On Friday 5 June 2020 OPFA WASTE and STRiKE representatives met to discuss potential alignments between activities in order to maximise the two projects’ potential and avoid duplications.
The EU funded initiatives, both aimed at fighting environmental crimes, have different specific objectives. In fact, while OPFA-WASTE targets illicit waste trafficking in general, STRikE project focuses specifically on illegal trade and management of problematic waste streams (e.g. e-waste, end-of-life vehicles, batteries and waste mercury and mercury-added products).
Synergies have been explored with respect to the opportunity of engaging environmental crime practitioners in a survey meant to stock take updated information on illicit waste trafficking investigative methodologies put in place by EU Law Enforcement Agencies and non-EU police officers. The latter represent strategic counterparts in transnational investigations, more and more often involving African or Balcan based criminals, operating as part of organised crime groups relying on a variety of accomplices employed in licit and/or illicit businesses.
With OPFA-WASTE being implemented by a consortium of specialized Law Enforcement Agencies and STRiKE by a consortium of professionals ranging from UN and police universities, research centres and public institutions, the two complementary approaches benefit each other’s. In fact, where scientific research and analysis match operational actors’ gaps, viceversa law enforcement officers enrich academic professionals with a more practical and operative perspective.
In line with the common intent of enhacing synergies between the two projects, OPFA WASTE Organised Crime expert is part of the High Level Advisory Board (H-LAB) set up under the STRiKE project to the aim of providing advice and technical insight in matters of competence, and assist in the dissemination of project’s results with a larger stakeholder community, while ensuring coordination between the two initiatives.
We thank STRiKE partners for the fruitful collaboration so far, and for the inputs on problematic waste streams.
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