1.1 What is Transnational Organized Crime (TOC)?

1.1

What is Transnational Organized Crime?

Transnational organized crime (TOC) is a type of crime that is coordinated across national borders, and which involves groups or networks of individuals working in more than one country to plan and execute illegal activities in order to obtain financial profit or other material benefit.1

In the post-Cold War era, the scale and scope of TOC has grown exponentially. The international community has responded in particular by the adoption of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) or ‘Palermo Convention’, which entered into force in 2003.2

UNTOC defines ‘organized criminal group’ as ‘a structured group of three or more persons, existing for a period of time and acting in concert with the aim of committing one or more serious crimes or offences established in accordance with this Convention, in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit’ (UNTOC, Article 2).

An organized criminal group becomes transnational when its activities are committed in more than one state, in one state but with substantial preparation, planning, direction and control in another state, in one state but involving an organized criminal group that engages in criminal activities in more than one state, or in one state but with substantial effects in another state (UNTOC, Article 3).

Unlike localized crimes such as murder and robbery, TOC generally takes place in the shadows (as so-called ‘hidden’ crime), with citizens rarely reporting the criminal activities to the police. The distinctive characteristic of TOC is that in order to achieve their goals, these criminal groups tend to use systematic violence and corruption. TOC usually involves some pattern of trafficking or smuggling from states of origin, through transit states and on to destination states. This crossing of jurisdictional boundaries makes the offenders and their activities more difficult for the authorities to detect. Additionally, this complex situation makes international cooperation vital, because individual States lack the capacity and jurisdiction to address these problems on their own.

1 David, S. W. (2018). Understanding Transnational Organised Crime: An Academic Research Synthesis Report. Retrieved from https://www. paccsresearch.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/TNOC-Research-Integration-Report-FINAL-Dec-17.pdf 2 The United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and The Protocols Thereto (adopted 15 November 2000 UNGA Res 55/25).