Global Organized Crime Index 2023 🌍

Name: Global Organized Crime Index 2023 🌍
Uploaded: 2023-09-26T13:00:08.000Z
Duration: 1 h 52 min 41 s

2023 Global Organized Crime Index Launch

Introduction to the 2023 Global Organized Crime Index

Finley Wen introduces the launch event for the 2023 Global Organized Crime Index, highlighting its purpose to measure criminality and resilience globally.

The first iteration of the index was launched in 2021, providing insights into organized crime across various countries.

Insights from Mark Shaw

Mark Shaw, director of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, discusses the significance of the index as a tool for assessing organized crime levels and resilience in different nations.

The initial edition aimed to spark debate and generate innovative solutions regarding organized crime strategies. Positive feedback led to an improved second edition in 2023.

Contextual Background

The 2023 index reflects on challenges faced by countries post-COVID-19 pandemic amidst political tensions, environmental crises, and economic stresses that have allowed organized crime to thrive.

Adaptation of organized crime groups is noted; they have seized new opportunities during these challenging times, necessitating a comparative analysis of illicit economies over two years.

Purpose and Utility of the Index

The index aims to provide evidence-based insights into global illicit economies while encouraging stakeholders to utilize it for policy change rather than offering direct remedies.

Acknowledgment is given to civil society experts who contributed significantly to this research tool aimed at driving policy changes against organized crime.

Remarks from U.S. Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs

A representative from INL emphasizes their support for developing the index since 2019 as a crucial resource for combating organized crime effectively worldwide.

The importance of informed strategies based on data analysis is highlighted as essential for addressing evolving trends in organized crime and reducing its global impact.

Challenges Posed by Organized Crime

Organized crime undermines border security, damages communities, disrupts governance, and affects livelihoods globally; thus requiring coordinated international responses based on expert-driven solutions.

Global Organized Crime Index 2023 Overview

Introduction to the Global Criminality and Resilience Scores

The 2021 index reported a global criminality score of 4.87 and a resilience score of 4.82, providing baselines for future comparisons.

Civil Society organizations, like Gtalk, play a crucial role in introducing new perspectives and tools to combat organized crime globally.

The U.S. emphasizes collaboration with civil society to address transnational organized crime and enhance public safety.

Current Global Challenges

The 2023 index indicates that organized crime is increasing worldwide amid ongoing issues such as COVID-19 impacts, climate change, inequality, and political tensions.

Significant events in 2022 include Russia's invasion of Ukraine, record deforestation in the Amazon, and political turmoil in various countries.

Key Events Impacting Organized Crime

Notable incidents include the withdrawal of French troops from Mali and the rise of the Wagner Group's influence in Africa.

Climate disasters are highlighted by Pakistan experiencing severe flooding affecting one-third of its territory.

Political unrest is evident with protests following the death of Mahsa Amini in Iran due to strict enforcement of hijab rules.

Presentation of the 2023 Global Organized Crime Index

Laura Dahl introduces herself as part of the core index team alongside analyst Rumbi Matamba to present findings on organized crime dynamics over two years.

Understanding the Index Structure

The index evaluates 193 U.N. member states, assigning scores based on criminality (scope/scale of markets & actor influence) and resilience (effectiveness of combating mechanisms).

Updates to Criminality Indicators

New indicators added for financial crimes, cyber-dependent crimes, illicit trade goods, counterfeit goods, extortion, and protection racketeering broadened assessment criteria.

Resilience Score Evaluation

While resilience indicators remain unchanged from previous editions, they now assess responses to newly identified criminal markets integrated into country assessments.

Addressing Challenges in Scoring

Challenges arose from cross-cutting nature among new criminal markets; specific offenses were categorized clearly to avoid double counting during evaluations.

Conclusion: Importance of Collaboration

2023 Global Organized Crime Index Insights

Understanding Scoring Thresholds

The scoring thresholds for criminality and resilience are reversed; a score of one indicates the absence of a criminal market, while for resilience, it signifies a lack of protective measures.

Expert Assessment Overview

The 2023 index involved over 6,100 indicators assessed by more than 400 global experts, emphasizing the collaborative effort to create a comprehensive and accurate product.

Trends in Organized Crime

Rising organized crime levels are noted against a backdrop of conflict and political division post-COVID, with resilience lagging behind at 2021 levels.

Currently, 83% of the global population lives in countries with high criminality, an increase from 79% in 2021.

Regional Criminality Insights

Asia remains the most populous continent with high criminality (5.47/10), but Europe showed the greatest increase in criminality despite hosting only about 9% of the global population.

Africa experienced minimal increases in criminality despite growth across all ten original markets.

Financial Crimes as Pervasive Threat

Financial crimes have emerged as the most pervasive illicit economy globally (5.98/10), surpassing human trafficking identified previously.

Awareness around financial crime has increased recently; historical data on these crimes is limited due to late recording practices.

Economic Impact of Dirty Money

Understanding the Dynamics of Organized Crime

The Financial Motivations Behind Organized Crime

Organized crime fundamentally revolves around generating profit, with a notable rise in white-collar crimes such as fraud and embezzlement.

The shift away from tangible commodities reduces the likelihood of victims reporting crimes to law enforcement, complicating investigations into financial crimes.

Tax evasion is highlighted as one of the least investigated crimes, despite its significant impact on state resources and governance.

Trends in Human Trafficking and Criminal Markets

Despite the growth of financial crime markets, human trafficking remains a critical issue, with an increase in reported cases from 5.58 to 5.82 since the last index assessment.

Asia is identified as having the highest prevalence of human trafficking, manifesting through online sexual exploitation and forced labor.

Advocacy efforts are ongoing to address gender inequality and poor employment conditions that contribute to human trafficking vulnerabilities.

Impact of Global Events on Smuggling and Refugee Movements

Human smuggling has seen a significant increase due to global stressors like COVID-19, with many refugees turning to smugglers for assistance.

The influence of criminal groups has risen globally; nearly all types have increased their activity scores since 2021.

The Role of Foreign Criminal Actors

Foreign criminal actors have become more influential post-COVID, capitalizing on opportunities created by global trade recovery and online illicit activities.

In Africa, private military groups are increasingly engaging in illicit activities during humanitarian crises.

State Embedded Actors vs. Foreign Criminal Groups

Understanding the Dynamics of Organized Crime and Resilience

The Role of State-Embedded Actors

State-embedded actors significantly influence organized crime by creating opportunities for illicit activities through corruption, which reduces risks for criminal groups.

Criminal infiltration in state institutions undermines a country's ability to build resilience and effectively counter organized crime, as evidenced by a strong negative correlation (−0.79 points) between state embeddedness and overall resilience.

Insights on Resilience Measures

The 2023 index reveals an imbalance in how countries tackle organized crime; international cooperation remains a top resilience indicator, showing significant improvement since 2021.

While institutional efforts are prioritized, civil society's role has dramatically declined, with non-state actors experiencing the largest decrease in scores due to restrictions and censorship.

Factors Affecting Resilience Frameworks

The effectiveness of resilience frameworks is influenced by geographic, political, social, and economic circumstances that vary across countries.

In 2023, more countries exhibited both high levels of criminality and resilience—a rare scenario—indicating that the relationship between these two factors is complex.

Governance and Conflict Correlations

Countries classified as full democracies generally show higher resilience levels compared to authoritarian states; this correlation has strengthened over the past two years.

Ongoing conflict negatively impacts a country’s resilience against organized crime; increased instability leads to greater vulnerability due to factors like poverty and unemployment.

Implications for Policy Makers

Many crime-afflicted nations have faced prolonged instability over the last decade (e.g., Afghanistan, Iraq), highlighting the need for comprehensive understanding of organized crime's societal impact.

Intelligence Operations and Organized Crime

Importance of Strategic Intelligence in Law Enforcement

Accurate and up-to-date intelligence operations are crucial for law enforcement agencies, making them more targeted, resource-efficient, and impactful.

The latest Global Organized Crime Index provides valuable insights for managers in law enforcement to navigate increasingly complex illicit markets.

Collaboration with experts, civil society activists, and community leaders enhances understanding of criminal threats and their societal impacts.

A significant 83% of the global population resides in countries with high levels of criminality, highlighting the urgent need for effective strategies against organized crime.

Well-researched threat assessments like the Global Organized Crime Index can guide tailored strategies to combat organized criminality effectively.

Discussion on Climate Change and Human Trafficking

Dr. Erica Marat raises a question about the connection between climate change-related extreme weather events and rising human trafficking rates.

Laura responds that there is currently little evidence linking climate change directly to human trafficking globally; however, regional exceptions exist.

In Oceania, a moderate correlation (0.56) suggests that climate risks may influence human smuggling activities due to displacement caused by extreme weather events.

Displaced individuals seeking better conditions may resort to smugglers, increasing their vulnerability to exploitation as an indirect consequence of climate change.

The relationship between climate change and human smuggling/trafficking is a trend worth monitoring as extreme weather events become more frequent.

Resilience Strategies for Oceania

Dr. Tess Newton Kane emphasizes the diversity among Oceania's countries regarding challenges and resources they face concerning organized crime.

She asks what single activity could unify these diverse nations in building resilience against identified threats such as human trafficking or financial crimes.

Understanding the Role of Civil Society in Countering Organized Crime

Importance of Civil Society

A strong civil society is essential for building resilience against organized crime, leading to increased government transparency and better support for victims and witnesses.

Emphasizes the need for a holistic approach involving various stakeholders to effectively counter organized crime.

The Impact of Coercive Law Enforcement

Ivan Briscoe raises concerns about high violent crime rates in Latin America and the public's demand for tough law enforcement responses, referencing El Salvador as an example.

Laura discusses the global trend prioritizing security approaches over victim-centric strategies, which may lead to state fragility and greater vulnerability.

Trends in Organized Crime

Despite increased reliance on security measures, data indicates that organized crime levels have risen from 2021 to 2023.

Authoritarian regimes often exhibit lower resilience to organized crime due to vulnerabilities across various resilience-building blocks.

The Need for a Balanced Approach

Holistic Strategies Against Organized Crime

An effective anti-organized crime strategy should balance different measures rather than prioritize one over another.

Collaboration among diverse stakeholders is crucial for tackling organized crime sustainably.

Insights on Criminal Violence and Index Development

Addressing Criminal Violence

Phil Williams suggests adding a new category of criminal violence alongside criminal organizations and markets, noting that Asia's situation may be worse than Latin America's when considering violence.

Temporal Changes in Criminality

Williams emphasizes the importance of tracking changes over time within country studies to identify trends effectively.

Incorporating Financial Crime into the Index

Overlap Between Crime Types

Financial Crime: Justification and Inclusion in the Index

Overview of Financial Crimes in the Index

The discussion begins with a focus on financial crime as a new criminality indicator within the index, highlighting its significance and the need for clarification.

A thorough process was undertaken to include financial crimes, involving thematic experts who drafted preliminary papers assessing how these crimes fit into the established index framework.

To avoid double counting, two main strategies were implemented: narrowing down types of offenses under financial crimes and linking illicit activities to specific criminal markets or offenses.

Examples of included offenses are provided, such as financial fraud, tax evasion, embezzlement, and misuse of funds; however, procurement fraud linked to logging contracts falls under different indicators.

Clarification is made regarding common misconceptions about financial crimes being synonymous with money laundering; it emphasizes that money laundering requires a predicate offense.

Addressing Civil Society's Role in Crime Resilience

Importance of Civil Society

Maria Ann Goretti raises concerns about civil society's role in building resilience against organized crime amidst increasing government censorship and control.

The 2023 index results indicate a decline in non-state actors' roles over the past two years, emphasizing the need for alternative resilience forms outside national institutions.

Strategies for Supporting Civil Society

Rumbi discusses critical steps for developing resilience against organized crime through civil society and media involvement as oversight mechanisms to hold governments accountable.

The international community has tools available to protect civil society spaces by exploring flexible funding practices and creating strategic frameworks that align human rights with foreign policy objectives.

Investing in initiatives that foster collaboration between state and non-state actors can enhance responses to organized crime threats while promoting information sharing and best practices.

Funding Non-State Actors