New training needs analysis outlines main training topics in the area of high-risk criminal networks

CEPOL has just released the Operational Training Needs Analysis (OTNA) on High-Risk Criminal Networks (HRCN), which outlines the main training topics in this area for EU law enforcement officials for the period 2024-2026.

In 2021, the EU’s Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessment (EU SOCTA), conducted by the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol), underlined that organised crime in the EU has never posed such a major threat as it does today. Disrupting organised crime groups is one of the priorities of the EU strategy for tackling organised crime 2021-2025, and identifying and controlling the HRCN active in the EU has been also established as the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT) priority for 2022-2025. The European Strategic Training Needs Assessment (EU-STNA) 2022-2025 recognised this area as one of the core capability gaps across EU Member States, establishing HRCN as a strategic training priority.

In line with the training priorities defined in the EU-STNA process, the main training topics in relation to HRCN are:

• Structure and operation of criminal networks;
• Identification of high-value targets (HVT) during investigations and addressing these;
• Criminal finances;
• Sharing of strategic and operational data;
• Common and coordinated action, close cooperation and information sharing among Member States, (e.g. common legal, judicial and investigative frameworks, prevention-orientated information) and with other actors, including the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions and operations;
• Cooperation with other initiatives, projects and relevant actors, and
• Operational network to counter mafia-style serious and organised crime (@ON).

Building on the strategic training priorities defined by the EU-STNA and the experience gained from previous OTNA studies, CEPOL launched an Operational Training Needs Analysis (OTNA) on HRCN in December 2022, with the aim to use the outcomes of the survey research for defining its training portfolio on high-risk criminal networks, contributing to the overall work in the EU to tackle organised crime. All seven main topics presented in the survey were rated as strongly relevant, with urgency rates ranging from 81% to 70%, meaning that the training needs across these topics should be considered urgent or crucial (see explanation of urgency levels in Annex 3 of the OTNA report), and delivered within a period of one year.

This report provides law enforcement academies and training institutions throughout the EU a comprehensive picture on the operational level training priorities of law enforcement officials.

Read the full OTNA report on High-Risk Criminal Networks here.

Visit our learning platform LEEd for more information on our currently available resources for law enforcement officials covering the topic of HRCN.