Cross Border Crime: Long arm of the law

One of the issues at the top of the international agenda in recent years, and for the foreseeable future, is crime, in particular organised crime. Crime strikes not only its most immediate victims, but seriously undermines the foundation of trust on which government rests, eroding its authority and legitimacy wherever offenders manage to escape justice.

The World Today
4 minute READ

Transnational organised crime is a phenomenon with multiple facets which has grown exponentially. Organised criminal groups are spreading their operations around the globe and engaging with an increased level of sophistication in a variety of activities that range from the traditional to the modern.

As Professor Pino Arlacchi, the Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention, has pointed out, organised criminal groups are evolving, moving away from more traditional, Mafia-type organisations, and display a remarkable ability to shift across borders and from activity to activity with speed and adaptability that would be the envy of any legitimate business.

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