How organised is crime in Southern Africa?

1. How organised is crime in Southern Africa? Briefing on the state of trans-national organised crime in Southern Africa ISS Conference Room, Pretoria 21 April 2010

2. The concept of organised crime • Trans-national character of organised crime • Our current research into trans-national organised crime in the sub-region • Trans-national organised crime in the broader context Setting the Context www.issafrica.org

3. Organised crime In the eyes of criminologists It is criminal activity: • by a group of persons • that relies on or is prepared to use violence, corruption of public officials, penetration of the legitimate economy and/or of the political process • for material benefit • which requires complex/sophisticated methods of investigation/prevention (Von Lampe, Levi et al)

4. Organised crime In the perception of law enforcement agencies in the region: Organized crime is: • crime committed by two or more perpetrators, who are aware of each other’s existence and general role, and who are acting in concert • serious crime – as determined by potential or actual harm • crime committed repeatedly, and • motivated by the prospect of material (usually financial) gain

5. Organised crime Organized crime may also have the following incidental, but non-essential characteristics: • Committed by a criminal group that is structured like a business • A division of responsibilities • The leaders of the criminal group have disciplinary authority over other members of the group • Facilitated by the use, or threatened use of violence, blackmail, extortion, intimidation or corruption • Accompanied and supported by money laundering • Traverses national and international boundaries • Committed by the use of sophisticated or complex transactions

6. Trans-national character of organised crime Traverses national and international boundaries, by virtue of: • Being planned in one country and committed in another • Multi-national impact • Multi-national composition of perpetrators (UN Convention against TOC)

7. OCML Research into sub-regional TOC • Envisages law enforcement institutions/agencies that are better informed and more effective in combating trans-national organised crime that occurs within or impacts on the sub-region. • Formally launched in April, 2008 • Aspires to regularly document the nature, incidence and impact of trans-national organised crime • Based on observations, field work and interviews

8. Regional organised crime in the broader context Prominent and recurrent characteristics in global TOC over the last five years were: • Escalation of financial crime • Increasing linkages between drug trafficking and other forms of organised crime (stock theft, cattle-rustling, corruption) • Declining markets for narcotics in certain developed countries, simultaneously with increases in consumption in certain developing countries • Continuation of criminality in the procurement and marketing of precious natural resources

9. Pre-requisites for effective policing 9

10. Challenges to effective policing in the region • Vague structures of accountability, with most agencies being answerable to either to themselves or to elite sectors • Inadequate co-ordination and exchange of intelligence between police and other departments relevant to policing, due partly to legislative prohibitions on data sharing and partly to differences in cultural and policy objectives • the prevailing state of political relations between different countries

11. Challenges to effective policing in the region • Lack of information from foreign sources • Inadequacy of resources • Differences in legal systems, • Prejudiced perceptions about the credibility of foreign criminal justice regimes • Political connections of the suspect in the host country

12. : www.issafrica.org