Threats
One of the first steps towards combating organised crime and reducing its impact on the UK is understanding the various threats involved. This information helps us tackle these threats effectively.
The United Kingdom Threat Assessment (UKTA) describes and assesses the threats posed to the UK by organised criminals and considers how these threats may develop. It is published by SOCA on behalf of the UK law enforcement community and government departments.
How we categorise organised crime
Defining organised crime in terms of specific threats is a practical way of understanding and tackling it.
While some organised criminals may specialise in a particular criminal trade, many are entrepreneurial and opportunistic by nature. Significant numbers of crime groups, especially the larger, more established ones, are involved in two or more profit-making criminal activities.
The one threat on this list which is common to nearly all significant groups of organised criminals is money-laundering.
The threats the UK faces from organised crime
Here are links to the other pages in this section:
Drugs - the Class A drugs trade and the illegal drugs market in the UK.
Fraud - how government, businesses and individuals all suffer the effects.
Organised crime groups - what they are and how they are formed.
Human trafficking - the movement of illegal immigrants for exploitation within the UK.
People smuggling - transporting illegal immigrants into the UK.
Money laundering - how criminals 'clean' their dirty money.
Identity crime - how criminals use false identities and documents.
Firearms - the use of guns by organised criminals.
Vehicle crime - large profits at low risk, though fewer vehicles now stolen.
2012 Olympics - the potential exploitation of a major event.
Armed robbery - relatively rare but still a significant threat.
Intellectual property crime - the counterfeiting and piracy of goods.
Counterfeit currency - the latest trends.
Kidnap and extortion - a serious concern, both in the UK and worldwide.
Emerging and other threats - what could be on the horizon.
You can also read the latest UK Threat Assessment (765.62 kb PDF)
Where possible we have included downloadable files in Adobe PDF format. To view these files you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader which you can download free from Adobe’s website:
