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Description
The aim of the project is to improve cooperation between law enforcement authorities in order to prevent, detect and combat organised crime by providing specialised training and access to modern technologies. As part of the project, trainings atendees will improve their skills in detecting and combating organised crime. The project will last 33 months in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Province and other locations in Poland. The Provincial Police Headquarters in Bydgoszcz will be responsible for project implementation. Additionally, the trainings will be attended (as participants and/or lecturers) by representatives of District Courts, District Prosecutor''s Offices, CBŚP [Central Police Investigation Bureau], KGP [General Police Headquarters], Tax Administration Chamber, Chief Financial Information Inspector of the Ministry of Finance, EUROPOL and banks.
Summary of project results
The main areas of activity of Polish criminal groups are: production, smuggling and trafficking of drugs, arms trade, smuggling of excise goods, gambling, extortion, robbery and kidnapping for ransom.
Poland, together with Belgium and the Netherlands, is one of the main amphetamine producers in Europe. For many years, an increase in the number of detected crimes under the Act on Counteracting Drug Addiction has been observed (from over 54 thousand crimes detected in 2015 to over 64 thousand in 2017). Monitoring of the “legal highs" problem started in 2008. More than 50 psychoactive substances and plants have been banned, yet new substances appear and take place of those subject to “legal highs” control.
At the same time, the development of modern technologies is creating new methods of committing crimes. The Internet is used to attack computer systems, steal data and financial resources.
The development of cryptocurrencies serves an additional facilitator for committing crimes. Decentralisation of databases, ease of access and lack of required documents identifying the user, lack of a single issuer and supervisory institutions, insufficient knowledge of the law enforcement authorities about the functioning of cryptocurrencies, turn cryptocurrencies into a tool for committing crimes or acting as intermediaries in crimes, i.e.: purchase of illegal goods and services, financing of terrorism or money laundering, ICT crimes (impact on digital data, e.g. hacking attacks on cryptocurrency exchanges), crimes based on so-called smart contracts (self executing contracts), crimes exploiting gaps in the operation of ICT systems, gambling offences.
Tasks to be undertaken by law enforcement agencies in the field of combating organised crime, the emergence of new ways of committing crimes require the Police to constantly supplement their knowledge and improve their qualifications and to cooperate closely with other services and financial institutions.
Project provided various tranings concerning:
- how to deal with the disclosure of packaging (containing substances) or substances suspected of being narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances or explosives (terrorist threats)
- parachute training for officers of the Independent Counter-Terrorist Squad of the Police in Bydgoszcz,
- diving training for officers of the Independent Squad,
- cryptocurrencies as a tool for committing crimes and money laundering,
- methods of data recovery from mobile devices and analysis,
- language training.
Within the project Police Headquarter in Bydgoszcz was equipped with spectrometer, UFED CLOUD ANALYSER, AMPED FIVE Professional software and other specilised equipment and supplies.
Target groups for the project were:
- employees and officers of the Police units in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Province,
- judges of District Courts of Kujawsko-Pomorskie Province,
- prosecutors from District Prosecutor''s Offices in Bydgoszcz, Toruń and Włocławek and subordinate units - District Prosecutor''s Offices of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Province
- representatives of other entities, suitable concerning the topics of events.