CRIM 350: Organized Crime

This course is a topical introduction to issues surrounding organized crime and international terrorism. It will examine the history and development of organized crime; the structure and organization of domestic and transnational (international) organized crime groups, the illicit “business” in which organized crime is engaged, definitions and theoretical models for understanding organized crime, and the relationship between organized crime and the American social, political and legal institutions. Similarities and differences between organized crime and terrorism will be considered in terms of definitional and structural understandings. (spring)