Introduction

One of the legal and jurisprudential assumptions is that crime is a social phenomenon, and it varies according to circumstances, whether temporal or spatial. Crime has many motives; it may be social or political, as well as economic. Given the connection of this phenomenon with people of the lower class, Until some jurists in the legal field and criminology who changed this theory came and revealed that there are also crimes committed by the owners of the upper classes and most of the crimes were the theft of money, for example, but not limited to, crimes of money exploitation, children and women, and white collar crimes Organized crime is one of the criminal phenomena that is considered one of the new crimes that have escalated in all countries of the world, including Algeria.

This criminal reality and its great impact on issues of peace, security and stability in the world, and its negative repercussions on the political, economic and especially social life of countries, have led to the growing conviction of the international community, which calls on states to cooperate with each other to combat transnational organized crime, thus, we can formulate the following Problematic:

What are the repercussions of organized crime on the social level in Algeria?

To understand the problematic aspects, it was supported by the following sub-questions:

• What are the problems of organized crime on the society in Algeria?

• What are the ways to prevent organized crime and the state’s policy to reduce it?

1. Méthodology

1.1. Research objectives and dimensions

This study aims at the familiarity with the following elements:

• Highlighting entry points that are related to organized crime, and its most important social impacts in Algeria.

• Attitudes of the Algerian state towards fighting organized crime.

1.2. The importance of the study

The importance of the study is reflected in the fact that it is a social research that deals with one of the most important contemporary topics represented in organized crime, which followed the technological and technical development in various fields, the growth of international trade and the international economy, the expansion of free exchange areas, the opening of global markets to trade, as well as the emergence of globalization that made The world is like a small village in which all the components of the people of international law interact, which contributed to the removal of borders between states, as well as resulted in the globalization of crime, as it started from the internal domain of the state to the wide international scale, and the importance of the study lies in the following points:

• The endeavors of the Algerian state within the framework of preparing a strategic plan to combat organized crime and limit its activities on the national territory.

• The results of the study may be useful in highlighting the most important effects and repercussions of organized crime on Algerian society, and it may also be useful in identifying the various weaknesses that help the spread of this type of crime in our country.

1.3. Study lies in the following points

The endeavors of the Algerian state within the framework of preparing a strategic plan to combat organized crime and limit its activities on the national territory.

The results of the study may be useful in highlighting the most important effects and repercussions of organized crime on Algerian society, and it may also be useful in identifying the various weaknesses that help the spread of this type of crime in our country.

1.4. Study methodology

Based on the nature of the study and the goals it seeks to pursue, the descriptive and analytical approach was used because it is the most appropriate for this type of studies and is appropriate for understanding the problem, starting with collecting the necessary scientific knowledge through desk research or web sites about the reality of what organized crime is and its social effects in Algeria preparing for its analysis of all this according to updated statistics.

1.5. Study themes

For the purpose of comprehensive understanding of the topic and reaching relevant conclusions, the article was divided into the following themes:

• The first theme: Organized crime, its characteristics and objectives.

• The second theme: The social consequences of organized crime in Algeria.

2. Organized crime, its characteristics and objectives.

Despite the extreme danger of organized crime and with the multiplicity of studies that dealt with the phenomenon of organized crime, whether these studies are at the national level or at the international one, no definition of organized crime has been unanimous. It hides various types of criminal acts and forms, and this explains why some of the terms related (Blakesley 1998: 35) to “different criminal organizations” (such as mafia, organized crime, professional crime, and economic crime) are not clear-cut and are used as synonyms.

2.1. Definition of organized crime 

In stating the jurisprudence’s position on the definition of organized crime, (Donald R. Cressey) defines organized crime as « a crime committed by a person who occupies a position in a division of a job that is dedicated to committing a crime. »

It is noticed that this definition focuses on the crime committed by the members of the criminal organization, and accordingly, organized crime is achieved if the following two conditions are met :

1. The existence of a criminal organization established with the intent to commit a crime.

2. Committing the organized crim (Keis & Daoud 2001 :15-16).

Thor Sten « defines organized crime by saying : »It is synonymous with economic actions organized for the purpose of carrying out illegal activities, and in the case of carrying out those activities by legal means ; they should be supplemented by illegal means (Al-Bashri 1999 :150).

The Italian judge, Giovanni Falcone⁽1⁾ defined organized crime, as not a simple criminal organization that commits its crimes after reflection and deliberation, but rather a cohesive and closed criminal community, which includes hundreds and sometimes thousands of professional criminals, relying on instilling fear in the hearts and spreading terror In hearts, the commit their crimes in full view of the political and executive bodies after filling their mouths with money and occupying their time with forbidden sex and pleasure, and the mafia community is subject to a law that governs it and defines the conditions for joining it, advancing in it, sitting on its summit and abusing those who violate it, or informing the authorities about their activities (Awad 2004 :151).

2.1.1. History and Origins 

Organized crime is a phenomenon that has existed alongside the existence of man since the beginning of history, in ancient times primitive societies were formed in the form of tribal groups providing for themselves a social system on which they depend for security and stability, and with the emergence and multiplicity of civilizations, especially the Pharaonic civilization, organized crime was found in a primitive way such as theft by gangs They are spread on the outskirts of the pyramids, they steal temples and cemeteries because the pharaohs kept their treasures in them, and at the beginning of the eighteenth century the first formations of mafia groups appeared, and we mean the « Italian family », which is considered the oldest and most famous organized crime group. These gangs were formed as a result of the flight of some Germans during the Ottoman conquest to the two islands of Sicily, so they formed armed groups that imposed their control over these islands and took over the protection of the weak in return for a royalty, which evolved into forcing the people to pay the royalty against their will, in exchange for not attacking them and against them.

Their money and possessions, and from Sicily, mafia groups spread throughout Italy in the mid-nineteenth century. A large number of Italian mafia families immigrated to America and formed groups and conglomerates, with its influence, it controlled all prohibited and non-prohibited economic activities, labor unions, various unions and even political parties.

2.1.2 International efforts to define organized crime 

There have been numerous international efforts to define organized crime and we will consider below the most important efforts accepted in this regard :

2.1.2.1. Interpol definition of organized crime 

The initial symposium held by Interpol on organized crime in France (May 1988) ended with the definition of organized crime « as an interest or group of individuals engaged in an illegal act on a continuous basis aimed at profit, without respect for national borders. Italy, Spain and Germany objected to this definition because it did not include the organization of authority-building (Bosard 1998 :151), It also received reservations from several states, such as the United States of America and Canada, as it did not refer to the use of violence to achieve the objectives of the organized group.

Country	Crime rate ( %)	Security rate ( %)	World ranking
Venezuela	83,23	16,77	01
New Guinea	79,88	20,12	02
Honduras	76,84	23,16	03
South Africa	76,80	23,20	04
Afghanistan	76,63	23,37	05
Trinidad and Tobago	74,04	25,96	06
Brazil	70,24	29,76	07

Source: Numbeo2 encyclopedia to measure crime rates in the world.

Table No (01) : Shows the ranking of some of the world’s leading countries in crime and Security rate for the year 2019.

Source: Numbeo encyclopedia to measure crime rates in the world.

2.1.2.2. European Union definition of organized crime

In 1993, the group against drugs and organized crime of the European Union defined organized crime as: a group of more than two persons engaged in criminal activity by committing serious crimes for a long or indefinite period, each member of which has a specific task within the framework of the criminal organization, which aims to gain power or profit and in the commission of the crime uses violence and threats, influencing the political, media, economic and judicial circles.

Country	Crime rate ( %)	Security rate ( %)	Arab ranking	World ranking
Syria	63.59	36.41	01	16
Libya	59.18	43.82	02	22
Egypt	50.71	49.29	03	36
Morocco	50.24	49.76	04	37
Algeria	48.33	51.67	05	43
Iraq	45.56	54.44	06	53
Lebanon	44.27	55.73	07	59

Source: Numbeo encyclopedia to measure crime rates in the world.

Table No (02): Shows the ranking of some of the world’s leading countries in crime and Security rate for the year 2019.

Source: Numbeo encyclopedia to measure crime rates in the world.

2.2. Definition of the sixteenth international conference (Budapest, 1999)

The sixteenth international conference held in Budapest, the capital of Bulgaria, in September 1999, which concluded its work with the following definition of organized crime: organized crime consists of activities committed by professional and strictly structured organizations, these organizations tend to criminalize, and the model of the common criminal does not apply to their members (De la Cuesta 2007:140-141), and they commit serious crimes as a means of obtaining financial profit or For the purpose of obtaining, maintaining or expanding its powers, exercising economic influence or for the exploitation of persons⁽3⁾.

3. United Nations definition of an organized criminal group

Given the global menace posed by organized crime, the United Nations issued the convention against organized crime, that defined this crime in its Article II as a structured group composed of three or more persons, existing for a period of time and in a concerted manner with the aim of committing one or more serious crimes or offences established in accordance with this convention, in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit.

Given the previous definitions we can define organized crime depends on the identification of several elements, namely that the crime is committed by a group of people sharing a specific hierarchical organization in order to make a profit by practicing legal and illegal activities, often using threats and bribery add to the possibility of its activities’ extension beyond the borders of the state.

3.1. Characteristics and objectives of organized crime

Organized crime is characterized by a number of characteristics that distinguish it from other types of crimes. The scientist, Donald A. Crosby, has identified some of the characteristics of organized crime, considering its size, the chain of orders and instructions that are similar to the arrangement and hierarchy of the military and security organizations, as well as the complex planning, And resorting to force or threatening to use it, in addition to the presence of a central leadership at the top and its enjoyment of a degree of maintenance towards procedures for arrest and raiding at its higher levels of leadership (Al-Wahid 2003:13). The danger of this crime comes from the fact that those responsible for it are chiefs, planners and organizers who fortify themselves, which makes it difficult to confront them with traditional means of combating crime unless knowledge of the specificities of this crime is known.

3.1.1. The number of the members

Some legislations require a certain number of persons to qualify a criminal group as an organized one, such as the Italian Penal Code and the European Union definition, which stipulated that the group is composed of three or more persons in order to be described as an organized criminal group.

While there is a number of legislations that did not put a certain number of perpetrators until the criminal group is described as an organization such as the French and the German law.

3.1.2. Structure and regulation:

Structuring and organizing is the main characteristic of organized crime, and it is meant as a hierarchical, progressive organization based on clear hierarchical levels, and the presidential hierarchy of authority, responsibility and unity of command. It is also a well-constructed organization that is characterized by stability and continuity, and the strict system controls the relationship between chiefs and members. The supreme leader holds absolute power over all members, although this organization is based on an authoritarian regime in the concentration of power, It is concerned with developing feelings of belonging to the authority among the members, as it gives a clear interest in taking care of their own affairs, such as caring for and guaranteeing the family in the event of losing its breadwinner, providing various guarantees, pension and insurance systems, defending them, appointing lawyers, paying financial guarantees, and providing legal services in case one of the members was arrested (Djalabi 2003:56).

3.1.3. Planning, complexity and secrecy:

The method of work within organized crime gangs depends primarily on planning, so that it does not depend on the work of one person, but rather on collective work based on the division of roles from preparation to implementation. “Criminal organizations are witnessing remarkable organizational growth in recent times, and this growth has been reflected in building Criminal organizations made them more complex, and also affected the diversity of their activities and their association with permanent success in most cases, which led to a lot of secrecy and secrecy in the implementation of their criminal actions and the movements of their elements (Djalabi 2003:57), and this complex organizational growth of criminal organizations was evident in the penetration of the organization in the global capitalist system.

3.1.4. Professionalism, adaptability and extortion:

Professionalism is considered one of the most dangerous models of criminal work, as the members of the organized criminal group are usually from the category of professionals in committing crimes, and these professionals possess superior skill and ability in carrying out criminal acts and this professionalism may reach the specialization of members of criminal organizations in a specific activity so that each organization A criminal who specializes in committing specific crimes. Organized crime is also characterized by flexibility and the ability to adapt to different and emergency situations and with the available opportunities. The fact that criminal organizations are their primary goal is to achieve profit by using all legitimate and illegitimate means, so we find criminal gangs adapt their positions and methods of work to the coincidental reality and to economically volatile situations, and from this organized crime gangs are considered various criminal projects, so wherever there is profit and money, criminal organizations are present with their projects, And its layouts to reach it (Bedouin 2002:83). Therefore, we find that these groups are adapted to the political, economic and social environment of the society in which the criminal activity is practiced.

3.1.5. Time and geographical extension:

What is meant by time extension: the continuation of the organization’s work regardless of the life of any individual in it, even if he is president, which means that the heads who die come in their place of new heads, so these criminal organizations derive the continuity characteristic of their activity and not the lives of their members and chiefs, because the lesson in the continuity of the group Organized criminality is the practice of its legitimate and illegal activities and not the life of anyone in it.

It is also characterized by the nature of geographical extension, it is often a transnational crime, and the participants in it may belong to different nationalities or societies, in addition to that, the crime scene usually extends to include two or three societies, which means that some types of crimes The organization requires a strong structure that confronts the strength and development of the security services in more than one society.

3.1.6. The use of violence

Criminal organizations usually use violence or threats to use it, and this violence in most cases amounts to killing or kidnapping people, and they may practice this violence against ordinary people to subject them to their control or against members of the organization who violate orders, whether by informing public authorities or obtaining personal benefit. The account of the members of the organization, as it can be practiced on new competitors from other criminal organizations that enter areas of specialization or influence of the gang, and the violence of these organizations is not limited to individuals, but extends to their families and property, and organized criminal groups practice their violence against anyone who constitutes an obstacle in their path to investigation Its legitimate and illegal purposes.

3.1.7. Objective and means

It is clear that organized crime gangs are motivated by huge financial incentives towards preserving their profession, and as a result, organized criminal gangs are achieving success in increasing profits, and for this purpose they may resort to bribing some employees and politicians or killing those who stand as a stumbling block in order to carry out their operations. Under this curtain, criminal organizations have developed a well-organized international smuggling network of gangs that are central to decision-making, and they have developed safe centers for command, control and the distribution of roles in an integrated manner (Finkenauer, Fontes, & George 2001:02).

3.2. Objectives of organized crime

3.2.1. Profit

The goal of profit is the main motive and engine of the members of organized crime, which distinguishes it from other criminal organizations and makes them carry out their legitimate and illegal activities that generate huge profits such as drug and weapons trade and human trafficking. At the state level, some international experts assert that the value of these profits ranges between (300 to 500 billion dollars) per year.

Scheme of the field of organized crime activity.

Source: Prepared by the author.

3.2.2. Making strategic alliances:

Due to the increase in the criminal acts practiced by criminal organizations in various regions of the world, it was necessary for these organizations to enter into strategic alliances between each other through the conclusion of agreements between them in order to protect their activities carried out by them in countries subject to the influence of another criminal organization or to organize marketing operations for what they produce of legal and illegal materials, and these strategic alliances had the effect of enhancing their ability to confront security confrontations and eliminate the violence that was taking place between them, in addition to the partnership in sharing profits and losses.

4. The social consequences of organized crime in Algeria.

Organized crime has become a threat to security and stability at the international and national levels, due to its actions that lead to the weakness of the state’s economic, social and cultural institutions, as well as the loss of confidence it causes in the democratic process, due to its impact on those with political influence. Its impact is not limited to the national level, but extends to the international level due to its illegal activities that cross national borders.

So, Organized crime represents a great danger to all countries of the world, because of its exploitation and ease of movement between countries of the world, as well as globalization and freedom of trade. We will address the following:

4.1. The social effects of organized crime at the national level

Organized crime has significant effects at the national level, whether in economic, political, or social terms, or even on the level of individuals. Among these effects are:

4.1.1. Social Impacts

Organized crime leads to the spread of corruption among members of society, the spread of bribery, the emergence of immorality and the loss of values, which leads to the demolition and dismantling of the family entity, in addition to what organized crime activities such as the slave trade cause in terms of wasting human humanity and dignity and the spread of diseases, and the drug trade leads to the destruction of society, especially a group. Young,

In addition to the lack of security and the spread of violence resulting from the weakness of the security services to face organized crime, organized crime activities threaten the social entity of the state and the prevailing values ​​as well as represent a danger that threatens individuals who are victims of its activities by violating their rights and freedoms, organized crime also affects societies as a result of insecurity and the spread of violence, and among its social impacts we find:

4.1.1. Social imbalance

The huge money that criminals make illegally as a result of their activities in easy and fast ways, secreting a wealthy class in society and growing its richness at the expense of the disenchantment of ordinary citizens, which widens the gap between the rich and the poor, and also the misdistribution of national income leads to the spread of acts of embezzlement and fraud in society.

4.1.2 The spread of social ills

One of the most important factors in the spread of crimes in society is the increase in organized criminal activities and the state’s inability to confront them, such as the spread of immoral crimes, bribery, drug crimes and others, and this is in pursuit of easy and rapid financial gain, in addition to the social imbalance that results from legitimate incomes, as it rejects Many young people work and their only concern remains activity in the field of criminal activities such as fraud, violence and illegal business.

4.1.3. Values’ breach

Among the filthy methods used by criminal gangs, especially in the field of trafficking in persons and clandestine immigration, resorting to the despicable exploitation of poverty and human suffering, throwing them into hard labor, and endangering their health and lives, and this is a violation of their rights and humanity and a violation of the moral values ​​that preserve human dignity.

4.1.4. Health damage

Drug crime is a serious social scourge that negatively affects the health of people and has serious social consequences as a result of drug addiction, such as cocaine and heroin, in addition to the huge financial burdens directed at health care and treatment of addicts.

4.2. Social change and crime in the Algerian society

There is a close relationship between social change and crime, according to Robert Merton, that whenever important changes occur in the structure or objectives, we must expect similar changes in the sectors of society that have been exposed more than others to these pressures, and paradoxes in the rates of deviant behavior (Muhammad Jaber, 2007). Robert Merton, »That criminality and perversion in general result from a lack of correspondence between values ​​and opportunities (Alison & Ruth 2012:40). Algerian society is also exposed to a set of social changes that have contributed to changing many socio-demographic and cultural data and contributed to the emergence of some new phenomena, and among the most important of these variables that affected the general pattern of Algerian society are the following:

• The technological and media development that Algeria has known in all fields as a result of the globalization that has affected the world with its country.

• Economic and developmental transformations in Algeria.

• The cultural invasion and its accompanying negatives on the Algerian family and society.

• The political turmoil and insecurity that Algeria witnessed in the 1990s generated many problems on the social level and contributed to the spread of organized crime on a large scale, including smuggling, terrorism, and theft of property ... etc.

5. Findings and suggestions 

• • Studies that dealt with organized crime have shown that poverty and unemployment are among the main reasons that lead to individuals joining organized crime gangs, so the reasons that lead to joining these gangs should be combated and not relying on old studies and making modern studies, especially in countries that do not suffer from poverty and unemployment.

  • The use of all means that would facilitate access to the heads of these organizations and their arrest, and among these means providing inducements to those who report them, protection for the fugitive members, and reducing or exempting punishment from them in order to obtain information from them.

  • Not to waste time searching for a definition of organized crime or the difference in its characteristics. Rather, direct these efforts towards finding common methods and solutions to address and combat this crime in cooperation with the bodies and organizations in this regard.

  • Concluding more agreements to combat organized crime between countries, in addition to cooperation in the security field in terms of exchanging information and experiences.

Conclusion

For all the aforementioned, we find that the phenomenon of organized crime in Algerian society has complex and many aspects, the details of which can only be understood by delving deeper into the study of Algerian society, in particular crime is characterized by complexity and is present in all aspects of life : social, economic, political, ethical, The complexity of the phenomenon is also due to the complexity of the Algerian society itself and its exposure, like other societies, to changes, and perhaps the most prominent and most important of which is the impact of globalization on areas of life for the Algerian individual, and the development of media and the means of communication, as well as the economic changes and the emergence of privatization and the free market, and all this occurred during the overall pattern of the Algerian society, which led to the emergence of many new criminal phenomena that are strange to the originality of this Arab Muslim society firstly, as well as an increase in crime rates, so they are quantitative and qualitative changes in the phenomenon of crime in the Algerian society, and this is what made controlling it more difficult, but despite this, some of the available solutions remain effective if they are best used, such as the need to reconsider the role and importance of constructional institutions, perhaps the most prominent of which is the family and the school. As well as monitoring the media that carries toxins within its folds.