NewsCEPOL report on migrant smuggling outlines training needs for EU law enforcement officials
Migrant smuggling remains a pressing concern for the European Union, posing significant challenges to law enforcement professionals. To address these challenges, the New Pact on Migration and Asylum
introduced common European solutions for managing migration, asylum, and border security, focusing on combatting smuggling networks[1].
To support the efforts of law enforcement professionals, the EU Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) delivered an Operational Training Needs Analysis (OTNA) identifying the most pressing training topics at EU level in the field of migrant smuggling. Of the 11 main topics explored in the report, six were identified as the most relevant for EU-level training: open-source investigations, followed by investigative techniques, financial crime, law enforcement cooperation, document fraud and links to other organised crime areas:
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From the analysis, high-risk criminal networks and digital skills and new technologies emerged as the top horizontal training priorities which should be consistently integrated into all migrant smuggling related training.
Based on the report’s findings, it is estimated that within the six prioritised main topics, more than 26 500 law enforcement professionals across the EU will require training. Taking into account all 11 main topics surveyed, this number could rise to as many as 47 200 professionals. Training needs are spread across various proficiency levels, particularly among the levels of advanced practitioner, expert, and practitioner. The data indicate that experts will constitute the primary participant group in the most relevant training topics. However, the OTNA underlines that training on all proficiency levels remains crucial to effectively strengthen the capacity to combat migrant smuggling across the EU.
Read the full OTNA report on migrant smuggling here.
Discover how our CEPOL EU-STNA helps law enforcement officials stay ahead of crime.
[1] This approach is further supported by the EU Action Plan Against Migrant Smuggling (2021-2025), which outlines measures to disrupt smuggling operations, strengthen Member State cooperation, and enhance operational capacities. The European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT) prioritised migrant smuggling for the 2022-2025 policy cycle, recognising the need for coordinated action across Member States (MS). Additionally, the European Union Strategic Training Needs Assessment (EU-STNA) 2022-2025 ranked migrant smuggling as the sixth most important training topic for law enforcement professionals. Furthermore, in the EU-STNA mid-term review (2023), the topic increased its priority level by one step.
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What is behind the OTNA approach?
The CEPOL Regulation mandates the Agency to incorporate training needs assessments and analyses in its planning. CEPOL completed the second EU Strategic Training Needs Assessment (EU-STNA) in 2021, identifying strategic level training priorities for law enforcement officials across Europe for the next 4-year cycle 2022-2025 of the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT). In order to analyse the particular training needs in more detail, CEPOL is conducting the Operational Training Needs Analyses (OTNAs).
The OTNA methodology is a structured training needs analysis, which takes into consideration the deliverables of the EU-STNA process. CEPOL designs its multiannual training portfolio building on the outcomes of the OTNAs, which provide a detailed understanding of the number and profile of officials to be trained, as well as on the proficiency and urgency level of training to be delivered.
