In this paper, I argue for a paradigm shift against general social groupings of organized criminal groups operating throughout the United States. Using Social Constructionism to drive a literature review conducted by way of Discourse Analysis, I spotlight ways in which broad characterizations of "organized crime" led to a mis-handling of gang issues today. Through relying on federally-originating definitions and characterizations, law enforcement and welfare agencies are unequipped for understanding the origins of and motives behind modern gangs and their agendas. The second half of this paper is a case study highlighting the different ways in which gangs may develop and operate despite, in the case of Chicago's Black Gangster Disciples Nation and its splinters, a shared history. If we are to reduce the hold these groups have over urban societies, we must first seek to understand each group individually, pulling out the root issues that drive their actions and how they identify as a form of modern organized crime, that is, "crime that is organized." / Master of Arts / In this paper, I argue for a reduced reliance on broad, all-encompassing definitions and groupings of organized crime / gangs. By creating these broad categories, government and law enforcement entities lack detailed understanding of the specific groups they deal with on a daily basis. Instead, I argue that all such criminal groups from mafia-style organizations to common street gangs be defined as organized crime, being “crime that is organized.” From this point, each group should be studied in depth as an individual group, with individual motives and roots, such that entities may determine specific causes and/or motivations driving how the group operations and what agenda they work to carry out. The second half of this work provides a case study of a Chicagobased gang and splinter groups that resulted from the gang’s demise. Had generalizations been drawn when studying the Black Gangster Disciples Nation and its splinters, the incredible differences in each splinter would have been missed and entities would further lack that which is necessary to isolate and combat the groups for what they are: unique organizations that pursue their own agendas as three very different groups despite identical histories.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/73794 |
| Date | 21 December 2016 |
| Creators | Moore, David M. |
| Contributors | Political Science, Weisband, Edward, Briggs, Ryan C., Luke, Timothy W. |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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