2023-05-19
The cyber-patrol workshop was carried out through the involvement of the LIFE Satec Project «Fight against environmental crime at a strategic level through the strengthening of EnviCrimeNet», financed by the European Commission through the LIFE+ financial instrument for environmental actions.
The Life Satec Project focuses on strengthening the EnviCrimeNet, a network of police officers specialized in investigations of environmental crimes. This network is composed of different countries of the European Union and is considered a strategic tool in the fight against environmental crime.
The LIFE Satec Project reinforces the network, from the perspective of collaboration between countries within and outside Europe, establishing work areas at an international level that define priorities in the legislative, training, and institutional fields to address the environmental crime globally.
In this context, LIFE Satec is contributing to regulatory developments by providing the vision of criminal investigation at the EU level with special attention to the necessary harmonization for the application of common principles and promoting the extension of these principles through other similar networks, like the Jaguar network in Latin America. The project also promotes and develops training programs such as the cyber patrol course, and generates new knowledge through new manuals and guides for criminal investigation in different fields: Illegal trafficking in wild animals, trafficking, illegal activities linked to the waste cycle, environmental crimes via the internet etc. EnviCrimeNet has established itself as a Center of Excellence in the fight against environmental crime. For this, it has used the application of international programs such as LIFE Satec, which has been integrated as a fundamental instrument for the development of the environmental priority of EMPACT and the capacity of the network itself and its members to extend its impacts worldwide.
In the framework of the EMPACT, with the support of EUROPOL, the LIFE + SATEC project and IFAW, and with the collaboration of WWF-Traffic, from the 15th to the 19th of May, 33 officers received in-depth training about how to detect and monitor environmental crimes on the Internet. These 33 officers not only came from European Law Enforcement agencies, but also thanks to LIFE + SATEC project, 11 officers from Latin-American countries belonging to the Jaguar Network have been able to participate and be trained. Additionally, in coordination with WWF-Traffic and Project UNITE and the Working Group on Technologies, 5 people from civil society have attended the training to provide their point of view and increase the overall information.
During the five fruitful days, the training has provided knowledge about the different kinds of crimes committed on the Internet in relation to environmental crimes, how to detect them, how to obtain evidence as well as tools and best practices.
Finally, and thanks to the support from IFAW, the course has taken place in the facilities of UNIVERSAE, the Institute of Madrid, which has more than 11,000 square meters of extension. Likewise, the official Higher Institute for Professional Training is highly committed to the development of talent in Cybersecurity, as it considers that it is extremely important to have qualified and professional talent in both public and private organizations and institutions. The objective of UNIVERSAE is to promote the coordination, advice, and provision of academic activities in the field of Cybersecurity with the aim of training the best talent in Spain.
The participants were highly satisfied with the overall outcome of the course, eager to put all the gained knowledge into practice.