WHAT IS SERIOUS ORGANISED CRIME?
Serious organised crime is a multi-billion pound enterprise which costs the United Kingdom (UK) economy at least £20 billion per year. Serious organised crime groups are motivated by the desire for profit and power. The nature of the commodity and the harm which it causes to our communities in the eyes of organised crime is irrelevant and their outcomes are achieved at the direct expense of individuals, communities and businesses. In Scotland, such groups are involved in drug trafficking, human trafficking, fraud, intellectual property crime, money laundering, violence and firearms.
Serious organised crime:
- involves more than one person
- is organised, meaning that it involves control, planning and use of specialist resources,
- causes, or has the potential to cause, significant harm,
- involves benefit to the individual concerned, particularly financial gain.
Serious organised crime groups vary in size and complexity, and engage in a wide range of criminal activities such as:
- Drugs - This remains the single largest activity of serious organised crime groups in Scotland. Behind that figure lies the enormous tragedy and wasted human potential of those lost to drug addiction, and the painful effects on their families and communities.
- Violence - Serious organised criminals often resort to violence and intimidation. This can include firearms, kidnap, extortion, armed robbery and the use of fear and intimidation to protect their criminal enterprise.
- Fraud - Serious organised crime groups use fraud to increase their profits, and mortgage fraud is used to launder profits from prostitution, drug and human trafficking. Counterfeit tobacco, pharmaceuticals and components can be unsafe and put lives at risk. Counterfeit consumer goods harm legitimate businesses. Fraud against government reduces the money available to fund services like schools, hospitals and police on the street.
- Money laundering - Legitimate businesses are used as a front for the activities of serious organised criminals, reducing tax revenues and allowing criminals to profit from their illegal and harmful activities.
- Human trafficking - Evidence is limited, but we do know that at least 79 individuals were thought to be human trafficking victims in Scotland in the year to March 2008. Almost two thirds were women trafficked into sexual exploitation. There was also some intelligence that children were trafficked into Scotland.
To help combat this the Scottish Government has set up a Serious Organised Crime Taskforce to ensure Scotland can respond robustly to the threat posed by organised crime, identify improvements, ensure all agencies are working the same direction and to ensure that the public are aware of the many successes the police service produce.
The Taskforce launched their Serious Organised Crime Strategy - Letting our Communities Flourish in June 2009.
This strategy provides a real opportunity for business, law enforcement and Scottish Government to work in partnership to deliver a safe and secure trading environment in which Scotland's businesses and communities flourish.
On the same day the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency published the preliminary findings of the Scottish Serious Organised Crime Mapping Project which shows the scale and extent of serious organised crime in Scotland