Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, has recently stated that “organised crime is one of the biggest challenges faced by this country.”1 This comment reflects a continued, yet growing, focus on the potentially enormous damage done by serious organised crime. Bearing this in mind, the government has abandoned its incremental, multi-agency reaction to a flourishing problem, in favour of the new, high-profile Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), described as ‘the British FBI’, a new breed of law enforcement organisation armed with a new level of power. This briefing paper is intended to provide delegates attending the Policing Transnational Crimes conference with basic information, an assessment of the organised crime problem faced by the U.K. and the government’s new response to it.
