Crime

• [New] During the year, the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) warned that terrorist groups attempted to reach Libya following the collapse of ISIS's territorial caliphate in the Levant.
• [New] A third of UK banks have revealed that human trafficking already accounts for significant financial losses and, recent data suggests that the projected total cost to financial institutions to detect financial crime stands at $180.9 billion globally - $138.8 billion in Europe.
• [New] U.S. officials have been warning that a new wave of sanctions will target allies of Hezbollah, which is considered a terrorist organization by Washington.
• [New] Terrorism Index in the United Kingdom is expected to reach 5.10 by the end of 2020.
• [New] Without a deal, the loss of operational effectiveness for UK law enforcement agencies - including in Northern Ireland - will be profound, undermining modern intelligence led policing and putting the safety of the public at risk.
• [New] Terrorism Index in Nigeria is expected to reach 8.90 by the end of 2020.
• In the United States, the recent and continually unfolding history of the rapid adoption of BWCs in the past decade (the 2010s) provides clues as to what both police and citizens expect cameras to accomplish.
• Hezbollah is expected to continue striking deals with armed militias and terrorist organizations in Syria as part of implementing the Iranian agenda in the areas under its control.
• For Iraq to move past the wreckage of ISIS, prevent the terrorist group's resurgence, and advance its struggling democracy, the Kakai must not only be protected but woven more meaningfully into the diverse tapestry that is Iraq - and the United States has the opportunity to help.
• Food crime is a global threat and costs the UK economy around £1.2bn each year.
• In the long-term, the United States of America Terrorism Index is projected to trend around 5.80 in 2021.
• The current reality is that black Americans have a significantly higher risk of being killed by police; men of color face a nontrivial lifetime risk of being killed by law enforcement.
• The Government assesses that ISIS, even after losing significant territory in Iraq and Syria, remains the primary transnational terrorist threat to the United States.
• The global terrorist threat from Daesh remains high, and its leadership is planning terrorist attacks in the border area between Syria and Iraq.
• One lingering question for policymakers is whether the United States will remain a primary target of terrorist groups such as al Qaeda even as it cedes its position of global preeminence.
• TRIP has helped make terrorism risk insurance available and affordable in the United States, and that the market for terrorism risk insurance has been relatively stable for the past decade.
• The global terrorist threat from ISIL remains high, and its leadership is planning terrorist attacks in the border area between Syria and Iraq.
• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Hezbollah and other terrorist groups operating in Syria that Israel would not hesitate to take further action if needed.
• In response to several synchronized terrorist attacks against high-profile targets in Saudi Arabia in early 2022, the regime in Riyadh mobilizes forces along the Saudi-Iraqi border to prevent further Iranian infiltration.
• Airline bosses are reassessing trends in passenger numbers, which had been expected to double in the next 15 years, just as they had with metronomic regularity since 1988, despite blips after the 9/11 terrorist attacks of 2001 and the financial crisis of 2007-09.
• As international humanitarian and aid responses to COVID-19 increase, governments should emphasise the importance of implementing the risk-based approach when mitigating the risk of funds being diverted to support terrorists and terrorist groups.
• Increased activity of the Taliban and terrorist groups such as ISIS in the northern regions bordering Central Asia is a threat to Tajikistan.

Last updated: 24 October 2020