Is It More Effective to Work Together in a Joint Investigation Team When a Crime Involving More Than One Country is Detected?

Abstract

Organised crime is a major challenge, including for our country, but international cooperation in the field of crime provides a good opportunity for several countries to act in unison. In order to be effective in tackling crime across national borders, investigating authorities need to be familiar with the proactive tools available and apply them in practice. One such proactive tool is the joint investigation team, which may be used when the crime is particularly complex and involves several Member States or is prosecuted by several Member States. The research question and the subject of the research is: is cooperation in a joint investigation team indispensable in certain cases? Another important element of the study is whether the advantages and further possibilities of using a joint investigation team are recognised by the police and the judiciary in Hungary, and whether the use of a disguised instrument is necessary in this context. In the study, I will concretise the advantages of the joint investigation team, looking at the Covid–19, and examine, through semi structured interviews, whether the preconditions and reasons for setting up joint investigation teams are recognisable in practice. The aim of the research is to ensure that practitioners in both law enforcement and the judiciary recognise the positive aspects of this proactive collaborative tool.