The underlyingassumption of the project proposal, in line with the UN Security Council recommendations (Resolution n. 2178, September 2014) and the Commission “European Agenda on Security”2015-2020(28.4.2015, COM(2015) 185 final), is that in order to contrast successfully violent extremism,what is neededis a more balanced response to terrorism,combining repressive (protective) measures with preventive measures, in a comprehensive approach in collaboration withactors of civil society and the communitiesof reference, based on a firm commitment to respecting fundamental rights, promoting integration, cultural dialogue and fighting discrimination. To this end, a better understanding of factors constituting violent radicalisation in Europe is needed, which aims,through a multidisciplinary analysis,to a comprehensive view of the phenomenon, investigatingits root causes, in order to develop appropriate countermeasures, ranging from early detection methodologies to strategies, ways and techniques of counter-narrative, involving LEAs together with experts and civil society actors at local, national and European level. In addition, it is necessary to acknowledge that violent radicalization,especially in the case of jihadist extremism,goesmainly through narratives that: have specific characteristics and contents; use specific communication codes;are addressed to specific audiences; and spread in a multitude of ways, over the Internet, as well as by means of in-person communication exchanges that take place in families, schools, places of worship, local communities, etc. These narratives havebeen proven effective towards vulnerable groups such as young people, detainees, and people craving for revenge after having experienced what they perceive as injustices, either at personal or group level. Furthermore, due to this multifarious background, such extremism is characterised by single or group terrorist acts also reflecting a variety of influences and motivational dr

A project to build and maintain an innovation-driven network of LEAs combating cybercrime - accelerating the EU’s ability to counteract growing pressures of cyber threats. Heeding advice from EUROPOL’s EC3 flagship report Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment, CYCLOPES create synergies between LEAs from MS and connect industry and academia by stimulating and sustaining dialogue on pressing security matters threatening the stability of Europe and Citizen safety. Dedicated teams will scour markets, identifying solutions and research activities to highlight actions and innovative products to assist LEAs tackle the complexity of cybercrime. Besides technology, the project supports continued development of LEAs, working closely with practitioners to define current capacities and elicit capability gaps and requirements in crucial areas: procedures, training, legal and standardisation. Consequently, other objectives are: identification of priorities for standardisation; recommendations for innovation uptake and implementation; social, ethical and legal reports providing guidance and training suggestions for cybercrime investigators; dissemination of results through workshops, conferences, webinars, publications, policy papers and media. All outcomes will be suitably considered for exploitation - helping to propel the EU in the fight against cybercrime. Practitioners’ workshops are a driving force behind the project and cover three 3 domains: 1) cybercrime affecting people directly, 2) cybercrime affecting systems, 3) digital forensics. The project is to synchronise with other activities conducted by relevant parties EUROPOL, INTERPOL, CEPOL, ECTEG, ENISA; networks: ENLETS, ENFSI, I-LEAD, iLEAnet, EU-HYBNET, covering topics that go beyond efforts of these initiatives and preventing duplication. This also applies to projects where activities align with CYCLOPES (i-ProcureNet, Stairs4Security) and future projects funded by the EC, especially in the area of AI.

CBRN-POL project answered the increasing threat of terrorist activities involving the use of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) materials in Europe. Such type of terrorism acts may open the door for the possibility of destabilization of the European Union and lead to undermining economic stability, public security and integrity in the EU community. CBRN-POL project was coordinated by University Lodz (Poland) and involved following partners: General Police Headquarters (Poland), Local Antwerp Police (Belgium), Cyprus Police (Cyprus), Belgian Nuclear Research Centre – SCK-CEN (Belgium), Industrial Chemistry Research Institute (Poland) and Center for the Advancement of Research & Development in Educational Technology – CARDET (Cyprus). Project activities primary focused on:(a) analysis of training needs of police officers (IO1)Analysis and elaborated report cover representatives of target group form Polish, Belgian and Cypriot police. The report includes information about gaps in procedures, training, knowledge and skills of police officers required for conducting duties related to CBRN incidents. It defines the range of CBRN knowledge and skills needed for police patrol units to allow them to carry on their duties at acceptable risk level despite of hazardous external conditions. (b) elaboration of educational materialsWithin the project following educational materials have been developed:- Good practice and partners capabilities report (IO2). The report include good practices applied by each partner and recommendation on how the system of training and reaction to CBRN threats in Poland and the world should be designed.- CBRN course curriculum (IO3). The course curriculum, covers all areas of CBRN knowledge useful and needed by police officers. The curriculum is constructed in an innovative and practical way. It is divided into 4 parts: (1) Knowledge part, (2) Reporting part, (3) Action on the scene part and (4) Practical part. Each part consists of teaching modules and each module is further explained in details through subject sheets. - Trainers Handbook (IO4). The trainers’ handbook is a tool designed for trainers who will be responsible for conducting the courses according to the CBRN course curriculum. The handbook covers not only relevant knowledge areas, but also, method in which the knowledge should be conveyed to policeman. Book also covers specialist scenarios of CBRN threats and possible countermeasure reactions.- Students Handbook (IO5). The handbook include educational material, exercises and tests covering all information necessary to improve knowledge and skills of police officers in CBRN field. The handbook also includes materials for individual CBRN threats, commanding procedures, securing of action as well as rescue procedures- Set of 3 instructing brochures (IO6). The brochures, which graphically enrich educational materials, contain operating procedures schemes for action in each type of CBRN threat.- 7 instructing videos (IO7). Instructing videos in easy and understandable way present most important aspects of: site recon, personal protective equipment, decontamination basis, example response to biological, chemical and radiological threat.- Guidelines for trainers selection (IO8). For the purpose of organization of train-the trainer event guidelines for the trainees selection have been elaborated, and used to select the trainees. (c) intensive internal trainings. Two series of intensive trainings have been organized. The first was dedicated to police trainers and higher rank officers. They have been provided with CBRN knowledge as well as with knowledge related to learning processes and teaching styles, so that they are prepared to run future CBRN courses themselves.The second intensive study courses were dedicated to first line police officers, and was executed by participants of first course. Two sets of intensive training allowed consortium not only to educate Police officers from Poland, Belgium and Cyprus but also to test elaborated materials and introduce required improvement First was dedicated to police trainers and higher rank officers and second to first line police officers. In total 51 police officers have been trained.CBRN-POL achieved planned goals. Project consortium analysed training needs of police officers, compared police response systems in Europe, elaborated tailor-made course curriculum and educational materials, conducted trainings for police officers and educated future training experts in CBRN area. What is also very important, the project allowed for intense cooperation of police officers form 3 European countries and has significant impact on the CBRN training of the police officers in PL, BE and CY but also other EU member states as being promoted through EC DG Home Advisory Group or developed further in EU large scale projects.

Unknown perpetrators of crime cannot be identified with the current forensic use of DNA. The VISAGE Project aims to overcome this major limitation by developing, validating, and implementing in the relevant forensic DNA service environment a set of prototype tools for predicting appearance, age, and ancestry in as much detail and as accurately, and effectively as possible from DNA traces. This VISAGE Toolkit will allow the construction of composite sketches of unknown trace donors directly from their crime scene traces, which will guide and focus criminal investigations towards finding them. The VISAGE Toolkit will include analysis prototype tools based on massively parallel sequencing for genotyping the large number of DNA predictors for appearance, age, and ancestry established within the Project, as well as an integrated statistical framework with prototype software for translating these genotype data into statistical probabilities on appearance, age and ancestry, which represents the intelligence information finally used for guiding criminal investigations towards the most probable group of suspects. The VISAGE Toolkit will consider ethical, societal, and legal dimensions of Forensic DNA Phenotyping as identified within the Project, by applying a privacy-by-design strategy. The interdisciplinary VISAGE Consortium includes European (and global) scientific leaders in Forensic DNA Phenotyping as well as in forensic massively parallel sequencing, leading European forensic DNA service providers, and one of the leading social scientists in the field of forensic DNA analysis, ensuring that the Project goals will be achieved on time. The outcome of the VISAGE Project will have a major impact on solving more crimes more rapidly by providing previously unused intelligence information from trace DNA to find unknown perpetrators, which will lead to reduced impact on victims, reduced societal distress, preventing miscarriages of justice, thereby avoiding unnecessary costs.

The use of the Internet to distribute CSEM is an abhorrent crime. Referrals from Online Service Providers are key to fighting CSE. OSPs, detection technologies and users reporting suspicious material are improving. However, this leads to an increase in the sheer volume of referrals coupled with the increase in the distribution of CSEM online that is pushing MS LEAs to their limits and affecting their their capacity to prevent harm to infants and children, rescue those in immediate danger, and investigate and prosecute perpetrators. The NCMEC process has improved LEA capability. But, a typical CSE case contains 1-3 TBs of video, 1–10 million images. Limited human resources, manual analysis and the 4,000% increase in referrals since 2014 obligates a new approach. GRACE will apply proven techniques in ML to the referral and analysis process while embracing the very technical, ethical and legal challenges unique to fighting CSE. GRACE will leverage resources already in place at EUROPOL and its 9 MS LEAs and attempt to provide results early, frequently and flexibly, prioritising easy wins in the research plan (e.g. deduplication). By applying Federated Learning approach to the challenge of optimising analysis and information flow, GRACE will enable cooperation between LEAs in improving their own capabilities and harness experiential knowledge. The results of GRACE will be handed back to EUROPOL and MS LEAs for unrestricted use in their missions, helping to ensure their future technological autonomy.