Publicaties

Organised crime groups prefer existing ties, such as family and friendship, to maximise trust. However, they might also win from a certain degree of heterogeneity. External individuals might add value in the form of skills, expertise or money. Accordingly, including suitable co-offenders is an important activity for the organised crime group. This article studies the entry mechanisms of individuals into the synthetic drugs market in Belgium, ...

Drugs are an increasingly salient concern in prisons worldwide. This scoping review aimed to synthesise empirical evidence on drug trafficking routes and drug market dynamics within prisons worldwide. Ten empirical studies met our inclusion criteria, most of which were from the United Kingdom and were qualitative in design. The main smuggling routes identified were through visitors, mail, staff, prisoners entering or returning to prison, and ...

Georganiseerde dadergroepen zijn in België verantwoordelijk voor industriële productie en internationale handel van synthetische drugs. Strafrechthandhavers trachten deze groepen te verstoren, maar de gevolgen van hun acties blijken vaak moeilijk in te schatten. Deze bijdrage brengt aan de hand van een gerechtelijke dossierstudie dadergroepen actief op de Belgische synthetische drugsmarkt in kaart. Sociale netwerkanalyse werd gebruikt om de ...

The illegal production of synthetic drugs (e.g. amphetamines, MDMA/ecstasy, methamphetamine) poses significant environmental risks, including soil and water contamination. This analysis focuses on Flanders, Belgium, examining the latest trends in synthetic drug production and the dumping of toxic waste materials generated during drug production. Based on a media analysis of Flemish newspaper articles published between 2020 and 2023, we consider ...

Despite increasing interest in women in general criminological research and studies on organised (drug) crime, the involvement of women in the Belgian synthetic drug market remains understudied. This article aims to shed light on the involvement of women within organised crime groups active in the Belgian synthetic drug market. Data were collected through 29 interviews with incarcerated women (n=5) and men (n=24) convicted for their involvement ...

In July 2024 the long established and trusted European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) will cease to exist and will evolve to the new European Drugs Agency (EUDA). In response to the ever diversifying, innovative and complex drug phenomena, the EUDA will open with considerably more powers, new methodological tools, and a proactive remit to support preparedness, monitoring and competence development of policy makers, ...

Desistance from synthetic drug production and trafficking: The influence of personal, social, and structural factors Desistance is influenced by personal, social, and structural factors, which may differ between offender populations. Research suggests that desistance of offenders within organized crime may differ from the general criminal population. There is a research gap on the factors promoting or hindering the desistance from organized drug ...

In deze representatieve studie werden 211 vrouwen (88 procent responsgraad) in Vlaamse gevangenissen bevraagd over het gebruik van drugs voor en tijdens hun huidige detentieperiode. De prevalentie van druggebruik in detentie bedroeg 31 procent. Zes op tien (58 procent) participanten gaven aan drugs te hebben gebruikt in het jaar voorafgaand aan de opsluiting, van wie de helft (52 procent) dit verder bleef doen na aankomst in de gevangenis. ...