A Law Enforcement Agency’s Perspective – Interview with Ertzaintza

Law enforcement agencies play a vital role in security research projects. They provide real-world insights and operational feedback that help ensure research aligns with practical needs and contributes meaningfully to public safety and security.

Ertzaintza, a partner in the PRESERVE consortium, has kindly agreed to answer our questions about their role in shaping and validating project outcomes, as well as their motivations and the challenges of participating in a security research initiative:

Relevance & Motivation

How does participating in PRESERVE aligns with Ertzaintza’s strategic goals? What was the main motivation of Ertzaintza to join the PRESERVE consortium?

Ertzaintza is opening up, we understand the importance of partnerships and collaboration with other national and international organisations. In this sense, we considered that participating in this project was relevant in terms of creating synergies with other entities.

Furthermore, the topic of the project is a key issue in our day-to-day job. The use of different technologies oriented to tackle organised crime is a must in Ertzaintza. We are facing huge challenges when we investigate some issues (terrorism, CSA, drug trafficking and hate crimes) and need additional tools to support our investigations. The PRESERVE project came up at the right time.

What have been the main concerns that had to be addressed before committing to the project?

First and most relevant, privacy. We consider of extraordinary relevance the information that we hold in our databases, and comply with data protection regulations in our country and what is stated in the GDPR. In this regard, it’s crucial that the data that we provide for training in the project complies with the premises stated before. Federated learning helps in this matter, ensuring that the information provided by Ertzaintza remains on our premises during the training.

Second, human resources allocated to the project. As this project involves different units (drugs, terrorism, cybercrime, etc.), commitment from these units is necessary.

What added value do you see in participating in EU-funded research from a LEA’s perspective?

We are aware of our technological gaps regarding investigation techniques and tools. For this reason, these projects allow us to develop, to some extent, a tool or set of tools that can fit in a particular area of expertise.

Not only that, but also it makes us analyse more in depth our needs, weaknesses and maybe share them with other LEAs or Security Agencies.

Additionally, we get a comprehensive understanding of the problems that need to be sorted out along the lifetime of the project.

Also, we leverage the technology developed within the scope of the project, and learn the different ways to level up the outcomes (ECTEG, Europol Innovation Lab, etc.) at implementation stage.

Contribution

What specific role does Ertzaintza play in the project? Are you involved in use-case definition, technology testing, requirements gathering, and validation activities?

Ertzaintza is an end-user, and as such, we are involved in all the stages of the project, providing data, defining user requirements, shaping a use case, testing the prototype, setting out the criteria for the pilot phase, and any other expertise that is required from us.

What are the main challenges Ertzaintza encounter in balancing your participation in an EU research project with the demands of a LEA’s daily operational work?

It is difficult in many occasions due to the fact that there is not a dedicated staff to the project. Officers have to comply with their duties conducting their investigations, plus the work that needs to be done in the project. In this sense, working overtime is assumed.

Implementation

How do you assess the relevance or usability of the project’s outcomes?

It’s a must. Leveraging the outcomes is of crucial importance. This could be new tools, platforms or guidelines, policy recommendations, etc. Prior to our involvement in a project, we discuss the different implementations of the outcomes, to assess whether the project will provide us with meaningful assets oriented to meet the organisation’s needs.

How are you ensuring that project outcomes meet the actual needs law enforcement officers on the ground?

Because we evaluate our involvement in the project considering this matter. We are reluctant to get involved in projects if the outcomes don’t fit our needs in policing.

Cross-Border Cooperation

Has your participation in PRESERVE enhanced cooperation with other national or EU law enforcement agencies?

Absolutely yes. Throughout the lifecycle of the project, we develop a full duplex communication with the partners. It’s essential to its success. This implies not only institutional relationships, but also personal links in many occasions. This can lead to a very mature partnership with some of the partners in the project.

What are the main challenges in sharing data, tools, or practices across borders or jurisdictions within the project?

In the European framework there are already mechanisms stablished to achieve fruitful collaborations within the scope of an investigation, e.g. SIENA , Joint Investigation Teams (JIT), Schengen Information System (SIS), etc.  However, sharing the flaws of the current methods is a good starting point to brainstorm other options or to provide improvements to the current ones.

However, in the European Union, there are different legislations, maybe even proceedings depending on the type of crime. This makes it even more difficult to find out a common ground.

Impact

What would make the project’s outcomes more sustainable or useful in your day-to-day operations?

The key point here is the TRL (Tool Readiness Level). In many occasions the TRL of the tool developed in a project is not high enough (6,7), which means that the end user doesn’t really envision a real implementation due to the fact that the tool is not mature enough. A non-fully developed front end is discouraging when officers carry out the testing at pilot phase. They don’t get to see the full features of the tool.

Moreover, the obsolescence of technology plays an important role in the usability of a tool. This means that a tool might be valid today, but maybe tomorrow there’s a new system, attack vector, operative system, social media, etc., and the tool can’t be used anymore. But this is something implicit in the context of IT.

How to ensure that the tools developed in PRESERVE will be implemented and effectively used within Ertzaintza? 

We are committed to implementing the outcomes, given that the toolbox reaches the desired potential. In fact, Ertzaintza has a Cybersecurity Coordination Unit that guarantees the correct implementation of this type of tools according to the needs detected in the institution.

Recommendations

What would you recommend to other LEAs considering participation in EU research projects?

We would definitely encourage them to participate. Sharing knowledge is key, and EU research projects is a useful means to get involved not only in the development of a tool that might be a solution to our needs, but also in the exploitation and implementation of the tool.

Furthermore, being part of a wider network of organizations that work in the same field (policing) provides a better understanding of the criminal landscape in Europe, and in the projects, we engage with various entities (Europol, ECTEG, CEPOL, EC3, etc.).

Thank you to Ertzaintza for taking the time to do this interview!