1 May 2011PatentsVaughn Volpi

Building operative partnerships with law enforcement

In its latest study, the Pharmaceutical Security Institute (PSI) documented a 60 percent increase in arrests for persons involved in counterfeiting, diversion or theft of pharmaceutical drugs worldwide between 2008 and 2009. The PSI further reported that the sale of counterfeit drugs tripled between 2004 and 2009, resulting in worldwide annual sales of up to $200 billion.

Unfortunately, this meteoric rise, perhaps not so coincidentally, has taken place while the world is mired in the worst global recession in decades. In many places, unemployment is at an all-time high, forcing at least some to turn to illicit industries for work.

As money gets tight, people also look for lower-priced alternatives. Today, this often means turning to the Internet, which enables otherwise small criminal organisations to become worldwide players in the trafficking of illicit healthcare products in relative anonymity. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that up to 50 percent of the drugs sold on the Internet from unauthorised sites are fake.

To make matters even worse, most law enforcement and corporate security departments have seen significant reductions in their personnel and/or operating budgets during this same period. This has forced them to narrow their focus.

For law enforcement, this typically means focusing on violent crimes, and for corporations, it means protecting the company’s assets and personnel. While most healthcare companies list their brands among the most valuable assets on their balance sheet and law enforcement agencies are genuinely concerned with public health and safety, sadly neither have the scope nor expertise to combat this increasingly sophisticated and global crime on their own.

For example, ports in Chile and Peru have increasingly become destinations for illicit products made in Asia. While interdictions and arrests in Chile and Peru have been on the rise, unfortunately there is rarely any follow-up action taken against the individuals in Asia who are manufacturing or distributing the product. The case ends and the criminal enterprise remains in place to ship products the next day. Obviously, law enforcement lacks the resources, connectivity and jurisdiction to dismantle these syndicates all on its own.

Even in these budget-challenged times, there is a way to successfully counter illicit product sales, secure the healthcare supply chain for patients and protect a company’s brand. The answer lies in building and investing in close operational partnerships with law enforcement.

Unlike other industry support groups, these operational partnerships are designed to build a practical working relationship between industry and law enforcement to target healthcare and IPR crimes. While there are a number of quality groups that fit this description around the world, there are two that every multinational corporation with brand security issues should join.

Cargo theft

One of the fastest-growing crimes affecting healthcare products is cargo theft. In the US alone, the FBI estimates that cargo theft accounts for up to $30 billion in losses each year. While the crime itself is relatively straightforward, it can have a wide-ranging impact for law enforcement, companies and consumers alike.

“A symbiotic relationship between the brand owner and law enforcement is necessary to effectively have an impact on the distribution and sale of illicit healthcare products around the world.”

The Southeast Transportation Security Council (SETSC) is successfully tackling this issue on a daily basis. SETSC was founded in 2002 by five corporations and approximately 12 law enforcement officers operating in the Atlanta area. From those modest beginnings, it has rapidly grown to include more than 40 corporations and more than 200 law enforcement agencies throughout the Southeastern United States.

The organisation currently monitors and deals with cargo thefts valued at over $1 billion annually.

The framework of the programme is quite simple. Within 30 minutes of a cargo theft incident, SETSC’s ‘Blast-Fax System’ passes all the relevant information to hundreds of police agencies, four law enforcement cargo theft task forces, seven regional councils, plus its corporate membership.

The information is disseminated on a controlledaccess basis, which means the law enforcement membership can have access to the full details of the theft, while information can be redacted in the version distributed to corporate partners. All members and law enforcement agencies then work together to recover the cargo.

SETSC provides an additional force multiplier for its membership through its affiliation with an international network of similar cargo theft groups. This essentially globalises the organisation and provides a vehicle in which law enforcement agencies can share intelligence and case evidence to break up international organised crime syndicates.

This same information can be shared among the corporate members with their consent. “The best thing about SETSC,” says organisation president Jim Phillips, “is that there are no competing agendas. It’s all about what’s best for the industry as a whole.”

IPR Center™

One of the biggest challenges law enforcement faces in the battle against counterfeits is the ability to identify illicit product. But it goes deeper than that. In addition to not having the information necessary to legally authenticate a product, most don’t even have adequate information to determine whether an offer to sell or a shipment is suspicious. This can often be as simple as understanding the approved ports of entry or the brands that are popular in an area.

The IPR Center™ (www.iprcenter.com) is a new non-profit organisation dedicated to providing law enforcement and customs agents worldwide with the timely information they need to stop illicit product sales in their jurisdictions. The centrepiece of this organisation is a web-based platform used exclusively by law enforcement officers to view product updates, advisories, training materials and contact information provided by the participating brand owners.

All confidential information is housed on the secure, encrypted Law Enforcement Authentication Database (LEAD), which was built on the same e-commerce framework that multinational banks use for their Internet transactions. After being fully vetted, law enforcement officers are given complimentary access to the site, enabling them to obtain information on a real-time basis from any location via the Internet.

The public section of the website serves as a hub for interested parties to exchange information, educational material, news and alerts relating to intellectual property rights. The site administrator co-ordinates with brand owners to upload training materials, introduce and promote the service to fully vetted law enforcement personnel, and maintain the security of the site and its contents.

Despite being less than a year old, the IPR Center™ has rapidly expanded its reach worldwide by building relationships with customs organisations and NGOs that are focused on health and safety or IPR issues. The site is currently being used by law enforcement agencies on four continents, representing local, state/province and federal jurisdictions.

Brand owners now have the ability to immediately reach thousands of law enforcement officers focused on IPR and healthcare crimes by simply uploading their training materials to their respective database pages. There is no limit to the information that can be uploaded and any inquiries from law enforcement agencies go directly to the brand owner for follow-up.

Registered law enforcement officers receive emails notifying them when updates and product alerts are posted so that they can keep up-to-date on urgent product issues. Each time a new brand owner joins, they are encouraged to introduce their personal law enforcement contacts to the site. This is a win-win for everyone, as the law enforcement officers gain access to additional product information and the brand owners broaden their base of police contacts.

At present, the site is free for brand owners, which is truly remarkable given the value it adds to their programmes. In addition to ensuring that law enforcement always has access to the most current and accurate information, brand owners can save thousands of dollars each year on the time, printing costs and travel associated with in-person training.

Building relationships

A symbiotic relationship between the brand owner and law enforcement is necessary to effectively have an impact on the distribution and sale of illicit healthcare products around the world. Resources such as SETSC and the IPR Center are vital tools in building this connectivity and delivering the information necessary for law enforcement to act. However, they stop short of providing all that is required.

The other piece of the equation is the brand owner’s ability to build and operate a brand protection programme that can deliver end-to-end law enforcement support wherever an issue may arise. This includes conducting much of the intelligence-gathering, investigation and document preparation on a case before asking law enforcement to act.

Without this support, most police agencies simply lack the scope to undertake brand protection cases. Conversely, very few will walk away from good cases that are professionally presented for enforcement.

This can be a tall order for many companies. Most companies lack the personnel, contacts and resources necessary to provide these services in any jurisdiction around the world. This is where organisations such as PICA Corporation can be useful. PICA has spent the past 29 years developing close relationships with law enforcement in more than 125 countries around the world.

With thousands of experienced consultants on the ground in more than 300 cities, PICA already has the infrastructure in place to be an effective bridge between the brand owner and the local law enforcement agency. This may not be required in every instance, but the ability to pull that type of support structure off the shelf gives both the brand owner and law enforcement the support they need to ensure the problem is tackled at the operative level.

Vaughn Volpi is chief strategy officer at PICA Corporation. He can be contacted at: vvolpi@pica.net

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