Objective This study aims at developing and testing a cross-national and cross-sectorial methodology forassessing the nature, social relevance and dynamics of patterns of criminal cooperation, taking thetrafficking in untaxed cigarettes in the European Union as an object of study for a first pilot.The project will critically review existing conceptual approaches and data sources on organisedcrime. The range and quality of the existing data will be evaluated by comparing the datarequirements set out by each identified approach with the available data, and by applying generalcriteria of reliability and validity. In a sector-by-sector analysis of the situation in the areasof drug trafficking, illegal immigration, trafficking in humans, and trafficking in contrabandcigarettes the project will explore current possibilities and limits of a meaningful assessment oforganised crime.Drawing on a review of academic, official and private sector material containing conceptualisationsand/or data on organised crime, the participants own expertise and invited external expertise fromthe law enforcement community, the project will propose a harmonised terminology, identify keyproperties meaningfully characterising organised crime, determine how these properties can beoperationalised and how the derived data can be used to assess the nature, social relevance anddevelopmental trends of diverse manifestations of organised crime.The proposed methodology will be tested in a case study of contraband cigarette trafficking along the "northern trade belt" stretching roughly from the Baltic States to the UK. Data will be obtained from judicial files and interviews conducted with law enforcement experts, private sector expertsand offenders.The project will make recommendations on the implementation of the methodology in the areas ofresearch, law enforcement, policy, and the private security sector. Fields of science social scienceslawlaw enforcementengineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringinformation engineeringtelecommunicationstelecommunications networkssocial scienceslawcriminologysocial sciencespolitical sciencespolitical policiescivil societysocial sciencessociologydemographyhuman migrations Keywords Illegal Market Analysis Organised Crime Studies Programme(s) FP6-POLICIES - Policy support: Specific activities covering wider field of research under the Focusing and Integrating Community Research programme 2002-2006. Topic(s) POLICIES-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 Call for proposal FP6-2002-SSP-1 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme STREP - Specific Targeted Research Project Coordinator TILBURG UNIVERSITY EU contribution No data Address Warandelaan 2 TILBURG Netherlands See on map Total cost No data Participants (5) Sort alphabetically Sort by EU Contribution Expand all Collapse all UNIVERSITEIT GENT Belgium EU contribution No data Address Sint Pietersnieuwstraat 25 GENT See on map Total cost No data FREIE UNIVERSITAET BERLIN. Germany EU contribution No data Address Kaiserwerther Strasse 16-18 BERLIN See on map Total cost No data UNIVERSITY OF DURHAM. United Kingdom EU contribution No data Address University Office, Old Elvet DURHAM See on map Total cost No data UNIVERSITY OF TARTU Estonia EU contribution No data Address Uelikooli Str. 18 TARTU See on map Total cost No data LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND POLITICS United Kingdom EU contribution No data Address Houghton Street LONDON See on map Links Website Opens in new window Total cost No data
