This presentation provides an overview of international police cooperation among France and its neighbors. It examines both bilateral and multilateral cooperation. It briefly examines the foundation of EUROPOL and the EUROPOL structure.

1. The French Police and Cooperation
with its EU Neighbors
Lydia Boyer
ICJ-702
Professor

2. Outline
• France and its Neighbors
• France’s Police Organizations
• Schengen Area and Cooperation
• Europol and Cooperation
• Conclusions
• Questions
• Bibliography

3. France and Its Neighbors
Border Counter Size of Border
Andorra 56.6km
Belgium * 620km
Germany* 451km
Italy * 488km
Luxembourg* 73km
Monaco 4.4km
Spain* 623km
Switzerland* 573km
United Kingdom** ***
Coastline 4853km
* - EU and Schengen Agreement member
** - EU Member but not member of Schengen Area
*** - Connected by the Channel Tunnel

4. French Police Organization
Ministry of the Interior
Director General of the National Police
Administrative
Division
Operational Division
• Inspector General of
the Police
• Judicial Police
• General Intelligence
• Public Security
• Territorial
Surveillance
• Control of the
Borders
• Republican Security
Company
Ministry of Defense
Director of Gendarmerie
Regional Commands
Inspector General of
the Gendarmerie
Republican
Guard
Intervention
and Security
Battalion
Departmental
Gendarmerie
Mobile
Gendarmerie
Terrill p. 135 and p. 140
National Police Gendarmerie

5. Schengen Area and Cooperation
• Goal: “A compensatory measure for the perceived security deficit resulting
of the lowering of internal borders.” (Santiago 32)
• Developed in 1985, Implemented 1995
Movement of Persons Specific Fields of Crime Cross Border Cooperation
Abolitions of checks at internal
borders
Intensification of drug
enforcement laws
Mutual police assistance
Intensification of checks at
external border with uniform
criteria
Harmonization of legal provisions
on firearms
Exchange of police liaison
officers
Uniform regulation on allowing
entry, issuing visas, refusing
entry, arresting and deportation
of aliens violating conditions.
Technical cooperation at the
border
Cross border surveillance by
police
Uniform regulation for asylum
and asylum seekers.
Cross border (hot) pursuit by
police
Table information from Santiago 32-33

6. Schengen Area and Cooperation Cont.
• Practical Implementation
– Schengen Information System (SIS)
• Expanded under the Prum Decision
– Visa Information System (VIS)
– Schengen National Fact Sheet
• Legal information for countries
• Hot pursuit regulations
• Contact information

7. Europol and Cooperation
History of Europol
• Conceived in 1992
• Europol Drugs Unit (1994)
• Europol Convention
(1999)
• Extension of
responsibilities (2002)
• Transitioned to an EU
agency (2010)
• 25 Europol National Units
Europol Areas of Responsibility
Responsibilities from 1999 Convention
Drugs Terrorism
Currency Forgery Money Laundering
Illegal Immigration Human Trafficking
Trafficking in Stolen
Vehicles
Trafficking in nuclear
and radioactive
materials
Expanded Responsibilities (2002)
Environmental Crimes Economic Crimes
Fraud Kidnapping
Murder Arms Trafficking

8. • “Swift and efficient bilateral and multilateral
information exchange.” (Ratzel 13)
• Europol Information System
– Open Source Intelligence
– Shared information on cross-border crime
• INFO-EX – encrypted information exchange
• Operational support Europol
• National Units
Europol and Cooperation Cont.

9. • France participates in a variety of police cooperation
efforts because of its membership in the European
Union and because it shares borders with eight
countries.
• France’s police cooperation is complicated because
both the National Police and the Gendarmarie
participate in cross-border policing efforts.
• The majority of policing cooperation in Europe is aimed
at enhanced information sharing, greater ease of cross-
border policing and internal security.
Conclusions

10. Bibliography
• Aden, H. (2001). Convergence of Policing Policies and Transnational Policing in Europe. European
Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice, Vol. 9 (2), 99-112.
• Casey, J. (2010). Policing the World: The Practice of International and Transnational Policing.
Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press.
• CIA World Factbook. (2011). France. Access online at: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-
world-factbook/geos/fr.html.
• European Commission Home Affairs Website. Access online at: http://ec.europa.eu/home-
affairs/policies/intro/policies_intro_en.htm
• Guerette, R. T. (2011). Crossborder Policing. In Mangai Natarajan (Ed.), International Crime and
Justice (pp. 416-422). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Ratzel, M. (2007). Europol in the Combat of International Terrorism. In H. Durmaz et. al.
(Eds.), Understanding and Responding to Terrorism (pp. 11-16). Amsterdam, Netherlands: IOS Press.
• Santiago, M. (2000). Europol and Police Cooperation in Europe. Lewiston, NY: The Edwin Mellen
Press.
• Terrill, R. J. (2009). World Criminal Justice Systems: A Survey (7th ed.). New Providence, NJ:
LexisNexis.
• The Council of the European Union. (2011). Schengen National Fact Sheet. Accessed online through
Statewatch at: http://database.statewatch.org/search.asp.
• Wagner, W. (2006). Guarding the Guards. The European Convention and the Communitization of
Police Co-operation. Journal of European Public Policy, Vol. 13 (8), 1230-46.