European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol)

Overview

• Role: Europol helps national law enforcement authorities fight serious international crime and terrorism.
• Director: Catherine De Bolle
• Established in: 1999
• Number of staff: 900+ 
• Location: The Hague (Netherlands)
• Website: Europol

The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) is the EU’s law enforcement agency, whose remit is to help make Europe safer by assisting law enforcement authorities in EU member countries.

What it does

Benefiting from its central position in the European security architecture, Europol offers a unique range of services:

• support for law enforcement operations on the ground
• a hub for information on criminal activities
• a centre of law enforcement expertise.

Europol employs some 100 criminal analysts who are among the best-trained in Europe. This gives it one of the largest concentrations of analytical capability in the EU. Analysts use state-of-the-art tools to support national agencies' investigations on a daily basis.

To give national partners a deeper insight into the criminal problems they face, Europol produces regular long-term analyses of crime and terrorism.

Who benefits

• Law enforcement agencies, who get 24/7 operational support.
• Government departments and private companies working in partnership with Europol.
• EU Member States, supported in their investigations, operational activities and projects to tackle criminal threats.

Further information

Publications

Press releases

Jobs