The Nature and Scope of Organized Crime: A State and Federal Comparison.
Project Overview
As noted in Module 1, for various reasons, it is difficult to give an accurate picture of the type and frequency of Organized Crime. Therefore, we will focus on two primary sources, one from our native state, the Georgia Attorney General’s Office, and the other, the FBI. Our working title for this project is “The Nature and Scope of Organized Crime: A State and Federal Comparison.” Basically, we are building a database extracted from Press Releases posted by the Georgia Attorney General’s Office and the FBI’s Organized Crime Division.
Data Sources
One primary source for the case studies will be those posted on the Georgia Attorney General’s Office website, https://law.georgia.gov. Once you are at the Attorney General’s homepage, you will find a short list of “Key Issues.” Two categories of interest are “Human Trafficking” and “Gang Activity.” Click on “Human Trafficking” or “Gang Activity” and scroll down till you see “Press Releases.” Here is where your data search begins.
The second primary source for case studies will be those posted on the FBI’s Organized Crime Division website, https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/organized-crime. Once there, click on “News,” and you will find a “Press Releases” list. On the right side of the screen, for each Press Release, you will see an indicator, “Read More” click on that link, and you will see the full article.
What you are doing is building a data set based on the press releases from the above sites. Then you will compare the cases.
Process
First, summarize the key points from each case. Some items to consider are the type of offense, the specific statutes that were broken, the number of perpetrators involved, and a list of supporting agencies. If possible, for demographic purposes, note the gender and race or ethnicity of the defendants. If available, record the characteristics of the victims, e.g., the government, individuals, and businesses. If available, note the amount of money involved.
An important point in this project is that not all the press releases will describe OC cases. Therefore, students have to make a judgment call on the ones that best fit the project.
How many cases are required? Good question. You should cover at least two calendar years, e.g., June 2022 thru June 2020.
Once you have finished your Case Summaries, then move on to the broader analysis. Run some basic statistics; what was the total number of cases (N=___)? What was the distribution of cases, i.e., the percentage of the cases that involved RICO charges, drugs, money laundering, human trafficking, or crimes of violence? Continue until you reach 100%. How many cases went to trial? How many were resolved via plea bargain? What was the range of sentences?
Structure for the Paper
Cover Sheet. Include the paper title, the semester and year, the course title, and your name.
Introduction. Briefly state the purpose of the paper and what you intend to demonstrate to the reader. You should be able to do this in one or two well-thought paragraphs. Why is it important for the reader to gain an understanding of your topic? Hint: you should focus on the problem of accurately measuring the nature and scope of Organized Crime. You will want at least two academic references from external resources.
Case Summaries. This is the heart of the paper, a database you have constructed from the websites of the Georgia Attorney General and the FBI. Students should present these by type rather than in chronological order, e.g., all COVID-related fraud cases in one section. You need at least one out-of-class reference for each section. So use the outside source as you introduce each group of cases, e.g., “Our first set of cases involves fraud related to COVID, this is an important issue as noted by….” Then move to your presentation of the COVID fraud-related materials. For each one, begin with the same title that was presented in the Press Release, then summarize it in your own words. One way to look at this is to ask yourself, “What is the most important information?” Basically, what you are doing is saving the reader the time and effort of finding and analyzing those materials for themselves. You are doing the reader a service!
In terms of outside references for the case summaries, you need one reference per type of case, e.g., drug distribution, human trafficking, money laundering, extortion, murder. Remember this is one outside reference per type case, not one for each incident.
Analysis. Begin with a statement on the total number covered (N=___), then present percentages for each group. What trends emerged? What types of OC were most frequent? Did most involve a single perpetrator, or were there co-conspirators? Was it possible to determine the gender or race of the perpetrators? How about victims? How many in all? Were they individuals, groups, specific businesses, or the State? How about the total amount of money involved? What was the range of sentences and/or fines? Overall, do you think justice was served?
Conclusion. Briefly remind the reader of the essential points you have made. After reading your paper, the reader should be up to date on your topic. You may include a statement on future concerns related to the topic, any policy recommendations, and even advice for the reader on how to avoid being a victim of Organized Crime.
References. You should have a minimum of ten references. Use APA formatting and list these in alphabetical order by the author’s last name. Electronic sources are acceptable if the citation is complete and the source is legitimate. Remember that you need at least two in your Introduction, one for each type of case presented, and any additional articles that you need to clarify any of the Attorney General’s press releases. Thus, it should be easy to find ten references.
A note on in-text citations. If the information cited is not “general knowledge,” simply provide an in-text citation, e.g., “According to Prine, $40 Billion is a conservative estimate on the annual cost of WCC (2021)”. An alternative is, “A conservative estimate on the annual cost of WCC crime is $40 Billion” (Prine, 2021). Note that the period always closes the sentence, even with an in-text citation. Providing appropriate citations is an easy way for students to avoid charges of plagiarism, so when in doubt, provide the source.
