Organized crime refers at various times and in different contexts to (1) a collection of criminals, (2) a type of structure and hierarchy, (3) legal and illegal businesses, and (4) a variety of criminal acts. The identification of the presence of organized crime in a community involves isolating a set of indicators or attributes that together signal the existence and operations of organized crime. Indicators are in the categories of people, organization, the enterprises, and the acts. The people involved are career criminals with records and histories of offenses associated with the provision of illegal goods and services and maintaining discipline and eliminating competition. The organization consists of a hierarchical structure beginning with street-level service, first-line supervisors, mid-level managers, and a top-level 'boss.' The enterprises are the provision of illegal goods and services and the operation of legitimate businesses acquired through illegal activity or the proceeds from an illegal business. The acts include a pyramid arrangement of crime, continuous conspiracies, coercion and violence, corruption of public officials, and monopolistic control. The primary harmful effect of organized crime is the way in which it multiplies crime to increase profits. An effective intelligence program to combat organized crime exists in the community and how extensive it is, who controls it, whether leadership positions are changing and new groups are entering, the illegal enterprises and legitimate businesses controlled, the section of the population most directly victimized, and the extent of public corruption. Fifteen footnotes are listed.