NCJ Number
171168
Date Published
1996
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This article examines the recent dramatic changes in Europe and implications for the police responsibility of maintaining public order and safety.
Abstract
New dimensions of quality and quantity of crime in Europe include organized crime, mainly experienced as drug-related crime, illicit arms trafficking, and illicit slave trade. Increasingly closer international links and economic merger among potential markets improve the profit perspectives of illegal organizations. This form of organized crime has the potential to jeopardize or even destabilize the entire governmental and social architecture of States. Increasing interaction between East and West is a growing threat, involving new crime opportunities in such activities as illegal trade in nuclear substances or contaminated waste. The article discusses several concepts for meeting the safety needs of European citizens now and in the future, including creation of a security union of compulsory shared views on public order and safety and establishment of a well-balanced and adjusted legal system. The article describes the Schengen Implementation Treaty, Europol, integration of Central and Eastern Europe, compatibility of police technology, European educational politics, and a European police academy as components of possible crime-fighting initiatives. Notes