Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) - AUS

OPINION: With the terrorist threat level in Australia sitting at ‘probable’, former Australian Secretary of Home Affairs Michael Pezzullo warns that the current confusion over responsibility for counter-terrorism in the country is weakening security – particularly in relation to the anti-Semitic terror threat – and sets out 10 steps the government needs to take to address the problem.

OPINION: The recent review of the Australian Central Intelligence Commission has led to a change of role for the agency, with a focus on intelligence aimed at combating serious and organised crime, rather than traditional law enforcement and investigation; but Dr John Coyne and Liam Auliciems of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) warn that for the reorientation to succeed, challenges around operational responsibilities, resources, and ensuring intelligence is actionable will need to be addressed.

ANALYSIS: Research by criminal intelligence specialist Helen Glazebrook as part of a Churchill Fellowship award examines the collaboration between police and correctional facilities in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the US and the UK, highlighting the need for closer co-operation between agencies particularly in relation to monitoring the actions of those involved in serious organised crime, as she explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

OPINION: Alongside the estimated $60 billion costs to Australia and Australians of transnational serious and organised crime (TSOC), there are significant impacts on individuals and communities, political stability, and the environment; Dr John Coyne, head of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s Northern Australia Strategic Policy Centre, believes the time is right for a TSOC white paper to address this multidisciplinary, complex challenge.

Analysis: The latest National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program report from the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission suggested a 17% increase in drug consumption over the previous 12 months; the Australian Strategic Policy Institutes John Coyne believes that more attention should be paid to these sophisticated analyses, and that the findings highlight the need for a new approach to drug policies that should incorporate wider harm reduction and prevention strategies.

FEATURE: A new money-laundering taskforce led by the Australian Federal Police and including the Australian Border Force and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission will target the tens of million dollars believed to be laundered in the country every day that is the ‘lifeblood’ of Australia’s organised crime gangs, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

ANALYSIS: Australia’s National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program offers a unique insight into drug use across the country; Dr John Coyne, head of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s Northern Australia Strategic Policy Centre, believes results from the program in the wake of one of the country’s biggest enforcement operations highlight the difficulties of trying to measure the success of drug strategies in terms of seizures and arrests.

OPINION: Despite the successful efforts of Australian law enforcement to seize drugs and target suppliers, the country’s latest National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program confirms that the use of ‘ice’ in particular has continued to rise significantly; Dr John Coyne of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute argues that data from the program should be used to guide strategy that focuses on cutting consumption and making communities safer.

ANALYSIS: Last month the Australian Border Force and Australian Federal Police seized 450kgs of heroin from a shipping container in Melbourne; but the huge seizure should be seen as a sign that the approach focused on policing and criminal justice is not working, as well as an indication of the scale of the challenge facing the country’s fight against narcotics, explains Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) analyst Dr Teagan Westendorf.

ANALYSIS: Despite frequent large seizures and law enforcement agency successes, the supply of illicit drugs into Australia continues to grow; In their latest report, Dr John Coyne and Dr Teagan Westendorf of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute examine the expanding nature of the country’s international narcotics supply chain, and what steps can be taken to disrupt it.