The COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to think differently about many things. Still, this crisis has given us a much-needed opportunity to look at our society and our lives differently and in a better informed and contextual manner. One such opportunity regards the community problem of Organized Crime. Examining the problem of Organized Crime alongside what we have learned from the pandemic reveals how we need to think differently about this problem and our approaches for countering it.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, media coverage has shown us how Organized Crime has diversified to take advantage of new opportunities and exploit new weaknesses and victims. As our society became increasingly dependent on online interactions and transactions, Organized Crime followed. Cybercrime such as fraud and online sale of counterfeit goods rapidly increased. Soon we learned how Organized Crime has found ways to benefit from our society’s efforts to help those who are worst impacted by the pandemic. The Canada Revenue Agency has warned that the Canada Emergency Response Benefit program is targeted by Organized Crime. Last October, Organized Crime was believed to have stolen billions from the Job Aid program in the United Kingdom. Furthermore, Organized Crime produces counterfeit and substandard personal protection equipment that puts our critical front-line workers, and us all, at risk. Finally, authorities warn that Organized Crime is again profiting from undermining our public health measures by selling fake COVID-19 test certificates. All this is to say, Organized Crime is ruthlessly exploiting the opportunities the pandemic has made available to them, regardless of the cost to society and the outright victimization of others.
Furthermore, by offering emergency relief in societies where they operate, Organized Crime strengthens its foothold, control and immunity within these societies by exploiting the vulnerabilities and disparity caused by the pandemic. Groups involved in Organized Crime are known to have enforced public health measures and handed out food, sanitizers, masks and other essentials to people in areas under their influence. These actions bolster their reputation and pitch them against the government as the real authority in these societies.
Thus, Organized Crime is more ingrained in society than we tend to think. It is not “just” an organized manner of committing atrocious crimes such as human trafficking or drug trafficking and manufacturing. Instead, it is like a parasite that has grown within our community and abuses the host society’s infrastructure, weakening its functionality and quality of life. As our society progresses, Organized Crime consistently evolves in order to exploit our joint efforts by utilizing its sophisticated networks, business operations, specialized skills, and the underground economy. Those involved indiscriminately take advantage of any opportunity and are even willing to profit from weakening our abilities to fight a world pandemic. Therefore, it is paramount that we focus on what makes the operations of Organized Crime so successful. The methods by which they operate allows them to amass such wealth and power by victimizing their fellow citizens.
We need to come together as a society to stand a chance against the Organized Crime plague. We have learned that we cannot rely solely on the healthcare system for dealing with a world pandemic. Likewise, it takes a coordinated effort from our society’s entire infrastructure to impact epidemics such as Organized Crime.
It is not to say that the staff at City Hall need to join the team at the police station, but they, like others, need to change their practices and processes to prevent the spread of the Organized Crime virus. The same is true for the private sector, for they too can help prevent further outbreaks if they choose to act as barriers rather than facilitators for Organized Crime. The good people in our restaurant industry have been vital in thwarting the spread of the COVID virus by generating space and atmosphere that is not conducive to spreading the disease. Finally, we need to emphasize individual practices and participation in countering Organized Crime. We all need to decide if we want to be part of the solution. We need to avoid condoning or supporting any activities involving or facilitating Organized Crime. This call to action is not dissimilar from how we have also needed to be prepared to do our best to maintain our physical distancing from one another, wash our hands, wear masks where appropriate, and otherwise do what we can to thwart the spread of COVID.
We need to think differently about complex problems such as Organized Crime. It starts with realizing how their success is less dependent on the type of crimes they are involved with and has more to do with how they operate. This is apparent from how Organized Crime has diversified during COVID. Consequently, we need to understand what it is in our society that allows their operations to thrive and abuses our community and decrease our quality of life. Only based on such understanding can we develop an informed and strategically coordinated response.
