Exposition of EU Law Enforcement and Transnational Serial Crime

Abstract

With diverse investigative information streams between European Union (EU) states, the author of this article comments on the absence of a unified statistical based system across member states to analyse undetected linked violent crimes and unidentified transient serial offenders. With the free movement of persons being a guaranteed fundamental right granted to EU citizens by the Treaties, it brings into consideration the movement of serial offenders across member states, the continuation of their offending behaviour and investigative strategy. The article takes a general overview of pan-European law enforcement and investigative strategy towards serial crime investigation, focusing on the software used by a number of EU members and the issues encountered with such systems from a judicial and academic standpoint. Critical reviews have effectively called for data mining principles to be incorporated into linkage process; this is discussed further.