Serious and organised crime poses an enduring threat to the UK, with a significant impact on citizens, public services, businesses and infrastructure. The threat is complex, dynamic and global, with new variations in criminal activity emerging in a fast-changing international environment. The UK response must be evidence-based, agile and targeted at the most harmful aspects of the threat – with law enforcement and the wider system supported in this effort by a range of external partners.
The objective of RUSI’s inaugural Serious and Organised Crime Conference is to support the National Crime Agency and system partners in relation to academic engagement, and to formalise a set of relationships with external academics, researchers and analysts on behalf of the wider system.
The conference will bring together law enforcement officers, policy-makers, academics, researchers, analysts and industry experts to identify key and emerging aspects of the threat; to refine current and future research requirements; and to assess how practitioners and researchers can collaborate to enhance the effectiveness of the response and better measure the impact of law enforcement activity.
The proceedings are structured in three parts, mirroring the NCA’s operational focus. The three core sessions of the conference will cover cross-sector collaboration focused:
- Upstream: On the goal of degrading the most harmful crime groups and networks, and those who enable their activities.
- Overseas: On the need to protect the integrity of the UK against organised criminal networks operating internationally.
- Online: On addressing the evolving criminal use of technology as an enabler of all serious and organised crime threats.
RUSI’s independence makes the conference an ideal place to host these important discussions between different stakeholder groups with a role to play in the UK’s response to serious and organised crime. Constructive challenge to existing assumptions and approaches will be invited, drawing on the capabilities and expertise not only of law enforcement and the wider system, but also of academics and researchers working on these issues across the UK. The conference will provide a unique forum for these crucial conversations across a diverse set of stakeholders, ensuring honest and open exchange.
