Beatrice Melbon
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Transnational crime refers to a type of crime that has actual or probable effects across national borders. It also refers to criminal activities that occur within a given state but have negative effects on fundamental values of the international community. The United Nations defines transnational crime as any form of offence which inception, prevention and direct or indirect effects involve more than one country. Moreover, the term transnational crime is commonly used by law enforcement agencies and academic community rather than civilians. McCulloch and Pickering elaborate that cross-border transference or conveyance forms an integral part of criminal activities in transnational crimes According to McCulloch and Pickering in the article for the essay writing service https://essays-writing-service.com/ transnational crimes may occur within one country only but the effects would be felt by another country or other countries. The country can also be involved as a transit in transnational crime to facilitate the implementation of the criminal goals or achievement of the criminal motives.
The most common forms of transnational crimes include trafficking of firearms and related weapons across countries, trafficking of drugs, smuggling of people and goods, sex slavery, apartheid and trafficking of human beings. Terrorist attacks are also classified as transnational crimes https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/administration/eop/nsc/transnational-crime/threat According to Eman and Dobovsek, international crimes and crimes of customary international law that constitute crimes against humanity can also be categorized as transnational crimes. Theft of art and intellectual property, hijacking of aircrafts, fraudulent practices in the insurance and banking industries, piracy over large water bodies such as seas and oceans and infiltration of legal businesses are also considered as transnational criminal activities.
Extent and Effects of Transnational Crime within World Regions
According to Liddick, the term transnational crime originated in the mid 20th century. The term was first used by the United Nations in 1971 to identify specific criminal activities that occurred beyond national boundaries. In the recent past, transnational crimes have been on the increase. According to Liddick, the international community has been faced with a rapid increase in the level and number of transnational crimes because of factors such as globalization, liberation of trade markets and technological advancements. International politics have also played a major role in the spread of transnational crimes across the globe. Today, the most common forms of transnational crimes are drug and human trafficking, money laundering, computer or cyber crimes, and terrorist attacks.
Transnational crimes have various impacts on the society. The impacts depend on the target sectors or victims. For instance, transnational criminal activities that target the financial sector such as laundering large amounts of money, manipulation of commodities and markets, bribery of public officials and government institutions, and fraudulent practices in the insurance and banking industries usually have crippling effect on economy of a country. The matter is that both domestic and foreign investors would lose confidence in the economy of a country which has been affected by transnational crimes. Moreover, transnational crimes committed for personal gains often deprive the economy of useful revenues. Transnational crimes would also threaten the integrity and stability of the economy of affected countries. They create weakened states that are not economically stable. For example, a country that acts as a transit for transnational crimes often has poor international relations with the affected countries. This results into a reduced economy activity between the countries. Transnational crimes also cause violence and terror in communities. This results into a threat to the security and well-being of people around the world. According to Eman and Dobovsek, transnational crimes also jeopardize the proper functioning of global economy.
Prospects for Effectively Controlling Criminal Activities within the International Setting
In the recent past, states and international organizations have been struggling to develop and implement appropriate strategies for controlling criminal activities within the international community. Although some progress has been made, full control of criminal activities has not been achieved.
One of the major prospects of effectively combating criminal activities within the international setting is the development of effective control mechanisms that would facilitate prevention of criminal activities. This would require proper coordination among all countries in the world. States and international organizations should combine efforts to fight international crimes. They should cooperate and develop strategic measures for combating international crimes. According to Parrish, strong cooperation between countries is highly important for controlling and minimizing international criminal activities. Allum and Gilmour also stress that collaboration between countries is a key to overcoming challenges caused by limitations of exercising cross-territorial law enforcement that would help in combating criminal activities within the international community. For instance, countries would adopt mechanisms such as extradition, lawful removal, and mutual legal assistance to facilitate combating criminal activities at international level.
Second, countries should collaborate to strengthen governance and transparency. This would help in interrupting corruptive power transits used by international criminal networks. States should also build international consensus, multilateral cooperation, and encourage partnership between the public and private sectors in order to defeat international criminal organizations. The latter would also help in creating a common normative framework for international collaboration against criminal activities.
Third, countries should share critical information relating to criminal activities within the international setting. Such information about criminal activities should be shared between law enforcement agencies of the partnering countries as well as non-governmental organizations such as the United Nations Security Council that deal with international security. Law enforcement agencies should be empowered to continuously monitor and gather information relating to the full scope and operations of international criminal networks or organizations. Sharing information among countries would also involve exposing criminal activities to relevant security agencies as well as creating public awareness about international criminal activities within the international community.
Fourth, countries should work together to deprive international criminal networks or organizations of their critical resources and infrastructure such as funding and transport support that facilitate criminal activities in the international setting. This would weaken criminal organizations hence render them unable to accomplish their hidden motives. Parrish also stresses that sustainable control and prevention of criminal activities within the international setting require political commitment, effective law enforcement, and proper administration of criminal justice on an international basis.
Fifth, countries should strive to create the international business community that would assist in controlling illicit trades such as drug trafficking and business malpractices such as money laundering. For example, partnering with the international business community would help in reducing the global demand and supply of illegal commodities such as drugs and human trafficking. This would deprive criminals of their main sources of funds.
Last but not least, developed countries should provide support to domestic law enforcement agencies in less developed countries in order to strengthen their ability to coordinate investigations and share experience of criminal activities in the international setting. For example, the U.S. government should provide support such as funds and trainings to law enforcement officers in South Sudan to enable them to deal with potential crimes more effectively.
One can state that countries should continue to weaken and reduce threats from international criminal organizations through continued cooperation and mutual assistance. Moreover, they should combine efforts to identify and disrupt the emergence, development, and sponsorship of criminal organizations across the world. States should also combine efforts to aggressively target and eradicate international criminal networks. It is also important for countries to build strong working relationships that would harmonize efforts against criminal activities to ensure that all countries have the capabilities, appropriate legislative and regulatory frameworks for controlling international crimes. International crimes can also be controlled through strict regulation of migration of people across national borders. Thus, countries should take shared responsibility for combating criminal activities within the international setting.
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