Professional paper
National criminal intelligence database
Marjan Gjurovski
; Faculty of Security-Skopje, Macedonia
Abstract
Processing and delivering information between authorities with legal powers for fight against organized crime, terrorism and other criminal activities through a single centralized and integrated information system represents an entirely new quality in the Republic of Macedonia. Until the moment of full implementation of the National Intelligence Database and the launch of its application, the competent government bodies have existing databases that are outdated and inefficient. In this sense, the data in existing databases are non-standardized, incompatible, technically-functionally obsolete, made of various technical platforms, thus disabling direct access to data and use of data, which in turn significantly complicates the process of drafting criminal analysis. At this point, the exchange of information with international organizations involved in combating organized, serious crime and terrorism (Interpol, SECI Centre, Europol and others) is difficult.
Considering the situation in the area, the creation, and implementation of the National Intelligence database is considered as necessary for timely and effective prevention and detection of organized crime, but also for other types of criminal activities. With this method of data exchange, the current problems in the inter-institutional cooperation will be overcomed, which will create conditions for rapid exchange and processing of data, while enabling fast communication and interoperability with the databases of foreign government and international bodies, institutions and organizations that have responsibilities in detecting and prosecuting perpetrators of criminal acts.
The functioning of the National Intelligence Database Although will achieve overcoming of the problems and gaps in the international cooperation, additionally, it will improve the current lack of coordination among authorities in the country, the insufficient use of information, untimely data exchange, increased costs and uneconomical use of material and human resources, standardization and normalization of data of authorities responsible for combating organized crime, support to the end-users who perform the research, in order to full exploit the content of the existing databases, strengthening, information sharing and cooperation with international organizations, enabling exchange of analytical products and developing joint analytic products as well as implementing system for early warning that will generate and send electronic alerts to the competent authorities involved in the investigations.
The Database itself will unite current separate databases from the police, the intelligence services, Ministry of Justice, Customs, the Public Revenue, the financial police, the public prosecution, judiciary, and administration for prevention of terrorism. Past databases from the institutions that are competent in the fight against organized crime, and serious crime in general, although special databases were used, proved as ineffective and with many faults. There is doubt whether the law on criminal-intelligence database is not contrary to the Constitution of Republic of Macedonia in relation to the monitoring of the privacy of the citizens of Republic of Macedonia, also in the section where its considered for some data to arrive at the database, whether there is violation of fundamental values of the Constitution, the division of legislative, executive and judicial power.
This research paper, among the other, includes analysis of the difficulty for control over the Commission, which Commission, in accordance with the law, is proposed by the Government and elected by the Assembly. According to the author, the Database should be under autonomous independent body in form of an agency or bureau, because it should serve not only the state authorities, but also the defense in the juridical actions, in that way it will preserve the democratic control. The creation and implementation of the National Intelligence Database justifies the need for a high level of international inter-institutional cooperation and coordination aimed at preventing and detecting crimes.
Keywords
criminal; intelligence; database; international organizations; information
Hrčak ID:
159877
URI
Publication date:
11.4.2016.
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