NCJ Number
208689
Date Published
2004
Length
28 pages
Annotation
The 2004 public version of the European Union Organized Crime Report is presented, providing a comprehensive overview of the activities of organized crime in the European Union.
Abstract
The intent of this annual report is to obtain and disseminate information about organized crime in the European Union, focusing on a European perspective. The report has developed into a threat assessment orientated document, based on contributions from 25 member states and Europol and focusing on the results of the operational work in different crime areas. The report begins by presenting an overview of the overall patterns and general trends in organized crime. Traditionally, organized crime groups tended to have one core criminal activity, however, now it is becoming apparent that there is a widening of the crime portfolio with a wider geographical spread. There is also a trend towards a looser network structure in the set-up of organized crime groups. There is a trend for poly-drug trafficking to continue. Lastly, organized crime is moving into the areas of petty crime, such as pick pocketing and shoplifting. The next section outlines the involvement and the threat of indigenous and non-indigenous organize crime groups in the European Union, such as Italian, Lithuanian, Dutch, Ethnic Albanian, Chinese, Romanian, and Bulgarian. Recommendations are presented based on the national contributions to the 2004 Organized Crime Report (ORC) and findings resulting from the work done at Europol. In the final section of the report, the findings of the 2004 OCR with a specific focus at the national level are summarized; specifically, only those countries that provided a national contribution, with the exception of Norway.