Organized crime

Organised crime refers to structured, coordinated and often enduring groups that engage in illegal activities, typically for profit, but sometimes with political, ideological or territorial objectives. These groups may operate locally, nationally or transnationally, relying on strategies such as intimidation, violence, corruption and clandestine networks to maintain control, protect their interests and expand their influence. While many organised crime groups resemble illicit businesses trading in prohibited goods or services, others function more like quasi-political organisations, adopting coercive tactics similar to those used by authoritarian regimes.
Organised crime can cater to public demand for banned commodities—such as illegal drugs, firearms, gambling or prostitution—or impose criminal governance, as when gangs extort protection money from businesses. The subculture surrounding these activities is often termed the underworld or gangland. Various terms describe such groups, including crime families, mafias, syndicates, gangs, mobs and crime rings.

Nature and Scope

Some organised crime groups pursue political aims. Terrorist organisations, insurgent movements, separatist groups and drug cartels may blend political goals with criminal economies to sustain their operations. In other contexts, organised crime acts purely as economic enterprise, filling illicit markets or exploiting opportunities created by state prohibitions.
In certain fragile or failed states, where government authority is weak or contested, organised crime may become intertwined with governance, providing services, security or revenue in ways that blur the line between state and criminal authority. Concepts such as kleptocracy, mafia state, narco-state and clientelist networks highlight systems in which political institutions themselves become enmeshed with or indistinguishable from organised crime.
The legal definition of organised crime varies by jurisdiction. In the United States, the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970 defines it as the unlawful activities of “a highly organised, disciplined association”. In the United Kingdom, police estimate that organised crime involves up to 38,000 individuals operating in around 6,000 groups.

International Trends

Historically, the most prominent organised crime force in the United States has been the Italian–American Mafia (Cosa Nostra). However, since the end of the Cold War, criminal groups from Russia, China, Italy, Nigeria and Japan have expanded their global operations. Many of the world’s major transnational criminal organisations maintain a presence in the United States.
Mexican transnational criminal organisations (TCOs) currently pose one of the greatest criminal threats to the US, dominating large areas of Mexico used for drug cultivation, production and transport. Prominent groups include the Sinaloa Cartel, Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Gulf Cartel, Juárez Cartel, Los Zetas and the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel.
The United Nations recognises combating organised crime as a key priority within Sustainable Development Goal 16, underscoring its global impact on stability, governance and human security. In some countries, even football hooliganism has developed links to organised criminal networks.

Models of Organised Crime

Researchers distinguish different organisational structures within organised crime groups.

Patron–Client Networks

Patron–client systems operate through flexible, interpersonal ties. These networks are often grounded in kinship, ethnicity, neighbourhood ties or cultural traditions. Their defining characteristics include:

• Hierarchies shaped by social or familial relationships
• Personalised interactions and informal norms
• Recruitment based on trust, tradition or nepotism
• Embedded belief systems centred on loyalty, culture or religion
• Decision-making guided by etiquette, interpersonal influence and historical precedent

Such networks tend to be fluid rather than strictly hierarchical, producing smaller units within a broader web of alliances.

Bureaucratic–Corporate Structures

Other crime groups resemble formal organisations with a rigid internal hierarchy and complex division of labour. Features include:

• Clearly defined authority levels
• Impersonal roles and merit-based advancement
• Formalised rules and procedures
• Top-down communication and enforcement

These structures are efficient but vulnerable. Written records can compromise security, hierarchical communication can be intercepted and infiltration at lower levels can destabilise the entire group. Internal conflicts, leadership changes, incarceration or violence at upper tiers may also expose organisational fragility.

Youth and Street Gangs

Youth street gangs may function as embryonic forms of organised crime. Research indicates significant growth in youth gang involvement in the United States during the early twenty-first century. Street gangs are typically defined as self-formed associations of young people with identifiable leadership and internal organisation, united for shared purposes including illegal activity and territorial control.
Gang culture develops through factors such as:

• Recruitment within neighbourhoods or peer groups
• Exposure to criminal behaviour in families or correctional settings
• Coercion by older gang members
• A desire for belonging, status, protection or economic opportunity