Caldwell
College Department of Sociology
and Criminal Justice
Cj
387 Organized
Crime
Dr.
Reynolds External Degree
Program, Fall ‘2008
Office
Location: Building #4, Room 148
Office
Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays,
Office
Telephone: 973.663.3360
Email:
mreynolds@caldwell.edu
If
I am not in my office, please leave a message on my voice mail and I will get
back to you as soon as possible. I am
not on campus on Fridays.
Required
Text:
Abadinsky,
Howard. 2007. Organized Crime. 8th ed.
Thomson Higher Education.
Optional
Text:
American
Sociological Association. 2002. American
Sociological
Association Style Guide. 3rd ed.
To
purchase this style guide, you may contact the ASA via e-mail at publications@asanet.org, or through
their website, www.asanet.org, and click
on publications.
Course
Description:
This
course traces the evolution of organized crime in
Course
Objectives:
v
To
improve the reading, writing, research, and critical thinking skills of
students by completing written assignments that requires students to interpret
and analyze organized crime activities, issues, events, concepts, and theories.
v
To
provide students with an understanding of the concept of organized crime: its
historical development, nature, and extent.
v
To
dispel myths surrounding organized crime and organized criminals, including the
myth that organized crime is comprised exclusively of Italian-American groups.
v
To
introduce students to theories that attempt to explain why individuals engage
in organized crime.
v
To
introduce students to the businesses (activities) of organized crime.
v
To
introduce students to the criminal justice response to organized crime,
including prevention, investigation, prosecution, and sentencing.
Course Requirements:
A.
Reading Assignments: Due to the independent nature of this class,
reading the textbook is of central importance.
Assigned reading is detailed on the following pages.
B.
Chapter Questions: When using the textbook, for each assignment you will
be responsible for answering a number of questions directly related to the
content of the reading. Chapter
questions help students to comprehend essential terms and concepts, and to
organize their study and reading of a chapter. Should you be so inclined, you
are encouraged to use outside resources.
However, you are not required to do so.
Many
articles found in scholarly journals, popular magazines, newsmagazines, and
newspapers deal with the topics covered in the text. Although there are numerous textbooks on
organized crime, please use them only if they will add something original to your
papers. Dictionaries and encyclopedias
are NOT appropriate references for college level work. The grading criterion for written assignments
is detailed below.
Grading
Criterion for All Written Assignments
Content
and Clarity—substance and thoroughness of the paper; the development of ideas
Organization—the
logical sequencing of topics, sentences, and paragraphs
Evidence—the
accuracy of statements
Comprehension—your
understanding of the material
Mechanics/Grammar—spelling,
unclear sentences, verbs and tenses, word choice, and punctuation
Documentation—accurately
using quotations and citing sources
Papers without proper
documentation will be severely penalized!
The
thoroughness of students and their comprehension of the material are critical
factors in my grading of papers. Express yourself clearly, simply and in
your own words! I want to know that
you truly understand what you read and write; that you are not just duplicating
the text material without truly understanding it. Remember that whether you are quoting a
source directly or whether you are paraphrasing you must cite your source—even
if your source is our textbook author.
ALL
PAPERS ARE TO BE WRITTEN AS ESSAYS AND NOT IN A QUESTION AND ANSWER
FORMAT!
A
total of SIX assignments/papers are required.
All SIX papers are of equal weight, and will be averaged together to
equal your final grade. Papers must be
typed and double-spaced! There is no set
length for each paper. Some answers
require more elaboration than others do.
You will probably need to write at least ten pages for each paper in
order to answer the questions fully!
Remember that thoroughness and accuracy are extremely critical factors
in determining your paper grades.
Appropriate style footnotes/endnotes and
references are required. I prefer the
ASA style of author's last name, year of publication and page number in
parentheses for citations in the text, which eliminates the need for footnotes
or endnotes. It is suggested that
students who are sociology/criminal justice majors purchase the ASA Style Guide, which is available at
www.asanet.org. I also prefer the
reference format of the ASA. The use of
on-line sources should be approached with caution, and, if used, should be cited
appropriately (see ASA Style Guide
and/or below). Please note that you should
never put a web address as an in-text citation; always use an author and the
year or, if no author is cited, an article title and the year.
Online
Periodicals Available in Print and Online Form:
Scott, Lionel D., Jr. and Laura E. House. 2005.
“Relationship of
Distress
and Perceived Control to Coping with Perceived
Racial
Discrimination among Black Youth.” Journal of Black
Psychology
31 (3):254-72. (Retrieved from JSTOR on December
16, 2006).
Online
Periodicals Available in Online Form Only
Schafer, Daniel W. and Fred L. Ramsey.
2003. “Teaching the
Craft of Data Analysis.” Journal of Statistics Education 11(1).
Retrieved
(http://www.amsttat.org/publications/jse/v11n1
/schaefer.html).
An
Online Newspaper Article
Goldsten,
Amy. 1997. “Dying Patients’ Care Varies Widely by Place,
Study Says.”
For
those students not using the ASA format, it is recommended that they purchase
either the APA (American
Psychological Association) Publication
Manual or the MLA (Modern
Language Association) Handbook from
the college bookstore. Both of these
manuals explain how to format appropriate style footnotes and references.
PLEASE
BE SURE TO TYPE OUT THE ASSIGNMENT/PAPER NUMBER, CHAPTER NUMBER(S), AND CHAPTER
TITLE(S) BEFORE ANSWERING THE PAPER QUESTIONS.
PLEASE BE SURE TO ANSWER ALL PARTS OF EACH QUESTION.
ASSIGNMENT/PAPER
DUE DATES:
Paper
1:
Paper
2:
Paper
3:
Please
note that I often use symbols in grading papers: a Ö means that a good point
was made; a ? means I do not understand what you are
trying to say--either the writing is unclear or the syntax is faulty; and an X
means that you have written something that is incorrect. Papers which are good (B), very good (B+), or
excellent (A) will have few written comments on them. Please allow a two-week turn around for all
papers!
Paper
writing hints:
include a title page with your name, address, telephone number and the
question; avoid contractions and abbreviations in formal writing; journal,
magazine and book titles are either underlined or italicized; staple papers;
and number pages.
ASSIGNMENTS/PAPERS: After a CLOSE reading of the required
chapters, students are to answer the questions listed on the following
pages. Be sure to answer all parts of
each question. Assignments/papers
must be completed in sequential order!
NOTE:
the abbreviation oc stands for organized crime
1.
Chapters 1 & 2: How is the criminality of organized criminals
different than the criminality of conventional criminals? Define oc. Can you provide plausible explanations for
why it is difficult to define oc? Describe the
characteristics (nine attributes), which make oc a
unique type of criminality. Compare and
contrast the Patron-Client Model of OC, and the bureaucratic model of oc. In the American
Mafia, what is the advantage of being a “made guy.”
Select
any four of the following six
theories and explain why individuals (or groups) engage in organized crime:
Differential Association Theory, Social Structure Theory (Anomie), Ethnic
Succession (Bell), Social Control Theory, Differential Opportunity, and
Subcultures and Social Disorganization.
2.
Chapters 3 & 4: Trace the historical development of oc
BEGINNING WITH IMMIGRATION AND ENDING WITH PROHIBITION. Be sure to include the names and roles of
prominent oc figures in your discussion. Include the
prevailing social philosophy of many of the immigrant groups who migrated to
the
3.
Chapters 5-7: Transnational organized crime has always existed but today it is
a growing social problem. Explain why.
Select any two of the
following three transnational groups—Italian oc,
Latino oc, and Russian oc—and
discuss the group’s history, structure, activities, and future outlook.
4.
Chapters 8-10: Select any two
of the following three transnational groups—Asian oc,
Outlaw Motorcycle Groups, and African American and Black oc—and
discuss the group’s history, structure, activities, and future outlook.
5.
Chapters 11-13: Discuss, in-depth, any two
of the following businesses of oc: (a) the
drug business; (b) labor rackeeteering, business
racketeering, and money laundering; or (c) gambling, loansharking,
theft, fencing, sex, and trafficking in persons.
6.
Chapters 14-15: Explain what official investigations into oc
have told us. Discuss the significance
of RICO in the prosecution of oc figures. What additional statutes can assist
prosecutors and law enforcement officers in combating oc? What limitations are placed on law
enforcement officers in attempting to combat oc? Why is oc so
difficult to control? Discuss the work
of some of the agencies that operate alone or in cooperation to combat oc. Rank the
following investigative tools used by prosecutors and law enforcement officials
to combat oc—intelligence, electronic surveillance,
grand jury, and immunity—in terms of their usefulness. Explain why you ranked the investigative
tools the way you did.
POLICIES
1.
Mail all papers to: DR. MARYLEE REYNOLDS,
2.
PLEASE PUT YOUR NAME, ADDRESS, AND TELEPHONE NUMBER ON EACH PAPER YOU SUBMIT,
AND BE SURE TO KEEP A COPY OF ALL YOUR PAPERS.
3.
Assignments are due on dates given, any student submitting all, or
substantially all, course materials at the end of the semester will fail the course. THE NATURE OF THE EXTERNAL DEGREE PROGRAM
REQUIRES FREQUENT AND REGULAR CONTACT BETWEEN STUDENT AND INSTRUCTOR. I EXPECT TO RECEIVE WORK FROM YOU ON A
REGULAR BASIS! IN ORDER TO KEEP PACE YOU
SHOULD BE WRITING ONE PAPER EVERY TWO OR THREE WEEKS!
4.
PAPERS, WHICH ARE NOT IN MY HANDS WITHIN ONE WEEK OF THE DUE DATE, CAN
EARN A GRADE OF NO HIGHER THAN A C! There is no grace period for your final
paper due on December 8, 2008.
5.
ABSOLUTELY NO ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER
6.
No incompletes will be given unless eighty percent of the course work is
completed and the student has made the proper arrangements for an
incomplete. Remember that the paperwork
for an incomplete must be completed before final exam week.
7. I DO NOT ACCEPT PAPERS VIA FAX OR E-MAIL
8. Academic Integrity: Students are to
familiarize themselves with the college’s Academic Integrity Policy, which is
explained in the college catalog.
Violations, penalties, and procedures are contained therein. Students are forewarned about multiple submission
of papers (e.g., handing in papers from another class), and of handing in
papers that are not their own work.
9.
Any student who has a documented disability and is in need of academic
accommodations must contact the Office of Disability Services (973-618-3645)
and notify the professor of this course.
Students are required to provide written documentation of their
disability in order to be eligible for accommodations. Accommodations are individualized and in
accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans
with Disabilities Act of 1992.