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ORGANIZED CRIME - A STUDY IN THE PRODUCTION OF KNOWLEDGE BY LAW ENFORCEMENT SPECIALISTS

NCJ Number
60708
Author(s)
R J KELLY
Date Published
1978
Length
478 pages
Annotation
METHODS LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS USE TO PRODUCE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT ORGANIZED CRIME ARE EXAMINED IN THIS DESCRIPTION OF HOW CRIMINAL JUSTICE SPECIALISTS' OWN ATTITUDES SHAPE THEIR WORK'S METHODS AND RESULTS.
Abstract
THIS RESEARCH WAS CONDUCTED USING OBSERVATIONS AND STRUCTURED AND UNSTRUCTURED INTERVIEWS WITH THOSE INVOLVED IN RESEARCH, WRITING, LAW ENFORCEMENT RELATED TO ORGANIZED CRIME, OR IN CRIME ITSELF; AND USING REVIEWS OF OFFICIAL RECORDS AND DOCUMENTS. DEFINITIONS OF ORGANIZED CRIME WERE FOUND TO VARY DEPENDING ON THE SOCIAL POSITION OF THE PERSON PRESENTING THE DEFINITION. FOR EXAMPLE, SOME PEOPLE DEFINE ORGANIZED CRIME AS THE MAFIA; OTHERS, AS A WAY VIGOROUS MINORITIES BYPASS THE ORTHODOX ROUTES TO FAME AND POWER IN THE U.S. THE VARIOUS THEORIES OF ORGANIZED CRIME REFLECT THE SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND WORK ENVIRONMENTS OF THE THEORISTS. FOR EXAMPLE, LAW ENFORCEMENT GROUPS PRESENT ORGANIZED CRIME IN TERMS OF CRIMINALS AND ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES; SOCIAL SCIENTISTS, IN TERMS OF AN ADJUNCT TO THE PRIVATE PROFIT ECONOMY. MOREOVER, POLICE NEED FOR PUBLIC SUPPORT LEADS THEM TO PUBLICIZE THE MOST SENSATIONAL CASES AND ARRESTS, RATHER THAN THEIR ROUTINE WORK RELATED TO ORGANIZED CRIME HAS BEEN STUDIED AS AN ECONOMIC SYTEM, A SOCIOCULTURAL PHENOMENON, AND A POLITICAL SYSTEM. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT THE OBJECTS OF SOCIAL KNOWLEDGE CANNOT BE SEPARATED FROM THE METHODS OF OBTAINING THAT KNOWLEDGE OR THE INVESTIGATOR'S PURPOSE. THE BODY OF KNOWLEDGE ON ORGANIZED CRIME, THEREFORE, DOES NOT REPRODUCE REALITY, BUT, RATHER IS SHAPED BY POLICE, PROSECUTORS, AND SOCIAL SCIENTISTS IN TERMS OF THEIR OWN NEEDS AND INTERESTS. A HISTORY OF ORGANIZED CRIME, FIGURES, TABLES, FOOTNOTES, BIBLIOGRAPHY, AND EXTENSIVE APPENDIXES WHICH LIST STUDY PARTICIPANTS, RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS, ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES, EXAMPLES OF PROSECUTORIAL MOTIONS, AND OTHER RELATED INFORMATION, ARE INCLUDED. (CFW)