Assessing the Effectiveness of Organized Crime Control Strategies ...

Assessing the Effectiveness of Organized Crime Control Strategies:
A Review of the Literature
The definitional morass is further underscored by the failure of respected task forces, such as that
of the US National Advisory Committee on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals, to formulate a
clear definition. The Task Force proclaimed that: “No single definition is believed inclusive
enough to meet the needs of the many different individuals and groups throughout the country
that may use it as a means to develop an organized crime control effort “(cited in Bynum,
1987:4).
Until some consensus exists as to the definition of OC, attempts to draw generalizations
regarding the success of efforts to combat it will be seriously limited. Another major limiting
factor is the absence of agreement in terms of the most preferred measures to use in the
assessment of OC control strategies.
3.2 Data-Related Issues
Unlike more conventional crimes, data are not routinely collected on OC groups or activities.
Thus, there is no standardized database, established by a credible agency, that scholars can rely
on in order to conduct their analyses. Governments do not maintain statistics on how many
“organized criminals” have been arrested, convicted, and incarcerated (Lyman and Potter, 1997).
In Canada, while there is support among the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Ministers Responsible
for Justice for an ongoing reporting mechanism, the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics
collects a minimum of data in this area. Specifically, the Adult Criminal Court Survey provides
some data on the disposition of cases involving criminal organization offences.
The dearth of standardized data creates substantial uncertainty with regard to the gravity of the
problem. Albanese (1996:11) notes:
The true extent of organized crime is unknown. Characteristic organized crimes,
such as conspiracy, racketeering, and extortion are not counted in any systematic
way. Other offences are known only when they result in arrests by police. The
problems in relying on police arrests as a measure of criminal activity are apparent:
much crime is undetected, some that is detected is not reported to police, and arrest
rates go up or down depending on police activity and not necessarily criminal
activity.
Reuter (1994:91) writes of the difficulty of gaining access to data on OC due to the sensitivity of
official records and privacy laws. For example, legal barriers exist to the use of grand jury
testimony and information obtained through electronic surveillance (Maltz, 1990:17). Reuter
adds that field research faces serious obstacles in this area, including the investigator’s lack of
access to information on the most repugnant activities of criminal organizations. He also asserts
that an extensive non-scholarly literature does contribute significantly to our understanding of
OC. These works involve accounts of the experiences of investigators or prosecutors and
biographies written by OC figures, often with the assistance of a journalist. Clearly, such
literature must be treated with prudence, due to its tendency to be self-serving and
sensationalistic.
10 | Research and Statistics Division / Department of Justice Canada