Assessment Missions conducted in the Area of Criminal Intelligence Analysis - To Montenegro, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (8 - 16 December 2009)

 

Outcomes of the Assessment Mission to Montenegro (8 - 9 December 2009)

During the assessment mission, i2 analytical software procured under the regional programme was presented to the Montenegrin Police, Division for Special Verification.

In addition to the presentation of i2 software, an examination of their suite for interception of telecommunications showed that they had benefited from an earlier international donation of EUR 2.5 million. The suite was fully operational and equipped to a high standard. It is adequate for current and future needs. In terms of electronic surveillance equipment, procurement was currently underway for updated equipment, judged to be fully adequate for current and future needs, with an expected delivery date of March 2010. The country had implemented a system of intelligence-led policing, which was currently being rolled out with two pilot regions (Bar and Budva) currently operational. A presentation and physical inspection of the recently developed 'Infostream' system for the recording of criminal intelligence demonstrated that the means for inputting of criminal intelligence data had been devolved to all officers in the two pilot regions and at headquarters. The system included necessary safeguards against the alteration or deletion of data once input, and contained adequate access control and audit measures. Intelligence generated outside of the pilot regions continued to be recorded manually, and sent to the HQ for inputting into the database. All operational officers had been trained in the '4x4' system of evaluating the source and reliability of intelligence submitted. A cadre of in-house trainers has been developed for the training of criminal intelligence analysis and the use of i2 analytical software. The Montenegrin police are keen to pursue a programme of regional training of intelligence analysts, to increase cooperation, build mutual trust, and ensure their trainers gain from teaching practice.

Immediate and medium-term needs are training in the area of strategic analysis (including production of Serious Organised Crime Threat Assessments (SOCTA ), i-Bridge software which will allow import of intelligence data from the database to the analytical software programmes currently in use; and the provision of information technology equipment (servers, computers, scanners printers to serve the remaining regions, following the roll-out of the intelligence-led policing model to the rest of the country.

In addition to the assessment of the current state of Montenegrin law enforcement regarding criminal intelligence and analysis, a brief meeting was held with Mr. Nicola Bertolini, Head of Operations, EU Delegation. Mr. Bertolini outlined EU IPA projects, which had been implemented in Montenegro since 2007 in the areas of Organised Crime, Anti-corruption and Money Laundering. It was agreed that mutual efforts between UNODC and EU were complementary, and should be properly coordinated.

 

From this assessment mission, the following recommendations were put forth:

  • A list of specifications for required IT equipment should be provided by Montenegrin authorities;
  • A UNODC SOCTA handbook (Serbian language) should be provided;
  • The procurement of i-Bridge software should be considered; and
  • The Programme of regional analytical training should be scoped and funded.

 

Outcomes of the Assessment Mission to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (December 10 - 11 2009)

During the assessment mission, an initial meeting took place with representatives from the Regional Programme Steering Committee, FYR Macedonian Police Service, Customs, Financial Police and Administration for the Prevention of Money-Laundering (APML).

In regards to the Customs service, this law enforcement branch employs 174 people in the field of criminal intelligence. They have received no external support since the period 2005-2007. They have only a single analyst, who is only partially trained, and use versions of i2 Analyst's Note Book, which are several years old. They are rolling out an IT system called AIDA, which will incorporate all currently used systems in a single database. Their priorities are analytical training and updated analytical software.

In addition, the Financial Police are a new organisation within the Ministry of Finance. They have responsibility for tax evasion and money laundering cases. They are currently only 35- strong, with a further 10 staff to be recruited during 2010. 10 persons currently have responsibility for intelligence matters, with 5 trained to a basic level in financial investigation, and another 5 needing this training. They have a single licence for i2 Analyst's Note Book v.6. Their priorities are also analytical training and additional software.

The Administration for the Prevention of Money-Laundering (AMPL) is an independent body, responsible for dealing with financial institutions in connection with suspicious activity reporting. They have adequate analytical software, including i2 Analyst's Note Book v.7 and i-Bridge. They have received i2 training, including having their own trainers trained for sustainability. Their greatest need is an adequate database, and Criminal Intelligence Analysis training.

In addition to the initial meeting, a follow-up meeting took place with the head and staff of the analytical section within the Police Organised Crime Department. Within this department, the HQ analytical unit is the only section conducting criminal intelligence analysis, and has 10 analysts in total. They handle data from all sources, including the organised crime department, informant information, intelligence from the regions, and special investigative techniques as well as from other agencies. The only analytical work conducted at present is in relation to organised crime, and they have no capacity to deal with lower level and series crime. The current wish is to devolve analytical capability to sit within regional intelligence units, a proposal that has been approved internally.

A section for strategic analysis has been established, but is in its infancy and training and best practice guidance is needed. An urgent need for a suitable intelligence database has been identified. Discussions are in progress with neighbouring Serbia for the donation of their existing database, which has been updated. A ministerial agreement on this is expected to be concluded in January 2010. Should this handover take place, they will require four servers (Oracle primary and secondary plus 2 for terminal services), and associated Windows server licences as a matter of urgency.

As a priority towards EU accession, a central national contact point for the exchange of intelligence data on organised crime, both nationally and internationally, needs to be established. It has been agreed that this should sit initially within the Organised Crime Department of the police, with liaison focal points being nominated for each agency. A longer-term plan would be the creation of a national intelligence unit, incorporating secondees from all national agencies involved in organised crime investigation. A national action plan for these measures has been introduced, but the implementation strategy has yet to be devised.

The 4x4 system of intelligence evaluation has been introduced for informant information and that from other (non-police) human sources. The remainder of intelligence is submitted in the form of officer reports, with no indication of the reliability of the source and information being provided. The 4x4 system should be extended nationally, and all police officers trained in its use.

From this assessment mission, the following recommendations were put forth:

  • Specifications and hardware / software needs were communicated to steering board member Ms. Kikerekova by each entity by 20th December, and a consolidated list forwarded to UNODC by 31st December 2009;
  • Consideration to procurement of equipment and specialist training as specified;
  • UNODC SOCTA handbook (Serbian language) to be provided;
  • Programme of regional analytical training to be scoped and funded;
  • Consideration to a programme to automate the submission of criminal intelligence reports by all officers, along with necessary 4x4 training; and
  • Consideration to a programme to establish a national intelligence centre, including premises, equipment and training.

 

Outcomes of the Assessment Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (13 - 16 December 2009)

At meeting took place with the Federal Police Service, which included the deputy head of the organized crime section, and the head of the section for intelligence data. At the headquarters of the Federal Police, there are currently two analysts within the Criminal Intelligence unit, although there should be four. Currently, the capacity within the municipal cantons is limited with a single analyst in four of them (with access to i2 Analyst's Notebook and iBase), while the remaining six have no analytical capacity. The eventual minimum is seen as 2 analysts in each of the 10 cantons. This will necessitate the purchase of additional Analyst's Notebook software, training in its use, and procurement of up to 20 PC's on which to run the software.

The police are aware that SIPA has officers who can deliver analytical training and are supportive of a regional training initiative.

Another law enforcement agency, the State Investigation & Protection Agency (SIPA) is the principal national agency tasked to deal with serious and organized crime at the national and international level. The Criminal Intelligence Department sits within the Criminal Investigation Department. In addition to the headquarters functions, there are Criminal Intelligence sections in each of their four regions. The general levels of staffing and equipment are good, and their analysts have access to the latest version of i2 Analyst's Notebook, iBase and iBridge. They have trainers trained to deliver Criminal Intelligence Analysis (ANACAPA) training, but would benefit from this being extended to cover i2 training (3-4 persons). They would be willing to support regional training by supplying trainers and students. SIPA has no capacity for strategic analysis, and would benefit from training in this function for future development. Criminal intelligence is evaluated using the 4x4 system, and entered onto the database by intelligence officers. A pilot system is operating in Mostar region in which all police officers have access to the CIDA database and enter their intelligence into it directly.

The greatest needs in terms of IT equipment is the upgrading of PC's (12), to enable the latest version of Analyst's Notebook to operate, as this requires a minimum of 2Gb RAM. They would also benefit from Fire Reader software for scanning telephone data.

The Border Police are a relatively new organization, having been created in 2006. They have a Headquarters intelligence function containing 6 analysts, and six regional offices, each with at least one analyst. They are well equipped with the latest version of analytical software, but have a need for SQL server software and training in the use of the iBase database. The Border Police have a strategy for the period 2010-2014, which includes two intelligence-specific projects, aimed at updating processes and establishing the capacity to respond to demands on all levels of

the Intelligence-led Policing model, and strengthening their analytical team on a central level, including the acquisition of a suitable intelligence database, and further training in i2 Analyst's Notebook. They also have a need for updated PC's for use by their intelligence staff.

Republika Srpska Police Force

The Police Force of the Republika Srpska have a limited analytical component, which they wish to develop. The current structure comprises 3 analysts at the HQ site, with a further 2 in each of five regions. They have not had formal training, but cascaded knowledge from one of the more experienced HQ officers. They have only two Analyst's Notebook licences. Their wish is to strengthen capacity by equipping and training the five regional analysts and three at HQ to be properly functional and effective in the use of Analyst's Notebook, including the provision of software and laptop computers for the regional offices.

Their IT training facility in Banja Luka is equipped to accommodate 12 students, and could be made available for regional training courses. The Special Investigation Unit, which includes the telephone interception facility plans to create two new analytical posts, and would welcome ANACAPA and Analyst's Notebook training, as well as two Analyst's Notebook licences. Criminal intelligence reporting is devolved to the local level, where data is input electronically by all officers, but again IT hardware is outdated and in need of replacement.

As a separate issue, the matter of investigation of cyber crime was raised. The head of Special Investigation Unit asked about the possibility of UNODC assistance with the funding of software to combat child pornography. In particular, they had identified that pornographic images of children were being 'hidden' inside seemingly innocuous video material. A Dutch company had developed software to analyse files which may contain such hidden images, but the cost (around EUR. 100,000k) was prohibitive to them.

The scheduled meeting with a representative from Brcko Police had to be cancelled because of severe weather conditions. A written questionnaire was completed in relation to their current needs in relation to developing their criminal intelligence capacity. In it they have expressed a need for a criminal intelligence database, upgrading of their i2 Analyst's Notebook capacity, and training for analysts.

Following this assessment mission, the following recommendations were made:

  • Programme of regional analytical training to be scoped and funded;
  • Consideration funding for IT hardware and software;
  • UNODC SOCTA handbook (Serbian language) to be provided to SIPA; and
  • Liaise with cybercrime section in respect of anti-pornography software.