Published on: 2026-09-30
Source: United Nations – Организация Объединенных Наций –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
September 30, 2026 Peace and Security
The number of murders worldwide is decreasing, yet organized crime is gaining strength. Criminal networks are entering new markets, infiltrating the legitimate economy, and increasingly using technology, while justice systems are unable to keep up with them. These conclusions are contained in the report “Crime and Justice in a Changing World.” The United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) presented it on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on the sidelines of the 15th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.
The report summarizes the study that UNIKRI started in 2025.
Fewer murders, more profit
The homicide rate — the most accurately measurable global indicator of violence — decreased from 5.9 per 100,000 people in 2015 to 5.2 in 2023. If current trends continue, it could be 25 percent lower than the 2015 level by 2030. However, in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as in Sub-Saharan Africa, the rate remains high. These two regions account for about two-thirds of all homicide victims worldwide.
Sources of criminal income are shifting from local robbery to transnational markets, internet fraud, and parasitism on legitimate trade, the report’s authors emphasize. The groups simultaneously engage in drug trafficking, illegal natural resource extraction, illegal migrant smuggling, and human trafficking. According to Europol’s estimate, almost one-fifth of criminal networks in Europe — 18 percent — operate in several areas at once.
Criminal and terrorist groups are increasingly extorting the movement of goods and people. In the Sahel, terrorists do not transport cargo themselves but control smuggling routes for motorcycles, fuel, gold, and drugs. In Haiti, gangs have seized much of the capital and profit from legal trade zones. Criminal networks infiltrate maritime ports—from Antwerp to Guayaquil. Mexican cartels, according to analysts, conduct their own “foreign policy”: they establish ties with local groups and corrupt officials in transit countries.
In some countries, illegal income is already comparable to entire sectors of the legitimate economy. In Cambodia, revenues from cybercrime and illegal gambling are estimated at $12.5–19 billion per year — up to 60 percent of GDP. This includes income from fraudulent centers where people are coerced into criminal activities.
Industrial-scale fraud
The convergence of different types of crime is especially evident in Southeast Asia. In certain areas of Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar, centers have emerged where cybercriminals, money launderers, and organizers of illegal gambling operate side by side. They are often located in special economic zones with lax controls. The groups traffic thousands of victims of human trafficking there and force them to participate in fraudulent schemes – from cryptocurrency scams to “romantic” investment frauds. This model is already spreading to other regions, including southern Africa.
The entry threshold into the criminal business has sharply decreased, according to the report. This is facilitated by generative artificial intelligence, cybercriminal services “for hire,” and an influx of applicants with digital skills from around the world. The Global Alliance Against Fraud collected data from 42 countries. According to it, in 2025, 57 percent of adults encountered scammers in the previous 12 months, and 23 percent lost money. Victims’ losses from fraud in 2024, by some estimates, could reach 1 trillion dollars.
Justice Under Pressure
Criminal justice systems, the authors note, are increasingly built around security and government control rather than the rule of law and human rights. Police adopt military tactics and equipment, the army is involved in fighting crime, and prison regimes are becoming stricter. Several countries in Oceania, East Asia, and Latin America are lowering the age of criminal responsibility. However, research data shows that this measure does not deter juvenile crime.
Law enforcement agencies are implementing facial recognition, license plate reading systems, and artificial intelligence faster than regulations for their use are being developed.
International cooperation, in turn, is becoming increasingly uneven and depends on geopolitical tensions. Regional structures take on part of the burden. For example, in Central Asia, the Central Asian Regional Information Coordination Center (CARICC) helps the countries of the region, Russia, and Azerbaijan exchange data on drug trafficking.
At-risk teenagers
According to the report, young people worldwide are increasingly being drawn into crime and violence — both as victims and perpetrators. Unemployment, inequality, and social isolation make them easy prey for gangs, traffickers, and armed groups. In 2025, the UN confirmed the recruitment of 371 children in Colombia, while in Haiti gangs recruited nearly 900 children. In Ecuador, from 2019 to 2023, the murder rate among children and adolescents increased by 640 percent.
Disturbing trends are also noticeable in Europe, where the level of violence is relatively low. In Sweden, incidents of violence by youth gangs and murders involving firearms have sharply increased. Across Europe, criminal groups are recruiting minors to reduce their own legal risks.
The rise in juvenile crime and perceptions of it are pushing governments to tighten measures. Several high-income countries, following high-profile crimes involving teenagers, are toughening punishments and lowering the age of criminal responsibility. Meanwhile, research supports prevention and alternatives to prosecution.
Please note; This information is raw content obtained directly from the information source. It represents an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.