Move Organization

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There are many sociological factors that affect the law and how justice agencies carry out the law. Donald Black explains how organizational structures can be crucial when it comes to responding to crime or difference between two parties. More specifically in the case of the MOVE organization, the police had to respond to John Africa and his group with a larger organization to attempt to uphold the law. If the law is better moving downhill, as stated in Blacks perspective, then the justice agencies within Philadelphia were forced to respond with a higher level of organization than that of MOVE. In 1985 the Philadelphia Police Department were battling back and forth with the Move Organization. Most people had no idea what the Move Organization…show more content…
But, what they did know was the Move was against the police and law. The leader of the Move Organization John Africa stated, “When you officials demand people are to follow your procedures to defend themselves, you are demanding that people give up their own procedure. MOVE's against the system. We've made it clear that we're against the system. We ain't benefiting nothing when we do things as the system instead of as MOVE.” (Africa, R.) The Move Organization was about not listening to the law and they wanted nothing to do with the police at all. The ongoing battle with the Move Organization finally came to an end on May 13, 1985. When the Philadelphia Police Department used over 10,000 rounds of ammo and dropped a bomb containing C4 on the Move house on Osage Avenue. (Osder, 2013). The police did not care what it took to get the Move Organization to surrender just as long as they did. The main purpose was “to knock out the bunker late in the day, police improvised on the spot. Using a state police helicopter, they dropped a satchel filled with four pounds of the military explosive C-4 and the commercial explosive Tovex onto the building's roof. Though the bomb failed to destroy the bunker, it…show more content…
The offenders in the situation would be the Move Organizational because they were acting out against the Police, who would be the victims, along with the citizens of Philadelphia. Because of Move acting out against the Police the organizational direction and distance of the crime would be move serious for Move. The City of Philadelphia and the Police are a big organization with a great amount of very wealthy people at the top of the premade but the Move Organization is made up of middle to lower class people and their founder John Africa was a handy man with little to none education. The amount of law towards the larger organization, which would be the city, would be uphill and it would be more law. Now when the Police were fighting back against Move, the Philadelphia Police Department’s organizational direction and distance of crime was not very serious and they received less law because they were fighting back against an organization that had no meaning and could eventually cause harm to the citizens of Philadelphia too. The police acted just how Black’s model predicted. If Move used force, the police would use it back to a greater extent and would not see any consequence because they were fighting back on a lower standing organization and fighting for the citizens of Philadelphia. For example when the police bombed the house on Osage Avenue, it turned into a huge fire

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