Impact on Local Communities

The link between the trade in fake goods and other serious organised crime, such as people smuggling, hard core pornography, drugs and the use of offensive weapons, is becoming increasingly clear. The harm caused by IP crime is now recognised by crime prevention and enforcement bodies such as the Serious Organised Crime Agency.  IP crime is one of SOCA’s priorities, and addressing counterfeiting and piracy has been identified as one of the five national priorities for local regulatory services following the Rogers Review.

Local communities also find themselves affected as this level of criminality is often linked to other forms of anti-social behaviour.  The sale of fake goods in towns up and down the UK is a very visible reminder of the organised criminal activity that exists in local communities.  By allowing it to go unchecked, a dangerous message is being sent, not only to the criminals involved, but also to the public and particularly to children – a message that counterfeiting and copyright theft is acceptable and is a ‘victimless’ crime.  It is not.  It allows criminals to exert control over local markets, puts consumers in harm’s way, damages the UK economy, and deprives entrepreneurs of a return on their investment and reward for risk taking. 

The problem of Chinese illegal immigrants selling on the streets of UK towns and cities has been known to create a level of violent activity. The street sellers carry cash (can be several hundred pounds) and are thus vulnerable to being attacked by local gangs. These incidents can spill over into running street battles with knives, machetes and other weapons being used to defend territory.

The Government is keen to tackle anti-social behaviour and promote a return to respect for more traditional values in communities.  Alliance members who have been present at police and trading standards raids at car boot fairs and markets have seen teenagers manning stalls loaded with counterfeit material, have witnessed criminal and anti-social behaviour taking place at such markets, and would be happy to provide taped evidence of this.  Tackling IP crime would offer one inroad into such anti-social behaviour.