Cross Border Crime and Customs

• NCJ Number: 190722
• Author(s): David Collins
• Date Published: 2001
• Length: 6 pages
• Sale Source: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: Australia
• Note: Downloaded October 8, 2001; paper presented at the 4th National Outlook Symposium on Crime in Australia, New Crimes or New Responses convened by the Australian Institute of Criminology and held in Canberra, June 21-22, 2001.

Annotation

This paper addresses cross-border crime that impacts Australia from a Customs perspective.

Abstract

Cross-border crime in itself refers specifically to the point at which transnational crime impacts on the border, the point at which goods cross the border. Following an overview of some of the work being done on this issue by the World Customs Organization in Brussels, the paper then considers a number of the activities being undertaken in Australia to illustrate the practical measures being implemented. The author advises that if properly collected, analyzed, circulated, and exchanged, information on persons, companies, places of consignment, destinations, routings, means of transport, methods of concealment, and detection can form the cornerstone of the fight against organized crime across national borders. Since organized crime is a multifaceted and highly complex phenomenon, there may be many different prevention and enforcement agencies with responsibility for investigating various aspects and activities in which organized crime figures are involved. The potential for success is closely linked to the availability of intelligence and powers in respect of these activities, and they are rarely found together within a single agency. Customs, Federal police, and national and State crime agencies each cover areas of expertise and intelligence that, if collated, can provide key elements for strengthening and facilitating the dismantling and/or detection of criminal organizations. Australia's drug law enforcement is heavily weighted toward collaborative intelligence collection and analysis. Customs analysts are now part of all major drug operations conducted by the Australian Federal Police. This paper briefly describes how this cooperative and coordinated effort has countered various forms of transnational crime.