The prevalence of criminal activities in Canada

The prevalence of criminal activity in Canada has called for specialized approaches to address the problem; one of these is the Criminal Intelligence Service of Canada's, or CISC's, publication of annual reports to help the public better understand these threats to their security and how these criminals use the systems' existing flaws to support organized crime. These reports describe the nation's goals and new problems with organized crime. The majority of them being "outlaw motorcycle gangs, street gangs, economic crimes, money laundering, drug and human trafficking, and corruption." Civilians are expected to get a copy of these annual reports and give CISC feedbacks on the reports’ clarity and effectiveness. They are also expected to use the information provided by the reports to detect suspicious activities in their neighborhood and inform the proper authorities of the same. The reports also include the changes in the nation’s priorities in organized crime and its stand on the issue.

Keywords: CISC, reports, organized crime.

Criminal Intelligence Services Canada Annual Reports

Introduction

Organized crime refers to criminal activities done by at least three persons with hope of benefitting directly or indirectly from them (CISC 2010). These activities vary from cybercrimes, drug and human trafficking, money laundering among others. Their result is infringement on the population’s right to safety and security and high unnecessary costs to curb their occurrence and prevalence in form of insurance covers and running costs of correctional facilities within the state. The Criminal Intelligence Services Canada (CISC) functions to regulate activities of actual and potential criminals by publishing annual reports with the purpose of enlightening the public on the demerits of such criminal activities. These reports also encourage civilians to join arms with the existing law enforcement agencies to reprimand and shun organized crime. This paper is a research paper on CISC’s annual reports on illegal drugs, high-tech crime and illegal migration and human trafficking. It outlines the transformation of the criminal activities mentioned above and the reasons behind their alterations.

Illicit Drugs

The production and consumption of illegal drugs in Canada has been on CISC’s priorities list since the release of the 2002 and the 2010 annual reports. The main drugs are marijuana, cocaine, heroin, cannabis, ecstasy, chemical drugs and methamphetamine (CISC 2005). The culprits are mainly “Asian-based, East European-based, Italian-based and Aboriginal-based” (CISC 2002). Aboriginal-based organized crime group was introduced to the public in CISC’s 2003 report. They support street gangs and other organized crime groups and are mainly situated in correctional facilities within Canada. They facilitate drug-related debt collection and small scale production and distribution of marijuana. They are also known to use violence and their recidivism rates are relatively high compared to other incarcerated criminals (CISC 2003). Asian-based crime groups specialize in importation and distribution of cocaine and heroin and they also deal in large scale production of marijuana. They collaborate with local and international crime groups to facilitate their criminal activities in wider markets. They smuggle drugs into and out of the country with the help of their local and international ‘business’ partners. The main brokers being HELLS ANGELS, a club and street gang, and Vietnamese groups who produce and distribute approximately 80% of the marijuana in Canada (CISC 2002). Italian-based crime groups facilitate importation of illicit drugs into the country. They also produce a significant amount of marijuana through planting the crop.

Previous reports have been discussing the types of criminal activities within the country, the 2007 and the succeeding reports outline the ways through which these organized crime groups infringe on the rights of civilians to safety and security (CISC 2007). This might be to enlighten the public on the different ways in which criminal activities can be done and inform them of their rights and the available policies that have been formulated to protect them from such occurrences. The HELLS ANGELS, for instance, use violence and intimidation to suppress efforts to put the latter to justice; they threaten witnesses to discourage them from testifying against them (CISC 2002). Law enforcement has formulated and implemented policies to ensure that potential victims of the same are put under witness protection and that criminals that decide to use such harmful methods to prevent justice are dealt with accordingly. Other criminal groups use legitimate enterprises to carry out their illegal activities. They can, for instance, provide valid products but use the organization to make illegal deals such as drug smuggling (CISC 2010).

Reports released prior to the 2010 report inform the public of the types of drugs produced and smuggled into the country while the 2010 report shows how the drugs in question are smuggled into the country. Cocaine is hidden in refrigerated compartments of cars, heroin is mostly smuggled in ports by individuals who may put it alongside their belongings or hide them in body parts. The report also shows what these drugs are traded for other than consumption; marihuana is traded for “cocaine, firearms and contraband tobacco” (CISC 2010). This change may function to enable the public to detect and inform the authorities about any suspicious behavior among other travellers and civilians.

Street gangs are also prominent in the production and distribution of illicit drugs. The CISC 2002 report shows how local authorities sought to reduce the prevalence of street gangs; through prohibiting dress codes that depict specific gangs through their colors or writings. The CISC 2010 report shows the measures taken to discourage and eliminate street gangs on national level. CISC’s role is to facilitate the interaction of “analysts and intelligence officers” collecting information about street gangs and their operations to determine the strategies to be adopted to curb these criminal activities (CISC 2010). This shows that the national government is supportive of the local authorities’ aim to fight street gangs.

High-tech Crime

This refers to the use of technology to take advantage of existing gaps in the technological systems to facilitate crime. The East-European Organized Crime, EEOC, is well known to use this technique to facilitate illegal activities within Canada. It consists of technology ‘geeks’ who use their skills to determine which criminal activities to indulge in in the various criminal markets in Canada. They take advantage of new vulnerabilities created in new technological trends and old gaps from the existing technology. Most criminal activities involve “system intrusions, data and identity theft, intellectual property theft and creation of malware” (CISC 2010). The culprits use coined names and make transactions online making it difficult to be tracked down.

The 2003 and 2010 reports have evaluation forms that enable members of the public to grade its effectiveness in communicating various information concerning organized crimes. There are questions which also evaluate the understanding of the public concerning the matter. The report’s clarity and readability is also put to the test and the readers are the determiners. This ensures that the target readers understand the issue and that the report is designed to meet the needs of the latter. Otherwise, the information would be falling on deaf ears and law enforcement would have a difficult time tracking down criminals. The readers are expected to fill in their details concerning their province, the frequency of reading such reports and their current locations. This functions to ensure that all regions within the country are equally reached and educated. The 2010 report also shows the available trends in the market and their existing vulnerabilities which can be used by criminals to pose threats to the public. The increased dependence on smartphones, for instance, is now used by criminals to steal the owner’s information and even money. Many Canadians back up their schedules and other important details on their phones since the former is portable and can be accessed easily compared to desktops and laptops. Criminals hack into these smartphones and use information in them to benefit directly/indirectly. The report also shows how organizations are using the available trends to simplify their work and the existing gaps that can be noticed and used by criminals to access information and funds. The use of computer clouding, for example, enables companies to cut on costs of using IT services, criminals can target such organizations to steal their data from a single source other than from millions of people like before (CISC 2010). This functions to encourage civilians to embrace trends carefully to reduce their chances of being targeted by criminals.

The 2004 report on high-tech crime shows how criminals use frequently used internet services such as emails, video game sites and other chat rooms to close deals involving illegal products and how they use similar internet products to store encrypted data. The measures taken to reduce high-tech crime in Canada are also outlined; training of individuals to determine vulnerabilities in the existing and new technological systems and reduce them before they can be used by criminals; partnership agreements among law enforcement, government and private agencies to determine and adopt effective strategies to reduce the same (CISC 2004). The 2005 report discusses the demerits of high-tech organized crime in Canada. High-tech crime has led to increased financial costs to curb the latter’s effects in terms of insurance covers and the installation costs of new antiviruses and other protection software. Law enforcement has a hard time detecting and prosecuting such criminals since they require investigators with expertise. The 2010 report shows how the victims of high-tech crimes are affected mentally. Their health deteriorates due to increased stress levels, depression, with 15% of them being vulnerable to anxiety attacks. It also shows that most Canadians become victims of high-tech crimes through emails, on phones and are even targeted by their close family members and friends (CISC 2010). This report purposes to inform the public that no one should be trusted. Individuals who know important details about each other are most likely going to use it against them to reap certain benefits. The changes in the aspects of high-tech crime covered also functions to give the public a detailed analysis of all sides of this organized crime.

Illegal Migration and Human Trafficking

Illegal migration involves consent and the victims are aware of what awaits them in their destined locations while human trafficking is mostly as a result of deceit; victims are convinced to pay a certain fee in exchange of better living standards in the destined country (CISC 2006). The 2002 report gives instances where criminals have been caught smuggling immigrants into Canada. The migrants were exposed to inhumane conditions; their means of transport was a homemade boat that lacked windshields irrespective of the extremely low temperatures of the Niagara River (CISC 2002). Some migrants enter Canada by ship, boat and even commercial aircrafts. The 2004 report outlines the challenges faced by illegal migrants once they reach Canada. Women are forced into prostitution to offset their debts to these smugglers/traffickers. Their lack of the necessary credentials to attain jobs in Canada make them resort to unethical practices hence may end up being victims of assault, violence, imprisonment and even deportation. Those that resort to engaging in criminal activities jeopardize Canadians’ safety. Their involvement in sex trade has caused a significant increase in the cases of sexually transmitted diseases among Canadians hence reduced their productivity levels (CISC 2004). Preceding reports merely mention what had been discussed in other reports concerning the matter; repetition is for emphasis.

The general format of recent reports has been changed to include more color other than the normal black and white. This may be to make the reports more appealing to the eye hence gain more attention and readers. In marketing, the color used by a brand can influence buyers. Take for instance, a dull color for a food or sports magazine; it may not be that appealing to the eye hence may end up having low sales. Readers of the CISC reports may get bored with the black and white color which they are accustomed to. Changing the color and using more images depicting various aspects discussed in these reports may enable readers to read the whole report and even encourage others to do the same. Children and teenagers are also highly influenced by colors hence they can become the target audience of these reports. By including color in these reports, CISC can reach out to all members of the public other than a proportion of it like before.

Conclusion

The CISC publishes public reports on organized crime to enlighten members of the public on the available threats to their safety, the perpetrators and the effects of these criminal activities to the immediate victims and the society at large. Informed individuals are capable of detecting suspicious activities within their neighborhoods and informing the authorities of the same without fear of being threatened by these perpetrators. Potential criminals are also warned from indulging in organized crime since the measures taken against them are stipulated in the reports. Evaluation forms provided at the end of these reports see to it that the reports do not deviate from their purpose and that they remain being effective in minimizing and if possible, putting an end to organized crime in Canada.

References

CISC. (2002). Criminal Intelligence Service Canada: Annual Report on Organized Crime in Canada. Criminal Intelligence Service Canada.

CISC. (2003). Criminal Intelligence Service Canada: 2003 Annual Report on Organized Crime in Canada. Criminal Intelligence Service Canada.

CISC. (2004). Criminal Intelligence Service Canada: 2004 Annual Report on Organized Crime in Canada. Criminal Intelligence Service Canada.

CISC. (2005). Criminal Intelligence Service Canada: 2005 Annual Report on Organized Crime in Canada. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada.

CISC. (2006). Criminal Intelligence Service Canada: 2006 Annual Report on Organized Crime in Canada. Criminal Intelligence Service Canada.

CISC. (2007). Criminal Intelligence Service Canada: 2007 Annual Report on Organized Crime in Canada. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada.

CISC. (2010). Criminal Intelligence Service Canada: Report on Organized Crime in Canada. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada.