Europol Launches Taskforce to Tackle Violence-as-a-Service and Youth Exploitation
In response to the alarming growth of “violence-as-a-service” (VaaS) and the increasing exploitation of young people by organized crime groups, Europol has announced the creation of a new Operational Task Force (OTF), codenamed GRIMM.
Led by Sweden, this multinational task force includes law enforcement agencies from Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Norway. Europol will support the initiative with threat analysis, coordination, and operational expertise.
A New Criminal Model: Violence-as-a-Service
“Violence-as-a-service marks a dangerous shift in how organized crime operates,” said Catherine De Bolle, Executive Director of Europol. “Criminals are deliberately targeting vulnerable minors to carry out acts of violence, distancing themselves from legal accountability.”
According to Europol intelligence, minors are being recruited by organized crime networks across Europe for roles involving drug trafficking, extortion, and even contract killings—sometimes paid as much as €20,000 per act. These operations are often orchestrated through encrypted messaging apps and social media, using coded language, gamification, and lifestyle glamour to lure youth.
The recently released EU-SOCTA 2025 report (European Union Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessment) describes this phenomenon as part of “the changing DNA of serious and organised crime.” It notes that minors are now involved in over 70% of European criminal markets.
Objectives of OTF GRIMM
The task force will pursue four key objectives:
- Facilitate cross-border intelligence sharing and joint investigations
- Track recruitment and monetization strategies used by criminal networks
- Identify and dismantle VaaS providers
- Collaborate with tech companies to detect and block online recruitment efforts
“This is not opportunistic crime—it’s a calculated business model,” said the head of Europol’s European Serious and Organised Crime Centre. “By exploiting minors, criminal networks create legal and operational buffers that make prosecution more difficult.”
The trend underscores a larger transformation in organized crime, where violence is increasingly commodified and outsourced to shield higher-level actors. Criminal groups now operate as service providers, offering tailored violence to other criminal enterprises.
A Coordinated European Response
OTF GRIMM builds on previous Europol operations targeting organized crime and represents a focused effort to disrupt youth-targeted VaaS networks. Initial operations have already begun, targeting digital recruitment infrastructure and known facilitators.
Europol is urging the public to report suspicious online activity—particularly efforts to recruit minors—to local law enforcement.
