Organised crime

ANALYSIS: In the fourth of a month-long series of articles celebrating International Women’s Day, the Open University’s Dr Shona Morrison, and Daryl Baguley of the Diane Modahl Sporting Foundation, highlight a lesser-known form of violence against young women and girls – exploitation of vulnerable girls in the context of drug dealing and organised crime groups, known in the UK as ‘County Lines’ drug dealing.

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.

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.

ANALYSIS: The recent shooting of PSNI DCI John Caldwell has once again turned the spotlight on terrorism in Northern Ireland, but former Police Scotland Superintendent and terrorism expert Martin Gallagher believes many of the supposed ‘freedom fighters’ in the Troubles and other terrorist campaigns were more interested in reputation and criminal gain than any cause, and are turning to organised crime to maintain their relevance and power.

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 Adrian James, Reader in Police Studies at Liverpool John Moores University, about the negligible impact of the National Intelligence Model, the myth of the criminals’ code of silence, and policing’s inability to reduce the supply of drugs.

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.

ANALYSIS: While the vast majority of members of diaspora communities emigrate to start a better life or flee a traumatic existence, for some the intersection between criminality and terrorism in their country of origin can re-emerge and have serious implications for life in their new home nations – and the law enforcement agencies that police them – as former Police Scotland Superintendent Martin Gallagher explains.

OPINION: The launch of the Financial Action Task Force in 1989 marked the start of the global war on dirty money, but victories seem to have been few and far between; financial crime experts Dr Nicholas Gilmour and Tristram Hicks (both former police officers) challenge the nature of this global approach, and highlight steps that could see criminal assets used to tackle some of the world’s greatest social problems.

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.

ANALYSIS: From their earliest implementation by the US in the 1990s to tackle Colombian drug cartels, the potential use of sanctions to target organised crime is attracting growing attention beyond the States; Policing Insight contributor Cathy Haenlein explores some of the key issues highlighted by recent research to assess the wider practical application of the approach.

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.

ANALYSIS: A new joint report from Europol and the American Drug Enforcement Administration explores the involvement of Mexican cartels in the European drug trade; Policing Insight’s Chris Allen looks at the roles taken on by cartel members, the particular drug markets they are working in, and what this may mean for future drug trends across Europe.

FEATURE: From criminal networks creating their own welfare systems, to new financial scams, corruption, and transnational counterfeiting of PPE on a huge scale, Covid led to new opportunities and ways of working for organised crime (OC); Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons looks at some of the criminal tools and techniques adopted by OC in response to the pandemic, highlighted during the 24-hour Conference on Global Organised Crime.

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 organised crime consultant Tony Lock about the IT-induced reconfiguration of organised crime, the need to tackle organised crime at source, and the role of the ‘grey enablers and kleptocrats’.

INTERVIEW: Policing Insight’s Chris Allen regularly speaks to leading figures involved in the research and investigation of organised crime, as part of our ‘Spotlight on Organised Crime’ series; this week the spotlight turns on Chris, who answers the same questions he poses to others, this time in his role as Senior Police Practice Tutor at Bucks New University and Director of Criminis Training and Consultancy Services.

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 organised crime consultant Sasha Jesperson about researching criminal networks in the ‘Eastern Neighbourhoods’, the inevitability of organised crime, and the importance of closer co-operation between government and law enforcement on strategic approaches.

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 Nicholas Gilmour, Financial Crime Advisor, about the changing nature of organised crime, the fact that it is a fluid, global organised phenomenon that is neither static nor predictable, and how the growth of organised crime is out of control.

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.

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 Christopher Dowling, Research Manager at the Australian Institute of Criminology, about measures to block organised crime offenders from the legitimate economy, holistic efforts to tackle organised crime, and the latest research on tackling outlaw motorcycle gangs.

ANALYSIS: The issue of environmental crime is complex and frequently misunderstood by wider society, with wildlife trafficking often the focus of attention, at the expense of activities such as the illegal exploitation of minerals and other natural resources; Policing Insight’s Chris Allen looks at the latest report from the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime on the impacts of environmental crime today, and what we may face in the future.

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 Cathy Haenlein, Director of Organised Crime and Policing at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), about the work of RUSI’s Strategic Hub for Organised Crime Research (SHOC), the effectiveness of financial sanctions on organised crime, and how growing scarcity could be a critical factor in organised crime of the future.

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 Yuliya Zabelina, Associate Professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, about growing up in a culture influenced by organised crime, the infiltration by organised crime groups (OCGs) of legal enterprises, and the need for political will for any counter-measures to be effective.

ANALYSIS: In the latest in a series of articles examining the intricacies of the cocaine industry, Policing Insight’s Chris Allen takes a look at how the influx of billions of pounds in drug money is impacting the economy of Western African nations that are increasingly acting as transit countries.

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 Roy McComb, organised crime consultant and former Deputy Director of the UK National Crime Agency, about the switch from terrorism to organised crime in Northern Ireland, the success of Project Aidant, and organised crime’s evolution in the cyber world.