The problem

Organised crime affects all society and has a negative impact on Europe’s business and economic activities. Criminal groups are increasingly sophisticated and operate across national boundaries. This is a particular problem for the European Union bearing in mind its desire to have open borders for its citizens and goods. If Europe is to come up with effective crime prevention and reduction policies, new methods are needed to measure the impact of organised crime. Unfortunately, research that could help policy-makers devise a common European approach to organised crime is highly fragmented.

Overview:

IKOC seeks to update information about organised crime, specifically relating to:

• the organised criminal groups that operate in the EU – the different types, their structures, and the social, cultural and economic context in which they work
• their activities, both legal and illegal

The project’s key objectives include:

• collection of data on organised crime activities and criminal groups in Europe
• evaluating the usefulness of existing data, and then creating a common European methodology for measuring the value and impact of organised crime
• compiling and highlighting any practical and policy implications that arise from the study

Contribution to policy development:

• New information about the value and impact of organised crime will feed into better policies to combat such illegal activities
• The research will help policy-makers measure the effectiveness and costs of their crime reduction and prevention policies

Project deliverables

• Review of existing qualitative and quantitative information on organised crime – month 4
• Delivering reviews on various topics including organised crime activities in legal and illegal markets, and the private sector’s approach to security and crime prevention – month 6
• Evaluation of existing data on organised crime groups and activities in both legal and illegal markets – month 15
• Development of common EU indicators for measuring the volume and impact of organised crime activities – month 19
• Publishing the final report and sending it to the European Commission – month 24

Dissemination

• Three workshops to present progress and results – throughout project
• Publication of reports on project partner websites, and emailing them to EU policy-makers and other relevant people – as required
• Speak at relevant seminars and conferences – as required

Technical information

Project acronym: IKOC
Project’s official full title: Improving Knowledge on Organised Crime to develop a common European approach
Research priority: 2.6. Improved means to anticipate crime trends and causes, and to assess the effectiveness of crime prevention policies; assessment of new challenges related to illicit drug use
Specific webpage: http://ikoc.unicatt.it/
Proposal/contract no: 502395
Start date: 1 April 2004
Kick off meeting: June 2004
Completion date: 30 April 2006 (but prolongation under negotiation)
European Commission scientific officer: Angela Liberatore (angela.liberatore@ec.europa.eu)

Coordinator:
Name: Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
Abbreviated name: UCSC
Address: 1-20123 Milan
Country: Italy
Tel: +39 02 72 341
Website: www.unicatt.it

Partners

Name: Cardiff University
Abbreviated name: UWC
Country: United Kingdom

Name: Joint Research Centre on Transnational Crime, Università di Trento
Abbreviated name: UNITN
Country: Italy

Name: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Abbreviated name: CNRS DR01
Country: France

Name: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Abbreviated name: VU
Country: The Netherlands

Name: Europol
Abbreviated name: n/a
Country: The Netherlands

Name: International Federation of Phonographic Industries
Abbreviated name: IFPI

Name: Telecom Italia S.p.A.
Abbreviated name: n/a
Country: Italy