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Introduction
With a network stretching across the country, CISC is well positioned to assessthe significant issues and trends relating to organized crime in Canada. In this year’s annual report, CISC continues the approach it began last year of examining 
organized crime through the framework of the criminal marketplace. This report identifies and highlights a variety of criminal markets and the threats they pose to communities across Canada.
The Feature Focus section – a new addition to the annual report – is intended to highlight a particular aspect of organized crime. This year’s topic is street gangs; an organized crime threat currently generating significant concern in the public forum.
The police community’s commitment to the fight against organized crime is being increasingly achieved through a renewed conception of partnership, shifting from a resource integration model to an information integration model. Director General |
Criminal organizations strive to keep their operations hidden from public view. This explains, in part, why the effects of organized crime are not always evident. Regardless, the adverse effects of organized crime touch all Canadians. Some forms of criminal activity are highly visible and affect individuals and communities on a daily basis. For example, criminal groups involved in street-level drug trafficking, robberies, assaults and intimidation in some communities can contribute to a culture of fear and foster a general sense of insecurity. Organized criminality can also pose distinct public health and safety threats, such as those resulting from marihuana grow operations and illicit drug manufacturing laboratories. Many harmful effects of organized criminality are far-reaching and long-term in nature, undermining Canadian institutions, the economy, and quality of life. It is often difficult to conceptualize how these threats directly affect Canadians; however, criminal activities such as vehicle theft, payment card fraud and mortgage fraud are examples of long-term financial threats to Canadian institutions and consumers.
The covert nature of organized crime necessitates that law enforcement establish partnerships with policy makers and the public to raise awareness and garner support for law enforcement’s efforts to minimize the organized crime threats that are present in multiple criminal markets.
