Addressing police and military involvement in serious and organised crime
December 2025
Research Paper 39
Briefing Note 40
Dr Liam O’Shea (RUSI)
Dr Louis-Alexandre Berg (Georgia State University)
Dr Alexander Kupatadze (Kings College London)
Dr Lucia Tiscornia (University College Dublin)
SOC ACE project: Addressing police and military involvement in serious and organised crime
PUBLICATION SUMMARY
In many countries, police and military institutions are involved in organised crime - undermining state legitimacy, public security, and governance - serving political and security elites over the public good.
This paper examines reform in Colombia, Georgia, and South Africa to discuss the organisational, governance, and political conditions which helped reduce security sector involvement in organised crime. Each country experienced a pivotal moment—Colombia’s constitutional reform, Georgia’s Colour Revolution, and South Africa’s transition from apartheid—that created a window for ambitious reforms. Post-democratic elections, all three pursued measures such as judicial strengthening, personnel purges, professionalisation, and accountability mechanisms. However, outcomes varied.
Colombia and Georgia achieved more durable reforms due to alignment between organisational restructuring and prosecutorial capacity. South Africa’s reforms, while democratically driven, lacked focus on organised crime and institutional coherence, leaving vulnerabilities that later enabled elite capture. Political openness alone was insufficient; success hinged on reformist coalitions consolidating institutional control, overcoming entrenched interests, and unified leadership.
In Colombia, the decline of two-party dominance enabled reformist coalitions to emerge. Georgia’s post-Rose Revolution government implemented swift, centralised reforms that curtailed criminality. South Africa’s settlement allowed reform but embedded structural weaknesses that later facilitated corruption. External actors and civil society played supportive roles, but domestic political leadership was vital.
The authors say sustained reform requires robust oversight and continuous political commitment. Colombia has largely preserved gains, though external criminal threats persist. Georgia has seen reversals due to high-level corruption, while South Africa’s post-Mandela era has been marked by growing complicity in organised crime.
Government policies need to support reformers during political openings, clearly prioritise tackling security sector criminality, combine organisational and prosecutorial reforms, manage resistance, and maintain oversight. Yet, there is no universal blueprint. Political risks and the potential erosion of democratic values must be borne in mind, and, ultimately, reforms must be politically grounded.
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