal organization may vary , the best one out there ( IMHO ) is the one which defines criminal organizations as organizations that commit crime for the purpose of profit . Of course one can find a fine line between organizations fitting this definition and that of terrorist organizations , however it's generally true that the activities of terrorist organizations aren't conducive to the purpose of illegal moneymaking , which ( usually ) puts them in a category separate from organized crime .

The most prevalent types of organized crime vary with respect to country , region , settlement , etc. , however I will be giving a brief rundown about the three most commonly mentioned/categorizable types of organized crime below :

Mafias : Also ( more correctly ) referred to as mob groups these criminal organizations tend to engage in more sophisticated types of illegal moneymaking activities and also show a pronounced tendency to stay under the radar when compared to ( say ) street gangs . Another common defining feature of mafias is their tendency to have important legitimate contacts and to widely make use of corruption to advance their criminal activities . These organizations also tend to have their membership skew to the older side of the age bracket . Prominent examples of mafias are the Italian American Mafia ( aka LCN ) , the Ndrangheta , and the Yakuza .

Street Gangs : Street gangs are more likely to engage in less sophisticated forms of criminal activity ( such as street corner drug pushing ) and also have a pronounced tendency to be less under the radar than their mafia counterparts . Such criminal organizations are most likely to be found in urban areas and also tend to have a younger membership than their mafia counterparts . Prominent examples of street gangs are the Almighty Vice Lord Nation ( Vice Lords ) , Mara Salvatrucha ( MS13 ) , and the 18th Street Gang .


Prison Gangs : Prison gangs are criminal organizations that are typically formed and primarily based in correctional institutions . While their operations tend to be mainly confined to prison , certain prison gangs ( such as the Mexican Mafia ) wield great influence outside of prison walls via their control of street gangs . Many prison gangs share much in common with street gangs with respect to their names , symbols , slang , etc. , . Prominent examples of prison gangs are the Mexican Mafia ( La Eme ) , the Aryan Brotherhood ( AB ) , and the Black Guerrilla Family ( BGF ) .

I will be progressively adding more to this thread , however anyone else is welcome to make their own contributions .


Also I hope I'm not being pretentious by creating such a thread , it's just that I'd like to contribute a bit more to this forum in my own meager way .

The structure/hierarchical system of organized crime groups obviously varies , however it can be stated that most organized crime groups employ one of the three organizational structures described below :

Formal Organizational Structure : Organized crime groups that have this sort of structure are oftentimes mob groups . Such organizations have a true blue rank system with official titles such as boss , under boss , counselor , captain , etc. , . The role each member of the organizations plays is also clearly defined according to held rank . Examples of organizations that use this sort of organizational structure are Italian American Mafia families , Ndrangheta families , and Yakuza groups .

Semi Formal Organizational Structure : Organized crime groups that have this sort of structure often fall outside the three most common categories of organized crime . In other words they often can't be referred to as mob groups , street gangs , or prison gangs . Such groups have an acknowledged/implicitly understood form of hierarchy , however they don't use official titles and oftentimes the role of each member isn't clearly defined according to the rank they hold . Examples of organized crime groups that use this organizational structure are British firms and Irish organized crime groups .


Informal Organizational Structure : Organized crime groups that utilize this form of organizational structure don't officially distinguish between leaders and followers,in other words they are theoretically leaderless and thus not proper organized crime groups . However such groups do have members that assume leadership roles in practice and give orders to the other theoretically equal members of the group . It's also worth a mention that the line between such groups and criminal networks/associations can be very thin . Examples of organized crime groups that use this organizational structure are the ( now defunct ) Magliana Gang and many gangs belonging to the Bloods and Crips associations .

Nice job !
That will definitely help !

Most gangs are moving into white collar crime or already have

Getting rich by drug dealing is almost impossible nowadays for gangs

Different types of fraud are the biggest crimes now

i agree that drug dealears on the corner is for loser, you earn very little compared to the riks tou have, and also the producers earn little
who really earn with drugs are the wholesale dealers, if you are both producer abd wholesale dealer you earn very much (in a rich country)

Factions/ Branches of street gangs can literally fall within any 3 of those structures. Certain prison gangs have a Formal structure and 1% Clubs definitely falls under Formal structure too.

BF is right on the money with his post above .

As for 1% er clubs , they deserve a few lines of mention for the newcomers to this topic . There aren't any 1% clubs that have been conclusively proven to be out and out organized crime groups , however it's certainly true that certain chapters of certain clubs function as organized crime groups in practice . Such clubs utilize the formal organizational structure that 1% clubs generally employ , yet it's important to note that there is a strong democratic aspect to virtually every 1% club , including those that have chapters which engage in organized crime .

In other words the president of a 1% chapter generally needs the consent of ( at least ) the majority of chapter members if said fellow wants to give orders regarding an illegal moneymaking operation . One doesn't find many examples of a chapter boss literally bossing around his underlings like a mafia leader would .

It's also worth a mention that while many 1% club members aren't gangsters/career criminals they will ( more often than not ) assist another club member with carrying out illegal activity , if said member asks them to . To use a good example , virtually all 1% club members engaged in ( say ) drug dealing can count on the help of other club members to ( say ) collect a drug debt owed to them , even if said other club members aren't drug dealers themselves .

It also bears mention that there exist organized crime groups that fall under the rubric of project based criminal organizations ( for lack of a better term ) . Such organizations typically engage in the execution of heists and oftentimes have a transient membership . Their organizational structure generally consists of a central figure who has a great amount of expertise and experience in the field of executing heists and plenty of contacts . Said figure may have one or two right hand men who serve as his lieutenants/liaisons to the underworld in general .

The above mentioned figure ( aptly called a " Brain " in criminal literature ) puts together teams to execute heists that he plans . Said teams may only exist for the duration of one single heist and are commonly formed from well reputed robbers and thieves that the organizer and his right hands pick out themselves .

It goes without saying that such criminal organizations are very much on the decline now and I can't mention any contemporary examples as such , however good historical examples would be the many British and Irish firms that specialized in high value heists from the post WW2 period to ( roughly speaking ) the Thatcher era .

The ad-hoc structure is still profoundly used by various oc groups around the world. Prime example being Nigerian OC groups .

What other groups use it besides Nigerians though ?

Russians, East Europeans ( former Soviet union bloc), Americans, and other different nationalities racketeers.

The modern day American mafia started as a gang. 107th street, East Harlem. Lucky, Tommy Brown, Costello, Meyer, Bugsy.

The Camorra started as a prison gang. The American mafia resembles the Camorra more than it does the Sicilian mafia clans, which really function as family cartels. The Camorra has no boss of bosses, it functions as a network of several organizations, all of which have equal power, working with corrupted government, much like the American mob did for most of it's prime, as opposed to shunning all outsiders as the Sicilian clans are known to do.

I don't believe any crime organization started out as an organized group of racketeers. It all begins on the streets.

To this , I concur .

Now that you mention it , it comes to mind that the ad hoc structure can be utilized by organizations active in fields of crime other than robbery and theft ...

That said I believe said structure works best in the case of organizations specializing in heists , but that's a topic unto itself .

Street level groups can be pretty organized too though .