Role of proactive, intelligence- and information-led policing in tackling serious and organized crime explored at OSCE regional workshop in Minsk

Way in which proactive and intelligence and/or information-led policing approaches can enhance the fight against serious and organized crime were explored at a regional workshop for law enforcement representatives of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Moldova and the Russian Federation conducted by the OSCE Transnational Threats Department’s Strategic Police Matters Unit in Minsk on 13 December 2018.

The workshop, held at the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, brought together participants to discuss and share information on recent trends in this area.

National and international practices on intelligence-led, proactive and multi-agency approaches in fighting serious and organized crime as well as relevant human rights and data protection considerations were introduced by experts from the OSCE, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Europol and the Swedish Police. The OSCE Guidebook on Intelligence-Led Policing was also presented by an expert from the Organization.

“The OSCE Guidebook on Intelligence-Led Policing presents useful tools that can improve traditional law enforcement practices in addressing organized crime and other security challenges,” said Ambassador Luca Fratini, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Italian OSCE Chairmanship.

The First Deputy Head of the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus, Alexey Bashan  said: "A successful fight against organized crime requires high-quality training of law enforcement officers and international co-operation between states and non-governmental organizations.”

Rasa Ostrauskaite, OSCE Co-ordinator of Activities to Address Transnational Threats, said: “We believe that national authorities and law enforcement agencies need to strengthen their information-led and proactive approaches in countering serious and organized crime – and the OSCE- recommended Intelligence-led policing model provides the conceptual and practical framework for this.”

The workshop aimed at enhancing the co-operation and exchange of information on organized crime-related issues, and also focused on how existing co-operation mechanisms, threat assessment methods and strategic planning can contribute to effectively countering serious and organized crime.