{"title":"The Organised Theft of Medicines: a Study of the Methods for Stealing and Reselling Medicines and Medical Devices in the EU and Beyond.","authors":"Marco Dugato, Cosimo Sidoti","doi":"10.1007/s10610-023-09546-w","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The theft of medicines is a significant component of the illicit trade in pharmaceutical products. Besides small-scale thefts committed for personal usage, organised criminal networks are increasingly targeting high-priced medical products, either to reintroduce them into the legal supply chain or sell them on the black market. This crime has considerable implications that extend beyond the value of the stolen goods, including harmful impacts on citizens' health, legitimate companies, and national health systems. However, knowledge on organised theft of medicines remains limited. This paper employs a crime script analysis approach, based on interviews with relevant stakeholders and case studies retrieved across European countries, to examine the most common <i>modi operandi</i> in the organised theft of medicines and medical devices. Potential policy implications are also discussed.</p><p><strong>Supplementary information: </strong>The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10610-023-09546-w.</p>","PeriodicalId":46991,"journal":{"name":"European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research","volume":" ","pages":"1-22"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6000,"publicationDate":"2023-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10231288/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research","FirstCategoryId":"90","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10610-023-09546-w","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"CRIMINOLOGY & PENOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The theft of medicines is a significant component of the illicit trade in pharmaceutical products. Besides small-scale thefts committed for personal usage, organised criminal networks are increasingly targeting high-priced medical products, either to reintroduce them into the legal supply chain or sell them on the black market. This crime has considerable implications that extend beyond the value of the stolen goods, including harmful impacts on citizens' health, legitimate companies, and national health systems. However, knowledge on organised theft of medicines remains limited. This paper employs a crime script analysis approach, based on interviews with relevant stakeholders and case studies retrieved across European countries, to examine the most common modi operandi in the organised theft of medicines and medical devices. Potential policy implications are also discussed.
Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10610-023-09546-w.
期刊介绍:
The European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research is a peer-reviewed criminology journal, with an international and interdisciplinary focus. It welcomes submissions from Europe and well beyond, from different disciplines and traditions, where crime issues are connected to their socio-, psychological and economic contexts. The focus of its peer-reviewed coverage is on understanding crime trends in different geographical and socio-economic contexts, on presenting innovative crime prevention policies and practices, presenting innovative methodologies, and on following legislative and institutional change. The journal aims to strengthen the link between research and policies in the area of crime and justice, and welcomes submissions with a policy-related component.Discussion includes the trade-off between security and rights and ways to optimize the effectiveness of criminal justice systems with respect to human and civil rights. Recognizing that criminal justice systems are not the only method for dealing with crime, the journal also devotes attention to alternative policies and practices.Its four annual issues include one thematic issue and three that are open to various contributions.