A training on Operational Analysis for Police was organised by the EU funded project „EU Support to Law Enforcement“ from 11 to 15 March 2013 and hosted by Police Academy of the FBiH Ministry of Interior in Vraca, Sarajevo.

The training aimed to support improvement of capacities of the Crime/Analysis Departments within police organisations in BiH in order to prevent and combat serious and organised crime as well as to enhance effective coordination and cooperation between relevant law enforcement agencies, including joint and cross-entity investigation cases.

The lecturers during the five-day training were two prominent experts in this field, members of the Criminal Intelligence Service of Austria, Mr. Paul Marouschek, Head of Department Crime Analysis and Statistics, and Mr. Martin Kober Senior Analyst, as well as a national expert Mr. Miroslav Kostresevic, Chief of the Analysis Department, RS Ministry of Interior.

This training covered the topics related to the special investigative measures, legal and operational needs, preparation and setup, of all aspects related to operational analysis work during the organised crime investigations, in line with the relevant framework of EU standards and best practices.

Participants of the training from SIPA, BiH Directorate for Police Coordination, BiH Border Police, FBiH and RS Ministries of Interior, Brcko District Police, Cantonal Ministries of Interior of Sarajevo, Tuzla and Mostar, expressed their high appreciation for the training and assessed it was very useful and needed for their professional improvement. They gained new knowledge on how to better structure collected data and create advanced reports in order to support ongoing investigations efficiently.

The project shall continue supporting BiH law enforcement agencies in their efforts to enhance teamwork, cooperation and reduce gaps, where existing, in order to create a system that will be unique, functional, useful and for the benefit of all.

The project funded by the EU in the amount of 7 Million EUR, from the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA 2010), will continue until 30 April 2014. The project consortium partners include the Ministries of Interior of the Republic of Austria, Republic of Slovenia, Hungary and of the Land Brandenburg of the Federal Republic of Germany, as well as the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), and Transparency International BiH (as an Associate). Beneficiary partners are BiH law enforcement agencies at state, entity, cantonal and Brčko District level.