PREVENT
PREVENT is a multi-country project aimed at tackling security threats in Europe by contributing to an improved intelligence picture, enhancing the understanding of their infiltration into the legal economy, and promoting an integrated prevention approach.
Criminal networks pose a serious threat at both the Swedish and European levels. The current situation demands a qualified response from societal actors. The aim of the project is to develop a more intelligence-led understanding of high-capacity criminal networks (high risk criminal networks, HRCN) and to increase knowledge of relevant crime prevention models, with a particular focus on administrative measures. By enhancing knowledge of how these criminal networks infiltrate the business sector in eight European cities, and how this can be prevented and countered through so-called barrier models, proposals for action will be developed that can be applied at both European and national levels. A secondary aim of the project is to deepen understanding of which types of criminal networks are more harmful to society than others. As part of the project, certain administrative measures not currently in place in Sweden will also be explored and described, with particular emphasis on the social reuse of confiscated assets. This material may provide a clearer picture of whether such measures could be suitable for implementation in countries beyond those where they currently exist.
Duration: 1 January 2025 – 31 December 2026
About PREVENT
High-risk criminal networks (HRCNs) currently pose one of the most serious security threats in Europe. The organized crime (OC) landscape is marked by increasingly networked, fluid, and profit-driven international operations. Recent reports reveal HRCNs successful use the legal ‘upper world’ to facilitate or conceal criminal activities. In light of HRCNs’ evolving tactics, the European Commission (EC) and other law enforcement agencies (LEAs) at the national and EU levels have underscored the urgent need to better identify the most dangerous OC groups or networks.
PREVENT is a multi-country project aimed at addressing these critical challenges. The project seeks to tackle high-risk criminal networks (HRCNs) in Europe) by contributing to an improved intelligence picture, enhancing the understanding of their infiltration into the legal economy, and promoting an integrated prevention approach. This includes applying administrative measures and increasing public and social reuse of confiscated assets to foster alternative local level economic development models – an underutilized tool across Europe.
Objectives
Enhance Intelligence on HRCNs
Strengthen collaboration between academics and institutions to improve data collection and analysis on criminal networks and their finances.
Expected outcome: Improve capacity of LEAs to identify HRCN, their criminal finances, business models and use of the legitimate economy.
Promote Administrative Approaches
Identify and share effective administrative measures to combat HRCNs at national and EU levels.
Expected outcome: Increased adoption of administrative tools to prevent and disrupt HRCN activities.
Boost Social Reuse of Confiscated Assets
Promote social reuse of confiscated assets implementation as an innovative tool to fight crime among stakeholders at all levels (local, national, and European).
Expected outcome: Greater awareness and understanding of the benefits of social reuse for crime prevention.
Strengthen Strategic Public-Private Cooperation
Foster dialogue among stakeholders at the local, national and EU levels in prevention and fighting HRCN.
Expected outcome: Improved partnerships leading to strategic crime prevention and community development.
PREVENT Publications
Preventive and Administrative Measures Against High-Risk Criminal Networks
An Overview of Policies and Gaps at the European, National, and Local Scale
Authors: Lienke Hutten, Lars Merkus, Joeri Vig
To effectively counter organised crime and high-risk criminal networks, criminal law alone often falls short. Across the European Union, the administrative approach is increasingly recognised as a crucial strategy to disrupt the infiltration of criminal networks in the legal economy. This study maps both the legislative framework and practical initiatives that support the administrative approach on organised crime drawing on contributions from six member states: Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Bulgaria, and Italy.
Social Economy Policies for Combating Organised Crime
A mapping of frameworks and practices across the EU
Authors: Prof. Michele Mosca, University of Naples “Federico II”, Italy
Marcella Militello, BASTA! - Belgian Antimafia Steps Towards Awareness, Belgium
Contributions:
Federica Storci, Denise Ciardiello, Serrine Kouider, BASTA!, Belgium
Caterina Scialla, Carlotta De Biasio, University of Naples “Federico II”, Italy
The report underlines the role of the social economy sector which acts as a counterweight to organised crime by regenerating social capital, restoring trust in public institutions, and enabling the social reuse of confiscated assets.
Social Economy should be therefore recognised as a cornerstone of this strategy, an antidote to the criminal economy, a vehicle of restorative justice, and a foundation of a fair, inclusive and resilient Europe.
Moreover, following the Directive (EU) 2024/1260 on Assets confiscation and building on the Italian experience of social reuse of confiscated assets, the report will examine how European policies can reinforce and scale such practices, enabling the social reuse model to operate as a multiplier across the European Union.
PREVENT on Social Media
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Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for them.