The problems faced fighting against organized crimes globally and the role and effectiveness of law enforcement training: the TADOC case study

Abstract

Organized crime groups which benefit from the opportunities of technology in a globalized world are involved in highly extensive cross border activities. A great many factors, such as economic instability, corruption, unemployment, lack of education, political vacuums and legal gaps, trigger organized crimes. It is both an individual and social problem, and has become a national and international safety threat. The fields of activity of organized crime groups include: drug trafficking; migrant trafficking; historical artifact smuggling; cigarette and alcohol trafficking; trade in human beings; weapons and ammunition smuggling; money laundering and especially in recent years, in parallel with the technological developments, cyber-crimes. Today, organized crimes threaten all countries. When one considers that the billions of dollars which are circulated by these crime groups exceed the annual budget of developing countries it is clear that they not only threaten security, but they can also damage a country’s economic and social development. It is also clear that most countries cannot deal with cross-border organized crimes without cooperation. Combatting organized crime groups can be accomplished only by employing a multi-dimensional strategy and international cooperation. However, the type of combat strategy required differs from country to country due to accompanying problems such as: a country’s insufficient legislative framework, limited capacity and insufficiency of the police force in terms of personnel, budget, and iii substructure, lack of coordination among the responsible institutions, insufficient numbers of contact persons for international combat purposes, and lack of qualified or educated personnel. In this study the purpose was to identify and comprehend what the major concerns and problems are in dealing with organized crime by considering the perceptions of law enforcement officers and assessing how TADOC (Turkish International Academy against Drugs and Organized Crime) is conceptualizing these threats, and developing programs that meet the needs of the participants.