How Covid-19 will shape serious and organised crime in the EU

Report Watch: Europol’s Beyond the Pandemic – How Covid-19 will shape serious and organised crime in the EU

Sarah Gibbons | Policing Insight

"The latest in our Report Watch series summarises a report by Europol on how Covid-19 will shape serious and organised crime landscape in the EU beyond the pandemic.

Serious and organised crime is exploiting the changing circumstances during the COVID-19 pandemic and international law enforcement needs to work with ‘increased connectivity’ to tackle the surge, a new report from Europol warns.

Beyond the pandemic – how COVID-19 will shape the serious and organised crime landscape in the EU is the result of the organisation’s monitoring of the impact the health (and economic) crisis is having on the serious crime situation across the EU from the outset of the crisis in Europe.

“Understanding ongoing developments and their impact on the internal security of the EU in times of crisis and communicating these insights to our partner law enforcement authorities is of vital importance in formulating effective responses at EU and national level,” said the report, published on April 30 .

Catherine de Bolle, Europol’s Executive Director, said: “Law enforcement should be prepared to be able to respond to the warning signals as the world deals with the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now more than ever, international policing needs to work with the increased connectivity both in the physical and virtual worlds.”

Europol expects the impact of the current crisis will unfold in three phases: the current and immediate short-term outlook; a mid-term phase which will become apparent over the upcoming weeks and months; and a long-term perspective.

“Criminals have been quick to seize opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic to generate significant amounts of profit. Certain types of criminal activity intensified during the pandemic. Even during times of crisis, criminal business continues.”

Intelligence indicates the involvement of organised crime structures in these activities with some existing OCGs thought to have adapted their business models and switched to new criminal activities to take advantage of new opportunities."

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Report Watch: Europol’s Beyond the Pandemic – How Covid-19 will shape serious and organised crime in the EU, Sarah Gibbons, Policing Insight, 2020