Criminal analysis arrived in Europe about 20 years ago and has become an integral part of daily police work. Unfortunately, at the outset, there was neither well-founded basic education nor constant training and further education for crime analysts.

In many police departments, only the enthusiasm and tireless willingness of crime analysts to take care of their own training needs led to functioning analysis units.

It can be argued that crime analysis is undervalued globally, not only by executives but also by many investigators. Only when analysis has provided investigators or officers with information that leads to the successful resolution of a seemingly unsolvable criminal case or helped managers successfully deploy their forces to avert danger is the value of crime analysts’ efforts recognized. Then investigators or managers suddenly become aware and request the support of crime analysts.