Organized Crime is any number of disciplined groups of criminals who run criminal enterprises, have the goal of acquiring wealth and power, and operate locally, regionally, nationally, or internationally.

Overview

In the 21st century there are many types of organized crime groups, from local groups which operate in a single city to those which operate globally. Some of these groups are newly established and have been around for only a couple of years and a few have been around for centuries. There are groups that are part of a network, brotherhood, association, or similar larger grouping. Such groups can have members that are all from the same ethnic group, region, clan, etc. or they may be open to individuals from various groups. They can be called syndicates, mobs, cartels, families, clans, mafias, and so on.

Organized crime groups can be focused on only one market or they can be an organization that is diversified in the criminal endeavors in which it participates. Rackets that are often transnational involve either the movement of money, people, or goods across borders via ship, aircraft, vehicles, or individual mules. The rackets that are local are protection rackets, gambling, prostitution, theft, kidnapping for ransom, cargo theft, drug sales, and so on.

Some of the organized crime groups, such as the Triads, remember where they come from and are concerned about their communities to a degree. Therefore they invest a lot of their profits back into the community. On the other hand, some of the organized crime groups, like the Yakuza and some of the Mafia organizations, are focused only on profit, showing no concern for the community.

The Syndicates

The most powerful organized crime groups in the 21st century are the Chinese Triads, the Japanese Yakuza, the Russian Organitskaya. There are other crime syndicates such as the drug lords of Peru and Colombia, the drug lords of the Golden Triangle in Southeast Asia, the Jamaican Posses in the United States, the Firm in Britain, the Corsican Union in France, and so on.

The Big 4 Global Criminal Networks

All of whom control the criminal underworld in their home country. Organizations that are as large as megacorporations when it comes to personnel and as wealthy. In some cases they control whole towns, cities, or regions of countries.

• Chinese Triads: Control organized crime in China and have expanded throughout much of the world, following the Chinese diaspora of immigrants and refugees. Southeast Asia is a stronghold of the Triads and they have expanded throughout the West.

• Japanese Yakuza: Control organized crime in Japan and it too has gone global, following the Japanese megacorporations. Yakuza syndicates are now present in both North America and the European Community.

• Russian Organitskaya: Controls organized crime in the new Soviet Union and they too have gone international, becoming the biggest foreign mafia in the European Community. It has also expanded into North America.

• Italian Mafia: Rules the islands of Sicily and Sardinia, and the southern part of Italy. They operate all around the Mediterranean Sea and elsewhere in Europe, as well as in North America