2. Background to the review

This Chapter briefly examines the characteristics of organized crime, the situation of the target countries in international comparison and the concepts of organized crime and gang crime. This information serves as background for the report.

The structure of organized crime and the content of organized crime activities vary depending on, among other things, who commits the crimes, how they are committed and where the criminal activities are targeted. Organized crime is characterized by, for example, group or networked activities, some degree of persistence, operation in physical and virtual environments, a national and international dimension, a systematic approach, adaptability, serious crimes, pursuit of financial gain, improper influence, links with legitimate organizations, and utilizing technologies and subcontracting services.

COM(2021) 170final; EU Socta, 2021; EUCPN, 2021.

According to the European Union’s threat assessment, organized criminal groups operate in all Member States. The amount of criminal proceeds has been estimated to account for 1% of the Union’s gross national product.

COM(2021) 170 final.

In the EU, 821 criminal networks have been identified that operate actively or pose a threat to the internal security of the area. The networks have more than 25,000 members. Their key forms of activity include drug smuggling, fraud and property crime. The majority of networks specialize in a specific type of crime and utilize legal corporate structures. They have also infiltrated the public sector and utilize public funds.

Europol, 2024; GI-TOC, 2023; See also Korsell & Larsson, 2011.

Organized crime in Finland and measures related to its prevention are not the subject of this report. However, clarification of the operating models of Denmark and Sweden serves the updating of Finland’s strategy against organized crime, which is why a few observations concerning Finland are presented in this context.

According to a survey conducted in 2023, a total of 90–100 criminal groups with less than 1,000 members have been identified in Finland.

Jukarainen, Juutinen & Laitinen, 2023a. The figures for Finland are not directly comparable with the figures for the EU area, presented above. This is at least partly due to different definitions. The classification of organized crime in the police in Finland is based on a fairly limited statutory definition, while the definition used by the EU is broader.

In this report, Finnish organized crime was seen in several forms, including networked crime, criminal groups bearing insignia, groups led from abroad and actors facilitating crime. So far, there is little evidence of criminal groups or networks based on family connections. Another report on the prevention of organized crime emphasized a comprehensive situational picture and cooperation as well as better utilization of administrative crime prevention measures.

Jukarainen, Juutinen & Laitinen, 2023b.

According to a recent report by the Grey Economy Information Unit, police intelligence data shows that 1,872 people in Finland are linked to organized crime. They had connections to 2,407 companies, of which approximately 2,000 were active in the year 2022. In 2022, the companies had a turnover of approximately EUR 1.5 billion and paid salaries to nearly 17,000 people. The annual tax deficit caused by them amounts to approximately EUR 65 million.

HTSY, 2024.

According to the Police Performance Management database (PolStat), the 279 cases classified as organized crime in pre-trial investigation in 2023, included 960 crimes. Thus, there were an average of 3.4 offences in these cases. The most common crimes were drug crimes (57%) and property crimes (29%). The proportion of crimes against life and health remained low (1.3%).

PolStat, 2024. However, these statistics do not fully describe the organized crime that has come to the attention of the police, as some of the cases may not be classified with this code in the pre-trial investigation.

The Global Organized Crime Index includes information on organized crime markets and actors, as well as society’s resilience to such crime.

See also Kaysser, 2023. On organized crime in Sweden, see e.g. Rostami, 2016; Mondani & Rostami, 2022; Brå, 2023a; Gunnarsson, 2023 and SBU, 2023 and in Denmark e.g. Cornils & Greve, 2004; Pedersen, 2014a and Onsberg Hansen, Mulvad-Reinhardt & Øland Ribe, 2018.

  Crime is assessed on the basis of 15 indicators for the market and five indicators for the actors.

Criminal market constituents in the Global Organized Crime Index include human trafficking, human smuggling, extortion and protection racketeering, arms trafficking, trade in counterfeit products, illicit trade in excisable goods, flora crimes, fauna crimes, crimes related to non-renewable resources, heroin trade, cocaine trade, cannabis trade, trade in synthetic drugs, cyber-dependent crime and financial crime. Criminal actors may include mafia-style groups, criminal networks, state-embedded actors, foreign actors and private sector actors. (GI-TOC, 2023.)

The resilience analysis is based on the 12 indicators included in the four entities.

The entities describing resilience include leadership and governance, criminal justice and security, economic and financial as well as civic society and social protection.

This data, collected globally from experts using the same method, provides a solid basis for a general review and comparison of the phenomenon (Table 1).

Table 1. Organized crime and resilience in society according to the Global Organized Crime Index in 2023.

The scale for the index number is 1–10 for all variables. The crime situation weakens and resilience strengthens as the number increases.

Source: GI-TOC, 2023; GI-TOC Denmark 2023; GI-TOC Finland 2023; GI-TOC Sweden 2023.

Based on this data, organized crime is less prevalent in Europe compared to the rest of the world. Of the Nordic countries under review, Sweden ranks lowest, and its index figure is in line with the European average. Denmark is somewhat better positioned than Sweden, while Finland is clearly better positioned. The order is the same for both criminal markets and actors. In Finland, the situation is the fourth best in Europe.

Cyber-dependent crime and trade in synthetic drugs are the main areas of organized crime in Finland. The next most important markets are financial crime and trade in cannabis and cocaine. Organized crime in Sweden operates strongly in most areas of crime. Key forms of crime include cyber-dependent crime, financial and drug crime, as well as arms trafficking and human smuggling. In Denmark, organized crime is the most active in the area of cyber-dependent crime.

Cyber-dependent crime is a key activity of organized crime in all of the Nordic countries mentioned in this context. These are defined as organized crimes that are dependent on the use of a computer, computer network or other forms of information communications technology (ICT). These include the spread of viruses or other malware, hacking, distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, ransomware and cryptocurrency fraud. These activities are considered to be conducted for the purpose of obtaining a monetary or material benefit (as opposed to a political or ideological objective). (https://ocindex.net/crime/cyber-dependent_crimes)

The next most important forms of crime are drug trafficking, arms trafficking and human smuggling.

The overall picture of resilience against organized crime is similar to the picture of organized crime. In other words, the overall global results are worse than those of Europe. The Nordic countries under review are in a better position than the whole of Europe, and their order is the same as above in the examination of crime. Finland has the strongest resilience to organized crime in the world. However, resilience is also quite good in all other Nordic countries.

According to the scores for resilience, anti-money laundering is one of the most important areas of development in Denmark. As challenges for Denmark, the qualitative country assessment also highlights the ever-increasing cyber-dependent crime, the brokering of illegal weapons to the Nordic countries and the increasing crowding of prisons. In Sweden, key areas of development include the protection of victims and witnesses and the prevention of the abuse of benefits, corruption and inappropriate influence. In Finland, resilience is at a consistently good level as assessed by all indicators. However, the Global Organized Crime Index highlights the following challenges in the Finnish context: the prevention of money laundering and financial crime, the safety of prisons, online hate speech targeted at the media and hybrid influence across the Russian border.

Although, in the comparison presented above, the situation in Finland is better than in Denmark and Sweden, it is highly relevant to examine the approaches of these countries. Denmark and Sweden are societies similar to Finland in many respects, and there are similar characteristics in crime and crime prevention as well. In addition, the latest strategic programs against organized crime in both countries have been published only recently. Their fresh and diverse range of methods can provide guidelines for Finland’s work against organized crime.

Bandepakke IV, 2023; Regeringens skrivelse 2023/24:67. The report on the challenges and means of combating organized crime in Finland emphasized situational picture, cross-administrative cooperation and the strengthening of administrative measures (Jukarainen, Juutinen & Laitinen, 2023b). Objectives for combating gang crime have been recorded in Finland in the recent action program against gang crime (OM083:00/2023; Järvinen, Alanko & Piispa, 2024).

The key sections of this report refer to organized crime on the one hand and gang crime on the other. This applies to research data, official documents and observations based on study visits. Both terms have been used in the combating of organized crime in both countries.

The debate in Denmark focuses on gang crime. This is also reflected in the fact that strategic programs against organized crime have been called 'gang packages'.

2008/1 SF. L L 211; Justitsministeriet, 2009, 2013/1 SF.L L 112; Bandepakke III, 2017; Bandepakke IV, 2023.

The gang packages apply to both newer regional gangs and traditional organized crime, that is, motorcycle gangs. On the basis of the documents' titles, the model for cooperation between the authorities, launched in Sweden in 2009, and the latest strategic program from 2024, focus on organized crime, while the 34-point program from 2019 focuses on gang crime.

Ds 2008:38; 34-punktsprogrammet, 2019; Regeringens skrivelse 2023/24:67.

There is a lot of overlap in the concepts of organized crime and gang crime.

Decker, Pyrooz, & Densley, 2022; Forss, 2023. See also the recent decision R 23/1629 of the Helsinki Court of Appeal, which contains an interpretation of the interface between gang crime and organized crime (HelHO, 2024).

However, not all gang crime is organized, and on the other hand, organized crime includes other actors in addition to gangs. Gangs often carry a meaning that refers to local groups, whether they are motorcycle gangs or other criminal gangs. However, the term “street gang”, often used in Finland, does not appear much in discussions and documents in the target countries. The term “street gang” generally refers to very different groups and mainly to juvenile delinquency, but in some cases, it can be considered as part of organized crime and gang crime.

Decker et al., 2022; Forss, 2023.

Juveniles may also be otherwise directly or indirectly involved in organized crime or gang activities.

There is also a lot of overlap in the key strategic programs on organized crime and gang crime. It is possible that it has been easier to communicate the goals and measures to the public and get support for them by referring to gang crime rather than organized crime. Organized crime and gang crime can be distinguished in general as described in Figure 1, for example.

Figure 1. Distinguishing organized crime from gang crime

Figure 1 divides crime into organized and unorganized crime. Organized crime refers to systematic activities that take place in a group as described above. Other parts of crime are unorganized crime. Both of the above can be divided into gang crime and crime outside gangs. Some organized crime is gang crime, and some constitutes activities outside gangs. Gang crime can be either organized or unorganized activity, but this report targets organized forms of crime.