The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) estimates that there are 2,800 organised crime groups operating across England and Wales, costing the economy up to £40 billion per year. Measuring the impact of these crime groups on local communities is difficult as the chain of crime often begins outside the local area and can encompass a wide range of activity from drug dealing to computer hacking to simple burglary.

The Forum considered the following questions:

• How can organised crime be defined?
• How shoud the issue be communicated to the public?
• How can sufficient resources be guaranteed to tackle organised crime and will Police and Crime Commissioners ensure this when the scale of harm and the extent of this criminal activity is difficult to measure?
• How can we ensure there is a joined up policing response on a national level?