CBRN-POL project answered the increasing threat of terrorist activities involving the use of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) materials in Europe. Such type of terrorism acts may open the door for the possibility of destabilization of the European Union and lead to undermining economic stability, public security and integrity in the EU community. CBRN-POL project was coordinated by University Lodz (Poland) and involved following partners: General Police Headquarters (Poland), Local Antwerp Police (Belgium), Cyprus Police (Cyprus), Belgian Nuclear Research Centre – SCK-CEN (Belgium), Industrial Chemistry Research Institute (Poland) and Center for the Advancement of Research & Development in Educational Technology – CARDET (Cyprus). Project activities primary focused on:(a) analysis of training needs of police officers (IO1)Analysis and elaborated report cover representatives of target group form Polish, Belgian and Cypriot police. The report includes information about gaps in procedures, training, knowledge and skills of police officers required for conducting duties related to CBRN incidents. It defines the range of CBRN knowledge and skills needed for police patrol units to allow them to carry on their duties at acceptable risk level despite of hazardous external conditions. (b) elaboration of educational materialsWithin the project following educational materials have been developed:- Good practice and partners capabilities report (IO2). The report include good practices applied by each partner and recommendation on how the system of training and reaction to CBRN threats in Poland and the world should be designed.- CBRN course curriculum (IO3). The course curriculum, covers all areas of CBRN knowledge useful and needed by police officers. The curriculum is constructed in an innovative and practical way. It is divided into 4 parts: (1) Knowledge part, (2) Reporting part, (3) Action on the scene part and (4) Practical part. Each part consists of teaching modules and each module is further explained in details through subject sheets. - Trainers Handbook (IO4). The trainers’ handbook is a tool designed for trainers who will be responsible for conducting the courses according to the CBRN course curriculum. The handbook covers not only relevant knowledge areas, but also, method in which the knowledge should be conveyed to policeman. Book also covers specialist scenarios of CBRN threats and possible countermeasure reactions.- Students Handbook (IO5). The handbook include educational material, exercises and tests covering all information necessary to improve knowledge and skills of police officers in CBRN field. The handbook also includes materials for individual CBRN threats, commanding procedures, securing of action as well as rescue procedures- Set of 3 instructing brochures (IO6). The brochures, which graphically enrich educational materials, contain operating procedures schemes for action in each type of CBRN threat.- 7 instructing videos (IO7). Instructing videos in easy and understandable way present most important aspects of: site recon, personal protective equipment, decontamination basis, example response to biological, chemical and radiological threat.- Guidelines for trainers selection (IO8). For the purpose of organization of train-the trainer event guidelines for the trainees selection have been elaborated, and used to select the trainees. (c) intensive internal trainings. Two series of intensive trainings have been organized. The first was dedicated to police trainers and higher rank officers. They have been provided with CBRN knowledge as well as with knowledge related to learning processes and teaching styles, so that they are prepared to run future CBRN courses themselves.The second intensive study courses were dedicated to first line police officers, and was executed by participants of first course. Two sets of intensive training allowed consortium not only to educate Police officers from Poland, Belgium and Cyprus but also to test elaborated materials and introduce required improvement First was dedicated to police trainers and higher rank officers and second to first line police officers. In total 51 police officers have been trained.CBRN-POL achieved planned goals. Project consortium analysed training needs of police officers, compared police response systems in Europe, elaborated tailor-made course curriculum and educational materials, conducted trainings for police officers and educated future training experts in CBRN area. What is also very important, the project allowed for intense cooperation of police officers form 3 European countries and has significant impact on the CBRN training of the police officers in PL, BE and CY but also other EU member states as being promoted through EC DG Home Advisory Group or developed further in EU large scale projects.

INTERCEPT aims to strengthen the capabilities of law enforcement authorities in the EU and equip them with effective methods to remotely and safely stop vehicles posing imminent and high-security threats to citizens and society. This involves identifying technology gaps to address in order to minimize existing vulnerabilities and enhance security efficiency. This objective is endorsed from the outset by various stakeholders, particularly security practitioners. INTERCEPT involves eight end-users from eight EU countries (Belgium, Finland, France, Poland, Netherlands, Slovak Republic, Spain, and the United Kingdom), all of whom are also public buyers. Additionally, numerous other end-users will participate through the User Observatory Group (UOG). The project follows a progressive and iterative approach to collectively identify a common challenge that can be addressed with identified candidate technologies, laying the groundwork for future PCP, for which the buyer's group will be created during the project, through the continuous involvement of the UOG. Initially, at least six jointly defined common security use cases will comprehensively outline the gaps between available solutions, existing procedures, and identified requirements. Subsequently, technological experts will analyse these needs, considering legal, societal, ethical, and environmental factors, as well as state-of-the-art (SOTA) analysis and consultations with the open market. The outcomes will ultimately inform the definition of the common challenge and the development of the initial set of tender documents.

Unknown perpetrators of crime cannot be identified with the current forensic use of DNA. The VISAGE Project aims to overcome this major limitation by developing, validating, and implementing in the relevant forensic DNA service environment a set of prototype tools for predicting appearance, age, and ancestry in as much detail and as accurately, and effectively as possible from DNA traces. This VISAGE Toolkit will allow the construction of composite sketches of unknown trace donors directly from their crime scene traces, which will guide and focus criminal investigations towards finding them. The VISAGE Toolkit will include analysis prototype tools based on massively parallel sequencing for genotyping the large number of DNA predictors for appearance, age, and ancestry established within the Project, as well as an integrated statistical framework with prototype software for translating these genotype data into statistical probabilities on appearance, age and ancestry, which represents the intelligence information finally used for guiding criminal investigations towards the most probable group of suspects. The VISAGE Toolkit will consider ethical, societal, and legal dimensions of Forensic DNA Phenotyping as identified within the Project, by applying a privacy-by-design strategy. The interdisciplinary VISAGE Consortium includes European (and global) scientific leaders in Forensic DNA Phenotyping as well as in forensic massively parallel sequencing, leading European forensic DNA service providers, and one of the leading social scientists in the field of forensic DNA analysis, ensuring that the Project goals will be achieved on time. The outcome of the VISAGE Project will have a major impact on solving more crimes more rapidly by providing previously unused intelligence information from trace DNA to find unknown perpetrators, which will lead to reduced impact on victims, reduced societal distress, preventing miscarriages of justice, thereby avoiding unnecessary costs.

In line with the EU Action Plan to enhance preparedness against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) security risks and the overall Security Union approach to fight crime and terrorism, PROACTIVE aims to enhance societal CBRN preparedness by increasing Practitioner effectiveness in managing large, diverse groups of people in a CBRN environment. This will be achieved by testing common approaches between European Practitioners such as Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) and First Responders. These will be evaluated and validated against the requirements of civil society, including vulnerable groups of citizens reflected in the European Security Model. A Practitioner Stakeholder Advisory Board and a Civil Society Advisory Board will extend the representation of both sides in several surveys, focus-groups, workshops and field exercises. A benchmark study between LEAs will identify common approaches in assessing CBRN threats and the protocols and tools used to help citizens. Liaising with the eNOTICE H2020 project, three joint exercises will include role play volunteers recruited by PROACTIVE. They will evaluate the acceptability and usability of existing procedures and test new tools developed within PROACTIVE to provide innovative recommendations for Policy-makers and safety and security Practitioners. PROACTIVE will result in toolkits for CBRN Practitioners and for civil society organisations. The toolkit for Practitioners will include a web collaborative platform with database scenarios for communication and exchange of best practice among LEAs as well as an innovative response tool in the form of a mobile app. The toolkit for the civil society will include a mobile app adapted to various vulnerable citizen categories and pre-incident public information material. These will provide valuable inputs to the EUROPOL initiative to develop a knowledge hub for CBRN activities and help consolidate the EU Action Plan to enhance preparedness for CBRN threats.

The European Commission’s latest strategy for fighting child sexual abuse highlights a harsh reality that, globally, we are ‘losing the battle’ against online child sexual abuse and exploitation (OCSEA). Various projects funded through the EU are working diligently to identify the source of CSAM on both the Clearnet and Darknet and are establishing stronger awareness of the needs and requirements of LEAs to fight the overloading volume of images, text, media files, etc. However, the IOCTA 2021 report also brings a chilling honesty that the prevalence of materials shows no sign of slowing or stabilising. The adage that prevention is better than the cure never seemed more fitting. The 2PS project condemns all forms of sexual abuse and exploitation – and there are no excuses that justify behaviours and actions that harm or victimise children. However, to reduce the number of abused children and those at risk of exploitation, we need to address various challenges. Several of those relate to people with a sexual interest in children and their needs to divert them from abusing. 2PS, which stands for Prevent & Protect Through Support is a highly innovative action offering a paradigm shift in the approach to tackling child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSAE) across Europe. The highly qualified and diverse consortium – together with leading global actors – are committed to laying the foundations for new coherent modus operandi that complement the reactive approaches currently favoured. This is achieved by addressing the support needs of people with a sexual interest in children and people who feel they might offend. We will share the best practices for guidance, therapy and treatment methods – combined with new training and awareness for frontline support workers and LEAs. We aim to move preventive actions to the forefront, offering alternative courses of action to existing offenders and people who fear they might offend– including people with a sexual interest in children.