Informal Police Cooperation: The Fight against International Crime
| Author | John Lavers,Yiu-Kong Chu |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X9707000206 |
| Published date | 01 April 1997 |
| Date | 01 April 1997 |
JOHN LAVERS, MA
CriminalJustice Consultant, White, Ottenheimer&Baker(Barristers
and
Solicitors), Canada
YIU·KONG CHU, Ph.D.
Visiting Scholar, Centre
of
Asian Studies, University
of
Hong Kong
INFORMAL POLICE COOPERATION:
THE FIGHT AGAINST
INTERNATIONAL CRIME
Introduction
Organized crime is not a new problem. What is new is that organized crime
has become increasingly globalized. Apart from drug trafficking, organized
criminals are now intensively involved in arms deals, cross-border vehicle
theft, human smuggling, counterfeiting, money laundering, trading in
organs of the human body, and so on. Moreover, the Italian Mafia is no
longer the dominant force of the international underworld: other ethnic
crime groups including Chinese Triads, Japanese Yakuza, Jamaican
Yardies, Hispanics, Lebanese, Turks, and the
so-called'
Russian Mafia'
have emerged as major challengers within global organized crime. The
other trend is that different ethnic crime groups are collaborating with one
another on international criminal projects. Perhaps more striking is the
increasing number of businessmen and professionals that are involved in
big-time criminal activities, since international criminal projects usually
require a large sum of capital, business connections, and technical skills.
Giorgio Giacomelli, head of the United Nations International Drug Control
Programme, points out that "our criminal counterparts are far ahead in terms
of developing international trade ties among themselves". I
In order to trace these roving criminals and their proceeds, more
international police cooperation is urgently needed. There is little doubt
that the ideal method to combat international crime is the establishment of
amultinational task force. Nevertheless, an international force seems
impossible because this would directly challenge the sovereignty and
the monopoly of force of the modem state. While we understand that
current international police cooperation may focus on the development of
intelligence sharing, it is found that formal channels, such as Interpol, are
not completely effective in enhancing information sharing. This article will
discuss why and how informal channels, particularly the informal
relationship, may facilitate the investigation of international crime.
The Need for Informal Police Cooperation
Interpol is a worldwide police organization used as a formal channel for
international police cooperation. Over the course of many years, the role
of Interpol has been far from satisfactory in the fight against international
crime for the very reason that information exchange is slow and without
April 1997 The Police Journal 127
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