The OSCE (Organiastion for Security and Cooperation in Europe) Mission to Serbia and Montenegro recently organised a five-day training programme for Serbian legal officials on what the mission calls the increasing use of advanced computer systems by organised criminal groups.
The course, which followed up on a preparatory class last summer in Belgrade, gave judges, prosecutors and police officers an insight into the growing sophistication of organized crime as a result of computers. They received briefings from staff from the United Kingdom police Hi-Tech Crime Unit, the Crown Prosecution Service of England and Wales, and the Council of Europe.
What they say
Rory Field, the OSCE Mission’s legal adviser on organized crime, said: "Computers are used by a range of criminal groups, for instance in the distribution of paedophile material or when carrying out fraud and money laundering.”
The widespread use of computers by organized crime meant that law enforcement agencies and courts had to have the skills to decipher the information stored in computers, the mission added.
"This information may provide critical evidence," Mr Field said. "There is an urgent need to develop the sophisticated skills required to collect, analyse and use this information in court."
