Crime and Society

Crime continues to be one of our greatest societal challenges, and the need for knowledge about its development and measures to reduce it are significant. The project focuses on organized crime that has a major impact on society. 

Running from 2025 to 2027, this initiative builds on the insights and outcomes of a previous research project, Crime and society 2022-2024. 

Organized crime includes unlawful influence, infiltration, corruption, and  violence. It affects everyday citizens, politicians, public officials, and business owners alike. The driving force behind crime is often financial gain. The profits generated from crime are then reinvested in continued criminal activities. Criminal networks create and maintain illegal markets but also seek out and exploit vulnerabilities in various legal systems and individuals. 

Crime Markets 

This project adopts a comprehensive perspective, exploring the diverse markets in which criminals operate. Historically, the drug market has received significant attention in criminal policy and by law enforcement agencies. Recent data shows that other markets can be just as lucrative for organized crime. For example, fraud targeting individuals, companies, and welfare systems has increased significantly. Labor market related crime and illegal waste management have also received increasing attention. The economic consequences of such crimes are far-reaching, including reduced tax revenues and unfair competition with legitimate businesses. 

To disrupt these illegal operations, targeting money laundering is paramount. By intercepting the process of converting illicit gains into legal assets, authorities can weaken the financial foundations of criminal enterprises. 

Society’s Response 

The development requires crime prevention and law enforcement agencies to develop their tools and methods. Additional agencies are included in the work against organized crime and to stop the criminal economy. Municipalities have been given a new statutory crime prevention responsibility. The role of the business sector and civil society is also receiving increasing attention. 

International Lessons 

Given that organized crime transcends borders, international collaboration has become indispensable. Both bilateral and multilateral efforts are critical. 

The EU has adopted a number of priorities to combat serious and organized crime, such as drug trafficking, smuggling, money laundering, and cybercrime. The project will highlight examples of how the EU and its member states are addressing the increasingly well-organized criminal networks. 

New Knowledge 

As society evolves, so do the patterns of crime, creating a need for new research and analysis. Researchers from different disciplines and countries will participate in the project. The project’s reference group plays a crucial role by providing researchers with valuable insights and expertise drawn from their diverse fields of experience. 

Ongoing Studies

Predict, Target, Prevent: A Data-Driven Approach to Reducing Fraud

Fraud can cause significant financial harm to those affected and lead to substantial societal costs. This report measures the effect of two different preventative interventions against fraud targeting households. Individuals in areas with a high risk of fraud receive either personal information or written information aimed at reducing the number of fraud cases. The report contributes to knowledge about which measures are effective in preventing fraud.  

Author: Tom Kirchmaier, professor and director of the Policing and Crime Research Group at London School of Economics. 

To be published: spring 2026 

Organized Crime within the Legal Economy: A Summary of the State of Research

Economic crime has proven particularly attractive to criminal networks due to its high returns and low levels of risk. This report examines how organized crime operates within the legal economy, for example through welfare crime, misuse of businesses, and cooperation with facilitators. By gathering and analyzing previous research, this report contributes to a cohesive image of the state of research and to the development of policy measures.

Author: Alberto Chrysoulakis, doctor and senior lecturer at the Department of Criminology, Malmö University

To be published: fall 2027

Public Procurement as a Crime Scene: Structures, Motivations, and Countermeasures

Corruption within public procurement causes useful resources to be wasted, undermines public trust in political institutions as well as democracy, and obstructs efforts to promote effective competition. In this report, the researchers describe where and how corruption arises within public procurement and shed light on its potential consequences. The report adopts an economic and jurisprudential approach to the topic and provides an empirical analysis of media-reported cases as well as interviews with relevant stakeholders. Drawing upon its findings, the researchers suggest countermeasures aimed at preventing and detecting irregularities.

Authors: Sofia Lundberg, professor in economics at Umeå School of Business, Economics and Statistics, Umeå University and Tom Madell, professor in law at the Department of Law, Umeå University

To be published: fall 2027

Connections: A Social Network Perspective on Swedish Organized Criminal Groups

While the structures and social networks of organized criminal groups have been studied internationally, research evidence from the Swedish context is limited. Using data from court cases in which the encrypted messaging services Anom, Sky ECC and EncroChat were used in connection with criminal activity, the researchers analyze the social networks within Swedish criminal gangs. The report contributes to a better understanding of how organized crime is enabled by criminal network structures.

Authors: Kim Moeller, professor in criminology at the Department of Criminology, Malmö University and Sebastian Näsström, PhD candidate in criminology at the Department of Criminology, Malmö University

To be published: spring 2027

Peers, Networks and Crime: New Evidence from Swedish Administrative and Police Data

How does an individual’s social network influence their likelihood of committing a crime or being recruited into criminal activity? This report examines the importance of peer effects on an individual’s propensity to engage in crime. It reviews previous research in the field and presents new empirical findings from Sweden. Using administrative data, the report evaluates how effective current interventions are in reducing criminal behavior.

Author: Magdalena Dominguez, senior researcher at the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), London

To be published: fall 2027

Risks and Vulnerabilities in the Market for Industrial Waste

Illegal waste management is a growing problem that imposes significant costs on society and poses serious risks to both the environment and human health. This report aims to analyse the economic and institutional factors that enable illegal waste management in the market for industrial waste and to present concrete policy proposals to counter this problem. Through interviews, quantitative analysis and a case study of the Think Pink case, market vulnerabilities, loopholes and incentive structures are identified. The results highlight how market failures and lack of control contribute to the problem, while discussing potential solutions.

Author: Emanuel Wittberg, postdoc at the Institute of Economic and Industrial Development, Linköping University

To be published: 2027.