Assignment:
2 part question/200 words each response
PART 1.
1. When you hear the terms "organized crime," what first comes to your mind?
2. Organized crime seems to be a popular topic. Why do you think this is the case?
3. Explain prohibition and how it played a role in organized crime.
4. Identify RICO. How has this been effective in the fight against organized crime?
5. One of the drug control strategies in this unit included legalization. Do you think we should legalize drugs to help eliminate organized crime? Why or why not?
6. What do you think is the future of organized crime?
7. What is the most interesting thing you learned in this class?
PART 2. Respond to this students post. 200 words
I wanted to answer "what is the most interesting thing I learned" as it is important to me. I graduated with a psychology/criminal law undergraduate degree. I thought I learned it all from criminal profiling, terrorism, investigation, and research. However, in just a short six weeks, I learned a lot of new things! The most important chapter was on theoretical approaches to mainstream criminology. It opened up my mind to examine a variety of theories on why people commit a crime. I was firmly entrenched in looking at the neurological aspect while in reality a "good" person can be affected by their environment. I realize that this is an important factor in today's society of media pressure on marketing and advertising. Even television shows. This says volumes about what needs to be done to reduce crime and our thinking as a society.
Another part was, regarding how there is no useful profile on school shooters. We know in general that there are certain characteristics of serial killers, but I thought it was interesting about the Secret Service study. This is a worry for those who have school-aged children. I am sad our society has become so violent and school shootings are becoming a regular part of our life. What does this say about who we are? There needs to be change!