The threat of organised crime in growing in Europe – New international criminal gangs have extended their activities to Finland

According to the latest threat assessment, organised crime is on the increase in Europe. The number of identified groups is growing fast. From 2012 to 2017, the number grew from 3,600 to more than 5,000 groups, an increase of nearly 40%. According to preliminary information, the trend continues this year.

According to Jari Liukku , Head of European Serious Organised Crime Centre at Europol, organised crime is a fast-growing threat to safety in Europe.

National Police Commissioner Seppo Kolehmainen emphasises the significance of cooperation in the prevention of organised crime.

He stresses that the most effective method of preventing serious crime is close multi-authority cooperation that also involves the private sector, with an emphasis on prevention.

In addition, effective cooperation requires timely information exchange.

“It is possible to share even confidential information, as long as the requirements are met. In terms of maintaining security, we must also think about the impact of actors outside the traditional pre-trial investigation authorities on public order and safety. One practical example of this are tendering processes, participants of which may include actors with connections to organised crime. Administrative decisions can also have an impact,” Kolehmainen says.

According to National Police Commissioner Seppo Kolehmainen, the new Police Personal Data Act that the Parliament passed in March was improved with regard to processing data connected to the prevention of organised crime, from the perspective of criminal intelligence operations. One example of this is the provision on processing personal data in order to prevent or uncover crimes.

The overall picture of the organised crime situation was discussed at a media briefing at the National Police Board on Friday. The situation in Europe was presented by Jari Liukku, Head of European Serious Organised Crime Centre at Europol; the gang situation in Finland was presented by Christer Ahlgren, Detective Superintendent at the National Bureau of Investigation; and current issues related to the prevention of organised crime were discussed by Chief Superintendent Heikki Lausmaa of the National Police Board. A manual for the prevention of organised crime was also published during the event.

Proceeds of organised crime amount to EUR 110 billion annually

Every year, Europol prepares the Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessment (SOCTA) based on the data received from the Member States’ law enforcement authorities, Europol databases and other EU Agencies.

According to Jari Liukku, Head of European Serious Organised Crime Centre at Europol, the latest threat assessment indicates that Albanian, Eastern European and Italian organised crime groups, in particular, have been detected in Europe, as well as traditional criminal motorcycle clubs.

“Other groups that are active across Europe include criminal groups from the Western Balkans, Asia and Africa, and street gangs that may operate in a very limited area”, Liukku says.

According to Liukku, these groups are often highly organised and international, and they tend to focus on several types of crime. Their goal is to generate as much financial gain as possible at whatever price, and by using the structures of society.

Calculations indicate that the annual proceeds of organised crime amount to EUR 110 billion in the European Union. Only a few per cent of this is seized.

Focus areas of crime prevention in the EU

The following areas have been defined as the focus areas of crime prevention in the EU for 2018–2021: cybercrime, drug-related crime, arrangement of illegal immigration, organised property crime, human trafficking, illegal firearms, environmental crimes and fraud targeted at the financial interests of the EU.

In addition, the following crime-related horizontal factors were defined: criminal proceeds and money laundering, identity theft and forgeries of documents, and online trading of illegal goods.

“In 2018, with reference to these focus areas and coordinated by Europol, the Member States have launched several multi-sectoral operations, such as enhanced exchange of information, joint control and investigation operations, training, and development of methods. They have also improved stakeholder cooperation”, says Jari Liukku.

In 2018, European Serious Organised Crime Centre at Europol adopted the High Value Target concept and the Operational Task Force concept. The objective is to utilise these concepts to use analysed existing data to identify the most active and harmful operators in serious and organised crime (High Value Target) and then target the required Europol resources to support the investigation of these objects together with the law enforcement authorities of the Member State in question (Operational Task Force).

“Experiences gathered from this operating model in 2018 are positive. In 2018, more than 300 suspects were arrested in these operations, and criminal proceeds worth EUR 34 million were seized”, says Liukku.

According to Liukku, in addition to the joint European enhancement measures mentioned above, it is important that the resources and functional capacity of internal security authorities and crime prevention be guaranteed on the national level.

According to him, the key is adequate investment in preventive measures and the ability to identify trending criminal phenomena and threats to internal security. This will enable early intervention.

Serious organised crime is getting tougher in Finland

According to the police assessment, serious organised crime in Finland will increase in volume, and become tougher and more international in the near future. In 2000, there were only three established, organised criminal organisations carrying special insignias and eight branches. Today, there are seven organisations and as many as 75 branches, and the trend seems to continue.

Internationalisation is one reason for the growth of organised crime. Criminal groups already established in Finland strive to expand and secure their operations. In addition, new criminal groups arriving from other countries try to find a foothold here and bring with them a more violent criminal culture.

“Internationally operating criminal organisations use people that have come here from the same countries as their members who are familiar with the country and customs. Networking is the key”, says Detective Superintendent Christer Ahlgren from the National Bureau of Investigation.

New groups that carry special insignia, competition between criminal gangs is getting tougher

With the arrival and expansion of new groups carrying special insignia, we can expect tougher competition for territories between criminal gangs.

“According to our assessment, this will cause threats, extortion, tension and violence, and tougher activities in general. On the field, we already confiscate firearms almost daily, and we find more firearms during house searches. For example, last year, the police confiscated 80 illegal firearms from members of just one criminal organisation, including several automatic firearms”, says Ahlgren.

As they expand, gangs seek to establish branches in areas that are particularly useful in terms of criminal logistics.

“The role of business operations in crime is becoming more important. Almost every member of a criminal gang runs a business; some of them run more than one. They try to hide or circulate criminal proceeds through dummy buyers. Criminal organisations are actively involved in the construction, security and restaurant and nightclub businesses, for example. Their aim is to network and increase their business operations efficiently and mix legal and illegal money”, Ahlgren explains.

New, international gangs that are working on extending their operations to Finland include No Surrender from Holland, Shark Rider MC from Thailand and RMI from Russia.

“RMI (Russian Motorcyclists International) is a branch of the Night Wolves that has landed in Finland. In Finland, they are members of RMI, not Night Wolves. The arrival of RMI is part of the trend in Europe. The group is also expanding to Switzerland, Austria, Germany, France, Romania and Canada”, Ahlgren continues.

“RMI is not settled in any particular location in Finland; rather, the ten or so members stay in their home towns and cities in Southern Finland. It is likely that RMI is looking to establish and expand its activities”, Detective Superintendent Ahlgren says.

Measures are taken to prevent organised crime

According to Heikki Lausmaa , Chief Superintendent and head of crime prevention at the National Police Board, in addition to the more traditional criminal investigation and intelligence, projects aimed at restricting the operating conditions of organised crime are under way.

“The objective of preventing administrative organised crime is to make sure, through close cooperation between authorities, that organised crime is not able to utilise the legal structures of society”, he says.

The project is linked to a research project conducted at the University of Turku that surveyed the best international practices for the administrative prevention of crime. You can access the research project on the University of Turku website (in Finnish).

“The purpose of these so-called EXIT activities is to support people willing to leave criminal groups. Globally, experiences of both the administrative prevention of crime and the EXIT activities are positive”, says Lausmaa.

A manual to support the prevention of organised crime

The Manual for the Prevention of Organised Crime, published by the police is an information package prepared by a team of experts. The purpose of the manual is to generate basic information on organised crime, the forms it may take and how to prevent it. The manual is aimed at the stakeholders of the law enforcement authorities and other parties interested in the topic.

A manual to support the prevention of organised crime (in Finnish) pdf, 424 kB