Experts from the Romanian Police and their Norwegian partners gathered at the conference marking the completion of the PDP 2 project - "Strengthening National Capacities in the Field of International Police Cooperation and Combating Crime".

On April 18th, the project partners and specialists from the Romanian Police met at the conference marking the completion of the PDP 2 project - "Strengthening National Capacities in the area of International Police Cooperation and Combating Crime".

The project was funded through the Internal Affairs Program - the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2014-2021 and aimed to improve cooperation between the Romanian Police and the Norwegian National Police to enhance the effectiveness of combating itinerant crime, human trafficking, money laundering, and economic-financial crime.

The project involved valuable exchange of experience between the Romanian Police and the Norwegian National Police, with the support of the National Criminal Investigation Service (KRIPOS, Oslo), supporting priority areas of crime fighting defined by Europol and complementing the multiannual strategic plan, as well as initiatives of the European multidisciplinary platform EMPACT.

Another notable outcome of the project was the modernization of the AFIS (Automated Fingerprint Identification System). The hardware and software updates led to improved efficiency of the police system and its performance in the field of fingerprint identification and data exchange. Additionally, ballistic analysis methods were streamlined at the central level of the Romanian Police.

Moreover, through the completion of planned procurement activities, the operational and technical capabilities of the Romanian Police in combating economic crimes, human trafficking, and itinerant crime were enhanced. This included funding for equipping investigators in the targeted areas with state-of-the-art IT&C equipment, vehicles, night vision mobile cameras, etc.

The General Police Inspectorate, in partnership with the National Criminal Investigation Service (KRIPOS, Oslo), organized specialized workshops on combating itinerant crime and human trafficking. Romanian police officers specialized in criminal investigations, as well as in combating organized crime, along with Norwegian police officers, participated in these activities.

Additionally, the project contributed to strengthening the partnership between the Romanian Police and the Norwegian National Police through operational support missions and operational meetings, in partnership with the Oslo Police District and the Southwest Police District of Norway.

In the field of financial investigations and combating economic crime, workshops were conducted in partnership with the Norwegian National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime, as well as a course on cryptocurrencies supported by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

Similarly, in partnership with the Bucharest University of Economic Studies, a course on economic crime was organized for approximately 120 police officers specialized in economic investigations, money laundering, and combating organized crime as well as a training component for trainers in the field.

The transfer of expertise was also facilitated through exchange visits by Romanian police officers to various law enforcement agencies in France, Italy, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Spain, Germany, Moldova, Austria, and Berlin.

The National Agency against Trafficking in Persons (A.N.I.T.P.) was the project partner that conducted an extensive online campaign to prevent human trafficking, informing Romanian citizens about the risks of accepting offers that could lead to exploitation. The anti-trafficking messages were created in collaboration with known content creators and disseminated on social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

Furthermore, within the project framework, from June to December 2023, 480 Romanian police officers participated in specialized courses on combating economic and financial crime, money laundering, and human trafficking, conducted with the support of the project partner, the "Nicolae Golescu" Police Training and Improvement Center in Slatina.

All actions undertaken within the project aimed to increase trust in law enforcement authorities and consolidate international police cooperation, representing a model of cooperation for a competitive Europe, in line with the objectives of EEA Grants.

The project "Strengthening National Capacities in the area of International Police Cooperation and Combating Crime - PDP 2" had a total budget of 8,941,177 euros, of which 7.6 million euros represented the contribution of EEA Grants.