Europol reports that it’s observing a spike in serious violence. A report on the European Union policing agency’s website mentions the discovery in July 2020 of a number of shipping containers in the Netherlands which had been converted into torture chambers. Recent cases in Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Spain, as well as gang wars in Sweden (among others) have also pointed to an increasing willingness by organised crime groups to employ deadly violence in pursuit of their crimes.
Jari Liukku, Head of Europol’s European Serious Organised Crime Centre said: “This trend is unlikely to decrease in the short term as violence will thrive from organised crime opening to diversity and competition, becoming more digitalised and expanding its global reach. The cooperation at regional and international level is of utmost importance to tackle this threat posed by organised crime.”
Europol predicts that in the near future, organised crime is likely to increase its global reach, become more fluid and digitalised, and as such, more open to diversity and competition. Large ports are particularly vulnerable to violence and exploitation by organised crime groups as there is a reduced probability of smuggled goods being detected due to the sheer volume of processed traffic. International organised crime groups have established footholds in and around these ports. Organised crime seeks to corrupt and intimidate workers who are critical to the unloading and storage activities in port terminals.
While organised crime groups recognise the expedient value of force, they have historically tended to resort to violence only when other forms of intimidation prove inadequate. This is because violence attracts the attention of law enforcement. Hence the worrying development of escalating violence against attorneys and investigative journalists in the EU. One example is the murder of Dutch lawyer Derk Wiersum in 2019 outside his home in Amsterdam. Mr Wiersum was defending a gang member who turned state witness in a case against members of a drug gang.
Violence is also used inside a crime group, to enforce discipline and punish the disloyal and negligent; and between criminal groups, in the name of settling scores, and debt recovery; including kidnappings, mutilations and assassination. You can download the report at the Europol website.
