There is no commonly agreed definition of organized crime. Since no single definition is inclusive enough, several characteristics can be listed to identify organized crime and distinguish it from other forms of crime.  Firstly, it is conspiratorial and predatory in nature and its primary goal is money-making.  Caiden and Alexander in The Politics and Economics of Organized Crime have noted three essential features of this form of crime:

• It supplies illegal goods and services
• It has client public and a segment of civil society which demands such goods and services
• It corrupts public officials who protect illegal markets

From the perspective of law enforcement, organized criminal groups run a parallel society operating outside the control of the government and by developing nexus with law enforcement officials, lawyers, judges, industrialists and politicians, they nullify the government of the day and threaten the stability of the country.  Organized criminal groups are typically maintained by force with a well-defined hierarchical structure having a single charismatic leader or a syndicate at the top. Operational sophistication and continuity are the hallmarks of this form of crime.  Being familiar with local laws, the penal code and procedure, the groups learn how to bypass the criminal justice system by setting up dummy enterprises, using encrypted communication and handling illicit goods and services through nominees instead of the principals.  A typical group would rarely get involved in one time criminal activity like hijacking.  An organised crime group indulges in continuous criminal activities over a period of time viz, trafficking in persons or drugs, extortion, kidnapping, gambling, contract killing and so on.

Organized groups often acquire legitimate business interests to launder ill-gotten money and gain social respectability.  The profits earned in the underworld are converted into acceptable legal instruments and assets through money laundering.  Unfortunately, the study of enterprises run by the illegal underworld and the economics of parallel illegal markets has not attracted the serious attention of research scholars, experts and social scientists.  Consequently, the public remains unaware of and indifferent to the activities of organised criminals and their impact on the society as a whole.  By investing their ill-gotten wealth in legitimate business, the powerful criminal groups wield enormous, albeit invisible, power by influencing and servicing the interests of political leaders and law enforcement officials.  The linkage between the Dawood Ibrahim gang and the Memon brothers and powerful government functionaries came to light during the investigations into the Bombay blasts of 1993; the Vohra Committee has gone into the nexus between criminal gangs, police, bureaucrats and politicians with telling accuracy. 

The transnational links of organized criminal groups have added a sinister dimension to the security of nations by working across national boundaries through networks with illicit power structure whenever feasible.  Typically, transnational organized criminal groups set up a “home base” in countries where the authority of the state is weak, corrupt or collusive and operate in “host states” which have large market for illicit products and services or lucrative targets. Several factors have facilitated the transformation of organized criminal groups into transnational groups.  The globalisation regime with resultant increase in trade and commerce, the information and communication revolution and the growth of global financial system have opened up huge opportunities for illicit business in a borderless world.  Secondly, migration of population from one country to another in search of economic opportunities has given rise to steady growth of ethnic networks facilitating cover, shelter and support structures in adopted countries. Thirdly, the contemporary global financial system in which digital money can be rapidly moved, traded or legitimised in financial instruments has become a “money launderer’s dream.”  In one reported case in the Netherlands, the proceeds of crime were laundered in 45 seconds while subsequent investigation took 18 months.  Finally, attractive host markets provide alluring encouragement to organized groups with their demand for illegal goods and services e.g. trafficking in women from Nepal and Bangladesh to India.

The UN Convention against transnational organized crime was adopted at the UN conference in Palermo, Italy, in December 2000 along with the protocols on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, and smuggling of migrants.  The UN Convention is a bold step to fight transnational organized crime.  But it may take years to enforce it.  Meanwhile, at the national level, much remains to be done.  Since the criminal justice system consisting of the legislature, the law enforcement agencies, the prosecution and the judiciary quite often fail to implement legal controls, informal pressure groups in society such as social organizations, political parties and the media have to raise public awareness and exert pressure from outside.  Active citizen involvement is a must for control of organized crime which is not solely a law enforcement problem. When citizens comprehend the extent of criminal activities and inadequacy of the existing enforcement machinery, they would be able to demand action and exercise the social control necessary for removing corruption at high places and managing organized crime.