DEALING WITH VEHICLE CRIME

UNIT 10 DEALING WITH VEHICLE CRIME INTRODUCTION 1. What is the link between cross border crime and organized crime? 2. What is cross border crime? 3. What aspects of car theft are you aware of? 4. Do you think that people must be imprisoned for smuggling stolen cars? Is this such a serious criminal offence? Isn’t it enough to pay a fine, or to do some social work? 5. In the Border Police, is there a need for specialists in stolen cars or is the assistance provided by the police forces enough? Activity 1 In pairs, read one text and relate the facts in your own words to your partner. Comment from the professional point of view and consider the social implications of these circumstances. STUDENT A In Estonia, smuggling stolen cars is almost risk free. Very few people in Estonia have been convicted for smuggling stolen cars. The laws are incomplete in the courts have yet to rule on on matters of legal interpretation. In contrast to the Interpol section of other countries, Estonian officers work a lot in the streets. Thousands of stolen cars come to Estonia every year. They arrive from all over Western Europe on ferries and overland from the south. Most cars pass on to Russia. Estonia’s involvement is usually limited as couriers deliver cars to buyers in the St.-Petersburg area. Last year the Estonian police managed to return about 100 vehicles of which approximatively 20 had belonged to Swedish and 30 to German owners. STUDENT B It’s an open secret that Montenegro is the best hot car market in Europe: new models, priced to go. Most of the inventory however, appears on Interpol’s list of stolen vehicles. The International Police Agency has no authority here, for Yugoslavia- a pariah state- has no relationship with Interpol. A long time member of a car theft gang explained how the cars arrived in Montenegro: “The best method is to find someone in, say, Germany, who needs extra money and who is willing to have his car stolen. We drive the car over, and the owner declares it stolen once it’s already here. The owner collects the insurance policy plus a bonus from us, depending on what kind of car it is. Few cars stay in Montenegro or Serbia, and most often continue on to the Middle East.” When talking about cars, smuggling means: a) using a car in a robbery b) using a car to transport illegal immigrants c) illegal import and/or export of a vehicle (usually stolen) d) using cars to transport illicit goods (contraband) SMUGGLING. The offence of importing or exporting specified goods that are subject to customs or excise duties without having paid the requisite duties. Smuggled goods are liable to confiscation and the smuggler is liable to pay treble their value or a sum laid down by the law (whichever is the greater); offenders may alternatively, or additionally, receive a term of imprisonment. Activity 2 ORGANIZED CRIME The following definition of organised crime can be given, based on the practice of fighting against such crime: “ Criminal union organised for profit-seeking to commit diverse criminal offences, with the assumption of meeting objectives through corruption, blackmail, terror as well as the use of force and arms. “ Exercise 1 Make sentences using some of the underlined words. 1. Almost all criminal activity has as primary motive the idea of _______________. 2. It is remarkable how varied and ________________ the criminal imagination can be. 3. There is evidence to indicate that more criminals are prepared to use _____________ nowadays, particularly as guns are relatively easy to obtain. 4. Getting officials on your side, or to turn ‘a blind eye’ is indicative of the pattern of ______________ vital to any “successful” organised crime activity. 5. The secret criminal organisation or _______________ is not a new phenomenon. Even medieval society had secret societies, some committing criminal ________________ . Exercise 2 Match the two parts to form sentences 1) Criminal groups dealing with a) in good faith or to persons receiving stolen property. 2) They are headed by the “boss” or “organiser”, who b) a stolen car abroad to a final buyer, as urgently as possible. 3) These people, functioning in European urban centres, pay c) the task of moving stolen cars to new, safe places. 4) Another quite wide group of criminals d) car theft and smuggling are almost always hierarchically organized. 5) Couriers are entrusted with the task of transfer of e) for thefts, supply false documents and contract “countries” which smuggle cars abroad. 6) Another group of offenders engaged in this activity are people entrusted with f) deals with the financial side of the activity and “contract” thefts. 7) Finally, stolen cars are supplied to a buyer acting g) are the car thieves themselves. Exercise 3 Re- arrange the words to make sentences. 1. The theft/ is/ of/ serious/ a / automobiles/ problem/ world-wide 2. Vehicle/ can/ support/ profits/ terrorist/ organisations/ crime/ from 3. Trafficking/ mainly/ of/ criminal/ groups/ in vehicles/ is/ the work/structured and sophisticated. 4. South Africa/ stolen/ criminal/ is / by/ groups/ as/ to export/ a transit area / luxury/ vehicles/ used. 5. Germany / an increase/ is/ in/ facing/ cars/ rental/ of/ thefts/ nationals/African/ by 6. Italy/ concerned/ are/ Greece/ and/ criminal/ at / groups/ Albanian/ smuggling/ are/ who/ engaged/ actively/ car/ in 7. Violence/ increasingly / as/ to obtain / is/ an / ‘modus operandi’/ cars/ luxury/ common Exercise 4 IN MONTENEGRO, STOLEN CARS ARE WORTH THEIR WEIGHT IN MEAT! Put in one correct word from the box. There are 18 words in total. TENUOUS/ DIPLOMATIC/ DIRTY/ SHUT/ BUNCH/ LUXURY/ ANXIOUS/ HOT/ WEALTHY/ STOLEN/ UP/ NOTORIOUS/ LIFE/ SALARY/ ISOLATE/ ALLIED/ MAIN/ SIMILAR/ At a time when Montenegro’s political situation is (1) …… , Western countries are inclined to look the other way at Montenegro’s (2) ……. little secret. Montenegro is a key part of the West’s effort to (3) ……. Yugoslav President Slobodan Molosevic, indicted for war crimes last year by the Hague Tribunal. Montenegro’s President Milo Djukanovic has (4) …….himself with the West and has consequently received financial and (5) ……… blessings from the European Union. Though Montenegro is (6) ……… as a place teeming with stolen goods, Western countries are (7) ……… to protect the republic’s image. While the Milosevic regime often categorized the Djukanovic administration as a (8) ……. of criminals and smugglers, the West points to the Djukanovic government as an example of ethnic tolerance that is a model for the Balkans. Meanwhile, Montenegrins are reaping the fruits of a shady trade.The deals don’t stop at cars. Podgorica’s (9) …. street, Sloboda Ulica (Freedom Street), is filled with people dressed in Italy’s latest fashions, their (10) … cars parked in front of busy cafes, where mobile phones lie next to cups of expresso and ashtrays. A visitor would never guess that Montenegro’s average monthly (11) … is less than $ 100 per month. Montenegrins have a reputation in the Balkans for valuing a good (12) … “Visitors often say that it seems nobody does anything in Podgorica, That the cafes are filled with well-dressed people sipping coffee all day, ” says a cosmetics “importer” named Milos. Yet there is hardly any industry to provide jobs for Montenegro’s 600,000 citizens, aside from a smattering of fishing, textile and tourism. Factories are (13) … down. The republic imports much of its food. The (14) ……. car trade could be seen as a legacy of Montenegro’s geographical location and history. With (15) ……. Italy to the West, and Balkan conflicts in other directions, Montenegro is a natural transit point for goods across the Balkans In their defence, Montenegrins say they’re only doing what they’ve done for hundreds of years. This independent people eked out a living for centuries on one of the most inhospitable pieces of European territory while surrounded by Ottoman Turks. The land is so undesirable that the Turks simply gave (16) … trying to conquer what was then a much smaller Montenegro. Just as they receive Western patronage today for their role as a buffer state, in the 19 th - century Russia supported Montenegro for (17) …… political reasons. In this context, Montenegrins spent centuries raiding and smuggling to survive. (18) ……. cars can be seen as part of that tradition Exercise 5 CARS, CUSTOMS OFFICERS AND CRIME! Match PART A with the correct and appropriate PART B 1. Are you the owner of the vehicle? A. Certainly, officer. Here it is. Is there any problem? 2. Get out of the car and open the boot, please. B. I didn’t notice it at all. My papers are in order. 3. The customs seal applied to the door of your vehicle shows indications of having been tampered with. C. Right away, officer. 4. You can’t continue your trip because you had a serious accident on Romanian territory D. Yes, here are the documents. 5. When and under what circumstances did you make the hiding place for the illegal exit of a foreign citizen? E. It wasn’t my fault, but I do want to clarify everything regarding the accident. 6. I must inform you that this is a signed and authorised statement of the offence in question. F. I don’t want to speak about this, I need a lawyer 7. We intend to prosecute you and you’ll go on trial. G. Give me the statement, please 8. What is your relationship with the person found hiding in your car. H. Yes, I did. 9. Show me the bill of sale for the vehicle, please. I. I met him near the border, on the main road. He begged me to take him. 10. Did you buy this car abroad? J. I have the right to have an official lawyer Exercise 6 Circle the synonym (s) of the following words. SHOW: a) express b) display c) protect d) polish e) exhibit SERIOUS: a) grave b) solemn c) trivial d) light e) petty FOREIGN: a) strange b) domestic c) alien d) native e) rural HIDE: a) mask b) expose c) cover d) reveal e) conceal ABROAD a) near b) overseas c) close d) far away e) distant Activity 4 Comment on the statement below and write a short composition (200 words) : “ Violence is an increasingly common ‘modus operandi’ to obtain luxury cars for trafficking.” Activity 5 Read the text carefully and make an imaginary dialogue between the Swedish officer and the car smuggler. Choose the moment when the officer is checking the passport and the visa. ESTONIAN CAR SMUGGLERS On the Swedish visa officer's desk the visa applications pile up. Earlier the same morning he had found a false passport of a known car smuggler. Frowning, he compares the photograph in the passport with the ones in two visa applications, one old and one new. "This passport is false," he concludes and puts it away to give it to the Estonian police. The Swedish Embassy has information on about 60 people who have been known to be involved in car smuggling in Europe and therefore are not granted visas. Some of these are known by the staff after trying too often to get a visa. Currently several north European governments are discussing abolishing the visa requirement for Estonians. "The consequence is that you completely lose control over who will come to your country," says the Swedish Embassy. Of course, there are competing interests. Business would benefit from an abolishment. Several people the reporter has spoken to at the Swedish Embassy stress that Estonia is on the right track compared to Lithuania, Latvia and Russia. They believe that Estonia is readier and more suitable for European Union membership than the other two Baltic states. Corruption is on the decrease and the Soviet system is losing ground. Interpol and several other institutions get good marks. The institutions are new and the staff is young. Lack of experience is balanced by a strong will to rectify the problems. Also, the Embassy officials stress that car smuggling is mainly a problem for the countries from where the cars disappear. "You just can’t complain about the Estonians and say that it is their fault." At the car market. Under a pine tree in Kadaka car market in the outskirts of Tallinn a BMW 730 is parked. As we come closer a man appears from the van parked next to it. He wears a blue winter jacket which is tight around his fat belly and the man definitely needs a shave. "It is a nice car," he explains to us in Russian. "It was bought in Kiev only two weeks ago, and all the documents are in perfect order." His golden teeth glitter as he assures us that there are no problems whatsoever with the car. And it is a very nice car, and even better, the price is only $ 10,800. In Sweden, a similar car is twice as expensive. Exercise 7 Decide if the following sentences are true or false (T / F) or not stated (NOT STATED) 1.A Swedish officer has discovered a false passport carried by a known car smuggler. _______ 2. The car smuggler’s photograph was new on the passport and old on the driving licence. _______ 3. The Swedish Embassy has information about sixty Estonian car smugglers. _______ 4. There is a discussion about abolishing the visa requirement for Estonians. 5. Estonia is likely to be invited to apply for European Union membership. __________ 6. The car smuggler from the market has no teeth. _________ 7. The car was nice but has no documents and was very expensive. _______ 8. In Sweden the cars are twice expensive than in Estonia. _________ Activity 6 Theft of a motor vehicle Comment on the definition of motor vehicle theft. According to the standard definition, theft means depriving a person/organisation of property without force with the intent to keep it. Most countries include offences relating to motorboats and receiving/handling stolen vehicles but some countries have “loopholes” in their law relating to these aspects. How is this a disadvantage to European police activities? According to Romanian law, decide on the legal liability of all parties concerned in this case study. Consider the implications. A Romanian citizen is offered a 2001 BMW for 8000 US$ which is far below its real value. The seller states that the car was bought in Germany from a reliable dealer and that the papers are in order. The prospective buyer looks at the documents, sees that there seems to be no proof of purchase but is satisfied that the seller is the legal owner of the car as his name is on the (German) registration book. He pays the money and receives the car and its documents. When the Romanian takes the car for registration, he is informed that the car is on a list of stolen vehicles that has been circulated by Europol. He is informed that he will be charged with a criminal offence. Activity 7 Make a dialogue ( in English!) between the buyer and a police officer. Activity 8 Homework task or just for fun? International vehicle registration Read the names of some European countries and their capitals and then match the international identification letters with the right country. e.g. CROATIA/ ZAGREB/ HR SWITZERLAND/ BERN/ CH International Identification Letters AL F BY L RUS SK UA V TR GB FL PL LT N DK BG AND IRL LV MK BIH A MC I H RO M IS MD P GR EST D FIN CZ CH NL SLO B HR RSM E S ANDORRA LA VELLA / VIENNA/ SOFIA/ COPENHAGEN/ REYKJAVIK/ HELSINKI/ SARAJEVO/ DUBLIN TALLIN/ ATHENS/ MINSK/ PARIS/ BERLIN/ RIGA/ / VADUZ/ CHISINAU / VALLETA/ PODGORICA / OSLO BRUSSELS/ PRAGUE/ BUDAPEST/ ROME/ LUXEMBURG/ SKOPJE/ VILNIUS/ MONTE CARLO/ / KIEV SAN MARINO/ BRATISLAVA/ / BELGRADE/ / LJUBLJANA/ AMSTERDAM/ / LISBON/ WARSAW/ BUCHAREST/ MADRID/ / MOSCOW/ / STOCKHOLM/ / ANKARA/ LONDON / 1. ALBANIA TIRANA 2. ANDORRA 3. AUSTRIA 4. BELGIUM 5. BULGARIA 6. BOSNIA –HERZEGOVINA 7. BELARUS 8. CZECH REPUBLIC 9. CROATIA ZAGREB 10. DENMARK 11. ESTONIA 12. FRANCE 13. FINLAND 14. GERMANY 15. GREECE 16. HUNGARY 17. ICELAND 18. IRELAND 19. ITALY 20. LATVIA 21. LIECHTENSTEIN 22. LUXEMBOURG 23. LITHUANIA 24. MACEDONIA 25. MALTA 26. MOLDOVA 27. MONACO 28. MONTENEGRO 29. NORWAY 30. NETHERLANDS 31. PORTUGAL 32. POLAND 33. ROMANIA 34. RUSSIA 35. SAN MARINO 36. SERBIA 37. SLOVAKIA 38. SLOVENIA 39. SPAIN 40. SWEDEN 41. SWITZERLAND BERN CH 42. TURKEY 43. UKRAINE 44. UNITED KINGDOM Activity 9 Listening MOTORCYCLE THEFT IN UK Listen to the text and complete the table. 1. What is the estimated value of motorbikes stolen every month in UK? 1. 2. The NCIS report is a prelude to … What? 2. 3. More thefts occur… Where? 3. 4. In the Metropolitan Police area of London, what percentage of thefts occur? 4. 5. Is this unexpectedly high for the country? 5. 6. Thefts show a correlation with patterns of … ? 6. (What does this mean?) 7. The top 4 makes of bikes account for …. of all thefts. 7. ( Honda, Kawasaki, S……. and Y …… ) in UK. 8. What do you know about recovery rates? 8. 9. One simple modus operandi. 9. 10. How many bikes are stolen per month? 10. 11. These stolen bikes are… 11. a) ……… b)…………. c) ……… or d) split …… 12. Some people knowingly … 12. 13. Some councils have invested in … 13. (What are these?) 14. Who should be vigilant? 14. 15. What is the public programme of passing information to the police called? 15. . UNIT 10 DEALING WITH VEHICLE CRIME INTRODUCTION 1. What is the link between cross border crime and organized crime? 2. What is cross border crime? 3 Activity 2 ORGANIZED CRIME The following definition of organised crime can be given, based on the practice of fighting against such crime: “ Criminal union