Legislation and unintended consequences for crime

A literature review undertaken for the EU Crime Proofing Steering Group identified a set of legislative crime risk indicators. These are intended to assist in scanning summaries of new legislative proposals to identify regulation that might contribute to fraud, corruption, illegal trade, or environmental crime. The case studies reviewed suggest that any regulation carries the risk of such unintended crime consequences, which: (1) introduces product disposal requirements or any other new or more burdensome fee or obligation; (2) introduces a concession on a tax, or a concession on any other fee or obligation; (3) introduces a grant, subsidy, or compensation scheme; (4) introduces or increases the tax on legal goods, or in any other way increases the costs of legal goods; (5) prohibits or restricts a demanded product or service, or in any other way decreases the availability of demanded goods and services; (6) introduces or removes a law enforcement capacity, increases or decreases funding for enforcement activity or in any other way impacts the intensity of law enforcement activity; and (7) provides officials with regulatory power.