Working together internationally to fight global crime and terrorism
“You can’t enjoy liberty until you have security.” Europol director Rob Wainwright was quoted saying to Public Service Europe. He stresses that because some problems are international, Europol has to work outside of the EU with Interpol, the American FBI and others. Wainwright stresses that cybercrime, terrorism and money laundering ask for a more integrated approach where several policing agencies work together in order to fight global crime and terrorism.
Drugs related crime in the 1980s, cybercrime in 2011
"Back in the 1980s and 1990s, we had these large monolithic drug organisations – particular in Colombia, for example – but since then they have been transformed into more mobile, smaller and more dynamic organised crime groups. And the internet has been the main catalyst for change; it has opened up a whole new world of opportunity for the criminals to target citizens directly – through online fraud, for example. "These groups are still very resourceful and they are now using an increasingly sophisticated range of malicious software to steal identities and then carry out a whole range of criminal activities – it really is picking up pace. The internet, as it has in general society and the legitimate economy, been a major facilitator. In the last few years, the advances of mobile technology with everyone working off a smart phone have also created new opportunities for organised crime. We see particular vulnerabilities in that area."
Expansion of internet and mobile technologies makes the threat from cybercrime even more multi-dimensional
"The expansion of internet and mobile technologies makes the threat from cybercrime even more multi-dimensional. It targets citizens, businesses as well as governments and because of its non-conformity with traditional national boundaries and penal codes - it calls for a coordinated response. Our concern is also rising in terms of changes in the illegal drugs market, especially with the expansion of synthetic drugs and the emergence of so-called legal highs. "Identity theft is also an emerging problem. Identity itself has become a criminal commodity that is bought and sold. It holds the key for criminal groups to carry out major fraud operations. These groups are recruiting hackers in their early twenties, who are developing the malware deployed to steal the identities of consumers – which is then sometimes used to target the individual's own bank account, but also to create new identities to conduct benefit fraud and VAT fraud. This cycle in the underground economy is then completed when the proceeds of these fraudulent operations are even laundered online through virtual payment systems."
European Arrest Warrant
Wainwright has strong views on the European Arrest Warrant too. It has faced criticism from pressure groups like Fair Trials International, who have criticised the warrant for its lack of proportionality. The EAW, which is a decentralised instrument, allows individual member states to apply their general principles in different ways because judicial systems are different in each country. It means that warrants are almost demanded automatically in some countries. It lacks and centralised approach or institutional machinery. There are lessons to be learned here about the way Europol does things."
No European FBI
"Over the last year, Europol has established a secure information exchange network called Sienna. It is the only secure international police system available and it connects all major police forces in Europe on the same platform. It is processing about 12,000 major cross-border operations a year. It is starting to provide the bedrock to a united EU response to organised crime and it speaks volumes for getting a better grip on the information that is out there. I wouldn't go further than that; I am not an advocate for a European FBI. The arrest operations by national police authorities work perfectly fine, we don't need to change them.
A hole in European security measures
"Counter-terrorism is the area where the greatest amount of conservatism exists at a national level, in terms of inviting the EU to have a frontline role. It is not so easy for us to be accepted in that role. We don't have executive powers of our own or judicial capabilities to do things like freezing the bank accounts of terrorists. We rely on the member states that are working the cases to do that – although, it is very often at our prompting that they would do this. But Europe lacks an equivalent programme to the US Terrorist Finance Tracking Programme – it is a real hole in our security measures right now.