4 ms·

Throwing out guesses: - It's harder to avoid being caught now. Could a 70's style Mafia survive today? I doubt it. I think we can give some credit to better

by chubot 12y ago

Throwing out guesses: - It's harder to avoid being caught now. Could a 70's style Mafia survive today? I doubt it. I think we can give some credit to better police techniques. Before DNA testing it was probably way easier to get away with murder (literally). - Absolute wealth has risen (although inequality has risen as well). The magnitude of crime you need to commit to survive without "real" income is lower than it used to be. - Probably something to do with wealthier people migrating towards cities again. Although that could be the effect of lower crime and not the cause. - Some crime has moved online, which can't be violent.

applecore 12y ago
Your first guess isn't far off. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/08/11/crooked-ladder http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/08/11/crooked-ladder
- seestheday 12y ago
  That was a great article. Thanks for that.
brownbat 12y ago
> Could a 70's style Mafia survive today? I doubt it. RICO deserves a lot of the credit. Capone was booked on tax evasion instead of, say, all the murders. It took almost 40 years for an effective federal racketeering statute to be passed, and longer still for police and prosecutors to learn how to use it. RICO has its downsides, has been criticized for providing too much power to law enforcement. It's a pretty solid mob busting tool though. That said, two caveats. First, I'm not sure how much of crime is due to organized crime. I'm not sure that affects your bigger point though, that police techniques (as well as maybe legal tools) have improved. Secondly, note that organized crime does exist today. La Cosa Nostra is still around, as are various eastern European and Asian groups. Albanian groups are apparently one of the most formidable rising threats. Organized crime is probably harder, but it's also probably adapted to find ways to not get caught. Historical crime stats by category: http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/uscrime.htm http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/uscrime.htm CRS paper on organized crime in the US: http://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R40525.pdf http://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R40525.pdf

by chubot 12y ago

applecore 12y ago

Your first guess isn't far off. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/08/11/crooked-ladder http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/08/11/crooked-ladder

seestheday 12y ago
That was a great article. Thanks for that.

brownbat 12y ago

> Could a 70's style Mafia survive today? I doubt it. RICO deserves a lot of the credit. Capone was booked on tax evasion instead of, say, all the murders. It took almost 40 years for an effective federal racketeering statute to be passed, and longer still for police and prosecutors to learn how to use it. RICO has its downsides, has been criticized for providing too much power to law enforcement. It's a pretty solid mob busting tool though. That said, two caveats. First, I'm not sure how much of crime is due to organized crime. I'm not sure that affects your bigger point though, that police techniques (as well as maybe legal tools) have improved. Secondly, note that organized crime does exist today. La Cosa Nostra is still around, as are various eastern European and Asian groups. Albanian groups are apparently one of the most formidable rising threats. Organized crime is probably harder, but it's also probably adapted to find ways to not get caught. Historical crime stats by category: http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/uscrime.htm http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/uscrime.htm CRS paper on organized crime in the US: http://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R40525.pdf http://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R40525.pdf