Criminality

Chapter summary

Criminal activity can be driven by a number of factors, including high inequality, concentrated disadvantage and widespread unemployment. As well as crimes of opportunity, aid organisations can be targeted by organised crime. The distinctions between criminals, conflict parties and other political and economic actors are often very blurred. Non-state armed groups and government authorities frequently collude with crime groups when interests align, and rebel movements often sustain themselves through illicit activities such as drug trafficking. However, for risk analysis and management purposes, organisations still find it useful to distinguish between economically motivated crime and the security risks stemming from armed conflict, ‘acts of terror’ and civil unrest.

Examples of economically motivated crime that aid organisations need to consider in their risk assessment and mitigation strategies include:

• Petty theft
• Burglary
• Extortion and bribery
• Pickpocketing, bag-snatching
• Mugging
• Armed robbery
• Intimidation and extortion
• Carjacking and vehicle theft
• Kidnap for ransom, including ‘express kidnappings’, where victims are held just long enough to force them to withdraw funds with their bank card.

The presence of organised groups seeking to exert control over local areas and inhabitants adds another layer of risk. The risk of harassment and extortion can be especially difficult to mitigate as targeting is persistent rather than opportunistic, and organisations may find themselves repeatedly extorted. Gang culture, social norms and desire for status within the group often create an environment where violence is expected and rewarded. The threat to aid actors working in these contexts requires significant attention and robust security risk management measures.

Good practice in security risk management requires developing an understanding of the context and crime risks, followed by the implementation of measures to mitigate those risks and deter prospective offenders. Measures include increased physical protection of assets and overall site security to prevent theft and break-ins, and staff guidance on how to reduce exposure to crime risks. Some organisations have invested in programming that tackles crime and violence as a way of reducing the risks to the community as a whole.

Just as with other security threats, organisations need to be aware of the criminal threat in the environments where they work and understand how their own presence and programming potentially interact with and affect crime dynamics. While aid organisations have developed tools for mapping, outreach and negotiation with armed groups and political power holders, they rarely take a similarly proactive approach with criminal actors. Some aid organisations have had success in negotiating access with criminal actors by adopting lessons and practices from community development groups that work to decrease violence at the grassroots level.