CEPOL report analyses impact of war in Ukraine on law enforcement training needs

The EU Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) has just released a Training Needs Analysis (TNA) report on the impact of the war in Ukraine on the training needs of law enforcement. This report comes as a follow-up action to the initiative of the French Presidency of the European Council and the European Commission (EC) activating the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT) community to assess, anticipate, prevent and counter existing or emerging serious and organised crime threats linked to or entailed by the war in Ukraine.

By providing an overview of training needs impacted by the war on a variety of topics, the report complements the findings of the CEPOL EU Strategic Training Needs Assessment (EU-STNA) and provides further guidance for adjusting the portfolios of the different parties involved in the EU training provision. Also, by offering indications on the nationally and regionally weighted training needs, this TNA can support national law enforcement training institutions and facilitate regional cooperation.

The Training Needs Analysis on Ukraine can be relevant for national or European level training providers engaged in upskilling law enforcement and other professionals who work in fields related to the external dimensions of European internal security. It can also contribute to the development and coordination of joint activities that utilise the unique expertise of EU Justice and Home Affairs agencies making important contribution overall to the European internal security and the joint EU response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Overall, the findings of the report confirm that the war in Ukraine has transformed the regional security landscape and has an impact on the general public order in Europe. Responses indicate that most crime areas have been affected by the war, touching upon both crime patterns and operations. Since Russia’s invasion, law enforcement authorities in the EU are facing new challenges, as they are stepping up their efforts to respond to the emerging needs while maintaining the day-to-day law and order.

On a general level, the report indicates that training needs are high related to cross-cutting areas, such as digital skills and the use of new technologies, high-risk criminal networks and financial investigations. The same applies for topics such as disinformation and fake news, hybrid threats and monitoring of social networks for preventive purposes. Officials could also benefit from training opportunities covering changing crime patterns in the areas of Cybercrime, Drug trafficking, Firearms, Child sexual exploitation and Counterterrorism. The survey data suggests that law enforcement officials across Europe face challenges in data and intelligence collection, as well as analysis.

Officials working close to the conflict areas highlighted that that they have to cope with additional stress and pressure in their daily wok. They also expressed the need to reinforce training on the topics of migration and asylum, document fraud and investigation techniques, victim and child protection.

Read the full report here.

About the OTNA and TNA process

The CEPOL Regulation mandates the Agency to incorporate training needs assessments and analyses in its planning. CEPOL completed the second EU Strategic Training Needs Assessment (EU-STNA) in 2021, identifying strategic level training priorities for law enforcement officials across Europe for the next 4-year cycle 2022-2025 of the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT).

In order to analyse the particular training needs in more details, CEPOL regularly conducts training needs analyses on operational level, on the priority topics defined by the EU-STNA. The aim of these analyses is to get 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. The Operational Training Needs Analysis 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. In addition to the OTNAs, CEPOL also conducts ad hoc Training Needs Analyses (TNAs), responding to emerging needs, such as: Impact of COVID-19 on law enforcement operations and training needs on current EU Policy Cycle priority areas, Impact of COVID-19 on domestic violence law enforcement operations and training needs, and the current Training Needs Analysis regarding the impact of the war in Ukraine.

More on CEPOL’s and JHAAN response to the war in Ukraine:

CEPOL's concrete actions to support Ukraine

EU Justice and Home Affairs agencies present concrete actions in support of Ukraine

CEPOL launches series of webinars on the impact of Ukraine conflict on law enforcement

EU Justice and Home Affairs Agencies joint statement on Ukraine

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