CISC Threat Assessment Methodology: A Case Study

Law enforcement agencies use threat assessment methodologies to determine the possibility of criminals and criminal gangs to commit crimes. Arguably, the severity of crimes varis from one jurisdiction to another. However, all criminal activities share certain characteristics which can be used to draw up a raft of measures to prevent the crimes from ever happening. It is incumbent upon law enforcement agencies to work around the clock to prevent crimes from happening. Presently, most of the law enforcement agencies rely on intelligence they collect to prevemt loss and harm from reaching the victims of criminal activities. The CISC threat assessment methodology assesses criminal gangs based on factors that include market, territory, money laundering and criminal scope. This essay will propose additional factors that can be used in assessing criminal groups.
The CISC integrated threat assessment methodology measures the factors highlighted above. Additional factors can be added to this assessment methodology to ensure
that is fool-proof. These factors include the level of the gangs involvement in transational criminal activities, the level of the gangs’criminal activity, its prevalence through Canada and the level of violence meted by these gangs (Pearce, 2009).
Transnational crime is part of organized crime and it is perpetuated by persons from different countries.
Transnational crimes are not international crimes. International crimes covers crimes against humanity which may include human rights violations and genocide. Transnational crimes on the other hand involve crimes commited for financial gain. None of the four criminal groups assessed as threats is involved in transnational crimes (Pearce, 2009).
Some of the criminal gangs are only involved in a few criminal activities while others have serious involvement in a wie variety of criminal activities eg the group named Morton et al are exclusively involved in financial crimes while the others e.g Smith et al and Dragon Kidz are engaged in financial crimes and illicit drugs. On the other hand, the Lee et al criminal group is involved in three criminal activities that include intellectual property rights crime, illicit drugs and illegal gaming (Walsh,
2011).
The prevelance of these criminal gangs would show how spread their activities are. This wil enable law enforcers to know how to combat the threats poised by these gangs. Most of these gangs seem to operate in certain provinces. Law enforcement officers can use crime sceen evidence and scenarios to profile the works of different gangs. Most of these gangs have their own modus operandi (M.O). Thsic an be used by crime scene detectives to conduct criminal profiling. Such a profiling distinguishes the criminal activities of these four gangs. It allows forensic experts and crime scene specialists to desribe the style of work of a particlular gang and establish their characteristic patterns.
The level of violence meted by each of these gangs is directly related to the harm the various groups mete on their victims. These harms are distinguished into four types; social , political, economic and indirect. Social harm denotes the ability of the gang to exact negative psychological, physical and emotional harm which cannot be expressed in monetary terms. An example of a social crime is homicide, rape and assault (Walsh, 2011). Most gangs that participate in illicit drugs are prone to commiting social crimes. Economic harmmis meted when the crime affects the financial status of the victims. It entails financial crimes. Politicla harm affects the political stability of a community, State or nation.
In conclusion, the CISC threat assessment methodology can benefit from the inclusion of these factors in the list of factors it measures for threats of criminal activities in Canada.