Archives for organised crime

As the UK establishes its post-Brexit independent sanctions regime, the potential to use sanctions against serious and organised crime has attracted growing attention. To add value, any move in this direction requires a clear strategy as to how sanctions would complement existing law enforcement tools. Recent months have seen the…

Although not new, the creation of illicit economies by organised crime has swiftly become an ever-present phenomenon in the 21st century. Criminal groups have diversified economically into the lucrative business of, for instance, logging in various countries of Latin America, the exploitation and trade in wildlife in countries in Africa, charcoal trade in Somalia, oil theft in Nigeria and…

This report was prepared for discussion at Towards a More Safe and Secure World Master Seminar: A Multi-Regional Project (October 27 – December 9, 2020), sponsored by the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The Covid-19 pandemic is disrupting globalisation and temporarily disorienting the criminal underworld. Following the…

Organised crime groups (OCGs) have evolved and adapted techniques designed to facilitate criminal activities, evade detection and enable criminal enterprise to endure. The National Crime Agency’s (NCA) national strategic assessment of serious and organised crime (SOC) 2020 reports that SOC continues to have more impact on UK citizens than any other national…

In July, news outlets around the world reported that online hackers unsuccessfully attempted to obtain confidential Covid-19 vaccination research from pharmaceutical companies and research centres in the UK. While the true identity of the group behind these cyber-attacks remains unknown, a source from the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) revealed that the group…

The ongoing debate surrounding the impact of Covid-19 on organised crime is incomplete. Whilst discussions have centred on the workings of mafia-type groups and other non-state actors, these are not the only important players in the field of organised crime. In recent decades we have seen many cases of high-ranking politicians and bureaucrats…

We sometimes forget that organised crime is actually ‘us’, and not some vague, mythical, ethnic or national threat from somewhere else. ‘Us’ refers to the general, ‘law-abiding’ public, which is rife with individuals possessing selfish and manipulative tendencies to profit from the pain of others. Recently, there have been multiple analyses showing…

There is no shortage of evidence that ‘organised crime’ has rapidly adapted to Covid-19 conditions. While some journalists have looked at how illicit trade has been affected by the pandemic, think thanks and scholars have investigated new opportunities for organised crime, ranging from cyber-fraud to the changing market for illegal drugs. Others still have focused on changing patterns…

Across the world, organised crime groups have wasted no time in capitalising on new opportunities presented by COVID-19. The intersections between organised crime and the virus are plentiful: while the illegal wildlife trade and deforestation are instrumental to how the crisis began, counterfeiters and drug traffickers have seen their supply…

South Africa and Mexico face similar security challenges, particularly when it comes to criminal violence. Both governments have responded in a similar fashion for years, by employing joint police-military operations. However, in both countries those operations have repeatedly been unable to bring peace and stability in the long-term. They act…