EUROPOL NEWS

The legislative process for the adoption of the Europol Regulation was concluded in May 2016 i. The Regulation was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 24 May 2016, it entered into force in June 2016, and will be applicable from 1 May 2017. In 2016, Europol started preparing for the implementation of the new legal framework.

Europol has been developing its efficient and effective environmental scanning system further, as part of the early warning system for detecting emerging organised crime threats, and for considering needs and requirements. The system scans and analyses the stream of information from all relevant sources, including open sources, law enforcement sources and databases (both public and law enforcement). The scanning and fusion of the collected information, taking into account the reliability of sources, compatibility of information and the traceability, produces valuable contributions which can also be used for regular threat assessments such as Europol’s Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessment (SOCTA), the latest edition of which was published in March 2017.

Between the launch of the dedicated website www.eumostwanted.eu in January 2016 and the end of the year, 27 of Europe’s most wanted criminals have been arrested. So far, 10 of the 27 arrests to date have been directly linked to media attention around the Europe’s Most Wanted Fugitives website and tip-offs from the public. Europol continues to support the European Network of Fugitive Active Search Teams (ENFAST) in developing the website’s secure platform. ENFAST is a network of police officers from 28 EU Member States specialised in undertaking immediate action to locate and arrest fugitives. In December 2016, a media campaign with a hint of the holiday spirit received worldwide media attention and led to three new arrests and numerous leads in tracking down fugitives.