Chapter 8

CONCLUSION

Southern Africa remains an area of relatively low risk for organised criminal groups. The number of transnational organised criminal groups active in the region, with a membership originating from various parts of the world, illustrates this point. Unlike developed countries, that have the necessary resources to accelerate and enhance their initiatives and thereby increase the risks for criminals, countries in the SADC region face a much longer and protracted struggle against organised crime. Closer regional and international co-operation will be essential to prevent organised crime from remaining a step ahead of law enforcement agencies in the region. Such co-operation has to be based on reliable information about organised crime.

This study aimed to contribute to the quantitative data available on organised crime in the region and thereby to assist in developing a better understanding of its nature and extent. SARPCCO, working with the regional office of Interpol, is well placed to initiate and co-ordinate the collection of more extensive data on organised crime in the region. The participation of nine of Southern Africa’s police agencies in this survey suggests that regional co-operation will be forthcoming to achieve this objective.

This survey covered only nine of the 14 SADC member countries. But it has produced a reasonable indication of the situation in the region as a whole. However, almost every question and response beg more questions and require further study and elucidation. This task has to be addressed by the police agencies themselves and by international organisations, governments, and NGOs. This study will hopefully contribute towards developing a greater interest among these bodies to undertake research and provide assistance to the region in its efforts to combat organised crime more effectively.

Much remains to be done before regional and international co-operation can reach its full potential. The survey results point to several areas in respect of which the national police agencies of Southern Africa need to intensify their efforts if regional initiatives against organised crime are to be effective.

The constitution of SARPCCO provides for regional co-operation to combat crossborder crime. It refers to joint efforts to be undertaken for the "management of all forms of cross-border and related crimes with regional implications." This mandate, while clearly broad enough to include organised crime, covers all forms of crime that have regional implications, whether organised or not. This broad mandate to combat regional crime has resulted in organised crime not being elevated into a distinct phenomenon and category of crime that requires a specialised focus. This probably explains why five of the nine police agencies that contributed to the survey have not yet adopted a definition of organised crime. It also explains why little progress has been made in the region to develop joint criteria for data collection and for developing a regional definition. As a result, the concept of organised crime remains blurred.

An organised crime desk in SARPCCO?

The need therefore exists for SARPCCO to become more specific in its approach to organised crime and to distinguish organised crime from other categories of crime with regional implications. Not only will such an approach provide the basis for more focused regional action against organised criminal groups, it will also enable Southern African countries to speed up the ratification process of the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime. The convention is very specific about what type of organised criminal activity it covers and countries that wish to benefit from international co-operation will have to develop clear criteria and definitions to distinguish organised from other criminal activities as envisaged in the convention.

A step towards developing a more focused approach towards organised crime in the region could be the establishment of an organised crime desk or subcommittee by SARPCCO. This would provide a regional forum and co-ordination point for policy issues relating to organised crime. A SARPCCO organised crime desk or subcommittee could address issues such as:

the definition of organised crime within member countries and perhaps a common definition for the region;



the development of common criteria for the collection of data relating to organised crime;



the development of compatible threat analysis methodologies and procedures for countries in the SADC region;



the development of criteria and methodologies for compiling regional organised crime threat analyses;



the refining and extension of the present regional database on activities of organised criminal groups;



the facilitation of assistance to all SADC countries with the ratification of the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime; and



the co-ordination of international assistance with regard to issues around organised crime in the region.

Police agencies across the world tend to be reluctant to share information on organised crime. Sometimes, this reluctance is motivated by their desire to conceal their inadequacies. However, they may also have a legitimate concern about the possibility of compromising existing investigations. This survey showed that it is feasible to obtain the co-operation of SADC police agencies to collect quantitative data. Future regional surveys with a wider focus will be essential to provide police chiefs and policy makers with data on which to base their operational and policy decisions. Such surveys will also assist international organisations and governments to identify those areas of need in respect of which they can provide assistance and co-operation. If this survey contributes towards achieving these goals, it will have served a useful purpose.