Workshop on drafting the national SOCTA held in Pristina, XK*
On the 13th and 14th of February 2023, the regional project Countering Serious Crime in the Western Balkans hosted a two-day workshop on sharing information and knowledge about drafting the national SOCTA (Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessment), which would fulfill the required standards of the Europol. The workshop was chaired by the component leader of the CSCWB project and two medium-terms experts, complemented by a practical module with the relevant know-how to complete the Europol questionnaires.
On the first day, the SOCTA pyramid and the new EU Policy cycle EMPACT were analyzed, as well as other important topics on strategic analysis. The group was composed of police analysts from various directorates of the Kosovo* Police, to start the finalization of the drafting of a national SOCTA for Kosovo*.
On the second day of the workshop, the participants broadened their knowledge on the practical use of Europol questionnaires by completing them for their implementation in the near future. They also discussed the type of data collection and data storage, key elements for a successful and useful completion of Europol questionnaires. Answering the questionnaires correctly, in line with the EU SOCTA timeline, has immediate impact not only in a more qualitative strategic analysis, (essential for SOCTA), but also eases the work of the analysts by having all the data summed up in the same model.
The project Countering Serious Crime in the Western Balkans and the Kosovo* Police will continue to reinforce their partnership based on sharing of mutual core values of professionalism, expertise and trust in order to make the pillar of the strategic analysis more coherent and structured.
*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UN Security Council resolution 1244 and the International Court of Justice Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.
