EURIEC, in cooperation with the Hochschule für Polizei und öffentliche Verwaltung NRW, has written a contribution to the German specialist journal Kommunalpraxis spezial, entitled: (Border-crossing) Combating organised crime in North Rhine-Westphalia – also a task for order authorities?
The article deals with the link between the performance of the legal tasks and the way in which the administration handles crime-related information, particularly from the point of view of the Land of North Rhine-Westphalia. However, it also makes a comparison with the legal situation in the Netherlands.
National borders do not constitute an obstacle for criminals. On the contrary, criminals make conscious use of national borders in order to conceal their activities from public authorities and investigative bodies. In tackling organised crime, national borders appear to be a major barrier. Each country has its own legislation and regulations, languages and there are differences in (administrative) powers and responsibilities. In addition, there are major differences in the degree of awareness of organised crime and, more specifically the role of the government in dealing with this. In the Netherlands, (organised) crime has been combated not only through criminal law, but also through administrative law channels for some time now. The question then arises as to how this is organised in our neighbouring countries.