Crime and the Crunch

Abstract

Steven Brown is an independent consultant on law enforcement matters and an author. Having qualified as a barrister, he became a police officer with the Metropolitan Police in London and later served with both NCIS and Europol. His work in international law enforcement has taken him as far as Central Asia and involved long periods in the Balkans. He is the editor of ‘Combating International Crime: the longer arm of the law’ (2008) and his article ‘Trading Intelligence’ was recently published in Policing Journal. This article considers organized crime operating as a separate criminal market, but also within the legitimate sector exploiting unique competitive advantages. Whilst there is an assumption that criminal entrepreneurs will flourish during the economic crisis because of their greater liquidity, a different hypothesis suggests they may be equally subject to recessionary pressures. The credit crunch is likely to have had a significant impact both on the laundered financial holdings of crime groups and on their main sources of illicit revenue. Law enforcement is facing increased budgetary restraint, but may find the recession creates new opportunities for interdiction and disruption of serious organized crime.