This thematic group emerges as a result of the activities of the WATER CRIMES Project (www.watercrimes.eu) to create a network and knowledge exchange platform on water-related crimes. While awareness of environmental crimes is gaining momentum at international level, crimes against water are an emerging issue. Such crimes have significant impacts, although intelligence is scarce and information fragmented. There is currently no clear, commonly accepted definition of water-related crimes. Water may be the environmental resource damaged by a crime (e.g. surface water pollution, or fraudulent water quality reporting); the object of a crime (e.g. drinking water theft or corruption on the part of private companies related to the economic control/exploitation of water); or the means of the crime (e.g. intentional flooding or the deliberate poisoning of a water supply). There may also be criminal threats to water management infrastructure.