CEPOL conducts training needs analysis in three security priority areas

The EU Agency for Law Enforcement Training has launched operational training needs analysis (OTNA) on three strategic areas:

• Counterterrorism
• Child sexual exploitation and sexual abuse
• Law enforcement cooperation and information exchange (interoperability)

As a first step of the process, law enforcement officials and experts across Europe, nominated by their Member States, have been invited to take part in an online survey using a new, user and mobile-friendly platform. With this exercise, CEPOL aims at having better understanding of where the capability and knowledge gaps lie in those areas. The outcomes of these surveys will contribute to the design of CEPOL’s training portfolio for 2022.

The training needs analyses carried out by CEPOL provide a comprehensive picture on operational level training priorities for law enforcement officials in Member States, including police, border guards, migration authorities, customs, and others.

Background information:

The CEPOL Regulation mandates the Agency to incorporate training needs assessments and analysis in its planning. CEPOL completed the EU Strategic Training Needs Assessment (EU-STNA) in 2018, identifying strategic level training priorities for law enforcement officials across Europe for the period 2018-2021. In order to analyse the particular training needs in more details, CEPOL is conducting the OTNAs.

The OTNA methodology is a structured training needs analysis procedure, which takes into consideration the deliverables of the EU-STNA process. CEPOL designs its multiannual training portfolio building on the outcomes of the OTNAs, which provide a detailed understanding of the number and profile of officials to be trained, as well as on the proficiency and urgency level of training to be delivered.