Irish, Romanian and Spanish law enforcement recognised with Europol’s Criminal Analyst of the Year Award

On 19 September, criminal analysts from the Irish An Garda Síochána, the Romanian Police and the Spanish Guardia Civil have been awarded Europol’s Criminal Analyst of the Year Award for their work in the field of operational and strategic analysis. 

This year’s award ceremony was held at Europol’s headquarters during the 5th European Criminal Analysis Conference (EUCrimACon).

The Criminal Analyst of the Year Award is presented annually by Europol to recognise the work of analysts in the field of criminal intelligence. This year’s winners were selected from a pool of nominees representing various European countries, all of whom have made significant contributions to combatting serious organised crime through data-driven analysis.

This year, Europol saw an almost threefold increase in the submitted nominations by law enforcement, highlighting the growing recognition of the vital role analysts play within the law enforcement community.

Award for Strategic Analysis

• The first category awards outstanding strategic analysis, which has helped decision-makers to increase their foresight in the fight against serious and organised crime. The 2024 Strategic Analysis award went to the Irish An Garda Síochána for their project aimed at supporting strategic operations against retail crime and burglaries.
• The two other finalists in this category were the German Federal Criminal Police Office, for the creation of an international web-based library on professional smuggling vehicles, and the French National Directorate of the Judicial Police (SIRASCO) for their analysis into Russian organised crime.

Award of Operational Analysis

The second category awards an analyst, or team of analysts, for delivering outstanding operational analysis.

• The 2024 Operational Analysis award went to both the Romanian National Police and the Spanish Guardia Civil. The selection committee recognised the analysis work of the Spanish Guardia in Operation HERMES, a SKY ECC case into transnational organised crime. The Romanian National Police was recognised by Europol for its operational analysis in a human trafficking case involving Ireland and the United Kingdom.
• The third runner-up was the Greek Hellenic Police for its analysis of illegal betting and match-fixing cases.