Crossword Genius

Organised group that chases criminals off (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

rancid

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'off' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'organised group that chases criminals' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'organised' could be 'ran' (run can mean to manage or organise) and 'ran' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'cid' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for rancid that I've seen before include "Smelling or tasting of stale fat" , "Smelly and going bad" , "Sour like stale grease 96)" , "Putrid" , "Rank-smelling." .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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