Research: Transnational organized crime (TNOC) across the Pacific region

Associate Professor Danielle Watson has authored a four-part Briefing Paper Series, commissioned by the  United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) which provide timely insights into emerging and under-examined aspects of transnational organized crime (TNOC) across the Pacific region.  The series draws on a combination of desk research and stakeholder conversations to examine the operational reach, systemic impacts and law enforcement challenges associated with evolving TNOC threats.

1. Evolving TNOC Architecture in the Pacific analyzes regional shifts in TNOC structure, actors and adaptive strategies, with an emphasis on digital technologies and fragmented enforcement responses.
2. Outlaw Motorcycle Gang Activity in the Pacific explores the infiltration and expansion of outlaw motorcycle gangs, highlighting their role in trafficking, violence and cross-border criminal networking.
3. Tonga’s Shifting TNOC Landscape assesses the escalation of illicit drug markets, the role of deportee-linked syndicates and the resulting strain on Tonga’s justice and policing institutions.
4. Unregulated Gambling in Fiji investigates the link between informal casinos, financial crime and broader TNOC vulnerabilities, spotlighting legal and regulatory blind spots.

Collectively, the series identifies pressing vulnerabilities and offers strategic recommendations for policymakers, law enforcement leaders and regional partners committed to disrupting organized crime and enhancing criminal justice responses in the Pacific.

For access to any of the papers, please contact Matthew Watson matthew.watson@un.org

Danielle Watson is an Australian Research Council DECRA Fellow in the School of Justice. She is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of the South Pacific and an Affiliate of the Resilient and Sustainable Islands Initiative (RESI). Her research focuses on Pacific regional security, border security, policing, police/community relations, policing culturally and linguistically diverse communities and plural regulatory systems in the Caribbean and Pacific. She conducts research on (in)security in Pacific Island countries, capacity building for security service providers, recruitment and training as well as many other areas specific to improving security governance in developing country contexts. Her research interests are multidisciplinary in scope as she also conducts research geared towards the advancement of tertiary teaching and learning.