Organised crime poses a threat to the security of our societies and the integrity of public administration. This study responds to a call from the Research and Documentation Centre (Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek- en Documentatiecentrum, WODC) to gather insights into the effectiveness of preventative instruments in the field of organised crime, drawing on a review of the literature and expert interviews.

Cover: Inzichten in de effectiviteit van preventieve instrumenten in de strijd tegen georganiseerde criminaliteit
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Inzichten in de effectiviteit van preventieve instrumenten in de strijd tegen georganiseerde criminaliteit

[Insights into the effectiveness of preventive instruments tackling organised crime]

by Mafalda Pardal, Lana Eekelschot, Stijn Hoorens, Emma Louise Blondes

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Summary

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Samenvatting

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Research Questions

  1. Which preventive instruments focusing on organised crime have been evaluated in the domestic and international scientific literature?
  2. What is known about the (intended and unintended) effects of the evaluated instruments?
  3. What lessons can be drawn for the Netherlands from the domestic and international scientific literature on preventive instruments focusing on organised crime?

Note: This report is in Dutch. An English-language summary is included in the full report and also available as a separate download.

Organised crime poses a threat to the security of our societies and the integrity of public administration. While preventive measures may be effective in thwarting certain types of crime, little is known about the types of instruments that can effectively help preventing organised crime. This study responds to a call from the Research and Documentation Centre (Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek- en Documentatiecentrum, WODC) to gather insights into the effectiveness of preventative instruments in the field of organised crime.

This study focused specifically on three activities associated with organised crime: drug production and trafficking, arms trafficking and smuggling, and human trafficking and smuggling. Through a review of the literature and interviews with experts, researchers examined the available evidence on organised crime prevention and what we can learn from such evidence.

Key Findings

  • The number of relevant studies was quite limited, but they contained information on a wide range of instruments with a strong focus on situational prevention and on primary (i.e. general population) and secondary target groups (i.e. individuals more susceptible to become victim or offender).
  • There is relatively little robust evidence on the effects of preventive instruments in the field of organised crime.
  • Researchers identified no clear lessons on effective preventive instruments for the Netherlands.

Recommendations

  • Strong(er) evaluation designs are needed to improve the knowledge base and develop more effective organised crime prevention strategies. Experts stressed the need to reconsider the indicators and data sources used in current research, and to incorporate multiple methods in evaluation designs.
  • Because perceived obstacles are not unique to the evaluation of organised crime prevention, lessons may perhaps be learned from approaches in other areas of crime prevention.
  • Overall, more efforts seem necessary to better understand the role and effects of the specific instruments identified and to paint a clearer picture of the impact of preventive efforts in the field organised crime.

Table of Contents

  • Chapter One

    Introductie

  • Chapter Two

    De aanpak van georganiseerde criminaliteit in Nederland

  • Chapter Three

    Theoretische onderbouwing van de preventie van georganiseerde criminaliteit

  • Chapter Four

    Methodische aanpak van het onderzoek

  • Chapter Five

    De geëvalueerde preventieve instrumenten in de strijd tegen de georganiseerde criminaliteit: bevindingen van de literatuurstudie

  • Chapter Six

    Uitdagingen bij de evaluatie van de preventieve aanpak van georganiseerde criminaliteit

  • Chapter Seven

    Conclusies

  • Appendix A

    Samenvattingen van de opgenomen studies

Research conducted by

The research described in this report was prepared for Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek- en Documentatiecentrum (WODC) and conducted by RAND Europe.

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