Stijn Van Daele

Reducing Vulnerabilities to Crime of the European Waste Management Industry: the Research Base and the Prospects for Policy.

This paper reports on aspects of a recent study, independently conducted and funded by the European Commission, which examines vulnerabilities in the waste management industry. In this paper, first the existing literature is briefly reviewed. Studies on environmental crime have variously described its manifestations (descriptive studies, exposes, etc); focused on the criminal groups and individuals involved (case studies, threat or perpetrator profiles); or explored possible risks in terms of vulnerabilities of the waste business itself. The paper introduces and applies a method of scanning for criminal vulnerabilities in industrial sectors. Vulnerabilities are found in relation to regulation, the international context, and the high costs of legal waste management. Finally, the conclusion is drawn that some current and quite contingent events - in relation to European regulation, international trade and intra-regional competitiveness - may be opening up the prospects for higher standards and for a reduction in illegal behaviour in waste management.

Legitimate Businesses and Crime Vulnerabilities

Purpose - The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the potential of vulnerability studies of economic activities to study the relationship between organised crime and the economy and illustrate it by examples taken from a vulnerability study of the European waste management industry. Design/methodology/approach - Based on both economical and criminological perspectives a scanning tool for assessing the vulnerability of economic sectors was developed and applied to a specific case. Findings - Sector vulnerability studies belong to the wider family of criminal opportunity approaches, all of which aim to identify areas of current risk and future prevention. Sector vulnerability studies (vulnerability to organised crime and other risks) extend the range by bringing in economic sectors. Although starting from the analysis of the formal economy, sector vulnerability studies can provide insights concerning potential irregularities and opportunities for informal economies to flourish as well. Originality/value - This paper addresses informal markets and the relationship between organised crime and the economy from a vulnerability perspective, focusing on the opportunities provided by licit economic activity. Although such opportunity approaches exist and have been applied to various cases before, there are only a few examples of its application to vulnerabilities to organised crime.

Organised property crimes in Belgium: the case of the ‘itinerant crime groups’

The phenomenon of the so-called ‘itinerant crime groups’ is receiving increasing attention within Belgian and Western European law enforcement agencies. This interest stems from a variety of perceptions about these groups, and has led to a number of definitions about who and what they are, and policy measures in response to them. In this paper, the phenomenon and the characteristics ascribed to it in Belgium are empirically tested. This research finds that the features of mobility and nationality emerge as useful characteristics by which to study these crime groups. There are no indications that the special character of these groups is the consequence of policy-related attention, but rather it functions as a catalyst for this interest.The phenomenon of the so-called ‘itinerant crime groups’ is receiving increasing attention within Belgian and Western European law enforcement agencies. This interest stems from a variety of perceptions about these groups, and has led to a number of definitions about who and what they are, and policy measures in response to them. In this paper, the phenomenon and the characteristics ascribed to it in Belgium are empirically tested. This research finds that the features of mobility and nationality emerge as useful characteristics by which to study these crime groups. There are no indications that the special character of these groups is the consequence of policy-related attention, but rather it functions as a catalyst for this interest.

Does the mobility of foreign offenders fit the general pattern of mobility

Research on offender mobility is directed to three main elements: distance, anchor points, and direction. Previous research in geographical criminology has revealed that: (1) the journey to crime is limited in distance and follows a distance decay pattern; (2) the home of the offender plays a central role as the starting point of crime trips; and (3) the direction of the trip is influenced by the opportunities to commit crimes. The findings are more or less accepted as ‘laws’ in the field. However, research on offender mobility is often limited by its method, data and sample of arrested offenders. This study, in contrast, investigated a sample of arrested foreign offenders (East Europeans) who were staying temporarily in Belgium. They lack the space awareness and routine activities of residential offenders. Using multiple methods and data, including police statistics, case file analysis and offender interviews, we investigated the travelling patterns of these offenders both quantitatively and qualitatively. The findings demonstrate that: (1) the degree of distance decay is much more moderate than generally found in the literature; (2) the official living address plays hardly any role at all as an anchor point; and (3) these offenders travel away from opportunity structures, which is different from the routine activity patterns of Belgian offenders. Overall, our findings indicate that offender mobility does not fit the accepted general pattern or ‘laws’ as assumed in previous research.

Innovative data collection methods in criminological research: editorial introduction

Novel technologies, such as GPS, the Internet and virtual environments are not only rapidly becoming an increasingly influential part of our daily lives, they also have tremendous potential for improving our understanding of where, when and why crime occurs. In addition to these technologies, several innovative research methods, such as neuropsychological measurements and time-space budgets, have emerged in recent years. While often highly accessible and relevant for crime research, these technologies and methods are currently underutilized by criminologists who still tend to rely on traditional data-collection methods, such as systematic observation and surveys.The contributions in this special issue of Crime Science explore the potential of several innovative research methods and novel technologies for crime research to acquaint criminologists with these methods so that they can apply them in their own research. Each contribution deals with a specific technology or method, gives an overview and reviews the relevant literature. In addition, each article provides useful suggestions about new ways in which the technology or method can be applied in future research. The technologies describe software and hardware that is widely available to the consumer (e.g. GPS technology) and that sometimes can even be used free of charge (e.g., Google Street View). We hope this special issue, which has its origins in a recent initiative of the Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR) called CRIME Lab, and a collaborative workshop together with the Research consortium Crime, Criminology and Criminal Policy of Ghent University, will inspire researchers to start using innovative methods and novel technologies in their own research.

Exploring Itinerant Crime Groups

Starting a decade ago, property crimes by Eastern European crime gangs have gained attention of Belgian law enforcement agencies. Due to the mobile nature of these groups, the term ‘itinerant crime groups’ has been used. The aim of this article is to explore what is incorporated in this term. By analyzing 27 case files, a large degree of variation is revealed. Groups differ in size, organizational structure, offender characteristics, the crimes in which they are involved and the methods they use. Following these features, two main types of itinerant crime groups can be distinguished, each with their own diversity. As such, the observed heterogeneity is larger than we might suspect by looking at the policy definition of the phenomenon.

Out of sight, Out of Mind? Awareness Space and Mobile Offenders.

Most offenders operate in the vicinity of their homes. The offender’s awareness space plays herein a crucial role. This refers to all spaces of which an offender has knowledge and develops through daily routines. The role of the awareness space has been confirmed in various empirical researches. However, one may wonder whether the importance of awareness space exists only in the most common offending patterns i.e. local offending and what the role of awareness space is for mobile offenders. We have interviewed mobile offenders and our findings suggest that the understanding of the role of awareness space should be differentiated. Spatial awareness does not only provide opportunities for crime, but can actually limit it at times.

Journey to crime of “itinerant crime groups”

Purpose – Most researchers have found that property crimes have a local focus: offenders tend to operate in the vicinity of their residence. This has led the police to organise themselves to concentrate their resources in highly populated, urban areas. Over the last decade mobile property offenders have been found in various Western European countries that differ from this norm. These groups of mainly Eastern European multiple offenders engaging in property crime tend to travel further than other offenders. As such, their operations differ from most criminals, challenging the way the police are organised and undermining criminological theories on journey to crime. The aim of this paper is to look at the specificity of mobility patterns of these groups, to examine the precise interpretation of their mobility and to consider the implications.Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses the Belgian police database containing all serious property crimes in Belgium for the period 2002‐2006. Some basic offender...

DNA Databases as Alternative Data Sources for Criminological Research

DNA traces found at crime scenes and DNA records held in databases have already helped the police to solve numerous investigations into specific crimes. The police clearly benefit from the use of forensic science at an operational (i.e. case) level. This paper focuses on the use of forensic DNA at a strategic level: its use in the study of patterns of criminal behaviour. The usual sources of information for this type of research are recorded crime data, self-report studies and victimization surveys. However, as our review will show, these data sources cannot provide a complete picture of crime. We therefore propose an alternative approach to criminological research that takes into account DNA databases and has the potential to augment current methods and extend the existing knowledge beyond known offenders. The use of DNA databases has an important advantage for criminological research: it is possible to link offences committed by the same individual, whether the offender’s identity is known or not. By making a one-on-one comparison of police data with the corresponding DNA data, not only can co-offenders be studied, but a larger network of offenders connected to each other can also be analysed, even if their identity is unknown to the police.