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Description
The main objective of the project is to increase the capacity of the services of the law enforcement agencies and all institutions of the "justice chain" in preventing and combating crimes against sexual freedom, human trafficking and related crimes, such as forced prostitution and profiteering from someone else''s prostitution.
The aim of the project is to increase knowledge and skills of officers of public institutions at all stages of combating sexual crime. Activities include: traning seminars, expert meetings,equipping the Forensic Laboratory in Poznań. The participants of the project will be recruited from 17 regional police headquarters, the National Police Headquarters, courts, prosecutor''s offices, local authorities, scientific institutions from such countries as Norway, Germany, the Netherlands.
Gender equality is relevant in case of this project, because Project Promoter will ensure equal access to trainings for male and female police officers. Indicator related to trainings will be monitored and disaggregated by gender.
Summary of project results
The continuing high number of crimes against sexual freedom (about 1400 reported rapes in Poland in 2016-2019), as well as the phenomenon of human trafficking, which is associated with profiting from other people''s prostitution, were the main motive for the project. By equipping the Police with modern technical equipment for genetic research, as well as the exchange of knowledge at the institutional level between the Police, representatives of the prosecutor''s office, courts, the Border Guard, non-governmental organizations and academic circles from Poland and abroad, the potential of knowledge and experience of the institutions involved in counteracting and combating sexual crimes were planned to be increased.
The aim of the project was to increase the knowledge and skills of officers of public institutions at all stages of combating sexual crime:
- investigative and investigative by raising the awareness of officers in the field of securing evidence and receiving notification of committing a crime,
- combating criminal groups involved in trafficking in human beings and forcing prostitution operating in the country and internationally,
- research of evidence from sexual crimes by equipping the Criminalistic Laboratory of the National Science Centre in Poznan with equipment constituting a research line for genetic research of evidence from sexual crimes and training of experts from the Laboratory of Genetics of provincial commands, which will contribute to accelerating the performance of expert opinions and will increase the quality and indisputability of opinions made at the request of the judiciary and law enforcement authorities.
As part of the Nemesis Project, the Voivodeship Police Headquarters in Poznań equipped the forensic laboratory at this police station with a research line for genetic testing. This is a set of equipment allowing the identification of biological traces which were secured, among other things, after sexual crimes.
Its most important element was the so-called cell separator. This is a device with which individual cells can be extracted from the mixed biological material and then assigned to specific individuals (including the perpetrators of the crime). According to the project coordinator, this is a very modern piece of equipment, which is not available to any forensic laboratory in Poland[1] . Complementary to the cell separator, there are devices that prepare the material for the basic examination.
The equipment was purchased for use by Voivodeship Police Headquarters in Poznań and Voivodeship Police Headquarters in Gorzów Wielkopolski, which does not have a forensic laboratory.
The project also included training in the use of the purchased equipment and training in statistical methods and methods of analysing genetic material (for over 400 representatives of forensic laboratories from all over Poland). The latter training was conducted by experts from Germany and the Netherlands, and involved working on raw results obtained from the separator, learning and practicing advanced methods of data analysis and interpretation.
Three seminars were also held, addressed to groups other than genetic specialists. These were devoted to the following topics: counteracting trafficking in human beings and prostitution (for criminal services), collecting and preserving biological traces (for investigation services) and various legal issues related to the prosecution of sexual crimes (for various services: police, prosecutors, as well as scientists, NGOs). A representative of the Norwegian partner, i.e. the University of Oslo, participated in the last event (she had one of her speeches there).
[1] The Poznan University of Medical Sciences has a similar one, but it is used strictly for medical purposes, to identify cancer cells.
Project provided police with modern equipment for genetic testing, as well as the opportunity for exchange of knowledge at the institutional level, between the Police services, representatives of the prosecutor''s office, courts, Border Guard, non-governmental organisations and scientific community from Poland and abroad, the knowledge and experience potential of the institutions involved in preventing and combating sexual crimes were increased.
A key aspect of the project was to combine technological innovation with competence development and inter-institutional cooperation. The introduction of advanced methods for analysing biological evidence has the potential to significantly increase the effectiveness of perpetrator identification. At the same time, networking and training activities have contributed to better coordination between the various actors involved in the justice chain, which can have a long-term impact on the effectiveness of the system as a whole. The project enhanced the Polish police''s ability to obtain reliable evidence that can be presented in court (the first forensic opinion produced in Poznan has already been admitted as evidence in a court case - as found out by evaluators)
Thanks to the project, experts from forensic laboratories were able to gain knowledge from recognised authorities in the area of genetic testing from Norway, Germany, the Netherlands and the best Polish research centres.
Main beneficiaries of the project are Police officers working on cases related to sexual violence, officers working in forensic laboratory in Poznań.
Summary of bilateral results
Cooperation with the University of Oslo enabled the Polish police to learn about the legal model applicable in Norway for investigating and prosecuting sexually motivated crimes in court.During the project implementation phase seminar with participation of Norwegian partner was organised.