Rational Choice Theory Of Organized Crime

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In the Untied State, there is a group knowns as the Organized crime group. This group is “defines organized crime as any group having some manner of a formalized structure and whose primary objective is to obtain money through illegal activities. Some groups maintain their position using actual or threatened violence, corrupt public officials, graft, or extortion, and generally have a significant impact on the people in their locales, region, or the country as a whole”. Modern organized crime is generally understood to have begun in Italy in the late nineteenth century. The secretive Sicilian group La Cosa Nostra, along with other Sicilian mafia, were more powerful than the Italian government in the early twentieth century. In 1924 Benito Mussolini's …show more content…
Some theories that best explain criminal behavior is the “Rational choice theory”. Rational choice theory, would assert that the group's criminal activities are a direct result of the group members believing that committing crimes is worth the risk of getting caught, also the financial benefits outweigh the fear of punishment. This theory works the best when it comes to why the organized crime groups act and commit the crimes that they do. Another theory that works with the criminal behavior of these organized crime groups is known as “Differential identification theory” would explain the criminal behavior of the group by claiming that some of its members are out of school and lack the means to earn a livelihood. In fact, they do not have identities of their own and have been influenced by local gangsters involved in petty crimes. The group members blindly eulogize the gangsters' activities and follow their orders just for the sake of remaining in their good graces and enjoying petty rewards from