On 30 August 2022, GIFP component ENACT organised an East Africa regional roundtable on trends in the transnational organised crimes programme. The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) partners, together with the ENACT implementing partners – the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime and INTERPOL – provided an overview of ENACT’s research and analytical work and explored the role of criminal analysis in responding to organised crime in East Africa. The roundtable also sought the input of the in-person and online audience on priorities for future research and technical assistance.
The overarching criminal architecture of the region was first examined through the Africa Organised Crime Index 2021, available here. First launched in 2019, it is a multi-dimensional tool that evaluates criminality and resilience in African countries. The report highlights East Africa’s prevalent criminal markets – human trafficking, human smuggling and arms trafficking are the three largest in the region. Compared to the 2020 index, all but two countries in the region registered an increase in their criminality scores; Kenya and Tanzania registered the greatest increase. In terms of resilience, East Africa has the second lowest score in the continent, with resilience decreasing from 2020 to 2021 in Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Tanzania. Despite having sound legal frameworks and laws against organised crime, the implementation of these measures is often inadequate or absent. Resilience also remains low as a ramification of conflicts in and around the region, as they are a breeding ground for crime. This is, however, not a unidirectional link, as illicit economies contribute to and sustain conflicts in turn.
Following this, Martin Schondelmaier, analyst at the INTERPOL office of Nairobi, Kenya, presented the ENACT-INTERPOL action. This consists of three pillars: crime analysis units; analysis of organised crime in Africa; and the WomENACTion initiative. With criminals increasingly coordinating their businesses online, it is important to analyse digital data and enhance digital analytical skills to develop information into actionable intelligence and apprehend criminals. Through ENACT and with EU funding, INTERPOL is supporting criminal analytical units in Congo, Gabon, Malawi, Niger, Tanzania, and Uganda. INTERPOL provides intensive training and consultation, in addition to equipment and analytical software. These analytical units support and provide operational services to law enforcement on the ground, allowing for proactive policing techniques. Mr. Schondelmaier highlighted how crime analysis is key in fighting organised crime as it acts as a force multiplier. This intelligence also supports timely reports on organised crime in Africa, which in turn empowers policy makers and allows for comprehensive approaches to be established. The latest reports are available here. Finally, the WomENACTion initiative seeks to support and empower female officers, namely through webinars, access to free training resources, and forums to share their experiences in this male-dominated field.
Mr. Richard Okwalinga, head of the Criminal Analysis Unit of the Uganda Police, presented the role of criminal intelligence analysis in the Ugandan police force. The unit’s key tasks include studying, understanding, and analysing data related to criminals, crime suspects, and crime patterns and trends. The analyses of criminal modus operandi and trends are then disseminated to heads of directorates and operational teams to help guide their operations and arrests. Timely analysis of intelligence also provides threat warnings to management. Different types of analyses are carried out, including financial analysis, telephone and communication analysis, Social Network Analysis, and case analysis. Mr. Okwalinga presented some of the challenges that his unit faces, which include data collection challenges, the lack of feedback, and the necessity to constantly prioritise new analysis requests. Nonetheless, the unit provides key insights to support the Uganda Police force at the operational and strategic levels, and guides officers and investigators for the purposes of prosecution.
The Institute for Security Studies’ Regional Coordinator for ENACT presented an overview of research outputs from 2017 to 2022, available here. ENACT has produced more than 358 products since 2017, including research papers, policy briefs, index reports, web pieces, videos and infographics, INTERPOL reports and press releases. ENACT is also engaged in outreach and visibility activities through social media platforms, which has provided it with a solid presence and a platform to build on in the second phase of its activities, which run from 2022 to 2025.
Not only is ENACT a research and knowledge hub, but it also carries out technical engagements in Africa through its established relationship with regional police chiefs and the RECs. Specifically for East Africa, ENACT has supported a regional cooperation agreement for criminal and police matters between East and Central Africa, through the Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation (EAPCCO) and the Central African Police Chiefs Organisation (CAPCCO). This protocol was adopted by 23 countries from both these regions and focuses on issues, amongst others, of intelligence gathering and sharing, criminal pursuits, and exchanges of pirsoners. ENACT, through the ISS, further supported EAPCCO to revise the Mifugo Protocol on Cattle Rustling in East Africa, which was ratified by all states in October 2021. The ISS is continuing to support this process in assisting EAPCCO to establish the Mifugo Implementation Unit aimed at developing a roadmap for implementing the conditions for the protocol.
The seminar ended with a discussion of ENACT’S future research and practice priorities. This discussion identified some of the research areas that participants believe ENACT should focus on during the second phase of this GIFP component. Some of the mentioned topics included trafficking of cultural artefacts, cyber criminality, and the link between organised crime and the fourth industrial revolution.
Overall, a comprehensive view of criminal activity in the region and in the continent is necessary to develop evidence-based policies and measures. Digital criminal analysis is a particularly significant tool that law enforcement can employ to support timely and proactive responses to organised crime both operationally and strategically. Further roundtables are planned for later in the year and early 2023 focusing on the other regions in Africa.
