Combating organized crime free essay sample

Combatting organized crime is an exhausting job. Law enforcement must weed through backgrounds and known associates to piece together which criminals are affiliated with which organization and what areas they belong to. In addition to sorting out criminals law enforcement must take a look within. Many criminal organizations pay off police officers, political figures and other influential people to maintain their business and low profile. They use these officers to look the other way when their criminal activity is happening but also to bust other organization that are working in their desired areas. The best way to combat organized crime is to infiltrate them. Having someone on the inside can give law enforcement an upper hand. Not only will the undercover be exposed to secret information but will also be aware or officers or politicians that are involved with these criminal organizations. Undercover police work is dangerous but if it is done right, it can give an insight into the operations in some of the country’s most notorious organized crime units. We will write a custom essay sample on Combating organized crime or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Some legal limitations associated with combating organized crime using undercover police work would be officer safety. There are six main points to ensure officer safety. The first one is Plan the operation carefully. From training programs to escape procedures, ever base need to be planned out and executed very carefully. The second is an operational plan. Every person involved with the organization must know exactly what is expected of them. Should someone be confused about their role can have deadly consequences for the undercover agent. The third is flash roll management. Should the suspect be aware of where the uncover keeps his money can cause him to resort to violence to obtain the money without having to give up and goods. The fourth is establish good communication procedures. The undercover officer should have means to reach the operations chief at all times. The chief should also be able to assess the operation at all times for danger. The fifth ties in with the fourth. Communication should be open at all time between the undercover and home base. With outside communication the undercover can be aware of dangers that lie outside of his immediate location. The sixth is remove the undercover before the scene of arrest. Should the undercover be present could cause more rage and reaction from the suspect causing harm to the arresting officers. (Burton, 1995) When it comes to laws and undercover work some issues that come about is officers have to break some laws or participate in criminal activity to fulfil their character to the organization. Some crimes they partake in include drug sales and distribution, money laundering, fencing and or perjury. Although the officer is partaking in these crimes to gather information to build their case against that specific organization, there is a fine line the officers must walk to maintain integrity within their operation. Prosecuting Organized Crime Prosecuting organized crime groups prove to be difficult in some areas. Criminal organization survive off of bribery and violence. Money talks to most people and when economic times are rough people tend to look the other way for the right price. Corrupt officers and political officials are willing to lie on the stand and give false testimony because they are being paid by the organization. An analysis of five decades of news reports reveals that since 1960, a total of 295 Chicago Police officers have been convicted of serious crimes, such as drug dealing, beatings of civilians, destroying evidence, protecting mobsters, theft and murder (Hagedorn, et al. , 2013). When you have officers on the payroll of organized crime groups it is harder to get arrest let alone prosecutions.