Intelligence analysis, which is key to the success of Europol’s mission, has an operational and a strategic component.
More than 100 analysts are employed at Europol. They perform operational and strategic analysis and work for dedicated projects within the area of organised crime and terrorism. Analysts are also employed in Europol’s Operational Centre, which is staffed 24/7.
The Europol Analysis System (EAS) is the state-of-the-art and powerful analysis tool supporting Europol analysts in the operational and in-depth strategic analysis of data provided by Member States and third parties.
Europol’s strategic-analysis products help decision-makers identify priorities in the fight against organised crime and terrorism. Once that has been done, law enforcement officers can tailor their operational work nationally, regionally and locally.
The strategic-analytical products include:
- the Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessment (SOCTA), which updates Europe’s law enforcement community and decision-makers on developments in serious and organised crime and the threats it poses to the EU
- the Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA), which helps policy-makers decide where EU law enforcement should focus their efforts in the fight against cybercrime
- the EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report (TE-SAT), which provides an overview of the failed, foiled and completed terrorist attacks in the EU in a given year
- early warning notifications of new organised crime threats (from Europol’s Scanning, Analysis and Notification (SCAN) team).