STEM-VCR

In June 2010 the European Commission has launched the EU – Republic of Moldova Visa Dialogue aiming to set and assess the benchmarks and conditions for a visa-free travel regime for the Moldovan citizens in the European Union. The EU – Moldova Action on Visa Liberalisation has been agreed in January 2011 and followed by National Annotated Agenda on its implementation approved and started to be implemented in March of the same year.

One of the most important actions to be carried out by the Moldovan authorities is to ensure a high level of operational and special investigative capacity of the law enforcement authorities and its efficient and consequent use to tackle cross-border crime. In this regard, the enhancement of the capacities of the forensic laboratories of the Ministry of Interior represents the most important step to be implemented.

Current crime fighting facilities of the Ministry of Interior, in particular the ones dealing with special investigations and forensic examinations, are under developed and not equipped in line with minimum necessary standards. Thus, Moldovan law enforcement authorities are not able to ensure effective investigations to combat organized crime, as well as align local standards and practices to the ones used in EU member states.

Hi-Tech crime represents a new fast-growing trend used by the organized crime which makes it difficult for the law enforcement authorities not equipped with modern technologies to effectively fight the phenomenon and prosecute the criminals (in areas like money forgery, documents forgery, child pornography, cyber-crime, etc). Often, the most difficult crimes to detect are the transnational or cross-border ones.

Taking into consideration the present situation, the Ministry of Interior does not have the capacity to deal with this phenomenon in a proper way mostly because of poor forensic facilities available. Provision of modern equipment to forensic laboratories will contribute essentially to the special investigative activity and following prosecution of criminals.