The Police Foundation’s Annual Conference on “Policing organised crime – Changing landscape, changing practice” will be held on Tuesday 5 November 2013 at the BT Auditorium and Customer Showcase, London.

Concern about serious organised crime, which is costly, harmful and widespread, is rising. The internet offers attractive new opportunities for committing crime, rising commodity prices and the increasing mobility of populations offer new sources of illicit income, and even the recession is being exploited as loan sharks take advantage of those in debt and rogue landlords exploit vulnerable tenants. Despite this, organised crime is less of a priority for the police and their partners at the local level than it is at a national level. Cuts to police funding and the introduction of Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) are only likely to further reduce the resources available to tackle organised crime. Within this context, the conference will ask:

• What should the police be doing to protect the victims of organised crime in their force area?
• How can they work better with their partners, including national organisations such as Action Fraud and the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre?
• What role should PCCs play in the fight against organised crime?
• What impact will the National Crime Agency have on organised crime and how will it work with Chief Constables and PCCs?

The conference will focus on the local rather than national and on the practical. It provides a unique opportunity for the police service and its partners to listen to some of the leading experts in the field, to contribute to discussions on some of the most challenging issues organised crime raises and to share some practical ways of tackling one of the biggest threats to society.

You can find out more about the conference, including information on registering here.