CEPOL OTNA Migrant smuggling

Migrant smuggling remains a pressing concern for the European Union, posing significant challenges to law enforcement professionals. To address these challenges, the New Pact on Migration and Asylum  introduced common European solutions for managing migration, asylum, and border security, focusing on combatting smuggling networks.

To support the efforts of law enforcement professionals, the EU Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) delivered an Operational Training Needs Analysis (OTNA) identifying the most pressing training topics at EU level in the field of migrant smuggling. Of the 11 main topics explored in the report, six were identified as the most relevant for EU-level training: open-source investigations, followed by investigative techniques, financial crime, law enforcement cooperation, document fraud and links to other organised crime areas:

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From the analysis, high-risk criminal networks and digital skills and new technologies emerged as the top horizontal training priorities which should be consistently integrated into all migrant smuggling related training.

Based on the report’s findings, it is estimated that within the six prioritised main topics, more than 26 500 law enforcement professionals across the EU will require training. Taking into account all 11 main topics surveyed, this number could rise to as many as 47 200 professionals. Training needs are spread across various proficiency levels, particularly among the levels of advanced practitioner, expert, and practitioner. The data indicate that experts will constitute the primary participant group in the most relevant training topics. However, the OTNA underlines that training on all proficiency levels remains crucial to effectively strengthen the capacity to combat migrant smuggling across the EU.

Download the full OTNA report on migrant smuggling below.