Sexual violence affects 1 in 10 women across Europe and has increased by 10% alone in 2021-2022. Most cases involve complex biological mixtures containing cells from the victim and perpetrator(s). Current forensic methods struggle to isolate individual DNA profiles, leaving many cases unresolved and perpetrators unprosecuted. Addressing these limitations is critical to improving evidence interpretation, ensuring justice for victims, and reducing societal impacts. CapCell aims to deliver a new approach to improve forensics and lawful evidence collection with innovative microfluidics and single-cell genomics technologies to overcome the limitations of mixed DNA evidence. Specifically, we will develop the CapCell toolkit comprised of ten easily integrated modules that capture, select, isolate, sequence and interpret individual cells of interest. We will co-create novel strategies and best practices with end-users and industry to improve evidence collection from postcoital swabs and contact traces. Recovered intact cells from male contributors will then be selected and isolated using innovative mobile microfluidic devices. By employing novel concepts, we will advance follow-up DNA sequencing assays and analysis tools to target diverse forensic biomarkers with single-cell resolution. We will align interpretation frameworks to suit single-cell DNA analysis and leverage machine learning to automate the forensic process. Eventually, CapCell will achieve its goal by validating and implementing the new toolkit (TRL5-7) in the relevant end-user environment, with the support of several forensic science institutes and police forces. To reach its ambitious objectives, CapCell brings together an experienced intersectoral consortium of 13 partners from 8 European countries, with complementary expertise in forensic genomics, biosensor technology, bioinformatics, statistics and technology prototyping. Ultimately, CapCell will contribute to a safer and healthier society across Europe.

Petty crime has a significant negative impact on European citizens’ quality of life, community cohesion and the safety and security of the urban environment. The aim of the Cutting Crime Impact (CCI) project is to enable Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) and security policymakers to adopt a preventative, evidence-based and sustainable approach to tackling high-impact petty crime. Tailored to the needs of end-users, CCI will design, develop and demonstrate four Toolkits covering: (i) predictive policing; (ii) community policing; (iii) crime prevention through urban design and planning; and (iv) measuring and mitigating citizens’ feelings of insecurity. Using social science methods and innovation tools from the design industry, CCI will support LEAs in researching and innovating practical, evidence-based tools that meet end-users needs and operational contexts. In delivering CCI, LEAs will gain valuable experience in requirements capture, problem framing, ideation, concept generation, solution design and prototyping that is transferable to other areas. Practical consideration of ethical, legal and social issues throughout the project's research and innovation activities will ensure developed Toolkits help promote safe and secure towns and cities, without compromising fundamental human rights. All toolkits will be demonstrated in an operational setting to assess performance, and materials developed to support integration into LEA operations and foster wider implementation. CCI aims to encourage wider EU adoption of effective approaches to safety and security, and will develop an extended European Security Model that includes high-impact petty crime and citizens’ feelings of insecurity. CCI will result in greater openness to innovation and design approaches amongst LEAs and security policymakers across Europe, as well as demonstrate the value of practitioner-led approaches to EU-funded research and innovation projects.

METICOS aims to introduce Big Data Analysis of border control information systems, in order to provide a step-change towards more modern and efficient Smart Border management and towards gaining societal and political acceptance of modern control technologies of EU borders such as “no gate solutions”. It is therefore positioned as an initiative to create a real-time decision-support system with regard to different Smart Border control technologies that empowers two major stakeholder groups within the European border control sector (i.e., travellers and border control authorities & service providers) to ensure user acceptance, secure positive societal impact and maximize border control process efficiency. To this end, the METICOS project will develop a platform that integrates information systems and networks of data sources in order to validate the efficiency and users acceptance of border control technologies. The proposed platform will provide metrics and KPIs to authorities and decision makers, based on a number of independent variables: performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, physical privacy, accuracy, information privacy, ethical and societal perceptions. To maximize impact of the project, METICOS will join the European Initiative for Smart Borders and contribute aforementioned cross-border and cross-cultural Big Data Analysis and decision support systems that feature harvesting of multi-lingual and cross-sectorial data from heterogeneous sources, different analytics approaches and risk assessment methods. METICOS will be demonstrated and validated under real operating conditions. This will involve two pilot implementations executed at five different countries involving real travellers and staff. Furthermore, the METICOS ecosystem aims to work closely with border control research initiatives to demonstrate its operational performance improvements by means of combined validation with these solutions.

PROPHETS will look at redefining new methods to prevent, investigate and mitigate cybercriminal behaviours through the development of a coherent, EU-wide, adaptive SECURITY MODEL, built upon the interplay of the human factors within the new cyber ecosystem and capable of addressing the four fundamental dimensions at the core of the phenomenon: 1. early identification of security threats; 2. investigations within a new public-private governance; 3. Increased complexity of the response due to the expansion of the security perimeter towards new societal fields and the emergence of challenging jurisdictional problems; and, last but not least, 4. perception of security and freedoms among citizens, which requires a new communication strategy for LEAs and security policy makers.

EU borders are constantly faced with a multiplicity of challenges, from increased waves of illegal migration to human trafficking, document fraud, terrorism, smuggling, and public health threats. In the CRiTERIA project we will develop a novel risk analysis methodology, which is, on the one hand, clearly rooted and builds upon existing methodology such as CIRAM and, on the other hand introduces novel more complex and effective indicators, which overcome important limitations of existing models. Such extended risk and vulnerability analysis methodology has to be backed by effective intelligent analysis technology. Building upon existing text, media, data and network analysis technology, in CRiTERIA, we will develop and evaluate advanced analysis technologies and tools that are tailored to the new comprehensive threat indicators of the CRiTERIA methodology. Special focus will be put to the consideration of the role of narratives, events, attitudes, and to the vulnerability of borders and humans as well as on providing semi-automatic tools and methods for risk-related evidence validation and explanation, for identifying risk propagation and interlinking, thus supporting decision processes in risk analysis in an innovative way. When developing this holistic CRiTERIA risk and vulnerability analysis framework for border agencies ethical, legal and societal aspects will be considered from the very beginning. The methodology will be developed in close collaboration with practitioners from border agencies, which will also validate the developed methods and technologies in piloting activities. For achieving its goals CRiTERIA brings together an interdisciplinary team of experts including researchers in the fields of security and risk analysis, in the field of data and media analysis and in the field of ethics, law and societal aspects, as well as border agencies, NGOs and companies.