Over the past 100 years, government officials and scholars in search of a definition for organized crime have performed numerous investigations and studies. According to the textbook “Organized Crime” by Michael Lyman, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), define organized crime as:
“Any group having some manner of a formalized structure and whose primary objective is to obtain money through illegal activities. Such groups maintain their position through the use of 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” (6).
Recently, a notorious, growing, transnational crime group known as Mara Salvatrucha, …show more content…
The main advantage of the Hierarchy is that every category gets paid for carrying out criminal activates except for informants .In order to advance or move forward on the hierarchy, gang members must prove their loyalty over time. According to Marguerite Cawley, the Council of Nine is in charge of the distribution of money while the Clica leaders answer directly to that council. Clica leaders are paid around $2000 weekly based on performance. Finances and Special ops that carry out operations such as police killings are rewarded under $200 a week. Next are the hired assassins who are responsible for collecting extortions. These assassins receive around $65 per victim. Lastly are those who carry out extortion and menial tasks. These members receive under $40 a week. The disadvantages are that in order to move up the ranks and acquire more money, gang members must follows commands whether they like it or not. One must prove their self of being loyal by conducting the commands they are given. One must work for their earnings, as it may take months, even years to advance in the hierarchy to increase their …show more content…
The two main reasons children join the gang at such a young age are to affirm protection from bullies, and to help these individuals look tougher. Most of those who join MS-13 often either live in poverty, or are surrounded by gang members within their neighborhood. In order to join MS-13, you would have to know someone, either a family member or friend, who would have to convince current gang members that you were a crazy and tough individual. Once the gang has consulted and allows you to prove how tough and crazy you are, one must then go through initiation. The first step of initiation is enduring a 13 second beating from a current gang member. After surviving a brutal beating, the next step is to prove how crazy and tough you truly are. In order to do so, one must beat, rape or even murder an innocent civilian proving you are a heartless individual willing to do anything for the gang. As soon as an individual joins the gang, they are committed for life. Once part of the gang, members must not perform acts such as talking to the police, killing without reason or skipping meetings without the consent of a leader. If for any reason one tries to withdraw, or escape from the gang, they will be killed. A 14-year-old boy from Guatemala joined the gang but a few years later wanted withdraw. He decided to flee from Guatemala and seek refuge with family in the
“Any group having some manner of a formalized structure and whose primary objective is to obtain money through illegal activities. Such groups maintain their position through the use of 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” (6).
Recently, a notorious, growing, transnational crime group known as Mara Salvatrucha, …show more content…
The main advantage of the Hierarchy is that every category gets paid for carrying out criminal activates except for informants .In order to advance or move forward on the hierarchy, gang members must prove their loyalty over time. According to Marguerite Cawley, the Council of Nine is in charge of the distribution of money while the Clica leaders answer directly to that council. Clica leaders are paid around $2000 weekly based on performance. Finances and Special ops that carry out operations such as police killings are rewarded under $200 a week. Next are the hired assassins who are responsible for collecting extortions. These assassins receive around $65 per victim. Lastly are those who carry out extortion and menial tasks. These members receive under $40 a week. The disadvantages are that in order to move up the ranks and acquire more money, gang members must follows commands whether they like it or not. One must prove their self of being loyal by conducting the commands they are given. One must work for their earnings, as it may take months, even years to advance in the hierarchy to increase their …show more content…
The two main reasons children join the gang at such a young age are to affirm protection from bullies, and to help these individuals look tougher. Most of those who join MS-13 often either live in poverty, or are surrounded by gang members within their neighborhood. In order to join MS-13, you would have to know someone, either a family member or friend, who would have to convince current gang members that you were a crazy and tough individual. Once the gang has consulted and allows you to prove how tough and crazy you are, one must then go through initiation. The first step of initiation is enduring a 13 second beating from a current gang member. After surviving a brutal beating, the next step is to prove how crazy and tough you truly are. In order to do so, one must beat, rape or even murder an innocent civilian proving you are a heartless individual willing to do anything for the gang. As soon as an individual joins the gang, they are committed for life. Once part of the gang, members must not perform acts such as talking to the police, killing without reason or skipping meetings without the consent of a leader. If for any reason one tries to withdraw, or escape from the gang, they will be killed. A 14-year-old boy from Guatemala joined the gang but a few years later wanted withdraw. He decided to flee from Guatemala and seek refuge with family in the