EMERITUS aims to create a single-entry point platform for law enforcement authorities and border guards to improve investigative proof collection capabilities against environmental waste crimes.
EMERITUS aspires to lay the foundations of a new generation of technological tools orchestrated via a single-entry point platform at the service of Law Enforcement Authorities (LEA) and Border Guards (BG) to improve detection and proof collection capabilities against waste-related environmental crimes. To do so, EMERITUS will create and implement a protocol for effective environmental crime investigation. Mainly combining innovative monitoring and analysis technologies with a complementary training programme to foster LEAs and BGs’ intelligence and investigation capabilities at both the national level and cross-border levels. The ambition of EMERITUS is to explore and demonstrate how these technologies and specialised training could improve the efficiency of environmental crime detection and intelligent risk profiling to optimise resources, reduce the risk for operators and provide a deterrent for offenders.
RITHMS project (Research, Intelligence and Technology for Heritage and Market Security) intends to boost the operational capacity of Police and Customs/Border Authorities in addressing the increasingly organised and poly-criminal nature of trafficking in cultural goods through research, technological innovation, outreach and training. Illicit trade in cultural heritage has progressed from a local phenomenon limited to the initiative of a few individuals to a highly remunerative source of income for criminal organisations and terrorist groups that have taken advantage of the opportunities offered by the web and social media to further expand an already flourishing market. Against this background, RITHMS proposes an interdisciplinary approach made necessary by the transnational character of this crime and its links to other criminal networks.