Five Essays Assignment

Write a 700- to 1,050-word paper, describing your personal perception of organized crime upon entering this course. Identify any assumptions on which your perception is based, and answer the following questions:

• How would you describe or define organized crime?
• How does your perception compare to the definitions in the readings?
• What characteristics do you think are associated with organized criminal behavior?

Write a 700- to 1,050-word executive summary in which you compare distinctions between bureaucratic and patron-client organizations. Include similarities and differences between the main models of organized crime, and explain why the models are important for understanding organized crime.

Write a 1,050- to 1,750-word paper in which you discuss and explain the term social institution, as it applies to organized crime. Which empirical and speculative theories are most applicable when applied to organized crime and criminal behavior?

Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word response to the following questions:

• What is social disorganization?
• How does social disorganization relate to organized crime and its evolution?
• How well does social disorganization meet the criteria for organized crime and its various relationships? Why? Explain your answer.
• What is the correlation of corrupt political machines and social disorganization to the development of organized crime?

Write a 1,400- to 2,100-word paper, using definitions, principles, and theories from previous assignments, in which you establish a thesis regarding the control of organized crime.

• Identify the problems presented and the various relationships established by organized crime.
• Describe the legal limitations associated with combating organized crime, including a critique of major federal laws and strategies that support this effort.
• Suggest a realistic solution to control organized crime by discussing and evaluating the effectiveness of organized crime prosecutions.