Increased Globalization of Organized Crime and Terrorism: Europol and the EU Perspective

The globalization of organized crime and terrorism brings a new challenge to the men and women in law enforcement both within the intelligence communities and, most of all, on the front line.The tragic events in Boston earlier this year, serve as a chilling reminder to all that on any given day, law enforcement may have to deal with life-threatening situations sometimes brought about by circumstances emanating from global criminality or terrorism with no obvious connection to a local causation factor.Staying ahead of the criminals and the terrorists is not easy, but matching the new threats with coordinated law enforcement responses in the form of global information sharing among partners is a good platform to start from. This article shares some of the developments in information sharing from a European Union (EU) perspective with a focus on how Europol, the European law enforcement agency, is meeting these challenges with innovative, partnership-based approaches, working to make not only European citizens safer but also the global community.