The Police Foundation and Perpetuity Research completed a two-year study which focused on understanding the impact of organised crime in local communities and how this threat is tackled locally.

Some of the most harmful crimes are unacknowledged or not prioritised by the police due to low levels of reporting and the limitations of data collected on such crime. We developed a narrative for organised crime that is rooted at the local level, with a view to recommending local solutions to improving understanding and reducing these harms.

Through developing innovative methods we explored the presence of organised crime in different contexts:

• Fraud – a largely overlooked and poorly understood high volume crime with indications of a link to organised crime
• Child sexual exploitation – an increasing number of victims are at risk from this crime and much of the exploitation is linked to groups of two or more members
• Exploitation in the adult sex market – a rife but largely overlooked market. There is evidence that many criminals are profiting and exploiting those working in brothels
• Acquisitive crime – there is evidence that a high number of shoplifting offences are linked to groups of associated offenders