NCJ Number
230944
Date Published
2010
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This chapter examines patterns of change in France's involvement in international cooperative policing through Europol, which was created to enable operational cooperation among national authorities in Europe; the collection, storage, processing, analysis, and exchange of crime-related information; the initiation of joint initiatives; and common evaluations of investigative techniques in the detection of serious forms of organized crime.
Abstract
Participation rates vary widely even among the relatively homogeneous membership of Europol. One of the non-cooperative countries has been France. Although French police authorities periodically request information from other member governments or specific information from crime analysis by Europol, French police authorities have not shared information with Europol, which is critical in Europol's analysis of and sharing of information on cross-country criminal enterprises. This participation pattern changed dramatically in 2002, however, when France made 174 requests to initiate investigations; then, in 2003, 497 requests were made; and in 2004, 667 requests were initiated. Based on interviews and an analysis of the timing of events, this chapter concludes that political leaders and policymakers in France were spurred to participate in Europol in order to become an active member of an organization they want to control and shape, so as to prevent infringements on its sovereignty. This stimulus for France's increased involvement in Europol validates the coercive or treaty enforcing power/ability of Europol. As countries realize that their national interests can be impacted by the evolution of the power of international organizations, this can motivate them to change their involvement in cooperative endeavors and thus realize the benefits of cross-country cooperation in addressing common criminal threats. 5 notes