This research examines the European intelligence agency, Europol. It looks at the application of the centralized mode of information exchange to the information and intelligence exchange process between Europol and member states. The data gathered shows whether this agency is the most appropriate mode of data collection, or whether another model should have been adopted.
One of the most dynamic areas of EU law since the great changes brought to the EU constitutional order by the Amsterdam Treaty in 1999 has been cooperation in the fields of policing and criminal justice. Both fields have already been the subject of substantial legislative effort in the EU and an increasing amount of judicial activity in the European Court of Justice. In 2007 - after the Constitutional Treaty of 2004 failed - the new Reform Treaty planned very substantive changes to these policies. Bringing together a wide-ranging set of topics and contributors, this book enables readers to understand these changes by examining three key questions: how did we get to the Reform Treaty; what have been - and still are - the key struggles in competence; and how do the changes fit into the transformation of police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters in the EU?
When we consider the ideal of the `family' of nations implied by the European Union, it seems unnatural to deal with the question of where Europe's borders lie. Yet the question is urgently raised by grave issues of internal and external security. As the European Union's imminent eastward and southern expansion becomes reality--side by side with the evolving new emphasis on security spawned by the events of September 11, 2001--we must be sure that the Schengen norms remain viable. It is also crucial to take full account of the impact of the enlarged European Union on the non-candidate countries of Eastern Europe. This important book takes the position that trust is the essential ingredient. Fourteen distinguished authors reveal various ways of achieving a level of trust among the members of the enlarged European Union adequate to the need for full freedom, security, and justice. The contexts in which trust must be established include police and judicial cooperation; the fight against terrorism, organized crime, and human trafficking: the latent threats to freedom of movement posed by national responses to increased immigration; and the transparent extension of EU Justice and Home Affairs measures to the candidate countries. The authors include political actors, policymakers, advisers, experts, and researchers from all parts of Europe. Their individual and collective contributions, in each case built solidly on thorough analysis of the relevant issues, bring a wide range of profound and wide-reaching insights to a vital subject. The book is of great significance not only for those charged with law enforcement and security, but also to all academics and policymakers concerned with the future of Europe.
Co-operation on justice and home affairs - immigration, asylum and the fight against crime - is one of the European Union's new priorities. The EU's role is controversial, for it touches on the essence of national sovereignty. This book argues that growing migratory pressures outside the Union, plus passport-free travel (Britain and Ireland excepted) within it, are pushing the EU to develop a common approach to asylum and immigration. Meanwhile a surge of organised crime is spurring EU governments to beef up Europol and to contemplate radical steps such as recognising and enforcing each other's court decisions.
The State and the police are traditionally seen as closely connected phenomena. Today, however, rapid EU legal developments mean that European police forces are no longer tied to a specific national legal context or a specific territory in the way they used to be. Norway is not a member of the EU. Or is it? This book shows that although it lacks formal membership status, Norway has become part of almost all of the major EU police cooperation measures and agreements. Not only does this mean that foreign police forces may operate on Norwegian territory and vice versa, but in addition, a wide range of EU regulations and cooperation instruments are incorporated directly into Norwegian law. With the increased focus on international and transnational police cooperation in mind, what does it mean to be a sovereign state in Europe today? This book combines strong legal and theoretical analyses of a specific national system to show how this country is tied to and dependent on a wider international and supranational system of legal rules, technologies and concepts. This makes the book relevant not only for the Norwegian prosecution and police authorities, but also for readers outside Norway interested in exploring how and whether the police as a modern state function has changed through the implementation of international cross-border cooperation mechanisms.
This book provides new insights into police cooperation from a comparative socio-legal perspective. It presents a broad analysis of comparable police cooperation strategies in two systems: the EU and Australia. The evolution of regulatory trends and cooperation models is analysed for both systems and possible transferable strategies identified. Drawing on interviews with practitioners in the EU and Australia this book highlights a number of areas where the EU can be compared to a federal system and addresses the advantages and disadvantages of being a Union or a federation of states with a view to police cooperation practice. Particular topics addressed are the evolution of legal frameworks regulating police cooperation, informal cooperation strategies, Joint Investigation Teams, Europol and regional cooperation. These instruments foster police cooperation, but could be improved with a view to cooperation practice by learning from regulatory techniques and practitioner experiences of the respective other system.
The globalization of threats and the complexity of international security issues represents a greater challenge for international policing in (re)shaping inter-agency interaction, and makes effective international police cooperation more necessary than ever before. This book sets out to analyse the key emerging issues and theory and practice of international police cooperation. Paying special attention to the factors that have contributed to the effective working of police cooperation in practice and the problems that are encountered, this book brings together original research that examines opportunities and initiatives undertaken by agencies (practices and processes introduced) as well as the impact of external legal, political, and economical pressures. Contributors explore emerging initiatives and new challenges in several contexts at both national and international levels. They adopt a diversity of approaches and theoretical frameworks to reach a broader understanding of current and future issues in police cooperation. Forms of police cooperation and trends in crime control are examined, drawing upon the following disciplines: criminology, ethics, organizational science, political science, and sociology.
This book draws together the insights of eminent academics and specialists to present an overview of past and present approaches to transnational policing throughout the Anglophone world. It aims to revitalize the study of transnational policing by showing that past and present developments in this field remain poorly understood, while also suggesting future avenues of research. Containing chapters on police history, police accountability, gendered hate crime in an increasingly online world, counter-radicalisation strategies being pursued around the world, internet-facilitated sex trafficking and changes in organised crime, amongst others, the authors adopt revisionist, orthodox and progressive views in order to challenge our understanding and appreciation of developments in transnational policing. All of the chapters in the book use policing models employed within the UK as either their focal point or as a point of comparison so that direct comparisons and contrasts can be examined. The Development of Transnational Policing illustrates distinctive and separate aspects of what remains an undoubtedly complex and dynamic field, but also forms an overview of developments and the dearth of academic research which surround them, in order hopefully to inspire researchers, policymakers and practitioners alike.
International co-operation in criminal law enforcement has become a centrally important policy issue for Europe in the 1990s. In criminal matters, when a decision is taken to go beyond the discretionary exchange of information towards institutionalized police co-operation, a whole Pandora'sbox of issues and problems is opened. This book, based on interviews in a wide variety of documentary sources, examines the progress of this co-operation. The authors cover all the major and theoretical issues associated with the emerging pattern of co-operation, including the harmonization ofcriminal law and criminal procedure, law enforcement strategies, police organization and discipline, and the politics of immigration and civil liberties. In a European Union without internal border controls there is widespread agreement on the objective of closer police co-operation. But prospects in some areas are not good and there are potential pitfalls, even dangers, along the road to more integrated arrangements. The authors conclude by makingrecommendations that proper accountability arrangements are a prerequisite of a balanced and efficient system of European police co-operation.
