25 March 2015 – With criminal groups transforming into ever more sophisticated networks, and their ability to operate across borders increasing, the need for greater information sharing and cooperation is urgent.*
To meet this need, UNODC (UN Office on Drugs and Crime) has developed SHERLOC: an online knowledge management portal for Sharing Electronic Resources and Laws on Crime and disseminating information on how States implement the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC).
SHERLOC aims to promote communication between States, police enforcement agencies, civil society and other organizations, and has been developed to easily provide access to legal cases related to countries’ implementation of the Convention.
Since its creation a year ago, SHERLOC has grown to include information on over 1,800 individual cases and 2,100 instances of legislation concerning national laws.
SHERLOC has been developed with a wide user base in mind: Governments, judicial agencies, law enforcement officials, legal practitioners, academics and more.
It includes information on a range of criminal activities such as cybercrime, human trafficking, money laundering, piracy, and wildlife and forest crime.
SHERLOC comprises four areas which aim to facilitate cooperation:
- The Legislation Database provides an overview of the national laws in place and how they relate to the UNTOC. This database allows users to follow global legislative trends on organized crime and, importantly, understand how laws can be applied most effectively.
- The Case Law Database contains records of successful law enforcement operations against organized criminal groups. Practices used in investigating, arresting, prosecuting and sentencing criminals are also highlighted in this database.
- The Bibliographic Database comprises various contributions from academics, experts and other writers on the broader aspects of organized crime, such as politics, economics and history.
- The Directory of Competent National Authorities contains a list of authorities which can handle requests for extradition, mutual legal assistance and cooperation to suppress illicit traffic by sea.
Further information:
*Source: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Go to Original.
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