The Beat
New resources on organised crime
There are some interesting new resources out on organised crime. The Global Initiative has created a framework (PDF) for how national development actors can analyse and more effectively respond to organised crime and illicit markets. The framework offers a three-step exercise for moving beyond traditional approaches which focus more on measuring crime rather than its impact. Insight Crime has also recently released a report (PDF) investigating the links and interactions between elites, which it defines as decision-makers, influencers, political operators and those controlling the means of production, and organised crime in Latin America. The report illustrates the complex and intertwined nature these relationships in four case studies: Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Colombia.
Report on gun violence
Brookings has published a new report (PDF) looking at the extent of underreporting of gun violence in the US. It uses data from a surveillance tool called ShotSpotter to compare the surveillance data on gun violence to data from traditional sources (i.e. reported crimes and 911 calls). The findings suggest that surveillance and sensor data can paint a more accurate picture of gun violence, making it easier to understand crime patterns and focus crime-reduction policies.
Review of the Victorian Community Crime Prevention Program
The Victorian Parliamentary Secretary for Justice, Ben Carroll MP, has released a review of the Community Crime Prevention Program of 2015, highlighting the importance of empowering local government and community organisations to respond to local crime issues. Read the review here (PDF).
CT Scan
New CT powers for NSW
New counterterrorism legislation tabled in Parliament on Wednesday May 4 will enable NSW police to question and detain suspects as young as 14 for up to two weeks without charge. Under previous NSW law suspects could be detained for up to two weeks but police were unable to question them unless they were charged with a terrorism offence. If implemented, the law will allow a judge to renew orders for detention of a suspect every 48 hours. The Council of Australian Governments agreed in April that the NSW law would be used as a template for a nationwide legislative model. Read more here.
ASEAN ADMM-Plus Counterterrorism Exercise kicks off
The 2016 ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM-Plus) Maritime Security and Counter Terrorism Exercise kicked off on 3 May in Brunei. The exercise—which will run until May 9—aims to enhance cooperation on maritime security and counterterrorism through collaborative field training including communication exercises, visit, board, search and seizure skills exchange, flight deck familiarisation, and a land-based counterterrorism exercise. Australian Special Forces, Navy ships HMAS Anzac and HMAS Bathurst are set to rehearse a maritime terrorism scenario as part of the exercise. Efforts to combat terrorism have been heartland to ASEAN since its 2001 ASEAN Joint Action to Counter Terrorism.
US air-strike kills Australian Daesh Recruiter Neil Prakash
The US has revealed an air strike killed prominent Australian Daesh recruiter Neil Prakash. The strike took place in Mosul in northern Iraq on 29 April, targeting a meeting of Daesh operatives. Prakash was considered a senior Daesh member by Australian authorities, believed to have left Melbourne for Syria in 2013. Meanwhile the sister of teen who shot police officer Curtis Cheng at Paramatta Station on 2 October 2015 is believed to have been killed in a US airstrike in Syria.
Checkpoint
In the face of Europe’s refugees, Iceland bolsters security
With increasing numbers of asylum seekers pouring into the Schengen Area, a new report by Iceland’s Ministry for the Interior has suggested the country needs to make improvements to its security arrangements. They suggest enhancing the monitoring of residence permits and greater scrutiny of passenger records. From 1956 through to January of this year, Iceland has accepted a grand total of 584 refugees. (Here’s an overview of Iceland’s refugee policy.)
Making a motza in the border systems market
A new market research report forecasts a projected compound annual growth rate of 7.16% between 2016 and 2022 in border security systems market. With the need for more advanced technology use in border security systems (like biometric, perimeter intrusion detection, and command and control systems) to keep up with the dynamic and evolving threats of terrorism, geopolitical instabilities and increasing territorial conflicts, the report expects that the market will reach a value of $52.95 billion by 2022.
First Responder
Top investors ranked on managing climate risk
Less than a fifth of the world’s top investors are actively attempting to mitigate global warming, a new report by the Asset Owners Disclosure Program (AODP) has discovered. The AODP Global Climate 500 Index scored pension funds, insurers, foundations, sovereign wealth funds and endowments in three categories—engagement, risk management and low-carbon investment—to determine their success at managing climate risk. Some improvements have been made—the report found support for climate resolutions, such as the Paris Agreement, grew by 63% in the last year.
Water shortages linked to lower GDP
A World Bank report (PDF) released on 3 May has warned that water shortages will have a brutal impact on Middle Eastern, central Asian and African economies by 2050. The bank’s projections suggested that the growing demand for cities and agricultural production—which leads to water shortages—could decrease GDP by 14% in the Middle East and by 11% Central Asia. In order to reverse the trend, the report suggested good water management policies such as the replacement of old and leaky pipes would be required. The report comes only weeks after a new study from MIT found that by 2050, almost half the world’s population may be facing ‘a high risk of severe water stress’.