Criminal Associations

Transnational crimes either can involve crossing country borders as an integral or central part of the criminal activity or can include crimes that take place in one country with significant consequences in another country. Criminal associations, also known as transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) or international criminal organizations (ICOs), are the groups of people who are committing these crimes. Criminal associations are significant to the transnational playing field, posing a major threat to the security of individuals, nations, and international relations. Dealing with criminal associations is an enormous task for any government or agency.

The UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (2000, in force 2003) defined an organized crime group to mean a structured group with three or more persons, existing for a period of time and ...