A Qualitative Analysis of the Hindering and Supporting Factors of the Cross-Border Information Exchange Conducted by the Single Point of Contact and the Police and Customs Cooperation Centre

Abstract

Cross-border criminality, emerging hybrid security threats, such as terrorism, trans-border organised criminal activity and most recently the COVID-19 epidemic situation demands efficient cross-border police cooperation and information exchange. To answer this need, various communication channels have been established to facilitate trans-border law-enforcement information exchange. The aim of this paper is to introduce the supporting and hindering factors of the two, most commonly used police information exchange channels, namely the Single Point of Contact (SPOC) and the Police and Customs Cooperation Centre (PCCC). The author tried to achieve this goal by introducing the relevant scientific theories and using them as a starting point for a qualitative study. The subsequent desk research and in-depth interviews helped the researcher to describe the current information exchange process, the hindering and supporting factors, the characteristics and main differences of the SPOC and PCCC information exchange process.