How Laws and Policies Can Fuel Criminal Ambitions?

The 2024 Europol report highlights a troubling increase in criminal organizations that pose a significant threat to internal security within the European Union. These groups, implicated in illegal market activities, are attracting intense scrutiny due to a disturbing rise in violent incidents. While such violence has typically been confined to conflicts among organized crime members, it’s now spilling into broader society, targeting journalists and public figures as well. Recent events underscore this escalating crisis: drug-related killings of youths in Marseille, the shocking discovery of a torture chamber hidden in a Dutch forest, and the tragic deaths of Spanish police officers during a maritime chase in Barbate. In light of these incidents, countries like Belgium and the Netherlands—key transit hubs for South American cocaine—have drawn alarm as media outlets increasingly label them as “narcostates.”

Towards narcostates in Europe?

In discussions that draw parallels between Belgium and Colombia, and reflect on what French First Minister B. Retailleau terms the “Mexicanization of France,” it’s essential to navigate the complexities that often slip through the cracks of sensational narratives. The label “narcostate” suggests that powerful criminal organizations have woven themselves into the very fabric of governance and society, penetrating institutions like the government, judiciary, and military. Likewise, the term “mafia” has come to encompass a wide range of illegal enterprises. Hollywood’s dramatization of organized crime, seen in classics like “The Godfather,” “American Gangster,” and “Scarface,” has amplified the image of the Italian mafia and Mexican cartels, often blurring the lines between fiction and reality. In truth, most criminal organizations are not monolithic; they frequently operate as agile networks that swiftly adapt to the evolving landscape of crime, rather than adhering to rigid hierarchies.

Navigating in a highly adverse environment

One particularly fascinating element of criminal organizations is their remarkable ability to operate and flourish under circumstances of high adversity and prosecution. Member nations funnel billions of euros each year into intelligence initiatives aimed at dissecting this complex “industry” and combating its players. Eurostat data reveals a staggering increase in EU expenditures on public order and safety, jumping from €100 billion in 1995 to a hefty €253 billion by 2021. Yet, the hurdles are not just legal. The recent spike in violence underscores the fierce competition among criminal organizations vying for resources, including trade territories, supplies, and distribution networks. As law enforcement efforts escalate, so does the proliferation of criminal factions and their aggressive application of violence.

Two years of immersion into Barcelona’s underground drug market

In a recent article titled “The Legal Embeddedness of Criminal Organizations” and published by the Academy of Management Discoveries, I ask how criminal organizations can develop under these circumstances. The focus is on drug trafficking given that this is the primary business of more than half of the criminal organizations operating in Europe. The methodological approach is ethnographic, studying bottom-up the “narcopiso phenomenon” during two years of investigation with key figures such as drug dealers, clients, police officers, residents, harm reduction workers, and policymakers. A narcopiso is an illegitimately occupied apartment turned into a drug-selling hub offering heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine, and methamphetamine. Narcopisos often cater to clients facing various forms of social exclusion and are notorious for their environments of rampant drug use, which frequently involve commercial sex and the trade of stolen goods. In El Raval, the situation escalated dramatically, prompting several major police raids between 2018 and 2020, involving hundreds of officers in a bid to regain control.

What makes Narcopisos worth studying?

When one might expect a criminal organization to function in secrecy to evade police scrutiny, it’s the visibility of the narcopisos that initially captured our attention. Their locations were well-known and easily identifiable to anyone observant while walking the streets. In 2016, the residents even shared a map on Twitter. They engaged the local media, guiding journalists through the area during a “narcotour” to point out where the narcopisos were situated. They also organized public protests to reclaim political action and denounce their increasing presence. While might seem logical to assume that their rapid growth resulted from a lack of police presence, like in the French or Italian Banlieues located on the outskirts of major cities, El Raval is actually part of the Barcelona district with the highest police activity and situated at the city’s core, just minutes from the renowned “Las Ramblas.”

What accounts for their success?

The answer is twofold. First, the criminal organizations involved have adopted a new B2C model in response to increased policing. Instead of risking traditional street-level drug sales, they have capitalized on the hundreds of apartments lying vacant following the 2008-2014 Spanish financial crisis. They have taken over properties owned by investment funds with limited interest in the criminal nature of the activities taking place on their properties. This strategic move to operate from private residences has significantly undermined police intervention. Second, these organizations have skillfully navigated specific laws and policies related to drugs, housing, and harm reduction, crafting a framework that not only supports their operations but also encourages further criminal activity—ultimately enhancing their profitability.

The unforeseen outcomes of laws and policies

I refer to this mechanism as “legal embeddedness.” While it’s well-known that laws and policies can produce unforeseen effects, the context of drug trafficking particularly highlights this issue. The enduring war on drugs in the USA benefits, in various ways, criminal organizations while increasing vulnerability and social exclusion. My primary argument in this article is that laws and policies to combat crime can inadvertently fuel the very activities they seek to suppress. Misalignments in law design and enforcement, coupled with a lack of coordination among implementing bodies, create fertile ground for criminal enterprises to adapt and thrive. These challenges often stem from diverging occupational cultures that hinder effective collaboration between agencies. Thus, these unforeseen outcomes stem not only from administration and enforcement but also from the strategic actions of criminal organizations in specific contexts, revealing how savvy they are in exploiting specific conditions to their advantage.