GSS EU Science Funding Gateway

The shape of the organised crime evolves, apart from traditionally closed, clandestine criminal structures, and investigators are increasingly confronted with modern, flexible, specialised and “multi-ethnic” organisations with a global operational range. As these groups seem not to work within permanent multi-layered structures but with various actors delivering on demand services, some of the organised crime characteristics might be subject to a review. Actors in the shadow economy while seeking to maximise their profit, take instant advantage of new ways of operations, exploring and benefiting from modern technologies and organisational schemes to achieve their goals, thus resulting in dynamic transformation of subject networks. The observed trend may be a challenge for the codified laws and definitions of organised crime as supposedly sealed off to outsiders and characterised by fixed and permanent cooperation. In order to enhance the fight against organised crime at the European level, there is a need for distinct research to gain comprehensive insight into the internal workings of modern organised crime structures and their marketplaces.