These new patterns of modern criminality can be easily discerned not only through
practical experience, but also in the reports of law enforcement and judicial authorities, in data collected at national and international level, and from analysis
available at EU level. SOCTA 2013, the strategic report of the European Police
Office (Europol), is worth mentioning as it provides information to Europe’s law
enforcement community and decision makers about the threat of serious and
organised crime to the EU that could also be relevant at Council of Europe level.17
According to this source “serious and organised crime is an increasingly dynamic
and complex phenomenon, and remains a significant threat to the safety and
prosperity of the EU and of Third Countries”. The key findings of this report show that
traditional crime areas such as international drug trafficking remain a principal cause
for concern. But they also highlight that the effects of globalisation in society and
business have facilitated the emergence of significant new variations in criminal
activity, in which criminal networks exploit legislative loopholes, the Internet and
conditions associated with the economic crisis to generate illicit profits at low risk.