Delinquency (from the Latin delinquentia) is the quality of a criminal (a person who commits crimes and thus breaks the law). The term is also used to name the group of subjects who commit crimes and maintain conduct contrary to law.
The adjective organized or organized, on the other hand, is linked to an organization (the system designed to achieve certain objectives and goals). It denotes, therefore, an orientation towards a certain end.
What is organized crime ? It is a social group with a certain structure and with members who organize themselves to commit criminal actions. Unlike the criminal who acts alone, the individuals who are part of an organized crime gang must respond to the structure and fulfill a certain function.
For example: “The authorities suspect that organized crime is behind the murder of these businessmen”, “In my town, organized crime has more power than the police”, “A repentant organized crime revealed the operation of the most fearsome group of Mexico”.
Organized crime is usually dedicated to more complex tasks than common robberies or thefts. These organized crime groups engage in activities such as drug or arms trafficking, white slavery, smuggling, or counterfeiting.
It is common for these criminal organizations to be governed by a hierarchical order. Members of the lower tiers must earn merits to rise up and show their loyalty to the bosses.
The mafia (such as the Neapolitan Camorra or Sicilian Cosa Nostra), gangs (Mara Salvatrucha), and cartels (Tijuana Cartel, Medellín Cartel) are examples of organized crime.
Transnational organized crime
The complexity of illegal international markets is greater than ever: also known by the name of transnational organized crime, it is a business based on the sale of products not covered by the Law, and that generates billions of dollars per year. Far from worrying about security or ethical issues, these merchants move based on demand.
It is correct to affirm that the majority of serious crimes of international scope, committed with clear profit aims, are part of some transnational organized gang. Some of the activities that are most commonly associated with this area are the trafficking of people, drugs and weapons, the adulteration of products, money laundering, the sale of animals and, more recently, attacks on computer systems of large companies.
Organized crime threatens the safety of people and animals, represents a space in which basic rights are not respected and threatens the proper cultural, economic, social, civil and political development of countries around the world. If we add corruption on the part of certain rulers to this dangerous equation, the repercussion is truly terrifying.
One of the most worrying aspects of transnational organized crime is its ability to mutate to adapt to changing market trends, as if it were a virus that avoids being in the crosshairs of natural selection by all means. Since it does not respond to any legal or moral framework, this business is not afraid of drastic measures, as long as they guarantee the continuity of its profits.
In addition to drug trafficking, which exceeds all other activities in terms of economic benefits (it is estimated that its annual value is around 320 billion dollars a year), human trafficking is one of the most terrible crimes, since it consists of converting individuals of all ages into products aimed at labor and sexual exploitation.