Understanding the potential for criminal activity in the Norwegian AEC industry: A building process perspective

This article aims to present the results of a small research program carried out within the Norwegian context. It endeavors to present main lessons gathered from separate studies carried out within an overall building process perspective. The material examined consists mostly of peer-reviewed publications based on qualitative approaches. Case studies constitute the main bulk, with the addition of some desktop studies. The current fight against criminal activity in the Norwegian architecture, engineering, construction (AEC) industry mainly takes place at a workplace level. It is mostly targeting the lower echelons of criminal value chains. Little concern seems to be given to the material supply chain. The analysis proposed indicates that current crime-fighting measures employed within the Norwegian context do not take into consideration the implications of the processes involved in the AEC industry. The analysis provides an optic for reconsidering the scope of the measures chosen. As a practical implication of this, the controlling agencies need to review their scope of action. Reconsidering the potential for criminal activity within the AEC industry enables the controlling authorities to develop more efficient countermeasures. Using insights from the building process literature can provide the optics necessary to carry out such a reconsideration. Further research endeavors ought to buttress necessary efforts in this vein.