Report from the Commission to the Council on the Evaluation of the European Crime Prevention Network
Date: 2019-02-19
Institutions: Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission
Subjects: area of freedom, security and justice



IMMC.Ares%282019%291025125.ENG.xhtml.PART-2019-91194V1.docx











EVALUATION ROADMAP  






Roadmaps aim to inform citizens and stakeholders about the Commission's work to allow them to provide feedback and to participate effectively in future consultation activities. Citizens and stakeholders are in particular invited to provide views on the Commission's understanding of the problem and possible solutions and to share any relevant information that they may have.






Title of the evaluation




Evaluation of the European Crime Prevention Network






Lead DG – responsible unit 




HOME D3






Indicative Planning 


(planned start date and completion date)




Q1 2019 – Q1 2020






Additional Information




-






The Roadmap is provided for information purposes only. It does not prejudge the final decision of the Commission on whether this initiative will be pursued or on its final content. All elements of the initiative described by the document, including its timing, are subject to change.









A. Context, purpose and scope of the evaluation






Context 







Crime prevention is an important pillar of a comprehensive internal security strategy and can contribute to citizens’ safety and security in the European Union. The Lisbon Treaty mentions crime prevention among the key building blocks to establish and maintain an area of freedom, security and Justice in Art. 2. 



The European Crime Prevention Network (EUCPN) was set up in 2001 by the Council Decision 2001/427/JHA of the Council of the European Union, which was repealed and replaced in 2009 by Council Decision 2009/902/JHA. Its main objective is to develop a platform for the Member States to exchange knowledge and best practices in the field of crime prevention. The network is chaired by the Member State holding the Rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union.



Over the last years, the network has undergone key changes. For the first time, it has aligned its crime prevention activities with the EU Policy Cycle on serious international crime 2018-2021 and it has participated in operational actions in 2018. 2017 also saw an increase in staff at the secretariat to cope with the additional workload and intensify research as well as communication activities. Moreover, the network’s budget was increased as part of the 2017 Internal Security Fund - Police annual work programme. 



When the network was last evaluated in 2012
1
, the analysis found the network to be a useful instrument to support policymakers at EU and national levels. The evaluation showed positive results but also pointed out further improvements needed in terms of performance, impact, added value, organisation and governance. 



An evaluation is needed to assess the impact of the key changes in the last years. Moreover, conducting the evaluation in 2019/2020 would allow its results to feed into the discussions of EUCPN’s next multi-annual strategy (2021-2025).







Purpose and scope 







The scope of the evaluation covers the work of the network since the last evaluation, in 2012 with a focus on its current multiannual strategy (2016-2020). The network’s relevance in terms of political and operational priorities and activities is evaluated against the framework set by Council Decision 2009/902/JHA. The evaluation will assess the network’s performance. 



The evaluation will assess the network’s effectiveness, including the adequacy of the legal basis to provide sufficient mandate, framework and resources. It will also look at the efficiency, the relevance and the coherence of the actions undertaken on the basis of the network's multiannual strategy as well as at the achieved EU added value. It will also review the working practices of the network and its secretariat.



The evaluation will show if the work of the network has met the targets set out in its own multiannual strategy and in the Council Decision 2009/902/JHA, and whether changes are necessary to improve the work on crime prevention and the network’s organisation and governance. 






B. Better regulation






Consultation of citizens and stakeholders 







For the purposes of informing the evaluation of the European Crime Prevention Network, the Commission will carry out a 12-week internet-based public consultation in Q2 2019. This consultation aims to gather the views on the work of the European crime prevention network from a broad range of stakeholders at regional, national and European level as well as the public in general. The public consultation will be launched in 23 EU languages. Replies to the public consultation replies may be submitted in any of the official EU languages. The consultation will be published on: https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say_en


In addition, a targeted consultation will be conducted. The EUCPN’s members as well as key partners at national and European level will be consulted. This includes National Contact Points nominated to the EUCPN’s governing bodies and external partners of the network such as Europol, European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training, European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, and the European Network on the Administrative Approach. To the extent possible and where relevant, regional stakeholders will be consulted via the EUCPN’s national contact points. Views and experiences from stakeholders will be particularly helpful in assessing whether the initial objectives of the Council Decision have been met and if they are still adequate.


The targeted consultation will be carried out through interviews and questionnaires. Dedicated workshops will be also organised during future EUCPN meetings. 


A synopsis report summarising the results of all consultation activities will be published on the DG HOME website, indicatively in Q1 2020. 







Data collection and methodology 







The evaluation will build on the last evaluation from 2012 and assess the progress that has been achieved since as well as the extent to which the recommendations from 2012 have been implemented. Focus will be put on the actions taken in the context of the current Multi-Annual Strategy (2016-2020) and especially the alignment of the network’s activities with the EU Policy Cycle.


The Commission will commission a study to an external contractor to support the evaluation. In view of the rotating presidency of the network, the study will cover at least two presidencies in order to compare their impact on the work of the network.












(1)
 
COM(
2012) 717 final
.