Side Event at the 35th Session of the CCPCJ
From Local Patterns to Global Insights: Exploring Interregional Crime and Justice Trends
Date and time: 4 June, 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. CET
Venue: Vienna International Centre (VIC) – Room M6
Organizers: Permanent Mission of Italy to the International Organizations in Vienna and UNICRI
UNICRI and the Permanent Mission of Italy to the International Organizations in Vienna convene a side-event on emerging interregional crime and justice dynamics.
As crime becomes increasingly interconnected, technologically enabled, and transnational in nature, understanding how regional trends intersect and influence one another has become more important than ever.
To contribute to this global discussion, the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), together with the Permanent Mission of Italy to the International Organizations in Vienna, will organize the side-event From Local Patterns to Global Insights: An Interregional Comparative Analysis of Crime and Justice Trends on the margins of the 35th Session of the CCPCJ.
The event will take place in person on 4 June 2026 at the Vienna International Centre (VIC), Austria (Room M2) from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.
The session will present the findings of UNICRI’s ongoing interregional comparative study examining crime and criminal justice trends across nine regional groupings:
- Central and Southern Asia
- Eastern and Southeastern Asia
- Eastern and Southern Africa
- Europe
- Latin America and the Caribbean
- North Africa and Western Asia
- North America
- Oceania
- Western and Central Africa
Grounded in consultations conducted through the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme Network (PNI) and expert engagement processes, the initiative seeks to provide a comparative and evidence-based understanding of how crime patterns and justice sector responses are evolving across regions and at the interregional level.
The event will explore how technological developments, cyber-enabled criminality, illicit financial flows, geopolitical instability, and converging forms of organized crime are reshaping global security and justice landscapes. Particular attention will be given to the increasing interconnections between regional criminal dynamics and the implications for international cooperation and criminal justice responses.
Opening remarks will be delivered by:
H. E. Debora Lepre, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Italy to the International Organizations in Vienna
Leif Villadsen, Acting Director, UNICRI
The programme will also feature:
Introducing UNICRI’s Crime and Justice Trends Study by Giordana Lucente, Associate Expert, UNICRI
Key Findings from UNICRI’s Crime and Justice Trends Study by Leonid Lantsman, Strategic Trends Analyst, UNICRI
Trends in Sub-Saharan Africa by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS)
Trends in South Asia by Ntasha Bhardwaj, Director, South Asian Institute of Crime and Justice Studies (SAICJS) and Tariq Khosa, Director, Centre for Governance Research (CGR)
By bringing together institutional representatives, researchers, practitioners, and Member States, this side-event aims to foster dialogue on emerging global crime trends and strengthen understanding of how regional developments increasingly shape broader international security and justice challenges.
As criminal threats continue to evolve across borders and domains, advancing interregional analysis, evidence-based research, and international cooperation remains essential to supporting more effective and forward-looking crime prevention and criminal justice responses worldwide.
