"The report analyses the current state and trends in serious and organised crime in Bulgaria. The report estimates the threats generated by these criminal activities and ranks them according to the harm they cause Bulgarian society. The analysis is intended to support a better informed evidence-based design of anti-crime policies."--Editor.

This strategic report is Europol's flagship product providing information to Europe's law enforcement community and decision-makers about the threat of serious and organised crime to the EU. The SOCTA is the cornerstone of the multiannual policy cycle established by the EU in 2010. This cycle ensures effective cooperation between national law enforcement agencies, EU institutions, EU agencies and other relevant partners in the fight against serious and organised crime. Building on the work of successive EU organised crime threat assessments (OCTA), produced between 2006 and 2011, and in line with a new methodology developed in 2011 and 2012, this is the inaugural edition of the SOCTA.

This report is one of several studies conducted by UNODC on organized crime threats around the world. These studies describe what is known about the mechanics of contraband trafficking - the what, who, how, and how much of illicit flows - and discuss their potential impact on governance and development. Their primary role is diagnostic, but they also explore the implications of these findings for policy. Publisher's note.

In The globalization of crime: a transnational organized crime threat assessment, UNODC analyses a range of key transnational crime threats, including human trafficking, migrant smuggling, the illicit heroin and cocaine trades, cybercrime, maritime piracy and trafficking in environmental resources, firearms and counterfeit goods. The report also examines a number of cases where transnational organized crime and instability amplify each other to create vicious circles in which countries or even subregions may become locked. Thus, the report offers a striking view of the global dimensions of organized crime today.

Human trafficking and smuggling of migrants: Four of the 12 illicit flows reviewed in this report involve human beings. The first two concern movement between the countries of the region, one for general labour and one for sexual exploitation. The third concerns the smuggling of migrants from the region to the rich countries of the West, and the last focuses on migrants smuggled through the region from the poor and conflicted countries of South and Southwest Asia. Drug trafficking: The production and use of opiates has a long history in the region, but the main opiate problem in the 21st century involves the more refined form of the drug: heroin. In addition, methamphetamine has been a threat in parts of East Asia for decades (in the form of yaba tablets), but crystal methamphetamine has recently grown greatly in popularity. Virtually every country in the region has some crystal methamphetamine users, and some populations consume at very high levels.Resources: Resource-related crimes include those related to both extractive industries, such as the illegal harvesting of wildlife and timber, and other crimes that have a negative impact on the environment, such as the dumping of e-waste and the trade in ozone-depleting substances. In all cases, the threat goes beyond borders, jeopardizing the global environmental heritage. These are therefore crimes of inherent international significance, though they are frequently dealt with lightly under local legislation.Counterfeit goods: The trade in counterfeit goods is often perceived as a "soft" form of crime, but can have dangerous consequences for public health and safety. Fraudulent medicines in particular pose a threat to public health, and their use can foster the growth of treatment resistant pathogens.

While the success of national and international law enforcement cooperation to suppress organized crime means that stable, large-scale criminal organizations like the Cosa Nostra or the Japanese Yakuza have seen their power reduced, organized crime remains a concern for many governments. Economic globalization and the easing of restrictions on exchanges across borders now provide ample opportunity for money-making activities in illegal markets. Policies designed to stop illegal market flows often shift these activities to new places or create new problems, as the U.S.- led war on drugs spread production and trafficking to a number South and Central American countries. The Oxford Handbook of Organized Crime provides informed, authoritative, and comprehensive overviews of these issues and other principal forms of organized crime, as well as the type and effectiveness of efforts to prevent and control them. Leading scholars from criminology, law, sociology, history, and political science discuss the key concepts, history, and methods of organized crime; the major actors and interactions involved in it; the markets and activities frequently associated with organized crime; and the policies designed to combat it. Individual chapters on criminal organizations and specific activities or markets comprise the heart of the volume. The chapters on actors provide the history, analyze the structure and activities, and assess the strength and future prospects of each organization. Articles on particular markets address the patterns of activity, identify the most affected regions, and where possible provide estimated revenues, discuss factors promoting the activity, and disclose information on the victims and harms caused. The Oxford Handbook of Organized Crime delivers a systematic, high-quality, and truly global approach to the topic and with it a more complete understanding of organized crime in its many forms for researchers, government officials, and policymakers.