The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has developed a general definition of organized crime as a continuing criminal enterprise that rationally works to profit from illicit activities that are often in great public demand. Its continuing existence is maintained through corruption of public officials and the use of intimidation, threats, or forces to protect its operations. Examples of organized crime include money laundering, smuggling, drug trafficking, human trafficking, contract killing, kidnapping, etc.

Characteristics of organized crime:

• Hierarchical structure: Groups involved in organized crime consist of a durable core of key members surrounded by a cluster of subordinates, specialists, and other transient disposable assets.
• Close collaboration: Members of the group come together on the basis of some common traits such as ethnicity, criminal background, interests, or family background.
• Continuity: The criminal groups operate beyond the lifetime of individual members and are structured to survive changes in leadership.
• Willing to use violence: Violence or the threat of it is used against the members of organized crime groups to keep them in line and also against outsiders to protect the economic interests of the group.
• Attainment of power and profit: To attain these goals, crime groups secure political power through the corruption of public officials and “protectors” who defend the groups and their interests.

Difficulty in controlling and combating these groups:

• Legal framework: Different organized crimes are dealt with by their corresponding laws such as the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, etc., and their respective agencies. This creates overlaps and gaps in their effective control.
• The anonymity of leadership: As organized criminal groups are structured in a hierarchical manner, it becomes difficult to identify their leaders. Also, such groups keep changing their leaders to avoid law enforcement agencies.
• Difficult to control the funding: Informal sources of funding like hundi, hawala, etc. used by organized crimes are difficult to regulate. Further, modern technologies used for funding like bitcoins by their design are difficult to track and decrypt.
• Nexus of criminal elements with government officials: Since organized crime groups create a vested interest of public officials in their survival and progress, they are able to get political patronage at different stages of investigation, prosecution, and incarceration.
• Transnational presence: Some organized crimes like drug trafficking, human trafficking, etc. have a transnational presence. They spread beyond national boundaries and present difficulties in the prevention, detection, and investigation of these transnational organized crimes.

A multi-layered approach that involves law enforcement agencies and policymakers is needed. Apart from that, there should be a focus on capacity building of agencies, greater international cooperation, better border management, and inclusive development to effectively control organized crimes.