1. Role of Europol in International Police Cooperation after Lisbon Bart De Buck Head of EU and International Law Unit - Europol

2. Europol Headquarters/The Hague / NL2

3. Overview Europol in practice: Products and services
Operational Intelligence analysis at Europol
Europol’s external partners
Joint investigation Teams
Future: the Europol Regulation

4. 1. Europol in practice: Products and services

5. EUROPOL as “INFORMATION BROKER”
1st level: Communication network of the Europol Liaison Officers : ELO’s
Link with the law enforcement agencies of the MS
Information exchange amongst each other
2nd level: Europol information System :
Tracing system ( control system)
Reference index system : linking of criminal information in Europe
Gradual implementation
Content, management, access, use regulated in Convention

6. Gathering all information related one criminal event or phenomenon.
“INFORMATION BROKER”
3rd level: Analysis of information = Analytical Workfiles
Gathering all information related one criminal event or phenomenon.
Criminal analysis leads to intelligence
Operational or strategic analysis
Data in AWF
Setting up and procedures strictly regulated

7. Europol products and services
1. International picture
EIS (+ art.10.4) : cross-checking of national criminal information and intelligence with information available at international level (EU and beyond)  identification of international links
Second level: expert meetings
2. Criminal Analysis
Identification of information gaps
Dissemination analytical reports: description of criminal organization, roles and responsibilities of members, relationships, modus operandi, …
Identification of new projects as a result

8. - prior to the JIT (need for JIT; Funding; agreement) - during JIT:
3. Support to JITs
- prior to the JIT (need for JIT; Funding; agreement)
- during JIT:
operational meetings
Mobile office
Forensic analysis
Support of evidence gathering on the spot
Expertise on quality of seized material (Euro counterfeits, counterfeited credit cards)
4. Support to MS cross-border operation (simultaneous operation)

9. 2. Operational Intelligence analysis at Europol

10. Good intelligence is rarely produced solely from one-off tips from informants. Rather, it emerges from a longer-term process on incrementally increasing knowledge. This process may be set in motion by a vague report about a specific individual suspected of committing crime, or by rumours about a criminal enterprise about which little is currently known.
In order to develop the available information into intelligence, a structured and systematic series of activities should be adopted. The Intelligence Cycle is the framework in which six stages are conducted resulting in the distribution of a finished intelligence product. The six stages are a flexible process and there are no firm boundaries separating them. The stages consist of: Direction / Planning, Collection, Evaluation, Collation, Analysis and Dissemination
After dissemination there is possible another tasking and the whole cycle starts again
There are criticism towards the Intelligence Cycle, stating that it does not fit for the practical processes of intelligence work. Despite this critique it can be argued that it serves a good model to conceptualise the intelligence process.
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What I want to highlight here is that analysis is part of Intelligence Process, not a separate function.

11. Analysis – What is it?
Careful examination of information from diverse sources to discover its meaning and essential features.
Must be organised in such a way that it facilitates understanding and highlights further information requirements

12. Aims of analysis
To develop and test theories about past, present and/ or future criminal activities (go beyond the know fact – hard data)
To develop hypotheses
To describe the nature and scope of groups involved
Highlights information gaps, the strengths, the weaknesses and pinpoints the way forward
TO PROVIDE GUIDANCE (complex information householding)

13. Aims of analysis
Direct law enforcement objectives both operationally and strategically
Provide management with action plans/recommendations in order to combat crime

14. The placement of intelligence analysis
Europol’s
intelligence support
Need of intelligence
Investigation timeline

15. The levels of intelligence analysis
Highly
speculative
Strategic Analysis
Complexity increases
Tactical Analysis
Operational Analysis
Cross Matches
Limited
speculation
Reactive
Proactive

16. Using different data integration techniques
Network chart
Link chart
Event chart
Commodity flow chart

17. Data integration (simplified)
Documents
Entities
Eurint is not a product available on the market. It is based upon different components, all freely available on the market. For example, Verity Viewer, Analyst Notebooks, Visual Basic, etc. Our developers created the Eurint application by integrating the different components; in other words they glued them together. It is not possible to see Eurint as an overall stand-alone application for all analytical activities. Around the application a range of other data processing activities must be carried out; scanning of hard copy documents, the recognition of the this text (OCR= Optical Character Recognition) and the storage of documents. These activities were taken into consideration, but do not form part of Eurint. In the Eurint application it is possible to store: 1. Documents, this could be a real text document, but it could be an image, a video or a sound as well. 2. Objects, such as persons, vehicles and telephone numbers. 3. Relations between objects 4. Relation between objects and documents.
able to perform powerful free text search
permit ‘navigation’ though the structured data base via relational links
provide visualisation tools with dynamic links to the data base
Links
Source document

18. PERSON 1
LOCATION 1
TEL. NR. 1
VEHICLES 5
ORGANISATIONS 3

19. Data Collation

21. Raw Data Mobile Number Date Time Mast ID Operator Direction
/09/ :01: B DKOTD O
/09/ :02: DKOSF I
/09/ :59: DKOSF I
/09/ :13: DKOSF I
/09/ :51: DKOSF I
/09/ :06: B DKOTD I
/09/ :56: DKOSF I
/09/ :10: DKOSF I
/09/ :30: DKOSF I
/09/ :05: DKOSF O
/09/ :19: B DKOTD I
/09/ :48: B DKOTD O
/09/ :02: DKOSF O
/09/ :37: DKOSF O
/09/ :03: DKOSF I
/09/ :17: B DKOTD I
/09/ :38: DKOSF O
/09/ :57: B DKOTD O
/09/ :12: B DKOTD O
/09/ :38: B DKOTD I

24. Specific legal and data processing regime
Restricted Access
Review and time limits
Content
Handling of the information:
Handling (H1, H2 & H3) = (restrictions) on the use of the information
Confidentiality (Equivalence table) = protection of the information
Evaluation (4 x 4) = assessment of the source and information

25. MÜL PET FRA GIL KAL BRI HUS
EXAMPLE Interpretation: Telephone communication frequency chart
MÜL
16.15 – 1645
PET
This time period was identified
As the most likely time of the
next handover:
“hit” planned.
FRA
GIL
KAL
BRI
HUS
1100
12.00
1300
1400
1500
1600
1700
Previous handovers of drugs
were preceded by his pattern
of telephone calls

26. Europol’s analytical products
The main purpose of a Threat Assessment is to analyse and evaluate the character, scope and threat posed by (types of) organised crime and terrorism. Threat Assessments will have a medium- to long-term scope and are future-oriented.
Situation Reports are mainly descriptive and oriented towards describing the current crime situation most often providing a detailed overview of all relevant factors
Intelligence Notifications serve the purpose of highlighting recent changes, trends and developments in the criminal (thematic or regional) environment.
Operational Analysis Reports highlight important features on criminal groups, individual targets, relevant locations, methods of communication, moducs operandi etc.
Knowledge products are not used for specific methodology and thus there are more leverage on the content and can be much more specified to the specifc neeeds of the customer.

27. 3. Relations with Partners

28. Basic principles
Generally: Exchange of data with 3rd partners only on the basis of a cooperation agreement
For personal data: we have to check whether data protection regime is adequate
Exchange of personal data with EU bodies prior to entry into force of agreement allowed
Possibility to receive and process personal data from private parties
Europol may directly retrieve and process data, including personal data, from publicly available sources

29. Types of agreements Strategic cooperation agreement
exchange of information with the exception of personal data
Operational cooperation agreement
exchange of information including personal data
Cooperation agreements concluded with third States or organisations
Cooperation agreements concluded with EU related bodies

30. Roadmap for agreements– 3rd States and Organisations
Third State or organisation to be added to Council list: the Council acts by qualified majority after consulting the EP
Assessment of the existence of an adequate level of data protection (for operational agreements), JSB opinion
MB decides whether or not Director can enter into negotiations
Final draft agreement: JSB opinion, MB endorsement and approval by the Council
Transmission of classified information only if agreement on confidentiality exists

31. Cooperation partners Operational Agreements:
Australia, Canada, Croatia, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, USA, Monaco
Interpol, Eurojust
Strategic agreements:
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Russia, Turkey, Serbia, Montenegro, Ukraine
WCO, UNODC, Commission, ECB, EMCDDA, OLAF, Cepol, Frontex

32. 4. Joint investigation Teams: first step to European policing?

33. What are JIT’s ?
“… by mutual agreement, the competent authorities of two or more Member States may set up a joint investigation team for a specific purpose and a limited period, which may be extended by mutual consent, to carry out criminal investigations in one or more of the Member States setting up the team …”

34. Specific feature of JITs
Par. 6 :
“…Seconded members of the JIT may in accordance with the law of the Member State where the team operates be entrusted by the leader of the team with the task of taking certain investigative measures …”
Dependant upon approval of competent authorities of the Member State of operation and the seconding Member State.
Major step in European judicial and police cooperation

35. Specific feature of JITs
Par. 7 :
“…Where the JIT needs investigative measures in a MS setting up the team, members seconded to the team may request their own competent authorities to take those measures …”
Those measures shall be considered in that Member State under the conditions which would apply if they were requested in a national investigation
No need of further procedural action under traditional mutual legal assistance
Par 9: Seconded members may provide the team with information available in the ‘home’ Member State for the purpose of the criminal investigations conducted by the team

36. 5. Future: the Europol Regulation

37. Mandate and tasks similar to ECD Rationalized (text of TFEU Art. 88)
List of offences ? EAW?
Updated list of tasks
TFEU (art. 88.2)
Propose setting up JITs
Technical and financial support
Generic legal basis for hosting EU centres for combating certain types of crime
Training LEA officers

38. Single Data Management Concept
No databases/systems  one single data processing environment
Delineation with different purposes for processing (3 different purposes)
Purpose determined by the originator
Specific access regime
Enhanced data protection safeguards
Stricter rules for processing certain categories of personal data or specific data subjects

39. External Relations Art. 216 TFEU  Union is responsible for ER
Some independency  operational needs of Ep and MS
Exchange of non personal data
Receipt of information
Cooperation with EU
Cooperation with 3rd States
necessity  possibility Coop Agreement
Adequacy is THE criterion for the exchange of PD
Cooperation with private sector
Direct?
Personal data?

40. Thank you