Crime

WHAT'S NEXT?: Crime is morphing away from traditional methods to more sophisticated technological approaches. A decline of traditional hierarchical criminal groups and networks will be accompanied by the expansion of a virtual criminal underground made up of individual criminal entrepreneurs. At the same time, forward-looking agencies are equipping themselves with smart technologies to outfox the criminals. Keep up to date with crime changes below.

• What's growing clearer with each day is that the United States and its allies will likely have to contend with extremist, Islamist terrorism for perhaps decades to come.
• Police forces in the UK should abandon their tests of computer programs to predict where crimes are likely to happen and whether individuals are likely to re-offend, human rights pressure group Liberty says.
• The full implications of the UK's exit from the European Union are expected to emerge over the next few years, presenting a number of risks for policing.
• Later in the year, mobile payments will be accepted forUK citizen payments to local authorities, the police, and NHS organisations, the government hopes.
• Patterns of trade are expected to become more regionalised in coming years with hubs around the US, China and the European Union.
• More US airstrikes in Somalia against Al Shabaab will not bring peace to the troubled nation or discourage the terrorist group from continuing its operations.
• Home Office allocates £35 million to police forces for violence reduction units - Violence reduction units will take a multi-agency approach, bringing together police, local government, health, community leaders and other key partners to tackle violent crime and its underlying causes.
• Terrorist organizations in Afghanistan want to systematically eliminate United Nations forces from each location in Afghanistan, and they know that small arms fire and high explosives, although effective, will fall short of forcing enemy troops to leave.
• While the Donald J. Trump administration has suspended security assistance to Pakistan precisely to compel further action on terrorism, there are more steps that Washington could take.
• The only new pressure Trump generated against Pakistan came from leaning closer to India and pressing it publicly to increase development support to Afghanistan - a risky choice since much of Pakistan's support for Afghan terrorist networks is done out of fears of Indian encirclement.
• There will be struggles among regional powers (including Turkey, Russia, and Iran), an uncertain future for Kurdish fighters, repercussions for refugees, and continued challenges to countering terrorism and securing peace.
• A bill to increase security assistance for synagogues was introduced in the Senate on Friday with bipartisan support, providing up to $75 million a year for nonprofit institutions to fortify themselves against violent threats and terrorist attacks.
• Organised crime poses such a threat to the UK that an extra £3bn will be needed to fight it over the next three years, the National Crime Agency says.
• Turkey risks overextending itself to address security concerns regarding Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorist operations; a lack of capacity and concern for civilian protection can result in a lack of due diligence and care to prevent harm to Kurdish civilians.
• The US State Department has warned of further attacks in Sri Lanka in a revised travel advisory, urging increased caution and adding: Terrorist groups continue plotting possible attacks in Sri Lanka.
• The Swedish government is planning to introduce a new anti-terrorism law later this year, which will make participating in a terrorist organisation a crime that comes with a maximum six-year prison sentence - the same penalty for theft.
• Violent extremism, terrorism and hybrid threats have grown to constitute only some of the new sources of major risks to security, peace and stability around the world.
• The UK government will allocate extra funding to tackle serious violence and knife crime concerns, providing £100 million to police forces in the most affected areas of England and Wales.
• £80 million of new funding will be provided to police forces in England in 2019/20, to tackle serious violence and knife crime.
• Even if ISIS is defeated in this particular part of the Euphrates Valley, the terrorist group will still have a wide presence across Syria and Iraq.
• In the coming years, especially after a U.S. withdrawal, Damascus might seek to attract U.S. and European support to fight Islamic State remnants and otherwise portray itself as part of a counterterrorist coalition.
• The global threat of terrorism is more diffuse and more diverse than ever before, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) remains the driving influence.

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Last updated: 24 August 2019