Italy

FEATURE: Against the backdrop of the recent foiled terror plot to attack the Taylor Swift concert in Vienna, Policing Insight’s Andy Staniforth looks at the latest EU counter-terrorism project designed to strengthen the protection of public spaces from attacks and major violent incidents, and mitigate their impact.

REPORT LAUNCH: Policing Insight launches a new thematic report – Facing the future: the rise of facial recognition in policing. The report aims to be a one-stop shop for everything you need to know about facial recognition; with contributions from 34 expert stakeholders from around the world, we explain the technology and highlight the big debates around its use.

FEATURE: Environmental crimes such as large-scale dumping, illegal waste sites, and illegal export of waste have become one of the fastest growth areas for organised crime groups; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth explores the scale of the problem, and efforts by countries across Europe to tackle the threat using the latest technologies including artificial intelligence.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: When Italy's Carabinieri needed to modernise and upgrade 114 major control rooms and 400 smaller control rooms across the country, NICE Inform was the only solution they and their project partners Recording Enterprise Solutions could trust with a project of this scale and complexity.

FEATURE: As the UK’s Covid-19 public inquiry continues to hear testimony from politicians, police chiefs and many others involved in the response to the pandemic, lessons around the importance of disaster planning and preparation are already emerging; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the work of the EU-funded CORE project, which is studying the impact of and response to several major international disasters to highlight the key learning points.

INTERVIEW: In the latest in a series of interviews with leading figures involved in the research and investigation of organised crime, Policing Insight’s Dr Chris Allen spoke to University of Bath Professor Felia Allum, Chair of the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) Standing Group on Organised Crime, about talking to the mafia, the role of women in crime, and why the best way to tackle organised crime is by addressing poverty and lack of opportunity.

FEATURE: With environmental crime highlighted as a key organised crime threat in Europol’s Serious Organised Crime Threat Report (SOCTA), the new EU PERIVALLON project will use AI-based tools to tackle the crime; but as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports, any law enforcement use of such technology will need to abide by the risk criteria set out in the proposed European Artificial Intelligence Act – the first law of its kind by a major regulator.

ANALYSIS: Predictive hotspot policing has been heralded by some as the way to do more with less and secure better outcomes, but others have questioned its effectiveness and the dangers of reinforcing bias; Criminology Lecturer Dr Daniel Marciniak, a key speaker at the recent Policing in the Age of the Machine conference, looks at the learning from existing research into predictive policing, and where the approach goes from here.

OPINION: The recent arrest of leading Cosa Nostra figure Matteo Messina Denaro, and the significant fall in organised crime killings, could suggest that the Italian mafia is on the retreat; but University of Milan Assistant Professor Gianmarco Daniele believes that the continuing threats to local politicians, and the growing scale, number and geographical distribution of asset seizures, indicate that the mafia is simply changing the way it works.

FEATURE: Environmental crime – which in some cases exploits the impact of climate change – is increasingly recognised as one of the key threats posed by organised crime groups; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports on a new EU collaborative project which will use the latest technology to target illicit activities such as intentional dumping, waste trafficking, and the illegal trade in environmentally damaging substances.

FEATURE: The EU’s European Cybersecurity Month is now underway, with awareness-raising events and learning opportunities scheduled throughout October; in the latest in a series of articles, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the work of the new NAViGATORs initiative, a multi-agency collaboration across a consortium of EU member states to support and enhance law enforcement’s digital forensic investigations capability.

ANALYSIS: The surge in terrorist content online has presented law enforcement agencies and tech companies with significant challenges in tackling dangerous extremists; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at European efforts to target such activities and online material, including new draft legislation governing how the EU can work with third countries to exchange data.

ANALYSIS: Europol’s latest EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report (TE-SAT) found that while terrorist activity in Europe remained stable in 2020, more jihadist attacks were completed than stopped, as policing across the continent struggled to cope with the pandemic; Policing Insight’s Sean Howe looks at some of the key issues highlighted by the report, including the increase in radicalisation during COVID-19, and the growth of online extremist propaganda.

ANALYSIS: While mafia myths of traditional, family-based organised crime networks expanding internationally still loom large in the media, new research suggests the European reality is one of co-operation between different groups, rather than exporting the Italian crime structure abroad; Dr Anna Sergi of the University of Essex outlines the key findings of the Countering regional Italian Mafia expansion (CRIME) project.

FEATURE: As religious worshippers around the world celebrate Easter – one of the main events in the Christian calendar – Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports on latest efforts by law enforcement agencies across Europe to protect places of worship from terrorist attack and hate crimes.

INTERVIEW: As the impact of COVID-19 continues to create an environment where organised human trafficking thrives, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth talks to Sophie Kenneally of Agenfor International about the threat from the trade in people across Europe, and how a unique project with police in Germany, Italy and Spain will enhance the capacity of investigators to disrupt trafficking networks through financial analysis.

OPINION: Dr Felia Allum argues that perhaps a new approach is needed to fight organised crime – one that is less centred around the moment a crime is committed, and takes a wider view of the membership and organisational structures of the groups behind those crimes. Are there lessons to learn from how Italy tackles the mafia?