Transcrime started its activity on November 1st, 1994, as a
Research Group on Transnational Crime within the Department of Law at the University of Trento. Initially, four graduate students from the Faculty of Law collaborated as research assistants in the activities of the Centre under the direction of its founder, Professor Ernesto U. Savona.
Transcrime grew rapidly thanks to several important projects on transnational crime it carried out for the European Union. In January 2000, Transcrime became an
Inter-Departmental Research Centre on Transnational Crime within the University of Trento and thus strengthened its ties not only with the University's Law Faculty but also with the Faculties of Sociology and Social Research, Economics and Human and Social Sciences. This enhanced the interaction between the fields of criminology, law, economics, statistics, sociology and psychology.
In January 2004 Transcrime became the Joint Research Centre on Transnational Crime of the University of Trento and the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore of Milan and, consequently, is now able to draw on the scientific input of both Universities.
In January 2010, the two associated Universities agreed to move Transcrime's administrative headquarters from the University of Trento to the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan.