ORGANISED CRIME
Organised Crime Index
Originally published on www.enactafrica.org ENACT is implemented by the Institute for Security Studies and INTERPOL, in affiliation with the Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crime.
The ENACT Organised Crime Index provides a multi-dimensional measure of organised crime and its impact.
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ools for measuring the scope and scale of organised crime in Africa are limited. Current assessments are largely done at the national level, often appraising criminal threats in ways that don’t meet the needs of policymakers, who are increasingly seeking integrated responses to the challenge. A better evidence basis is urgently required for states and key actors to effectively monitor, analyse, prioritise and address the threat presented by organised crime in a systematic and sustainable way.
The Organised Crime Index for Africa The ENACT Organised Crime Index provides a multi-dimensional measure of organised crime and its impact, allowing key actors to develop effective strategies. Launched on the 24 September 2019 on the margins of the United Nations General Assemby in New York, the Organised Crime Index is informed by a baseline assessment that identifies the availability, quality and relevance of continental data, as well as priority data gaps.
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SECURITY FOCUS AFRICA MAY 2020
The Index is an interactive platform on the ENACT website. It will be complemented by a flagship annual report, which will be used to sensitise policy makers.
Organised Crime Index for Africa Model In assessing a state’s overall vulnerability to organised crime, the model – comprised of three sub-indices – is designed to measure three categories of information: • The presence and scale of the threat, as a composite of 12 types of organised crime • Risk to organised crime • State capacity and political will to respond to organised crime threats The juxtaposition between these three metrics will be analysed to develop a cumulative score for each African state, indicating that state’s vulnerability to organised crime threats. Presence: The first of the three composite indices concentrates on the presence of organised crime. Particularly, this index serves as longitudinal study, aiming to show how organised crime has evolved and
its current state – which may eventually provide insights into its future evolution. This is intended to be used as a tool that allows stakeholders to refine their efforts in combatting organised crime. The information derived from the Organised Crime Index for each African state is depicted in a ‘flower’ that combines scores for each crime type in a single portrait, which may be used to depict trends over time. Risk: Organised crime groups exploit weak or dysfunctional state institutions, porous borders and disadvantages in social welfare and local political economies to continue and expand their operations. To measure state risk to organised crime, the second component considers a number of areas, namely a state’s economy; physical geography and natural resources; social cohesion and conflict; sociodemographics; as well as global engagement and trade. Response: As a third index, state capacity and political will are to be
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