Information system of Europol.
Date: 2007-03-19
Institutions: Europol
Subjects: Europol, exchange of information, fight against crime, information system

Why should you use the IS?

Example:  Germany  has  provided  information  to  Europol, 
which is stored in the IS, on an organisation suspected of 
stealing expensive luxury vehicles that are transported to 
Poland via Austria and the Czech Republic. The information 
includes  personal  details  on  addresses,  telephone 
numbers, etc.. Slovakia is conducting an investigation into 
a  suspected  money  laundering  activity  related  to  drug 
trafficking and one of the suspects appears to have regular 
contact  with  a  German  telephone  number.  A  search  in 
the  IS  results  in  a  possible  hit;  after  further  information 
exchange through the liaison officers at Europol it becomes 
clear that both criminal organisations are connected and 
involved in money laundering activities.

Future

IS 

Managing  the 
implies  a  continuous  process  for 
improvement that is achieved by collecting feedback from 
the users.

The storage of biometrics, such as DNA or fingerprint codes 
as independent searchable objects, should be included in 
the  future  in  order  to  ensure  a  quick  identification  or 
confirmation  of  the  identity  of  persons  known  in  the 
system.

The  Danish  Protocol,  amending  the  Europol  Convention 
(entry into force early 2007), has a consequence: competent 
authorities designated to this effect by the Member States 
may  also  query  the  IS.  However,  the  result  of  the  query 
only  shows  whether  the  requested  data  is  available  in 
the IS. Further information may then be obtained via the 
Europol National Unit.

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EUROPOL

Information 
Management Unit 
Information System

The IS is available in each 
Europol Member State.

For further information 
please contact your 
Europol National Unit.

EUROPOL

PO Box 90850 
Raamweg 47 
2509 LW The Hague 
Netherlands

info@europol.europa.eu

© Europol, 2007

Information 
System 
of Europol

Information Sharing

The users can access all data stored in the IS directly, unless 
legal restrictions prevent this. Such a restriction applies for 
example  to  intelligence  on  future  crimes;  if  needed  for  a 
specific  enquiry,  the  full  range  of  data  may  be  accessible 
through the user’s Liaison Bureau at Europol.

Every  search  result  can  only  be  disseminated  and/or  used 
in  compliance  with  the  Handling  Codes  to  ensure  that  the 
processing of information is carried out in line with the wishes 
and legal framework of the owner of the information.

What kind of data can be stored in the IS and 
how?

The data stored in the IS is translated into different objects 
(such  as  persons,  cars,  identity  documents,  etc.)  which  can 
be related in different ways. 

On the right, you can see an overview of the types of data 
that can be stored in the IS.

There are several ways of viewing data stored in the IS. One 
example is the chart view, which gives a graphical overview 
of  the  stored  information.  It  also  provides  insight  into 
networks of information:

What is the Information System 

of Europol?

The main objective of the Information System of Europol 
“IS” is to support Europol and EU Member States in fighting 
terrorism, drug trafficking and other serious forms of cross 
border organised crime.

The  IS  was  developed  by  Europol’s  in-house  software 
development  unit.  The  system  was  successfully  put  into 
operational  use  in  October  2005.  Hosted  at  Europol’s 
Headquarters  in  The  Hague,  it  is  available  to  the  law 
enforcement  agencies  of  all  EU  Member  States,  accessible 
from their own countries in all official EU languages.

The  IS  provides  the  possibility  of  storing,  searching, 
visualising  and  analysing  information  related  to  trans-
national crimes, allowing law enforcement agencies across 
Europe  to  collaborate  efficiently  in  their  investigations. 
The  system  supports  automatic  detection  of  possible  hits 
between different investigations and facilitates the sharing 
of sensitive information in a SECURE and RELIABLE way.

Data Ownership

Data  can  be  inserted  in  the  IS  in  a  manual  or  automated 
way;  the  data  inserted  in  the  IS  remains  under  full  control 
of  the  inputting  entity  (the  owner)  and  another  Member 
State  or  Europol  cannot  alter  it  in  any  way.  The  owner  is 
responsible  for  the  accuracy,  reliability  and  storage  time 
limits of the data, and must ensure that its own information 
is up-to-date.

Offence
Brief description of the case.
Person
Persons  must  be  suspected  of  having  committed 
a criminal offence for which Europol is competent, 
or have been convicted for having committed such 
an  offence,  or  there  have  to  be  serious  grounds 
under national law to believe that they will commit 
criminal  offences  (“future  crime”).  Victims  cannot 
be stored in the IS.

Alias

Means of Transportation
Cars, vessels etc.
Means of Communication
Telephone  numbers,  e-mail  addresses,  URL,  IP 
addresses, etc.
Means of Payment
Credit cards, bank account numbers etc.
Identity Document
Both genuine and forged

Criminal Organisation

Drugs
Cannabis, cocaïne, heroin, stimulants etc.

Firearm

Currency
Forged money, banknotes and coins
Device
Printer, laptop, etc.

Chemical Substance

Organisation
Legal entities, such as companies
Attachment
Fingerprint sheets, pictures, movies, documents
Contact Details
Attached to each case so that the responsible law 
enforcement unit can be contacted directly