Organized Crime: Drug Trafficking and Terrorism - Assignment Example

Organised Crime 1. Identify the key police powers provided by the relevant legislation. Critically analyses how they may facilitate effective investigations into drug trafficking. Organised crime is often more complex than a simple gang, and can involve many gangs that work together for a common criminal objective. Intelligence is essential when investigating organized crime. This is because; these criminal organizations have established rules and can operate with a military-like precision, with clearly defined chain of command. Several laws and decrees have been legislated over the past few years aimed at fighting drug trafficking and increasing penalties against drug dealers, drug traffickers and other drug related offenders. The Comprehensive Methamphetamine Control Act enables police to seize chemicals used to manufacture methamphetamine. It also strengthens penalties for the trafficking of chemicals and possession of equipment used to manufacture the drug (Shanty 2008, p. 318). The Drug trafficking offences act is another legislation aimed at facilitating effective investigations into drug trafficking. This law enables the law enforcement officers to side step the inadequacies of the present policies on forfeiture and gives the law enforcement the powers to confiscate drug trafficking proceeds after they have been converted into other forms of assets (Shanty 2008, p. 329). The preventive value of confiscating property is to ensure that no property might be available for use in future drug trafficking. Similarly, it conveys a strong missive that criminality does not pay. In addition, this provision gives tremendous authority and power of expropriation to serve as a way of punishment and dissuasion to the offender. The act assumes that all the assets and money gained by the offender in the last six years, prior to arrest, are proceeds of drug trafficking unless the offender can prove otherwise. This legislation confers upon the police and law enforcement a superior weapon in combating the plague of drug trafficking. 2. Analytically demonstrate Financial Action Task Force’s key recommendations in relation to investigating money laundering. Money laundering is the process used to move, veil and legitimise proceeds of crime by criminals. Money laundering is a worldwide problem that affects all nations in variable degrees. The purpose of money laundering is to make it almost impossible for evidence to be obtained which allows the court to determine the origin of the money. The money launderer can then use the proceeds for future legal or illegal activities without fear of criminal or civil proceedings. The Financial Action Task Force on money laundering (FAFT) was created during the economic summit of 1989 and is currently made up of 26 member countries (Shanty 2008, p. 243). FAFT published 40 recommendations aimed at government and fiscal authorities, which together constitute a comprehensive programme against money laundering. The recommendations are divided into different categories addressing general framework, enhancement of national legal structures to combat money laundering and bolster international cooperation. These FAFT recommendations serve as guidelines in introducing radical anti-money laundering mechanisms. One of the FAFT requirements is the criminalisation of the strategy of money laundering. In some cases, existing charges of handling or receiving stolen property may be areas of tackling laundering, but this does not normally apply to trafficking proceeds. Currently, money laundering legislation now only requires that the individual is aware or should be aware that the cash represents the proceeds of crime. The subsequent legislation is a requirement on financial institutions to know their customers and maintain records of transactions. This is so that investigators will have an audit trail that will lead them to the money. If the audit trail is comprehensive, the launderer’s attempts to conceal their assets are less effective. Another recommendation is that authorities should have the powers to trace, freeze and confiscate criminal proceeds, keeping in mind the need to maintain an appropriate customer interest and confidence in the financial system. In particular, it is imperative that investigators can have a rapid access to account information and other such information where it is needed to progress their investigations. Another recommendation is the creation of effective mechanisms for international cooperation. This will include the ability to assist investigations by relevant overseas authorities and the ability to provide evidence for legal proceedings in other jurisdictions. This is an issue that is best addressed though multilateral treaty arrangements. The final recommendation involves the development of a mechanism for alerting the authorities to possible cases of money laundering. 3. Critically analyses the reason for the growth of intelligence-led policing in the UK since the 1990s. Intelligence-led policing (ILP) is the crime combating approach that puts intelligence and analysis to the pole position of policing. ILP improves efficiency and resource utilization, development of effective crime prevention methods and successful completion of investigations and prosecution. ILP is the crux of the UK National Intelligence Model. The inability to control a rise in crime in the 1980s, and the developing recognition of the importance of repeat victimisation as fuelling crime problems were but two of a number of driving forces that led to the adoption intelligence–led policing (Shanty 2008, p. 379). There was the realization that a small number of offenders were responsible for a much larger contribution to the crime. The authorities realised that to fight crime effectively information has to be thoroughly researched; evaluated and analysed to create intelligence to let for superiors implement strategic approaches and resource allocation choices regarding operational policing and risk management. The growth of intelligence-led policing from the mid-1990s was also encouraged in part by the widening opportunities for more creative and ambitious data handling delivered by advances in information technology. ILP was introduced to institutionalize the intelligence discipline into the policing activities on a national basis, including the codification of best practice, professional knowledge and identification of selection and training requirements of staff. Another reason for the continued growth of ILP is the realization that the integration of intelligence into policing strategy was effective in crime reduction. For instance, Operation Gallant led to a 17% drop in car thefts (Shanty 2008, p. 380). The intelligence-led car crime reduction strategy involved the activity of officers for across basic command units. A crime analyst, dedicated solely to investigate vehicle crime patterns and trends, developed a detailed picture of vehicle crime in the area, including analysis of time, location, vehicle type and known offenders. Because of this strategic analysis, a number of interventions were planned. This resulted in a substantial reduction, in car thefts and related crimes. These findings led the UK government to acknowledge ILP benefits, and all forces in England Wales were required to implement this strategy (Shanty 2008, p. 381). 4. Explore the investigative value of informants in the investigation of Serious Organised Crime and Terrorism. An informant is someone inside a criminal organisation, or with knowledge of that organization, who tells the police what they know. If the individual is a member or an organised gang, it means that he is breaking his solemn oath never to cooperate with the police. However, when a person is facing a severe prison time; solemn oaths do not mean that much anymore. Law enforcement authorities can successfully overcome entire organised crime operations using information from informants. For instance, police informants helped to net about 241 suspected Mafia gang members as well as assets worth about $ 1.4 billion (Shanty 2008, p. 14, 16). Informants are extremely useful in proactive investigations. The benefits of undercover police are many, but the work is also dangerous. The informants are suitable if they are already members of the organised crime racket. Suffice it to say that the collaboration and sustenance of proper informants has significant value for the private investigator as well as the national law enforcement counterpart. Besides the pure value, there is also notable productivity of such sources of information. For instance, a single informant in San Francisco is responsible for approximately 2000 arrests annually, mostly of narcotic offenses (Shanty 2008, p. 20). It is by no means an exceptional exaggeration to state that a majority of investigations instituted by a corporate investigator will originate from or aided by informants. In many respects, informants are similar to witnesses; except that an informant is unwilling to have it broadcasted that, he is providing information. The motives behind a person’s willingness to give information to the law enforcement agencies can be commendable as well as nefarious. Whatsoever the motive, the investigative value of informants is high. Informants help to prevent a crime that is intended but not yet committed. Equally, they can also help to uncover a crime that has occurred although it has not been revealed or reported. Informants can help to ascertain the committer of a crime and sometimes locate the perpetrator or help to locate stolen property. Conversely, informants can absolve a suspect and can lower self-esteem among criminals through apprehension. Informants are a singularly vital resource in investigations because law enforcers are not ubiquitous, and when detectives begin to unravel a crime they lack unbridled power to summon and interrogate suspected perpetrators. Therefore, informants are an invaluable tool and law enforcer’s dependence on informants occurs as a part of the remedies to restrictions on police power. 5. Provide two examples to analytically demonstrate how countries may cooperate to combat transnational crime criminals. TOC refers to the independent group of people who function as a conglomerate for the solitary motive of acquiring power, influence, social and economic gain illegally through their organized structure. The G8 Summit in 1998 held in the UK articulated TOC as a major setback towards economic growth. Strict legislations and control measures are shared among representatives of the nations in this summit. The UK passed SOPCA as an act of parliament as a measure to curb the dangers of the organized crime. The act further saw the creation of SOCA in 2006, which limits the operation of organized crime. This body was given the mandate to operate within the country and articulate help from other intelligent corporations from foreign countries. The body assist the police and conduct their independent investigation on he implication of organized crime. Their duty is to maintain peace and not limited to the prosecution of offenders. Serious Organised Crime and Police Act (SOPCA) further amended the Act protecting civilians from harassment which allowed the police to ban forms of campaigns and offer a cushion to the community against any formed of coercion. Through this legislation, organised crime has found a tremendous decrease within the U.K community. Bibliography Shanty, F. (2008). Organized crime: from trafficking to terrorism. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, Inc. Read More