EUCRIMINTEL

Criminal Intelligence in the EU

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'By collecting, organizing and interpreting a vast bulk of data intelligence allows greater awareness of criminal threats and it permits law enforcement authorities to be more efficient in preventing and discovering crimes. Due to the growing importance of international intelligence cooperation, the European Union (EU) has taken action in the field. The present study focuses on criminal intelligence analysis, i.e. the process of interpreting information for mapping, foreseeing and discovering crime threats, in the EU. The project will provide a scientific basis for the tradecraft and use of criminal intelligence in the EU by undertaking an analytical examination of the function of intelligence at EU level. Taking into account the needs to minimize the impact on fundamental rights and to respect the democratic principles of transparency and accountability of public action, the project aims to: assess the effectiveness of intelligence analysis in preventing and repressing crime; propose solutions to increase the efficiency of intelligence analysis in full respect of fundamental rights and of the democratic principles. With a view to reconstructing the fragmented picture of EU intelligence analysis , the project will collect and analyze all relevant EU documents and map all agencies and bodies who perform or foster intelligence analysis, listing their powers and instruments. It will then dig theoretically into the concept of intelligence: through the study of existing legal and criminological literature it will try to lay a general theoretical framework for intelligence in the EU, providing a clear definition of it and of the role it should play within the context of the criminal justice system. To assess the quality and efficacy of intelligence analysis the applicant will will attempt to evaluate how it is crafted and used by collecting intelligence reports, conducting interviews with experts in the field and researching on existing European and national case-law.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

Researchers examined the quality and effects of EU criminal intelligence. Europe is involved in the practice, but efforts are fragmented and uncooperative; such work may breach presumptions of innocence and is not recommended as trial evidence.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Behind the practice of criminal intelligence is the assumption that the work helps law enforcement agencies discover and prevent crime. Nevertheless, not everyone is convinced; also, the practice must balance civil rights concerns.

The EU-funded EUCRIMINTEL (Criminal intelligence in the EU) project addressed intelligence fragmentation in the EU, the role and quality of such work, and any conflicts with rights and democratic principles. The project ran for two years from October 2012.

Partners determined that numerous European bodies are involved in intelligence, despite claims to the contrary. Yet, the agencies are fragmented and lack coherence, partly stemming from an unwillingness to cooperate.

The project established a general theoretical framework, addressing prevention, the concept of intelligence cycle and reconciling intelligence with rights. The team concluded that intelligence collection and analysis can only breach the presumption of innocence to a limited extent, specifically when intelligence activities become a form of total monitoring.

Researchers interviewed more than 10 relevant American and European stakeholders, under condition of anonymity, to document how intelligence is crafted and used. This stage confirmed the principle of proportionality, whereby excessive information gathering can hamper intelligence function. European strategic intelligence is apparently very good, yet the same was not demonstrated for operational intelligence.

The project's interviews established that European intelligence is mainly used for strategic policymaking, and for criminal justice only in a very limited way. The study concluded that while intelligence offers valuable inspiration at the prosecution stage, such information should be banned from trials.

EUCRIMINTEL allows stakeholders to restructure the shape of the intelligence community at national and EU levels. Secondly, the work assessed the quality of intelligence and clarified limits on its usage.