NCJ Number
202174
Journal
Intersec: The Journal of International Security Volume: 13 Issue: 9 Dated: September 2003 Pages: 279-281
Date Published
September 2003
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article discusses human trafficking, one of the fastest growing trends in organized crime.
Abstract
The United Nations estimates that the worldwide profits of international organized immigration crime exceed $12 billion in United States money. Mass migration is on the increase. The motivators are years of political unrest, economic uncertainty, poverty, and natural or man-made disasters. Many migrants take incredible risks to flee their mother country in search of freedom from persecution, war, or famine. The number of migrants has escalated, as a result of uncertainly in parts of the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and the former Eastern Bloc. Asylum seekers are sometimes willing to take advantage of illegal methods to reach their destination, resulting in illegal immigrants being forced to use criminals to facilitate their entry into a chosen country. The increasing demand for this service has opened up a lucrative opportunity for organized crime networks. There are three main reasons for the growth of people smuggling: financial reward, the ease of commodity transfer, and demand. People smugglers have little to lose but their reputation if the “commodity” does not reach its final destination. They are using the experience gained from other types of organized crime, such as pre-established drug smuggling channels. The key to preventing this type of crime is to be proactive, to develop meaningful intelligence, and to acquire a complete understanding of how the network operates. Such preventative methods can include making significant arrests, implementing stringent checks, and removing corrupt officials at established “hot spots” for illegal activity in order to cause disruption overseas. It is important for investigative teams to have access to shared information that can be easily exchanged between cross-border immigration teams. This task has been made easier thanks to sophisticated analytical software and the ability to store large amounts of information. The four most common people smuggling routes are through the Baltics, central Europe, the Balkans, and North Africa. More needs to be done to overcome the challenges that agencies face in the gathering and subsequent analysis of information, in order to improve investigation success rates and make it difficult for people smuggling to take place.