Home Office Research Report 16 - Public concerns about organised crime

Key implications
Summary
Main report


Tackling organised crime is a high priority for government. The last few years have seen the introduction of a raft of new powers and structures for dealing with organised criminality.

The current report explores public concerns about organised crime. The findings are based on interviews with 1,000 members of the public carried out in 2006. The telephone survey aimed to provide quantifiable information on the nature and extent of public perception about organised crime. Ten two-hour focus groups were also carried out. 

The report presents the main findings, covering in particular:

• Access to information about organised crime
  
• The public’s views of the structures and characteristics of organised crime
  
• The public’s views of the harms caused by organised crime, and which crime types cause them the greatest concern
  
• The public’s views on how to tackle organised crime

The implications for policy and practice are also discussed.