Controlling organised crime

Abstract

In order to ensure optimal comparability between the research findings, a joint standard questionnaire4 was designed. One of the main reference points in the questionnaire was a series of EU legal instruments, which have been adopted in the field of justice and home affairs cooperation (Title VI Treaty on European Union). In particular the recommendations of the 1997 High Level Group Action Plan on Organised Crime — which pertain to the creation of national contact points and national coordination centres — offered both a functional and comparative perspective on the adaptation of national law enforcement structures to the threat of organised crime. The questionnaire covered the following fields:General characteristics of the national criminal justice systems, in particular the organisational structures of the police service and the prosecution service;Reorganisation or structural adaptation flowing from or related to the EU legal instruments (e.g. the 1997 EU Action Plan on Organised Crime, the 1991 EC Money Laundering Directive);Reorganisation relevant to the control of organised crime, but not directly related to European influences (e.g. flowing from national parliamentary inquiries);Main structures for international cooperation, in particular the organisation of international information and intelligence flows;Multidisciplinary cooperation structures with bodies other than police or prosecution (e.g. customs service, intelligence service, special investigation services, financial intelligence units, private investigation departments, and private security companies);Accountability systems and authorisation procedures relating to the investigation of organised crime cases;The rationale, the acceptance and the expected effectiveness of the reorganisation or reforms within the police and/or prosecution service.