The regional threat assessment was made as part of a regional project aimed at enhancing capacities for strategic analysis and strategic assessments in the Serbian, Montenegrin and Macedonian Ministries of the Interior and was implemented by the OSCE Mission to Serbia. International partners included DCAF and Europol.
The Regional Serious and Organized Crime Threat Assessment (SOCTA) provides a comprehensive overview of the current situation and trends, consequences of these types of crime and early warnings about the new trends and threats in the region in order to facilitate the prevention of and suppression of these criminal phenomena.
The specific objectives of the Regional Serous and Organized Crime Threat Assessment are to present the current situation in the territories of Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia, indicate the biggest threats in this part of the region, determine factors that affect these phenomena, identify the common features in the operation of criminal groups, and assess the development of future threats, which may serve as a basis for the adoption of decisions on the joint regional fight against serious and organized crime.
One of the main factors favoring the presence and development of serious and organized crime in the Western Balkans is the region’s geographic position on the crossroads between Europe and the Middle and Far East. As a result, the transnational aspect of organized crime in the region is very developed. The Western Balkans may be observed mostly as a transit region, but also as the region of origin and final destination of organized crime.