Boiler room scams destroy lives yet police blame victims

The Queensland Organised Crime Commission of Inquiry recently handed down its findings examining how organised crime has been policed in recent years. While media attention has been focused on the implications for child sexual exploitation and paedophilia, the report also made some substantial findings related to financial crimes such as investment fraud (commonly known as boiler rooms scams). Quite disturbingly, the report notes a strong victim blaming mentality that police expressed towards individuals who invested in fraudulent companies and who subsequently lost money in these boiler room scams. The attitude of the police towards boiler room victims was largely one of apathy towards the likelihood of any investigation, and of blame towards victims for not doing what was perceived to be “due diligence”. This finding illustrates several myths which are argued to exist around investment fraud victims, particularly around the concept of “due diligence”. It also feeds into the idea that victims are greedy/naïve and financially illiterate/not investment savvy. These are both problematic and largely inaccurate. Drawing on examples from my own research with fraud victims, the article will illustrate the complexity and sophistication of many boiler room schemes and demonstrate the difficulties in identifying fraudulent investment opportunities.

New lads or ladettes? A critique of current theoretical explanations for young women’s violence proliferated over social media

Current theoretical explanations for young women’s violence examine physical violence as a masculine behaviour. This means that young women are constructed as rejecting elements of their femininity in favour of masculine behaviours in order to perform violence in an acceptable way, which results in them being constructed as violent femmes, new lads or ladettes. Alternatively, theoretical explanations construct young women as adhering to a feminine gender performance when avoiding physical violence, or engaging what are traditionally considered to be feminine characteristics of aggression. This paper critiques existing theoretical approaches applied to young women’s violence, by drawing on empirical research that examined young women’s physical altercations proliferated through social media. Preliminary research findings illustrate how continuing to construct young women’s violence through a gendered paradigm offers inadequate explanations for what young women’s violence actually entails. It concludes by suggesting how young women’s violence may be more adequately explained using a theoretical framework of embodying gender that moves away from gender dichotomies and constructs violence as a series of bodily practices.

Maritime Security in the Gulf of Guinea: Issues and Solutions for the 21st Century

A producer of 5.4 M bbl/d, totalling almost half of the consumption of the entire European Union, the Gulf of Guinea is a fundamental lifeline and maritime link between Europe, the Americas and Africa. Geographically positioned as a staging post for transit originating in Latin America and coupled with its relatively porous borders, the region is also the perfect stepping stone for contraband heading to European shores. While blessed with an enviable wealth of marine and mineral resources, the region is also plagued by an ever-increasing spectre of maritime piracy; accounting for around 30% of incidents in African waters from 2003 to 2011. It is for these reasons that this research centres around the issues of maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea, with a particular focus on the first two decades of the 21st century. This research looks to examine the overall picture of the present state of play in the area, before going on to provide an analysis of potential regional developments in maritime security. This research begins with the analysis of concepts/phenomena that have played a notable role in the shaping of the field of maritime security, namely Globalisation and security issues in the post-Cold War era. The ensuing chapter then focuses in on the Gulf of Guinea and the issues dominating the field of maritime security in the region. The penultimate chapter presents a SWOT analysis, undertaken as part of this research with the aim of correlating opinions from a variety of sectors/professions regarding maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea. The final chapter builds upon the results obtained from the abovementioned SWOT analysis, presenting a series of potential proposals/strategies that can contribute to the field of maritime security in the region over the coming years. This research draws to a close with the presentation of conclusions taken from this particular investigation, as well as a final overview of the earlier presented proposals applicable to the field of maritime security during the second decade of the 21st century.

A segurança no terrorismo e na indústria dos eventos

Nowadays, safety and security regarding the tourism and events industries are a fundamental subject to society. Portugal’s tourism has significantly increased its number of visitors, whether due to the increasing number of cruisers docking in Lisbon, or due to visitors arriving by air, travelling the country from North to South and staying in the most varied accommodation units. Issues like human security and internal security of the different countries, even the security in the world, as development factors of a modern society, are discussed on a daily basis. On the contrary, few deal with tourism and major events security as being part of internal security, as well as the existing barriers tourism encounters to integrate the system for fighting terrorism. Although two distinct activities, they are complementary and may influence the country’s economy, provided that they can offer certainty to all actors involved. It is this substance that organised crime groups look for when planning terror acts. Therefore, as tourism can offer deception and shelter opportunities and events the theatre of a possible attack, those events assemble all the necessary conditions for an attack to achieve its goals.

Operações de vigilância transfronteiras

This master dissertation is a small and humble contribution to a better assumption of the national position on the provisions of Article 40 of the Schengen Implementing Convention, particularly regarding authorities responsible for the implementation of border surveillance. And, above all, aims to be an asset to the strategic definition of this matter within the Public Security Police. To fulfill this aim, we tried to reconcile, against the almost non-existent bibliographic support frame, the professional experience of the several roles in the criminal area of Public Security Police and as a Group 7 National Expert (Mobile Organised Crime Groups) for EU Policy Cicle 2011-2013 – EMPACT Projects (European Platform Against Threats criminal Multidisciplinary) –, with the opinion conveyed by commanders, who perform management functions in the criminal structure of the Public Security Police or, not exercising, to be recognized with high merit in the criminal area.

Être motard : Hells Angels malgré tout

Les Hells Angels (HA) sont un groupe de motards qui surprennent par leur longévité. Implantés dans la province en 1977, ils sont toujours présents et actifs. Pourtant, ils ont évolué dans un contexte où les risques endogènes et exogènes furent croissants : conflits internes chez les motards, hostilités et rivalités inter groupes, opérations policières, incarcérations massives et changements législatifs sont autant d’obstacles qui se sont dressés devant eux. Que signifie être un motard et comment sont-ils demeurés résilients? Bien que différentes forces matérielles et organisationnelles aident les HA à surmonter les difficultés, nous avançons que l’élément clé de cette continuité réside dans leur réputation. En ce sens, nous adhérons à la thèse de Gambetta (2009) qui affirme que la persistance de la croyance en l’immortalité de la mafia provoque un phénomène de self-fulfilling prophecy qui rend l’organisation effectivement résiliente. Cet argument est ici appliqué aux Hells du Québec. Des entrevues auprès de motards incarcérés et non incarcérés, de délinquants non motards et de membres du personnel du Service correctionnel du Canada, ont permis de constater que l’étiquette de « Hells Angels » influence la vie des individus qui la portent. Les résultats supportent l’hypothèse que la réputation d’être une organisation dangereuse offre au groupe une valeur économique et symbolique. Néanmoins, la réputation des Hells Angels engendre des aspects négatifs pour les individus qui endossent ce nom. Il devient intéressant de comprendre l’impact d’une telle étiquette à travers différentes phases d’une carrière collective.

Redes transnacionales de crimen organizado. Caso de estudio: el narcotráfico en México 1990 – 2008

El narcotráfico en México es una claro ejemplo del crimen organizado internacional, en el que las complejas redes de cooperación transnacional, tejidas entre varios grupos alrededor del mundo, se articulan a la manera de una gran empresa organizada creada con fines de lucro, que se basa en la conformación de una economía alternativa derivada del tráfico de narcóticos y otras tantas actividades al margen de la ley, que encuentran en la escasa implementación de políticas concertadas en los ámbitos de la seguridad nacional y hemisférica, el espacio propicio para su accionar.

Disertación acerca de los intereses y modalidades de la internacionalización/transnacionlización del crimen organizado: ilustración con la mafia rusa

En el escenario de la globalización las organizaciones criminales se han proyectado en el sistema internacional a través de las modalidades de internacionalización y transnacionalización tanto de su estructura como de sus operaciones criminales. La acepción de internacionalización y transnacionalización permite distinguir cuando efectivamente se está llevando a cabo un trasplante de las organizaciones criminales o simplemente cuando es una operación económica transnacional ilícita. Es decir, permite distinguir cuando una organización criminal efectivamente logró establecerse en un nuevo territorio diferente a cuando no se establece en un nuevo territorio pero logra ciertas operaciones económicas en dicho zona. El crimen organizado puede ser visto como un actor no público del sistema internacional que se mueve a través del concepto analítico de las redes criminales. La globalización, sin duda alguna, permite a las organizaciones criminales incrementar sus operaciones pero no necesariamente aumentan la posibilidad de un trasplante de un país a otro. Para ilustrar las modalidades de dicha proyección la disertación acerca una mirada a la organización criminal conocida como la Mafia Rusa. Esta organización criminal tuvo su proyección y consolidación al tiempo que la Guerra Fría llegaba a su fin y el advenimiento de la etapa de la globalización.

Disrupting the market for illegal rhino horn and ivory

This paper considers methods for regulating the trafficking of rhino horn and ivory, seen through the lens of compliance theories. It stresses the importance of the distinction between normative and instrumental motivations. It argues for a balanced set of strategies that include normative levers designed to change the behaviour of poachers, traffickers and consumers of these products. In particular it considers the options needed to achieve demand reduction in consumer countries, and those needed to provide incentives to local communities in producer countries to disengage from poaching.

EU enlargement to the Balkans: will the leopard change its spots? EPC Commentary, 29 September 2014

As the leadership of the European Union hands over the baton to a new management this autumn, will the winds of change blow also through the cobwebs of the EU’s enlargement agenda? Jean-Claude Juncker – the incoming President of the European Commission – has already promised to put the gearbox of further EU widening in neutral for the next five years of his mandate, and has designated the Austrian Johannes Hahn as Commissioner for the re-baptised portfolio of now European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, instructing him to focus on the Union’s political and economic ties with Southern and Eastern Europe, and in particular with the Balkans. Such an approach in the field of enlargement – once crowned the jewel of EU foreign policy – has all the appeal of a damp rag but does not necessarily depart from the festina lente strategy of the recent past. Inside the Union, political appetite and public support for expansion have been fizzling since Bulgaria and Romania joined in 2007, and were then severely curbed in the context of the on-going crisis by growing fears of importing organised crime and migrants from the Balkans. Juncker’s logic of consolidation sounds depressingly similar to what it supposedly replaces and incidentally, it also fits neatly with the unambitious and inward-looking mantra favoured at present in discussions at all levels on the future of European integration, more generally. With the 28-member block determined to catch its breath in the immediate time period, and given that even the forerunner countries in the Balkans – that is, Montenegro and Serbia – will realistically need more than five years to complete their accession talks, what priorities should guide Commissioner Hahn, soon to be Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations – when they get down to business on 1 November?

Criminals and terrorists in partnership:unholy alliance

The nexus between terrorism and organised crime consists in a strategic alliance between two non-state actors, able to exploit illegal markets, threaten the security of individuals, and influence policy-making on a global level. Recent Europol reports have pointed towards the importance of studying the links between organised crime and terrorist groups, and have underlined that the nature and extent of these connections have seldom been addressed from an academic perspective. Considering the degree of dangerousness that both organised crime and terrorism currently represent in the world, the collusion between these two phenomena is of urgent contemporary interest. Basing itself on geographical case-studies, this edited volume aims at contributing to the existing literature in three ways: by enriching the empirical knowledge on the nature of the crime-terror nexus and its evolution; by exploring the impact of the nexus within different economic, political and societal contexts; and by expanding on its theoretical conceptualization.

Valued tradition? Armed policing in the UK

The traditional social “contract” in the UK mainland between the public and the police involves the ideal of an unarmed police service. In recent years while the public have accepted the more visible role of specialist armed officers on security duties in airports and strategic positions, the majority of officers remain unarmed. Following 7/7 in London and the Derrick Bird case in Cumbria there have been media calls for more police officers to be armed on a routine basis .This would fundamentally change the social contract and the relationship with the British public. The principle of policing by consent and the idea of the citizen in uniform are the fundamental tenets of British policing .Historically the only forces in the UK which are routinely armed are the Police Service of Northern Ireland in Northern Ireland, the Ministry of Defence Police and the Civil Nuclear Constabulary. In contrast all major police forces in Europe, as well as the US, Canada and Australia routinely carry firearms, the exceptions apart from Britain, are the Irish Republic, and New Zealand. In Norway officers carry arms in their cars but not on their person. Every time unarmed police officers are killed, as with the tragic case of Nicola Hughes and Fiona Bone killed in the line of duty in Manchester in 2013, the question of arming the British Police is raised.So does the current balance protect the public and safeguard officers or does it fail to satisfy either. Is the current balance between unarmed and armed police in the UK suitable for the 21st Century? There appears to be competing agendas for the Police to contend with. These have been illustrated by recent controversy in Scotland about a standing authority which allowed a small number of officers to carry guns while on routine patrol .Politicians and community leaders attacked the nationwide roll-out of officers with a standing authority to carry guns on routine patrols since the formation of Scotland’s single police force. The Forces armed police monitoring group recommended keeping the standing authority in place after it was given intelligence on serious organised crime groups in 2014.The Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) in its review of the authority (2014) said the operational need for the authority is justified by national intelligence and threat levels.

Tackling trafficking in human beings in a security integrated Europe: addressing the challenges using trafficking schematics

This paper aims to conceptualise trafficking in human beings (THB) as an organised crime by drawing on the rational choice theory. Utilising crime scripting principles, it proposes trafficking schematics to capture and visualise THB in its entirety. Stemming from its transnational nature and varying conceptualisations, combatting THB faces challenges, such as the lack of harmonisation of policy instruments and differing stakeholder agendas. To mitigate these challenges, this paper proposes trafficking schematics. Their core lies in the modelling of THB constituent elements, including stages and their sequence, key actors and relationships, and financial modus operandi. Trafficking schematics may therefore contribute to addressing THB in a holistic, dynamic and integrated way, by enriching stakeholders’ understanding of the phenomenon and facilitating collaboration to address it. The paper contributes to theory and practice by drawing up a model of the procedural, human, logistical and environmental elements of THB that may be viewed as an instrument of public value creation.

A formação das Forças e Serviços de Segurança na União Europeia rumo a uma política europeia de segurança comum

A criminalidade organizada opera cada vez mais em colaboração alargada, elevada mobilidade e grande diversificação nas suas formas de atuar. Após os recentes atentados terroristas em Paris e em Bruxelas as preocupações relacionadas com as ameaças à segurança da União Europeia (UE) estão cada vez mais na agenda política. O objetivo geral desta investigação foi analisar a importância que a formação comum das polícias da UE e o seu papel na Academia Europeia de Polícia (CEPOL) têm para a Guarda Nacional Republicada (GNR), compreendendo a importância desta formação na implementação da Política Comum de Segurança e Defesa (PCSD). Esta investigação procurou uma recolha de informação adequada, possibilitando a compreensão do fenómeno em estudo, adotando uma estratégia de investigação qualitativa, concretizada a partir de uma pesquisa documental e um inquérito por entrevista semiestruturada, cujos dados foram objeto de análise de conteúdo. Como resultado principal destacou-se o diagnóstico que fundamenta eventuais mudanças ou orientações que a GNR possa vir a prosseguir no âmbito da sua posição na CEPOL. Concluiu-se que a prossecução da segurança na UE exige uma adequada articulação entre a segurança interna e a segurança externa, bem como da importância das agências da UE em geral, e em particular, da CEPOL cuja missão de formação comum é essencial. Abstract: Organised crime is increasingly operating in extended collaboration, high mobility and great diversity in their ways of acting. After the recent terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels the concerns about threats to security of the European Union (EU) are increasingly on the political agenda. The general objective of this research was to analyse the importance of common training in the context of the EU's police forces and its role in the European Police College (CEPOL) have in the Portuguese Guarda Nacional Republicana (GNR), understanding the importance of this training in the implementation of the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). This research looked for a collection of adequate information, adopting a qualitative research strategy, enabled the understanding of the phenomenon under study, adopting a qualitative research strategy, implemented from desk research and a survey by semistructured interviews, whose data were subject to content analysis. The main result highlighted the diagnosis set that underlies any changes or guidelines that GNR is likely to continue in its position on CEPOL. It was concluded that further security in the EU requires proper coordination between internal security and external security, and the importance of EU agencies in general, and in particular CEPOL whose common training mission is essential.