The information was obtained through directed interviews with 66 West German crime experts. Their replies indicate that two types of crime organizations predominate: (1) loosely connected groups of criminals tied to particular geographic areas and (2) more firmly organized crime rings which operate predominantly under foreign leadership. Most groups are held together by a common interest in profit rather than by family ties or shared ideology. Though crime organizations do frequently resort to vandalism, they use far less violence against each other or their victims than the researchers expected. In West Germany, a crime organization does not specialize in a particular crime, but enters different criminal activities according to profit considerations. However, all groups prefer victimless crimes such as drug dealing, marketing stolen goods, and illegal gambling. With few exceptions, organized criminals make no particular efforts to conceal their identity from the rest of the population or the police. In the future, organized crime and the use of violence are expected to increase as more violence-oriented criminals enter the German scene from abroad and as new areas of crime such as illegal refuse removal and new forms of economic crime open up. In view of the future threat, the study recommends decisive police action: uncovering existing crime organizations, preventing the formation of new organizations, and eliminating the criminal leaders.