The Prüm implementation, evaluation & strengthening of forensic DNA data

There has been a significant expansion of the European Union (EU) in recent years with the accession of eight Central and Eastern European countries (CEE) in 2004, a further two countries in 2007, and most recently Croatia in 2013, which has enlarged the population of the EU by approximately 100 million people. The Schengen Agreement entitles the free movement of citizens of member states without border controls. This new ease of travel across borders has increased legitimate cross-border routine activities, but it is generally agreed that the opening of borders under the Schengen agreement has also contributed to increased cross-border crime. The research undertaken as part of the Prüm Implementation, Evaluation and Strengthening of Forensic DNA Data Exchange (or PIES) project undertaken by the geography department, seeks to gain an understanding of the social, economic and political drivers of transnational crime and the movement of offenders across state boundaries. This poster will explain the involvement of a number of different organisations in this European Commission co funded project and will discuss how to maximize the benefit of exchanging forensic bioinformation in order to inform the development of potential crime prevention, reduction and detection methodologies for a numberof EU countries and at the European level.