Violence has been an increasing problem in Trinidad and Tobago over the past decade. This violence is frequently driven by a number of gang factions that exist in the country. Of note is violence that involves musicians who perform Trinibad, a genre of dancehall that typically chronicles gang life and plays a role in gang disputes. This exploratory study evaluates publicly available information, including social media posts and released tracks, to determine the linkages between musicians, their entourages, and associates in violent crime or violent threats occurring in the country.

Organised crime is a global phenomenon. In Britain, organised crime primarily centres on the illicit drugs trade. Organised criminal groups (OCGs) have grown increasingly powerful as a result of profits to be made. The extent to which OCGs have become increasingly sophisticated was perhaps brought to light when police operation Folklore resulted in the apprehension of ‘Scotland most sophisticated Organised Crime Group’, in 2019. It is estimated the OCG had a monthly intake of approximately £2,000,000 from the sale of cocaine and heroin, in addition, to a fleet of modified supercars, military grade weaponry, anti-surveillance technology, and explosives. Perhaps, more worryingly, was links to South American cartels, and mafia-like structures across Europe, as well as political ties. Yet, while organised crime has increased, and become cemented on drug supply in Scotland, no research exists chronologically tracking, and signaling how organised crime became centred around this phenomenon. The paper thus traces the growth and development of drug related organised criminal activity in Scotland, linking predecessors together while also identifying the conditions which give rise to such groups and a growing drugs market. The research compiled here comprises of primary and secondary sources of data, including interviews with ex-offenders involved in organised crime, practitioners and public members with relevant and expert insight into organised crime in Scotland. Statements and insights are supported by analysis of historical text and others sources on the subject. The paper details the chronological development of drug-based organised crime in west and central Scotland, and puts forward recommendations as to how best tackle the problem. In addition, suggested areas of future research are acknowledged.

This presentation will explore youths’ narratives regarding the micro-level of the drug trade in Maceió and its relationship to violent street crime, as well as structural aspects of bocas and drug trafficking networks and their dynamic over the city. Drug dealers seem to have discovered the perfect environment to expand their business in the grotas—deprived neighbourhoods—of Maceió. In grotas, dealers found similar social conditions to those existing in deprived areas of big cities, such as in São Paulo’s and Rio de Janeiro’s favelas: poverty, lack of opportunities, and male youths looking for profitable occupations. In addition, the growth of drug consumption in the city has intensified the engagement of youths in retail drug selling and increased the proliferation of bocas. The bocas in Maceió were described in several ways: a set of locations for drug retail selling; a room or a house where the drug is processed and distributed for retail sale; and the territorial domain of sellers and donos (owners of the boca). This concept is contrasted with pontos, spots on the streets, or beach areas where the youths sell the drug directly to consumers. The drug trade in Maceió and the access to firearms are the leading causes of violent street crimes in Maceió committed by youth. The model of the drug trade implemented in Brazil and Latin America, especially with the rise of the cocaine trade after the 1980s, adopted armed violence to both strengthen and expand the drug market and build a front-line defense against repressive policies adopted by the governments. This violent model is the primary cause of lethal violence among youth throughout the country. Medium-sized Brazilian cities, such as Maceió, become alternatives for the expansion of the drug trade since male youths in these areas are prone to engage in such dangerous activity to access money.

The EU has made several different attempts to adopt a common criminal law approach to the organised illicit trade in counterfeit products. Such an approach can be seen as the necessary enforcement tool for the protection of trademarks, which are essential tools for commercial enterprises operating in the EU internal market. A legislative package, proposed by the Commission in 2005, failed amidst discussions on EU competence in the criminal law area. Currently, criminal law enforcement of the existing EU internal market intellectual property acquis is defined by international treaties and by patchwork domestic legislation. This uncoordinated approach creates difficulties in investigations and prosecutions and hampers international cooperation. Reports specify problems in reaching convictions due to divergencies in the required levels of intent, and because national laws differ on whether or not the law requires that the illicit trade happened on a commercial scale, on whether or not wrongful packaging is included as an offence, and whether or not domestic courts assess consumer confusion as an element of the intellectual property offence. Moreover, sentencing levels vary enormously. In the absence of clear policy coordination, other actors have stepped in such as Eurojust and the IPO. A new development is that the EU Court of Justice issued an extensive judgment discussing both issues of the legality of the relative offence definitions, and the proportionality of sentences, which should remain within certain limits. With this, the question is whether it will be possible to move towards a more common approach in the criminal law protection of trademarks within the EU. Elements of that approach could include harmonisation efforts aimed at adopting a clear offence definition, setting minimum-maximum penalties and improving opportunities for international cooperation. This presentation aims to propose such a new approach and to explore the various elements it should include.

This presentation draws on the recently published book, Legalising the Drug Wars A Regulatory History of UN Drug Control (Cambrige University Press, 2021) and GI-TOC research papers on the evolution of the UN crime control conventions. It presents a novel historiographical and international analysis of the multilateral drug and crime control system as governed by the United Nations. Drawing on extensive archival research and a new international relations complex regime theory analysis, the work challenges many preconcieved notions of power dynamics, state interests and bureaucratic compromise in the process of creating the global drug regulatory system. Through its mixed methodology approach it helps unravel some of the varied and complex inter and intra state interests which informed global policy formulation. The work has important implications for UN reform discussions as it provides a more nuanced theory of change for reforming national and international drug and crime legislation.