Leaders from around the world in the fight against organised crime gathered in Wellington for the 2023 New Zealand Transnational Organised Crime (TNOC) conference.
The conference involved law enforcement agencies from as far afield as Ireland, Hong Kong and Canada, from Australia and across the Pacific, with representatives from New Zealand’s finance and transport sectors.
It aimed to bring together stakeholders, raise awareness of aspects of TNOC, and identify opportunities to coordinate and collaborate at the system-level to combat TNOC.
Commissioner Andrew Coster told conference delegates “Together we are strong”, picking up on one of the TNOC Strategy pillars Unify: New Zealand’s response to TNOC needs to be led and governed using a strong cross-agency approach.
“We’re all familiar with the phrase ‘It’s easier said than done’," he said.
“For me, success is quite straightforward - it’s delivering on what we say we’re going to do.
“To everyone here from near and far, and I include myself in this - take a relentless focus on delivering the best possible unified approach both strategically and operationally.”
Deputy Commissioner Glenn Dunbier, in one of his final engagements before his retirement, spoke about New Zealand’s TNOC Strategy, which mobilises 20 agencies - government, private sector and community partners – “to unify, prevent, detect and dismantle organised crime”.
He continued the theme of unity in addressing Resilience to Organised Crime in Commutinites (ROCC), an initiative currently active in three districts, which combines enforcement with social intervention to address the harms and drivers of organised crime.
“I wish you all the very best in your collective efforts into the future and thank you for all you have done to date,” he said.
“It’s said that hard things are put in our way not to challenge us, but to make us stronger and I think that’s quite appropriate to our ongoing work and partnerships.”
The conference in late March was opened by Police Minister the Honourable Ginny Andersen, who spoke of New Zealand’s role in combating TNOC alongside international partners; and of the Government’s commitment to combating organised crime.
She highlighted the Criminal Proceeds Recovery Amendment Bill which was passed and given Royal Assent on 31 March, which will enhance Police powers to seize the profits of organised crime.
Over the three days of the conference, presentations covered a wide range of organised crime-related subjects, and the challenges and opportunities of international collaboration.
The topics ranged from financial crime and combatting TNOC in the Pacific, through to people trafficking, wildlife trafficking and tobacco smuggling.
One presentation from senior members of the Irish police An Garda Síochána looked at the disruption of the operations of the Kinahan Cartel, a wealthy, violent and well-connected Irish TNOC group with widespread international links.
The presentation focused on lessons learnt – international cooperation, trusted relationships and putting ‘need to share’ over ‘need to know’.
New Zealand TNOC Strategy
• The strategy was launched in 2020 in recognition that the scale, scope and sophistication of TNOC was increasing. It provides a framework to improve system-level efficiency and identify and close loopholes exploited by TNOC actors impacting New Zealand, and identify opportunities for cross-agency responses.
• You can find out more about the TNOC Strategy and ROCC on the Police website.