universiteitstraat 4, b-9000 ghent, belgium [email protected] t +32 (0)9 264 69 39, f +32...

www.ircp.org Universiteitstraat 4, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium [email protected] T +32 (0)9 264 69 39, F +32 (0)9 264 84 93

Prof. Dr. T. Vander Beken – Designing Crime Out – ISMA- Brussels, 29 June 2004

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Designing Crime Out

Prof. Dr. Tom Vander Beken

International Security Management Association (ISMA)2004 Summer Meeting

“Europe and Beyond – Dynamics of Crime”Brussels, 29 June 2004



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Overview

1. The cat and the kitchen

2. (Organised) crime fighters rhetorics

3. Measuring and approaching crime differently

4. Opportunities and challenges for the business community

5. Conclusions



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1. The cat and the kitchen

Dramatis personae:

POEKIE, the catMARTHA, the motherTOM, the boySCENE, the kitchen



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2. (Organised) crime fighters rhetorics

“Organised crime is growing.”“Organised crime is seriously affecting economy

“We have arrested the prime suspect.”“Thousands of counterfeited goods have been confiscated.”“We have frozen the assets of the organisation



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3. Measuring and approaching crime differently

A. Knowing and understanding the threat of (organised) crime

B. Action beyond traditional (preventive) strategies



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A. Knowing and understanding the threat of organised crime (1)

Traditional reports on (organised) crime do not provide the information needed

› No indication of risk/threat

› Not future oriented

› Mainly reporting on law enforcement activity

Organised Crime Situation Reports are to be converted into real threat assessments

Introduction of risk assessment methodologies in oc-reports



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A. Knowing and understanding the threat of organised crime (2)

Framework method for Europe(IRCP-study and EU crimorg 133):

0. ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN1. GROUPS2. COUNTER STRATEGIES3. LICIT MARKETS4. ILLICIT MARKERS



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B. Action beyond traditional (preventive) strategies

a. Prevention of (organised) crime

b. Crime proofing

c. Vulnerability studies



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a. Prevention of (organised) crime

Organised crime cannot be tackled by repressive action alone

Preventive strategies should focus on the “task environment” and opportunities for organised crime

Society (inadvertently) offers opportunities economic activity: products, services,…

decision making: rules, legislation



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b. Crime proofing

Crime proofingReducing the opportunities for crime which may be inadvertently created by legislation, products and processes

(Legislative) crime proofing“Testing legislative proposals as regards the crime opportunities they might create.” (Commission 2000 and 2002)“The scanning of loopholes and crime facilitating opportunities …. applied to the legislation making process” (Commission and Europol 2001)

Product (crime) proofingNo EU-definition (“so-called product proofing”) (report on implementation millenniumstrategy, 2003)“Method to scan the probability that a crime occurs due to the nature of the product” (own tentative definition)



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c. Vulnerability studiesMAVUS project (Method for and assessment of the vulnerability of

sectors)

Vulnerability studies point out where a sector might be vulnerable for (organised) crime (risk)

Vulnerability assessment based on information about a sector, applied on vulnerability indicators: Sector analysis (description), Environmental scan and cluster analysis, (description), Reference model analysis (description), Width scan (analysis), Depht scan (analysis), Conclusions

Width scan vulnerability indicators refer to nature of the product, threshold, alternative markets, international context

Depth scan vulnerability indicators refer to viability (costs, solvency, …) , corporate culture (business process level).

Link with organised crime report method and crime proofing



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4. Opportunities and challenges for the business community

(Organised) crime is not only the government’s business

Economy suffers from (organised) crime, but provides the environment for it as well

Analysis of sector vulnerabilities will prevent (organised) crime

Courage to look at own vulnerabilities (do we want to know?)

Private-public partnership



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5. Conclusions

Existing knowledge and approaches towards (organised) crime need to be refined

More attention for prevention by having a closer look at the opportunities (inadvertently) created for organised crime by the legal environment

Knowledge of economic activity, crime situations, crime opportunities

Action taken by policy makers, private sector representatives, law enforcement, academics

universiteitstraat 4, b-9000 ghent, belgium [email protected] t +32 (0)9 264 69 39, f +32...

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