By Duncan Brack

This paper summarizes the discussions and conclusions of a workshop on the nature and control of environmental black markets held at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, London on 27–28 May 2002. Thanks to generous support from the European Commission (DG Environment) and UNEP Ozone Secretariat, some eighty participants from over thirty different countries were able to attend. Rather than simply collect and repeat what is known about the extent of the illegal activities in specific jurisdictions – a traditional indulgence of the regulatory community – the workshop was intended to provide a more systematic understanding of the driving forces behind international environmental crime. Efforts to tackle the smuggling of environmental contraband have been dogged by an ad hoc and unsystematic approach where individual enforcement agencies attempt to headhunt environmental criminals without reducing the size of the illegal market in which they operate. The failure of the international ‘war on drugs’ suggests that this policy is doomed: as long as demand and supply pressures that shape profit-making opportunities remain, other operators will expand their operations or new operations will enter the international market. Thus, the workshop raised the need to think beyond simply increasing enforcement effort to minimize overall levels of environmental harm by addressing the demand and supply of the contraband.

London: Royal Institute of International Affairs (RUSI), 2002. 42p.

By Claude-Hélène Mayer

This brief explores wildlife crime and its international and culture-specific combat in South Africa from a green psychology perspective, focusing on a specific method of forensic trace recovery by analysing and evaluating the use of gelatine lifters. It provides theoretical and applied insight into visualising and sequential processing of finger-, shoe- and footprints, and environmental traces. It allows the reader in-depth insight into effective methods of international wildlife crime combat, based on the South African perspective. This brief gives theoretical and applied recommendations for international, regional and local actors for successful cooperation on wildlife protection.

As global and local programs, actions and law enforcement strategies to combat wildlife crime are gaining strength, forensic trace evidence is a useful method for investigative and preventive success. This brief will be useful for students and researchers in forensic science, wildlife crime, green criminology, as well as for law enforcement and international actors combating wildlife crime practically on both international and local levels.

Cham: Springer, 2019. 90p.

By John M. Sellar

The UN's Lone Ranger tells of law enforcement and diplomacy. It is also the first book, written from an international perspective, about a subject that warrants much greater attention, if the world's most threatened species are to be safeguarded for future generations. John Sellar describes why organized crime has turned to robbing nations, especially in the developing world, of their animals and plants and how this is bringing several species to the brink of extinction. It illustrates, in words and images, how criminal networks recruit, equip and direct poachers and wildlife contraband couriers; arrange the smuggling of species and products, often involving transportation across many borders and several continents; use bribery and violence against law enforcement personnel; and the nature of the markets in which illegal-origin wildlife is being consumed.

Dunbeath, Caithness, Scotland: Whittles Publishing, 2014. 201p.

Edited by Gary R. Potter, Angus Nurse, Matthew Hall

This book critically examines both theory and practice around conservation crimes. It engages with the full complexity of environmental crimes and different responses to them, including: poaching, conservation as a response to wildlife crime, forest degradation, environmental activism, and the application of scientific and situational crime prevention techniques as preventative tools to deal with green crime.

Through the contributions of experts from both the social and ecological sciences, the book deals with theoretical and practical considerations that impact on the effectiveness of contemporary environmental criminal justice. It discusses the social construction of green crimes and the varied ways in which poaching and other conservation crimes are perceived, operate and are ideologically driven, as well as practical issues in environmental criminal justice. With contributions based in varied ideological perspectives and drawn from a range of academic disciplines, this volume provides a platform for scholars to debate new ideas about environmental law enforcement, policy, and crime prevention, detection and punishment.

London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015. 246p.

By Tanya Wyatt

The global illegal wildlife trade is a burgeoning black market which is threatening the survival of numerous species. Wyatt's unique analysis provides new theoretical conceptualisations of the victims and offenders of wildlife trafficking, and furthers the discussion of these crimes through a distinctive green criminological perspective. This book begins with essential background information into the scale and scope of the smuggling of animals and plants bringing to light the often unknown magnitude of this black market. Wyatt considers the threats posed to the environment, people and the economy and evaluates the reasons behind wildlife trafficking by exploring the demand for wildlife.

Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. 216p.

Edited by William D. Moreto

The editors and contributors toWildlife Crimeexamine topical issues from extinction to trafficking in order to understand the ecological, economic, political, and social costs and consequences of these crimes. Drawing from diverse theoretical perspectives, empirical and methodological developments, and on-the-ground experiences of practitioners, this comprehensive volume looks at how conservationists and law enforcement grapple with and combat environmental crimes and the profitable market for illegal trade. Chapters cover criminological perspectives on species poaching, unregulated fishing, the trading of ivory and rhino horns, the adoption of conservation technologies, and ranger workplaces and conditions. The book includes firsthand experiences and research from China, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Morocco, Peru, Russia, South Africa, Tanzania, and the United States. The result is a significant book about the causes of and response to wildlife crime.

Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2018. 330p.

By A.M. Lemieux, R.S.A. Pickles and D. Weekers

This guide equips analysts to support decision-makers in preventing wildlife crime by applying a problem-oriented approach. It sets out how to make the analytic process work and offers methods to examine a problem from multiple angles to identify a suitable response. The guide provides analysts with techniques to assess whether or not the response worked and communicate findings with purpose.

Phoenix, AZ: Center for Problem-Oriented Policing, Arizona State University, 2022. 160p.

By Alexandria Reid and Mark Williams

This paper examines the illegal wildlife trade in West Africa, and provides recommendations on how to combat it. In the last five years, West Africa has emerged as a major source and transit hub in the global illegal wildlife trade (IWT). The industrial scale of the multi-tonne, multi-product seizures originating from West Africa clearly demonstrates that profit-driven organised crime groups are running the trade. Yet, while the significance of the region in global IWT flows is increasingly recognised, very little is known about the financial aspects of these criminal operations. This paper begins by analysing IWT trends in West Africa, with a focus on high-grossing trafficking in elephant ivory, pangolin scales and rosewood. Second, it identifies key challenges that currently prevent the use of financial investigation in IWT cases, with a view to establishing baseline levels of awareness and capacity to combat IWT as a financial crime among financial intelligence units in the region. Third, it provides recommendations to support the implementation of the Financial Action Task Force's guidelines in the region.

London: RUSI, 2021. 54p.

By Joseph F. O'Brien , Andris Kurins

Paul Castellano headed New York's immensely powerful Gambino crime family for more than ten years. On December 16, 1985, he was gunned down in a spectacular shooting on Manhattan's fashionable East Side. At the time of his death, Paul Castellano was under indictment. So were most of the major Mafia figures in New York. Why? Because in 1983 the FBI had hidden a microphone in the kitchen of Castellano's Staten Island mansion. The 600 hours of recordings led to eight criminal trials. Agents Joe O'Brien and Andris Kurins planted that mike. They listened to the voices. Now they bring you the most revealing look inside the Mafia ever ... in the Mafia's own words.

New York: Island Books, 1992. 382p.

Edited by Karen Bullock, Ronald V. Clarke and Nick Tilley

Situational crime prevention is the art and science of reducing opportunities for crime. Despite accumulating evidence of its value in reducing many different kinds of crime – such as burglary, fraud, robbery, car theft, child sexual abuse and even terrorism – little has previously been published about its role in reducing organised crimes. This collection of case studies, by a distinguished international group of researchers, fills this gap by documenting the application of a situational prevention approach to a variety of organised crimes. These include sex trafficking, cigarette and drug smuggling, timber theft, mortgage fraud, corruption of private professionals and public officials, and subversion of tendering procedures for construction projects. By moving the focus away from the nature of criminal organisations to the analysis of the crimes committed by these organisations, the book opens up a fresh agenda for policy and research. The book will be of interest to those tasked with tackling organised crime problems as well as those interested in understanding the ways that organised crime problems have manifested themselves globally and how law enforcement and other agencies might seek to tackle them in the future.

Cullompton, Devon, UKWillan Publishing,

By Federica Varese

Running a business in Russia is every bit as unsavory as you might imagine, according to Federico Varese's thoroughly researched look at that nation's organized (but not very organized) criminals. Even the lowliest shopkeeper faces shakedowns from drug addicts and teenage thugs, as well as bribe demands from tax collectors and police. In this chaotic climate, the protection racket thrives. Pay the right person, and not only will the shakedowns end - you might even gain a business partner and a fishing buddy. But the penalties for making the wrong move can be severe. One shopkeeper who refused to pay up was burned to death in his store. Varese offers an intricately detailed look at the realities of the Russian Mafia. His excellent reporting is undermined only by his frequent academic writing style.

Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2001. 305p.

By Federico Varese

We see mafias as vast, powerful organizations, harvesting billions of dollars across the globe and wrapping their tentacles around everything from governance to finance. But is this the truth? Traveling from mafia initiation ceremonies in far-flung Russian cities to elite gambling clubs in downtown Macau, Federico Varese sets off in search of answers. Using wiretapped conversations, interviews, and previously unpublished police records, he builds up a picture of the real men and women caught up in mafia life, showing their loves and fears, ambitions and disappointments, as well as their crimes. Mafia Life takes us into the real world of organized crime, where henchmen worry about bad managers and have high blood pressure, assassinations are bungled as often as they come off, and increasing pressure from law enforcement means that a life of crime is no longer lived in the lap of luxury. As our world changes, so must mafias. Globalization, migration, and technology are disrupting their traditions and threatening their revenue streams, and the Mafiosi must evolve or die. Mafia Life is an intense and totally compelling look at these organizations and the daily life of their members, as they get to grips with the modern world.

New York; London: Oxford University Press, 2018. 288p.

Edited by Jude McCulloch and Sharon Pickering

Considers the growing importance of the border as a prime site for criminal justice activity and explores the impact of border policing on human rights and global justice. It covers a range of subjects from e-trafficking, child soldiers, the 'global war on terror' in Africa and police activities that generate crime.

Houndmills, Basingstoke. UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. 214p.

By Ulrik Boesen

The crafting of tax policy can never be divorced from an understanding of the law of unintended consequences, but it is too often disregarded or misunderstood in political debate, and sometimes policies, however well-intentioned, have unintended consequences that outweigh their benefits. One notable example of this is the ever increasing tax rates on tobacco products. A consequence of high state cigarette excise tax rates has been increased smuggling as people procure discounted packs from low-tax states and sell them in high-tax states. Growing cigarette tax differentials have made cigarette smuggling both a national problem and, in some cases, a lucrative criminal enterprise. Each year, scholars at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a Michigan think tank, use a statistical analysis of available data to estimate smuggling rates for each state.1 Their most recent report uses 2019 data and finds that smuggling rates generally rise in states after they adopt cigarette tax increases. Smuggling rates have dropped in some states, often where neighboring states have higher cigarette tax rates. T

Washington, DC: Tax Foundation, 2021. 8p.

Ulrik Boesen

The crafting of tax policy can never be divorced from an understanding of the law of unintended consequences, but it is too often disregarded or misunderstood in political debate, and sometimes policies, however well-intentioned, have unintended consequences that outweigh their benefits.

One notable consequence of high state cigarette excise tax rates has been increased smuggling as people procure discounted packs from low-tax states and sell them in high-tax states. Growing cigarette tax differentials have made cigarette smuggling both a national problem and, in some cases, a lucrative criminal enterprise.

Each year, scholars at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a Michigan think tank, use a statistical analysis of available data to estimate smuggling rates for each state.[1] Their most recent report uses 2018 data and finds that smuggling rates generally rise in states after they adopt cigarette tax increases. Smuggling rates have dropped in some states, often where neighboring states have higher cigarette tax rates.

Washington, DC: Tax Foundation, 2020. 7p.

By Hana Ross

The tobacco market, like many other markets, is subject to illegal activities, primarily related to tax evasion and counterfeiting of legal products. Since a sizable illicit tobacco market can both deprive governments of much needed revenue and undermine the effectiveness of tobacco control efforts, governments dealing with the issue have developed a set of strategies and measures for curbing tobacco tax avoidance and evasion. Many of these measures are called for in the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, the first and, to date, only protocol to the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) (WHO 2012). This paper provides a brief review of the key measures, including the rationale for each, their strengths and weaknesses in addressing particular aspect of illicit tobacco trade, and the best way to implement them.

Prepared for the Economics of Tobacco Control Project¸ School of Economics, University of Cape Town and Tobacconomics, Health Policy Center, Institute for Health Research and Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2015. 28p.

Edited by Peter Reuter and Malay Majmundar

Tobacco use has declined because of measures such as high taxes on tobacco products and bans on advertising, but worldwide there are still more than one billion people who regularly use tobacco, including many who purchase products illicitly. By contrast to many other commodities, taxes comprise a substantial portion of the retail price of cigarettes in the United States and most other nations. Large tax differentials between jurisdictions increase incentives for participation in existing illicit tobacco markets. In the United States, the illicit tobacco market consists mostly of bootlegging from low-tax states to high-tax states and is less affected by large-scale smuggling or illegal production as in other countries. In the future, non-price regulation of cigarettes - such as product design, formulation, and packaging - could in principle, contribute to the development of new types of illicit tobacco markets.

Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2015.

By KPMG

Imperial Tobacco Australia Limited (ITA) and Philip Morris Limited (PML) have commissioned KPMG UK to estimate the size of the consumption of illicit tobacco in Australia. Reports are produced annually. The purpose of this report is: 1. To provide an overview of the nature and dynamics of the legal and illicit tobacco markets in Australia, and 2. To provide an independent estimate of the size of the illicit tobacco market in Australia. This full year 2018 report measures the consumption of illicit tobacco in Australia. It reports on events occurring during the twelve month period from January 2018 through December 2018. This 2018 report is produced using a methodology in line with previous KPMG ‘Illicit Tobacco in Australia’ reports.

London: KPMG, 2019. 104p.

By KPMG

This report of key findings (the ‘Report’) has been prepared by KPMG LLP. The Report was commissioned by PMPSA (Philip Morris Products SA), described in this Important Notice and in this Report as the ‘beneficiary’, on the basis set out in a private contract agreed between the beneficiary and KPMG LLP dated 12 January 2022. Information sources, the scope of our work, and scope and source limitations are set out in the footnotes and methodology contained within this Report. The scope of our work, information sources used, and any scope and source limitations were fixed by agreement with the beneficiary. We have satisfied ourselves, where possible, that the information presented in this Report is consistent with the information sources used, but we have not sought to establish the reliability of the information sources by reference to other evidence. We relied upon and assumed without independent verification, the accuracy and completeness of information available from public and third‐ party sources. This Report has not been designed to benefit any specific organisation other than the beneficiary. In preparing this Report we have not taken into account the interests, needs, or circumstances of any specific organisation, other than the beneficiary.

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  This Report is not suitable to be relied on by any party (other than the beneficiary) wishing to acquire rights or assert any claims against KPMG LLP for any purpose or in any context. As such, any person or entity (other than the beneficiary) who reads this Report and chooses to rely on it (or any part of it) will do so at their own risk. To the fullest extent permitted by law, KPMG LLP does not assume any responsibility and will not accept any liability in respect of this Report other than to the beneficiary. In particular, and without limiting the general statement above, although we have prepared this Report in agreement with the beneficiary, this Report has not been prepared for the benefit of any other manufacturer of tobacco products nor for any other person or entity who might have an interest in the matters discussed in this Report, including for example those who work in or monitor the tobacco or public health sectors or those who provide goods or services to those who operate in those sectors.

London: KPMG, 2022. 231p.

Edited by Walter Kegö & Alexandru Molcean

A new criminal landscape is emerging in Europe. A key factor behind the dramatically increasing crime levels is Russian organized crime. While these groups are often comprised of Russians, they are not based solely on ethnicity, often members are also from former Soviet republics. According to Europol, these groups are among the most dangerous criminal groups operating in Europe today. They are involved in every type of illegal activity and excel in exploiting new opportunities in the economic and financial sectors. They make exorbitant amounts of money from illegal activities such as money laundering, human and drug trafficking, smuggling and extortion. Their activities have grown and spread to other countries to such an extent that they pose a serious problem affecting all EU member states. This report documents recent trends.

Stockholm: Institute for Security and Development Policy, 2012. 102p.