Global progressive policing

SERIES: Spotlight on organised crime

Chris Dalby: ‘Youngsters see the criminal lifestyle on social media as desirable – and no-one’s telling them otherwise’

Spotlight on organised crime
SUBSCRIBE 20th May 2024

Dr Chris Allen, Policing Insight

INTERVIEW: In the latest in a series of interviews with leading figures involved in the research and investigation of organised crime (OC), Policing Insight’s Dr Chris Allen spoke to Chris Dalby, Director of OC publishing platform World of Crime, about why the age of the cartel may be coming to an end, how education could be the biggest weapon in the fight against organised crime, and the fact that many of those involved in organised crime would rather have a house, family and a middle-class lifestyle.

Dr Mariola Marzouk: ‘Money launderers working for organised crime hide in plain sight – only the stupid get caught’

Spotlight on organised crime
SUBSCRIBE 19th February 2024

Dr Chris Allen, Policing Insight

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 Dr Mariola Marzouk, co-founder of trade-based money laundering (TBML) specialists Vortex Risk, about the dangers of failing to understand the practicalities of TBML, going back to the drawing board to tackle money laundering, and why celebrating the successes against ‘stupid’ money launderers is a false reality.

Dr Eleanor Beevor: Supporting those living in biodiversity hotspots can help to tackle environmental crime

Spotlight on organised crime
SUBSCRIBE 8th January 2024

Dr Chris Allen, Policing Insight

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 Dr Eleanor Beevor, Senior Analyst at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime about motorbike trafficking and armed criminals in the Sahel, environmental crime eradication, and how directly supporting people living in crime-affected areas can be transformative.

Ben Burr: ‘The right people having access to the right data at the right time to tackle SOC is essential’

Spotlight on organised crime
SUBSCRIBE 20th November 2023

Dr Chris Allen, Policing Insight

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 Ben Burr, a Borders, Immigration and Intelligence Specialist with Viable Data who has more than 20 years’ experience in the Home Office, about the challenges of ‘burglary tourism’, the need for real-life policing experience in academic research, and why a global database of wanted, suspected and missing person biometrics could be game changing.

Dr Tetiana Melnychuk: ‘Preparations for the restoration of law and order after the war in Ukraine need to be made now’

Spotlight on organised crime
SUBSCRIBE 6th November 2023

Dr Chris Allen, Policing Insight

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 Dr Tetiana Melnychuk, Associate Professor at Ukraine’s National University Odesa Law Academy and visiting researcher at the Center for European and International Criminal Law Studies at the University of Osnabrück, about the ‘blurred edges’ of organised crime, preventing criminals infiltrating government and legal agencies, and the need to prepare for the restoration of law and order after the war in Ukraine.

The image depicts a police scene with several brown packages on a green surface, each marked by yellow numbered signs, indicating evidence from a drug-related investigation.

Matt Lockyer: ‘Information from Operation Venetic shows how OCGs adapted to Covid and continued to grow’

Spotlight on organised crime
SUBSCRIBE 23rd October 2023

Dr Chris Allen, Policing Insight

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 drug expert witness and consultant Matt Lockyer about the valuable lessons from working with former drug users, the significant impact of Operation Venetic, and the importance of independent assessment of evidence in drug-related court cases.

Bill Wood: ‘Why are governments prepared to ignore or even support organised crime groups and criminals?’

Spotlight on organised crime
SUBSCRIBE 9th October 2023

Dr Chris Allen, Policing Insight

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 Bill Wood, former Head of the UNODC Programme Office in North Macedonia and previously National Crime Agency Liaison Officer based in Belgrade, about international collaborative approaches to tackling drugs, the crime dangers of ‘post-conflict’ fallout in Ukraine and Russia, and the frustration of governments’ corruption and support of organised crime.

Matt Horne: ‘Focusing greater effort on the enablers of organised crime is a critical strategy’

Spotlight on organised crime
SUBSCRIBE 18th September 2023

Dr Chris Allen, Policing Insight

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 Matt Horne, Former Deputy Director of the National Crime Agency (NCA) and now Head of Policing and Government at Clue Software, about why organised crime is like a virus, the importance of legislation to tackle economic crime, and why focusing greater effort on the enablers of organised crime is a key strategy.

Valentin Pereda: ‘Stripping illegal firearms from criminals would throw a wrench in their machinery of violence’

Spotlight on organised crime
SUBSCRIBE 4th September 2023

Dr Chris Allen, Policing Insight

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 Valentin Pereda, Assistant Professor in the School of Criminology at the University of Montreal, about the need to tackle the flow of illegal firearms, the importance of conversations between academia and law enforcement, and the impact of organised crime in his home country of Mexico.

Prof Felia Allum: ‘I thought Italian organised crime was bad, but county lines has really opened my eyes’

Spotlight on organised crime
SUBSCRIBE 21st August 2023

Dr Chris Allen, Policing Insight

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.

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Gerald Doyle: ‘Organised crime will never be eradicated or stopped – at best it can be minimised or frustrated’

Spotlight on organised crime
SUBSCRIBE 7th August 2023

Dr Chris Allen, Policing Insight

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 fraud and financial crime consultant Gerald Doyle about researching the true scale of waste crime, the changing focus of organised crime from drugs to finance, and why asset recovery may be the best way to target organised crime’s ever-evolving business model.

Walter Kemp and image of smuggled arms and drugs

Walter Kemp: ‘None of this is inevitable – we stand at a crossroads, but the time to act is now’

Spotlight on organised crime
SUBSCRIBE 24th July 2023

Dr Chris Allen, Policing Insight

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 Walter Kemp, Senior Fellow at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime (GI-TOC), about the illicit economies that profit from war and instability, the creation of a global strategy to fight organised crime, and why concerted global action is needed now.

David Graves: ‘Organised crime is a virus that will continue to mutate to suit its surroundings’

Spotlight on organised crime
SUBSCRIBE 10th July 2023

Dr Chris Allen, Policing Insight

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 David Graves, Managing Director of DG Anti-Fraud Consultants, about the role private investigators can play in targeting crime, the need for policing to go ‘back to basics’, and why organised crime can be viewed as a virus.

Martin Gallagher

Martin Gallagher: ‘The illicit funds being gathered through drugs at present are fuelling corruption’

Spotlight on organised crime
SUBSCRIBE 26th June 2023

Dr Chris Allen, Policing Insight

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 former Police Scotland Superintendent Martin Gallagher, now a policing consultant and Associate of the London Policing College, about Baroness Casey’s review, taking drug profits away from organised crime, and the importance of eradicating corruption.

Neil Woods: ‘Prescribing heroin is the single biggest blow you can cause to organised crime’

Spotlight on organised crime
SUBSCRIBE 12th June 2023

Dr Chris Allen, Policing Insight

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 former police officer Neil Woods, now Chairman of Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP) UK, about legalising cannabis, how prescribing heroin can benefit society while landing a blow against organised crime, and the huge impact that the drugs market has on the climate crisis.

Damien Barrow: ‘Data isn’t cheap, budgets are tight, so how do we balance that with frontline policing demands?’

Spotlight on organised crime
SUBSCRIBE 22nd May 2023

Dr Chris Allen, Policing Insight

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 former police officer Damian Barrow, now Programme Delivery Manager at data aggregation and automation specialists Synalogik, about the 4Ps approach, the prospect of AI revolutionising organised crime, and the need for greater accessibility to a wider range of datasets.

Alan Edwards: ‘Intelligence isn’t shared because of the suspect’s rights, but what about the rights of victims?’

Spotlight on organised crime
SUBSCRIBE 24th April 2023

Dr Chris Allen, Policing Insight

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 Alan Edwards, a former Royal Military Police officer and detective chief inspector who now works as a civilian expert specialising in serious organised crime, about the growing pressures of investigating online crime, the potential of the ChildLight initiative, and why law enforcement in the West could and should be doing much more to tackle Africa’s barbaric people traffickers.

Michael O’Connell: ‘Much like football hooligans, SOC offenders should have travel banning orders’

Spotlight on organised crime
SUBSCRIBE 3rd April 2023

Dr Chris Allen, Policing Insight

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 former police officer and Interpol Director Michael O’Connell, now Managing Director of Critical Insights Consultancy, about biometric-based travel bans to stop criminals at national borders, the importance of following financial trails, and why the UK’s Baroness Casey Review has implications for all policing agencies.

Prof Mike Levi: ‘Organised crime won’t be eradicated because it is a highly flexible construct’

Spotlight on organised crime
SUBSCRIBE 20th March 2023

Dr Chris Allen, Policing Insight

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 Cardiff University Professor of Criminology Mike Levi about a public health approach to combating fraud, the importance of understanding why particular approaches work in specific environments, and the role of mystery shoppers in fighting organised crime.

Mark Nuttall: ‘Once they’ve risen up the ranks, those involved in organised crime act like businessmen’

Spotlight on organised crime
SUBSCRIBE 20th February 2023

Dr Chris Allen, Policing Insight

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 Mark Nuttall, Director of Risk Solutions at Thomson Reuters, about his early investigations into crystal meth and GHB dealing, the geopolitical challenges of tackling organised crime, and how successful criminals increasingly act and operate like business CEOs.

Sheelagh Brady: ‘We need to understand how people get involved in crime – not enough attention is given to that voice’

Spotlight on organised crime
SUBSCRIBE 6th February 2023

Dr Chris Allen, Policing Insight

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 Sheelagh Brady, Co-founder and Chief Security Analyst at SAR Consultancy, about hooliganism in the West Balkans, working for the UN in Nigeria, and the need to understand the motivation of organised criminals.

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