The Organized Crime Continuum: A Further Specification of a New Conceptual Model

Abstract

Endless and sometimes fruitless debate continues in the literature regarding a proper definition of organized crime as a concept. Much of this difficulty is associated with thefact that the concept has been viewed at a nominal level of measurement and the question asked: "Is this group and/or its operations an example of organized crime?" A neoteric, continuum (ordinal) model of the concept of "organized crime" suggests that such a question is futile and that an analogy can be drawn with other social science concepts such as "professionalism." A continuum model of organized crime suggests that rather than viewing the concept as a matter of kind (i.e., is it or is it not), it is far more useful to view it as a matter of degree, that is, "To what extent does this group and! or its operations resemble organized crime?"Deriving the key definitional components of organized crime as suggested by a content analysis of selected current authors, the "cosa nostra" is viewed as aprototype (ideal type) of organized crime similar to the status of medicine in the professions, with other criminal organizationsfalling at various points along the continuum. Finally a brief analysis of governmental response to organized crime suggests that use of a generic definition broadens the the scope offederal law enforcement efforts in attacking "organized crime. "