INTERPOL PCWG, Rome
17 May 2017
LIFE SMART Waste visited Rome at the invitation of INTERPOL's Pollution Crime Working Group (PCWG) to present an overview of a new financial screening tool that is being developed by the project to help environmental regulators to take a proactive approach to financial investigations relating to waste crime.
INTERPOL’s PCWG met in Rome for a three-day conference (15-17 May 2017) to share experiences and explore new ways of disrupting global pollution crime. The PCWG regularly brings together countries from around the world and opportunities for the development of information sharing and intervention initiatives were high on the agenda for this meeting.
Adrian Evans (Natural Resources Wales) presented an overview of the intelligence-led financial financial investigation toolkit developed by Cranfield University on behalf of the LIFE SMART Waste project. The toolkit facilitates the assessment of a range of financial indicators for regulated waste management sites, including sources of finance, levels of gearing, variances in costs and income and other relevant information. The presentation highlighted how regulators could potentially use the insight derived from using this tool to identify potential or likely future offending.
A pilot for the LIFE SMART Waste project's financial screening tool will commence in 2017 with the support of partner environmental authorities and regulators in EU Member States.