Europol is the European Union law enforcement organisation that handles criminal intelligence. Its aim is to improve the effectiveness and cooperation between the competent authorities of the member states in preventing and combating serious international organised crime and terrorism. The mission of Europol is to make a significant contribution to the European Union’s law enforcement action against organised crime and terrorism, with an emphasis on targeting criminal organisations.
Europol supports the law enforcement activities of the member states mainly against:
• illicit drug trafficking;
• illicit immigration networks;
• terrorism;
• forgery of money (counterfeiting of the Euro) and other means of payment;
• trafficking in human beings (including child abuse);
• illicit vehicle trafficking;
• money laundering.
In addition, other main priorities for Europol include crimes against persons, financial crime and cybercrime. This applies where an organised criminal structure is involved and two or more member states are affected. Europol provides support by:
• facilitating the exchange of information between member states via their liaison officers assigned to Europol as representatives of their national law enforcement agencies;
• providing operational analysis in support of operations;
• generating strategic reports (e.g. threat assessments) and crime analysis on the basis of information and intelligence supplied by member states and third parties ;
• providing expertise and technical support for investigations and operations carried out within the EU, under the supervision and the legal responsibility of the member states concerned. Europol is also active in promoting crime analysis and harmonisation of investigative techniques within the member states.
Download unter http://euro-police.noblogs.org/gallery/3874/Europol%20Products%20and%20Services-Booklet.pdf
