Medvedev pushes to limit jail for execs

Interesting take on anti-money laundering laws. In Russia they are used to extract bribes...hmmmmm...any lessons for us here?

Leader of ETA detained in France

Article from El Pais [in Spanish, of course] on the three men detained and their alleged history in ETA. English accounts beginning to appear: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8541422.stm

Multimillion couterfeit currency gang jailed

It doesnt say who was making the notes. These are the distributors.

The threat level rises from dissident republican groups

Useful piece from Irish Times on the paramilitary groups that have emerged on the Republican side after the peace process. Strong hint that former IRA members are disenchanted and giving technological support to the new organisations

EU privacy watchdog hammers secret anti-piracy talks

the Commission has been up to its old tricks. Secret negotiations without transparency. Will the bureaucrats never learn? Not much chance. There is a proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. Governments and multinationals conspiring to bring the Internet under their control. They so hate freedom and initiative and they hate us to have private lives over which they have no surveillance. [Discuss]

Beefed up border control agency to respect rights

Frontex officials to get more training. New Home Affairs Commissioner strong on human rights

Lingerie model runs one of largest drug smuggling gangs according to police

Hmmmm. I wonder who does the coercive side? Woman supposed to have moved from Colombia to Argentina and split with Mexican drug lord.

Middle class girlfriends "prized by gang members"

'Twas ever thus. Report by social policy think tank Race on the Agenda. Studies the impact of youth violence on girls. It includes a study of the use of rape.

Mammoth Backlog prompts European Court of Human Rights Reform

120,000 cases pending, 27,000 from Russia alone. Most relate to Chechnya. 47 members of the Council of Europe now. Someone needs to explain to the Conservative party that membership of the Council of Europe involves accepting the supremacy of the European Court of Human Rights and that the UK joined back in 1951. Ah well. We must obey the great Murdoch and his wishes, just as Blair and Brown did.

La montée des affaires de corruption en Italie embarrasse le gouvernement de Silvio Berlusconi

Le Monde examines corruption in Italy Fascinating!

Diverse group of Chinese hackers wrote code in attacks on Google, U.S. companies

Washington Post article quoting an unnamed "source", says attacks only routed through two Chinese college servers. Other papers have suggested students at the two colleges did the hacking freelance...You pays your money...and you pays your money!

Police arrest 395 in Manchester crime crackdown

Some interesting things going on in Manchester. This was aimed at booze-fuelled violence. Might be worth seeing what Manchester Evening News says. this involved "arches" to check for knives and other weapons. Operation Portcullis.

Our differing approaches to terror

Good think piece in the Independent by Geoffrey Wheatcroft. He'll be denounced by the loony right-wing blogosphere. Still, aren't we all?

Medvedev Orders deep Police Reforms

From the Moscow Times. Pay rise may help a little, but massive cultural reform required. Still, Mededev trying to get that Rule of Law train back on the rails. Best of Luck!

Ce n'est pas du pinot noir

I thought this was worth sharing primarily because its a rare example of an English newspaper printing a headline in French. Apparently some film popularised pinot noir in the US, so coops relabelled merlot and shiraz as pinot noir and sold it to E & J Gallo, who, the article alleges, have not yet complained...Nevertheless, the French courts have just fined several companies...Schadenfreude, anyone?

More than 75,000 computer systems hacked in huge cyber-attack, security firm says

Hmmm....Terminology a bit confused in this piece, which must have been written by a junior reporter...always suspect anything from someone selling themselves as the answer to the problem being publicised...Nevertheless, if its true, this is a major operation by organised crime.

Filming Colombia's drug trade

Guardian hosting three freelance film-makers pieces on Colombian drugs trade. Links to first in this piece. 9 minute video.

Leader of Al Qaeda in Maghreb asks prisoners from his organisation not to give up violence

Piece from el Pais on AQMI. Apparently Mauretanian imams have been talking to jihadists in prison in an attempt to deradicalise them

Libya suspends Schengen visas

The move is aimed at Switzerland...an unanticipated consequence!

SGOC February 2010 Newsletter released

You can download a .pdf from the above site. I'm struggling for organised crime stories in February. Please let me know if you come across any!

Five Sydney terror attack plotters sentenced

Details of plot and targets not specified, but chemicals and weapons ordered. Probably be a better account in the Australian press

Scam watch: Phantom flats and money"transfers" to landlords

Guardian piece on fake landlords asking prospective tenants to show a momney transfer receipt to prove they have funds. Police allegedly unhelpful...Is that an oxymoron...or the opposite?

Second SGOC Summer School on Organised Crime

With the support of the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR), its Standing Group on Organised Crime (SGOC) and the European Commission, the Leuven Institute of Criminology (LINC) will be hosting a two-week summer school on Organised Crime in Leuven, Belgium from June 28 to July 9, 2010.
Part of a series of three, the Leuven Summer School is entitled “Understanding and Fighting Organised Crime in the New Europe”. During this two-week period, 25 selected students and practitioners will have the unique opportunity to enrich their knowledge, discuss and critically analyse the challenges posed by organised crime and its control in contemporary Europe with international experts.
An international team of renowned scholars and high-ranking practitioners will give cutting-edge lectures. Confirmed speakers include:

 Dr. Felia Allum, University of Bath, UK
 Prof. Dr. Cyrille Fijnaut, Tilburg University, The Netherlands
 Dr. Philip Gounev, Center for the Study of Democracy, Sofia, Bulgaria and London School of Economics, UK
 Prof. Dr. Dick Hobbs, London School of Economics, UK
 Prof. Dr. Jörz Kinzig, Tübingen University, Germany
 Prof. Dr. Edward Kleemans, Free University Amsterdam and The Netherlands Ministry of Justice, The Netherlands
 Prof. Dr. Krzysztof Krajewski, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
 Dr. Anna Markina, University of Tartu, Estonia
 Prof. Dr. Letizia Paoli, K.U. Leuven, Belgium
 Prof. Dr. Dirk Van Daele, K.U. Leuven, Belgium
 Prof. Dr. Henk van de Bunt, Erasmus University, The Netherlands
 Prof. Tom van der Beken, Ghent University, Belgium
 Prof. Dr. Frank Verbruggen, K.U. Leuven, Belgium
For more information on the summer school, visit http://www.law.kuleuven.be/linc/english/ssoc/ or contact ssoc@law.kuleuven.be
The final deadline for applications will be March 15, 2010; see the website for further details.

Two more arrested in drive against ETA

The Basque police, the Ertzainza, working with the National Police, in the biggest operation against ETA in seven years. There is a link in the article to the previous arrest of what reads like an alleged complete 5-man cell. Time to brush up that Spanish, hombres!

Hacking for fun and profit in China's Underworld

An insight into a Chinese hacker at work. Leaves open the question of how independent of government they are. All a bit William Gibson without the voodoo gods...

Court to rule on reach of US regulator

And long overdue too! Everyone needs to know. Strong feeling the SEC is abusing its powers

The Jihadis next door

Story of an American prominent in the Shabab in Somalia, his background and his friends.

Hull stays top of car theft league

Swindon at the bottom...this all according to Endsleigh

Terrorism Financing Blacklists at risk

Article from the Washington Post that I missed first time around.

How teenage girls are groomed for a life of prostitution by UK gangs

Nasty little story, but this is also a puff for a forthcoming book.

Gangster used Facebook to intimidate enemies from cell

Colin Gunn from Nottingham. Any link to last story?? Original version of this story in Sunday Times. This one in the Independent.

Elite team sent in to rescue struggling Nottingham police

Article from the Independent. I remember being part of a group bidding for a research contract to explain why Nottingham had a crime problem about 20 years ago. We didnt get the contract and I never saw the report. The point is that this isnt new. Its also news to me that the UK possesses an elite team for policing. I assume this is simply a group from HMIC. Note that the aricle also expresses concern about Greaer Manchester Police.