Memorandum by the Association of Chief
Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS)
I refer to your correspondence dated 20 March
2008, in connection with the above subject, which has been considered
by the Crime Business Area, and can now offer the following by
way of comment.
STRATEGIC COORDINATION
The ACPOS National Intelligence Model (NIM)
Development Team has worked closely with Europol representatives
and the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) to enhance
the development of the European Criminal Intelligence Model (ECIM).
Furthermore, a number of European delegates have visited this
team to examine the processes and application of the National
Intelligence Model.
With regard to the development of EU Architecture
of Internal Security, intelligence led policing and the ECIM,
the Organised Crime Threat Assessment (OCTA) provides the starting
point in that it provides the strategic understanding of the current
threat based on available information and identifies the highest
priority serious and organised crime threats to the EU. This fits
firmly with the aim of the "Hague Programme" to provide
a forward looking approach to the fight against organised crime
in a proactive manner. Complemented by the development and implementation
of the ECIM, which facilitates effective action through the management
of an intelligence cycle based around Member States contribution
to the Europol Information System (EIS), this would provide an
opportunity for the initiation of cross-border investigations
with a view to the disruption of significant criminal activity.
The intelligence process would be completed by the results and
intelligence generated being utilised to support the next round
of assessments.
Europol's commitment to ensuring its activities
are always supportive of the activities of stakeholders and partners
such as "Eurojust", "Frontex" and "SitCen"
is clear from its inclusion of same within its current business
plan, demonstrating Europol's efforts to achieve such cooperation.
BILATERAL INFORMATION
EXCHANGE
Information exchange in the form of the use
of the Schengen Information System is currently under development,
with the UK currently exchanging only limited information on a
bilateral basis with other member states. However, Schengen Information
System II (SISII) will present the opportunity to progress the
flow of information via interface with the Police National Computer
(PNC) and other criminal justice partner databases.
Operational links between ACPOS and Europol
are maintained by the secondment of an SCDEA Officer to Europol
and ACPOS is keen to enhance the current interaction with Europol
and will continue to work in partnership with them in this regard.
The EIS holds a European database of criminal
intelligence, which supports the automatic identification of links
between investigations in different Member States and facilitates
the sharing of information in a secure and reliable way. It is
recognised that some Member States utilise automatic data loaders
to populate the EIS with relevant criminal intelligence from their
country. Member States use of the EIS in this way offers law enforcement
agencies throughout Europe greater opportunities to identify international
aspects to investigations and whilst the UK does not currently
have access to automatic data loaders, the opportunity to consider,
in conjunction with key partners in the fight against organised
crime, the potential benefits of same, would be welcomed.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, it remains possible
for UK law enforcement agencies, via the UK Europol National Unit,
to make use of the EIS in respect of UK investigations. The current
system does place a significant emphasis on bilateral communication.
COMBATING ORGANISED
CRIME
During a visit to Europol, ACPOS representatives
involved in the compilation of the ACPOS Scottish Strategic Assessment
(SSA) shared best practice with staff from OCTA and an ACPOS representative
is now part of the OCTA Working Group. The SSA takes cognisance
of OCTA and has direct links in priorities such as Human Trafficking,
Importation of Class A controlled drugs and Serious and Organised
Crime. ACPOS will also invite an Analyst from Europol to be part
of the team working on the 2008/09 SSA and an Analyst from ACPOS
will participate in the Europol Analysts Quarterly Co-ordinators
Forum. Europol will also be involved in the data collection processes
as part of the Scottish Network Analysis and an Information Sharing
Agreement will facilitate this work.
In terms of training, it is suggested that Europol
should not develop training provisions in competition with the
European Police College (CEPOL). Members suggest that Europol
should influence and inform the design and content of training
provision but not duplicate it.
COMBATING TERRORISM
Due to constraints on protectively marked intelligence
not all Scottish Counter Terrorism Intelligence is shared with
the Terrorism Situation Report (TSR). A standard operating procedure
in this regard is currently being compiled.
EUROPOL'S
INFORMATION EXCHANGE
NETWORK
Members welcome the opportunity to contribute
to the EIS. In the absence of automatic data loaders or systems
which can accommodate direct submission, however, significant
bilateral communication remains necessary to achieve same. Access
to EIS, which can store, search and analyse information relative
to international criminality allowing law enforcement agencies
to collaborate in their investigations provides UK law enforcement
agencies with the opportunity to maximise its involvement with
Europol and identify potential opportunities for joint investigations.
Members suggest that as a method of developing
intelligence sharing in the future; it may be possible to provide
a link between the Scottish Intelligence Database (SID) and the
Europol Information System (EIS). Mr Brian Donald, the Head of
the UK Liaison Bureau at Europol, has attended the Scottish Tactical
Coordination Group meeting and delivered a presentation on EIS
and the work of Europol, and it was agreed that Europe will be
included in the data collection processes of the Scottish Network
Analysis within the terms of an information sharing protocol.
EUROPOL'S
INFORMATION EXCHANGE
WITH THIRD
PARTIES
All 27 Member States of the EU are represented
on the Europol Liaison Bureau Network. Europol also has a number
of cooperation agreements with countries outside the EU and with
other organisations. These fall into two categories, operational
agreements, where personal data can be exchanged and strategic
agreements, which are limited to strategic intelligence exchanges
such as trends and modus operandi. Members consider that this
approach is appropriate.
GOVERNANCE AND
METHODOLOGIES
Currently SOCA, a non policing organisation,
is the link between UK police and Europol. The co-operation afforded
by the Director General is high, however it is clear that some
of the European policing discourse is outwith the areas of interest
of SOCA. Therefore, the engagement of UK institutions with Europol
is less productive than it might be. Members welcome the change
in governance and status recently agreed for Europol and will
hopefully improve the opportunity for engagement.
In respect of the value attributed by Member
States and other customers to OCTA, Analytical Work Files (AWFs)
and other products and services offered by Europol, members highlight
that Scotland is constructively involved with OCTA. OCTA provides
processes and structure which can also be adopted for internal
purposes. Other products which are considered of value and would
be increasingly welcomed by members are operational intelligence
reports, analytical outputs and strategic situation reports.
With regard to AWFs, information provided to
ACPOS on specific issues has to date been very good. The products
are useful and provide an overview of processes and issues at
the outset. Whilst they retain a strategic overview, they are
not overly complex. Opportunities to improve the exchange and
sharing of such analytical products between Scotland and Europol
are currently being explored.
The Joint Supervisory Body (JSB) is an entity
set up to review the activities of Europol, to ensure that the
rights of the individual are not violated by the storage, processing
and utilisation of data held thereby. It is understood that the
body comprises of two representatives from the national data protection
authority of each Member State who are appointed to serve for
a period of five years. In order to guarantee independence, the
Europol Convention states that members of the JSB are not to receive
instructions from any other body.
It is not clear whether existing arrangements
for Europol, and their strategic objectives, will easily allow
the evolution of their role to widen into general policing matters.
Members suggest it may be more advantageous to support Europol
as an information and response coordination organisation in respect
of crime disruption and investigation, and establish a separate
body to oversee other matters of policing cooperation. The European
Chiefs of Police Task Force (ECPTF), which includes ACPOS representation,
currently has a responsibility in this regard but the changing
nature of the precedence militates against sustained delivery
of an agreed strategy.
Notwithstanding, members welcome the opportunity
to contribute to the review given the increasing international
nature of policing and the benefits to be derived by cementing
existing strategic partnership links with Europol and the Europol
National Unit.
Harry Bunch, General Secretary
1 May 2008
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