ANALYSIS: As an Irish organised crime group worth more than a billion dollars has made headlines after the US Government offered a $5 million reward for their capture, Policing Insight’s Chris Allen takes a look at how we can tackle the biggest and most sophisticated criminal entities.

INTERVIEW: In the latest in a series of interviews with leading figures involved in the research and investigation of organised crime, Policing Insight’s Chris Allen spoke to financial crime consultant Richard Gould about enabling financial investigators to “cause mayhem in the criminal community”, the ongoing challenge of trade-based money laundering, and why the decision to discontinue some the UK’s international law enforcement projects was so misguided.

ANALYSIS: Acknowledged as a potentially influential document in shaping UK law enforcement for the future, the Police Foundation’s recently published final report on the Strategic Review of Policing also recommended major changes in tackling organised crime (OC) going forwards; Policing Insight’s Chris Allen considers some of the report’s key points on OC.

INTERVIEW: In the latest in a series of interviews with leading figures involved in the research and investigation of organised crime, Policing Insight’s Chris Allen spoke to criminologist and author Professor Dick Hobbs about the impossibility of eradicating organised crime, the importance of localised knowledge in understanding criminal activity, and whether the term ‘organised crime’ really has any value.

ANALYSIS: Despite travel restrictions imposed during Covid – and with the war in Ukraine now sparking a refugee exodus – criminal networks smuggling people into Europe increased their activity in 2021 after several years of declining figures, according to the latest Europol Migrant Smuggling Centre Report; Policing Insight’s Chris Allen looks at the report and highlights its key findings.

INTERVIEW: In the latest in a series of interviews with leading figures involved in the research and investigation of organised crime, Policing Insight’s Chris Allen spoke to Steve Hone, former National Crime Agency (NCA) Regional Manager for North America, Canada and the Caribbean and now an independent serious and organised crime consultant, about Afghanistan, targeting crack, and the importance of covert human intelligence sources.

FEATURE: An independent report into the UK’s efforts to target illicit profits from the illegal wildlife trade has called for a more nuanced, consistent and multi-level analytical approach to counter the laundering of illicit proceeds, as Policing Insight’s Chris Allen reports.

INTERVIEW: In the latest in a series of interviews with leading figures involved in the research and investigation of organised crime, Policing Insight’s Chris Allen spoke to Sir Jon Murphy, Professor of Advanced Policing Studies at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) and former Chief Constable of Merseyside Police about the untapped academic resource in fighting organised crime, targeting criminal communications, and the challenges of technological change.

ANALYSIS: As well as changing society, the Covid pandemic has changed crime, as the disarray caused by rapidly introduced polices at national and international levels has presented all sorts of opportunities for criminals; Policing Insight’s Chris Allen examines one particular growth area of illicit activity – the sale of counterfeit COVID-19 passports.

INTERVIEW: In the latest in a series of interviews with leading figures involved in the research and investigation of organised crime, Policing Insight’s Chris Allen spoke to Ian Broughton, a former detective sergeant and specialist drug advisor with London’s Metropolitan Police and now a drugs expert witness and trainer, about targeting drug gangs, deterring criminals, and the challenges police face with encryption.

ANALYSIS: For millions of people across the globe, sport is life – and for many others corruption is also part and parcel of the daily routine; Policing Insight’s Chris Allen looks at the intersection between the two, and examines new research that shows how organised criminals have infiltrated sport at every level.

INTERVIEW: In the latest in a series of interviews with leading figures involved in the research and investigation of organised crime, Policing Insight’s Chris Allen spoke to Ian Davidson, a former detective superintendent with Derbyshire Police and now an independent researcher, about the importance of experience and understanding, the need for resources to back up strategies, and what we really know – or think we know – about organised crime.

ANALYSIS: New research has highlighted the increasing use of non-traditional ports for trafficking cocaine, as organised crime groups try to keep pace with growing demand for the drug; Policing Insight’s Chris Allen takes a closer look at the research, and considers what the findings mean for law enforcement agencies involved in targeting the narcotics market.

INTERVIEW: In the latest in a series of interviews with leading figures involved in the research and investigation of organised crime, Policing Insight’s Chris Allen spoke to Colin Stott, former detective chief superintendent and national lead for Regional Organised Crime Units, on funding education and diversion in the fight against organised crime, the importance of targeting criminal gains, and the need for international operational support.

ANALYSIS: The high-profile media investigations into the Panama Papers, Pandora Papers and others brought the issues of illegal financial activity and money laundering to a wider global audience; now a new Europol report has offered a law enforcement perspective on the use of international finance systems for criminal gain, and Policing Insight’s Chris Allen reports.

INTERVIEW: In the latest in a series of interviews with leading figures involved in the research and investigation of organised crime, Policing Insight’s Chris Allen spoke to Dr Simon Sneddon, Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Northampton, about firearms research, the links between organised crime and environmental injustice, and the potential growth of the synthetic narcotics trade.

FEATURE: The latest Africa Organised Crime Index published by the EU-funded ENACT organisation reveals that criminal groups across the continent adapted quickly to the COVID-19 pandemic, while the illicit activities of state actors and the growth in trafficking of both people and cocaine represent major challenges, as Policing Insight’s Chris Allen reports.

INTERVIEW: In the latest in a series of interviews with leading figures involved in the research and investigation of organised crime, Policing Insight’s Chris Allen spoke to Dr Amber Phillips, Senior Lecturer in Criminology at the University of the West of England (UWE) in Bristol, about the mafia, asset confiscation, and the importance of grassroots initiatives when tackling organised crime.

FEATURE: This month a trial began in Belgium of 23 people accused of involvement in the human smuggling ring that led to the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants in a lorry in the UK in 2019; with such high-profile cases making modern slavery an ever-more visible crime – and the subject of significant government funding – Policing Insight’s Chris Allen takes a closer look at how law enforcement is tackling the issue.

INTERVIEW: In the latest in a series of interviews with leading figures involved in the research and investigation of organised crime, Policing Insight’s Chris Allen spoke to Josh Torrance, Lecturer and PhD Researcher at the University of Bristol, about heroin-assisted treatment, NCA technology, and £50bn of missing cash.

FEATURE: The world of organised crime assassinations is – by its very nature – a clandestine one, shrouded in secrecy and extreme violence, but a new report on the issue could help to improve understanding of the scale of the problem, as well as identifying steps for law enforcement to tackle those killers for hire, as Policing Insight’s Chris Allen reports.

INTERVIEW: In the latest in a series of interviews with leading figures involved in the research and investigation of organised crime, Policing Insight’s Chris Allen spoke to Dr Ian Stanier, Visiting Lecturer at Buckingham University’s Centre for Security and Intelligence, about the importance of CHIS and HUMINT, expanding the capability and capacity of UK covert investigations, and the FIREPLACES informant motivation model.

ANALYSIS: The latest in a series of reports on cocaine by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has highlighted the various methods of drug production, and how a greater knowledge of the chemical processes required to manufacture street-level cocaine and its derivatives could help governments and law enforcement to tackle the global trade, as Policing Insight’s Chris Allen reports.

INTERVIEW: In the latest in a series of interviews with leading figures involved in the research and investigation of organised crime, Policing Insight’s Chris Allen spoke to Dr Jack Spicer, a Criminology Lecturer at the University of the West of England, about county lines, cuckooing, and the importance of police and academics having “the difficult conversations at the start of a project”.