Organized crime and money laundering in contemporary society

Organized Crime and Its Link to Money Laundering in Contemporary Society

Organized crime is a very real facet of society (Bartlett, 2002; Cressey & Finckenauer, 2008). Those who are not involved with it in some way may not notice it, which could lead them to underestimate the seriousness of the problem. However, it is of deep concern to police, the government, and others who are exposed to it and the trouble it can cause. There are also many different types of organized crime, and many ways in which it is used (Williams, 2001). In other words, while it conjures up visions of the mafia, that is not often the case.

There are gangs of national and international criminals that engage in various activities, one of which is money laundering (Akers, 1996; King & Wincyp, 2007; Williams, 2001). This is the act of taking money that is gained through crime, which is considered "dirty," and finding ways to make it "clean," where it will appear once again as though it came from a legitimate source (Akers, 1996; Baker, 2005; Bartlett, 2002). By doing that, the money can be used for any purpose.

There are many methods that can be used for money laundering, a large number of which are addressed by organized criminals (Cressey & Finckenauer, 2008; Gilbert, 2008). The goal here is not to discuss every method or the pros and cons of it specifically, but to focus on money laundering as a whole and how it is tied to organized crime, even in the present day. There are many criminals in today's society who are tied to gangs and groups that have national or even international ties. By finding new and unique ways to move money around, these groups are able to "wash" it and make it appear like it did not come from any kind of criminal activity (Williams, 2001). They can and do get caught, but not as frequently as many would hope and often not for other crimes related to the laundering.

2. Previous Research Findings

Previous research into organized crime and money laundering has been conducted by a number of researchers throughout the years. It has also yielded many of the same findings, depending on what, specifically, was studied. Generally what was seen in previous research was that money laundering was a significant part of most organized crime (Akers, 1996; Tilly, 1985; Williams, 2001). This was noted because it was not possible to just spend the money that was collected through illegal activities (Akers, 1996). Too much suspicion would be aroused that way, so there had to be a way to make the money appear as though it came from legitimate sources (Baker, 2005; Bartlett, 2002). One of the many ways in which that was done was to take the money and put it through an "honest" business (Macionis & John, 2010).

Often, these businesses appear completely valid on the outside, but they are "fronts" for many illegal activities -- including the laundering of money (King & Wincyp, 2007). The businesses can be those that would be "questionable," like bars and nightclubs, or they could be something that would arouse less suspicion (King & Wincyp, 2007). Many organized criminals are suspected to be so by police, but until there is clear evidence that can be used against them, there is little that can be done (Akers, 1996). While understandable, this can also be very frustrating for law enforcement.

Many people think only of the mafia when they are asked about organized crime, but there are many other organizations that are not as well-known but that can cause just as many difficulties for the public and for other criminals (Dwight, 1976). This is important to note, and it is also vital to be aware that this is nothing new. It has been ongoing for a number of years and will continue to be seen well into the future (Macionis & John, 2010). Attempting to stop organized crime is important, but also in many ways not realistic (Macionis & John, 2010). There are so many organized criminals who belong to various gangs both large and small that eradication is not something that can be expected (Williams, 2001).

Addressing organized crime and money laundering in contemporary society can be difficult, because there are so many facets to it (Tilly, 1985). It is not about just focusing on taking money from a crime and making it usable. It is about the steps that have to be taken in order to do that, and those steps can take some time and effort (Bartlett, 2002; Cressey & Finckenauer, 2008). However, it is also about what organized crime really is, how it came to be, and where it is going in the future. There are serious considerations that have been examined by other researchers, and these can all be used toward the current study. That does not mean the study will mimic those from which the researcher collects information, but that the study will be focused on all aspects of money laundering as they tie into present day organized crime.

Money laundering can come from various types of criminal activity, such as drugs, guns, or even the sale of people through human trafficking (Baker, 2005; Bartlett, 2002; Cressey & Finckenauer, 2008). Once the money has been collected by the criminal organization and "laundered" it is free to be used in legitimate businesses (Baker, 2005). It is still dirty money, of course, but has been adjusted so that others will not realize this (Baker, 2005). Past studies have shown that approximately 5% of the world's money is laundered at any given time (Cressey & Finckenauer, 2008). This is significant, and also shows that this money is not staying in one place, but instead it is being distributed all throughout the world (Cressey & Finckenauer, 2008).

That makes it much harder to track and more difficult to stop, which can keep law enforcement from catching criminals who are laundering money (Gilbert, 2008; King & Wincyp, 2007). Without being able to catch these criminals, more money continues to be laundered throughout the world (Gilbert, 2008). Past studies have shown that organized criminals use this money to further their activities, and that it can be damaging to the economy (Gilbert, 2008). That is especially true in countries that are already dealing with a lot of corruption and that may be struggling economically (Baker, 2005; King & Wincyp, 2007).

4. Research Methodology

There are several ways in which the research for this study could be conducted. The first design is to examine the books and articles that address criminal elements in society, including those that are organized in nature. There has been much written about this, both recent and dating back many years. Older documents can provide excellent background for the study, and newer documents are best able to provide current knowledge of contemporary issues. Books and articles, as well as web-based resources that are focused on organized crime and money laundering, are all highly valuable for this research. This would be a qualitative study of the information found in past research, and could be conducted with library and online resources. While it would not provide new information, it would provide a new perspective on and analysis of older information.

The second research design is more complicated, in that it would require new information to be collected. That would involve actually talking with those who have been part of this activity in the past. People who have been imprisoned or are currently imprisoned for this activity would be the most logical choices for an examination of what this life is like and to what it can lead. It would also be valuable to interview police officers and other authorities who have worked to curb organized crime and money laundering. There are many officers and others who have been assigned to task forces on organized crime. Whether these people are still doing that or they have retired, they could provide valuable information about money laundering and organized crime. That information may be very regional to them, but that does not mean it would not offer knowledge that could be used in the study. While limited to the particular area or task force, there are many similarities across all of these activities and across the miles, both national and international.

The cases for and against these designs are significant and worthy of consideration. The case for the first design choice is that it is simple and easy to construct. It also does not cost the researcher any money or excessive time, and there is no burden to make contact with others or get permission to work with them. There is also no need to get permission from the university in order to use human subjects in a study, as there can be ethical implications with this that do not always bode well for the researcher.

The case against that design is that it does not provide new information. The information collected for the study will come from past research, so it will provide anything that has not been seen before. How it is analyzed and used in the present study may be different, but the information itself will be available to anyone because it has been offered before, as part of other studies. However, there are also pros and cons to the second design considered.

While this design will be much easier to deal with from the standpoint of providing new information that has not been seen before or used in other studies, there is also a drawback. It is very difficult to get information in this manner, which can provide a researcher with a lot of difficulty. Studies that take too long to be completed and that require a researcher to contact others on a broad scale are often very difficult to complete. This design could lead the researcher to struggle with the study, and perhaps not even to complete it on time. If that were to be the case, it would be a significant failure that could have been avoided.

While there are many reasons to collect information from first-hand sources, this is a study that will likely be best served by analyzing what has already been done and using that information to make a new study regarding money laundering and organized crime. The information will not be as new or fresh, but there are still many ways it can be analyzed -- and that is where a study can provide uniqueness, even with information from past research.

The preferred choice for a design is the first one -- using information that has already been collected by other researchers in order to create a new study through unique analysis. While there are other ways to address the issues that surround organized crime and money laundering, there are no other ways that are logical and that will work as well as collecting information from the past and re-using it for a new study.

This is a common method for many studies, and employs a thorough literature review of what was done in the past and an analysis of that information. That is not to say that the researcher would not consider other options or that other options would not work well for the study. It is only to say that the literature review method would be the first choice of the researcher for the information it can provide and the ease with which that information could be collected. There is no need to make the study more complicated than it is.

5. Research Ethics

Research ethics are an important part of any kind of study. The researcher must know what is acceptable and what is not, from both ethical and legal standpoints. Legal standpoints are relatively easy to discover and address, but ethical considerations can be more difficult. Since the researcher intends to use the literature review method, though, and intends only to collect and analyze information that is found in other studies, there are few ethical considerations with which the researcher will have to deal. There are no human subjects used in the study, as there will not be any interviews or questionnaires provided. This alleviates the need for permission to study a particular group or to study this group in a particular way, and can make things easier for the researcher.

Ethical considerations are essentially limited to the researcher's own feelings about money laundering and organized crime, which are still relevant for the study. When a researcher has strong feelings about a particular subject, that researcher may have some bias one way or the other. That can lead to opinion and conjecture being placed into the study, which should be avoided.

6. Anticipated Problems

There are no serious problems anticipated with the study. That is due to the nature of it and how the researcher will use the literature review to collect information. Since the researcher does not have to interview others or work to collect first-hand information, there are no concerns with being able to do so. In other words, a study that collects this kind of information is problematic just by the very nature of getting the information. Some people may not want to participate, and others may be willing to only provide some of the information asked for by the researcher. There is a sample size issue to consider, as well.

If the researcher works with first-hand information such as interviews, the researcher is very limited to how much information can be collected. That is important to note, because collecting information through the use of the literature review method can stave off those kinds of problems and allow for a much larger sample size.

The avoidance of these kinds of problems is often well worth the lack of collecting new information. However, there is still the possibility of other problems. If there are few studies into the issue, for example, problems finding information even by using the literature review method could take place. That is important to note, but likely will not be a problem for this particular study.

The reason behind that is that there are a number of books and articles, as well as web-based resources, that have been written about organized crime and money laundering. These are valuable documents, and they can all be used to find information about the topic at hand. With that in mind, there should be no serious problems that come about with finding enough information on the topic. That can allow the researcher to explore it and create a new study that analyzes plenty of past information.