Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralised

enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit.
1. Introduction
The subject of this paper is the conceptual history of organized crime in the United States and in Germany (1). The
interest in the concept of organized crime and its historical development derives from the notion that when we concern
ourselves with organized crime we have to discuss two distinct properties, the reality of organized crime on the one
hand and its conceptualization on the other.
The reality of organized crime consists of a myriad of mostly clandestine, diverse and complex aspects of the social
universe. They do not readily fall into place to form an easily identifiable entity. Rather, it takes a cognitive and
linguistical construct in order for us to perceive these phenomena as interrelated.
Therefore, it seems appropriate to explore an issue like organized crime not exclusively as an empirical problem.
Exploring the concept of organized crime, especially in its historical dimension, provides an insight into the breadth and
the depth as well as into the inconsistencies and contradictions of the meanings attached to the term organized crime,
and it alerts us to some of the social and political factors that may play a role in shaping the perceptions on organized
crime.
2. The Conceptual History of Organized Crime: An Overview
2.1. The Frequency Curve
The first step in a conceptual-history study is to search a data base of representative texts for incidents of the use of the
term in question. In this way it is not only possible to determine with some accuracy the point in time when the concept
first appeared, but also how, in quantitative terms, its use has changed over time and what phases, marked by an
increase in popularity, deserve particular attention.
For example (Tab. 1), changes in the frequency of the term organized crime in the "New York Times Index" show that the
concept of organized crime has only very gradually gained acceptance in the media and that it has been a major issue
only for rather short periods of time between the late 1960s and mid 1980s.
The same kind of analysis of Germany's leading news magazine "Der Spiegel" (Tab. 2)(2) shows that when the American
debate on organized crime gained momentum during the 1960s the concept of organized crime slowly began to gain a
foothold in Germany. But as indicated, the concept of organized crime did not move to the center of the German
criminal-policy debate before the late 1980s.
2.2. Categories for Assessing Statements on Organized Crime
When we turn our attention from the frequency curve to the substance of the conceptual history it is necessary, first of
all, to define categories with which to classify and assess the various statements on organized crime.
One criterion for classifying statements is how many dimensions they comprise. Some statements on organized crime
are too vague as to reveal any notion of the nature of organized crime. Some statements center around a single,
quintessential quality of organized crime, while others combine a number of characteristics into a multi-dimensional
concept of organized crime.
As far as one-dimensional conceptions of organized crime are concerned, three basic approaches can be distinguished
which may be labeled activity-, organization-, and system-approach, respectively (Tab. 3).
The activity-approach equates organized crime with certain types of criminal activity, for example with the provision of
illegal goods and services, regardless of the degree of organization of those involved in these activities and regardless of
their socio-political position. The organization-approach focuses on organizational entities, regardless of the type of
criminal activity in which they are involved and regardless of their socio-political position. The system-approach
perceives organized crime in essence as a social condition in which legitimate and criminal structures are integral parts
of one corrupt socio-political system, regardless of either the types of crime promoted or the degree of organization of
those supporting the system.
Multi-dimensional conceptions tend to be based on an organization-centered understanding of organized crime but
include other criteria as well. The various criteria of multi-dimensional conceptions can be distinguished by using a
classification of four levels of complexity (Tab. 4): 1.) the individual characteristics of "organized criminals," 2.) the
structures, for example networks or groups which connect these individuals, 3.) the over-arching power structures that
subordinate these structural entities, and finally 4.) the relation between these illegal structures and the legal structures
of society.
2.3. Today's Dominant Concept of Organized Crime
Today's concept of organized crime is heterogeneous and contradictory when we take into account the entire range of
pertinent statements in the criminal-policy debate. But when we focus on the imagery that dominates the general
perception of organized crime we can ascertain a tendency towards equating organized crime with ethnically
homogeneous, formally structured, multi-functional, monopolistic criminal organizations which strive to undermine and
subdue the legal institutions of society.
Within the framework of the outlined four levels of complexity this means that the dominating imagery centers around
individuals who belong to specific ethnic minorities (3). The prototypical organized criminal is a foreigner.
With regard to the structure of criminal organizations the stereotypical image of organized crime focuses on
bureaucratic organizations in contrast to informal groups or networks. Moreover, these criminal organizations are
typically portrayed as multi-functional. They are said to be illegal enterprises and secret societies at the same time.
As far as the structures of illicit markets and criminal subcultures as a whole are concerned, the dominating
understanding of organized crime is based on the notion that they tend to be monopolized and that all criminal groups
strive for monopoly positions on an ever increasing scale.
Finally, the prevailing view of organized crime places criminal organizations in a fundamental conflict with the legal
institutions of society, especially with regard to the concept of globally operating "Mafias," instead of stressing the
underlying socio-political conditions conducive to organized crime.
Retrospectively, it may appear that the concept of ethnically homogeneous, monopolistic criminal organizations has
continuously dominated the understanding of organized crime since the times of the famous Italian-American gangsters
of the Prohibition Era, like Al Capone and Lucky Luciano. But this is not the case, especially not with regard to the 1920s
and 1930s.
2.4. Major Trends in the Development of the Concept of Organized Crime
The conceptual history of organized crime shows little continuity and little consensus. If we take the smallest common
denominator of all pertinent statements collected for this study we would arrive at a very broad definition of organized
crime. From an activity-oriented point of view, organized crime would comprise all criminal acts that are not impulsive
or spontaneous. From an organization-oriented point of view, organized crime would refer to all criminals who do not
operate in complete social isolation. Consequently, the term organized crime could even be applied to an individual
criminal as long as someone else knowingly contributes to his criminal conduct, for example by providing useful
information or by merely showing respect for his behavior.
The conceptual history of organized crime is characterized by change. Two trends are most significant, the extension of
the geographical scope from a local to a global frame of reference, and the narrowing down of the social scope from a
systemic to a dichotomic view of organized crime and society.
A drug is any chemical you take that affects the way your body works. Alcohol, caffeine, aspirin and nicotine are all
drugs. A drug must be able to pass from your body into your brain. Once inside your brain, drugs can change the
messages your brain cells are sending to each other, and to the rest of your body. They do this by interfering with your
brain's own chemical signals: neurotransmitters that transfer signals across synapses.
Drug abuse is the use of illegal drugs, or the misuse of prescription or over-the-counter drugs for at least a year with
negative consequences.
Drug addiction is a complex brain disease. It is characterized by compulsive, at times uncontrollable, drug craving,
seeking, and use that persist even in the face of extremely negative consequences.

Drug seeking becomes compulsive, in large part as a result of the effects of prolonged drug use on brain functioning and,
thus, on behavior. For many people, drug addiction becomes chronic, with relapses possible even after long periods of
abstinence.
Drug dependence is substance addiction which is the physical and/or psychological need for a drug. When using drugs
becomes the focus of a person's life and interferes with his or her ability to cope without the drug, dependence is likely.
A dependency on drugs tends to involve the user associating with other drug abusers as well as behavioral and health
changes. When an addict tries to stop using the substance, withdrawal symptoms result, so treatment is usually done
gradually with medical supervision.
Drug dependence
There are two types of drug dependence.
Physical dependence
Physical dependence is a condition in which the body has adjusted to the presence of a drug, resulting in clear
symptoms of withdrawal when its use stops. In extreme cases, the effect of rapid withdrawal can be life threatening
because the body has become so dependent on the drug as to interfere with normal body processes.
An individual physically dependent on a drug requires that drug in order to function normally. Physical dependence is
associated with tolerance in most cases. The state of physical dependence is revealed by withdrawing the drug and
noting the occurrence of withdrawal symptoms some time after the drug is withheld. The symptoms of withdrawal can
be terminated by re-administration of the drug.
Symptoms of drug withdrawal tend to be the opposite of the effects of the drug. If the effect of the drug is sedation, the
withdrawal effect will likely be hyperexcitability. If the effect was stimulation the withdrawal effect will likely be be
emotional depression.
Longer acting drugs tend to produce less intense withdrawal symptoms because the body has more time to adapt to the
decreasing presence of the drug.
Psychological dependence
This kind of dependence is characterized by emotional and mental preoccupation with the drug's effects and by a
persistent craving for it.
The symptoms displayed are not physical symptoms. Craving seems to be the most common withdrawal symptom.
Psychological dependence is usually manifested by compulsive drug-taking, but the frequency and pattern of use can
differ considerably from one individual to another.
Cross Dependence
This is the ability of one drug to suppress the manifestations of physical dependence produced by another and to
maintain the physically dependent state. Cross dependence may be partial or complete. One amphetamine will show
cross dependence with other amphetamines. Most sedatives show cross dependence with each other and with alcohol.
Cross dependence usually occurs among compounds of a given family of drugs but may also occur among drugs of
different families that have similar pharmacological effects.
Designer drugs are drugs that are created (or marketed, if they had already existed) to avoid the provisions of existing
drug laws, usually by preparing analogs or derivatives of existing drugs by modifying their chemical structure to varying
degrees,
[1]
or less commonly by finding drugs with entirely different chemical structures that produce similar subjective
effects to illegal recreational drugs; they are usually sold on the black and grey market because there are little to no
regulations when it comes to these substances.
Abstinence is a self-enforced restraint from indulging in bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure.
Most frequently, the term refers to sexual abstinence, or abstinence from alcohol or food. The practice can arise from
religious prohibitions and practical considerations. Abstinence may also refer to drugs. For example you can abstain
from smoking. Abstinence has diverse forms. Commonly it refers to a temporary or partial abstinence from food, as in
fasting. In the twelve-step program of Overeaters Anonymous abstinence is the term for refraining from compulsive
eating, akin in meaning to sobriety for alcoholics. Because the regimen is intended to be a conscious act, freely chosen
to enhance life, abstinence is sometimes distinguished from the psychological mechanism of repression. The latter is an
unconscious state, having unhealthy consequences. Freud termed the channeling of sexual energies into other more
culturally or socially acceptable activities, "sublimation".
Abstinence is a self-enforced restraint from indulging in bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure.
Most frequently, the term refers to sexual abstinence, or abstinence from alcohol or food. The practice can arise from
religious prohibitions and practical considerations. Abstinence may also refer to drugs. For example you can abstain
from smoking. Abstinence has diverse forms. Commonly it refers to a temporary or partial abstinence from food, as in
fasting. In the twelve-step program of Overeaters Anonymous abstinence is the term for refraining from compulsive
eating, akin in meaning to sobriety for alcoholics. Because the regimen is intended to be a conscious act, freely chosen
to enhance life, abstinence is sometimes distinguished from the psychological mechanism of repression. The latter is an
unconscious state, having unhealthy consequences. Freud termed the channeling of sexual energies into other more
culturally or socially acceptable activities, "sublimation".
The term drug overdose (or simply overdose or OD) describes the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance
in quantities greater than are recommended
[1]
or generally practiced.
[2]
An overdose may result in a toxic state or death.
Pharmacology (from Greek , pharmakon, "poison" in classic Greek; "drug" in modern Greek; and -, -logia
"study of", "knowledge of") is the branch of medicine and biology concerned with the study of drug action,
[1]
where a
drug can be broadly defined as any man-made, natural, or endogenous (within the body) molecule which exerts a
biochemical and/or physiological effect on the cell, tissue, organ, or organism. More specifically, it is the study of the
interactions that occur between a living organism and chemicals that affect normal or abnormal biochemical function.
Poly drug use refers to the use of two or more psychoactive drugs in combination to achieve a particular effect. In many
cases one drug is used as a base or primary drug, with additional drugs to leaven or compensate for the side effects of
the primary drug and make the experience more enjoyable with drug synergy effects, or to supplement for primary drug
when supply is low.
potentiation
*ptenshshn+
Etymology: L, potentia
a synergistic action in which the effect of two drugs given simultaneously is greater than the sum of the effects of each
drug given separately.
potentiation /potentiation/ (po-tenshe-ashun)
1. enhancement of one agent by another so that the combined effect is greater than
the sum of the effects of each one alone.
2. posttetanic p.

posttetanic potentiation an incrementing response without change of action potential
amplitude, occurring with repetitive nerve stimulation.

Dorland's Medical Dictionary for Health Consumers. 2007 by Saunders, an imprint of
Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.

potentiation
*ptenshshn+
Etymology: L, potentia
a synergistic action in which the effect of two drugs given simultaneously is greater
than the sum of the effects of each drug given separately.
Mosby's Medical Dictionary, 8th edition. 2009, Elsevier.

potentiation [po-tenshe-ashun]
enhancement of one agent by another so that the combined effect is greater than the
sum of the effects of each one alone.
Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health,
Seventh Edition. 2003 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.

potentiation (ptenshsh n),
n 1. an increase in the action of a drug by the addition of another drug that does not
necessarily possess similar properties.
n 2. the enhancement of action (e.g., of a drug).
Mosby's Dental Dictionary, 2nd edition. 2008 Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.

potentiation
enhancement of one agent by another so that the combined effect is greater than the
sum of the effects of each one alone.
Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary, 3 ed. 2007 Elsevier, Inc. All rights
reserved

potentiation
See Long-term potentiation.
McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. 2002 by The McGraw-Hill
Companies, Inc.

potentiation (p-ten'sh-'shn),
Interaction between two or more drugs or agents resulting in a pharmacologic response
greater than the sum of individual responses to each drug or agent.
Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary Farlex 2012

potentiation (p-ten'sh-'shn)
Interaction between two or more drugs or agents resulting in a pharmacologic response
greater than the sum of individual responses to each drug or agent.
Medical Dictionary for the Health Professions and Nursing Farlex 2012

potentiation (p-ten'sh-'shn)
Interaction between two or more drugs or agents resulting in a pharmacologic response
greater than the sum of individual responses to each drug or agent.

As related to matters of physical and emotional well-being, rehabilitation refers to any process that seeks to restore the
patient to a previous level of health. Different types or expressions of the rehabilitative process will focus on the task of
restoring at least some function to a damaged body part or utilizing the process of education to equip the individual to
compensate for damage that cannot be repaired. At its core, rehabilitation has the goal of assisting individuals to
achieve the highest quality of life and health as possible within their circumstances.
In the context of addictive behaviors, a relapse occurs when the addict resumes his or her addictive behavior after a
period of abstinence. For people trying to control their behavior rather than trying to quit entirely, a relapse is a period
of uncontrolled behavior. For example, for someone trying to control their drinking, a relapse could result in a session of
binge drinking. For a shopaholic who is trying to follow a spending plan, a relapse could be going on a shopping spree.
Relapse is a hallmark of addiction; it is common, even expected, that people who are attempting to overcome an
addiction will go through one or even several relapses before successfully quitting. Relapse is even considered a stage in
the stages-of-change model, which predicts that people will cycle through a process of avoiding, considering quitting,
taking active steps to quit and then relapsing. Sometimes people will cycle through the stages several times before
quitting.
Synthetic drugs are those substances that are produced entirely from chemical reactions in a laboratory. Their chemical
structure can be identical to naturally occurring drugs, such as cocaine and opium, but they are often designed to
enhance effects from naturally occurring drugs, or to prevent side effects that are unwanted. Many purely synthetic
compounds with no alternative natural source are classified by the chemical structure of the parent synthetic
compound. Drugs that share a common core structure belong to a particular group. But members within a particular
group may produce different effects. Pharmacological activity within a group may vary widely.
The members of the ecstasy group are also classified as designer drugs. They are structurally related to a controlled
drug and produce certain psychoactive effects. They have been designed on the basis of the chemical structure of a
given parent drug, and made specifically for sale on the illegal market and to bypass regulations on controlled
substances. In response, regulations now commonly cover novel and possible analogues of existing psychoactive
substances.
Tolerance is:
the power or capacity of an organism to tolerate unfavorable environmental conditions;
a disposition to allow freedom of choice and behavior;
the willingness to recognize and respect the beliefs or practices of others;
a clearance between surfaces allowing some freedom to move within limits;
the range on what is allowable on a dimensional specification.

Tolerance is the capability to bear stressful condition. It can be enviornmental like heat, cold etc. or it can be mental like
emotions of sadness or happiness. The extent of tolerance or the extent upto which a person can bear the stress is
called its tolerance power.
Treatment refers to the administration or application of remedies or therapies to a patient for a disease or injury. A
good assessment is essential to determine appropriate treatment for a substance use disorder.
Withdrawal time, as relating to veterinary medicine, is defined as the time required after administration of a drug to a
dairy cow needed to assure that drug residues in the marketable milk is below a determined maximum residue limit
(MRL).
[1]
This term is often used more broadly to describe the time needed after drug administration to any food animal
where drug residue may be found in marketed meats, eggs, organs, or other edible products.
A withdrawal syndrome, also called a discontinuation syndrome is a set of symptoms occurring in discontinuation or
dosage reduction of some types of medications. The risk of a discontinuation syndrome occurring increases with dosage
and length of use.
Classification of Drugs

alternative medicines
o herbal products
o nutraceutical products
o probiotics
anti-infectives
o amebicides
o aminoglycosides
o anthelmintics
o antifungals
azole antifungals
echinocandins
miscellaneous antifungals
polyenes
o antimalarial agents
antimalarial combinations
antimalarial quinolines
miscellaneous antimalarials
o antituberculosis agents
aminosalicylates
antituberculosis combinations
miscellaneous antituberculosis agents
nicotinic acid derivatives
rifamycin derivatives
streptomyces derivatives
o antiviral agents
adamantane antivirals
antiviral combinations
antiviral interferons
chemokine receptor antagonist
integrase strand transfer inhibitor
miscellaneous antivirals
neuraminidase inhibitors
NNRTIs
nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs)
protease inhibitors
purine nucleosides
o carbapenems
o cephalosporins
first generation cephalosporins
fourth generation cephalosporins
next generation cephalosporins
second generation cephalosporins
third generation cephalosporins
o glycopeptide antibiotics
o glycylcyclines
o leprostatics
o lincomycin derivatives
o lipoglycopeptides
o macrolide derivatives
ketolides
macrolides
o miscellaneous antibiotics
o penicillins
aminopenicillins
antipseudomonal penicillins
beta-lactamase inhibitors
natural penicillins
penicillinase resistant penicillins
o quinolones
o sulfonamides
o tetracyclines
o urinary anti-infectives
anticholinergics/antispasmodics
antidiabetic agents
o alpha-glucosidase inhibitors
o antidiabetic combinations
o dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors
o insulin
o meglitinides
o miscellaneous antidiabetic agents
o non-sulfonylureas
o sulfonylureas
o thiazolidinediones
antigout agents
antihyperlipidemic agents
o antihyperlipidemic combinations
o bile acid sequestrants
o cholesterol absorption inhibitors
o fibric acid derivatives
o miscellaneous antihyperlipidemic agents
o statins
antihyperuricemic agents
antineoplastics
o alkylating agents
o anti-CTLA-4 monoclonal antibodies
o antibiotics/antineoplastics
o antimetabolites
o antineoplastic detoxifying agents
o antineoplastic interferons
o antineoplastic monoclonal antibodies
o BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase inhibitors
o CD20 monoclonal antibodies
o CD33 monoclonal antibodies
o CD52 monoclonal antibodies
o EGFR inhibitors
o HER2 inhibitors
o histone deacetylase inhibitors
o hormones/antineoplastics
o miscellaneous antineoplastics
o mitotic inhibitors
o mTOR inhibitors
o mTOR kinase inhibitors
o multikinase inhibitors
o trifunctional monoclonal antibodies
o tyrosine kinase inhibitors
o VEGF/VEGFR inhibitors
biologicals
o antitoxins and antivenins
o colony stimulating factors
o hematopoietic stem cell mobilizer
o in vivo diagnostic biologicals
o recombinant human erythropoietins
cardiovascular agents
o agents for hypertensive emergencies
o agents for pulmonary hypertension
o aldosterone receptor antagonists
o angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors
o angiotensin II inhibitors
o antiadrenergic agents, centrally acting
o antiadrenergic agents, peripherally acting
alpha-adrenoreceptor antagonists
o antianginal agents
nitrates
o antiarrhythmic agents
group I antiarrhythmics
group II antiarrhythmics
group III antiarrhythmics
group IV antiarrhythmics
group V antiarrhythmics
o anticholinergic chronotropic agents
o antihypertensive combinations
o beta-adrenergic blocking agents
cardioselective beta blockers
non-cardioselective beta blockers
o calcium channel blocking agents
o catecholamines
o diuretics
carbonic anhydrase inhibitors
loop diuretics
miscellaneous diuretics
potassium-sparing diuretics
thiazide diuretics
o inotropic agents
o miscellaneous cardiovascular agents
o peripheral vasodilators
o prostaglandin D2 antagonists
o renin inhibitors
o sclerosing agents
o vasodilators
o vasopressin antagonists
o vasopressors
central nervous system agents
o Analgesics
Analgesic Combinations
antimigraine agents
cox-2 inhibitors
miscellaneous analgesics
narcotic analgesic combinations
narcotic analgesics
nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents
salicylates
o anorexiants
o anticonvulsants
barbiturate anticonvulsants
benzodiazepine anticonvulsants
carbamate anticonvulsants
carbonic anhydrase inhibitor anticonvulsants
dibenzazepine anticonvulsants
fatty acid derivative anticonvulsants
gamma-aminobutyric acid analogs
gamma-aminobutyric acid reuptake inhibitors
gamma-aminobutyric acid transaminase inhibitors
hydantoin anticonvulsants
miscellaneous anticonvulsants
oxazolidinedione anticonvulsants
pyrrolidine anticonvulsants
succinimide anticonvulsants
triazine anticonvulsants
urea anticonvulsants
o antiemetic/antivertigo agents
5HT3 receptor antagonists
anticholinergic antiemetics
miscellaneous antiemetics
phenothiazine antiemetics
o antiparkinson agents
anticholinergic antiparkinson agents
dopaminergic antiparkinsonism agents
miscellaneous antiparkinson agents
o anxiolytics, sedatives, and hypnotics
barbiturates
benzodiazepines
miscellaneous anxiolytics, sedatives and hypnotics
o cholinergic agonists
o cholinesterase inhibitors
o CNS stimulants
o drugs used in alcohol dependence
o general anesthetics
o miscellaneous central nervous system agents
o muscle relaxants
neuromuscular blocking agents
skeletal muscle relaxant combinations
skeletal muscle relaxants
coagulation modifiers
o anticoagulants
coumarins and indandiones
factor Xa inhibitors
heparins
thrombin inhibitors
o antiplatelet agents
glycoprotein platelet inhibitors
platelet aggregation inhibitors
o heparin antagonists
o miscellaneous coagulation modifiers
o platelet-stimulating agents
o thrombolytics
gastrointestinal agents
o 5-aminosalicylates
o antacids
o antidiarrheals
o digestive enzymes
o functional bowel disorder agents
chloride channel activators
peripheral opioid receptor antagonists
serotoninergic neuroenteric modulators
o gallstone solubilizing agents
o GI stimulants
o H. pylori eradication agents
o H2 antagonists
o laxatives
o miscellaneous GI agents
o proton pump inhibitors
glucose elevating agents
hormones
o adrenal cortical steroids
corticotropin
glucocorticoids
mineralocorticoids
o adrenal corticosteroid inhibitors
o amylin analogs
o antiandrogens
o antidiuretic hormones
o antigonadotropic agents
o antithyroid agents
o aromatase inhibitors
o bisphosphonates
o calcitonin
o estrogen receptor antagonists
o gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonists
o growth hormone receptor blockers
o growth hormones
o incretin mimetics
o insulin-like growth factor
o miscellaneous hormones
o parathyroid hormone and analogs
o progesterone receptor modulators
o prolactin inhibitors
o selective estrogen receptor modulators
o sex hormones
5-alpha-reductase inhibitors
androgens and anabolic steroids
contraceptives
estrogens
gonadotropin releasing hormones
gonadotropins
hormone replacement therapy
miscellaneous sex hormones
progestins
sex hormone combinations
o somatostatin and somatostatin analogs
o synthetic ovulation stimulants
o thyroid drugs
immune globulins
immunologic agents
o interferons
o monoclonal antibodies
RANK ligand inhibitors
o sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor modulators
o tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors
o vaccine combinations
immunosuppressive agents
medical gas
metabolic agents
o bone resorption inhibitors
miscellaneous bone resorption inhibitors
o lysosomal enzymes
o miscellaneous metabolic agents
o peripherally acting antiobesity agents
miscellaneous agents
o antidotes
o antipsoriatics
o antirheumatics
o chelating agents
o cholinergic muscle stimulants
o genitourinary tract agents
impotence agents
miscellaneous genitourinary tract agents
tocolytic agents
urinary antispasmodics
urinary pH modifiers
uterotonic agents
o illicit (street) drugs
o local injectable anesthetics
o miscellaneous uncategorized agents
o psoralens
o smoking cessation agents
o viscosupplementation agents
miscellaneous antipsychotic agents
miscellaneous biologicals
nasal antihistamines and decongestants
nasal lubricants and irrigations
nasal steroids
nutritional products
o intravenous nutritional products
o iron products
o minerals and electrolytes
o oral nutritional supplements
o vitamin and mineral combinations
o vitamins
plasma expanders
psychotherapeutic agents
o antidepressants
miscellaneous antidepressants
monoamine oxidase inhibitors
phenylpiperazine antidepressants
selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors
tetracyclic antidepressants
tricyclic antidepressants
o antipsychotics
atypical antipsychotics
phenothiazine antipsychotics
thioxanthenes
o norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors
o norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitors
o psychotherapeutic combinations
radiocontrast agents
o iodinated contrast media
o ionic iodinated contrast media
o lymphatic staining agents
o magnetic resonance imaging contrast media
o non-iodinated contrast media
o non-ionic iodinated contrast media
o ultrasound contrast media
radiologic agents
o radiologic adjuncts
cardiac stressing agents
radiologic conjugating agents
radiopharmaceuticals
o diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals
o therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals
respiratory agents
o antiasthmatic combinations
o antihistamines
o antitussives
o bronchodilators
adrenergic bronchodilators
anticholinergic bronchodilators
bronchodilator combinations
methylxanthines
o decongestants
o expectorants
o leukotriene modifiers
o lung surfactants
o miscellaneous respiratory agents
o respiratory inhalant products
inhaled anti-infectives
inhaled corticosteroids
mast cell stabilizers
mucolytics
o upper respiratory combinations
spermicides
topical agents
o anorectal preparations
o antiseptic and germicides
o dermatological agents
miscellaneous topical agents
topical acne agents
topical anesthetics
topical anti-infectives
topical antibiotics
topical antifungals
topical antihistamines
topical antipsoriatics
topical antivirals
topical astringents
topical debriding agents
topical depigmenting agents
topical emollients
topical keratolytics
topical steroids
topical steroids with anti-infectives
o mouth and throat products
o nasal preparations
nasal anti-infectives
o ophthalmic preparations
anti-angiogenic ophthalmic agents
miscellaneous ophthalmic agents
mydriatics
ophthalmic anesthetics
ophthalmic anti-infectives
ophthalmic anti-inflammatory agents
ophthalmic antihistamines and decongestants
ophthalmic diagnostic agents
ophthalmic glaucoma agents
ophthalmic lubricants and irrigations
ophthalmic steroids
ophthalmic steroids with anti-infectives
ophthalmic surgical agents
o otic preparations
cerumenolytics
miscellaneous otic agents
otic anesthetics
otic anti-infectives
otic steroids
otic steroids with anti-infectives
o sterile irrigating solutions
o vaginal preparations
miscellaneous vaginal agents
vaginal anti-infectives
vaccine
o bacterial vaccines
o toxoids
o viral vaccines
he word technology refers to the making, modification, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts,
systems, and methods of organization, in order to solve a problem, improve a preexisting solution to a problem, achieve
a goal, handle an applied input/output relation or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such
tools, including machinery, modifications, arrangements and procedures. Technologies significantly affect human as well
as other animal species' ability to control and adapt to their natural environments. The term can either be applied
generally or to specific areas: examples include construction technology, medical technology, and information
technology.
Chemistry, a branch of physical science, is the study of the composition, properties and behavior of matter.
[1][2]

Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of
chemical bonds. Chemistry is also concerned with the interactions between atoms (or groups of atoms) and various
forms of energy (e.g. photochemical reactions, changes in phases of matter, separation of mixtures, properties of
polymers, etc.).
An atom a fundamental piece of matter. (Matter is anything that can be touched physically.) Everything in the universe
(except energy) is made of matter, and, so, everything in the universe is made of atoms.
An atom itself is made up of three tiny kinds of particles called subatomic particles: protons, neutrons, and electrons.
The protons and the neutrons make up the center of the atom called the nucleus and the electrons fly around above the
nucleus in a small cloud. The electrons carry a negative charge and the protons carry a positive charge. In a normal
(neutral) atom the number of protons and the number of electrons are equal. Often, but not always, the number of
neutrons is the same, too.
An element is an substance that can't be broken into two or more simpler substances.Element is a small but significant
presence of a feeling or abstract quality Some of them are put in the periodic table of elements which was made by
Dmitri Mendeleev.
A molecule is the smallest particle in a chemical element or compound that has the chemical properties of that element
or compound. Molecules are made up of atom s that are held together by chemical bonds. These bonds form as a result
of the sharing or exchange of electron s among atoms.
1) In chemistry, a compound is a substance that results from a combination of two or more different chemical
element s, in such a way that the atom s of the different elements are held together by chemical bonds that are
difficult to break. These bonds form as a result of the sharing or exchange of electron s among the atoms. The
smallest unbreakable unit of a compound is called a molecule .

No Symbol Name Atomic Wt 1 H Hydrogen 1.00794(7) 2 He Helium 4.002602(2) 3 Li Lithium [6.941(2)] 4 Be
Beryllium 9.012182(3) 5 B Boron 10.811(7)
6 C Carbon 12.0107(8)
7 N Nitrogen 14.0067(2)
8 O Oxygen 15.9994(3)
9 F Fluorine 18.9984032(5) 10 Ne Neon 20.1797(6)
11 Na Sodium 22.98976928(2) 12 Mg Magnesium 24.3050(6) 13 Al Aluminium 26.9815386(8) 14 Si Silicon
28.0855(3)
15 P Phosphorus 30.973762(2) 16 S Sulfur 32.065(5)
17 Cl Chlorine 35.453(2)
18 Ar Argon 39.948(1)
19 K Potassium 39.0983(1)
20 Ca Calcium 40.078(4)
21 Sc Scandium 44.955912(6) 22 Ti Titanium 47.867(1) 23 V Vanadium 50.9415(1) 24 Cr Chromium 51.9961(6)
25 Mn Manganese 54.938045(5) 26 Fe Iron 55.845(2) 27 Co Cobalt 58.933195(5) 28 Ni Nickel 58.6934(4) 29 Cu
Copper 63.546(3)
30 Zn Zinc 65.38(2)
31 Ga Gallium 69.723(1) 32 Ge Germanium 72.64(1) 33 As Arsenic 74.92160(2) 34 Se Selenium 78.96(3) 35 Br
Bromine 79.904(1) 36 Kr Krypton 83.798(2)
37 Rb Rubidium 85.4678(3)
38 Sr Strontium 87.62(1)
39 Y Yttrium 88.90585(2) 40 Zr Zirconium 91.224(2)
41 Nb Niobium 92.90638(2) 42 Mo Molybdenum 95.96(2)
43 Tc Technetium [98]
44 Ru Ruthenium 101.07(2)
45 Rh Rhodium 102.90550(2) 46 Pd Palladium 106.42(1)
47 Ag Silver 107.8682(2)
48 Cd Cadmium 112.411(8)
49 In Indium 114.818(3) 50 Sn Tin 118.710(7)
51 Sb Antimony 121.760(1)
52 Te Tellurium 127.60(3)
53 I Iodine 126.90447(3) 54 Xe Xenon 131.293(6)
55 Cs Caesium 132.9054519(2) 56 Ba Barium 137.327(7) 57 La Lanthanum 138.90547(7)
58 Ce Cerium 140.116(1)
59 Pr Praseodymium 140.90765(2) 60 Nd Neodymium 144.242(3)
61 Pm Promethium [145]
62 Sm Samarium 150.36(2)
63 Eu Europium 151.964(1)
64 Gd Gadolinium 157.25(3)
65 Tb Terbium 158.92535(2) 66 Dy Dysprosium 162.500(1)
67 Ho Holmium 164.93032(2) 68 Er Erbium 167.259(3)
69 Tm Thulium 168.93421(2) 70 Yb Ytterbium 173.054(5)
71 Lu Lutetium 174.9668(1)
72 Hf Hafnium 178.49(2) 73 Ta Tantalum 180.94788(2) 74 W Tungsten 183.84(1) 75 Re Rhenium 186.207(1) 76
Os Osmium 190.23(3)
77 Ir Iridium 192.217(3) 78 Pt Platinum 195.084(9) 79 Au Gold 196.966569(4) 80 Hg Mercury 200.59(2) 81 Tl
Thallium 204.3833(2) 82 Pb Lead 207.2(1)
83 Bi Bismuth 208.98040(1) 84 Po Polonium [209]
85 At Astatine [210]
86 Rn Radon [222]
87 Fr Francium [223]
88 Ra Radium [226]
89 Ac Actinium [227]
90 Th Thorium 232.03806(2)
91 Pa Protactinium 231.03588(2)
92 U Uranium 238.02891(3)
93 Np Neptunium [237]
94 Pu Plutonium [244]
95 Am Americium [243]
96 Cm Curium [247]
97 Bk Berkelium [247]
98 Cf Californium [251]
99 Es Einsteinium [252]
100 Fm Fermium [257]
101 Md Mendelevium [258]
102 No Nobelium [259]
103 Lr Lawrencium [262]
104 Rf Rutherfordium [267]
105 Db Dubnium [268]
106 Sg Seaborgium [271]
107 Bh Bohrium [272]
108 Hs Hassium [270]
109 Mt Meitnerium [276]
110 Ds Darmstadtium [281]
111 Rg Roentgenium [280]
112 Uub Ununbium [285]
113 Uut Ununtrium [284]
114 Uuq Ununquadium [289]
115 Uup Ununpentium [288]
116 Uuh Ununhexium [293]
118 Uuo Ununoctium [294]

Molecular Weight Calculator
This online calculator you can use for computing the average molecular weight (MW) of molecules by entering the
chemical formulas (for example C3H4OH(COOH)3 ). Or you can choose by one of the next two option-lists, which
contains a series of common organic compounds (including their chemical formula) and all the elements. The molecular
mass calculator will recognize the entered formula's, which are included in the list of organic compounds.
The calculator handles at most two different bracket levels. Make sure you enter the molecule of crystallization at last
(e.g. C2HCl3O.H2O ).

Common Organic Compounds Elements of the periodic table


Chemical formula:






# Atom Molar Mass (MM) Subtotal Mass Subtotal Mass
(g/mol) (%) (g/mol)

Total Molecular Weight:

!!! Lenntech BV cannot be held responsible for errors in the calculation,
the program itself or the explanation. For question or remarks please contact us.
This Calculator has been tested on Internet Explorer version 6 only,
Firefox might not show all fields correctly.

Molecular mass or molar mass are used in stoichiometry calculations in chemistry.
In related terms, another unit of mass often used is Dalton (Da) or unified atomic mass unit (u) when describing atomic
masses and molecular masses. It is defined to be 1/12 of the mass of one atom of carbon-12 and in older works is also
abbreviated as "amu".
Also, important in this field is Avogadro's number (N
A
) or Avogadro's constant (6.0221 x 10
23
).
The term "mole" is defined in that one mole of a substance with a molecular (or atomic) mass of one (1), will have a
mass of 1 gram. Or 1 mole of a substance will contain Avogadro's number of that substance. Using the above calculator
you could find that e.g. a pollution of 1 gram of benzene in a certain amount of water converts to N
A
/78.11 7.7098
10
21
molecules polluting that water!

Read more: http://www.lenntech.com/calculators/molecular/molecular-weight-calculator.htm#ixzz2Pwyp0XGv
Phases of Matter
Each phase of matter has its own chemical and physical properties. The phases of matter you need to know are:
Solid - a solid has a definite shape and volume
Liquid - a liquid has a definite volume, but can change shape
Gas - the shape and volume of a gas can change
Phase Changes
These phases of matter can change from one to another. Remember the definitions of the following phase changes:
Melting - melting occurs when a substance changes from a solid to a liquid
Boiling - boiling is when a substance changes from a liquid to a gas
Condensing - condensation is when a gas changes to a liquid
Freezing - freezing is when a liquid changes to a solid
Physical & Chemical Changes
The changes that take place in substances may be categorized in two classes:
Physical Change - does not produce a new substance (e.g., phase changes, crushing a can)
Chemical Change - produces a new substance (e.g., burning, rusting, photosynthesis)
Solutions
A solution results from combining two or more substances. Making a solution can produce either a physical or chemical
change. You can tell them apart this way:
The original substances can be separated from one another if the solution produces only a physical change.
The original substances cannot be separated from one another if a chemical change took place.
A chemical reaction is the process that occurs when two or more substances combine to produce a chemical change.
The important terms to remember are:
chemical equation - name given to the shorthand used to describe the steps of a chemical reaction
reactants - the starting materials for a chemical reaction; the substances that combine in the reaction
products - the substances that are formed as a result of a chemical reaction
chemical reaction rate - the speed at which a chemical reaction occurs
activation energy - the external energy that has to be added in order for a chemical reaction to occcur
catalyst - a substance that helps a chemical reaction to occur (lowers the activation energy), but does not
participate in the reaction itself
Law of Conservation of Mass - this Law states that matter is neither created nor destroyed in a chemical
reaction. The number of reactant atoms of a chemical reaction will be the same as the number of product
atoms.

Chemical changes take place on the molecular level. A chemical change produces a new substance. Examples of
chemical changes include combustion (burning), cooking an egg, rusting of an iron pan, and mixing hydrochloric
acid and sodium hydroxide to make salt and water.
Physical Changes
Physical changes are concerned with energy and states of matter. A physical change does not produce a new
substance. Changes in state or phase (melting, freezing, vaporization, condensation, sublimation) are physical
changes. Examples of physical changes include crushing a can, melting an ice cube, and breaking a bottle.
How to Tell Chemical & Physical Changes Apart
A chemical change makes a substance that wasn't there before. There may be clues that a chemical reaction
took place, such as light, heat, color change, gas production, odor, or sound. The starting and ending materials
of a physical change are the same, even though they may look different.
Temperature Control Stages
Hysitron offers an array of temperature control stages to
compliment the TI Series and TS Series of instruments. Using
a temperature control stage allows the user to test samples
at non-ambient temperatures. Testing at non-ambient
temperatures is important when working with biomaterials,
polymers, semiconductors and many other materials that are
intended for real-world applications at elevated or reduced
temperatures.

37 Degree Temperature Control Stage

The 37 degree temperature control stage was developed by
Hysitron to offer TI Series users a platform for testing biological samples. The 37 degree temperature control stage
operates from room temperature up to 37 C. The simplified operation of the 37 degree temperature control stage does
not require any gain settings or additional software and is ready to use out of the box.

100/200 Degree Temperature Control Stage

Hysitron offers a 100 or 200 degree temperature control stage for
theTI Series of instruments. The 100/200 degree temperature
control stage is capable of operating from -10 C up to 100 C or
200 C. The 100/200 degree temperature control stage is a liquid-
cooled device that includes the following components:
Temperature control stage
Stage control unit
Heat shield to protect the transducer and scanner at
elevated temperatures
Advanced TriboTC software integrated into TriboScan with
tunable PID gains
Both the 100 and 200 degree temperature control stage utilizes a
Peltier device for heating and cooling. In addition to the Peltier
device, the 200 degree temperature control stage has an additional
resistive heater to achieve higher temperatures.

400 Degree Temperature Control Stage

Hysitron developed the 400 degree temperature control stage to offer TI Series users the same ease-of-use as available
with the 100/200 degree temperature control stage but with the ability to achieve temperatures from room
temperature up to 400 C. The 400 degree temperature control stage is a liquid-cooled unit that uses a resistive heating
element. The 400 degree temperature control stage also uses TriboTC software with tunable PID gains for adjusting the
temperature settings.

100 Degree TS Series Temperature Control Stage

A temperature control stage has been developed by Hysitron for small sample TS Series instruments. This resistive
heating element allows for precise control of the sample temperature from room temperature up to 100 C. The design
and availability of a temperature control stage for TS Series instruments will vary by the AFM interface. For more
information regarding your TS Series instrument, contact your local sales representative.
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and
various reaction products.
[1]
Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition.
The flame is the visible portion of the fire. If hot enough, the gases may become ionized to produce plasma.
[2]
Depending
on the substances alight, and any impurities outside, the color of the flame and the fire's intensity will be different.
Fire in its most common form can result in conflagration, which has the potential to cause physical damage through
burning. Fire is an important process that affects ecological systems across the globe. The positive effects of fire include
stimulating growth and maintaining various ecological systems. Fire has been used by humans for cooking, generating
heat, signaling, and propulsion purposes. The negative effects of fire include water contamination, soil erosion,
atmospheric pollution and hazard to life and property.
[3]

Chemistry
Main article: Combustion


The fire tetrahedron
Fires start when a flammable and/or a combustible material, in combination with a sufficient quantity of an oxidizer
such as oxygen gas or another oxygen-rich compound (though non-oxygen oxidizers exist that can replace oxygen), is
exposed to a source of heat or ambient temperature above the flash point for the fuel/oxidizer mix, and is able to
sustain a rate of rapid oxidation that produces a chain reaction. This is commonly called the fire tetrahedron. Fire cannot
exist without all of these elements in place and in the right proportions. For example, a flammable liquid will start
burning only if the fuel and oxygen are in the right proportions. Some fuel-oxygen mixes may require a catalyst, a
substance that is not directly involved in any chemical reaction during combustion, but which enables the reactants to
combust more readily.
Once ignited, a chain reaction must take place whereby fires can sustain their own heat by the further release of heat
energy in the process of combustion and may propagate, provided there is a continuous supply of an oxidizer and fuel.
If the oxidizer is oxygen from the surrounding air, the presence of a force of gravity, or of some similar force caused by
acceleration, is necessary to produce convection, which removes combustion products and brings a supply of oxygen to
the fire. Without gravity, a fire rapidly surrounds itself with its own combustion products and non-oxidizing gases from
the air, which exclude oxygen and extinguish it. Because of this, the risk of fire in a spacecraft is small when it is coasting
in inertial flight. Of course, this does not apply if oxygen is supplied to the fire by some process other than thermal
convection.
Fire can be extinguished by removing any one of the elements of the fire tetrahedron. Consider a natural gas flame, such
as from a stovetop burner. The fire can be extinguished by any of the following:
turning off the gas supply, which removes the fuel source;
covering the flame completely, which smothers the flame as the combustion both uses the available oxidizer
(the oxygen in the air) and displaces it from the area around the flame with CO
2
;
application of water, which removes heat from the fire faster than the fire can produce it (similarly, blowing
hard on a flame will displace the heat of the currently burning gas from its fuel source, to the same end), or
application of a retardant chemical such as Halon to the flame, which retards the chemical reaction itself until
the rate of combustion is too slow to maintain the chain reaction.
In contrast, fire is intensified by increasing the overall rate of combustion. Methods to do this include balancing the
input of fuel and oxidizer to stoichiometric proportions, increasing fuel and oxidizer input in this balanced mix,
increasing the ambient temperature so the fire's own heat is better able to sustain combustion, or providing a catalyst; a
non-reactant medium in which the fuel and oxidizer can more readily react.
Flame
Main article: Flame


A candle's flame


Photo of a fire taken with a 1/4000th of a second exposure
A flame is a mixture of reacting gases and solids emitting visible, infrared, and sometimes ultraviolet light, the frequency
spectrum of which depends on the chemical composition of the burning material and intermediate reaction products. In
many cases, such as the burning of organic matter, for example wood, or the incomplete combustion of gas,
incandescent solid particles called soot produce the familiar red-orange glow of 'fire'. This light has a continuous
spectrum. Complete combustion of gas has a dim blue color due to the emission of single-wavelength radiation from
various electron transitions in the excited molecules formed in the flame. Usually oxygen is involved, but hydrogen
burning in chlorine also produces a flame, producing hydrogen chloride (HCl). Other possible combinations producing
flames, amongst many, are fluorine and hydrogen, and hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide.
The glow of a flame is complex. Black-body radiation is emitted from soot, gas, and fuel particles, though the soot
particles are too small to behave like perfect blackbodies. There is also photon emission by de-excited atoms and
molecules in the gases. Much of the radiation is emitted in the visible and infrared bands. The color depends on
temperature for the black-body radiation, and on chemical makeup for the emission spectra. The dominant color in a
flame changes with temperature. The photo of the forest fire is an excellent example of this variation. Near the ground,
where most burning is occurring, the fire is white, the hottest color possible for organic material in general, or yellow.
Above the yellow region, the color changes to orange, which is cooler, then red, which is cooler still. Above the red
region, combustion no longer occurs, and the uncombusted carbon particles are visible as black smoke.
The common distribution of a flame under normal gravity conditions depends on convection, as soot tends to rise to the
top of a general flame, as in a candle in normal gravity conditions, making it yellow. In micro gravity or zero gravity,
[4]

such as an environment in outer space, convection no longer occurs, and the flame becomes spherical, with a tendency
to become more blue and more efficient (although it may go out if not moved steadily, as the CO
2
from combustion does
not disperse as readily in micro gravity, and tends to smother the flame). There are several possible explanations for this
difference, of which the most likely is that the temperature is sufficiently evenly distributed that soot is not formed and
complete combustion occurs.
[5]
Experiments by NASA reveal that diffusion flames in micro gravity allow more soot to be
completely oxidized after they are produced than diffusion flames on Earth, because of a series of mechanisms that
behave differently in micro gravity when compared to normal gravity conditions.
[6]
These discoveries have potential
applications in applied science and industry, especially concerning fuel efficiency.
In combustion engines, various steps are taken to eliminate a flame. The method depends mainly on whether the fuel is
oil, wood, or a high-energy fuel such as jet fuel.
Heat
Main article: Heat
Fires give off heat, or the process of energy transfer from one body or system due to thermal contact.
Typical temperatures of fires and flames
Oxyhydrogen flame: 2000 C or above (3600 F)
[7]

Bunsen burner flame: 1,300 to 1,600 C (2,400 to 2,900 F)
[8]

Blowtorch flame: 1,300 C (2,400 F)
[9]

Candle flame: 1,000 C (1,800 F)
Smoldering cigarette:
o Temperature without drawing: side of the lit portion; 400 C (750 F); middle of the lit portion: 585 C
(1,100 F)
o Temperature during drawing: middle of the lit portion: 700 C (1,300 F)
o Always hotter in the middle.
Temperatures of flames by appearance
The temperature of flames with carbon particles emitting light can be assessed by their color:
[10]

Red
o Just visible: 525 C (980 F)
o Dull: 700 C (1,300 F)
o Cherry, dull: 800 C (1,500 F)
o Cherry, full: 900 C (1,700 F)
o Cherry, clear: 1,000 C (1,800 F)
Orange
o Deep: 1,100 C (2,000 F)
o Clear: 1,200 C (2,200 F)
White
o Whitish: 1,300 C (2,400 F)
o Bright: 1,400 C (2,600 F)
o Dazzling: 1,500 C (2,700 F)
Fire ecology
Main article: Fire ecology
Every natural ecosystem has its own fire regime, and the organisms in those ecosystems are adapted to or dependent
upon that fire regime. Fire creates a mosaic of different habitat patches, each at a different stage of succession.
[11]

Different species of plants, animals, and microbes specialize in exploiting a particular stage, and by creating these
different types of patches, fire allows a greater number of species to exist within a landscape.
Fossil record
Main article: Fossil record of fire
The fossil record of fire first appears with the establishment of a land-based flora in the Middle Ordovician period, 470
million years ago,
[12]
permitting the accumulation of oxygen in the atmosphere as never before, as the new hordes of
land plants pumped it out as a waste product. When this concentration rose above 13%, it permitted the possibility of
wildfire.
[13]
Wildfire is first recorded in the Late Silurian fossil record, 420 million years ago, by fossils of charcoalified
plants.
[14][15]
Apart from a controversial gap in the Late Devonian, charcoal is present ever since.
[15]
The level of
atmospheric oxygen is closely related to the prevalence of charcoal: clearly oxygen is the key factor in the abundance of
wildfire.
[16]
Fire also became more abundant when grasses radiated and became the dominant component of many
ecosystems, around 6 to 7 million years ago;
[17]
this kindling provided tinder which allowed for the more rapid spread of
fire.
[16]
These widespread fires may have initiated a positive feedback process, whereby they produced a warmer, drier
climate more conducive to fire.
[16]

Human control
Main article: Control of fire by early humans


The fire miracle of Saint Peter Martyr by Antonio Vivarini.
The ability to control fire was a dramatic change in the habits of early humans. Making fire to generate heat and light
made it possible for people to cook food, increasing the variety and availability of nutrients. The heat produced would
also help people stay warm in cold weather, enabling them to live in cooler climates. Fire also kept nocturnal predators
at bay. Evidence of cooked food is found from 1.9 million years ago, although fire was probably not used in a controlled
fashion until 1,000,000 years ago.
[16]
Early Human fire Evidence becomes widespread around 50 to 100 thousand years
ago, suggesting regular use from this time; interestingly, resistance to air pollution started to evolve in human
populations at a similar point in time.
[16]
The use of fire became progressively more sophisticated, with its being used to
create charcoal and to control wildlife from tens of thousands of years ago.
[16]

Fire has also been used for centuries as a method of torture and execution, as evidenced by death by burning as well as
torture devices such as the iron boot, which could be filled with water, oil, or even lead and then heated over an open
fire to the agony of the wearer.
By the Neolithic Revolution,
[citation needed]
during the introduction of grain-based agriculture, people all over the world used
fire as a tool in landscape management. These fires were typically controlled burns or "cool fires",
[citation needed]
as opposed
to uncontrolled "hot fires", which damage the soil. Hot fires destroy plants and animals, and endanger communities. This
is especially a problem in the forests of today where traditional burning is prevented in order to encourage the growth
of timber crops. Cool fires are generally conducted in the spring and autumn. They clear undergrowth, burning up
biomass that could trigger a hot fire should it get too dense. They provide a greater variety of environments, which
encourages game and plant diversity. For humans, they make dense, impassable forests traversable. Another human use
for fire in regards to landscape management is its use to clear land for agriculture. Slash-and-burn agriculture is still
common across much of tropical Africa, Asia and South America. "For small farmers, it is a convenient way to clear
overgrown areas and release nutrients from standing vegetation back into the soil," said Miguel Pinedo-Vasquez, an
ecologist at the Earth Institutes Center for Environmental Research and Conservation.
[18]
However this useful strategy is
also problematic. Growing population, fragmentation of forests and warming climate are making the earth's surface
more prone to ever-larger escaped fires. These harm ecosystems and human infrastructure, cause health problems, and
send up spirals of carbon and soot that may encourage even more warming of the atmosphereand thus feed back into
more fires. Globally today, as much as 5 million square kilometersan area more than half the size of the United States
burns in a given year.
[18]

There are numerous modern applications of fire. In its broadest sense, fire is used by nearly every human being on earth
in a controlled setting every day. Users of internal combustion vehicles employ fire every time they drive. Thermal
power stations provide electricity for a large percentage of humanity.


Hamburg after four fire-bombing raids in July 1943, which killed an estimated 50,000 people.
[19]

The use of fire in warfare has a long history. Fire was the basis of all early thermal weapons. Homer detailed the use of
fire by Greek soldiers who hid in a wooden horse to burn Troy during the Trojan war. Later the Byzantine fleet used
Greek fire to attack ships and men. In the First World War, the first modern flamethrowers were used by infantry, and
were successfully mounted on armoured vehicles in the Second World War. In the latter war, incendiary bombs were
used by Axis and Allies alike, notably on Tokyo, Rotterdam, London, Hamburg and, notoriously, at Dresden, in the latter
two cases firestorms were deliberately caused in which a ring of fire surrounding each city
[citation needed]
was drawn inward
by an updraft caused by a central cluster of fires. The United States Army Air Force also extensively used incendiaries
against Japanese targets in the latter months of the war, devastating entire cities constructed primarily of wood and
paper houses. The use of napalm was employed in July 1944, towards the end of the Second World War;
[20]
although its
use did not gain public attention until the Vietnam War.
[20]
Molotov cocktails were also used.
Use as fuel


A coal-fired power station in the People's Republic of China


Disability-adjusted life year for fires per 100,000 inhabitants in 2004.
[21]

no data
less than 50
50-100
100-150
150-200
200-250
250-300
300-350
350-400
400-450
450-500
500-600
more than 600
Setting fuel aflame releases usable energy. Wood was a prehistoric fuel, and is still viable today. The use of fossil fuels,
such as petroleum, natural gas, and coal, in power plants supplies the vast majority of the world's electricity today; the
International Energy Agency states that nearly 80% of the world's power comes from these sources.
[22]
The fire in a
power station is used to heat water, creating steam that drives turbines. The turbines then spin an electric generator to
produce electricity. Fire is also used to provide mechanical work directly, in both external and internal combustion
engines.
The unburnable solid remains of a combustible material left after a fire is called clinker if its melting point is below the
flame temperature, so that it fuses and then solidifies as it cools, and ash if its melting point is above the flame
temperature.
Protection and prevention
Main articles: Wildfire and Fire protection


This visualization shows fires detected in the United States from July 2002 through July 2011. Look for fires that reliably
burn each year in western states and across the Southeast.
Wildfire prevention programs around the world may employ techniques such as wildland fire use and prescribed or
controlled burns.
[23][24][25]
Wildland fire use refers to any fire of natural causes that is monitored but allowed to burn.
Controlled burns are fires ignited by government agencies under less dangerous weather conditions.
[26]

Fire fighting services are provided in most developed areas to extinguish or contain uncontrolled fires. Trained
firefighters use fire apparatus, water supply resources such as water mains and fire hydrants or they might use A and B
class foam depending on what is feeding the fire.
Fire prevention is intended to reduce sources of ignition. Fire prevention also includes education to teach people how to
avoid causing fires.
[27]
Buildings, especially schools and tall buildings, often conduct fire drills to inform and prepare
citizens on how to react to a building fire. Purposely starting destructive fires constitutes arson and is a crime in most
jurisdictions.
Model building codes require passive fire protection and active fire protection systems to minimize damage resulting
from a fire. The most common form of active fire protection is fire sprinklers. To maximize passive fire protection of
buildings, building materials and furnishings in most developed countries are tested for fire-resistance, combustibility
and flammability. Upholstery, carpeting and plastics used in vehicles and vessels are also tested.
Where fire prevention and fire protection have failed to prevent damage, fire insurance can mitigate the financial
impact.
Restoration
Different restoration methods and measures are used depending on the type of fire damage that occurred. Fire damage
can be performed by property management teams, building maintenance personnel, or by the homeowners themselves;
however, contacting a certified professional fire damage restoration specialist is often regarded as the safest way to
restore fire damaged property due to their training and extensive experience.
[28]
Most are usually listed under "Fire and
Water Restoration" and they can help speed repairs, whether for individual homeowners or for the largest of
institutions.
[29]

Fire and Water Restoration companies are regulated by the appropriate state's Department of Consumer Affairs -
usually the state contractors license board. In California, all Fire and Water Restoration companies must register with
the California Contractors State License Board.
[30]
Presently, the California Contractors State License Board has no
specific classification for "water and fire damage restoration." Hence, the Contractor's State License Board requires both
an asbestos certification (ASB) as well as a demolition classification (C-21) in order to perform Fire and Water
Restoration work.
[31]

Theory of Fire
Fire Tetrahedron
To start a fire, requires fuel, oxygen and a source of ignition (heat). These requirements are often represented by the
sides of the familiar fire triangle.

Conversely, removal of any side of the triangle or breaking the chain reaction between the transient chemical species
formed following ignition will extinguish a fire. It is there fore more appropriate to use a fire tetrahedron to represent
the ways a fire can be extinguished.

In the tetrahedron shown, the chain reaction is represented by its base. The effect of removing each of the four faces of
this fire tetrahedron is discussed below.
Removal of Oxygen
Except in those substances that contain their own oxygen, the removal of sufficient oxygen will extinguish a fire.
Small fires can be smothered with sand from a fire bucket, and a rug or blanket can be used to smother flames from a
person's clothes. It is imperative to ensure the door is properly closed when leaving a fire to burn in a compartment or
room.
Fires in cargo holds can be starved of oxygen by closing hatches and blanking off ventilators. In all spaces affected by
fire, ventilation fans should be shut down and doors and other openings closed.
In fire extinguishing operations, oxygen is extinguished by smothering the fire with a layer of foam. Oxygen is also cut off
during the operation of portable and semi portable carbon dioxide extinguishers and to some extent, during he
operation of dry powder extinguishers. But for CO
2
and dry powder, the smothering action is temporary and there is a
possibility for re ignition.
In total flooding by fixed fire extinguishing systems on board ships, carbon dioxide displaces the air inside the
compartment and fire is extinguished due to insufficient oxygen.

Removal of Heat
A reduction in temperature is achieved by the use of a suitable cooling medium, normally water, at a sufficient rate. The
rate at which heat is removed by the cooling medium must be greater than that produced by the fire. Cooling of
boundary bulkheads will reduce the possibility of igniting material outside the affected compartment.
For a given quantity of water, about six times more heat will be removed if the water droplet size is small enough for it
to be vaporised into steam. Coincidently, a degree of smothering can also be achieved from the steam generated. Heat
can also be absorbed by decomposition of dry powder. The source of power should be cut off in electrical insulation and
galley fires.

Removal of Fuel
The removal of fuel is not always possible. However, in the case of liquid fuel fires caused by leaking pipes or fittings, the
fuel supply should be closed. It may also be possible to drain the fuel from a burning tank.
It is particularly important to shut off the supply in a gas fire. However, gas could also be left burning in a controlled
manner to exhaust itself. In accommodation spaces, combustible materials should be removed from the vicinity of fire,
including any adjacant compartment affected by the heat. On some occasions, it may be prudent to dump burning or
potentially dangerous materials overboard.
Breaking the Chain Reaction
A fire may be extinguished by breaking the chain reaction between transient chemical species produced on ignition
(these species are described as 'transient' since they are not present prior to ignition or in the final products of
combustion). For instance, Halogenated hydrocarbons (Halons) and dry powders attack the structure of the species and
prevent their reaction by killing the flame, sometimes in less than one hundredth of a second.
The extinction takes place without any appreciable removal of heat, fuel or oxygen. However, the remaining three sides
of the tetrahedron will still be present and, unless the heat is removed, there is a danger of re-ignition of the
concentration of extinguishing agent is not maintained.
The 4 Stages of a Fire
By
Josh
Published: September 27, 2010
By most standards including the International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA) there are 4 stages of a fire. These
stages are incipient, growth, fully developed, and decay. The following is a brief overview of each stage.
Incipient This first stage begins when heat, oxygen and a fuel source combine and have a chemical reaction resulting in
fire. This is also known as ignition and is usually represented by a very small fire which often (and hopefully) goes out
on its own, before the following stages are reached. Recognizing a fire in this stage provides your best chance at
suppression or escape.
Growth The growth stage is where the structures fire load and oxygen are used as fuel for the fire. There are
numerous factors affecting the growth stage including where the fire started, what combustibles are near it, ceiling
height and the potential for thermal layering. It is during this shortest of the 4 stages when a deadly flashover can
occur; potentially trapping, injuring or killing firefighters.
Fully Developed When the growth stage has reached its max and all combustible materials have been ignited, a fire is
considered fully developed. This is the hottest phase of a fire and the most dangerous for anybody trapped within.

Decay Usually the longest stage of a fire, the decay stage is characterized a significant decrease in oxygen or fuel,
putting an end to the fire. Two common dangers during this stage are first the existence of non-flaming combustibles,
which can potentially start a new fire if not fully extinguished. Second, there is the danger of a backdraft when oxygen is
reintroduced to a volatile, confined space.

The Burning Process: Stages
The burning process can be viewed on either the molecular scale or the macro scale.
The macro scale refers to things we can easily see. (As scientists we mean things we can observe - is there a difference
between seeing and observing? Think about it!)
We can't really see things occur on the molecular scale, but we can use models (or pictures or animations) to help us
visualize what's happening. Let's look at the stages of a fire on the molecular scale.
The Molecular Scale
Stage I. Heating an external source supplies heat causing the temperature of
the substance to increase. The extent of temperature change
depends on the specific heat of the material.
Stage II. Transition physical, mechanical, and thermal properties change. This may
include melting or vaporization of the substance and may
involve softening in the case of polymers.
Stage III. Degradation thermally unstable bonds begin to break. Materials such as
polymers may melt before (or as) they burn.
Stage IV. Decomposition at still higher temperatures the majority of the bonds reach
failure point, causing the release of gaseous molecules which
differ depending on the material that's burning.
Stage V. Oxidation in the presence of oxygen at high temperatures, oxidation of
the gaseous fragments proceeds rapidly producing heat, flame,
and combustion products (mostly carbon dioxide and water).
Classification of Fires
Most fires that occur will fall into one or more of the following categories:

Class A: Fires involving ordinary combustible materials, such as paper,
wood, and textile fibers, where a cooling, blanketing, or wetting
extinguishing agent is needed.

Class B: Fires involving flammable liquids such as gasoline, thinners, oil-
based paints and greases. Extinguishers for this type of fire include carbon
dioxide, dry chemical
*
and halogenated agent types.

Class C: Fires involving energized electrical equipment, where a
nonconducting gaseous clean agent or smothering agent is needed. The
most common type of extinguisher for this class is a carbon dioxide
exinguisher.

Class D: Fires involving combustible metals such as magnesium, sodium,
potassium, titanium, and aluminum. Special dry powder
*
extinguishing
agents are required for this class of fire, and must be tailored to the
specific hazardous metal.

Class K: Fires involving commercial cooking appliances with vegetable oils,
animal oils, or fats at high temperatures. A wet potassium acetate, low pH-
based agent is used for this class of fire.
European Standards (EN)
A standard (French: norme, German: Norm) is a publication that provides rules, guidelines or characteristics for activities
or their results, for common and repeated use. Standards are created by bringing together all interested parties
including manufacturers, users, consumers and regulators of a particular material, product, process or service. Everyone
benefits from standardisation through increased product safety and quality as well as lower transaction costs and prices.
A European Standard (EN) is a standard that has been adopted by one of the three recognized European Standardisation
Organisations (ESOs): CEN, CENELEC or ETSI. It is produced by all interested parties through a transparent, open and
consensus based process.
European Standards are a key component of the Single European Market. Although rather technical and often unknown
to the public and media, they represent one of the most important issues for businesses. Often perceived as boring and
not particularly relevant to some organisations, they are actually crucial in facilitating trade and hence have high
visibility among manufacturers inside and outside Europe. A standard represents a model specification, a technical
solution against which a market can trade. It codifies best practice and is usually state of the art.
In essence, European Standards relate to products, services or systems. Today, however, standards are no longer
created solely for technical reasons but have also become platforms to enable greater social inclusiveness and
engagement with technology, as well as convergence and interoperability within growing markets across industries.
n physics and chemistry, heat is energy transferred from one body to another by thermal interactions.
[1][2]
The transfer
of energy can occur in a variety of ways, among them conduction,
[3]
radiation,
[4]
and convection. Heat is not a property
of a system or body, but instead is always associated with a process of some kind, and is synonymous with heat flow and
heat transfer.
Heat flow from hotter to colder systems occurs spontaneously, and is always accompanied by an increase in entropy. In
a heat engine, internal energy of bodies is harnessed to provide useful work. The second law of thermodynamics
prohibits heat flow directly from cold to hot systems, but with the aid of a heat pump external work can be used to
transport internal energy indirectly from a cold to a hot body.
Transfers of energy as heat are macroscopic processes. The origin and properties of heat can be understood through the
statistical mechanics of microscopic constituents such as molecules and photons. For instance, heat flow can occur when
the rapidly vibrating molecules in a high temperature body transfer some of their energy (by direct contact, radiation
exchange, or other mechanisms) to the more slowly vibrating molecules in a lower temperature body.
The SI unit of heat is the joule. Heat can be measured by calorimetry,
[5]
or determined indirectly by calculations based on
other quantities, relying for instance on the first law of thermodynamics. In calorimetry, the concepts of latent heat and
of sensible heat are used. Latent heat produces changes of state without temperature change, while sensible heat
produces temperature change.
Heat transfer is a discipline of thermal engineering that concerns the generation, use, conversion, and exchange
of thermal energy and heat between physical systems. Heat transfer is classified into various mechanisms, such
as thermal conduction, thermal convection, thermal radiation, and transfer of energy by phase changes.
Engineers also consider the transfer of mass of differing chemical species, either cold or hot, to achieve heat
transfer. While these mechanisms have distinct characteristics, they often occur simultaneously in the same
system.

Specific Heat Capacity
Suppose that several objects composed of different materials are heated in the same manner. Will the objects warm up
at equal rates? The answer: most likely not. Different materials would warm up at different rates because each material
has its own specific heat capacity. The specific heat capacity refers to the amount of heat required to cause a unit of
mass (say a gram or a kilogram) to change its temperature by 1C. Specific heat capacities of various materials are often
listed in textbooks. Standard metric units are Joules/kilogram/Kelvin (J/kg/K). More commonly used units are J/g/C. Use
the widget below to view specific heat capacities of various materials. Simply type in the name of a substance
(aluminum, iron, copper, water, methanol, wood, etc.) and click on the Submit button; results will be displayed in a
separate window.

Specific Heat Capacity


What is the specific heat capacity of
water


Submit

See http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/thermalP/u18l2b.cfm.




The specific heat capacity of solid aluminum (0.904 J/g/C) is different than the specific heat capacity of solid iron (0.449
J/g/C). This means that it would require more heat to increase the temperature of a given mass of aluminum by 1C
compared to the amount of heat required to increase the temperature of the same mass of iron by 1C. In fact, it would
take about twice as much heat to increase the temperature of a sample of aluminum a given amount compared to the
same temperature change of the same amount of iron. This is because the specific heat capacity of aluminum is nearly
twice the value of iron.

Heat capacities are listed on a per gram or per kilogram basis. Occasionally, the value is listed
on a per mole basis, in which case it is called the molar heat capacity. The fact that they are
listed on a per amount basis is an indication that the quantity of heat required to raise the
temperature of a substance depends on how much substance there is. Any person who has
boiled a pot of water on a stove, undoubtedly know this truth. Water boils at 100C at sea
level and at slightly lowered temperatures at higher elevations. To bring a pot of water to a
boil, its temperature must first be raised to 100C. This temperature change is achieved by
the absorption of heat from the stove burner. One quickly notices that it takes considerably
more time to bring a full pot of water to a boil than to bring a half-full of water to a boil. This is because the full pot of
water must absorb more heat to result in the same temperature change. In fact, it requires twice as much heat to cause
the same temperature change in twice the mass of water.
Specific heat capacities are also listed on a per K or a per C basis. The fact that the specific heat capacity is listed on a
per degree basis is an indication that the quantity of heat required to raise a given mass of substance to a specific
temperature depends upon the change in temperature required to reach that final temperature. In other words, it is not
the final temperature that is of importance, it is the overall temperature change. It takes more heat to change the
temperature of water from 20C to 100C (a change of 80C) than to increase the temperature of the same amount of
water from 60C to 100C (a change of 40C). In fact, it requires twice as much heat to change the temperature of a
given mass of water by 80C compared to the change of 40C. A person who wishes to bring water to a boil on a
stovetop more quickly should begin with warm tap water instead of cold tap water.
This discussion of specific heat capacity deserves one final comment. The term specific heat capacity is somewhat of a
misnomer. The term implies that substances have a capacity to contain heat. As has been previously discussed, heat is
not something that is contained in an object. Heat is something that is transferred to or from an object. Objects contain
energy in a variety of forms. When that energy is transferred to other objects of different temperatures, we refer to
transferred energy as heat or thermal energy. While it's not likely to catch on, a more appropriate term would be
specific energy capacity.

Relating the Quantity of Heat to the Temperature Change
Specific heat capacities provide a means of mathematically relating the amount of thermal energy gained (or lost) by a
sample of any substance to the sample's mass and its resulting temperature change. The relationship between these
four quantities is often expressed by the following equation.
Q = mCT
where Q is the quantity of heat transferred to or from the object, m is the mass of the
object, C is the specific heat capacity of the material the object is composed of, and T
is the resulting temperature change of the object. As in all situations in science, a delta
(?) value for any quantity is calculated by subtracting the initial value of the quantity
from the final value of the quantity. In this case, T is equal to T
final
- T
initial
. When using
the above equation, the Q value can turn out to be either positive or negative. As
always, a positive and a negative result from a calculation has physical significance. A
positive Q value indicates that the object gained thermal energy from its surroundings; this would correspond to an
increase in temperature and a positive T value. A negative Q value indicates that the object released thermal energy to
its surroundings; this would correspond to a decrease in temperature and a negative T value.
Knowing any three of these four quantities allows an individual to calculate the fourth quantity. A common task in many
physics classes involves solving problems associated with the relationships between these four quantities. As examples,
consider the two problems below. The solution to each problem is worked out for you. Additional practice can be found
in the Check Your Understanding section at the bottom of the page.
Example Problem 1
What quantity of heat is required to raise the temperature of 450 grams of water from 15C to 85C? The
specific heat capacity of water is 4.18 J/g/C.
Like any problem in physics, the solution begins by identifying known quantities and relating them to the symbols used
in the relevant equation. In this problem, we know the following:
m = 450 g
C = 4.18 J/g/C
T
initial
= 15C
T
final
= 85C
We wish to determine the value of Q - the quantity of heat. To do so, we would use the equation Q = mCT. The m
and the C are known; the T can be determined from the initial and final temperature.
T = T
final
- T
initial
= 85C - 15C = 70.C
With three of the four quantities of the relevant equation known, we can substitute and solve for Q.
Q = mCT = (450 g)(4.18 J/g/C)(70.C)
Q = 131670 J
Q = 1.3x10
5
J = 130 kJ (rounded to two significant digits)
Units of Heat - BTU, Calorie and Joule
The most common units of heat are BTU - British Thermal Unit, Calorie and Joule
The most common units for heat are
BTU (Btu) - British Thermal Unit
Calorie
Joule
BTU - British Thermal Unit
The unit of heat in the imperial system - the BTU - is
the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water through 1
o
F (58.5
o
F - 59.5
o
F) at sea
level (30 inches of mercury).
1 Btu (British thermal unit) = 1055.06 J = 107.6 kpm = 2.931 10
-4
kWh = 0.252 kcal = 778.16 ft.lbf = 1.05510
10
ergs
= 252 cal = 0.293 watt-hours
An item using one kilowatt-hour of electricity generates 3412 Btu.
Calorie
A calorie is commonly defined as
the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one gram of water 1
o
C
the kilogram calorie, large calorie, food calorie, Calorie (capital C) or just calorie (lowercase c) is the amount of
energy required to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water by one degree Celsius
1 kcal = 4186.8 J = 426.9 kp.m = 1.163 10
-3
kWh = 3.088 ft.lbf = 3.9683 Btu = 1000 cal
Be aware that alternative definitions exists - in short:
Thermochemical calorie
4 C calorie
15 C calorie
20 C calorie
Mean calorie
International Steam Table calorie (1929)
International Steam Table calorie (1956)
IUNS calorie (Committee on Nomenclature of the International Union of Nutritional Sciences)
The calorie is outdated and commonly replaced by the SI-unit Joule.
Joule
The unit of heat in the SI-system the Joule is
a unit of energy equal to the work done when a force of one newton acts through a distance of one meter
4.184 joule of heat energy (or one calorie) is required to raise the temperature of a unit weight (1 g) of water
from 0
o
C to 1
o
C, or from 32
o
F to 33.8
o
F
1 J (Joule) = 0.1020 kpm = 2.778 10
-7
kWh = 2.389 10
-4
kcal = 0.7376 ft.lb
f
= 1 kg.m
2
/s
2
= 1 watt second = 1 Nm =
9.478 10
-4
Btu
Converting between heat and energy units
The Concept of Organized Crime in Historical Perspective
by Klaus von Lampe

Back to: Organized Crime in the U.S. | Organized Crime in Germany

Paper presented at the international conference "Crime organis international: Mythe, pouvoir, profit...",
sponsored by the Institut de recherches interdisciplinaires, Universit de Lausanne, Switzerland, 6 October 1999

Download a revised and extended version of this paper that was published in: Forum on Crime and Society Vol. 1
No. 2, December 2001, under the title "Not a process of enlightenment: the conceptual history of organized
crime in Germany and the United States of America".



1. Introduction
The subject of this paper is the conceptual history of organized crime in the United States and in Germany (1).
The interest in the concept of organized crime and its historical development derives from the notion that when
we concern ourselves with organized crime we have to discuss two distinct properties, the reality of organized
crime on the one hand and its conceptualization on the other.
The reality of organized crime consists of a myriad of mostly clandestine, diverse and complex aspects of the
social universe. They do not readily fall into place to form an easily identifiable entity. Rather, it takes a cognitive
and linguistical construct in order for us to perceive these phenomena as interrelated.
Therefore, it seems appropriate to explore an issue like organized crime not exclusively as an empirical problem.
Exploring the concept of organized crime, especially in its historical dimension, provides an insight into the
breadth and the depth as well as into the inconsistencies and contradictions of the meanings attached to the
term organized crime, and it alerts us to some of the social and political factors that may play a role in shaping
the perceptions on organized crime.
2. The Conceptual History of Organized Crime: An Overview
2.1. The Frequency Curve
The first step in a conceptual-history study is to search a data base of representative texts for incidents of the
use of the term in question. In this way it is not only possible to determine with some accuracy the point in time
when the concept first appeared, but also how, in quantitative terms, its use has changed over time and what
phases, marked by an increase in popularity, deserve particular attention.
For example (Tab. 1), changes in the frequency of the term organized crime in the "New York Times Index" show
that the concept of organized crime has only very gradually gained acceptance in the media and that it has been
a major issue only for rather short periods of time between the late 1960s and mid 1980s.
The same kind of analysis of Germany's leading news magazine "Der Spiegel" (Tab. 2)(2) shows that when the
American debate on organized crime gained momentum during the 1960s the concept of organized crime slowly
began to gain a foothold in Germany. But as indicated, the concept of organized crime did not move to the
center of the German criminal-policy debate before the late 1980s.
2.2. Categories for Assessing Statements on Organized Crime
When we turn our attention from the frequency curve to the substance of the conceptual history it is necessary,
first of all, to define categories with which to classify and assess the various statements on organized crime.
One criterion for classifying statements is how many dimensions they comprise. Some statements on organized
crime are too vague as to reveal any notion of the nature of organized crime. Some statements center around a
single, quintessential quality of organized crime, while others combine a number of characteristics into a multi-
dimensional concept of organized crime.
As far as one-dimensional conceptions of organized crime are concerned, three basic approaches can be
distinguished which may be labeled activity-, organization-, and system-approach, respectively (Tab. 3).
The activity-approach equates organized crime with certain types of criminal activity, for example with the
provision of illegal goods and services, regardless of the degree of organization of those involved in these
activities and regardless of their socio-political position. The organization-approach focuses on organizational
entities, regardless of the type of criminal activity in which they are involved and regardless of their socio-
political position. The system-approach perceives organized crime in essence as a social condition in which
legitimate and criminal structures are integral parts of one corrupt socio-political system, regardless of either
the types of crime promoted or the degree of organization of those supporting the system.
Multi-dimensional conceptions tend to be based on an organization-centered understanding of organized crime
but include other criteria as well. The various criteria of multi-dimensional conceptions can be distinguished by
using a classification of four levels of complexity (Tab. 4): 1.) the individual characteristics of "organized
criminals," 2.) the structures, for example networks or groups which connect these individuals, 3.) the over-
arching power structures that subordinate these structural entities, and finally 4.) the relation between these
illegal structures and the legal structures of society.
2.3. Today's Dominant Concept of Organized Crime
Today's concept of organized crime is heterogeneous and contradictory when we take into account the entire
range of pertinent statements in the criminal-policy debate. But when we focus on the imagery that dominates
the general perception of organized crime we can ascertain a tendency towards equating organized crime with
ethnically homogeneous, formally structured, multi-functional, monopolistic criminal organizations which strive
to undermine and subdue the legal institutions of society.
Within the framework of the outlined four levels of complexity this means that the dominating imagery centers
around individuals who belong to specific ethnic minorities (3). The prototypical organized criminal is a
foreigner.
With regard to the structure of criminal organizations the stereotypical image of organized crime focuses on
bureaucratic organizations in contrast to informal groups or networks. Moreover, these criminal organizations
are typically portrayed as multi-functional. They are said to be illegal enterprises and secret societies at the
same time.
As far as the structures of illicit markets and criminal subcultures as a whole are concerned, the dominating
understanding of organized crime is based on the notion that they tend to be monopolized and that all criminal
groups strive for monopoly positions on an ever increasing scale.
Finally, the prevailing view of organized crime places criminal organizations in a fundamental conflict with the
legal institutions of society, especially with regard to the concept of globally operating "Mafias," instead of
stressing the underlying socio-political conditions conducive to organized crime.
Retrospectively, it may appear that the concept of ethnically homogeneous, monopolistic criminal organizations
has continuously dominated the understanding of organized crime since the times of the famous Italian-
American gangsters of the Prohibition Era, like Al Capone and Lucky Luciano. But this is not the case, especially
not with regard to the 1920s and 1930s.
2.4. Major Trends in the Development of the Concept of Organized Crime
The conceptual history of organized crime shows little continuity and little consensus. If we take the smallest
common denominator of all pertinent statements collected for this study we would arrive at a very broad
definition of organized crime. From an activity-oriented point of view, organized crime would comprise all
criminal acts that are not impulsive or spontaneous. From an organization-oriented point of view, organized
crime would refer to all criminals who do not operate in complete social isolation. Consequently, the term
organized crime could even be applied to an individual criminal as long as someone else knowingly contributes
to his criminal conduct, for example by providing useful information or by merely showing respect for his
behavior.
The conceptual history of organized crime is characterized by change. Two trends are most significant, the
extension of the geographical scope from a local to a global frame of reference, and the narrowing down of the
social scope from a systemic to a dichotomic view of organized crime and society.
3. The Conceptual History of Organized Crime in the United States
3.1. The Original Concept of Organized Crime Coined by the Chicago Crime Commission
The term "organized crime" first came into regular use among the members of the Chicago Crime Commission, a
civic organization that was created in 1919 by businessmen, bankers and lawyers to promote changes in the
criminal justice system in order to better cope with the crime problem.
In the announcements of the Chicago Crime Commission, organized crime referred not to criminal organizations
but in a much broader sense to the orderly fashion in which the so-called "criminal class" of an estimated
"10.000 professional criminals" in Chicago allegedly could pursue "crime as a business" (4). The discussion
centered around the conditions that seemingly allowed criminals to gain a steady income from crime,
particularly property crimes, under virtual immunity from the law. In the eyes of the Crime Commission, the city
government had to be blamed for incompetency, inefficiency and corruptness, while the public was criticized for
indifference and even open sympathy towards criminals. This characterization of organized crime as an integral
part of society apparently reflected the perspective of the old established protestant middle class on Chicago as
a city that, after years of rapid growth and cultural change, was drowning in crime, corruption and moral decay.
3.2. The Depression Era
The original understanding of organized crime did not prevail for long. Beginning in the mid 1920s but especially
during the Depression Era, the concept of organized crime changed significantly.
First of all, the term organized crime began to be used outside of Chicago. But only for a short time did it
function as a generic term in the criminal-policy debate. By the mid 1930s it was almost completely replaced by
the somewhat narrower concept of racketeering (5).
In the late 1920s and early 1930s organized crime no longer referred to an amorphous "criminal class" but to
"gangsters and racketeers" who were organized in "gangs," "syndicates" and "criminal organizations" and
followed "big master criminals" who functioned as "powerful leaders of organized crime" (6). Some of these
leaders moved into the limelight and gained celebrity status as "Public Enemies," most notably Al Capone (7).
While the picture of the "criminal class" became more and more differentiated the understanding of the relation
between organized crime and society took a decisive turn. Organized crime was no longer seen as a product of
social conditions that could be remedied easily, like the deficiencies in the criminal justice system the Chicago
Crime Commission had denounced earlier. Instead of social and political reform, the emphasis now was on
vigorous law enforcement (8).
3.3. The Kefauver Committee 1950-1952
From the late 1930s to the late 1940s the concept of organized crime had all but disappeared from the public
debate. It returned in 1950 when a Senate Committee set out "to investigate organized crime in interstate
commerce." The Committee under its chairman Estes Kefauver concluded that numerous criminal groups
throughout the country were tied together by "a sinister criminal organization known as the Mafia" (9).
The Kefauver Committee marked a significant change in the perception of organized crime in two respects. On
the one hand, organized crime no longer appeared to be primarily a product of local conditions but instead as a
problem that existed on a national scale and threatened municipalities from the outside. On the other hand, the
notion of the Mafia as an organization of Italian-Americans added an ethnic component to the concept of
organized crime. It is somewhat surprising that this had not happened earlier because the image of the Mafia as
an Italian-American organization was not quite as new. It had first appeared in 1890 when the chief of police of
New Orleans was murdered by alleged mafiosi (10).
Yet another aspect is noteworthy in this context. For the first time the law-enforcement community took an
active role in the conceptualization of organized crime. It was the Federal Bureau of Narcotics that provided the
testimony that led the Kefauver Committee to assert the existence of the Mafia in the United States (11).
In contrast, the FBI completely resented the concept of organized crime before 1963. Prior to 1963 its director J.
Edgar Hoover had not only refused the notion of an Italian-American Mafia, he also criticized more general
conceptions of syndicates and criminal organizations as a dominant factor in crime (12).
3.4. The Late 1950s to the Late 1960s: From Apalachin to "The Godfather"
The interest in organized crime and in the Mafia that the Kefauver Committee had stirred faded in the following
years. But beginning in late 1957 a series of events brought organized crime back to center stage and eventually,
by the late 1960s, led to the merging of the two concepts of organized crime and Mafia.
Organized crime had become synonymous with a single ethnically homogeneous organizational entity (13).
3.5. The 1970s: The Concept of Organized Crime Reconsidered
The Mafia-centered concept of organized crime that had evolved during the 1950s and 1960s had to no small
degree been the result of a focus on New York City (14). Despite its tremendous impact on public perception it
soon proved unsuitable for devising valid law-enforcement strategies for the entire United States.
After rejecting a proposal to outlaw membership in the Cosa Nostra (15), Congress passed the RICO statute in
1970 with an extremely broad underlying concept of organized crime (16).
Likewise many state commissions on organized crime which were established in response to the national debate
at best paid lip-service to the concept of Cosa Nostra as an all-encompassing criminal organization. Instead, they
defined organized crime in much broader terms to include less structured gangs and illicit enterprises (17).
A similar uneasiness with the Mafia paradigm was evident among law-enforcement officials on the state and
local levels (18) and even among members of the federal Organized Crime Strike Forces that had been
established in a number of cities since 1967. While some defined organized crime to include only Cosa Nostra
members others included any group of two or more persons formed to commit a criminal act (19).
3.6. The Concept of Non-Traditional and International Organized Crime in the 1980s and 1990s
Eventually, the notion that there was more to organized crime than the Cosa Nostra did not lead to a profound
revision of the conception of organized crime. Instead, in the late 1970s and early 1980s the concept of non-
traditional organized crime emerged which merely transfered the Mafia model to other ethnically defined
criminal organizations allegedly similar to Cosa Nostra, such as East-Asian, Latin-American and Russian groups,
outlaw-motorcycle gangs and so-called prison gangs (20).
In recent years, outlaw-motorcycle gangs and prison gangs have somewhat dropped out of sight while groups of
criminals from Asia and Europe, especially criminals from the former Soviet Union, have received more attention
(21). In comparison with Cosa Nostra they are now believed to be at least of equal importance, especially in view
of the successful prosecution of numerous Cosa Nostra members in a series of RICO trials since the mid 1980s
(22). Today, the concept of organized crime is applied to domestic crime groups like the Cosa Nostra and to what
is now refered to as "international organized crime," that is criminal organizations believed to be operating on a
global scale, including Chinese Triads and the so-called "Russian Mafia". It seems that to the extent the Cosa
Nostra is believed to lose ground and organized crime is turning into an issue of international politics rather than
to remain an issue of immediate relevance the American public has lost much of its prior interest in the subject.
3.7. Summary
In essence, during the last 80 years the perception of organized crime has evolved from an integral facet of big-
city life to an assortment of global criminal players who challenge even the most powerful countries like the
United States.
4. The Conceptual History of Organized Crime in Germany
The currently dominating American concept of organized crime is quite similar to today's prevalent
understanding in Germany. However, the developments leading up to this consensus were not quite as uniform
so that it makes sense to take a look at the specific conceptual history in a country like Germany, where the
concept of organized crime entered the criminal-policy debate at an earlier point in time than in many other
countries.
4.1. The 1950s and 1960s: Organized Crime in the U.S. and Italy
At first, the concept of organized crime only sporadically appeared in the press and in law-enforcement journals
in Germany during the 1950s and 1960s in discussions of crime in the United States (23). There was no sense of
a direct relevance these issues might have for Germany. Then towards the late 1960s concerns were articulated
by law-enforcement officials that organized crime in the United States and also in Italy could pose a threat for
the future.
One scenario saw foreign crime syndicates extending their spheres of influence into Germany (24). Another
scenario envisioned an independent development of crime but one similar to the emergence of organized crime
in the United States (25).
4.2. The 1970s and 1980s: A Uniquely German Understanding of Organized Crime
4.2.1. A Failed Attempt to Define Organized Crime
In the early 1970s police officials began to discuss a third solution to the conflict between concept and reality: a
uniquely German definition of organized crime independent from the Mafia paradigm. While assuming that
Germany provided no fertile ground for the emergence of crime syndicates like the Cosa Nostra, they argued
that organized crime was a suitable label for new manifestations of crime in Germany (26). This approach
combined the abstract discourse on organized crime in the U.S. and Italy with a parallel discourse on qualitative
changes in the conduct of criminal activities and in the patterns of criminal cooperation that the police had
begun to observe during the 1960s (27).
In 1973 state and federal police agencies established a commission to work out a definition of organized crime
as a basis for revising law-enforcement strategies (28). The commission shifted between debates over whether
or not organized crime existed in Germany and conceptual debates over where to place German organized
crime in a spectrum of collective crime ranging from the perceived complexity of the American Cosa Nostra to
the simple structure of a "gang" ("Bande") as defined by Germany's Criminal Law (29). The commission agreed
on a definition which centered around criminal acts committed by groups with more than two hierarchical levels
(30). The reaction within the law-enforcement community was mixed. While many police officials seemed to
welcome an end to the debate over definitions in order to turn to more practical aspects of dealing with
organized crime, the Bavarian police agency especially opposed the definition the commission had presented
(31). Presumably, the state of Bavaria resisted the adoption of any official definition of organized crime out of
fear that it would lose some of its jurisdiction in criminal investigations to the federal police agency BKA (32). In
the end the commission was disbanded in 1975 without an agreement on a definition of organized crime (33).
Interestingly, the disbanding of the commission was followed by a rapidly fading interest in discussing organized
crime. By 1981 the concept of organized crime had not only disappeared from the two law-enforcement journals
but also from the news magazine included in this study (Tab. 5). This underscores the dominating role of law-
enforcement officials in shaping the public perception of crime during this period (34).
4.2.2. Organized Crime as a Domestic Problem
In 1982 the concept of organized crime reappeared (35). Apparently, the German law-enforcement community
had finally reached a consensus that organized crime was an appropriate concept. This consensus became
manifest in yet another joint state and federal police committee that had been established in the previous year
to explore new methods of law-enforcement. Without any debate this committee adopted a definition of
organized crime which was to be included in the introduction of its report. It is not clear what had brought about
the change of atmosphere. It is obvious, however, that Bavaria, which was strongly represented on the
committee, had given up opposition against the concept of organized crime, possibly because of a previously
aired TV program on organized crime in the Bavarian state capital of Munich (36).
The new definition was much broader than the one from 1974. Instead of a multi-level hierarchy the committee
was content with the continuous cooperation of several criminals in a division of labor (37). This definition set
the tune for a conception of organized crime that centered around criminal networks in contrast to
hierarchically structured, clear-cut organizations (38). It allowed the conclusion that organized crime was a
reality in Germany and had in fact existed in the country for some time. While the international implications of
certain types of crime like drug trafficking were not ignored during the 1980s, organized crime was viewed
primarily as a domestic phenomenon, especially as an outgrowth of the red-light districts in the major
metropolitan areas (39).
4.3. The Return to the Mafia Paradigm
The network approach proved unattractive for the media. The concept of organized crime did not gain
widespread popularity before the late 1980s when the image of foreign crime syndicates such as the American
Cosa Nostra and the Sicilian Mafia once again moved to the center of attention. But in contrast to the original
perception in the 1960s they were now believed to be actually present in Germany (40).
The image of foreign "Mafias" as an imminent threat to German society continues to dominate the public
perception of organized crime and is permanently being reinforced by the media, politicians and police officials.
However, it is important to note that behind this clich the day-to-day police work continues to be based on a
very broad and vague concept (41). The current official definition of organized crime which dates back to 1990
and is contained in the guidelines for criminal investigations requires basically not much more than the
continuous cooperation of three persons (42).
4.4. Summary
In sum, the German debate on organized crime appears to have come full circle in the 1990s by going back to
the Mafia oriented conception of the 1960s, however, without completely abolishing the broad concept of
organized crime that had been tailored to suit domestic crime networks during the 1980s.
5. Conclusions
There are a few conclusions that can be drawn from the analysis of the conceptual history of organized crime.
First of all, the emergence and transformation of the concept of organized crime has been brought about by a
number of factors of which the reality of crime is only one.
Secondly, the concept of organized crime gains broader acceptance only if two aspects are combined, on the
one hand a set of easily comprehensible categories, like that of foreigner and that of bureaucratic organization,
and on the other hand the notion of imminent relevance.
Thirdly, the concept of foreign "Mafias" which today dominates the public perception of organized crime is
contrasted by a very broad conception of organized crime in criminal statutes and law-enforcement guidelines.
This provides opportunities for a flexible use of the concept of organized crime to accomodate different political
and institutional interests.
Fourthly, the conceptual history of organized crime cannot be interpreted as a process of enlightenment. Even
after decades of debate there remains a great deal of uncertainty and confusion about the nature of organized
crime.
The analysis of the conceptual history does not provide an alternative means of determining the true nature of
organized crime. It does give an answer to the question "What is organized crime?" only insofar as we adopt
Howard Becker's famous phrase by saying that organized crime is what people so label (43). And this is a
complex diversity of phenomena once we look beyond the faade of popular clich images of organized crime.
There seems to be no easy solution to the task of coming to terms with the subject of organized crime. Certainly
a definition will not help as long as there is no understanding of the intrinsic links that supposedly connect the
various aspects of the social universe that fall under the organized-crime label. Until then all attempts to define
organized crime would have to be arbitrary and would in some way or other contradict existing perceptions on
organized crime.
But we can try to define narrower concepts which can help us in seeking answers to the questions raised in the
debate on organized crime. These questions center around two issues, 1.) how patterns of criminal cooperation
emerge and transform, and 2.), how within these criminal structures positions of power develop that are not
only relevant for the criminal structures themselves but for society in general (44).
References - Notes
(C) Klaus von Lampe, all rights reserved.

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GENRES OF ORGANIZED CRIME
Aboriginal -- This is word meaning "native peoples", and aboriginal organized crime is mainly a problem in
Canada. In that country, several Indian tribes control the illegal tobacco, weapons, and gaming markets. It's
of special concern to Canadian authorities right now since Canada is trying to move toward becoming a
disarmed society. For background, see any one of the reports by the Criminal Intelligence Service of Canada.
Chinese -- The Tongs and Triad (Chinese Mafia) have been involved in business extortion, alien trafficking
(with Mexico), the underground garlic trade (in Taiwan), software piracy, and of course, the more traditional
drugs, gambling, and prostitution in Chinatowns across the world. The Tongs are an old secret society, going
back to the mid-1800s. They operate behind immigrant protection associations, but have many of the
characteristics of traditional organized gangs. The Triads are what the British called them because of their
fascination with numerology, the importance of the number three, and their mystical initiation ceremonies.
They believe it is their destiny to control all vice activity.
Colombian -- The Colombian drug cartels have been a heavily-studied organized crime group, and although
arrest or disappearance of their leaders has always brought authorities hope that the syndicate is over, they
just seem to keep reorganizing. There's a real sense of popular support for the drug barons in Colombia as
little poor guys who made it big, and the different cartels have close, intricate relationships. Although it's
dangerous to make rough comparisons, Mendellin-type cartels tend to act like petty street hoodlums, and
Cali-type cartels tend to operate like legitimate businessmen. The Colombians tend to have many
sympathizers, and a complex infrastructure, employing many people in a typical operation. Amnesty
programs have been tried with some success against them.
Italian -- More has been written about Italian Mafia business than probably any other topic. See any of the
suggested Internet Resources at the bottom of this page for information on this genre.
Jamaican -- The Jamaican Posse underworld (from Kingston primarily) has developed a reputation as one of
the first "nontraditional" organized crime groups. They basically developed the marketing techniques for
crack, controlling at least half of the crack market in the world. They also engage in kidnapping, murder,
robbery, and auto theft. There are several known posses operating throughout the U.S., some with a large
number of members and others with a small number of members.
Japanese -- The Yakuza (origins: 7th century) have always been at the center of Asian organized crime action,
and are a persistent source of irritation to Japanese authorities. They do, however, pose some threats to the
United States (in California and Hawaii) in terms of money laundering and weapons smuggling, which are their
primary international sources of revenue. Their legitimate activities include banking and real estate. They
have a highly structured hierarchy.
Jewish -- In Israel, several Jews from former Soviet states have formed organized crime groups, and of course,
there's been gangster-style Jewish organized crime in America ever since the days of Meyer Lansky (one of the
best books on him is But He Was Good to His Mother)
Mexican -- Alien smuggling, drug trafficking, and money laundering are big business for the Mexican Mafia
and various drug cartels. Narcotics control has, of course, always been the number one U.S. concern, but the
"Mexicanization" of American law enforcement is a growing problem as American officials are coming to
more and more resemble the style of laid-back law enforcement so characteristic of Mexico.
Nigerian -- The situation in Nigeria mostly revolves around the drug trade, but this is a nation where organized
cybercrime is quite heavy. A large number of computer scams and frauds originate from this country.
Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs -- Drugs, prostitution, strip club infiltration, anti-police tactics, and courtroom
disruption techniques are just some of the major activities of this group. While many motorcycle enthusiasts
are just rowdies, a disturbing number are involved in organized crime.
Russian -- The mobsters who now rule Russia are engaged in nuclear smuggling, corruption, loansharking,
bootlegging (gasoline) and protection rackets. The Casey Institute keeps good track of them (as do other
groups), and Finckenauer's (2005) research is probably the best on the subject. These groups operate abroad,
in the U.S. and Europe, especially in South Brooklyn and Berlin.
Vietnamese -- Triad groups and gangs of Vietnamese origin (e.g., Born to Kill) are of growing concern to U.S.
authorities, compared to other gangs. They are considered by many to be the most ruthless of the Asian
gangs.
ORGANIZED CRIME INVESTIGATION
"Yes, Mr. Hoover, there is a Mafia" (Rudy Giuliani)
Organized crime is in a class by itself. It's big, it's powerful, it's well-connected, and highly profitable. Mafia is the
most common term used to describe the more profitable criminal organizations around the world, but other
terminology exists, such as: international criminal organizations (military usage); transnational crime (United Nations
usage); and enterprise crime (FBI usage). As the term is utilized in criminology, it refers to any (or all) of six (6)
different types of crime: (1) crime as business, which includes white collar crime as well as various forms of
corruption; (2) offenses involving works of art, counterfeiting, or other cultural artifacts; (3) crime associated with the
distribution and sale of narcotics as well as other contraband substances; (4) crime associated with human migration
or sex trafficking including various forms of prostitution; and (5) crime involving contract murder or for-hire use of
force, mostly deadly force; and (6) various forms of computer crime involving identity theft and/or other large-scale
financial frauds. A variety of definitions exist (see the Many Definitions of Organized Crime), and although no one-
sentence definition is agreed upon, probably the best and most-cited comes from Abadinsky (2002:6): Organized
crime is a non-ideological enterprise involving a number of persons in close social interaction, organized on a
hierarchical basis, with at least three levels/ranks, for the purpose of securing profit and power by engaging in illegal
and legal activities.
Abadinsky (2002) goes on to say that membership in organized crime can be by kinship or friendship, and that even
non-members may be involved on a contingency basis. Permanent membership is restricted, however, to those who
are active in pursuit of the organization's goals. Regular membership as well as discipline is controlled by bribery,
extortion, violence, and murder (or at least the reputation for using these methods). There is usually some attempt
to allow members to functionally specialize by skill, although jack-of-all-trades offenders are quite common. The
organization perpetuates itself even after key members have gone. Rules and regulations are very explicit. Organized
crime hates competition; it always seeks a monopoly. Life in organized crime involves life in a unique subculture.
Albanese (2002) and Finckenauer (2005) point out, furthermore, that essential to any definition is the corruption of
public officials which assures continuity of operations as well as protection from competition.
There are known characteristics of organized crime, such as corruption, violence, sophistication, continuity,
structure, discipline, ideology (or lack thereof), multiple enterprises, and involvement in legitimate enterprises. These
are the characteristics put forward by Maltz (1990; 1994), which are the most frequent basis of arguments with other
criminologists such as Abadinsky (2002), Albanese (2002), Hagan (2010), and Conklin (2010), among others.
Abadinsky (2002), for his part, argues that organized crime is non-ideological; that is, its members don't care what the
cause is, as long as everybody makes money. Abadinsky (2002) also seems to follow Cressey (1969; 1972), a pioneer
in the field, by suggesting the key characteristic is the highly-developed division of labor -- so highly-developed, in
fact, that its mode of organization could well serve as a better model for business and making money. Albanese
(2002) and Hagan (2010) argue that the key characteristic is corruption; that organized crime operates along a
continuum in this regard, slowly eating away at the integrity of legitimate social institutions. Conklin (2010) argues
the key characteristic is continuity, or the ability of these kinds of organizations to survive and achieve permanence
from generation to generation. The definitional problems have created legal problems. At law, a criminal statute
normally details a certain act (actus reus) and mental state (mens rea). This is next to impossible with organized
crime because no one knows how to precisely measure the degree of corruption that would be the necessary
threshold, and in terms of mental state, as Cressey (1969) put it, no one knows how or wants to criminalize an
"attitude" (which is the requisite mental state for becoming an organized criminal). The organized criminal mindset
may very well involve a "degree" or "spectrum" as Albanese (1989) points out.
Best analyzed as a business operation, organized crime involves marketing techniques (threat, extortion, smuggling)
and a product line (drugs, sex, gambling, loan-sharking, pornography, or other outlawed items). The business system
resembles a legitimate business enterprise, and will even have a corporate executive structure, a staff of assistants,
and accountants. It's important to remember, however, that this kind of business was originally built up by force,
intimidation, or threat. The members of such a business are really gangsters. In many cases, they are evolved
professional criminals who exemplify the mystique glamorized by legendary figures in history -- people such as Al
Capone, Meyer Lansky, and Lucky Luciano. Their underworld system survives by pretending to be legitimate business
or by infiltrating (through immunity and protection rackets) legitimate business. The following table provides some
simple distinctions between the two types of business.
Legitimate business Illegitimate business
Food products
Real estate
Restaurants
Garbage disposal
Produce
Garment manufacturing
Bars and taverns
Waterfront
Securities
Labor unions
Vending machines
Gambling
Bookmaking
Narcotics
Loansharking
Labor racketeering
Extortion
Alcohol
Kidnapping
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF ORGANIZED CRIME
Besides violence (of course), which is almost always extremist or fantastic to some degree in organized crime, there
are a number of other essential characteristics. However, a word about the violence is in order. Organized criminals
take their violence seriously. They also take threats of violence seriously. In fact, it might be safe to say they don't
truly hold to any differences existing between threat(s) of violence and act(s) of violence. It is just taken for granted
or used for symbolic purposes. Far more interesting things engage their minds, such as complex "capers" or "jobs"
involving planning for property crime. Short-term and long-term planning dominates their mindsets in this regard,
and often, multiple levels of execution are planned to perfect the perfect job. It is the long-term accumulation of
wealth, influence, and power which they are "organized" for, not the violence. Other characteristics are:
Conspiracy -- fronts will be used to disguise the real operations; cover-up being an essential feature of
conspiracy
Hierarchy -- planning, organizing, executing; three or more permanent levels of rank with a division of labor or
specialization; Kelly (1986) calls these "interaction patterns", meaning they refer to specialized roles and
statuses
Ideology of Economics -- it's just business, nothing personal; it's also accurate to say they have no ideology, no
politics; in criminology, organized crime is the perfect "instrumental" crime because there's no emotional
satisfaction derived from it
Perpetuity -- the organization is designed to last through time, beyond the lifespan of current members; being
an organized criminal requires a "lifetime careerist orientation" (Kelly 1986)
Monopoly -- they often seek total control over a particular turf or industry, seeking goods or services that are
presently illegal or quasi-illicit and that have such a demand that raising price won't matter; in criminology, they
form a cartel (rather than a cabal); a cartel being organized around source and distribution of something and a
cabal being organized around mutual trust
Strict discipline -- the group controls its members promptly and deadly; there's a code of silence, secrecy,
extensive rules and regulations; extensive attempts will be made to insulate key members from identification by
authorities
Restricted membership -- usually on ethnic, kinship, criminal record, or other grounds; applicants need a
sponsor; not anyone can join
Immunity from prosecution -- the group is interested in corruption, putting the fix in on the criminal justice
system; with patterned corruption being the norm and they will start where the law is weak or weakly
administered
Organized crime usually accounts for about 1-2% of the gross national product of any country it sets up shop in.
They will try to "skim" more if they can, but they usually limit themselves because it is in their best interest to keep
the legitimate systems operating that they are "skimming" off of. In some cases, the annual income of an organized
crime group may be greater than some of the major industries of an industrialized state. Major sources of revenue
often come from infiltration of labor unions, taking control of pension funds and dues. Hijacking of shipments and
cargo theft are other significant sources of income, along with Internet pornography and call girl/escort services.
Organized crime frequently tries to infiltrate low-tech, low-hanging fruit, legitimate businesses (such as garbage
collection), and there is a clear preference for products and services which have uniformity, few competitors, and
operate in rigid markets where price increases will not reduce demand. If someone operates such a business, they
are a prime target for mob infiltration. Other businesses are sought to solely provide a "front" for money laundering
operations. According to Albanese (2002), there are four (4) opportunity factors for organized crime: (1) economic
factors, such as poor standards of living, demands for illicit services, and a competitive environment; (2)
governmental factors, such as corruption or weak local ability at enforcing laws; (3) law enforcement factors, such as
poorly paid police officers who are not adequately trained; and (4) social or technological changes, such as new
technologies which promote organized crime. Risk assessment for organized crime control usually focuses on these
factors (as well as potential harm) to assess the prospects for specific illicit activities in specific localities.
The classic pattern of organized crime is a gradual movement, or continuum (Hagan 1983), involving either a linear
progression or other pattern resembling the following:
assault (dirty deeds)
bribery (the fix)
extortion (protection racket)
illegitimate business (narcotics)
legitimate business (entertainment)
big business (unions, corporations)
THE ORIGINS OF ORGANIZED CRIME
According to proponents of alien conspiracy theory, sometime around 1900, a group called the Black Hand (a lower
east side Manhattan gang modeled after the Sicilian Mafia) led by Johnny Torrio, leader of the Five Points Gang, set
up a national syndicate of 25 or so Italian-dominated crime families calling themselves La Cosa Nostra (LCN or "this
thing of ours", also called the Mob or Mafia), the most important five families being the Gambino, Columbo,
Lucchese, Bonnano, and Genovese, the founding "godfathers". Meetings throughout the U.S. during the 1920s and
1930s helped settle the differences between Sicilians and Italians (who had always been at odds with one another),
discover ways to settle gang wars nonviolently and maximize profits. During prohibition, LCN concentrated on
alcohol; after prohibition, narcotics and bookmaking. After WW II, LCN moved into entertainment (Cuba, Vegas, hotel
chains, jukebox concerns, restaurants, and taverns). By effective payoffs, blackmail, and coercion, by the 1950s, the
mobsters became respectable businessmen, and moved into labor unions. Two commissions, the Kefauver and
McClellan commissions looked into these activities. During the 1960s, via succession due to repeated assassinations
of other aspiring leaders, Carlo Gambino ran the Mob until his death of natural causes in 1976, then John Gotti
emerged to run the Gambino family until 1992. A major FBI crackdown began in 1981 and is continuing. The typical
LCN chain of command is an industrial model: a boss (don), with an advisor (consigliere) and underboss (sort of vice
president). Answering to the underboss are caporegimas (heads of regiments or lieutenants or captains) who are
chiefs to soldati ("buttons", soldiers).
Ethnic succession is the rule for transition in organized crime. As one group wanes, another group stands ready to
take its place. Today, other ethnic groups have forged a loose confederation of organized crime. These include the
Dixie Mafia in the South, Latin American gangs in the Southwest, White ethnic groups across the nation, and Italian
and Cuban groups operating worldwide. Since 1970, Russian and Asian (Chinese and Japanese) groups have been
operating on U.S. soil, the Russian groups especially good at fencing stolen merchandise and the Asian groups
especially good as the heroin market. Nigerian/West African groups also operate in the U.S. American-made biker
gangs pick up the market for drugs not monopolized by other groups. The Colombian drug cartels concentrated on
cocaine smuggling. During the 1980s and into the 1990s, the black gangs abandoned their inner city isolation and
adopted the "franchise" model (Crips & Bloods).
Biker gangs are "outlaw motorcycle gangs", a breed apart from most biker organizations. The oldest ones (Hells
Angels, Pagans, Outlaws) trace their origins to clubs formed in the 1930s and 1940s. When the American Motorcycle
Association said that 99 percent of riders were law-abiding, outlaw bikers started calling themselves "1%ers," and
wearing "1%er" patches on their jackets, along with other insignia, known as "colors." Members of outlaw clubs are
often called patch-holders, and protecting club symbols can be a matter of life and death. The Hells Angels are the
largest group, with chapters across the United States, in Canada, Australia, Europe and elsewhere. Their rivals are a
group known as the Outlaws. The Bandidos, based in the Southwest are another large group. They have been rapidly
expanding in recent years. The Pagans have been cracked down on the most by law enforcement, and they, like other
groups, such as the Mongols, are the frequent target of extensive law enforcement investigation. Most groups
support themselves primarily through drug dealing, trafficking in stolen goods, and extortion. They fight over
territory and drugs. It needs to be noted that not all motorcycle clubs are biker gangs. Non-outlaw motorcycle clubs
include the Soldiers for Jesus, Christian Motorcycle groups, various clubs of African-American bikers, and various clubs
of law enforcement officers.
ORGANIZED CRIME ACTIVITIES
alcohol & tobacco smuggling
arms trafficking
corruption (bribery)
counterfeiting
drug trafficking
extortion
fraud
gambling (numbers and bookmaking)
labor racketeering
loan sharking
theft, robbery, hijacking & home invasion
sex slave and children for sex
smuggling of humans and human parts
violence (assassination, "hits", dirty deeds)