Intelligence-led policing in focus of OSCE Annual Police Experts Meeting in Vienna

VIENNA, 9 June 2016 – Over 100  law enforcement experts, academics and representatives from international and regional organizations as well as the OSCE’s 57 participating States and Partners for Co-operation, gathered in Vienna today for the two-day OSCE Annual Police Experts Meeting, which focuses on a modern policing decision-making model.

Co-organized by the 2016 OSCE German Chairmanship and the Strategic Police Matters Unit of the OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department, the meeting aims to introduce and discuss Intelligence-Led Policing (ILP) which has increasingly been adopted in recent years by governments and law enforcement authorities around the world.

Representing the German OSCE Chairmanship at the meeting’s opening, Sven Berger from Germany’s Interior Ministry, stressed the support of the Chairmanship to efforts aimed at promoting the adoption of Intelligence-Led Policing and encouraged OSCE field operations, participating States and Partners for Co-operation to implement the concept. 

“ILP is not a new policing method,” said Berger. “All around the world, this model or some of its elements are applied. But there are diverse understandings and approaches. Against this backdrop, the OSCE offers a useful platform for exchanging good practices, but also for exploring the limits and critical aspects of ILP.”

Alexey Lyzhenkov, OSCE Co-ordinator of Activities to Address Transnational Threats, said: “The transnational criminal landscape has changed in recent years. It is increasingly developing into interconnected, international networks that exploit new technologies and communication. These networks are quickly adaptable to new circumstances and opportunities. Adopting the intelligence-led policing model allows for moving the police decision making process from a reactive to a forward looking proactive one.”

The key findings and outcomes of the meeting will serve as guidance for future work of the OSCE police-related activities. The Strategic Police Matters Unit will act as focal point and provide enhanced support to participating States and Partners of Co-operation in this regard.